The Decline of Collectivism? A Comparative Study of White-Collar Employees in Britain and Australia

There is a widely held view that important changes are occurring in the character of employee attitudes. With the growth of individualistic human resource management techniques, it is argued that employees' collectivist work orientations are in decline. Drawing on data from a large-scale survey of bank employees in Britain and Australia, this paper explores the attitudes of employees to work, trade unions and collective action and identifies the determinants of those attitudes. In both countries, collectivism is found to have a significant effect on the preparedness of individuals to fulfil their union obligations and duties and to take industrial action. There is little evidence to indicate the demise of collectivism.     

AN EMPIRICAL TEST OF THE TIMING OF BOND-REFUNDING DECISIONS

In this paper we measure the ability of firms to time bond-refunding decisions. The timing performance achieved on a sample of 161 public utility bond refundings is compared with the timing performance achieved by three benchmark models. We find that firms achieve levels of timing performance significantly better than the random selection and 100-basis-point benchmark models, but not significantly better than a stopping-time model based on present value analysis.     

The Intergenerational Transmission of Intelligence: Down the Slippery Slopes of The Bell Curve

Herrnstein and Murray report that conditional on maternal intelligence (AFQT scores), child test scores are little affected by variations in socioeconomic status. Using the same data, we demonstrate that their finding is very fragile. We explore the effect of adopting a more representative sample of children, including blacks and Latinos, allowing nonlinearities in the relationships, and incorporating richer measures of socioeconomic status. Making any one of these changes overturns their finding: Socioeconomic status and child test scores are positively ad significantly related. Evidence is presented suggesting AFQT scores are likely better markers for family background than intelligence.     

Acculturation strategy and individual outcomes: Cultural diversity implications for human resource management

With the intensification of globalization, countries and the organizations within them have become increasingly multicultural. This presents an important challenge, and perhaps an opportunity, for human resource management (HRM) practitioners. Drawing on cognitive dissonance theory, we propose key outcomes associated with newcomers’ acculturation strategy. Our typology suggests that cultural identity salience (CIS) can explain varying levels of psychological well-being for individuals who assimilate or separate. Individuals who integrate or marginalize, however, will experience consistent levels of psychological well-being irrespective of CIS. Moreover, individuals who integrate, rather than assimilate, separate, or marginalize, will tend to develop the most diverse range of contacts and achieve the most favorable job search and employability outcomes. In light of this, HRM practices should be designed to encourage integration by fostering an environment that embraces diversity. We discuss theoretical and practical contributions and offer directions for future research.