Employee Relations: An International Journal

Jos Mesu; Maarten Van Riemsdijk; Karin Sanders

2012 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425451311287835

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership, and labour flexibility within small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Using a sample comprising 755 employees, rating 121 supervisors within 50 Dutch small and medium‐sized companies, the authors examined the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership on the one hand, and temporal and functional flexibility on the other. Further, to test whether the expected associations could be perceived as a social exchange between supervisor and employees, this study investigated the mediating role of affective organisational commitment. Design/methodology/approach – Because data were nested, the authors used multilevel analysis for hypothesis testing. Findings – Both dimensions of transformational leadership, visionary leadership and coaching, were positively related to temporal flexibility; also two dimensions of transactional leadership, contingent reward and active management by exception, were also positively associated with temporal flexibility. All of these associations were mediated by affective organisational commitment, indicating social exchange relationships. As opposed to expectations, passive management by exception, representing poor transactional leadership, was positively related to temporal and functional flexibility. Affective commitment did not mediate these relationships. Practical implications – SMEs are therefore advised to improve visionary leadership, coaching skills, contingent reward, and active management by exception. Originality/value – The paper shows that, remarkably, labour flexibility can be increased by both effective and poor leadership. On the one hand, effective leadership seems to promote temporal flexibility by creating employees’ commitment to the organisation. Poor leadership, on the other hand, does not call for people's affective commitment and thus seems to be forcing employees into demonstrating flexible behaviours, as a way of compensating for bad management.

Mukta Kulkarni; Siddharth Nithyanand

2012 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425451311287844

Purpose – Past research has largely portrayed job choice as a relatively rational and goal‐directed behavior where applicants make decisions contingent on organizational recruitment activities, or evaluations of job and organizational attributes. Research now informs us that job choice decisions may also be based on social comparisons and social influence. The purpose of this paper is to add to this body of knowledge by examining reasons why social influence is a key factor in job choice decisions of relatively young job seekers. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on in‐depth interview data from graduating seniors at an elite business school in India. Findings – Respondents did not see themselves as acting based on social influence as much as they perceived others around them to be. Reasons they noted for others ’ socially influenced job choice decisions were: peers and seniors are seen as more accessible and trustworthy than organizations; organizations do not share all and/or objective data, driving job seekers to other sources; job seekers are clueless and hence follow a “smart” herd; and job seekers make decisions for social status signaling. Respondents pointed to socially influenced job choices as being rational behaviors under certain conditions. Research limitations/implications – Generalizability of findings may be limited to young job seekers or to the Indian context, and the authors encourage replication. The authors also acknowledge the importance of individual difference variables in job choice decisions, a factor not considered in the present research. Practical implications – Given that job seekers rally around others’ notion of an attractive job or an organization, the paper outlines several implications for managerial practice. Originality/value – This study, in a yet unexamined cultural context, points to the simultaneous and combined importance of normative and informational social determinants of job choice, bias blind spots in one's own job choice perceptions and decisions, gender specific socialization influences on job choices, and the notion of job fit in terms of fitment with expectations of important reference groups.

Susanne Bahn

2012 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425451311287853

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a change in staffing contractual arrangements, specific training in hazard identification, mentoring of supervisors and the introduction of a robust safety system could improve an organisation's safety culture. How safety conditions change under contracted out labour compared to direct labour and the influence that contracting out has on organisational safety culture is explored. Design/methodology/approach – The study used a case study methodology to detail how the change occurred over a six month period in 2011. As part of the analysis a model of the change process and push‐pull factors is offered. Findings – As a result of the change, all areas saw some improvement. Work‐related injury statistics dropped significantly, supervisors were clear of their roles, actively monitoring their crews to ensure they worked in a safer manner than before, and staff were actively addressing work‐place hazards. With the safety system in place the organisation should be deemed compliant and diligent by the state auditing authorities. This study has also shown that using contractor workers together with in‐house workers that are managed under different safety regimes is problematic. The problems don’t occur due to the contractor's safety systems being less robust than the parent company's or that contract workers are themselves less safe; it is the added complexity of managing multiple safety regimes and the lack of trust of the robustness of each system that create conflict. Research limitations/implications – The paper reports on the change process of one mining organisation in Western Australia as a case study from a managerial sample and is thereby limited. Practical implications – This study demonstrates the difficulties in changing safety culture in an underground mining organisation. The paper argues the need for specialised training in identifying hazards by the staff, the mentoring of supervisory staff and the adoption of a robust safety system to support improved safety culture. Originality/value – There is little research conducted in the resources sector researching changes in human resource supply and OHS management, in particular moving from contracted labour to hiring in‐house. This case provides an insight into how a change in staffing hiring arrangements, together with specific safety initiatives, has a positive impact on safety performance.

Shilpee A. Dasgupta; Damodar Suar; Seema Singh

2012 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425451311287862

Purpose – Through the lens of social exchange theory and organisation support theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the passive, aggressive, and assertive styles of managers/supervisors that influence perceived supervisory support and to test whether the support increases employees’ satisfaction with the communication of supervisors and their organisation‐based self‐esteem. It also assesses whether employees’ communication satisfaction and their self‐esteem influence employees’ performance, commitment and absenteeism. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 400 employees from ten manufacturing firms in India were studied through questionnaire survey. Standard instruments were used to assess the constructs. A scale was developed to measure the communication style of managers and a single item to assess absenteeism. Findings – Results revealed that assertive style of communication lends maximum support to employees. Perceived supervisory support at the workplace enhances employees’ satisfaction with communication of supervisors and organisation‐based self‐esteem. Satisfaction with communication fosters a strong emotional bond with organisations and the emotional bond with organisations reduces employees’ absenteeism. Originality/value – The paper shows that employees’ organisation‐based self‐esteem increases their job performance. Organisations can conduct training programs to develop an assertive communication style in their managers/supervisors to increase the support to subordinates; thereby its positive consequences will follow in increasing employees’ performance and commitment and reducing absenteeism.

Saji K. Mathew; Robert Jones

2012 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425451311287871

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the cross‐cultural reasons underlying the extreme industrial unrest experienced during the first seven years of Toyota’s operations in India. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a case study approach using data obtained from 30 personal interviews, field notes, observations, and internet media sources. Findings – The paper reports how Toyotism shares three common features with Brahminism – renunciation, performance, and perfection – and how antipathy towards the manner in which these features were implemented in India caused significant resistance amongst the production workforce. Research limitations/implications – The paper has implications for academics and practitioners in helping to understand how employee relations, unrest and antagonism towards lean manufacturing practices are closely related to cross‐cultural issues prevalent in host countries. Originality/value – The concept of Brahmanism in Indian employee relations is under‐researched in comparison with other aspects of Indian culture and antipathy towards the concept as a source of resistance to the implementation of lean systems needs to be better understood.

Rommel Robertson; Christine Gockel; Elisabeth Brauner

2012 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425451311287880

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine, in two studies, whether trust in teammates and trust in management influenced transactive memory and how strongly transactive memory, in turn, influenced perceived team performance and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via questionnaires from two samples of employees ( n 1 =383 and n 2 =40). Regression and mediational analyses were employed to test the hypotheses. Findings – Trust in teammates predicted transactive memory and transactive memory, in turn, predicted perceived team performance and job satisfaction. Trust in management did not predict transactive memory, but it did predict job satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – Data are cross‐sectional and cannot establish cause‐effect‐relationships. Furthermore, objective performance measures could not be obtained due to the nature of the studies. Thus, future studies need to use longitudinal or experimental designs and objective performance measures. Practical implications – Intangible factors such as trust can strengthen knowledge sharing and transactive memory systems. This, in turn, can positively impact job satisfaction and team performance. Managers and team leaders should pay more attention to building a climate of trust and participation, both within teams and between team members and supervisors/management. Originality/value – Results of two studies show the differential effects of trust in teammates versus trust in management. For finishing a knowledge‐intensive task in a team, trust in teammates is more important than trust in management because trust influences transactive memory, which, in turn, leads to positive performance outcomes. However, for other organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction, trust in management can be as important as well.