| Development of an Instrument to Assess the Strategic Orientation of HRM |
| | Sivasubramaniam, Nagaraj | State U. of New York, Binghamton | sivasub@binghamton.edu | 607-777-4396 |
| | Kroeck, K Galen | Florida International U. | kroeck@fiu.edu | 305-348-4221 |
| | Research in Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is at critical cross-roads today, with increased emphasis on developing theories, and testing relationships among organizational strategy, SHRM and firm performance. However, there has been no systematic effort to develop a measurement system for SHRM or its derivative constructs embedded in the broader theoretical network. The results of a research study aimed at conceptualizing, developing, and validating a measurement scheme for the HR strategy construct, termed Strategic Orientation to HRM are reported. Confirmatory factor analysis of the data provided support for the
dimensionality and validity of the measurement scheme. A second-order factor provided support for the chosen definition of SHRM as the pattern in a stream of HR decisions. |
| | Keywords: STRATEGIC HRM; MEASUREMENT; CONSTRUCT VALIDATION |
| The impact of industrial relations climate, organizational commitment, and union loyalty on organizational performance: A longitudinal study |
| | Deery, Stephen J. | U. of Melbourne, Australia | s.deery@ecomfac.unimelb.edu.au | +613 9344 5732 |
| | Iverson, Roderick D. | U. of Melbourne, Australia | r.iverson@ecomfac,unimelb.edu.au | +613 9344 7028 |
| | This paper utilizes the theoretical framework of Gordon and Ladd (1990) to examine the relationship between industrial relations climate,
organizational commitment and union loyalty and bank branch performance. Specifically, we investigate the factors that influence the
development of a co-operative industrial relations climate, the impact of that climate on both organizational commitment and union loyalty,
and how these and other variables (i.e., demographic, job related, organizational, union related, environmental and technological) affect
branch level productivity, quality of service, absenteeism, and customer attrition. This research is undertaken in a large Australian-based
multinational banking organization. The data are drawn from 460 bank branches of unionized non-managerial employees across three time
periods. The LISREL results indicate that a co-operative industrial relations climate was associated with significantly higher productivity and
significantly lower absenteeism. In addition, both organizational commitment and union loyalty had positive impacts on productivity, with
union loyalty also having a negative impact on absenteeism. Other explanatory variables that had significant total causal effects on productivity
were job opportunity, union instrumentality (intrinsic), job satisfaction, procedural justice, union satisfaction, collectivist work orientation,
gender (%female), openness, branch size, and branch transfer. Furthermore, we found that union instrumentality (intrinsic), collectivist work
orientation, union satisfaction, and job opportunity had significant total effects on absenteeism. Finally, branch size displayed a direct
negative effect on quality, while ATM transactions had a direct positive impact on customer attrition. The theoretical and practical implications
of these findings for unions and organizations are discussed. |
| | Keywords: Commitment; Industrial relations climate; Organizational performance |
| Strategic Utility Analysis |
| | Cabrera, Elizabeth F. | Universidad Carlos III, Madrid | beth@emp.uc3m.es | + 34-91-624-9709 |
| | Cabrera, Ángel | Instituto de Empresa | Angel.Cabrera@ie.ucm.es | +34-91-5639318 |
| | Utility analysis is a technique which allows for the estimation of the financial impact of human resource (HR) interventions. While utility analysis methods have been available for decades, their application is still not widespread. Some argue that this is because managers do not understand the techniques and suggest that allowing managers to participate in the analysis would increase understanding and, as a reult, use and acceptance of utility analysis. The current work posits that translating the value of HR interventions into financial terms may not be necessary. It may be more useful to determine the direct impact of HR programs on employee behaviors and attitudes. The impact of these changes on the bottom line may then be determined. Building upon the recently proposed multi-attribute utility analysis and the strategic perspective offered by the Balanced Scorecard, this paper presents a strategic utility analysis method. Strategic utility analysis requires that multiple outcomes, probably not
financial, be considered in order to determine the utility of a given HR intervention. It further stipulates that these outcomes should come directly from the company's business strategy. The strategy should imply certain organizational capabilities and strategic utility analysis should measure the contribution of HR interventions towards building these specific capabilities. |
| | Keywords: utility analysis; strategic HR management; balanced scorecard |
| Examining the human resource architecture: The moderating effects of strategic orientation |
| | Lepak, David P. | U. of Maryland | dlepak@rhsmith.umd.edu | (301)-405-8144 |
| | Snell, Scott A. | Pennsylvania State U. | ssnell@psu.edu | (814)-865-2195 |
| | This study examines the characteristics of human capital, employment modes, and human resource
management practices of 153 firms in what is referred to as the human resource architecture.
Results show that value and uniqueness of human capital are related to the employment modes
utilized for different employees. The results also indicate that the value and uniqueness of human
capital as well as the mode of employment are related to human resource management
configurations. In addition, these relationships vary depending on whether the firm's strategy is
focused on cost or innovation. |
| | Keywords: Human resource architecture; Human resource configurations; Employment |