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1 – 10 of over 3000The endless manifestation of employee misbehaviours can be classified according to Robinson and Bennett’s (1995) employee deviance typology. Using this typology, the purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
The endless manifestation of employee misbehaviours can be classified according to Robinson and Bennett’s (1995) employee deviance typology. Using this typology, the purpose of this paper is to examine the level of “judicial” tolerance for offences committed by employees across Australian workplaces that culminated in an arbitration hearing before the country’s federal industrial tribunal.
Design/methodology/approach
A content analysis was performed on 565 misbehaviour related, unfair dismissal arbitration decisions made by Australia’s federal industrial tribunal between July 2000 and July 2010. Using the count data that resulted, a logistic regression model was developed to determine which unfair dismissal claim characteristics influenced whether or not a dismissal was deemed to be an appropriate course of disciplinary action.
Findings
The results suggest that an arbitrator’s gender, experience and background have influence on his or her decision. Significance tests also verified that personal aggression, production deviance, political deviance and property deviance were all considered unacceptable in Australian workplaces. Importantly, the results enable the ordering of the range of tolerance. From this ordering, a picture emerged as to what factor may be framing the extremities of the arbitrators’ tolerance for the misbehaviours: the target (or victim) of the behaviour.
Research limitations/implications
Unfair dismissal claims that are settled through private conciliation, as they occur off the public record, could not be included in the analysis.
Practical implications
Society’s implicit stakeholder interest in what constitutes appropriate workplace behaviour is further testament to the HRM obligation to facilitate sustainable workforces. Management should consider whether dismissing a misbehaving employee is a reactionary approach to broader organisational issues associated with employee well-being and cultural norms. In order to contribute to sustainable workforces, HRM policies and actions should focus on limiting triggers that drive misbehaviour, particularly behaviours that result in harm to individuals as a matter of priority, followed closely by triggers to behaviours that result in harm to organisational profitability.
Originality/value
This paper presents new insights about the degrees to which various forms of employee misbehaviour are accepted in the workplace.
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Lilian Otaye-Ebede, Paul Sparrow and Wilson Wong
Organizational justice research has become the main paradigm of research in the field of HRM. The purpose of this paper is to outline a number of underlying challenges to which…
Abstract
Purpose
Organizational justice research has become the main paradigm of research in the field of HRM. The purpose of this paper is to outline a number of underlying challenges to which this paradigm is ill-suited. It broadens the traditional understanding of what is meant by fairness within the HRM literature to help explain how justice judgements are formed and may be used to influence societal-level fairness processes. It develops a framework to aid the understanding of the fairness of decisions that individuals or organizations make.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a conceptual review of the main paradigms used in fairness research. It draws upon the organizational justice literature as the dominant paradigm in HRM research, and conducts a cross-disciplinary review that introduces a range of theories less frequently used by HRM researchers – specifically capability theory, game theory, tournament theory, equity sensitivity theory, theories of intergenerational equity, and burden sharing. It demonstrates the relevance of these theories to a number of areas of organizational effectiveness.
Findings
The paper shows that researchers are now augmenting the organizational justice research paradigm under two important pressures – awareness of hidden structures that preclude the option for real fairness; and new variables that are being added to the consideration of organizational justice.
Practical implications
HR functions have invested significant resources in employee engagement or insight units, but if their policies trigger significant inequality of outcomes, perceived problems of justice, a lack of burden sharing, no sense proportionality, organizations may not be able to achieve other important HR strategies such as sustaining and deepening employee engagement, developing organizational advocacy, building an employer brand, or being seen to have authenticity in its values. The framework suggests a broadened educational base for HR practitioners around fairness. It also suggests that there may be complex employees segments concerning perceptions of fairness.
Originality/value
The cross-disciplinary perspective taken on fairness helps deconstruct the judgements that employees likely make, enabling organizations and individuals alike to ask more critical questions about their respective behaviour.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the contours of fairness by showing how different facets of fairness impact three important employee outcomes (job satisfaction, turnover…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the contours of fairness by showing how different facets of fairness impact three important employee outcomes (job satisfaction, turnover intention and employer advocacy) and examining the mediating role of quality of management and leadership (through perceptions of both senior management and the quality of exchange with immediate supervisors) in attenuating negative impacts of unfairness on these outcomes. The study extends the concept of fairness beyond the traditional focus on organizational justice and models the mediating role of leadership on the relationship between (un)fairness and the three employee-level outcomes in a sample of employees representative of the UK workforce.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained from a nationally representative sample of 2,067 employees in the UK. Exploratory factor analysis and then confirmatory factor analysis is used to refine three unfairness factors and address their dimensionality of the unfairness scale and then multiple regression analysis is used to test a fairness-leadership-employee performance outcome model.
Findings
Results of multiple regression analysis revealed that both trust in leadership and leader-member exchange partially mediate the relationship between organizational (un)fairness and job satisfaction, advocacy and turnover intention, respectively.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the important role that leaders play in influencing the relationship between perception of unfairness and employee outcomes. This has implications for both theory and practice as it suggests that the pattern of inclusion that leaders create through the relationships that they develop with their followers has a significant impact on the relationship between unfairness and the work outcomes. They not only must manage traditional perceptions of justice, but also the assessments employees make about trust in management judgements and the perceived consequences of such judgements.
Originality/value
In an environment where perceptions of unfairness are becoming both more endemic but also more complex, the study shows that both senior leaders and immediate supervisors have important agency in managing negative consequences. Through the measurement of satisfaction, turnover intention and employer advocacy it also provides potential links to link fairness into the engagement literature.
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Jenna Jacobson, Adriana Gomes Rinaldi and Janice Rudkowski
The paper aims to examine how employees influence their employer’s brand by applying Taylor’s (1999) six segment message strategy wheel in an employee influencer context.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to examine how employees influence their employer’s brand by applying Taylor’s (1999) six segment message strategy wheel in an employee influencer context.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses a content analysis of employees’ public social media posts – including captions and images – to analyze the message strategies employees use to promote their employers.
Findings
While ego and social were popular message strategies in both the images and captions, the findings evidence the varying message strategies employees use in text-based versus image-based messages. Four “imagined audiences” of employee influencers are identified: current customers, prospective customers, current employees and prospective employees.
Research limitations/implications
The research provides insight into how employees act as influencers in building their employer brand on social media.
Practical implications
A unique measurement tool is developed that can be used by companies and future researchers to decode employees’ online communications.
Originality/value
This research contributes to theory and practice in the following important ways. First, the research provides a modernization of an existing framework from an offline setting to an applied industry context in an online setting. Second, this research focuses on a subtype of social media influencer, the employee influencer, which is an underdeveloped area of research. Third, a unique measurement tool to analyze text-based and image-based social media data is developed that can be used by companies and future researchers to decode employees’ online communications.
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Nina Pološki Vokić, Ana Tkalac Verčič and Dubravka Sinčić Ćorić
Although internal communication is perceived as one of the crucial elements for favorable internal evaluation of an employer brand (EB), the importance of internal communication…
Abstract
Purpose
Although internal communication is perceived as one of the crucial elements for favorable internal evaluation of an employer brand (EB), the importance of internal communication for EB advocacy has been insufficiently theoretically problematized and related empirical evidence is almost non-existent. In this paper, the relationship between employees' satisfaction with internal communication and their perceptions of their employers' attractiveness is explored.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire-based field research study was conducted on a sample of 3,457 Croatian employees. The Internal Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (ICSQ) (Tkalac Verčič et al., 2009) and the Employer Attractiveness (EmpAt) Scale (Berthon et al., 2005) were used for assessing internal communication satisfaction (ICS) and employer attractiveness (EA).
Findings
Findings reveal that respondents' overall satisfaction with internal communication in their organizations is significantly positively related with the overall attractiveness they assign to their employers, that all explored ICS dimensions are significant for the overall EA, and that each ICS dimension is significant for at least one EA dimension. The most relevant ICS dimensions for EA are “satisfaction with feedback” and “satisfaction with communication climate”.
Originality/value
A conducted large sample study is among the first quantitative empirical studies that proved that employees who are satisfied with internal communication are likely to see their employers as attractive. Moreover, findings point toward internal communication endeavors which add more value to developing an attractive internal EB.
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Erling Rasmussen, Barry Foster and Deirdre Farr
The purpose of this paper is to place empirical research on New Zealand employers’ attitudes to collective bargaining and legislative change within the context of the long running…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to place empirical research on New Zealand employers’ attitudes to collective bargaining and legislative change within the context of the long running debate of flexibility.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey design using a self-administered postal questionnaire, covering private sector employers with ten or more staff and including employers within all 17 standard industry classification. To explore particular issues, an additional in-depth interviews were conducted of 25 employers participating in the survey.
Findings
It is found that employers support overwhelmingly recent legislative changes though there are variations across industries and firm sizes. There is also considerable variation in terms of which legislative changes are applied in the workplace. Despite fewer constraints on employer-determined flexibility, there was a rather puzzling finding that most employers still think that employment legislation is even balanced or favouring employees.
Originality/value
Cross-sectional survey findings of New Zealand employer attitudes to legislative changes are few and provide valuable data for policy makers, unions, employers and employment relations researchers. The paper also contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of pressures to increase employer-determined flexibility in many western countries.
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Yasser Moustafa Shehawy, Ahmed Elbaz and Gomaa M. Agag
The importance of employees’ job embeddedness perception in the airline companies has not been given the required attention. To recognise the role of frontline employees’…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of employees’ job embeddedness perception in the airline companies has not been given the required attention. To recognise the role of frontline employees’ perception regarding job embeddedness, the present research aims to develop and investigate a model that examines the determinants and consequences of employees’ job embeddedness in airline industry. The current study also aims to enrich the literature on human resources in the fields of transportation service management as the lifeblood of tourism industry as a related service industry by providing a comprehensive framework and measurement scale regarding the social exchange theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a survey among a sample representative of frontline employees operating in Egyptian airline industry across Egypt. In total, 870 questionnaires were collected and analysed using structural equation modelling using WarpPLS 6.0.
Findings
The results indicate that both supervisors’ support and employees’ advocacy have a significant effect on job embeddedness. In addition, it found out that job embeddedness has a significant effect on organisational commitment and employees’ intention to leave.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is conceptual in nature regarding the social exchange theory in service related industries such as airlines and tourism.
Practical implications
The authors intend to use these considerations as a basis for future research implications for tourism small- and medium-sized enterprises in the Middle-Eastern and North-African region.
Social implications
This paper contributes to the literature on social exchange theory by measuring factors affecting employees’ job embeddedness in the Egyptian airline industry, notably its related human resources as a service industry.
Originality/value
This study developed and empirically tested a comprehensive model of job embeddedness with its drivers and evaluated its impact on both organisational commitment and intention to leave. Such findings hold important implications for tourism small- and medium-sized enterprises in the Middle-Eastern and North-African region.
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Brian Abbott, Edmund Heery and Stephen Williams
This paper seeks to focus on civil society organizations (CSOs) and their capacity to exercise power in the employment relationship. In particular, the paper is concerned with…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to focus on civil society organizations (CSOs) and their capacity to exercise power in the employment relationship. In particular, the paper is concerned with identifying the sources of power, how it is exercised and whether CSOs can exert pressure on other employment actors despite their apparent lack of resources possessed by more established representative structures.
Design/methodology/approach
Findings are based on 139 completed postal questionnaires and 47 interviews, primarily face‐to‐face, across 34 different CSOs.
Findings
Adopting a resource dependence framework suggests that CSOs have the capacity to exercise power and influence key employment actors. However, the power of CSOs is undermined by the absence of an internal organizational presence, making it difficult to mobilize workers.
Research limitations/implications
The research highlights the role of an often‐ignored employment actor. To provide further insights further research is needed to garner the views of other employment participants.
Originality/value
In employee relations discussions of workplace power have typically focused on the power of the state, employers and trade unions. This paper adopts a novel angle by exploring the role of CSOs and their ability to exercise power.
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Hasan Gilani and Shabana Jamshed
This paper aims to focus on “Recruitment Process Outsourcing” (RPO) as a key element of improvement in corporate brand of organisation through using the talent and capabilities of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to focus on “Recruitment Process Outsourcing” (RPO) as a key element of improvement in corporate brand of organisation through using the talent and capabilities of employees. This research explores the linkages and interconnection between the concepts of RPO and its contribution towards the employer branding process. The review of the literature on RPO and employer branding identifies an emergence of conceptual framework based around outsourcing effectiveness and its impact on employer branding.
Design/methodology/approach
Exploratory research was carried out using case study analysis to give clear and deep understanding of the RPO and its impact on employer branding. This was conducted by using the semi-structured interviews with the HR and marketing managers using the qualitative method. The findings propose a conceptual framework which is representative for the organisations engaged in RPO.
Findings
The key findings include talented employees’ role in improving the brand image of any organisation; the development of customers’ perceptions through their attitude and behaviours; the reduction in the HR costs through RPO Services, the responsibility of the organisation taken by RPO which provides the chance for HR professionals and top management to focus on core activities; and the organisational care in selection of the RPO service provider as per their criteria.
Research limitations/implications
This research has been limited to assessing the impact of RPO on the employer branding of manufacturing organisations purely due to access issues. The research clearly establishes a good link between the operationalisation of RPO and its direct influences on an organisation’s employer branding through its outsourced employees. The research clearly highlights the importance of and the vital role played by the outsourced employees and how they need to be nurtured through a strong corporate culture and make them great brand ambassadors.
Practical implications
At the practical level, this study has several managerial implications, as the findings provide a good understanding of the concept of RPO and how it impacts the employer brands of the organisation. The research gives confidence to the HR managers and directors on the importance of outsourced staff members and the need to address the issues concerning the employee branding of an outsourced member of staff. The outcome of the research gives a conceptual model which represents the impact of an outsourced employee on the employer branding process of the organisation. This conceptual model highlights the many different factors that need to be addressed by a HR manager to keep consistency in employee branding of the organisation.
Social implications
The social implications of this research relate to the wellbeing and motivated staff members of an organisation, even though they do not work directly under the brand of the company they serve in. As mentioned in the research findings, the complications of the RPO process usually has drastic and serious impacts on employee attitudes and feelings when it comes to issues like change management, job satisfaction and the sense of belonging to the organisation. By addressing the different factors explored in the conceptual model of this research, an outsourced employee can feel equally motivated and belonging to the organisation they serve in, just as any other permanent member of staff who acts like an ideal brand ambassador for the employer branding of the organisation.
Originality/value
This research is original and adds value to the dynamics of RPO processes by exploring the impact of the process on employer branding of the organisation through its brand ambassadors. This research paves way for further research to be carried out within service organisations where employees play a vital role in being the brand ambassadors of their employer brands.
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Sarah Wise and Sue Bond
Policies which help employees balance their work and non‐work priorities have become increasingly popular among UK employers in recent years. Along with a legislative imperative…
Abstract
Policies which help employees balance their work and non‐work priorities have become increasingly popular among UK employers in recent years. Along with a legislative imperative for family leave‐related policies, employers are being encouraged to introduce work‐life policies and make them more inclusive in order to enhance their business performance. This paper looks at how four financial services organisations have approached the work‐life balance agenda and examines the fit between the organisational intentions for work‐life policy and actual outcomes for both organisations and employees. Culture played a large part in determining the experience of policies but so did resources. What managers were being asked to achieve in the business was often incompatible with formal work‐life policies. Despite the rhetoric, work‐life balance was still viewed as a tool for, and was used by female parents, limiting its potential to achieve the promoted business benefits.
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