Peter McGraw

Exploring Human Resource Management Practices in Nonprofit Sport Organisations

Contemporary business challenges and globalisation pressures have had a significant impact on the human resource management (HRM) practices of many organisations. Whilst the adoption of more sophisticated, complex and strategic management systems is well documented in the general HR literature, organisations that operate with both paid and volunteer human resources have been virtually ignored by scholars. In this paper we report on a study on the adoption of HRM practices by state sport organisations in New.South Wales, Australia. Our results indicate that despite pressures to become more strategic in their people management, only a minority of these sport organisations have formal HRM systems. We also found differences between the HRM practices used with paid employees and volunteers particularly in organisations with formal HR policies. Research and practical implications for HRM in sport organisations are discussed as well as future challenges

Managing People in Sport Organizations : A Strategic Human Resource Management Perspective

1. Introduction 2. Managing Human Resources in Sport Organisations 3. Job Analysis and Design in Sport Organisations 4. Recruiting and selecting candidates in Sport Organisations 5. Orienting New Employee and Volunteers in Sport Organisations 6. Training and Development in Sport Organisations 7. Performance Management and Appraisal in Sport Organisations 8. Motivation and Reward Systems in Sport Organisations 9. Sport Organisations and Managing Outsourcing Arrangements 10. Sport Organisations and Succession management11. Sport Organisations and Diversity Management 12. Sport Organisations and Employee Relations 13. Managing Change and Future Challenges

Teaching group process skills to MBA students: a short workshop

A comprehensive introductory workshop aimed at building student readiness for participation in project based group work is outlined. This article develops a rationale for teaching such a workshop and outlines a step‐by‐step approach complete with all necessary materials. The core of the workshop is a case developed by the authors, which draws upon the real life experience of a group of graduate students. Debrief questions are provided for the case from the student and faculty perspective. The workshop also contains an exercise aimed at surfacing students’ experiences of group work and a set of recommendations aimed at reducing problems in student project groups. This paper concludes that, along with other benefits, the workshop develops a strong normative framework for legitimising appropriate behaviour in student project groups.

Succession management practices in Australian organizations

In order to assess the current usage of succession management programs in Australian‐based organizations, and gain information on the characteristics and perceived effectiveness of such programs, a national research study was undertaken. A total of 711 human resource management professionals from a range of organizations across the country answered the questionnaire, a response rate of 59 percent. Succession management programs were present in less than half of the respondents organizations. Furthermore, these programs were generally less than five years old. The prime imperatives for introducing succession management programs were reported as the desire to improve business results, and the need for new skill requirements in the business. A relationship between organization size, industry and type and the likelihood to use succession management was found. Common perceptions concerning the characteristics of effective succession management programs were also identified and are described in the paper. In brief, these are: high level involvement by the chief executive officer; senior management support; line management involvement in identifying candidates; developmental assignments as part of the process; and succession management linked to business strategies.

Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management Practices in Australian and Overseas-Owned Workplaces: Global or Local?

This paper compares human resource (HR) and industrial relations (IR) practices in the workplaces of predominantly Australian and predominantly overseas-owned organisations. It advances understanding of HR/IR in Australia and elsewhere by considering two questions. First, whether Australian-owned workplaces have different HR/IR practices from overseas-owned workplaces. Second, whether there has been a convergence or divergence of practices between the two groups in recent years. The analysis is conducted using the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey data from the years 1990 and 1995 (AWIRS 90/95). The main findings are that there are significant differences in HR/IR practice between Australian and overseas-owned workplaces. Both groups have increased their use of sophisticated HR/IR practices, but the overseas-owned workplaces have increased their usage at a faster pace. On the basis of these findings, we suggest caution in accepting the argument that globalisation pressures necessarily lead to a uniform convergence of HR/IR practices across the globe. While it appears that globalisation has stimulated local and overseas-owned firms to move in qualitatively similar directions, they are doing so at rates sufficiently varied for the gap to be increasing when measured quantitatively. In this sense, the locals might best be described as lagging behind the overseas firms in the adoption of HRM practices.

Influences on HRM practices in MNCs: a qualitative study in the Australian context

This paper uses data from interviews with HRM managers of the Australian operations of overseas multinational companies to critically question the analytical utility of a number of standard factors that have traditionally been claimed, in the international HRM literature, to influence decisions concerning the appropriate balance between centralization and localization in HRM. The variables reviewed are primarily structural: industry sector, strategic role of the subsidiary, administrative heritage and formal organizational structure. The data suggest that the firms modify their formal structures frequently in response to environmental turbulence and have evolved towards structural forms that are radically asymmetrical. Two variables that have received limited academic attention to date but which critically mediate the pattern of intended changes are identified. First, the perception by key actors in subsidiaries of HR competence elsewhere in the MNC network, particularly head office. Second, the propensity of the staff in the subsidiary to lobby politically against changes they did not perceive to be rational.

The HR Function in Local and Overseas Firms: Evidence from the Pricewaterhousecoopers-Cranfield HR Project (1999)

Multinational companies (MNCs) employ a significant proportion of the Australian workforce and are influential in shaping local human resource management (HRM) practices. Notwithstanding this influence, there have been few studies of Australian HRM comparing local companies with MNCs. This study systematically compares the nature of the HRM function in local and overseas firms using data from the 1999 Pricewaterhouse Coopers-Cranfield Project on HR in Australia. The study makes these comparisons against the backdrop of theoretical arguments for overseas companies to either adapt to the local HR environment or adopt HR practices from other parts of their overseas networks. The main conclusions are that while overseas companies as a group differ from locals in some important ways, particularly in having higher levels of representation on company boards and being more influential in overall decision on HR matters, in terms of formal HR policies the two groups are substantially similar. The main differences between the three main overseas groups are that UK companies report a lower level of influence and representation than their US or European counterparts.

HRD practices in local private sector companies and MNC subsidiaries in Australia, 1996–2009

This study charts human resource development (HRD) practices in locally owned private sector companies (APS) and subsidiaries of overseas-headquartered multinational companies (MNCs) located in Australia from 1996 to 2009.Using data from three iterations of the CRANET Australia survey, the research analyses the degree of difference between APS and MNCs, tests whether HRD practices are increasing in sophistication and if there is convergence or divergence between the two groups. The influence of company size and industry category is also explored as separate independent variables. The results suggest a decreasing overall level of HRD sophistication, that MNC subsidiaries are generally operating at a higher level of sophistication than APS companies and that there is directional, but not final, convergence.

Trends in Australian human resource development practice, 1996-2009

This research charts the evolution of human resource development (HRD) in Australian organisations over a critical 13-year period and analyses the effect of the company size, industry sector and ownership pattern on HRD practices. The analysis is based on standardised data extracted from 793 responses to the 1996, 1999 and 2008—09 iterations of the CRANET Australia surveys. Seven sub-indices and one overall index of HRD were constructed to monitor the level of ‘sophistication’ over time in different aspects of HRD practice and explore the ‘performance’ versus ‘learning’ dichotomy established in the HRD literature. The analysis revealed an aggregate decrease in HRD sophistication across all organisational types but divergent movement within the seven sub-indices, with decrease in ‘learning’ oriented practices and an increase in ‘performance’ oriented practices. Only limited differences were found between public and private sector organisations. Higher levels of HRD sophistication were present in larger com...

The Strategic Use of Quality Circles in Australian Industrial Relations

Quality circles represent one of the most interesting employee participation initiatives of the I980s. According to their advocates they improve industrial relations, increase productivity and improve product quality. Quality circles were developed in Japan and embody some fundamental principles of Japanese management. Outside Japan, however, quality circles have had a consistently high failure rate, leading some commentators to suggest that they have a distinct life cycle. This article examines this contention by comparing the operation of quality circles in two divisions of a large manufacturing company in Australia and noting the factors that contributed to success and failure. It concludes that quality circles were used strategically in both cases to help introduce a more participative management style. The impact of quality circles on the existing pattern of industrial relations is assessed, particularly the changes in relations between the major groups in the organization, the response of the unions to the programmes and their effect on the supervisors.