Dr. Gary McMahan
Associate Professor
Comparing line and hr executives' perceptions of hr effectiveness: services, roles, and...
Wright, Patrick M.; McMahan, Gary C.; Snell, Scott A.; Gerhart, Barry. Summer 2001, Human Resource Management, Vol. 40 Issue 2, p111, 13p.
The search for status and respect within the organization has plagued the field of Human Resources for over 40 years. During the era of downsizing, reengineering and outsourcing, it became apparent that Human Relations (HR) executives' intuitive belief that the services, roles and contributions of the HR function were critical to firm success, may not be shared by their line colleagues. In the face of calls for blowing up the HR function, HR executives increasingly have become concerned with being able to demonstrate the HR function's value to the firm. The challenge of this task is to convince line executives that HR is providing a value-added contribution to the firm in order to gain equal footing with other functional areas in the decision-making process. While a number of techniques, measures and models have been proposed, it seems that it might first be important to gather actual data on how the HR function is being evaluated by these line colleagues and to determine if their perceptions are consistent with those of HR executives.
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Gerhart, Barry; Wright, Patrick M.; McMahan, Gary C., Winter2000, Personnel Psychology, Vol. 53 Issue 4, p855, 18p.
Our earlier article in Personnel Psychology demonstrated how generalizability theory could be used to obtain improved reliability estimates in the human resource (HR) and firm performance literature and that correcting for unreliability using these estimates had important implications for the magnitude of the HR and firm performance relationship. In their comment, Huselid and Becker both raise criticisms specific to our study and broad issues for the field to consider. In our present article, we argue, using empirical evidence whenever possible, that the issues and criticisms raised by Huselid and Becker do not change our original conclusions. We also provide new evidence on how the reliability of HR-related measures may differ at different levels of analysis. Finally, we build on Huselid and Becker's helpful discussion of broad research design and strategy issues in the HR and firm performance literature in an effort to help researchers make better informed choices regarding their own research designs and strategies in the area.
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Training Motivation In Organizations: An Analysis Of Individual-Level Antecedents(*).
Carlson, Dawn S.; Bozeman, Dennis P.; Kacmar, K. Michele; Wright, Patrick M.; McMahan, Gary C., Fall2000, Journal of Managerial Issues, Vol. 12 Issue 3, p271, 17p.
Presents information on a study which examined the effects of individual-antecedent variables on employee training motivation in organizations. Hypothesized relationships among the variables; Methodology; Results and discussion.
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The role of human resource practices in petro-chemical refinery performance.
Wright, Patrick M.; Mccormick, Blaine; Sherman, W. Scott; McMahan, Gary C., Aug99, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 10 Issue 4, p551, 21p.
This study examined the impact of human resource (HR) practices (selection, training, compensation and appraisal) and participation on the financial performance of US petro-chemical refineries. Survey results from HR and operations respondents indicated that appraisal and training were significantly related to workforce skills and that training and compensation were marginally related to workforce motivation. In addition, only training was significantly related to refinery performance, although the relationship was negative. However, selection, compensation and appraisal interacted with participation in determining refinery financial performance such that each of these practices was strongly positively related to financial performance only under highly participative systems. Implications are discussed.
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Strategic human resource management: Employee involvement, diversity, and international issues.
McMahan, Gary C.; Bell, Myrtle P.; Virick, Meghna. Fall 98, Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 8 Issue 3, p193, 22p.
Examines the role of employee involvement, diversity and international issues in strategic human resource management (HRM). Evolution of HRM; Challenges for researchers and future scholars; Second generation employee involvement; Theories concerning strategic human resource management
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Strategy, core competence, and HR involvement as determinants of HR effectiveness and refinery...
Wright, Patrick M.; McMahan, Gary C.; McCormick, Blame; Sherman, W. Scott. Spring98, Human Resource Management, Vol. 37 Issue 1, p17, 14p.
The increasingly global nature of competition requires that firms utilize all of their available resources in order to survive and succeed. This has resulted in an emphasis on the alignment of all functional activities of the firm e.g., finance, marketing, operations, etc. toward the achievement of strategic objectives. One consequence of this trend is that many have called for a new strategic role for the HR function. This role entails two major aspects. First, the HR executive should provide input into the firm's strategy in order to ensure that the firm has the human resource capabilities to implement it. Second, the HR function needs to ensure that the HR programs and practices are in place to effectively implement the strategy. One impediment to effectively performing this role, however, has been the fact that the HR function has been neither traditionally viewed nor empirically demonstrated to contribute to firm performance, and, therefore, neither important nor effective. HR involvement in the strategic management process has been thought to be effective in all cases, Its effectiveness however, may vary with firm strategies.
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An international comparison of organization development practices The USA and Hong Kong.
Lau, Chung-Ming; McMahan, Gary C.; Woodman, Richard W.. 1996, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 9 Issue 2, p4, 16p.
Compares the results of surveys of organizational development (OD) practices among major firms in the United States and Hong Kong. Despite obvious cultural differences between the two countries, OD practices were more similar than different. Discusses implications for OD research in international settings and global OD practices.
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Wright, Patrick M.; Kacmar, K. Michele; McMahan, Gary C.; Deleeuw, Kevin. 1995, Journal of Management, Vol. 21 Issue 6, p1129, 11p.
This study tested the validity of the use of personality tests with aptitude tests as predictors of performance for 203 warehouses using an interactive model. Results indicated cognitive ability explained a significant 2% of the variance in performance, with the interaction between cognitive ability and personality explaining a significant incremental 9% of the variance in performance. These results indicate a need to expand our models of the relationship between personality characteristics and job performance.
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Wrightand, P.M.; D. L. Smart, D.L.; McMahan, Gary C, 1995 Academy of Management Journal, 38, 1052-1074.
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The Effects of Varying Goal Difficulty Operationalizations on Goal Setting Outcomes and Processes.
Wright, Patrick M.; Hollenbeck, John R.; Wolf, Samantha; McMahan, Gary C. Jan 95, Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, Vol. 61 Issue 1, p28, 16p.
The three studies reported here investigated the effect of operationalization of goal difficulty on the relationship between goal difficulty and performance. Subjects were as- signed goals (easy, moderately difficult, or very difficult) under either an absolute goal level or performance improvement condition. Results indicated that the goal difficulty interacted with operationalization in affecting performance. Specifically, there was a linear relationship between goal difficulty and performance when goals were operationalized in terms of absolute level, but an inverted U-relationship between these two variables when goals were operationalized in terms of performance improvement. This interaction held up despite controlling for normative goal difficulty, performance improvement difficulty and absolute goal level difficulty. The effects of operationalization seemed to be attributable to differences in self-set goal levels, particularly among high ability persons. Taken as a whole, these studies indicate that how assigned goals are derived and how they are communicated to subjects affects goal setting out- comes.
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Human resources and sustained competitive advantage: a resource-based perspective.
Wright, Patrick M.; McMahan, Gary C.; McWilliams, Abagail. May 94, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 5 Issue 2, p301, 26p.
This paper integrates the theories and findings of micro-level organizational behaviour/human resource management research with the macro-level resource-based view of the firm, specifically presenting a firm's human resources as an important potential source of sustained competitive advantage. Unlike practice-oriented discussions that assume the role of human resources as a source of sustained, competitive advantage, we use the theoretical concepts from the resource-based view of the firm (Wernerfelt, 1984; Barney, 1991) to discuss how human resources meet the criteria for sustained competitive advantage in that they are valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable. The implications for developing human resources as a source of sustained competitive advantage are discussed, particularly examining the role of HR practices and managers in this process.
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Productivity and Extra-Role Behavior: The Effects of Goals and Incentives on Spontaneous Helping.
Wright, Patrick M.; George, Jennifer M.; Farnsworth, S. Regena; McMahan, Gary C., Jun 93, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 78 Issue 3, p374, 8p.
This study examined the effects of goals and monetary incentives on performance and extra-role behavior. One hundred fifty-four Ss worked on an order-processing task for 20 mm under easy, moderate, or difficult goals and were paid either a flat rate or a bonus for goal attainment. During the experimental task, a confederate co-worker attempted to elicit help from the S. Results indicated that goals were positively related to performance, that goals were negatively related to extra-role behavior among individuals committed to the goals, and that the lowest extra-role behavior was observed among Ss assigned difficult goals and paid on the basis of goal attainment. Implications are discussed.
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Gowan, Mary A.; Gatewood, Robert D.; Hanlon, Susan C.; Meyer, David G.; Taylor, Robert R.; Klaas, Brian S.; McClendon, John; Long, Esther Dedrick; Dobbins, Gregory H.; North, Monica L.; Hunter, Larry W.; Wright, Patrick M.; Kacmar, K. Michele; McMahan, Gary C.; Deleeuw, Kevin. 1992, Academy of Management Proceedings, p258, 31p.
Focuses on personal and human resources. Activity level of employees following involuntary job loss; Impact of gainsharing program; Effect of the attitudes towards unions and the perceived cost of striking on crossing behavior.
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McMahan, Gary C.; Woodman, Richard W., Jun 92, Group & Organization Management, Vol. 17 Issue 2, p117, 18p.
The 500 largest industrial firms in the United States were surveyed with regard to their internal organization development (OD) activities. Usable data were obtained from 110 of these organizations, including 61 of the largest 200 firms. Survey results are presented and implications of these results are discussed.
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Theoretical Perspectives for Strategic Human Resource Management.
Wright, Patrick M.; McMahan, Gary C., Jun92, Journal of Management, Vol. 18 Issue 2, p295, 26p.
Critics have argued that the field of human resource management (HRM) lacks a coherent theoretical framework. This article attempts to further the theoretical development of SHRM through discussing six theoretical models (behavioral perspective, cybernetic models, agency/transaction cost theory, resource-based view of the firm, power/resource dependence models, and institutional theory) that are useful for understanding both strategic and non-strategic determinants of HR practices. Finally, the implications of a stronger theoretical approach to SHRM research and practice are discussed.
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The Diagnosis of Work Group Norms: Practical Implications for Change.
McMahan, Gary C.; Kacmar, K. Michele. 1991, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 4 Issue 4, p24, 10p.
Studies a model of work group norm diagnosis that can be used by business consultants to analyze group behavior. Possible implications for an organizational change; Objective and definition of norm; Conditions that facilitate norm formation, enforcement and functionality; Illustration of examples to explain the working of the model with and without significant change.
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