Shannon Lloyd

Predicting IHRM strategy and practice decisions: development of the IHRM orientation typology

International human resource management (IHRM) is becoming increasingly fundamental to organisational success, as globalisation forces demand organisations to design and implement a global strategy. One of the most critical choices faced by IHRM practitioners is whether and when an organisation should adapt its human resource policies and practices to the local context (localisation). A typology of International Human Resource Management Orientations (IHRMO) that clarifies what IHRMO’s are and what they entail is developed from a review of the literature on localisation and globalisation, convergence and divergence and Perlmutter’s management typology. Additionally, two theoretical models are developed that predict which IHRM orientation identified in the typology should be adopted. The article takes a step towards elucidating effective IHRM strategy and practice decision‐making by showing that culture and institutional pressures, amongst other tings, do make a difference.

Subgroup formation and team climate in culturally diverse work teams

The study investigated the direct and indirect effects of co-worker support and family support on job satisfaction, family satisfaction, and strain within a longitudinal study design. Using two waves of data (T1=637, T2=390) collected from 23 New Zealand organisations we tested a structural model that predicted (1) direct effects of co-worker support on job satisfaction and strain; (2) direct effects of family support on family satisfaction and strain; and (3) indirect effects of co-worker support and family support on strain mediated through job satisfaction and family satisfaction. Our results show significant direct effects of co-worker support on job satisfaction, and job satisfaction on strain; and significant direct effects of family support on family satisfaction and family satisfaction on strain. However, predicted indirect effects of co-worker support and family support on strain mediated through job and family satisfaction were found to be weak. We compare our findings with those in the literature. Some of the limitations of the study are also discussed.pp. 116-154of this journal suppl. entitled: The Abstracts of the 6th Australian Industrial and Organisational Psychology ConferenceThis research endeavoured to extend the theoretical basis of the work-family conflict literature by evaluating a specific role-theory Conservation of Resources theory (COR). The premise of COR theory is that conflict occurs when an individuals current resources (support, finances, energies) are exceeded. The impact of COR on conflict, strain, and satisfaction outcomes was tested in a sample of 130 university students. Participants responded to a self-report questionnaire, which included measures of student and family demands, university-family conflict, resource loss and gain, psychological strain, and life satisfaction. The results demonstrated that gender, student demands, family demands, and resource gain significantly predicted university-to-family conflict, while gender, family demands, and resource loss significantly predicted family-to-university conflict. The relevance of COR theory within contemporary work-family research, especially the importance of the resource loss and gain constructs, are discussed.The consequences of conflict between work (employment) and family life are currently of considerable interest within occupational stress research. Workplace interventions that limit the adverse organisational and individual consequences of this conflict have recently been identified, although empirical evaluations of these interventions have sometimes yielded contradictory findings on their effectiveness. This paper examines the relationship between use of workplace work-family resources (such as cr裨e facilities, flexible working hours, and job sharing) and social support from family members, with levels of perceived work-family conflict and job and family satisfaction. Two questionnaires completed by 398 employed men and women, with an interval of approximately three months, investigated the use of workplace resources, family support, and levels of work-to-family and family-to-work conflict in the prediction of job and family satisfaction. The use of both work and family resources predicted levels of inter-domain conflict and satisfaction over time, although in some unexpected directions. Implications of these findings for the reduction of inter-domain conflict are discussed.While organisational policies and practices may have opened the door to diverse individuals, exclusion due to the tendency of people to form subgroups based on perceived interpersonal similarities and dissimilarities still prevents many individuals and teams from reaching their full potential. Cultural diversity is a salient characteristic upon which these subgroups are often formed. Using research from the social psychology and organisational behaviour literature a model is developed that depicts the inclusiveness versus exclusiveness of a team’s climate, the responses of culturally similar and dissimilar team members toward their team and team performance as being dependent on the tendency of both culturally similar and dissimilar team members to form subgroups. It is proposed that when individuals engage in group segmentation a team is likely to have an exclusive team climate which will have a negative impact on both team and individual level outcomes. Conversely, when team members do not engage in group segmentation, it is proposed that the team is likely to have an inclusive team environment which will have a positive impact on both team and individual level outcomes. This model is an important development in the literature as it provides some guidelines to management professionals as to considerations for the selection, training and development of culturally diverse work teams.In Australia, occupational stress represents approximately 6.5% of reported workplace injuries, produces an average absenteeism duration of 18.4 weeks, and costs Australian organisations approximately

Intercultural competencies for culturally diverse work teams

105.5m per annum. The requirement for organisational psychologists to address this workplace health issue is therefore paramount. This research employed archival organisational data to identify the actual predictors of psychological stress Work Cover Claims recently submitted by 163 correctional officers in one Australian State. Commonly perceived predictors such as the gender, tenure and rank of the correctional officers were not significantly associated with the submission of a Claim. Instead the predictors consisted of absentee levels, submission of grievance reports against officers, exposure to severe critical incidents at work, and the specific role of the correctional officer. The implications of these results in terms of subsequent organisational interventions targeted at reducing organisational stress experienced by correctional officers are also briefly discussed.The study examined the direct and indirect effects of the key dimensions of the Job Demand-Control-Support (JDCS) model in predicting levels of strain in a sample of Queensland correctional officers. The personality trait of agreeableness, which has received little attention in the research literature, was also examined for its effect in predicting levels of strain as measured by job satisfaction and work related well-being. A cross-sectional methodology was adopted, combining the responses of two separate questionnaires, administered four months apart. Standardised self-report measures were used in addition to correctional officer specific measures designed to elicit information on perceived sources of stress and possible ways to improve well-being. Consistent with the strain hypothesis of the JDC model, increased job stressors reduced levels of job satisfaction and work related well-being. Method control had a direct positive effect on intrinsic job satisfaction while timing control had a direct positive effect on work related well-being. The value of workplace support, particularly supervisor support was highlighted with supervisor support predicting extrinsic job satisfaction and work related well-being. Agreeableness was identified as an important factor in deriving satisfaction from correctional work as it had a direct positive effect on intrinsic job satisfaction and acted as a moderator of the relationship between correctional officer stress and extrinsic job satisfaction. The buffer hypothesis of the JDCS model was not supported by this study. Strategies for improving correctional officer well-being through reducing job demands and increasing job control and support are proposed.