An Exploratory Investigation of Explanations for the Relative Effectiveness of Employee Recruitment Methods

Employee recruitment has become increasingly important to managers in recent years as some occupations face severe shortages and others experience surpluses. Both types of human resource gaps place more pressure on recruitment to provide the right numbers of employees with the required knowledge and skill sets. This increased importance to practioners has led researchers to pay more attention to it as well (Billsberry, 2007; Breaugh, Macan & Grambow, 2008). Previous research suggests that informal recruiting methods (e.g., employee referrals, walk-ins) are more effective than more formal recruiting methods. Two explanations have been offered for the relative effectiveness of recruiting methods. The “realistic information hypothesis” suggests that employees recruited via the more effective methods may have acquired a greater quantity of information, more accurate information, and/or more realistic information (Breaugh, 1981; Zottoli & Wanous, 2000). According to the “individual difference hypothesis” (Saks, 2005), different recruiting methods may attract different types of applicants (Schwab, 1982). There is some empirical support for both hypotheses. Blau (1990) suggested that employees hired via different recruiting methods may be treated differently after hire. Barber (1998) reported that she could find no empirical tests of this hypothesis. Research on the post-hire treatment hypothesis is clearly needed. The purpose of this study is to provide an initial test of the “differential management treatment hypothesis.

Antecedents and Outcomes of Employee Benefit Satisfaction: An Updated Model

Previous research on the antecedents and outcomes of employee benefit satisfaction is reviewed. Previous research has suggested a number of antecedents of employee benefit satisfaction, as well as several moderating variables. However, they have not been combined into a single comprehensive model. A comprehensive model incorporating previous research findings is developed with specific hypotheses. There have been four methods of measuring benefit satisfaction in previous research: global measures using single item or short scale measures, measures of several dimensions of benefit satisfaction, measures of degree of satisfaction with specific benefits offered, and measures of dimensions of benefit satisfaction such as satisfaction with benefit quality. Each of these approaches has both strengths and weaknesses. Suggestions for measuring employee benefit satisfaction are offered

Women On Boards Of Directors: Effects On Firm Social Performance In The Basic Materials And Financial Services Sectors

This study examined relationships between the number of female board members, board tenure, and board size on the number of 10K investigations that were instigated against  firms in the basic materials and financial services sectors of the economy.  After controlling for the effects of firm size, we found evidence of an interaction effect between the number of female directors and average board tenure for firms in the financial services sector, such that a higher number of women on boards coupled with longer average board tenure results in higher firm social performance (i.e., the fewer the number of 10K investigations brought against the firm).  No link was found between female directors and average board tenure for the basic materials firms.  Further, no interactive patterns were observed between female directors and board size in either sector.  Our findings suggest that future board research may benefit from a “contingency approach,” as this study has provided some evidence that the relationships between board characteristics and firm performance may not be generalizable from one sector to another.  Future research should carefully consider how the sector or industry may affect the impact of board characteristics on firm performance

The Effect of Union Protest Behavior on Attitudes Toward Unions: An Experimental Analysis

Student attitudes toward unions were measured at the beginning of a semester. Approximately 90 days later, students were shown a video of union protestors shouting down teachers who had called a press conference to announce they had filed a lawsuit against the union. Following the video, student attitudes toward unions were measured again. The results suggest that union behavior perceived as negative does have a deleterious effect on observer attitudes toward unions. This effect occurs even for observers whose parents were union members

Will a Good Citizen Actively Support Organizational Change? Investigation of Psychological Processes Underlying Active Change Support

The present study investigated motivational factors of employees active change support (ACS). It also investigated good citizens response to the change by highlighting convergence and divergence of motivational factors between ACS and traditional extra-role behavior. The findings based on 166 staff responses and 346 supervisor assessments in a hospital that recently implemented a sharedgovernance structure suggest that active change support is a result of an active thinking process that involves perception of potential benefit from change but not necessarily the consequence of conventional predictors of extra-role behaviors (i.e., positive attitudes). The findings also suggest that good citizens are not necessarily the supporters of organizational change and that in actuality they confront motivational dilemma especially when they hold high quality relationship with their employer because they are reluctant to challenge the status quo