Employee Relations: An International Journal

Kirsteen Grant; Gillian Maxwell; Susan Ogden

2014 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-09-2012-0069

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore empirically manager and employee views on employees’ skills utilisation in organisations in Scotland. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaires to managers and employees, plus three case studies comprising manager interviews and employee focus groups. Findings – Highly significant differences are found between manager and employee views on: the match of employee skills to their current jobs; the extent of utilisation of employees’ skills; and opportunities for promotion. The main difference in views is on the match of employee skills to their current jobs, with employees opining more than managers that employees’ skills exceed the requirements of their job. Also, for managers and employees alike, the meaning of skills utilisation is obscure despite the language of skills being widely used in organisations. Research limitations/implications – The scale of the empirical research is possibly limited. There is potential for manager and employee bias. A case study of a private sector organisation is not included. Practical implications – It is apparent that there is potential to increase employees’ skills utilisation in organisations in Scotland. Managers are challenged with better utilising the skills within their workforces by using these skills to drive improvements in work processes and practices. Originality/value – Previous commentary and research on skills utilisation mainly centres on policy and employer standpoints. This paper focuses on manager and employee viewpoints on employees’ skills utilisation.

Adam Dennett; Derek Cameron; Colin Bamford; Andrew Jenkins

2014 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-08-2013-0111

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate, through metaphor analysis, the complex nature of the work undertaken by waiters and pursers on‐board cruise ships. This is an under‐researched field and empirical research has produced some interesting perceptions that these groups of workers have of themselves, of others, and of the world in which they work and live. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 20 semi‐structured interviews were conducted over the telephone from a sample of international participants. The data were analysed using a metaphor analysis. Findings – There were three clusters of metaphorical illustration found: metaphors of the ship, metaphors of the environment, and metaphors of their occupation. The metaphors of the environment were split into two sub‐clusters. One explored how participants understood the ship's space or work setting, and the second identified the strategies used as participants negotiated their way through their working and social lives. The stories collected from the workers have produced a very different but realistic perspective of the working lives of waiters and pursers. Research limitations/implications – Metaphors can only offer a partial view of a social phenomenon, rather than an all‐encompassing view, which are furthermore specific to the research setting. Notably, for half of all participants English was not their first language, and consequently this may have had an impact upon their use of metaphors. Practical implications – This research highlights the socio‐employment relationship and complexities of working on cruise ships. In particular, it recognises behavioural learning practices and organisational bureaucratic utilities, which the industry relies upon for managing employees. Originality/value – This study contributes new knowledge in an under‐researched context exploring the sociological lives of hospitality cruise ship workers. The use of metaphor analysis has provided an interesting and useful route to extend understanding of cruise ship work.

Deirdre Curran

2014 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-06-2013-0066

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of mediation on two long‐running collective industrial disputes in Ireland using a theoretical framework established in the literature. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a detailed qualitative analysis of two disputes. In both cases a panel of mediators was invited to intervene when the established dispute resolution structures and processes had failed and impasse had been prolonged. Each member of the mediation panels, and the lead union representative, was interviewed about their perception of the mediation process and its impact. Interview questions centred around a set of mediation “Outcome Determinants” identified by Wall et al. (2001). Following Wall et al. 's proposal, Lewin's (1951) Force Field Analysis theory is applied as a theoretical lens for understanding the subtle impact of mediation in these cases. Findings – The empirical evidence suggests that while mediation did not lead directly to settlement, it influenced the resolution of these disputes. The disputes were a‐typical in that most collective disputes in Ireland are resolved through established industrial relations structures and processes, either at firm level or through State‐funded agents/agencies. However, intractable disputes occur periodically and there is an on‐going need of this type of specialised ad hoc mediation. The Wall et al. framework combined with Force Field Analysis theory, provide a theoretical lens through which these disputes can be analysed and understood. Practical implications – An understanding of the nuanced impact of mediation is useful for justifying the continuation of this valuable approach. There is also some scope for predicting the likely impact of mediation in advance of engagement or at least allowing the mediators to explore the status of the Outcome Determinants related to a specific case in order to develop a tailored mediation strategy. Originality/value – This paper is unique in that it takes an existing theoretical framework and tests its application in two case disputes. The value of the framework is thus highlighted. Further application of the framework to other dispute scenarios would facilitate its development as a tool of understanding and some limited prediction. Mediation in this type of context has not been formally researched before. Public policy and theoretical implications of the work are highlighted in the concluding section.

Kristina Schoemmel; Thomas S. Jønsson

2014 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-08-2013-0116

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interactions and the usefulness of distinguishing among employees’ affective commitments (ACs) to the job, to the department, and to the organization in relation to the effects of quitting intentions and job performance. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a survey questionnaire in the Danish healthcare system ( n =496). Findings – First, the authors demonstrates that AC to the job, to the department, and to the organization is factorially distinct. Second, the authors finds that AC to the department is related to intention to quit the department and the organization, whereas AC to the job and to the organization is not when considered as part of the analysis. The authors test for interactions between AC to the job, to the department, and to the organization in relation to quitting intentions, and find these results to be non‐significant. Third, the authors finds that AC to the job is more strongly related to job performance than AC to the department and to the organization. Furthermore, AC to the department and to the organization moderates the relationship between AC to the job and job performance. Practical implications – The results may suggest that practitioners could profit from considering AC toward the department when preventing employees’ quitting intentions. Further, practitioners could benefit from enhancing AC to different targets, especially to the job, in order to increase employees’ job performance. Originality/value – This research contributes to an understanding of how ACs to multiple workplace targets are different and how they interact.

Georgios N. Theriou; Prodromos Chatzoglou

2014 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-02-2013-0025

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationships between best human resource management (HRM) practices, knowledge management (KM), organization learning and organizational capabilities (OC), as well as their impact on organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach – To carry out this research, a structured questionnaire was designed and distributed to 212 manufacturing firms which employ at least 50 employees. The final sample consists of 138 useable questionnaires. Findings – Results indicate that manufacturing firms pursuing best HRM practices achieve higher performance through the interaction of these practices with KM and organizational learning capability and the creation of OC. Research limitations/implications – Possible limitations of the study include the measurement of OC, the use of subjective performance indicators and the data collection approach reflecting mainly HRM managers’ perceptions. Practical implications – HR practitioners and/or managers should focus on establishing the appropriate mechanisms for integrating “best HRM practices” with learning, knowledge and OC in order to improve performance. Originality/value – This paper empirically tests a new composite model which elaborates upon the mechanisms that seem to intervene between the best HRM practices – performance relationship. Moreover, the value of the human factor in KM and organizational learning initiatives, as well as on OC, is explored. While this has already been underlined in the past, there is still no complete model simultaneously describing and testing all those relationships.

Maha Ibrahim; Saoud Al Falasi

2014 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-07-2013-0098

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between employee loyalty (Organizational Commitment) and its two dimensions namely, affective commitment (AC) and continuance commitment (CC) with employee engagement. Design/methodology/approach – A self‐administered questionnaire was used for collecting the study data from 50 employees who represent three managerial levels from the government sector in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Three hypotheses were developed in order to test the said relationship. Hypotheses were tested through using various testes namely: the correlation coefficient and the regression analysis from the Statistical Package for Social Science software. Findings – The findings indicated that there is a significant relationship between loyalty and engagement. AC was found to be more important in affecting employee's engagement when compared with CC. Research limitations/implications – The study is based on a small number of employees working mostly in one single organization which limits the generalizability of the results; a limitation that does not allow for statistical generalization but allows for analytical generalization. Originality/value – The study contributes to the literature of OC and more specifically to the relationship between employee loyalty and engagement in the UAE public sector. The outcome of the research draws decision makers’ attention to the importance of employees’ loyalty and its impact on their engagement.

Julie Zide; Ben Elman; Comila Shahani‐Denning

2014 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-07-2013-0086

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the elements of a LinkedIn profile that hiring professionals focus on most, and then examine LinkedIn profiles in terms of these identified elements across different industries. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology was comprised of two phases. In the first phase, researchers interviewed hiring professionals to determine their usage of LinkedIn. In the second phase, LinkedIn group member profiles from three industries – HR, sales/marketing and industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology – were compared on the 21 variables identified in Phase 1 ( n =288). Findings – χ 2 and ANOVA tests showed significant differences with respect to ten of the LinkedIn variables in how people presented themselves across the three groups. There were also several gender differences found. Research limitations/implications – A general limitation was the use of a qualitative research approach. A limitation of Phase 1 was that only a small sample of New York City‐based hiring professionals was interviewed. Perhaps a wider, more diverse sample would have yielded different variables. In terms of Phase 2, it is possible that just utilizing the second connections of the researchers limited the generalizability of findings. Practical implications – User unwillingness to fully complete the LinkedIn profile suggests that it may not have replaced the traditional resume yet. Sales/marketing professionals were more likely than HR and I/O psychology professionals to complete multiple aspects of a LinkedIn profile. Women were also less likely than men to provide personal information on their profiles. Originality/value – Most of the empirical research on social networking sites has focussed on Facebook, a non‐professional site. This is, from the knowledge, the first study that systematically examined the manner in which people present themselves on LinkedIn – the most popular professional site used by applicants and recruiters worldwide.