Globalisation of HR at Function Level: Exploring the Issues Through International Recruitment, Selection and Assessment Processes

Much of the debate around convergence-divergence is based around comparative analysis of HR systems. However, we need now to combine these insights with work in the field of IHRM on firm-level motivations to optimise, standardise and export HR models abroad. A series of the changes are being wrought on a range of IHRM functions – recruitment, global staffing, management development and careers, and rewards - by the process of globalisation highlighting the difference between globally standardised, optimised or localised HR processes. This paper reports on a study of firm-level developments in international recruitment, selection and assessment, drawing upon an analysis of four case studies each conducted in a different context. Organisations are building IHRM functions that are shifting from the management of expatriation towards supplementary services to the business aimed at facilitating the globalisation process, and this involves capitalising upon the fragmentation of international employees. As HR realigns itself in response to this process of within-function globalisation (building new alliances with other functions such as marketing and IS) the new activity streams that are being developed and the new roles and skills of the HR function carry important implications for the study of convergence and divergence of IHRM practice. Globalisation at firm level revolves around complexity, and this is evidenced in two ways: first, the range of theory that we have to draw upon, and the competing issues that surface depending on the level of analysis that is adopted; and second, the different picture that might emerge depending upon the level of analysis that is adopted. This paper shows that although the field of IHRM has traditionally drawn upon core theories such as the resource-based view of the firm, relational and social capital, and institutional theory, once the full range of resourcing options now open to IHRM functions are considered, it is evident that we need to incorporate both more micro theory, as well as insights from contingent fields in order to explain some of the new practices that are emerging

Supply Chains and Porous Boundaries: The Disaggregation of Legal Services

The economic downturn has had significant effects on law firms, and is causing many of them to rethink some basic assumptions about how they operate. In important respects, however, the downturn has simply intensified the effects of some deeper trends that preceded it, which are likely to continue after any recovery that may occur. This paper explores one of these trends, which is corporate client insistence that law firms “disaggregate” their services into discrete tasks that can be delegated to the least costly providers who can perform them. With advances in communications technology, there is increasing likelihood that some of these persons may be located outside the formal boundaries of the firm. This means that law firms may need increasingly to confront the make or buy decision that their corporate clients have regularly confronted for some time. The potential for vertical disintegration is a relatively recent development for legal services, but is well-established in other sectors of the global economy. Empirical work in several disciplines has identified a number of issues that arise for organizations as the make or buy decision becomes a potentially more salient feature of their operations. Much of this work has focused in particular on the implications of relying on outsourcing as an integral part of the production process. This paper discusses research on: (1) the challenges of ensuring that work performed outside the firm is fully integrated into the production process; (2) coordinating projects for which networks of organizations are responsible; (3) managing the transfer of knowledge inside and outside of firms that are participants in a supply chain; and (4) addressing the impact of using contingent workers on an organization’s workforce, structure, and culture. A review of this research suggests considerations that law firms will need to assess if they begin significantly to extend the process of providing services beyond their formal boundaries. Discussing the research also is intended to introduce concepts that may become increasingly relevant to law firms, but which currently are not commonly used to analyze their operations. Considering how these concepts are applicable to law firms may prompt us to rethink how to conceptualize these firms and what they do. This paper therefore is a preliminary attempt to explore: (1) the extent to which law firms may come to resemble the vertically disintegrated organizations that populate many other economic sectors and (2) the potential implications of this trend for the provision of legal services,the trajectory of legal careers, and lawyers’ sense of themselves as members of a distinct profession

Staffing policies of leading professional service firms

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyse the prevalence of the staffing policies associated with the characteristics of the two basic types of organisational configurations identified by Institutional theory (Professional Partnership and Managed Professional Business), or conversely, if they have been evolving as a consequence of contextual factors and trends. Design/methodology/approach: Exploratory research was performed through the case study method. Six case studies were conducted in Spanish affiliates of leading multinational management consulting firms. Findings: Our analysis revealed that the staffing policies and practices of the companies differ significantly. It was further deduced that the origin of companies and the practice of activities other than business consulting could influence their staffing policies. It is concluded that mixed models do exist nowadays and that the origin of companies largely determines their policies. Research limitations/implications: Cultural factors among countries could influence HRM policies and practices. Furthermore, the size of companies could determine (or limit) the implementation of certain staffing policies. The study could be extended to a sample of consulting companies of various sizes and countries to enrich the results Practical implications: For HR managers, knowing the staffing policies at these major companies is a benchmark of HRM effectiveness to be applied to their own companies. In particular, these cases are relevant for other knowledge intensive organizations. Originality/value: The paper provides current empirical evidence on the HRM staffing policies of leading consulting firms and their evolutionPeer Reviewe

Rise and Fall of an Information Technology Outsourcing Program: A Qualitative Analysis of a Troubled Corporate Initiative

Information technology outsourcing (ITO) is a common business practice and a widely studied topic in academic literature. However, far less attention is paid to the implications and social dynamics of executives’ pursuit of personal career achievement through the implementation of ITO programs. Focused mainly on gaining organizational power for career advancement and accomplishment, executives can create unintended consequences for their employees, their suppliers, their company, their shareholders, and their own careers. This research focused on a large information technology outsourcing program from its inception to early implementation at a single Fortune 1000 firm. The time span covered was just over five years, which included the two years prior and more than three years of the initiative’s lifespan. The data for this study included fifty-two interviews conducted with employees and executives over eighteen months as well as my personal observations and field notes. The uniqueness of this study compared to other published research stems from my dual role as both researcher and executive at the firm throughout this work. The data informed a grounded theory of how and why the ITO initiative unfolded as it did, while giving equal voice to the employees and executives involved. The central theoretical premises of this analysis relied on Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capital, and fields in conjunction with Bruce Lincoln’s taxonomies and anomalies within social structures. The study’s analysis was further informed by Brown and Duguid’s infocentrism, Erving Goffman’s dramaturgy, impression management, and moral career, along with Thomas Kuhn’s paradigms within the structure of scientific revolutions, Jackall’s bureaucratic ethic and Harvey’s Abilene Paradox. Analysis of the data identified the organization’s habitus as a collection of visible and shadow social practices, mental models, and organizational rules for accumulating power. The habitus shaped employees’ and executives’ behaviors toward each other and toward their ITO provider. As this study ended, the ITO initiative was in its fourth year, significantly delayed, and its chances of success doubtful

Service design from staffing to outsourcing

The term outsourcing has become a conventional means of describing anything associated with the transaction of services that enables client organisations to blur core activities and thereby reduce their internal workforce and costs. The main objective of this study is confirming a gap in detailed and spe-cific reviews of formats and economic transactions through non-standard forms of employment, namely in a service design model from Staffing to Outsourcing. The literature review was performed using text mining and topic modelling techniques to group relevant topics and decreases the likelihood of human bias, while bringing robustness to the analysis. The results are reflected in a conceptual state of the art diagram that will serve as a basis to new discussions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Proposal for Supply Chain Management Research That Matters: Sixteen High Priority Research Projects for the Future

On May 4th, 2016 in Milton, Ontario, the World Class Supply Chain 2016 Summit was held in partnership between CN Rail and Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business & Economics to realize an ambitious goal: raise knowledge of contemporary supply chain management (SCM) issues through genuine peer-­‐to-­‐peer dialogue among practitioners and scholars. A principal element of that knowledge is an answer to the question: to gain valid and reliable insights for attaining SCM excellence, what issues must be researched further? This White Paper—which is the second of the summit’s two White Papers—addresses the question by proposing a research agenda comprising 16 research projects. This research agenda covers the following: The current state of research knowledge on issues that are of the highest priority to today’s SCM professionals Important gaps in current research knowledge and, consequently, the major questions that should be answered in sixteen future research projects aimed at addressing those gaps Ways in which the research projects can be incorporated into student training and be supported by Canada’s major research funding agencies That content comes from using the summit’s deliberations to guide systematic reviews of both the SCM research literature and Canadian institutional mechanisms that are geared towards building knowledge through research. The major conclusions from those reviews can be summarized as follows: While the research literature to date has yielded useful insights to inform the pursuit of SCM excellence, several research questions of immense practical importance remain unanswered or, at best, inadequately answered The body of research required to answer those questions will have to focus on what the summit’s first White Paper presented as four highly impactful levers that SCM executives must expertly handle to attain excellence: collaboration; information; technology; and talent The proposed research agenda can be pursued in ways that achieve the two inter-­‐related goals of creating new actionable knowledge and building the capacity of today’s students to become tomorrow’s practitioners and contributors to ongoing knowledge growth in the SCM field This White Paper’s details underlying these conclusions build on the information presented in the summit’s first White Paper. That is, while the first White Paper (White Paper 1) identified general SCM themes for which the research needs are most urgent, this White Paper goes further along the path of industry-academia knowledge co-creation. It does so by examining and articulating those needs against the backdrop of available research findings, translating the needs into specific research projects that should be pursued, and providing guidelines for how those projects can be carried out

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE OUTSOURCED ACADEMIC RESOURCE PROVIDER SELECTION ON INSTITUTION MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN NYERI AND KIAMBU COUNTIES IN KENYA

The purpose of this study was to explore whether provider’s selection influenced institutional management efficiency in public universities in Nyeri and Kiambu counties. A hybrid theoretical framework of Resource based theory and Institutional management efficiency theory buttressed the study. Purposeful sampling of 20 deans of schools, 3 human resource managers 122 heads of departments and 415 lecturers was used. The study made use of questionnaires, interview guide and focus group discussions to collect data. The study utilized a Methodological triangulation research design. To ensure the validity of the instruments, the Research objectives were crosschecked with the corresponding items. The spearman’s split-half technique of assessing reliability of the instruments was used. Inter-Rater technique was used in this study to measure credibility. Dependability was ascertained by means of triangulation. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient technique was used. A correlation coefficient of 0.73 for the two halves was considered sufficient. Descriptive and inferential statistics to evaluate the dependence of measures of organizational efficiency was used. The study reviewed that, public universities should evaluate academic resource providers in order to produce quality graduates and also to be able to control and reduce operational costs

Ethics and taxation : a cross-national comparison of UK and Turkish firms

This paper investigates responses to tax related ethical issues facing busines