It is a sunny day in June 2008, and in the Calgary office of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), a gathering of senior managers of ENMAX Power Corporation and members of IBEW Local 254 is getting animated. The lively discussion centres on the hot-button topic of discipline: when should managers invoke it and …
Joint Training: Learning on Both Sides of the Fence Read More »
If it takes a village to raise a child, then perhaps it takes co-workers to help trainees shine. Management development experts have long known that organizations get the most out of their training dollars when employees are supported before, during, and after training. Few organizations, however, actually follow this advice. Models of training effectiveness focus …
Organizational development and change management more than ever before are being linked to learning and talent development, according to a report recently published by the UK-based CIPD. “It is clear that organizational development and design will become increasingly important as organizations seek to change, innovate and to link learning to organizational goals,” according to CIPD’s …
Has Talent Management Weathered the Economic Storm? Read More »
Although working women are piling up educational credentials and experience, in far too many organizations they are still butting up against a glass ceiling. These invisible barriers to upward mobility can come in various forms: lack of mentoring of women, gender stereotyping, and views that men make more effective leaders. In the U.S., women holding …
Trade union mergers in Europe and North America have been going strong since the Second World. It is almost always a question of survival: mergers or absorptions are thought to help unions maintain or grow membership to sustain their financial base and increase bargaining power. While in the past mergers occurred among unions in the …
The Rise of Conglomerate Unions: Less Than Meets the Eye? Read More »
Leaders who excel over time utilize organizational networks in distinctive ways to compensate for weaknesses in formal structures, says Rob Cross (U of Virginia) and colleagues who conducted network analyses at more than 100 organizations. In the journal Organizational Dynamics, Cross et al map out five principles that drive productive organizational networks. 1. Manage the …
There is yawning chasm between practice and research. The gap is twofold: HR practitioners are generally not aware of the latest HR-related research findings that impact on their work; and HR practitioners and researchers are interested in different issues. Researchers Diana L. Deadrick and Pamela Gibson (Old Dominion University) wanted to determine how consistent that …
The modern HR professional looks a lot like poor Alice in Through the Looking-Glass, running feverishly with the Red Queen only to be staying in the same place, says Queen’s IRC Director Paul Juniper. In a keynote address to the Association of Ontario University HR Professionals (AOUHRP) 2009 Conference, Mr. Juniper offered a sweeping perspective …
Better than anyone, Canadians have cause to complain about living in a northern climate. And complain they do. You need look no further than our own Environment Canada, which speaks of "misery days" as it reports on our brutish winter times.
The economic upheaval currently gripping world economies will profoundly alter the dynamics of labour relations in Ontario, says a senior official in Ontario’s Ministry of Labour. In a presentation in late March to Queen’s School of Policy Studies, Kevin Wilson, Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Labour’s Policy, Program Development, and Dispute Resolution Services …
Recession-Era Labour Relations: Pocket Book Thriller or Stephen King Trilogy? Read More »
When it comes to psychological harassment and bullying in the workplace, targets report that HR departments often make a bad situation much worse, says Jana Raver, Queen’s School of Business Assistant Professor and E. Marie Shantz Research Fellow in Organizational Behaviour. An active researcher in the field, Raver gave an overview of harassment and bullying …
Bullying in the Workplace: Doing Nothing Is Not a Neutral Act Read More »