School of Human Resource Management

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Open Access
Barriers and paths to success: Latin American MBAs' views of employment in Canada
(Emerald, 2010) Turchick-Hakak, Luciana; Holzinger, Ingo; Zikic, Jelena
Purpose - This paper aims to examine perceived barriers and paths to success for Latin American immigrant professionals in the Canadian job market Design/methodology/approach - Findings are based on 20 semi-structured interviews with Latin American graduates of Canadian MBA programs. Interviews were analyzed for emergent categories and common themes. Findings - Despite their strong educational backgrounds, participants perceived several challenges to their success in the Canadian workplace, specifically, language barriers, lack of networks, cultural differences and discrimination. They also identified factors that influenced their professional success in Canada, such as homophilious networks and their Latin American background Research limitations/implications - By investigating stories of Latin American immigrant professionals, the study explores subjective views of immigration experiences and discrimination in this unique and rarely examined group. A larger sample will increase the confidence of the study's findings and future studies should examine dynamics of these issues over time. Originalitylvalue - This paper presents insight onto the labor market experiences and coping mechanisms of the currently understudied group of Latin American immigrant professionals in Canada. The study's qualitative approach enabled the examination of challenges experienced by immigrant professionals beyond those typically studied in this literature (e.g. devaluation of foreign credentials) and led to the finding that being Latin American can act both as a disadvantage in the form of discrimination and as an advantage as it differentiates immigrant professionals from other job seekers.
Open Access
Canada's bold experiment with pay equity
(Emerald, 2010) Singh, Parbudyal; Peng, Ping
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution, implementation and effectiveness of the Pay Equity Act in Ontario, Canada. Given that this Act is considered by many as the world's most progressive equal pay for work of equal value legislation, there are important implications for policy globally. Design/methodology/approach - Through a review of relevant documents and the literature, the paper examines the need for the Pay Equity Act in Ontario, its origins, and with two decades of experience, analyze its effectiveness. A case study is also used to assess related procedures and effects of the law. Findings - In spite of its limitations and the wide pay gap that still exists between men and women, many female workers have benefited from Ontario's progressive Pay Equity Act. In targeting the discriminatory aspect of women's work evaluations, the Act has resulted in pay increases for thousands of women, especially in the public sector. Practical implications - There are many practical and social implications for jurisdictions across the globe, as they try to grapple with gender pay equities. Policy makers can learn from the successes and challenges experienced in Ontario. Pay equity legislation will unlikely achieve any significant progress in reducing the wage gap if it relies on workers to complain about the inequity in their pay. A proactive pay equity law, such as that in Ontario, will force employers to make more focused efforts to deal with gender pay discrimination. Ontario's bold "experiment" with pay equity holds valuable lessons for jurisdictions globally. Originality/value - While there has been some research on the Ontario Pay Equity Act, there is a paucity of scholarly work that examines the details of the pay system that the Act has spawned. There is also little work in assessing the effectiveness of the legislation.
Open Access
Integrating realistic job previews and realistic living conditions previews: realistic recruitment for internationally mobile knowledge workers
(Emerald, 2008) Richardson, Julia; McBey, Ken; McKenna, Steve
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of realistic job previews (RjPs) and realistic living conditions previews (RLCPs) during the recruitment of a group of internationally mobile knowledge workers who elect to go overseas independently rather than as part of an overseas assignment. It also aims to explore individual perceptions of the value of RjPs and RLCPs in contributing to work and general living adjustment. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on a qualitative study of international faculty in six Canadian universities using in-depth interviews to examine their experiences of recruitment and focusing specifically on the extent to which RjPs and RLCP were provided. Findings - The findings reflect the need for realistic recruitment that includes information about position specifications and responsibilities as well as non-organizational factors such as opportunities for spousal employment. Thus, respondents did not conceptualize the recruitment process in terms of two separate components of "job" (RjP) and "living conditions" (RLCP). Instead realistic recruitment emerged as a holistic process, with each individual having hislher own differential weighting of the relative importance of different factors. Research limitations/implications - The sample comprises mostly white-western faculty, thus ethnic minority faculty are underrepresented. Further research might also explore the perceptions and experiences of international recruiters. Originality/value - The paper extends the current literature on RjPs and RLCPs to consider internationally mobile knowledge workers who elect to go overseas independently. Located within an interpretive perspective it also enhances our understanding of individual experiences and the need for a more holistic approach to international recruitment.
Open Access
Managing flexworkers: holding on and letting go
(Emerald, 2010) Richardson, Julia
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore what it means to be a manager in the context of working from home, or "flexworking", as an increasingly common work practice. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is located within an interpretive interactionist perspective, drawing on interviews with managers who took part in a larger qualitative study of employees who work from home two or more days a week in the Canadian subsidiary of a high-tech MNC. Template analysis identified themes which are most salient in managers" experiences of managing these "flexworkers". Findings - The findings point to several key themes in interviewees' experiences of managing flexworkers: maintaining a balance between providing autonomy alongside appropriate levels of cohesion between themselves and employees and between employees; the increasing importance of trust and the centrality of interpersonal relationships and interactions. Research limitations/implications - A limitation is a relatively small sample size (27) in the Canadian hi-tech industry. Also, the findings may not be applicable to other industries or to managers in other countries. The paper's location within an interpretive interactionist framework accords primary focus to individual action rather than structural forces. Practical implications - Contemporary management development initiatives should balance communication and support, while avoiding micromanagement. They should also develop managers' ability to ensure that social bonds are maintained but do not undermine the principles of flexwork. Originality/value - There is a paucity of qualitative research on flexworking in Canada. Moreover, the paper contributes a theoretical understanding of this work arrangement, whereas previous research has been primarily descriptive.
Open Access
Transitions from temporary to permanent work in Canada: who makes the transition and why?
(Springer Verlag, 2008) Fang, Tony; MacPhail, Fiona
The focus of this paper is on a microeconomic analysis of the annual transition rate from temporary to permanent work of individual workers in Canada for the period 1999-2004. Given that a large proportion of temporary employment is involuntary, an understanding of the factors associated with the transition to permanent work may inform public policy. Factors associated with the transition, namely, human capital, household structures and labour market segmentation are analyzed using data from the Statistics Canada's Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) for the period 1999-2004, limited to paid workers aged 2-4 years, excluding students. Among the key factors associated with the transitions are younger age and low unemployment rates. The analysis adds to the Canadian and international literature on transitions from temporary to permanent work.
Open Access
Workplace response to vacancies and skill shortages in Canada
(Emerald, 2009) Fang, Tony
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze employer responses to vacancies and skill shortages by adopting certain workplace practices. Design/methodology/approach - Making use of the longitudinal nature of the Workplace and Employee Survey, a nationally representative sample of Canadian organizations, the paper applies both linear and probit models to examine incidence of positive vacancies and vacancy rates and subsequent adoptions of various workplace practices in response to such vacancies and skill shortages. Findings - Employers respond to labour and skill shortages in a number of ways, focusing more on short-term and less costly solutions, such as adoption of flexible working hours and increases in overtime hours, greater reliance on flexible job design and part-time workers, and implementation of self-directed work groups and problem-solving teams. There is no evidence that workplaces would raise employee wages or fringe benefits to alleviate shortages. Practical implications - In the absence of a well-developed internal market, firms are likely to continue using short-term and less costly solutions. Governments should work with firms, workers and their representatives and act strategically to resolve issues of timely identification of skill shortages in order to make informed decisions and put mechanisms in place to address such shortages. Originality/value - The results are based on a national longitudinal survey and a number of important practical and policy implications are discussed in the paper.

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