The law and job design: comments on recent Norwegian legislation

A primary concern of those interested in the quality of working life has been with the design of jobs. In this article the authors review the reasons why job design reform has not generally attracted the interest of lawmakers. One notable exception is Norway, and this article reports the findings of a survey into the effects of the most recent law—the Work Environment Act of 1977.     

KNOWLEDGE AND THE THEORY OF ORGANIZATIONS: ORGANIZATIONS AS ACTIVITY SYSTEMS AND THE REFRAMING OF MANAGEMENT*

Recent developments in the theory of knowing and doing contrast with conventional rational-cognitive assumptions about management and organization. This, and the emphasis that is currently being placed on the importance of esoteric knowledge for business success, suggests that a review of the relationship between knowledge, organization and management is timely. Activity theory offers a way of synthesizing and developing relevant notions. the approach has its origins in Russian psychology which endeavoured to avoid the dichotomies between thought and action and between individuals and society which have characterized Western theory. Activity theory examines the nature of practical activities, their social origins, and the nature of the ‘activity systems’ within which people collaborate. Modifications to Engestrom's contemporary presentation of the approach are suggested, and a theory of organizations as activity systems is offered. the theory reframes management by modelling the recurrent and embedded nature of human activities, by revealing the tentative nature of knowledge and its action orientation, and by highlighting the opportunities for individual and collective development that engagement and dilemma can provide. the article concludes by reviewing implications for the management of knowledge work, organizational capabilities and organizational learning.     

Metrics: HRM's Holy Grail? A New Zealand case study

What gets measured in business is noticed and acted on. The importance of human resource management (HRM) to be noticed as a vital key to business success has been argued profusely by the HRM profession over the last three decades. While the importance of human resource (HR) measurement is not disputed by business managers, the search for meaningful generic HR metrics is like HRM's Holy Grail. The purpose of this research is to investigate the issues confronting a sample of business organisations concerning measurement issues. It examines the current measurement practices used and their HR measurement needs. Developing appropriate HR measures, in terms of adding value, allows organisations to refocus their resources for leverage. Inappropriate measures simply encourage inappropriate behaviours not in the long‐term interests of the business. We know that HRM is less prepared than other business functions (like finance or management information systems) to quantify its impact on business performance. Our results suggest that HR metrics as the Holy Grail of HRM remain elusive. This research signals the importance of developing relevant and meaningful HR measurement models, while acknowledging that the actual metrics used (unlike accounting measures) may vary from business to business.     

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND PARADIGMS OF PRACTICE

This paper is concerned with the appropriateness of qualitative methodologies for the retrospective evaluation of programmes of organizational change. Certain reviews of our re-evaluation of a new philosophy of management, which was introduced within a major oil refining company in the mid 1960's, indicate that qualitative research is seen as inappropriate by many social scientists. However other reviewers argue that good qualitative evaluation necessarily entails close and continuing involvement with the process of change. Having outlined our methodology we consider the potential of these perspectives as a blueprint for activity in applied social science. We conclude by suggesting that advocates of such differing paradigms of practice should recognize that, unlike some natural science paradigms, competing paradigms should not be thought of as mutually exclusive.     

Power, Mastery And Organizational Learning

The topic of power has not featured strongly in debates about organizational learning, a point that is illustrated in a discussion of influential studies of teamworking. Despite the insights that such studies have provided into the nature of expertise and collaboration they have tended not to explore the relevance of issues of hierarchy, politics and institutionalized power relations. The paper addresses the problem by exploring the links between power, expertise and organizational learning. Power is analysed both as the medium for, and the product of, collective activity. The approach emphasizes how skills and imaginations are intertwined with social, technical and institutional structures. While studies of teamworking have concentrated on situations where imaginations and structures are tightly linked, unexpected developments may occur when these relations are loosened. Such situations occur when the needs of the moment overshadow normal routines and relationships and there is no single overview or centre of control. It is suggested that organizational learning can be conceptualized as the movement between familiar and emergent activities and between established and emergent social relations. Events in a two-year action research project are used to illustrate the approach and explore episodes of decentred collaboration.