Redefining Local Government Roles In Public Services

County officials in the seven-county metropolitan area of the State of Minnesota's Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul were seeking to redefine county roles in service delivery. This article reports on a process model that was piloted on two services. The model was commissioned by officials; was based upon and informed by literature and comparative experience; began with an examination of functions performed; involved participants in focusing the study; was context-focused; and involved local stakeholders in projecting the implications of alternative county roles. These characteristics complicated the research management process because the process took more time, involved more actors, and required more coordination than traditional research. However, having stakeholders identify alternatives and bring factual material to the process was critical to the success of the model and including the comparative and contextual research both strengthened the policy conclusions and improved the probability of their adoption and implementation. A case of a Minnesota county that followed the model in an effort to reform water governance within the county illustrated adoption of the approach. The stakeholder analysis process was previously applied in Africa, China and Southeast Asia and the model should be applicable to a wide range of settings and problems.     

Unwrapping the HRM bundle: HR system design in an Irish power utility

This article considers the way in which new HR systems were designed for three power stations within Ireland. The study provides insights into how choices are made about which practices are included in or excluded from the HR bundle and considers the factors that can lead to or prevent the successful implementation of new HR systems. The research suggests that all HR practices are not necessarily of equal importance in the bundle that comprises an HR system. Instead, it may be useful to view such a system as comprising both core and ancillary HR practices and as dependent on the existence of appropriate HR processes if it is to operate successfully. In addition, the study suggests that new HR systems may fail because insufficient attention is paid to the impact of ‘deadly combinations’ (Becker et al., 1997 Becker, B., Huselid, M., Pickus, P. and Spratt, M. 1997. HR as a Source of Shareholder Value. Human Resource Management, 36(1): 389–447.  [Google Scholar]) and that changing an existing system will require the elimination of old practices before new practices can be introduced successfully.     

The HR department's contribution to line managers' effective implementation of HR practices

The implementation of human resource (HR) practices (HRPs) is increasingly regarded as a cornerstone in the achievement of overall HRM effectiveness. This article addresses the role of the HR department in contributing to line managers' (LMs) effective implementation of HRPs. It does so by comparing the actions of HR departments in both effective and ineffective implementation processes in different firms. Its findings reveal that HR departments can make a difference by taking initiatives that foster LMs' implementation abilities, motivation and opportunities, such as deploying in‐the‐field HR specialists, framing practices in appealing ways, involving LMs in the development of HRPs and seeking CEO support, among others. By fleshing out these HR initiatives and linking them to the AMO framework, we build an inductive model that offers a more nuanced view of what HR departments can do to have their proposals effectively implemented by LMs.     

美国地方政府破产制度探析

本文从历史沿革、基本程序、破产成因、局限性角度研究了美国地方政府破产制度,对底特律破产事件进行了典型案例分析,并就中国建立地方政府破产制度的必要性和可行性进行了初步探讨。本文认为,建立中国地方政府破产制度有其必要性和紧迫性,但盲目和简单引入国外地方政府破产制度存在风险,需在相关制度完善之后再考虑建立和推行。     

The role of HR managers in international mergers and acquisitions: a multiple case study

The article departs from the existing research treatment of expatriation as an individual-level phenomenon, and looks at the expatriation of work teams. We examine the performance management of expatriate teams brought in from 17 independent organizations to work on a new-product development project. We find that the teams faced diverse stakeholder expectations and that these stakeholders' expectations were a source of tension for the teams. The teams responded by adopting performance management strategies that tended to prioritize their respective home organizations' expectations. We discuss the vulnerability of contextual performance and the relative insignificance of national cultural differences in this expatriation context. We propose practical considerations and an agenda for further international human resource management (IHRM) research on expatriate teams.     

Local Government Management

In the United Kingdom (UK), the Labour Government is seeking to achieve fundamental change in the way local authorities are led and managed. To this end, it has introduced political and managerial reforms, central to which is the concept of ‘best value’. This new agenda, to which local authorities must respond, builds upon the changes which resulted from the Conservative era 1979–1997. Although Labour has abolished the centrepiece of Conservative policy towards local government, i.e. compulsory competitive tendering (CCT), Labour shares the belief of successive Conservative governments that local authorities must radically improve the way services are delivered. This article considers the nature of the changed local government environment in the UK, including the role, policy and service provision debates which have occurred in local government. It provides a conceptual framework within which to consider the degree of change which has occurred in local authority management. A typology of responses to change and a model by which past and future change may be gauged are suggested.     

HR flexibility and firm performance: analysis of a multi-level causal model

Human resource flexibility as a construct, how it develops, and its effect on firm performance have not received adequate attention in strategic HRM literature in spite of their obvious importance in today's dynamic competitive environment. Based on a study of 98 manufacturing and 103 service firms in India, this paper addresses these issues by developing and testing a multi-level model that attempts to explore the ‘black box’ of the interlinkages between the various components of HR flexibility and firm-level human, operational, and financial outcomes. The results suggest that a certain set of ambidextrous HR practices constitute a distinct dimension of HR flexibility, beyond the dimensions of flexibilities of skill, behaviour and HR practices as already identified in the existing literature. Evidences from both manufacturing and service sectors support the notion of HR value chain that suggests that HR system has a direct impact on firm-level HR outcomes which are most proximal, and its effects on increasingly more distal operational and financial outcomes are mediated by HR outcomes that it produces. Another important finding is that HR practices as a system have both direct and indirect (mediated by behavioural flexibility) effects on firm-level HR outcomes. Existence of significant direct effects highlights the important role that HR practices play as a structural mechanism in achieving superior firm performance.     

地方政府与工业园的发展

本文结合规范研究与实证研究,运用经济学理论系统的分析了地方政府大力发展工业园的动机,以及由此产生的经济后果。研究发现,政绩冲动和财政压力是地方政府竞相发展工业园区的动力所在,政府推动下的工业园发展具有极大地经济效益,但同时也存在着一系列弊端。     

地方政府培育自主品牌的战略动机内需求因素的分析

通过对相关文献的梳理,总结学者的各种观点,整理出地方政府培育自主品牌的内部刺激因素有:增加地方财政收入、改善本地投资环境、发展地方优势产业、加快地方企业发展、提高辖区居民生活水平等。     

Balancing Interests in the Search for Occupational Legitimacy: The HR Professionalization Project in Canada

Despite broad debates surrounding how the human resource management occupation can increase its legitimacy, researchers have yet to examine the collective steps HR practitioners are taking in this regard and the extent to which they have been successful. We conduct a case study of the HR professionalization project in Canada via multisource qualitative and quantitative data, which we analyze using a unique integration of the trait and control models from the sociology of professions, as well as isomorphism from institutional theory. Viewed through the lens of these frameworks, we find that HR practitioners are attempting to emulate traits that define traditional notions of professions, and are aspiring to transcendent values associated with balancing the sometimes conflicting interests of employers and employees. Objective data from external stakeholders and institutions show that these collective strategies have been somewhat successful in garnering greater legitimacy thus far, particularly when comparisons are made with the HR professional project in the United States. We highlight numerous implications for future research and practice surrounding the legitimacy of the HR profession. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

基于角色的HR从业人员的培训研究

现代人力资源管理在企业管理中起着无可替代的重要作用,提高HR从业人员培训的有效性也是企业日益重视的话题。在HR从业人员目前的培训仍存在诸多问题的现状下,本文引入了社会心理学中的角色理论,通过分析HR从业人员的"角色丛",确定关键核心能力,构建基于角色的培训体系。     

HR Professional Role Tensions: Perceptions and Responses of the Top Management Team

The aims of the research are to explore evidence of professional human resource management (HRM) role tensions, the factors that affect HRM role tension, and to consider the impact on management perceptions when role tensions exist. Using a qualitative approach, 25 interviews were conducted in Australia with senior HRM personnel, top management team (TMT) executives, and a management consultant. Findings reveal that the failure of the HRM profession to attract people with a business focus increases HRM role tensions. Respondents report that tensions were reduced when aspects of the HRM role were devolved or outsourced, there was an acceptance of a changed psychological contract, and clearer attempts were made to communicate an agreed‐upon strategic focus for HRM. HRM role bias led to a reduced willingness among TMT members to respect, and communicate with, HRM professionals. The implications of the negative outcomes of HR role tensions are discussed with reference to the power of the HRM function. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

HR practices,organizational climate and employee outcomes: evaluating social exchange relationships in local government

This paper reports the findings of a study conducted on UK local government workers in which the effects of social and negative exchanges on work-related attitudes and behaviours were assessed. HR practices and organizational climate were used as measures of social exchange. Negative exchanges were based on measures capturing non-supportive management practice and unfair treatment. The findings suggest that, consistent with social exchange theory, positive exchanges lead to enhanced worker attitude and behaviour, with negative exchanges leading to increased work-related stress, reduced motivation and a greater propensity to quit. Negative exchanges, however, did not result in reduced discretionary behaviour. Disaggregating the exchange practices revealed equitable rewards and organizational morale had consistent effects on worker attitudes and behaviours, with team working, employee involvement and trust in managers having significant effects on employee motivation. The implications of these findings are considered in the concluding section of the paper.     

辽宁新型城镇化进程中地方政府行为分析

随着辽宁沿海经济带开发开放上升为国家战略,沈阳经济区被确定为新型工业化综合配套改革试验区,但政府职能的缺位、越位和错位现象必然决定了辽宁新型城镇化的健康有序发展急需进行政府职能的正确定位、归位和正位,本文在阐述城镇化内涵的基础上,分析了在辽宁城镇化进程中存在的主要问题及成因。进而提出了在城镇化进程中地方政府行为优化的策略。     

浅析我国地方政府债务风险管理问题

本文归纳总结了我国地方政府债务形式、债务活动过程以及我国地方政府债务形成原因,从而提出化解我国地方政府债务风险的几点建议。     

生态文明背景下的地方政府行为研究

十七大报告首次提出要建设社会主义生态文明,各地纷纷开始了生态文明建设,一些地方取得了举世瞩目的成就。在生态文明的建设过程中,地方政府起到了关键作用。但是,如何发挥地方政府的引领作用却是一个有待研究的课题。本文从生态文明建设的长效机制入手研究地方政府应该如何作为,以期对生态文明建设提供理论支撑。     

What role do HR practitioners play in developing countries: an exploratory study in an Indonesian organization undergoing major transformation

In spite of the abundance of research on HRM in developing countries, there is a dearth of knowledge of what human resource (HR) practitioners actually do in developing countries. With the aid of Conner and Ulrich's widely reported framework for HR roles, we investigated the roles played by HR practitioners in a state-owned oil and gas company with a workforce of 15,000 employees. The study was based on a survey of 140 HR and line managers in the company. The main finding of the study is that even in a developing country such as Indonesia, Conner and Ulrich's (1996) model of HR roles has some validity. Our findings indicate that all the four roles are practised by HR practitioners in the company. The finding lends support to similar studies in the USA (Wright, McMahan, Snell and Gerhart 2001; Simpkins 2005), the UK (Caldwell 2003), Denmark (Lemmergaard 2009), Finland (Antila 2006) and Lithuania (Zuzeviciute and Margarita 2010). Another significant feature of the study is the revelation that HR practitioners play more strategic roles than operational roles. This is entirely unexpected. The theoretical/research and practical implications of the findings have also been discussed.     

Comparing and explaining HR department effectiveness assessments: evidence from line managers and trade union representatives

We compare and explain effectiveness assessments of two HR stakeholders: line managers and trade union representatives. We examine whether they have the same preferences regarding the roles the HR department has to fulfil (Ulrich 1997). Next, we test which strong HRM system characteristics (Bowen and Ostroff 2004) are decisive in determining the perceived effectiveness of the HR department in the preferential roles. With these analyses we examine whether the HR roles and strong HRM system characteristics are equally important to different stakeholders. Results show that the perceived effectiveness of the HR department in its operational roles is decisive in trade union representatives' general HR effectiveness assessment. For line managers, process-oriented roles are crucial. Next, if the HR department scores high on strong HRM system characteristics, it is perceived as more effective in its HR roles. Yet, the importance of specific HRM system characteristics depends on the role and stakeholder.     

重庆地方政府竞争与民营化的关系研究

近来许多学者开始运用地方政府竞争理论研究地区经济问题,有学者已论证地方政府竞争对国企民营化的促进作用。基于此,文中对重庆市地方政府竞争与民营化关系作实证研究,分析其相关情况,从而找到一条促进其经济发展的道路。首先描述了重庆市地方政府竞争及民营化的状况,并通过相关分析法及Granger因果分析法对它们进行实证研究,最后得出结论,并提出政策建议。