Copyright (c) 2009 University of Pennsylvania All rights reserved. http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers Recent documents in Organizational Dynamics Working Papers en-us Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:34:41 PDT 3600 http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers/6 http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers/6 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:42:50 PST Graduate academic institutions in the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Scotland were identified via online searches that offered coaching courses for which one earns a grade and are part of a graduate degree; coaching courses for which one earns a grade and that contribute to a graduate certificate but are not part of a degree; coaching courses for which there is no grade but that contribute to a certificate of attendance; and coaching applications and delivery services. Results indicated that there were no academic programs in New Zealand; 17 coaching programs were being offered at universities in Australia; 21 in Canada; 52 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Scotland; and 124 in the United States. While all offered Master's level coaching and the UK offered three Doctoral programs, most academic coaching was being used as a development service rather than as academic coursework. Follow-up recommendations were made to support the continued engagement and building of the academic coaching community through this web system. Larry Starr http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers/5 http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers/5 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:41:16 PDT Systems diagnoses have been effectively used to understand many complex organizational systems within healthcare, government, military, and global corporate enterprises. Systems methodologies have been effectively used to change the direction and improve the outcomes of complex organizational systems. We feel that framing cardiac arrest survival as a systems problem and applying a systems methodology is innovative, practical, and essential if we are to make significant and sustainable impact. Larry M. Starr http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers/4 http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers/4 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:08:15 PDT Samuel Zell's acquisition of the Tribune Company in December 2007 using an S corporation employee stock ownership plan (S ESOP) brought S ESOPs to national attention. An S ESOP is a trust that holds shares of an S corporation (a closely held corporation whose shareholders are taxed on a pass-through basis similarly to partners in a partnership) for the benefit of the corporation's employees. S ESOPs, which have only existed since 1998 are not as well known as C ESOPs, an ESOP that holds shares of a C corporation (a separately taxed corporation). Enron, Polaroid and United Airlines, all of which had ESOPs when they went bankrupt, were C corporations.Perhaps because they have only existed for ten years, little academic attention has focused on S ESOPs. In this paper we draw on the extensive existing employee ownership literature to describe the benefits and costs to employees, to firms and to society at large from the legislation that authorizes S ESOPs, and, where possible, we quantify these costs and benefits. We estimate that annual contributions to S ESOPs on behalf of employees total $14 billion, which represent additional compensation that would not have been paid without an ESOP. Annual gains attributable to increased job stability also save employees approximately $3 billion annually. Accumulated stakes, which are essentially forced savings and usually do not displace other savings, lead to additional annual accruals of $34 billion. Employers pay for ESOP contributions out of firm-level productivity and sales gains of $33 billion annually attributable to employee ownership. We estimate that one quarter of the annual gain, $8 billion ultimately goes to the federal treasury, which thereby also benefits from the adoption of S ESOPs. Steven F. Freeman http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers/3 http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers/3 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 08:19:29 PDT The number and scope of programs of organizational and executive coaching has dramatically increased over the past 15 years. An unknown number of private and professional consulting companies offer proprietary or standardized workshops, classes, and coaching services. A growing number of academic institutions in the United States and Canada offer or have plans to offer "coaching programs" packaged or delivered as educational workshops; graduate courses; post-baccalaureate and/or graduate certificates; degree programs or graduate concentrations within degree programs; and as direct coaching service to enhance personal and professional development for students, faculty, and members of the academic administration. Academic coaching programs are located in many areas within a university including within schools or departments of psychology, business, education, public policy, and human resources. A single institution may have multiple yet autonomous coaching programs or offerings. This results in separate and often inconsistent policies and standards by those who establish and deliver the programs, confusion or miscommunication by those who buy the programs, and little interaction between program managers within a single institution, as well as between institutions. Kimberly A. Perry http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers/2 http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers/2 Wed, 10 Jan 2007 11:10:01 PST An important, but little reported development in US business has been increasing numbers of employees with ownership rights in the corporation with an increasingly large economic value. Most comes through Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), which were established in 1974 partly as a response to anticipated shortfalls in Social Security, but also with the hope of invigorating the economy and distributing the benefits of capitalism more widely through broad-based business ownership. Experience and research indicate that ESOPs and employee ownership more generally do accomplish these aims, but large knowledge gaps remain. Research does confirm that individual employee-owners benefit from ESOPs. Equity comes on top of, not in place of, other compensation. Employee ownership is also associated with considerably greater employment stability and, in firms that simultaneously increase worker participation in decision making, the result is increased job satisfaction, organizational commitment, identification, motivation, and workplace participation. High profile cases accentuate potential risks through lack of diversification, but most employee-owners are less vulnerable than counterparts. Research confirms also that employee ownership, on average, leads to increased firm productivity, profitability, and longevity. Evidence suggests that combining employee ownership with increased employee participation may generate astounding returns on investment. Little is known, however, about management of employee owned firms and few projects even attempt to justify societal claims. Economists, managers, and financiers remain skeptical of employee ownership, and few studies directly counter their concerns. Problems associated with employee ownership go unstudied. For all the extent and appeal of employee ownership, it is on the fringe of both social consciousness and the academic literature. Employee ownership is one of the few issues on which the political left and right can agree, and is thereby capable of attracting strong support across the US political spectrum. Recent concerns about social security solvency suggest further inducements to widening ESOPs. Given this opportunity, increased knowledge can help promote employee ownership, help ensure its wise adoption and successful implementation, and intelligently influence public policy. Steven F. Freeman http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers/1 http://repository.upenn.edu/od_working_papers/1 Thu, 06 Jul 2006 12:57:15 PDT The medical standard of care when confronted with sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is to follow the "Chain of Survival" by engaging in early access, early CPR, early defibrillation and early advanced life support (ALS). Particularly in the occupational setting, each of these actions has been identified as critical to support the patient while awaiting assistance and transportation from the community Emergency Medical Service (EMS). However, I present here a broader argument that restricting one's thinking to a conception that the "likelihood that a victim will survive cardiac arrest increases if each of the elements is addressed" is inadequate and misleading. Moreover, continuing to focus primarily on these individual elements is unlikely to solve to any significant degree the complex problem of our vulnerability to death from SCA. This paper presents an overview of this argument, offers an alternative conceptualization, and proposes ideas and actions that follow from its logic. While specifically directed at the problem of survival following SCA, the argument presented also addresses wider problems associated with major medical emergencies and other disasters. Larry Starr