Sasmita Palo

Bio: Sasmita Palo is an academic researcher from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The author has contributed to research in topics: Competence (human resources) & Inclusion (education). The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 24 publications receiving 112 citations.

How HR professionals drive TQM: a case study in an Indian organization

Abstract: Purpose – The main objectives of the present research were to: look at the strategic role‐played by the HR professionals at various stages of TQM implementation; identify precisely how do they operate as internal consultants; study the interface between HRD and other departments to support TQM; and uncover various human resources challenges associated with TQM implementation in the sample organization.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected both from the primary and secondary sources. The secondary data had been retrieved from the sources like the files, records, and documents, Annual Reports of the Company. Nevertheless, the analysis made is primarily based upon findings of the structured interview held with the senior executives of the HRD and Personnel Department, TQM‐ISO Cell, and other Supporting Departments, and trade unionist leaders.Findings – The study finds out that the HR professionals helped out the top management in aligning HR and quality policies; formulating quality friendly poli...

Strategy Implementation Using Balanced Scorecard Achieving Success through Personal Values of Leaders and Employees

Abstract: Personal values are at the core of any individual. One’s action, behaviour and decisions are largely guided by one’s values and beliefs. Since organizations are social set-ups, impact of the values of those in the leadership position is far-reaching. This article is a fallout of a bigger study on implementation of balanced scorecard. This qualitative study, following case study approach, provides empirical evidences about the ways in which personal values of the leaders and employees affect their pursuit of the strategy. It also highlights what impact leadership values have upon the team members, and how this impacts strategy implementation. The values of responsibility, sincerity, initiative, integrity, humility, optimism, zeal, compassion, righteousness and discipline have been discussed. Overall, the study indicates that when leaders and employees have strong moral values, they impact strategy implementation positively.

Structural empowerment and organisational citizenship behaviour: The mediating–moderating effect of job satisfaction

Abstract: The present study aims at investigating mediating–moderating effect of job satisfaction between structural empowerment and organisational citizenship behaviour.,The study was conducted using standardised questionnaires. Responses were gathered from 178 auxiliary nurse and midwives working in primary health care centres in Chirang and Kokrajhar districts of Assam. Census method of data collection was adopted. The mediating–moderating effect of job satisfaction was assessed using the structural equation modelling.,Structural equation modelling result shows that structural empowerment has significant and positive effect on job satisfaction (0.68) and organisational citizenship behaviour (0.37). Job satisfaction has significant and positive effect on organisational citizenship behaviour (0.39). Job satisfaction significantly mediates-moderates (0.23) between structural empowerment and organisational citizenship behaviour.,Given the only female auxiliary nurse and midwives and comparatively small sample obtained in this study, no attempt should be made to generalise these findings to other nurses or organisations. All data were obtained through a self-report survey, presenting a possibility for common method bias.,Promoting structural empowerment may help medical officer (supervisor) to increase auxiliary nurse and midwives’ level of job satisfaction and promote organisational citizenship behaviour.,This is the first study conducted on the mediating–moderating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between structural empowerment and organisational citizenship behaviour among auxiliary nurse and midwives workings in rural and semi-urban areas in Assam (India).

Engaging employees through balanced scorecard implementation

Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to highlight the interplay of employee engagement dynamics during the process of balanced scorecard implementation. Design/methodology/approach – It takes the form of a case study based on analysis of data collected through archived sources, participant observation, in-depth interviews and focused group discussions. Findings – The findings indicate that the process of balanced scorecard implementation brings more clarity about overall vision, strategy and individual roles in the organization. This induces a sense of meaningfulness in the employees about work. The periodic review of performance indicators develops a sense of seriousness and can lead to a performance-oriented work culture. When performance is linked to rewards and incentives and is administered fairly, employees perceive the organization as being just and fair. This leads to enhanced employee engagement and improved contribution to the strategy implementation process. Research limitations/implications – The study h...

The Determinants of Sickness Presenteeism

Abstract: Introduction Sickness presenteeism (SP) can be defined as a state in which employees turn up for work in spite of being sick. Although presenteeism is a subject of vivid interest to scholars in occupational medicine, few organizational scholars have extensively worked on the subject. One of the reasons that could have ignited interest in researchers is the growing concern among organizations about how presenteeism leads to lower levels of employee productivity (e.g., Collins et al, 2005) and there are reports of many other hidden costs as well (Goetzel et al, 2004; Hemp, 2004). Ailments commonly associated with SP include headaches, migraines, allergies, depression, gastrointestinal problems and asthma/ breathing difficulties. These are often deemed as benign illnesses that do not force a person to stay away from work, but reduce his/her productivity (Ceniceros, 2001; Goetzel et al, 2004). The present study is aimed at identifying the determinants of SP at work. It retro-flexed some of the existing results relating to SP as well tested new hypotheses that have only been hinted in the literature. Hypotheses Development Johns (2009) has traced the first use of the word "presentee". According to the Oxford English Dictionary Online, the word "presentee" was first used by the famous American humorist and author Mark Twain in his famous Book, The American Claimant in 1892. Thereafter though there have been occasional use of the term, however it was not until the early 1990's that the term was used in a defined connotation. Presenteeism in earlier times was only defined as opposite of absenteeism, but gradually more refined forms of definition of presenteeism with defined constructs were available. SP has been defined by Aronsson & Gustafsson (2005) as "the phenomenon that people, despite complaints and ill health that should prompt them to take rest and take sick leave, go to work in any case". They have distinguished between 'work-related demands for presence' and 'personally related demands for presence'. Johansson & Lundberg (2004) have defined presenteeism in the same way as above. According to them, when a person attends to work in spite of being ill or under circumstances which would ideally require leave for e.g. child care. However, we have limited our discussion to cases when employees turn up for work in spite of suffering on health grounds only and does not extent to other reasons like child care. In this study, we categorized determinants of SP broadly into three categories such as work related factors, personal circumstances and personality of the employees. The study also examined the relational influence of the above three categories of factors on SP. Work Related Factors There are certain factors which compel the job incumbent to attend work even when sick. Organizational policies for example might not have flexi working hours which might affect an employee's decision to work. Work related factors can be further classified into factors which can be controlled by the employee and some others which are beyond his control. It can be derived that when factors are under the control of an employee, he would have the freedom to choose when to go to work and when not to and hence is expected to report lesser SP than employees who are devoid of sufficient control over tasks. Irreplaceability can be defined in simple terms as the availability of any other worker to replace the incumbent when the latter is sick. According to Bockerman & Laukkanen (2009), worker's replaceability can be seen from an economic angle. In case a worker can arrange for a replacement when he is absent from work, he would choose to avail of a sick leave when he is ill. On the contrary, if there are no available replacements for a worker and in case of his absence, he has to come back and finish up his pending work, then he would be less likely to take a sick leave. Hence in the second case, the indirect costs of being absent are more for a worker and under such circumstances, he would choose to attend to work when sick. …

The Social Psychology of Groups

Abstract: The Social Psychology of Groups. J. W Thibaut & H. H. Kelley. New York: alley, 1959. The team of Thibaut and Kelley goes back to 1946 when, after serving in different units of the armed services psychology program, the authors joined the Research Center for Group Dynamics, first at M.LT and then at the University of Michigan. Their continued association eventuated in appointments as fellows at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 19561957. It is during these years that their collaboration resulted in the publication of The Social Psychology of Groups. The book was designed to "bring order and coherence to present-day research in interpersonal relations and group functioning." To accomplish this aim, the authors introduced, defined, and illustrated basic concepts in an effort to explain the simplest of social phenomena, the two-person relationship. These basic principles and concepts were then employed to illuminate larger problems and more complex social relationships and to examine the significance of such concepts as roles, norm, power, group cohesiveness, and status. The lasting legacy of this book is derived from the fact that the concepts and principles discussed therein serve as a foundation for one of the dominant conceptual frameworks in the field of family studies today-the social exchange framework. Specifically, much of our contemporary thinking about the process of interpersonal attraction and about how individuals evaluate their close relationships has been influenced by the theory and concepts introduced in The Social Psychology of Groups. Today, as a result of Thibaut and Kelley, we think of interpersonal attraction as resulting from the unique valence of driving and restraining forces, rewards and costs, subjectively thought to be available from a specific relationship and its competing alternatives. We understand, as well, that relationships are evaluated through complex and subjectively based comparative processes. As a result, when we think about assessing the degree to which individuals are satisfied with their relationships, we take into consideration the fact that individuals differ in terms of the importance they attribute to different aspects of a relationship (e.g., financial security, sexual fulfillment, companionship). We also take into consideration the fact that individuals differ in terms of the levels of rewards and costs that they believe are realistically obtainable and deserved from a relationship. In addition, as a result of Thibaut and Kelley's theoretical focus on the concept of dependence and the interrelationship between attraction and dependence, there has evolved within the field of family studies a deeper appreciation for the complexities and variability found within relationships. Individuals are dependent on their relationships, according to Thibaut and Kelley, when the outcomes derived from the existing relationship exceed those perceived to be available in competing alternatives. Individuals who are highly dependent on their relationships are less likely to act to end their relationships. This dependence and the stability it engenders may or may not be voluntary, depending on the degree to which individuals are attracted to and satisfied with their relationships. When individuals are both attracted to and dependent on their relationships, they can be thought of as voluntarily participating in their relationship. That is, they are likely to commit themselves to the partner and relationship and actively work for its continuance. Thibaut and Kelley termed those relationships characterized by low levels of satisfaction and high levels of dependence "nonvoluntary relationships. …

Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Turnover Among Psychiatric Technicians. Technical Report No. 16.

Abstract: Abstract : A study is reported of the variations in organizational commitment and job satisfaction, as related to subsequent turnover in a sample of recently-employed psychiatric technician trainees. A longitudinal study was made across a 10 1/2 month period, with attitude measures collected at four points in time. For this sample, job satisfaction measures appeared better able to differentiate future stayers from leavers in the earliest phase of the study. With the passage of time, organizational commitment measures proved to be a better predictor of turnover, and job satisfaction failed to predict turnover. The findings are discussed in the light of other related studies, and possible explanations are examined. (Modified author abstract)