Research Highlights

How can you use the findings from the latest research studies to improve your performance and the performance of your organization?  We’ll provide the highlights and key ideas you won’t get anywhere else.

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Research shows that not all types of service firms are equally suited to automation.

The temptation for businesses to use artificial intelligence and other technology to improve performance, drive down labor costs, and better the bottom line is understandable. But before pursuing automation that could put the jobs of human employees at risk, it is essential that business owners take careful stock of their operations.”  That’s the conclusion of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute published in a special issue of the Journal of Service Management on “AI and Machine Learning in Service Management.”

The researchers go on to say, “AI has the potential to upend our ideas about what tasks are uniquely suited to humans, but poorly implemented or strategically inappropriate service automation can alienate customers, and that will hurt businesses in the long term.”

The choice to use automation or AI needs to be a strategic decision. If a business competes by offering a substantial amount of human interaction or has a range of service offerings that change from client to client, the company will have a lower success rate in replacing human professionals with AI technologies. On the other hand, businesses that limit customer choice and interaction will see greater success if they choose to automate.

Business leaders considering a switch to AI-based automation must carefully examine their strategies for managing knowledge resources. Before companies invest in AI, they need to understand whether replacing human judgment and interaction with digital technologies and algorithms is a strategically sound idea.

Like any form of knowledge, AI, and all forms of service automation have their place, but managers need good models to know where that place is.

Furthermore, the researchers determined that in businesses where trust and reputation are critical factors in building and maintaining a client base, people will be more likely to be effective than automated technologies. Conversely, in areas where human biases are particularly harmful to the service provision, AI will be a relatively better tool for companies to employ.

As a result, many businesses will ultimately be using a mix of people skills and automation to compete effectively. Even AI, which can handle very sophisticated tasks, typically works best alongside humans - and vice versa.

Therefore, automation and human workers can and should be used together, and the extent of automation must fit with the business’s strategic approach to customers.
References

- Journal of Service Management, March 22, 2020, “From automats to algorithms: the automation of services using artificial intelligence,” by Chris Meyer, et al.  ⓒ 2020 Emerald Publishing Limited.  All rights reserved.

To view or purchase this article, please visit:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JOSM-05-2019-0161/full/html

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“Toxic personality” is a term used to describe people who behave greedily, immodestly, and unfairly while taking the truth very lightly.  Researchers at the University of Bonn recently explained why such people can still succeed in their careers in the journal “Personality and Individual Differences.”

It’s because one of the critical factors that lead to the top is a social skill. Social skills are in themselves a good thing in the workplace. They can open locked doors and help us to cope with daily stress. But they can also be used to deceive others, abuse trust, or construct a facade of harmlessness beyond which lurks deceitfulness.  The research team determined that toxic personalities who are considered socially adept by their colleagues were considered more capable by their superiors and occupied a higher hierarchical position. That means we have to get used to the idea that social skills can be a double-edged sword.

In personality tests, “toxic” persons have low scores in the categories of “honesty” and “modesty.” And such personalities tend to focus on themselves all the time.  However, Good social skills enable them to deceive others.

On the other hand, those who are distinctly honest and modest are a real joy for their teams. And such individuals behave reasonably and allow colleagues to share in their successes.

The psychologists at the University of Bonn investigated the phenomenon by interviewing various work teams: First, the participants completed an anonymous online survey and assessed themselves on the characteristics of “honesty” and “modesty,” among others. Then colleagues provided information on the social skills of the participant. The participant’s supervisors then gave an appraisal of their work performance. The researchers were able to collect data from a total of 203, such as “trios” of employees, colleagues, and superiors.

The results showed that workers with low values for honesty and modesty could nonetheless succeed in their careers if they balance the toxic parts of their personality with trickery, disguise, and deception, which are the dark side of social skills.”

But how can companies and teams use these findings? To slow down the ascent of toxic personalities, more attention should be paid to actual performance and less to “good impressions” when selecting staff and making assessments.  This is particularly difficult in activities where it is essential to impress and arouse interest, such as in sales or leadership positions. Here, it makes sense to also look at the absenteeism and turnover rate of subordinates as well as customer loyalty associated with the possibly “toxic personality.”

References
- Personality and Individual Differences, April 2020, Vol. 156, “Why Dark Personalities Can Get Ahead: Extending the Toxic Career Model,” by Mareike Kholin, Bastian Kuckelhaus, Gerhard Blickle.  ⓒ 2020 Elsevier Ltd.  All rights reserved.

To view or purchase this article, please visit:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886919307317?via%3Dihub