Trends in Organizational Behaviour

Citation

Kingstone, J.C. (1998), "Trends in Organizational Behaviour", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 306-309. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmd.1998.17.4.306.5

Globalization, restructuring, the availability of computer technology ‐ these and other realities of the 1990s are affecting business practices. Academic responses to these influences, as well as other topics of emerging importance in organizational behaviour, are presented in this interesting and useful collection of articles by an international group of scholars. The volume contains four articles with a primarily theoretical emphasis, one with a research focus, and four that suggest direct, practical applications. Contributing primarily at the theoretical level are papers by Guzzo, Morishima, Sherer, Bloom and Milkovich.

Richard A. Guzzo’s paper, “The expatriate employee”, examines employment abroad in the context of business globalization. Expatriates represent the home office and work in an international context for two to three years. Guzzo delineates three areas where a clearer understanding is needed: compensation as related to service and loyalty; human capital, or the increased value of expatriate employees due to knowledge of the firm’s overseas operations, strategies, professional networks, markets and culturally specific social skills; and factors related to expatriate wellbeing and adjustment to a foreign situation.

Motohiro Morishima, in “Renegotiating psychological contracts: Japanese style”, examines the reasons for and consequences of alterations to traditional, Japanese post‐war “psychological contracts” (i.e. the beliefs and perceptions underlying exchange agreements). Based on ability progression and seniority, post‐war contracts were typically long‐term and open‐ended, with work roles broadly defined. In exchange for skill development and long‐term employment, employees accepted changes in organizational goals, offered loyalty to the organization, and used acquired skills for the employer’s benefit. Recently, contract limits and more competitive (performance‐based) appraisal and reward practices have been introduced. Such renegotiation represents a violation of traditional assumptions of concern for the employee, and employee loyalty and commitment. Morishima calls attention to likely future scenarios and survival strategies.

Like Morishima, Peter D. Sherer in “Toward an understanding of the variety in work arrangements: the organization andlabour relationships framework”, discusses the emergence of new employment arrangements and contracts, and develops a framework for understanding them. In the past, the model for organizational research on the structure of work arrangements has been the “internal labour market” (ILM). Recently, however, non‐typical arrangements have emerged, including the hiring of lessees rather than employees; the “renting” of senior executives; employees functioning as “stockholders” and management by employee “teams” rather than “hierarchical” control. In the light of these trends Sherer has proposed a new framework, the “organization and labour relationship framework” (OLR) which posits three distinct forms of organizational employment: the employee first, as an agent under the direct control of the organization; second as a quasi‐agent under partial control (“contracting in”); and third, the ownership relationship, when an employee acts both as agent and owner.

Sherer discusses how his framework can be applied, and urges development of more complex models of work arrangements to study outcomes (such as satisfaction and commitment) in the new context.

Bloom and Milkovich, in “Issues in managerial compensation research”, define compensation and offer an overview of important issues. Compensation is viewed as a “bundle of valued returns”, (e.g. pay, insurance, health care benefits) which critically determine employee attitudes, behaviours and performance levels. Contextual factors affecting the link between compensation and performance are examined, as are disputes regarding motivation and performance. They examine the role of social contract issues (justice, rights, fairness, trust) on expectations for compensation, and point out that globalization requires understanding values relevant to compensation in a cultural context.

The volume contains one article whose primary focus is applied basic research. In his article “Computers can read as well as count: how computer‐aided text analysis can benefit organizational research”, Boris Kabanoff advocates greater use of computer‐aided text analysis. He suggests that written materials, such as business communications, be textually analysed, with words classified according to specific content or themes, and their frequencies counted. Kabanoff explains the rationale, assumptions, and basic processes of text analysis which combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to research. Appropriate research topics could include, for example, justification of organizational performance; explanations of success or failure; or the study of values and communications.

Finally, four miscellaneous articles in the volume suggest direct business application.

Schneider and Chung, in their article “Service quality”, examine differences between services and products as business commodities. Marketing strategies must take into account the fact that, in contrast to products, services are intangible; they are simultaneously “produced” and “consumed”; and “quality” is affected by the relational manner of service delivery. Thus, concern for customers and for employees must be fostered in a workplace climate where superior service quality is the norm. The authors also advise that the market segment be narrowly targeted and assessed along important dimensions such as speed, care, and customization. Additionally, to establish a long‐term, service‐based relationship, customers must be valued and their needs for security, self‐esteem and justice acknowledged.

“Social networks and the liability of newness for managers” by David Krackhardt describes difficulties faced by new managers and organizations. New problems and routines must be understood, new roles developed, trust established, and disadvantages (inefficiency, anxiety and conflict) overcome. Despite lack of understanding of how the current system of exchanges and relations works, new managers must become aware of who will benefit, resist or support new initiatives. Krackhardt suggests that social network analysis be utilized to overcome the liability of newness. In two interesting case studies he illustrates how the analysis of specific communication patterns within the company can facilitate understanding and enhance survival.

Paul S. Goodman and Eric D. Darr in “Computer‐aided systems for organizational learning and problem solving”, argue that computer‐aided learning systems (CALS) potentially can be used to enable employees in global firms to collaborate across language, culture, space and time, acquiring and sharing knowledge and expertise, to their competitive business advantage. Goodman and Darr analyse the potential benefits, costs, and problems. They speculate on new computer applications such as in “proactive research” using “playful searches” to gather new ideas and approaches, and in “expert‐solution” computer matches rather than traditional “problem‐solution” ones.

Finally, Lianne Greenberg and Julian Barling in “Employee theft” present a succinct and clear article which includes both theft definition and measurement techniques. The costs of employee theft and theoretical approaches towards understanding it are given. The authors suggest measures that can be taken to assess, prevent or reduce employee theft.

In general, this volume is easy to read and is suitable for those with or without a specific background in organizational psychology. For the most part it is jargon‐free, educational and stimulating, with many illustrative studies. There is some unevenness in style which reflects the nature of the collection, but virtually all articles are well articulated and succinct.

In conclusion, the editors have succeeded in their endeavour to “capture some of the scope and scale of contemporary organizational research” and have done so in an accessible, clear and interesting way. The volume would appeal to the general reader in psychology as well as to specialists, and would complement a course on organizational or introductory psychology.