Gloria Harrell-Cook

Toward a social context theory of the human resource management-organization effectiveness relationship

Abstract Increasing evidence has been found in support of a relationship between human resources management (HRM) systems and organization effectiveness, which has emerged as an important body of work in the past decade. Noticeably absent has been sound theoretical development that explains how such HRM system effects operate. In an effort to address such theoretical limitations in the area, the present article proposes a social context conceptualization that incorporates culture, climate and political considerations to shed light on the intermediate linkages between HRM systems and organization effectiveness. Then, the proposed conceptualization is used to examine how the process dynamics involved with diversity objectives and initiatives might be associated with organization effectiveness. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Human Resources Management: Some New Directions

The theory, research, and practice of Human Resource Management (HRM) has evolved considerably over the past century, and experienced a major transformation in form and function primarily within the past two decades. Driven by a number of significant internal and external environmental forces, HRM has progressed from a largely maintenance function, with little if any bottom line impact, to what many scholars and practitioners today regard as the source of sustained competitive advantage for organizations operating in a global economy. In this 25th anniversary Yearly Review issue, we conduct a less comprehensive and more focused review of the field of HRM. In doing so, we attempt to articulate some key concepts and issues that can be productively integrated with HRM to provide some interesting and important directions for future work, and consider ways to bridge the gap between the science and practice of HRM.

Organizational Politics and Employee Attendance

Organizational politics has been conceptualized as a source of stress and conflict in the work environment, with the potential for dysfunctional outcomes at both the individual and organizational level. One possible consequence of politics is the exercise by employees of withdrawal behaviors, particularly absenteeism. Further, the likelihood of negative outcomes may be substantially enhanced by the lack of understanding. The present study investigated the extent to which such understanding, measured as tenure working for supervisor, moderated the erceptions of politics-employee attendance relationship. Moderated regression results (after controlling for quality of supervisor-subordinate relationship) provided support for the hypothesis, demonstrating that under conditions of lower tenure working for supervisor, increases in perceptions of politics were associated with lower attendance, whereas no relationship was found between politics and attendance under conditions of higher tenure working for supervisor. Implications of the results are discussed.

Competing pressures for human resource investment

Abstract Since the late 1970s, many organizations have professed to view human resources as valued assets rather than liabilities, and the investment in human resources as strategically imperative to corporate competitiveness. However, over the past fifteen years, there has been considerable variability in the extent to which corporate America has embraced and implemented this new view. This article brings agency, resource dependence, and institutional theories to bear in an effort to understand the variability in emphasis that organizations place on human resources investment. The argument is made that the pressures exerted on organizations by stockholders for short-term financial performance will have consequences which are to the detriment of investment in human resources and of long-term corporate competitiveness and viability.

Manufacturing Advantage: Why High-Performance Work Systems Pay Off

The article reviews the book “Manufacturing Advantage: Why High-Performance Work Systems Pay Off,” by Eileen Appelbaum, Thomas Bailey, Peter Berg, and Arne L. Kalleberg.

Securing Prosperity: The American Labor Market: How it Has Changed and What To Do About It

The article reviews the book Securing Prosperity: The American Labor Market: How It Has Changed and What to Do About It, by Paul Osterman.