The effectiveness of leadership development in the military context from a gender viewpoint

In this case study, leadership development is investigated from the viewpoint of women in a military context. In particular, the effectiveness of a leadership development program in a specific context, namely the Finnish Defence Forces, is explored. The program being studied is unique because it is concerned with developing volunteers, not professional soldiers. A longitudinal, interview-based study of the topic was conducted with women who had participated in the program. The data consists of 45 open-ended interviews with 15 women. Each woman was interviewed three times: at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the program. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. The result…

Masculinity in flux? : Male managers navigating between work and family

The article sheds light on male managers’ experience as fathers in a post-Soviet context in Lithuania. This empirical study of 12 male managers’ experiences of work-family integration (WFI), their ways of coping with negative experiences, and the role of organizations in reducing conflict and enriching WFI, reveal the emergence of a new paternal identity: fathers who perceive their role as caregivers but for whom this is still subordinate to the dominant role of the breadwinner. Relying on their wife is a man’s dominant coping strategy. Organizations are perceived as family unfriendly. The managerial implications of the need for organizational support are discussed. peerReviewed

Leadership Manipulation and Ethics in Storytelling

This article focuses on exerting influence in leadership, namely manipulation in storytelling. Manipulation is usually considered an unethical approach to leadership. We will argue that manipulation is a more complex phenomenon than just an unethical way of acting in leadership. We will demonstrate through an empirical qualitative study that there are various types of manipulation through storytelling. This article makes a contribution to the literature on manipulation through leadership storytelling, offering a more systematic empirical analysis and a more nuanced view of the topic than previously existed by outlining how managers engage in manipulative storytelling and what kind of ethics…

The nature of managerial commitment to strategic change

This article explores the nature of managerial commitment to such strategic changes as downsizing and quality improvement. Its purpose is to develop a theoretical framework of managerial commitment. Findings from a qualitative study are presented resulting in the classification of commitment in two dimensions: reward‐based and trust‐based commitments. A theoretical typology of the four types of managerial commitment is developed based on the dimensions: passive, calculative, trustful, and balanced types of commitment. The article argues that the general assumptions in commitment literature that people need material, social or psychological incentives and rewards which facilitate identificat…

Case Female Forum : Developing Women's Leadership Opportunities in Work Life

The development of female leadership and entrepreneurship has evolved into an important theme around the world. This paper has two objectives. Firstly, we introduce a comprehensive training program called femaleForum, which combines education, development and research following the principle of lifelong learning. The program includes various modules which are designed to support the leadership and entrepreneurship opportunities of many different women. Secondly, based on an empirical interview study with 20 women, we discuss what kind of impact one of the modules in the program, a female MBA, can have on women’s attitudes and careers. The results show that the participants’ attitudes became…

Applying the Identity Status Paradigm to Managers’ Moral Identity

We investigated the applicability of the identity status paradigm in identifying different stages of moral identity maturity among managers, focusing on how they solve moral conflicts in the context of work. Researchers conducted two theory-driven studies. Study 1 was based on focus group discussions among 16 managers, while Study 2 was based on open-ended questionnaire items from 180 managers. Both studies supported the hypothesized identity statuses. The status named diffusion included a lack of commitment to moral values and associated with avoiding moral questions at work. In foreclosure, extrinsic (e.g., organizational) values were adopted and applied to personal decision-making. Manag…

Yrittäjän innostus syttyi nopeasti

Naisten johtamisuriin kohdistuvat stereotypiat

The aim of this article is to analyze existing research on stereotypes that affect women’s management careers. The research method is content analysis and the period of analysis is 1976−2013. The results of this research suggest that women executives are subjected to stereotypical beliefs, according to which women lack various specific and necessary attributes of leadership. Another stereotype is the belief that people have to manage on their own. A third stereotype holds that female leaders are superior to male leaders. From a historical perspective, the stereotypical assumption that women lack appropriate attributes has been dominant during the period of analysis. The stereotype regarding…

Social lnnovation: The Y-Foundation Case

The starting point of this paper is that advancing social inclusion – making all groups of people feel important and valued – is crucial to consider since it advances the quality of life and development of humans, organizations, and societies. The objective of this paper is to introduce the case of a social innovation called the Y-Foundation. The Y-Foundation is a social enterprise operating in Finland and aiming to promote opportunities for homeless people. Having a home can make solving health and social problems much easier. In addition, a linkage between ethics and innovation in the Y-Foundation’s operations is discussed. peerReviewed

Is fatherhood allowed? : Media discourses of fatherhood in organizational life

It has been claimed that in the context of organizations and management, fathers are invisible. One source of tension for fathers who work and who want to participate in family life is that even though involved fatherhood is emerging in many western societies, a family-oriented male identity is likely to be problematic for men in organizations. This article aims to contribute to a better understanding of a professional and managerial men's work-family relationship using discourse analysis on data from three different media sources in Finland, published during 1990-2015. We identified two competing discourses: one of stasis, the other of change. The stasis discourse is constructed around tra…

The development of ethical human resource management practices : Changes in Finland 1994–2014

This study discusses how ethical human resource management practices have developed over time. The study asks: How did ethical HRM practices change in industrial companies in Finnish society from 1994 to 2014? Did the changes in the economic situation in the society influence the changes in ethical HRM practices? To answer these research questions, we have conducted a survey in the years 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 in Finland. The study shows that ethical HRM practices have strengthened during the 20 year research period. nonPeerReviewed

Collaborative leadership : a way to support empowerment in organizational life

Principles of responsibility in varying leadership contexts

In this study, the understanding of the principles of responsibility in leadership between manager and employee is advanced. Through a qualitative case study approach the following research questions are answered: What principles of responsibility do managers and employees perceive as significant for leadership in the manager-employee relationship? What social contexts in the relationship call for the principles to occur? The topic was studied in two executive MBA groups which are our cases. The participants in these special groups have a lot of experience of leadership as both leader and employee. So, they can offer real life data from which results can be built. Additionally, such group p…

Women's Appearance as the Focus of Attention in Organizations

This teaching case focuses on appearance and gender discrimination in the workplace. Previous studies show, for example, that appearance, women’s especially, can be an invisible mechanism of discrimination and interpreted as a justification for sexual and gender-based harassment. Prior research also indicates that women suffer from gendered ageism, also related to looks. However, issues about appearance are seldom analysed from the perspectives of organizational (mal)practices and women’s career barriers and problems. This teaching case presents the case of Anna. The case is meant for management and organization students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Anna is a well-educated youn…

Eettinen kuormittuneisuus ja sen yhteydet eettiseen organisaatiokulttuuriin kaupunkiorganisaatiossa, suunnittelutoimistossa ja pankissa

The study investigated inter-organisational differences in employees’ ethical strain and their evaluations of the ethical culture of their organisations. The second aim was to investigate associations between the ethical culture of organisations and employees’ experiences of ethical strain. Altogether 3894 employees responded to a web-based questionnaire in May 2011. Ethical strain was assessed by measuring the prevalence of ethical dilemmas (2 items) and the stress related to them (2 items). Ethical culture was measured using the 58-item Corporate Ethical Virtues scale (Kaptein 2008). Ethical strain was found to be highest among employees working in social and health services. Employees in…

Finland : positive union engagement with CSR

Vauhtia vastuullisuuteen : naisten johtamiskoulutuksen vaikuttavuus

Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on lisätä tietoa vastuullisen johtamisen kehittämisestä ja sen vaikuttavuudesta. Selvityksen kohteena oli johtaja- ja yrittäjänaisille sekä asiantuntijoina toimiville naisille toteutettu vastuullisen johtamisen täydennyskoulutus, visionFactor-koulutusohjelma. Se toteutettiin Oulun ammattikorkeakoulussa 2015–2016. Tarkoituksen toteuttamiseksi haastateltiin koulutuksen suorittaneita. Tutkimusongelma tiivistyy seuraaviin kysymyksiin: Millä tavoin haastateltavat kuvaavat käsityksensä vastuullisesta johtamisesta muuttuneen koulutuksen aikana? Miten haastateltavat kertovat koulutuksessa opittua vastuullista johtamista sovelletun käytäntöön työpaikalla? Koulutuksen …

Women’s Careers in Management : Confronted Problems and Approved Practices

Gender equality has not been achieved anywhere in the world. One persistent, global challenge is that women struggle to advance to management positions in the workplace. This chapter focuses on the area of management as it relates to women’s careers. Well-known metaphors that highlight the complexity of the problems women face in their careers are presented. Additionally, two examples of practices that can be helpful to the advancement of women’s careers, namely, all-women management development programmes and work-family arrangements are discussed. It is concluded that although there has been progress around women’s moving in managerial roles in many places over the years, much still needs…

Development of organizational trust among employees from a contextual perspective

It is becoming increasingly accepted that trust in the workplace is an important factor which potentially leads to enhanced organizational performance and can be a source of competitive advantage in the long run (e.g. McAllister 1995, Whitener et al. 1998, Leana & van Buren III 1999, Wicks et al. 1999, Gould-Williams 2003). Although it may be unreasonable to expect that any firm can have boundless trust among employees, the starting point of this paper lies in the argument that organizational trust is more desirable from the viewpoint of the firm’s economic prosperity than its lack. Organizational trust is important for successful socialization, cooperation and effective teamworking (cf. Pu…

Teaching and learning business ethics in a multicultural group

Building on a constructivist learning theory and a case teaching method, this article suggests a mixed learning approach for teaching business ethics in a multicultural group. The purpose is to present the objectives and implementation of the mixed learning approach in a case course with a multicultural group. Based on the students' feedback, we also analyse and discuss the effects of the mixed learning approach on students' learning experiences. The article contributes to the growing stream of literature on business ethics teaching in higher education by presenting an approach that allows teachers and students to join in constructive knowledge creation in a multicultural group. In so doing…

Collaborative Leadership in the Institutions of Higher Education : A Literature Review

This study aims to review the literature concerning collaborative leadership in the context of institutions of higher education. The study covers empirical research from 2000 to 2021, providing insights into how collaborative leadership in this context is understood. Material for the study consists of 20 articles, which are analysed using qualitative content analysis. The analysis identifies three major categories highlighted in the literature as significant characteristics of collaborative leadership: namely, the participation of diverse people accelerates collaboration, learning transpires through collaboration, and empowerment leads to momentous change. This paper concludes with suggesti…

The effects of leadership development on women's career success

This study extends our knowledge of leadership development, specifically Master's in Business Administration (MBA) programs, from a gender perspective. It presents a comprehensive case, women-only development program and conducts an empirical, longitudinal, qualitative study of the effect of one of the program modules, namely, the women-only MBA, on the women's career success. The empirical study focused on self-efficacy mechanisms for explaining the women's appraisals of their changes in abilities affecting their career success during the MBA program. The participants were interviewed twice: once at the beginning of the MBA and then after completing it. A trusting atmosphere, social suppor…

Learning teamwork through a computer game: for the sake of performance or collaborative learning?

AbstractOur study examined using a computer-based learning game as a tool to facilitate teaching and learning teamwork skills. The game was applied to an undergraduate level human resource management course at a business school in Finland. We focused on students’ experiences and key learning outcomes of collaborative learning of teamwork skills through the game, and our analysis highlighted two key features of learning outcomes. First, the computer-based learning game promoted students’ self-reflection and evaluation of their individual team roles. Second, although the game taught students the importance of continuous information sharing in teamwork, their evaluation of team outcomes was pe…

Effects of responsible human resource management practices on female employees’ turnover intentions

This study focuses on the effects of socially responsible human resource management (SR-HRM) practices on female employees’ turnover intentions and the moderating effect of supervisor gender on this relationship. With a sample of 212 female employees from eight different industries in Finland, the results indicate that SR-HRM practices promoting equal career opportunities and work–family integration play a significant role in reducing women's turnover intentions. The study adds to the academic discourse of corporate social responsibility by highlighting the impact of the organizational-level HRM determinants on the individual-level outcome. In addition, supervisor gender makes a difference …

Organisaatiokulttuurin eettisyys suomalaisten johtajien silmin : työhyvinvoinnin näkökulma

Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin suomalaisten johtajien arvioita organisaationsa kulttuurin eettisyydestä. Eettistä organisaatiokulttuuria arvioitiin kahdeksalla kuvaajalla (selkeys, esimiehen esimerkki, johdon esimerkki, toteutettavuus, organisaation tuki, läpinäkyvyys, keskusteltavuus, toiminnan seuraukset) sekä näiden summana. Lisäksi tutkittiin eettisen organisaatiokulttuurin yhteyttä johtajien työhyvinvointiin (työuupumus, työn imu). Ilmiöitä tarkastellessa huomioitiin johtajien erot taustatekijöissä (sukupuoli, ikä, johtotaso, toimiala, yrityksen koko). Tutkimus perustuu syksyllä 2009 toteutettuun kyselytutkimukseen, johon osallistui 902 johtajaa eri puolilta Suomea. Vastaajista yli kaksi k…

Career counselling at Indian universities : Cases from different regions

Career studies indicate that individuals are increasingly responsible for their own careers, which seem to be more diverse than ever. This raises a question for universities regarding how they can develop their career counselling services so that students receive the help and guidance they need to manage their careers. Previous studies show that women have more difficulties advancing in a career than men. To increase women’s career opportunities and empower them to participate in working life, ultimately increasing gender equality in society and at work, women’s career counselling at universities needs special attention. In this study, career counselling at Indian universities in different …

Millainen mies on menestyvän naisen takana?

The War Heroine in the Finnish Organization : Lotta Svärd

This paper focuses on a Finnish women’s paramilitary organization called ‘Lotta Svärd’ in a wartime context, from 1939 to 1944. During the Second World War, thousands of members of the organization served as volunteers with the Finnish Army. The primary data for this study consist of the organization’s magazine, Lotta Svärd, as well as archival documents stored in the Finnish War Document Archives. This study seeks to explore what kind of war heroine was constructed in Lotta Svärd. We found four representations of the heroine: Mother, Soldier, Body and Holy Sacrifice. While war histories are mainly written by men and for men, this study is intended to contribute to research by presenting wo…

Narrativity and its application in business ethics research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a narrative framework for doing empirical research into business ethics and shows, through two examples, how the framework can be applied in practice in this context. The focus is on interview-based research. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical research based on literature review was conducted. Findings In the developed narrative framework, two main kinds of analysis are distinguished: an analysis of the narrative and a narrative analysis. An analysis of the narrative is a matter of classifying and producing taxonomies out of the data. The purpose of a narrative analysis is to construct a story or stories based on the data. Narrative an…

Collaborative Leadership in the Institution of Higher Education: A Sociocultural Context of Pakistan

The need for collaborative leadership to advance knowledge sharing, novel ideas, inclusion and employee engagement has increased in modern organizations, with the aim being to make organizations more effective and responsible. Yet, an interesting question arises about how this kind of leadership model, which is arguably of Western origin, is understood and whether it can be applied in sociocultural contexts where top-down leadership tends to be exercised. This study addresses this question and explores the meaning of collaborative leadership from a cultural viewpoint in Pakistan, where collaborative relationships across hierarchical levels are not common. The applicability of collaborative…

Development of trust in the CEO-chair relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the trust development in the dyadic relationship of CEO and chair of the board. Design/methodology/approach A narrative approach is adopted to examine the meanings that CEOs and chairpersons give to trust in their relationship, and to explore trust as an evolving phenomenon that can increase or decline over the course of the relationship. The data include 16 CEO-chair dyads from Finnish limited companies. Findings The results suggest that trust may exist on different levels and evolve in various ways during the course of the relationship. Integrity and agreement on company strategy are proposed to form the foundation for trust in the CEO-chai…

Mixed learning approach to teaching ethics in leadership and management: A case course in a multicultural group

The purpose of the paper is to analyse how a mixed learning approach (MLA) (e.g. case studies, applied drama) can facilitate teaching and learning ethics in business management. Partners from five different countries organized an international higher education course in the years 2013, 2014 and 2015. The aim of the course was to provide the students with skills to evaluate and solve ethical problems constructively in a multicultural group. This case portrays the benefits and challenges of the MLA and discusses what it takes from teachers and students to make the use of the approach successful. peerReviewed

Mentoroinnin merkitykset naisjohtajien urakehitykselle

Care and gendered work in reception centers in Finland

PurposeThis paper focuses on how gendered processes of working life are (re)constructed and are also challenged discursively in paid and volunteer care and work in reception centers. The purpose of this paper is to show how caring work with asylum seekers can both enhance the traditional gender order and challenge it through enabling men to have opportunities to care.Design/methodology/approachThe data were produced through qualitative interviews among paid workers and volunteers in reception centers, and analyzed through a discourse analysis approach.FindingsThree discourses of care and work were identified: a discourse on solidarity and care; a discourse on control and order; and a discou…

Responsible Leadership in the Manager-Employee Relationship

Research questions:The aim of this study is to explore and conceptualize responsible leadership. The topic is viewed from the viewpoint of the dyadic level between managers and employees. The following research questions are answered: What principles do managers and employees perceive as being significant for responsible leadership in the manager–employee relationship? What social contexts in the relationship call for the principles to occur? To whom do the parties place responsibility for the advancement of the principles?Theory:The study draws on relational leadership theory as well as literature on responsible leadership. Responsible leadership is understood as a dynamic and contextual p…

Why Do Managers Leave Their Organization? : Investigating the Role of Ethical Organizational Culture in Managerial Turnover

The aim of the present longitudinal study was to quantitatively examine whether an ethical organizational culture predicts turnover among managers. To complement the quantitative results, a further important aim was to examine the self-reported reasons behind manager turnover, and the associations of ethical organizational culture with these reasons. The participants were Finnish managers working in technical and commercial fields. Logistic regression analyses indicated that, of the eight virtues investigated, congruency of supervisors, congruency of senior management, discussability, and sanctionability were negatively related to manager turnover. The results also revealed that the turnove…

The ethical culture of organisations and organisational innovativeness

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the ethical culture of organisations and organisational innovativeness.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative empirical analysis was conducted on the basis of a survey of 147 respondents within the public sector in Finland. A multivariate linear regression analysis was done to examine how the ethical culture of organisations is related to organisational innovativeness.FindingsA positive link was found in the ethical culture of an organisation and organisational innovativeness: ethical culture was important to behavioural, strategic and process innovativeness. Within the ethical culture of an organisation, the dimensi…

Urasiirtymät muuttuvassa työelämässä : analyysi urasiirtymän käsitteestä

Tulevaisuus tähtäimessä : mitä nuoret kauppatieteilijämiehet odottavat uran ja perheen yhdistämiseltä?

The expatriate’s family as a stakeholder of the firm : a responsibility viewpoint

In this paper we argue for the recognition of the expatriate’s family as a stakeholder of the firm during the expatriation. We demonstrate why the expatriate’s family can be regarded as a stakeholder of the parent company and what kind of a stakeholder the family is. Additionally, we argue that the parent company needs to develop and apply a holistic well-being orientation to show stakeholder responsibility in the international assignment (IA) arena. We apply the theory of stakeholder salience to the IA relationship because it provides a theoretical framework for integrating the family into the expatriation process. Yet this theory does not necessarily provide a framework for assessing the …

Vaikuttajaksi kyläpankin avulla

Organizational downsizing – an ethical versus managerial viewpoint

Since the 1980s downsizing has become popular in western companies. It is a pervasive and understudied phenomenon. Downsizing means a big change in the firm’s situation. Managing change has been much researched, but often only during a growth period. So, the question of management and leadership of downsizing is a relevant and an independent research issue. This article considers the experiences of four case‐ managers who have participated in managing staff reductions in big Finnish firms. As managing downsizing can be ethically demanding, even a problematic challenge for a manager, the managers’ experiences are described and interpreted from the ethical viewpoint. The study is designed to …

Work-to-personal-life conflict among dual and single-career expatriates

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore if an expatriate’s career situation at the level of the couple (single career couple (SCC)/dual career couple (DCC)) is related to the expatriate’s work-to-personal-life conflict (WLC) and if the expatriate’s gender is related to WLC. The authors also investigate if the level of WLC is different for men and women in a DCC or SCC (interaction). Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted among 393 Finnish expatriates who were in a relationship and were working. A moderated hierarchical regression was utilized in the data analysis. Findings Gender or DCC/SCC status was not separately related to WLC but an interaction effect between gend…

Added Value of Intangibles for Organizational Innovation

The purpose of this paper is to present the theoretical basis for a measurement and improvement system that will help organizations create a more innovative climate. The role of intangible assets in contributing to organizational innovativeness is clarified within six hypotheses on the basis of a cross-disciplinary literature review combining studies from psychology, human resources management, communication, information technology, and marketing. These factors range from the individual level to interaction with the environment surrounding the organization, and involve (a) individual psychological flexibility, (b) institutional and interpersonal trust, (c) diverse human resources, (d) strat…

Does it Pay to Be Ethical? Examining the Relationship Between Organisations’ Ethical Culture and Innovativeness

In this article, we examine the relationship between ethical organisational culture and organisational innovativeness. A quantitative empirical analysis is based on a survey of a total of 719 respondents from all levels of three Finnish organisations, both general staff and managers. The organisations belong to both the private and public sectors. The results of this study show that organisations’ ethical culture is associated with their organisational innovativeness, and that different dimensions of ethical culture are associated with different dimensions of organisational innovativeness. The ethical culture of the organisation had a specific role in process and behavioural innovativeness.…

Chinese immigrants’ occupational well-being in Finland : the role of paternalistic leadership

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of paternalistic leadership behaviour in the Finnish organisational context by investigating its relationship with Chinese immigrant employees’ occupational well-being. Design/methodology/approach This research was based on a survey of 117 Chinese immigrants working in Finland. The snowball sampling method was adopted in the present research. Findings The findings show that the dimensions of paternalistic leadership, specifically benevolent leadership behaviour, can be influential in Chinese immigrant knowledge workers’ occupational well-being in the Finnish organisational context. Research limitations/implications Paternali…

Ethical managers in ethical organisations? The leadership-culture connection among Finnish managers

PurposeThe main aim of the present study is to discover whether the managers’ self‐evaluations of their ethical leadership style are associated with their assessments of the ethical organisational culture (measured with an eight‐dimensional Corporate Ethical Virtues‐model). It aims to hypothesise that the more ethical the managers evaluate their own leadership style to be, the higher evaluations they give on the ethical culture of their organisation. The underlying assumption is that ethical managers can enhance the ethical culture by behaving in accordance with their own values.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative research was based on a questionnaire study with 902 respondents thr…

The CEO-Chair relationship from a relational leadership perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise how the chief executive officer (CEO) and chairperson of the board (Chair) construct their relationship through their leadership practices, and to analyse the meaning of these practices to the relationship. An empirical investigation from both partners’ viewpoint is conducted. Design/methodology/approach The data were gathered through in-depth interviews with 16 CEOs and 16 chairpersons from the same companies. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings Four types of leadership practices in the CEO-Chair relationship were conceptualised: emergent practices on company- and person-related issues, and scheduled practices on co…

Organizational Ethical Virtues of Innovativeness

This study participates in the discussion of the ethical culture of organizations by deepening the knowledge and understanding of the meaning of organizational ethical virtues in organizational innovativeness. The aim in this study was to explore how an organization’s ethical culture and, more specifically, organization’s ethical virtues support organizational innovativeness. The ethical culture of an organization is defined as the virtuousness of an organization. Organizational innovativeness is conceptualized as an organization’s behavioral propensity to produce innovative products and services. The empirical data consisted of a total of 39 interviews from specialist organizations. Qualit…

Suomalaisten johtajien itsearvioinnit eettisestä johtamistyylistään ja niiden yhteydet eettiseen organisaatiokulttuuriin

Finnish managers’ self evaluations of their ethical leadership styles and connections to ethical organisational culture The present study analyses managers’ evaluations of their own ethical leadership styles, and the association of these evaluations with the ethicality of their organisation’s culture. The results were based on a questionnaire study with 902 respondents throughout Finland. Sixty-nine point seven percent of respondents were male, ranging from 26 to 69 years old, with an average age of 46. Respondents worked in various managerial levels and business lines, in both large and small organisations. The results showed that managers evaluated both the culture of their organisations …

Yhteiskunnallisesti ja taloudellisesti kestävä tulevaisuuden työelämä

Organisaatioluottamus, esimies-alaissuhde ja työhyvinvointi

Tutkimuksessa vastataan seuraavaan kysymykseen: Miten organisaatioluottamus ja esimies-alaissuhde ovat yhteydessä alaisten kokemaan työn imuun? Alakysymyksinä selvitetään: Lisääkö alaisen kokeman luottamuksen taso hänen kokemaansa työn imua ja miten se vaikuttaa työn imun eri osatekijöihin? Lisääkö alaisen kokeman esimiesalaissuhteen laatu hänen kokemaansa työn imua ja miten se vaikuttaa työn imun eri osatekijöihin? Tutkimus on luonteeltaan kvantitatiivinen kyselytutkimus, joka toteutettiin kahdeksassa pk-yrityksessä. Perusjoukon muodostaa yritysten palveluksessa tutkimuksen tekovaiheessa ollut henkilöstö. Kyselyn vastausprosentti on 41.8 (n = 163). Tulokset osoittavat, että mitä korkeammak…

The Leader–Member Exchange Theory in the Chinese Context and the Ethical Challenge of Guanxi

The leader–member relationship has been identified as a key determinant of successful working relationships and business outcomes in China. A high-quality leader–member relationship helps managers and employees to meet the demands they face and gives them the opportunity to develop socially, emotionally and morally. Such relationships form the basis of the overall well-being and success of the organisation. This article contributes to relationally oriented leadership theories and more specifically to the leader–member exchange (LMX) theory by examining the theory in the context of Western expatriate managers and Chinese employees in China. The first aim of the study is to analyse the simila…

Vastuullinen johtajuus esimies-alaissuhteessa

Responsible leadership in the leader-follower relationship The article advances our knowledge and understanding of responsible leadership in the organizational context. Responsible leadership is investigated from an ethical viewpoint as a dyadic relationship between a leader and a follower. The study defines the principles of responsible leadership as well as situations in which the application of the principles is appropriate. Additionally, the study explores the ob- ligation to act according to the principles and the way in which it is formed in the relationship. An empirical qualitative study including 22 individuals was conducted. The participants viewed the topic from both the leader’s…

A narrative approach for organizational learning in a diverse organisation

PurposeThis paper aims to construct an approach referred to as “the participatory narrative” for organizational learning in diverse organizations. The approach is grounded in an understanding of organizational learning as the process of social construction which is narratively mediated.Design/methodology/approachThe participatory narrative is constructed theoretically. Additionally, the approach and its potential use are illustrated by means of a practical example.FindingsIt is shown that the participatory narrative enables interplay between various perspectives of diverse people. It makes it possible to overcome the temporal and spatial limits of organisational learning situations and help…

Miesjohtajien isyysdiskurssit

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli avata ja purkaa miesjohtajien isyydelle ja johtajuudelle antamia merkityksiä. Erityisen kiinnostuksen kohteena oli se, rakentavatko miesjohtajat isyyttään ja johtajuuttaan hyödyntäen perinteisiä ja dominoivia, jopa luonnollisiksi uskottuja totuuksia isyydestä ja johtajuudesta, vai ovatko isyyden ja johtajuuden merkitykset mahdollisesti muutoksessa. Miesjohtajien tutkiminen on tärkeää, koska johtajilla on vaikutusvaltaa organisaatioiden käytäntöihin niiden luojina ja hyväksyjinä. Tutkimuksen aineisto tuotettiin haastattelemalla 29 miesjohtajaa. Aineisto analysoitiin diskurssianalyysin keinoin. Tuloksena tulkittiin neljä isyysdiskurssia: ansaitsija-isyys -dis…

Ulkonäkö korostuu johtamisessa

Kirja-arvostelu teoksesta Tienari Janne & Meriläinen Susan (2016). Palvelukseen halutaan ajokoira. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Siltala. 154 s. ISBN: 978-952-234-338-3 nonPeerReviewed

Paradoxes of Mentoring: An Ethnographic Study of a Mentoring Programme for Highly-educated Women with Migrant Backgrounds

This article explores paradoxes that emerge in the mentoring of highly-educated, female, foreign-born job-seekers in Finland. Theoretically, the study is linked to the growing body of research scrutinising the integration or discrimination of migrants in working life. It analyses cultural practices and ideas that are visible and affect the mentoring interaction. On a more practical level, the paper determines how the mentors and mentees experience the mentoring, and how intercultural mentoring could be improved in order to promote mentees’ employment. The article is based on ethnography and 11 semi-structured interviews. Two major paradoxes and their links to cultural meanings were identifi…

Narratives of Spousal Support for the Careers of Men in Managerial Posts

This article analyses the narratives of men managers to see how they perceive their wives' support in relation to their careers. Our aim is to focus on different forms of spousal support and explore how the support can evolve in the course of the men's careers. We are also interested in what kind of gender relations men produce when narrating their experiences of spousal support for their career. The research material comprises interviews with 29 managers who are fathers. In contrast to many previous studies, the results here suggest that spousal support is not a fixed or uncomplicated phenomenon but is constructed as various and flexible by men: negotiated , enriching and declining. The na…

Company stakeholder responsibility : an empirical investigation of top managers’ attitudinal change

Purpose Company stakeholder responsibility considers stakeholder engagement and management as key to long-term firm success. The purpose of this paper is to examine how top managers’ stakeholder responsibility attitudes change and how they balance stakeholder responsibilities and economic interests. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted empirical research using the company stakeholder responsibility framework by conducting a repeated cross-sectional survey in Finland in 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. Findings The study shows how development in the business context influences managers’ attitudes towards stakeholder responsibility. Simultaneously with the expansion of free comp…

Kahvilakäynti auttaa naisyrittäjää kehitysmaassa

Responsible Leadership in the Manager–Employee Relationship

Research questions:The aim of this study is to explore and conceptualize responsible leadership. The topic is viewed from the viewpoint of the dyadic level between managers and employees. The following research questions are answered: What principles do managers and employees perceive as being significant for responsible leadership in the manager–employee relationship? What social contexts in the relationship call for the principles to occur? To whom do the parties place responsibility for the advancement of the principles?Theory:The study draws on relational leadership theory as well as literature on responsible leadership. Responsible leadership is understood as a dynamic and contextual p…

(A)moral Agents in Organisations? The Significance of Ethical Organisation Culture for Middle Managers’ Exercise of Moral Agency in Ethical Problems

This paper investigates qualitatively the significance of different dimensions of ethical organisation culture for the exercise of middle managers’ moral agency in ethical problems. The research draws on the social cognitive theory of morality and on the corporate ethical virtues model. This study broadens understanding of the factors which enable or constrain managers’ potential for moral agency in organisations, and shows that an insufficient ethical organisational culture may contribute to indifference towards ethical issues, the experiencing of moral conflicts, lack of self-efficacy and morally disengaged reasoning. In contrast, a healthy ethical culture can contribute to motivation to …

The spouse of the female manager: role and influence on the woman's career

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the role of the spouse, specifically the husband, for the woman manager's career by focusing on the gender role construction between spouses, and the relationship of these roles to the woman's career.Design/methodology/approachThe topic was investigated within a Finnish context by analyzing the narratives of 29 female managers. A common feature among the women was their managerial position and extensive work experience. All the women had or had had one or more spouses in the course of their careers, and all but one were mothers, mostly of teenage or adult children.FindingsA typology distinguishing five types of spouses was constructed: determining, supporti…

The effect of an MBA on the development of women's management competencies: A gender viewpoint

Purpose – This article aims to report the findings of a study of the effect of a women's Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme in Finland called the femaleMBA on the development of women's management competencies. The gendered nature of the competency development was also analyzed. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative interview study was conducted with 20 women who completed the programme. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings – In addition to improving the women's business competencies and their mastery of management language, the programme contributed to the creation of a clearer managerial identity, greater assertiveness, and increased credibility in…

Leadership practices in relation to men's work-family balance in Finnish organizations

Leadership practices in organizations play an important role in shaping the conditions for employees’ work-family balance. Previous research on the topic has mainly focused on women; fathers are said to receive little support from leadership for combining work and family. In this study, the focus is on men working in six Finnish organizations representing male-dominated, female-dominated and gender-balanced organizations. Although Finland is considered a frontrunner in gender equality globally, Finnish women still carry the main responsibility for housework and child-care. Through a discursive approach, we seek to answer the following research question: What kind of discourses do working me…

Work–Family Practices and Complexity of Their Usage: A Discourse Analysis Towards Socially Responsible Human Resource Management

AbstractThe question of work–family practices commonly arises in both theory and daily practice as a matter of responsibility in today’s organisations. More information is needed about them for socially responsible human resource management (SR-HRM). In this article our interest is in how work–family practices, serve as an important element of SR-HRM, constructed as (un)helpful for employees’ work–family integration, are realised in organisational life. We investigate the discursive ways in which members of two different organisations working at different organisational levels construct the issue in the Finnish context. Three discourses were interpreted: (1) a discourse of compliance with e…

Yhteiskunnalliset yritykset toimintamahdollisuuksien edistäjinä

Fathers' Opportunities to Integrate Work and Family

Career counselling for women managers at mid‐career

PurposeThis paper aims to provide a framework for career counselling designed particularly to support the career development of mid‐career women managers. This approach is referred to as an autobiographical approach to career counselling. The practical application of the approach is described.Design/methodology/approachThe autobiographical approach draws upon social constructionism and narrativity. It was developed and applied together with 22 women managers. Various methods were used as narration tools.FindingsAt mid‐career, women managers are often in a transition process in their career. They can be expected to benefit from counselling that focuses on their long work experience and from …

Tasa-arvo tavaksi työelämässä

Organizational downsizing and the Finnish manager from an ethical perspective

Narratives by women managers about spousal support for their careers

In this article we present a qualitative study of spousal support for the careers of women managers. The research material consists of the narratives of 25 women managers in Finland. The study has two main implications. Firstly, unlike previous studies, we use a narrative approach to demonstrate that a woman manager's career and spousal support are experienced as ambiguous and evolving over the career. The support was constructed by the women managers as flourishing, irrelevant, deficient or inconsistent. Secondly, to increase our knowledge about gender relations, we combine discussion of the topic with gender order analysis and suggest that gender order is critical for an understanding of …

Henkilöstöjohtamisen trendit digitalisoituvassa toimintaympäristössä

Tässä artikkelissa tutkitaan henkilöstöjohtamisen ajankohtaisia trendejä digitalisoituvassa toimintaympäristössä. Digitalisaatio on voimakkaasti yleistyvä ilmiö, jota voi tarkastella laaja-alaisesti henkilöstöjohtamisen kenttää muovaavana metatrendinä tai suppeammin joukkona ohjelmisto- ja tiedonhallintateknologioita, joilla pyritään tehostamaan organisaation toimintaa ja vähentämään kustannuksia. Tutkimusstrategia on laadullinen ja analyysissa olemme soveltaneet sisällön erittelyä aikaisemman kirjallisuuden ja empiirisen haastatteluaineiston yhdistävällä otteella. Empiirinen aineisto koostuu 17 suomalaisen henkilöstöammattilaisen temaattisesta sähköpostihaastattelusta. Löydöksemme jakautuu…

Responsible Human Resource in Practice : Towards a Family-friendly Workplace

The purpose of this case study is twofold. First, a family-friendly development program in a Finnish health care organization is considered a good example of an attempt to develop an advanced workplace regarding work-family integration. The core idea of the program is that in a family-friendly workplace, human resource practices take employees’ varying circumstances into account. Second, the qualitative data gathered from the case are used to explore employees’ perceptions of family-friendliness, as well as the successes and pitfalls of adopting the development program to enhance work-family integration. The results show that the relationship between employees and their immediate superiors …

Company values guiding the recruitment of employees with a foreign background

Purpose In this paper, the following research question is addressed: Why do business organisations recruit employees with a foreign background? This was examined in terms of the values that guide organisations and their management. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach The study focused on two businesses in Finland that are pioneers in the recruitment of immigrants. A case study approach was adopted. The research data consist of interviews and documentary data. The data were analysed using content analysis in accordance with grounded theory. Findings Companies can act as an enabling force in the integration of immigrants into the local labour market, especially …

Pintaa raaputtamalla löytää tasa-arvon

Striving for Inclusion through Participatory Practices in Social Enterprises

The aim of this research case is to shed some empirical light on the effects of participatory practices from the perspective of Sen’s capability approach in a Finnish social enterprise. Using a mixed method approach we explore how participatory practices build social inclusion by enabling both company’s employees and customers to engage in social agency. The case study findings articulate the importance of participatory practices to employees’ perceptions of meaningfulness of life and being able to meet customers (who are mentally disabled) needs on the one hand and customers’ experience of information sharing and feedback giving to the employees and helping other customers. peerReviewed

Eettisesti haastavat tilanteet ja niiden kuormittavuus johtajien työssä: fokusryhmäkeskusteluiden analyysi

Tässä pilottitutkimuksessa tutkittiin laadullisesti johtajien työssään kokemia eettisesti haastavia tilanteita (sisällöt, kontekstit) sekä niissä koettuja ristiriitakokemuksia. Työtilanteita luokiteltiin laadullisen aineiston pohjalta. Aineisto kerättiin 16 suomalaisen johtajan fokusryhmäkeskusteluista (neljä ryhmää). Tulokset osoittivat, että johtajat kohtasivat usein työssään erilaisia eettisesti haastavia tilanteita suhteessa organisaation sidosryhmiin. Näitä sidosryhmiä olivat organisaation toimintaympäristö eli yhteiskunta, asiakkaat, omistajat sekä henkilöstö (johto, kollegat ja alaiset). Haastavien tilanteiden sisällöt jakautuivat viiteen luokkaan: 1) monimutkaiset työtilanteet, 2) r…

Building organizational trust in a low‐trust societal context

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to explore the interrelations between organizational trust and ethics management tools as well as ethical organizational practices in a post‐socialist context.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual framework of the interrelations among organizational trust, ethics management tools and ethical organizational practices is reasoned and the interrelations among the variables are explored using quantitative methods of data analysis. The method of data gathering is a questionnaire survey that was carried out in Lithuania which is taken as an example of a post‐socialist society where trust is rather low. In total, answers from 519 respondents were collected.Find…

Tutkimuksella kohti tasa-arvoista työelämää

The Relationship Between Ethical Organisational Culture and Organisational Innovativeness : Comparison of Findings from Finland and Lithuania

The paper explores the interrelations between ethical organisational culture and organisational innovativeness in two different socio-cultural contexts, Finland and Lithuania. According to the Global Innovation Index 2013, Finland ranked 6th and Lithuania 40th in terms of the national capacity to produce innovations. Prior research by Riivari and Lamsa (J Business Ethics 124:1–17, 2014) and Riivari et al. (Eur J Innov Manag 15:310–331, 2012) argues the importance of the ethical dimension of organisational culture in fostering the organisational capacity to innovate. In this paper, a different context is taken to test hypothesised differences between the two multidimensional phenomena. The p…

The work–family relationship – what is the role of men?

A Manager's Truth Telling Dilemma: A Case of two finnish managers