Repatriation of European female corporate executives: an empirical study

The increased internationalization of business in recent years has made the understanding of international human resource management problems more important for executives in multinational companies. In recent years, researchers have paid considerable attention to the issues of adjustment of managers to international assignments. Interestingly, comparatively little research has been undertaken on the topic of repatriation, i.e. re-entry and readjustment of international managers and their families to their home countries. Despite the growth of women in international management there are very few studies that document the repatriation experiences of female international managers. In particular, very few studies have been conducted outside North America on the topic of repatriation of female corporate executives. This paper reports on the experiences of re-entry to home organizations and home countries by an exclusively senior sample of female international managers in Western Europe. Based on extensive empirical research, the findings establish that the repatriation phase of the international career move may be even more stressful than expatriation. The findings also establish that female international managers experience more difficulties than their male counterparts because of their pioneering roles. Finally, the paper suggests that home-based mentors and access to networks while abroad are important factors in contributing to the successful repatriation of international managers. The research findings make a theoretical contribution, not only to the analysis of gender and international human resource management but, also, to wider debates within the contemporary women in management and career theory literatures.     

Individualization and Marketization of Responsibility for Gender Equality: The Case of Female Managers in China

This article investigates the question of where the responsibility for promoting gender equality resides in the Chinese employment context. Utilizing Acker's (2006) inequality regimes framework, the study explores women's underrepresentation in management roles in China and explains the persistence of gender inequalities in managerial echelons of Chinese organizations. Based on 30 interviews with female managers, the findings demonstrate the marketization and individualization of gender equality in organizational activity. The existing gender inequality, and the lack of responsibility for tackling it, has been either legitimized by eluding to the commercial‐only focus of organizations or rendered invisible through a belief in individual choice as the determining factor of career progression for women. Gender inequality in management is also maintained through the compliance of female managers themselves with the presumed legitimacy of gender‐based differential access to managerial roles. References to culture and tradition, market forces, competitive pressures, and individual choices by female managers are often made in explaining the unequal career paths and outcomes for men and women in their organizations. Our findings contribute to the human resource management (HRM) literature by framing macrosocietal context as a dynamic and endogenous aspect of management of human resources in organizations and provide novel insights into the interplay between HRM and societal context. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Gender‐Specific Preferences in Global Performance Management: An Empirical Study of Male and Female Managers in a Multinational Context

This study investigates gender‐specific preferences in one important human resource management (HRM) practice—namely, global performance management (GPM). GPM has major consequences for the career advancement of women and can therefore also represent a barrier if it is rooted in traditional male corporate cultures. As prior research suggests that the underrepresentation of women in top management positions is a worldwide phenomenon with only minor national variations, empirical data were collected in five countries belonging to various cultural clusters: China, France, Germany, South Africa, and the United States. For all countries, the results show that preferences vary significantly between male and female managers for crucial parts of the GPM system (actors’ roles, evaluation methods, feedback procedures, and GPM purposes). This study confirms that the preferences of female managers do not match more male‐oriented GPM practices, indicating that female managers are less satisfied with existing GPM procedures. It was particularly surprising to find that these gender differences do not vary according to cultural background, but rather display the same pattern in all investigated countries. These findings not only have the potential to explain the often‐limited career advancement of women, but also have major implications for multinational companies aiming to retain talented women. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Sex Differences in Responsiveness to Organizational Career Management

This is a study of differences between women and men in their responsiveness to formal organizational career management. Questionnaire data from 272 men and 101 women were analyzed. It was found that women's individual career variables were mostly similar to men's, but their responsiveness to organizational career management was higher than men's. Women's career effectiveness (performance, attitudes, identity, and adaptability) and career planning increased when the level of perceived organizational career management was high. The sex difference remained even when the effects of two other responsiveness-reducing factors, managerial position and tenure, were controlled. The results are interpreted in terms of women's cognitive construction of organizational reality. It is suggested that human resource managers have to distinguish between two different objectives: enhancing women's effectiveness vs. enhancing their career progress. To attain the first objective, formal career management systems should be developed. To attain the second, it is argued that women need to relate differently to the informal organizational system.     

Between the traditional and the contemporary: careers of women managers from a developing Middle Eastern country perspective

Informed by Institutional Theory, this study adopts an exploratory, qualitative, in-depth interviews-based approach as it explores the self-reported career paths of 32 women managers in Lebanon. The results indicate that in contrast with the majority of Western-based literature, the traditional-organizational career path in comparison to contemporary career patterns is still relevant, and continues to exist for Lebanese women managers as they progress in their managerial careers. At the same time, the findings suggest that women selectively adopt some aspects of contemporary, flexible careers to navigate their career paths amidst the macro-national economic and sociocultural factors and institutional challenges. The overall results and the implications for various stakeholders are further discussed in light of the related literature. This study suggests that scholars interested in women's careers in under-researched developing nations need to further integrate the agentic process – and the role played by women's individual agency in constructing their careers as they respond to institutional mandates – into their career models in more details. Similarly, multinational companies currently operating or interested in expanding their operations to the developing Arab Middle East region should incorporate these factors into their management and human resource practices.     

The career reality of global managers: an examination of career triggers

This study investigates whether the conceptualization of contemporary careers corresponds with the career realities of global managers, a new type of international work in organizations. Based on in-depth interviews with 45 global managers, or managers having worldwide coordination responsibility, we examine whether their different career moves are triggered by factors that reflect a short-term perspective, a non-hierarchical course, self-management, and internal values. The findings have implications for both the career and international human resource (HR) literature. They highlight that a balanced approach better captures the career realities of global managers and suggest an altered meaning of midcareer experience. They further point to the continuing importance of headquarters, question the necessity of an international career anchor, and indicate the opportunities of flexible global work to achieve a stable family life.     

Transferring management practices to China: a Bourdieusian critique of ethnocentricity

This paper provides a critique of the emergent theories of human resource management in China with a view to generating new theoretical insights with particular reference to Pierre Bourdieu's social theory. It reassesses the relevance of the orthodox critique of ethnocentricity and the coherence of approaches embedded in Chinese culture. With reference to six case studies of the largest retail firms, we identify two key challenges: the reliance on headquarter human resource practices that reflect an ethnocentric ethos, i.e. country-of-origin bias, and the failure to empower local managers and the problems this creates for managers expected to implement ethnocentric practices. We examine how Bourdieu's social theory sheds light on the processes by which these firms realise their strategic objectives through the complicity of local managers whose scope for resistance is constrained by the use of normative control and in part through attractive remuneration and career prospects that generate Bourdieusian capital for these managers. We conclude with some suggestions for further research.     

Perspectives on line managers in human resource management: Hilton International's UK hotels

Although contextual factors act to encourage the devolvement of human resource management to line managers, recent research indicates that there is substantial potential for human resource specialists and line managers to share more effectively responsibility for their organization's human resource activities in business partnerships. The foundation for this is arguably commonality in opinions on the principles and practices of human resource activities. However, line managers and human resource specialists often have dissonant opinions on human resource management.

This paper explores line manager and human resource specialists' perspectives on line manager involvement in human resource management, theoretically and empirically. The primary work comprises a survey of the views of line managers and human resource specialists on devolving a range of human resource activities to line managers in a case organization, Hilton International's UK hotels. Differences between line managers' and human resource specialists' perspectives are found in five aspects: understanding and ownership of the company's service and HR strategy; line manager involvement in and rankings of HR activities; HR specialists' support of line managers; barriers to line managers' involvement in HR activities; and the competence of line managers in HR activities. Importantly, it is found that where there are divergent views across line managers and their HR specialist in their hotel there is poor hotel business performance and, conversely, convergent views are evident in the effectively performing hotels. These findings may have resonance for other organizations in devolving human resource management to the line and developing human resource business partnerships for business performance. It is proposed that three types of line manager buy-in are central to their active involvement in HR, namely: conceptual understanding of the rationale for their involvement; implementation effectiveness through HR role clarity and capability; and affective commitment in believing in the value of their involvement in HR.     

A mediated model of the effects of human resource management policies and practices on the intention to promote women: An investigation of the theory of planned behaviour

This study investigates the role of supportive human resource management policies and practices in senior HR managers’ intention to promote women to senior management positions. Based on the theory of planned behaviour, we argue a model in which supportive HR policies and practices affect managers’ attitudes towards the promotion of women to senior positions and their perception of organisational norms and control over the decision. We employ partial least squares based structural equation modelling to investigate data from a sample of 183 firms in Bangladesh. Our results support the utility of the theory of planned behaviour in understanding the positive effects of HR practices on the intent of senior managers to promote women. Our findings suggest that the role of HR policies and practices is not only to eliminate opportunity for discrimination but also to encourage the development of deeper attitudinal and normative acceptance of women’s role in senior management.     

论公共部门人力资源管理者职业化的现状与路径

公共部门人力资源管理者的素质高低对公共部门形象和职能的实现以及人民群众生活质量有着重要影响,因而提高公共部门人力资源管理者的素质,就必须走职业化道路;我国目前公共部门人力资源管理者的素质和现状已经不适应我国由人力资源大国向人力资源强国转变的需要;必须通过建立健全职业资格认证制度,加强职业道德塑造良好的职业形象,注重自身职业生涯的开发与管理等途径实现。     

Women Managers’ Careers in China: Theorizing the Influence of Gender and Collectivism

This article is concerned with developing an understanding of the careers of women managers in China. Existing literature suggests that while women in China are comparatively well represented in management roles, they face distinctive pressures and barriers to their progress arising from entrenched patriarchal and collectivist aspects of the Chinese cultural tradition. However, little is known about how these aspects impact on women's orientations towards their careers and to what extent influential Western career theories are adequate in interpreting their experience. Drawing on interviews with 20 women managers in China, the article interprets women's orientations towards their careers in relation to their adherence to traditional gender roles and collectivist values. Using this framework, a fourfold taxonomy is developed which identifies “conformist,” “revolutionary,” “soloist,” and “dissident” orientations. The article suggests that Western career theories fail to capture the collective dimension, and thus do not account fully for the range of experience and orientations of Chinese women managers that are captured in the taxonomy. Implications, both practical and theoretical, are discussed. Recommendations are also made as to how management and career development policies might be developed in organizations in China in order to address the diverse needs and preferences of women managers. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Women and expatriate work opportunities in Austrian organizations

Previous research has indicated that female managers are still a minority among expatriate staff. As studies dealing with this topic from a European perspective are still more than rare, this study focuses on the situation of female expatriates in Austrian companies. After surveying the TOP 500 organizations and the largest banks, insurance and consulting companies in Austria, results showed that – although women are still under-represented in international management – among nearly one quarter of the respondents, women who have already succeeded in breaking through the glass ceiling of local management are also succeeding more frequently in getting postings abroad. Moreover, the limited representation of female expatriates was explained primarily by a general lack of female talent available for the functions which are relevant for international positions, second, by prejudices of host-country nationals towards female managers and, third, by a lack of interest shown by women in global assignments due to personal reasons. This paper reports on a questionnaire distributed to human resource managers and provides more insight into the subject of female expatriates. It begins by reviewing the literature dealing with women in international management before analysing the matter of under-representation of female expatriates from a different perspective and asking for the reasons why female managers are not sent abroad by Austrian companies. Then the research method is discussed before the findings are presented and their implications discussed in terms of future research.     

Thriving and career outcomes: The roles of achievement orientation and resilience

This research investigated how and under what conditions thriving at work affects career attitudes and behaviors. Using an experimental design (n = 174), Study 1 found that the effects of thriving on career satisfaction, career commitment, and career engagement were mediated by career resilience. The positive effect of thriving on career resilience and the resilience‐mediated effects of thriving on career satisfaction, commitment, and engagement were stronger when achievement orientation was higher. Study 2 verified these findings with a survey of another sample of 296 employees. These studies offer important insights for human resource managers and career consultants or practitioners regarding what may enhance employees' career outcomes. Our findings imply that thriving‐enabling practices might be beneficial among highly achievement‐oriented employees.     

Retaining and satisfying project managers – antecedents and outcomes of project managers’ perceived organizational support

Although theory and research from the domains of organizational behavior and human resource management suggest that individuals’ perceived organizational support (POS) plays a crucial role in enhancing job satisfaction and in reducing turnover intentions, there is a lack of research applying Organizational Support Theory to the realm of project management. Project-based organizations have an increasing demand for highly qualified project managers who feel supported by their employing organization and intend to remain in their positions. Therefore, the primary objective of the present study was to investigate predictors of project managers’ POS (both from a career management and from a project portfolio management perspective) and to examine how this variable related to their job satisfaction and intention to quit their project manager position. Using a sample of 541 project managers and 135 project portfolio coordinators nested in 135 firms, the analysis revealed that POS related positively to project managers’ job satisfaction and negatively to their turnover intention. A career path for project managers was positively associated with POS, especially when it was accompanied by adequate qualification opportunities. Results further stress the significance of top management involvement and the support of project management offices for project managers’ POS.     

Female Managers in Britain – A Comparative Perspective

The aim of this article is to present the current position of female managers in Britain and examine the similarities and differences between male and female managers. In terms of managerial efficiency and performance per se, the evidence strongly suggests that there are far more similarities than differences between the way men and women ‘manage’. However, there are some major sex differences in relation to demographic profiles, job status and employment factors, career development, occupational stress levels, and attitudes towards female managers compared to their male counterparts. One in nine managers in Britain are women and less than one per cent occupy senior management positions. Women managers tend to have to be more highly qualified than men managers, are more likely to be single or divorced, and encounter more prejudice and discrimination in the work environment. In addition, compared to male managers female managers have to cope with additional stresors stemming both from their work and home lives. It is suggested that many of these differences are hampering the career prospects of women in management and contributing towards the difficulties they have in reaching the higher levels of management compared to men. Finally, recommendations for changes in corporate and legislative policies are also proposed.     

加强人力资源管理提高学校管理效率

高校人力资源的管理工作是学校管理的一项重要组成,如何提高学校对人力资源的管理和规划,提高学校的竞争水平,是摆在高校面前的一个难题。本文对人力资源的概念及其在高校管理工作的地位作了阐述分析,并论述了其存在的问题及原因,并针对这些问题提出了如何加强高校人力资源管理,提高学习管理效率的建议措施,期待转变高校人力资源的管理方式并进行创新,与国家实施人才强国战略同步,建设一支高素质的人才队伍,为我国的教育事业增砖添瓦。     

Women abroad: getting the best results from women managers

Abstract This study explores the work environment of expatriate women managers in American corporations and investigates the determinants of their job satisfaction. The strategic importance of global assignments has increased over the years. The real cost of unsuccessful expatriates extends beyond the monetary expenses. As the number of women managers working overseas increases, so does the importance of this topic. Additionally, because women in expatriate positions are relatively new, their needs for job satisfaction and career aspirations are not known to most organizations. This research intends to fill this gap. The study concentrates on four major areas that are considered important for obtaining job satisfaction: (1) the way in which organizations design their overseas jobs, (2) women's skills and characteristics, (3) international human resource policies of companies and (4) the cultural environment of host countries. The applied research covers two phases: a study of expatriate managers during their assignments overseas and the evaluation of overseas experience upon their return. The results indicate that women in overseas assignments are satisfied overall with their jobs. However, organizational variables are more strongly related to job satisfaction. The nature of job design in overseas postings has the greatest impact on women's job satisfaction. When the jobs are enriched, women gain intrinsic rewards and have high job satisfaction. Organizational support also contributes to the satisfaction of women expatriates. Training, mentoring and repatriation preparations have high impact on women's success and satisfaction. Women expatriates are more concerned with their repatriation and future advancement than their present assignments. The findings are important for theoretical and practical reasons. Theoretically, the achievement and satisfaction of women managers overseas cannot be simplified without taking into account organizational, personal and cultural factors. Practically, companies need to respond to the individual needs of expatriate women managers and then decide on their assignments and their repatriation accordingly.     

The devolution of HR to the line: Implications for perceptions of people management effectiveness

The devolution of human resource responsibilities from human resource managers to line managers is both a growing and global trend. A number of authors has suggested that there are positive as well as negative consequences of devolution. The current study conducted a survey of US human resource managers to explore the effect of devolution on human resource managers' perceptions of people management effectiveness in their organizations. Results revealed a positive effect of devolution on perceived people management effectiveness. However, this effect was qualified by an interaction between devolution and line support. Contrary to expectation, this interaction revealed that providing line managers with training and support for their human resource responsibilities had a greater positive impact on perceived effectiveness in organizations that had not devolved (non devolvers) compared to those that had (devolvers).     

Exploring the reality of educated middle managers' capability and involvement in human resource management in China

Since the recent global financial crisis, human resource management (HRM) policies may be seen more than ever as one of the cornerstones for building an appropriate organizational culture to better promote effort and cooperation between human resource (HR) managers and other middle line-managers. This article is designed to explore the reality of educated middle managers' capability and involvement in HRM in China, given that the concepts of HR roles in general and middle managers in particular are relatively new there. By analysing the results from more than 300 middle managers who had been educated at MBA programmes in different parts of China, our findings, we argue, have important implications for both the HRM literature and management practice in emerging economies.