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Although multinational corporations (MNCs) invest considerable resources in sending managers on foreign assignments, too many managers report dissatisfaction with their postrepatriation careers, and a significant percentage leave the firm within a year. This failure to harness learning and develop a cadre of globally trained managers raises questions about the current objectives and strategies that drive the investment in expatriation. A study of managers who had recently completed their expatriate assignment points to underorganized home office operations, poorly defined mentor roles, and large gaps between managers' expectations and reality as key contributors to the problem. This paper calls for a strategic orientation toward managing the expatriate function and proposes a comprehensive configuration of processes, systems, and structures necessary for implementing new strategies for developing the next generation of globally trained managers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigated how the ownership structure is related to the firm's overall compensation strategy. The findings extend previous research that focused primarily on CEO compensation strategy. We show that there are significant differences in the compensation practices that apply to all employees as a function of the ownership structure. The results show that for owner-controlled firms and owner-managed firms there is significant pay/performance sensitivity for all employees. In management-controlled firms, changes in pay are related to changes in size of the firm. These findings lead us to conclude that ownership structure not only affects upper management's pay, but also the pay of all employees through substantial differences in the firm's compensation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine voting by a board designed to mitigate conflicts of interest between privately informed insiders and owners. Our model demonstrates that, as argued by researchers and the business press, boards with a majority of trustworthy but uninformed "watchdogs" can implement institutionally preferred policies. Our laboratory experiments strongly support this conclusion. Our model also highlights the necessity of penalties on insiders when there is dissension among board members. However, penalties for dissent appeared to have little impact on the experimental outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Executives often spend considerable time and energy trying to influence peers to support new initiatives (e.g., Conger, 1998; Enns, Huff, & Golden, 2001). That said, we know relatively little about how executives actually influence their peers. Using a sample of 132 executives, the present study found that finance executives differed the most from other executives in terms of the influence tactics and contexts used when influencing peers. Human resource executives also differed considerably from their counterparts in operations regarding influence tactics and contexts. Possible explanations, directions for future research, and implications for management are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used a sample of 405 managers and their spouses from twenty Fortune 500 multinational corporations to document the availability of American managers for international assignments. Aside from their spouses' feelings about international relocation, managers' willingness to relocate internationally was also predicted by their own attitudes about moving in general and their willingness to relocate domestically. Implications for human resource policy suggest that corporations must increasingly focus on human resource policies targeted toward the spouse. Results suggested that monitoring managers' intentions to relocate will enhance the organization's ability to adequately staff international sites with experienced managers. INSET: Table 1: Hypotheses about Factors Affecting Willingness to .... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews salient features of the foregoing articles contained in this special issue of Human Resource Management. The 360-degree feedback movement constitutes an important new technology in the practice of human resource management. To be sure, these papers suggest a hodgepodge of techniques, testimonials, cautions, methodological problems, axes being ground, and a lack of overall cohesion. Even so, the net result is a good snapshot of the current status and hopeful future of this new technology. The net impact of these articles is significant, showing clearly that 360-degree feedback methodology possesses distinct promise for improved success in both individualized and group programs of personal development in the bureaucratic and organizational settings of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the human resource practice of workforce diversity in the United States. Some concepts which put the problem in an understandable context are discussed. Two companies describe how to work on the issue directly. The first company, Baxter International, Inc., started at the top of the organization and examined all of its personnel policies in addition to looking at the attitudes of senior level managers. On the basis of this examination, a program was set in motion to improve diversity at every level of the organization. In Mazda Motor Manufacturing Co., on the other hand, a unique case vignette explains what the company is doing to integrate the Japanese approach to quality with an American work force.

Interviews with 26 CEOs across a wide variety of industries reveals their concerns as well as agenda and behavior. The issues discussed have been placed against four intellectual frameworks to get a better picture of CEO concerns. These executives frequently ponder institutional and corporate strategy but very seldom business strategy and competitive markets. The plurality of the concerns deal with issues of management development and human resource management. Where the question is one of changing or redirecting the strategy of the firm, it is often put in the context of looking inside the firm at top managers and organization culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a study of the effects of becoming plateaued on the careers of professionals in a declining organization. An unusual "triple ladder" was studied, one with paths in administration and technical specialization (the two typical components of a dual ladder system), as well as project management (a general practice, technical generalist role). In contrast to earlier studies of plateauing, it was found that occupational characteristics mitigate the effects of plateauing. The plateaued technical specialists experienced the expected declines in job attitudes; however, in project management, and to a lesser extent in administration, it was the plateaued group whose career outlook was most positive. Interview data suggested that the critical factor operating here was not plateauing perse, but the extent to which learning is required and experience and acquired skills are utilized and recognized in the work role. Structural career opportunities, intrinsic job rewards, and recognition were all critical factors in mitigating the effects of the career plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organizational problem firms face is the utilization of knowledge which is not, and cannot be, known by a single agent. Even more importantly, no single agent can fully specify in advance what kind of practical knowledge is going to be relevant, when and where. Firms, therefore, are distributed knowledge systems in a strong sense: they are decentered systems, lacking an overseeing 'mind'. The knowledge they need to draw upon is inherently indeterminate and continually emerging; it is not self-contained. individuals' stock of knowledge consists of (a) role-related normative expectations; (b) dispositions, which have been formed in the course of past socializations; and (c) local knowledge of particular circumstances of time and place. A firm has greater-or-lesser control over normative expectations, but very limited control over the other two. At any point in time, a firm's knowledge is the indeterminate outcome of individuals attempting to manage the inevitable tensions between normative expectations, dispositions, and local contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firms facing imminent bankruptcy would seemingly be under some pressure to demonstrate effective governance structures as a means for maintaining the support of important external constituents and initiating a turnaround. Little is known, however, about CEO and director turnover and its impact on the composition and structure of the board in failing firms. This study assesses both the incidence and form of governance changes in the 5-year period prior to corporate bankruptcy. Despite extensive board member and CEO replacements, changes by firms at imminent risk of failure do not conform with the prescriptions favored by reform advocates and institutional investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationships among analytical, practical, and emotional intelligence (EI) and five dimensions of managerial behavior. Two sets of hypotheses were tested: one set examined the relationship of each of the three types of intelligence with each of the behavioral dimensions; the second set examined the unique contribution of each type of intelligence to the prediction of each dimension. Twenty-three one-day assessment center sessions, including tests and simulation exercises, were administered to 163 top managers in Poland. The behavioral dimensions of leadership, initiative, goal orientation, change orientation, and employee development were related to analytical intelligence and practical intelligence, but not to EI. These findings make unique contributions to understanding the relationships of types of intelligence and managerial behavioral dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a scoping review of literature on human resource management ( HRM) and management practice that impacts on workers with physical, mental health and intellectual disabilities, employed or entering paid employment. The aim is to illuminate the use of HRM practices, managerial attitudes and employee outcomes in the disability literature. The methodological research framework commenced with seven databases and was supported with evidenced-based literature to find three main themes. Themes highlight the management and employer support for workers with disabilities, discrimination and attitudes towards employment of this cohort of workers, and performance and employment outcomes. As governments around the world seek to reduce welfare costs and increase the employment of people with disabilities this paper is timely. Overall, the paper contributes to a dearth of literature on the management of people with disabilities at the workplace to unpack the key barriers, challenges and trends, and develop a comprehensive research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the professional identity and role of human resource managers in fostering and implementing strategies that encourage high workplace performance. Workplace performance affects Australian competitiveness and this is the first detailed empirical analysis of Australian HR managers that combines case studies and survey methods. This research seeks to provide more in-depth knowledge and understanding of HR managers and line managers and how the HR function can contribute to high workplace performance. Overall this research suggests that while the HR function is likely to change in the future, its role is not diminishing in organisational decision-making. In particular, the HR function appears to provide an important function in providing the balance between behaviours and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although works councils have, by and large, equally extensive legal rights in Germany and the Netherlands, this is the first econometric analysis that investigates the influence of Dutch works councils on firm performance. We use a nationwide Dutch dataset with information on management's perceptions of the works council's impact on their establishments' efficiency and innovation. Inspired by the German study of Jirjahn and Smith (2006, Industrial Relations 45:650-80), we analyze which determinants influence management's attitude toward employee participation in the Netherlands. Owing to the specifics of our data, we are able to additionally include variables that measure the interaction between management and worker representatives. We establish a preponderant influence emanating from the works council's role attitude and management's leadership style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the delegation of tasks as a key to maximizing the employee's productivity, performance, and profitability. It mentions that such management tool is used by chief executive officers (CEOs) for their managers and employees to reach their full potentials. It cites obstacles in the delegation of tasks including the doubt on the part of managers that the company really wants them to do the delegated tasks and the non-recognition of the value of the task assigned to them.

Today, HR scholars widely acknowledge that realising HRM requires the involvement of all managers and that the personal motivation of line managers plays an important role in their successful involvement. Yet, previous research has neglected to study how line managers rate the importance of particular HR duties and how the importance assigned to HR duties varies across managers. Based on a survey of 1,500 Danish managers, we find that ‘motivating others’ is considered the most important HR duty whereas ‘team building’, ‘handling conflicts’ and ‘coaching’ are considered the least important HR duties. Female top managers in the public sector exhibit the greatest interest in HR whereas men at lower managerial levels in the private sector give lowest priority to HR work. We conclude with possible explanations for the observed differences in a Danish context and beyond and provide suggestions for facilitating managerial involvement in HRM. In doing so we are well aware that the Scandinavian model of HRM in general and the Danish implementation in particular may represent a unique frame for the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author suggests business leaders to refocus on credibility as it is considered as one effective way of handling the business amidst the economic downturn. He explains that business leaders should refocus on gaining the credibility of not only their executives and managers but also members of the business community for them to show their effectiveness in the market as well as to relay to their customers that they can survive the economic crisis. He cites trust as one important factor in establishing credibility. He also mentions professionalism and the acronym SHINE, which stands for supportive, honest, informative, no-nonsense, and enthusiastic as another crucial factors.

Managerial derailment can harm the manager, the morale of coworkers, and can be costly to the organization. Using the logic of social exchange theory and “trickle-down” studies, managers who work effectively with upper management may also work effectively with others. In a field study using a sample of 1,978 practicing managers, the effectiveness of a manager's relationships with upper management positively related to the manager's ability to put people at ease, relating to lessened boss, direct-report, and self-ratings of the extent to which the manager displays the behaviors and characteristics that may lead to potential derailment. Effectively working with upper management may thus have positive implications for the treatment of others, and the potential to derail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing expatriation literature concentrates on what individuals need to perform in an international assignment (IA) but neglects what they gain from their foreign work experience. Using a dual-dependency perspective this study presents results from 26 in-depth interviews with international secondees within two UK-based organizational contexts. The paper explores the perceived impact of an IA on the career capital of individuals, showing that the outcomes of IAs can be equivocal for expatriates. Each firm concentrated their human resource mechanisms on developing different types of career capital and this focused individual behaviour on diverse career capital activities. In one of the organizations there was an internal misalignment between organizational and individual assignee focus. Based on the research a number of propositions were developed. This study provided an exploratory insight into points of departure rather than complementarity in individuals' international careers in organizations, which has been at the core of much recent research and writing. A more complex, contextualized picture of the effects of IAs on the careers of individuals emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the impact of the physical environment on employee resistance and accommodation. The findings suggest that the physical nature of call centres, whether purpose built or not, can be a focus of employee dissatisfaction and reflect broader, less concrete conflicts. It notes that the advantage of the physical environment as an arena for resistance lies in its tangibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores employer attitudes towards drug testing in New Zealand to establish under what conditions adoption may be encouraged or discouraged. A survey of 162 New Zealand employers found that adoption rates of drug testing policies were low at 6 per cent. Exploring predictors of the likelihood of drug testing adoption in the next year found that firms that are more compliant to institutional pressures were more likely to seek adoption, as were firms that perceived positive benefits from adoption. Further, firms that perceived negative effects from drug testing, such as union pressures, were less likely to adopt drug testing in the future. Additionally, the moderating effects of organisational size was explored, and significantly affected likely adoption rates, with larger firms being more influenced by institutional pressures and positive effects. However, there was no significant moderation effect towards negative effects of drug testing, which remained strongly negative irrespective of organisational size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite policy emphasis on the importance of older workers (i.e. those aged 50 and above) to current and future labour markets, relatively little is known about the ways in which employers' attitudes, policies and practices influence their recruitment and retention. Drawing upon previous work by Taylor and Walker, this article reports qualitative research among employers across Scotland, which sought to investigate further the relationships between employers' policies, practices and attitudes towards older workers. The findings indicate a complex set of relationships, and challenge the simplistic causal link between attitudes and practice. The conclusions discuss the implications of these findings for the future employment of older workers, and assess the extent to which the forthcoming age discrimination legislation in the UK is likely to tackle discriminatory attitudes, practices and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores managerial behaviour as a potential source of social capital in the workplace. Using content-coded data from the full population of organizational ethnographies (N= 204), we explore facets of workplace behaviours and relations that have been difficult to evaluate using survey-based techniques. Analysing ethnographic-based data with multivariate techniques, we find that competent management leadership, in particular, has widespread and significant effects on important workplace outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behaviour, and co-worker infighting. The findings highlight the value of cross-methods techniques for evaluating and extending existing workplace theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of the psychological contract, with its focus on the exchange of perceived promises and commitments, is increasingly used as a framework to study the employment relationship. Yet research has predominantly focused on employee views and has largely neglected the organisational perspective and the management of the psychological contract. This article begins to redress the balance by reporting a study, based on a survey of 1,306 senior HR managers, that explores the management of the psychological contract and in particular the role of organisational communication. Three distinct and relevant aspects of organisational communication are identified, concerned with initial entry, day-to-day work and more future-oriented, top-down communication. Effective use of these forms of communication is associated with what managers judge to be a clearer and less frequently breached set of organisational promises and commitments, as well as with a fairer exchange and a more positive impact of policies and practices on employee attitudes and behaviour. The findings are discussed within the context of the wider literature on psychological contracts, organisational culture and HRM. The study confirms that the psychological contract offers managers a useful framework within which to consider and manage the employment relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines orientations toward workplace friendship. Based on a survey of senior managers in cities with populations over 50,000, it addresses the following questions: Do senior managers promote, condone, or discourage workplace friendship? What risks and benefits of workplace friendships do these managers perceive? What policies and strategies that affect workplace friendship are found in organizations? How do these organizational efforts affect perceptions of employee performance? This article finds that, despite the risks, orientations in favor of workplace friendships are widespread, and many jurisdictions engage in efforts to promote them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the added value of the HR function as it is perceived by three groups of managers: top managers, HR managers and line managers. Despite the fact that literature about strategic HRM focuses almost exclusively on the value of the HR function as a strategic partner, it was assumed that its perceived value for the business would not be restricted to the area of strategy formulation and implementation. Several 'result domains' can be distinguished in which the HR function can deliver value to the business. Based on our review of the literature, the degree of strategic involvement of the function was used as a second perspective to investigate its perceived added value. To examine our propositions, a qualitative study was carried out in which 97 HR managers, 38 top managers and 178 line managers participated. The results confirm our thesis that the perceived value of the HR function contains more than just the fulfilment of its role as a strategic partner. Based on our results, an integrated model for the perceived value of the function has been developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational initiatives to strengthen customer orientation among front-line service workers abound, and have led many commentators to speak of the reconstitution of service work. These interventions rest on managers' assumptions about what engenders the desired customer-oriented behaviours among employees. We evaluate those assumptions in the context of a major change initiative in a supermarket firm. The logic of the programme mirrors key precepts in the contemporary management literature. These are that management behaviour, job design and values-based training can produce a sense of empowerment among employees, and that empowerment will generate prosocial customer-oriented behaviour. Using data from a large scale employee survey, we test the validity of those assumptions. Employees who perceived management behaviour in a positive light and who had participated in values-based training were more likely to feel empowered (i.e. to have internalized prosocial service values and to feel a sense of competence and autonomy on the job). Psychological empowerment was, in turn, positively related to the customer-oriented behaviour of workers. This study, therefore, provides support for key assumptions underlying HRM theory and practice in services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article addresses the issue of using the behavioral observation scale (BOS) in evaluating employees. The author points out that while Bemardin and Kane present a number of criticisms of BOS as a method of performance appraisal, they do not cite psychometric data to support their criticisms. This note has shown that most of their criticisms are beset by conceptual problems, disagreements between the co-authors, disagreements within each author with what he said here versus what he has said elsewhere, and/or a disregard of previously established empirical findings.

This paper summarizes relevant literature and reports on a study which has examined the behaviour and attributes of managers in British mid-sized companies in which growth is a strategic objective. The study used a grounded, interpretive methodology, which allowed the development of theoretical propositions which have not been subject to previous empirical examination. This paper deals with one aspect of the findings, namely ruthlessness on the part of managers in dismissing or otherwise dealing with poorly performing members of staff. This aspect of management was an important factor in the subject organizations' ability to achieve their chosen strategy, and is a phenomenon which does not appear to have been developed in any previous models of effective managerial behaviour. Managerial ruthlessness influences strategic implementation in a number of ways - it affects control of the organization, team building and the ability to respond to changes in the environment or undo mistakes in appointments. This paper also outlines attributes and characteristics of both the individual manager and the organization which allows ruthlessness to be developed and used effectively, for example self- confidence; the ability to ensure that criticism or dismissal is not seen as personal; the separation of work and social life; and the ability to focus on objectives rather than the person. Organizational support and training in such behaviour also appeared to be helpful contributors to the development of such behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The character and conduct of the manager has formed a central focus of attempts to govern economic life throughout the present century. And current programmes of organizational change involve radical attempts to reconstitute the nature and conduct of management. This is attempted through the identification and implementation of management competencies. Discourses of organizational reform such as human resource management, total quality management and business process re-engineering all place a critical emphasis on anti-bureaucratic, organic and flexible forms of organization, which are also seen to require the development of particular capacities and predispositions among managers. Essential to their vision of 'managerial work' is a composite of 'entrepreneurial' attributes. Management competencies appear to offer a congenial method for the reconstitution of the manager along 'entrepreneurial' lines, not simply because they are inherently founded on managers' self-management and self-presentation of identified behaviours, but also because they represent individualized forms of business functions (and are often associated with the establishment of market relations within the organization). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Links between organizational strategy, human resources (HR) policies, and the employment relationship are investigated through surveys of US executives and HR managers. Human resources policies are measured as both an overall philosophy (an internal to an external focus) and a series of items. The items factor into four dimensions: retention, staffing, performance and compensation. Results indicate that staffing policies are associated with organizational strategy. Retention policies are related to the employment relationship. However, the overall HR philosophy is not related to either organizational strategy or the employment relationship. The findings indicate that relationships between organizational strategy, HR and the employment relationship are more complex than previous models had indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resolution of formal grievances is largely determined by the applicable rights of grievants and the facts surrounding disputes. However, to the extent these fights and/or facts are unclear, the granting or denial of grievances is also partially determined by economic and political factors. A model of the impact of such factors on the favorability of grievance decisions is developed and tested. The tests yield support for the general thesis and for several specific hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]