Research and practice in HRM: A historical perspective

The field of Human Resource Management began, formally, in the early days of the 20th century. At the outset, research and practice in the field were virtually synonymous, and there were clear links between the two. But there seems to be consensus that research and practice have diverged over recent decades and there have been numerous papers that have pointed this out, and which have also suggested ways to bring the two sides into better alignment. The present paper joins the ranks of those who have noted this divergence, but we also propose a model of the forces leading to that divergence that deal with forces operating on both researchers and managers. This analysis results in some different conclusions about the nature of the divergence, as well as suggestions for how to bring the two sides back together.     

A hybrid multi-attribute decision-making procedure for ranking project proposals: A historical data perspective

This paper develops a hybrid multiattribute decision-making methodology for ranking project proposals (PPs) through a judicious usage of historical data of completed projects to determine attribute weights, enabling elimination of problems associated with projected data such as cost and schedule overruns of real-world projects. The weights generated from data envelopment analysis are explicitly utilized for ranking PPs while allowing subjectivity to be ingeniously incorporated into the decision process. The new approach is implemented for ranking 25 PPs, and the rankings it yields are found indifferent to the decision maker's attitude, which ascertains the robustness of the ranking methodology.     

User knowledge transformation through design: A historical materialism perspective

Through observation of an accounting system development project, this study examines how user knowledge of work, organization, and information system is transformed. The study employs the framework of historical materialism to explicate the interplay of knowledge and material conditions. The findings suggest that contradictions within the material condition, both in the resulting designs and in relations between users and developers, engender crises and trigger alteration of existing knowledge, and that new knowledge is created and validated through negotiating and specifying material designs. Knowledge transformation is shown to be historical in that knowledge is based on material condition at a certain moment and therefore is subject to change due to contradictions in the material condition. Therefore, often knowledge is transformed only partially as users and developers settle on a design to replicate existing practices with new features designed for different practices, producing contradictions for further transformation. The historical interplay of knowledge and material conditions paints a holistic picture of knowledge transformation through information system design.     

A relational perspective to knowledge creation: Role of servant leadership

Knowledge creation is a dynamic activity where new ideas and meanings are created through coaction and interactive relationships. However, due to overemphasis on competitive spirit and individualistic orientation, knowledge organizations ignore the significance of people and relationships. Extending a relational perspective, this article proposes a model of servant leadership for facilitating knowledge creation through sharing leadership responsibilities with followers resulting in mutual influence and direction, and inculcating caring relationships. It ensures greater exchange of ideas, experiences, and expertise between servant leaders and followers that result in the generation of new knowledge. By constructing this model we have explained various processes with several propositions showing relationships between servant leadership and shared leadership, shared leadership and knowledge creation, servant leadership and caring relationships, and caring relationships and knowledge creation.     

Varieties of agents in agent-based computational economics: A historical and an interdisciplinary perspective

In this paper, we trace four origins of agent-based computational economics (ACE), namely, the markets origin, the cellular-automata origin, the tournaments origin, and the experiments origin. Along with this trace, we examine how these origins have motivated different concepts and designs of agents in ACE, which starts from the early work on simple programmed agents, randomly behaving agents, zero-intelligence agents, human-written programmed agents, autonomous agents, and empirically calibrated agents, and extends to the newly developing cognitive agents, psychological agents, and culturally sensitive agents. The review also shows that the intellectual ideas underlying these varieties of agents cross several disciplines, which may be considered as a part of a general attempt to study humans (and their behavior) with an integrated interdisciplinary foundation.     

The road to foreign language competency in the United States: A leadership perspective

A prevailing thought regarding foreign language competency (FLC) is that it can lead to an advantaged workforce by improving performance, especially in service‐oriented professions. This prevailing thought is logical, considering banking, hospitality and tourism, social services, sales, and health care industries. Foreign language teachers, training and development professionals, workforce education professionals, and government agencies (e.g., the military) all play a leading role in the effort to improve FLC in segments of the U.S. workforce. Workplace learning and performance (WLP) establishes the framework for companies that can quantitatively demonstrate that having a foreign‐language‐competent staff will increase performance and company profits (or value for the nonprofit sector). Leadership competencies guide the function of workplace foreign language training and development and has a direct impact on the success of achieving workplace FLC. In addition, scenarios demonstrating how a foreign‐language‐competent staff might improve overall company performance are explored. Methods of conducting appropriate assessments prior to implementing a workplace foreign language training and development program are addressed.     

Rules for a lender of last resort: An historical perspective

The Federal Reserve was established in 1913 to be a lender of last resort. Paul Warburg, its principal architect had in mind that a U.S. central bank would follow Bagehot׳s strictures ‘to lend freely at a penalty rate’ in the face of a scramble for high powered money. Yet the Federal Reserve Act never spelled out how the Fed was supposed to act as an LLR. This omission came to the fore in the Great Contraction 1929 to 1933 when the Fed failed to prevent four banking panics which turned a serious recession into the Great Contraction. Reforms in the 1930s corrected some of the Fed׳s failures but clamped down on financial activity for 40 years. The financial crisis problem returned in the 1970s with financial liberalization. The Fed abandoned Bagehot׳s strictures and adopted the ‘Too big to fail’ doctrine and ‘creative ambiguity’. This policy shift contributed to moral hazard and created new threats to financial stability with the rise of the ‘shadow banking system’. The subprime mortgage crisis prompted the Fed to take unprecedented LLR activities which have opened up a Pandora׳s box of perils. The Fed has moved away from rules based policy in its LLR function.     

A historical perspective on diversity ideologies in the United States: Reflections on human resource management research and practice

We examine diversity ideologies in the United States across four distinct eras: White supremacy/sanctioned exclusion of racioethnic minorities before the 1960s, the equal opportunity–Civil Rights era of the 1960s, the diversity management/multiculturalism era of the 1980s and 90s, and today's inclusion/post-race era. Our examination provides insight into how changes in societal beliefs and attitudes about non-dominant racioethnic groups and their status and incorporation into society have influenced the trajectory of diversity practice and research. Based on a content analysis of HRM articles published on diversity from 2000 to 2011 and demographic trends, we speculate on the next era of diversity in HRM.     

A social institutionalist perspective on HR diffusion: historical and cultural receptivity to HRM in a post-communist context

This research considers cross-national diffusion of international human resource management (IHRM) ideas and practices by applying an emergent frame of sociological conceptualisation – ‘social institutionalism’ (SI). We look at cultural filters to patterns of diffusion, assimilation and adoption of IHRM, using Romania as a case study. The paper considers the former Communist system of employment relations, suggesting that through institutionalisation former ways of thinking have a residual influence on definitions and practice of people management in post-Communist Eastern Europe. The paper provides a new perspective on HRM by discussing the value of SI as a general model for understanding cross-cultural receptivity to HR ideas, sensitising the HR practitioner and academic to institutionalised culture as a historical legacy influencing absorption of international management ideas.     

A computational model of communication for reducing linguistic opacity based on the language-action perspective

This paper presents a communication model based on the language-action perspective aiming at reducing what is called linguistic opacity. In particular, the focus is on mechanisms supporting the maintenance of the contexts against which the interpretation of conversations occurs. The mechanisms are based on a communication model where two types of conversations are considered: conversations for action and conversations for possibility. They are used for negotiating commitments that shape the work arrangements in relation to the actions to be performed (the operational context) and the organizational space of possibility for future actions (the organizational context). The proposed computational model takes into account the dynamics of knowledge creation and sharing by describing how conversations modify the operational and organizational context as well as the partial views of them shaped by different actors.     

Socio‐demographic factors and shared leadership behaviors in dispersed teams: Implications for human resource management

Companies increasingly make use of geographically dispersed teams to capture knowledge residing at different locations. In this context, shared leadership is considered a key enabler of team performance. Taking a functional perspective on shared leadership, we thus investigate the relationship between shared leadership behaviors and team performance in dispersed teams. Furthermore, we analyze how socio‐demographic factors that are characteristic for dispersed teams (i.e., high female‐to‐male ratio, high mean age, and high levels of national diversity) affect shared leadership behaviors. Based on data from 96 dispersed teams, we show that shared leadership behavior fosters team performance. Further, we find the socio‐demographic characteristics typical for dispersed teams to foster shared leadership. Theoretical and managerial implications for human resource management are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Modeling undecided voters to forecast elections: From bandwagon behavior and the spiral of silence perspective

Forecasting election results has been a highly attractive activity among political and social scientists. Different forecasting methods have been proposed, but those based on public opinion polls are the most common. However, there are challenges to using opinion polls, especially because they neglect undecided voters. Due to the significant number of undecided participants and their impact on voting outcomes, we analyze the potential behavior of undecided voters by considering opinion polls and sentiment based on voter expectation from the perspective of the bandwagon effect and the spiral of silence. We establish a hierarchical Bayesian forecasting model to predict voting results, and apply it to the 2016 United States presidential election and the 2016 Brexit referendum. The results of our model suggest that voting outcomes are more predictable when fully utilizing the impact of undecided voters. The results indicate that integrating aggregated polls into the hierarchical Bayesian framework is a strong predictor for forecasting outcomes, and they provide evidence for the influence of sentiment based on voter expectation in forecasting election results.     

Pervasive myths in leadership development: Unpacking constraints on leadership learning

Forty years ago, the questions most discussed among those who cared about leadership were “is leadership possible among those who don't have titles and positions?”; “what are the characteristics possessed by effective leaders?”; and “how do we find the people who are the best leaders and help them prepare for positions that will allow them to have an impact?” After many conversations, conferences, research studies, and books, the terrain has shifted among scholars. Now the conversations focus on questions such as “If leadership is a shared responsibility among members of groups, how can the full leadership potential of all be cultivated?”; “What role do collaborators play in empowering positive leadership and defending against those who misuse it?”; and “How can organizations cultivate cultures that support and encourage visionary leadership dedicated to benefitting all?” The shift in the questions that leadership educators now explore, coupled with the breadth and variety of the initiatives dedicated to nurturing it, demonstrate that leadership can be taught. More importantly, the practice of leadership demonstrates that many can pursue leadership and that they must if the opportunities of the 21st century are to be fulfilled. The conversations and the needs for leadership have both shifted and it is now incumbent on those who value leadership most to agree to unifying perspectives that can draw us together in common purpose. From your vantage point, what are the crucial conversations, next steps, and/or thoughts for consideration as we enter the second decade of the 21st century?     

Team personality composition,emergent leadership and shared leadership in virtual teams: A theoretical framework

Limited theory and research has been devoted to the role of team personality composition, as well as emergent and shared leadership, in virtual teams. In an effort to provide a theoretical basis for the role of team personality composition, as well as emergent and shared leadership, in virtual teams, we propose a virtual team framework that portrays the team personality composition as predictors of emergent and shared leadership. These in turn are expected to impact virtual team performance. We further posit that the relationships between team personality composition and virtual team performance are indirect, through emergent leadership and shared leadership. Finally, we present team virtuality as a moderator between team composition and team processes. Suggestions for future research and implications for the management of virtual teams are presented.     

Intercultural and sustainable leadership: A professional program for emerging educational leaders

This research reports on an investigation into the changing perspectives of educational leaders from the Asia‐Pacific region attending an AusAID‐funded Australian Leadership Award Fellowships (ALAF) program hosted by Australian Catholic University's (ACU National) Flagship for Creative and Authentic Leadership (the Flagship). The ALAF program aimed to strengthen the capacity of educational leaders from the Asia‐Pacific region to work more effectively in education systems and to better manage the competing demands of governments, education bureaucracies, educational organizations, and funding agencies. The research focused on how the Fellows viewed leadership, and how they viewed themselves as leaders before and at the conclusion of the program. What emerged was a growing interest in intercultural leadership and the concern for sustainable leadership.     

Motivational bases for managing diversity: A model of leadership commitment

Given the limited effectiveness of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action programs in promoting minorities in the U.S., the onus to advance women and minority groups may depend on the voluntary efforts from corporate America. In this paper, we apply a general theory of commitment to help explain why top executives may be committed to managing diversity in organizations. We propose that top executive commitment can stem from instrumental, normative, or affective bases. Specifically, top executives may be motivated because of utility maximization, a moral obligation, or a personal desire to be associated with a program of social importance and/or to leave a positive legacy. We further explore the implications of the three motivational bases of top executive commitment to managing diversity on firm diversity outcomes, and we offer some propositions which can serve as a basis for future research.