In the contemporary business world firms are being transformed into project-based organisations when majority of functions are performed through projects while administrative support is provided by permanent organisational structures. Moreover, variety of industries develop characteristics of Project-Based organizations which implies that HR practices need to be adjusted to help project employees to acquire necessary skills to adapt technology and help company embrace changes in business environment. Therefore, the current research through empirical investigation seeks to explore up-to date understanding of required competences for project members in IT industry in France. Further, it aims to explore how and what HR practices contribute to development of project team members’ competences. The research employs multiple case study of four companies operating in France and IT industry is chosen as it best represents the project-based organisations. Data is collected through six semi-structured interviews and qualitatively analysed by two authors of the current research. Findings of the current research provide an understanding of which and how HR practices are used in IT industry in France to enhance project team members’ competences. Empirical data analysis allowed to identify key HR practices employed in project-based IT companies to support competence development of project team members which are knowledge-sharing, training, induction, lesson-learned and internal rotation. Besides, social media and dedicated website were identified as major knowledge-support tools in IT industry in France. Findings bring new insights to the relationship between HR practices and competence development in IT industry and highlights some discrepancies between literature and reality. Finally, they help to bridge the gap in the existing literature and to formulate some recommendations to the practitioners.

The topic of high performance workplace practices and their impact on organizational performance has been extensively researched in US and UK. Increasingly evidence with regard to diffusion of high performance workplace practices is emerging from fast developing Asian economies. However, very little is known about the state of diffusion of high performance workplace practices in Pakistan, a South Asian economy on route to industrialization. This study attempts to explore the diffusion of high performance workplace practices among the multinational and local firms in the important industrial sectors of banking, information technology and pharmaceutical in Pakistan that are characterized by high level of inward foreign direct investment. Recently the Pakistani Government has passed laws to encourage greater use of HPWS practices amongst domestic firms. This study compares the prevalence of HPWS practices in domestic firms to that in multinationals. MNCs are chosen as a competitor because they have been seen as being at forefront of HPWS use. First of all, the study explored an overall diffusion of high performance workplace practices in Pakistan and determined the state of differences with regard to diffusion of the practices between the establishments of multinational and local firms. Secondly, the study further explored the differences by taking into account the role of control variables such as age, size, percentage of non-managerial employees and nature of business at the establishment. The most important argument underpinning the high performance paradigm is that practices have substantial impact on human resource and performance outcomes of a firm. Thus the third objective of the study was to test and report the association of individual practices with various performance outcomes for a sample of local firms in Pakistan. The study observed whether such claims are valid for the local Pakistani establishments that implement such practices in hope of achieving better performance outcomes. The study found that a number of practices had a consistent and significant association with various performance outcomes across the industrial sectors in Pakistan. The results of the study suggest that latest innovations in human resource management in advanced industrial economies have fast spread among establishments in Pakistan. Moreover the results also suggest that arguments of high performance theory, in particular the universalistic/ best practice model hold ground when it comes to the diffusion of such practices in developing economies such as Pakistan with some caveats.

The research investigates individual human resource capacity building for local governance within the context of decentralised human resource management in Thailand by profoundly examining its current implementation of recruitment, selection, training and development and performance management after the decentralisation policy was enacted. The human resource capacity building process in this research includes five stages of core capabilities building: committing and engaging, performing and accomplishing, building relationships and attracting resources, learning and adapting and managing trade-offs and dilemmas. The research firstly focuses on examining the consequences of decentralised human resource practices implementation in Thai local governance. Secondly, it aims to explore the ways in which human resource practices are supportive to individual human resource capacity building. Finally it proposes the prospective implications of effective capacity building through human resource practices for potential policy formulation. This research is based on three related theories: capacity building, human resource management and decentralisation. The research was conducted by using qualitative methodologies. The case study of Thailand was selected because of the uniqueness of its paradoxical decentralised-Unitarian state. Municipal officials were chosen as the unit of analysis. The first findings have illustrated that the decentralisation initiative has certainly affected the HRM at the local level of Thailand. However, this scheme has launched some degree of re-centralisation and partially confirms the pseudo-decentralisation in Thai public administration. Secondly, the research also found that HR practices can be supportive and compatible as a capacity building strategies. However, these HR practices must be designed, conducted and evaluated for the purposes of the local government only. The aim of capacitating individual staff must be taken into account as a part of policy to develop the human side of the organisation. Therefore, there have been both challenges and opportunities for human resource capacity building through HR practices. To conclude, this research has contributed to fill the theoretical gap by examining the capacity building processes through HR practices and it provides the practical suggestion that local context is decisive. The capacity building issue has never been investigated through human resource practices, especially recruitment and selection, training and development and performance management. Moreover, in practice, the research has focused on the development of the local government unit in a country of paradoxically decentralised-Unitarian state like Thailand.

Syfte: Studiens syfte är att öka förståelsen för HR-arbetet i små företag utifrån antagandet att de ofta har resursbrist, vilket skapar begränsningar. Detta för att se hur resursbristen påverkar deras HR-arbete och vad det kan leda till. Metod: Studien har använt en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Empirin från intervjuerna analyserades sedan med hjälp av en tematisk analys och det teoretiska ramverket för att svara på forskningsfrågorna.  Slutsats: I studien framkom det att små företag ofta får anpassa sig efter resursbrist och att detta även genomsyras i deras HR-arbete. Företagen tvingas välja vilka delar som ska prioriteras då de inte har resurser till att utföra allt HR-arbete. Det största fokuset läggs på arbetsmiljön och medarbetarnas välmående, samtidigt som det långsiktiga och strategiska arbetet hamnar helt i skymundan. Det visar slutligen på att tidigare teorier och modeller inte är anpassade efter små företag där det råder resursbrist, eftersom dessa inte är tillräckligt dynamiska. / Purpose: The purpose of the study is to increase the understanding of the HR work in small enterprises based on the assumption that they often lack resources, which creates limitations. This is to see how the lack of resources affect their HR work and what that can lead to. Method: In the study, a qualitative research method was used through nine semi-structured interviews. The empirical evidence from the interviews was analyzed using a thematic analysis and the theoretical framework to answer the research questions. Conclusion: In the study, it emerged that small enterprises often have to adapt to their lack of resources which characterize their HR work. The enterprises are forced to choose which parts they prioritize since they do not have enough resources to do all the HR work. Their biggest focus is the work environment and the well-being of the employees, while the long-term and the strategic work is deprioritized. This shows that previous theories and models are not customized to fit small enterprises with lack of resources, because these are not dynamic enough.

Dissertation deals with the human resource audit. It is aimed at creation of the concept for human resource audit and verification of its various aspects by analyzing the primary data obtained by empirical research.

O Desenvolvimento de Recursos Humanos (DRH) é um tema que se destaca pelo estudo e fomento da aprendizagem em diferentes níveis, formatos e momentos. Seus componentes principais são treinamento e desenvolvimento, desenvolvimento de carreiras e desenvolvimento organizacional. Uma de suas abordagens é o Desenvolvimento Estratégico de Recursos Humanos (DERH), que busca alinhar a aprendizagem no contexto organizacional aos objetivos estratégicos da organização. O presente estudo adotou a abordagem de DERH e orientou-se pela perspectiva de desempenho, segundo a qual, o objetivo da aprendizagem nas organizações é ajudá-las a atingir seus objetivos. Desse modo, torna-se importante avaliar a contribuição das políticas e práticas de DRH para o alcance dos resultados organizacionais. Nesse sentido, avaliar a relação entre DRH e desempenho organizacional torna-se relevante. A partir dessa breve contextualização, depreende-se o objetivo deste estudo, que foi analisar a relação estabelecida entre adoção de políticas e práticas de DRH e desempenho organizacional, investigando a atuação dos fatores contingenciais nessa relação. Esses fatores foram investigados à luz da abordagem de DERH, que tem como uma de suas características a análise do ambiente e de sua influência no modelo de DRH. Para condução da etapa empírica, foi adotada a abordagem quantitativa, utilizando-se questionário estruturado direcionado ao principal responsável pelo RH de organizações que atuam no Brasil. A amostra da pesquisa contou com 354 casos válidos. Para a análise dos dados, foram empregadas as análises fatorial exploratória e confirmatória para a constituição do sistema de DRH e a regressão logística para avaliar a relação desse sistema com o desempenho das organizações. Como resultados principais, constatou-se que a adoção de políticas e práticas de DRH explica 42,1% da variação nos valores previstos de desempenho organizacional e que a regulação do setor, o porte e o alinhamento horizontal moderam a relação entre DRH e desempenho organizacional. / Human Resource Development (HRD) is a theme that stands out for the study and promotion of learning in different levels, formats and moments. Its main components are training and development, career development and organizational development. One of its approaches is the Strategic Human Resource Development (SHRD), which seeks to align learning in the organizational context with the strategic objectives of the organization. The present study adopted the approach of SHRD and was guided by the perspective of performance, according to which, the purpose of learning in organizations is to help them achieve their goals. Thus, it is important to evaluate the contribution of HRD policies and practices to the achievement of organizational results. In this sense, evaluate the relationship between HRD and organizational performance becomes relevant. Based on this brief contextualization, the objective of this study was to analyze the relationship established between the adoption of policies and practices of HRD and organizational performance, investigating the behavior of contingency factors in this relationship. These factors were investigated in light of the SHRD approach, which has as one of its characteristics the analysis of the environment and its influence on the HRD model. In order to conduct the empirical step, the quantitative approach was adopted, using a structured questionnaire directed to the main HR manager of organizations working in Brazil. The survey sample had 354 valid cases. For the analysis of the data, we used the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis for the constitution of the HRD system and the logistic regression to evaluate the relationship of this system with the performance of the organizations. As a main result, it was found that the adoption of HRD policies and practices explains 42.1% of the change in predicted values of organizational performance and that sector regulation, size and horizontal alignment moderate the relationship between HRD and organizational performance.

O Desenvolvimento de Recursos Humanos (DRH) é um tema que se destaca pelo estudo e fomento da aprendizagem em diferentes níveis, formatos e momentos. Seus componentes principais são treinamento e desenvolvimento, desenvolvimento de carreiras e desenvolvimento organizacional. Uma de suas abordagens é o Desenvolvimento Estratégico de Recursos Humanos (DERH), que busca alinhar a aprendizagem no contexto organizacional aos objetivos estratégicos da organização. O presente estudo adotou a abordagem de DERH e orientou-se pela perspectiva de desempenho, segundo a qual, o objetivo da aprendizagem nas organizações é ajudá-las a atingir seus objetivos. Desse modo, torna-se importante avaliar a contribuição das políticas e práticas de DRH para o alcance dos resultados organizacionais. Nesse sentido, avaliar a relação entre DRH e desempenho organizacional torna-se relevante. A partir dessa breve contextualização, depreende-se o objetivo deste estudo, que foi analisar a relação estabelecida entre adoção de políticas e práticas de DRH e desempenho organizacional, investigando a atuação dos fatores contingenciais nessa relação. Esses fatores foram investigados à luz da abordagem de DERH, que tem como uma de suas características a análise do ambiente e de sua influência no modelo de DRH. Para condução da etapa empírica, foi adotada a abordagem quantitativa, utilizando-se questionário estruturado direcionado ao principal responsável pelo RH de organizações que atuam no Brasil. A amostra da pesquisa contou com 354 casos válidos. Para a análise dos dados, foram empregadas as análises fatorial exploratória e confirmatória para a constituição do sistema de DRH e a regressão logística para avaliar a relação desse sistema com o desempenho das organizações. Como resultados principais, constatou-se que a adoção de políticas e práticas de DRH explica 42,1% da variação nos valores previstos de desempenho organizacional e que a regulação do setor, o porte e o alinhamento horizontal moderam a relação entre DRH e desempenho organizacional. / Human Resource Development (HRD) is a theme that stands out for the study and promotion of learning in different levels, formats and moments. Its main components are training and development, career development and organizational development. One of its approaches is the Strategic Human Resource Development (SHRD), which seeks to align learning in the organizational context with the strategic objectives of the organization. The present study adopted the approach of SHRD and was guided by the perspective of performance, according to which, the purpose of learning in organizations is to help them achieve their goals. Thus, it is important to evaluate the contribution of HRD policies and practices to the achievement of organizational results. In this sense, evaluate the relationship between HRD and organizational performance becomes relevant. Based on this brief contextualization, the objective of this study was to analyze the relationship established between the adoption of policies and practices of HRD and organizational performance, investigating the behavior of contingency factors in this relationship. These factors were investigated in light of the SHRD approach, which has as one of its characteristics the analysis of the environment and its influence on the HRD model. In order to conduct the empirical step, the quantitative approach was adopted, using a structured questionnaire directed to the main HR manager of organizations working in Brazil. The survey sample had 354 valid cases. For the analysis of the data, we used the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis for the constitution of the HRD system and the logistic regression to evaluate the relationship of this system with the performance of the organizations. As a main result, it was found that the adoption of HRD policies and practices explains 42.1% of the change in predicted values of organizational performance and that sector regulation, size and horizontal alignment moderate the relationship between HRD and organizational performance.

This nonexperimental, correlational study (N = 283) examined the relation among job fit, affective commitment, psychological climate, discretionary effort, intention to turnover, and employee engagement. An internet-based self-report survey battery of six scales were administered to a heterogeneous sampling of organizations from the fields of service, technology, healthcare, retail, banking, nonprofit, and hospitality. Hypotheses were tested through correlational and hierarchical regression analytic procedures. Job fit, affective commitment, and psychological climate were all significantly related to employee engagement and employee engagement was significantly related to both discretionary effort and intention to turnover. For the discretionary effort model, the hierarchical regression analysis results suggested that the employees who reported experiencing a positive psychological climate were more likely to report higher levels of discretionary effort. As for the intention to turnover model, the hierarchical regression analysis results indicated that affective commitment and employee engagement predicted lower levels of an employee’s intention to turnover. The regression beta weights ranged from to .43 to .78, supporting the theoretical, empirical, and practical relevance of understanding the impact of employee engagement on organizational outcomes. Implications for HRD theory, research, and practice are highlighted as possible strategic leverage points for creating conditions that facilitate the development of employee engagement as a means for improving organizational performance.

Woven within the pages of HRD’s historical literature, a variety of scholarly voices can be found drawing attention to the increasing inconsistency in the language of the field. Within the literature, we also find evidence of a long-standing discord and debate regarding the field’s definition and identified boundaries. This is the first study that attempts to elevate the conversation of HRD’s definition to that of an exploration of what is shared, and what makes the discipline’s members unique. Utilizing Li’s (2009) lens of disciplinary identity and elements of Gee’s (1999) theory of Discourse, this study presents a concept of what HRD’s disciplinary identity may look like at the macro level. This study also investigates the construct from both the academic and practitioner lens, in an attempt to include perspectives and influences at the micro level regarding the discipline’s enacted identity in both scholarship and practice, which may aid the relationship between theory and practice. Embedded within the larger aim of this study was the goal of revealing current similarities and differences in academic and practitioner labels-in-use within the field of Human Resource Development. To that end, this study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design that began with a quantitative collection and analysis of text from the Association for Talent Development’s (ATD) website and the Academy of Human Resource Development’s (AHRD) website. A second, qualitative phase was then conducted consisting of interviews of a diverse group of academics and practitioners from institutional/organizational contexts that were believed to provide greater insight into the potential contextual nuances behind the quantitative results. Mixed analyses of the quantitative and qualitative findings found a variance in the language-in-use, as well as indications that the discipline’s espoused identity may not reflect what is actually lived. These findings also suggest insights into the discipline’s social actions and interactions at the micro level, providing support for a proposed cultural model of HRD at the macro level. Although this study is a first step in trying to better understand HRD’s language-in-use and overall disciplinary identity, it also provides evidence that viewing HRD’s language-in-use in this way warrants further investigation.

Orientation: Job satisfaction, which is usually lower among healthcare workers than in other types of organisations, has a major influence on job-related behaviour, such as turnover, absenteeism, and self-reported job performance. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the level of job satisfaction between publicly employed and privately employed physiotherapists. Research design: A non-probability research design was used to choose a convenient sample. One group was from the public sector and the other from the private sector all working in Gauteng Province (N=200). A structured self-administered Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) (Weiss, et al., 1967), validated by Ian Rothmann for South African circumstances, was identified for this purpose. Main findings: There was a significant difference in support work value factor (supervision, company policies and practices) and work conditions work value (activity, independence, variety, compensation, security and working conditions) between publicly employed and privately employed physiotherapists. The privately employed had a higher mean value 3.59 and publicly employed a smaller mean value of 3.33 on support work value. The mean values of work conditions and value for publicly employed physiotherapists and privately employed physiotherapists were 3.44 and 3.84 respectively. Practical implications: Managers should pay particular attention on the job satisfaction levels of employees in the public sector. Value add: The study adds to the literature and also confirms that there is a difference between publicly employed and privately employed physiotherapists‘ levels of job satisfaction. / MBA (Business Administration), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015