Do not say a word! Conceptualizing employee silence in a long-term crisis context

Although research has emphasized the organizational and individual factors that influence employee voice and silence at work, it is less known how employee voice/silence is affected by the economic context, particularly when this context is one of intensive and long-term economic crisis in a country with weak institutional bases. In this study we explore how employee silence is formulated in long-term turbulent economic environments and in more vulnerable organizational settings like those of small enterprises. The study draws on qualitative data gathered from 63 interviews with employees in a total of 48 small enterprises in Greece in two periods of time (2009 and 2015). This study suggests a new type of employee silence, social empathy silence, and offers a conceptual framework for understanding the development of silence over time in particular contexts of long-term turbulence and crisis

Introduction - Managing people in small and medium enterprises in turbulent contexts

Managing People in Small and Medium Enterprises in Turbulent Contexts explores a range of human resource management (HRM) issues specific to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Based on a series of research studies and secondary sources of data, the book’s primary aim is to contextualise HRM issues in SMEs operating in a variety of national economic contexts that are (or have recently experienced) a turbulent situation. SMEs are the backbone of these economies. It is therefore critical that we study HR practices and concepts within such enterprises. The book covers HR practices in SMEs, such as recruitment and selection, training and development, performance evaluation and employee relations, by focusing on three types of turbulent economies: emerging market economies in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Latin America; transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe; and crisis contexts in Southern Europe

Can SMEs retain talent during the BREXIT process period?

Talent Management (TM) shows ways of developing and engaging employees that are able to make a difference within organisations, domestically and internationally. It is associated with the process of attracting, improving, managing and retaining employees. There are two schools of thought in TM approach, namely the exclusive and inclusive one. The former focuses only on the best performers within a company claiming that developing and maintaining practices should focus on them. The latter argues that TM practices should include all employees by focusing on developing their strengths, skills, abilities, capabilities, and knowledge. In the inclusive approach the term ‘talent’ is referred to as anyone who is able to influence achieving the organisation's objectives. This approach seems to be the case in most Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)

Social Brain-Constructed Relational Leadership: A Neuroscience View of the Leader-Follower Duality

Relationship-based approaches to leadership represent one of the most fast growing leadership fields that emphasize the interaction between the leader and the follower. The critical question though is the way that leadership actors (leaders and followers) are linked to each other and in particular how they try to understand how to do that in the workplace. Also, what is even less understood is the role of consciousness in this relationship. In this respect, this conceptual paper explores consciousness within the context of the social brain theory to argue that leadership actors need to revise their approach to individuality and focus on mutually dependent relations. We introduce the concept of Homo Relationalis arguing that leadership is not just social constructed element, but also social brain constructed phenomenon. We finally recommend a new approach of applying cognitive style analysis to capture the duality of leader/follower in the same person, following the self-illusion theory

Towards the adoption of new management methods in a modernising national business system?: a study of the responses of middle managers to Total Quality Management in Greek service industry

Total Quality Management (TQM) emerged as a promising management practice mainly in the US and the UK. Its principles challenge the managerial traditions of other countries. A prime example is Greece. In view of the widespread argument that Middle Managers (MMs) are key elements in making TQM work, this study explores the relationship between these people and TQM in the Greek National Business System (NBS). It focuses on how TQM is perceived by them and it investigates whether MMs' perceived awareness of TQM affects their responses to a set of individual and organisational aspects. This study adopts the contingency approach to TQM. This approach argues that TQM does not have determinate effects and that its consequences are shaped by the context in which it operates. This thesis expands knowledge by developing a theoretical framework that addresses the relationship between TQM and Middle Management in this specific national context. It offers strong evidence on four specific contingencies, in the light of which managers' responses to TQM should be explored. These factors are the business/management culture, the modernisation agenda, the sector of employment and the educational background of managers. Moreover, this study contributes to the development of the research methodology in the area, by combining quantitative (survey questionnaire) and qualitative (follow-up interviews) methods. 241 questionnaires were collected and 18 follow-up interviews were conducted in 43 different public (19) and private (24) service organisations. Finally this thesis offers statistically reliable measurement of the 'soft' and 'hard' sides of TQM. In this respect, six major arguments about the relationship between TQM and MMs are supported. First, it is recognised by the MMs that the business system needs modernisation and QM is a part of it. Second, although the acronym TQM and some of its concepts and practices are known by a range of public and private sector managers, actual awareness of its 'soft' side is often superficial, and people have a relatively poor understanding of it. Third, MMs tend to see TQM from the technical point of view, being aware only of the importance of its 'hard' aspects. Fourth, whilst MMs perceive TQM as enhancing individual aspects like autonomy, loyalty and career prospects, at the same time they acknowledge the increased work effort and stress due to the perceived awareness of TQM. Fifth, they hold sceptical positions about the adoption and actual application TQM related organisational issues like empowerment and top management commitment and support. The sixth, overall, conclusion is that TQM was neither resisted nor directly absorbed. The principles of quality improvement have been widely accepted, but convincing Greek managers to apply 'soft' TQM aspects remains a major challeng

A three-fold framework for understanding HRM practices in South-Eastern European SMEs

Purpose We study particular structural and organisational factors affecting the formality of human resource management (HRM) practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South-Eastern European (SEE) post-communist countries, in particular Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in order to understand the antecedents of formalization in such settings. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a quantitative approach, this study analyses data gathered through a survey of 168 managers of SMEs from throughout the region. Findings The results show that HRM in SMEs in the SEE region can be understood through a three-fold framework which includes: degree of internationalisation of SMEs, sector of SMEs and organisational size of SMEs. These three factors positively affect the level of HRM formalisation in SEE SMEs. These findings are further attributed to the particular political and economic context of the post-communist SEE region. Research limitations/implications Although specific criteria were set for SME selection, we do not suggest that the study reflects a representative picture of the SEE region because we used a purposive sampling methodology. Practical implications This article provides useful insights into the factors which influence HRM in SMEs in a particular context. The findings can help business owners and managers understand how HRM can be applied in smaller organisations, particularly in post-communist SEE business contexts. Originality/value HRM in SMEs in this region has hardly been studied at all despite their importance. Therefore, this exploratory research seeks to expand knowledge relating to the application of HRM in SMEs in SEE countries which have their business environments dominated by different dynamics in comparison to western European ones

Understanding Total Quality Management in Context: Qualitative Research on Managers’ Awareness of TQM Aspects in the Greek Service Industry

This study addresses managers’ awareness and familiarity with Total Quality Management (TQM). Eighteen (18) semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with managers working in a variety of service organizations in Greece. The major argument of the study is that although the acronym TQM and some of its concepts and practices are known by a range of public and private sector managers, actual awareness of its “soft” side is often superficial, and managers have a relatively poor understanding of it. TQM is neither resisted nor directly absorbed by them, but they tend to see it from the technical point of view, being aware only of the importance of its “hard” aspects

Enhancing Service-Oriented Behaviors in an Asian Business Context: Lessons From a Pakistani Bank

This article examines how service organizations can enhance employees’ customer orientation, often exhibited through the display of service-oriented citizenship behaviors. The study, in this respect, quantitatively analyses the relationships between organizational distributive justice, leader-member exchange (LMX), and team-member exchange (TMX) on customer orientation. Data were gathered through a survey of 658 middle managers working in a Pakistani bank and were analyzed via full structural equation modelling. The findings reveal that organizational distributive justice, LMX, and TMX are key predictors of customer orientation. Specifically, the analysis suggests that the relationships between organizational distributive justice and LMX with customer orientation are mediated partially and fully, respectively, by TMX. Simultaneously, TMX partially mediates the relationship between organizational tenure and customer orientation. Our study contributes to both theory and practice of service organization functioning by signifying the importance of the organization’s fair distribution of rewards as well as it’s leader’s and co-worker’s behaviors in affecting organizationally desired employee behaviors and thereby, arguably, enabling positive organizational outcomes. Service organizations can, based on our findings, create a culture of service excellence by placing emphasis on specific elements at the organizational, leadership, and team level

From feeding-back to feeding-forward: managerial feedback as a trigger of change in SMEs

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore and theorize the process of managerial feedback in relation to change in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach: This research embraces a qualitative methodology in the context of manufacturing SMEs. Drawing on 30 in-depth interviews, and observations conducted with various managers in six SMEs operating in three countries, it is argued that managers benefit more by using daily, ongoing, feedback as a trigger of change in their organizations. Findings: The findings suggest that there is an overall view that managers appear to be reluctant to change existing processes using formalized feedback mechanisms, which runs counter-intuitive to the literature. In contrast, informal methods of feedback work better in enhancing organizational change. Moreover, another two features of feedback enhance this process, namely, benefits oriented and confidence oriented. As such, this study contributes to existing knowledge and practice by proposing a three-fold form of feedback through which managers expand their perspectives of feedback from feeding-back to feeding-forward thereby enhancing the opportunities of triggering change. Research limitations/implications: Feedback should merely be considered as a dynamic and socially constructed managerial practice. A practice where actors not only exchange information and share knowledge, but also act, react and interact with each other as they constantly rethinking the change process. The proposed aspect of feedback emphasizes knowledge therapeutically and in combination with the dialogical discourse (practical illustration) that increases the odds for capturing change as a natural, rather than exceptional. Practical implications: Practitioners, as such, may wish to consider the terminology used when it comes to studying change and its implementation in a crisis context. Using deformalized managerial feedback mechanisms to tackle a formal phenomenon like “change” could help avoid employees perceiving a negative connotation, causing resistance or confusion and feeling threatened. Therefore, the authors suggest that practitioners, during development initiatives on modernizing or altering organizational processes, consider replacing the term “change” as a formal concept. Originality/value: It is an investigation from an exploratory perspective in studying and understanding the causes, factors and modalities that trigger managerial feedback toward organizational change in manufacturing SMEs

Reverse resource exchanges in service supply chains:the case of returnable transport packaging

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand how reverse resource exchanges and resource dependencies are managed in the service supply chain (SSC) of returnable transport packaging (RTP). Design/methodology/approach: A single case study was conducted in the context of automotive logistics focusing on the RTP SSC. Data were collected through 16 interviews, primarily with managers of a logistics service provider (LSP) and document analysis of contractual agreements with key customers of the packaging service. Findings: Resource dependencies among actors in the SSC result from the importance of the RTP for the customer’s production processes, the competition among users for RTP and the negative implications of the temporary unavailability of RTP for customers and the LSP (in terms of service performance). Amongst other things, the LSP is dependent on its customers and third-party users (e.g. the customer’s suppliers) for the timely return of package resources. The role of inter-firm integration and collaboration, formal contracts as well as customers’ power and influence over third-party RTP users are stressed as key mechanisms for managing LSP’s resource dependencies. Research limitations/implications: A resource dependence theory (RDT) lens is used to analyse how reverse resource exchanges and associated resource dependencies in SSCs are managed, thus complementing the existing SSC literature emphasising the bi-directionality of resource flows. The study also extends the recent SSC literature stressing the role of contracting by empirically demonstrating how formal contracts can be mobilised to explicate resource dependencies and to specify, and regulate, reverse exchanges in the SSC. Practical implications: The research suggests that logistics providers can effectively manage their resource dependencies and regulate reverse exchanges in the SSC by deploying contractual governance mechanisms and leveraging their customers’ influence over third-party RTP users. Originality/value: The study is novel in its application of RDT, which enhances our understanding of the management of reverse exchanges and resource dependencies in SSCs