School of Business and Law

ECU Business Flashlight - 31 July 2018

How to build a 'high performance culture' in organisations

Edith Cowan University’s School of Business and Law invites you to the ECU Business Flashlight, a regular forum for researchers and practitioners to engage in collaborative dialogue with industry and government on relevant issues in business and management.

High Performance Work Systems and Careers: Inseparable or Incompatible?

The idea behind High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) is that we employ state-of-the-art techniques in the management of the workforce. HPWS revolve around three pillars: the flow of people into, through and out of the organisation, the management of their performance and rewards, and the way we deal with the workforce (for example, opportunities for participation). If these three pillars are taken care in concert then we will see performance gains at every level: the individual worker, the work unit, and the organisation. However, which techniques exactly fall into HPWS and how HPWS operate (the so called “black box”) are less clear. A dominant view is that HPWS “work” because they increase the commitment of the workforce via providing a career. Most people aspire to have careers, and we know that people regardless of the generation they belong to view attractive careers in terms of three key elements: employment security, opportunities for advancement, and opportunities for development. HPWS, as epitomised in companies likes Southwest Airlines, contains these key career elements. For certain, HPWS under that prism is to the interests of firms, employees and the society. A recent argument, however, is whether HPWS can also work in the long term without offering careers but simply precarious jobs (e.g., RyanAir). As part of this presentation we will discuss that perspective too, and whether it can provide a sustainable alternative for firms, employees and the society.

• When:    Friday,13 July 2018
• Where:   The City of Perth Library Auditorium, 573 Hay Street, Perth
• Time:      17:00 – 19:30

This forum will feature the following presenters:

Keynote speaker: Nikos Bozionelos is Professor of OB and International HRM in EMLyon Business School (France) and Adjunct Professor at Edith Cowan University's School of Business and Law. His research focuses on Careers, High Performance Work Systems and individual differences in the workplace. He serves as Senior Editor of Asia Pacific Journal of Management (an ABDC A ranked journal) and he has published around 200 journal articles and conference papers. His research has attracted nearly 4,000 academic citations, and has repeatedly attracted the interest of international media and specialist press, such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNN, the BBC, the New York Post, The Boston Globe, The Times, Forbes, L’Express, Ouest France, and Davos Economic Forum. He has extensive experience in teaching and development in countries like the United Kingdom, France, USA, China, Germany, Norway, Greece, Romania, Serbia, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.

Stephen Teo is Professor of Work and Performance at Edith Cowan University’s School of Business and Law. He is also appointed as a Professorial Research Fellow and he heads the Centre of Work and Organisational Performance (CWOP). Stephen is recognised as one of the leading scholars in the field of human resource management, publishing extensively in the areas of strategic HRM and public management. His current research examines the impact of organisational change on the well-being and performance of public sector employees. He also researches on ill- treatment at the workplace and psychosocial stress. Stephen has been involved in industry research projects funded by organisations such as Ramsay Health, NSW Department of Environment, New Zealand EEO Trust, New Zealand Tertiary Education Union, and Australian Defense Organisation.

Jan Norberger is the General Manager for Education and Training at Australian Medical Association (WA). Jan started his career serving six years in the Royal Australian Air Force, where he received an Officer Commanding Commendation for outstanding professionalism and service beyond the call of duty. He has held numerous senior management positions within both large and small businesses in WA and abroad (East Timor).  These included State Commercial Manager for Toll Priority, Group General Manager of Richards Mining Services and Group General Manager of DHL East Timor and Timor Aviation Services.  In 2012, Jan was awarded the WA Business News 40Under40 award. In 2013, he was elected to the Western Australian state parliament as the Member for Joondalup, later being promoted to Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Planning and Disability Services.  Within parliament, Jan also served 4 years on the Economics and Industry Standing Committee.