Dail Fields

A Cross-Cultural Test of a Model of the Work-Family Interface

Recent efforts to more fully understand the mechanisms through which work and family experiences and their cross-over effects influence well-being have stimulated the development of integrative models of the work-family interface. This line of research is represented by the model which Frone, Russell, and Cooper (1992) tested with a sample of U.S. employees. In the current study, we examine the cross-cultural generalizability of this model among married Hong Kong employees. Results of the analyses suggest that many of the relationships among work and family constructs are similar across the two cultures, but that the nature and effects of the cross-over between family and work domains on overall employee well-being may differ. That is, life satisfaction of Hong Kong employees is influenced primarily by work-family conflict, while that of American employees is influenced primarily by family-work conflict. Limitations of the study and implications of the findings for assisting employees integrate their work and family responsibilities as a source of competitive advantage are discussed.

Trust and tacit knowledge sharing and use

Purpose – This study aims to explore the impact of affect‐based and cognition‐based trust of co‐workers on the willingness of professionals to share and use tacit knowledge.Design/methodology/approach – The relationships were examined through data provided by a sample of 202 professionals and managers in world headquarters of an international organization.Findings – The levels of both types of trust influence the extent to which staff members are willing to share and use tacit knowledge. Affect‐based trust has a significantly greater effect on the willingness to share tacit knowledge, while cognition‐based trust plays a greater role in willingness to use tacit knowledge.Research limitations/implications – The data are cross‐sectional and were also collected in one organization. Future studies should consider longitudinal designs across multiple organizations. Alternatively, archival information could be used to measure actual tacit knowledge sharing and use among co‐workers.Practical implications – The re...

Organization-Level Determinants of Women in Management

This study investigated the association of organizational characteristics with the percentage of management positions held by women in a group of medium-sized to large private sector workplaces. Re...

Cracks in the Glass Ceiling In What Kinds of Organizations Do Women Make it to the Top

This study investigates variables that differentiate work establishments that have women in top management positions from those that do not. Women occupied top management positions in slightly more than half of the 228 medium- to large-sized private sector establishments the authors studied. The authors found that women are more likely to occupy top management ranks in establishments that have more lower level management positions filled by women, have higher management turnover, have lower average management salary levels, place greater emphasis on development and promotion of employees, and operate in nonmanufacturing industries.

Distributive and procedural justice as predictors of employee outcomes in Hong Kong

This study examines the extent to which employee judgments about distributive and procedural justice predict job satisfaction, intent to stay and evaluation of supervision in Hong Kong. Distributive and procedural justice each plays a role in determining work outcomes of Hong Kong employees. However, some effects of these justice variables differ from results of previous studies in the United States (U.S.). First, in previous U.S. studies, procedural justice moderates the relationship of distributive justice with evaluation of supervision, but not with job satisfaction or intent to stay. For Hong Kong employees, procedural justice moderates the effects of distributive justice on job satisfaction and intent to stay, but not on evaluation of supervision. Second, previous U.S. studies have shown that procedural justice has a larger effect on work outcomes for women, while distributive justice has larger effects on outcomes for men. For Hong Kong employees, the effects of procedural and distributive justice are about the same for men and women. Differences in the effects of distributive and procedural justice between Hong Kong and the U.S. may reflect cultural dimensions, such as collectivism/individualism and power distance, as well as the relative availability of rewards for women in the work force. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed. Copyright

An empirical study of human resource management policies and practices in foreign-invested enterprises in China: the case of Shenzen Special Economic Zone

Information about human resource management (HRM) practices in foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) in China has been limited to studies involving a small number of cases. This study provides an empirical assessment of HRM practices used in 158 FIEs operating in Shenzen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of the Guangdong Province in southern China. Results suggest that FIEs have moved away from centrally planned job allocation, life-time employment and egalitarian pay towards open job markets at management and non-management levels, contractual employment where pay and longevity are based on individual worker and company performance and compensation plans that recognize differences in skills, training and job demands. These practices seem to reflect the influence of the economic reform in China. Other aspects of HRM practices used by FIEs, such as approximate equality of pay for men and women, limited differences between management and non-management salaries and widespread provision of housing and other benefits...

Employee satisfaction in work groups with different gender composition

This study investigates the relationship between the gender composition of an employees work group and the employees job satisfaction, using a random sample over 1600 U.S. workers. After controlling possible confounding variables, our analysis shows that the level of an employees job satisfaction is related to the gender composition of the employees work group, and that the relationship of these variables does not differ between male and female employees. Both men and women working in gender-balanced groups have higher levels of job satisfaction than those who work in homogeneous groups. Employees working in groups containing mostly men have the lowest levels of job satisfaction, with those working in groups containing mostly women falling in the middle. These results are consistent with predictions based on Blaus theory of social structure, that satisfaction would be highest for employees in more heterogeneous groups.

Using the Leadership Practices Inventory to Measure Transformational and Transactional Leadership

The present study investigated whether the broader dimensions of transformational and transactional leadership can be inferred from subordinate reports of leadership behaviors collected using instruments not specifically designed for this purpose. The leadership measurement instrument used was the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). Alternative second-order factor models were evaluated using LISREL 7, and results suggested that subordinate assessments made using the LPI also can be used to measure transformational and transactional leadership. This suggests that transformational and transactional leadership approaches may be thought of as underlying dimensions, with more particularistic leadership behaviors, such as those described by the five LPI dimensions, being related to them.

Exploring predictors of alternative job changes

Previous studies have found that the variables that predict employee turnover vary considerably across situations. This lack of consistency may reflect limitations imposed by viewing turnover only as a decision to leave a current job. The variables that predict turnover may depend on the type of job change that an employee makes after leaving. This study explored which variables predicted leaving a job and moving to three alternative types of job change. The results show that different variables predicted employee moves to a new type of job in the same organization, the same job in a different organization, and a different job in a different organization. This supports the concept that turnover may be better modelled as a decision not only to leave a job, but also to move to a different work situation.

Exploring the impact of shared leadership on management team member job outcomes

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which working in a management team in which leadership functions are shared impacts the role clarity, job overload, stress and job satisfaction of team members. It also aims to explore the moderating influence of organizational encouragement for team work.Design/methodology/approach – The study uses data obtained from 200 top management team members working in Christian church organizations in the USA. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship of shared leadership with the role conflict, role ambiguity, job stress, and job satisfaction of the management team members. These relationships were also evaluated for team members in organizations with both higher and lower levels of encouragement for team work.Findings – A model in which role conflict and ambiguity mediate the relationship between shared leadership and job stress and job satisfaction provides the best fit with the data. Shared leadership within a management t...