David E. Terpstra

Entrepreneurial start-up and growth: a classification of problems

The purpose of this study was to develop a classification scheme for the types of problems encountered by emerging organizations using an open-ended approach to generating the Initial response data. The CEOs of 121 Inc. 500 firms were asked to state the most significant problem during their firms’ first year and during a later growth stage. The open-ended responses were systematically sorted Into classes of problems, and the resulting classification schemes appeared to be more comprehensive and exhaustive than some previously developed schemes that relied on closed-ended response categories to develop their problem classes. Once developed, the classification schemes were used to examine the relative frequencies of types of problems at both the start-up and later growth stage. The findings indicated mixed support for previous research linking types of dominant problems to different stages of organizational development.

Outcomes of Sexual Harassment Charges

The article presents information on a study which examined a reported case of sexual harassment charges against an employer. Details are presented regarding the nature of the reported sexual harass...

Why Some Potentially Effective Staffing Practices are Seldom Used

The purpose of this study was to identify the reasons why some organizations do not employ certain HRM practices that could increase levels of employee performance and organizational profitability. The focus was on the staffing area (recruitment and selection) of HRM.1 Specifically, this study looked at five staffing practices that the academic research literature has found can significantly increase employee performance levels. Descriptions of these practices, and references supporting their impact on employee performance, are provided in Exhibit 1.

Organizational Structural Changes: Life‐cycle Stage Influences and Managers′ and Interventionists′ Challenges

The focus of this study was on successful, small, rapidly growing firms and on people who manage (entrepreneurs/ CEOs) or help manage (interventionists/consultants) these firms. Investigates the structural (complexity, formalization and centralization) changes that occur in firms as they move from the start‐up stage to the growth stage of development. One reason these structural changes were examined was that rapid growth often strains organizations′ existing structures and, in turn, threatens their very existence. Further, little empirical information exists about structural changes in small, growing firms. Using a sample of Inc. 500 firms, finds support for the hypotheses that organizations in their growth stage will exhibit greater complexity, greater formalization, and less centralization than in their start‐up stage.

Predictors of ethical decisions regarding insider trading

This paper examines potential predictors of ethical decisions regarding insider trading. An interactionist perspective is taken, in which person variables, situational variables, and the interaction of these two sets of variables are viewed as influencing ethical decisions. The results of our study support such a perspective. Ethical decisions regarding insider trading appear to be a function of a complex set of interacting variables related to both the person and the situation. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Sources of Human Resource Information and the Link to Organizational Profitability

The human resource (HR) directors of 201 large U.S. organizations responded to a survey concerning the relative use of different sources of new HR information. Academic research-related information sources were used much less frequently than practitioner-related sources. However, analyses suggested that only academic sources were significantly related to organizational profitability. The strength of the relationship between the use of academic information and profitability also varied across industry types.

The Relationship of Goal Setting to Organizational Profitability

A survey was conducted of organizations as to the extent of use of goal-setting theory and applications, and it was investigated whether organizations that used goal setting were more profitable than those that did not. A positive relationship was found between the use of goal setting and profitability. Thus the results provide some initial evidence for the possible impact of goal setting on organizational-level measures of performance. Industry type and organizational size appeared to have little influence on the use of goal setting; however, the relationship between the use of goal setting and profitability did vary somewhat by industry classification.

A model of human resource information, practice choice and organizational outcomes

Abstract This article presents a model that attempts to relate Human Resource (HR) manager characteristics, information search behavior and sources employed, HR knowledge, HR practice choice and implementation and organizational outcomes. The importance of organizational, environmental and institutional determinants is acknowledged; but the model focuses on the HR manager and emphasizes the proactive role that the practitioner should, ideally, play in helping to shape HR practice and influence important organizational outcomes.

Organizations' Relative Degree of Exposure to Selection Discrimination Litigation

This study examined nearly 400 federal court cases in which substantive, or primary, selection devices were legally challenged as being discriminatory. The findings indicated that the relative frequency of occurrence of discrimination charges varied for different types of organizations. Some industry sectors and some job types were associated with a much greater risk of exposure to litigation than others. For example, the government sector appeared to have a relatively high degree of exposure to selection discrimination litigation. The findings also indicated that the outcomes of the federal court cases (whether the ruling was for the defendant/employer or for the plaintiff) varied by industry type, job type, and type of discrimination charge. Specific recommendations are offered to organizations that operate in high risk industry sectors, and that have high risk job types, with an eye toward reducing the possibility of litigation.

HRM: A Key to Competitiveness

In the increasingly competitive global economic environment, organizations are searching for strategies and practices that will give them an edge. Describes some HRM practices that are used infrequently, but which may enhance organizational effectiveness. A good deal of empirical literature has demonstrated that the use of these practices can increase employee levels of performance, and recent research, conducted by the author, found that firms which employ these HRM practices are more profitable than those which do not.