Lecture 4

Question 1

What is a work-life balance?

Answer 1

= work-family balance, work-family conflict, family-friendly policies

• drivers of change balance: changes in demographic distribution of labour force, technological advancement, 24/7 opening hour culture in modern society

Question 2

What is work-life enrichment?

Answer 2

= how in some cultures these 2 components enrich each other
* Some cultures -> eg. collectivist countries: positivist work-family spill-over/work-family enhancement -> life domain = supports work domain

Question 3

Is gender a factor for the work-life balance?

Answer 3

Most studies: women = more issues concerning work-life balance since more family responsibilities (+ married, mothers w younger children, …) <-> other studies: no difference between genders

Question 4

What is the Schwartzs model?

Answer 4

-> identifies ten basic human values, each distinguished by their underlying motivation or goal, + explains how people in all cultures recognize them
-> used for leadership in this study: identified different leadership styles

• 4 core dimensions – 2 axes: self-enhancement x self-transcendence
• Self-enhancement: the pursuit of personal status and success
• Self-transcendence: concern w the well-being of others
• Conservation: preservation of the past and resistance to change
• Openness to change: independence and readiness to change

Question 5

What is transformational leadership?

Answer 5

oriented towards others and self-transcendence -> leaders supersede indvs needs to also align indvs with needs of the group

-> inspire and motivate their workforce without micromanaging — they trust trained employees to take authority over decisions in their assigned jobs

Question 6

What is transactional leadership?

Answer 6

self-enhancement and conservation: through rational exchange relationship => indvs do as expected

-> based on the idea that managers give employees something they want in exchange for getting something they want
eg. leaders motivate by giving pay rewards

Question 7

What is ethical leadership?

Answer 7

focused on conservation as it emphasizes alignment w basic principles of what is right and wrong, focused on creating social welfare, social justice
-> individuals behave according to a set of principles and values that are recognized by the majority as a sound basis for the common good

Question 8

What are the possible fits between HRM and leadership?

Answer 8

option 1: isolation
option 2: enactment
option 3: supplementary fit
option 4: synergistic fit
option 5: complementary fit
option 6: perceptual fit
option 7: dynamic fit

Question 9

Explain option 1 isolation

Answer 9

• Leadership and HRM = operate in isolation from each other (2 independent main effects)
• IRL: not possible since employees look to both parties for guidance on what type of behavior is appropriate in orgz + HR practices = implemented by leaders => interaction

Question 10

Explain option 2 enactment

Answer 10

• HR systems -> leadership -> motivation and performance -> leadership = mediator
• IRL: ignores the fact that HRM department = seldom power to motivate/force leaders in desired direction

Question 11

Explain option 3 supplementary fit

Answer 11

• HR and leadership = independent but interaction co-determines employee behavior => leaders and HR = need to be aligned in their underlying values for effects to be optimal
• Similar to enactment however supplementary fit recognizes that leaders and HRM = independent parties and sources of influence + existence of tensions

Question 12

Explain option 4: synergistic fit

Answer 12

• Leadership and HRM = mutually reinforce each other to send stronger signals together > separately

Question 13

Explain option 5: complementary fit

Answer 13

• Improved results = by having oppositional perspectives from HR and leadership eg. innovation -> includes both idea generation – openness to change and idea implementation – conservation
• ! however, both opposing values cannot be communicated at the same time => causing confusion + attributing a lack of authenticity

Question 14

Explain option 6: perceptual fit

Answer 14

• Interaction between leadership and HRM = through processes of attribution and perceptual biases -> both HRM and leadership = important -> leadership and HR focus as a filter to each other -> depending on choice of similar/opposing value-perspective => HR and leadership = viewed differently

Question 15

Explain option 7: dynamic fit

Answer 15

• Fit = evolve and change => leadership and HR may help create alignment either in creating supplementary, synergistic, or complementary fit

Question 16

What is human resource leadership?

Answer 16

= process of translation eg. implication of authentic leaders to enact certain HR practices

Question 17

Explain the study on the relationship between hr practices, work engagement and turnover intention

Answer 17

FINDINGS
- training satisfaction and performance appraisal satisfaction => positive impact on work engagement
- work engagement => negative impact on employee turnover
- work engagement = mediating factor: satisfaction => work engagement => turnover intention

JD-R THEORY
- what? JD-R model = supports HRM-engagement-outcome framework -> sees HRM practices as job resources leading to high work engagement, and consequently to low turnover intention

Question 18

What are some of the conflicts in WLB?

Answer 18

1. time-based conflict
2. value-based conflict
3. behavior-based conflict
4. strain-based conflict

Question 19

Why sudden importance of WLB?

Answer 19

 Changing vision on livelihood
 (young) women entering laor market
 Expanded to men and working couples – everyone
 Globalization
 Soft HRM
 Technology -> eg. continuation of work: 24/7 open

(- drivers of change balance: changes in demographic distribution of labour force, technological advancement, 24/7 opening hour culture in modern society)

Question 20

Explain the difference between HRM and leadership?

Answer 20

o Leadership = understanding the personal/interpersonal dynamics of how indvs influence each other towards collective goals

o HRM = focus on systems and processes in an organization -> attempt to influence people in a systematic way, usually on a larger scale