Supervisors as recipients and implementers of organizational change: evidence from an Indian chain hospital

Purpose Supervisors play an important role in the implementation of organizational policies and practices. This study aims to examine the role of supervisors as both recipients and main implementers of organizational change by investigating how supervisors’ relationship with organization would affect their attitude toward change (ATC) and how employees–supervisor relationship, as perceived by employees, would influence their reaction to change. Design/methodology/approach The influence of participation, perceived organizational support (POS) and mutual expectation clarity (MEC) on supervisors’ ATC was examined, along with the influence of leader–member exchange, perception of supervisor’s expressed ATC and also supervisors’ organizational status on employees’ ATC. Two studies were conducted in a chain hospital in India. Findings The findings suggest that supervisors’ ATC improved by higher participation, POS and MEC. Also, while employees’ change attitude was predicted by how they perceived their supervisors’ status, expressed reaction toward change and perception of employee–supervisor relationship, for employees who either perceived highly negative change attitude of their supervisors or believed that their supervisors had low organizational status, the employee–supervisor relationship had almost no effect on improving employees’ attitude. Originality/value Considering that supervisors often tend to engage in professional relationships with their subordinate employees, little is investigated on how, through the lens of relationships, supervisors may affect employees’ ATC. This paper attempts to make a difference by conducting two connected studies in a chain hospital to examine how supervisors – as recipients and implementers of organizational policies and practices – could influence employees’ ATC. The findings suggest managerial implications that could inform practitioners toward improvement of employee buy-ins for change programs.

Volunteering: what drives and retains it? An analysis of motivational needs together with organizational policies and practices

PurposeDrawing on expectancy theory, this research explores how and when volunteers’ motivational drives for volunteering relate to organizational policies and practices. The paper analyses four areas of motivational association – affiliation, beliefs, career development and egoistic motives – together with organizational human resource (HR) policies and practices.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a qualitative approach and through 17 interviews of the volunteer managers associated with 13 non-profit organizations (NPOs) examined that how through HR policies and practices, an NPO efficiently taps motivational drives of volunteers and maintains their spirit of volunteering.FindingsThe findings of the study indicated that the same behaviour may serve different functions for different individuals. Most of the motivational drives need to be tapped with specific tasks and events to become a source of fulfilment for volunteers, this plays a vital role in their decisions to continue volunteering. NPOs’ HR practices without volunteers’ motivation cannot serve any purpose. In the same vein, volunteers’ motivation cannot sustain for a longer period if it is not properly linked with organizational HR practices.Research limitations/implicationsThe research findings may lack generalizability because of the selected research approach.Originality/valueA great part of existing research, not previously captured in literature, is focussed on the assessment of the motivational underpinnings with respect to HR policies and practices.

LABOR PSYCHOLOGY AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN THE CONTEXT OF A PANDEMIC: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS LABOR PSYCHOLOGY AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN THE CONTEXT OF A PANDEMIC: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS (Review of the scientific discussion in the laboratory of labor psychology, ergonomics, engineering and organizational psychology, IP RAS, held on September 10, 2020)

В статье проанализированы ход и результаты недавней научной дискуссии, посвященной задачам психологии труда и организационной психологии в условиях пандемии, которая оказывает огромное влияние на профессиональный труд. Были выделены наиболее актуальные проблемы, которые должны решать психологи труда. Сегодня психологи труда имеют уникальную возможность внести свой вклад в формирование моделей будущих форм профессиональной деятельности и помочь выработке организационной политики и практики, которые значительно повысят жизнестойкость субъекта труда даже условиях повторных экономических и пандемических кризисов. В ходе дискуссии было высказано пожелание сделать такие обсуждения актуальных проблем психологии труда и организационной психологии регулярными, приглашая для диалога ведущих психологов страны. The article analyzes the course and results of a recent scientific discussion on the problems of labor psychology and organizational psychology in the context of a pandemic that has a huge impact on professional work. The most urgent problems that labor psychologists should solve were highlighted. Today, labor psychologists have a unique opportunity to contribute to the formation of models for future forms of professional activity and help develop organizational policies and practices that will significantly increase the resilience of the labor subject even in the face of repeated economic and pandemic crises. During the discussion, a desire was expressed to make such discussions of topical issues of labor psychology and organizational psychology regular, inviting leading psychologists of the country for a dialogue.

The issue with issues management: Considering the emotional and gendered core of issues

Issues managers have power over defining issues and legitimizing their importance. While discussion has increased about organizations taking a stand on polarizing social issues, there remains a gap in the issues management literature on how to address stigmatized issues, particularly those with a gendered component. This article offers a revised set of issues motivators that better encompass the gendered and emotional components of issues and guiding questions to assist issues managers in ensuring that organizational policies and practices are more inclusive. Finally, the emotional underpinnings of all phases of the issue life cycle are considered.

Elefanten i (bede)rummet. Raciale forsvindingsnumre, stemningspolitik og idiomatisk diffraktion

The elephant in the room. Racial disappearance acts, mood politics and idiomatic diffraction summarizes a particular way of handling social and cultural problems. It is about social taboosthat are affectively charged: even if everybody knows the elephant is there, they ignore it. In this article, we are grappling with disappearance acts related to race and racialization at a white-dominated Danish university. Race is simultaneously there and not there in organizational policies and practices preoccupied with governing diversity. Using a recent debate over ‘prayer rooms’ in educational institutions, we develop a methodology (‘idiomatic diffraction’) sensitive towards race and racialization in contexts dominated by whiteness. Leaning on Karen Barad, we argue that diffraction may open up a space from where light can be explored in the shadows of what Sylvia Wynter names ‘Man’s Project’.

Organizational policies and diversity management in Saudi Arabia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report empirical research conducted in Saudi Arabia on the impacts of organizational policies and practices on the diversity management of the Saudi private sector. To this end, the Saudization policy and views of key respondents have been tested and discussed.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were collected through questionnaire surveys from the largest 11 private sector organizations listed on the Saudi Stock Market in the financial/banking, oil and gas, petrochemical, private higher education and private health service sectors. Statistical tools such as means and standard deviations and one-samplet-tests were used for analysis.FindingsThe findings suggest that Saudization, retention, pay with benefits and health insurance policies significantly affect the diversity management in the Saudi private sector. Therefore, there is a need to develop organizational policies that support the existence of foreign employees for private businesses in Saudi Arabia. Considering differences as strengths that can be utilized to enhance performance, a diverse workforce might better be able to serve diverse markets.Research limitations/implicationsCollecting data from a closed environment such as Saudi Arabia is constrained by access difficulties, as well as inadequate literature on relevant diversity issues. However, the convenience sampling method and snowballing approach adopted in this study generated reliable data. As a result, this study has implications for both the multinational corporations operating in Saudi Arabia and Saudi owned companies operating in the West and intending to adopt and implement diversity management initiatives for branches in different countries. As such, further research on the gulf countries’ diversity management issues would be critical.Originality/valueThe current study is a first survey-based research endeavor on the topic of diversity management in the Saudi context. The findings contribute to the limited knowledge base on middle eastern countries, thus presenting new empirical evidence on the organizational policies and practices of Saudization, retention, pay and benefits and health insurance policies. The study of the Saudi case, thus adds value to the existing knowledge on diversity management.

Protests, Rallies, Marches, and Social Movements as Organizational Change Agents

The Problem Social movements can impact organizations and employees through changes in policies and procedures in the workplace. Measuring the degree to which collective protests, rallies, and marches have influenced organizational actions can be complex due to the variance in activist practices and the resistance or amiableness of organizations to change. The Solution Protests, rallies, and marches can create a disruptive stage for challenging and confronting organizational policies and practices that maintain power structures. Through the examination of the literature and the review of recent worldwide events, this article illustrates how social movements have affected organizations and led to organizational changes, illuminating change processes in established fields such as business. Specifically, we aim to answer how protests, rallies, and marches influence organizational policies and practices attributed to human resource development (HRD). We conclude by discussing how a recent social movement is applicable to the field of HRD and suggest areas for future research. The Stakeholders This article may be of interest to employees at all levels of the organization, researchers, and practitioners in the field of HRD.

Explaining sexual minorities’ disclosure: The role of trust embedded in organizational practices

This paper reports on an empirical study that demonstrated how organizational inclusion practices and employees’ trust in their organization and supervisors affect their willingness to share personal information that could potentially lead to workplace discrimination. The findings are based on data obtained from 431 sexual- and gender-minority employees using an anonymous online survey. The results reveal that trust in the organization and the supervisor fully mediates the relationship between organizational policies and practices and workplace disclosure. In other words, in organizations where policies and practices generate trust, employees are more willing to disclose their minority identity. Our analysis also reveals how trust in the organization and the supervisor interacts with psychological variables associated with the workplace disclosure decision.