Licensing negotiation: How credits, credentials, and context generate behavioural latitude. Women need to negotiate in order to secure economic resources, but their efforts to negotiate violate gender stereotypes and evoke backlash. This project integrates the negotiation, gender stereotypes, and psychological licensing literatures to understand how employees’ behavioural histories, and the behavioural histories of their employers, give employees psychological license to violate stereotyped expe ....Licensing negotiation: How credits, credentials, and context generate behavioural latitude. Women need to negotiate in order to secure economic resources, but their efforts to negotiate violate gender stereotypes and evoke backlash. This project integrates the negotiation, gender stereotypes, and psychological licensing literatures to understand how employees’ behavioural histories, and the behavioural histories of their employers, give employees psychological license to violate stereotyped expectations. This project combines laboratory and field methods to identify situations in which both men and women can negotiate economic outcomes without putting their organisational relationships at risk. The project’s findings will help employees to decide when and where to negotiate, and enable managers to design workplaces that sustain gender equity.Read moreRead less
Building individual and collective proactivity in performance-critical work contexts. This research focuses on mobilising individuals and groups to take charge of their situations and self-initiate positive change. It aims to support proactive workforces that can deliver quality health care and community service because employees think ahead, actively introduce better ways of doing things and make the most of opportunities.
When and How Does High Pressure Supervision become Abusive? Employees in both public and private sector organisations are today being urged to do more with less. Consequently work team supervisors are under pressure to demand more effort from subordinates. But when does this cross the line to become abusive supervision? This project proposes to develop and test a framework intended to explain, from an employee's perspective, how supervisors can motivate their subordinates to perform and at the s ....When and How Does High Pressure Supervision become Abusive? Employees in both public and private sector organisations are today being urged to do more with less. Consequently work team supervisors are under pressure to demand more effort from subordinates. But when does this cross the line to become abusive supervision? This project proposes to develop and test a framework intended to explain, from an employee's perspective, how supervisors can motivate their subordinates to perform and at the same time avoid being seen as abusive. The project includes three studies whose results aim to have both theoretical and practical implications, and in particular to help supervisors to understand their subordinates' behaviours, leading to improved employee wellbeing and organisational productivity.Read moreRead less
Achieving flexibility through coordination: reframing the practice of ambidexterity to benefit business and employees during organisational change. Work teams are frequently used yet their capability to perform is constrained by organisational restructures that emphasise centralisation. This project will examine ways to mitigate these potential negative consequences through flexible work arrangements that enable and sustain effectiveness for business units and teams as well as for employees outs ....Achieving flexibility through coordination: reframing the practice of ambidexterity to benefit business and employees during organisational change. Work teams are frequently used yet their capability to perform is constrained by organisational restructures that emphasise centralisation. This project will examine ways to mitigate these potential negative consequences through flexible work arrangements that enable and sustain effectiveness for business units and teams as well as for employees outside work.Read moreRead less
Serving the greater good: using 'Servant Leadership' to build ethical and engaging work practices. The project will result in the first organisational application in Australia of a leadership development program based on scientific foundations of the 'Servant Leadership' framework. The outcomes will benefit organisations of all types in developing the leadership capabilities required to create ethical, positive, and sustainable work environments.
Managing work systems to promote employee engagement and business unit outcomes. This project will lead to the identification of specific people management practices that can be implemented within business units in order to promote both positive business outcomes and improvements in employee psychological well-being through increased employee work engagement. Given that research has already demonstrated significant positive business and psychological benefits arising from work engagement, the r ....Managing work systems to promote employee engagement and business unit outcomes. This project will lead to the identification of specific people management practices that can be implemented within business units in order to promote both positive business outcomes and improvements in employee psychological well-being through increased employee work engagement. Given that research has already demonstrated significant positive business and psychological benefits arising from work engagement, the results of the study have the potential to identify practical pathways towards generating significant economic, social and psychological benefits for employers and employees, at the level of the organisation, the community and, by extrapolation, the nation. Read moreRead less
Improving knowledge transfer from training providers to organisations. This research will identify factors within the control of organizations, business units and individuals that affect their capacity to transfer knowledge and skill effectively back into the workplace. Given the scale of national expenditure on training and development, this represents a significant opportunity to generate both economic and human capital benefits.
The psychological contract: Bridging human resource management practices and organisational effectiveness. Many managers believe that recent changes in management practice are responsible for Australia's high labour productivity but very little is known about the mechanisms through which such effects are transmitted. Will HRM enable Australian organisations to generate and maintain a competitive advantage in the global context? In this project we draw on theoretical frameworks established in ....The psychological contract: Bridging human resource management practices and organisational effectiveness. Many managers believe that recent changes in management practice are responsible for Australia's high labour productivity but very little is known about the mechanisms through which such effects are transmitted. Will HRM enable Australian organisations to generate and maintain a competitive advantage in the global context? In this project we draw on theoretical frameworks established in the behavioural sciences to understand how HRM practices influence employee reactions and impact organisational effectiveness, such as labour productivity. The results will be of direct benefit to Australian organisations designing, evaluating, or reconfiguring their HRM practices in line with their competitive strategy.Read moreRead less
Employment systems and organisational outcomes: Managing employee expectations through HRM practice. This project contributes to our understanding of the factors that influence organisational effectiveness. Australian employers are facing competitive business conditions and changing demographics. In this challenging environment, employers and employees must develop a clear understanding of what they can expect from one another. Unfulfilled expectations can lead to workplace cynicism and have ....Employment systems and organisational outcomes: Managing employee expectations through HRM practice. This project contributes to our understanding of the factors that influence organisational effectiveness. Australian employers are facing competitive business conditions and changing demographics. In this challenging environment, employers and employees must develop a clear understanding of what they can expect from one another. Unfulfilled expectations can lead to workplace cynicism and have a negative effect on organisational performance. The project findings will help organisations become more competitive in the global marketplace by designing HRM practice configurations that are best fit to the needs of their employees and that establish converging expectations about the employment relationship.Read moreRead less
Managing Diversity: Diversity Practice Configurations and Organisational Effectiveness. Organisations expend a lot of momey on their diversity efforts but often fail to implement the most effective diversity management practices. Left unmanaged, workforce diversity can create internal conflict and lower organisational performance. These challenges are especially difficult for the small organisations characteristic of Australian business. This project is designed to identify the most effective ....Managing Diversity: Diversity Practice Configurations and Organisational Effectiveness. Organisations expend a lot of momey on their diversity efforts but often fail to implement the most effective diversity management practices. Left unmanaged, workforce diversity can create internal conflict and lower organisational performance. These challenges are especially difficult for the small organisations characteristic of Australian business. This project is designed to identify the most effective diversity management practices for small and large organisations and provide recommendations for their use. The project benefits employers and employees alike by identifying diversity management practices that maximise organisational effectiveness and create positive working environments in the Australian context.Read moreRead less