Human resource management in the Spanish call centre sector: the bird cage model of call centre work

This paper examines the nature of human resource management (HRM) in call centres in Spain. After reviewing the institutional perspective and other previous contributions to the characterisation of HRM practices in call centres, the authors present evidence of the use of high commitment working practices (HCWP) in this sector. The findings report only a moderate presence of HCWP in the sector generally, but the analysis points towards the existence of four significant and distinct clusters of HRM practices. The results also show categorical evidence that work discretion is almost non-existent across all of the clusters, even in those with more evolved high commitment practices. This lack of autonomy, as well as an intensive use of performance monitoring systems, leads us to model the results in a bird–cage analogy.     

Employee wellbeing in call centres

Call centres are often perceived to have a negative impact on employee wellbeing, mainly attributed to four factors: job design, performance monitoring, HR practices and team leader support. This article reports on a survey of 557 customer service representatives that examined the relationship of these factors to four measures of wellbeing: anxiety, depression and intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. One distinctive feature of this article is its focus on anxiety and depression, two major dimensions of wellbeing not addressed in call centre research to date. Results demonstrated that the factors most highly associated with wellbeing were high control over work methods and procedures, a low level of monitoring and a supportive team leader. Evidence also indicates that the level of wellbeing in some call centres is similar to that in other comparable forms of work.     

Announcement and call for papers

Announcement and call for papers     

现代企业呼唤知识管理

知识管理是以知识为核心,运用集体智慧提高应变和创新能力,通过知识共享,全面实现对企业的管理,文章主要讨论了现代企业新的管理理念知识,知识管理在现代企业管理中的重要性及实施等内容。     

吹响经济社团横向联合的号角

华东六省及长三角区域十五个城市的企业联合会、企业家协会的会长、秘书长联席会议,即日将在沪召开。这次高峰会议是华东六省一市第三部门的一件大事,是泛长三角区域经济社团的一件盛事,是中国企联系统的一件新事。它,吹响了中国经济社团横向联合的第一声号角。为之,我们高擎双臂欢呼,满腔热情祝贺。     

Engaging the professional: organising call centre agents in India

The extremely challenging external environment poses numerous challenges to union formation among call centre agents in India. Complicating matters is the acquired professional identity of call centre agents. In this scenario, the union organising call centre employees envisaged that partnership with employers was the only possibility acceptable to call centre agents, employer organisations and society at large, enabling them to regain some acceptability and credibility for the heretofore tainted Indian trade union movement.     

客户关系管理与呼叫中心的结合

客户关系管理(CRM)是企业的一种经营策略、管理理念,在实践上就表现为一套软件和技术的使用,呼叫中心作为实现CRM的信息技术支撑,在CRM战略中扮演着越来越重要的角色,文章针对两者的关系和技术上的运用进行讨论,提出了基于CRM的呼叫中心是未来的发展趋势。     

不间断工作呼叫系统及其应用研究

文中在深入分析老年人安全现状以及当前呼叫系统的基础上,以ATmega8单片机为核心,设计了一种基于单片机的不间断工作呼叫系统。在进行呼叫器不间断工作原理分析、系统关键硬件电路设计以及整合人机工程学知识的基础上,规划出呼叫系统和信息平台的构建模式,以及不间断工作呼叫系统的总体方案。     

The viability of alternative call centre production models

In this article we outline three alternative production models and discuss their applicability to call centre management. These include the classic mass production model, the professional service model and the mass customisation model. We then develop a theoretical framework that identifies potential causal links between management practices, workers? affective and cognitive reactions, and performance outcomes. We use this framework to review literature on service workplaces in organisational behaviour and HR studies and to assess the empirical evidence regarding these causal explanations. Finally, we present two recent quantitative studies of call centre performance – one that examines affective explanations and one that explores cognitive explanations for the HRperformance link. We conclude with directions for future research.     

Tensions and variations in call centre management strategies

Management strategies in call centres face a series of tensions stemming from conflicts between achieving efficiency and providing a quality service to the customer. Recent research suggests high commitment management (HCM) techniques are being applied in call centres in a paradoxical strategy of ‘low discretion, high commitment’(LDHC). This article presents case findings on four British call centres that confirm the LDHC model but suggest that it operates in a variety of forms. By characterising the research sites according to the combined dimensions of HCM orientation and job design implementation, a typology of LDHC approaches is proposed. These are containment, alleviation, structured employee development and involvement. In essence, the LDHC model is an attempt to reconcile the costs of control with the levers of commitment. However, an examination of the realities of LDHC in action reveals a varied but persistent pull towards control. Fundamentally this exposes LDHC as a substitute for, rather than a reflection of, commitment.     

Reducing burnout in call centers through HR practices

Previous research on call centers has demonstrated that human resource (HR) practices can be related to employee stress; however, these studies did not examine the linking mechanisms underlying these associations. Using the job demands–control (JD‐C) model as a theoretical framework, we examine perceived job demands (namely, emotional dissonance and quantitative demands) and autonomy as potential mediators in the relationship between HR systems and burnout (exhaustion and cynicism). We distinguish between HR control systems, which include performance monitoring practices, and HR involvement systems, which include training, participation, and performance‐related pay. This study samples 811 employees working in 11 call centers. Our findings support the idea that HR systems can help reduce burnout in call centers by verifying that HR control systems associated with more emotional dissonance and less autonomy increase burnout. On the other hand, an HR involvement system decreases workers' burnout because it alleviates the job demands of emotional dissonance and quantitative demands. This study fills a gap in the literature between HR systems and burnout by demonstrating the role job demands and autonomy play in explaining how HR systems improve or decrease workers' exhaustion and cynicism. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Challenges in approximating the Black and Scholes call formula with hyperbolic tangents

Decisions in Economics and Finance - In this paper, we introduce the concept of standardized call function and we obtain a new approximating formula for the Black and Scholes call function through...