Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine why companies are placing increasing importance on implementing occupational health and safety (OHS) practices, and to analyse their reasons for ...adopting these practices. Specifically, it is asked whether OHS practices are introduced as a result of coercive pressures. The different ways companies respond to these pressures is also explored.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative data analysis technique was used to analyse the relationship between the reasons for implementing OHS in a sample of 3,005 Spanish firms, using the responses to a survey from the Institute for the Prevention of Risk at Work.
Findings
The results revealed three different groups of companies in terms of their reasons for implementing OHS practices; it was also found that employer involvement in OHS is higher when the main reason for implementing OHS practices is a real concern to improve working conditions, not simply coercive pressures.
Practical implications
The results of the study demonstrate the importance of moving from reactive to proactive management. Practitioners should consider employees’ health and safety not only in terms of an institutional pressure, but as a part of their social responsibility and integral to their business practice. Public administration should work to reward positive behaviours and not only punish noncompliance.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to a better understanding of the reasons to implement OHS in an early stage of institutionalisation of these practices, providing an empirical analysis of the reasons behind employer involvement. This paper is highly relevant for researchers, governments and practitioners.
Socially responsible human resource management (SR‐HRM) is becoming increasingly important for academics and managers. The interface between HRM and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the ...subject of analysis in this article. It adopts a contextual perspective to analyze whether the institutional context influences the implementation of socially responsible HRM (SR‐HRM). Considering the differences in the national institutional contexts across Europe, this study explores the different models of SR‐HRM in that region. The research is focused on a sample of 153 companies headquartered in Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The findings evidence the influence exerted by the national institutional context on the implementation of SR‐HRM. Differences among country clusters suggest the existence of different models of SR‐HRM in Europe. However, these models do not correspond to the blocks on HRM or on CSR identified by the literature but instead provide a novel categorization.
Managing the effects of diversity on social capital LpezFernndez, Macarena; SnchezGardey, Gonzalo
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal,
06/2010, Letnik:
29, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to link previous research on diversity, social capital and strategic human resource management (SHRM), and propose a model to explain how an SHRM system can ...moderate the effects of diversity on cognitive and relational dimensions of social capital.Design methodology approach - Quantitative methodologies were used to address the study's research questions and hypotheses drawing on aggregated data obtained from 53 groups (228 individuals).Findings - The empirical evidence analyzed rejected a deterministic view of the consequences of diversity, assuming that the extent to which they benefit group social interaction depends on certain conditions that can be managed by SHRM. Adopting a configurational point of view, it is concluded that different SHRM configurations can be used, depending on the effects of diversity that the organization wishes to moderate.Research limitations implications - Future research should consider the particularities of the sample.Practical implications - To define diversity-oriented SHRM strategies, firms must start with a systematic analysis of their diversity profiles, studying the concrete relational and cognitive dynamics that heterogeneity causes.Originality value - This model considers the SHRM system as a construct that determines social interaction between employees and therefore moderates the effects of demographic and human capital diversity on group performance.
Despite the social and political changes over the past decade that have taken place in the field of work, it is obvious that participation of women in managerial posts is limited. This paper supports ...the principle of equal opportunity of access to these posts for women and aims to examine the occupational segregation that exists in the labour market. The paper presents some key factors relevant to this situation and highlights the fact that women could offer knowledge to organisations that would otherwise be wasted.
Currently, companies have become increasingly concerned with demonstrating their social
engagement with their stakeholders, including their employees. Responsible management
of workers and the ...transparency of that management is the subject of analysis in this paper.
Because there are differences in the reporting requirements in European countries, this study
analyses social transparency as determined by national institutional characteristics. The
research is focused on a sample of 195 companies listed on the main stock exchanges of
Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The results show quantitative differences
in information about responsible human resource management practices as well as homogeneity
in the employment of reference standards, with the exception of companies in the United
Kingdom.
En la actualidad, las empresas están cada vez más preocupadas por mostrar su compromiso
social con sus grupos de interés, incluyendo sus empleados. La gestión responsable de los
trabajadores y su transparencia son el objeto de análisis de este artículo. Dado que existen
diferencias en los requisitos de información en los países europeos, este estudio analiza
la transparencia social determinada por las características institucionales nacionales. La
investigación se centra en una muestra de 195 empresas cotizadas en las principales bolsas
de valores de Alemania, España, Suecia y Reino Unido. Los resultados muestran diferencias
cuantitativas en la información sobre prácticas de recursos humanos socialmente responsables,
así como homogeneidad en cuanto al empleo de determinados estándares de referencia,
a excepción de las empresas de Reino Unido.
Purpose: This research focuses on the benefits that social responsibility can report on the area of human resources, examined the impact of a socially responsible configuration of human resource ...policies and practices in the generation value process for the company, and more specifically in its intellectual capital.
Design/methodology/approach: The study performed a regression analysis, testing the individual effects of socially responsible human resource policies on intellectual capital, broken down into three main variables such as human, social and organizational capital.
Findings: The results shed light on how the introduction of socially responsible aspects in the management of human resources can facilitate the exchange of knowledge, skills and attitudes human--capital; lead to improvements in communication, trust, cooperation among employees social-capital and, in turn, generates an institutionalized knowledge encoded in the own organizational culture –organizational capital–.
Research limitations/implications: The study only provides information from large companies with over 250 employees.
Practical implications: There are important implications in the measure of corporate social responsibility concerns in the area of human resources.
Social implications: Also important intangible effects on non-economic variables are confirmed, such as intellectual capital.
Originality/value: The value of the study lies in its novelty, testing socially responsible configurations of human resources as well as the direct effects of different policies on intellectual capital.
Managing the effects of diversity on social capital López-Fernández, Macarena; Sánchez-Gardey, Gonzalo
Equality, diversity and inclusion an international journal,
01/2010, Letnik:
29, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to link previous research on diversity, social capital and strategic human resource management (SHRM), and propose a model to explain how an SHRM system can ...moderate the effects of diversity on cognitive and relational dimensions of social capital. Design/methodology/approach - Quantitative methodologies were used to address the study's research questions and hypotheses drawing on aggregated data obtained from 53 groups (228 individuals). Findings - The empirical evidence analyzed rejected a deterministic view of the consequences of diversity, assuming that the extent to which they benefit group social interaction depends on certain conditions that can be managed by SHRM. Adopting a configurational point of view, it is concluded that different SHRM configurations can be used, depending on the effects of diversity that the organization wishes to moderate. Research limitations/implications - Future research should consider the particularities of the sample. Practical implications - To define diversity-oriented SHRM strategies, firms must start with a systematic analysis of their diversity profiles, studying the concrete relational and cognitive dynamics that heterogeneity causes. Originality/value - This model considers the SHRM system as a construct that determines social interaction between employees and therefore moderates the effects of demographic and human capital diversity on group performance.
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