Tag Archives: Chang

Building successful and sustainable HR interventions

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Topic: Change Management, Strategic HR
Publication: Journal of Business and Psychology (JUN 2011)
Article: HR interventions that go viral
Authors: Yost, P. R., McLellan, J. R., Ecker, D. L., Chang, G. C., Hereford, J. M., Roenicke, C. C., Town, J. B., & Winberg, Y. L.
Reviewed by: Alexandra Rechlin

Why do some HR interventions fail while others succeed? In this article, Yost et al. (2011) attempt to answer that question by using three different methods: a literature review, a case study, and interviews with senior I/O and HR professionals. The authors provided a case study of a successful HR intervention. They noted five important characteristics of the intervention:

  1. It was strategic. Resources and tools were written in alignment with business strategy.
  2. It was systemic. The intervention complemented and enhanced other company initiatives.
  3. It was simple. Resources and tools were simple, easy to read and understand, and written in the language of business leaders (not that of HR).
  4. It was sustainable. The intervention was created with the explicit intent to sustain it for a long time.
  5. It was sneeze-able. It was designed to be interesting and passed on to others.

The authors also reviewed the literature and interviewed 16 senior I/O and HR professionals about both successful and unsuccessful HR interventions.

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Organizational Politics: A Ubiquitous Evil

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Topic: Organizational Performance, Job Attitudes
Publication: Academy of Management Journal (DEC 2009)
Article: The relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and employee attitudes, strain and behavior: A meta-analytic examination.
Authors: C-H. Chang, C. C. Rosen, & P. E. Levy
Reviewed By: Benjamin Granger

Organizational politics refer to activities that individuals engage in to gain resources for themselves and select individuals – and many such activities are not sanctioned by organizations. Although some political activity is necessary (e.g., for group or team formation), much of it comes at the cost of the organization or other employees within the organization.

Examples include hiring/promoting friends, backstabbing, making selective employment decisions based on in-group membership, etc.

But are organizational politics really that bad?  Chang, Rosen and Levy’s (2009) recent meta-analysis suggests that indeed they are. They found that employee perceptions of organizational politics adversely affect job satisfaction, commitment to the organization, intentions to quit, strain (the product of stress or stressors), and even job performance. The largest effects were found for strain, job satisfaction, commitment, and intentions to quit.

Although organizational politics may serve the needs of those participating in it, they are very harmful to other employees and can ultimately have a significant impact on organizational effectiveness.

Chang et al.’s meta-analysis is a dramatic reminder that illegitimate political activities within organizations should be stamped out and prevented. Chang and colleagues suggest that organizations can select employees on skills that are favorably related to organizational politics (e.g., teamwork skills, conflict management skills) and hold employees accountable for such activities by including  political activities in performance appraisals.

Ultimately, organizational politics occur in every organization; few can dispute that. The issue is, how wild they are allowed to run?

Chang, C-H., Rosen, C.C., & Levy, P.E. (2009). The relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and employee attitudes, strain and behavior: A meta-analytic examination. Academy of Management Journal, 52(4), 779-801.