Knowledge that Transforms

We propose an alternative staffing framework that adopts a systems view of staffing and articulates the internal structures and influence mechanisms that determine “how” staffing outcomes occur. The staffing cycles framework (SCF) portrays the interrelationships among the actors, contexts, and activities of staffing as staffing cycles composed of decision events. A staffing cycle is a sequence of seven decision events controlled alternately—not mutually—by individuals and organizational decision makers. Staffing cycles are the smallest unit of analysis that still retains all staffing components and frames how and when staffing outcomes are affected. Decision events capture the primary decision activities of staffing systems. All decision events share a common structure that depicts how actors, contexts, and activities are combined to influence staffing outcomes.

Six case studies are used to examine the response strategies of dominant US firms to the entry of Japanese challengers into their domestic industries. This study examines the question of whether it is better to respond quickly with individual competitive responses or wait until a broad strategic reorientation is possible. The results suggest that the US firms that had a slower but more concentrated and aggressive response lost less market share than firms that responded quickly.

The purpose of this experimental study (N = 265) was to determine how screener self-monitoring (SM) would affect the relationships of applicant positive self-presentation (PSP) and objective credentials (OCs) with ratings of employability. Results indicated that screener SM moderated two relationships quite differently: The relationship between employability and self-presentation was more positive as screener SM “increased,”whereas the relationship between employability and credentials was more positive as screener SM “decreased.” If organizations are not attentive when hiring or assessing personnel within other human resource functions, evaluator SM may act as an undetected bug in scoring procedures and change the subsequent decisions made.