Employee Relations: An International Journal

Stephan Baraldi; Magnus Sverke; Gary Chaison

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810866505

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine a failed union merger attempt from a democratic perspective. Although it is estimated that a majority of planned union mergers are never completed, the existing literature is unsuccessful in explaining why it is so. Stressing the importance for merging unions to keep their members informed and participative in the merger process, we highlight two democratic aspects of merger implementation: information anchoring (i.e. the spreading of merger relevant information throughout the membership), and participatory union climate (i.e. the extent to which union leaders provide members with opportunities to participate in union activities and decision making). The act of voting for or against a merger proposal can be regarded as a manifestation of democratic aspects in the internal negotiation process. Thus, members' intention to vote for or against the merger proposal was also analyzed. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaires were sent to 1,000 members of each of the four participating unions. The survey investigated how many members knew of the merger negotiations, if they would have voted for or against the proposal, and also measured perceptions of the participatory union climate. Discrepancies between representatives and rank‐and‐file members were analyzed, with any significant differences between the two groups interpreted as indicative of the merger process lacking in internal democracy. Findings – The results show that the merger plans were not sufficiently anchored among the membership and that there were significant differences between representatives and rank‐and‐file members in terms of merger plan awareness, vote intention, and perceptions of participatory union climate. Research limitations/implications – The present study is based on cross‐sectional data collected after the planned merger was rejected. Originality/value – Few studies have investigated the internal merger negotiation process using an unsuccessful merger attempt as a study case. Also, the need for psychological approaches in IR has long been called for. The present study meets both of these criteria.

Rachid Zeffane; Mohamed E. Ibrahim; Rashid Al Mehairi

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810866514

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of job satisfaction on employee attendance and conduct. Design/methodology/approach – The approach was to use data from a study on job satisfaction and performance conducted in a utility company operating in the United Arab Emirates. Job satisfaction was measured using the 20‐item MSQ (Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire) short form. Performance measures were based on the utility company employee performance rating system. Findings – Preliminary analysis of the data revealed significant differences on aspects of job satisfaction and performance between the two gender groups (i.e. males vs females). In general, female respondents were less satisfied with various aspects of their jobs and the job context than their male counterparts. Similarly, they tended to be less performing than their male counterparts on a number of job performance criteria. This pattern is indicative of an underlying linkage between satisfaction and performance, particularly in relation to gender groups. Originality/value – The paper discusses the potential cultural specificities of the results and their implications for future research and management practice with regard to job satisfaction and performance.

Holly J. Payne

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810866523

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the targets, strategies, and topics of deception employed in the workplace among part‐time service workers. Design/methodology/approach – A taxonomy of deception strategies is used to content analyze 259 narrative accounts of part‐time student employees over two work shifts using Cohen's kappa to measure interrater reliability. Chi‐square analysis is used to determine significant differences between deception strategies and deception targets. Findings – Employees overwhelmingly concealed information and lied primarily to supervisors and customers. Employees deceived in order to cover or protect emotions, evade work, cover mistakes or policy violations, and mislead customers in order to increase sales, commission, or gratuities. Research limitations/implications – Determining the most salient strategies employed becomes clearer if the deception account describes or reveals the employee's motivation to deceive. Future research should consider motivation of the deceiver and might compare the deception strategies of part‐time and full‐time employees of varying levels of skill, organizational commitment, and role conflict. Practical implications – This study provides rich examples of the ethically compromising situations in which young workers find themselves, discusses the impact of workplace structures on deception and the importance of socializing young workers on honest organizational practices. Originality/value – As young workers enter the workforce they are confronted with opportunities to deceive and they do so for a wide variety of reasons. Little work has been done within the organizational context investigating the most common deception strategies employed or the contextual factors influencing the use of deception among full‐time employees much less young, part‐time employees.

Annette Begley; David G. Collings; Hugh Scullion

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810866532

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the self‐initiated repatriation experience of native professionals as they return to the labour market in the Republic of Ireland of their own volition and without the support of an employer. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methodology was employed to gather the data. In total, 40 responses were received from an initial open solicitation calling for research participants. Following a short survey receiving 34 responses, individuals who had returned without the aid of an employer to the Republic of Ireland and were willing to participate in further research were invited to participate in either a focus group discussion or in‐depth individual interviews. Ultimately, there were seven participants in the focus group and eleven individual in‐depth interviews. Findings – The study found that the experiences of those in this study returning of their own volition and those of the more traditional repatriate do not seem to differ significantly across the facets of adjustment relating to adjustment in the general home country environment and adjustment to home country nationals, although subtle variations may be found. The main differences may be found when one investigates the facet of adjustment to work. Given that those returning of their own initiative are not returning to a position within a parent company, they must seek out their own employment. This adds a further source of stress and upheaval to an already difficult repatriation process. Research limitations/implications – This is an exploratory study and hence requires further empirical verification. Nonetheless the study provides some useful signposts for future study in the area. Originality/value – This research is unique in that it bridges a significant lacuna in the existing international human resource management literature by concentrating on the self‐initiated repatriation experience (SRE). This research is all the more important given that increasing numbers of individuals have returned to Ireland to seek work at their own discretion with the advent of the Celtic Tiger.

Janice Foley

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810866541

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent service delivery in the Canadian federal government actually improved after a decade of reform efforts, and how employee empowerment accounted for any improvements that arose. Design/methodology/approach – Five focus group interviews were conducted in 2002 with federal government employees involved in service delivery. Interview transcripts were content analyzed. The employee empowerment and service quality literatures, including critical perspectives, provide the theoretical underpinnings of the study. Findings – Productivity and service enhancement did materialize, but little empowerment occurred. Work intensification was revealed. The shortcomings of applying private sector‐style definitions of productivity to the public sector were identified. Research limitations/implications – Study findings have limited generalizability due to small sample size. Findings must be verified through additional research. Comparative findings from countries that introduced service reforms more comprehensively than did Canada would be of interest. Practical implications – Public sector efforts to improve service delivery should address possible material barriers affecting service delivery and pay more attention to employee needs. The efficacy of quantitative performance targets should be re‐examined. Originality/value – The outcomes of a public service reform initiative intended to improve service quality by allegedly empowering front‐line workers are presented from an employee perspective. As there is limited empirical research done on this topic from that perspective it should be of general interest to researchers in the fields of public policy and human resources management.

Gillian Maxwell; Lois Farquharson

2008 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450810866550

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to investigate the perceptions of senior managers in companies in the Sunday Times list of UK best employers on the practice of HRM in their organisations. Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken was to conduct semi‐structured interviews with senior line and HR directors/ managers. Findings – In the organisations investigated, HRM is afforded high‐level organisational support at chief executive, if not always senior operational manager, level. It is generally recognised by senior managers as contributing to business effectiveness when it centres on business needs. It is integrated with business strategy processes at both strategic and operational levels. Indeed HRM is elemental to business strategic planning processes, which has the effect of reducing the potential gap between strategic rhetoric on HRM and practical implementation of HRM. Leadership and performance management are current HR policy priorities. Research limitations/implications – The generative primary data represent senior managers' perceptions of how HRM operates in their organisation therefore cannot be generalised. Practical implications – Senior manager support of HRM means focusing HRM efforts in organisations on business needs and integration between HRM and business strategy processes. The corollary is that HRM policy priorities are derived from the strategic business direction and that they are perceived to support business operations and, consequently, business performance. Originality/ value – Senior line managers and HR specialists inform the research which contributes to understanding of current, best practice HRM from an evidence base; a model of contemporary best practice is proposed.