Dissertationen zum Thema „Human resource management practitioners“

COMPARISON OF HIRING STRATEGIES OF ORTHODONTIC PRIVATE PRACTITIONERS By Steven C. Petritz, D.D.S. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018 Thesis Director: Bhavna Shroff, D.D.S., M.Dent.Sc., M.P.A. Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Orthodontics Program Director Purpose: Evaluate factors that influence hiring outcomes of clinical and non-clinical staff in orthodontic private practices. Methods: Orthodontists (n=1968) were surveyed regarding their hiring methods and outcomes. Responses were summarized using descriptive statistics. Chi-square tests were used to compare between hiring strategies and outcomes. Results: Survey response rate was 23% (n = 452 responses). 65% received 1-10 applicants and 54% utilized online job sites. Online job sites was associated with increased number of applicants (p<0.0001) and number of days to fill the position (p<0.0001). Forty-seven percent of respondents used the internet to screen candidates. Sixty-two percent of respondents hired based on personality. Fifty-seven percent of respondents plan to use employee referrals for future hiring needs. Conclusion: Online job sites accounted for the majority of the most recent hires. Orthodontists indicated that their future preference to be employee referrals. Social and professional relationships may lead to a more efficient hiring process.

This thesis addresses an existing gap in the workplace bullying literature: how Human Resource Practitioners (HRPs) construct, interpret and respond to workplace bullying. Semistructured interviews were conducted with individual HRPs and a small focus group using two forms of data collection: HRPs’ unprompted interpretations of a vignette depicting a bullying situation and HRPs’ own experiential accounts of handling bullying claims. The HRPs were from private and public sector organisations, and all occupied roles that involved dealing with bullying claims. The interviews were analysed using Critical Discourse Analysis, and Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice provided the framework for interpreting the multilevel individual, organisational and social factors influencing HRPs’ bullying-related practice. The findings suggest that bullying is a complex and difficult issue for HRPs due to a combination of organisational pressure to protect managers, management-centric antibullying policies and the relative powerlessness of Human Resource Management and HRPs in organisations. HRPs applied a range of interpretive mechanisms that served to attribute blame to the target and legitimise the manager’s behaviour, even when the behaviour described met academic definitions of bullying. The way the HRPs constructed, interpreted and responded to bullying claims depended on whether the alleged bully was the target’s peer or manager. The HRPs consistently constructed peer-to-peer claims as interpersonal conflict and manager-to-employee claims as the target’s reaction to performance-management practices. The HRPs’ construct of ‘genuine bullying’ appeared to comprise four essential criteria: intentional and person-related behaviour between peers, which has significant negative impact on a trustworthy target. These findings have significant implications for research and practice. Firstly, HRPs’ construct of ‘genuine bullying’ is fundamentally different to academic and organisational definitions of bullying. Secondly, as a result of these constructs and interpretive mechanisms it appears very unlikely that any management behaviour in manager-to-employee claims would be constructed as bullying by HRPs.

Human Resource Management (HRM) is a new system of managing employees in the orgamsation. The use of this system and its models is growing very fast among companies in different industries. The outcomes of a proper HRM modeJ are business ice, customer satisfaction and employee commitment. There are factors, e if an appropriate model of HRM is not practiced in a company. These include but not are limited to high staff turnover, stress, ageing workforce and gender diversity. This research examines the implementation of HRM in the shipping industry.

Over the last 20 years there has been a growth in the relative importance of personnel economics as an area of economics. However, due to a lack of suitable data most of the work in this area has been largely theoretical. It is only in the past decade that there has been a growth in the availability of firm-based data sets, making it possible for researchers to begin to test some of these ideas empirically. This thesis analyses data from a rich source of monthly personnel and payroll records from a large banking sector firm. The data is confined to the organisation's U. K operations and is available over the period January 1989 to March 1997 (giving 99 monthly observations). Although personnel data of this this sort is available for the US (see, for example, Baker, Gibbs and Holmstrom (1994) and Lazear (1999)), this is one of the first data sets of its kind to be available for the U. K. This thesis focues on three areas of personnel economics. It analyses the issues of promotion, absenteeism, and labour turnover, paying particular attention in all three cases to gender differences.

The multinational enterprise (MNE) is now a significant part of the world economy both in temis of trade and employment. The performance of an MINE is in part dependent on the capability of its human resource. The knowledge and experience of employees is a source of competitive advantage, but whether this is realised or not may depend on having the right human resource policies. Managers therefore seek to implement best practice, and in multinationals there is the potential for intraorganizational learning across national boundaries. The aim of this thesis is to examine a number of questions arising from the proposition that multinational firms are contributing to the development of international norms of best practice in human resource management as a result of a trend towards greater coordination of management practice in MNEs. It is suggested that multinationals are developing mechanisms to encourage the transfer of knowledge and experience across national boundaries, and this is therefore an important aspect of international human resource management (HRM). The thesis contains a review of the literature, firstly on the management of multinationals, secondly on the development of a strategic view of human resource management, and thirdly on HRM in the MINE. From this material, a theoretical framework is developed that links together a number of research questions. These formed the basis for the design and execution of a qualitative research project in which information on strategy, structure and management practice was obtained from twentyfour companies. These represented a cross-section of country ownership, including the UK, other European countries, the USA and Japan. The design of the research project is explained, and this is followed by a presentation of the results. These support the proposition that as a consequence of the globalization of markets, multinationals are tending to adopt a more global perspective in which there is greater cross-national integration of operations, coordination of management practice, and the development of internationally orientated management. The analysis discusses the implications of this for international human resource management, and offers a number of recommendations for HRM in the multinational enterprise. Finally some suggestions are made for future research to build on and extend the findings of this project.

Although Talent Management (TM) is a well-known concept, there are certain limitations in the area. Primarily it is about talent being an ambiguous concept and that there is currently no clear definition. Furthermore, previous research shows that there are no actual routines on how TM-activities should be designed. The specific contribution from the current study is therefore about identifying the challenges that exists for TM from an employer perspective. The findings we have noticed in the study are mainly derived from the structure of an organisation where there is a certain dynamic between the central management and local units. This makes it difficult to work strategically with TM as the division of responsibility is locally based. Another finding was that the definition of talent should be mutual in order for organisations to be able to handle talents effectively and to design activities that facilitates the work towards the organisation's goals. Thus, this study should be able to support future research in the field of TM by identifying the challenges organisations might face and therefore creating opportunities for better managing or strategically developing the work with TM.

In today’s fast paced, ever-changing world, one cannot help hearing the terms Big Data and analytics. The Internet holds vast amounts of data and this data, for example in retail, is being used to predict shopping habits, current needs, trends, and more. Why should this be limited to the retail side of an organization? Today, there is a more significant push for Human Resource (HR) professionals to be strategic business partners, and, therefore, HR professionals need to work on leading, not lagging, in the area of measurements and analytics. Some organizations that have adopted the use of analytics in their HR departments have been extremely successful. If this is the case, why are not more HR professionals adopting the use of human resource analytics (HRA)? The purpose of this study is to gain insight as to the reasons why more HR professionals are not using HRA to improve organizational performance and to gain and maintain a competitive advantage. An exploration of prior research was performed and resulted in the development of a model representing factors that impact the adoption of HRA. The model was then tested for content validity and reliability using Partial Least Squares of Path Modeling. Results of the study of 302 HR professionals, currently working in the field of HR, suggest the hypotheses testing social influence, tool availability, effort expectancy, performance expectancy, and quantitative self-efficacy as factors impacting the adoption of HRA were all significant. Conversely, the factors data availability, fear appeals, and general self-efficacy were not significant. Findings indicate that the factors impacting the adoption of HRA are not only in the hands of the HR professional but, to some extent, the organization as well. If organizations truly want to adopt HRA, they must make available to the HR professionals the tools, data, resources, and support necessary. This study contributes to the literature on individual-level adoption, specifically of HRA. Implications for theory and practice are discussed, as well as further research.

This research presents the Business Process perspective of HRM and demonstrates gaps in HR field. The research follows a combination of Constructive and Case Study research methodologies and complies with the quality criteria set for this type of research. In this light, the research develops the HRM Business Process Model by defining HRM as a business process. The first version of the model was initially developed following an extensive literature survey. Initial validation of the model involved several companies in the UK through a structured questionnaire. Second version of the model was developed according to the comments and recommendations received from companies. The second version of the model was validated by academics from HR and Business Process fields. The Model represents a hard systems model of HRM process, which is intended to be normative outlining the key activities and information flows. An audit methodology was produced based on the Model. The HRM business process of four companies were audited using the audit methodology. These four in-depth case study companies together with the research leading up to this point led to development of new insights to the HRM theory and practices. The most significant contributions of this research are as follows: Introduced HRM as a business process and classify it as a support process; Demonstrated that, the HRM activities can be modelled as a business process, taking a systems engineering approach. This provides a "Hard Systems" perspective to HRM; Demonstrated that, the Model provides a framework that would facilitate effective deployment of business objectives to HR objectives; HRM is a business process that supports other business processes. However, in practice HRM is not recognised as a cross-functional business process; Companies with no formal HR function seem to have the most complete HR business process where the process is embedded into each function; Impact of HR process / activities are not measured or monitored in an objective explicit manner.

This thesis analyses Human Resource Management (H.R.M) in English local government. The research shows how H.R.M in local authorities has been influenced by the development of New Public Management (N.P.M) that has adopted some but not all of the characteristics of H.R.M. N.P.M and H.R.M appear to have important differences arising from the unique nature of local government culture, organisation and structure. These differences were found in this study to prevent the full implementation of a strategic and effective form of H.R.M. As a result of these differences local government in England has developed a hybrid form of H.R.M suitable to the particular to the needs of local authorities. The study presents evidence that some cultural change has occurred in local authorities under H.R.M, particularly in the structure of organisations, and in the relationship between HR staff and managers. However, the inability of local authorities to overcome specific barriers to H.R.M means that the contribution H.R.M might make to the organisational performance of local councils is still unknown. These barriers are the inability of councils to produce integrated business and H.R strategies; underdevelopment of line managers; incomplete processes of devolution and decentralisation of HR responsibilities and issues arising from the political nature of local authorities.

Human resource outsourcing (HRO) is a strategic choice that managers implement because of a variety of anticipated benefits. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify HRO strategies managers used to reduce operating costs while maintaining human resource (HR) effectiveness. Data were collected from semistructured interviews using open-ended questions and a review of company documents. Study participants represented 3 midwestern firms with 50 or more employees. The participants drawn from the population consisted of a minimum of 2 participants per organization who had increased their organization's strategic value using HRO strategies. The transaction cost economics (TCE) theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were analyzed using methodological triangulation to identify codes from words, phrases, and sentences using multiple sources to identify recurring themes. Five key themes emerged: outsourcing strategies, outsourced functions, operational costs, organizational effectiveness, and success measurement. The findings of this study may lead to social change by supporting managers in making HRO decisions conducive to reducing operating costs while maintaining HR effectiveness, which might positively impact social change by providing core function jobs to the local community thereby decreasing unemployment rates.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role ambiguity, role conflict, and job satisfaction perceptions among selected Human Resource Development (HRD) practitioners. The study's target population was the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)—Dallas Chapter. The independent variables used in this study consisted of HRD practitioners' gender, age, length of HRD experience, educational level, and HRD role category.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1985.<br>MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND DEWEY.<br>Bibliography: leaves 217-220.<br>by Earnest William Deavenport, Jr.<br>M.S.

This study examines and describes the perceptions of human resource professionals about their contribution and that of their departments to strategic planning and management. Human resource leaders from organizations with five hundred or more employees in Southern California responded to this survey. The significance of this study is its potential to increase our understanding of the contribution of the human resource function to strategic planning.

Enhancing of internationalisation in Higher education institutions is investigated in the dissertation, with the priority given to human resource management. The intercultural competence is identified as an instrument for complex improvement of internationalisation: its perspectives quantitative and qualitative results. The theoretical and empirical research results are summarised in the concept of HEIs’ internationalisation proposed, which is based on the idea of human resource intercultural competence development.<br>Darbe nagrinėjamos aukštojo mokslo institucijų veiklos internacionalizavimo tobulinimo problemos, prioritetizuojant žmonių išteklių vadybą. Analizuojama aukštojo mokslo institucijų internacionalizavimo samprata, subjektai ir veiksniai sąlygojantys internacionalizavimo plėtrą, bei kokybinius ir kiekybinius parametrus. Atliktų teorinių ir empirinių tyrimų rezultatai yra apibendrinami pateikiamoje aukštojo mokslo institucijų internacionalizavimo koncepcijoje, grįstoje aukštojo mokslo institucijų žmonių išteklių tarpkultūrinės kompetencijos formavimu. Darbe patiekiami sprendimai siūlomai koncepcijai realizuoti.

<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>

In spite of the fact that Western companies have been actively developing the Russian market over the last twenty years, they are still faced with the Soviet-era heritage in human resource management. This paper gives an overview of the common Soviet human resource practices of the past. Understanding traditional human resource practices in the Soviet Union prior to the end of communism will help practitioners to design human resource management systems for Russia more efficiently today. Moreover, this article makes recommendations for HR professionals on some unwritten rules of human resource management, summarizes current best practices for the recruitment, selection and retention of employees and helps to reduce potential cultural misunderstandings and conflicts between the two different systems: market and planned economies.(author's abstract)<br>Series: WU Online Papers in International Business Communication / Series One: Intercultural Communication and Language Learning

This study set out to contribute to the literature on international human resource management (IHRM) strategies of multinational corporations (MNCs) and the factors that influence them. In doing so it sought to address a number of weaknesses in the existing literature, notably a marked lack of research into the strategies adopted by MNCs in developing economies, particularly when they become involved under the auspices of privatisation programmes. More specifically, the study sought to investigate the human resource management (HRM) reforms introduced by three French MNCs in privatised Jordanian companies and the factors that influenced them. The research utilised a longitudinal multiple-case design to achieve the study's aim and objectives, and was conducted in three phases over three years. More specifically, the study was based upon a sample of three case studies of privatised Jordanian companies that had recently come under the control of French MNCs operating in different sectors. Primary data was gathered through 67 in-depth semi-structured interviews with company directors, senior line and finance managers, and HR staff, including senior personnel based at headquarters in France. In addition, 14 interviews were conducted with government officials in Jordan and a range of supplementary documentary evidence was examined. In general, the findings from the case study companies revealed that in each of the Jordanian subsidiaries a wide range of changes had been made to the previously existing HRM policies. These encompassed the making of reforms in each of the specific areas of HR activity investigated: the people management responsibilities of line managers; staffing, recruitment and selection; training and development; performance appraisal; rewards; and communication and consultation. Taken together, the case studies highlighted similarities in terms of the objectives and broad thrust of the structural, policy and cultural reforms that were introduced. However, they also showed the companies to differ in terms of the way in which the reforms were centrally authored, the extent to which they were implemented in a participative way, the types of control mechanisms that were used to support the reform process, and the pace with which the reforms were introduced. The above similarities and differences appeared to nave been influenced by a number of interrelated factors. Most important was the beliefs that senior management held of what constituted 'good and appropriate' human resource practice. Others related to the characteristics of the industries in which the MNCs operated and the implications these had for company business strategies and structures; the parent company's country of origin and experience in managing international operations; the strategic role of the subsidiaries and their mode of establishment; and a number of host country effects. Overall, it is argued, that the study's findings contribute to existing knowledge in a number of ways. First, the findings lend some further support to the validity of Perlmutter's typology of the IHRM strategies that are adopted by MNCs, while also raising doubts about its future usefulness. They also add weight to the view that a process of convergence is occurring in respect of the HRM policies utilised by MNCs, and that this convergence is centred around an Anglo-Saxon conceptualisation of HRM best practice. At the same time, they also lend weight to the argument that this process of Anglo-Saxonisation is occurring in the context of national specific frameworks. As a result, the study suggests that there remains some country of origin influence over the way MNCs mange their human resources. More generally, the study's findings tend to suggest, contrary to some arguments in the literature, that MNCs do not apply different IHRM strategies and practices to their subsidiaries in developing economies. They also suggest that more attention needs to be paid to the way in which government policies and wider political pressures, surrounding the privatisation programmes of such countries act to influence the way in which MNCs approach the process of reform in subsidiaries acquired as a result of privatisation. More generally, the study's findings tend to suggest, contrary to some arguments in the literature, that MNCs do not apply different IHRM strategies and practices to their subsidiaries in developing economies. They also suggest that more attention needs to be paid to the way in which government policies and wider political pressures, surrounding the privatisation programmes of such countries act to influence the way in which MNCs approach the process of reform in subsidiaries acquired as a result of privatisation. More generally, the study's findings tend to suggest, contrary to some arguments in the literature, that MNCs do not apply different IHRM strategies and practices to their subsidiaries in developing economies. They also suggest that more attention needs to be paid to the way in which government policies and wider political pressures, surrounding the privatisation programmes of such countries act to influence the way in which MNCs approach the process of reform in subsidiaries acquired as a result of privatisation. More generally, the study's findings tend to suggest, contrary to some arguments in the literature, that MNCs do not apply different IHRM strategies and practices to their subsidiaries in developing economies. They also suggest that more attention needs to be paid to the way in which government policies and wider political pressures, surrounding the privatisation programmes of such countries act to influence the way in which MNCs approach the process of reform in subsidiaries acquired as a result of privatisation.

This study examined the relationship between Human Resource Management (HRM) and employee wellbeing in three large South African organisations (N = 284). Employee wellbeing was defined as the subjective experiences of employees and was indicated by job satisfaction, affective commitment and psychological wellbeing. Particular attention was paid to how the HRM system relates to employee wellbeing through an investigation of the content and process components of the HRM system. Regression analyses revealed significant relationships between HRM content and employee wellbeing, namely performance management and career management practices. No significant relationships were found for the process component, namely the strength of the HRM system. The research findings provide a basis for future research into which particular types of HRM practices lead to employee wellbeing, and how they could be implemented in practice. The discussion of the findings is intended to produce positive implications for organisations, HRM practitioners and employees.

Denna studie avser att undersöka användandet av digitala verktyg inom HR samt hur kommunikationen och interaktionen har påverkat HR-personalen och de övriga anställda inom organisationen. För att vidare forska inom studien har kvalitativa intervjuer genomförts med syfte till att samla in information kring de anställdas uppfattningar och åsikter kring användandet av digitala verktyg. Vi har även valt att fokusera på hur relationen mellan HR anställda och resterande av organisationernas medarbetare påverkas vid kommunikation via digitala verktyg. Med forskningsfråga som har inriktning i hur digitala verktyg har påverkat HR avdelningens arbetssätt och hur kommunikationen och interaktionen mellan HR personalen och övriga anställda påverkats. Resulterar det till att digitala verktyg har effektiviserat HR avdelningens arbetssätt. Kommunikationen har inte påverkats negativt och interaktionen mellan HR personalen och övriga anställda har förändrats, men därmed bidragit till nya möjligheter.<br>This study aims to investigate how digital tools support the HR department and affect thecommunication and interaction between HR managers and other employees within anorganization. To gather information in order to understand the employee's experience andopinions about how digital tools affect their work, have qualitative interviews been conducted. However, we have also focused on the relationship between HR managers and the rest of the organization's employees are affected by the new technology. With our research questions that include both the effects of the digital tools and how new technology changed the relationship and the interactions between HR managers and other employees. Did the results show that the digital tools facilitated the work of HR managers. Also, the communication between HR managers and other employees did not get affected negatively with the use of different digital and the interaction have changed but also gives new opportunities.

The starting point of this thesis is the idea in the literature that the main objective of NPM is to apply strategic direction to public organizations (Truss, 2006) that could help to achieve economic and cost-cutting objectives (Boyne, ibid.). Achieving these objectives is, in part, based on applying management reform (Hood, 1995) through a focus on performance management, the setting of quality standards, the adoption of a philosophy of enhancing value for money and the replacement of the allegedly traditional bureaucratic structure of management based on satisfying organizational members’ interests and demands a more market- or competition-based set of arrangements. In UK higher education institutions (HEIs), human resource management (HRM) has had a major influence by orchestrating these changes to achieve organizational effectiveness (Brown, 2008). Thus human resource professionals must address these changes when planning and carrying out their roles and programmes. This thesis proposes that there are two models that can be adapted to public sector organizations, such as universities: Stakeholder Satisfaction (SS) model and Instrumental Rationality (IR) model. Stakeholder Satisfaction model is concerned with balancing the demands and interests of different stakeholders and members. It is related to political, social and communicative forms of rationality as a base to achieve Organizational Effectiveness (OC). The HRM role in this model seems to focus on operations and people to satisfying members’ interests (Employee Champion role) and to perform administrative activities (Administrative Expert role). Instrumental Rationality model is seeking to achieve economic goals. The OE perspective under this model is related to technical and economic rationality. HRM within this model is concerned with achieving strategic orientation in an organization (Business Partner role). I argue that applying New Public Management (NPM) may influence public sector organizations to move from the Stakeholder Satisfaction model to the Instrumental Rationality model. Similarly, this might well be accompanied by HRM departments in universities shifting their main focus from the role of ‘Employee Champion’ to that of ‘Business Partner’.

This study aims at investigating the alignment between human resource management (HRM) and knowledge management (KM). The research was motivated by the increasing trend towards highlighting the role of HRM practices in supporting KM and its activities. Effective and efficient KM is claimed to only be possible if firms address its human dimension in addition to its information technology (IT) one. The review of relevant literature showed that there was a lack of sufficient empirical research to support the theoretical claims linking HRM to KM. Available empirical studies are rare and subject to criticism that question the validity of the studies. Two empirical research questions are adopted for this study: (1) How is KM perceived and implemented within the management consulting sector in the UK? (2) What is the role of HRM in supporting KM within the management consulting sector in the UK? The context of this study is the 'management consulting sector in the UK. This sector was thought optimal for uncovering links between HRM and KM, mainly due to the nature of this sector; it is arguably knowledge-intensive and is a major employer of a highly skilled workforce. The study utilised mixed methods to address the research questions, which were investigated in both an intensive and an extensive manner. Several methods were utilised as well to ensure replication, complementation and triangulation. The first method is a descriptive survey to assess extensively HRM, KM and their interrelations in the UK management consulting sector. A total of 52 participants replied to the survey, out of a sample of 323 organisations, achieving a response rate of 16.1 %. The second method comprises semi-structured qualitative interviews covering a representative sample of the survey sample. A total of 15 interviews were conducted at this research stage. The third method includes two mini case studies that were chosen based on the companies having a developed KM initiatives arid HRM practices. A total of five interviews were conducted; several relevant documents were also collected from each of the two organisations. The thesis generated several major findings that impact on the relevant literature. There is little evidence of formal holistic KM initiatives in the management consulting sector. KM is chiefly addressed through IT management. At the informal level, KM is viewed as a set of activities where the most cited activity is knowledge-sharing. Therefore, this study found that research is more useful, if it focuses on where knowledge resides and what are the contextual characteristics under each KM orientation. The study identified four KM strategies that organisations might adopt. The combination strategy is found to be the most adopted by consultancies followed by the codification, personalisation and laissez faire strategies. The study focused on the following contextual characteristics under each strategy: culture type, leadership style, IT, knowledge types, knowledge sources, KM responsibility and dominant KM activities. Each KM strategy has a distinctive set of contextual characteristics. Afterwards, the HRM function was found to have a limited role in supporting KM - and when some roles are claimed, they are identified as indirect and reactive, As for the HRM practices, practitioners viewed them as natural contributors to KM at various intensities, although they have not designed them with the intention to do so. Above all, participants perceived PA, R&S and T &D as significant contributors to KM. The thesis then moves on to allocate the contextual characteristics of the HRM practices under each KM strategy, which further illustrates the implicit role of those practices In supporting K.M. The case studies have added some depth to our understanding of this research branch. Firstly, they highlighted the internal politics and power struggles caused by introducing KM initiatives. Secondly, they illustrated how various KM strategies exist within the same organisation.

Problem: Motivation is the number one problem facing businesses today. It is essential for employers to recognize what motivates employees in order to improve productivity and ensure the success of the company (Wiley, 1997). Even though employee motivation is a well researched topic, most studies have particularly focused on small domestic companies. Opportunities within MNCs and small companies are significantly different. Qualitative methods in the field of management is very limited, which the article by Cassell, Symon, Buehring and Johnson (2006) supports.  Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation is to explore what motivates employees to work. Focus will be on employees working in multinational corporations in Sweden. In order to do so, we aim to identify key factors which have an impact on motivation at work. This study will contribute with a framework of motivational factors in a organization. It will also give an insight in employees’ attitudes towards motivation and what motivation means to them.  Methodology: This thesis will use a qualitative method. The study is based on an interpretivistic philosophy with an abductive research approach. In order to answer our research question, primary data is collected through interviews with a number of employees from multinational companies in Sweden. This research strategy enables us to make investigations about work motivation. Conclusions: After analyzing the motivational factors in our study, we can make the conclusion that motivation is highly personal and differs from individual to individual. Work motivation is also not consistent over time, meaning, the factor which motivates an individual today will most likely not be the same motivational factor a year from now. It is clear that personal circumstances will have an impact on employee motivation. Results reveal that employees who are in the same profession are similarly motivated and satisfied in their work.

This dissertation investigates two related aspects of firms’ choice of HRM practices. The first is why some firms expend a great deal of resources on HRM practices for each employee while others spend very little; the second is the extent to which firms’ bundles of HRM practices sort into general discrete employment systems. In order to empirically address these issues, this dissertation uses an economics-based theoretical approach. The key theoretical link to economics is to treat HRM as a separate factor input in the production process, which allows me to derive an HRM input demand function. This function expresses the firm’s per employee expenditures on HRM and their choice of HRM system as a function of prices and internal and external firm characteristics. Ordinary least squares, two-stage least squares and linear quantile analysis are used to empirically estimate the HRM demand function using a unique dataset of several hundred firms collected by the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA). The regression equation is found to be statistically significant, implying firms do have an identifiable demand for HRM practices. Second, there are nine independent variables which are found to be stable determinants of the demand for per employee expenditures on HRM practices. Regarding the existence of discrete employment systems, cluster analysis is used to determine if the sets of HRM practices adopted by these firms sort into identifiable types of HRM systems. The results show that there is a discrete set of four HRM systems; however, the HRM demand function does not predict which system a firm will choose.

This thesis examines contemporary human resource management (HRM) in the hotel industry in Taiwan. The hotel industry and the effective management of its human resources are of great economic significance for Taiwan, given the government's plans for doubling the number of international arrivals between 2002 and 2008 (Tourism Bureau 2005b). Yet previous research on this topic is scarce, consisting of only four studies, three of them unpublished Master's theses. Access to two of the studies is limited and all four studies have adopted a 'single issue' perspective in their investigation. This study has attempted a broader perspective, inviting exploration in an open-ended way of a range of contemporary issues and concerns. It also offers a literature review intended as a significant contribution in its own right, in its attempt to locate research helpful to the Taiwanese hotel industry. The specific aims of this study were to explore the way managers in the hotel industry are thinking about what they identify as concerns, the HRM issues and practices they perceive as important in employee management, and the future plans they have for HRM. The data were gathered from the manager which each hotel identified as being best placed to discuss these issues. Findings from this study are presented with interpretation and commentary offered to compare the themes raised in this study with those identified in the literature. Given the high proportion of quantitative studies in hospitality industry research across the world (Lucas and Deery 2004), a qualitative method is utilised in this research and in-depth interviews were chosen as the main vehicle for data collection. The characteristics of such qualitative research are exploratory and descriptive, creating a data set that is not possible to obtain through written questionnaires and surveys. Twenty-eight hotels were approached and fourteen hotels participated in this research, representing a 50 per cent response rate. The results suggest that most participating hotels are focused on dealing with the day-to-day operational challenges of shortages of appropriately skilled staff, seasonal variations in workforce demand and employee turnover. While they perceive these issues as significant and challenging, they were mostly inclined to view these as 'facts of life' in the industry, and were relatively limited in their thinking about more fundamental and strategic solutions for dealing with them. However, some hotels are developing more innovative approaches to effectively engaging with these challenges, such as participating in joint-training programs with other hotels; developing long-term relationships with internship students; increasing employee empowerment and using the Balanced Scorecard (Nair 2004; Niven 2006) in performance management. This study explores some ways in which these practical initiatives could be taken further. It also takes up a key theme which emerged from the interviews, namely the vital importance of developing sound customer service cultures and practices. Some practical ideas are explored to assist in this respect. On the bases of these findings, this study also concludes that human resource managers have a valuable role to play in the executive management teams of hotels. This role needs to be further developed and encouraged. The current and emerging challenges facing the industry demand an approach to HRM which is far more strategic than the traditional focus of personnel administration; instead, HRM has a key role to play in creating and sustaining competitive advantage in organisations.

Thesis (DBA) -- Swinburne University of Technology, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, 2007.<br>Doctor of Business Administration, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology, 2007. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 264-285).

This whole research project evolved to ultimately understand how and why human resource practitioners across several industries discover, adopt or implement certain human resource management trends into their industries and organisations. Since the explosion of information technology and the effects of globalisation it was interesting to explore and discover intimate knowledge from various human resource management experts. Through exploratory research, a series of in-depth interviews were set up with several human resource (HR) directors and managers across various global companies and industries in South Africa. This research investigated the views of these human resource experts and how various human resource trends impact and influence the human resource practitioner in this ever evolving global economy. The outcome of this research can facilitate human resource practitioners in enhancing their knowledge and understanding in the human resource field with regards to making them more competitive in attracting, maintaining and retaining talent for their organisations, by certain human resource management trends. Furthermore, the research may provide an insightful understanding of how and why certain human resource management trends become disseminated into various organisations for the human resource manager.<br>Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010.<br>Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)<br>unrestricted

Human Resource Management (HRM) has undergone significant changes during the past twenty-five to thirty years in response to the demands made upon the Human Resource function. With the change in emphasis in HRM has come the need for human resource practitioners (HRPs) to adapt to the new demands made upon them to contribute directly to the bottom line success of their organisations It is argued that HRM is inherently ambiguous, attempting to meet both the needs of the business and the individual employee. This places pressure on HRPs to become "specialists in ambiguity" as they attempt to meet the demands of key stakeholders in the enterprise. The emphasis in the role of the HRP, has moved historically, from that of a welfare officer to that of a fully fledged member of the management team, held equally responsible for the success of the operation. As with most professions today, a price is exacted for participation in modem organisations in the form of increased work-related stress. Considerable research has been undertaken over the past thirty years into work-related stress among many professions~ but no identifiable, in depth studies into sources of work-related stress among HRPs were located. The significant shift that has taken place in the role of HRPs, from their original welfare orientated function, to the current role emphasis on contributing to direct bottom line success, provides the context for the increase in work related stress levels experienced by some HRPs. The study investigates the links between the career orientation of HRPs, role stress factors and burnout in an attempt to identify sources of stress among a sample of human resource practitioners drawn from the greater Durban area and the KwaZulu Natal coastal region. The report is diagnostic and not prescriptive in attempting to ascertain coping skills for stressed HRPs. The study model posits a juxtaposition between those HRPs who are "service" orientated with those who are "managemeng' orientated. The purpose is to establish in the current corporate environment, whether those who are more service orientated, would suffer greater work-related stress, in contrast to those who are more "management" orientated, who were conceived of as experiencing less work-related stress. No strong links are revealed between "service" and "general management' and Role Stress or Burnout. The combined effects of role stress and burnout are conceived in the study to illustrate work related stress. In contrast to the original study model, two other findings of significance emerged. Those HRPs who were entrepreneurially orientated showed the highest levels of workrelated stress. And, those who were technical/functional orientated were least likely to be affected by role stress and burnout. These findings are important in light of the current call for HRPs to be entrepreneurial and innovatively creative. Yet these HRPs reveal the greatest possibility of experiencing role stress and burnout. In contrast, those HRPs whose orientation is technical and functional are found to reveal the least possibility of suffering from work-related stress. These findings lead to a new paradigm revealing the presence of a different dilemma and tension for HRPs. Within the demand for a total business focus on the part of HRPs and HRM, emerges a tension between the more stressful entrepreneurial and innovative role and the more stable technical and functional role also demanded by the organisation. The study suggests that the ambiguity in HRM in practice presents itself in terms of dilemmas and contrasts with which the HRPs has to live. Role ambiguity and role overload appear to contribute most to the possibility of burnout. Role ambiguity has its origin in the very nature of HRM, which is shown to be inherently ambiguous. Role overload among management, is observed more as part of the nature of the modern work environment, whereas role ambiguity emerges as a feature of the nature of HRM. Role conflict is explained mostly as a normal element in the HRPs job of balancing competing demands in the work place. The ambiguous nature of HRM and the uncertainties which it generates adds to the work-related source of stress and leads to HRPs having to become "specialists in ambiguity". Role stress factors, rather than career orientation elements are shown to be the leading contributors to the possibility of increased levels of burnout The findings have implications for the selection and training of HRPs. The contemporary emphases require HRPs to balance a tough minded business focus with acceptable innovate approaches to the organisation's human resources and excellent ongoing functional services. This balancing of ambiguities needs to be accompanied by a sensitivity to people, without becoming the subject of role stress and raised levels of burnout.<br>Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

The aim of this study was to explore human resources (HR) practitioners’ experiences of engagement interventions within a financial institution. A qualitative research approach was followed which was informed by the hermeneutic phenomenological paradigm. Semi-structured interviews were used. The findings indicated that HR practitioners play a critical role in enhancing engagement in organisations through the implementation of effective engagement interventions. The HR practitioners often thought of themselves as the ‘heart’, ‘the core’, ‘facilitator’, ‘business partner’ or ‘middle man’ when implementing engagement interventions. The majority of the HR practitioners did understand engagement, their role in the implementation of engagement interventions and the tools used to assess engagement. However, the findings did indicate that some of the HR practitioners within this study had limited knowledge of engagement, engagement interventions and the tools used to implement engagement. The findings also indicated that the implementation of an engagement intervention should be a collaborative process between employer and employee, with the support of top management to ensure the success of the engagement intervention. Engagement interventions were considered to be predominantly positive and successful by most of the participants. However, it was noted by participants that if there is no follow-through on the implementation of the engagement interventions it can become negative.<br>Industrial and Organisational Psychology<br>M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The Human Resources department, through the policies and practices that it develops, stands as a steering function for the rest of the organisation. Human Resource policies and practices, dealing with issues that most often directly affect every employee, set out the guidelines which govern the behaviour, thinking and action of all members of the organisation. The extensive influence of these policies, therefore, make it an interesting subject of research to explore the process that is conducted to develop these policies, the individuals involved and the personal impact of practitioners from the Human Resource department who are often the leaders of this policy development process. Through face to face interviews, coupled with short, factual questionnaires, subjects from information-rich organisations were questioned regarding the nature of their policy development process and the role that individual Human Resource practitioners play in this process. It has been determined through the results of the study that Human Resource practitioners primarily influence the development of policies, with some input from management and very little, if any, participation by employees. Essentially, these practitioners draw up the policies themselves and suggestions are then given and the policies ratified by top management before being implemented in the organisation. In most cases, no involvement of employees is permitted although in some instances, partial participation through representatives is allowed. The theoretical basis of the study rests primarily on systems theory which identifies how changes in one part of the organisation system, such as Human Resource policies and practices, has an effect on every other part of the system, in other words, every employee. This is important when considering that only a small group of individuals, and primarily one Human Resource practitioner, develop policies that affect an entire organisation. The competing values approach also impacts on the study here where it must be identified that the values of one, or a group, of individuals should not dominate an entire organisation where individuals are guided by different values and goals. The research addresses this issue by examining the impact that the personal values, beliefs and opinions of the Human Resource practitioner, who predominantly has the main influence on the process, has on the policies developed. The study reveals that when developing policies, practitioners are in fact guided by a balance between their personal values and the values and beliefs of the organisation. This means that they try to remain neutral in the process, not allowing either their personal values or those of the organisation to dominate the policies. This means that practitioners do not allow their own personal values and opinions to guide the way they influence the process and develop policies which affect the entire organisation. This study, therefore, is an exploration aimed at the discovery of the current practices that dominate South African organisations, with the focus on the Durban region, concerning Human Resource policy development. The study then extends beyond the South African borders to consider the first world situation in the United Kingdom, allowing a comparison between the first world and South African third world policy development process. This allows an opportunity to identify where the first world and third world differ regarding this process and whether there may be anything that can be learnt from the United Kingdom which could be adapted to the South African situation. The results of the study reveal, however, that although differences could be identified, these were neither suitable nor viable to be transferred to the South African situation. Therefore, through the use of current literature, past research and the exploratory interviews, this study has gathered a picture of how the process of Human Resource policy development functions in South African organisations today. Although the focus has been on the Durban region, the results can be generalised, both between industries and nationally.<br>Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

This study explored academic researchers’ engagement in research ethics at an OpenDistance Learning (ODL) institution in South Africa (SA), with the intention of discovering the way in which human resource management (HRM) practitioners, employed at the same institution, can support academic researchers’ engagement in research ethics. The study’s purpose was to develop a conceptual framework for HRM practitioners to support academic researchers’ engagement in research ethics, at an ODL institution in SA.For this qualitative study, an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach was followed. Data were collected from 13 purposively selected academic researchers, employed at an ODL institution, by means of semi-structured individual interviews, naive sketches and fieldnotes. The IPA approach offers an analysis method that was accordingly employed. Thereafter, the findings were interpreted with the Job-Demands Resource (JD-R) theory.These interpretations were used to construct the conceptual framework according to the organising principles of Dickhoff, James and Wiedenbach (1968) Academic researchers have some resources to support engagement in research ethics, but also face several job demands, which has a negative influence on their ability to engage in research ethics. HRM practitioners have a critical role to fulfil to support academic researchers’ engagement in research ethics, by facilitating a work environment where job resources are readily available. In addition, the ODL institution must be well-balanced, successful, and endorse a culture of ethics within its organisational culture, for academic researchers to engage in research ethics. HRM practitioners have an essential role to endorse a culture of ethics within the ODL institution. The findings will benefit both academic researchers and the ODL institution. The support that HRM practitioners provide, should include, inter alia, a) enabling an engaging leadership style, b) ensuring that ethical values are embedded in the recruitment strategy, and c) revising the performance agreements and performance appraisals of academic employees to include research ethics. This study forms part of a limited pool of qualitative studies to investigate WE, using the JD-R theory as a theoretical framework. This study is furthermore a forerunner in exploring the role that HRM practitioners can play in supporting academic researchers’ engagement in research ethics. It is the first study to use the IPA approach in the field of Management Sciences to investigate WE with the JD-R theory as a theory of engagement. By using the organising principles of Dickoff et al. (1968), for conceptual framework development to explain WE according to the JD-R theory, a seminal contribution was made.<br>Hierdie studie ondersoek akademiese navorsers se verbintenis tot navorsingsetiek by ’n oopafstandleerinstelling (ODL institution) in Suid-Afrika met die voorneme om ’n manier te vind waarop nslikehulpbronbestuurspraktisyns (MHB-praktisyns) wat by dieselfde instelling werksaam is, akademiese navorsers se verbintenis tot navorsingsetiek kan ondersteun. Die studie se oogmerk was om ’n konseptuele raamwerk vir MHB-praktisyns te ontwikkel om akademiese navorsers se verbintenis tot navorsingsetiek by ’n pafstandleerinstelling te ondersteun. Vir hierdie kwalitatiewe studie is ’n Interpreterende Fenomenologiese Ontledingsbenadering (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis [IPA] approach) gevolg. Data is by 13 doelbewusgeselekteerde akademiese navorsers, werksaam by ’n oopafstandleerinstelling, ingesamel deur middel van migestruktureerde- individuele onderhoude, naïewe sketse en veldnotas. Die Interpreterende Fenomenologiese Ontledingsbenadering bied ’n ntledingsmetode wat dienooreenkomstig gebruik is. Hierna is die bevindings met die werk- vereistes-hulpbronneteorie (job-demands resource [JD-R] theory) geïnterpreteer. Hierdie interpretasies is gebruik om die konseptuele raamwerk te ontwikkel volgens die organiseringsbeginsels van Dickhoff, James en Wiedenbach (1968). Akademiese navorsers beskik oor ’n paar hulpbronne wat ’n verbintenis tot navorsingsetiek ondersteun, maar word ook met verskeie werkseise gekonfronteer wat ’n negatiewe invloed op hulle vermoë om hul tot navorsingsetiek te verbind, kan hê. MHB-praktisyns speel ’n kritiese rol om akademiese navorsers te ondersteun ten opsigte van hul verbintenis tot navorsingsetiek deur ’n werksomgewing te fasiliteer waar werkshulpbronne geredelik beskikbaar is. Verder moet die oopafstandleerinstelling ‘n gebalanseerde etiese organisasiekultuur onderskryf om akademiese navorsers te help om hulle te verbind tot etiese navorsing. MHB-praktisyns speel ’n noodsaaklike rol om ’n etiese kultuur binne die ODL- instelling te ondersteun. Akademiese navorsers, sowel as die oopafstandleerinstelling, sal baat vind by die bevindinge. Die ondersteuning wat MHB-praktisyns bied, behoort onder meer die volgende in te sluit: a) om ’n werksbegeesterde leierskapstyl moontlik te maak; b) om te verseker dat etiese waardes by die werwingstrategie ingesluit is; en c) om die prestasie-ooreenkomste en prestasiebeoordelings van akademiese personeel te hersien om navorsingsetiek in te sluit.<br>Lolu cwaningo lwacubungula ukulandela nokusebenzisa kwabacwaningi inkambiso yocwaningo enhle nelungileyo esikhungweni seMfundo-buqama Evulelekile (ODL), phecelezi, i-Open Distance Learning institution eNingizimu Afrika (SA), ngenhloso yokuthola indlela engasetshenziswa ngabasebenzi abangongoti bezokuphathwa kwabasebenzi (HRM), abaqashwe esikhungweni leso, ukweseka ukulandela nokusebenzisa kwabacwaningi bezikhungo zemfundo ephakeme inkambiso yocwaningo enhle nelungileyo uma benza ucwaningo. Inhloso yalolu cwaningo kwabe kuwukwakha okuthuthukisa uhlaka-kuhlaziya lokuqonda olwenzelwe abasebenzi be-HRM ekusekeleni abacwaningi bezikhungo zemfundo ephakeme ukuze bakwazi ukulandela nokusebenzisa inkambiso enhle nelungileyo uma benza ucwaningo esikhungweni esiyi-ODL eNingizimu Afrika. Kulolu cwaningo olwabe luwucwaningo olugxile ekuxoxisaneni okunzulu futhi okunohlonze nababambiqhaza bocwaningo bakhethiweyo abayingcosana (qualitative research) kwalandelwa indlela-kuhlaziya egxile kwisimo-kuqonda sombambiqhaza ocwaningo, phecelezi i-Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Imininingo yocwaningo yaqoqwa kubacwaningi bezikhungo zemfundo ephakeme abayi-13 abakhethwe ngenhloso, kusetshenziswa indlela-kuxoxisana engagcini nje kuphela ohlwini lwemibuzo ehlelekile, kepha elandelisa nangeminye imibuzo evulekile, phecelezi ama-semi-structured individual interviews, nemidwebo elula kanye namanothi athathwe endaweni okwenzelwa kuyona ucwaningo. Indlela-kuhlaziya i-IPA ihlinzeka ngendlela yokuhlaziya okuyiyona eyasetshenziswa ocwaningweni. Emuva kwalokho imiphumela eyatholakala ocwaningweni yahunyushwa kusetshenziswa ithiyori i-Job-Demands Resource (JD-R) theory. Ngokusho kuka-Dickhoff, James no-Wiedenbach (1968) lezi zihumusho zabe sezisetshenziselwa ukwakha uhlaka-kuhlaziya lokuqonda. Abacwaningi bezikhungo zemfundo ephakeme banazo izinsiza-kusebenza zokulandela nokusebenzisa inkambiso yocwaningo enhle nelungileyo, kodwa-ke zikhona futhi nezingcindezi-zidingo zomsebenzi eziningana ezinomthelela ongemuhle emandleni abo okulandela nokusebenzisa inkambiso enhle nelungileyo uma benza ucwaningo. Abasebenzi be-HRM banendima esemqoka kakhulu okumele bayidlale ekwesekeni abacwaningi bezikhungo zemfundo ephakeme ekulandeleni nokusebenzisa inkambiso enhle nelungileyo uma benza ucwaningo, ngokuthi bakhe isimo sokusebenzela lapho ziyinala futhi zitholakala kalula izinsiza-kusebenza. Ngaphezu kwalokho isikhungo esiyi-ODL kumele kube ngesizinzile nesihleleke kahle, esiphumelelayo futhi eseseka usiko-mpilo lwenkambiso enhle nelungileyo ngaphakathi kusiko-mpilo lwaso njengenhlangano, ukuze abacwaningi bezikhungo zemfundo ephakeme bakwazi ukulandela nokusebenzisa inkambiso enhle nelungileyo uma benza ucwaningo. Abasebenzi be-HRM banendima esemqoka okumele bayidlale ekwesekeni usikompilo lwenkambiso enhle nelungileyo ngaphakathi esikhungweni esiyi-ODL. Imiphumela etholakale ocwaningweni izohlomulila abacwaningi bezikhungo zemfundo ephakeme iphinde futhi ihlomulise nezikhungo eziyi-ODL. Ukwesekwa okuhlinzekwa ngabasebenzi be-HRM kumele kubandakanye, phakathi kokunye, a) ukwakhiwa kwesitayela sobuholi senzebenziswano, ubambiswano nokubonisana b) kuqinisekisa ukuthi izimo-mpilo zenkambiso enhle nelungileyo ziyisisekelo seqhingasu lokuqashwa kwabasebenzi, kanye c) nokubuyekezwa kwezivumelwano zensebenzo kanye nokuhlolwa nokubuyekezwa komsebenzi wabasebenzi bezikhungo zemfundo ephakeme ukuze kubandakanywe inkambiso enhle nelungileyo. Lolu cwaningo luyingxenye yeqoqwana elincane lomsebenzi osuwenziwe kuze kube manje wocwaningo olugxile ekuxoxisaneni okunzulu futhi okunohlonze nababambiqhaza bocwaningo abakhethiweyo abayingcosana okuhloswe ngalo ukuphenya nokucwaninga i-WE, kusetshenziswa ithiyori i-JD-R njengohlaka lwethiyori yocwaningo. Ngaphezu kwalokho, lolu cwaningo luyivulandlela ekucubunguleni indima engadlalwa ngabasebenzi be-HRM ekwesekeni ukulandela nokusebenzisa kwabacwaningi bezikhungo zemfundo ephakeme inkambiso enhle nelungileyo uma benza ucwaningo. Lolu wucwaningo lokuqala olusebenzisa indlela-kuhlaziya i-IPA emkhakheni wamaSayensi Ezokuphatha ngenhloso yokuphenya nokuhlola i-WE kusetshenziswa ithiyori i-JD-R njengethiyori yokucubungula umsebenzi wocwaningo. Kwaba negalelo elikhulukazi impela ukusetshenziswa kwemigomo yokuhlela ka- Dickoff nabanye (1968), ekwakheni nokuthuthukisa uhlaka-kuhlaziya lokuqonda ngenhloso yokuchaza i-WE ngokuhambisana nethiyori i-JD-R<br>Human Resource Management<br>D. Phil. (Human Resource Management)

Research report presented to the Unisa School of Business Leadership<br>The dynamic nature of the university environment is described from a strategic and operational perspective. Council, Senate and Executive Management had a direct role in maintaining corporate governance while the HR department is mandated to manage compliance. This brought about certain challenges since the achievement of HR objectives through innovation allowed a greater degree of freedom in comparison to the degree of control prescribed by compliance management.