Human Resource Development
Discovering Potentials and Capacities: A Case of an Academic Library in the Northern Philippines
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Louise Ian De Los Reyes Aquino
The shortage of Professional Librarians in the Philippines has resulted in hiring employees with little to no background or experience in librarianship to serve in libraries in many institutions. This practice can cause difficulties for the librarian concerning staff management and the delivery of library services. However, it can be argued that having untrained staff is better than having no staff at all. Discovering the staff's potential is sometimes not easy but can be of great value to library management. The librarian in an Academic Library in Northern Philippines investigated its personnel's capacity by assigning them to handle the Current Awareness Service (CAS) of the library with very little assistance from the Librarian. This paper reports the work of the staff in the CAS of the library and its impact on the student community, as well as the values learned and problems encountered by the personnel in performing the task.
Flexible Work Arrangements and Workplace Well-being in Department of National Defence Public Servants in Canada: Deconstructing Perceived Availability and Actual Use
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Natalie Mercer, Mathieu Saindon, David Scholtz
Flexible work arrangements (FWA) are increasingly widespread and have been recommended in various workplaces for more than a decade. Recent literature has highlighted the importance of deconstructing workplace flexibility into employee perceptions of the availability of FWA and the self-reported use of FWA as they can be associated with different aspects of well-being (e.g., Allen, Johnson, Kiburz & Shockely, 2013; Bal & De Lange, 2015). The current study examines the relationships between FWA availability and use (i.e., variable hours, compressed workweek, telework, reduced hours, and job sharing) and various facets of self-reported well-being using data from the Defence Workplace Well-being Survey (DWWS). The DWWS is based on an instrument that aligns with Canada’s national standard for psychological health and safety in the workplace (Ivey, Blanc, Michaud, & Dobreva-Martinova, 2018). It includes measures related to job resources and job demands as well as outcome measures that assess psychological health. Results from 4708 Canadian Department of National Defence public servants will be presented including the extent of perceived availability and use of FWA in relation to job resources (e.g., autonomy, organizational support), job demands (e.g., work-life conflict, psychological stress) as well as work outcomes (e.g., morale, engagement, burnout). Results will examine differences between specific types of FWA (e.g., flextime, flexplace, or reduced hours) and aspects of workplace well-being. Finally, FWA availability and use will be examined in more detail including potential moderators of relationships to better understand FWA and workplace well-being. Implications of deconstructed FWA in large, public organizations will be discussed.
Cultural Leadership and the Role of Women in the Museum and Cultural Sector in Qatar: Female Decision-making and Leadership in Cultural Heritage
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Dr catharina Hendrick
The topic of cultural leadership and the role women play in the museum and cultural sector, in Qatar and the region, is gaining importance and awareness, but, the role women play in shaping the development of museums is, in general, neglected in museum literature. The aim of my research project at UCL Qatar is to investigate the significant role women play in the museum and cultural sector in Qatar (such as in the governing bodies of Qatar Museums (QM) and Qatar Foundation (QF)). Thus, the leadership role women (both Qatari and non Qatari) play in the development of the museum and cultural sector in Qatar will be investigated. This paper will outline preliminary research findings from fieldwork to consider the ways women lead in cultural heritage institutions in Qatar, if there are different ways of working and in what ways do women play an active role in shaping and developing the museum and cultural sector in Qatar?
The “Human” Role in Matching Platforms
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rikiya Tsuchihashi, Kazuyuki Kozawa
Matching platforms such as Airbnb and Uber have become widely accepted in modern society. The role of matching platforms is to reduce transaction costs for users, implying that platforms that most effectively reduce transaction costs can gain a competitive advantage. To reduce costs, platforms invest in technology such as recommendation systems, reviews and ratings, and search tools. Although prior research has stressed the importance of reducing transaction costs, how to achieve this reduction has not been fully examined. Moreover, existing research does not account for the surge of artificial intelligence and the human role. From a qualitative case study on the Japanese logistics industry, we reveal the advantage of direct human intervention in matching platforms. In the early 2000s, due to the advancement of information technology, more than 40 Vehicle-Cargo matching platforms emerged in the Japanese logistics industry. These platforms match “return truck” and cargos. Although most platforms utilizing a “Bulletin Board” interface to match return truck and cargos have failed, platforms with a “visible hand” have succeeded, reflecting the strength of direct employee involvement in the search, negotiation, and coordination process. We find three factors behind the strength of the “visible hands” strategy compared to the “invisible hands” strategy: acceptance of ambiguities, reduction of complexities, and, reliability. For early-stage enterprises, we find that a “visible hands” strategy may reduce transaction costs. This proposal contributes to platform strategy by shedding light on new sources of competitive advantage.
