Yongsun Paik

Religious Groups and Work Values A Focus on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam

Although the existing literature contends that religious beliefs have a strong impact on work values, few studies have examined the relationship. Given the sustained importance of religion in most societies and the growing diversity of the US population, companies are finding an increasing need to understand religion in the workplace. The current research uses data from 44,030 individuals in 39 countries to investigate the influence of the worlds four major religions, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam on extrinsic and intrinsic work values. Controlling for important variables such as age, gender, and education, results generally support the posited hypotheses, confirming that religion is positively related to work values. Specifically, we find that all religions except Christianity show a positive relationship with extrinsic work values. Furthermore, we find that all four religions show a positive relationship with intrinsic work values. We also find that those who report no religious affiliation also view work values positively. We suggest that these results are perhaps a result of the converging effects of globalization. This article makes an important contribution to the literature by examining a large sample covering the worlds major religions. The findings suggest that most religions view work in a positive light. Such findings are important as more multinationals attempt to manage an increasingly diverse workforce worldwide. Groupes religieux et valeurs liées au travail : une étude sur le Boudhisme, le Christianisme, lHindouisme et lIslam (K. Praveen Parboteeah, Yongsun Paik and John B. Cullen) Bien que la littérature actuelle soutienne que les croyances religieuses ont un impact fort sur les valeurs liées au travail, peu détudes analysent la relation entre ces deux dimensions. Etant donnés le maintien de limportance des religions dans la plupart des sociétés et la diversité croissante de la population américaine, les entreprises ont de plus en plus besoin de comprendre limpact du fait religieux sur le lieu de travail. Ce travail de recherche utilise des données issues de 44 030 personnes réparties dans 39 pays. Il a pour but dexplorer linfluence des quatre religions majeures, le Boudhisme, le Christianisme, lHindouisme et lIslam, sur les valeurs extrinsèques et intrinsèques liées au travail. En contrôlant limpact de variables importantes comme lâge, le genre, et la formation, les résultats confirment en général les hypothèses de départ, et confirment que la religion est corrélée positivement aux valeurs liées au travail. De façon plus détaillée, nos résultats démontrent que ces religions, à lexception du christianisme, présentent une corrélation positive avec les valeurs extrinsèques liées au travail. De plus, ils attestent que lensemble des quatre religions présentent une corrélation positive avec les valeurs intrinsèques liées au travail. Nous avons aussi identifié que ceux qui ne revendiquent aucune affiliation religieuse ont également une perception positive des valeurs liées au travail. Nous suggérons que ces résultats sont peut-être dus aux effets convergents de la globalisation. Cet article apporte une contribution importante à la littérature, en analysant un large échantillon représentatif des quatre religions dominantes dans le monde. Les résultats suggèrent que la plupart des religions ont une vision positive du travail. De tels découvertes sont particulièrement importantes au moment où un nombre croissant de multinationales doivent manager une force de travail incroyablement diversifiée, partout dans le monde.

The relationship between perceived compensation, organizational commitment and job satisfaction: the case of Mexican workers in the Korean Maquiladoras

Expatriate literature has generally favoured home country factors to understand expatriate success. In this paper, we contribute to the field by shifting our focus to the host country workforce (HCW). We use equity theory to examine the effects of perception gaps in compensation between HCW and expatriates on organizational commitment and its impact on job satisfaction and job performance. Based on field surveys and in-depth interviews of Korean expatriates as well as Mexican workers, results provide support for our hypothesis that significant perception gaps exist in compensation. The finding that compensation gap was significantly related to affective commitment only is of crucial importance. Our results also suggest that only affective commitment is positively related to job satisfaction and performance. We discuss research as well as managerial implications.

Strategic international human resource management approaches in the maquiladora industry: a comparison of Japanese, Korean and US firms

The maquiladora option has made Mexico an increasingly attractive off-shore manufacturing site for multinational enterprises (MNEs) seeking global competitiveness. However, MNEs often encounter hum...

Korean human resource management in the global context

The economic transformations that occurred in the Republic of Korea (Korea, in short) since the end of the Korean War (1950–1953) have been nothing short of ‘miraculous’. From the backward and poor war-torn economy of the 1950s, characterized in the popular American television series, M*A*S*H, Korea ascended to the ranks of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1997. Beginning in the mid-1980s, in addition to its status as an important destination of foreign direct investment (FDI), Korean firms have become aggressive players in outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) as well. This special issue focuses on the role of human resource management (HRM) in Korea’s globalization efforts and experiences. Specifically, this special issue sheds light on how globalization has influenced the (1) changes and evolution of Korean HR policies and practices, (2) institutional contexts that affect the HR practices of Korean multinationals and (3) transferability of such policies and practices to host countries. Sixteen papers were submitted in response to the call for papers. After numerous rounds of double-blind review, seven papers that met the theme were accepted for inclusion in this special issue. These papers appear in the sequence as they relate to the topics presented in this Introduction to the special issue.

MNC's competitive strategies, experiences, and staffing policies for foreign affiliates

This study investigates the relationship between the strategic role of a multinational corporations (MNC) foreign affiliates and its international staffing policy. Specifically, this study examines how an MNCs decision on expatriation is affected by strategic roles assigned to foreign affiliates: global integration of activities versus local market seeking. An empirical study is conducted using a sample of 808 foreign affiliates of Japanese firms. The research findings suggest that strategic roles of foreign affiliates alone may not adequately explain the international staffing policies of Japanese MNCs. Rather, we found a significant moderating effect of international as well as host country experience on staffing practices for foreign affiliates. While the staffing policies of MNCs striving for improving global efficiency of their operation are moderated by both international and host country experience, those seeking a specific local market position are influenced only by host country experience.

National differences in intrinsic and extrinsic work values: The effects of post-industrialization

In this article, we develop a new approach to further understand cross-national differences in work values by examining the effects of post-industrialization, an important social institution, on work values. We hypothesize that post-industrialization is positively related to intrinsic work values and negatively related to extrinsic work values. Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling, we control for national culture and test our hypotheses on 30,974 individuals from 25 countries. Results showed partial support for our hypotheses. Specifically, we find that post-industrialization is negatively related to both extrinsic and intrinsic work values. We discuss the counterintuitive findings for intrinsic work values. However, the study provides support for our fundamental assertion that social institutions, and in our case, post-industrialization, are important in understanding cross-national differences in work values. We discuss the implications of our study for future research and for practicing managers.

Effects of two staffing decisions on the performance of MNC subsidiaries

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between foreign subsidiary staffing and subsidiary performance by focussing on two staffing practices: first, the ratio of parent country nationals (PCNs) to foreign subsidiary employees and second, the number of PCNs assigned to the foreign subsidiary. Design/methodology/approach - – Hypotheses predicting curvilinear relationships between the assignment of PCNs and subsidiary performance are tested using a panel data set consisting of 4,858 foreign subsidiaries of Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs). Findings - – The results demonstrate that the two staffing practices have different effects on subsidiary performance. The ratio of PCNs to foreign subsidiary employees has an inverted U-shaped relationship with subsidiary performance, while the number of PCNs assigned to the subsidiary has a linear and negative effect on subsidiary performance. Research limitations/implications - – The results of this study are subject to limitations. First, the sample used in this study consists solely of the foreign subsidiaries of Japanese firms. This research design limits the generalizability of the findings of this study. Second, other decisions related to subsidiary staffing such as the ratio of PCNs in the subsidiarys top management team need to be examined to advance understandings of the relationship between subsidiary staffing and subsidiary performance. Practical implications - – MNCs need to identify the appropriate number of PCNs at which they can achieve the optimal trade-off with the PCN ratio to enhance the competitiveness and the performance of a foreign subsidiary. In doing so, they need to take into consideration that an increase in the number of PCNs has an immediate negative effect on the workplace morale of host country nationals. Originality/value - – This study incorporates two staffing practices into its analyses and shows that they have different implications for subsidiary performance. The results suggest that focussing on one staffing practice alone limits understanding of the complex relationship between foreign subsidiary staffing and subsidiary performance.