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Purpose: This study aimed to identify the values held by employees in their workplace in the light of the literature review. Design/methodology/approach: A literature analysis and critique was applied. A nonsystematic literature review was conducted using Google Scholar and PubMed scientific databases. The scientific items were complemented by industry literature and online sources on the issues addressed. Findings: The broad spectrum of people's values in the work environment is derived from their personal values, age, gender, and race, as well as the industry they work in, company policies, and team relationships. Some values may become obsolete and lose their validity over time. There are also those we are only reminded of in crises, such as safety in the workplace. Research limitations/implications: The literature review was based only on two selected scientific databases, Google Scholar and PubMed. Moreover, the literature search used a specific combination of keywords using a Boolean operator, which may have omitted other scientific items in the database. Practical implications: An employer should examine the values of its employees to create optimal working conditions. Employees work better when surrounded by people with similar values, enhancing loyalty and job satisfaction. Employees’ values in the workplace evolve depending on their personal and professional life stages. Social implications: Differences in the values valued by employees should be considered in human capital management and in creating the conditions for the proper performance of job duties. Conscious management by values (ethical-social, emotional-developmental) is the basis for building employee well-being in a diverse work environment. Originality/value: The treatment of issues treating the values professed by employees in the workplace is based mainly on foreign literature on the subject, enriching the previous scientific output on human capital in the enterprise, signalling the authors' contribution to the development of the discipline of management and quality sciences. The article primarily addresses researchers and scholars dealing with human resource management, organisation values, and work sociology. The work may also interest students in sociology, psychology, and pedagogy. In addition, the article is of value to managers and leaders of groups and teams dealing with organisational behaviour and communication in organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimate the returns (measured by hourly earnings) to education, experience, and social networking in India using individual-level panel data from the India Human Development Surveys. We combined the two latest waves of this survey using individual-level identifiers to generate a balanced panel and merged it with various household characteristics. We provide estimates of private returns for an additional year of education and experience by consumption quintiles, gender, caste, and religion in a fixed-effects Heckman model that controls for selection bias. This methodology improves upon estimates of all earlier studies on earnings in India, as most of the literature has relied on cross-section data or pseudo-panel data. We also examine the impact of social networking on earnings, which is under-explored in nationwide studies in India. We find that education significantly and positively affects earnings for all consumption quintiles, gender, caste (except schedule castes), and religious groups. Among economic groups, the highest returns are observed for the third quintile above the poverty line. Returns to females for an additional year of education are nearly double that of males but the difference in starting earnings keeps earnings of males higher for long periods. Among the castes, scheduled castes have the highest returns to education and other minorities among religious groups. Social networking positively impacts males, Hindus, and the quintile just above the poverty line. Experience positively impacts women's earnings, general caste and scheduled caste, Hindus and Other minorities and two consumption quintiles (two and five) above the poverty line. Plain Language Summary: Impact of Education, Experience, and Social Networks Impact Earnings in India by Class, Gender, Caste and Religion Purpose: Enhancing human capital is critical for India's development. It would help overcome existing labor market hierarchies based on economic class, gender, religion, and caste. We study the impact on private earnings of (a) an additional year of education and experience, and (b) social networking. Methods: We use an individual level panel dataset assembled from the two latest rounds of the Indian Human Development Survey (I&II). Our Heckman type earnings equation controls for selection bias. Results: An additional year of education increased earnings between (a) 2.4% and 8.8% among different consumption quintiles (b) 3.7% for males to 5.2% for females, (c) 1.5% (STs), to 5.9% (SCs), and (d) 2.3% (Muslims), to 9.9% (Other Minorities). Experience increased earnings of two economic groups, females, the General and Scheduled castes, and of Hindus and Other Minorities. Social networking increased earnings of males, Hindus, and one economic quintile. Conclusions: Higher marginal returns to education for females justifies greater investment in women's education. Lower returns on education among STs and Muslims indicate the need for affirmative action for these groups. The positive returns to education for the poor suggests that anti-poverty programs in combination with educational opportunities for the less privileged would meet the goals of social justice. Implications Better education (SDG4) would help achieve gender equality (SDG5), and social justice for marginalized (economic, caste and religious) groups (SDG1, SDG10). Limitations: We were unable to account for ability bias. Stratification by state and sector would provide better estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores why some dismissed workers adapt successfully to the changing structure of an economy, while others remain trapped in low-quality jobs and experience deskilling. The associated case study relies on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 50 former employees of four bankrupt radio-electronics factories in Lithuania. It is found that workers with 'inherited' skills that are deep and technical are able to enter high-quality jobs when new firms emerge, recombining the physical, financial and human assets of destitute factories for new productive uses. However, if such economic opportunities are scarce, workers with inherited broad skill sets are relatively more successful in transitioning to services from manufacturing. Further, in line with the literature of the sociology of work, women and older workers are found to face more acute challenges in adapting to the economic shock associated with dismissal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Teorija in Praksa is the property of Teorija in Praksa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the 21st century people spend even more time at their work place, the interaction between female and male co-workers, increases due the time spend, which studies showed has a direct correlation with them being involved in romantic relationships. This paper is trying to show how companies should reacted to two co-workers being romantically involved, and how their relationship might affect the organization and the interaction between the ones involved in a romantic relationship and the rest of the company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter lays out a research agenda in the sociology of work for a type of data and organizational intermediary: work platforms. As an example, the authors employ a case study of the adoption of automated hiring platforms (AHPs) in which the authors distinguish between promises and existing practices. The authors draw on two main methods to do so: critical discourse analysis and affordance critique. The authors collected and examined a mix of trade, popular press, and corporate archives; 135 texts in total. The analysis reveals that work platforms offer five core affordances to management: (1) structured data fields optimized for capture and portability within organizations; (2) increased legibility of activity qua data captured inside and outside the workplace; (3) information asymmetry between labor and management; (4) an "ecosystem" design that supports the development of limited-use applications for specific domains; and (5) the standardization of managerial techniques between workplaces. These combine to create a managerial frame for workers as fungible human capital, available on demand and easily ported between job tasks and organizations. While outlining the origin of platform studies within media and communication studies, the authors demonstrate the specific tools the sociology of work brings to the study of platforms within the workplace. The authors conclude by suggesting avenues for future sociological research not only on hiring platforms, but also on other work platforms such as those supporting automated scheduling and customer relationship management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the importance of board capital in a firm's corporate strategic orientation and the high degree of international expansion that many firms have experienced in recent years, little or no research has explored how board capital affects a firm's internationalization decision. Drawing upon resource dependence theory, this study argues that board capital may help increase the firm's degree of internationalization and that board co-working experience may facilitate the contribution of directors with human and social capital to firm internationalization. The results indicate that board capital (directors' international experience, directors' industry-specific experience and directors' board appointments) is positively associated with internationalization and that board co-working experience has a positive moderating influence on the board capital-internationalization relationship. One important implication of the empirical evidence is that firms trying to expand internationally should consider nominating directors with rich human and social capital to the board because such directors can provide strategic advice and facilitate access to critical information and valuable resources needed for internationalization. Additionally, those international firms might be advised to consider board tenure when appointing board directors because board co-working experience allows directors to integrate their knowledge of the firm's internal affairs with their expertise in the area of international strategy and to combine their knowledge properly to address firm-specific issues, consequently enabling them to address international issues effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Casual observation suggests that in most U.S. urban labor markets, immigrants have more immigrant coworkers than native-born workers do. While seeming obvious, this excess tendency to work together has not been precisely measured, nor have its sources been quantified. Using matched employer-employee data from the U.S. Census Bureau Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) database on a set of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with substantial immigrant populations, we find that, on average, 37 % of an immigrant's coworkers are themselves immigrants; in contrast, only 14 % of a native-born worker's coworkers are immigrants. We decompose this difference into the probability of working with compatriots versus with immigrants from other source countries. Using human capital, employer, and location characteristics, we narrow the mechanisms that might explain immigrant concentration. We find that industry, language, and residential segregation collectively explain almost all the excess tendency to work with immigrants from other source countries, but they have limited power to explain work with compatriots. This large unexplained compatriot component suggests an important role for unmeasured country-specific factors, such as social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the interrelation of twenty-first-century education and work from a gender perspective. The analysis is carried out theoretically by asking whether human capital theory and Bourdieu’s reproduction theory are adequate instruments for such an endeavour. It is argued that the explanatory power of the human capital concept of the interrelation between education and work is extremely weak, because the human capital concept conceals costs necessary to create human capital. In contrast, reproduction theory comprehends investments in education through reproductive work. But, reproduction theory fails short to explain ongoing gender hierarchies within employment. Therefore, analysis of social and societal structure needs to go beyond the focus on education and work to explain the maintenance of gender hierarchies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Management Sciences / Nauki o Zarzadzaniu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the captalisation of the concept of work within economic theory. According to the author, neoclassical economic theorists have isolated such concepts as ownership of labour-force, effort, and social competences which were once seen as part of a more inclusive notion of work. It is suggested that the capitalisation of work as an idea has led to theorists' neglect of labor as a social relation of production.

This article investigates how different sources of management support promote coworker helping behavior in organizations. We contend that senior management, managers responsible for Human Resource practices, and team leaders contribute to coworker assistance by encouraging employees to identify with the organization. Based on survey evidence drawn from nine Australian (N = 1,349 employees) and six Chinese firms (N = 828 employees), and using structural equation modeling, we show that organizational identification mediates the effects of perceived support from these three sources on coworker assistance. Differences in the strength of relationships between the variables are highlighted and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a literature review from English language journals related to the field of human resource development (HRD), the conceptual framework for this study was derived from the models developed by American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) for HRD practice. This study compared and analyzed the similarities and differences in HRD roles, key work dimensions, and practitioner competencies through the competitive vision of different countries, including China, US, UK, Germany, Japan, India, Singapore, and Korea. This comparative study not only described the HRD position of Chinese enterprises under the international HRD coordinates but also indicated how these differences inspire HRD in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of how theory and research on job insecurity have evolved in the past 25 years. We trace the Greenhalgh and Rosenblatt (1984) model to its origins in a large-scale action research project, summarize the subsequent theoretical and empirical developments of the model, and suggest directions for future research to understand the perpetually important phenomenon of job insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human resource management (HRM) plays an important role in providing better management for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). Yet little is known about what influences their human resource practices. After discussing how the strategic and humanresource- based theoretical approaches are appropriate for analyzing HRMin NPOs, the authors explore the current nonprofit literature to identify the specific characteristics of strategic orientations and human resources in NPOs.As a result, the authors propose an analytical framework that is differentiated into four HRM types. This framework enables a better understanding of the relationship between the specific characteristics of NPOs and the architecture of HRM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turbulence and unpredictability in 21st-century labor markets arguably magnify the importance of maintaining employability. Drawing on recent research, I discuss three mechanisms for enhancing employability in this context: identity work, training and networking, and laboring in unpaid and marginal paid positions. Few of these activities are counted as 'work' because they are mostly unpaid and they often take place outside formal job structures. By specifying how a range of employment-related activities are essential to and even constitute work, this article contributes to debates about the scope and boundaries of employment and shows how everyday actions build and reinforce new economic structures -- how individual actions make the new economy possible. It also provides greater specification of the concept of employability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results of a comparative studies of different university libraries in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with respect to human resource development is presented in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many companies, the human resources function is considered necessary, but minimally important. Douglas Ready strongly disagrees and argues that a shoddy HR function will keep the rest of the company from high achievement. It's time to develop the people who are in charge of developing everyone else. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the human resource management (HRM) literature that builds up to our current concern with dualities, paradoxes, ambiguities, and balance issues; and to introduce the six papers in this special issue on managing the dualities in HRM. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper presents a literature review taking a historical look at the development of the HR field up to the present awareness of the complexity of the concept and practice of HRM. Findings -- Almost 30 years on, is being found now increasing evidence of the dualities, paradoxes, and ambiguities entailed in HRM. Research limitations/implications -- The literature review starts with the personnel management (PM)-HRM and industrial relations-HRM debates in the 1980s. Earlier work on traditional PM is not debated in this paper. Practical Implications -- After reading this general review practitioners might gain more insights in the potential tensions, ambiguities, and conflicts of interest that are characteristic for the field of HRM in practice. Originality/value -- First, this paper highlights the interest of the pluralist perspective in contrast to the dominating unitarist approaches in contemporary human resource studies. Second, this overview presents methodological challenges for example, with regard to multi-level and multi-actor research. Finally, the paper presents alternative theories for future research including new institutionalism, strategic balance theory, and health psychology theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe how Deutsche Post DHL's HR shared service center organization enhanced its KPI system (scorecard) by moving it towards a more operational, detailed and process-oriented measurement level. Design/methodology/approach - The paper describes a one-year project aimed at obtaining transparency over payroll processes and costs from a global perspective by focusing on three areas - KPls, benchmarks and a resource allocation exercise. Findings - Transparency and comparability of payroll processes can be significantly enhanced using a few parameters to assess cost-efficiency and therefore allowing for a better discussion of improvement potential. Practical implications - Transparency over payroll processes and respective costs significantly increased. Different levels of cost savings could be calculated by using internal and external benchmark data. The results enabled more in-depth discussions with payroll, as well as general managers, and identified objectives to facilitate further improvement. Originality/value - The paper reveals how HR can strengthen its business partner role by effectively using instruments such as benchmarks and KPls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue Française de Gestion is the property of John Libbey Eurotext Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Where does HRD stand as a bona fide profession? Where does it need to go in the future in its quest to become an established and widely recognized profession? What short- and long-range strategies are needed to get it there? What issues and challenges need to be addressed that will enable HRD to continue evolving, growing, and advancing as a profession? This article is an attempt to begin addressing these critical and complex questions. An assessment of where HRD currently stands as a profession and two potential strategies that might assist HRD to elevate its professional stature are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the meaning of work within the context of social-science theory and research, and demonstrates its importance to the theoretical and practical dimensions of human-resource development. Points of discussion include definitions and research traditions, contemporary social contexts for the meaning of work, work and identity, and globalization and the meaning of work. Additionally, an introduction is presented to articles in the current issue including those by Peter Kuchinke, Neal Chalofsky and Vijay Krishna, and Alexandre Ardichvili.

Copyright of Journal for East European Management Studies is the property of Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Managing people can be an unanticipated responsibility—suddenly there aren't only collections to care for, but also human beings. Learning what resources and training opportunities are available to hone managerial skills is a task that can't be delayed until a difficult personnel situation develops. Working with supervisors, those we supervise and human resource departments will lead to a better working environment for all members of the archives staff, from administrators to student workers. This article highlights some of the skills and techniques that a manager can utilize to nurture and sustain good working relationships in an archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Much recent work on decentralized natural resource management has focused on the institutional arrangements that shape the balance of powers between central and local governments. It has given comparatively less attention to relationships between local government and community-level institutions. In Mali, decentralization has superimposed modern legal institutions on community institutions. The ambiguous relationships between them can undermine both the authority of nascent local governments and the performance of customary institutions. Legal pluralism—the coexistence and interaction of multiple normative orders with different sources of legitimacy and authority—helps explain the dynamic nature of local institutions under decentralization. This article examines the experiences of three Malian communities with decentralized natural resource management: one maintains autonomy from government, another engaged its local government, and a third negotiated a multi-stakeholder agreement—a local convention. They demonstrate that crafting workable relationships between communities and local government requires a pragmatic approach to negotiating and institutionalizing political space for innovation in self-governance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Revista Daena: International Journal of Good Conscience is the property of Spenta University Mexico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The theory of the firm and corporate governance are two fields of analysis traditionally tackled separately in the economic literature. This paper seeks to rediscover the link between the nature, boundaries and governance of the firm on the basis of changes in corporate industrial firms. We advance the argument that, to understand the human capital-intensive firm, this analytical interconnection should be restored. On the basis of critical resource theory, we present an innovative vision of the nature, boundaries and governance of firms whose productive activity is built around its key partners' human capital. The organisational mode of governance has changed, linked to a renewed conception of the firm. What we term the 'multi-resources' model of governance of the firm depends on an original representation of the structure, organisation and power relationships of modern firms, whose value arises from the accumulation of specific human capital. Consequently, the multi-resources model involves hybrid governance instrument in order to protect the integrity of the human capital-intensive firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a Mincerian measure of human capital distribution and applies it to evaluate national and global human capital inequality and compare them with education inequality measures. It is shown that using education inequality as a proxy of human capital inequality is problematic due to the nonmonotonic relationship between them. We find that the inconsistent evidence on education and human capital Kuznets curves in the literature is due to the use of different inequality measures. In particular, human capital Kuznets curves are evident when relative inequality measures are used, whereas education Kuznets curves are found when absolute inequality measures are used. It is also observed that while global education inequality has been declining over the past four decades, global human capital inequality remains largely steady, as the decrease in between-country human capital inequality is largely balanced by the increase in within-country human capital inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the value of a supportive organizational climate has been recognized over the years, there is a need for better understanding of its relationship with employee outcomes. This study investigates whether the recently emerging core construct of positive psychological capital (consisting of hope, resilience, optimism, and efficacy) plays a role in mediating the effects of a supportive organizational climate with employee outcomes. Utilizing three diverse samples, results show that employees' psychological capital is positively related to their performance, satisfaction, and commitment and a supportive climate is related to employees' satisfaction and commitment. The study's major hypothesis that employees' psychological capital mediates the relationship between supportive climate and their performance was also supported. The implications of these findings conclude the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender ideologies and race and nationality among employers and employees are important in reproducing migrant Mexican workers' status in a segmented U.S. labor market. A survey of 110 employers combined with interviews shows how gender, race, and nationality are reproduced within and outside of the workplace. Employers prefer Mexican workers because of what they feel is a stronger work ethic among recent immigrants, but these preferences are influenced by preexisting ideas about native-born and black workers. Immigrant men are seen as "providers" while Mexican women are seen as good, docile workers except when they have "domestic" issues such as families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between strategic human resource management and various organizational outcomes has been the subject of much recent scholarly research. The literature was examined to uncover the various perspectives from which they are written. The argument presented is that a managerialist perspective dominates much of the existing research, which is consistent with its historical evolution. As a result, however, an understanding of how workers experience strategic human resource management is inherently limited by such approaches. Interpretive and critical perspectives in organizational analysis offer a richer appreciation of how workers may experience new work practices. Some implications from these insights for human resource researchers are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to Swanson's intergalactic HRD, McLean offers counter arguments to support intergalactic HRD. He explores the concept using dialectics: geocentrism vs. ethnocentrism, continuous improvement vs. status quo, situational context vs. absolutism, micro vs. meso vs. macro views, weight of scholarly support, ambiguity vs. specificity, and identify (field, discipline, subject or amorphous body of knowledge). McLean concludes that there is an ongoing need to continue to explore subfacets of HRD and to continue to explore how culture influences our understanding of HRD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper raises the question about HRD practitioners and their fitness to practice by exploring moral issues HRD practitioners sometimes face, in addition to looking at some key moral philosophical perspectives. It argues that HRD practitioners may at times feel 'out of balance', and hence may not feel fully 'fit to practice'. It proposes some suggestions for ongoing professional development for HRD practitioners that could enable a better sense of 'balance' and fitness to practice. It also suggests the need for a consciously mindful approach to become more self aware and discerning when delivering HRD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the often-used strategy tool known as the SWOT analysis. The history of this tool is explained as well as common uses. The results of a literature review indicate a clear lack of empirical research on the topic and what little research has appeared is reviewed for the purposes of understanding how to further support and develop this tool. An integrative process for conducting SWOT analyses is provided with recommendations for optimizing SWOT in HRD contexts. Common misuses and pitfalls are also discussed along with suggested research for adding robustness to this classic strategic tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using recently collected Major League Baseball free agent data, this study identifies a contract value premium for nonpitchers who attended college. Simultaneous equations and the more traditional earnings regressions are used to report results which support the implications of the human capital model and the schooling-earnings theory. The results also suggest that the labour market for baseball players may not be purely talent driven and that choosing college may slow down a player's accession to the majors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When trauma affects a University workforce, health and productivity are compromised, and an organized response can help lessen the emotional impact and accelerate recovery of function. Responding to traumatic events in the workplace has evolved into being the responsibility of many EAPs. The authors present how the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) model was adapted by their internal EAPs in academic settings at Duke and Vanderbilt to help manage the psychological and occupational ramifications of critical incidents. Outcome data generated from evaluation of Duke's program is presented, which demonstrates the value of the interventions in helping employees manage reactions and in the restoration of personal and occupational functioning. A survey conducted by the authors provides an overview "snapshot" of the active roles that University EAPs have currently in responding to workplace traumas. The survey results underscore the importance of developing a coordinated response and using trained responders, and of the need for additional evaluation of interventions to determine effectiveness of response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the beginning of the use of the term human resource development (HRD) to describe our field, there have been struggles over the meaning of the term and, even more broadly, of the field itself. In recent years, there has been increased attention to the question of the field’s definition, in general, as well as attention to the emerging field of national HRD. This article moves this exploration one more step toward an exploration of the dilemma of defining international and cross-national HRD. A beginning definition is offered, not as a definitive answer but to facilitate ongoing discussion in the dialogue on HRD definitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper exploits the variation in the legal minimum working age across states in 1920 America in order to identify households' labor supply responses to exogenous changes in children's labor force participation. Using micro data on urban households from the U.S. Census, I find evidence that as a child moves to the labor market his siblings are less likely to work and more likely to attend school. I find no significant effect on parents' labor supply. (JEL J13, J22, K31, N32). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing globalization exerts pressures on countries toward social and cultural convergence. Such homogenizing forces are particularly visible at the macro and policy levels. In response to such pressures, Japan introduced an ambitious ‘Plan for Gender Equality' in 1996. Significant differences in culture, however, between Japan and the western countries that it trades with may make gender equality more difficult to achieve. A recent report ranking Japan 32nd in terms of the GEM, an international measure of gender equality, reveals the problems Japan has encountered in attempting to achieve gender equality. The accounting profession in Japan is a relatively new profession that women have successfully entered in large numbers in recent years. As a new profession, it thus may be freer of entrenched cultural constraints enabling gender-equality efforts to have greater impact. Using data obtained from 235 professional accountants in Japan, we investigated the existence of a pay differential between male and female accountants, and the relationships between human capital factors, gender, and accountants' salary. We also explored the existence of gender-based differences in pay satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For human resource management (HRM) to achieve its potential as a crucial source of competitive advantage in the knowledge economy, the role of human resource professionals in nurturing relationships will need to be redefined and expanded. Conventional human resource (HR) activities concentrate on individual-to-individual relationships within a firm and on overcoming barriers to effective interactions across workgroups. While effective results in these arenas are necessary, they are no longer sufficient. This article explains how HR professionals can become the driving force for building the kinds of relationships that turn social capital into competitive advantage. Relationships are the foundation of organizational capabilities that are an important source of sustained competitive advantage because they capitalize on individual differences and are relatively immobile since they are embedded within a firm's culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a study of the response of human resources management (HRM) to evolutionary changes in organizations, including its reconfiguration to accommodate information technology. Opportunities often slip by for the HRM field to be proactive in helping organizations reach strategic goals. HRM practices which increase the identification of employees with the organization may be beneficial for all types of workers. HRM inputs are studied which must precede when placing an employee in a work environment with high information technology demands. The special challenges of the HRM/technology interface are explored.