Health Promotion and Flexibility: Extending and Obscuring Power in Organizations

This paper explores the intersection between pursuits of improving organizational flexibility and pursuits of improving employees' health. It is argued that health promotion programmes have the potential of operating as mechanisms of power, which assist organizations in making up self-governing employees who flexibly adapt their lifestyles to the criteria of health and professional success. The paper shows how the fact that health promotion programmes are handled by 'independent' and legitimate health experts, and are provided to employees in the name of their health and well-being, obscures the forces of power in them, making them seem merely as informed ways of helping employees help themselves towards healthier and more successful lives. The paper concludes that health promotion programmes help to establish a new work ethic that challenges the boundary between work and private life. Furthermore, they make a healthy lifestyle part of the competencies that employees are responsible for developing and nurturing.     

Bewerbermanagementsysteme in deutschen Großunternehmen

Due to a talent shortage, German large-scale corporations and their recruiting departments go at the moment through rough times but recruiting systems could offer valuable support in the hunt for new employees. To analyze the value contribution of the IT support of these systems, HR executives of the largest 1,000 German companies were surveyed. Based on the results of this representative survey, the following implications for the value contribution of applicant tracking systems as part of operating and management services can be made. Predominately, reductions in terms of process time and process cost in recruiting can be realized by using these applicant tracking systems. However, an improvement in process quality (e.g. higher number of successfully hired ideal candidates) cannot be evaluated. For all results there is no difference between the value contribution for the operating and management system. The value contribution of these applicant tracking systems is not influenced by the size of the observed enterprises.     

Kompetenzen als Auswahlbasis von Coaches

Many companies are increasingly making use of coaching as an instrument of human resources development. The selection of the a suitable coach is more often based on intuition of the selecting human resources employees than it is objective. This underscores the need for a more systematic approach to the selection of coaches, which is based on the useable competencies of a coach and is also scientifically supported. Through a multiparadigm literature review and an explorative study, this article identifies seven base competencies of coaches, which can serve as a foundation for the selection of a coach.     

Applicant reactions and their consequences: review, advice, and recommendations for future research

Recent years have seen an abundance of research addressing applicant reactions to personnel recruitment and standard selection procedures. However, most of this research focuses on isolating the determinants of these reactions rather than on their consequences. For example, just because an individual perceives a selection procedure as unfair, does this actually have any impact on the organization? In an attempt to fill this void in the literature, the current paper focuses on the outcomes and consequences of applicant reactions to personnel selection procedures. Specifically, the current paper (1) reviews the extant research on the consequences of applicant reactions, (2) advances a summative model of existing theory and research, (3) provides recommendations to organizational leaders who are concerned about the impact of applicant reactions to their personnel selection procedures, and (4) discusses directions for future research that will better substantiate these recommendations given to organizational leaders.     

Classifying capital projects for top management decision-making

This paper is an attempt to redress a perceived imbalance in the research and literature of capital project analysis. There is a plethora of work on the quantitative aspects of project analysis, yet empirical surveys show limited use of such techniques. There is limited work on the organizational processes of project selection, but there appears to be little or no work taking place on formal organizational systems for project selection.The more quantitative literature generally takes a deductive approach using a model developed from microeconomics based on the assumption that the objective of the firm is the maximization of owners' wealth. In this paper it is argued that there is a need to take an inductive approach and place the capital investment decision in its organizational setting. This paper looks at the formal capital budgeting system within the corporate setting.It is suggested that the specific capital investment decision takes place against the background of a set of policies and constraints, which are more or less explicit.The selection of corporate projects is a complex issue, but to provide some structure so that the problems can be processed by the organization, a capital budgeting system is designed. Part of this system is the classification of projects according to some criteria. It would therefore appear that the purpose of this classification system is to aid capital project selection within an organizational context.A consideration of classification systems for capital projects is undertaken, this is followed by a survey of the classification systems which have been proposed in the capital investment literature. Finally a classification system based upon specific criteria is proposed.     

考虑决策者后悔规避的风险投资项目选择方法

在风险投资项目选择过程中,决策者通常是有限理性的,会尽量避免选择可能会令其感到后悔的风险投资项目,而在涉及多个行业的风险投资项目选择过程中如何考虑决策者后悔规避的心理行为因素,这方面的研究特别需要关注。本文提出了一种涉及多个行业的考虑决策者后悔规避的风险投资项目选择方法。在该方法中,首先计算各风险投资项目在不同市场状态下的项目价值;然后,计算各组合市场状态发生的概率;进一步地,构建后悔函数刻画决策者后悔的心理感知,并通过计算不同行业的各风险投资项目的综合效用值得到风险投资项目的排序结果。最后,通过一个算例说明了本文提出方法的可行性与有效性。     

Human capital practices of Russian enterprises

Abstract

The goal of this study was to explore current human capital (HC) management practices (including training and development, recruitment and selection, compensation, empowerment, diversity, and work/family balance) of Russian enterprises. The data were collected at 270 large, medium and small enterprises in Moscow and four representative regional centers. The study results suggest that Russian firms tended to emphasize current HC needs, not long-term HC development strategies. The firm size had an effect on differences in training, selection and compensation practices, with large firms being more long-term oriented. Correlation between elements of the HC management model provided some preliminary evidence that Russian firms tried to coordinate selection, compensation and training procedures. In addition, firms that empowered their employees were also putting more emphasis on long-term oriented training, selection and compensation practices. Finally, there were signs that diversity was gradually becoming an important issue for Russian enterprises of all sizes. However, compared to diversity, companies' emphasis on helping their employees to deal with the work/family balance issues was much stronger.     

Further Beyond the Basic Background Check: Predicting Future Unethical Behavior

In this paper, we analyze the ethical issues of using honesty and integrity tests in employment screening. Our focus will be on the United States context: legal requirements related to applicant privacy differ in other countries, but we posit that our proposed balancing test is broadly applicable. We start by discussing why companies have ethical and legal obligations, based on a stakeholder analysis, to assess the integrity of potential employees. We then move to a consideration of how companies currently use background checks as a pre‐employment screening tool, noting their limitations. We then take up honesty and integrity testing, focusing particularly on the problems of false positives and due process. We offer a balancing test for the use of honesty and integrity testing that takes in three factors: (1) the potential harm posed by a dishonest employee in a particular job, (2) the linkage between the test and the assessment process, and (3) the accuracy and validity of the honesty and integrity test. We conclude with implications for practice and future research.     

Predicting project approvals: A case of grants from the National Science Council of Taiwan

Project selection is an important task for organizations in achieving their missions using limited budgets and resources. Whether or not a project will be approved is also of primary concern to the applicants. This paper predicts whether a project will be approved for cases where the criteria for evaluating it are known while the scoring system is not. The idea is to construct a frontier function for the approved projects from past performance on the criteria. The relative distance between a proposed project and the frontier serves as an indicator of the possibility that the project will be approved. Data from the Management II Division of the National Science Council of Taiwan in the Topic Research Project are collected to illustrate this approach. From the percentile of the distance measure, an applicant is able to predict the possibility that their project will be approved. Since professors with different levels of experience and different research areas have different research performance, these factors are taken into account in the prediction. A Malmquist productivity index analysis is also conducted to investigate the performance improvement of the applicants in research between two periods.     

Zur Aktualität des Kompetenzbegriffs und zur Bedeutung der Kompetenz-entwicklung für das Coaching

The popular use of the term “competence” and the significance of competence development in coachingThe term “competence” is frequently used by employers, employees, trainers and authors alike, though in many cases the concept behind this term might differ considerably. But what does competence really mean, how does competence differ from other concepts like qualification, ability and skill and what is essential in developing competencies? If competence is seen as a disposition of self-organization, it helps people to solve unknown and difficult requirements based on their knowledge. The basic aim of coaching is the development of job-related competencies. Particularly social and personal competencies can be highly improved and enlarged by coaching. Thereby the coach takes the role of a consultant, who assists the coachees during their learning process and supports them with appropriate methods and tools.     

Die Implementierung des Qualitätsmanagements in sozialen Einrichtungen

The implementation of quality management in social organizations. An evaluation of the results The article presents the results of an evaluation of the introduction prozess of the quality management in social organizations. In particular it illustrates the grounds of the specific features and differences of the participation procedures in this process. A prerequisite for a success is the bottom up procedere that recognizes and uses the resources, competencies and functions of the employees and managers. A formal optimizing of the operational processes will not induce a reorientation. If it does not succeed to internalize new approaches on the basis of a longterm learning process, the quality management will remain a paper and it will fail.     

资本结构作用下市场投资组合轨迹的研究

根据企业理财中投融资决策的互动机理 ,将资本结构与投资组合优化结合起来 ,在证券组合模型基础上 ,引入资本结构这一重要因素 ,研究了资本结构作用下市场投资组合点的轨迹 ,从而得出任一资本结构下所对应的市场投资组合     

Employee feedback technologies in the human performance system

Many authors have noted that organizations are realizing that employees can be a major source of competitive advantage. A hidden source of advantage can be the improved utilization of existing human capital. A method common to most organizations for improving existing human capital is using employee feedback technologies. During a review of the literature it was found that employee feedback is an expanding and poignant subject. This paper describes some of the current leading technologies in employee feedback, including coaching, 360 degree feedback, as well as other techniques found in the literature. Methodologies of employee feedback including approaches and timeframes will be investigated at the system and process level. Finally, the opportunities for dealing with a problem employee using feedback are discussed.     

The Status of Research on Applicant Reactions to Selection Tests and its Implications for Managers

The status of research on applicant reactions to selection tests was reviewed. Four areas of concern were identified. First, more work on construct validation of applicant reactions, which includes identifying the determinants of reactions, is needed. Second, the comparison of reactions across different types of selection tests is likely to have theoretical and practical contributions when a clear distinction is made between the test content and the method of testing employed. Third, justice dimensions underlying test fairness perceptions and how these dimensions relate to other facets of test reactions should be elaborated. Finally, more empirical research is needed to examine relationships between test reactions and important individual and organizational outcomes. Implications of these four issues for managers were discussed.     

Examination of Structured Interview Ratings Across Time: The Effects of Applicant Race, Rater Race, and Panel Composition

This study examined the relationship between race and interview ratings in a structured selection panel interview. Data from 1,334 police officer applicants who were interviewed by three-person panels were examined to explore how applicant race, rater race, and panel racial composition related to interview ratings and change from initial to final ratings. Results revealed the largest effect was for panel racial composition, such that predominately White panels provided significantly more favorable ratings to applicants of all races compared to panels composed of predominately Black raters. However, a significant three-way interaction between rater race, applicant race, and panel composition was also found. Specifically, Black raters evaluated Black applicants more favorably than White applicants only when they were on a predominately Black panel. These results may help explain past inconsistencies in the literature regarding the effects of rater race and applicant race on ratings.     

Partner selection in green supply chains using PSO – a practical approach

Partner selection is crucial to green supply chain management as the focal firm is responsible for the environmental performance of the whole supply chain. The construction of appropriate selection criteria is an essential, but often neglected pre-requisite in the partner selection process. This paper proposes a three-stage model that combines Dempster–Shafer belief acceptability theory and particle swarm optimisation technique for the first time in this application. This enables optimisation of both effectiveness, in its consideration of the inter-dependence of a broad range of quantitative and qualitative selection criteria, and efficiency in its use of scarce resources during the criteria construction process to be achieved simultaneously. This also enables both operational and strategic attributes that can be selected at different levels of hierarchy criteria in different decision-making environments. The practical efficacy of the model is demonstrated by an application in Company ABC, a large Chinese electronic equipment and instrument manufacturer.     

无形资本VS有形资本:创意产业新企业生存能力的影响因素分析

通过分析金融资本、关系资本和先前经验这三类重要的创业资源对创意产业新企业生存能力的影响,比较了无形资本与有形资本对新企业生存能力影响程度的大小。结果表明,创业者拥有的有形资本对创意产业新企业的生存更加重要,尤其是在新企业成立的初期,避免新企业创立初期现金流局限可能造成的关键员工信心丧失和人员流失,才能保证附着于其上的关系资本和先前经验等无形资本发挥重要作用。     

EFFECTS OF OPERATIONAL EMPLOYEE SKILLS ON ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY PERFORMANCE

This study employs structured interviews in a field setting to develop an in‐depth understanding of how a specific human resource decision affected manufacturing performance at 30 plants using advanced manufacturing technologies. Initial results suggested that there is no relationship between the skill level of operational employees and the level of performance of the installations. When a measure of “fit” between environmental characteristics and skills was employed, however, there was a significant relationship between the fit measure and performance.     

‘First,get to know them’: a relational view of organizational socialization

An important episode in workplace learning is the socialization of newly hired people into the organization. Typically, the literature conceptualizes the socialization of new employees as a learning process whereby the newcomer is responsible for learning to fit into the organization. This perspective seems to underestimate the social influences of co-workers and managers. Research and theorizing on social exchange and interpersonal relationships identify the quality of relationships between members of a group as a fundamental factor moderating the quality and outcomes of other interactions related to learning and work. This paper presents the findings of a recent study of organizational socialization experienced by new engineers recently hired into a large, global manufacturing company based in the US. Results of this qualitative case study explore and explain the socialization process from a relational perspective providing compelling evidence that relationship building is a primary driver of the socialization process in organizations.     

互动公平、委员会决策程序公平与员工决策承诺:基于公平启发理论与不确定管理理论的实证研究

借助层级团队形式制定决策,决策者能激发员工的决策承诺,确保决策的有效执行。以委员会作为决策者的层级团队为例,本文探讨了以下问题:当存在个体对自身胜任力的自信、专用性人力资本投资这两个因素的影响时,互动公平与委员会决策程序公平效应及它们之间的交互效应会发生什么变化?引入公平启发理论与不确定管理理论,本文假设并检验了上述四个因素如何交互作用于员工决策承诺。以两家大型商业银行信贷业务人员为研究对象,实证研究表明:(1)自信和专用性人力资本投资对委员会决策程序公平效应有着显著调节作用,但它们对互动公平效应的调节作用不显著;(2)当存在自信和专用性人力资本投资的影响时,较强的互动公平与委员会决策程序公平之间的交互效应更稳定一些,而较低的互动公平感知与程序公平之间的交互效应在方向上发生变化。本文有助于管理者理解"公平何时能引致员工合作"这一问题,帮助其更好地把握决策过程以获得员工对其决策的支持。本研究的假设完全基于公平启发理论(FHT)和不确定管理理论(UMT)的理论逻辑做出,实证结果与FHT和UMT的理论预测以及已有实证研究结果相一致,这意味着本研究具有较高可信性和可靠性,能为进一步理论探索提供了比较坚实的基础。