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Human capital theory presumes that skill-accredited immigrant professionals can access positions in the labour market to match their skills and qualifications. It implies that employers have little power to influence the labour market outcomes of immigrant professionals. Using social identity theory, we examine the influence of similarity effect in recruitment decision-making involving immigrant information technology (IT) professionals in New South Wales, Australia. We assess how decision makers (N = 331) hiring IT professionals need to associate and identify with people that resemble themselves in some way more than those that do not, can influence their perception of the immigrant candidate's fit into their organisation. Particularly, we examine how the level of exposure to diversity, the decision maker's origin and the diversity of clientele can moderate the assessment of the candidate's fit to the organisation. We also assess how attire, name, accent and any overtly expressed religious affiliations influence employer perceptions. The findings indicate decision makers with lower levels of exposure to diversity or working in organisations with mostly Anglo clients tend to be more concerned of the fit regarding the Indians, South-east Asians and the Chinese. They were also more likely to be negatively influenced by the non-Anglo personal attributes.

Using a case study approach, this paper investigates how workplace relationships, management styles and information and communication technologies (ICT) shape and influence the quality of work life (QWL) in two Australian call centres: Govtcall and Marketplus. In many ways, call centres epitomise the shift towards technology-based work, with ICT defining and dictating both the work process and the management of performance. While call centres now represent a critical element of the business cycle of many organisations, the use of ICT in the work process has led to the emergence of various job quality issues. This paper argues that workplace relationships and management styles have a pervasive impact on the QWL, not only mitigating the adverse effects of ICT, but also promoting sustainable productivity and employee performance. Importantly, the study demonstrates that organisations have significant control and influence over QWL outcomes even where ICT is extensively utilised in the work process.

Leadership styles are an important issue for a range of areas, including business and management. One aspect of this is the influence of the age of people on their receptivity to leadership styles. Yet, research on this area using Asian contexts is limited. Consequently, our research looks at the generational effect in the reception of leadership styles - performance-oriented and participative. In particular, we examine the different value orientations of age cohorts and their reception to different leadership styles in Vietnam. First, we outline three strands of literature, namely culture and leadership, generation as a subculture and Vietnam as a context for the transfer of leadership styles. Second, our research methodology is detailed. Third, our empirical research using case study methods is presented. Our results cover the characteristics of three main age cohorts: the resilience of the pre-1975 born, the adaptability of 1975-1986 born and the arrival of the post-1986 born. Following the discussion and implications, we provide some brief conclusions.

Research to date suggests that career advancement in call centres (CCs) is relatively uncommon with employees often viewing such employment as a stopgap measure before moving on to something better. This study set out to determine whether such scenarios have changed over time since CCs have become more established in their work organisation, information and communication technology (ICT) and management processes. This study particularly focused on training and development initiatives, how employees access training and development, and whether CCs support career development. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, these issues are examined within 10 Australian CCs of varying size from various sectors. Two-thirds of respondents stated that they intended to develop a career in the industry and 7 in 10 reported that they believed there were promotional opportunities emerging in their current organisation. Despite these findings, the evidence also suggests that more needs to be done both to create coherent career paths and to establish structured, accredited training programmes for CC employees.

This article examines the transfer of Anglo leadership styles in a transforming society. It aims to investigate the transferability of two American leadership styles, namely performance-oriented and participative styles, to Vietnamese subsidiaries. Utilising an exploratory case study approach, this article presents evidence of a strong acceptance of these leadership styles, and tries to ascertain whether the adoption of a humane style of leadership in line with Vietnamese traditions is a means of leaders reconciling the cultural gap. Several complexities arise from the transforming nature of the Vietnamese socio-political and economic context. Specifically, the importance of subcultures - particularly those relating to generation - is highlighted. Situational contingencies, such as the skills set of the recipient group, also emerge as important considerations. Finally, the authors call for leadership dynamism as a means of facilitating congruence and adaptability between the leadership styles used and the various contextual complexities encountered in the transfer and reception process.

This paper examines the interaction between 'home-country' and 'host-country' effects in determining human resource management (HRM) policies and practices in multinational companies (MNCs) in the context of a developing country. The paper is based on an investigation of the training and development strategies for local managers of a sample of Japanese companies operating in Vietnam, and presents clear evidence of the transfer of home-country practices. The sector emerges as a key variable in explaining variations in HRM patterns with a greater number of comprehensive training and development programs recorded in automotive than in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industries. We also argue that developing host countries pose little in the way of formal constraint mechanisms to the transfer of HRM practices, but the instability of the institutional environment and the weakness of its subsystems suggest a complex and challenging situation for MNC operations, and inhibit their ability to maintain their home-country HRM practices.

The aim of this paper is to determine the relationship between job functions, which cover three interrelated concepts: job content, job variety, and job autonomy, and the quality of work life (QWL). The two case studies GovCo and ServCo differ significantly on a number of measures, including ownership, organization size, structure, and culture. Two different approaches to job functions are determined, alongside two very different outcomes where the QWL is concerned. This study challenges the mainstream call centre literature which tends to mainly focus on the negative aspects associated with the ‘human element’ of call centre work. The findings from this study suggest that positive human interaction can in fact enhance job satisfaction. Within ServCo, job variety is used as a deliberate managerial strategy to improve job satisfaction. Customer services operators (CSOs) in ServCo have comparatively higher levels of method autonomy and discretion than those in GovCo. On the other hand, GovCo only attempts to secure job variety through bidding for new work campaigns and exerts significant control over the duration and content of each call. ServCo provides an example of a call centre where managers make deliberate efforts to shape and foster an environment where CSOs feel empowered, respected and confident. In GovCo however, the bureaucratic nature of the organization and the top-down approach to management see managers largely shedding responsibility where the quality of work life of their workers is concerned. There are a strong contradiction between the bureaucratic, codified processes in GovCo, and the type of environment needed to foster well-being in the call centre. While the public sector has largely embraced the efficiencies associated with handing client contacts through call centre operations, these benefits must be realised alongside the potential implications on the workforce.

This chapter addresses the transfer of human resource management (HRM) policies and practices of multinational companies (MNCs) across borders in the context of globalisation, with an emphasis on the transfer of HRM practices from developed to developing countries. The chapter specifically explores how and to what extent the macro level (the home and host countries); meso level (the industry); micro level (the firm); and HRM-specific level influence subsidiary HRM behaviour.

National business systems (NBS) continue to influence and shape organisational structures and forms, and therefore represent a key element of discerning MNC business practices. Meanwhile, the shift towards a globalised economy has revived the convergence versus divergence debate and raised questions about the identity of MNCs and their impact on national economies. Despite these features, there is a lack of comprehensive research on human resource management (HRM) in MNCs in Australia. This paper sets the research agenda for examining the HRM practices of MNC’s based in Australia utilising a comprehensive qualitative research approach. The NBS is examined in terms of six subsystems, as a basis for a comprehensive investigation of Australia both as a host country and a home country to the operation of MNCs.

This paper reviews the literature on employment relations in MNCs in Australia. It finds that first the central local debate is prominent both in relation to foreign MNCs in Australia and Australian MNCs overseas. Second, there are many factors influencing central local control. These include; country of origin effect, type of product and product market; firm size, company and HR structure, language and cultural proximity and geographical distance. Third, host country effects are prominent in terms of structural and institutional change, many companies and industries appear to have taken advantage of more favourable conditions to reshape their workforces.

Concerns about job quality have become more widespread, crossingall industries and occupations. The call centre sector in particular has risen tothe forefront of discussions about job quality because of the rapid growth anddevelopment of these new forms of work organization over the past two decades.However, despite there being an extensive quality of work life literature, andemerging research on call centre job quality, there is yet to be a study thatsystematically links the quality of work with employment in the call centrecontext. This article outlines current debates, highlighting the importance ofbringing together and marrying these two branches of research. A qualitativeresearch agenda constituting case study analysis of two call centres is introduced.A framework grounded in a job characteristics approach, comprising 10 key jobqualityelements is also proposed as a means of examining the quality of work lifein this context.

The 'happy-productive worker' thesis is a commonsense theory that has recently evolved into the 'performing-managers' proposition. This paper summarises the research that was conducted to develop a Partial Model of Managers' Affective Wellbeing, Intrinsic Job Satisfaction and Performance. This lays the groundwork for developing a more comprehensive Model of Predictors of Managers' Performance. This represents a far more complete and sophisticated conceptualisation of the predictors of managers' performance than what is currently available in the literature. Job characteristics, role conflict, role overload, role ambiguity, organisational commitment and extrinsic job satisfaction are introduced as logical extensions to the Partial Model, and are rendered suitable for future verification.

Although empirical studies examine how employees perceive their relationships with their coworkers, these studies fail to explain how the quality and strength of co-worker relationships determine the workers' overall quality of working life. Drawing from the growing workplace spirituality literature identifying connectedness at work as a key attribute of strong co-worker relationships and well being, in this paper, we examine the place of connectedness in the quality of co-worker relationships in two Australian call centres. Using the case study approach, we draw similarities and differences between two Australian call centres. Two quite different approaches to people management are found alongside two different outcomes of quality of co-worker relationships and quality of working life.

The quality of work life is a traditionally under-researched area where call centres (CC) are concerned. Similarly, much of the existing call centre research is based on the private sector despite the public sector emerging as a large user of CC operations. This paper is based on empirical research conducted in two Australian CC’s to explore whether and how the quality of work life varies between the two sectors. Findings relating to three quality of work life elements are reported: job content, working hours & work-life balance, and managerial/supervisory style and strategies. Public sector call centre Govtcall emerges as being inferior in terms of all three measures of QWL despite stronger union presence, and the work being more complex and skill intensive. Salesplus on the other hand features a management model that is more akin to what would be expected in a call centre operating under a professional service model, despite the work content in being relatively simple, low skill and more routine to that of Govtcall. Findings challenge the assumptions that firstly, public sector status ensures better working conditions, and secondly, that employee-focussed managerial styles are incompatible with efficient and productive call centre operations.

The number of call centres has increased rapidly over the last decade as technological advancements have increased the geographical reach and potential applicability of call centre operations to a wide variety of industries and business functions. These developments have been followed closely by an influx of research on various aspects of call centre operations. Issues associated with job quality have arisen from various call centre studies, often incidentally as researchers examine other facets of call centres and their functioning’s. However, there is yet to be a study that deliberately and systematically examines job quality in this context, despite it being widely accepted that job quality is an issue of increasing significance in this sector. This paper takes the first steps towards addressing this deficit by conducting a review of the extant call centre literature, and collecting and reporting on the findings that emerge which can be associated with the concept of job quality. A job characteristics approach is used to evaluate this evidence in relation to specific themes and categories derived through the job quality literature. Important links between the job quality and call centre literatures are highlighted; major issues associated with the quality of call centre work are discussed, and key gaps in the research are revealed. Finally, some direction for future research is proposed, particularly, the need for investigation in to the key determinants of job quality in the call centre context; .an examination of how job quality may be improved; and the impact of key job quality factors on employees and organisations.

The issue of precarious employment has gained increasing currency over recent years, as OECD countries have shifted away from traditional standard employment models. Nevertheless, there has been little empirical research on the experiences of nonstandard workers and the links that can be established with precarious work. This article attempts to address this gap by introducing precarious employment as a sub-set of non-standard work and highlighting its distinguishing features. The Tucker model is introduced as a useful bridge between non-standard work and precariousness, and is used as a framework for examining employment experiences within two New Zealand call centres. Initial observations indicate evidence of precariousness in both workplaces, although more severe in the case of the small, outsourced call centre. In-depth analysis suggests precariousness varies depending on the nature of the employment arrangement and questions are put forth about the applicability of the 'Tucker' model to the call centre context.

Call centres, as a rapidly growing industry, have attracted research attention due to associated development, organisation and work practices. However, there is still much to be investigated, particularly given rapid developments in the industry which can already be seen through the evolution of call centres into contact centres providing both telephony and internet services to customers. As call centres continue to evolve there are various alternatives available to them in regards to strategy and structure. This paper considers the emergence of teleworking as an attractive option for specialist call centre staff, and briefly examines the implications for HRM, unions and employees.