Mark A. Shadur

The Relationship between Organizational Climate and Employee Perceptions of Involvement: The Importance of Support

One of the key factors that may influence employees’ perceptions of involvement is organizational climate. This article examines the relationship between employee perceptions of involvement and organizational climate. Data were collected using a survey of 269 employees of an information technology company. The authors argue that employee involvement is composed of three essential variables, namely, participation in decision making, teamwork, and communications. Three hierarchical regression analyses were carried out with each of the employee perception of involvement variables as dependent variables. Employee demographic data, employee affective attitudes (job satisfaction, commitment, and stress), and three dimensions of organizational climate (bureaucracy, innovation, and support) were entered into the regression analyses. The results showed that supportive climates and commitment significantly predicted each of the employee involvement variables. The results are related to current research literature on organizational climate and involvement, and the implications for managers are discussed.

The relationship among work‐related perceptions, employee attitudes, and employee performance: The integral role of communications

This article explores the nature of organizational communication in the human resource management context. An analysis of survey data collected from employees of an Australian information technology company found that employee perceptions of teamwork, communication, employee job satisfaction, commitment, and stress significantly predicted self-rated performance. Unexpectedly, communication was found to be negatively related to performance. Analysis of the pattern of relationships indicates that while the direct relationship between communication and performance is negative, the role of communication is one of enhancing teamwork, job satisfaction, and commitment. The article relates the findings to the “communication metamyth” which assumes that more communication is necessarily good.

Integrating TQM and HRM

Reviews the main tenets of TQM and strategic HRM, and identifies both similarities and tensions between the two approaches. Presents a case study of Tubemakers Australia, winner of an Australian Quality Award. Illustrates how Tubemakers managed the integration of TQM and strategic HRM. Particular strengths of Tubemakers′ approach were its ability to centralize strategic elements of TQM while still providing the workplaces with sufficient latitude to address the specific needs of their employees.

Factors Predicting Employees' Approval of Lean Production

A number of influential studies advocate the adoption of a lean production system (LPS) in order to improve quality and efficiency in Western automotive plants. Critics argue that such systems place excessive demands upon employees. Very little survey data, however, is available on employees attitudes toward lean production since companies are frequently reluctant to grant such access. Our survey of 200 employees in a Japanese-owned automotive plant in Australia using lean production found that commitment to the company, speed of work and, in special circumstances, age were predictors of employees approval of the LPS. Employees perceived levels of stress and Japanese management techniques, such as consultation and a teamwork orientation, were not predictors of approval of the LPS, a finding that contradicts earlier research in this field. Other variables in the analysis, including employee demographics, had no predictive value. We use the results to comment on the wider debate about the transfer of Japanese manufacturing practices to Western countries.

The adoption of international best practices in a Western culture: East meets West

Contemporary organizations facing changing economic and strategic realities have considered many models of organizational performance, in particular those based on ‘actices’odels of best practice have emanated from the USA, some European countries and Japan; however, the question remains –ternational best practices be transferred to Australia or elsewhere? Since companies in Japan, in particular, have been seen as harbingers of these best practices, we compare the level of adoption in Japanese and non-Japanese companies in three Australian industries. Differences between Japanese and non-Japanese companies were more apparent in the automotive industry with only a few differences found for the information and tourism industries. The main differences between the two ownership categories were in areas of unionization and management–elations, that is, areas that may be influenced more by institutional arrangements than by cultural differences. Perhaps the most interesting finding from the comparative research...

Developments in business networks in East Asia

Examines three forms of business networking that have been identified within South East Asia: Japanese business networking, Korean business networking and Chinese family business networking. These demonstrate distinct characteristics. The Japanese system is the most well known and is exhibited mainly through the formation of industrial networks. Korean business networking differs in terms of ownership and control with a familial type relationship existing within networks. The Chinese family business network exhibits close links between enterprises that are owned by a single family with foundations of the network based on family, race, religion or profession. Examines these Japanese, Korean and Chinese business networking approaches from the perspective of small to medium‐sized enterprises and highlights some issues relevant to managers.

The International Transferability of Japanese Management Strategies: An Australian Perspective

Discusses feasibility, desirability and value of Japanese management strategies in a Western context. Major Japanese companies are at the leading edge in refining management strategies, techniques and styles, for example, with regard to having a long‐term perspective and the continuous improvement of quality, stock control, skill formation, communications, training and employee development. As possible models can these approaches be transferred to different cultures?

What's Size Got to Do with It? Implications for Contemporary Management Practices in IT Companies

JOHN RODWELL IS A RESEARCH OFFICER AND doctoral scholar and Mark Shadur a Principal Research Fellow in the Australian Centre in Strategic Management at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. The study reported here explores differences between small and medium-sized companies across a range of human resource management, quality and general management practices, based on a survey of the Australian information technology industry. Small companies were less unionised, subcontracted less, had a more centralised structure and had higher levels of research and development. Medium-sized companies reported greater use ofjust-in-time (JIT), greater use of statistical process control (SPC), more successfulJlT systems and SPC systems. Despite the lower levels of quality system use and success, small companies were found to have a stronger espoused quality philosophy than the medium-sized companies. It is proposed that using non-unionised labour across a range ofjobs while maintaining a higher level of research and development and a quality philosophy allows small business to keep its flexibility while maintaining control, aiming for quality and focusing on the future.

International best practice, quality management anf high performance: inferences from the Australian automotive sector

The adoption of international ‘best practice’ (IBP) has been presented widely as a strategy for organizations to improve productivity and competitiveness. The most prominent best practices include total quality management, continuous improvement programmes and just-in-time (JIT) production. Two key measures of competitiveness are quality and efficiency, and we examine those IBPs that lead to high levels of quality and efficiency in the Australian automotive industry. Our findings are based on a survey of the Australian automotive industry, and they suggest that the successful implementation of JIT and continuous improvement programmes can influence efficiency; this corresponds with recent discussions of IBP. However, our analyses also indicate that certain areas of human resource management, such as performance appraisals, performance-related pay, welfare schemes and testing during selection, can have an important influence on efficiency and quality and should also be considered as important forms of best...

Understanding Corporate Collapse

Many of the recent cases of corporate collapse might have been avoided had company leaders been in a position to interpret the early signs of collapse. Existing financial models provide some indication of how to avoid failure, but these need to be supplemented by a holistic, strategic management approach. Recent experience in Australia underscores the importance of this integrated approach, and suggests that specific reforms to directorship and auditing practices might militate against failure.