The impact of diversity and equality management on firm performance: Beyond high performance work systems

This article demonstrates that a diversity and equality management system (DEMS) contributes to firm performance beyond the effects of a traditional high‐performance work system (HPWS), which consists of bundles of work practices and policies used extensively in high‐performing firms. A DEMS typically includes diversity training and monitoring recruitment, pay, and promotion across minority or other disadvantaged groups. Our analysis of quantitative data from service and manufacturing organizations in Ireland confirms that HPWS practices are associated with positive business performance and finds specifically that DEMS practices are positively associated with higher labor productivity and workforce innovation and lower voluntary employee turnover. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Absence management and the issues of job retention and return to work

Strategies aimed at facilitating the job retention and return to work of sick and injured workers are currently the subject of growing attention. In this article the authors examine the nature and potential significance of such strategies to absence management and utilise interview findings to shed light on current employer policies and practices relating to the management of long‐term absences. They conclude that at the national level a large proportion of working days lost through sickness absence stem from relatively long spells of absence and that the adoption of a proactive approach to supporting the return to work of ill and injured workers can have beneficial consequences. However, they further conclude that few organisations appear to have comprehensive arrangements in place to handle cases of long‐term absence. A number of areas where present employer arrangements could usefully be reviewed are therefore identified.     

A dialectical theory of the decision to go to work: Bringing together absenteeism and presenteeism

The decision to not attend work (absenteeism) has been the focus of a great deal of inquiry; however, research is emerging on the importance of the decision to attend work when ill (presenteeism). Interestingly, despite being the outcome of the same decision, these constructs have developed relatively independently. We argue that absenteeism and presenteeism are strategies employees use to navigate the dialectical tensions in the supervisor–subordinate relationship. Thus, understanding the nature of those tensions, their context, and the strategies employed to manage the tensions can inform employees' decision to attend work.     

The impact of management on the engagement and well-being of high emotional labour employees

Australia, like many other countries, suffers high turnover of nurses and police officers. Contributions to effectively manage the turnover challenge have been called for, and there are few Australian studies of nursing/policing turnover intentions. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of supervisor–subordinate relationships and perceived organisational support (POS) upon engagement, well-being, organisational commitment and turnover intentions. Second, we examined the similarities and differences between nursing and policing work contexts. The retention of nurses/police has been investigated from traditional management perspectives; however, we used a different theoretical approach – social exchange theory – and evaluated its utility as a framework. Findings are from Australian data collected during 2010–2011 from 510 nurses and 193 police officers, using a survey-based, self-report strategy. Partial least squares path modelling was used to analyse these data. Results indicated that for both samples, engagement predicts well-being and then, well-being predicts affective commitment and intentions to leave. MANOVA results suggested that nurses had significantly higher levels of satisfaction with their supervisor–subordinate relationships, POS, engagement, well-being and affective commitment than police officers. Only the intention to leave was similar for both groups. Given that turnover can be influenced by supervisors/management, this study provides new knowledge about targeted retention strategies.     

Catching up on competitors: how organizations can motivate employees to work harder

The paper is an attempt to explain why some organizations are more competitive than others in terms of their human resources. It establishes under what circumstances some employees exert extra effort beyond the level required to keep their job and to get promotion by exploring the role of motivational forces that may complement the calculative considerations as suggested by expectancy theory. In a multivariate analysis proxies for five motivational mechanisms were tested, based on need theory, positive work disposition, intrinsic motivation, behavioural commitment as implied by organizational roles and social exchange theory. It emerged that all of them make their own contribution to the explanation of extra work effort.     

Patterns of psychological contract and their relationships to employee well-being and in-role performance at work: longitudinal evidence from university employees

Abstract

This study identified patterns of psychological contract (PC) and examined how these patterns were related to employee well-being and in-role performance over time (T1–T3). PC was measured at T1 based on cross-sectional data and well-being and performance longitudinally in two consecutive years (T1?T3) among university employees. Latent profile analysis revealed six different patterns of PC at T1. These were labelled (1) strong and balanced (n = 131), (2) average and balanced (n = 382), (3) employer-focused (n = 79), (4) employee-focused (n = 59), (5) balanced transactional (n = 224) and (6) employee-focused relational (n = 322). The longitudinal findings showed that the employees in PC patterns 1 and 2 experienced more vigour at T1–T3 than those in pattern 5, while the employees in pattern 2 reported higher proficiency at work at T1–T2 than those in pattern 6. Employee job satisfaction did not vary between patterns. Altogether, the PC pattern that included many different obligations on the part of both employee and employer seemed to result in better employee well-being and in-role performance.     

Encouraging employees to co-operate: the effects of sponsored training and promotion practices on employees' willingness to work overtime

The ‘mutual-investment’ model argues that when employers invest more in the social exchange relationship between them and their employees, their employees will show more effort. In this paper we relate the ‘mutual-investment’ model to training and promotion (possibilities) and examine if these kinds of career-enhancing measures influence the willingness of employees within organizations to work overtime. To test this hypothesis, a vignette experiment was conducted in five organizations (N = 388; 1,531 vignettes). Multilevel analyses show that employees are more willing to work overtime when their employer has provided for training, when the employee recently was promoted, when the supervisor was supportive in the past and when co-workers approve of working overtime and behave similarly. But we did not find that future promotion chances affect willingness to work overtime.     

绩效管理--与员工进行持续有效的绩效沟通

绩效管理是一个连续、循环的系统,绩效沟通是贯穿于整个绩效管理过程的重要环节.本文主要从绩效沟通对绩效管理的实践意义出发,论述了当前企业进行绩效沟通的主要途径和如何实施持续、有效的绩效沟通.     

Uncertainty,supply risk management and their impact on performance

The purpose of this research is to identify the antecedents of supply risk management performance. Speed consortium benchmarking is used to explore the concepts of supply risk monitoring and mitigation. In addition, a survey yielding 207 responses is used to test our hypothesized antecedents of supply risk management performance. Findings indicate that the transaction cost constructs environmental- and behavioral uncertainty have a negative effect on supply risk management performance. In addition, supply risk mitigation and supply risk management process maturity positively influence supply risk management performance, the latter having the strongest influence. Furthermore, supply risk monitoring, supply risk mitigation and supply risk management process maturity all moderate the effect of environmental uncertainty, whereas only risk monitoring has an influence on the relationship between behavioral uncertainty and supply risk management performance. This research identified not only the antecedents of supply risk management performance, but also the moderating effect of different supply risk management principles on the relation between uncertainty and supply risk management performance. Most importantly, our study shows the relevance of developing general supply risk management structures and capabilities (i.e. supply risk management process maturity) in order to manage supply risks successfully. Our findings indicate that even more important than the proper selection of individual risk monitoring and mitigation strategies is the implementation of a risk management process.     

The impact of human resource management practices on intention to leave of employees in the service industry in India: the mediating role of organizational commitment

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a bundle of eight human resource management practices on intention to leave, and to examine the mediating effect of organizational commitment on the relationship between the HRM practices and intention to leave of employees of a service organization in India. Most of the prior HRM practices–employee turnover studies have been from the HR manager's point of view. This study took a different approach and studied this relationship from an employee's point of view. Internet survey questionnaires were used to collect the data from 183 employees working in a service company in India. Multiple linear regression and hierarchical linear regression analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses. The study found not only that the HRM practices lower employee intentions to leave, but also that this relationship is partially mediated by organizational commitment. The results of the study not only supported that organizations should focus on employee perceptions of the organizations' HRM practices but also indicated that human resources should go beyond establishing policies and procedures to providing an employee-friendly work environment (Biswas and Varma 2007).     

The impact on the pricing process of costly active management and performance chasing clients

One of the necessary features of markets to produce efficient pricing is competition between information-based investors who quickly impound new information into price. However, a significant proportion of funds invested in today’s equity markets are in the hands of managers who pursue a style that utilises little or none of the available information. We simulate such a market where the funds are being managed using the following three investment styles: fundamental, momentum and index. We confirm that the major pricing anomalies that have been highlighted previously in the literature are a natural consequence of competition between managers utilising these three investment styles. More importantly, we show that this situation is unlikely to change as long as markets continue to be dominated by costly active managers with clients who pursue outperformance.     

Understanding organizational justice and its impact on managing employees: an African perspective

The past decade has witnessed dramatic social and political changes on the African continent. The present article argues that these political and social changes may spill over in the workplace in the form of a quest for justice and empowerment. Based on the organizational justice literature, the article develops a conceptual framework that advocates the integration of justice concepts in managing African organizations. It also explains how African managers can anticipate this trend by developing and implementing fair organizational practices.     

The impact of strategic operations management decisions on community hospital performance

Over the past decade, 10% of community hospitals have closed. In this challenging time, our study presents hospital administrators with some valuable information that can help improve community hospitals’ performance. The purpose of this paper is to develop a strategic operations management model that links long-term service choices, intermediate operations decisions, and hospital performance given the structural constraints of location, size, and medical teaching status. Data collected from 151 community hospitals are used to test the model. The research identifies strategic operations management decisions in the US community hospitals, shows their causal relationships, and identifies their effects on hospital performance. Specifically, we find that intermediate infrastructural operations decisions affect a community hospital’s cost, quality, and financial performance after the structural decisions of location and size have set the stage. Our study also reveals that community hospitals have adopted new staff and demand management decisions in response to the market needs.     

Strategic supply management: The relationship between supply management practices, strategic orientation and their impact on organisational performance

A theoretical model is presented for conceptualising the relationship between the management of supply, strategic orientation at the business-unit level and their proposed link with firm performance. The shortcomings of existing approaches in accounting for the wide variety of purchasing practices in a comprehensive supply management framework are discussed as well their alignment with strategic orientation. The paper concludes by presenting a model and propositions concerning firm-level supply management, strategic orientation and firm performance.     

Changing a management information system: managing resistance by attending to the rights and responsibilities of employees

The purpose of this article is to explore the human issues related to the redesign of a management information system. When a management information system is implemented or changed, the responsibilities of organizational members can be drastically altered. Employee resistance is one outcome of this process. However, resistance can be reduced, if not eliminated, by attending to the rights of employees through engagement in the active participation in all aspects of the implementation process — a position often overlooked by management. The reader is familiarized with components of the change process as well as characteristics of innovation adoption encountered during redesign of the computer-based information system. Further, behavioral strategies are provided for overcoming the resistance frequently encountered during change.     

Unfolding the impact of leadership and management on sustainability performance: Green and lean practices and guanxi as the dual mediators

This study aims to empirically evaluate the predictors that influence sustainability performance among manufacturing firms. Leadership and management, green and lean practices, and guanxi were examined to determine whether these predictors are directly and/or indirectly affecting sustainability performance; 160 valid responses were collected and partial-least-squares-structural-equation-modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results showed that leadership and management positively influenced green and lean practices and green and lean practices positively influenced sustainability performance. Leadership and management also positively influenced guanxi. Interestingly, leadership and management and guanxi do not exert a significant direct influence on sustainability performance. The findings contributed to the development of the resource-based-view theory further by empirically exploring the significance of leadership and management coupled with green and lean practices as competencies and capability to drive sustainability performance. The testing of the dual mediators' effects further added value to this study.     

Pay dispersion among the top management team and outside directors: Its impact on firm risk and firm performance

Two key groups central to improving firm performance are the top management team (TMT) and the board of directors. Executives undertake strategic actions, whereas board members fulfill their resource provision and monitoring roles. Drawing on tournament theory and equity theory, we propose that high pay dispersion among outside directors and the TMT is positively associated with strategic risk, whereas high (low) TMT pay dispersion and low (high) outside director pay dispersion are positively associated with firm performance. Our predictor is the unexplained component of horizontal pay dispersion, or the residual of pay dispersion resulting from regressing pay on observable firm, industry, period, and individual characteristics. Our results highlight the importance of unexplained pay dispersion for TMTs, but not for boards of directors, in improving firm performance.     

The antecedents of direct management communication to employees in Mauritius

We measure whether, in a developing country, existence of a ‘hard’ strategic human resource management (SHRM) strategy developed at high organizational levels or one designed to enhance employee knowledge inputs and thereby promote employer–employee interdependence (EEIN) is a stronger antecedent of direct communication to employees. We use data from a comprehensive survey of HR practices in Mauritius, one of Africa's most open and successful economies. We find that both SHRM and EEIN are antecedents, but that the latter is stronger in public organizations and in smaller and older companies. We conclude that EEIN is a significant analytic category for explaining management practices especially in a historic sense in this and possibly other developing country contexts.