Maximizing Human Potential: Capabilities Theory and the Professional Work Environment

Human capabilities theory has emerged as an important framework for measuring whether various social systems promote human flourishing. The premise of this theory is that human beings share some nearly universal capabilities; what makes a human life fulfilling is the opportunity to exercise these capabilities. This essay proposes that the use of human capabilities theory can be expanded to assess whether a company has organized the work environment in such a way that allows workers to develop a variety of human capabilities. This mode of analysis is put forward as a complement to the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who has suggested that the key to promoting human well-being in the workplace is the maximization of flow experiences.     

Managing workplace bullying experiences in nursing: the impact of the work environment

To progress our understanding of good practice in the management of workplace bullying, the authors explored the influence of work environment factors on bullying intervention. Analysis of focus group data from public hospitals in New Zealand revealed factors at multiple levels in the work environment system that influenced intervention. Many of these factors have previously been identified as antecedents to bullying, suggesting that the work environment hypothesis can also be applied to the management of workplace bullying experiences.     

职场排斥与员工建言行为： 组织自尊的中介效应和主动性人格的调节效应

职场排斥对员工建言存在影响,其中组织自尊和主动性人格可能起到中介及调节作用。针对242份对上下级匹配问卷的研究表明：（1）职场排斥对员工建言行为具有显著的负向影响;（2）组织自尊在职场排斥与员工建言之间起完全中介作用;（3）主动性人格对职场排斥与员工建言之间的关系起调节作用。研究结果有利于拓展职场排斥与员工建言行为关系研究,为处理员工排斥问题提供实践指导。     

HRM practices used to promote pro-environmental behavior: a UK survey

To date, the extent to which UK organizations use human resource management (HRM) practices to promote pro-environmental behavior through workplace HRM policies and initiatives is under-researched within the literature. Therefore, this paper presents results of a survey investigating current HRM practices used to promote pro-environmental behavior in a sample of 214 UK organizations representing different sizes and industry sectors. Overall, findings indicated that HRM practices are not used to a great extent to encourage employees to become more pro-environmental. The most prevalent practices used within organizations incorporated elements of management involvement supporting the idea that managers are the gatekeepers to environmental performance. Although organizations indicated that some HRM practices were more effective than others at encouraging pro-environmental behavior in their staff, only a very small percentage of organizations actually conducted any form of evaluation; organizations consequently lack clear evidence as to whether their HRM practices actually result in employee behavior change. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Why HR policies fail to support workplace learning: the complexities of policy implementation in healthcare

An appropriate human resource policy infrastructure to support workplace learning has been advocated both within the literature on workplace learning and in official British Government guidance for healthcare organizations. Yet minimal empirical evidence exists to support the view that HR policies are able to promote greater use of workplace learning methods within organizations. This proposition was tested through collecting both quantitative and qualitative data from staff in British hospices. The findings demonstrated the limited effects of HR policies in this respect and five key factors were identified that appeared to influence HR policy implementation in this instance. These findings have wider significance for our understanding of the complex interrelationships that potentially exist between HR policies, their outcomes and the mediating factors associated with policy implementation.     

The relationship between organizational level and workplace friendship

This study examines the effect of organizational level on workplace friendship, which remains unclear in the organizational literature regarding interpersonal relationships. As was hypothesized, the result from a survey of 288 Taiwanese employees revealed that individuals at higher organizational levels perceived less workplace friendship. The finding does not support the argument that higher levels are presumed to have more workplace friendship in view of their capability of resource-supplying or their being in the centrality of working relationships/networks in their organizations. The workplace of organizational higher levels, and the situations for the finding are also discussed.     

The effects of the PDCA cycle and OJT on workplace learning

In the present article, we examined the effects of the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle and on-the-job-training (OJT) on workplace learning. We defined workplace learning based on the concept of an organizational learning cycle. Using survey data from a Japanese fire and marine insurance company, we found that PDCA, OJT (empowerment), and reflective communication had positive effects on workplace learning. These results suggest that quality management, empowerment and reflective practice may help to significantly improve workplace learning. We also discuss theoretical and managerial implications of this study.     

2012年英国强制性第二支柱养老金改革及其对中国的启示

英国养老金制度体系的问题是公共养老金保障不足,职业养老金覆盖范围有限。英国自2012年10开始实施“自动注册”的强制性第二支柱计划,该计划涉及面广,分阶段实施,在实施过程中具有一定的弹性,由雇主和雇员共同缴费,国家给予一定的财政补贴,通过养老金监督局和信托制度（NEST）,增加指导,辅助实施。文章分析了此项改革的来龙去脉,并认为此项改革是英国养老金一揽子改革的重要组成部分,既是对过去30余年公共养老保险私有化改革引起的问题的修补,也是完善养老金体制的重要突破。英国此项改革的一些做法值得中国借鉴。     

Using workplace population statistics to understand retail store performance

We explore the value of recently released workplace geographies and accompanying census-based workplace zone statistics (WZS) and an associated classification of workplace zones (COWZ). We consider how these data could support retailers in their operational and strategic decision-making, including the evaluation of retail demand and retail store performance in localities where trade is driven by non-residential demand. In collaboration with major UK grocery retailer The Co-operative Group we explore the relationship between workplace population composition and store trading characteristics using a series of case study stores within Inner London. We use empirical store trading data to identify store and product category level temporal sales fluctuations attributable to workplace populations. We also use census-derived flow data to identify the spatial origins of workplace population inflow. We identify that store performance exhibits characteristics attributable to demand driven by these populations. We conclude that workplace population geographies, WZS and the COWZ afford considerable potential for understanding drivers of store performance, observed store trading patterns and evaluation of retail store performance. We suggest that the next step is to build these populations and their micro geography spatial and temporal characteristics into predictive models and evaluate their potential for store performance evaluation and location-based store and network decision-making within this sector.