Set Of Human Resource Management Practices Research Articles

The Business Case for Workforce Racial Diversity: Options- and Project-Based Human Resource Management in Large U.S. Law Firms

This study is an attempt to elucidate the effects of workforce racial diversity on organizational performance by incorporating an important organization-level moderating condition—an organization’s use of human resource management (HRM) practices. Specifically, this study examines how options- and project-based HRM have influence on the racial diversity–performance relationship. Using the longitudinal data sets of 192 U.S. law firms spanning multiple years (2001–2008), we examined the interactive effects of workforce racial diversity and a set of HRM practices (use of nonstandard employees, lateral hiring, pay dispersion, and training/communication) on organizational performance (profitability). Our findings revealed that while an organization’s reliance on nonstandard employment, lateral hiring, and large pay dispersion has significant negative influence on the racial diversity–performance relationship, training/communication has no clear moderating impact. In sum, the results indicated that when organizations adopt more project-based HRM practices (high levels of nonstandard employment, lateral hiring, and pay dispersion) rather than options-based ones, the effect of workforce racial diversity is likely to become negative on organizations’ bottom-line performance.

The role of human resource management practices in managing organizational change

The contingency perspective on human resource management (HRM) advocates that HRM practices fit the internal or external situation of the organization. Organizational change has not been considered to be one of these contingencies, although in many organizations, the HR department is responsible for implementing and managing change. This study in the journal Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation aims to explore the use and effectiveness of HRM practices to manage organizational change in a case-based approach. Data were collected in five organizations, and interviews were analysed with qualitative content analysis. The results show two sets of HRM practices relating to the major organizational changes in the five companies, that is, reorganization and downsizing. The organizations adapted a broad range of practices to suit change-related requirements, and these practices yielded more favourable outcomes than the changes themselves (e.g., regarding perceived job security). Using a broader range of HRM practices and implementing them with more care produces more beneficial outcomes. Hence, organizational change should be considered to be a factor of contingency. It is beneficial for organizations to attentively adapt the current practices to the ongoing change.

Impact of high-performance work systems on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to quit in Canadian organizations

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of the influence of high-performance work systems (HPWS) upon job satisfaction (JS), organizational commitment (OC) and intention to quit (QI).Design/methodology/approach– The data come from a questionnaire administered to 730 employees in different organizations. All questionnaires were administered “live,” in the presence of one or more members of the research team, with the ability to answer any of the respondents’ clarification questions.Findings– The results of this study allow the authors to better understand how the effects of HPWS are exerted on the intention to quit by highlighting the mediating role played by JS and OC. In addition, the results demonstrate a synergistic effect of HPWS, meaning that the combined effects of three sets of HR practices (skill-enhancing, motivation-enhancing and opportunity-enhancing practices) is greater than the sum of each set taken individually.Research limitations/implications– The cross-sectional nature of the study prevents the authors from inferring true causality between human resource management (HRM) practices and the attitudes and behaviors of employees. Only a longitudinal study measuring levels of JS, OC and quit intention before and after implementation of such practices would establish such causality.Practical implications– For leaders and managers of organizations seeking to reduce the rate of employee turnover, the results are eloquent: increased investment in a HPWS can significantly improve JS, helping to increase OC and reduce intention to quit. In the prevailing context of “talent war,” organizations that are the most proactive in the implementation of HRM systems, that is, systems designed to improve the skills of employees, to motivate them to use these skills and to empower them in their decision making at work, will be the employers that are more likely to retain skilled employees.Originality/value– This paper focusses on the complementary rather than aggregate effects of three sets of HRM practices, thus contributing to the discussion on the notion of complementarity among HRM practices, a notion that has been called into question in certain studies.

Human resource management practices in Indian hospitality enterprises: an empirical analysis

The study has a two-fold purpose: to investigate the importance of human resource management (HRM) practices and to investigate whether this set of HRM practices in the Indian hospitality enterprises depends on the demographic characteristics. A structured instrument was developed to examine the HRM practices (Jyothi and Venkatesh, 2006; Cho et al., 2006; Kandula, 2004; Jameson, 2000; Guest et al., 2000; Wood, 1999; Hoque, 1996). Based on a survey of 57 hospitality managers' perceptions on HRM, practices were assessed by a 27 HRM practices and 5 demographic variables. Factor analysis was performed to identify HRM practices, and one-way ANOVA was employed to test the association of the demographic variables with HRM practices. Results indicated that the set of harmonized terms and conditions, formal manpower planning, flexible job description, formal system of induction, production/service staff responsible for their service, social appreciation and recognition may constitute the most important HRM practices in the Indian hospitality enterprises. Further, the results revealed that there is a positive relationship between HRM practice variables and category and type of sample enterprises, but there is no relationship between HRM practice variables and age and size (capital or employees). The study makes a modest attempt to add information to the very little empirical knowledge available referring to the HRM practices in the Indian hospitality industry.

Social Capital and Organizational Change in High‐Involvement and Traditional Work Organizations

We present new evidence indicating that changing from a traditional human resource management (HRM) environment to an innovative one entails a change not only in formal work practices, but also in the informal networks and patterns of interaction among employees. We focus on differences in the social capital of these workplaces and measure differences in the structure of interactions and information transfer among employees across a sample of manufacturing lines with a common production technology and different HRM systems. We then consider the implications of these differences and show that the change from one form of workplace practices to the other is therefore not just a matter of paying for the direct costs of a new set of HRM practices. Rather, it would involve a disruptive overhaul in the entire network of interactions among all workers at the plant.

Culture: The Forgotten Factor in Human Resource Management

This paper emphasizes the need to understand the precise way in which culture influences the effectiveness of the organisation's human resource management (HRM) practices. For this purpose, it first describes the findings of a series of conceptual and empirical studies that explain why a set of HRM practices might be effective in one societal culture and not in another. The paper explores the practical implications of these findings for the design of performance management - a most critical activity in managing human resources. It proposes practical strategies to tailor this activity to fit the societal and work cultures of most of the countries with emerging markets - referred to in this paper as emerging countries.