Contribution to the Assessment of the Quality of Life at Work: a Case Study

Following a steady increase in the frequency and intensity of stress factors, caused by specific management practices that affect both workers’ health and the company’s efficiency, the notion of quality of life at work (QWL) has emerged. Thus, the need to reduce risk and provide a safe working environment is a fundamental business management principle. Henceforth, the meaning of work plays a crucial role in building a sense of doing the job well. However, to create a healthy, attractive and productive workplace, it is not enough to avoid creating suffering conditions at work. However, it is also necessary to develop the quality of working life by increasing workers’ well-being and productivity. Consequently, quality of work-life (QWL) within the company plays a vital role in maximizing production, employee’s well-being and motivation, a good brand image in the national and international market, and even improving the economic performance of the company. This work studied the quality of life at the company “Danone” taken as our study case. In this work, we try to understand the link between a good quality of working life and the company’s performance.

Executive Compensation and Relative Performance Evaluation Relationship Analysis

The research objective is to verify if the variable compensation of executives is established based on the relative performance evaluation, based on their abilities, or if there is the so-called "lucky payment", in which they are benefited or harmed by oscillations that affect the entire market. The literature shows that variable remuneration is characterized as one of the main mechanisms to align interests between investors and executives. In Brazil, there is evidence of a relationship between variable remuneration and managers' performance, but a gap to be filled consists of identifying whether or not such remuneration disregards the systematic component of performance, linked to movements and shocks that affect the entire sector. The sample comprises the listed companies listed in B3, except those operating in regulated segments, such as financial institutions and public utilities. The period of analysis comprises the years 2010 to 2015, where the information on remuneration is now disclosed through the Reference Form. After self-selection control, because of companies that filed injunctions to avoid disclosure of executive compensation, evidence indicates that executives are usually paid "by luck." Only when the market performs negatively and the executive performs above it is that relative performance employed. The research assists in a better understanding of the remuneration policy of Brazilian organizations, complementing other research on the temporal aspect and the comparison of the peers' performances in the sectors.

Do the Manager's Personal Features Influence the Verbal Tone Used in Conference Calls?

The objective of this study is to evaluate whether managers’ tone of voice of Brazilian companies that publish the results in the presentation phase of the conference call is influenced by the personal characteristics of these agents. A total of 10 Brazilian companies were traded on the New York Stock Exchange (ADR) between 2002 and 2016, which made voluntary disclosure. The sample was limited to the companies with negotiations in North American market, that make the voluntary disclosure of the results by the necessity of the availability of the conference calls in English. To calculate the tone of voice, the dictionary developed by Loughran and McDonald (2011) was used. The tone was calculated based on the conference calls of quarterly disclosure of the results of the companies and related to the characteristics of the managers like gender, position and academic formation. The results verified in the Brazilian companies confirm the same ones found in international surveys, which find evidences that the personal characteristics influence the tone of voice used in the phase of presentation of the conference calls, controlling other factors like the performance of the company.

The Effects of Workload, Work Control and SelfEfficacy in Decision Making on Decision Making Styles

The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of self-efficacy in decision making between the relationship of workload, work control and decision-making styles. Although the decision-making process seems basically the same for every individual, it is different for each individual in terms of content. The reason for this is the methods used by individuals in making decisions and their approach to problems are different. The data was gathered from 252 government officials, chiefs, branch managers and heads of the departments of the Republic of Turkey. The data was analysed with structural equation model. The results indicate that there was a negative relationship between the level of workload and vigilant decision-making style, and a positive relationship with buck-passing, procrastination, and hypervigilance decision making styles. On the other hand, a positive relationship between work control and vigilance decision-making style, and a negative relationship between buck-passing, procrastination and hypervigilance decision-making styles were observed. At the same time, there was a negative relationship between workload and self-efficacy in decision-making, yet a positive relationship was found with work control. In addition, a full mediating role in the relationship between workload in decision-making self-efficacy, work control, vigilant, buck-passing, and procrastination decision-making styles; a partial mediating role was found in the relationship between workload and hyper vigilant decision-making style in work control were found separately. The results were interpreted with the light of literature and lead to develop practical suggestions for managers and employees.