Alternative diversity management: Organizational practices fostering ethnic equality at work

Taking a critical, performative stance, this study aims to advance our understanding of diversity management enhancing ethnic equality at work. Relying on a multiple-case study, we inductively identify organizational practices that foster the valuing of multiple competencies and the ability to express multiple identities, two key organizational markers of ethnic equality advanced in the gender and diversity literature. Our analysis indicates that ethnic equality is fostered by practices that broaden dominant norms on competencies and cultural identities, and avoid reducing ethnic minority employees to mere representatives of a stigmatized social group. In contrast to ‘classical’ diversity management practices which focus on individuals’ cognitive biases toward out-group members, these practices redefine what is ‘standard’ in the employment relationship, hereby structurally countering ethnic inequality within organizational boundaries.     

Resilience and the (micro-)dynamics of organizational ambidexterity: implications for strategic HRM

Abstract

In the twenty-first century, resilience has emerged as a seminal and important topic linked to calls for adaptability, well-being and organizational performance. Extant strategic human resource management (HRM) literature and practices have developed many insights into resilience. However, overall, they have a propensity to conceptualise resilience as being associated with ‘macro-’ and ‘extreme’ situations. This paper complements the prevailing perspective by developing a micro-focus on resilience through the conceptual framework of organizational ambidexterity surfacing under-examined individual resilience in connection with HRM practices. Methodologically, the paper adopts a qualitative approach presenting data from two illustrative contexts: an ‘everyday’ quasi-governmental institution and a prima facie ‘extreme’ pan-international military organization. Using template analysis, a number of valuable themes and similarities are identified. The findings and discussion underline the managerial challenges in handling organizational ambidextrous dynamics and tensions surrounding resilience, positive and sceptical approaches in relation to individual and organizational stances towards HRM practices. As such, the results point at value in HRM managers and practices recontextualising and appreciating ‘extremes’ and resilience more as an everyday (rather than exceptional) phenomenon wherein myriad micro-moments are highly significant in constructing and influencing macro-contexts. This also implies a need to see cynical resistance as normative rather than automatically negatively.     

Understanding Employees’ Perceptions of Human Resource Practices: Effects of Demographic Dissimilarity to Managers and Coworkers

Strategic HRM researchers have increasingly adopted an employee perspective to understand the influence of HR practices on employee outcomes and have called for studies to explain variability in employees’ perceptions of HR practices. To address this research need, we used the social information processing perspective to examine the contextual influence of managers and coworkers on employees’ perceptions of HR practices and explore demographic dissimilarities as boundary conditions of the contextual influence. Conducting research in two organizational settings, we found that both manager‐perceived and coworker‐perceived HR practices were positively related to employees’ perceptions of HR practices. The results also revealed that employee demographic dissimilarity to coworkers in terms of age and organizational tenure weakened the positive relationship between coworker‐perceived and employee‐perceived HR practices. However, the relationship between manager‐perceived and employee‐perceived HR practices was not influenced by demographic dissimilarities. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

What if subordinates took care of managers’ mental health at work?

Managers’ mental health is increasingly a subject of concern. However, organizational interventions to reduce stress and promote mental health do not target managers, but rather employees. Numerous studies report a link between supervisory behaviors and subordinates’ mental health at work, and suggest that developing managers’ behavior is a promising avenue in enhancing subordinates’ mental health at work. Nonetheless, the literature has neglected the role and behaviors of subordinates in the prevention of their managers’ mental health problems. This article presents the results of a qualitative research study that inventories 38 specific work practices (observable behaviors) of subordinates, grouped into 12 competencies. Managers and subordinates identified these work practices as affecting work environmental stressors and promoting managers’ mental health at work. The results also point to a major gap between the specific working practices cited by managers and those cited by subordinates, who generally report practices in a passive way. The theoretical and practical repercussions and implications for organizational intervention and human resource management are discussed.     

Exploring the Conceptual Expansion within the Field of Organizational Behaviour: Organizational Climate and Organizational Culture

Developments within social and exact sciences take place because scientists engage in scientific practices that allow them to further expand and refine the scientific concepts within their scientific disciplines. There is disagreement among scientists as to what the essential practices are that allow scientific concepts within a scientific discipline to expand and evolve. One group looks at conceptual expansion as something that is being constrained by rational practices. Another group, however, suggests that conceptual expansion proceeds along the lines of ‘everything goes’. The goal of this paper is to test whether scientific concepts expand in a rational way within the field of organizational behaviour. We will use organizational climate and culture as examples. The essence of this study consists of two core concepts: one within organizational climate and one within organizational culture. It appears that several conceptual variations are added around these core concepts. The variations are constrained by rational scientific practices. In other terms, there is evidence that the field of organizational behaviour develops rationally     

Managing Persistent Tensions on the Frontline: A Configurational Perspective on Ambidexterity

Ambidexterity research has noted that firms’ simultaneous pursuit of exploration and exploitation causes organizational tensions that are difficult to resolve. To make these tensions manageable, scholars have generally suggested that senior managers take the central role in designing organizational solutions, such as the structural separation or contextual integration of the exploratory and exploitative tasks. Yet, in an inductive study of ten corporate innovation initiatives, we find that our informants assigned far less importance to the senior managers’ initial design choices than to the frontline managers’ subsequent configurational practices. Frontline managers used these practices to constantly adapt and align their initiatives’ organizational contexts, which allowed them to cope with persistent exploration‐exploitation tensions in their daily business activities. Based on these empirical insights and drawing on paradox theory, we develop a configurational perspective on ambidexterity, where frontline managers play a more central, proactive, and strategic role than purported by the established design perspective on ambidexterity.     

A problematic transition to a strategic role: human resource management in industrial enterprises in China

The Chinese government has launched extensive reforms to encourage integration with the global economy. Our research investigates the implications for human resource management practices of the changing business environment in China, ownership of organizations, organizational strategies and strategic integration of the HR function. We conducted two surveys in major Chinese cities in 1994/5 and 2001/2, with managers of state-owned, privately owned, collectively owned and foreign-invested enterprises.

Regression analyses showed that organizational strategy and organizational ownership, in contrast with earlier research, were not found to be strong predictors of HRM practices. The changing business environment in China and participation by the HR function in strategic decision-making were the strongest predictors of HRM practices. Overall, a strategic role for the HR function and implementation of ‘Western’ HRM practices are becoming more prevalent in China, although the legacy of traditional practices endures and new challenges are emerging.     

Why and when organizational culture fosters affective commitment among knowledge workers: the mediating role of perceived psychological contract fulfilment and moderating role of organizational tenure

Drawing on Denison and Mishra (1995)’s framework of organizational culture, this study examines why and when organizational culture is related to knowledge workers’ affective commitment. Data were collected from 640 employees working in three high-technology companies in China. The findings indicate that the relationship between organizational culture and affective commitment is mediated by perceived psychological contract fulfilment. In addition, organizational tenure moderates the relationship between two external dimensions (i.e. adaptability and mission) of organizational culture and perceived psychological contract fulfilment. This study extends the current theoretical framework of organizational culture by demonstrating the underlying mechanism and the boundary condition of the relationship between organizational culture and affective commitment. The findings also provide practical implications for international managers to design appropriate human resource management policies and practices in China.     

The labour relations heritage and lean manufacturing at Fiat

The objective of the paper is interpreting, from an evolutionary perspective, recent developments of work organization and human resource management policies at Fiat Auto, one of the world's largest automobile manufacturers, which achieved a successful restructuring in the early 1990s. Building on a heritage of adversarial labour relations and ‘mass production’ organizational principles, Fiat developed an original and to some extent hybrid version of ‘lean’ human resource management practices (teamwork, flexible compensation, multi-skilling, etc.).

The paper analyses this process of organizational change from an evolutionary perspective based on the concept of dynamic capabilities. From this standpoint, IR. HRM and work organization practices are the result of a learning process, based on original development, imitation, analogical replication, combination and selection of organizational capabilities; organizational capabilities have a cumulative and path-dependent nature; workplace innovations are also rooted in organizational absorptive capacities, that is, the ability of firms to exploit new (and often extramural) organizational and HRM developments; the existence of complementarities among organizational competencies, assets and choices in term of HRM are likely to push toward the adoption of a set or system of (rather than single and insulated) innovations in work organization, HRM practices and industrial relations policies.

The data provided in the paper show that the process of innovation of workplace practices at Fiat Auto (summarized by the concept of the Fabbrica Integrata) is curiously non-linear. The newly designed HRM policies have, on the one hand, been resisted by the unions (who have not been involved in the design process) and by segments of the work-force; on the other hand, they have been hindered by existing organizational features and personnel practices which, in turn, were key success factors during the 1980s. This inertia is significantly lower at the new greenfield plant of Melfi. On the whole, the restructuring process was successful from the competitive and financial standpoint, and represents the basis on which management and the unions can develop a new co-operative model of industrial relations.     

Organizational public value and employee life satisfaction: the mediating roles of work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior

Abstract

Building on Meynhardt’s public value concept, which has been developed to make transparent an organization’s contributions to the common good, we investigate the influence of organizational common good practices in the perceptions of employees (measured as public value) on employees’ work attitudes and life satisfaction. The proposed model is tested on a sample of 1045 Swiss employees taken from the 2015 Swiss Public Value Atlas data-set. Study findings reveal that organizational public value is positively related to employee life satisfaction, and that this relationship is partially mediated by work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior. Further, we show that employee common good orientations strengthen the positive impact of organizational public value on employee work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior. Results also provide evidence that the indirect effects of organizational public value on employee life satisfaction via work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior are stronger at higher employee common good orientation levels.     

The Impact of Management Development Practices on Organizational Commitment

Social exchange theorists argue that organizations that provide developmental assignments raise employee commitment. But such assignments may also undermine commitment by increasing the recipients’ value in the external labor market. We compare the effect of developmental assignments on organizational commitment with that of other development practices: coaching, mentoring, training, and support from the direct superior and senior management. We also test whether synergies arise when developmental assignments are combined with the other development practices. Using a sample of 312 highly skilled professionals working in over sixty countries, in a variety of industries and firms of various sizes, we find that developmental assignments are the strongest driver of organizational commitment, together with support from senior management. The positive relationship between developmental assignments and organizational commitment is weaker in the presence of other development practices. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

数字经济时代下企业组织惯性的重构路径研究

组织惯性研究中"选择决定论"与"组织适应论"的视角冲突,割裂了企业对组织惯性的认知,难以形成相匹配的应对模式。文章从资源基础理论视角切入设计案例研究,研究发现企业组织惯性的重构路径会经历三个主要阶段:(1)组织外围结构先行演化,不断试错,形成可被纳入核心结构的能力;(2)基于形成的能力进行资源动员,丰富可能的资源和能力组合方案;(3)通过解构与重组惯性的方式构建动态调节机制。研究结论有助于丰富组织惯性和资源基础的研究文献,弥合了组织惯性研究的视角冲突,在组织变革中引入了管理者的资源管理能力;同时可为企业无法准确识别环境变化时提供一个处理组织惯性的可行指导方案,促使企业组织的成长演化过程向进化转变。     

High-performance work practices and nurses’ intention to leave: the mediating role of organizational cynicism and the moderating role of human resource management-related educational background

Recently, an increasing stream of research has examined high-performance work practices in the health care context. In this vein, high-performance work practices have been shown to be related to various employees’ attitudes and behaviors including intention to leave. This study attempted to improve our understanding of the relationship between high-performance work practices and intention to leave by jointly examining mediating and moderating mechanisms. Results from a sample of 299 private nurses supported our moderated mediation model thus demonstrating that organizational cynicism mediated the relationship between high-performance work practices and intention to leave and further that this indirect effect is dependent on nurses’ human resource management-related educational background.     

Management of paradox: a comparative study of managerial practices in Korean and Japanese firms

Numerous scholars are recognizing that paradoxes are indigenous to organizational functioning. Managers too are being challenged to do more and spend less, and delegate and know the details. As a corporate objective, neither efficiency nor innovation can be sacrificed. In this paper, we have attempted to capture this emerging trend empirically. Defining management of paradox as ‘managerial practices that realize the simultaneous accomplishment of multiple strategic objectives that are seemingly or actually incompatible,’ this paper explores how organizational capabilities of effectively dealing with paradox can be acquired. Specifically, the paper attempts to address two organizational mechanisms: decision-making structure and human resource practices (HRPs). Propositions deduced from the existing literature were tested with the data collected from 103 Korean firms and 136 Japanese firms. The data indicated that firms have to be multi-talented. It was found that firms that successfully accomplished innovation and efficiency objectives simultaneously were those that were able to mix paradoxical organizational practices: decentralization and control on the one hand and the three HRPs on the other. It was also found that the Japanese corporations were more apt in deploying paradoxical managerial practices than the Korean counterparts. The paper concludes by discussing a few theoretical implications.     

Multisource Ratings Of Managerial Competencies And Their Predictive Value For Managerial And Organizational Effectiveness

This study examined the predictive value of multisource ratings of managerial competencies for managerial and organizational effectiveness. Data from 155 subordinates, 59 peers, and 28 supervisors were gathered in order to provide insight into their perceptions on managerial competencies for their managers. With regard to the outcome variable (i.e., effectiveness), both individual‐level (subordinates’, peers’, and supervisors’ ratings of managers) and organizational‐level (Balanced Scorecard) measures were used. As expected, subordinates, peers, and supervisors have distinct perspectives on the managerial competencies that are relevant for effectiveness. Moreover, the specific managerial competencies differ in terms of their predictive validity respectively for managerial and organizational effectiveness. The outcomes of our study suggest that a multisource and multimethod approach is valuable in assessing both managerial competencies and managerial and organizational effectiveness. Several implications for human resource management practices are discussed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The effects of family-friendly practices and gender discrimination on job attitudes: the moderating role of supervisor support

This study examined the effects of family-friendly practices and gender discrimination on female employees' job attitudes and the moderating role of supervisor support. The results of our analysis, based on a sample of 1556 female employees in Korea, indicate that family-friendly practices and workplace environments reflecting gender discrimination are significantly related to their job satisfaction and workplace benefits stress. In addition, supervisor support moderated the effects of family-friendly practices and workplace environments reflecting gender discrimination on Korean female employees' job satisfaction and work stress. These results suggest that perceived organizational support has considerable influence on the job attitudes of Korean female employees through its interactions with supervisor support. Therefore, firms should consider the ‘fit’ between organizational support and supervisory roles to enhance Korean female employees' job satisfaction and to reduce their work stress.     

Organizational political climate: Shared perceptions about the building and use of power bases

Organizational politics continues to be acknowledged as a real and important dimension of organizational functioning. Most research has focused on ‘perceptions of organizational politics’ where organizational politics is conceptualized negatively and its relationship with detrimental individual and organizational outcomes is demonstrated. We argue that organizational politics can be conceptualized as a multi-dimensional climate level construct and that ‘organizational political climate’ can be both functional and dysfunctional. We propose and explain a four dimensional model of organizational political climate informed by existing theoretical perspectives on power bases. The four key dimensions are represented by the building and use of personal power, positional power, connection power and informational power. We also highlight the need for a comprehensive measure of organizational political climate which is underpinned by the four dimensions and which enables an assessment of the extent to which the organizational political climate is functional and/or dysfunctional. In summary, we recommend that HR practitioners seek to understand the functional and dysfunctional dimensions of organizational political climate and implement practices to foster a positive political climate. We overview practical implications for HR managers and suggest a future research agenda.     

Lessening the difference is more – the relationship between diversity management and the perceived organizational climate for gay men and lesbians

With a growing number of European companies following a variety of diversity management strategies, the number of companies including the ‘sexual orientation’ dimension in their diversity programs is increasing. Partially explained by the lack of research on that topic, most companies apply the risk-minimizing strategy of copying actions implemented by companies which have already done more in that field. In this context, this paper aims to provide more profound evidence for evaluating the interrelation between sexual orientation diversity management and the perceived organizational climate for gay and lesbian employees. Study 1 compares Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and a German equivalent, showing that companies including ‘sexual orientation’ in their diversity programs can be associated with a more supportive organizational climate for gay men and lesbians. Applying a Heideggerian theoretical framework, Study 2 compares regression models based on a sample of 1308 gay men and lesbians working in Germany. It is shown that those organizational practices that lessen the difference between homosexuality and heterosexuality within the organization are more strongly related to positive psychological climates than those practices that accentuate the difference. Equalization of heterosexual and homosexual partnerships, internal thematization of homosexuality and gay marketing are associated with positive climate perceptions; LGBT networks and mentoring are not.     

Promoting knowledge sharing in Tunisian KIFs through HRM Practices. The mediating role of human capital and learning climate

Abstract

Although human capital and learning climate have been considered in the SHRM Literature as two critical predictors of organizational success, little efforts have been made to examining their role in knowledge sharing. Our research aims at filling this gap. Using data from 203 knowledge workers in seven Tunisian KIFs, our study provides evidence, on a first level, for a direct link between the five HR practices and knowledge sharing. On a second level, we report a mediating role of human capital. In congruence with prior SHRM research, this result implies that the knowledge-based HR practices influence the value and uniqueness of the employees’ KSAOs, which in turn will improve their knowledge sharing behavior. On a third and final level, our results suggest that learning climate plays a mediation role as well. Such a result echoes recent research findings that confirmed the importance of learning climates in shaping employees’ behaviors toward achieving specific organizational objectives. Our findings provide important insights on the intermediary mechanisms between HRM practices and knowledge sharing behavior in KIFs and offer interesting research perspectives on the under-theorized role of human capital in a knowledge sharing context.