Adelle Bish

Career development for going beyond the call of duty: is it perceived as fair?

The present study examined the effects of rewarding contextual performance with career development activities on perceptions of justice. Participants (264) read vignettes which gave information regarding two colleagues in a large retail store who applied for a career development activity. Type of career development activity, level of contextual performance, and the development activity recipient was varied across the vignettes. Results indicated that participants believed there was greater justice when they themselves received the development activity, irrespective of whose performance was higher. Participants were also more satisfied and had greater interest in pursuing a career in the organization when they themselves received the development opportunity, especially for organizationally‐oriented activities. Happiness completely mediated the relationship between who received the career development activity and both procedural and distributive justice. Implications of these findings for organizational justice and careers research, as well as for managers, are discussed.

Exploring Expectations of Nonprofit Management Capabilities

Management capabilities have been widely researched in the private and public sectors, yet there is less evidence relating to the nonprofit sector. Increasing pressures to balance the demands of organizational values with business performance in this sector leads to a focus on the managerial capabilities required to meet these expectations. This article reports an exploratory study of capability expectations of managers within an Australian nonprofit organization. Using semistructured interviews, data were collected from 21 managers across three hierarchical levels. Findings indicate that while there is some overlap with managerial requirements in the private and public sectors, there are some unique aspects of nonprofit operations which warrant further investigation. Specifically, there was an emphasis on personal knowledge and experience (i.e., self-awareness, discipline, knowledge, and strategic thinking) and having a commitment to the nonprofit sector and values of the organization. Expectations also varied depending on the level of management within the organization.

An Exploration of the Professional Competencies Required in Engineering Asset Management.

Engineering asset management (EAM) is a rapidly growing and developing field. However, efforts to select and develop engineers in this area are complicated by our lack of understanding of the full range of competencies required to perform. This exploratory study sought to clarify and categorise the professional competencies required of individuals at different hierarchical levels within EAM. Data from 14 field interviews, 61 online surveys, and 10 expert panel interviews were used to develop an initial professional competency framework. Overall, nine competency clusters were identified. These clusters indicate that engineers working in this field need to be able to collaborate and influence others, complete objectives within organisational guidelines, and be able to manage themselves effectively. Limitations and potential uses of this framework in engineering education and research are discussed.

Star performers: task and contextual performance are components, but are they enough?

Identifying outstanding performers or ‘stars’ is a critical component of managing talent. However, organizational effectiveness in this area is limited by the current lack of guidance about the behaviour and characteristics of stars. We address this gap by combining a conceptual analysis with an empirical study involving 174 managers. Conceptually we examine the alignment of managers’ perceptions of outstanding performance with the well established task and contextual performance model and find this framework accounts for a core element in managers’ judgments about outstanding performers. However, a second, more qualitative approach finds that other dimensions including being self-directed, and a willingness to lead are also important. Our findings are consistent with a long-term trend toward identifying work effectiveness with highly discretionary, psychological and behavioural elements, and we consider the implications of this for the study and management of high level, individual effectiveness.

Control and involvement HR practices in Indian call centres: still searching for answers

Call centres were established primarily to reduce organizational costs while simultaneously providing high-quality customer service. To support this ‘twin constraints’ strategy, a range of human resource (HR) practices tends to be used in call centres that focus simultaneously on both control and involvement. To date, there has been a lack of empirical evidence concerning the outcome of such HR practices on call centre frontline staff (call centre representatives – CCRs). Consequently, this paper attempts to bridge this gap using a sample of 250 CCRs from Indian call centres. The findings show that, while the simultaneous use of involvement-and control-oriented HR practices had a positive impact on CCR job satisfaction, it also resulted in employee exhaustion and disengagement. These findings suggest that while involvement-oriented HR practices enhance CCR job satisfaction, they come at a cost which is potentially a key factor leading to high CCR turnover.

Management development experiences and expectations: informal vs formal learning

Purpose Many organisations are reconsidering their investment in formal education and training, in favour of more informal approaches to learning such as mentoring, temporary assignments, stretch assignments, and job rotation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which managers have developed capabilities for their roles thus far and their preferred approaches for future development with particular consideration given to a comparison of formal and informal learning. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on a case study conducted within an Australian nonprofit organisation focussing on the extent to which managers attribute their current level of management skills to formal or informal learning and the extent to which they would prefer formal or informal learning (or a combination) for future development. Findings Findings indicate a large part of the managers’ current management capabilities were acquired through informal means, and these are seen as desirable for ongoing development, however, there is also a desire for formal learning methods to complement informal methods. Originality/value Management development is a critical HRD activity however there is limited knowledge about how managers have built their current capabilities and their preferences in terms of the mix of formal and informal learning for the future.

Knowledge Identification and Acquisition in SMEs: Strategically Emergent or Just Ad Hoc?

Researchers and practitioners have been preoccupied with identifying ways for larger organizations to acquire and manage knowledge, however far less research attention has been directed towards these same pursuits in small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs. This paper examines how SMEs engage in knowledge identification and acquisition; in particular how they identify knowledge needs and source this knowledge to enhance their business. The research studied six SMEs in Australia and Denmark. Contrary to prevailing assumptions, the findings suggest that SMEs engage in identification and sourcing of critical knowledge, albeit often with less than formal processes. These organizations relied on business plans to direct knowledge activities and ensure balance between long-range planning and flexibility. The results address a lack of empirical evidence about SME approaches to knowledge identification and acquisition, and demonstrate that although SMEs may approach such activities in an informal way, they are nonetheless deliberate and strategic in their knowledge activities.

Taking A Closer Look: The Influence of Type of Nonprofit Organization on Management Capabilities

An increased emphasis on improved governance and accountability and the need to develop organizational agility, in addition to balancing competing stakeholder demands has intensified the focus on management capabilities in the nonprofit sector. However, the examination of critical management capabilities and how they vary by nonprofit organization type has been limited. This study compared the management capabilities required in public-serving and member-serving nonprofit organizations. Findings suggest that the type of nonprofit influences the emphasis placed on particular management capabilities as a function of the inherent differences in organizational purpose and context. The public-serving nonprofit emphasized problem-solving and conflict management, reflecting the challenges of operating in an environment where teams are essential for service delivery. While the member-serving nonprofit valued planning, innovating and representing the organization in an environment where advocacy and shaping the political landscape is critical. Drawing from these findings, we highlight theoretical and practical implications of these contextual factors for human resource management practices within the nonprofit sector.

Proximal and Distal Levels of Leader Vision: A Stress Buffering Perspective

Occupational stress research has consistently demonstrated many negative effects of work stressors on employee adjustment (i.e., job- related attitudes and health). Considerable literature also describes potential moderators of this relationship. While research has revealed that leader vision can have significant positive effects on employee adjustment it has neglected investigation of its potential stress buffering effects. Based on leadership and identification theories, it was predicted that stress buffering effects of leader vision would be more evident for distal versus proximal leaders and also when the distal or proximal leader vision was congruent with the employee adjustment outcome type (distal versus proximal). Predictions were tested with an employee sample from one large public sector organization (N = 519). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that main and moderated effects relating to leader vision supported the notion that occupational stress would be reduced when there was ...