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Human resource leaders are experimenting with new approaches to organizing and utilizing workers that are not limited to the traditional boundaries of the firm, but rather expand to an ecosystem of work and organization. This special issue introduction article introduces a set of papers from management scholars discussing the ecosystem of work and organization and offers a roadmap for future research on HR ecosystems. An ecosystem perspective invites us to rethink our current frameworks to better link theory to practice. It also challenges us to shift our level of analysis from the organization to the ecosystem, asking: how is work organized and conducted within this complex and evolving context? These papers uncover trends related to (1) technological mediation, (2) impermanence and adaptation, and (3) shared governance. Our hope is that by framing these trends found within the research in this special issue that scholars will be provided a better road map in moving forward with their own research on the role of HR within the ecosystem of work and organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concepts of fit and alignment have been foundational to the field of strategic human resource management. And while the theoretical premises that underlie these concepts remain useful and intuitively compelling, the lack of empirical evidence to support them proves problematic. Part of the reason, we suspect, is that current research on fit and alignment does not fully reflect realities of contemporary organizations or the practical challenges faced by managers. We argue that HR researchers have an opportunity to reframe concepts of fit and alignment to better reflect the complexities and dynamics of contemporary models of strategy and organization. We suggest that an ecosystem perspective can help us study the processes of alignment, not just its static features. It can help to depict the interactions among elements of the workforce compositions, capabilities, and cultures. Because these interactions are myriad and constantly in flux, HR researchers might approach alignment in an evolutionary way whereby practices are constantly changing and then being reintegrated into the system to assure consistency and synergy. The benefit of doing somight reinvigorate research on strategy and HR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2008.00776.x Byline: Sung-Choon Kang (1), Scott A. Snell (2) Abstract: abstract Both researchers and managers are increasingly interested in how firms can pursue ambidextrous learning; that is, simultaneously exploring new knowledge domains while exploiting current ones. Ambidextrous learning is derived from intellectual capital architectures that underlie unique configurations of human, social, and organizational capital. We identified two distinctive architectures of intellectual capital that facilitate ambidextrous learning. Refined interpolation is an architecture comprised of specialist human capital supplemented by cooperative social capital, and complemented by organic organizational capital. Disciplined extrapolation is an architecture comprised of generalist human capital, supplemented by entrepreneurial social capital, and complemented by mechanistic organizational capital. As organization contexts to support these architectures, we have also identified two alternative HR configurations that facilitate ambidextrous learning. One HR configuration combines job or function-based development, ILM-based employee relations, and error embracing performance/control systems to support refined interpolation. The other HR configuration combines skill-based development, market-based employee relations, and error avoiding performance/control systems to support disciplined extrapolation. Our framework may provide valuable theoretical implications for HRM systems regarding the issues of internal fits and best configurations. Author Affiliation: (1)Seoul National University; (2)University of Virginia Article note: Sung-Choon Kang, College of Business Administration, Seoul National University, Seoul, 136-701, Korea (sk229@snu.ac.kr).

A process of value creation that links organizational learning, social relations and HRM with focus on knowledge flows across various employee groups in the HR architecture is discussed. The way in which each of the archetypes occurs in the context of HR architecture and many implications of the framework are provided.

Conditions are examined under which aspects of integrated manufacturing, such as manufacturing technology, total quality management and just-in-time inventory control, lead to selection and/or training for technical andproblem solving skills of employees. A conclusion is that staffing and training are emphasized under different circumstances and should not be regarded as substitutes for one another.

International companies are rapidly increasing their use of multinational groups (MNGs), sometimes with great success and sometimes severe frustration. The purpose of this paper is to establish a conceptual understanding of the implications of multinational composition for group functioning. Moving across units of analysis, we focus first on the individual group member's characteristics as a reflection of his or her nationality, then on the effects of multinational diversity on group functioning and performance, and finally on the association between corporate policies and the use of MNGs. We close the paper with a proposed research agenda on multinational groups. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.), Introduction In today's major corporations, task groups consisting of multiple nationalities abound, and the clear trend is towards even more of them in the future. Multinational groups (MNGs) of many [...]

Many managers devote substantial time to the performance appraisal process and, in most instances, arrange formal meetings with employees to give them feedback (Eichel and Bender, 1984). Research has consistently [...]