Introduction: human resource management in Africa

This article introduces the special issue that seeks to spur the debate on the challenges of managing people in organizations in Africa. The debate on HRM in Africa has proceeded with tentative steps and now clearly needs to be located firmly within the international management context. It is not the purpose of this special issue to discover or develop an over-arching model of HRM. That has been attempted elsewhere. Our purpose is to bring together the various threads that characterize the on-going debate and hopefully move towards a more specific research agenda which captures the complexity of managing on the African continent. Some of these threads include the formulation of new perspectives on HR research, finding common ground with diverse disciplines and tackling enduring problems like ethnicity and discrimination.     

On the shoulders of giants: a meta-review of strategic human resource management

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed significant growth in the field of strategic HRM. This article summarizes the literature in this field by conducting a meta-review, a review of the reviews that have covered various topics of strategic HRM. In doing so, the authors highlight theoretical frameworks and empirical findings of studies in the field over the past three decades, identify methodological issues and challenges in the previous research, and discuss recent trends in the field of strategic HRM. The author concludes by suggesting some interesting and important directions for future work.     

A comparative analysis of certification in human resource management

This comparative analysis explores the certification process in three leading organizations in the USA, Canada and the UK. The findings show considerable similarity across countries concerning the major stakeholders and certification criteria. Conversely, they reveal major differences with respect to the basic assumptions underlying the programmes, the standards and qualifications, the programmes' complexity and the programmes' integration with the government, industry and academia. Dissimilarity also exists in the certification process. Hence, certification programme models for each organization are advanced to illustrate the process. Moreover, an overall strategic programme framework is developed for all the agencies collectively. Finally, suggestions for future research are provided.     

Human resource flexibility,organizational culture and firm performance: an investigation of multinational firms in Hong Kong

This article explores the relationships between human resource (HR) flexibility, organizational culture, and organizational performance. Drawing on previous works, we develop a conceptual model that links the constructs together. It is hypothesized that the three sub-dimensions of HR flexibility (i.e. employee skill flexibility, employee behaviour flexibility, and HR practice flexibility) affect adaptability culture, which in turn impacts HR-related and market-related outcomes. The data were collected via a questionnaire survey of HR directors/managers in multinational corporations (MNCs) in Hong Kong. The results of structural equation modelling (SEM) reveal the positive effects of employee behaviour flexibility and HR practice flexibility on adaptability culture. Employee skill flexibility, however, exerts no such effect. Further, adaptability culture is found to affect both HR-related and market-related performance in a positive manner.     

Human resource strategy: a process for managing the contribution of HRM to organizational performance

This paper describes human resource strategy as a management process, as part of emergent strategy formation. A framework is proposed to describe the different levels of analysis, societal, organisational and individual, which managers seek to integrate so that the meanings organisation members bring to their work are managed. The consequences of taking this approach as opposed to the rational view of HR strategy are outlined and the benefits of a processual, interpretationist perspective to the study of strategy for example by studying symbols and the processes of meaning construction are discussed.     

Correlates and consequences of high involvement work practices: the role of competitive strategy

Illustrative of world-wide trends, New Zealand has undergone drastic product and labour market reforms in an attempt to stimulate economic growth and national competitiveness. Towards this goal, firms have been urged to emphasize differentiation strategies in their approach to their markets and also to become more progressive in their management of human resources. This study finds that whereas more intensive use of high involvement work practices promotes firm effectiveness, this effect depends on the competitive strategy being pursued. The use of high involvement work practices is positively associated with performance in firms competing on the basis of differentiation and shows no relationship in firms pursuing a strategy of cost leadership.     

A clash of human resource management cultures: a micro-state case study

When resorting to Greek divine mythology to purchase original insights on management styles, Handy (1991) identifies Apollo and Dionysius as representative of two ideal types which can be developed and fine-tuned to highlight one relatively under-explored area of inter-cultural human resource management. This concerns the cultural interface between alien, imported management styles and local, home-grown practices in the context of small and island states. This paper argues that indigenous behaviour patterns in the unfolding of labour-management relations cannot be discounted. Indeed, these home-bred practices will both place imported 'textbook' management strategies in sharp relief as well as debilitate their purposed efficacy. Such a proposition suggests that this is one expression of how globalization will necessarily find itself textured and infected by indigenous cultural material, even that forthcoming from possibly the least expected quarter: that of micro, insular jurisdictions. Case-study material exploring and illustrating this cultural clash is drawn from seminal, empirical fieldwork carried out in the Indian Ocean island state Republic of the Seychelles.     

Managing human resource for competitive advantage: a study of companies in Singapore

We see two major streams of research in the strategic human resource management literature: (1) the link between strategy and human resource (HR) practices and (2) the link between HR practices and firm performance. There is a plethora of theoretical perspectives on the first link. Unfortunately, there is not much empirical work. The second link has seen a spate of empirical studies. However, most of them embrace the universal perspective and the role of strategy as a contingency has not been adequately addressed. This could potentially result in the underestimation of the impact of HR practices on organizational performance. This study addressed the above two weaknesses in previous research in the strategic HR management field. Using a sample of about 200 of the largest companies representing all major industries in Singapore, we found that organizational strategy affects HR practices. Moreover, findings suggest that the strategy-HR interaction accounts for more variation in firm performance than the main effect of HR. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Variations in human resource management in Asian countries: MNC home-country and host-country effects

This paper investigates the determinants of HRM strategy in a random sample of firms operating in Korea and Taiwan. Both indigenous and foreign-owned firms are studied. HRM strategy is measured in terms of the company's reliance on high-performance, versus more traditional, HRM policies and practices in several different areas, including staffing, employee influence, employee rewards and employee autonomy. Independent variables include the firm's country or region of origin (USA, Japan, Europe, Korea or Taiwan), the host country (Korea or Taiwan) and the internal culture of the firm, as measured by upper management's perception that human resources constitute a significant source of value for the organization. Pronounced differences are found across countries of origin and between the two host countries. Managerial values and various organizational characteristics that serve as control variables are also found to impact on HRM strategy.     

Ethnicity and human resource management practice in sub-Saharan Africa: the relevance of the managing diversity discourse

The paper explores issues of human resource diversity in the multi-ethnic societies of sub-Saharan Africa, arguing that ethnicity constitutes a primary dimension of diversity. The influence of ethnicity on employment relations in organizational life in this region is examined and whether the discourse of managing diversity could be applied to manage such diversity. The paper argues that, if the ethnic diversity found in African organizations is well managed, this could enhance organizational harmony and effectiveness. Further, if organizations in Africa deliberately embrace approaches of 'inclusion' rather than 'exclusion' in managing their human resource and appreciate the inherent employee 'difference', it could improve the image and effectiveness of organizations operating here. At the same time, there is a need to adapt such approaches to the cultural specificity of local contexts.     

How new venture initial public offerings benefit from international operations: a study of human resource value

When internationalization goes beyond simply having international sales to having international operations, organizations can benefit from diversity of ideas and knowledge. Our study focuses on a special class of companies called new venture firms. As younger organizations, they may be well equipped to embrace the unique benefits of international diversity. However, new ventures may not be equal in this regard; therefore, our study also explores the moderating effect of human resource value for these firms.     

An international comparison of human resource management objectives and activities

The paper reports on mailed surveys of human resource professionals in Canada, South Africa and Zimbabwe who were asked for their views on the priorities they set in terms of human resource objectives and activities. Respondents were also asked to indicate the challenges facing the field and the resulting changes that may be required in each country. The results indicate considerable agreement between the three countries on the need for flexibility and cost effectiveness, but disagreement on priorities among some other activities. There are major differences between perceptions of immediate and long-term priorities to be set. There is a concern that short-term efficiency may be accorded a priority which prevents due consideration being given to future development and societal issues.     

Total quality management and human resource systems: an international comparison

This paper takes advantage of a unique international data set to examine the determinants of the adoption and sustainability of total quality management techniques, focusing in particular on the role played by human resource professionals and practices. The data come from a 1991 survey conducted by Ernst and Young and the American Quality Foundation covering the use of TQM tools in the computer, auto, health care and banking industries in Japan, the United States, Canada and Germany.

The research distinguishes between two ways of implementing total quality management – one approach conceptualizes TQM as a relatively limited set of technical engineering changes while the second implements these technical changes as part of a larger transformation of the organization of work. We find support for the second approach in that the number of employees using quality tools and the number of quality tools in use is greater and lasts longer in firms that also have team-based human resource systems for frontline employees, with team structures, suggestion systems, meetings and group rewards. This central finding holds across all countries and industries studied.

We also find that achievement of these changes requires the commitment of organizational stakeholders to incorporate the interests of employees in strategic decision making. Though union presence alone does not predict the adoption or sustainability of these innovations, partnership between management and union does have a positive effect. The level of strategic influence of the human resource department also influences innovation, though in ways that differ across countries and industries.

The findings suggest the value of comparative studies and of research focused at exploring sub-national variation. The findings also suggest the value of a longitudinal study of the sustainability of innovation.     

Human resource practices and firm performance of multinational corporations: influences of country origin

Drawing from a cultural values perspective, we investigate the effects of country origins on HR (human resource) practices of firms from the United States, Great Britain, Japan and Hong Kong operating in Hong Kong. In general, results supported hypothesized differences in HR practices of firms from different countries. In addition, results indicated that HR practices, specifically structural training and development and retention-oriented compensation, were related to various measures of firm performance. Of further interest was the finding that country origin moderated relationships of HR practices with firm performance; in general, relationships of structural training and development and retention-oriented compensation were stronger for Hong Kong firms. Implications of the results are discussed.     

Epidemics,labour markets and unemployment: the impact of SARS on human resource management in the Hong Kong service sector

This article examines the links between epidemics and their economic consequences, specifically in terms of their impacts on labour markets and jobs. To exemplify the above, we examine the effects of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) on the Hong Kong economy, its labour market and its level of employment and unemployment. The article hypothesizes that the greatest impact would be on human resource management (HRM) in the service industries and on particular sub-sectors, such as the hotel sector. It concludes that the dramatic demand and supply ‘shocks’ significantly affected both the demand for and the supply of labour in the sector, with discernible HRM consequences.     

Union commitment and participation among Hong Kong firefighters: a development of an integrative model

This paper examines the factors influencing members' intent to participate in their union, drawing on a study of Hong Kong firefighters. As in Western studies, the main direct predictor of intent to participate is affective union commitment, but instrumentality is a relatively more important antecedent of affective union commitment and participation than in the Western studies. We found some evidence of frustration-aggression effects on intent to participate in ‘militant’ and ‘general’ union activities, although the latter was significant only among individuals who perceive management–employee relations as co-operative and trusting.     

The effects of job-search motives and coping on psychological health and re-employment: a study of unemployed Hong Kong Chinese

We examine the influences of job-search motives and coping behaviours on psychological well-being and re-employment on 104 unemployed Hong Kong Chinese within a longitudinal context. Participants were tested on two different occasions separated by eight months. Results indicated that, at the first survey, use of coping strategies predicted higher psychological well-being while higher financial hardship was associated with decreased mental health. Results of ANOVA indicated that participants who scored high in employment commitment at the first survey were more likely to regain employment subsequently. Contrary to prior findings reported in studies with Western samples, psychological well-being was not affected by employment status at the follow-up survey. The psychological well-being of participants deteriorated from the first to the second survey. These findings point clearly to the significance of psychological factors in determining the response of Hong Kong Chinese to job loss. Implications of these data for future unemployment research among Chinese are discussed.     

Work role stressors and turnover intentions: a study of professional clergy in Hong Kong

Work and occupational stress have long been concerns for employees and human resource managers as they cause many negative outcomes. Most of the previous studies on work stress were conducted in Western countries, while limited research has addressed this important topic in the Asian context. In this study, we examine the effects of several work role stressors (i.e. role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload and work–family conflict) on emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction and intentions to leave. Additionally, we test the mediating effects of emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction between the relationship of role stressors and intentions to leave. Data were collected from a sample of 887 professional clergy in Hong Kong. The results of regression analysis show that role stressors have a significant impact on both emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction, which in turn affect respondents' intentions to leave their organization.     

The role of Spanish local development and employment officers in human resource management

The aim of this study is to contrast the existence of a significant relation between good human resource practices and business results. The empirical analysis is applied to strategies implemented by Local Development and Employment Officers (LDEOs) with regard to the management of social integration and job placement programs within the context of Local Development in Spain for both the universalist and contingent perspectives of Human Resource Management. The novelty of this study lies in the impact local development programs are having on social integration and job placement, and, in particular, the effects of project management.     

The performance effects of human resource managers' and other middle managers' involvement in strategy making under different business-level strategies: the case in Hong Kong

We first developed theory arguing that HR managers' and other middle managers' involvement during strategy making would have different effects on performance for firms pursuing different business-level strategies. Then, our empirical study tested the hypotheses in the context of HR managers and middle managers in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China. We found that HR manager involvement during strategy making was positively related to perceptions of future business performance. The use of a differentiation strategy was also positively associated with future performance. Neither the use of a cost leadership strategy, however, nor involvement by other middle-level managers, was directly related to perceived future performance. Interestingly, pursuit of a cost leadership strategy, combined with either high HR manager involvement or high middle manager involvement, produced high business performance. Thus, we found a positive and significant interaction such that increasing levels of manager involvement in strategy and a cost leadership strategy was associated with much higher levels of performance. Lower levels of manager involvement combined with the cost leadership strategy, however, were related to much lower performance. No such interaction effect was apparent for differentiation strategies.