Professional work ideology and psychological contracts.

This paper explores whether the concept of psychological contracts underpinned by relational/transactional exchanges provides an adequate description of the psychological contracts of professional employees. Interviews were conducted with registered nurses at a hospital that is the sole public sector provider of a broad range of medical and nursing services in the city. The analysis identifies content of the psychological contract for the registered nurse best understood by reference to an ideological currency. It also suggests that the registered nurses expect the organization to demonstrate a credible commitment and support for 3 core elements in nursing’s professional ideology – specialist expertise, patient (client) focus, and an other-orientation. A lack of perceived credible commitments by the organization impacts significantly upon the psychological contract of individual registered nurses

Alienation, Psychology and Human Resource Management

This paper revisits the issue of alienation and work. Although Marx saw alienation as an objective reality, others argue that it is a subjective experience of powerlessness, meaninglessness, isolation and self-estrangement. Feelings of alienation are also a central construct of existential psychologists, who focus on separation of the individual from the presumed ‘real’ or ‘deeper’ self. The question arising from self-estrangement in the workplace is whether modern management techniques have been able to alleviate such feelings. The effects of work structures, various management strategies and the adoption of human resource management as a set of unitarist principles are examined. It is argued that a number of approaches by management have failed to provide any respite from feelings of alienation and, further, that human resource management has tended to produce practices that have also failed. At the same time, the ‘soft’ version of human resource management model with its unitarist ideals has the potential to assuage feelings of alienation

Let's be professional about this: Ideology and the psychological contracts of registered nurses

Aims This study explores whether there is evidence of an ideological component in the psychological contracts of professional employees, as well as evidence of credible supporting commitments by their employer. Background Fundamental changes in the employment context have prompted many individuals to seek a closer alignment between themselves and their work, as well as with the organizational and broader societal contexts. For many professional employees identification with their professional ideology is a significant factor in producing such an alignment. Method The study uses an exploratory qualitative approach to analyse interview data collected from a sample of registered nurses employed in an Australian public hospital. Results The analysis identifies psychological contract terms best understood by reference to an ideological currency. It also suggests that the organization is perceived as obligated to provide credible support for that professional contribution, and the perceived lack of such support has significant impacts. Conclusions The findings raise doubts about the utility of the concept of a psychological contract that recognizes only economic and socio-emotional exchanges for understanding the psychological contracts of professional employees

Managing the Psychological Contract for Employers of Choice: Would You Like Fries with That?

In Australia, as elsewhere in the Western world, organisations are endeavouring to position themselves as ‘Employers of Choice’ (EOC). In marketing parlance, becoming an EOC involves construction of a unique ‘brand identity’ and ‘value proposition’ that sets an organisation apart from its competitors in a tight labour market. In other words, understanding how the psychological contract can be constructed as an attractive ‘value proposition’ is a prerequisite for successful employer branding. Recently, in the light of perceived theoretical limitations and practical implementation issues associated with the psychological contract, there has been a call for an expansion of the perspectives used to inform its conceptualisation and management. In response, this paper explores the application of marketing concepts and theories to the psychological contract, highlighting the differing manner in which employees and the organisation perceive value in relation to the benefits and the costs associated with the employment relationship. It suggests that using everyday marketing language and concepts surrounding notions such as ‘value’ and ‘price’ offers the potential for broadening managers’ understanding of the psychological contract and its role in creating and sustaining a viable EOC position

Managing the psychological contract in competitive labour-market conditions

This paper presents a reconceptualisation of the PC by incorporating the marketing concepts of ‘value’ and ‘cost’ into its tenets. We illustrate the manner in which marketing language may be incorporated into our understanding of the PC by drawing a parallel between consumer-market transactions for products and labour-market transaction for employment. This paper suggests that to effectively manage PCs in a competitive labour-market must have a detailed understanding of the costs it’s willing to bear, as well as the benefits it receives in the employment relationship. Similarly, it must consider what PC features are most likely to be perceived by employees as representing the most attractive value proposition on offer in a competitive labour market

Research into the psychological contract: Two Australian perspectives

Despite their increasing relevance, employees’ psychological contracts have attracted little research attention in Australia. The present paper presents two studies, which examined the psychological contracts of specific cohorts of professional employees and those in a managerial career track. The first study was an in-depth qualitative investigation of research scientists in an Australian public sector research organisation. They were found to have a strong professional affiliation and had developed psychological contracts that were best understood by reference to the ‘ideological currency’ of the scientific community. The second study was a quantitative examination of 156 MBA students at an Australian university, and how their psychological contracts could be related to perceptions of the contextual variables of organisational justice, perceived organisational support and external employability. Organisational justice and perceived organisational support were found to be related to the nature of the psychological contracts measured, but perceptions of external employability were not

Conceptualising the employment value proposition: the role of the extended marketing mix

In Australia, as elsewhere in the Western world, firms are faced with the challenge of recruiting, retaining and motivating quality human resources from increasingly competitive labour markets. One response to this challenge has manifest in firms attempting to position themselves as ‘Employers of Choice’ (EOC) in their relevant industries. In order to contribute to that ongoing debate, this paper explores the application of a key element in marketing theory – the ‘extended marketing-mix’ concept – to the management of the employment relationship

A hidden dimension? Work ideology and psychological contracts.

This paper explores whether the concept of psychological contracts underpinned by relational/transactional exchanges provides an adequate description of knowledge workers’ contracts. Interviews were conducted with scientists from the CSIRO. The analysis identified content of the psychological contract for the knowledge worker best understood by reference to an ideological currency. It raises questions over the role of normative occupation-specific beliefs about work, and the sharing of common currency elements by individuals in the same organization within the same occupation. The analysis lends support to calls in the literature for a reconsideration of the transactional/relational interpretative framework that underpins the psychological contract

The psychological contract of knowledge workers

Purpose: This paper explores whether the concept of psychological contracts underpinned by relational/transactional exchanges provides an adequate description of knowledge workers’ contracts. Methodology: The research approach uses interviews with 10 scientists from within a pre-eminent Australian scientific research and development organisation, the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Findings: The research strong evidence of an ideological currency within the psychological contract for this set of knowledge workers. Implications: The research raises questions over the role of normative occupation-specific beliefs about work, and the sharing of common currency elements by individuals in the same organization within the same occupation. The analysis lends support to calls in the literature for a reconsideration of the transactional/relational interpretative framework that underpins the psychological contract

Developing ‘employer of choice’ status: exploring an employment marketing mix

In recent times, the important role that marketing theory can play in the conceptualisation and development of an organization’s Employer of Choice status has been recognized and debated by both academics and practitioners alike. In order to contribute to that ongoing debate, this paper explores the application of a key element in marketing theory – the ‘extended marketing-mix’ concept – to the strategic management of human resources