Eileen Aitken-Fox, Jane Coffey, Kantha Dayaram, Scott Fitzgerald, Stephen McKenna and Amy Wei Tian
Eileen Aitken-Fox, Jane Coffey, Kantha Dayaram, Scott Fitzgerald, Stephen McKenna and Amy Wei Tian
The purpose of the paper is to investigate how human resource professionals (HRPs), in a variety of organizations, responded to the crisis brought about by the event of COVID-19…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to investigate how human resource professionals (HRPs), in a variety of organizations, responded to the crisis brought about by the event of COVID-19. In particular, it aims to show how organizations, across all sectors, in Western Australia responded with urgency and flexibility to the crisis and showed “resilience in practice”.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on 136 questionnaire responses, 32 interviews and 25 managerial narratives. The mixed qualitative methodology was designed to enable an investigation of the impact of COVID-19 and the response of HRPs.
Findings
HRPs have responded with agility and flexibility to the impact of COVID-19. They have done so through extensive trial and error, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing. They have not simply activated a preconceived continuity plan.
Research limitations/implications
The research indicates that resilience is an ongoing accomplishment of organizations and the people in them. The objective was description rather than prescription, and the research does not offer solutions to future pandemic-like situations.
Practical implications
The research suggests that, given the impact of COVID-19 on organizations, HR practices, processes and policies will need to be thoroughly reconsidered for relevance in the post-COVID world. Possible future directions are highlighted.
Originality/value
The research considers the actions of HRPs as they responded to a global crisis as the crisis unfolded.
Details
Keywords
Sunil Budhiraja, Biju Varkkey and Stephen McKenna
The purpose of the study is twofold: (1) it captures the work–life balance (WLB) experiences of front-office employees to inductively classify a set of WLB indicators for the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is twofold: (1) it captures the work–life balance (WLB) experiences of front-office employees to inductively classify a set of WLB indicators for the locally owned Indian luxury hotels and (2) it further examines the existing WLB practices of the select hotels with the lens of talent management (TM) approach of key human resource management (HRM) practices (Thunnissen, 2016).
Design/methodology/approach
To explore and classify WLB indicators, an exploratory, qualitative approach is utilized by administering seven focus group discussions involving 70 front-office employees working in Indian luxury hotels. Seven in-depth interviews with HR professionals were triangulated with secondary data to capture and analyse the existing WLB practices of sampled organizations.
Findings
Four clusters of WLB indicators that are grounded in the lived experiences of front-office employees are identified and presented. Interview data from human resource representatives unveil that hotels consider existing WLB practices as key HRM practices with an inclusive TM approach. The findings also surface the differences in expectations of front-office employees and WLB practices followed by the hotels.
Research limitations/implications
First, the paper addresses the issue of WLB from employees’ perspective which is crucial for designing effective WLB practices. Second, the paper contributes to the existing TM literature from the perspective of WLB practices.
Originality/value
The originality of the study is grounded in the employees’ lived experiences to classify the WLB indicators for India and further examine the WLB practices through the lens of the TM approach.
Details
Keywords
Julia Richardson and Stephen McKenna
Whilst globalisation has led to increasing international mobility, the contemporary expatriate management literature has focused on managers and corporate executives who are sent…
Abstract
Whilst globalisation has led to increasing international mobility, the contemporary expatriate management literature has focused on managers and corporate executives who are sent on an overseas appointment by their employers. By comparison, self‐selecting expatriates remain an under‐researched group. Specifically, at a time when internationalisation is a major trend in higher education very little is known about expatriate academics as an example of self‐selecting expatriates. Drawing on a qualitative study of British academics, this article suggests that metaphor may be a useful tool for developing our understanding of self‐selecting expatriates. It then discusses the four metaphors, which have emerged from the study. Finally it shows how those metaphors can be used to facilitate better management practices not only for the growing number of expatriate academics but also for self‐selecting expatriates more generally.
Details
Keywords
Stephen D. McKenna and Everett Rogers
Addresses the issue of managerial learning disabilities in relationto a takeover situation. The analysis derives from involvement at the“sharp end” and being affected by bad…
Abstract
Addresses the issue of managerial learning disabilities in relation to a takeover situation. The analysis derives from involvement at the “sharp end” and being affected by bad management thinking. It shows that unless a wider and deeper perspective is taken by management in making decisions the side‐effects are enormously negative. To overcome the learning disabilities reported, a new approach to organizational learning is required which constitutes the fifth principle or systems thinking. Only when managers break out of limited thinking and move towards generative learning are fundamental rather than symptomatic solutions to business problems possible.
Details
Keywords
Investigates the use of a culture instrument in drivingorganizational learning and seeks to extend our ability to move towardslearning organizations. The work was carried out in a…
Abstract
Investigates the use of a culture instrument in driving organizational learning and seeks to extend our ability to move towards learning organizations. The work was carried out in a plant of a company in the aerospace industry in 1989 with professional, technical and administrative employees. Used a questionnaire plus follow‐up focus group work and results showed a distinct gap between employees perceptions of the organization and their “ideal” organization. Assesses results using the systems thinking framework and makes recommendations which built upon systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, shared vision and team learning.
Details
Keywords
This paper investigates the position that management “competencies”, and particularly those associated with “high‐performance”, can be identified, objectified and “made public” in…
Abstract
This paper investigates the position that management “competencies”, and particularly those associated with “high‐performance”, can be identified, objectified and “made public” in such a way that they can be used in management selection, development and performance management. It argues that attempts to do this are overly simplistic and ultimately meaningless. Using two examples from the many managers interviewed as part of a wider research programme, the paper proposes that “high‐performance” is constructed and negotiated by managers within the specific contexts in which they operate. There are, in effect, no competencies that are truly general, but only competencies that are context‐specific. The use of qualitative techniques allows us to explore the rich detail of constructed “high‐performance” and moves beyond the limited “lists” that are ubiquitously reproduced in the management literature.
Details
Keywords
Charles Oppenheim, Ian Tilsed, Alasdair Paterson, Jill Bradley, Stephen Pinfield, Brian McKenna and Anand Amlani
Haworth Press, the well known publishers in the library and information science field, have recently cottoned on to an interesting idea: devote a special issue of one of their…
Abstract
Haworth Press, the well known publishers in the library and information science field, have recently cottoned on to an interesting idea: devote a special issue of one of their journals to a special theme, and at the same time produce a hardback book, reasonably priced, that reproduces the articles. The idea is to appeal to a market other than the libraries that will typically subscribe to the Haworth journals. Success depends upon the collection of chapters forming a coherent whole. This book, reproduced from a special issue of The Reference Librarian, partly succeeds. The 150 page hardback book comprises seven articles, from five different authors (two authors supply two articles each) with an editor's introduction. The articles are fairly typical journal articles, reporting research results; some could easily have graced the pages of Online and CD‐ROM Review. The articles vary somewhat in length and style, but generally either review the literature of a particular topic, or describe some recent research work. The title is somewhat misleading, as the book is NOT comprehensive; a better subtitle would have been ‘Aspects of Use and User Behavior’.
Deals with cross‐cultural issues involved in conflict resolution ina high‐technology corporation based in South‐east Asia. Examines thedifferences in conflict‐handling styles…
Abstract
Deals with cross‐cultural issues involved in conflict resolution in a high‐technology corporation based in South‐east Asia. Examines the differences in conflict‐handling styles between Asians and North Americans and how these differences affect management in the corporation. Describes how interventionists working with management discovered that differing cultural approaches to reasoning and handling conflict can lead to organizational ineffectiveness unless there is mutual understanding and the development of shared meanings.
Details
Keywords
Aims to expose the limitations of traditional management training anddevelopment in a rapidly changing global business environment. Threeblue‐chip companies decided to develop a…
Abstract
Aims to expose the limitations of traditional management training and development in a rapidly changing global business environment. Three blue‐chip companies decided to develop a new approach to middle management development which sought to create more meaningful managerial and organizational learning. In developing a new forum and putting managers through the event, the companies were able to deal with personal development and business improvement together through the use of the “complexity map” – the participants′ own representation of their complexity. While the forum has had successes, its challenging approach provokes opposition as well as change. However, for organizational learning to occur, such risks must be taken.