Employment of disabled people in the private sector. An analysis at the level of Italian Provinces according to article 13 of law 68/1999

Law 68 of March 12, 1999, whose aim is to regulate and promote the employment of disabled people, has contributed significantly to the employment of persons with disabilities, and consequently to their social inclusion. In particular, article 13 of this law offers exemption from national insurance contributions to private institutions that employ disabled people. In this paper we propose a two-step analysis to assess the effectiveness of this law at the level of Italian Provinces for the year 2005. In the first phase, we verify by means of data envelopment analysis which Provinces are ranked among the most efficient ones in the application of article 13 of law 68/99. Then, through the use of cluster analysis, we examine differences among Provinces in terms of the factors that determine their different efficiency in the employment of disabled people. The results show that the employment of disabled persons is significantly affected by three groups of factors, i.e. the input endowment of the factors which affect the employment of disabled people, the Province ability to coordinate actions geared to achieving the employment of persons with disabilities, and the promotion of policy actions aimed at supporting the social inclusion of disabled people.     

How Do Social Networks Influence the Employment Prospects of People with Disabilities?

We explore the role of social networks used by people with disabilities for finding employment. In addition, we outline obstacles to network building for those with a disability. We contend that this group is often constrained and they underutilize their networks during job searches. Both factors are likely to result in negative employment outcomes and contribute to the employment gap between those with and without a disability. We outline how key network characteristics such as homophily, tie strength, and centrality influence job search outcomes for those with a disability differently than for those without a disability. Furthermore, we propose that although individuals with disabilities develop and rely upon networks that are comprised of close bonds with similar individuals that are either unemployed or underemployed in lower status positions, optimal networks for employment purposes should consist of diverse acquaintances that occupy central positions and higher status jobs within organizations. Finally, we outline propositions to guide future research on this neglected topic and also suggest practical implications.     

Sustainability performance analysis of small and medium sized enterprises: Criteria,methods and framework

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in any economy as they contribute to GDP and employment. However, sustainability (right combination of economic, environmental and social) of SMEs is a major concern as they prioritize economic performance over environmental and social to remain competitive. Majority of prior researches on SMEs' sustainability either look at the impact of a few limited enablers (e.g. lean, green, innovation etc.) on sustainability performance or the effect of pressures and barriers on the sustainability performance. There is a clear gap of a holistic and robust framework for sustainability performance analysis in order to measure and improve sustainability performance. This research bridges this knowledge gap by addressing two research questions – what practice and performance criteria are being considered for sustainability performance analysis in a broad environmental, economic and social context, how are they related, and what methods are being used to derive the relationship between sustainability practices and performance. These research questions are addressed through a systematic literature review of 58 papers, published between 2005 and 2018 in leading journals. First, an objective content analysis is undertaken in order to identify sustainability practices and performance criteria along with their frequency of usage in prior research. Second, the correlation among the variables is studied. Third, the methods for analyzing the relationships of the criteria are identified. Finally, a framework for analysing correlation of SMEs’ sustainability practices and performance in order to measure and improve performance using statistical modeling approach is proposed.     

Inclusion of disabled people in the Italian labour market: an efficiency analysis of law 68/1999 at regional level

Law 68 of March 12, 1999, whose aim is the regulation and promotion of the employment of persons with disabilities, delegates to the regions the management of the labour market. Consequently, its successful implementation depends almost exclusively on the regions’ actions and ability to efficiently coordinate the various actors involved in the work integration of disabled people. The main objective of this paper is to verify which Italian regions are ranked among the most efficient ones in the application of this law. To this purpose, the efficiency analysis is carried out by applying the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method to Italian regions data for the year 2005. In this context, we implement a “cascade” analysis by introducing both environmental variables and social capital variables in different steps of the analysis. The results show that the sheer presence of potential employers and of employment offices is not enough to make a region able to correctly apply the law 68/1999. Both environmental and socio-welfare factors have to be considered, as they are important in determining the efficiency of each region in providing employment for disabled people. Hence, the present study represents an additional source of useful information to policy makers for future economic policy actions in order to promote the integration of disabled people in the labour market: environmental and social capital variables ought to be included as policy instruments within the context of law 68/1999.     

Potential Discrimination in Structured Employment Interviews

This experimental study examines the effects of bias toward persons with disabilities (PWDs) upon the employment interview decision process. The design and operationalization of the study permitted examination of the effects of specific disabilities, interview performance, and the resulting interaction between disability and interview performance, using 630 undergraduate students at a major university in the southwestern United States as subjects. The results indicate that (1) interview performance has a favorable, significant main effect upon subsequent HRM decisions, (2) specific disabilities, that is, child care demands, HIV-positive status, and being wheelchair-bound, have unfavorable, significant main effects upon subsequent HRM decisions, and (3) the presence of any of the disabilities decreased the favorable impact of superior interview performance. The limitations of the structured interview to mitigate bias were demonstrated. Given the pervasive, unfavorable treatment directed toward PWDs, it appears that the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (1993) is warranted. The public policy implications of these results and recommendations for future research were discussed.     

金融危机下高校大学生就业风险影响因素的灰关联分析

大学生严峻的就业形势已成为人们广泛重视的社会问题。本文重点分析导致大学生就业风险的主要因素,旨在对导致大学生就业风险的原因获得更科学认识,为评估风险及寻求控制风险方法服务。论文首先介绍了目前大学生面临的就业形势及研究导致就业风险因素的意义。通过研究已有文献,分析统计数据,从个人、社会、家庭、学校及用人单位五个方面提出导致风险的因素。通过频数、灰关联等量化方法,分析问卷结果得到对于导致就业风险的主因素。最后对得出的结论提出思考。     

基于大学生择业心理困境及其成因的分析与干预

大学生就业难越来越成为严峻的社会问题,也给大学生因择业难带来心理上的多重困境,这不得不引起我们的重视。本文从大学生择业的心理困境入手,通过对其心理困境的成因分析,提出相应的就业指导及心理干预对策,以期达到促进其顺利就业的同时,也一并能实现其自我价值,最终为其人生增光添彩。     

试析贫困大学生就业难的深层社会因素

当前大学生就业难已经成了大学生、学生家长、高等学校及社会共同的感受和普遍关注的问题,而作为大学生中的弱势群体——贫困大学生的就业则更是得到了有关各方的高度重视。为进一步探明当前贫困大学生就业难的潜因,为今后解决贫困大学生就业问题打好前期基础,文章对贫困大学生就业困难的深层社会因素进行了初步分析,并提出了一些可操作性的对策和措施。     

On the treatment of persons with disabilities in organizations: A review and research agenda

Human resource practitioners play a crucial role in promoting equitable treatment of persons with disabilities, and practitioner's decisions should be guided by solid evidence‐based research. We offer a systematic review of the empirical research on the treatment of persons with disabilities in organizations, using Stone and Colella's seminal theoretical model of the factors influencing the treatment of persons with disabilities in work organizations, to ask: What does the available research reveal about workplace treatment of persons with disabilities, and what remains understudied? Our review of 88 empirical studies from management, rehabilitation, psychology, and sociology research highlights seven gaps and limitations in extant research: (a) implicit definitions of workplace treatment; (b) neglect of national context variation; (c) missing differentiation between disability populations; (d) overreliance on available data sets; (e) predominance of single‐source, cross‐sectional data; (f) neglect of individual differences and identities in the presence of disability; and (g) lack of specificity on underlying stigma processes. To support the development of more inclusive workplaces, we recommend increased research collaborations between human resource researchers and practitioners on the study of specific disabilities and contexts, and efforts to define and expand notions of treatment to capture more nuanced outcomes.     

Social responsibility paradox of small business human resource management practices

This article investigates social responsibility (SR) and human resources management practices focused on internal stakeholders, namely employees, in a context of small business. SR is defined as ‘obligations to constituent groups in society other than stockholders and beyond that prescribed by law and union contract’ Jones (1980, pp. 59–60). Numerous studies have addressed the economic significance and effects of small business but contributions to HR within small businesses have remained relatively unexplored in contemporary SR literature. A case research methodology employing theoretical replication was used to select 10 small businesses across industry sectors. These were chosen with the assistance of the Hunter Business Chamber, Australia. A semi-structured face-to-face interview with the owner of the business who also functioned as the manager was undertaken using a research instrument comprising eight qualitative and open-ended questions. The questions specifically addressed the small business owner's HR priorities, motivations, and financial contribution to SR. This research is designed to fill a gap that exists in the literature and can be considered innovative and timely given the growing interest by society in SR. The principal objective of this research is to broaden the understanding of small business by addressing the research problem: ‘Are human resource management practices of small businesses socially responsibility or market driven?’     

How does perceived underemployment influence expatriate job-related outcomes? A moderated mediation study

Abstract

Although research has investigated the consequences of underemployment in domestic settings, research on the effects of underemployment among expatriates remains limited and has yielded inconsistent results. From a theoretical perspective, there is a need for a better understanding of the mechanisms through which underemployment affects various work-related outcomes and to account for potential contingencies. Drawing on the person-job fit literature and research on organizational identification, we theorise and empirically examine how and under what conditions underemployment influences expatriate performance. Using an original primary data-set of 103 Japanese expatriate managers in the UK, we find that underemployment affects expatriate work outcomes by increasing expatriates’ maladjustment and that this effect is moderated by the level to which expatriates identify with their organization.     

The psychologisation of employment relations,alternative models of the employment relationship,and the OB turn

As part of this journal's provocation series, John Godard criticised the psychologisation of human resource management and expressed concern with the psychologisation of employment relations. This article uses four explicit frames of reference on the employment relationship to further explicate Godard's concern with the distancing of the field from questions about the structural nature of the employment relationship. This discussion is then extended to consider the magnifying implications of the turn within the field toward organisational behaviour research. Ultimately, the complexity of work and employment means that the field needs to be vigilant in embracing not only multidisciplinary but also multiperspective approaches rather than letting the field become excessively unitary.     

实现高职高专女大学生就业创业梦想的实践与研究

目前我国高等教育进入了大众化阶段,大学毕业生就业形势越来越严峻,越来越多的女毕业生面临着一毕业就失业的危机。本文以高职高专女大学生为研究对象,围绕高职高专女大学生这一就业创业困难群体进行全面的分析和探讨,提出缓解这一问题的对策及建议,对解决目前高职高专女大学生就业创业困难问题具有很好的指导意义。     

《弱智残疾人福利机构标准体系》的创建和运行

为全面提高服务质量和整体管理水平，探索残疾人福利机构管理模式，北京市第二社会福利院从2007年开始了《弱智残疾人福利机构标准体系》的创建工作。共制定技术标准179项，管理标准44项，工作标准85项，通过标准专家的考核、评审、认证以及实施，不仅为进一步探索管理模式，创建“安全、有序、和谐、优质”的福利机构提供详实的经验，而且还为研究开发弱智残疾人福利机构现代管理技术填补了空白。通过这项工作的开展，扩大了社会影响；整体服务和管理水平不断提高；服务环境有了进一步的改善，为促进残疾人福利事业的持续发展奠定了一定的基础。     

Technology Choice:

ABSTRACT Suppose, unlike the endogenous growth literature, that technological innovation may actually create structural problems. If capital and labor inputs of specific skill levels are complementary, and new technology changes the skill mix needs, then this mismatch may create underemployment or unemployment. High-tech investment maximizes output but at the expense of unemployment of unskilled workers; lower-tech investment results in smaller unskilled labor unemployment, but a smaller increase in output (or underemployment of skilled labor). A policy solution for this tradeoff is to allocate investment between physical capital and human capital in the right proportions to ensure both maximum output and full employment.     

浅析高校“三困生”问题的成因及对策

在高校中,客观存在着或多或少的"家庭困难、学习困难、思想困惑"的"三困生"。他们极有可能是面临勉强毕业、难就业、退学等情况的高危学生群体,有的"三困生"甚至会做出极端的危害他人、社会的事情来(比如马加爵)。因此,笔者认为,三困生问题已经成为一个复杂的社会问题,做好"三困生"工作,不仅是学生发展、学校稳定的要求,也是建设和谐社会的要求。目前高校的帮困体系以物质资助为主,"三困生"的脱困处于被动状态。本文着重分析三困生的成因,从内外因果关系上寻找主动脱困的方法。     

Managing the locals: employee relations in South Asian restaurants

This paper examines the management of employee relations in South Asian firms in the UK independent restaurant sector. Key working practices pertaining to the employment relationship are examined in a particular socio-economic and spatial context. Acknowledging such contexts facilitates an appreciation of how ethnicity and employment relations interact, rather than abstracting culture from the material context in which it operates. Consistent with this analytic focus, a mixed embeddedness perspective (Kloosterman et al. 1999) is adopted which recognizes the importance of both economic and social aspects of ethnic minority entrepreneurship. A qualitative methodology, drawing upon 23 case histories (involving both employer and employee perspectives) is deployed. The indications from this research suggest that the employment relationship is an outcome of the fluid interaction of social, economic and geographical contexts. This renders problematic both culturalist and purely economic approaches to ethnic minority entrepreneurship. Future research should carefully consider how the employment relationship is influenced by its embeddedness within specific communities.     

高职院校就业指导课程体系的构建

大学生就业成为社会关注的焦点问题,要有效地促进大学生就业,从根本上解决就业难问题,大学生就业能力与职业素质的提升成为关键。文章探讨高职院校就业指导课程体系的构建与实施,希望能提高大学生的职业能力,帮助大学生成人成材。