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This paper examines critical factors that contribute to the validity and reliability of behavioural interviews for personnel selection. Behavioural interviewing is a way of assessing past performance of candidates against criteria derived from a detailed analysis of the position being filled. Using small data sets, this study establishes predictive validity of behavioural interviews in selecting for junior and senior management positions. The value of interviewer accountability and interview training in conjunction with behavioural interviewing are also explored by asking recruiters about the selection process. It is concluded that behavioural interviewing can provide expert candidates to fill vacancies and that training of recruiters and making them accountable for their decisions contribute further to satisfactory selection outcomes.

Published abstract reprinted by the permission of the copyright owner.

Volumes of papers are indexed from TD/TNC 77.351 to TD/TNC 77.353. Individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 77.354 to TD/TNC 77.437. Show less

Recently, many American firms have adopted Japanese practices, and the trend is likely to continue. An understanding of Japanese training promises to offer valuable policy lessons for improving the competitiveness of the American labour force. This chapter contributes to the systematic discussion of how Japanese-style training and employment relations function and how suitable they are to the American labour force. The author presents an economic theory of training and uses it to assess the initial experiences of Japanese automobile transplants in transferring Japanese employment and training practices to the American labour force. The theory presented aims to clarify the links between schooling and training, and between technical training and training in employment relations. The employer and the employee are assumed to invest in training in order to enhance the value of their relationship.

The principal components of Japanese training that have been instrumental in shaping Japan's highly productive and cooperative labour force are reliance on self-study for technical training, training of junior workers by senior workers, sharing of information and responsibilities, lifelong training by job rotation, and occasional infusion of formal training throughout an employee's tenure. Perhaps most significant for the current study is the finding that workers in Japanese transplants in North America, most of whom are American, produced at a quality level comparable to that in Japanese plants. Transplant workers and workers in Japan receive similar amounts of training, far exceeding what workers in American-owned plants receive, at least during the initial period of employment. The above findings suggest that nationality per se is not what explains the difference in productivity between assembly workers in Japan and those in the United States. Rather, training, employment relations, and production organization, e.g. mass production versus lean production, are likely to be the explanatory factors.

The chapter is organised as follows: section 4.2 presents a theory of training; sections 4.3 and 4.4 use the theory to discuss hiring and training practices in Japan and at some of the Japanese transplants in the United States; and section 4.5 offers concluding remarks. Show less

The traditional [human resource management] HRM system has been job-based and has reflected a bureaucratic model of organising work. Such job-based personnel management systems have shown a tendency to break down when jobs are dissolving under more flexible work organisation. Many writers have called for a competency approach to replace the traditional job-based approach under these new conditions, and we have seen a growing literature on competency modelling. The study reported here suggests that jobs are structured along two independent lines: formal control and complexity of work tasks. Each combination of formalisation and complexity (high and low) gives rise to a different approach to align work and competencies. The job-based approach and the competency approach are only two of these, and an occupational and a professional approach are also identified. While formal company-internal training is related to job approach and competency approach, training for skilled tradesmen and professionals is a combination of company-external professional training prior to the work career and informal on-the-job and self-managed training.

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In recent years, the management of Japanese companies has been responding to changes in the surrounding business environment characterized by increasing and inevitable globalization. Amongst such changes, attracting particular interest are those in human resource management. This is because the human resources are the most difficult among various management resources to move across borders, and as a result the management of human resources is strongly influenced by their respective regional social conventions and culture and thus varies substantially across regions. From that standpoint, a country's readiness for globalization may be measured by changes in the management of human resources. Can a change be seen in the commitment to long-term employment and of the promote-from-within policy that have featured the human resource management of Japanese companies for a long time? Of the corporate professions, scientists and engineers are the occupations in which standardization of jobs and a switch to an external labor market are considered to be the easiest. This paper explores how such 'externalisation' progressed in their employment, how the human resource management of companies has changed in relation to them, and what kind of changes can be observed regarding these groups' perception of their job and company accordingly.

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This document reports on case studies of two Australian companies that have diversity management policies. These case studies were undertaken in response to the discovery that few Australian businesses had a diversity management policy, particularly incorporating issues of race and ethnicity, and a lack of detailed Australian case study research. The document includes the results from interviews and focus groups with managers and employees and an analysis of corporate documents. The case studies investigate a range of perceptions, values, experiences and processes that contribute to, or detract from, measurable benefits of diversity management for firms. The two organisations managed diversity in very different ways but their diversity programs had some common strengths. These are: a belief that diversity management will result in major business benefits; the commitment of senior management; appointment of 'high level champions' to coordinate the policy; the investment of significant resources; a long term perspective; the provision of targeted research by the company; and the dissemination of 'success stories' which help promote diversity management throughout the organisation. Gaps and constraints are also identified. In both cases, diversity management is incorporated within key results areas, but it is also recognised that diversity must be linked to key competencies and cultural change in order to achieve good results. Show less

In 1995 the Scottish Office Education and Industry Department (SOEID) commissioned researchers at the Scottish Further Education Unit (SFEU) and the Department of Education at the University of Stirling, to investigate the situation of women managers in Scottish further education (FE) colleges. The study explored the key characteristics of women managers in senior and middle management positions, career path patterns, the culture of FE colleges in relation to equal opportunities, the experiences of women managers and non-managers of this culture, the extent to which equal opportunity policies are established and implemented in FE colleges, and the characteristics of these policies. The brief also asked for recommendations as to how women could be encouraged to undertake management roles in colleges. This executive summary includes background information to the project, literature review outcomes, research methodology, findings, and recommendations for colleges and national bodies in relation to equal opportunity in college management. Show less

The Victorian Public Sector (VPS) is one of Victoria's largest employers of Aboriginal peoples and a job in this public service has the potential to provide stability and economic security for Aboriginal women. This research is undertaken by a team of Aboriginal researchers from Griffith University and Macquarie University in response to the paucity of qualitative data on Aboriginal women's experiences as employees in the VPS. Aligning with the goals and values of the Gender Equality Act 2020 and the Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector, this project took an intersectional approach (Crenshaw 1989) to research on gender equality. The focus was specifically on the experiences of Aboriginal women, who are arguably one of the most under-researched yet most disadvantaged cohorts in the workplace (Bargallie 2020a).

Participants in this research spoke highly of wanting to secure ongoing employment in the VPS. The findings, however, also revealed that working in the VPS poses many challenges for Aboriginal women. The findings show that Aboriginal women in the Victorian public service sector experience high levels of both racism and misogyny in the workplace. The findings are presented across the five following themes: (1) navigating the 'bureaucratic nonsense': barriers to recruitment and progression; (2) the terms of inclusion: precarious employment and unpaid labour; (2) make us count!: authentic support, recognition, and value of Aboriginal women and their knowledges; (4) racisms at work: every day and in every way; and (5) denial and ambivalence: the failure of complaint policies, processes, and practices.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less

Public employment was traditionally seen as a 'good job', and governments were seen as 'model' employers. That reputation has faded in recent years due to factors including public management reforms that changed traditional public service employment. This research considers how the Australian public service labour market fared compared to the private sector during the global financial crisis. The research compares public and private sector outcomes in Australian states, focusing on two indicators of the size of the public service and wage outcomes. It finds that the global financial crisis did not enhance job prospects or conditions in Australian state public services, and potentially further detracted from public perceptions of governments as 'model' employers and the desirability of public service jobs. The crisis also highlighted the institutional tensions and complexities of the contemporary public employment environment.

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The nature of employment management practices and the role of the Investors in People (IiP) standard in United Kingdom higher education are examined. A dichotomy of process improvement outcomes of IiP is identified: those which allow for continuous improvement and employee development; and those which operate to strengthen managerial command and control often in a more short-term manner, and at the expense of long-term staff development. The implications are contextualised in the lifelong learning debate. If the meaning of lifelong learning is taken to embrace liberal and emancipatory notions of education, the use of processes that reinforce ‘hard’ managerialism are unlikely to allow this to happen and, indeed, may operate against it. Alternatively, if lifelong learning means an emphasis on vocational functionalism, then the use of ‘hard’ managerialism may, indeed, provide the changes necessary to enable enhanced student access and increased student numbers.

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The author introduces the Investors in People process which has been introduced into Australia by the Australian Institute of Management, following its successful development in the United Kingdom (UK). It provides an effective framework for improving business performance and competitiveness and also provides a national quality standard for effective training and development. The article outlines the development stages in the UK, the composition of the departments and agencies involved, the targets and the findings of a survey to assess results. The program in Australia is an accreditation scheme to recognise companies that operate human resource development schemes at a benchmark level of performance. The principles of the standard are shown in a table and the accreditation steps listed. Show less