Human Resource Management 1997: Vol 36 Table of Contents

9 Pages·1997·1.5 MB·English

Volume Contents
HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
Volume 36, 1997
Issue 1, Spring 1997
Special Issue on the Future of Human Resource Management
Dave Ulrich and Michael R. Losey, SPHR, Co-editors
Editor's Note / Dave Ulrich
Introduction / Michael R. Losey, SPHR
Judge Me More by My Future Than by My Past / Dave Ulrich
The Business of Human Resources / Kenneth M. Alwvares
The Future of Human Resources: Forging Ahead or Falling
Behind? / R. Wayne Anderson
Human Resource Leadership in Knowledge-Based Entities:
Shaping the Context of Work / Homa Bahrami and Stuart Evans
New HR Roles to Impact Organizational Performance:
From “Partners” to “Players” / Richard W. Beatty
and Craig Eric Schneier
HR as a Source of Shareholder Value: Research
and Recommendations / Brian E. Becker,
Mark A. Huselid, Peter S. Pickus, and Michael F. Spratt
The Transformation of the Human Resource Function:
Resolving the Tension between a Traditional Administrative
and a New Strategic Role / Michael Beer
The Future of Human Resource Management: March and
Simon (1958) Revisited / David E. Bowen and Caren Siehl
HR's Future on the Way to a Presence / Wayne Brockbank
What Human Resource Practitioners Need to Know
for the Twenty-First Century / W. Warner Burke
Where is HR? / Ralph Christensen
Human Resource Management: A Changing Script
for a Changing World / Clifford J. Ehrlich
Is the Human Resource Function Neglecting
the Employees? / Bruce R. Ellig
The Truth about Best Practices: What They Are
and How to Apply Them / Jac Fitz-enz
Leading the High-Capability Organization:
Challenges for the Twenty-First Century /
James L. Heskett and Leonard A. Schlesinger
The Future of HR: Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme
chose / Steven Kerr and Mary Ann Von Glinow
Rebalancing the Role of Human Resources /
Thomas A. Kochan
Frameworks for Human Resource Professionals
Participating in Business Relationships / Dale G. Lake
In Praise of the “Soft” Stuff: A Vision for Human
Resource Leadership / Sharon A. Lobel
HR's Role in Building Competitive Edge Leaders /
Michael M. Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger
The Future HR Professional: Competency Buttressed
by Advocacy and Ethics / Michael R. Losey, SPHR
The Human Resource Profession: Insurrection
or Resurrection? / Kathryn D. McKee
Transforming the Human Resource Function /
Susan Albers Mohrman and Edward E. Lawler, III
Human Resources in the Future: An Obstacle
or a Champion of Globalization? / Vladimir Pucik
Should HR Survive? A Profession at the Crossroads /
Anthony J. Rucci
HR of the Future: Conclusions and Observations /
Dave Ulrich
Issue 2, Summer 1997
Editor’s Note / Dave Ulrich
A Contingency Matrix Approach to IHRM / Fred Luthans, Paul A.
Marsnik, and Kyle W. Luthans
The global economy is a reality. The challenge facing international human
resource management (IHRM) is not whether to use widely recognized HR
concepts and techniques, but rather how to effectively adapt them and
make them fit across cultures. This article suggests and demonstrates a
contingency matrix approach to IHRM. After first explaining what is meant
by the contingency matrix approach, the article then uses a sampling of the
HR research literature from Japan, Germany, Mexico, and China to show
how a contingency matrix could be used for effective IHRM.
Redefining the Field of European Human Resource Management:
A Battle between National Mindsets and Forces of Business
Transition? / Paul R. Sparrow and Jean-Marie Hiltrop
The conflict between cultural heritage and the current forces of global
competition in Europe is examined in this article. The nature of management
in European organizations is in a state of transition, influenced by competing
forces of economic, social, and political integration or disintegration. A re-
view of European research is used to question the idealistic picture of the
Single European Market as a unifying force that will simplify international hu-
man resource management in multinationals. Taking a comparative rather
than an international perspective, the article identifies the factors that have
created national patterns of HRM within Europe. A dynamic and comparative
force field framework of HRM is developed in order to understand the
managerial frames of reference that are currently guiding the field.
How Human Resource Practices Can Help Plateaued Managers
Succeed / Deborah R. Ettington
As organizations downsize to increase their competitiveness, flatter
hierarchies result in fewer promotional opportunities and more plateaued
employees. The definition of career success needs to move away from “up
is good,” yet plateauing is still shameful for many employees due to
traditional assumptions about the causes and effects of plateauing. A study
of 373 middle managers suggests how “successful plateauing” (effective job
performance, satisfaction with the job, and life in general) can be fostered.
The article provides specific examples of how best practices and new ap-
proaches in several human resource areas can help plateaued employees
succeed.
Organizational Change and Outdoor Management Education /
Glenn M. McEvoy
Using a randomized group experimental design combined with qualitative
research methods, this study assesses the outcomes of an outdoor
management education (OME) program in one organization. Measures
of trainee reactions, learning, attitudes and motivation, behavior, and
organizational results were collected. The OME program positively influenced
participant knowledge, organizational commitment, organizational-based
self-esteem, and intentions to implement learning; it did not improve trust or
self-efficacy levels. Although attribution of cause and effect is difficult at
these levels of analysis, there was some evidence of behavioral change and
improvements in several organizational results up to three years after the
training.
Antecedents and Outcomes of Promotion Systems / Gillian Allen
The Ferris, Buckley, and Allen (1992) model of promotion systems in
organizations is used in this article to assess the promotion systems in
Fortune 500 companies in six industry groups. Relationships were found
between characteristics of organizations (e.g., the extent of their career
planning and their affirmative action requirements) and characteristics
of their promotion systems, and between promotion practices and
organizational outcomes including number of grievances filed, industry
rank on sales, and employee attitudes concerning promotion opportunities.
These results suggest that the Ferris, Buckley, and Allen model provides a
useful framework for the study and development of organizations’ promotion
systems.
Conditions for Successful Human Resource Information Systems /
Victor Y. Haines and André Petit
Despite the widespread use of computer-based human resource information
systems (HRIS), previous research has not identified the conditions that
support successful systems. This article presents the results of a survey of
users who interact directly with a computer-based HRIS to do their work.
The relationships between individual/task, organizational, and system
conditions, plus two measures of systems success are examined. The results
indicate that system conditions were the most important antecedents of
success. The availability of internal support for users also represented a
critical condition. Overall, the findings of this study provide support for a
model of HRIS success and present a basis for planning, designing, and
implementing successful systems. Finally, this study brings with it new
questions for HRIS research.
Executive Forum:
Reshaping Human Resources for the Next Century—Lessons
from a High Flying Airline / Ken Carrig
Book Review:
Managing Diversity: Human Resource Strategies for Transforming
the Workplace by Ellen E. Kossek and Sharon A. Lobel / Reviewed
by Stella M. Nkomo
Bookshelf
Publications Received
Issue 3, Fall 1997
Editor's Note / Dave Ulrich
Introduction / Arthur K. Yeung
Measuring Human Resources: An Overview of Practice and a
Prescription for Results / Dave Ulrich
Many talk about measuring human resources but get lost because the
issues are confusing. What to measure? How to measure it? When to
measure? Where to measure? These questions make measurement of
HR difficult. This article reviews the history of HR measurement; summa-
rizes how HR measures may be done for professionals, practices, and func-
tions; and offers specific guidelines for improving HR measures.
Adding Value Through Human Resources: Reorienting Human
Resource Measurement to Drive Business Performance /
Arthur K. Yeung and Robert Berman
Building upon the balanced scorecard framework, this article addresses
three central issues of human resource measurement: 1) Do HR practices
impact business results? 2) How can HR practices add value to business
performance? 3) What HR measures can drive business performance?
Using Eastman Kodak as a case study, this article identifies three paths
through which HR practices contribute to business performance: 1) by
building organizational capabilities, 2) by improving empioyee satisfaction,
and 3) by shaping customer and shareholder satisfaction. Three clusters of
measures are proposed: internal operational HR measures, internal strategic
HR measures, and externai strategic HR measures.
In the Changing World of Human Resources: Matching Measures
to Mission / Richard E. Wintermantel and Karen L. Mattimore
Human resource professionals continuously search for methods to
demonstrate the impact of their work to managers in their organizations.
The authors of this article contend that the traditional measures of human
resource productivity have been inappropriate and irrelevant because they
have focused on tracking administrative activities and costs. Given the
expanding role of many human resources organizations, the authors suggest
that more appropriate measures must be closely aligned with the mission of
the human resource organization. This article describes the expanding na-
ture of human resource organizations, along with the corresponding implica-
tions for the appropriate metrics to evaluate effectiveness.
Measuring Intellectual Capital: Learning from Financial History /
John W. Boudreau and Peter M. Ramstad
Emerging evidence from scientific studies and specific organizations
suggest that how people are managed significantly affects organizational
success, and that certain patterns of human resource activities are associated
with financial performance. Most human resource and line managers,
however, find existing measures of human and intellectual capital woefully
inadequate. In this article, we suggest that designers of HR measurement
systems can learn from the success of well-accepted measurement models in
the financial and marketing arenas. We show that the historical development
of these measurement systems suggests several lessons for the human
resource measures of the future. These lessons include articulating the links
in the value chain, focusing on key organizational constraints, and using data
to make “soft” intangibie factors more tangible.
Pitfalls on the Road to Measurement: The Dangerous Liaison of
Human Resources with the Ideas of Accounting and Finance /
Jeffrey Pfeffer
This article discusses the numerous pitfalls and measurement biases
that need to be considered in building effective measurement systems to
assess human resources. It presents arguments that there is little convincing
evidence that existing measurement practices do very well in dealing with
these issues and much to suggest they do not. One further issue is raised
which potentially dwarfs the other concerns: the politics of the measurement
process and its likely effect on the human resource function. An alternative
perspective is also offered to that traditionally advanced by, for example,
finance, which sees the firm as a portfolio of assets to be bought and sold.
Book Review:
The 8 Practices of Exceptional Companies: How Great Organizations
Make the Most of Their Human Assets by Jac Fitz-enz / Reviewed
by Priscilla J. Smith
Bookshelf
Publications Received
Issue 4, Winter 1997
Editor's Note / Dave Ulrich
Repetitive Strain Injuries in the Information Age Workplace /
Peter Richardson and James Larsen
The transformation of many office and white-collar jobs into ones primarily
dealing with managing information has brought about problems that previously
had been associated mostly with assembly-line and blue-collar work. Specif-
ically, repetitive strain injuries (RSIs), such as carpal tunnel syndrome, are a
growing health problem in a number of office jobs. The extent, definition,
costs, and legal implications are discussed. Examples of steps many organi-
zations are taking to combat RSI are presented. Finally, recommendations
for human resource and other managers are offered based on the experi-
ences and evidence from the collected studies and articles.
Learning from Action: An Analysis of the Center for Army Lessons
Learned (CALL) / Lloyd Baird, John C. Henderson,
and Stephanie Watts
In this fast paced world, skills and competencies must be developed quickly;
people must learn from their experience and what they learn must be gathered
from throughout the organization, then synthesized, analyzed, and made
available where and when it is needed to improve performance. This article
analyzes an organization successfully meeting these requirements, the United
States Army’s Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL). Implications for hu-
man resource management are discussed.
A Quality Human Resource Curriculum: Recommendations from
Leading Senior HR Executives / Donald F. Van Eynde and
Stephen L. Tucker
This article describes a high quality human resource management curriculum
as perceived by one group of customers—senior human resource executives
who hire, train, and work with university and college graduates. The opin-
ions of members of the Human Resources Council, an advisory body to the
American Management Association, were surveyed. The resulting study con-
firms that the major topics taught in most HRM curricula at the bachelor and
masters levels are perceived by HR executives to be just about right. It also
presents their views about the relative value of the topics and shares
specifics about their conviction that graduates need a much deeper under-
standing of how and where the HR function fits into the overall business
strategy of an organization.
Leveraging HRM to Enrich Competitive Intelligence /
John M. Hannon
This exploratory investigation into the intersection of competitive intelligence
(Cl) and human resource management (HRM) begins by reviewing the
concept of competitive intelligence which includes the acquisition, analysis,
and dissemination of information. To do so, relevant theoretical perspectives
emanating from several disciplines (including strategy, law, and human
resource management) are reviewed. Then, a number of human resource
management solutions that address the four barriers to strategic information
diagnosis identified by Boettcher and Welge (1994) are presented. The
effects on research and practice of unifying HRM and Cl are also discussed.
Mexican Women Managers: An Emerging Profile /
Helen J. Muller and Monica Rowell
There is a striking absence of information on women managers in Latin Ameri-
ca despthei fatct etha t, in the past decade. studies of women managersi n
non-English speaking countries have proliferated. This study offers a prelimi-
nary analysis of Mexican women managers. It locates women managers within
the context of gender relations and managerial ideology in Mexico and ana-
lyzes several factors that enable a select group of senior-level Mexican
women to hold influential positions. The findings suggest that women have a
nontraditional Mexican management style and successfully manage the work-
family interface. Nevertheless, women still encounter obstacles to their ad-
vancement such as discrimination and stereotyping.
Enhancing Continuous Learning: Diagnostic Findings from Multiple
Companies / Scott I. Tannenbaum 437
This article describes, both conceptually and empirically, how salient aspects
of an organization’s work environment can influence whether continuous
learwnilil nocgcur . Survey results from over 500 people in seven organiza-
tions, coupled with data from diagnostic interviews, revealed that each orga-
nization has a unique learning profile and relies on different sources of
learning to develop individual competencies. Those organizations with
stronger learning environments appeared to demonstrate greater organiza-
tional effectiveness. Several common learning environment factors were
empirically identified. These factors were found to be related to perceived
competence and satisfaction with development across organizations.
Executive Forum:
HR Megatrends / Ron James
Bookshelf
Publications Received
Volume Contents