The questions we ask: Opportunities and challenges for using big data analytics to strategically manage human capital resources

Big data analytics have transformed research in many fields, including the business areas of marketing, accounting and finance, and supply chain management. Yet, the discussion surrounding big data analytics in human resource management has primarily focused on job candidate screenings. In this article, we consider how significant strategic human capital questions can be addressed with big data analytics, enabling HR to enhance overall firm performance. We also examine how new data sources that help assess workforce performance in real time can assist in the identification and development of the knowledge stars that contribute to firm performance disproportionately as well as help reinforce firm capabilities. But in order for big data analytics to be successful in the HR field, regulatory and ethical challenges must also be addressed; these include privacy concerns and, in Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We conclude by discussing how big data analytics can facilitate strategic change within HR and the organization as a whole.     

A strategic risk approach to knowledge management

In today's business environment, strong forces of competition and globalization have created an urgency to focus how an organization controls and nurtures its intellectual capital. The concept of knowledge and its management has gained currency and momentum as technology has enabled thoughts and ideas to be more easily generated and distributed. With increased application of technologies such as the Internet, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and advanced software capabilities, it has been suggested the time has come for discussion of a new paradigm for knowledge management. Toward that end, this article examines the knowledge literature and reviews the experience of a leading private healthcare group, with the objective of gaining a better understanding of the issues that confront effective knowledge management in contemporary organizations. Finally, a tentative knowledge process model is developed herein, one which is intended to guide future discussion in the ongoing knowledge debate.     

Integrating global mobility and global talent management: Exploring the challenges and strategic opportunities

Although global mobility represents an important element of many multinational enterprise's (MNEs) global talent management systems, the two areas of practice have largely been decoupled in research and practice. The current paper aims to build a dialog around the integration of these two important areas of practice and illustrate how the integration of global mobility and global talent management can contribute to the success of the MNE. Human capital and social capital theories are introduced as theoretical frames for the integration of the two areas and global talent pools and routines for managing global staffing flows are introduced as key organizational routines that can maximize the contribution of global mobility to the MNE. The paper also considers challenges and opportunities for the integration of mobility and talent and outlines some directions for future study.     

Integrating Religious Principles and Human Resource Management Activities

Many ethical problems faced by organizations concern human resource management. This paper shows how some religious principles can be integrated into a human resource management course. First, it presents a discussion of employee responsibilities and rights in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Next, it suggests how various principles can be applied to human resource management activities. Do to others as you would have them do to you is applied to equal opportunity. Thou shall not commit sexual impropriety (or in positive terms, respect and love) is the basis for no sexual harassment. Thou shall not steal (or in positive terms, deal fairly) is related to fair pay in exchange for excellent employee performance. Thou shall not lie (or in positive terms, be truthful) is needed for due process in employee disputes. Thou shall not kill (or in positive terms, respect life) is applied to employee safety and health, plus health care benefits. A list of potential readings is included for instructors to consider for their own courses.     

The market within: A marketing approach to creating and developing high-value employment relationships

In the battle for high-value talent, managers need to think like marketers, creating job offerings and employment relationships that provide mutual value for firms and their employees. This article provides a 3-stage framework for the application of marketing techniques to the recruitment and retention of high-value employees. In the first stage, the 4Ps of the marketing mix are used to create compelling job offerings that attract high-value employees. In the second stage, firms use relationship marketing concepts to build long-lasting employment relationships that create mutual value for the firm and its employees. The third stage involves the outcomes of high-value employment relationships, which include greater employee commitment and satisfaction, which then lead to greater employee advocacy of the firm and lower levels of employee turnover. The ultimate proposed outcomes of this approach are increased performance and stability of the firm.     

Employee brand engagement on social media: Managing optimism and commonality

This article considers how employees engage with B2B firms on social media, a topic that is largely overlooked in the extant brand engagement literature. Using the results from a large-scale study of employee brand engagement on social media, we identify two key drivers of employee brand engagement using the content analysis tool DICTION—namely, optimism and commonality. Employees of top-ranked and -rated firms express higher levels of optimism and commonality in their reviews of their employers on social media than do their counterparts in bottom-ranked and -rated firms. This permits the construction of a 2 × 2 matrix that allows managers to diagnose strategies for increasing or improving employee brand engagement. This creates four different kinds of employee brand engagement situations, and offers human resources and marketing managers different strategies in each case. We demonstrate how practitioners and scholars can shed new light on the way stakeholders engage with brands.     

Human resource management, ethical context, and personnel consequences: A commentary essay

In the Journal of Business Research, Koonmee, Singhapakdi, Virakul, and Lee (2010) empirically explore the notion that institutionalized ethics and quality of work life can be utilized in companies to prompt different positive work outcomes. This commentary essay considers the theoretical and practical contributions of this research, as well as the study's virtues and limitations, and offers several suggestions for future inquiry based on the findings. As a whole, the HR field should more fully consider how a variety of positive personnel consequences might be prompted from an ethical context developed through beneficial human resource management practices.     

Managing the transition to the new agile business and product development model: Lessons from Cisco Systems

Through an in-depth case study of Cisco Systems, this Executive Digest finds that companies face two broad challenges when transitioning to the agile product development model. The first is identifying and helping business units and engineering teams adopt this method; the second is developing new management practices that are compatible with and can sustain the agile development practices. Although extant literature has conducted many analyses on these two challenges, there still exist gaps in the research of the agile development method. Herein, we explore how Cisco Systems addressed these two challenges followed by a discussion of the broad implications of adopting the agile development method. This research deepens our understanding of how to adopt and lead the agile development process.     

The Concept and Application of Managerial Competence in Developed and Developing Economies: A Two Country Analysis

Abstract

This paper reviews the concept of managerial competence as applied in transportation management in developing and developed economies, using Boyatzis' (1982) model of effective job performance. Boyatzis postulated that effective performance of a job is the attainment of specific results or outcomes required by the job through specific actions while maintaining or being consistent with policies, procedures, and conditions of the organizational environment. Literature search and interviews with managers with extensive experience in Nigeria and the United Kingdom reveal that Boyatzis' constructs are valid within the developed economies. However, within the developing economies, it is found that modifications are required to accommodate cultural and socio-political realities and to match the skills of individuals with their current and future roles in an organization. The study also found that there are similarities in competency requirements between the two countries. It is concluded with a recommendation that management methods be adapted rather than adopted, via such strategies as the community concept approach which emphasizes, for example, on the job training with formal theoretical reinforcement at later stages, and that practical universality of management strategies may be a myth.     

Novelty and new firm performance: The case of employment systems in knowledge-intensive service organizations

This paper investigates a question at the core of entrepreneurship research: how does novelty affect new venture performance? We address this question for a type of factor-market innovation deemed critical in the contemporary economy: novelty in employment systems. Our longitudinal study of new firms in a knowledge-intensive service industry shows that the relationship between employment-system novelty and organizational productivity is curvilinear and U-shaped. We also find suggestive evidence that new firms with employment systems exhibiting discrepant degrees of novelty (i.e., combinations of highly conforming and highly novel practices) are less productive than those with coherent employment systems.     

A Word to the Wise: How Managers and Policy-Makers can Encourage Employees to Report Wrongdoing

When successful and ethical managers are alerted to possible organizational wrongdoing, they take corrective action before the problems become crises. However, recent research [e.g., Rynes et al. (2007, Academy of Management Journal 50(5), 987–1008)] indicates that many organizations fail to implement evidence-based practices (i.e., practices that are consistent with research findings), in many aspects of human resource management. In this paper, we draw from years of research on whistle-blowing by social scientists and legal scholars and offer concrete suggestions to managers who are interested in encouraging internal reporting of problems requiring attention, and to observers of questionable activity who are considering reporting it. We also identify ways that research suggests policy-makers can have a more positive influence. We hope that these suggestions will help foster evidence-based practice regarding whistle-blowing.     

Innovative ways of raising funds and adding value: A stakeholder approach to whole business securitization

Whole business (WB) securitization is a corporate fundraising strategy that allows companies to realize the full value of their operating assets in cooperation with their stakeholders. In a WB securitization, the company raises funds by issuing securitization bonds backed by its operating assets. A characteristic feature of this funding strategy is that it allows investors to impose operating conditions which obligate the company to develop its business strategy and operations. Hence, investors can influence the branding and customer service practices, as well as the stakeholder relationships of the company. Herein, we outline how managers of the securitized assets and investors can add value by adopting a stakeholder approach to whole business securitization.     

从人口“包袱”到人力资源的转变——对一个西部人口大省的经验分析

以西部人口大省四川为实证分析对象 ,在建立人力资源积累与配置经验模型的基础上 ,针对四川当前人力资源积累和配置中存在的问题 ,提出相应的政策建议 ,以期实现从人口“包袱”向人力资源的转变。     

Change in Asia: a review of management theory and research related to human resources

Many competing hypotheses have been advanced to account for human resource management (HRM) change. The present review examines the theoretical development and empirical study in HRM change in Asia in the early twenty-first century (2000–2006). Three research themes common to HRM change are discussed: (1) change context is about the issues of forces facilitating or hindering HRM change; (2) change process includes pace, sequence and magnitude of HRM change progress; and (3) change direction is about resultant change outcome. Comparisons of HRM change are made within Asian economies as well as between Asia and other regions. It is concluded that the interplay among different perspectives can produce a wide variety of more complex understanding of change context while a longitudinal approach can add value to explain dynamic process and resultant direction.     

Cultural influences on global firms' decisions to cut the strategic brand ties that bind: A commentary essay

Today's global firms face increasing pressure to protect their brand identity from encroachments of copycat brands that seek to benefit from associations firms have established in the minds of consumers. This essay is a commentary to the article “Marking your trade: cultural factors in the prolongation of trademarks” by Melnyk, Giarratana and Torres that raises several important issues warranting further attention by researchers. This essay comments on the paper's contributions, limitations, and opportunities contributing to future research about trademark practices and strategies. Furthermore, the essay suggests useful extensions relative to the more general strategic issue of prolongation or abandonment of intangible brand assets in global markets and the dynamic interface between firm-created and consumer-created brand meaning.     

Crisis leadership in economic recession: A three-barrier approach to offset external constraints

An economic recession is a type of crisis originated from external factors that may imperil an organization’s survival depending on the intensity and duration of the crisis. In peripheral European countries, such as Portugal, the recent financial crisis had devastating effects on various business activities. As a result, Portugal represents an important case study in examining how some corporate leaders have handled the economic recession successfully. I interviewed 20 corporate managers to capture their perceptions of the leadership traits and behaviors exhibited by their CEOs in guiding their companies through the recession. In economic recessions, negative constraints do not affect the most effective leaders, who instead erect barriers against the high-pressure conditions to create a supportive, positive work environment. In order to achieve maximum effectiveness, leaders must act as blocking agents against the negative social impacts of the economic crisis, including the fragility of trust in organizational life (i.e., a barrier against distrust), uncertainty of the future (i.e., a barrier against uncertainty), and toxic emotions (i.e., a barrier against toxic emotions).     

绩效管理与员工发展:一种发展心理学视角

绩效管理在当今人力资源管理乃至整个企业发展中占据着关键性地位，其目的是促进员工发展、实现组织目标。在发展心理学视野中考察绩效管理的概念、问题及趋势，尤其是在“最近发展区”理论的指导下，探讨绩效管理与员工发展间的关系，无疑具有独特的理论价值和实践意义。     

Value network dynamics in 3G–4G wireless communications: A systems thinking approach to strategic value assessment

This article develops a map to analyze the dynamic forces that influence the structure and development of 3G (third generation) wireless communications value networks. The analysis builds on the Strategic Value Assessment Model (Fine, et al. [Fine, Charles H., Vardan, Roger, Pethick, Robert, El Hout, Jamal. Rapid-Response Capability in value chain Design. MIT Sloan Manage Rev 2002, 43(Winter): 69–75.]) and utilizes a qualitative System Dynamics mapping approach. The map focuses on the driving forces affecting user adoption of 3G services, focusing on customer dynamics, competitive dynamics, and technology dynamics. To analyze adoption of 3G services by customers, the articles maps the dynamics of (1) network investment and user population, (2) entry of service innovators as well as price competitors, (3) the effects of positive network externalities arising from a larger user population, (4) price compression as lower willingness-to-pay users adopt 3G services, (5) scale economies in terminal costs and prices, and (6) new content development as a draw to new users. Applying inductive systems diagrams hypotheses are integrated into a causal loop map and tested with data collected at 15 communications-industry workshops attended by 190 participants in Europe. The map aims to deepen the understanding of the possible evolutionary paths of the 3G wireless value network. The article seeks also to assess which future scenarios are plausible and what dynamic triggers might make them likely.     

Entrepreneurial networks: A Triple Helix approach for brokering human and social capital

Through utilising currently available Internet technologies, academic and governmental organisations can provide seedling companies in their incubators with additional competitive advantage through efficient access to markets, partners, knowledge and services both locally and globally. This paper proposes a Triple Helix approach for brokering social and human capital based on the skills brokerage business model. The skills brokerage business model is primarily suited for individuals and firms operating in localised settings. However, by using information and communication technologies, it is also possible to apply the model internationally for firms that need strategic partnerships in countries or regions other than their own. Coupled with the Triple Helix of university–government–industry interactions, it can propel innovation and the commercialisation of it beyond traditional boundaries of geography, such as the region and nation state. The paper also presents an Internet-based service that could be used to facilitate the brokerage process among the firms and people with relevant expertise and resources, and it discusses the implications this would have for a number of stakeholders, such as entrepreneurs, established businesses, service providers and business support organisations. This is still an emerging area and several themes for future research will be highlighted.     

Ethics and HRM: A Review and Conceptual Analysis

This paper reviews and develops the ethical analysis of human resource management (HRM). Initially, the ethical perspective of HRM is differentiated from the "mainstrea" and critical perspectives of HRM. To date, the ethical analysis of HRM has taken one of two forms: the application Kantian and utilitarian ethical theories to the gestalt of HRM, and the application of theories of justice and fairness to specific HRM practices. This paper is concerned with the former, the ethical analysis of HRM in its entirety. It shows that numerous theoretical shortcomings exist, least of which is the disregard of stakeholder theory. These deficiencies are explored and, as such, the analysis is advanced. It is argued that such ethical analysis is outside the scope of the modern corporation. A third way in which ethics may be applied to HRM is suggested. Ethical concerns are used as a basis to develop minimum standards against which HRM, in its various guises and practice, may be evaluated. Yet, even when judged by these standards, HRM is seriously lacking. This begs the question, not of whether HRM is ethical, but of whether HRM can be ethical.