Managerial telework allowance decisions – a vignette study among German managers

Managers play an important role in the implementation of telework in organizations since they frequently have final approval over employees' requests for telework arrangements. Drawing upon March's (1994) dual-logic theory of decision making, the study examines antecedents of managers' responses to employees' requests for telework. Using a vignette study with a balanced experimental design, we investigated the impact of person-related, task-related and organizational context factors on managerial telework allowance decisions in German organizations. Several person- and task-related factors were found to be significantly related to managers' telework allowance decisions. Organizational context factors, such as a family-supportive organizational culture and formal policies were found to either directly or indirectly influence managers' responses to employees' requests for telework. More specifically, formal telework policies were important in stimulating favorable managerial telework allowance decisions when applicant criticality was low and the organizational culture was family-unsupportive. In line with March's (1994) theory of decision making, the study shows that utility maximization is only one perspective of decision making which managers apply to telework allowance decisions. Rule following and considerations of appropriateness are also taken into account by managers when deciding upon employees' telework requests.     

A Confucian perspective on conflict resolution

Chinese business managers, in general, have been portrayed as valuing harmony and peace and having a tendency to avoid confrontation for fear of disturbing relationships involving mutual dependence. This is held to be a reflection of traditional Confucian cultural values.

This paper is an exploratory study which attempts to establish the relationship between the traditional, Confucian cultural values and the modes of conflict resolution preferred by Chinese business managers. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument was employed in this study to describe the preferred conflict resolution modes of Chinese business managers. The results show that compromising tend to be the most preferred conflict resolution mode of Chinese business managers because of the latter's predominantly humanistic, Confucian self-concept.

However, other modes, that is, collaborating, competing, avoiding and accommodating, are also being employed by Chinese business managers as a strategic and political variation of that Confucian self-concept.     

The moderating effect of organizational change cynicism on middle manager strategy commitment

This paper focuses on middle managers as key actors in organizational strategizing. Through an empirical study we explore some of the barriers to effective implementation of strategic change initiatives. This research is motivated by the recognition that to understand strategizing in organizations we need to appreciate both when it is successful and when it is not, but that we still know little about the latter. To develop better insights into what lies behind the actions of strategists and to present implications for HR managers concerned about increasing the chance of successful change and reducing the prevalence of organizational change cynicism (OCC), we first explore antecedents to middle managers' strategy commitment. We examine perceptions of the workplace context, including procedural justice and senior management support for the strategy and middle managers' levels of strategy relevant knowledge, incorporating participation in decision-making and information available for implementation. We then investigate the moderated effect of OCC on middle managers' strategy commitment. Our study suggests that failure of a new strategy or strategic direction is due to the inability or resistance of individual employees to commit to a strategy and adopt the necessary behaviours to accomplish an organization's strategic objective.     

A note on the impact of the internal organization on the accuracy of the information transmitted within the firm

We investigate the incentives of sales managers to transmit information on demand conditions to headquarters under different organizational structures and its subsequent impact on firm performance. When headquarters determine quantities of production, sales managers' interests are aligned with that of the firm, and reliable information is transmitted. On the other hand, when the authority of decision making on quantities of production is delegated to sales managers, they prefer not to transmit reliable information; consequently, headquarters set transfer prices given poor information about demand. Due to such difference in the quality of the information available to headquarters, a centralized organizational structure frequently leads to the best performance.     

Competency modeling: A theoretical and empirical examination of the strategy dissemination process

One of the most important functions of a competency model is to translate organizational strategy into employee behavior. Yet, virtually no theoretical attempts to elucidate this process exist, and no empirical evidence has been offered demonstrating that it occurs. Drawing on the strategic management literature, we develop a conceptual framework delineating this process. We theorize that structurally distributed knowledge, attention, and behavior results in coalitions of individuals at different hierarchical levels (top managers vs employees) developing different dominant logics. These differences across levels in habituated modes of processing information and conceptualizing roles impact the initial importance assigned to competencies that are added to the model as an organization's strategy evolves. However, over time, competency models enable top managers to drive their dominant logic downward through the organization. As the importance of certain competencies is reinforced through performance management, schemata of high-performers shift, becoming better aligned with those of top managers'. Using data from focus groups, surveys, and archives collected at two points in time (6 years apart) capturing change in the strategy of an organization of professional jobs in the U.S. government (n = 218), results were supportive. We then use our model to generate an agenda of research questions and topics to enhance competency modeling scholarship.     

Harmony and organizational citizenship behavior in Chinese organizations

From the divergence perspective in human resource management (HRM), this paper develops an indigenous framework exploring the mechanisms between the prominent cultural characteristic of harmony originating from Confucian ideology, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as well as job satisfaction in the Chinese context. By employing structural equation modeling, our findings demonstrate that the degree of harmony is positively related to employees' OCB and job satisfaction, and that job satisfaction positively mediates the relationship between the degree of harmony and OCB. This research – that examines the relationships between Chinese harmony grounding in an art-based view and employees' display of OCB derived from Western theories – is a response to the recent calls for introducing valid context-specific measures and considering the cultural impact on individual behaviors in HRM. This study suggests that firms in China may encourage employee OCB and job satisfaction by boosting harmonious level at workplace. It provides a useful guideline for multinational enterprises eager to effectively manage Chinese employees, and enriches non-Chinese managers' understanding of the values of harmony in China.     

Human resource managers' role consistency and HR performance indicators: the moderating effect of interpersonal trust in Taiwan

This study explores the consistency between human resource (HR) managers' roles and HR performance indicators. In particular it considers the moderating effects of interpersonal trust on the relationship between HR managers' roles and HR performance indicators. We selected 116 HR managers from the top 500 manufacturing companies in Taiwan as our sample, and hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test our hypotheses. The results showed that the HR managers' roles were consistent with HR performance indicators. Also, a high level of affective trust weakened the positive relationship between HR manager roles and HR performance indicators. Thus we suggested that Chinese companies should design HR performance indicators according to the roles HR managers play. Additionally, when HR managers are playing the role of a strategic partner or change agent, top executives should avoid high affective trust with HR managers.     

The Indian perspective of strategic HR roles and organizational learning capability

This study focuses on the empirical analysis of strategic HR roles and organizational learning capability. Line and HR firm performance is further analysed. The sample size consisted of 640 managers in India. Standardized questionnaires were used as tools for the managers' perception of the two variables and their link to data collection. Statistical results indicate that correlation coefficients were mostly significant and positive for the variables and sub-variables of strategic HR roles and organizational learning capability. Discriminant functional analysis reflected that line and HR managers differed significantly in their perception of both variables. Stepwise regression analysis indicated that both the variables of strategic HR roles and organizational learning capability predict firm performance.     

Chinese managers' career success networks: the impact of key tie characteristics on structure and interaction practices

Structured personal interviews were conducted with 105 senior and mid-level Chinese male and female managers, in which each respondent provided information about their career success network (CSN) ties. Using this data, we tested hypotheses on: (1) the age composition of Chinese managers' CSNs; (2) the face-to-face interaction practices within Chinese managers' CSNs; and (3) the roles of tie sex composition and tie content (position-centred versus person-centred ties) in influencing the age composition of and interaction practices within Chinese managers' CSNs. The results demonstrated that both Chinese male and female managers, while generally preferring to form CSN ties with individuals who are older than themselves, are relatively more reluctant to include middle-aged or elder women in their CSN. The age of those included in the respondents' CSN was also influenced by tie content and whether the tie spans the organizational boundary. With respect to interaction practices within the CSN, tie content moderated the relationship between tie sex composition and interaction practice. Female managers' person-centred ties with men had significantly lower levels of interaction outside the workplace than person-centred ties composed of members of the same-sex. However, this difference was not exhibited in the case of position-centred ties. Interestingly, the reluctance to socialize with the opposite-sex exhibited by female managers did not appear to be shared by their male counterparts. The implications of these results for career success in China are discussed.     

Investigating Managers' Exploration and Exploitation Activities: The Influence of Top‐Down,Bottom‐Up,and Horizontal Knowledge Inflows*

abstract This paper develops and tests hypotheses on the influence of managers' knowledge inflows on managers' exploration and exploitation activities. Based on a survey among managers of a leading electronics firm, the findings indicate, as expected, that top‐down knowledge inflows of managers positively relate to the extent to which these managers conduct exploitation activities, while they do not relate to managers' exploration activities. Furthermore, as expected, bottom‐up and horizontal knowledge inflows of managers positively relate to these managers' exploration activities, while they do not relate to managers' exploitation activities. We contribute to current literature on exploration and exploitation by focusing on the manager level of analysis, and by adding the importance of knowledge flow configurations to studies which investigate the impact of organizational factors on exploration and exploitation.     

The performance effects of coaching: a multilevel analysis using hierarchical linear modeling

Drawing on the conceptual foundations of feedback and behavior modeling we investigate the effects of managers' coaching intensity on the performance of those they supervise, at multiple levels of an organizational hierarchy. Data from 328 sales associates reporting to 114 middle managers, and 93 middle managers reporting to 32 executive managers are used to test the research hypotheses. Using hierarchical linear modeling we find that managers' coaching intensity influences the performance of their subordinates after controlling for job satisfaction, and this effect weakens at greater hierarchical levels. Surprisingly, we do not observe any cross-level moderating effects of coaching intensity on the satisfaction–performance relationship. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research and practice.     

LINKING COGNITIVE, ORGANIZATIONAL AND POLITICAL FACTORS IN EXPLAINING STRATEGIC CHANGE

Much recent research on strategic decision-making and strategic change from many different perspectives challenges the view that decision outcomes are the product of rational choice. Allison's (1971) classification scheme is used to categorize recent strategic decision research within three different perspectives. Discussions of research on cognitive, organizational and political perspectives are followed by an integrative discussion showing how these three perspectives can be combined to deal with the full complexity of strategic decisions and the strategic change process.     

Organizational differences in managerial compensation and benefits in Chinese firms

More than two decades of economic reforms have brought profound changes in human resource management practices in both the state and non-state sectors in China. This study focuses on the impact of organizational factors on compensation and benefits for Chinese managers in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), publicly listed firms (PLFs), and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs). The empirical investigation of 465 firms located in three major Chinese cities, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou, provides evidence that organizational factors, such as ownership, firm size, firm age, location and industrial sector, have significant impacts on the variances in Chinese managers' compensation levels, compensation structures and benefits. The trends in the development of compensation and benefits for Chinese managers are also discussed as the Chinese economy moves closer to a more globalized, highly dynamic economy after China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001.     

Incentives,Capital Budgeting,and Organizational Structure

Divisional managers compete for financial resources in what is often referred to as an internal capital market. They also have a common interest in maximizing corporate profits, as this determines the resources available to the firm as a whole. Both goals are powerful motivators but can at times conflict: while the amount of resources available to the firm depends on corporate performance, divisional funding depends upon the division's performance relative to the rest. We propose a model in which organizational form is endogenous, divisions compete for corporate resources, and managers have implicit incentives. We show that organizational design can help companies influence their divisional managers' potentially conflicting goals. Our analysis relates the firm's organizational structure to the source of incentives (external vs. internal), the nature of the incentives (competition vs. cooperation), the level of corporate diversification, the development of the capital market, and to industry and firm characteristics.     

Antecedents and Employee Outcomes of Line Managers' Perceptions of Enabling HR Practices

To learn more about the role of line managers in the implementation of HR practices, we propose and test a model of line managers' perceptions of enabling HR practices on the one hand and employee outcomes on the other. In a field study of 89 line managers and 631 employees, we observed that the relationship between line managers' perceptions of enabling HR practices and employees' intrinsic motivation, affective organizational commitment, and turnover intention was mediated by employees' perceived supervisor support. Line managers' perceptions of enabling HR practices, in turn, were predicted by line managers' perceived quality of the HR training they received. Theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Promoting Effective Psychological Contracts Through Leadership: The Missing Link Between HR Strategy and Performance

This article offers line managers and HR professionals an actionable, research‐based framework for developing psychological contracts with employees that suit their organizational and human resource (HR) strategy. Leadership styles supporting the firm's HR strategy are key to making psychological contracts that benefit both the firm and its members. When managers' styles are out of sync with HR strategy, this mismatch can lead to poorer performance through ineffective and unfulfilled psychological contracts with workers.     

Management development practices: empirical evidence from Sri Lanka

Being a South Asian developing country, management development (MD) practices in Sri Lanka has received insufficient attention. The paper reports results of an empirical investigation of 219 managers and 78 human resource (HR) managers on MD practices in Sri Lanka. The study investigated different processes by which MD takes place in organizations, the nature of immediate senior managers' support for MD, the importance given to the HRM function in the organizational strategy and the HR managers' contribution to the organizational strategy on MD aspects. The research findings indicate more similar MD practices across the three forms of ownership – local, foreign and joint venture. The conclusions address the existing practice and implications.     

Strategic management under duopoly

The purpose of this paper is to present a general conjectural variation model to provide an integrative treatment of strategic management under duopoly. It is shown that the nature of the desired distortion of managers' incentives depends critically on the magnitudes of the managers' conjectural variations with respect to outputs as well as the owners' conjectural variations with respect to incentives. In particular, it has been demonstrated that when the owners' conjectural variations with respect to incentives are zero, the owners will motivate their managers to maximize profits and provide no incentives for sales under consistent conjectures. However, the owners make their managers behave more (less) aggressively and produce more (less) than profit-maximizers if the managers' conjectural variations with respect to outputs are larger (smaller) than the actual response.     

When do threats mobilize managers for organizational change toward sustainability? An environmental belief model

In pursuit of counteracting today's environmental problems, corporate management will have to implement organizational changes factoring in sustainability, which is why it is important to understand exactly what leads managers to initiate these changes. It has been established that managers' personal values are critical for their behavior and that threats to these values can mobilize managers to change their actions. However, when confronted with environment-related threats, managers may face value conflicts and various tensions between their aim to implement sustainable changes and their desire to fulfill business requirements of their job positions. Only recently have researchers begun to investigate the underlying beliefs that may lead managers to initiate organizational change toward sustainability. Borrowing theoretical assumptions from the domain of health psychology (from the well-established health belief model), the present conceptual article develops an environmental belief model that specifies when exactly threats lead managers to initiate organizational change. The environmental belief model proposes that environment-related threats trigger change (i) when managers believe that their firms are susceptible to these threats, (ii) the threats are considered as serious for the company, (iii) the perceived benefits of the change outperform (iv) the perceived barriers, and when there is (v) an external cue (e.g., an information campaign). All these propositions are supported with empirical findings from business contexts. Besides theoretical advancement on the role of environmental threats as precipitators of organizational change, the model provides guidance on how to frame environment-related threats that will mobilize managers for organizational change toward sustainability.     

The Effects of Personality Composition and Decision‐making Processes on Change Preferences of Self‐managing Teams

Team decision‐making on organizational and strategic changes is pervasive. Yet, little is known about determinants of teams' change preferences. We analyze how composition with respect to personality traits associated with (pro‐)active behavior (locus of control and type‐A/B behavior) influences self‐managing teams' preferences for the likelihood and magnitude of changes, and whether participative decision‐making and team monitoring as core features of group decision‐making counteract or reinforce change tendencies. Results from a business simulation with 42 teams largely support predictions. Stronger type‐A orientation increases the likelihood of (drastic) changes. Teams dominated by internal locus of control members are highly responsive to performance feedback in their change preferences. Participative decision‐making encourages, whereas team monitoring restricts tendencies towards extreme magnitudes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.