scholarly journals ‘The petri dish and Russian roulette’: working in UK contact centres during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-208
Author(s):  
Phil Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Petri Dish ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Labour Process ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Contact Centre ◽  
Air Conditioning Systems ◽  
Building Occupancy ◽  
Epidemiological Characteristics

This article analyses the dynamic interaction of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease COVID-19, and its epidemiological characteristics, with an expansive conception of the contact centre labour process, integrating the contact centres’ socially-constructed built environment with distinctive qualities of the social organisation of work. Based on an online survey conducted in April–May 2020 of 2,226 call handlers in, largely, the telecoms and financial services sectors, it provides compelling evidence of the risks facing workers from inter alia dense building occupancy, compromised social distancing, inadequate cleansing and sanitisation, heating ventilation and air conditioning systems and from the outcomes of management control systems. A crucial element in explaining widespread virus transmissibility lies in understanding how the broader political economy that produced the dominant mass production contact centre paradigm is intertwined with its ‘inner workings’, leading to a ‘business-as-usual’ default that prioritised value-generating service continuity at the expense of any precautionary principle. The article contributes additionally by re-affirming the utility of labour process theory.

Reasons to switch: empowered vs less powerful bank customers

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1441-1461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanette Carlsson Hauff
Keyword(s):  
Service Provider ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Financial Institution ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Switching Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Switching

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the existing literature of driving and impeding switching factors by operationalizing the catalyst factor of perceived power among customers. Acknowledging the importance of trust in a financial context, a trust-based framework for the analysis is used. The study explicitly analyzes factors of importance for subsequent switching of banks for empowered customers (i.e. savers) and low-on-power customers (i.e. borrowers). Design/methodology/approach The study measures factors driving or impeding switch of service provider, together with measures of trust and power using online survey methods. The sample is intended to focus on savers and borrowers, defined quantitatively as well as perception wise. Through a multi-group SEM analysis, differences between the samples of savers and borrowers are analyzed. The dependent variable was in both cases inclination to switch. Findings The paper manages to define differences between empowered and less empowered customers, such as borrowers and savers. The mediating effect of trust prevails only for borrowers: here, the only effect on switching behavior stems from a full mediation of stability through trust. For savers, direct influences of both service failure and lack of involvement on trust are of major importance. The importance of trust, however, is lacking; for the sample of savers, the link between trust and switching behavior is insignificant. Practical implications The results may be used as a tool box in order to address consumer switching behavior and mobility in the financial services market. The biggest obstacle for switching banks among savers is the low level of involvement. This has clear implications regarding how to increase switching, e.g., by raising interest. Focusing instead on borrowers, stability of the chosen financial institution turned out to be the most important factor. Originality/value This paper introduces a view on consumer switching behavior, taking into account differences regarding service provider relations (empowered savers vs less empowered borrowers) and the importance of trust in these two settings. The paper introduces trust as a mediator between switching behavior and four determinants: stability, personal relations, service failure and internet-related issues, and involvement.

Svenska Handelsbanken: Controlling a Radically Decentralized Organization without Budgets

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Murray Lindsay ◽  
Theresa Libby
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Senior Executive ◽  
Nancy Cartwright ◽  
Model Of Management ◽  
Decentralized Model

Svenska Handelsbanken was the large national Swedish bank that provided the exemplar case for the idea that organizations could abandon budgets and operate successfully, or perhaps operate even more successfully, without them. In this case, Nancy Cartwright, a senior executive in a large Canadian financial services corporation, had just been introduced to the Handelsbanken case and the Beyond Budgeting idea. She was intrigued by the idea that companies could abandon budgets while implementing a new more decentralized model of management control. She wondered whether these ideas could work beyond Handelsbanken and, in particular, outside of Scandinavia.

scholarly journals Validation of An Instrument to Know the Use of Smart Devices in Air Conditioners and Their Improvement in Energy Efficiency: Case Study in Ecuador

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (04) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
Jorge Israel Anchundia-Santana ◽  
Julieta Evangelina Sánchez-Cano ◽  
Washington Garcia-Quilachamin ◽  
Evelyn Isabel Santana-Mantuano
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Air Conditioners ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Air Conditioning Systems

The constant growth of the world’s population has generated various changes in the use of the diversity of the resources provided to us by the planet. Considering that by properly managing energy in air conditioning systems correctly, it collaborates in the fight against climate change, reducing the excessive use of fossil fuels and, therefore, the emission of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, creating an environment of comfort in industrial sectors, businesses, companies, homes, among others. The objective of this research is to validate the instrument considering the information obtained about smart devices applied in air conditioning systems and their improvement in energy efficiency. The methodology applied consisted of a field study conducted through an online survey that was directed at 226 students and professionals from three provinces of the Republic of Ecuador. To validate the data obtained in the instrument, the exploratory factor analysis was performed also of the principal components in the last phase it was obtained in factor transformation matrix (0.986), which demonstrates the validity of the study. To apply the KMO test and Bartlett’s sphericity, the following ranges (≥0.6) y (<0.05) were considered respectively.

scholarly journals MANAGEMENT CONTROL AND MODERN DECENTRALIZED TECHNOLOGIES

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 98-102
Author(s):  
Petro Kutsyk ◽  
Kostiantyn Redchenko ◽  
Roman Voronko
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Management Control Systems ◽  
Smart Contracts ◽  
Monitoring And Control ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations ◽  
The Impact

Modern decentralized technologies, such as distributed registries, blockchain, smart contracts and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO), are becoming more popular every year. Therefore, the subject of our research, the results of which are presented in this article, is the processes of digitalization in the field of management control and key technologies that allow to organize an effective system of management control in a decentralized organization. The success of management control is determined not only by its ability to identify and correct undesirable deviations in a timely manner, but also by the presence of a special corporate culture based on trust and fairness. Moreover, a positive corporate culture reduces the need for a number of control procedures designed to compensate for the lack of trust within the company. This effect can also be seriously enhanced by modern digitalization technologies. The research methodology included a broad review of literature sources and a comparative analysis of modern concepts of decentralized management, as well as drawing conclusions about promising ways to evolve management control systems. The aim of the study is to identify the impact on management control systems of modern technologies such as blockchain, smart contracts and decentralized autonomous organizations. The authors summarized the experience of applying these technologies in management control systems, which are designed to ensure high individual and team performance to achieve the strategic goals of the company. The conclusion is that the blockchain-based decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) is changing the forms and methods of management control, increasing the role of collective decisions and opening the way for employee initiative. DAO can significantly reduce internal and external transaction costs, including costs associated with the management and operation of management control systems. Different procedures for approval, confirmation and verification, as well as the adoption of standard management decisions are unified and automated. Accordingly, the time and the total amount of effort spent by managers to perform routine actions related to monitoring and control of employees' actions is reduced. Decentralization of control also reduces the impact of administrative procedures and ensures a higher level of trust within the organization. The decentralized model of management control is relevant for various areas of business and management, but special prospects can be seen in the field of decentralized finance (DeFi), where a wide range of professional controllers and users can be involved in auditing smart contracts and identifying shortcomings in financial services.

Help me, I can’t afford it! Antecedents and consequence of risky indebtedness behaviour

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (9) ◽  
pp. 2223-2244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farah Diba M.A. Abrantes-Braga ◽  
Tânia Veludo-de-Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Credit Card ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Mediation Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Credit Access

Purpose This study aims to develop and test a parsimonious theoretical model of risky indebtedness behaviour, a facet of over-indebtedness that refers to the behavioural tendency of often assuming hazardous debt levels. Design/methodology/approach The authors administered an online survey to credit card owners (n = 1,288) in an emerging economy in which consumer credit is characterized by extremely high interest rates (i.e. Brazil). The authors used covariance-based structural equation modelling to analyse the data and test for mediation effects. Findings Individuals who inadvertently consider their credit limits a part of their current income or are typically anxious about money are prone to engage in impulsive buying and, consequently, risky indebtedness behaviour. By engaging in such indebtedness behaviour, individuals weaken their financial preparedness for emergencies, which potentially jeopardizes their overall financial well-being. Research limitations/implications As indebtedness is a highly sensitive issue, the self-report measures used may have produced social desirability bias. Practical implications This study discusses the responsibility of financial institutions to support consumers in building awareness on how to adequately use financial services and to provide credit access to high-risk consumers. Policymakers need to ensure that those in the private sector play fairly. Originality/value This study adds new knowledge about how destructive financial behaviours operate and impact marketing and consumers’ financial well-being. It theorizes about indebtedness by critically examining existing and newly developed concepts in the financial services marketing literature.

Management Control System Design and Employees' Autonomous Motivation

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 71-91
Author(s):  
Clara Xiaoling Chen ◽  
Jeremy B. Lill ◽  
Thomas W. Vance
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
System Design ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Autonomous Motivation ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Control System Design ◽  
Management Control System

ABSTRACT Using an online survey of 468 U.S. employees from diverse industries and professions, we provide empirical evidence that management control system design choices can affect autonomous motivation in employees. Drawing on self-determination theory and the levers of control framework, we predict and find that employee autonomous motivation is positively associated with the use of beliefs control systems and interactive control systems and negatively associated with the use of diagnostic control systems. Moreover, we find that the joint use of diagnostic and interactive controls is positively associated with autonomous motivation. We also find a positive association between employees' autonomous motivation and individual self-reported effort, job performance, and creativity. Additional analyses examine the sources of motivation behind these results, focusing on identified motivation. The theory and results of our study provide a potential explanation for the recent trend in practice of organizations increasingly emphasizing their values and higher purposes. Data Availability: Data are available upon request.

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