Utilizing DMAIC method to optimize law enforcement official willingness to respond to disasters: an exploratory study

PurposeThe purpose of this case study is to develop a lean six sigma (LSS) define–measure–analyze–improve–control (DMAIC) procedure to optimize the willingness to respond (WTR) of Louisiana-based law enforcement officials (LEO) to disasters.Design/methodology/approachVarious LSS tools were used to implement DMAIC to clearly define the problem of WTR, measure the self-reported WTR through a survey, perform statistical analysis on the measured data to identify significant variables to WTR, brainstorm issues and improvements with stakeholders, develop mitigation strategies, implement a pilot solution survey and develop control measures.FindingsLouisiana LEO showed an average of 73.9% of WTR to all disasters. Seven significant variables influenced WTR, which are prior experience, transportation, duty to organization, risk to self, conflicting roles, training and incentive pay. The results from pilot solutions showed that utilizing incentive pay, adequate training and personal protective equipment (PPE) increased WTR from 0.5% up to 16%.Originality/valueThis study developed and validated a unique procedure to improve LEO WTR to disasters, providing a set of DMAIC tools and concepts that can be used by other emergency response agencies. This research was performed during the COVID-19 pandemic and after Hurricane Laura impacted Louisiana.

The Efficiency Costs of Dividend Taxation with Managerial Firms*

The paper provides a positive and efficiency analysis of dividend taxation in a corporate agency model with a costly managerial effort. Unlike existing (agency) models, this model is consistent with empirical work in corporate finance and able to predict empirically observed investment responses to dividend taxation. In addition, we show that investment changes are not sufficient to infer, first, the efficiency cost of dividend taxation and, second, the financing regime underlying firms’ investments. We provide a testable implication that allows to empirically uncover the source of investment finance by comparing investment responses to dividend taxes and managerial incentive pay.

Paying for Whose Performance? Teacher Incentive Pay and the Black–White Test Score Gap

Teacher performance pay is often introduced with the goal of reducing gaps in test scores across groups, yet little is known about how well they achieve this aim. We ask, “Do test score-based teacher incentives impact the Black–White test score gap?” Using student–teacher matched data and a difference-in-differences approach in which the performance of a teacher’s students before and after the policy is compared, we find that performance pay increases the conditional Black–White gap. The effect is particularly evident when bonuses are large, consistent with a causal response to performance pay.

The Robot Revolution: Managerial and Employment Consequences for Firms

As a new general-purpose technology, robots have the potential to radically transform employment and organizations. In contrast to prior studies that predict dramatic employment declines, we find that investments in robotics are associated with increases in total firm employment but decreases in the total number of managers. Similarly, we find that robots are associated with an increase in the span of control for supervisors remaining within the organization. We also provide evidence that robot adoption is not motivated by the desire to reduce labor costs but is instead related to improving product and service quality. Our findings are consistent with the notion that robots reduce variance in production processes, diminishing the need for managers to monitor worker activities to ensure production quality. As additional evidence, we also find that robot investments predict improved performance measurement and increased adoption of incentive pay based on individual employee performance. With respect to changes in skill composition within the organization, robots predict decreases in employment for middle-skilled workers but increases in employment for low- and high-skilled workers. We also find that robots predict not only changes in employment but also corresponding adaptations in organizational structure. Robot investments are associated with both centralization and decentralization of decision-making authority depending on the task, but decision rights in either case are reassigned away from the managerial level of the hierarchy. Overall, our results suggest that robots have distinct and profound effects on employment and organizations that require fundamental changes in firm practices and organizational design. This paper was accepted by Lamar Pierce, organizations.

The Impact of Shareholder Litigation Risk on Equity Incentives: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment

While prior studies generally support that equity-based compensation induces CEOs to manipulate financial reporting, there is limited direct empirical evidence on whether financial misreporting concerns affect compensation design. A key challenge for establishing a causal relationship is that misreporting incentives and compensation policies are often endogenously determined. Exploiting the exogenous reduction in litigation threat following a 1999 ruling of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, we examine how heightened misreporting concerns in a less litigious environment affect CEOs' compensation design. Consistent with the theoretical prediction that misreporting concerns prevent companies from providing more powerful incentive pay that is otherwise optimal, we find that firms headquartered in Ninth Circuit states decreased CEOs' equity portfolio vega relative to the control firms after the ruling. We further document that this reduction was concentrated among firms facing greater misreporting concerns post-ruling.

“Doing the ‘Real’ Work”: How Superintendents’ Sensemaking Shapes Principal Evaluation Policies and Practices in School Districts

Almost every state in the United States has revamped its principal evaluation policies since 2009, yet we know little about how they are implemented. Based on interviews and document analysis in 21 small- and medium-sized school districts, we found that superintendents’ sensemaking shaped their implementation of policy. Drawing on their beliefs about principals and evaluation and their understanding of their district context, superintendents in lower performing districts reported that they complied with the processes specified in state principal evaluation policies but strayed from state guidelines regarding maintaining a focus on instructional leadership during evaluation. In contrast, superintendents of higher performing districts reported that they implemented evaluation processes loosely but adhered to their state’s policy emphasis on instructional leadership. Our findings raise questions about whether the implementation of principal evaluation policies disadvantages principals in lower performing districts. We thus caution against attaching high-stakes consequences such as incentive pay or sanctions to these policies.

The influence of national culture on the compensation system in selected countries

The escalating pace of globalization affects the increased need of organizations to develop effective compensation programs. Business cannot be imagined without one of the key things and that is human resources. Creative and productive employees are of great importance for the success of any organization. For the satisfaction and loyalty of employees, the compensation system, which consists of basic pay, incentive pay, and benefits, is of key importance. The goal of the compensation system is to simultaneously ensure the main goals of employees and employers, i.e. the purchasing power and satisfaction of employees, as well as the business success of the company. In times of crisis, determining the amount of basic pay, selecting adequate incentives, and offering various benefits became especially important. The aim of this paper is to present the basic elements of the compensation system in twenty countries around the world and to analyze the impact of national culture on the compensation system. The paper will present the following dimensions of national culture according to Hofstede's classification: distance from power, individualism versus collectivism, male versus female cultures, avoidance of uncertainty, long-term versus short-term orientation, compliant versus restrained cultures. The analysis included twenty countries around the world, which are grouped as follows: the first 8 countries are members of the EU, the other 6 countries are located in the CEE region and the last 6 countries represent very important countries around the world. The paper determines the influence of the dimensions of national culture on the compensation system in selected countries from the European Union, the region of Central and Eastern Europe, and other countries, the paper is the basis for further research in this area.