Alison E. Barber

Using flexible schedules in the managerial world: The power of peers

Reports indicate that managers fail to take advantage of flexible work schedules to integrate work and life demands. A survey was conducted of approximately 1,000 managers who had three alternative schedule options: flextime, part-time work, and leave of absence. Managers who were women or who had work group peers who were schedule users were more likely to use each schedule. Managers’ productivity concerns were highest for flextime, then leaves, and least for part-time work. Organizational cultural change can occur if managers take the lead in their work groups to use flexible schedules in order to remove social barriers. 1

Good Deeds and Misdeeds: A Mediated Model of the Effect of Corporate Social Performance on Organizational Attractiveness

Previous research has suggested that corporate social performance is positively related to firms’ attractiveness as employers. The authors propose and test an alternative model whereby job applicants’ familiarity with employers mediates the relationship between corporate social performance and organizational attractiveness. Applicants’familiarity with firms may serve as a signal of firms’suitability as employers, with more familiar firms considered more attractive. Furthermore, a firm’s overall level of corporate social activity (whether “good deeds” or “ misdeeds”) may contribute directly to firm familiarity and indirectly to attractiveness through familiarity. The authors’ results support this model; firm familiarity completely mediates the relationship between corporate social performance and organizational attractiveness.

Understanding pay plan acceptance: The role of distributive justice theory

Abstract As U.S. businesses shift from individual rewards toward more aggregated pay systems, they must address the issue of reward allocation within groups. Specifically, should aggregate rewards be allocated equally to all group members, or should individual contributions be recognized? In this paper, the multiprinciple view of distributive justice is used as a starting point to predict employee reactions to different allocation methods. Propositions for future research that could facilitate the implementation of alternative pay plans are offered.

AN ASSESSMENT OF INDIVIDUAL, WORK GROUP AND ORGANIZATIONAL INFLUENCES ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULES.

Data were collected form managerial employees at a large firm that offered four flexible work schedules: flextime, four-day work week, leaves of absence, and the option to trade income for time off. Regression models were developed to assess individual, group and organizational influences on the acceptance of each schedule.

The Strategic Choice of Operator Skills in CNC Installations

The authors test a strategic choice model to further define the factors managers respond to when making skill level decisions for plants using CNC equipment. The results indicate that managers respond to the level of uncertainty in both the internal and external environments as well as the level of perceived discretion management has in regards to the workforce.