Managing careers and managing fairness : an organisational justice theory perspective on employee evaluations of, and reactions to, organisational career management practices

This thesis presents the results of a multi-method investigation of employee perceptions of fairness in relation to their career management experiences. Organisational justice theory (OJT) was developed as a theoretical framework and data were gathered via 325 quantitative questionnaires, 20 semi-structured interviews and the analysis of a variety of company documents and materials. The results of the questionnaire survey provided strong support for the salience of employee perceptions of justice in regard to their evaluations of organisational career management (OCM) practices, with statistical support emerging for both an agent-systems and interaction model of organisational justice. The qualitative semi-structured interviews provided more detailed analysis of how fairness was experienced in practice, and confirmed the importance of the OJT constructs of fairness within this career management context. Fairness themes to emerge from this analysis included, equity, needs, voice, bias suppression, consistency, ethicality, respect and feedback drawing on many of the central tenants of distributive, procedural, interpersonal and information justice. For the career management literature there is empirical confirmation of a new theoretical framework for understanding employee evaluations of, and reactions to, OCM practices. For the justice literatures a new contextual domain is explored and confirmed, thus extending further the influence and applicability of the theory. For practitioners a new framework for developing, delivering and evaluating their own OCM policies and systems is presented.

Justice source and justice content:evaluating the fairness of organizational career management practices

This article presents part of the findings of a multi-method study into employee perceptions of fairness in relation to the organisational career management (OCM) practices of a large financial retailer. It focuses on exploring how employees construct fairness judgements of their career experiences and the role played by the organisational context and, in particular, OCM practices in forming these judgements. It concludes that individuals can, and do, separate the source and content of (in)justice when it comes to evaluating these experiences. The relative roles of the employer, line manager and career development opportunities in influencing employee fairness evaluations are discussed. Conceptual links with organisational justice theory are proposed, and it is argued that the academic and practitioner populations are provided with empirical evidence for a new theoretical framework for evaluating employee perceptions of, and reactions to, OCM practices.

Multiple paradigms and organisational research: an analysis of work behaviour in the fire service

The thesis examines Kuhn's (1962, 1970) concept of paradigm, assesses how it is employed for mapping intellectual terrain in the social sciences, and evaluates it's use in research based on multiple theory positions. In so doing it rejects both the theses of total paradigm 'incommensurability' (Kuhn, 1962), and also of liberal 'translation' (Popper, 1970), in favour of a middle ground through the 'language-game of everyday life' (Wittgenstein, 1953). The thesis ultimately argues for the possibility of being 'trained-into' new paradigms, given the premise that 'unorganised experience cannot order perception' (Phillips, 1977). In conducting multiple paradigm research the analysis uses the Burrell and Morgan (1979) model for examining the work organisation of a large provincial fire Service. This analysis accounts for firstly, a 'functionalist' assessment of work design, demonstrating inter alia the decrease in reported motivation with length of service; secondly, an 'interpretive' portrayal of the daily accomplishment of task routines, highlighting the discretionary and negotiated nature of the day's events; thirdly, a 'radical humanist' analysis of workplace ideology, demonstrating the hegemonic role of officer training practices; and finally, a 'radical structuralist' description of the labour process, focusing on the establishment of a 'normal working day'. Although the argument is made for the possibility of conducting multiple paradigm research, the conclusion stresses the many institutional pressures serving to offset development.

The formation and impact of hazard control policy:a study of the regulation of white lead paint in Britain

Government regulation of industrial hazards is examined in the context of the economic and technical processes of industrial development. Technical problems and costs of control are considered as factors in both the formation and impact of regulation. This thesis focuses on an historical case-study of the regulation of the hazard to painting workers from the use of lead pigments in paint. A regulatory strategy based on the prohibition of lead paints gained initial acceptance within the British state in 1911, but was subsequently rejected in favour of a strategy that allowed continued use of lead paint subject to hygiene precautions. The development of paint technology and its determinants, including concern about health hazards, are analysed, focusing on the innovation and diffusion into the paint industry of the major white pigments: white lead (PbC03 .PB(OH)2)and its substitutes. The process of regulatory development is examined, and the protracted and polarised regulatory d~bate contrasted to the prevailing 'consensual' methods of workplace regulation. The rejection of prohibition is analysed in terms of the different political and technical resources of those groups in conflict over this policy. This highlights the problems of consensus formation around such a strategy, and demonstrates certain constraints on state regulatory activity, particularly regarding industrial development. Member-states of the International Labour Organisation agreed to introduce partial prohibition of lead paint in 1921. Whether this was implemented is related to the economic importance of lead and non-lead metal and pigment industries to a nation. An analysis is made of the control of lead poisoning. The rate of control is related to the economic and technological trajectory of the regulated industry. Technical and organisational characteristics are considered as well as regulatory factors which range from voluntary compliance and informal pressures to direct legal requirements. The implications of this case-study for the analysis of the development and impacts of regulation are assessed.

Organisational justice:new insights from behavioural ethics

Both organizational justice and behavioural ethics are concerned with questions of 'right and wrong' in the context of work organizations. Until recently they have developed largely independently of each other, choosing to focus on subtly different concerns, constructs and research questions. The last few years have, however, witnessed a significant growth in theoretical and empirical research integrating these closely related academic specialities. We review the organizational justice literature, illustrating the impact of behavioural ethics research on important fairness questions. We argue that organizational justice research is focused on four reoccurring issues: (i) why justice at work matters to individuals; (ii) how justice judgements are formed; (iii) the consequences of injustice; and (iv) the factors antecedent to justice perceptions. Current and future justice research has begun and will continue borrowing from the behavioural ethics literature in answering these questions. © The Author(s) 2013.

Bridging difference - national and organisational adaptation for responsible performance

This special issue draws together a selection of articles built around a theme of bridging difference. We argue that the effective transfer of learning across boundaries is crucial in enabling the dissemination of good, and ethical, HR practice. How that transfer might occur, with respect both to the mechanisms to enable or inhibit transfer and to the nature of learning that underpins that transfer, provides the focus of what is discussed here. This is framed against a concern for the nature and future of HRM, in particular its role in ensuring responsible organisational performance. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

From the workplace to the classroom:examining the impact of self-leadership learning strategies on higher educational attainment and success

Self-leadership is a concept from the organisational and management literature broadly combining processes of self-goal setting, self-regulation and self-motivation. Research has typically focused on the impact of self-leadership on work performance outcomes, with little attention to potential benefits for learning and development. In this paper, we employ a longitudinal design to examine the association of a number of processes of self-leadership with higher educational attainment in a sample of business students (N = 150). Self-reported use of strategies related to behavioural, cognitive and motivational aspects of self-leadership were measured in the first semester of the academic year, and correlated with end-of year grade point average. We found that in particular, self-goal setting, pro-active goal-related behaviour, behaviour regulation and direction, motivational awareness, and optimism were all significant predictors of educational attainment. We discuss implications for educational research and for teachers and tutors in practice.