On the contribution to the alignment during an organizational change: Measurement of job satisfaction with working conditions

Introduction: Modern approaches to Occupational Health and Safety have acknowledged the important contribution that continuous improvements to working conditions can make to the motivation of employees, their subsequent performance, and therefore to the competitiveness of the company. Despite this fact, organizational change initiatives represent a path less traveled by employees. Specialized literature has drawn on the fact that employees’ satisfaction presents both the foundation and catalyst for effective implementation of improvements to working conditions. Method: This paper conceptualizes the alignment of employees through measurement of job satisfaction and uses the Bayesian Network to assess the influence of human factors, particularly the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects. Toward this aim, the Bayesian Network is evaluated through a cross-validation process, and a sensitivity analysis is then conducted for each influential dimension: emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. Results: The results reveal that these three dimensions are interrelated and have a direct influence on job satisfaction and employees’ alignment during the organization change. Further, they suggest that the best strategy for enhanced alignment and smooth conduct of organizational changes is simultaneous enhancement of the three dimensions. Practical applications: This study shows the influence of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions on job satisfaction and employees’ alignment during the organizational change. Furthermore, it elaborates the way to develop efficient and effective strategies for a successful change implementation and sustained alignment.     

Perceived organizational support and perceived safety climate from the perspective of safety professionals: Testing reciprocal causality using a cross-lagged panel design

Introduction: The objective of this study was to determine the reciprocal relationship between safety professionals perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived safety climate. Safety professionals are most effective when they perceive support from management and employees and they also attribute most of their success to support from the organization. Their work directly improves safety climate, and organizations with a high safety climate show a higher value for the safety professional. The causal direction of this relationship is, however, unclear. Method: Using a sample of 162 safety professionals, we conducted a cross-lagged panel study over one year to examine whether safety professionals’ POS improves their perceived safety climate and/or whether safety climate also increases POS over time. Data were collected at two points and, after testing for measurement invariance, a cross-lagged SEM was conducted to analyze the reciprocal relationship. Results: Our findings show that safety professionals’ POS was positively related to perceived safety climate over time. Perceived safety climate, however, did not contribute to safety professionals’ POS. Conclusions: This study significantly adds to the discussion about the factors influencing safety professionals’ successful inclusion in organizations, enabling them to perform their work and, thus, improve occupational safety. Practical Applications: Since safety climate increases in organizations in which safety professionals feel supported, this study points out the kind of support that contributes to improved organizational safety. Support for safety professionals may come in classical forms such as approval, pay, job enrichment, and information on or influence over organizational policies.     

江苏省设区市生态环境监测监控规划关键问题研究

生态环境监测是生态文明建设的重要支撑。在设区市级环境监测监控能力普遍较弱、生态环境保护压力巨大的双重背景下,编制设区市生态环境监测监控规划具有重要意义。在调查了江苏省部分设区市环境监测监控规划的基础上,总结了规划编制在监测监控网络建设、监测监控能力建设、质量管理、大数据应用建设、人才队伍建设等方面的主要内容,针对规划中普遍存在的组织架构不清晰、特色发展定位不明确、环境监测监控融合发展谋划不足、项目建设可行性论证不够等关键问题,提出应理顺组织架构、明确特色发展定位、加强环境监测监控一体化发展谋划、加强项目建设可行性论证等对策建议,以期为今后的规划编制工作提供相关借鉴。     

Role of information in collective action in dynamic disaster environments

This study explores the major issues facing collective response operations after destructive earthquakes. The small-n case study design employs qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the decision-making process in a context of seismic risk to exemplify how public managers can utilise information and communication systems to ensure collaborative actions in managing an extreme event. Fifty-eight semi-structured interviews with 39 key decision-makers and researchers and content analyses of daily reports from Cumhuriyet comprise the main data sources. The study compares and contrasts the Turkish disaster management system following the Marmara and Duzce earthquakes of 1999. It addresses whether the use of information and communication technologies significantly affected its performance. The study's findings reveal that difficulties in accessing and exchanging timely and accurate disaster-relevant information inhibited coordination during the Marmara response while increased communication functions improved coordination and search-and-rescue activities during the Duzce response.