Entrepreneurship is part of the American dream; about 10% of the US work force owns a small business. In a stable economy owners that are focused on product and market development see continuous growth and expansion; however in turbulent economic times businesses are forced to focus on their competitive advantages. For small enterprises, the most valuable asset is the human capital of the firm; nonetheless many start-up founders tend to overlook the importance of administrative issues like human resource management (HRM). This report shall discuss how founders initially approach the employment relations in the start-up, and what effects their choices have in the long run on the business performance. / text

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Den är studien avser en fallstudie över tre olika hotell i Kalmar. I studien har det undersökts vilka organisatoriska faktorer som påverkar frontlinjepersonalen på ett hotell. Human resource management har varit det största fokuset i studien. Det studien har kommit fram till är att de tre största och viktigaste aspekterna hos Scandic Kalmar Väst, Kalmarsund hotell och First hotel Witt när det gäller HRM är organisationsstruktur, motivation och till sist gästvänlighet. Organisationsstrukturen påverkar huruvida ett hotell som tillhör en större kedja kan arbeta med HRM och därmed motivation. Motivation är någonting som är viktigt för medarbetarna. De måste göra ett bra arbete för att kunderna ska bli nöjda och ha en bra upplevelse på hotellet. De tre största kategorierna i studien är väldigt sammanhängande och berör varandra genomgående i hela studien.

Teams have been presented as a panacea to complex and turbulent business environments, but there are few examples of genuinely high-performing teams. This study considers the utility of work design as a means of improving the performance of project teams and thereby resolving this paradox. Grounded in quantitative methodology, and supported by relevant qualitative data, this study has used a single case experiment to examine the effects of multiple work design variables on the climate and performance of 49 construction project management teams. The single case environment provided an opportunity to study a large number of real work groups, executing broadly similar tasks, while controlling for the effects of organisational culture on social and work behaviour. The results indicated that three levels of intervention - transformational leadership, team organisation and team performance orientation - were influential in either (a) directly influencing project team performance or (b) creating a team climate which was itself predictive of desired outcomes, specifically the moderation of project complexity and higher levels of productivity. In particular, the results showed that the `inspiring a shared vision' leader practice was influential in explaining the perceived satisfaction of customers with project team performance. This provides empirical evidence that visionary leadership is an important determinant of high performance in complex, fluid and uncertain work environments, such as construction project management. Although task orientation and shared vision emerged as reasonably strong performance norms in the sample, it is generally difficult isolating the referent group norm(s) which explain(s) the variation in the performance of project teams working in myriad social, temporal and task conditions. Rather than attempting to manage group behaviour in realtime, therefore, the results of this study suggest that a coherent and integrated package of work design interventions can leverage exceptional value from project teams by helping each team to develop unique performance and behavioural strategies.

As the public sector continues to face competitive challenges from the general public, the need for better service delivery and increased productivity has become extremely important. The increased need for optimum service delivery in public sector institutions like the Ministry for Home Affairs has had significant impact on its operations. However, little is known about the challenges faced by the Ministry for Home Affairs regarding the causes of the inefficiency. A range of organizational factors can affect the nature, effectiveness, excellence and novelty of service provision to members of the public.

This study explores the nature of skills forecasting in nuclear decommissioning and that which makes skills forecasting information useful. The study adopts a pragmatic approach using an interpretative, qualitative case study research design and draws on aspects of a critical realist approach to uncover, deconstruct and challenge some ‘norms’ in skills forecasting. The study makes an original contribution to knowledge through the identification of nineteen factors that influence skills forecasting in the nuclear industry. It also generates a baseline of knowledge on the theory and practice of skills forecasting and management through a review of the literature on skills, forecasting, skills forecasting and workforce planning and relevant aspects of public sector management and HRM. The study documents and compares current skills forecasting practice amongst UK site licensed companies and selected supply chain companies. Such research has not previously been conducted in the nuclear decommissioning industry. This answers research questions about why, and how, different groups in the sector perform skills forecasting and how variations in approaches affect the information produced. It also answers research questions about who uses skills forecasting information, and how. Together with a review of current problems with skills information, this contributes to an understanding of what makes skills information useful. The research evidences that while the industry has some common features with other High Reliability Organisations, there are unique dimensions which make this research significant. Some ‘norms’ operating in skills forecasting were challenged including how it is being used, eg as an agent for change by some groups, and assumptions about the potential availability of skills from the supply chain. The literature review was used to construct a practical-ideal type, an approach derived from classical pragmatism offering a version of a nearly ideal process, on the understanding that this is socially constructed and subject to continual change. Existing practice is evaluated against this practical-ideal type in a unique application of this methodology in the nuclear decommissioning context.

Although adjusting to a foreign culture is not easy, being immersed in another culture is an experience lived by a growing number of persons in the globalized world. For expatriate managers, successful adjustment is imperative and fundamental in establishing overall effectiveness during overseas assignments. It is intriguing that organizations often blame the individual when expatriate assignments fail (Deresky 2002; Hodgetts and Luthans 2000; Swaak 1995a; Tung 1987) rather than recognizing that others may lack understanding of what it is like to be immersed in another culture. A study of Canadian expatriate managers who have worked in non-government organizations (NGOs) in Indonesia is presented. The research focuses on interpreting the lived experience of expatriate managers using their own words and meanings. Written descriptions from research participants were obtained via email and analysed/synthesized using Giorgi's descriptive phenomenological method (Giorgi 1975; 1985; Giorgi & Giorgi 2003). The central finding of the study is that expatriates experience paradoxical ways of being including feelings of: understanding/not understanding, discomfort/comfort, powerfulness/powerlessness, belonging/not belonging, being open to the new culture/yet holding on to own culture, freedom/restriction, being supported/not supported, and being unchanged/changed when immersed, living and working in another culture. The new knowledge and understanding obtained from this research may result in alterations to present human resource management practices and strategies utilized in facilitating and supporting expatriate assignments. These changes will enhance the experience for expatriate managers and organizations alike.

<p>Två begrepp som ofta diskuteras inom organisationsteori är Medarbetarskap och Human resource management. Personalen ses ofta som ett företags främsta resurs. Denna uppsats bygger på en kvantitativ undersökning bland personalen inom en Telekomkedja. Vårt syfte är att bringa klarhet i frågan om i vilken utsträckning det ”myndiga medarbetarskapet” existerar, hur olika strategiska åtgärder påverkar försäljningen, vad som påverkar medarbetarnas motivation samt hur deras lojalitet gentemot arbetsgivaren ser ut.</p><p>Undersökningen visar att personalen i Telekomkedjan trivs bra på sin arbetsplats. Det ”myndiga medarbetarskapet” existerar till stor del och personalen anser sig ha goda möjligheter att påverka. Vi har även lyckats hitta ett antal strategiska åtgärder som påverkar försäljningen positivt. Motivationsfaktorerna är främst beroende av sociala relationer och det har visat sig att relationer medarbetarna emellan är minst lika viktiga som relationen mellan medarbetaren och närmsta chefen. Medarbetarna uppger även att de har en stark lojalitet mot företaget ifråga både till den närmsta butiken där de arbetar, gentemot butikskedjan som helhet samt koncernen de tillhör.</p>

Prior research has shown that differences in human resource management (HRM) perception/practices do exist between nations. These differences have been attributed to variations in culture. The fundamental purpose of this study was to determine whether subcultures differing in location, religion, and ethnicity significantly affect perception/ practices of human resource management within a common national context (Indonesia). A secondary purpose of the current study was to compare with those found within Indonesia by the Best International Practices Consortium or Best Practices Project (BPP). Participants in the present study were 762 agri-business employees who were members of three distinctly separate subcultures within Indonesia; Sundanese/ Javanese, Balinese, and Minahasan. Data are obtained through the distribution of written questionnaires modeled after those employed by the BPP. Within each subculture, there were numerous disparities between current perceived practices and those desired by employees. This study also revealed several significant differences in HRM practices and perceptions across the three observed subcultures in the areas of hiring, training, performance appraisal, leadership, and communications. Participants reported differences in current and desired managerial styles across subcultures. However, within these groups, current management practices matched employee preferences. The overall findings of the present study differed from those of the BPP. These differences may be attributable to dissimilarities in the samples for the two studies’ samples. This study indicates that employee attitudes and perceptions of HRM practices do differ across cultural boundaries within a common national context. This discovery has wide implications for international companies which may be looking to establish overseas enterprises in countries with diverse cultural populations.