Knowledge that Transforms

AbstractContrary to the stereotype that the period between CEOs is a hiatus, interim and acting executives serve during an important strategic window. A model is presented to illustrate the dynamics of short‐term leadership, including the precipitating circumstances for the temporary administration, the tasks of short‐term leadership, and the moderating factors seen to affect the selection and success of the next chief executive. Researchers and practitioners are urged to consider more carefully the potential that a well‐managed interregnum has to repair damage from a traumatic departure, buffer between administrations, and prepare the organization to accept and work with new leadership. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

AbstractFrom the turmoil of the last decade a new relationship has emerged between employees and their organizations. It is one that openly challenges many of the management assumptions behind the imbalance of power between the key participants. Making a successful adjustment to this change has enormous implications in terms of sustained competitive advantage based on the ability to access and retain a committed and skilled work force. Human Resource professionals will find themselves caught in competing loyalties as their roles in this change process evolve. This article offers insight into this changing contract and its impact on the business environment.

AbstractA conceptual model of self‐perception accuracy is developed, and its managerial and research implications for human resources management are discussed. The model is based on a series of studies designed to enhance understanding of self–other agreement and the accuracy of self‐perception. Accuracy is defined as the degree of agreement between self‐and other‐evaluations/ratings. In this framework, “other‐ratings” may be provided by subordinates, peers, superiors, or customers/clients, so that self–other agreement includes the entire 360‐degree range of feedback sources available to a focal individual. The evaluations/ratings may concern any of the key areas in personnel and human resource management such as training needs assessment, performance appraisal, or leadership behaviors. The model posits enhanced individual and organizational outcomes when self‐perception is accurate and diminished or mixed outcomes when self‐perception is inflated or deflated, respectively. © 1993 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

AbstractData collected on white‐collar and services sector jobs in over 20 large corporations show both the enormous demand from employees for more flexibility in the workplace and the considerable resistance to it by supervisors. The interest in more flexible work practices stems from the tremendous time constraints faced by the many employees with significant family responsibilities. Current practices, schedules, and management philosophy are no longer adequate for workers in this important segment of the labor force and impede them from being as productive as they could be. The major barriers and enablers to flexibility are discussed, and the data on benefits are reviewed. It is argued that if progress toward a more flexible workplace is to continue, the emphasis will have to shift from a strategy of accommodating valued employees to new ways to manage and organize how work is done. © 1993 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

AbstractUsing an exploratory model of the evolution of computers systems in organizations, the authors interviewed HR computer systems people in ten Fortune 500 firms considered leaders in HR computer use. Generalizable measures of growth in computer use and related changes in HR department structure, strategy, and personnel were found. These measures were used to identify three stages of growth in computer use: threshold, growth, and consolidation/strategic expansion. In the latter two stages, differences were found among firms in the way computer use evolved. These differences appeared closely related to the company's choice of technology and the centralization of the firm's key HR decision makers. The implications of the exploratory model and findings for practice and future research are discussed.

AbstractBolman and Deal (1984, 1991) have developed four perspectives, or frames, for understanding organizations and leadership: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic. This paper reports two studies that operationalize that model. The first study uses critical incidents written by managers to assess how many and which frames they use. Most incidents show the use of one or two frames; very few contain all four. In every population, the structural frame was used frequently while the symbolic frame was rarely evident. Across different populations, the use of the human resource and political frames varied substantially. The second study used survey instruments to assess managers' frame orientations. Regression analyses show that their orientations, as perceived by colleagues, are differentially related to perceived effectiveness as manager and leader. Managerial effectiveness is related to an emphasis on rationality and organizational structure. Leadership effectiveness is linked to symbols and culture. For men and women in comparable positions, gender is unrelated to leadership orientations or to their effectiveness as managers or leaders.

AbstractGuided by a general manager's perspective of human resources management (HRM), this paper identifies key factor affecting the introduction of HRM innovations in organizations. Because the essence of market and technological leadership is the development of the organizational capacity to carry out inventive ideas, it is critical to understand the main forces influencing HRM innovation. Following a definition of HRM innovation, six propositions are discussed using current and historical examples. Since HRM innovation also involves change in the social system of the organization, the adoption and diffusion of these innovations can be attributed not only to external environmental forces but also to social processes.