. Behavioral outcomesXow in the main from these attitudinal dimensions. This
can be learning new methods of working, engaging in behavior which is
beyond that required, such as organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)
(Coyle-Shapiro et al. 2004 a), or seen in levels of attendance and remaining
in the job (or their opposites).
. Performance outcomescan be distal or proximal and can be restricted to short-
term deWnitions of performance or can be expanded to include measures of
eVectiveness.
Relating employee attitudes to behavior and thence to performance is relatively
new in HRM but there are a growing number of studies that have done this (for
example OstroVand Bowen 2000 and Judge et al. 2001 ). ‘This line of research,’
concludes Gerhart ( 2005 : 179 ), ‘suggests that positive workforce attitudes create
value.’ In seeking to understand this downstream connection between attitudes and
performance, and upstream between HR practices and attitudes, there is much to
be gained from social exchange theory (Coyle-Shapiro et al. 2004 b). In summary,
social exchange applied to HRM theory suggests ‘HR practices are viewed by
employees as a ‘‘personalized’’ commitment to them by the organization which is
then reciprocated back to the organization by employees through positive attitudes
and behavior’ (Hannah and Iverson 2004 : 339 ). Perceived organizational support
(POS) may be linked to particular policies of salience to employees but it is the
overall eVect, or the ‘strength’ of the HR system (Bowen and OstroV 2004), and
employees’ broader conceptions of the employment relationship which are critical.
This discussion of social exchange theory reopens the debate of what HRM is.
26.6 The Problem of What is HRM
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If it is the overall eVect of the HR system, or its ‘strength’, which employees respond
to, then the parameters of such a system need to equate as closely as possible to the
employees’ experience of the world of work and the range of practices the employer
uses to structure this. What are the features of organizational life which are likely to
inXuence employee attitudes and behavior? HR practices, as we have traditionally
viewed them, will be a necessary, but never a suYcient, component. The role of line
managers as agents enacting HR practices, and the transmission of organizational
culture (sometimes referred to as ‘climate’), will need to be included. Both of these
touch on questions of leadership and the nature of the relationship between
manager(s) and employee(s). Critical features of theWrm’s operational system as
it aVects employees, seen in staYng levels, job design, and the ‘social relations of
production’ (Edwards and Wright 2001 : 581 ), will be relevant since these determine
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