The development and operation of the effective interpersonal relationship skills relevant to career development problems from staff assessment at an industrial research laboratory

This study concerns the application of a model of effective interpersonal relationships to problems arising from staff assessment at I.C.I. Ltd. Corporate Laboratory between 1972 and 1974. In collaboration with academic and industrial supervision, the study commenced with a survey of management and supervisor opinions about the effectiveness of current staff (work) relationships, with particular reference to the problem of recognising and developing creative potential. This survey emphasised a need to improve the relationships between staff in the staff assessment context. A survey of research into creativity emphasised the importance of the interpersonal environment for obtaining creative behaviour in an organisation context. A further survey of theories of how inter­personal behaviour related to personal creativity (therapeutic psychology) provided a model of effective interpersonal behaviour (Carkhuff, 1969) that could be applied to the organisation context of staff assessment. The objective of the project was redefined as a need to improve the conditions of interpersonal behaviour in relation to certain (career development) problems arising from staff assessment practices. In order to demonstrate the application of the model of effective interpersonal behaviour, the research student recorded interviews between himself and members of staff designed to develop and operate the dimensions of the model. Different samples of staff were used to develop the 'facilitative' and the 'action oriented' dimensions of bahaviour, and then for the operation of a helping programme (based on vocational guidance tests). These interactions have been analysed, according to the scales of measurement in the model ana the results are presented in case study form in this thesis. At each stage of the project, results and conclusions were presented to the sponsoring organisation (e.g. industrial supervisor) in order to assess their (subjective) opinion of relevance to the organ­ isation. Finally, recommendations on further actions towards general improvement of the work relationships in the laboratory were presented in a brief report to the sponsor.

Review of progress in implementing the recommendations of Sir Gareth Roberts regarding employability and career development of PhD students and research staff:A report for Research Councils UK by an independent review panel October 2010

The need for improvement in the development of research careers and researchers’ training in transferable skills was highlighted in two particular recommendations (numbers 4.2 and 5.3) in the 2002 report ‘SET for success: the report of Sir Gareth Roberts’ Review - the supply of people with science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills’ (Roberts, 2002). As a consequence of that review, Research Councils UK (RCUK)1 have invested about £120 million, usually referred to as ’Roberts’ Money’, in research organisations to address this concern in all research disciplines. The last ‘Roberts’ Money’ payment will be for the period up to March 2011; it was therefore proposed to assess the progress made with taking forward these specific recommendations. An independent panel was formed by RCUK to undertake this review in 2010. The terms of reference for the panel are in Annex A. In summary, the panel was asked to review progress made and to advise RCUK and the higher education (HE) sector about future requirements for the development and training of researchers. In the course of their review, the panel considered a wide range of existing reports, interviewed key stakeholders in the HE sector and elsewhere, as well as drawing on their own knowledge and expertise. This report presents the findings of the panel’s review.

Opportunity, fair process and relationship value:career development as a driver of proactive work behaviour

In line with recent findings from organisational justice theory, we hypothesised that employee proactive behaviour and careerist orientation is predicted by the interplay of perceived favourability of career development opportunities, the perceived fairness of the procedures used to decide them, and employee organisational commitment. Employees (N = 325) of a large financial services organisation responded to a self-completion questionnaire. As predicted, when career development opportunities were viewed unfavourably, perceived procedural justice was significantly and positively related to individual proactive behaviour and significantly and negatively related to careerist orientation but only when organisational commitment was high. It appears that high procedural justice may only 'offset' the negative effects of unfavourable career development opportunities when employees identify with, and are committed to, their organisation. Further support is presented for a relational, rather than instrumental, model of procedural justice when reflecting on employee reactions to their employers' policies and decision-making. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Career development and careerist orientation to work:it's a question of trust, isn't it?

Presentation

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.

The role of line managers in employee career management:an attachment theory perspective

Line managers increasingly play a key role in organizational career development systems, yet few studies have examined the nature of this role or its implications for employee career attitudes and behaviors. In two studies, we used attachment theory to explore this issue. In Study 1, in-depth interviews (N = 20) showed that employees viewed career management as a relational process in which line managers are expected to act as ‘caregiver’ to support individualized career development. Study 2 was a large-scale international survey (N = 891). Participants scoring higher on attachment avoidance in their line manager relationships reported more negative perceptions of career growth opportunities, lower participation in organizational career development activities and higher turnover intentions. Trust in the organization partially mediated the relationship. Theoretical and practical implications for HRM are discussed.

Challenges for expatriate managers:an exploration of cross-cultural management, adjustment, and training issues faced by Anglo-American managers in Hong Kong

This field work study furthers understanding about expatriate management, in particular, the nature of cross-cultural management in Hong Kong involving Anglo-American expatriate and Chinese host national managers, the important features of adjustment for expatriates living and working there, and the type of training which will assist them to adjust and to work successfully in this Asian environment. Qualitative and quantitative data on each issue was gathered during in-depth interviews in Hong Kong, using structured interview schedules, with 39 expatriate and 31 host national managers drawn from a cross-section of functional areas and organizations. Despite the adoption of Western technology and the influence of Western business practices, micro-level management in Hong Kong retains a cultural specificity which is consistent with the norms and values of Chinese culture. There are differences in how expatriates and host nationals define their social roles, and Hong Kong's recent colonial history appears to influence cross-cultural interpersonal interactions. The inability of the spouse and/or family to adapt to Hong Kong is identified as a major reason for expatriate assignments to fail, though the causes have less to do with living away from family and friends, than with Hong Kong's highly urbanized environment and the heavy demands of work. Culture shock is not identified as a major problem, but in Hong Kong micro-level social factors require greater adjustment than macro-level societal factors. The adjustment of expatriate managers is facilitated by a strong orientation towards career development and hard work, possession of technical/professional expertise, and a willingness to engage in a process of continuous 'active learning' with respect to the host national society and culture. A four-part model of manager training suitable for Hong Kong is derived from the study data. It consists of a pre-departure briefing, post-arrival cross-cultural training, language training in basic Cantonese and in how to communicate more effectively in English with non-native speakers, and the assignment of a mentor to newly arrived expatriate managers.

Insights into the Indian call centre industry:can internal marketing help tackle high employee turnover?

Purpose – Increasing turnover of frontline staff in call centres is detrimental to the delivery of quality service to customers. This paper aims to present the context for the rapid growth of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector in India, and to address a critical issue faced by call centre organisations in this sector – the high employee turnover. Design/methodology/approach – Following a triangulation approach, two separate empirical investigations are conducted to examine various aspects of high labour turnover rates in the call centre sector in India. Study one examines the research issue via 51 in-depth interviews in as many units. Study two reports results from a questionnaire survey with 204 frontline agents across 11 call centres regarding employee turnover. Findings – This research reveals a range of reasons – from monotonous work, stressful work environment, adverse working conditions, lack of career development opportunities; to better job opportunities elsewhere, which emerge as the key causes of increasing attrition rates in the Indian call centre industry. Research limitations/implications – The research suggests that there are several issues that need to be handled carefully by management of call centres in India to overcome the problem of increasing employee turnover, and that this also demands support from the Indian government. Originality/value – The contributions of this study untangle the issues underlying a key problem in the call centre industry, i.e. employee turnover in the Indian call centre industry context. Adopting an internal marketing approach, it provides useful information for both academics and practitioners and suggests internal marketing interventions, and avenues for future research to combat the problem of employee turnover.

Critical success factors for IS executive careers

This article qualitatively analyzes the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for Information Systems (IS) executive careers based on evidence gathered from five case studies carried out in 1997. Typical IS executive career paths are presented within a time series style and the CSFs are interpreted within a descriptive framework by synthesising the case data based on Social Cognitive Theory. The descriptive framework suggests that successful IS executive careers would most likely be achieved by well educated and experienced IS employees who have the right attitude towards both their career and work, together with good performance. They would also exhibit an ability for self-learning and to anticipate future IT uses, as well as having proficient IS management knowledge and skills while working with an appropriate organizational environment. Moreover, the framework systematically indicates the interactions between the coupling factors in the typical career development processes. This provides a benchmark for employees that are aiming at a senior IS executive career against which they can compare their own achievements and aspirations. It also raises propositions for further research on theory building.

A comparison of the vocational training system of Britain and West Germany as experienced by minimum-age school leavers.

The sectoral and occupational structure of Britain and West Germany has increasingly changed over the last fifty years from a manual manufacturing based to a non-manual service sector based one. There has been a trend towards more managerial and less menial type occupations. Britain employs a higher proportion of its population in the service sector than in manufacturing compared to West Germany, except in retailing, where West Germany employs twice as many people as Britain. This is a stable sector of the economy in terms of employment, but the requirements of the workforce have changed in line with changes in the industry in both countries. School leavers in the two countries, faced with the same options (FE, training schemes or employment) have opted for the various options in different proportions: young Germans are staying longer in education before embarking on training and young Britons are now less likely to go straight into employment than ten years ago. Training is becoming more accepted as the normal route into employment with government policy leading the way, but public opinion still slow to respond. This study investigates how vocational training has adapted to the changing requirements of industry, often determined by technological advancements. In some areas e.g. manufacturing industry the changes have been radical, in others such as retailing they have not, but skill requirements, not necessarily influenced by technology have changed. Social-communicative skills, frequently not even considered skills and therefore not included in training are coming to the forefront. Vocational training has adapted differently in the two countries: in West Germany on the basis of an established over-defined system and in Britain on the basis of an out-dated ill-defined and almost non-existent system. In retailing German school leavers opt for two or three year apprenticeships whereas British school leavers are offered employment with or without formalised training. The publicly held view of the occupation of sales assistant is one of low-level skill, low intellectual demands and a job anyone can do. The traditional skills - product knowledge, selling and social-communicative skills have steadily been eroded. In the last five years retailers have recognised that a return to customer service, utilising the traditional skills was going to be needed of their staff to remain competitive. This requires training. The German retail training system responded by adapting its training regulations in a long consultative process, whereas the British experimented with YTS, a formalised training scheme nationwide being a new departure. The thesis evaluates the changes in these regulations. The case studies in four retail outlets demonstrate that it is indeed product knowledge and selling and social-communicative skills which are fundamental to being a successful and content sales assistant in either country. When the skills are recognised and taught well and systematically the foundations for career development in retailing are laid in a labour market which is continually looking for better qualified workers. Training, when planned and conducted professionally is appreciated by staff and customers and of benefit to the company. In retailing not enough systematic training, to recognisable standards is carried out in Britain, whereas in West Germany the training system is nevertheless better prepared to show innovative potential as a structure and is in place on which to build. In Britain the reputation of the individual company has a greater role to play, not ensuring a national provision of good training in retailing.

Employability management needs analysis and the ICT sector in Europe:the case of small and medium-sized enterprises

The purpose of this paper is to deal with the outcomes of a so-called “employability management needs analysis” that is meant to provide more insight into current employability management activities and its possible benefits for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals working in Small- and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) throughout Europe. A considerable series of interviews (N=107) were conducted with managers in SMEs in seven European countries, including Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and the UK. A semi-structured interview protocol was used during the interviews to cover three issues: employability (13 items), ageing (8 items), and future developments and requirements (13 items). Analysis of all final interview transcriptions was at a national level using an elaborate common coding scheme. Although an interest in employability emerged, actual policy and action lagged behind. The recession in the ICT sector at the time of the investigation and the developmental stage of the sector in each participating country appeared connected. Ageing was not seen as a major issue in the ICT sector because managers considered ICT to be a relatively young sector. There appeared to be a serious lack of investment in the development of expertise of ICT professionals. Generalization of the results to large organizations in the ICT sector should be made with caution. The interview protocol developed is of value for further research and complements survey research undertaken within the employability field of study. It can be concluded that proactive HRM (Human Resource Management) policies and strategies are essential, even in times of economic downturn. Employability management activities are especially important in the light of current career issues. The study advances knowledge regarding HRM practices adopted by SMEs in the ICT sector, especially as there is a gap in knowledge about career development issues in that particular sector.

The changing roles of accountants in industry.

Both accountants and their professional associations have come under pressure in recent years to move with a changing environment. A research project was established therefore in order to study the present roles of accountants in industry, to consider how such roles have evolved, and to consider ways in which these roles might change in the future. Apart from these specific objectives, the thesis also attempts to come to terms with some of the major philosophical and theoretical challenges that face sociology. Given these broad aims, and given a limited amount of previous research, the approach was to derive tentative classifications and propositions from empirical investigation, rather than to test preconceived hypotheses. Data was obtained primarily from ninety-nine structured interviews with both accountants and other managers from twelve industrial enterprises. Aside from studying specifically the changing roles of accountants in industry, the following areas were investigated: the historical development of industrial organisations, accounting systems, and the professional accounting bodies; the process of occupational entry, socialisation, and career paths of accountants; and the current education, training, and career development of, and labour market for, accountants in industry. Despite variations according to accountants' positions, the sample's work characteristics and orientations were found to be similar to those of managers from other areas. In fact most accountants were more concerned with 'getting on' than committed to a career in accounting or to any particular professional association or employing organisation. While there was a move towards a more general business involvement for the majority of the sample, there was also in some cases an increasing demand for specialist accounting skills. In conclusion, although an eventual technological substitution for the work of accountants in industry is thought to be unlikely, their work is becoming more liable to evaluation and intervention form those outside their occupational group.

Surviving in violent conflicts: Chinese interpreters in the second Sino-Japanese War (1931-1945)

In the past decade interpreting studies has gradually adopted a sociological perspective, taking into account social and cultural factors that affect interpreters actual behaviour in different settings. However, there have been few studies of interpreters practices as forms of social interaction, especially of the ways in which they become professionals and operate as social agents. Drawing upon Pierre Bourdieus theory of practice, this thesis aims to offer a contribution to the history of interpreting by examining the professional training and practices of Chinese interpreters during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1931-1945). On the basis of Bourdieus concept of field, this thesis reconstructs three competing fields dominated by three political and military powers: the Chinese Kuomingtang (KMT) government, the Chinese Communist Party, and the Japanese forces. By investigating interpreters training, employment and practices within these three fields, the thesis examines how the interpreting profession was affected by shifts in foreign policy, and how interpreters professional habitus were formed through their training and interaction with other social agents and institutions. It then highlights the interpreters active position-taking in pursuit of individual interests by examining particular interpreters career development through case studies of two interpreters, Xia Wenyun and Yan Jiarui, who served the Japanese forces and the Chinese KMT government, respectively. The study shows that the practices of the interpreters were broader than the scope of language transfer. In order to survive violent conflicts, interpreters often intertwined their interpreting with other political and professional activities. For them, interpreting was not a mere linguistic practice, but a strategy for self-protection, a route to power, or just a chance for a better life. Frequently crossing social, political and military borders, interpreters sometimes played a crucial cushioning role by protecting local residents from loss of life and property during the war.

Justice and trust as antecedents of careerist orientation

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the antecedents of careerist orientations to work. Hypotheses are drawn from referent cognitions theory. First, it is proposed that trust mediates the relationship between an individual's perceptions of procedural justice and their careerist orientations to work. Second, perceptions of distributive justice, regarding the allocation of career development opportunities, will moderate the relationship between trust and careerist orientations to work. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 325 employees of a large UK financial institution completed a structured questionnaire. Regression analysis (using SPSS version 11) was used to test the presented hypotheses. Findings – All hypotheses were confirmed. However, the interaction effect observed was different from that hypothesised. It appears that trust only matters, in terms of the development of careerist orientations to work, when individuals feel that they are receiving equitable career development opportunities. Research limitations/implications – Much more research is required in different organisational contexts if one is to fully confirm and understand these relationships. However, these findings suggest that employers will only reduce the development of careerist attitudes in their workforce if they ensure the fair distribution of career development opportunities and engender trusting relations through the implementation of fair decision-making procedures. Originality/value – This paper adds much needed empirical research to the literature on new career realities and careerist orientations to work. Moreover, referent cognitions theory is presented as a new theoretical framework for understanding the cognitive processes involved in an individual's development of careerist attitudes.