<p>Absorptive capacity is fundamental for small-middle enterprises to increase their innovativeness and competitiveness in the market place. Human resources, being the most important asset in SMEs, might help firms to obtain adequate levels of absorptive capacity through a planned set of human resource practices. The hu-man costs of implementing such practices, however, cannot be neglected, and this paper studies the relationship between these different variables.</p>

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.

Den kompetensbrist som råder inom Tech-branschen har inte undkommit många. Trots att fältet accelererar i rasande fart bromsar kompetensbristen digitaliseringen och utvecklingen av samhället. Utvecklande trender tvingar organisationer till kontinuerlig förändring där rekryteringen inom organisationen behöver bli flexibel och anpassningsbar för att kunna möta förändringar och tillgodogöra organisationen med den kompetens som behövs för att hjälpa dom att överleva på marknaden. I och med den kompetensbrist som råder inom Tech, tillsammans med den växande digitaliseringen inom alla olika typer av branscher, slåss de allra flesta organisationer om den lilla mängd kompetens som finns på marknaden. Därför har det aldrig varit så aktuellt att behöva vara en attraktiv arbetsgivare. Syftet med studien är att kartlägga hur en agil Talent Acqusition kan vara ett steg på vägen för att underlätta i processen att få tag i den kompetens som organisationen behöver. Studiens är en fallstudie där undersökningsobjekt har varit ett Tech-företags kampanj för att rekrytera mjukvaruutvecklare. Resultaten visar att rekrytera för segment har varit ett bra första steg mot ett mer agilt arbetssätt. Det är dock näst intill omöjligt att ersätta headhunting av senior spetskompetens med denna typ av tillvägagångsätt för Talent Acquisition. För att skapa mervärde av detta arbetssätt behöver företaget lägga ett större fokus på tvärfunktionella teams, kommunikation samt lägga tydligare ramar. Sammanfattningsvis bidrar ett mer agilt Talent Acquisition till att effektivisera rekryteringsprocessen och ta tillvara på kandidaten på ett bättre sätt, i denna kandidatfokuserade marknad.

A gestão de pessoas é fator sine qua non no mundo corporativo, o qual se encontra em constante mutação. A justificativa deste estudo de caso considera ainda que é demandado às organizações perspicácia de maneira a se despirem de antigas fórmulas de sucesso e se reinventarem na busca da sobrevivência e, quiçá, do almejado crescimento. Cativar clientes, reduzir custos, manter elevados padrões de qualidade, produtividade e segurança se tornaram condições básicas para a continuidade dos negócios e não mais considerados suficientes como diferenciais competitivos. Neste contexto, a presente dissertação objetiva a identificação de práticas de Gestão de Pessoas que podem alavancar melhorias de qualidade. Inicialmente é realizada uma revisão sistemática através da qual são arroladas 10 práticas de Gestão de Pessoas que podem influenciar a Gestão da Qualidade. A seguir, essas práticas são classificadas em conformidade com o critério de excelência Valorização das Pessoas, da Fundação Nacional da Qualidade (FNQ). Por fim, as práticas são comparadas com as existentes em uma empresa fabricante de produtos para conservação de temperatura e é elaborado um diagnóstico de oportunidades, em função das lacunas (gaps) evidenciadas. Os resultados mostraram que das 10 práticas examinadas nenhuma é integralmente aplicada na empresa, 7 são aplicadas parcialmente e 3 não são adotadas. Espera-se que estes conhecimentos possam municiar a empresa em análise na operacionalização de ações que permitam transpor os seus desafios, os quais podem impactar em sua continuidade. / People Management is sine qua non factor in the corporate world, which finds itself in constant mutation. The justification for this case study considers that it is required of the organizations, a high level of perception in a sense of getting rid of old success recipes and reinventing themselves in a quest for survival, and hopefully, the sought for growth. Captivating clients, reducing costs, keeping high quality standards, productivity and security, become basic conditions for continuity of business and are no longer considered sufficient as competitive differentials. Given this context, the present essay aims at identifying practices of People Management that can leverage improvements in quality. Initially, a systematic review is performed, through which the practices of People Management are aligned, and which can influence quality management. Next, these practices are classified in conformity with the excellence concepts of Fundação Nacional da Qualidade (FNQ). Finally, the practices are compared to the existing ones in an enterprise of products to conserve the temperature and an opportunity diagnosis is elaborated. The results showed that of the 10 practices examined none are fully implemented in the company, 7 are partially applied and 3 are not adopted. It is hoped that this knowledge may equip the company in question, based on the noticed gaps, in a way of supporting the company being analyzed in the operating of actions, that allow transposing of its challenges, of which can impact in its continuity.

A gestão de pessoas é fator sine qua non no mundo corporativo, o qual se encontra em constante mutação. A justificativa deste estudo de caso considera ainda que é demandado às organizações perspicácia de maneira a se despirem de antigas fórmulas de sucesso e se reinventarem na busca da sobrevivência e, quiçá, do almejado crescimento. Cativar clientes, reduzir custos, manter elevados padrões de qualidade, produtividade e segurança se tornaram condições básicas para a continuidade dos negócios e não mais considerados suficientes como diferenciais competitivos. Neste contexto, a presente dissertação objetiva a identificação de práticas de Gestão de Pessoas que podem alavancar melhorias de qualidade. Inicialmente é realizada uma revisão sistemática através da qual são arroladas 10 práticas de Gestão de Pessoas que podem influenciar a Gestão da Qualidade. A seguir, essas práticas são classificadas em conformidade com o critério de excelência Valorização das Pessoas, da Fundação Nacional da Qualidade (FNQ). Por fim, as práticas são comparadas com as existentes em uma empresa fabricante de produtos para conservação de temperatura e é elaborado um diagnóstico de oportunidades, em função das lacunas (gaps) evidenciadas. Os resultados mostraram que das 10 práticas examinadas nenhuma é integralmente aplicada na empresa, 7 são aplicadas parcialmente e 3 não são adotadas. Espera-se que estes conhecimentos possam municiar a empresa em análise na operacionalização de ações que permitam transpor os seus desafios, os quais podem impactar em sua continuidade. / People Management is sine qua non factor in the corporate world, which finds itself in constant mutation. The justification for this case study considers that it is required of the organizations, a high level of perception in a sense of getting rid of old success recipes and reinventing themselves in a quest for survival, and hopefully, the sought for growth. Captivating clients, reducing costs, keeping high quality standards, productivity and security, become basic conditions for continuity of business and are no longer considered sufficient as competitive differentials. Given this context, the present essay aims at identifying practices of People Management that can leverage improvements in quality. Initially, a systematic review is performed, through which the practices of People Management are aligned, and which can influence quality management. Next, these practices are classified in conformity with the excellence concepts of Fundação Nacional da Qualidade (FNQ). Finally, the practices are compared to the existing ones in an enterprise of products to conserve the temperature and an opportunity diagnosis is elaborated. The results showed that of the 10 practices examined none are fully implemented in the company, 7 are partially applied and 3 are not adopted. It is hoped that this knowledge may equip the company in question, based on the noticed gaps, in a way of supporting the company being analyzed in the operating of actions, that allow transposing of its challenges, of which can impact in its continuity.

A gestão de pessoas é fator sine qua non no mundo corporativo, o qual se encontra em constante mutação. A justificativa deste estudo de caso considera ainda que é demandado às organizações perspicácia de maneira a se despirem de antigas fórmulas de sucesso e se reinventarem na busca da sobrevivência e, quiçá, do almejado crescimento. Cativar clientes, reduzir custos, manter elevados padrões de qualidade, produtividade e segurança se tornaram condições básicas para a continuidade dos negócios e não mais considerados suficientes como diferenciais competitivos. Neste contexto, a presente dissertação objetiva a identificação de práticas de Gestão de Pessoas que podem alavancar melhorias de qualidade. Inicialmente é realizada uma revisão sistemática através da qual são arroladas 10 práticas de Gestão de Pessoas que podem influenciar a Gestão da Qualidade. A seguir, essas práticas são classificadas em conformidade com o critério de excelência Valorização das Pessoas, da Fundação Nacional da Qualidade (FNQ). Por fim, as práticas são comparadas com as existentes em uma empresa fabricante de produtos para conservação de temperatura e é elaborado um diagnóstico de oportunidades, em função das lacunas (gaps) evidenciadas. Os resultados mostraram que das 10 práticas examinadas nenhuma é integralmente aplicada na empresa, 7 são aplicadas parcialmente e 3 não são adotadas. Espera-se que estes conhecimentos possam municiar a empresa em análise na operacionalização de ações que permitam transpor os seus desafios, os quais podem impactar em sua continuidade. / People Management is sine qua non factor in the corporate world, which finds itself in constant mutation. The justification for this case study considers that it is required of the organizations, a high level of perception in a sense of getting rid of old success recipes and reinventing themselves in a quest for survival, and hopefully, the sought for growth. Captivating clients, reducing costs, keeping high quality standards, productivity and security, become basic conditions for continuity of business and are no longer considered sufficient as competitive differentials. Given this context, the present essay aims at identifying practices of People Management that can leverage improvements in quality. Initially, a systematic review is performed, through which the practices of People Management are aligned, and which can influence quality management. Next, these practices are classified in conformity with the excellence concepts of Fundação Nacional da Qualidade (FNQ). Finally, the practices are compared to the existing ones in an enterprise of products to conserve the temperature and an opportunity diagnosis is elaborated. The results showed that of the 10 practices examined none are fully implemented in the company, 7 are partially applied and 3 are not adopted. It is hoped that this knowledge may equip the company in question, based on the noticed gaps, in a way of supporting the company being analyzed in the operating of actions, that allow transposing of its challenges, of which can impact in its continuity.

Human resource accounting is a concept that was created to deal with the problem of the measurement of the value of human capital. This concept can be very influential for many different human resource practices. This concept is of the utmost importance as it deals with one of the biggest problems within the sectors of accounting and human resources, the constant seeking of an acceptable way of acknowledging human capital in the financial statements as an asset and not as an expense. The skills and knowledge that people can bring into a company are vital for its prosperity and yet no realized. Hereby identifying the similarities and differences in the decision-making factors of HR managers between traditional accounting and human resources accounting (HRA) focused organizations, we want to examine the perceptions of managers who work under both types of organizations. Therefore, the research question we have formulated is the following: What are the similarities and differences between the decision-making processes of HR managers of Traditional accounting and Human Resource Accounting focused organizations? The field of HRA is not new. It is approximately 70 years old, but progress in it has stopped for a while now. The problem besides that is that it is not accepted by international accounting principles. However, nowadays more and more companies try to find a way to allow them to use HRA. In this paper, we have managed to interview HR managers that are currently working under HRA or traditional accounting practices. We selected HR practices in which HRA can have a strong influence so that we can understand and examine how it influences the decision-making process of the managers. The choice of Patterson´s model was based on the fact that it contains four HR practices (recruitment and selection, training and development, retention and turnover, and performance management), in which HRA has a strong influence. Overall, our findings showed us that when it comes to recruitment &amp; selection, and retention &amp; turnover there are more differences between HRA-focused and traditional accounting-focused organizations than in the practices of training &amp; development and performance management. The main difference in recruitment and selection is that HRA-focused organizations make decisions based on measuring the total cost and value of their resources; in training and development the main difference is that HRA-focused organizations calculate the cost of learning by HRA; in retention and turnover, the main difference is that HRA focused organizations can calculate and forecast all cost have already spent and need to spend for replacement an employee, and finally in the performance management the main difference is that HRA focused organizations take into serious consideration the job level of their employees in contrast to traditional accounting focused ones. This offered us the chance to develop a suggested framework. It is based on Patterson’s model but also includes our findings. Finally, we believe that this paper has the possibility to contribute in many different ways. For example, it can be used as a manual from HR managers in order to help them see and understand the differences and similarities between HRA and traditional accounting and extensively manage to focus on the important factors for each respective practice. Moreover, the findings could contribute to the general evolution of HRA, as this paper is one of the few that have approached the HRA concept via qualitative research.

Este estudo tem por objetivo contribuir para a investigação sobre as relações entre as práticas de GERH, o engajamento no trabalho e resultados no nível do indivíduo: desempenho no cargo e intenção de sair da organização. A pesquisa bibliográfica demonstrou a multiplicidade de Práticas, Sistemas de Práticas de GERH, com convergências e divergências. O referencial Amo Framework para a definição das Práticas se mostrou, ao menos conceitualmente, um modelo robusto e integrador do plano organizacional para o plano individual. Empiricamente, encontramos forte associação entre as Práticas de GERH orientadas pelo AMO e o Engajamento o que, sem dúvida, é uma contribuição para o \"Problema da Caixa Preta\". Ainda quanto à pesquisa bibliográfica, foi analisado o construto engajamento no trabalho e suas diversas linhas teóricas, variáveis antecedentes e escalas de mensuração. Foi definido modelo teórico que relaciona as Práticas de GERH, os resultados individuais, o engajamento no trabalho e variáveis antecedentes relevantes associadas ao engajamento, que foi testado via Modelagem de Equações Estruturais (Lavaan- R), atendendo aos requisitos de qualidade de ajuste (GOF), com parâmetros considerados bons. O foco desta pesquisa foi trazer o construto de engajamento no trabalho para o debate acadêmico no Brasil e seu papel na Gestão Estratégica de RH. Desse modo, em tempos de alta competitividade, podemos afirmar que um dos objetivos da GERH deve estar ligado à promoção dos níveis de Engajamento. Nesse estudo, ficou demonstrada a robustez do construto e sua mensuração, a validade discriminante com outros construtos e na amostra pesquisada a associação significativa direta em relação ao Desempenho no Cargo e a Intenção de Sair. Foram confirmadas as hipóteses com respeito à importância do engajamento no trabalho - quer seja em sua associação direta com as variáveis de resultado individuais, quer seja pela sua associação indireta nas relações entre as Práticas de GERH (e Suporte Percebido) e as variáveis consequentes pesquisadas. Como contribuições da tese para a Teoria, consideramos que os resultados desta tese fazem avançar a compreensão acerca do \'Problema da Caixa Preta\' ao demonstrar a forte associação positiva entre as Práticas de GERH e o engajamento no trabalho e este com comportamentos e atitudes desejáveis. Sugestões para futuras investigações bem como implicações teóricas, metodológicas e práticas são discutidas. / This study aims to contribute to research on the relationships between the practices of SHRM, work engagement and results at the individual level: performance and intention to leave the organization (reverse). The bibliographical research demonstrated the multiplicity of Practices, Systems of Practices of SHRM, with convergences and divergences. The Amo framework for the definition of Practices has been shown, at least conceptually, as a robust and integrative model. Empirically, we find a strong association between the AMO oriented practices and the engagement, which undoubtedly contributes to the \'black box problem\'. As for bibliographical research, the work engagement construct and its various theoretical lines, antecedents variables and measurement scales were analyzed. It was defined a theoretical model that relates the SHRM Perceived Practices, the individual results, the engagement in the work and relevant antecedent variables associated to the engagement, which was tested using Structural Equation Modeling (Lavaan-R), meeting the requirements of quality of fit (GOF), with parameters considered good. The focus of this research was to bring the work engagement construct to the academic debate in Brazil and its role in SHRM. Thus, in times of high competitiveness, we can say that one of the objectives of the SHRM must be linked to the promotion of levels of work engagement. In this study, the robustness of the construct and its measurement, the discriminant validity with other constructs and a direct significant association with respect to job performance and the Intention to leave (reversed) were proved. The hypotheses regarding the importance of engagement at work - whether in their direct association with the individual outcome variables or their indirect association in the relationship between the Practices of SHRM Perceived Practices, and Perceived Support and the consequent variables were confirmed in the sample. As contributions of the thesis to the Theory, we consider that the results of this thesis advances the understanding about the \'Black Box Problem\' by demonstrating the strong positive association between the SHRM Practices and the work engagement and the latter with desirable behaviors and attitudes. Suggestions for future investigations as well as theoretical, methodological and practical implications are discussed.

The current study demonstrates human resource strategies in hospitality industry (Hotel segment) and its impact on employee competencies and skills. The human resource management enhances employee performance and their credibility to maximize overall firm goals in hotel segment. Employees with level of attitude and behavior provide best services and performances. In this regard, service managers need to support and improve their employees’ skills and competencies related to the organization structure and strategy. Therefore, it is necessary for organization to have strong human resource management strategies to optimize the employees’ competencies and performance which drives higher organizational productivity. The research question of this thesis is how managers perceive that human resource management strategies influence on employees’ skill and competence in the hotel segment of Gothenburg? The data collection indicates that different human resource strategies executed to sustain employee roles and responsibilities. Various human resource strategies should implement to achieve valuable outcomes contributing to employees’ satisfaction and organization performance. Training practices, recruitment and selection, compensation and incentive practices, performance management and job design are essential human resource strategies which are identified in this research study. The thesis applies qualitative approach. Empirical data are collected through structured interviews. Moreover, the interactive model is used to analyze the collected empirical data.

This study attempts to examine and comprehend the connection between human resources management (HMR) practices and effective supply chain management (SCM) implementation by means of a conceptual framework and construct developed through a literature study and previous studies conducted in this area. The focus of this study was to determine whether a South African automotive manufacturer, implements identified human resources practices and to establish to what extent these practices enhance effective supply chain management implementation. A quantitative research approach was used to conduct this study. A census survey was used to collect data. Electronic data was collected using a monkey survey, and paperbased questionnaires were collected by the researcher at the participating organisation. Seven hypotheses were formulated to guide this study. The data analysis of this research was done for the purpose of testing these hypotheses and achieving the empirical research objectives. The findings from descriptive statistical analysis summarised the strong HR practices which facilitate the implementation of effective supply chain management in the participating automotive manufacturing organisation, and also focused on weak HR practices which might hinder the implementation of effective supply chain management. Some areas in which improvement is possible were identified. By taking into account that this study focused on one leading South African automotive manufacturer, further research is recommended with an expansive scope of South African automotive manufacturing organisations. The study aimed to provide recommendations on the adoption of human resource management practices for the purpose of facilitating the implementation of an effective supply chain management. It is of crucial value for the participating South African automotive manufacturing organisation to apply the study’s findings (The South African manufacturer should revise its compensation practices by ensuring that compensation is comparable to what other employees in similar jobs elsewhere are being paid, and it should also provide a sociable and transparent working environment to its workers). / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)