Able,willing, and knowing: the effects of HR practices on commitment and effort in 26 European countries

This study extends previous studies of human resource (HR) practices by examining how organizational commitment and work effort are related to the use of HR practices enhancing discretion and skills based on international comparative survey data from 26 European countries. By analyzing individual level data instead of the organizational level data that are examined in prior studies, this article allows investigating whether and how employee perceptions of HR practices are related to their attitudes and behavior. The multilevel analyses largely support the hypotheses that both the intensity and the consistency of these HR practices contribute to organizational commitment and work effort since they enhance the ability of employees and their willingness to cooperate and inform them about the expectations of the organization.     

Gaps between managers' and employees' perceptions of work–life balance

Research on work–life balance (WLB) practices has increased in recent years. Academics affirm that the implementation of WLB practices helps to achieve better organizational results and improve employee outcomes such as higher satisfaction and commitment, and reduce turnover intentions. However, some authors have argued that there are differences between the availability of WLB practices in companies and employees' perceptions of access to such practices. The literature on the differences in perceptions between managers and employees in relation to WLB and its effects is sparse. Using two samples of 229 managers and 511 employees from the same firms, we in this paper contribute to our knowledge of the existence of the perception gaps between managers and employees and their influence on the take-up of WLB. Implications for academics and practitioners are discussed.     

The relationship between attitudes toward diversity management in the Southwest USA and the GLOBE study cultural preferences

This study investigates the importance of diversity management as it relates to the GLOBE study cultural preferences. A survey of 225 students in undergraduate and graduate programs at a private Texas University concluded that collectivism was a strong predictor of how positively participants rated their organizations support for diversity, diversity recruitment efforts, diversity training for mentors, and employees with disabilities. The participants were nontraditional students who were also employed in a wide array of organizations. Collectivism and assertiveness were both strong predictors with regard to participant's ratings of chief executive officer (CEO) support of diversity and the organization's overall diversity training. With regard to leadership dimensions, humane-oriented leadership was a positive predictor of preference for a collective culture, which predicts diversity management ratings. Team-oriented leadership also predicted ratings of diversity management. The results of the study indicate that promoting a more collectivist rather than individualistic culture is associated with the increased rating of organizational diversity practices. Furthermore, it strengthens the argument that with the increase in globalization, organizations must be prepared to re-evaluate their policies and know when to adapt to changes in organizational culture.     

Team autonomy,organizational commitment and company performance – a study in the retail trade

The study focuses on the relationship between perceived team autonomy and company performance through highlighting organizational commitment as a mediating factor in this relationship. Data collected in 2007 came from 25 small-sized companies in the retail trade, covering both the employer and employee levels (n = 369). This study aims to shed light on the following questions: first, is team autonomy associated with organizational commitment and company performance? Second, does commitment mediate the relationship between team autonomy and company performance? Results indicated that team autonomy was both directly and indirectly positively associated with company performance. Furthermore, organizational commitment partially mediated the relationship between team autonomy and company performance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Examining the Draw of Diversity: How Diversity Climate Perceptions Affect Job‐Pursuit Intentions

Organizations must target talented applicants, who will often be demographically diverse, to attract the most competent and competitive workforce possible. Despite the bottom‐line implications of attracting the best and brightest, surprisingly little is known about how and why diversity recruitment strategies affect recruitment outcomes (e.g., job‐pursuit intentions). To gain insight into this question, we conducted an initial experimental study (N = 194) to test the premise that other‐group orientation moderates the relationship between perceived organizational value of diversity and job‐pursuit intentions. In a follow‐up experiment (N = 255), identity affirmation was examined as the mediating mechanism for the interaction observed in the first study. Mediated moderation analyses supported the proposed model. Collectively, the studies indicate that job seekers high in other‐group orientation are more intent on pursuing employment with organizations deemed to value diversity because they feel that their salient identities are likely to be affirmed. No such indirect effect is present for those lower in other‐group orientation.     

Employee commitment in MNCs: Impacts of organizational culture,HRM and top management orientations

This article tests a model of organizational commitment in multinational corporations (MNCs). According to the model, organizational culture and human resource management (HRM) affect employee commitment directly as well as indirectly through top management team orientations. Szpecifically, we examined the effect of top management team global orientation and geocentric orientation, which are seen as contributing uniquely to employee commitment in MNCs. The model was tested on a sample of 1664 core employees working in 39 affiliates of 10 MNCs. We found strong overall support for the model. In particular, organizational culture characterized by high adaptability and a HRM system characterized by high performance work practices were found to have a significant and direct effect on employee commitment. In addition, we found that the effect of these traditional elements of the human organization is partially mediated through top management orientations, specific to international firms. The validity and generalizability of these results are reinforced by the control of a set of demographic variables as well as nationality of parent company.     

Cross-cultural adjustment of expatriates in Japan

This study examines determinants of expatriate cross-cultural adjustment related to non-work- (interaction and general living adjustment) and work- (work adjustment and job satisfaction) aspects in Japan. It was hypothesized that cultural distance and expatriate gender, language proficiency, type (organizational or self-initiated expatriates), and stable personality traits (social initiative, emotional stability, cultural empathy, flexibility, and open-mindedness) have an influence on both non-work- and work-related adjustment. Hierarchical regression analyses, performed on data from 110 expatriates, indicate that expatriate language proficiency, type, and the personality traits of emotional stability and cultural empathy have a positive influence on both types of adjustment. Implications of these findings for practice are discussed.     

Identification and Trust in Public Organizations: A communicative approach

Abstract

Little empirical research has examined the link between organizational identification and organizational trust. Identification presupposes a level of consistency in its object, and this study proposes that trust can reduce uncertainty between organization and employee, enabling a bond between the two to form. Secondly, this research looks at how interaction with various organizational groups may affect organizational trust, thereby indirectly encouraging identification. It is thus proposed that organizational trust should be understood as an important mechanism mediating the relationship between interaction with employees at different levels of the organizational hierarchy and identification with the organization as a whole.     

Governance for climate-change adaptive capacity in the Swedish electricity sector

Abstract

This article analyses the capacity for climate change adaptation (CCA) in the Swedish electricity grid sector. Utilizing two perspectives from organization theory it directs attention to changes in the sector, from the 1980s until 2010, with radical change with an NPM-reform in 1996. For the time before 1996 findings indicate a high CCA capacity. The reform led to a reduction in this capacity through an increased emphasis on economic efficiency, although there also has been some room for robustness-considerations. This article shows that organizational culture and formal structure influence the capacity to adapt to climate change.     

浅谈培养计算机应用型人才培养方式革新

：国家非常重视学校的建设和投入,硬软件设施与以往相比有了很大的成就和改善。如何利用好硬软件设施,加强实验设施及实践环节,设计好质量的实验,配备合格的实验指导人员,开展综合或系统的训练,培养动手能力强的学生才能真正见到办学成效。信息化社会高速发展,计算机类人才的需求面是很广的,但也是呈金字塔结构,人才培养也应当是金字塔结...