Social capital and human resource management in international joint ventures in Vietnam: a perspective from a transitional economy

This study highlights the importance of social capital in international joint ventures (IJVs), and examines human resource practices as a factor shaping such social capital. Comprehensive measures of social capital are developed and tested, which extend prior work on ‘bonding’ and ‘bridging’ social capital. We also link social capital with its anticipated antecedents and consequences. The study's findings are based on data collected from 164 IJVs located in Vietnam. IJV performance was predicted by training and by the level of trust and cooperation between foreign and local personnel. Training (including acquisition of management skills, technology, and cross-cultural understanding) also was predictive of the measures of social capital. A key practical implication arising from this study is that the return on investment from training of joint venture personnel can stem not only from the transfer of technical and management skills needed for developing competitive advantage, but also from the positive impact on social capital, which further contributes to venture success. The establishment of written objectives and plans for the venture, as well as the IJV's level of control regarding its own HR functions also was found to be related to some components of social capital. The findings of this study reinforce the call to build on the contributions of local personnel in joint ventures, and in Vietnam in particular.     

浅谈企业人力资源人本管理

文章简要分析了企业人本管理的概念及其优点,讨论了传统人事管理与现代人力资源管理的差异,阐述了实现企业人本管理所需的各种管理机制、用人机制和激励机制,探讨了以"人本管理"为中心的企业文化的建立。     

Family-friendly management,organizational performance and social legitimacy

Research on family-friendly practices has concentrated on the predictors of their use, particularly from the perspective of either institutional theory or the high involvement or commitment management vogue. This paper first shows how such perspectives can be used to generate hypotheses about the link between family-friendly management and organizational performance. Second, the paper reports research designed to test these, using data from a national representative sample of workplaces across the British economy, the Workplace Employment Relations Survey of 2004 (WERS2004). The results support the high commitment thesis that family-friendly management will strengthen the relationship between commitment and key economic outcomes, as the relationships between workforce commitment and productivity or quality are stronger in organizations when friendly management is high, which is consistent with social exchange theory. Family-friendly management is not, however, related to the human resource outcomes of labour turnover and absenteeism. Nor does the study find support for the argument that its use in conjunction with high involvement management enhances the performance effects of both. Equally, there is no support for the hypothesis from the institutional thesis that family-friendly management has positive effects on the legitimacy of the organization.     

Fairness in human resource management,social exchange relationships,and citizenship behavior: testing linkages of the target similarity model among nurses in the United States

The current study tests key linkages of the target similarity model by examining relationships among multifoci justice, social exchange, and supervisor ratings of employee citizenship behavior. We found support for the model when examining three different workplace targets simultaneously (i.e., the organization as a whole, supervisors, and workgroup members) using a sample of hospital nurses in the United States. Specifically, we found that: (1) employee perceptions of workgroup fairness, supervisor fairness, and organizational fairness differentially and positively predicted perceived workgroup support (PGS), perceived supervisor support (PSS), and perceived organizational support (POS), respectively and (2) PGS, PSS, and POS differentially and positively predicted citizenship behavior toward the workgroup, toward the supervisor, and toward the organization, respectively. Theoretical and practical implications for the strategic management of human resources are discussed, as are limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.     

The adoption,character and impact of strategic human resource management: a case study of two large metropolitan Vietnamese public hospitals

In this paper the researchers set out to explore the adoption, character and impact of strategic human resource management (SHRM) in two large metropolitan Vietnamese public hospitals using a multi-level qualitative research design. Data are analyzed from 21 interviews and 5 focus groups with key players from the hospitals and government authorities. Findings show that the State controls many of the core day-to-day HR functions of public hospitals, curtailing local autonomy and management innovation. This is compacted by inadequate government funding, poor training of medical staff, and inadequate management and business skills of hospital managers. Inhibiting greater experimentation with SHRM is the fear of developing management initiatives out of sync with the State. Consequently, many managers and clinicians held negative views of the HR department and their relevance for the day-to-day management of healthcare services. Respondents reported that they perceived these factors had a negative impact on the well-being of medical staff and the quality of patient care. The paper concludes with a discussion on the necessity for continued State reforms that can enable greater autonomy of the hospitals' HRM functions and greater investment in local HR capabilities to materialize the link between SHRM, employee well-being and quality of patient care.     

The effects of technical and social conditions on workplace trust

This paper investigates the extent to which the technical and social contexts of organizations independently affect levels of workplace trust. We argue that, in an organizational context, trust is not just a relationship between an individual subject (the truster) and an object (the trustee) but is subject to effects from the conditions of the work relationship itself. We describe the organizational context as comprising both a technical system of production (where work gets done through the specification of tasks) and a social system of work (where problems of effort, compliance, conformity and motivation are managed). We analyse the relationship between trust and these two aspects of workplace context (technical and social systems). We also operationalize this in terms of differences between industries, occupational composition and human resource management practices. The model is tested using data drawn from the 1995 Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey. The results confirm that differences in industry, occupational composition and HRM practices all impact on levels of workplace trust. We review these results in terms of their implications for future research into the problem of analysing variation in trust at both the workplace and individual levels.     

The Asian crisis and the implications for human resource management in Vietnam

Vietnam has experienced substantial economic growth since the mid-1980s when economic reform (doi moi) started. However, the Asian crisis had some negative impacts on the Vietnamese economy. Both the external environment and internal competition added more pressure on companies to speed up organizational reform. Transforming the old personnel management into new flexible human resource management system is one of the central reform agendas among companies in order to survive the market competition. This research analyses the nature of the changes in the area of human resource management under the influence of market-oriented reform that puts emphases on flexibility and competitiveness in the new millennium.     

Fostering knowledge sharing through people management practices

This paper focuses on the issue of knowledge sharing, one of the key mechanisms by which knowledge transfer can take place within organizations. The aim of the paper is to identify the people management practices that will be most effective in fostering knowledge sharing. We begin with a theoretical analysis of the socio-psychological aspects of knowledge-sharing behaviour in order to identify the variables that facilitate and encourage sharing. We also include a thorough review of the research to date on knowledge sharing and related behaviours. After identifying the factors expected to influence knowledge-sharing behaviour, we then proceed to detail the key people management practices that, according to theory and research, should be most effective in fostering knowledge sharing in organizations.     

An industrial relations perspective on the high-performance paradigm

Recent studies have suggested that various human resource management (HRM) practices are associated with enhanced economic performance in organizations. This research has led to what we call the high-performance paradigm, a belief that firms can improve performance by adopting certain high-performance work practices (HPWP). We apply an industrial relations (IR) perspective to the high-performance paradigm to extend the insights of HRM studies. After identifying how the perspective typically adopted in IR research differs from that used by HRM researchers, we briefly review the literature on HPWPs, identify limitations in the existing research approach, and suggest issues and areas for future research. In general, we suggest that research on HPWPs has made a valuable contribution to the literature. We urge HRM researchers, however, to devote more attention to underlying conflicts at work, focus more explicitly on the implications of new forms of work for workers, and pay greater attention to the role that cultural forces, unions, and governments play in shaping the workplace.     

Is Strategic Human Resource Management Socially Responsible? The Case of Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.

In 2005, Wegmans Food Markets Inc., the family-owned supermarket chain, was awarded the number one spot on the Fortune “100 Best Companies To Work For.” Wegmans’ recognition illustrates an exemplary case of strategic human resource management embedded in an overall culture of social responsibility, amidst a highly competitive and low margin industry. We detail Wegmans’ human resource practices and its overall stakeholder orientation, arguing that the treatment of employees as strategic assets constitutes an effective approach to social responsibility. In other words, strategic human resource management can help organizations reconcile the often cited conflict between profits and principles. We therefore begin with an overview of the contemporary supermarket industry, provide a brief history of Wegmans, and showcase the supermarket chain’s human resource practices. In closing, we discuss Wegmans’ stakeholder orientation and comment on the divide between strategic human resource management and social responsibility research.     

Able,willing, and knowing: the effects of HR practices on commitment and effort in 26 European countries

This study extends previous studies of human resource (HR) practices by examining how organizational commitment and work effort are related to the use of HR practices enhancing discretion and skills based on international comparative survey data from 26 European countries. By analyzing individual level data instead of the organizational level data that are examined in prior studies, this article allows investigating whether and how employee perceptions of HR practices are related to their attitudes and behavior. The multilevel analyses largely support the hypotheses that both the intensity and the consistency of these HR practices contribute to organizational commitment and work effort since they enhance the ability of employees and their willingness to cooperate and inform them about the expectations of the organization.     

Characterising human resources management practices in Portugal: an empirical analysis

The importance of human resources as a fundamental channel towards the competitiveness and sustainability of firms is now theoretically unchallenged. This article provides an overall characterisation of the main human resources management (HRM) practices implemented in Portugal and compares them with the benchmark models proposed in the literature.

To evaluate the degree to which HRM practices diverge from these benchmark models, this article relies on the analysis of five criteria: i) How do the main HRM practices fit the existing management models (familiar, professional or mixed); ii) How does the HRM conform to a work organisation of the matricial type; iii) To identify whether the role of HRM is essentially administrative or strategic; iv) To identify where the responsibility for HRM lies within the firms operating in Portugal; and v) To characterise the relation between HRM and work organisation in Portugal.

Drawing on a representative sample of firms operating in Portugal, we identify three clusters that allow us to characterise and analyse the stylised HRM practices implemented in Portugal (network-based, familiar-based or bureaucratised). Results show contrasting management patterns, which can be interpreted as different stages of evolution in terms of HRM practices in Portugal.     

Supplier relationship portfolio management: A social exchange perspective

Despite the importance of relationship portfolios, it's unclear how a buying firm's differential investment in its suppliers affects the distribution of its supplier relationships and the supplier-provided benefits that result. Drawing from social exchange theory (SET), we assess the sequential linkages among supply management practices, supplier relationship sets that vary in closeness, and relational benefits. Empirically, we adopt a multi-methodological approach that combines abductive case-based and deductive survey-based research. In our case-based approach, interview responses from 34 professionals within a global Tier 1 automotive manufacturer (MFGR) and four of its suppliers, open-ended survey responses from 56 buyers and 86 engineers within MFGR, documentary evidence, and direct observations facilitate the operationalization of supply management practices and relationship closeness constructs. The survey-based study integrates case-based findings and uses response data from sales managers within 292 suppliers to MFGR and matched supplier performance data from MFGR to test a theoretical model of social exchange. In a multi-step process, we apply cluster analysis, multinomial logistic regression, ANOVA, and multiple regression to this aggregated dataset to (1) identify three distinct sets of supplier relationships that are distributed along a relationship closeness continuum, (2) show how specific supply management practices affect the composition of supplier relationship sets that comprise a buying firm's portfolio, and (3) demonstrate how supplier-provided benefits differ across supplier relationship sets. Our results validate the utility of SET as applied to supplier portfolio management and provide insights into buyers' actions that drive closer relationships, minimize risk, and maximize benefits across a supplier portfolio.     

现代企业文化建设对强化企业社会责任的作用

在现代企业的管理工作中,文化建设具有重要的意义,而且是强化企业社会责任感的先决条件。文章从现代企业管理学的角度出发,简要分析了文化建设对强化企业社会责任的作用。     

社会工作者在生态小城镇环境管理领域的角色研究——以浙江省临安市锦城镇为例

生态小城镇环境管理领域瓶颈之一是居民管理主体意识淡薄、管理参与严重不足。社会工作者介入该领域可以构建双赢格局:一方面,扩大社会工作的生存空间和影响范围;另一方面,在帮助环境问题受害者的同时,培育出环境管理的良好社会土壤和积极参与的管理主体。     

How employee perceptions of HR policy and practice influence discretionary work effort and co-worker assistance: evidence from two organizations

Drawing on social identity theory and organizational justice research, we model the impact of employee perceptions of human resource (HR) policies and practices on two important outcome variables – discretionary work effort (DWE) and co-worker assistance (CWA). Results based on 618 full-time employees in two organizations show that HR practices are positively related to procedural and distributive justice and that organizational identification mediates the relationship between procedural and distributive justice and DWE and CWA, respectively. Distributive justice is also shown to have direct effects on the two outcome variables suggesting the relevance of a social exchange perspective as a complement to social identity explanations. Implications for research and practice are briefly discussed.     

Effects of people-centred factors on enterprise resource planning implementation project success: empirical evidence from Sri Lanka

Extant literature suggests people-centred factors as one of the major areas influencing enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation project success. Yet, to date, few empirical studies attempted to validate the link between people-centred factors and ERP implementation project success. The purpose of this study is to empirically identify people-centred factors that are critical to ERP implementation projects in Sri Lanka. The study develops and empirically validates a framework for people-centred factors that influence the success of ERP implementation projects. Survey research methodology was used and collected data from 74 ERP implementation projects in Sri Lanka. The people-centred factors of ‘project team competence’, ‘rewards’ and ‘communication and change’ were found to predict significantly the ERP implementation project success.     

基于契约理论视角的物流企业人力资源管理研究

指出运用心理契约理论是提升物流企业人力资源管理效能的有效方法,在此基础上,通过分析物流企业人力资源管理中导致契约失衡的信息、承诺、沟通等因素,从员工的招聘、培训、激励等角度给出物流企业人力资源管理的契约构建路径.     

Crossing the level of employee's performance: HPWS,affective commitment,human capital,and employee job performance in professional service organizations

Extant research on high-performance work systems (HPWS) has primarily examined the effects of HPWS on firm-level performance from a macro perspective and mostly in manufacturing settings. This study extends this literature by integrating social exchange theory and human capital theory perspectives to examine how shop-level HPWS affect employee individual performance in the service context, especially focusing on the small-scale professional service organizations. Data collected from multiple sources included 97 hair salon shop owners and 284 hairdressers as well as objective job performance measured in terms of each hairdresser's average monthly service sales. Results from cross-level analysis indicated that the relationship between shop-level HPWS and employee job performance was mediated by employee affective commitment and their human capital. These findings shed new light on the mechanisms through which HPWS impact employee outcomes and serve to bridge between macro and micro perspectives of human resource management.