Contributions published at Human Resource Management

Work safety programs are omnipresent in every company to provide safety for the workers at all times. As a result of the social development in the world, the importance of this topic has become more and more significant. Against this background, the thesis addresses the aspired goals of the firms, the different aspects of work safety programs, and the different implementation types of these programs. A part of the discussion in this paper is the prevention of accidents, the results of accidents as well as the analysis of near accidents. The reputation of the firm is another very important topic discussed in the thesis. Together, these components lead to the conclusion of which workplace safety program a company chooses. To take a closer look at the different aspects of workplace safety programs we analyze safety equipment, protection of the machines, a 4-step-plan as well as associated psychosocial aspects. Hazard and safety awareness, motivation, qualification for the job, and management systems are identified as the most important elements that influence the implementation of a safety program in a positive way. This bachelor thesis is meant to provide the reader a better understanding of the different components of workplace safety and how the successful implementation of these programs helps to protect workers. Key words. workplace safety, workplace safety programs, accidents

„You never get a second chance to make a first impression“. This saying can be applied in mirror image on the subject of this thesis, which examines by means of a literature review various selection criteria for job application documents on their application and predictive validity. Analyzing job application documents is of obvious importance, not only because it is done when staffing but also because at this stage the majority of the selection decisions will be made. Despite knowledge of the importance of this pre-selection process, in which HR managers get a first impression of the candidate, the predictive validity of screening the application file is rather low compared to other methodologies. This research shows that HR managers not only use objective criteria such as professional experience and performance records but that stereotype, heuristics or subjective perceptions affect their decisions. The work also describes several practical implications, on the basis of which an increase in the predictive validity can be expected during the pre-selection of candidates. Keywords: application documents, selection criteria, predictive validity

In the present thesis a structured summary of the psychological and social concequences of long-term unemployment is given on the basis of relevant literature and empirical research. As an introduction the unemployment situation of Switzerland and the EU-28 is described. Subsequently, important theoretical approaches in the research on unemployed are discussed. The psychological and social consequences of unemployment are examined for their interplay, resulting in a vicious circle - The longer the unemployment, the more reduced the resources needed for re-employment, the lower the chance of finding a job. However, unemployment is not expirienced in the same way by everyone. Several factors affect the level of the psychosocial stress. A short duration of unemployment, low job orientation, low level of activity in job search, financial resources, social support, personal factors, social security systems with strong unemployment benefits and meaningful activities/time structuring were identified as protective factors. Based on the obtained findings, recommendations for private and public organizations as well as for the unemployed have been derived. Key Words: Unemployment, long-term unemployment, psychological consequences, social consequences, mental health, social relationships

Corporations are aiming to cut costs and improve worker morale by increasingly offering telecommuting opportunities. Due to technological advancements, which strongly emerged in the 21. Century, working from home gained popularity. Efforts to truly understand the impact of telecommuting on the productivity of employees resulted in opposed viewpoints. Based on an analysis of academic literature this examination aims to provide a deeper under-standing of how telework affects employee productivity. Effects concerning the employees’ productivity are examined and explained by using findings from the principal-agent- and social exchange theory. The results show that trust and monitoring mechanisms are some of the main drivers of long-term productive telecommuting. The existing monitoring mechanisms must not be abolished but rather be adapted to the new form of working. Apparently telecommuting does offer plenty of chances, however the risk of opportunistic employee behaviour should be con-sidered in particular. Finally, this study shows under which circumstances Telecommuting can serve as an efficient form of Work. Key words: telecommuting, telework, Home Office, employee productivity, autonomy, social exchange theory, principal-agent theory, autonomy, monitoring, opportunities, risks

null

Employees are often considered to be the most valuable resource of an organization. Hence the development of this resource should be the top priority in order to gain competitive advantage. But how do you develop and retain your employees? And on which employees should you focus on? These questions are part of the following thesis on talent management. A special focus will be placed on the connection to job embeddedness. This extension enables the inclusion of topics such as employee retention and explores still unknown perspectives on talent management. The thesis will contribute to the current topic on talent management and helps the reader to see the topic from a different angle. Therefore a new explicit definition of talent management and an aligned talent management process will be created. Subsequently, the effects of job embeddedness on the talent management process will be examined. At last, the identified effects will be presented in a case study to highlight their significance on organizations in China.

Organizations are affected by relationships between leader and member. In this study the influence of these relationships, in literature also named leader-member exchange (LMX), with regard to the detrimental factor of envy has been investigated. Several economical and psychological studies determined as LMX may affect group performance and knowledge sharing either in a positive or negative way, and that it is not possible for a leader to interact in the same way with every member. The fairness-sense of each member may result in a subjective evaluation of equity in regard of these different relationships. When such relationships are seen unfair by the members, envy may establish and a negative influence to the knowledge exchange as well as to the group performance can occur. Furthermore in this study advices are given to the organisation in order to prevent destructive envy and keep up an optimal knowledge exchange. Keywords: LMX differentiation, knowledge sharing, envy, team, team coordination, group performance

The purpose of this theoretical bachelor thesis is to analyze the effects of nepotism on the rela-tionship between social capital and performance with the assisstance of social network theory. The investigations are focused on family business, whose importance has risen sharply as a research topic in recent years. Nepotism is a specialty of family businesses and is yet poorly understood. At the same time the research determined a positive relationship between social capital and performance. The extent of nepotism may affect this relationship and is the subject of this thesis. On this basis, the analysis of the question shows the frequency of interaction, the trust and shared vision as important factors in terms of nepotism in family businesses. Based on this understanding, there are considered both the recruitment as well as the succession pro-cess under the influence of nepotism and derived recommendations for action to deal with ne-potism for family entrepreneurs. Key words: social capital, nepotism, family business, organizational performance, social net-work theory

null

null

null

null

null

null

In den letzten Jahren scheinen Unternehmen vermehrt CEOs einzustellen, die bereits vorher in derselben Branche und in einem Unternehmen mit vergleichbarer Grösse tätig waren und damit über vermeintlich relevante Erfahrung verfügen. Doch welche Rolle spielt es für die Unternehmensperformance überhaupt, ob ein neuer CEO bereits solche Erfahrungen mitbringt?

null

null

Unsolicited job offers are one of the most common events that initiate deliberate evaluations of a current job, potentially leading to increased turnover intention and voluntary turnover. However, there is little research on variables that might moderate these relationships. Drawing on the unfolding model of voluntary turnover and job embeddedness literature, we argue that both on- the-job and off-the-job embeddedness moderate the relationship between unsolicited job offers and turnover intention as well as actual turnover. We test our hypotheses using employee data from two countries: 382 employees from China and 269 employees from Switzerland. Results indicate that in China off-the-job embeddedness buffers the effects of unsolicited job offers on both turnover intention and turnover. In contrast, in Switzerland both on-the-job and off-the-job embeddedness buffer the positive relation between unsolicited job offers and turnover intention. However, no moderation of job embeddedness dimensions on actual turnover was observed in Switzerland. This research adds to the understanding of the role unsolicited job offers play in employee turnover and provides insight about potential measures that may prevent voluntary turnover resulting from unsolicited job offers in different countries.

null