<p> This study explored workforce agility from a human resource perspective. This included its main determinants, such as adaptability, proactivity, resiliency, business orientation, and self-awareness; the interventions through which it is developed, such as performance management processes, training, and coaching; and finally the main challenges that organizations face when developing it, such as cultural context and the lack of strategic clarity. The empirical analysis provided several insights on the development of workforce agility. Although limited to a small sample, the study provided evidence supporting the need for future research on the definition of the characteristics of an agile workforce, the definition of a competency model to support its development, the need to deepen the understanding of the mechanisms related to its development, and the main challenges faced by leaders in the implementation of an agile workforce.</p>

<p> This descriptive study examines the relationship between job expectations and job satisfaction in the context of adventure education (AE) field staff. An electronic survey distributed to field instructors of the Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI) Outdoor School assessed the level to which their job expectations had been met as well as their reported job satisfaction based on the short form of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Quantitative analysis of the results indicates a significant correlation between job expectations and job satisfaction. Extrinsic job satisfaction showed a stronger correlation with employee expectations than did intrinsic job satisfaction, although the difference in correlation strengths was not statistically significant. Expectations about both basic job attributes and career development opportunities correlated with job satisfaction significantly more strongly than expectations about curriculum. Factor analysis reveals that amongst other job expectations, manager communication and career development opportunities correlate strongest with job satisfaction, and represent key focus areas for AE administrators. Increasing the visibility of organizational mission statements as well as reviewing staff training models with these results in mind could help align employee expectations with reality. These results suggest that the AE industry should continue to develop its human resource savvy and monitor the evolving profile of their employees to safeguard their job satisfaction.</p>

<p>This case study explored the use of Labor Management Partnerships in the government sector through the Partnership to Achieve Comprehensive Equity (PACE), a partnership between Metro, a division of King County government and Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 587 (ATU). The study examined the partnership&rsquo;s influence on organizational outcomes and the manner in which the partnership functioned and sustained itself, as well as the challenges and obstacles that threatened both the partnership and outcomes. Two key findings emerged from this study. First, partnerships are supported by flexible structures and practices that foster relationship-building through dialogue and co-learning. Second, partnerships must confront contextual challenges, such as changes in leadership and organizational resistance that threaten their viability. As this case study illustrates, it is the community&rsquo;s ability to establish strong and dynamic relationships that ensures members are respected, empowered, and engaged in the partnership&rsquo;s outcomes. </p>

<p>A substantial body of scholarly literature exists demonstrating the elevation of positive citizenship behavior in the presence of transformational leaders. A smaller but no less significant amount of research has suggested that union citizenship behavior, a specific form of organizational citizenship behavior, is elevated in the presence of transformational leadership and enhances member commitment and perceptions of support. Utilizing an international sample comprised of unionized airline pilots, this study sought to explore the relationship between transformational leadership, discretionary citizenship behaviors, perceived organizational support, organizational commitment, and the effect stated cultural affinity has on these factors. The results of this study indicate that while a transformational leadership style may incidentally elevate follower commitment and perceived support, it was not found to be a positive predictor of union citizenship behavior. Further, the results suggest that organizational commitment and perceived support are more positively related to perceptions of leadership than leadership style itself. Therefore, union members may engage in constructive union citizenship behaviors irrespective of leadership style, provided commitment and positive perceptions of leader and organizational support exist. The results of this research also demonstrated that cultural affinity did not greatly influence perceptions of leadership or levels of perceived support, organizational commitment, or engagement in union citizenship behaviors. </p><p> <b>Keywords</b>: <i>Transformational leadership</i>, <i> perceived support</i>, <i>organizational commitment</i>, <i> union citizenship behavior</i>, <i>culture</i> </p>

<p> A lack of alignment between police performance evaluation policy purposes and officer performance evaluation perceptions has implications for the organizations&rsquo; resource management, officer morale, and public safety. A literature review points towards a gap existing between policy purpose statements and employee perceptions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the policy purposes of police performance evaluations and the officers&rsquo; perceptions of those evaluation experiences in 4 Ontario municipal police services. DiMaggio and Powell&rsquo;s (1983) Institutional theory was the foundation for this study. Data for this study were collected from 4 police services in Ontario, Canada. The data consisted of police performance evaluation policies and in-person interviews with 12 officers. Data were inductively coded, and then the coded data were subjected to content analysis. Three policy purpose themes and 13 officer perception themes emerged that indicate that: 1) there seems to be a lack of alignment between the policy purpose theme of assessing work performance and eight of the perception themes; 2) officers perceived performance evaluations as negatively impacting their morale: and, 3) healthy relationships with supervisors were more useful to officers than performance evaluations in terms of performance and career outcomes and progression. Consistent with Institutional theory, officers perceived performance evaluations to be necessary even with limited utility. The positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations to police executives to consider alternative processes in tandem with performance evaluations to improve morale, in turn creating better opportunities for improved public and officer safety.</p>

<p> In recent years, growing attention has been paid to the subtle forms of discrimination towards disadvantaged groups that occur in the work place. The result has been a growing understanding of the underlying stereotypes and biases that affect social interaction and decision-making. However, there is currently still a dearth of research addressing the stereotypes that affect transgender individuals in the workplace. This is of particular concern as sources suggest transgender individuals often feel as though their gender identity hinders their employment opportunities. This study sought to address that issue by exploring perceptions of agency and communality in the decision to hire and recommend salary to an openly transgender job applicant. This study examined this by having individuals rate their impression of either a transgender or cisgender job applicant&rsquo;s agency, communality, and eligibility for a provided position. Results suggested that although being transgender did not affect perceptions of hireability or salary recommendations, being transgender did influence perceived agentic and communal traits negatively. These results provide implications for openly transgender job applicants who are hesitant to disclose their gender identity in the application process. </p>

<p> Employee turnover and retention is a common issue among many corporate organizations. Although companies invest time and money to increase workforce diversity, results of existing research suggest a lack of effective retention strategies for Hispanic employees in large corporations. This qualitative phenomenological study focused on exploring the lived experiences of Hispanic employees as these experiences related to the retention efforts of their current or former <i>Fortune</i> 500 employers. Conceptually, the study was framed around the idea of turnover and retention in order to understand the factors that influence turnover, to examine the factors that relate to retention, and to evaluate multiple retention strategies and incentives. The data collection process consisted of in-depth interviews of ten participants who identified themselves as being of Hispanic (or Latino) origin and who were current or former employees of <i>Fortune</i> 500 companies. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and imported into NVivo for organization and ease of data management. The analysis of extracted key words, phrases, and blocks of statements from the transcription subsequently led to the identification of prevalent themes. When it came to the experiences of Hispanics currently or formerly employed at <i>Fortune</i> 500 companies, participants felt that <i>company culture, training, compensation, management</i>, and different types of <i>incentives</i> were factors that played vital roles in retention efforts. The results of the study provided a clearer understanding of the strategies and incentives that corporate leaders can use in order to retain Hispanic employees in the corporate workforce.</p>

Using a large database that covers the United States manufacturing sector over the period 1958-86, this dissertation examines the impact of labor unions on three interrelated measures of economic performance: productivity, productivity growth and profits. During the period 1970-86, fully unionized industries are estimated to have had 11 percent lower productivity, 30 percent lower price-cost margins and annual growth rates almost one percentage point slower than nonunionized industries. Due to the difficulty of controlling for industry-specific effects in this study, these estimates should be viewed as the upper bound of possible union effects. / Results also indicate considerable intertemporal variation. A pattern of positive union productivity effects prior to the early 1970s is replaced by increasingly negative effects thereafter. The trend in growth effects is less clear, but the greatest differential in growth rates is found in the years 1975-82, a period when the economy as a whole grew slowly. Negative union profit effects also have become stronger over time. / These results need to be evaluated within the context of major changes that have occurred both in the strength of the labor movement and in the economic environment within which it operates. Low levels of inflation and unemployment, and growth rates which exceeded the historical norm prior to the early 1970s were replaced by years of inflation and recession. Deregulation, antitrust actions and increased imports created an increasingly competitive economy, while the wage premiums associated with employing a union labor force reached historically high levels. This higher labor cost commitment reduced profits in the unionized sector. More competitive pricing may also be part of the explanation for negative productivity (value-added) effects in that sector. The evidence is also consistent with the argument that this weak economic performance is due to changes in labor-management relations and policies of union avoidance which in turn have resulted from increased pressure on profits. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-09, Section: A, page: 2937. / Major Professor: Barry Hirsch. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

This dissertation examines the factors that determine child labor in Indonesia in the context of modernization theory. The analysis focuses on children ages 10-19 years old both in and out of school, and also on the type of labor they performed, as paid or unpaid family workers. For this purpose the Indonesian Labor Force Survey (Sakernas 1988) was used. / Seven variables were used in the logistic model to explain the variation of child labor. These variables are place of residence, child's age, child's gender, family size, head of household's education, gender, and occupation. / The results suggest that rural areas, older children, boys, smaller family size, less educated parents, and parents from traditional jobs are related to child labor. In general, out of school children are more likely to be involved in child labor than are in school children, and more often as paid laborers. / The results indicate that children from rural areas were much more often involved in child labor for both in and out of school children. Out of school working children from urban areas are more than twice as likely to work in paid labor than are in school children. Older children, as well as boys, were more involved in child labor and in the paid labor market. However, interaction terms exist between child's gender and head of household's education and occupation for out of school children only, and implies that the effect of parents' education and occupation on child labor and type of labor were different across child's gender when interacted with the parents' education and occupation. The findings also indicated that increasing the parents' education tends to reduce child labor, and if the children work it tend to be in the paid labor force both for in and out of school children. Children from parents of unpaid family workers, as well as children from parents who are self-employed assisted by family members or employers are more often to be involved in child labor and working as unpaid family workers. / Overall, the findings suggest that the variation of child labor in this country can be explained in terms of modernization theory. Working or non working status as well as work for paid or as work for family worker very much depend on whether the children are living in modern or non-modern environment and family background. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-09, Section: A, page: 3602. / Major Professor: David F. Sly. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This study consisted of a three-phase investigation: a survey of state statutes to determine the current state-of-the-art of grievance and arbitration in the resolution of disputes growing out of the collective bargaining agreement; analyses and syntheses of both the volume and nature of litigation that addresses grievances of public school teachers; and arbitration as a means of resolving disputes with administrative officials. The judicial decisions examined covered the period 1977-1987 and focused on controversies involving: dismissal, conditions of employment; leave of absence, and salary/fringe benefits. Judicial decisions in these categories were summarized to identify major points of law and analyzed to extrapolate guidelines for administrative personnel whose decisions were likely to be challenged by a professional employee. / Case law analysis substantiated the following key conclusions: (1) The role of the arbitrator is to determine and articulate the intent of the parties manifested by the contract language in dispute. Arbitrators generally do not consider it their role to interpret and apply the law, but rather to find facts that enable them to interpret and apply contract language. (2) The range of disputes which the arbitrator may hear is dependent upon the definition of the term "grievance". Definitions range from a broad definition such as "any and all matters" to a limited definition such as "interpretation or application of the agreement" to an exclusionary definition, one in which matters are specifically excluded from the grievance definition. (3) So far as the arbitrator's decision concerns construction of the contract, the courts will not overrule him because their interpretation of the contract is different than his. The judiciary has allowed arbitrators a great deal of flexibility in making awards and fashioning remedies, to the extent that errors of law or fact will not promulgate vacatur as long as his award is drawn from the essence of the contract. (4) It is possible for the parties to use their submission agreement in a particular case to expand or restrict the general powers of an arbitrator defined by their agreement. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-12, Section: A, page: 3569. / Major Professor: Joseph Carl Beckham. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.