Susan Mayson

Human resource management in growing small firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to begin the process of exploring the intersection between entrepreneurship and HRM by developing an understanding of the nature of HRM in growth‐oriented small firms.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 600 small Australian businesses, conducted by CPA Australia in March 2002 to explore employment issues, is analysed by the authors.Findings – The analysis shows that growth‐oriented small firms are more likely than non‐growing ones to use formal HRM practices where that means that they are written down, regularly applied or assured to take place.Research limitations/implications – The data are a single snapshot of small firms in time (March 2002) and therefore, while non‐growing small firms can be identified amongst the sample, it is not correct to assume either that they have not grown in the past to reach their current size (with the exception of the single person firms) or that they will not grow in the future. Moreover it is not known whether the growth, whi...

Internationalisation of curricula: an alternative to the Taylorisation of academic work

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of internationalisation on academic work within a department of management in a large Australian university. It has been argued elsewhere that internationalisation strategies have transformed the nature and demands of academic work through the massification and commodification of educational curricula. Drawing on one of our universitys projects to develop and deliver internationalised common curricula to students in Asia, South Africa and Australia we contend that internationalisation strategies have contributed to what we identify as the “Taylorisation” of teaching and learning. Frederick Taylors principles of scientific management, exemplified by the growing trend towards standardisation of delivery and curricula, are readily identified in the pedagogical processes and expected academic practice in higher education. This paper draws on the work of others who highlight the complexity of internationalisation issues in the development and delivery of curricula and suggests a comprehensive programme of internationalisation that more effectively addresses the economic and social demands of the current global competitive environment. We argue for a programme of internationalisation that is counter‐hegemonic, ongoing, comprehensive, multifaceted and integrated and we offer some practical suggestions to redefine the principles and practices of internationalisation within an Australian university.

International Handbook of Entrepreneurship and HRM

This invaluable reference tool has been designed in response to the growing recognition that too little is known about the intersection between entrepreneurship and human resource management. Paying particular attention to the ‘people’ side of venture emergence and development, it offers unique insights into the role that human resource management (HRM) plays in small and entrepreneurial firms.

Research‐led teaching: moving from a fractured engagement to a marriage of convenience

There are many reasons to develop closer links between research and teaching. To do this, we argue the need to move beyond university rhetoric that fractures the engagement of teaching with research and instead focus on the development of what is necessary to bring these two core academic activities closer together. Opening with a review of the current literature on research‐led teaching, the paper then highlights the various debates about whether or not the divide between research and teaching can be broached. We then explore a number of often contradictory myths that we argue universities subscribe to in their efforts to bring teaching and research together as they simultaneously create structures to separate them. The paper seeks to better ‘marry’ research and teaching activities in higher education settings, concluding with a set of principles that could be used by university leaders to guide the implementation of research‐led teaching.

The Contribution of University Accommodation to International Student Security.

In this paper we argue that living in university accommodation is a possible means of improving the security of international students. Our argument is supported by a qualitative case study of a single Hall of Residence on Monash Universitys Clayton campus. Data were collected primarily from interviews with three groups of participants – six international students currently living in that Hall of Residence, three international students who used to live in the Halls of Residence, and three College Heads. The primary finding of this study was that international students living in university accommodation felt very physically secure and experienced a reduced threat level to their social security. It is intended that our findings will assist universities and government in improving the security of international students studying in Australia, thus contributing to a more sustainable Australian education export industry.

Introduction : At the Intersection of Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Management

In recent years there has been a growing literature on human resource management (HRM) and smaller firms which has also encompassed firms that are growing and entrepreneurial. For example we have seen a special edition of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (Katz et al., 2000), two of Human Resource Management Review (Baron, 2003; Barrett and Mayson, 2006) and one of Human Resource Management (Huselid, 2003; Tansky and Heneman, 2003), with another of Human Resource Management (to be edited by Ribeiro, Roig and Tansky) scheduled for publication in 2010. In addition, symposia on the topic have been undertaken at the Academy of Management in 2005 (organized by Mayson) and in 2004 (organized by Hayton). Papers dealing with issues of HRM for new, small, growing and/or entrepreneurial firms have been presented at a range of different conferences, whether they are management oriented such as the Academy of Management (AoM) and its regional variants (for example, the British Academy of Management (BAM) or the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM)), entrepreneurially focused ones like the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research conference or ones focused specifically on smaller firms such as the conferences of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) in the UK or the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) and its regional affiliates. With all these papers and all this discussion is there anything left to say? Well yes, we think there is and we are...

The formality and informality of HRM practices in small firms

The formality and informality of HRM practices in small firms Rowena Barrett and Susan Mayson Introduction The nature of human resource management in small firms is understood to be characterized by ad hoc and idiosyncratic practices. The liability of smallness (Heneman and Berkley, 1999) and resource poverty (Welsh and White, 1981) presents unique challenges to managing human resources in small firms. The inability to achieve economies of scale can mean that implementing formalized HRM practices is costly in terms of time and money for small firms (Sels et al., 2006a; 2006b). These, combined with small firm owner–managers’ lack of strategic capabilities and awareness (Hannon and Atherton, 1998) and a lack of managerial resources and expertise in HRM (Cardon and Stevens, 2004) can lead to informal and ad hoc HRM practices. For some this state of affairs is interpreted as problematic as the normative and formalized HRM practices in the areas of recruitment, selection, appraisal, training and rewards are not present (see Marlow, 2006 and Taylor, 2006 for a critique). However, a more nuanced analysis of the small firm and its practices in their context can tell a different story (Barrett and Rainnie, 2002; Harney and Dundon, 2006). In this chapter we contribute to our understanding of small firm management practices by investigating a series of questions in relation to HRM in small firms.

Small firms and health and safety harmonisation: Potential regulatory effects of a dominant narrative

Small firms are popularly viewed as resistant to complying with regulation. Harmonisation of Australia’s state-based work health and safety regimes is a significant regulatory change. In this article, we consider the likely responses of small firms to work health and safety harmonisation and argue that a range of choices are open to small firm owner-managers. These choices are shaped by individuals’ world views and are influenced by elements in the firms’ context. A significant element is the public narrative of work health and safety harmonisation, which can be understood by using discourse and sense-making concepts. Our analysis of small firm owner-manager choices takes into account small firms’ embeddedness in their regulatory context and the influence on organisational decision-making of the narrative of work health and safety harmonisation. The dominant narrative is arguably silent on the benefits of the work health and safety regulatory change and therefore the response of small firms is likely to be avoidance or minimalism. Non-compliance could be the result due to poor awareness of opportunities arising from this regulatory change.

Special issue of International Journal of Human Resource Management: Recruiting, managing and rewarding workers in social enterprises

For this special issue we seek contributions that enhance our understanding of how workers are recruited, managed and rewarded in social enterprises. Over the last decade, social entrepreneurship has grown in importance as a cultural and economic phenomenon in both developed and emerging economies (Dacin, Dacin, & Matear, 2010; Dacin, Dacin, & Tracey, 2011). Social enterprises refer to organizations that engage in business to achieve social impact rather than solely for financial gain (Austin, Stevenson, & Wei-Skillern, 2006). We are interested in social enterprises that aim to sustain themselves or are already sustained by their activities, and differentiate these enterprises from charitable ventures that rely on donations and/or government funding as a major source of their income. As such, social enterprises may be understood as hybrid organizations that have a social and economic mission, and with this seek to sustain both missions. This has implications for their management and performance, including human resource acquisition and mobilization (Doherty, Haugh, & Lyon, 2014). Although studies have examined the factors that drive the success of social enterprises (Felı́cio, Gonc alves, & da Conceic ão Gonc alves, 2013; Liu, Eng, & Takeda, 2013; Liu, Takeda, & Ko, 2014), the role of human resources has generally been neglected. Significant constraints faced by social enterprises that result from their ‘liability of smallness’ (Heneman & Berkley, 1999, p. 53), tensions arising from their dual mission, and limited access to external finance (Austin et al., 2006), make them vulnerable to failure. Although we have evidence that human resource management can contribute to firm performance and innovation (see, for example, Messersmith & Guthrie, 2010; Messersmith & Wales, 2013), the wellrecognized challenges faced by small and emerging firms such as informal management structures, resource scarcity and limited managerial capacity may influence the viability of social enterprises. Despite this, only a limited number of studies have begun to examine how organizations attract, manage and reward workers in the social enterprise context (Doherty et al., 2014; Ohana & Meyer, 2010; Ohana, Meyer, & Swaton, 2013; Royce, 2007). We would like this special issue to offer a series of articles that encourage theoretical development and empirical examination of topics including:

The Relationship between Small Firm Growth and HRM Practices

The relationship between small firm growth and HRM practices Rowena Barrett, Susan Mayson and Niel Warriner Introduction In this chapter we explore the relationship between small firms’ growth orientation, their business planning efforts and the role the owner plays and whether or not formal HRM practices are used. Formal HRM practices are assessed in terms of whether they are written down, regularly applied or assured to take place. We take on board Heneman et al.’s (2000) suggestion that ‘surveys of employer practices across SMEs [would] be [a] valuable addition to the strategic human resource management literature’ (p. 23) and report the results of an online and paper survey of a sample of 1753 small firms (defined as those employing less than 20 people) in the state of Victoria (SE Australia). Our particular interest in this chapter, which is based on an analysis of 410 responses to the survey, is whether growthoriented small firms adopt formal HRM practices. This research contributes to understanding whether more formal organizational systems and routines are more likely to be used (or not) to nurture human capital in growth-oriented small firms. Moreover by focusing on firm growth, this chapter, consistent with recent calls in the literature (see Baron, 2003; Barrett and Mayson, 2006; Katz et al., 2000; Tansky and Heneman, 2003), contributes to a better understanding of issues at the intersection of entrepreneurship and HRM research.