Cultural aspects of the search conference method.

The search conference is a method for dealing with complex multiparty issues in a constructive way. Although its primary objective is not framed as 'conflict handling', it can be useful as a mediation tool in situations that require an overall perspective and the participation of many different parties. This paper examines the cultural assumptions that underlie this method, referring especially to the reactions and behaviors of non-Western participants. Although our analysis of cultural assumptions will be broader, the empirical part will focus on Chinese participants. The first part of the paper discusses the search conference method from a cultural perspective. It describes the process as it is intended by the authors who developed the method, and elaborates its underlying assumptions. The second part of the paper consists of an empirical study of the reactions and behaviors of Chinese participants in two search conference simulations. Both observational and interview material will be used, as well as linguistic methods for the meaning of the concepts. The discussion focuses both on the assumptions regarding participating in the discussion, social norms and obligations, as on the different cultural meanings of concepts such as facilitating, consensus, collaboration and responsibility. Suggestions are made how the search conference may be made more culturally sensitive.Methods; Processes; Simulation; Studies;

Managing continuity: dealing with the experience of being target in a take-over.

Based upon literature on innovation and strategy, the experience of being target in a take-over is studied from a process perspective at a local office of the acquired parent company. Through a case study the impact and importance of the management of continuity provided by the local management is illustrated.

Managing academic personnel flow at universities.

Universities experience increasing difficulty in staffing their academic positions. Attracting and retaining highly qualified employees in a general problem that has received much attention in recent HRM literature. But several authors have claimed that the academic career has lost much of its attractiveness. This paper presents seven levers that universities may use to enhance their recruitment and retention power on a difficult job market. Suggestions are based on experience from innovative organizations, both universities and business organizations. Special attention is given to the creation of multiple and flexible career paths within academia. We contend that a successful application of these suggestions will require major cultural and institutional change at universities.Retention; Market;

Assessing the nature of psychological contracts: conceptualization and measurement.

The purpose of this study is to clarify a feature-oriented assessment of psychological contracts, an underdeveloped approach to psychological contracts. From a theoretical perspective, the study aims to conceptualize the nature or different dimensions of a psychological contract drawing upon theoretical frameworks and cross-national research. Reviewing the 13 nation-studies of psychological contracts organized by Rousseau and Schalk (2000), we find support for the relevance of four theoretical dimensions: time frame, tangibility, scope and stability, as well as indications for two additional dimensions: power distance and individualization. From an empirical perspective, the 6 conceptualized dimensions are being operationalized in terms of employees' expected entitlements as well as their expected obligations and tested in a large, representative sample of 1,106 employees across industries, organizations and legal contracts. The analyses resulted in 12 scales and indicated that the expected entitlements and obligations of scope, stability, power distance and individualization do not highly correlate with each other while high correlations between entitlements and obligations of time frame and tangibility exist.Measurement;

Het concept psychologisch contract: het gevoerde debat.

In deze paper wordt het debat dat er rond de betekenis van het concept psychologisch contract wordt gevoerd, in kaart gebracht. We gaan van start met een 'historisch' overzicht van de definities van psychologisch contract. Vervolgens bespreken we een aantal punten van eensgezindheid en een aantal belangrijke discussiepunten die naar voor komen in het debat rond het concept psychologisch contract. In een vierde paragraaf brengen we verdere verduidelijking aan in het concept psychologisch contract door het te onderscheiden van een aantal verwante concepten. Op basis van de verschillende discussies komen we in de laatste paragraaf tot een eigen afbakening van het concept.

The relative importance of individual, job-related and organisational characteristics in explaining differences in earnings.

Abstract: This paper focuses on a number of key research questions: (1) What is the relative importance of individual, job-related and organizational characteristics in explaining differences in earnings? (2) Do job characteristics such as hierarchical level and functional domain exercise a significant influence on pay differentials if we control for the traditional human capital factors? (3) Do organizational characteristics such as size and the sector in which the company is active exercise a significant influence on pay differentials if we control for the traditional human capital factors and job-related pay determinants? In order to assess the relative importance of these pay determinants, use is made of linear regression and analysis of variance. The analysis draws on data from the Salary Survey, which generated pay details for a total of more than 15,000 Belgian white-collar workers. Based on the analysis, we come to the conclusion that the five main determinants, in order of importance, are number of years' work experience; level of education; hierarchical level; sector of employment; and the nationality of the parent company. A further striking feature is that more than 50% of the total explained variance can be attributed to the three features which receive a great deal of attention in traditional human capital approaches to pay differentials: level of education, work experience and gender.Implications; Characteristics;

Multiple types of psychological contracts : a six-cluster solution.

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the existence of particular types of psychological contracts. We take a feature-oriented approach towards psychological contracts, which allows more generalizability across settings than content-oriented assessments. In defining the types of psychological contracts, we rely on 10 dimensions that indicate the employees' expected entitlements as well as their expected obligations towards their employer. We assess the existence of types of psychological contracts based upon an economy-wide, representative sample. The analysis indicates the existence of six types of psychological contracts, all having different patterns of mutual expectations: an instrumental psychological contract, a weak psychological contract, a loyal psychological contract, an unattached psychological contract, an investing psychological contract and a strong psychological contract. Based on the profiles of the six types and its number of respondents, we conclude that the so-called transformation from traditional employment relationships towards 'new deals' is restricted to a very small group of young and highly educated professionals and managers.Employment; Expected; Managers; Studies;

Het empirisch onderzoek naar psychologisch contract: een overzicht.

In deze paper wordt een overzicht gegeven van het bestaande empirisch onderzoek naar psychologisch contract. Achtereenvolgens worden besproken: het onderzoek naar de inhoud van het psychologisch contract, het onderzoek naar de aard van het psychologisch contract, het onderzoek naar de schending en vervulling van het psychologisch contract, en het onderzoek naar het proces van 'psychological contracting'. Voor elk type onderzoek bespreken we telkens welke meetinstrumenten voorhanden zijn, wat de belangrijkste onderzoeksbevindingen zijn en welke beperkingen of mogelijkheden er verbonden zijn aan het betreffende onderzoek. In de laatste paragraaf vatten we de belangrijkste conclusies samen en geven we weer wat het bestaande onderzoek ons leert met betrekking tot toekomstig onderzoek.