Maureen Maloney and Alma McCarthy
The purpose of this paper is to analyse how firm size impacts pension workforce coverage with a particular focus on automatic enrolment (AE) to pension plans in small…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse how firm size impacts pension workforce coverage with a particular focus on automatic enrolment (AE) to pension plans in small organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines the alignment of government AE interests with those of small employers, their employees and pension providers to better understand how firm size impacts pension workforce coverage.
Findings
The alignment of interests between stakeholders (government, pension providers, employers and employees) differs between large and small organisations, and empirical findings from large organisations cannot be assumed to apply in small organisations.
Research limitations/implications
The paper calls attention to the need for future empirical research and identifies a number of research questions for further analysis to examine how AE impacts pension participation in small organisations and advance the field.
Originality/value
The policy of automatically enroling employees into occupational pension plans, recently legislated for all eligible workers in the UK and under consideration in the USA and Ireland, was developed from research conducted in a small number of large organisations. Pension coverage is particularly inadequate for the large number of employees working in small organisations (1–49 employees). However, little research attention has been focussed on pensions in small organisations with pension policy makers assuming that legislated AE will work as effectively in small organisations as it did in large organisations. This paper addresses this gap in the field.
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Cheol Liu, David Ready, Alexandru Roman, Montgomery Van Wart, XiaoHu Wang, Alma McCarthy and Soonhee Kim
Even though e-leadership was broadly defined in 2001 (Avolio et al.), there has been surprisingly little progress (Avolio et al., 2014). In order to make a better progress, the…
Abstract
Purpose
Even though e-leadership was broadly defined in 2001 (Avolio et al.), there has been surprisingly little progress (Avolio et al., 2014). In order to make a better progress, the authors recommend dividing the field into four quadrants to facilitate the research focus. It can be divided by e-leadership phases (the adoption of technology phase vs the quality of use of technology phase), as well as the purposes (e-leadership as virtual communication vs e-leadership as management of organizational structures). The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This study provides a model of e-leadership as communication adoption at the individual level (ECAMi). Structural equation modeling was used to test a previously published model by Van Wart et al. (2017a). The model included select traits and skills (as antecedent conditions), awareness of ICTs, evaluation of ICTs, willingness to expend effort in learning about ICTs, intention to use ICTs, and facilitating conditions.
Findings
The overall model demonstrates a good fit. It can be concluded that the ECAMi represents a valid model for understanding e-leaders’ technological adoption. It is also found that while all select skills and traits are significant – energy, responsibility and analytical skills stand above the others.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this represents the first effort to operationalize e-leadership.
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Colette Darcy and Alma McCarthy
The purpose of this article is to explore the impact of life cycle stage, specifically parenting stage, on work‐family conflict among working parents to determine whether…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to explore the impact of life cycle stage, specifically parenting stage, on work‐family conflict among working parents to determine whether discernible differences are evident among those individuals at the early stage of their parenting cycle compared with those with older children.
Design/methodology/approach
An explorative study was undertaken among parents employed within the Irish hotel sector. The questionnaire was distributed to 22 hotels and 76 individuals who reported having children responded. A number of measures were used to assess the impact which a number of factors, namely job stress, job involvement, managerial support and colleague support, may have on working parents' work‐life conflict. Correlation and regression analysis are performed to test the hypotheses proposed.
Findings
The research findings provide initial support for the possibility that the factors influencing work‐family conflict differ for each of the parenting groups analysed. For all parents with dependent children it was found that job involvement, job stress and colleague support all have predictive powers in terms of explaining the antecedents of work‐family conflict.
Research limitations/implications
The findings provide a compelling case for the need to begin to address work‐family conflict in a more holistic manner, examining both the immediate and long‐term consequences for employees with childcare responsibilities.
Practical implications
The ability to design and implement specific, targeted responses to employees' work‐life needs is an area where HRD can make a real and significant contribution. Strategic HRD has the potential to reduce the misappropriation of organisational resources by ensuring a focused and targeted response, thereby minimising the fruitless pursuit of “one size fits all” approaches to this complex issue.
Originality/value
The paper seeks to lay the first key foundation‐stones in framing the debate in relation to work‐life balance in terms of the entire working lives of individuals and not just specific snapshots during the course of that employment. The paper is critical of current organisational thinking in relation to employees' work‐life balance needs and challenges HRD professionals to begin to examine this important and complex issue in a more holistic manner.
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Alma M. McCarthy and Thomas N. Garavan
The purpose of this paper is to report a study investigating the predictors of acceptance of multisource feedback (MSF) by managers. Specifically, it investigates the extent to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report a study investigating the predictors of acceptance of multisource feedback (MSF) by managers. Specifically, it investigates the extent to which locus of control, cynicism and perceptions of procedural justice predicted acceptance by feedback recipients.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative data were analysed from 520 questionnaires completed by managers who participated in a multisource feedback programme as part of a leadership development process.
Findings
The study findings reveal that managers' perception of procedural justice was most significant in explaining variance in acceptance of MSF. Cynicism also explained significant variance in acceptance.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the importance of attending to procedural justice issues when implementing MSF. They also highlight the need to assess cynicism levels in the organisation.
Originality/value
The study combines variables not included in previous studies.
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Alma McCarthy, Thomas Garavan and Thomas O’Toole
This paper argues that human resource development (HRD) can make an important contribution in facilitating the effective management of boundaries and interfaces in organisations…
Abstract
This paper argues that human resource development (HRD) can make an important contribution in facilitating the effective management of boundaries and interfaces in organisations. Organisations are increasingly required to network and collaborate both internally and externally in order to achieve key strategic objectives. HRD can facilitate and contribute to this process at four levels of intervention.
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David O’Donnell, Thomas N. Garavan and Alma McCarthy
Neoclassical approaches continue to dominate evaluations of national skill‐formation systems. Argues for the benefits of including alternative interdisciplinary and theoretically…
Abstract
Neoclassical approaches continue to dominate evaluations of national skill‐formation systems. Argues for the benefits of including alternative interdisciplinary and theoretically grounded approaches in any evaluation of the Irish system as it relates to its economic system. This broader focus, it is argued, could lead to more informed policy formulation and implementation. Following the “societal effect” approach, argues here that vocational education and training systems can only be adequately understood with reference to the set of inter‐relationships between the education system, industrial training system, the organizational structure of industry, the industrial relations system and the class and status relations of the wider society as reflected in its political system.
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Alma M. McCarthy and Thomas N. Garavan
360° feedback processes have gained popularity as a performance management and career development tool in contemporary organisations. This monograph explores the nature of 360�…
Abstract
360° feedback processes have gained popularity as a performance management and career development tool in contemporary organisations. This monograph explores the nature of 360° feedback, investigates the factors which have influenced its emergence and contrasts it with more traditional performance management processes used by organisations. It specifically identifies the benefits and problems associated with 360° feedback in the context of management of performance and employee career development. The monograph considers the issues surrounding different sources of feedback, i.e. peer, subordinate and self. The monograph concludes with a discussion of the issues pertaining to the use of multi‐rater feedback as a tool for performance improvement and career development.
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Geraldine Grady and Alma M. McCarthy
This paper aims to explore how mid‐career professional mothers perceive themselves in relation to their work and family roles, how they experience these roles, how they merge…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how mid‐career professional mothers perceive themselves in relation to their work and family roles, how they experience these roles, how they merge their work, family and individual self, and what meaning they make of this integration.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used in‐depth qualitative interviews with 18 participants aged between 37 and 55 with at least one dependent child under the age of 18, in dual‐earning/career households.
Findings
The study reports that a complex relationship of work‐related dynamics and personal factors shaped the meaning for these women amid competing priorities of work, family and individual lives. Organisation and co‐ordination of multiple activities with support from various sources was fundamental to finding balance. A deep sense of motherhood was evident in that their children were their number one priority but career was of high importance as they sought stimulation, challenges, achievement and enrichment in their work. Now, in mid‐career transition, the respondents seek more self‐care time in an effort to find new meaning in the work, family and self equation.
Research limitations/implications
The study raises important issues for the management of professional working mothers and the implications of the study for individuals and organisations are set out.
Originality/value
This paper makes contributions to work‐life integration and career theory. It provides one of the first empirical studies on work‐life integration in Ireland using the construct of meaningful work and secondly builds on the kaleidoscope career model theory.
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Clíodhna MacKenzie, Alma McCarthy, Michael Morley and Thomas Garavan
Alma M. McCarthy and Thomas N. Garavan
Proposes that a crucial component of the career development process is what is termed “managerial self‐awareness” (MSA). To‐date relatively little has been written about…
Abstract
Proposes that a crucial component of the career development process is what is termed “managerial self‐awareness” (MSA). To‐date relatively little has been written about self‐awareness, particularly in the literature on managerial career development. Specifically explores the concept of self‐awareness in the context of managerial career development. The importance of self‐awareness in the managerial career development processes is examined and the relationship between self‐awareness and managerial success is also considered. The findings of a qualitative study conducted to investigate the effectiveness of two instruments used to enhance self‐awareness are reported. One of the characteristics of effective managerial career development is the creation of self‐awareness in the learner. 360‐degree feedback and personality inventories are considered useful tools in this respect.