Glenn M. McEvoy

Initial Examination of a Model of Intercultural Adjustment

Abstract This article reviews relevant literature to present a model of intercultural adjustment based on Blacks (1988) three-facet model of expatriate adjustment. The literature is organized around the different individual, organizational, and contextual variables likely to be related to the three facets of adjustment. The model is partially tested with data from 169 adults working abroad in 12 different countries. The results suggest that intercultural adjustment is affected by some controllable factors such as expatriate selection and management practices, but also by some uncontrollable factors such as the degree of culture novelty. The practical implications are described for those making expatriate selection decisions and are discussed in light of prior research on intercultural adjustment.

Strategies for Reducing Employee Turnover: A Meta-Analysis

This study investigated the relative effectiveness of realistic job previews (RJPs) and job enrichment as turnover reduction strategies. A thorough literature search located 20 experiments (N = 6,492) dealing with attempts to reduce turnover in field settings. Several meta-analysis techniques were a

Human Resource Management, TQM, and Firm Performance in Small and Medium-Size Enterprises

This study analyzes the moderating effect of two key human resource practices on the relationship between organizational strategy and firm performance. In a sample of 66 small to medium-sized manufacturing firms we found that a total quality management strategy was most effective when supported by significant training and group-based incentive compensation. This result is discussed in light of the current debate in the field about “best practice” versus “fit” models of human resource management and business strategy.

Gender and Attitudinal Commitment to Organizations: A Meta-Analysis

Two competing theories-the gender model and the job model-have been used to explain diverse research findings on gender and organizational commitment. This study examines the relationship between gender and attitudinal commitment to organizations via a meta-analysis of prior research results, using data from 27 independent samples (IV = 14,081). Meta-analysis procedures reveal that gender and attitudinal commitment are unrelated. There is little evidence that the type of commitment instrument or job type moderates the relationship between gender and attitudinal commitment. Cumulative evidence provides no support for the gender model of organizational commitment, but the findings are consistent with a job model explanation of organizational commitment.

A Competency-Based Model for Developing Human Resource Professionals:

This article describes a framework for the design and implementation of a competency-based curriculum for graduate management education. The article also outlines how this model has been implemented at one university in the context of a graduate degree in human resource management. Among the significant challenges discussed are the identification of competencies required for professional success; the identification of the specific traits, knowledge, and skills that combine to create competence; and the creation of a curriculum and the associated assessment tools necessary to promote the acquisition of competencies. Student orientation, student development, and student assessment are discussed.

Organizational change and outdoor management education

This study used a randomized group experimental design combined with qualitative research methods to assess the outcomes of an outdoor management education (OME) program in one organization. Measures of trainee reactions, learning, attitudes and motivation, behavior, and organizational results were collected. The OME program positively influenced participant knowledge, organizational commitment, organizational-based self-esteem, and intentions to implement learning. It did not improve trust or self-efficacy levels. Additionally, there was evidence of behavioral change and improvements is several organizational results up to three years after the training, although attribution of cause and effect is difficult at these levels of analysis.

Creating and sustaining ethical capability in the multi-national corporation

Multinational corporations are continually seeking sources of competitive advantage. In addition to strategic, technological, financial, and organizational capabilities as sources of competitive advantage, this paper argues that ethical capability also can be an important source of sustainable advantage. The paper presents the challenges of ethics in an international context, discusses the resource-based view of competitive advantage, and describes how a multinational company can develop and sustain ethical capability through the related processes of transformational leadership, organizational learning, and human resource management.

The Power of Outdoor Management Development

States that outdoor management development (OMD) is on the increase. Based on personal experience, lists the characteristics of effective OMD programmes, and argues that this type of training can be very powerful. On the basis of a review of relevant literature and anecdotal evidence, discusses ten salient features of OMD that account for this power: emotional intensity; psychological safety; consequentiality; enhanced self‐confidence; use of metaphors; unpredictability; experiencing peak performance; multiple skill/knowledge types; developing the whole person; and focus on transfer.

Determinants of the Institutionalization of Planned Organizational Change

A survey of randomly selected employees from a large county government organization was taken to evaluate the extent to which a new performance appraisal system had been institutionalized, that is, had been accepted and was being used by the organizations members. A total of 477 out of 1,034 employees from six county departments completed the survey, for a 46% response rate. The results showed that employees perceived a moderate degree of institutionalization, with a significant difference between departments. Further, the new system was perceived to have had less than a moderate impact on performance. Four factors were found to contribute significantly to the perceived level of institutionalization, and five factors were found to have a significant effect on the perceived performance impact of the new system. It is suggested that improvements in one or more of these factors may enhance the level of institutionalization and the perceived performance impact.

Answering the Challenge: Developing the Management Action Skills of Business Students

Business schools are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that they can improve behavioral (action) as well as cognitive management skills in their students. A new genre of skills-based management texts is now on the market to assist instructors in this endeavor. Most of these new texts rely on an approach to skill development grounded in social learning theory (SLT). This study examines whether an SLT-based approach to management skill development is indeed superior to a more traditional experiential education (EE) approach. Results show that the SLT-based approach out-performed the EE approach on two of three learning criteria with no significant differences in student preferences between the two. These results suggest considerable promise for the current genre of textbooks for answering the action skills development challenge.