Search results

The term managing diversity is increasingly being used by Australian managers. It is a process which involves more than compliance with affirmative action legislation. This article identifies the major philosophical principles underpinning diversity management, the major ways in which it differs from affirmative action and the arguments for a diversity management approach. The process of building a culture which explicitly values differences between inidividuals operates at three levels: the strategic level, the managerial level and the operational level. The last section of the article examines some of the techniques which can be used at these three levels to effectively manage diversity. Examples from Australian organisations are used to illustrate these techniques.

The article examines the relationship between equal employment opportunity and the search for more efficient organisational and industrial structures in Australia.

The implementation of the Australian government's affirmative actioning proposals, promoting equal treatment for women in organisations, will reduce some elements of disadvantage faced by women in the labour market. Employment practices directly discriminating against women will be replaced by practices which do not overly acknowledge the sex of the applicant, and the employment of women in a diverse range of occupations will be given credence by the organisation's formal statement of commitment to equal employment opportunity. Attempts to remove disadvantage will have to start from the present work structures which are outcomes of actions and bargains between groups in which women have not played a significant part. Unless the trade union movement is given a more prominent role in the development and implementation of affirmative action programmes, these programmes will create further division in the workforce, as the reassessment of concepts underpinning personnel practices may cause much hostility among employees.

The purpose of this paper is to examine sustainable human resource management (HRM) based on the synthesis and simultaneous effects of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on organisational performance and employee harm in five Asia Pacific countries.

Data collected using the CRANET survey instrument was analysed using two canonical correlation analyses.

This study found flexible high-performance work arrangements (FHPWA), such as tele-working and compressed working week could have a negative effect on organisational performance. However, it also found that employee benefits and trade union influence have a moderating effect on the impact of FHPWA resulting in improved organisational profitability and reduction of employee harm.

Limitations include the aggregation of the data from the five countries and consequently the neglect of national institutional factors on the impact of HPWS on outcomes. A limited number of factors were used as indicators of HPWS, organisational performance and employee wellbeing/employee harm.

This study indicates particular HRM policies considered as part of a HPWS have different impacts on organisational profitability and employee wellbeing. There is a need for further research to determine the impact of particular policies and to also examine the interaction and moderating effects of high-performance work practices and trade unions.

This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on sustainable HRM by examining the impact of HPWS on organisational performance and employee wellbeing. It is the first time this has been examined in Asian pacific countries.

During the last decade there has been increasing interest in policies designed to assist employees manage both their employment and domestic responsibilities. These policies cover a variety of areas and include work‐based childcare centres, flexible working arrangements, leave arrangements and career break schemes. These policies have been labelled “family‐friendly” policies or “work and family” policies.

The performance management process has typically focussed on the achievement of short-term financial goals and ignored longer-term broader goals such human, social and environmental goals. In an attempt to overcome this limitation, the purpose of this paper is to explore the benefits of a broader approach to performance management that offers a balance of organizational financial goals with positive human and social outcomes. Specifically, the paper reviews the adoption of a sustainable human resources (HR) approach to performance management.

This conceptual study considers the effect of the firm ' s short-term financial focus on the multinational corporation ' s (MNC ' s) performance management process.

The study finds a performance management process with a short-term financial ultimately ignores the developmental needs of the employee.

In future studies that include empirical data and in particular longitudinal data should be considered so as to examine changes to employee performance management behaviors due to the implementation of a sustainable approach to performance management.

The study shows that the adoption of a sustainable HR approach to performance management incorporates a balance of organizational financial goals with positive human and social outcome, both of which are necessary to achieve and sustain superior long-term organizational performance.

The study suggests that when a MNC uses a sustainable HR approach, the performance management process is highly likely to make a stronger contribution to MNC effectiveness. The outcome is a balance between organizational financial outcomes and provision for employees. Performance managing people in organizations in a sustainable way, could prove to be strong source of competitive advantage. Hence, this study makes a central contribution to HR scholarship.

There has been a continuing debate in Australia about the need to reform working practices so they enhance efficiency and productivity. During the last ten years there have been major changes in the management of employees, including the introduction of flexible employment practices. Although these policies are seen to improve organisatonal efficiency, many employees are feeling more stressed, greater dissatisfaction about the ability to balance work and family life, they feel less satisfaction with management and the nature of communication and consultation. These experiences raise questions about the role of human resource managers in managing individuals’ expectations and experience in the workplace.

The purpose of this paper is to report on a study which explores trends in the role (what is done) of human resources (HR) in general and the role of line managers in managing people. The study developed from claims for the transformation of the HR role. It aims to explore trends in the role and new competencies which are being developed.

The authors carried out qualitative, semi‐structured interviews of 53 HR professionals across a range of industries and organisational sizes.

The findings indicate that managers expect HR will increasingly encompass responsibilities for developing human capital as a strategic imperative of business, as well as the traditional operational executor/functional expert roles.

While the paper identifies competencies expected in the HR role at present, as well as emerging competencies required by both HR and line managers, it invites a more generalizable study in the future.

The findings suggest a greater shift in strategic importance for HRM. Emergent competencies in other areas are identified, such as advocacy, conflict management, and succession and leadership development.

The paper shows that both HR and line managers will continue to be functional specialists, with a trend for role‐segmentation in the profession, as well as showing a need for a different mix of competencies, depending on career path and time.