“Killing them with kindness”? A study of service employees' responses to uncivil customers

Experiencing uncivil customers is a frequent reality for many people working in the service industry. Past research has established that dealing with uncivil customers can be distressing for employees and can sometimes lead them to engage in reciprocal, discourteous behavior. The purpose of our research is to delve deeper into the experience of customer incivility from the perspective of service employees in order to better understand the various ways in which they respond to customer incivility. We conducted 64 interviews with service employees across an array of occupations and developed a typology of responses to customer incivility. These responses fell into four categories based on the extent to which service employees' actions were intended to promote social harmony (and therefore could broadly be considered civil or uncivil), as well as their perceived agency in the situation. We describe how each response was associated with different interpersonal and intrapersonal consequences and explain the implications of our typology for management theory and practice.     

Intra- and interspecific differences of 10 barley and 10 tomato cultivars in response to short-time UV-B radiation: A study analysing thermoluminescence, fluorescence, gas-exchange and biochemical parameters

The impact of UV-B radiation on 10 genotypically different barley and tomato cultivars was tested in a predictive study to screen for potentially UV-tolerant accessions and to analyze underlying mechanisms for UV-B sensitivity. Plant response was analyzed by measuring thermoluminescence, fluorescence, gas exchange and antioxidant status. Generally, barley cultivars proved to be much more sensitive against UV-B radiation than tomato cultivars. Statistical cluster analysis could resolve two barley groups with distinct differences in reaction patterns. The UV-B sensitive group showed a stronger loss in PSII photochemistry and a lower gas-exchange performance and regulation after UV-B radiation compared to the more tolerant group. The results indicate that photosynthetic light and dark reactions have to play optimally in concert to render plants more tolerant against UV-B radiation. Hence, measuring thermoluminescence/fluorescence and gas exchange in parallel will have much higher potential in identifying tolerant cultivars and will help to understand the underlying mechanisms.     

Making resources work more efficiently – the importance of supply chain partnerships

State and federal governments in Australia have implemented a range of assistance programs for manufacturing industries to become more resource efficient and reduce waste. While many of these programs focus on Cleaner Production at single sites, an increasing number of assistance programs are offered across supply chains. Sustainability Victoria, a Victorian government authority, supports projects that focus on resource efficiencies across supply chains in key industry sectors.In this study, tools were adapted and utilised to identify efficiency potentials and losses across supply chains in the timber furniture manufacturing and the food industry sector. In this respect, waste generation and value loss due to inefficient use of critical materials within the processes were estimated from purchase and waste handling data. Primary companies were chosen to undertake efficiency trials that could demonstrate value gain across the supply chain.This study describes the realisation of greater efficiencies in material usage when engaging proactively with supply chain partners immediately adjacent to the primary company. Demonstration trials confirmed that through a more integrated approach among supply chain partners the potential in using materials more efficiently and design processes can lead to enhanced productivity without compromising environmental burden. Hence, the study describes targeted resource efficiency, recycling and process optimisation opportunities as identified in the supply chain trials on timber furniture manufacturing and food industries.     

A tool for safety officers investigating “simple” accidents

Most workplace accidents that happen in enterprises are simple and seldom result in serious injuries. Very often these kinds of workplace accidents are not investigated, and if they are, then the investigation is very brief, with comments such as that it was the victim’s own fault or just an unfortunate situation which could not be helped. Most prevention analysis and investigation methods focus on high risks, such as explosion, fire, and lack of containment for chemicals.In the industrial world, such risks do give rise to disasters, albeit very seldom. Nevertheless, the fact is that simpler accidents normally caused by apparent banalities occur much more frequently and with a higher rate of fatalities, disablements and other serious injuries than the ostensibly most dangerous kinds of accidents.In 1999 a practical tool for use by safety officers was developed; this tool is based on the investigation methods applied in major accidents, but comprises a simpler and more user-friendly presentation. The tool involves three steps: Mapping the facts, analysing the events, and developing preventive solutions. Practical application of the tool has shown that it affords managers and workers a heightened insight into the cause of accidents, including those that seemed to be unavoidable, and that simple workplace accidents always have root causes on which preventive action can be focused. The problem is however that making a proper analysis is difficult and requires appropriate training, even in cases where the accidents seem to be very simple.     

Just Add Water and the Colorado River Still Reaches the Sea

A recent article in Environmental Management by All argued that flood flows in North America’s Colorado River do not reach the Gulf of California because they are captured and evaporated in Laguna Salada, a below sea-level lakebed near the mouth of the river. We refute this hypothesis by showing that (1) due to its limited area, the Laguna Salada could have evaporated less than 10% of the flood flows that have occurred since 1989; (2) low flow volumes preferentially flow to the Gulf rather than Laguna Salada; (3) All’s method for detecting water surface area in the Laguna Salada appears to be flawed because Landsat Thematic Mapper images of the lakebed show it to be dry when All’s analyses said it was flooded; (4) direct measurements of salinity at the mouth of the river and in the Upper Gulf of California during flood flows in 1993 and 1998 confirm that flood waters reach the sea; and (5) stable oxygen isotope signatures in clam shells and fish otoliths recorded the dilution of seawater with fresh water during the 1993 and 1998 flows. Furthermore, All’s conclusion that freshwater flows do not benefit the ecology of the marine zone is incorrect because the peer-reviewed literature shows that postlarval larval shrimp populations increase during floods, and the subsequent year’s shrimp harvest increases. Furthermore, freshwater flows increase the nursery area for Gulf corvina (Cynoscion othonopterus), an important commercial fish that requires estuarine habitats with salinities in the range of 26–38‰ during its natal stages. Although flood flows are now much diminished compared to the pre-dam era, they are still important to the remnant wetland and riparian habitats of the Colorado River delta and to organisms in the intertidal and marine zone. Only a small fraction of the flood flows are evaporated in Laguna Salada.     

Fetal arthrogryposis multiplex congenita/fetal akinesia deformation sequence (FADS)—Aetiology,diagnosis, and management

Arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) refers to an aetiologically heterogenous condition, which consists of joint contractures affecting two or more joints starting prenatally. The incidence is approximately one in 3000 live births; however, the prenatal incidence is higher, indicating a high intrauterine mortality. Over 320 genes have been implicated showing the genetic heterogeneity of the condition. AMC can be of extrinsic aetiology resulting from intrauterine crowding secondary to congenital structural uterine abnormalities (eg, bicornuate or septate uterus), uterine tumors (eg, fibroid), or multifetal pregnancy or intrinsic/primary/fetal aetiology, due to functional abnormalities in the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, neuromuscular junction, muscles, bones, restrictive dermopathies, tendons and joints. Unlike many of the intrinsic/primary/fetal causes which are difficult to treat, secondary AMC can be treated by physiotherapy with good response. Primary cases may present prenatally with fetal akinesia associated with joint contractures and occasionally brain abnormalities, decreased muscle bulk, polyhydramnios, and nonvertex presentation while the secondary cases usually present with isolated contractures. Complete prenatal and postnatal investigations are needed to identify an underlying aetiology and provide information regarding its prognosis and inheritance, which is critical for the obstetrical care providers and families to optimize the pregnancy management and address future reproductive plans.     

Planning for ex situ conservation in the face of uncertainty

Ex situ conservation strategies for threatened species often require long‐term commitment and financial investment to achieve management objectives. We present a framework that considers the decision to adopt ex situ management for a target species as the end point of several linked decisions. We used a decision tree to intuitively represent the logical sequence of decision making. The first decision is to identify the specific management actions most likely to achieve the fundamental objectives of the recovery plan, with or without the use of ex‐situ populations. Once this decision has been made, one decides whether to establish an ex situ population, accounting for the probability of success in the initial phase of the recovery plan, for example, the probability of successful breeding in captivity. Approaching these decisions in the reverse order (attempting to establish an ex situ population before its purpose is clearly defined) can lead to a poor allocation of resources, because it may restrict the range of available decisions in the second stage. We applied our decision framework to the recovery program for the threatened spotted tree frog (Litoria spenceri) of southeastern Australia. Across a range of possible management actions, only those including ex situ management were expected to provide >50% probability of the species’ persistence, but these actions cost more than use of in situ alternatives only. The expected benefits of ex situ actions were predicted to be offset by additional uncertainty and stochasticity associated with establishing and maintaining ex situ populations. Naïvely implementing ex situ conservation strategies can lead to inefficient management. Our framework may help managers explicitly evaluate objectives, management options, and the probability of success prior to establishing a captive colony of any given species.