Organisational commitment among software developers

If software developers are to be taken as prototypes of the new knowledge worker, we need look no further for working hypotheses about their attachment to their work and their employing organization than those contained in the human resource management agenda. For the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as the supposed base of the knowledge economy has been synchronous with the launch and promotion of human resource management (HRM) as the new orthodoxy in employment practice and many of the assumptions and values within each model are shared. Indeed, HRM is often portrayed as if it were in some way a reflection of the shift to non-adversarial work relationships in the new information-based service society (Baldry 2003)

Needing a new programme : why is union membership so low among software workers?

In terms of employee characteristics, software workers represent a particularly fascinating and important group of workers to explore in terms of their behaviour towards unions. They represent an expanding cohort of so-called knowledge workers in the UK and other countries, many possessing considerable latent power through their proximity to and involvement with electronic means of production and accumulation. An early study of technical workers' unionism by Smith (1987) provides evidence that computer personnel possess at least some of Batstone et al's (1978) four potential sources of industrial power, namely: skill scarcity, strategic position, immediate impact on production, and potential to create uncertainty (Smith 1987: 104). Other writers, however, have hinted that software workers are no less immune to management pressures to routinise and Taylorise their work than are any other group of skilled workers (Kraft and Dubnoff 1986; Beirne et al 1998). Software workers also enjoy familiarity with information technology, an increasingly effective tool in organising union membership both in the USA (Fiorito et al 2002) and the UK (Diamond and Freeman 2002)

Selecting hotel staff : why best practice doesn't always work

This paper considers the nature of "best practice" recruitment and selection in the hotel sector. Data from a sample of Scottish hotels indicate a reliance on informal methods, particularly in smaller hotels. In larger and chain hotels, structured procedures, including references, application forms and panel interviews, are evident, but, here too, these methods seem inadequate for dealing with recruitment and quality problems, especially in meeting temporary staffing needs. Case study evidence contrasts two alternative strategies: a successful holistic strategy based on management of social processes important for selection, and a more conventional bureaucratic strategy. Each strategy depends on a complex interrelationship between business and labour market considerations, the ownership and management structure of the hotel, and the tenure and experience of those responsible for selection. This evidence indicates that, for the hotel industry, the holistic strategy is an alternative to conventional notions

Selection

Book chapter presenting a brief overview of psychometric quality, the 'what' and 'how' of selection and provides and overview of what organisations actually do. The uthor considers the implications for human resource management

Revisiting technical workers: professional and organizational identities in the software industry

This paper eradicates some of the myths of software workers as prototypes of the knowledge worker. Based on qualitative and quantitative research conducted in five Information Technology (IT) organisations, it examines how the factors of education, skill level and work role determine the opportunities presented to these workers, and how they are associated with differing levels of organisational identity. At the same time, the data reveal a consistently high professional identity, regardless of work role and qualifications

The 'rain dance' of selection in construction: rationality as ritual and the logic of informality

Recruitment and selection in the construction industry is ad hoc - the search for workers to match immediate employment needs is unsystematic, usually conducted in a short-termist manner, and often contributes to, rather than overcomes, persistent recruitment difficulties and skill shortages. The purpose of this paper is to explore the recruitment context and selection practice in the Scottish construction sector, and proposes a model of the selection decision process which may provide an explanation for this apparently unsystematic approach

Recruiting for values in charitable organisations : a comparative perspective

This chapter discusses recruiting for values in charitable organisations. It is part of a collection which examines how aspects of voluntary sector employment are affected by its engagement with the growing trend to the market-based outsourcing in the delivery of public services within industrialized countries

Decision making in selection

While selection measures themselves may show good predictive validity and thus provide for excellent predictions of future job performance of candidates, problems can occur during the decision-making phase of the selection process. Difficulties first of all arise when individuals make final hiring decisions in a less than optimal way; for instance, under conditions of time pressure and an overload of information. Additional problems may emerge when conditions under which the hiring decisions take place are difficult; for instance, when relatively few or poorly qualified candidates apply for a large number of vacancies. It is just this part of the selection process that forms the heart of the present chapter. The chapter's focus is on difficulties and challenges encountered in the selection decision-making process. In the classical distinction between the prediction phase and decision-making phase, it is the latter, particularly decision making by the organization, that is of interest here. The next chapter (Imus & Ryan, this volume) will deal with decision making by the applicant, stressing further the importance of decision-making issues in the selection process

Choreographing a system : skill and employability in software work

While software developers are typically associated with high-status, technical knowledge work, there is evidence of changing skills requirements within the industry. One notable feature is the increasing importance of social competencies, as well as technical skill, which have been proposed as a feature of many new economy occupations. This article examines how this change in skills in software work impacts on employability in the sector. Developers, managers and HR practitioners in four Scottish software organizations provide the empirical focus