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Sectors Editors:Marek Ćwiklicki (Cracow University of Economics) – public managementAldona Glińska-Neweś (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń) – organizational behaviorKarolina Mazur (University of Zielona Góra) – methodology of management sciencesRafał Mrówka (SGH Warsaw School of Economics) – leadershipEstera Piwoni-Krzeszowska (Wrocław University of Economics) – networks and relationshipsEdyta Rudawska (University of Szczecin) – marketing and marketing managementAgnieszka Sopińska (SGH Warsaw School of Economics) – strategic and knowledge management, intellectual capitalMarzena Stor (Wrocław University of Economics) – human resources managementAgata Sudolska (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń) – innovation, competitivenessAgnieszka Szpitter (University of Gdańsk) – process and project managementGrzegorz Urbanek (University of Lodz) – management of the company’s value, enterprise valuation and business modelsMaciej Urbaniak (University of Lodz) – logistics and quality managementPiotr Wachowiak (SGH Warsaw School of Economics) – CSRAnna Wójcik-Karpacz (Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce) – SME managementPrzemysław Zbierowski (University of Economics in Katowice) – entrepreneurshipBernard Ziębicki (Cracow University of Economics) – methods and concepts of management, theory of organization and management

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5ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT • no. 2 / 2019 (185)

CONTENTS

Maciej Urbaniak

PREFACE ..................................................................................................................... 7

Beata Chmielewiec

THE RELATIONAL CAPITAL OF CLUSTERS AS A CATALYST OF THEIR COMPETITIVENESS .................................................................................................. 9KAPITAŁ RELACYJNY KLASTRA JAKO KATALIZATOR JEGO KONKURENCYJNOŚCI ................... 24

Tomasz Gigol

APPROACH TO INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS IN WORKPLACE AND WORK ENGAGEMENT .......................................................................................................... 25PODEJŚCIE DO KONFLIKTÓW INTERPERSONALNYCH W MIEJSCU PRACY A ZAANGAŻOWANIE W PRACĘ ...................................................................................................... 40

Małgorzata Sidor-Rządkowska

EMPLOYER BRANDING VS PERSONAL BRANDING .............................................. 43EMPLOYER BRANDING A PERSONAL BRANDING ....................................................................... 52

Anna Biłyk

IS THERE A ROOM FOR FUNCTIONAL FLEXIBILITY IN ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING ON THE SELF-ORGANIZATION BASIS? ............................................. 53CZY ISTNIEJE MIEJSCE NA FUNKCJONALNĄ ELASTYCZNOŚĆ W ORGANIZACJACH DZIAŁAJĄCYCH NA ZASADACH SAMOORGANIZACJI? ............................................................... 66

Piotr Sliż

ROBOTIZATION OF BUSINESS PROCESSES AND THE FUTURE OF THE LABOR MARKET IN POLAND – PRELIMINARY RESEARCH ................................... 67ROBOTYZACJA PROCESÓW BIZNESOWYCH A PRZYSZŁOŚĆ RYNKU PRACY W POLSCE – BADANIA WSTĘPNE ...................................................................................................................... 79

Katarzyna Klimkiewicz, Ewa Beck-Krala

SUSTAINABLE REWARD SYSTEMS DESIGN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HR PROFESSIONALS ....................................................................................................... 81KSZTAŁTOWANIE ZRÓWNOWAŻONYCH SYSTEMÓW WYNAGRODZEŃ – PERSPEKTYWA PROFESJONALISTÓW ......................................................................................... 96

THE COMMITTEE ON ORGANIZATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCE ............................................................................... 98

SGH WARSAW SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS ............................................................... 99


Preface

MACIEJ URBANIAK*

PREFACE

The current issue of our Quarterly concerns several contemporary topics such as: relational capital of clusters, interpersonal conflicts in workplace and work engage-ment, personal branding, functional flexibility in organizations as well as robotization of business processes.1

In the first article Beata Chmielewiec analyzes the importance of cluster relational capital as a factor increasing its competitiveness and then formulates guidelines for the creation of a relationship management strategy in a cluster organization. The article defines a cluster, presents the essence of relational capital concept and its impact on the competitive position of cluster participants. The author also proposes a procedure for creating a comprehensive strategy for building the relational capital in the cluster.

Tomasz Gigol presents in his paper results of quantitative questionnaire study on conflict management in the workplace and work engagement. Research results rein-force skepticism about the frequent conflict management style through avoiding or yielding. If employee engagement is a desirable state in an organization, active conflict management should not be disregarded. A postulated practical conclusion from the study is that active conflict management should be taught in training programs for managers and academic courses for future managers.

The article of Małgorzata Sidor-Rządkowska provides analysis of the inter-rela-tionships between the notions of “employer branding’’ and “personal branding’’. It is argued that the contemporarily observed changes in the approach to building pro-fessional career require undertaking actions both in the area of employer branding and personal branding.

The article by Anna Biłyk is an attempt to answer the question how functional flexibility is implemented in organizations where self-organization is functioning. To answer this question, the author conducted qualitative research in the form of a case study. The results of this study indicate the presence of functional flexibility elements

* Maciej Urbaniak, Ph.D., Full Professor – Editor in Chief of “Organizaton and Management”, University of Lodz.

8 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT • no. 2 / 2019 (185)

Maciej Urbaniak

that manifest themselves in such forms as enriching or expanding the scope of work; however, they are located in a specific organizational context.

The next paper in this issue written by Piotr Sliż is concerned with problem of robotization of business processes. The article presents the results of the analysis of the popularity of the robotic process automation related entries using the Google Trends tool. Research shows a growing interest in the issues of the robotic process automation in the field of management and quality sciences, as well as business practice.

Katarzyna Klimkiewicz and Ewa Beck-Krala in their paper conducted an analysis of how HR managers perceive the role of rewards systems in relation to the principles of corporate social responsibility and the process of creating a sustainable organization. The results of this analysis showed that employers use incentive programs supporting CSR goals and activities, such as: paid time for employee voluntary activities, financing employee charity initiatives outside the working time e.g., employee participation in charity football/volleyball games, encouraging employees to initiate events directed towards local community, encouraging employees’ participation in implementation of CSR goals and activities, offering incentive programs related to pro-ecological goals.

Enjoy your reading,Maciej Urbaniak


The Relational Capital of Clusters as a Catalyst of Their Competitiveness

BEATA CHMIELEWIEC*

THE RELATIONAL CAPITAL OF CLUSTERS AS A CATALYST OF THEIR COMPETITIVENESS

Introduction

The complexity of modern economy requires “collective knowledge” i.e., a co-op-erative approach and collaboration on numerous levels. Clustering seems to be an idea that might fulfil these requirements. The model of a mature cluster initiative is a concept of a network of relationships and contacts that are, in a way, above the independent entities – participants of the cluster, who may even be competitors [Rosińska-Bukowska, 2012: 55–80].

Owners of many organizations believe that building a network of relationships is one of the main factors that guarantee market success [Perechuda, Chomiak-Orsa, 2013: 305–319]. This is due to the fact that the relational resources of an enterprise, which form the intellectual capital together with human and structural capital, create new opportunities for gaining competitive advantage.

Building relational capital focuses on creating such conditions that enable initiat-ing, developing and strengthening relationships between the members of the given organization and between the organization and the entities in its environment [Gach, 2009: 176–184]. The impulse that triggers the development of co-operation is often the demand for tangible resources (production capacity or funds) and intangible ones, such as agreements or access to unique knowledge, skills and competences [Danielak, 2010: 119–128]

The aim of the paper is to present the importance of relational capital of cluster participants for increasing the competitiveness of clusters and to formulate guidelines for developing relationship management strategies.

* Beata Chmielewiec, PhD., Assistant Professor – SGH Warsaw School of Economics.


Beata Chmielewiec

1. The notion of relational capital and its meaning

From the perspective of resource-based strategy, sustainable competitive advantage results from the fact that the organization possesses resources that are unlimited, impossible to be replaced by substitutes, are confidential and may be synergic to each other [Barney, 2001: 4–57]. In such terms, the intangible resources become a carrier for the increase in value of companies [Pike et al., 2005: 111–124; Del Canto, Gonzales, 1999: 891–905]. In response to the need to define all intangible assets of an enterprise, the notion of intellectual capital was created [Edvinsson, Malone, 2001: 56; Lindgren et al., 2009: 17–24, Mouritsen, 2009: 154–162]. In subject literature, the most quoted definition is that presented by L. Edvinsson who defined intellectual capital as the difference between the market and book value of an organization, where the total intellectual capital consists of the following sub-sets [Herman, 2008: 38–47; Łopaci-uk-Gonczarczyk, 2008: 37–55; Wróbel: 11–15; Kasiewicz et al., 2006: 87]:

� human capital, � internal structural capital, � external structural capital.

According to this approach, human capital includes education, knowledge, and experiences of employees, the sources of creativity and innovativeness for the organ-ization [Kisielnicki, 2008: 33; Kurowska, Derlatka, 2009: 52–54]. Internal structural capital, which is very often referred to as the organizational capital in literature, is defined as the set of intellectual property assets of an organization, its processes and methods, executive procedures, databases and communication and information infrastructure [Chomiak-Orsa, 2013: 107]. For the purposes of this paper, internal structural capital is treated as relational resources, which can be transformed into internal relational capital by subjecting them to the relevant transformation processes. On the other hand, most authors equate external structural capital with relational capital. It is defined as the structures used for maintaining the appropriate relations with the environment i.e., among others, systems for finding customers, sales networks, research and development projects, client databases, the brand and reputation of the enterprise and strategic partnerships [Chomiak-Orsa, 2013: 107]. In this paper, the external structural capital is treated as a set of relationships with stakeholders from the environment – both contractual and institutional ones.

The position of relational capital in the intellectual capital of the enterprise may be shown with use of a simplified presentation of the intellectual capital model by K. E. Sveiby (Figure 1).

In contemporary organizations, the structural capital developed as a result of internal and external relations becomes particularly important. As a result of linking the resources of various entities, added value is created that enables to increase their



individual strategic flexibility [Urbanek, 2008: 69]. This value is expressed precisely in the relational capital, which is generally defined as the potential benefits from the links of the organisation and the network of relations with its internal and external stakeholders [Danielak, 2010: 119–128].

Figure 1. The position of relational capital in the intellectual capital of an organization

Structuralcapital

Intellectualcapital

Internalrelational

capital

Externalrelational

capital

Knowledgemanagers

Knowledgeworkers

Contractualstakeholders

Institutionalstakeholders

Humancapital

Source: Hoffman-Bang, Martin [2005]; Kurowska, Derlatka [2009: 52–54].

The main difficulty faced by researchers who conduct literature studies is the variety of theoretical approaches to the essence of relational capital and the lack of unambiguous terminology. In subject literature, relational capital is described by different terms. Some authors [Nahapiet, Ghoshal, 1998: 242–266; Wagner, 2011: 277–283] treat it as a form of social capital (apart from its structural and cognitive dimensions), where relations constitute resources that foster the achievement of indi-vidual and collective goals. Others [Capello, Faggian, 2005: 75–87] even claim that it is justified to use the term “relational capital” instead of “social capital”1. However, social capital exists everywhere where we are dealing with a local community, while relational capital refers to the possibility to share various capabilities and interaction between various entities that trust each other and co-operate, even at a distance [Capello, Faggian, 2005: 75–87].

Some of the authors focus on the essential role of clients in creating value, and separate client capital [Saint-Onge, 1996: 10–14]. Additionally, it has been referred to as the external structural capital [Cuganesan, 2005: 357–373] and market capital [Warschat et al., 1999]. On the other hand, J. Fitz-enz [2001] presents it as a network

1 This approach is justified by reference to the definition of social capital by R. Putnam, according to whom it is the total value of all social networks and the principles generated within them: trust, norms, ties and the sense of belonging to local community that may increase social effectiveness, by facilitating coordinated actions. See R. D. Putnam [1993].


Beata Chmielewiec

of relations with all groups whose interests are connected with the given organization. The term relational capital was used in the studies by J. Roos and G. Roos [1997: 413–426] or J. Jurczak [2006: 39–46].

At the same time, in subject literature the essence of this issue is analyzed from numerous perspectives, including the point of view of the theory of intangible resources and potential benefits, access to knowledge, network theory and partner relations.

Thus, according to G. Michalczuk [2009: 71–78], relational capital reflects the intangible resources of an organization that are based on interactions with groups (entities) in the environment i.e., clients, suppliers, competitors and widely understood partners. Shaping beneficial relationships between the enterprise and its stakeholders should foster gaining benefits by each of the parties. Such a benefit, being a value, takes the form of relational capital, which, according to the concept of capital of I. Fischer equals the value of resources at the given moment, while profit consists of the flows of services and property during the given period [Dobija, 2003: 118].

According to A. Ujwara-Gil [2009: 181], relational capital is first of all knowledge anchored in inter-organizational relations and built based on the external organi-zational links, market connections, relationships with clients, suppliers and centers of authority and industry, as well as technological networks that are available in the environment. However, the amount of knowledge acquired by the enterprise depends on three main dimensions of relational capital i.e.,: trust, the level of transparency in relationships between entities and the frequency of interactions [Liu et al., 2010: 237–238]. High level of mutual trust should promote sharing knowledge, while learning should be stimulated by transparency (especially the openness of partners), and the reinforcement of social ties between partners should be reflected in a high level of interaction (face to face or via information systems).

Relational capital is sometimes also analyzed in terms of network relationships – as the potential benefits obtained from the connections maintained by the organization and the network of relations with its external stakeholders [Gach, 2009: 176–184]. This results from the fact that network relationships become the basis for building corporate competitive advantage, based on the key competences that emerge as a result of numerous co-operational connections between the enterprise and its direct competitors [Cygler, 2009: 84]. Participation in a network enables, mainly [Niemczyk, 2008: 537–544]:

� sharing key competences, � free flow of data, information and knowledge, � obtaining synergic effects, � reducing the operational costs of individual units.

Creating a network of relationships with the environment is the fourth and final phase of the organizational development model proposed by F. Glasl and B. Lievegoed [1993]. However, company’s development at the third stage is based on interpersonal



relations, mainly inside the company, phase four highlights the relationships between the organization and its environment, hence it is referred to as: the association phase i.e., the stage of establishing a network of relationships with the environment. Build-ing a network of relationships should be considered as the necessary condition for the functioning of enterprises on the modern, globalized market. However, only the smooth use of the created network should be considered as the sufficient condition [Jamka, 2017: 43].

Relational capital reflects the value of relationships between the enterprise and its partners. At the same time, partnership entails sharing risk and benefits, planning and creating strategies together, joint works on new products, as well as resolving conflicts skillfully, flexibility and striving to improve competitiveness [Danielak, 2012: 23]. Other important factors are the expected continuity of relationship and strengthening the ties.

2. The role of relational capital in building the competitive position of cluster participants

The classical model of a cluster is based on the concept by M. E. Porter, accord-ing to which a cluster should be defined as a spatial concentration of interrelated enterprises, institutions and organizations connected by a developed network of both formal and informal relationships, based on a shared development trajectory, which simultaneously compete and cooperate in certain aspects of their activities [Porter, 2001: 17]. A cluster is a specific type of network, characterized by certain distinctive properties (Table 1).

Table 1. The differences between a network and a cluster

Factor Network Cluster

Membership Open, often short-term Open, long-term

Borders Undefined Well defined

Dominant type of relationships between entities

Co-operation Co-operation and competition, acting as a single entity on the outside

Nature of agreement between organizations

Usually informal Usually formal

Added value Mainly internal benefits for individual participants

External benefits for the cluster as a whole and benefits for individual members of the cluster

Common goals Business advantages, often of an ad-hoc nature

Strategic benefits

Geographical closeness Not very important Necessary

Source: Downar, Frankowska [2012: 11–54].


Beata Chmielewiec

Regardless of the existence of various definitions of a cluster, the following main key attributes should be emphasized [Rosińska-Bukowska, 2012: 55–80]:

� geographical closeness – shared location that enables the interpenetration of resources gathered by members;

� the adequate critical mass of the set – a number of members that guarantees that the mutual flows will be constant and varied;

� relationships – awareness of the interrelations; � common goal – interactivity manifested in focusing the activities on active col-

laboration, at least in a specific aspect.The modified concept of the cluster is based on using the specified attributes not for

the production of goods or services, but for generating added value to the previously known standard in a systematic way. In simple terms, this may be explained as using the diversity of the participants of the given system rather for sustaining the competitive advantage than for obtaining it. Modern approach to cluster management consists in triggering the synergy effect that results from the coopetition-based approach2.

In broader terms, the relational capital of the cluster is perceived as the overall benefits, both tangible and intangible, qualitative and quantitative ones that result from joining the network system being a cluster by the given actor, who is the ben-eficiary of the cluster [Smolska, 2014: 323–333].

The relational capital of a cluster represents the set of relations with all inter-ested groups, referred to as the stakeholders [Cyfert, Krzakiewicz, 2009: 137–138; Szałkowski, 2008: 38], or, differently, as: strategic fans of an organization [Obłój, 2007], interested groups [Galata, 2007], groups of interest [Ward, 1997; Penc-Pietrzak, 2000], stakeholders [Koźmiński, Piotrowski, 2002], stakeholders [Berliński, Penc-Pietrzak, 2004], or, finally, partners [Lisiński, 2004]. One of the pioneers of the stakeholders’ theory, R. E. Freeman [1984] defines the term as all persons or groups who influence the operations of an enterprise or are influenced by it. Each of them presents and seeks internal values, so it has certain expectations [Skrzypek, 2009: 20]. However, “the most mature approach to the relationships with stakeholders assumes engaging in a systematic dialogue with them, joint planning and implementing various types of ventures related to corporate social responsibility” [Wachowiak, 2012: 20].

In the course of an analysis of the strength of relationships between the stake-holders and the enterprise and their types, I have distinguished3 three categories [Cyfert, Krzakiewicz, 2009: 129–148; Adamczyk, 2009: 87–88; El-Gohary et al., 2006: 595–604; Lim et al., 2005: 831–840]:

2 Coopetition is a specific way of operating that allows to build potential based on close cooperation between the members of an Alliance combined with competitive struggle. See Cygler J. [2009], Kooperencja przedsiębiorstw. Czynniki sektorowe i korporacyjne, SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw.

3 A very detailed and accurate review of the typology was presented in the paper: P. Klimas [2011].



� internal (sub-decisive) stakeholders – owners, shareholders, management, employ-ees, formal and informal groups;

� external (contractual) stakeholders – suppliers, customers, competitors, investors, distributors, retail chains, banks, insurance companies, B2B, business environment institutions;

� institutional stakeholders – government and local self-government institutions, local communities, etc.Their influence on the goals of the company and the whole cluster depends on

numerous external and internal factors, as well as on the goals and expectations of each of the groups. The sub-decisive stakeholders build the internal relational cap-ital that is defined as the set of intellectual property rights of the organization, work processes and methods, executive procedures, databases and the communication and IT infrastructure. On the other hand, external relational capital, understood as the structures used to maintain proper relations with stakeholders from the envi-ronment, both contractual and institutional ones, includes, among others, customer search systems, sales networks, research and development projects, the brand and reputation of the company as well as strategic partnership [Perechuda, Chomiak-Orsa, 2013: 305–319].

In subject literature, the main key to the success of an organization and at the same time, the factor determining the competitive advantage of the given cluster are consid-ered to be the relational competences [Carter, Gray, 2007: 385–400] of the members of enterprises gathered in the cluster. This means using the knowledge, skills and attitudes in the co-operation area [Moczydłowska et al., 2017: 29]. The abilities to establish and maintain contact smoothly, empathy, the ability to co-operate in striving to achieve common goals, to overcome differences in views and interests and to resolve conflicts become important [Oleksyn, 2010: 25]. This results from the fact that it is the people who co-create the cluster that work on creating, using and developing the relational capital. Conscious and methodical actions of employees of all entities forming the cluster in the context of building proper inter-organizational relations increase the likelihood of achieving market success. Thus, the competitiveness of cluster partici-pants may increase only by mutual stimulation to improve its intangible elements that are derived from human resources. This relation is presented in Figure 2.

The experience and competences of all employees of an organization allow it to enter into various types of relationships with the entities in the environment, thus contributing to achieving relational competitive advantage (Figure 3). The source of this advantage may be the distinguishing of resources that will be allocated for common use by the participating entities by each of the parties [Danielak, 2012: 105].

F. S. Nobre and D. S. Walker [2011: 333–345] looked for competitive advantage not only in the key competences of an enterprise, but precisely in the possibility to co-operate with partners. Inter-organizational co-operation within a cluster offers


Beata Chmielewiec

potentially higher chances to use the possibilities and resources of different enterprises to achieve a bigger competitive advantage than when they are acting in isolation.

Figure 2. The stimulation-based nature of the influence of human resources on the development of relational capital and the competitiveness of cluster participant

Development

stimulation stimulation

Improved competitiveness

Externalrelational capital

Internal relationalcapital

Human resources

Source: own study based on: Chomiak-Orsa [2013: 111].

Figure 3. Relational competitive advantage

Relational capitalof the enterprise

Potential internalbenefits

Potential inter-organizational benefits

Key competences withinco-operation

Relationshipmanagement

Collaborativerelationships

Partnerrelationships

Creating newrelationships

Relational competitive advantage

Source: own study based on: Danielak [2012: 104].



The driving force of relational competitive advantage is relational rent4. It is manifested in generating common benefits as a result of the co-operation and joint development of shared resources as part of co-operation between enterprises [Muzy-czka, 2010: 451–472].

In reference to relational competitive advantage, four main relational rents may be distinguished [Cygler, 2009: 79–82]:

� internal rent – emerging as a result of combining the internal resources of an organization with shared resources;

� acquired relational rent – one that refers to shared resources that the parties engage in co-operation;

� incoming resources diffusion rent – rent obtained from network relationships between resources that refers to the unintended benefits that result from using shared and exclusive resources of a partner;

� outgoing resource diffusion rent – rent generated as a result of the leak of company resources to it co-operants; it emerges symmetrically to the incoming resource diffusion rent.However, the potential of the relational rent of enterprises grouped in a cluster will

be higher, because the partners are able to minimize transactional costs [Gorynia, Jankowska, 2008: 32] that include the costs of negotiations, monitoring, coordinat-ing and enforcing agreements with external entities [Eiriz, Wilson, 2006: 275–291].

3. The strategy of the relational capital of clusters

Creating an effective strategy that will foster obtaining benefits from building relational capital requires the organizations grouped in the cluster to develop methods of identifying the sources of this capital and tools that will enable to measure it. In business practice this generates major problems, as there are no established standards for the measurement of relational capital of an enterprise [Michalczuk, 2009: 71–78].

There is no single, best method to manage relationships [Young, Wilkinson, 1997: 53–97]. However, one may notice that, in the context of maintaining long-term relations with entities in the environment, the importance of strategic thinking and management increases, as strategy constitutes the foundation for the development of long-term relationships with key partners. A model solution related to managing relationships in a network of alliances was presented by A. Eilles, M. Bartels and B. Brunsman [2003: 30–34], who divided it into three stages i.e.:

4 The term relational rent was introduced by W. Czakon, who defined relational rent as “a supernormal profit jointly generated in an exchange relationship that cannot be generated by either firm in isolation and can only be created through the joint idiosyncratic contributions of the specific partners”. See W. Czakon [2005a: 10–13; 2005b: 31–40; 2009: 47–66].


Beata Chmielewiec

� first stage – referring to a strategy based on the potential of the co-operating enterprises and their possibilities to create various products or services and to offer specific products thanks to involving the competences of both the company and external entities;

� second stage – connected with building a portfolio of relationships and consisting in skillful identification and integration of partners within that portfolio;

� third stage – concerning the management of relationships as a portfolio; it means the realization of tasks within the interrelations between specific relationships and the allocation of the resources of individual entities. Here, it becomes necessary to modify the content of the portfolio as well as to monitor and measure the results.Usually, managing a portfolio of relationships offers larger possibilities to obtain

benefits from valuable relationships than managing single relationships [Danielak, 2012: 108].

Using the elements of the relational resources theory in developing company strategy, each relationship may be described and modelled in terms of such catego-ries, as: the entity participating in the relationship, as well as the purpose and form of the relationship [de Wit, Meyer, 2007: 217–249]. Thus, the adopted starting point should be the identification and analysis of the needs of stakeholders with respect to creating a portfolio of relationships, with use of the following methods:

� stakeholder maps [Freeman, 1984], � the matrix by M. Johnson and K. Scholes [Johnson, Scholes, 1999], � the analysis of the profiles of key strategic partners of the organization [Lisiński,

2004: 86–87].Although these methods differ in terms of the manner of analysis and presentation

of results, their aim is not only to determine the key groups of stakeholders, but first of all to identify and describe the power of their influence on the creation of relational capital, which is often characterized as validation and urgency of the demands of particular groups [Obłój, 2007: 218]. Other types of actions will be taken in refer-ence to strategic relationships with these partners, on which the development of the enterprise depends, others to maintain or strengthen relationships with entities that are not of key importance, and still others when focusing only on sales transactions.

Nevertheless, the synthetic procedure of developing a comprehensive strategy for building relational capital of cluster participants should contain the following stages [Chomiak-Orsa, 2013: 129–130]:

� identification of stakeholders, � development of forms of dialogue with stakeholders, � identification and the scope of using IT in supporting relationships with stake-

holders, � implementation of the relevant models of measuring and estimating the benefits

from creating relational capital.



The adopted relationship management strategy should be compliant with the overall development strategy of the cluster organization.

Conclusions

Appropriate policy for creating relational capital enables to obtain economic benefits by all partners of the alliance. Adopting a strategy based on creating and improving relational capital by organizations, both in internal terms and including the environment of the organization, is becoming a major trend in creating the phi-losophy of business activity [Perechuda, Chomiak-Orsa, 2013: 305–319].

It is doubtless that combining the resources and competences of two or more enter-prises that maintain a partner relationship may result in creating valuable strategic assets that are difficult to imitate or acquire. Mutually beneficial relationships focused on increasing the market effectiveness of partners are the source of the competitive advantage of clusters. However, the perfect cluster is the dynamic cluster, with a lot of traffic in the network of relationships [Downar, Frankowska, 2012: 11–54]. The model of a mature cluster initiative is a concept of a network of relationships and contacts that are, in a way, above the independent entities – participants of the cluster, who may even be competitors. On the other hand, lack of the appropriate approach and developed relational strategy may lead to the emergence of numerous hindrances and the risk of weakening or even terminating the relationship.

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Beata Chmielewiec

THE RELATIONAL CAPITAL OF CLUSTERS AS A CATALYST OF THEIR COMPETITIVENESS

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the importance of cluster relational capital as a factor increasing its competitiveness and then to formulate guidelines for the creation of a relation-ship management strategy in a cluster organization. The article defines a cluster, presents the essence of relational capital and its impact on the competitive position of cluster participants. The author also proposed a procedure for creating a comprehensive strategy for building the relational capital in the cluster.

Keywords: relational capital, cluster, competitive advantage, relationship management strategy

JEL classification codes: J24, L14, M54, O34

KAPITAŁ RELACYJNY KLASTRA JAKO KATALIZATOR JEGO KONKURENCYJNOŚCI

Streszczenie

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie znaczenia kapitału relacyjnego klastra jako czynnika zwiększającego jego konkurencyjność, a także sformułowanie wytycznych do stworzenia strategii zarządzania relacjami w organizacji klastrowej. W artykule zdefiniowano klaster, przedstawiono istotę kapitału relacyjnego i jego wpływ na pozycję konkurencyjną uczestni-ków klastra. Zaproponowano także procedurę opracowania kompleksowej strategii budowa-nia kapitału relacyjnego w klastrze.

Słowa kluczowe: kapitał relacyjny, klaster, przewaga konkurencyjna, strategia zarządzania relacjami

Kody klasyfikacji JEL: J24, L14, M54, O34


Approach to Interpersonal Conflicts in Workplace and Work Engagement

TOMASZ GIGOL*

APPROACH TO INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS IN WORKPLACE AND WORK ENGAGEMENT

Introduction

Conflict in companies can have various underlying reasons concerned with the work itself, the organization or interpersonal relationships. They involve parties representing various interests of groups, superiors, and subordinates or equal par-ties in a work relationship [Pondy, 1967; Rahim, 2001]. Conflicts take over 20% of managers’ working hours regardless of their position in the organizational structure and hierarchy [De Dreu et al., 2003].

Despite the fact that conflicts are normal at work and they cannot be eliminated altogether, it is worth stressing that they cause an array of negative phenomena in the employees that are brought into them, such as depression and lowered self-esteem [Frone, 2000]. Other negative effects of conflict are stress, psychosomatic problems, and burnout. This is especially the case when conflict is interpersonal in character [De Dreu et al., 2004]. Conflicts also influence one’s willingness to change a job [Bergmann, Volkema, 1994].

De Dreu and Weingart [2003] carried out a meta-analysis of studies on interper-sonal conflicts and concluded that they always negatively affect job satisfaction of the conflict participants. Research on Polish employees offered conclusions suggesting that good atmosphere and good relations with the co-workers, respectively, were of greatest importance among the sources of job satisfaction [Sypniewska, 2014]. Conflict, in turn, has a devastating impact on both working atmosphere and rela-tionships with the co-workers. Moreover, work engagement is also hard to achieve when unresolved conflicts come into play.

* Tomasz Gigol, Ph.D. – SGH Warsaw School of Economics.


Tomasz Gigol

Therefore, the author of this article found it to be an interesting research problem to examine the correlations between the preferred conflict management method in the workplace and the staff ’s work engagement. We sought for the correlations between work engagement and the most frequent way of managing conflict in the workplace. Additionally, the influence of these phenomena on job satisfaction was examined.

1. Conflict in an organization

During the conflict’s research, its definition has been expanding. Conflict can be the result of incompatible objectives or disagreements that arise in response to the distribution of limited resources [Schmidt, Kochan, 1972]. Conflict understood in these terms unfolds according to the zero-sum game where one party in a con-flict must lose in order for the other to gain something. Thomas [1976] concluded, however, that for conflict to emerge, the presence of an incompatibility of goals is not necessary and it is enough for one party in conflict to perceive a negative (and not necessarily real) influence of the other party on something that the first party wants. For conflict to be provoked, it is actually enough for the other party to only just be intending to exert this negative influence.

Conflict is defined even more broadly by Rahim [2002] who claims that it is an “interactive process manifested in incompatibility, disagreement, or dissonance within or between social entities (e.g., individual, group, organization)”. Conflicts may thus be of organizational, intergroup, and interpersonal nature; they can involve whole organizations, company sectors, groups of people or individuals [Wall, Callister, 1995].

1.1. Types and sources of conflict

The sources of organizational conflict usually regard: competition for limited resources, striving for autonomy or a discrepancy between the goals of different company sectors [Pondy, 1967; Rahim 2001]. Some organizational structures develop far-reaching autonomy and pursue their own goals by introducing their own norms of conduct as well as compete with the other units to a certain extent [Corwin, 1969]. Conflicts at work increasingly arise from the growing pressure to introduce changes and innovations and the necessity for employees to constantly adapt while simul-taneously being more and more burdened but having no guarantee of employment [De Dreu, Gelfand, 2008].

Intergroup conflicts arise from human nature as humans are social creatures. The need for social identity makes people prefer inequality among groups – they favor their own groups and discriminate other. The aim of doing that is protection of social hierarchy and one’s own position within it [Tajfel, Turner, 1979]. The key



factors influencing prejudices and escalation of intergroup conflict include: sense of group identity; size and strength of the group; perception of a threat to the group; asymmetry of perception of positive traits of the members of one’s own group and negative traits of people from outside the group; personality; and individual differ-ences among group members [Hewstone et al., 2002].

In turn, sources of interpersonal conflict differ depending on whether it is task or relationship conflict [Guetzkow, Gyr, 1954]. Task conflict is concerned with allocation of resources, procedures as well as opinions on or interpretation of facts and thus it is rooted in disagreement with the decisions and actions related to organization management. A large proportion of these conflict types is concerned with difficult situations that require organizational changes. The essence of task conflict is a dis-pute among group members arising from decisions that have been made and it is concerned with a difference of views or ideas [Jehn, 1995].

On the other hand, relationship conflict is related to values, viewpoints, behavior or tastes [De Dreu, Weingart, 2003]. It is an emotional conflict and usually gives rise to tensions, irritability, and resentment among group members [Jehn, 1995]. Task conflicts are mainly concerned with work or a task in contrast to relationship conflicts that focus on various issues not related to the task itself [Jehn, Bendersky, 2003].

1.2. Conflict management styles

Conflict management is an attempt at tackling a conflict situation and selecting a coping strategy. The concepts of the participants’ approach to conflict management described in the relevant literature are based on a matrix of two variables that set out four extremely different conflict resolution strategies. Kilmann and Thomas [1975] developed a matrix where the variables are assertiveness and willingness to cooperate. Depending on the intensity of a given variable, four fundamental conflict management styles unveil: avoiding (where willingness to cooperate is low and assertiveness is low); collaborating (where willingness to cooperate is high and assertiveness is high); com-peting (where willingness to cooperate is low but assertiveness is high), and accom-modating (where willingness to cooperate is high but assertiveness is low). The fifth style of conflict management is located in the centre of the matrix. And the fifth one is called compromising where willingness to cooperate as well as assertiveness are average.

Rahim [1983] offered a somewhat different matrix of conflict management styles. The variables he focused on include: concern for oneself and concern for others. The styles in the resultant matrix are: avoiding (where concern for oneself and others is low), integrating (where concern for oneself and others is high), dominating (where concern for oneself is high but concern for others is low), obliging (where concern for oneself is low but concern for others is high), and compromising (where both concern for oneself and concern for others are average).


Tomasz Gigol

Another matrix of conflict management styles was developed by De Dreu et al. [2003] and was based on the following variables: concern for own outcome and concern for others’ outcome. It is presented in Figure 1. The fundamental styles that unveil are: avoiding, yielding, problem solving, forcing, and compromising.

Figure 1. Conflict management. Dual concern modelC

once

rn fo

r ow

n ou

tcom

es

Concern for others' outcomeslow high

low

high

AVOIDING YIELDING

COMPROMISING

FORCINGPROBLEMSOLVING

– passive conflict resolution styles

Source: De Dreu, Van Dierendonck, De Best-Waldhober [2003], Dijkstra, De Dreu, Evers, Van Dierendonck [2009].

Dijkstra with a team [2009] indicate that both avoiding and yielding conflict management styles are passive approaches to conflicts, which has been marked with a dotted line in Figure 1. Passive approach to conflict causes high psychological ten-sion and mental exhaustion, which leads to psychosomatic issues and occupational burnout. Whereas active approach to conflict, even including the forcing style, gives rise to much less negative reactions [Dijkstra et al., 2009].

1.3. Personal consequences of conflict

Personal consequences experienced by people taking part in interpersonal con-flict, especially when they choose a suboptimal conflict resolution strategy, manifest themselves as negative phenomena such as stress, depression, lowered self-esteem, psychosomatic problems, and burnout [Frone, 2000]. Negative personal effects occur along with both types of interpersonal conflict though they are more intense during relationship conflict [De Dreu et al., 2004]. Interpersonal conflict also negatively affects sharing knowledge among employees [Lu et al., 2011].



2. Work engagement, job satisfaction

Work engagement can be understood in several ways. Kahn [1990] sees it as a link between one’s occupational role and identity. Schaufeli et al. [2002] believe that engagement is a sense of high energy and vigor combined with identifying with one’s job. According to Britt, the essence of engagement is the sense of responsibility for one’s job [Britt, 1999]. Whereas Maslach and her co-workers [2001] claim that engagement is at the polar extreme of occupational burnout.

In line with Schaufeli and his co-workers’ proposal [2002], “engagement is defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, ded-ication, and absorption”. Vigor is perceived as experiencing a high level of energy and readiness to make an effort at work. It also combines with the willingness to carry out the assigned work even in the face of obstacles and difficulty. Dedication to work is the enthusiastic approach to working and having a sense that it is important and taking pride in it. Absorption in work is a state of increased concentration and involvement in work while still having the possibility to stop doing it. An engaged employee can assiduously work for a long time, enjoy his work, and not turn into a workaholic or face job burnout [Schaufeli et al., 2008].

Job satisfaction is defined as an employee’s emotional reaction to work consisting in comparing the desirable results with the actual outcomes [Cranny et al., 1992]. Job satisfaction understood in these terms is an employee’s internal and subjective feeling related to their expectations towards work. Other definitions broaden the understanding of satisfaction and talk about it not only in terms of positive and negative feelings but also attitudes related to the employee’s occupational duties [Vroom, 1964].

Job satisfaction is connected with work engagement and these terms overlap to some extent [Shaufeli, Bakker, 2010]. Although it is possible to experience job satisfaction in the absence of work engagement, there is no engagement without satis-faction [Shaufeli, Bakker, 2010]. Engagement is something more than satisfaction as it involves, for example, enthusiasm, alertness, and excitement [Shaufeli, Bakker, 2010].

3. Approach to conflict management versus work engagement

Research findings suggest that emotions experienced in a group play an important role in the process of conflict management. Conflict management styles oriented at cooperation are correlated with a positive intra-group emotional state, whereas conflict avoidance is correlated with exclusively negative emotions [Syna Desivilya, Yagil, 2005].


Tomasz Gigol

The results of this study indicate that emotional states occupy the central position when it comes to determining preferences as to intra-group conflict management.

Conflict management is shaped by the culture of conflict resolution in a given organization or part of it [Springs, 2015]. Active or passive conflict management is also dependent on the quality of leadership in a company or part of it [Gigol, Sypniewska, 2019]. Dijkstra et al. [2009] claim that passive approach to conflict management leads to occupational burnout which is the polar opposite to work engagement [Maslach et al., 2001]. Research results also demonstrate that relationship conflict depletes work engagement [Chen et al., 2011]. Hence the following hypothesis has been put forward.H1 Active approach to interpersonal conflict management in the workplace positively influences work engagement.

4. Approach to conflict management versus job satisfaction

De Dreu et al. [2004] found that avoiding conflict and yielding in the face of con-flict, which are passive approaches to interpersonal conflict management, [Dijkstra et al., 2009] may negatively affect job satisfaction. When the burden of unsatisfied expectations becomes too heavy, job satisfaction lowers and the likelihood of dis-playing withdrawing behaviors or intentions to leave one’s job increase [Egan et al., 2004]. In turn, other research findings show that the integrating style of conflict management, which is oriented at cooperation, is positively correlated with job satisfaction [Chan et al., 2006]. Chen with a team [2012] also concluded that the integrating and compromising conflict management styles are positively correlated with job satisfaction. Various researchers suggest that the level of conflict is a factor predicting job satisfaction [De Dreu et al., 2004; De Raeve et al., 2008]. Therefore, the hypothesis provided below has been formulated.H2 Active approach to interpersonal conflict management in the workplace positively influences job satisfaction.

5. The study

5.1. Work engagement

The study of the respondents’ work engagement was carried out with the use of the UWES 9 test – Ultrecht Work Engagement Scale [Schaufeli et al., 2006; Schaufeli, 2013]. In Poland, there are also other versions of this questionnaire in use [Pollak et al., 2017].



Study involved 786 participants. Table 1 provides the frequency distribution of the respondents’ age and sex. The majority of the respondents were between 20 and 29 years old. There were 66% women in the sample.

Table 1. Frequency distribution – participants’ age and sex

Sex

female male total

Age of the respondents n % n % n %

20–29 years old 405 77.6 169 64.0 574 73.0

30–39 years old 71 13.6 63 23.9 134 17.0

40–49 years old 34 6.5 27 10.2 61 7.8

50–60 years old 10 1.9 5 1.9 15 1.9

60 years old and above 2 4 0 0 2 3

Total 522 100 264 100 786 100

n – number of participants, % – percentage of the sampleSource: own study.

Table 2 shows the frequency distribution of positions occupied by the respondents. The largest number of the respondents worked as experts.

Table 2. Frequency distribution – position occupied by the respondent

Position n %

Manager 144 18.3

Expert 198 25.2

Blue collar worker 102 13.0

White-collar worker 182 23.2

Trader 108 13.7

Other 50 6.4

No data 2 0.3

Total 786 100

n – number of participants, % – percentage of the sampleSource: own study.

In Table 3 illustrates the frequency distribution of the respondents’ period of employment. The majority of the respondents have been working for a period of 1 to 3 years.


Tomasz Gigol

Table 3. Frequency distribution – respondents’ period of employment

Period of employment on-the-job n %

No data 3 0.4

Less than a year 219 27.9

1–3 years 294 37.4

3–5 years 121 15.4

5–10 years 99 12.6

10 years and longer 50 6.4

Total 786 100

n – number of people; % – percentage share of the sampleSource: own study.

5.2. Conflicts in the workplace

Table 4 presents the frequency distribution of the respondents’ approaches to con-flict at work. The respondents could have selected more than one option. The majority of the participants in the study indicated collaboration as their preferred style of con-flict management. Compromise was the second choice but third and fourth positions were taken by different forms of conflict avoidance (see Table 4).

Table 4. Frequency distribution – conflict management style at work

Conflict management style at work n %

Ignoring conflict 157 20.0

Pretending that everything will work out somehow 170 21.6

Backing out of conflict 120 15.3

Familiarizing with conflict 102 13.0

Collaborating in conflict resolution 278 35.4

Compromising 169 21.5

Fueling conflict situations 57 7.3

n – number of people; % – percentage share of the sampleSource: own study.

The respondents were divided into two groups. The first group comprised (n=300) respondents who indicated that their workplace was characterized by a passive approach to conflict (i.e., they only selected ignoring conflict, pretending that everything will work out somehow, or backing out from conflict). The second group comprised (n=453) people who indicated that an active approach was also present



in their workplace (i.e., they selected at least one of the three options: familiarizing with conflict, cooperating in conflict resolution or compromising).

5.3. Approach to conflict management in the workplace versus work engagement

Table 5 shows mean values and standard deviations of the indicators of work engagement in the group of employees in workplaces characterized by a passive approach to conflict and the group of employed in workplaces characterized by an active approach to conflict. The juxtaposition is supplemented with a test of statistical significance of differences.

Table 5. Mean values of the work engagement indicators in the workplace characterized by passive conflict management and in the workplace characterized by active conflict management along with the statistical significance test results

VariablesApproach to conflict Statistical test

passive active t df p

Vigor 8.97 4.24 11.12 4.05 –6.99*** 750 0.001

Dedication 10.00 4.66 11.90 4.24 –5.67*** 597.25 0.001

Absorption 9.90 4.49 11.26 4.28 –4.18*** 751 0.001

Work engagement 12.04 3.73 13.61 3.51 –5.85*** 751 0.001

t – test statistic; df – degree of freedom; p – two-tailed statistical significance; *** – p<0.001Source: own study.

Figure 2. Mean values of the work engagement indicators in the workplace characterized by passive conflict management and in the workplace characterized by active conflict management

8.9710.00 9.90

12.0411.12

11.90 11.26

13.61

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Vigor Dedication Absorbtion Engagement

passive activeApproach to conflict

Source: own study.


Tomasz Gigol

Statistically significant differences among all work engagement indicators have been found. Mean values on these scales were high in the group of employees in the workplaces characterized by active conflict management (cf. Figure 2).

5.4. Approach to conflicts in the workplace versus job satisfaction

Table 6 presents the frequency distribution of job satisfaction depending on the approach to conflict preferred in an organization. The juxtaposition was supplemented with the results of the independence testχ2. Statistically significant correlations are highlighted.

Table 6. Frequency distribution – job satisfaction depending on approach to conflict at work

Jobsatisfaction

Approach to conflict StatisticaltestPassive Active Total

n % n % n % χ2 df p

Definitely yes 57 19.1 141 31.3 198 26.4

31.58*** 1 0.001

Rather yes 123 41.1 210 46.7 333 44.5

Rather not 90 30.1 79 17.6 169 22.6

Definitely not 29 9.7 20 4.4 49 6.5

Total 299 100 450 100 749 100

n – number of people; % – percentage of the group; χ2 – test statistics; df – degree of freedom; p – statistical significance; ** – p<0.01; *** – p<0.001Source: own study.

Figure 3. Percentage frequency distribution – job satisfaction depending on approach to conflict

19.1

41.1

30.1

9.7

31.3

46.7

17.6

4.4

05

101520253035404550

definitely yes rather yes rather no definitely no

%

Job satisfaction

passive activeApproach to conflict

Source: own study.



Statistically significant correlations between approach to conflict and job satisfac-tion have been discovered. Job satisfaction was greater in a group of people working in the organization characterized by active approach to conflict (cf. Figure 3).

5.5. The respondents’ work engagement versus job satisfaction

Table 7 presents the Spearman’s ρ coefficients of correlation between job satis-faction and the results achieved in work engagement scales. Statistically significant correlations are highlighted.

Table 7. Spearman’s ρ coefficients of correlation between job satisfaction and the results achieved in work engagement scales

Workengagement

Job satisfaction

ρ p

Vigor 0.598** 0.001

Dedication 0.701** 0.001

Absorption 0.602** 0.001

Engagement 0.588** 0.001

ρ – Spearman’s ρ coefficients of correlation; p – two-tailed statistical significance; ** – p <0.01Source: own study.

Statistically significant positive correlations between job satisfaction and all the work engagement scales have been found.

6. Discussion

Hypothesis No. 1 has been confirmed. Active approach to interpersonal conflict management in the workplace influences work engagement. Statistically significant differences among all work engagement indicators have been found. Mean values on these scales were high in the group of people working in the workplaces charac-terized by active conflict management (see Table 4). Active conflict resolution style exerts the strongest influence on vigor. According to some researchers, vigor is the key factor in engagement. Shirom [2011] believes that vigor is the only pure factor in the concept of engagement that was adopted in this paper as it reflects the sense of physical strength, emotional power, and cognitive arousal.

The second hypothesis has also been confirmed in the course of the study. The number of people who chose the options “definitely yes” and “rather yes” in response to the question about job satisfaction was considerably higher in the case of the


Tomasz Gigol

respondents working in organizations characterized by active approach to conflict resolution (see Figure 4). It is an important finding due to the fact that studies on similar correlations were so far mainly carried out in Asia where approach to conflict is completely different than in our culture [Ting-Toomey et al., 1991].

Once again it has also been empirically demonstrated that the terms job satisfaction and work engagement are correlated (see Table 7). This may be significant in further conceptualizations of terminology related to employee attachment to their workplace.

Conclusions

So far the literature on interpersonal conflict at work has been focused on its negative influence on employees or positive influence on the results of work as far as task conflict is concerned [Tjosvold, 2008]. This study has demonstrated a positive influence of active approach to interpersonal conflict resolution on employee work engagement. It is known from other sources that engaged employees who experience job satisfaction positively influence the results achieved by companies [Christian et al., 2011]. Thus, a postulated practical conclusion from the study is that active conflict management should be taught in training programs for managers and in academic courses for future managers. Simultaneously, it is worth conducting further more detailed studies on optimal conflict management methods used in the workplace and their influence over employee well-being.

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APPROACH TO INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS IN WORKPLACE AND WORK ENGAGEMENT

Abstract

Interpersonal conflict at work causes negative consequences such as lowered self-esteem, stress or burnout that intensify when passive approach to conflict is preferred. Therefore, we decided to examine the correlations between the preferred method of conflict management in the workplace and work engagement. We formulated a hypothesis that an active approach to interpersonal conflict management in the workplace influences work engagement. We con-ducted a quantitative questionnaire study on a group of 786 respondents. As regards conflict


Tomasz Gigol

management, the theoretical basis was the dual concern model by de Dru et al. [2003] sup-plemented by the papers by Dijkstra et al. [2009]. In the study, the concept of engagement by Schaufeli et al. [2002] was adopted. It seems that examination of conflict management meth-ods in an organization as a factor that affects work engagement is pioneering and expands knowledge on work engagement. What is more, the influence of conflict management on job satisfaction and the intercorrelations between work engagement and job satisfaction were studied. A hypothesis concerning the influence exerted by the active approach to interper-sonal conflict has been confirmed in research. A statistically significant influence of active conflict management over all work engagement components, that is, vigor, dedication, and absorption, was noticed. Examination of satisfaction, in turn, confirmed previous studies in this respect. Research results reinforce scepticism about the frequent conflict manage-ment style through avoiding or yielding. If employee engagement is a desirable state in an organization, active conflict management should not be disregarded. A postulated practical conclusion from the study is that active conflict management should be taught in training programs for managers and academic courses for future managers.

Keywords: conflict management, work engagement, job satisfaction

JEL classification codes: J24, J28

PODEJŚCIE DO KONFLIKTÓW INTERPERSONALNYCH W MIEJSCU PRACY A ZAANGAŻOWANIE W PRACĘ

Streszczenie

Konflikt interpersonalny w pracy powoduje negatywne skutki, takie jak: obniżenie poczucia własnej wartości, stres czy wypalenie, które potęgują się, gdy preferuje się pasywne podejście do konfliktów. W związku z tym podjęto badanie zależności między preferowanym sposobem zarządzania konfliktem w miejscu pracy a zaangażowaniem w pracę. Sformułowano hipotezę, że aktywne podejście do konfliktów interpersonalnymi w miejscu pracy ma wpływ na zaan-gażowanie w pracę. Przeprowadzono ilościowe badania ankietowe na grupie 786 responden-tów. Podstawą teoretyczną w zakresie zarządzania konfliktem był model dualnej troski de Dreu i in. [2003], uzupełniony o prace Dijkstry i in. [2009]. W badaniu przyjęto koncepcję zaangażowania Shaufeliego i in. [2002]. Wydaje się, że badanie metod zarządzania konflik-tem w organizacji jako czynnika wpływającego na zaangażowanie w pracę jest pionierskie i stanowi wkład w wiedzę na temat zaangażowania w pracę. Ponadto zbadano wpływ zarzą-dzania konfliktem na satysfakcję z pracy oraz interkorelacje między zaangażowaniem w pracę



a satysfakcją z pracy. Hipoteza o wpływie aktywnego podejścia do konfliktów interpersonal-nych znalazła potwierdzenie w badaniach. Zanotowano istotny statystycznie wpływ aktyw-nego zarządzania konfliktem na wszystkie komponenty zaangażowania w pracę, tj. wigor, oddanie i zaabsorbowanie pracą. Natomiast badania nad satysfakcją potwierdziły wcześniej-sze badania w tym zakresie. Wyniki badań wzmacniają sceptycyzm co do spotykanego stylu zarządzania konfliktem, przez jego unikanie lub uleganie. Skoro zaangażowanie pracowni-ków jest stanem pożądanym w organizacji, to nie należy zapominać o aktywnym zarządzaniu konfliktem. Postulowanym praktycznym wnioskiem z badań jest uczenie aktywnego zarzą-dzania konfliktem w programach szkoleniowych dla kierowników i w kształceniu akademic-kim przyszłych menedżerów.

Słowa kluczowe: zarządzanie konfliktem, zaangażowanie w pracę, satysfakcja z pracy

Kody klasyfikacji JEL: J24, J28


Employer Branding vs Personal Branding

MAŁGORZATA SIDOR-RZĄDKOWSKA*

EMPLOYER BRANDING VS PERSONAL BRANDING

Introduction

In the recent years employer branding has become a vital element of functioning of many companies. It is argued that appropriately conducted actions in this field result in numerous benefits for organizations. The most important ones include:

� greater confidence in organizations, � better relationships between the organization and its employees, clients, business

partners and other stakeholders, � greater loyalty, satisfaction and involvement of employees, � greater interest of potential candidates in joining the organization, � lower recruitment and selection costs, reduction in operating costs, � increased stability of functioning on the market, � more efficient product launch on the market [Oczkowska, 2015].

However, when undertaking actions in the area of employer branding one fre-quently fails to consider the changes related to the system of employee values as well as the fact that the expectations and needs of the generation dominating among the employed differ substantially from the needs of former generations [Juchnowicz, 2018].

It may be observed in many fields, in particular in the approach to building one’s professional career. Strenuous climbing up career ladder has been replaced by per-sonal branding.

The aim of the presented article is to analyze the interrelationship between the notions of employer branding and personal branding as well as their implications for the human capital management in modern organizations.

* Małgorzata Sidor-Rządkowska, PhD., Assistant Professor – Warsaw University of Technology.



1. The concept of employer branding

According to Renata Oczkowska [2015], the interest in organization’s image goes back to the early 50 s of the previous century. The idea of building the image of an organization as an attractive employer appeared forty years later – in the 90 s of the 20th century. T. Ambler, an English scientist and S. Barrow – practitioner dealing with marketing were the first to identify the concept of employer brand and defined it as ‘the sum of functional economic and psychological benefits associated with and achieved due to employment by a particular organization. Employer branding involves the use of marketing techniques aimed at creating appropriate climate and area of organization which will prove attractive to the presently employed as well as the potential candidates Oczkowska [2015].

The present popularity of the discussed topic is reflected by numerous definitions. Even a brief overview of these concepts will take substantial part of the article. Therefore it has been assumed after Katarzyna Wojtaszczyk [2014: 86], that ‘employer branding is a process of creating value for stakeholders which results from one’s identification with a strong employer brand’.

The above term of stakeholders is a fairly complex one. There are three groups of people who perform critical role in development of the image of an organization in practice, these are:1) candidates,2) present employees,3) former employees.

Ad 1. For years activities related to building employer brand focused on potential employees. It is no coincidence that initially the term ‘employer branding’ was related entirely to endeavors aimed at attracting candidates and building the position of the first-choice employer, etc. At present one may observe shifting away from the narrow understanding of this notion; however awareness of the importance of actions aimed at potential employees has remained a vital element of operations undertaken by HR departments these days. In order to attract the right people interested in working for a particular enterprise numerous interesting actions are taken.

It concerns both recruitment and selection of employees. A growing number of employees understand that the role of recruitment process is not limited to filling a vacancy but developing appropriate brand image of the organization as well. It is hard to imagine effective employer branding without undertaking actions in the field of recruitment and selection – friendly worded job advertisements, easily understand-able names of positions, unambiguous description of expectations and requirements regarding future employees, informing about the length of the recruitment process, etc. Recently, Coalition for Friendly Recruitment (Koalicja na rzecz Przyjaznej



Rekrutacji) has been established. It brings together several dozens of companies and the number continues to grow. The Code of Good Practice in recruitment has been created – compliance with its principles is becoming a compulsory trend.

Ad 2. As regards those already employed in an organization the starting point for employer branding is the appropriate adaptation period [Żarczyńska-Dobiesz, 2008]. However, even the most successful course of this process will not result in long term involvement of a valuable employee unless the enterprise continuously strives for better standards in all aspects of human capital management. Particular attention must be paid to:

� open internal communication enabling employees to genuinely participate in deci-sion making,

� building involvement systems based on the feeling that one’s job is meaningful, � well thought through remuneration system (financial and nonfinancial) based on

modern theories of motivation, � fair system of periodic performance assessment which is a means to provide

feedback and not ‘judgment over the employee’, � developing progressive training policy, � establishing a set of procedures related to termination of employment in the

company.Ad 3. Creating positive company image among employees subject to workforce

reduction may prove extremely difficult. Fear of the future, feeling of helplessness and even humiliation – these are only some of the difficult emotions accompanying those who are made redundant. However, building appropriate company culture in this area may help employees to see their situation differently after some time has passed. ‘There was no other solution, they had to make redundancies. On the other hand, one must admit that the company behaved decently towards me and others who were made redundant. It is a truly decent company’. This opinion is a lot more valuable in terms of employer branding than an extensive promotional campaign.

Many companies developed outplacement programs – aimed at helping employees that were let go to find new opportunities on the employment market. These complex and costly activities are focused on minimizing the negative impact of downsizing for both departing employees as well as the company image.

The concern for the culture of separation is critical not only in relation to those leaving the company due to the employer’s decision but also those who decided to resign. Attention to employer brand requires conducting a conversation known as exit interview with all employees who decided to leave. Its aim is to:

� find out why they decided to leave, � discuss observed shortcomings in personnel policy, � monitor company’s management system.



It is vital that companies strive to create a positive image not only among the candidates, currently employed but also former employees. A growing number of companies recognizes importance of the aforementioned activities. It is reflected in the studies conducted by Katarzyna Wojtaszczyk [2014: 148], who argues that ‘(…) the best organizations who understand that opinions of employees who were made redundant, those who resigned, the retired and their families have big impact on the image of the company as an employer. Therefore, they pay more attention to the way they part with the employee than other institutions. From the employer brand perspective it is vital to maintain contact with employees after they had left the company. Thus, many enterprises hold clubs for former employees and organize activities specifically dedicated to them’. The importance of these activities for employer branding cannot be overstated.

2. The concept of personal branding

Tom Peters is considered to be the founder of contemporary approach to personal branding. In the article ‘The brand called you’ published in 1997 he presented a kind of personal branding manifesto.

‘Regardless of our age, occupied position and the branch we work in we all need to be aware of the importance of branding. We are managing directors of our own enterprises: I Ltd. (…). In the business world today our main task is to promote the »You« brand. (…) You are a brand. You are the one to manage the brand… You must begin to think about yourself differently. You are not an »employee«, you »don’t belong« to any organization for ever, you are not defined by the job description of the position you occupy, you are more than that. (…) The position of managing director in the I Ltd. obliges you to develop yourself, promoting yourself and undertaking measures to ensure market’s interest in you’ [Peters, 1997].

Characteristic feature of the majority of personal branding definitions is their strongly persuasive nature. Authors of these definitions, similarly to Tom Peters, tend to refer directly to the recipient as a guide and urge one to take particular actions. This way the significance of personal branding is highlighted.

According to Katarzyna Wojtaszczyk and Filip Maszewski [2014], from the theory of management perspective ‘personal brand may be defined as the total of benefits or values it brings to all entities (brand owner and other stakeholders such as the employer, family and friends) who have contact with the brand. These benefits may be functional (rational) or emotional (symbolic) and are connected with the broadly understood potential of the person identified by a particular personal brand whose ‘company’ in terms of an individual is their name and surname.



Attributes of a strong personal brand include its authenticity, good reputation and visibility [Schawbel, 2012: 18–19; Wiśniewska, 2015]. The strive to enhance visibility of the brand requires promotional activities connected with the following dilemma: How to promote one’s brand efficiently without going too far with excessive auto promotional attempts? Hubert Rampersad [2010: 188] warns against such excessive activities and argues that personal branding should involve predominantly trust building.

Conscious personal branding involves defining personal value proposition (PVP). PVP implies informing various labor market entities (particularly present and potential employers, current and future co-workers) what they can expect of the individual employee. PVP includes both rational values (such as professional predispositions, level of education, experience, propensity to invest in one’s development), as well as the emotional ones (e.g., motivation level, involvement, interpersonal skills, self-con-fidence, creativity) [Wojtaszczyk, Maszewski, 2014]. Personal branding is a long-term process which varies for different individuals.

3. Traditional and contemporary approach to professional career

According to Alicja Smolbik-Jęczmień and Agnieszka Żarczyńska-Dobiesz [2017], the key indicators of traditional professional career comprised: linearity, high predict-ability, formalized training program, rigid principles of promotion and limited impact of employees on the course of action. This approach was dominated by a recurrent scheme including the following elements:1) Graduation followed by undertaking employment. This stage, sometimes referred

to as ‘entering adulthood’, implied the end of the time to learn and the start of the time to work.

2) Building career between the 25th-45th year of age which implied strenuous moving up the ladder of organizational hierarchy.

3) The period of profiting from the efforts pursued in the past sometimes known as the ‘harvest time’.This model is nowadays rejected. Entering labor market does not imply the end

of education. On the contrary, undertaking employment in a modern organization means intensive learning. It is commonly believed that a school or university will not prepare one to take up a particular post, and the ongoing changes require con-tinuous learning. Professional career is no longer linear and becomes unpredictable. One’s professional position does not increase with age but depends on many different factors. One may observe a shift of responsibility for career development from the organization to the employee who is the only ‘owner of career capital’ [Smolbik-Jęcz-mień, Żarczyńska-Dobiesz, 2017], that is one’s knowledge and skills.



The volume of this capital depends primarily on one’s employability. This notion is considered the most important competence of a contemporary employee. It cannot be denied that high qualifications may prove useless if the individual fails to find an organization interested in employing them. There are two approaches to this term – broad and narrow. According to the broad approach employability involves:

� personal flexibility – ability to move smoothly from one position to the other, from one organization to another;

� occupational expertise – comprises specific knowledge and ability to use it; � optimization and anticipation – ability to predict future changes and to use them

creatively; � corporate sense – ability to work effectively in a team; � balance – ability to achieve compromise between the individual interest and the

interest of an organization [Marzec, 2010].One may distinguish three types of employability:

� initiation employability which implies one’s ability to take up the first job after graduation or training; it regards the time passed from graduation to getting the job,

� internal employability understood as one’s ability to be promoted within the structure of one organization; it may be vertical or horizontal promotion and involves bigger responsibility,

� external employability concerning one’s ability to change employers; high level of external employability implies ability to smoothly move between extremely varied organizations [Wiśniewska, 2015].Each of the above mentioned types of employability requires concern for per-

sonal branding. It is the only constant element in the world of continuous changes in professional career direction. Researchers state that the employee’s generation is the key factor differentiating his approach to professional development. Year of birth and belongingness to a particular generation is widely discussed and changes with the time. It may be assumed that at present there are five generation groups. These are traditionalists born before 1945, baby boomers (people born in the years 1946–1964), generation X (born in the years 1965–1979), generation Y (people born between 1980–1989) and generation C (people born after 1990) Pokolenia na rynku pracy [Wiktorowicz et al., 2016].

According to researches a considerable part of the traditionalists generation worked all their lives for one organization. Baby boomers on average worked in 3–4 companies. It is believed that generation X employee will have changed their job 7–8 times, whereas people representing generation Y will have worked for 15–16 different employers. Thus, each new generation changes the job twice as often as the previous one. Should the trend continue it may be assumed that generation C representatives would have changed their jobs 32 times throughout their career lives [Woszczyk, 2016]. Although this prediction may seem fairly unrealistic, interviews



with twenty-something people indicate that most of them do not plan to spend more than 1–2 years in one organization.

Traditional career concepts based on defining consecutive stages of one’s life and assigning very specific activities to these stages are losing their relevance. What characterizes contemporary professional careers is their volatility and unpredicta-bility resulting in individual’s continuous readiness to introduce corrective measures to the decisions they made in the past. High psychological costs of this phenomenon should not be ignored.. ‘Being a slave to one’s development’ converts employee into a collector of new professional experiences rather than professional with expertise in a particular knowledge or skills.

Contemporary concept of career involves the following aspects: thorough analysis of opportunities offered by the work environment; using external networks rather than relying on one employer, maintaining work-life balance [Sullivan, Arthur, 2006].

Traditional approach to career development based on strenuous climbing up hierarchical career ladder within one organization (3–4 at most) has been losing its rationale. The days of career surfers are coming [Savickas, 2008] – i.e., individ-uals equipped with relevant skills, standing on their own two feet and able to take advantage of opportunities created by the ever-changing external environment. HR departments must prepare well in order to embrace the challenge.

Conclusions

The subject-matter of Employer branding has been covered by numerous studies, analyses, good practice codes and handbooks with step-by-step instructions on how to become a first-choice employer. However, it is frequently forgotten that the strength of the employer depends on the strength of its employees. Many employers tend to minimize the employee brands and expect that an individual will perform and present himself exclusively as a company representative and therefore neglect his own name and identity. This must be changed. Building cohesion between employer branding and personal branding is one of the key tasks facing those who are respon-sible for human capital management in contemporary organizations. This is not an easy task though. According to Dan Schawbel [2012: 33], who made same observa-tions about the past, over ten years ago professional life involved ‘hiding behind the corporation brand and using company logo as a protective shield against the world. Employees submitted to organization’s policy and had very few networking tools (…). Typical career involved long-term employment in one organization. The observed »suppression of personal brands« restricted employees who were therefore deprived of other development opportunities and had to rely on one source of income”.



However, it is hard to agree with the author that the described relations belong solely to the past; the same situations are present in numerous contemporary organ-izations. Personal brand suppressing is still common and supporting personal brands is considered detrimental to the company. Providing such support, it is frequently believed, encourages employee’s endeavors to look for a new job or increase their financial expectations. We should remember that in the past personnel training was perceived in a similar way. Staff training programs involve a certain degree of risk; however, very few employers today question their necessity. The same approach should be adapted towards personal branding. Therefore, it is necessary to accept employee’s ownership of their career capital, and recognize that working elsewhere will enable them to better use their talents developed owing to the support obtained from the organization they are currently working for. Charles Woodruffe [2003: 53] wrote a dozen or so years ago: ‘We are dealing here with an interesting paradox – in order to keep an employee in our company we need to develop their ability to leave it”.

References[1] Juchnowicz M. [2018], Istota sprawiedliwego wynagrodzenia w zarządzaniu – aspekty

teoretyczne i realne, Edukacja Ekonomistów i Menedżerów. Problemy. Innowacje. Projekty 3 (49): 45–60.

[2] Marzec J. [2010], Zatrudnialność jako czynnik bezpieczeństwa zatrudnieniu i sukcesu na współczesnym rynku pracy, Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Zarządzania Ochroną Pracy w Katowicach 3 (6).

[3] Oczkowska R. [2015], Kreowanie wizerunku organizacji jako pracodawcy, Edukacja Ekonomistów i Menedżerów. Problemy. Innowacje. Projekty 4 (38): 185–197.

[4] Peters T. [1997], The Brand Called You, Fast Company 10.

[5] Rampersad H. K. [2010], Ty – marka inne niż wszystkie. Sztuka autentycznego brandingu osobistego, Helion, Gliwice.

[6] Savickas M. L. [2008], Helping people choose jobs: A history of the guidance profession, in: Athanason J. A., van Esbroeck R. (eds.), International handbook of career guidance, Springer.

[7] Schawbel D. [2012], Personal branding 2.0. Cztery kroki do zbudowania osobistej marki, Helion, Gliwice.

[8] Smolbik-Jęczmień A., Żarczyńska-Dobiesz A. [2017], Zróżnicowane podejście do rozwoju zawodowego wśród przedstawicieli pokoleń koegzystujących na rynku pracy, Zarządzanie Zasobami Ludzkimi 3–4.

[9] Sullivan S. E., Arthur M. B. [2006], The evolution of boundaryless career concept. Exam-ining physical and psychological mobility, Journal of Vocational Behavior: 69.



[10] Wiktorowicz J., Warwas J. [2016], Pokolenia na rynku pracy, in: Wiktorowicz J., Warwas J., Kuba M., Staszewska E., Woszczyk P., Stankiewicz A., Kliombka Jarzyna J., Pokolenia – co się zmienia? Kompendium zarządzania multigeneracyjnego, Wolters Kluwer, Warsaw.

[11] Wiśniewska S. [2015]. Zatrudnialność – pojęcie, wymiary, determinanty, Edukacja Ekonomistów i Menedżerów, Problemy. Innowacje. Projekty 1 (35): 11–24.

[12] Wojtaszczyk K. [2014], Employer branding, czyli zarządzanie marką pracodawcy. Uwa-runkowania, procesy, pomiar, The University of Lodz Press, Łódź.

[13] Wojtaszczyk K., Maszewski F. [2014], Różnorodność metod w zarządzaniu marką oso-bistą, in: Stor M., Fornalczyk A. (eds.), Sukces w zarządzaniu kadrami. Różnorodność w zarządzaniu kapitałem ludzkim – podejścia, metody, narzędzia. Problemy zarządczo--psychologiczne, Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wrocławiu nr 349, WUE Publishing House, Wroclaw: 454–463.

[14] Woodruffe Ch. [2003], Ośrodki oceny i rozwoju. Narzędzia analizy i doskonalenia kom-petencji pracowników, Oficyna Ekonomiczna, Cracow.

[15] Woszczyk P. [2016], Różnorodny rozwój i ścieżki kariery w organizacji, in: Wiktoro-wicz J., Warwas J., Kuba M., Staszewska E., Woszczyk P., Stankiewicz A., Kliombka Jarzyna J., Pokolenia – co się zmienia? Kompendium zarządzania multigeneracyjnego, Wolters Kluwer, Warsaw.

[16] Żarczyńska-Dobiesz A [2008], Adaptacja nowego pracownia do pracy w przedsiębiorstwie, Wolters Kluwer Polska, Cracow.

EMPLOYER BRANDING VS PERSONAL BRANDING

Abstract

The article presents analysis of the inter-relationships between the notions of “employer branding” and “personal branding”. It is argued that the contemporarily observed changes in the approach to building professional career require undertaking actions both in the area of employer branding and personal branding. At the time of career surfers the concepts of employer branding and personal branding must be treated complementarily – in order to obtain compe-titive advantage, employers must provide opportunities to employees to build their own brands.

Keywords: employer branding, personal branding, professional career, employability

JEL classification code: O15



EMPLOYER BRANDING A PERSONAL BRANDING

Streszczenie

Celem prezentowanego artykułu jest analiza wzajemnych powiązań między pojęciami employer brandingu i personal brandingu, a także ich implikacjami dla zarządzania kapita-łem ludzkim w nowoczesnych organizacjach. Autorka przedstawia krótki przegląd definicji tych pojęć. Opisuje także warunki wstępne dla skutecznego wdrożenia procesów employer brandingu i personal brandingu.

Druga część artykułu jest poświęcona tradycyjnemu i współczesnemu podejściu do budo-wania kariery zawodowej. Badane są pojęcia „zatrudnialności” i „własności kapitału kariery”.

W artykule przeanalizowano pięć grup pokoleniowych działających na współczesnym rynku pracy i wskazano różnice w ich podejściu do rozwoju zawodowego.

Autorka udowadnia, że w dzisiejszych czasach employer branding oraz personal bran-ding należy postrzegać komplementarnie. Siła pracodawców zależy od siły ich pracowników. Przewagę konkurencyjną mogą osiągnąć jedynie ci pracodawcy, którzy stwarzają odpowied-nie warunki rozwoju pracownikom, umożliwiając im budowanie silnych marek osobistych.

Słowa kluczowe: employer branding, personal branding, kariera zawodowa, zatrudnialność

Kod klasyfikacji JEL: O15


Is There a Room for Functional Flexibility in Organizations Operating on the Self-Organization Basis?

ANNA BIŁYK*

IS THERE A ROOM FOR FUNCTIONAL FLEXIBILITY

IN ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING ON THE SELF-ORGANIZATION BASIS?

Introduction

Modern organizations operating in highly competitive markets must be able to continually reorganize to respond to the challenges of the business environment. To run in complex markets, enterprises need innovative strategic solutions and flexibility that will ensure their competitiveness [Schreyögg and Sydow 2010]. The answer to these challenges, and at the same time a new research field in management sciences, might be self-organization. According to R. M. Grant [2016], self-organiza-tion is a promising and fresh approach to the issues of formulating and implementing strategies. Among the concepts similar to or identical with self-organization, the following can be distinguished in the literature on the subject: self-management, self-organizing teams, full participation in management, or circular organizing. On the academic side, the first publications on circular organizing appeared in the 1980 s and 1990 s; [Ackoff, 1989; 1999; Romme, 1996; 1997; 1998] at present, the topic is discussed by J. Buck and G. Endenburg [2012] as well as G. Romme [2016]. In 2017, his publication “The quest for professionalism: The case of management and entrepreneurship” was awarded the book of the year title by the European Academy of Management (EURAM).

In the light of the variability of the business environment, the management staff is looking for and implementing various solutions that are to simultaneously use the potential of its employees and bring benefits to the enterprises managed by them.

* Anna Biłyk, M. A. – SGH Warsaw School of Economics.


Anna Biłyk

These initiatives include changes to management systems that are often reflected on the side of organizational structures. These are projects of varying scale, investment level, and risk, followed by changes on the part of HRM, in accordance with the cou-pling of the sphere of human resources management (HRM) with the improvement of organizational structures [Stabryła, 2011: 22–23].

On the other hand, in the field of Human Resource Management (HRM), the need for changes in the area of applied practices has been indicated for over a dozen years. In 2005, Gueutal and Stone [2005] recognized hierarchical organizations and traditional work positions as those HRM practices that would give way to flat organizations and self-directed teams. In 2011, best practices in the area of human resources management included, among others: self-managing teams, ensuring that employees are authorized to make full use of their skills and knowledge, and creating jobs that support motivation, commitment, and flexibility [Armstrong 2011]. In the literature on the subject, one could find a lot of research on the organizational structure and its design, and the issue of flexibility is discussed in this context. More flexible organizational structures are visible, among others, in the design of the system, organ-ization, and job, and, in this context, functional flexibility is mentioned as a factor of competitive advantage [Jagoda 2015]. Due to the small number of publications on functional flexibility in enterprises based on self-organization, the article attempts to answer the question of what the possibilities are in applying functional flexibility in self-organization. In order to answer such a research question, the literature and data collected during the qualitative study were analyzed. The qualitative research was carried out in Poland, in an enterprise that has implemented the approach of self-organization – Holacracy.

1. Self-organizing as a new organizational context for building work flexibility

1.1. Towards work flexibility and competitive advantage

Well-designed and adapted to the strategy management systems and organiza-tional structures support the implementation of corporate goals. Due to the changing environment, and strategies of enterprises, the design of the organization and jobs has evolved, consisting in defining the scope of responsibilities of individual people working in a given organization [Griffin, 2017]. A stable and predictable environ-ment allowed the approaches of Weber or Fayol, based on specialization, to be successfully functioning for a long time. The behavioral approach changed the way of looking at the division of work thanks to the attention paid to the behavior of the employee in the organizational context. A new perspective has also brought a systemic



approach, through defining organizations in terms of interconnected subsystems, as well as a learning organization concept based on knowledge, a fractal organization or a flexible one [Griffin 2017; Krupski 2008]. The literature on the subject provides various definitions of flexibility. H. I. Ansoff [1965 after: Jagoda 2015] understands it as a property of an organization that allows it to deal with changes in the environment it tries to respond to. In the same vein, flexibility is defined as an option of strategic thinking, which means the organization’s ability to adapt in the unpredictable, full of changes environment that affects company results [Volbreda 1999]. There are also other features attributed to flexibility: the ability to adapt to competitive changes, global markets, without fundamental changes within the organization [Lynch 1989]. On the other hand, R. Krupski [2008] perceives flexibility as a way to deal with uncertainty, understood as the ability to respond to both predictable and unpredictable changes. The tool that helps in this process is the creation and selection of reversible options for functioning and development.

Bearing in mind the place of occurring changes to which the organization adapts, the primary type of flexibility in the literature on the subject is the internal and external flexibility of the organization. Currently, one can indicate several areas of internal organization flexibility due to the functional areas of the organization. One of them is the area of personal function and work flexibility. It aims to make better use of employees’ skills, increase productivity, increase operational flexibility and reduce employment costs [Armstrong, Taylor, 2016: 181], which is associated with changes in the employment structure. As part of the organizational flexibility of work, one can indicate several forms related to the way of performing work: structural, numerical, financial and functional flexibility. Functional flexibility constitutes the subject of this article.

In the light of modern management concepts in which “employee competence potential and organizational knowledge is the main way to obtain and maintain competitive advantage” [Juchnowicz, 2007], the idea of functional flexibility of the enterprise becomes a vital research subject and serves as the basis for building the theory of a flexible [Atkinson, 1984] enterprise. Functional flexibility may be defined as an ability of employees to perform various tasks, depending on the needs of the organization, through job rotation and broadening the responsibilities of employees [Atkinson 1984; Gableta 2003]. It can be also characterised by the ability of the com-pany to change the amount and type of work used within the internal labor market. This manifests itself in the possibility of quickly and smoothly assigning employees to various tasks, which is beneficial for the company. The variety of tasks carried out at one workplace helps in the development of skills and gaining experience while moving between various job positions leads to acquiring new skills, which in total makes a versatile employee [Jagoda, 2015]. Employees acquiring new skills and com-petences, enable faster response to the needs of the organization (changes in demand


Anna Biłyk

in the labor market, changes in production dynamics, dynamic enterprise develop-ment, etc.); and it is easier to understand mutual dependencies and communicate in interdisciplinary projects. Through the diversity of tasks, functional flexibility also promotes humanization of work, reduces its monotony, and supports the creativity of employees [Desombre et al. 2006]. In order to achieve the purpose of this article i.e., identification of the possibilities of applying functional flexibility in self-organization, Jagoda’s definition was adopted. To that end, possible ways of applying functional flexibility were identified and characterized in terms of its characteristics, which include smoothness and quickness in the ability to change the amount and type of work in order to assign employees to various tasks that benefit the company.

1.2. The unique approach of Self-organizing for work

An example of organizations that gain the interest of researchers and practitioners are companies that operate on the basis of self-organizing – the process of adapting to changes and creating new structures and systems without any formal authority, similar to biological and social systems [Wheatley, Kellner Rogers, 1996 after: Grant, 2016]. The main motives behind the implementation of self-organization are greater flexibility, faster decision making, allowing a more full understanding of the voice of employees, and engagement [G. Romme 2016; Biłyk 2018]. According to Romme [2016], this is an alternative to traditionally managed organizations, and one of the forms of self-organizing is circular organizing, in which work focuses on a shared, professional purpose. The values of sociocracy and engineering education underlie circular organizing. The word “sociocracy” comes from the Latin word “socius” (com-panion, colleague) and the Greek word “kratein” (manage). The sociocratic approach was first implemented in the organizational context in the 1970 s in the Netherlands in an engineering company – Endenburg Elektrotechniek. Due to the dissatisfaction of employees and the growing number of conflicts after the implementation of the works council required by the Dutch law, the owner of the enterprise and, simul-taneously, one of its engineers – Gerard Endenburg, initiated the redesign of the communication system to improve the quality of work. The result of this initiative was to combine the approach of sociocracy with tools in the field of cybernetics, which served as preliminary guidelines for several solutions that characterize circular organizing. These solutions concern: ways of making management decisions (policy decisions); ways of communication (double linking) between the units, and ways of selecting representatives of the organizational units which provide communication between these units [G. Romme and Endenburg 2006; G. Romme 2016]. While the classical scholars understood hierarchy as authority and subordination of people, in organizations where circular organizing occurs, there is another dependency. It is a hierarchy of professional purposes of particular organizational structures, which



are circles and roles. Next to the purposes, which constitute the action of teams and individual people, one of the key, organizing processes is a circular leading-operat-ing-measuring process taking place around the joint, changing and defined by the staff, purpose of the unit or team.

2. Research methodology

The choice of the case study methodology is guided by two conditions [Yin, 1984 after: Czakon, 2015: 192–195]: the early stage of knowledge development in a given research area and the recognition of the phenomenon in real conditions. The first one refers to the fact of a small amount of empirical research in the field of self-or-ganizing – circular organizing. The second condition is the fact of recognizing a new phenomenon and conducting research in its natural environment. A particular case of circular organizing is Holacracy – an approach based on a system of self-organ-izing circles that decide about their politics and allocate roles to individual persons [Romme, 2016: 132–134, 210]. Later in the text, terms such as self-organization, circular organizing and Holacracy will be used interchangeably.

2.1. Research approach and procedure

The study was conducted in an enterprise which in 2017 implemented a work organization system based on self-organizing using the circular organizing process [Holacracy]. Due to the initial stage of research and the new phenomenon, apart from literature studies, the author decided to use a qualitative approach. Its purpose is to understand new, complex phenomena and social processes [Czernek in: Czakon, 2015: 171]. To collect more expanded field material and obtain a more reliable basis for interpretation, methodological triangulation was applied through the use of various research methods [Kostera, 2013: 97–98]. We carried out research which was guided by the following procedures for conducting case studies [Czakon, 2006 after: Czakon, 2015: 199]. At stage 1, research questions were put forward; at stage 2, the case was selected. The selection was purposeful. A company was selected that for at least three months in part of its structures has been managed in a holacratic manner and wants to develop this way of work organization. An enterprise in which Holacracy is at an early stage of development is an appropriate subject of research to analyze and collect data on the formation of organizational structures and creating jobs. At stage 3, data collection tools were developed: an interview scenario and a tool for taking field notes according to the method of E. Chiseri-Strater and B. Sunstein [Kostera, 2013: 159–160]. Multiple methods of data collection were used. Due to the initial stage of the work, no quantitative research was carried out. At stage 4, field tests


Anna Biłyk

were carried out; at stage 5 the qualitative data were analyzed. Due to researching a single case, no comparisons were made. Techniques of material codification and phenomena visualization in the form of similarity groups and placing them on the timeline were applied. An attempt was made to identify the pattern and analyze it. At stage 6, an effort was made to shape generalizations, and at stage 7 we confronted the obtained data with the literature on the subject, which is manifested in the discussion of results. At stage 8, concluding the research, research hypotheses were formulated.

2.2. Research sample

The research involved an enterprise functioning according to the circular organizing processes – Holacracy. The case selection was made on the basis of information on the implementation of the holacratic rules of organizing in the part of the organization structure. The condition for the choosing of the sample was to sign the regulations of self-organization in the form of a Constitution and to meet the following criteria:1) Organizing an organizational structure or unit using circles, where smaller ones

are “contained” in larger ones, and the goals of their functioning are consistent;2) Organizing an organizational structure or unit with the use of roles (one employee

can play more than one part in the organization if he has appropriate competences);3) The use of a specific decision-making process during management and tactical

(operational) meetings with the possibility of making binding decisions by the persons participating in them;

4) Signed Constitution of Holacracy.

2.3. Data analysis

We analyzed one company. At the time of the research, some employees of the company worked according to the holacratic rules for six months. The following research methods were used in the study: direct observation (two tactical (operational) meetings, two governance meetings and almost 2-days presence in the production hall and office), documents analysis (internal materials regarding safety, quality, communication, production process, organizational structures, production costs), interviews (three individual interviews, recorded; two group interviews, unrecorded). The respondents agreed to participate in the study. The study was carried out by the author of the article and was implemented as part of the research project1.

The first stage of the research was to conduct direct observations. Then, an invita-tion to participate in individual interviews was sent. Three employees took part in the interview, including the initiator of the change. The interviews were individual;

1 Research project KNOP/ BMN17/ 02/17



anonymity was ensured and permission for recording was granted. These were free-form, non-standardized interviews – the author used the interview questionnaire with prepared questions and at the same time “followed” the respondents’ statements. Next, the interviews were forwarded for transcription. After analyzing the quality of transcription, text and field notes were coded and analyzed for phrases and keywords.

3. Case study results

In order to meet the objectives of this article, an analysis of the subject literature and empirical data collected in the research project was carried out. As a result, it was pointed out how Holacracy understands the notion of role and what is the purpose of two distinctive decision-making processes. Hereinafter, an attempt was made to present possible ways of applying functional flexibility in terms of smoothness and quickness in the ability to change the amount and type of work in order to assign employees to various tasks beneficial for the company.

The analyzed company is an industry-related manufacturing company with Japanese capital. At the time of the research, the company employed almost seventy people and has been operating in Central and Eastern Europe for seventeen years. As part of the Holacracy, there were fifteen specialists and office employees from the upper and middle management, hereinafter referred to as company X. Company X has its organizational purpose defined. It is formulated in the form of the result that the company wants to achieve, and, at the same time, it speaks of the means of reaching it. The purpose constitutes purposes of roles. Therefore, features of the role in Holacracy are listed:

� The role resembles traditional job position. � Every role, however, has its purpose and set of accountabilities. � Each and every role must be embedded in organizational purpose or / and be

part of the purpose of the circle within which it functions. � The purpose of every role answers the questions: Why is there a role? What does

it bring to the organization? � Each role has accountabilities and authorizations (domain) assigned to it that

support the realization of the purpose of the given role. � The role may be filled with one or many people. One person can fill more than

one role. � Every role can be modified or removed by the employees during designated

governance meeting, during which one can change the components of the role (purpose, accountability).

� Company is open to exploiting the employee’s abilities, by enabling him to perform different roles, even in a situation of a varied level of proficiency.


Anna Biłyk

Company X has implemented Lean Management. Apart from solutions charac-teristic for that concept, while implementing Holacracy, Company X has introduced two types of meetings: tactical and governance. During governance meetings the structure and polices are built. It is possible to create, amend, or remove roles within circle, or elect circle members to fill elected roles (e.g., facilitator). On the other hand, “tactical meetings are fast-paced forums to synchronize team members for the week any issues that are limiting forward progress. They enable you to discuss operational issues, get updates on projects that other roles are working on, give updates on your projects, and ask for help when needed” [Robertson 2015, p. 94].

3.1. Assigning employees to various tasks in self-organization (Holacracy)

In terms of assigning employees to various tasks in Holacracy, one may identify a few ways: under own roles, under new roles, or under individual activity. People may decide and undertake various tasks as long as they are part of their roles and accountabilities. Formal taking on of new roles – and related new accountabilities and tasks – takes place during governance meetings. If there is a task, that is in other role’s accountabilities, there is a possibility to work on it without assigning to a new role, as long as there is no objection raised. Furthermore, people are encouraged to undertake various tasks especially when not taking any action may bring more harm for the purpose of the organization.

3.2. Quickness and smoothness in the ability to change the amount and type of work

There are many ways of applying functional flexibility in reference to quickness and smoothness in the ability to change the amount and type of work. Company X, like other companies, determined the frequency of meetings (tactical are more fre-quent). Needs referring to changes in the amount and type of work may be discussed individually between employees or presented during a tactical meeting, particularly if a person is not sure what to do, needs help or could not communicate with particular people for some reasons [Robertson 2015, p. 94]. It is possible to share one’s tasks and accountabilities with employees who do not perform such tasks daily, but have sufficient competences to execute it. If structural changes are necessary, they take place during a governance meeting. If time is the factor, any employee may convene a governance meeting.

Tactical and governance meetings are characterized by a decision-making process, ending with a binding structural decision with on immediate effect. This is achieved through IT system, that allows to find descriptions of each role, along with its purpose,



accountabilities, authorizations (domain), as well as current, past and future projects and tasks. Moreover, it supports the decision-making process by indicating possible accountability conflicts among existing roles. If structural changes are necessary, all processed and accepted ones are immediately (in real time) introduced into a shared IT system during a governance meeting. Assigning to various tasks without the need of structural change is also placed in the IT system that allows monitoring projects and tasks as well.

In case of a decisional conflict, the circle follows specially designed decisional process, which is aimed at integration of objections and making a step forward from the status quo. That step may be a solution or action that is believed to cause no harm to the organization and give data about results of that change. That, in turn, will bring new information and may be helpful in further work on that issue, if necessary.

It was observed that people in Company X were changing the amount and type of work assigning people to various tasks. One could observe learning of the process, hesitation, and the few cases of withdrawal. Although the facilitator encouraged the participants of the meeting and assured they are authorized to make particular changes in the structure, people had concerns. Quickness and smoothness in the ability to change the amount and type of work was better when people were referring to their own roles.

3.3. Identification and assessment of beneficial tasks

Employees may raise concerns about benefits or harm that the organization may incur as a result of the action being taken. In the observed company, the most con-cerns were raised by former managers. Being aware of the limited time and number of employees, while discussing over assigning people to tasks, every person was asked, individually or in a group, to make a review of current and potentially new tasks, and then to answer a question: “Completing which tasks is going to have the biggest impact on fulfilling your roles’ and organizational purpose right now”? This question opened up discussion about project and task priorities, as well as pointed out that the organizational purpose serves as a starting point and decision criterion in identifying and assessing accomplishing which tasks are beneficial for the company. On this basis some of the actions and projects were stopped, while others were prioritized.

4. Limitations of conducted analysis and recommendations for further research

The study involved one company that implemented a form of self-organization, which is Holacracy. Despite the advantages of the qualitative approach and the strict discipline of research applied during the case study, the research has its limitations:


Anna Biłyk

relatively short time of the company’s operation in the new system (six months), and observation of a selected group of employees who declared willingness to work in the new system. Other factors that could affect the results of the study are the influence of the researcher, self-assessment of employees, and the subjectivism of the researcher’s perception of data. Due to the unrepresentative nature of data, it is not possible to derive generalizations; however, it is justified to outline further directions of research.

Possibilities of applying functional flexibility are located in a specific organiza-tional context – the company’s openness to such a work organization approach that is associated with unpredictability. Collected data allow to suppose that quickness and smoothness in the ability to change the amount and type of work were better when employees were referring to their own roles. Technology solutions, organiza-tional structure organized around of circles and roles purposes, together with the use of decision-making processes might be helpful in applying functional flexibility in terms of smoothness and quickness in the ability to the change amount and type of work in order to assign employees to various tasks beneficial for the company. It seems that the company defines what is beneficial in the purpose of the organization, its circles and roles. It was observed that people in Company X were changing the amount and type of work assigning people to various tasks during formal (governance and tactical meetings) and informal situations, although people had a few concerns.

There exists a possibility to initiate structural changes that manifest themselves in the ability of the employee to shape his accountabilities and tasks. The research showed that although Holacracy offers an opportunity to work simultaneously as part of a variety of roles, not everyone uses this opportunity. Finding a clear expla-nation for this behavior is difficult. From interviews and observations, one can hypothesize that some people do not take on new roles for fear of entering someone’s former area of expertise, or having to make decisions and become accountable for these areas. Perhaps some employees (former managers) have difficulty in sharing decision-making rights and power [Parnell and Crandall 2003], have different pro-pensity to undertake the specific range of responsibility and need for participation in decision making [Alutto and Belasco 1972; Alutto and Acito 1974; Kahnweiler and Thompson 2000], or maybe it is the effect of learning a new system of work after carrying out an organizational change.

Due to research limitations, this article partly answers the research question of what the possibilities are in applying functional flexibility in self-organization. Obtained results, although not allowing for generalizations, confirm the positive prognosis for flexible forms of work. The evidence from this study also leads to questions about the impact of functional flexibility in self-organization on the organization develop-ment, organizational learning or the effectiveness of the enterprise, which may be the subject of further research.



Conclusions

Flexibility has been one of the most frequently examined constructs in organiza-tional studies in the last years and the subject of innovative solutions that will ensure organizational competitiveness [Schreyögg and Sydow 2010]. This study provides initial evidence for possibilities of applying functional flexibility in self-organization and becomes a part of broader discussion over the nature and complexity of self-or-ganization [Grant 2016] showing potential directions for future research.

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[8] Biłyk A. [2018], Organizacja bez menedżerów – motywy wdrażania i bariery rozwoju, in: Budzanowska-Drzewiecka M., Czernek K. (eds.), Kierunki ewolucji nauk o zarządzaniu, Jagielonnian Univeristy Press, Cracow: 151–163.

[9] Buck J. A., Endenburg G. [2012], The creative forces of self-organizing, Sociocratic Center, Rotterdam.

[10] Constitution of Holacracy, https://www.holacracy.org/constitution (20.01.2018).

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[12] Desombre T., Kelliher C., Macfarlane F., Ozbilgin M. F. [2006], Re-organizing work roles in health care: Evidence from the implementation of functional flexibility, British Journal of Management 17: 139–151.


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[30] Stabryła A. [2011], Problemy doskonalenia i rozwoju struktur organizacyjnych, Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego We Wrocławiu. Nauki o Zarządzaniu 8 (216): 20–31.

[31] Volbreda H. W. [1999], Building the flexible firm. How to remain competitive, Oxford University Press, New York.

IS THERE A ROOM FOR FUNCTIONAL FLEXIBILITY IN ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING ON THE SELF-ORGANIZATION BASIS?

Abstract

Search for the answer to the question about the practical ways of modern organizations management and the emergence of new management systems became the reasons for discuss-ing the self-organization issues in the context of organizational flexibility and job creation. Due to the increasing number of jobs related to self-organization and circular organizing, the article aimed at answering the question of what the possibilities are in applying func-tional flexibility in self-organization. The literature and data collected during the qualitative study were analyzed. The results indicate that quickness and smoothness in the ability to the change amount and type of work were better when people were referring to their own roles. Technology solutions, organizational structure organized around of circles and roles pur-poses, together with the use of decision-making processes might be helpful in applying func-tional flexibility in terms of smoothness and quickness in the ability to change the amount and type of work. It seems that the company defines what is beneficial in the purpose of the organization, its circles and roles.

Keywords: self-organization, circular organizing, Holacracy, functional flexibility

JEL classification code: L22


Anna Biłyk

CZY ISTNIEJE MIEJSCE NA FUNKCJONALNĄ ELASTYCZNOŚĆ W ORGANIZACJACH DZIAŁAJĄCYCH NA ZASADACH SAMOORGANIZACJI?

Streszczenie

Poszukiwanie odpowiedzi na pytanie o efektywne sposoby działania współczesnych organizacji oraz pojawienie się nowych systemów zarządzania stało się powodem podjęcia problematyki samoorganizacji w kontekście elastyczności i kształtowania stanowisk pracy. Ze względu na coraz większą liczbę prac związanych z samoorganizacją i circular organizing za cel pracy postawiono próbę odpowiedzenia na pytanie, jakie są możliwości zastosowa-nia elastyczności funkcjonalnej w organizacjach, w których funkcjonuje samoorganizacja? W tym celu dokonano analizy literatury oraz danych zebranych podczas badania jakościo-wego. Wyniki wskazują, że szybkość i płynność w zmianie ilości i rodzaju pracy była lepsza, gdy ludzie odnosili się do swoich ról. Rozwiązania technologiczne, struktura organizacyjna, zorganizowana wokół celów kół (circles) i ról (roles), wraz ze wykorzystywaniem procesów decyzyjnych mogą być pomocne w stosowaniu elastyczności funkcjonalnej w zakresie płyn-ności i szybkości zmiany ilości i rodzaju pracy, korzystnej dla firmy. To, co firma postrzega jako korzystne, jest zdefiniowane w sensie działania organizacji (purpose), kręgów oraz ról.

Słowa kluczowe: samoorganizacja, circular organizing, holakracja, elastyczność funkcjonalna

Kod klasyfikacji JEL: L22


Robotization of Business Processes and the Future of the Labor Market in Poland – Preliminary Research

PIOTR SLIŻ*

ROBOTIZATION OF BUSINESS PROCESSES AND THE FUTURE OF THE LABOR MARKET IN POLAND

– PRELIMINARY RESEARCH

Introduction

The business process management (BPM) literature presents new concepts that improve management processes using modern IT tools and techniques. Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (LM), augmented reality, construction of environ-ments in the network based on technology and Internet of things should be included in it. At this point, attention should be paid to the robotic process automation, identified as “an umbrella term for tools that operate on the user interface of other computer systems in the way a human would do” [van der Aalst et al., 2018: 269]. As a result of the increasing computing power of computers and the ability to process an increasing amount of data, the increase in intelligence of smart machines is noticea-ble [Davenport, Kirby, 2016: 22–23]. According to T. M. Davenport and J. Kirby, the intelligence of machines is gradual and can be perceived on four levels. Based on this juxtaposition, at the first level, defined as support for humans, the authors places the BPM approach in the perform digital tasks category. In turn, the second level, repetitive task automation, includes such tools as a BPM supplement, such as rules engines and robotic process automation (RPA). At this point, it should be empha-sized that in the direction identified as the great convergence for the third and fourth level i.e., context awareness and learning as well as self-awareness, the solutions have not been developed yet [Davenport, Kirby, 2016: 22–23]. On this basis, the thesis was formulated that the implementation of Business Process Management has a positive

* Piotr Sliż, P.hD. Eng. – University of Gdansk.


Piotr Sliż

effect on the implementation of the robotic process automation tools. It should be understood that in order for the organization to profit consciously from the imple-mentation of robotic process automation, it must determine which activities in the processes or which processes have the highest level of standardization. This in turn requires their identification, formalization and measurement. At the same time, it should be decided which processes should be reconfigured from laminar processes into intelligent processes i.e., those that have a system of using their own knowledge from the organization’s environment to optimize the flow of individual operations from the perspective of the results estimated each time [Grajewski, 2012: 59].

Robotic process automation should be considered in two areas – from the perspec-tive of the future of organization and changes in the labor market. The first approach should understood as the occurrence of natural processes in a result of technolog-ical development and the rapid pace of knowledge growth and their impact on the economic environment of the organization. The second approach may be identified as reconfiguration of the current and the formation of new, previously unknown workplaces in the labor market.

The main goal of the article was to present the results of the preliminary assessment of the process automation potential on the Polish labor market. The partial objective was to determine the existing state of knowledge regarding the robotic process automa-tion. The research objectives formulated in the article were implemented using such research methods as: quantitative and qualitative bibliometric analysis, popularity analysis using the Google Trends tool and the LOESS regression.

1. Literature review

The reason for taking up the issues described in this article was the quantitative and qualitative bibliometric analysis of scientific publications for the robotic process automation and robotics process automation entries. Based on the results of the analyses performed, a research gap was identified, consisting of a small number of publications regarding the impact of business process automation on the labor market.

The results of the quantitative bibliometric analysis based on the Web of Science and Scopus scientific databases are presented in Table 1.

As a result, it was noticed that the largest share of publications falls for the years 2015−2018. In addition, the majority of publications were assigned to such categories as: computer science and business and management.

In the studied publications, cases of RPA implementation in the organizations were observed [Lacity et al., 2015; Aguirre, Rodriguez, 2017; Moffitt et al., 2018; Ratia et al., 2018]. Noteworthy is also the study presenting the integration with a process approach in management through the match of process mining with RPA [Geyer-Klingeberg



et al., 2018]. In the literature on the subject, RPA is identified as a tool [Tornbohm, 2017; Aguirre, Rodriguez, 2017], which “is a fast-emerging process automation approach that uses software robots to replicate humane task”. The authors add that RPA is one of many available pathways to process automation [Geyer-Klingeberg et al., 2018]. Moreover, according to S. Anagnoste, the implementation of RPA tools requires “market maturity”. More precisely, RPA in terms of activities in the organiza-tion was presented as a division of the activities in the organization of the traditional automation, RPA and work that may be performed only be men (Figure 1).

Table 1. Results of a quantitative bibliometric study in the Web of Science and Scopus databases

Database Keyword / entryNumber of publications in 1900–2018

All Scientific articles

Web of Sciencerobotic process automation 12 3

robotics process automation 1 0

Scopusrobotic process automation 29 8

robotics process automation 20 6

Source: own study based on data obtained from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, as of 3.12.2018.

Figure 1. Positioning RPA

Source: van der Aalst, Bichler, & Heinzl [2018].


Piotr Sliż

Authors illustrated in Figure 1 that “typically, one sees a Pareto distribution. (…) Automation aims to address the most frequent case types (say 20% of all case types). Less frequent cases are not considered because automation is too expensive. (…) Therefore, the remaining 20% of the cases is often handled manually by humans entering information repeatedly and making decisions. In such settings, humans serve as the ‘glue’ between different IT systems. However, these remaining 20% of the cases, cover 80% of the case types and are much more time-consuming than the frequent ones” [van der Aalst et al., 2018: 270]. In Figure 1, for the area “work that can only be done by humans” actions that can be carried out only by men have been marked, but it should also be understood as human participation in the phenomena of entropy of automation. Moreover, building such an environment of human coop-eration with robotization requires desired reconfiguration, from the perspective of goals and strategy of the organization, the role of employees and leaders based on empowerment in terms of the implementation of processes, which is determined by the greater doze of autonomy in their activity [Brilman, 2002: 344]. In summary, the characteristic implementations of RPA should include the following parameters: trained by the users, working with the client’s user interface, undertake structured, repeatable, computer-based tasks, works flawlessly with multiple systems, works with different electronic formats. Performs checks and takes into consideration valida-tion points according to a predefined set of rules, identifies easily exceptions (either against a database, or based on a specific condition inserted in the code), works 24/7 and during holidays and weekends, logs are stored inside the program, but can be configured to be sent by email at a specific point, date or frequency and provides a case for introduction of analytics [Anagnoste, 2017].

2. Analysis of the popularity of entries using the Google Trends tool

Then, an attempt was made to analyze the popularity of the entries presented in Table 1 using the Google Trends1 tool. We selected the following parameters for the analysis: search area – world and Poland, analysis period – from 2014 and the category – science. The results of the analysis using the LOESS regression [Cleveland, 1979; 1981; Cleveland, Devlin, 1988, Cleveland et al., 1988] are presented in Figure 2. There were no results for robotics process automation and robotization of processes (entry presented in Polish).

At this point, it should be emphasized that the analysis resulted in a list of coun-tries in which the robotic process automation entry is the most popular (Table 2).

1 https://trends.google.com/trends/



Figure 2. Popularity of the robotic process automation entry in Poland and in the world using the LOESS regression with the 50% basis

The bold line shows the popularity of the entry in the world, while the dotted line illustrates its popularity in Poland.Source: own study based on the Google Trends tool using the R programming language.

Table 2. Popularity of the robotic process automation and process automation entries due to countries

Entry Criterion I place II place III place IV place V placePoland

Place

Robotic process automation

Region St Helena Singapore India Hong Kong Australia 14.

City Bengaluru Hyderabad Chennai Singapore Mumbai –

Process automation

Region St Helena Singapore India Hong Kong United Arab Emirates

28.

City Gurgaon Bengaluru Hyderabad Chennai Singapore –

Source: own study based on the Google Trends tools. Category – science, period – 5 years. Date of reading: 15.11.2018.

In addition, Figure 3 presents the related queries for the robotic automation process entry. In turn, the following were qualified among the related topic2 automation (100),

2 Related queries/topic – users searching for the term also searched for these queries/topics. The most popular search queries/topic. Scoring is on a relative scale where a value of 100 is the most commonly searched query/topic, 50 is a query/topic searched half as often as the most popular query, and so on (Google Trends).


Piotr Sliż

robotic process automation (99), business process (93), tool (6) and job (5)3. Based on the presented issues, an attempt was made to verify the popularity of the entry of robotics process automation jobs. As a result, it was noticed that this entry is the most popular in India and the United States.

Figure 3. Relate queries of robotic automation process

Roboticautomation

process

RPA Roboticprocess

automation(100)

RPA (97)

Roboticsprocess

automation(29)

Robotics(27)

Roboticprocess

automationjobs (27)

Source: own study based on Google Trends, reading on 15.11.2018.

3. Analysis of the potential of process automation

Robotization of business processes is a function of several factors resulting from the organization’s flexibility, process maturity of the organization as well as the implementation of IT solutions and the level of process standardization. It should be emphasized that so far only a few issues have been published regarding the nature of the problem of labor market potential analysis for robotization of processes and the impact of implementing modern solutions on their performance. A small number

3 Numbers represent search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time. A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means that there were not enough data for this term (Google Trends).



of scientific publications and reports only allows to outline the potential of roboti-zation of processes. In this article, the potential of process automation is identified as a set of features describing the action or actions carried out during the course of the process by man, which can be replaced by the RPA tool without reducing the level of process quality.

When defining RPA as a tool aimed at improving business processes, it should be highlighted that from the perspective of process maturity models, it is possible at the fourth or fifth level of process maturity of the organization [Maull et al., 2003: 596–624; Fisher, 2004: 11–15; Rosemann, de Bruin, 2005; Lee et al., 2007: 384–39; Rohloff, 2009: 128–142; Grajewski, 2016: 122; Sliż, 2018a: 90–91]. When analyzing the result of the assessment of the maturity of contemporary organizations in Poland [Sliż, 2018b: 155], it should be emphasized that almost 70% of Polish organizations qualified to the first and second level. On this basis, one can formulate a research hypothesis that the higher the level of process maturity, the greater the organization’s potential for the implementation of robotic process automation. Such a hypothesis requires the implementation of in-depth research of the organization both in the area for assessing the maturity of processes as well as determining the potential or the actual degree of RPA implementation.

Moving to the issue of RPA implementation in the organization, it is necessary to present a developed business function statement by S. Anagnoste, who used two parameters of process automation potential and potential time savings to assess the overall potential. According to the author, regarding the first parameter, the following business functions have the highest potential: human resources (60–80%), source to pay (50–70%), order to cash (40–60%), finances (30–50%). In turn, taking process automation potential as the parameter, the following auxiliary processes (sub-pro-cesses) were indicated: tax (40–60%), financial planning and analysis (25–50%), cus-tomer master data management (25–30%), credit management (25–30%), customer service support (25–30%), account receivables management (25–30%) [Anagnoste, 2018: 59–60].

The analysis of the potential of process automation on the Polish market was presented in reports prepared by Mc Kinsey & Company, whose aim was to analyze the potential of process automation in Poland and its impact on the labor market and the economy. The following reports were published: “Digital Poland”, “Digital Poles”, “5 tasks for Poland”, and “AI revolution”, as well as “Hand in hand with the robot”, “How to use the potential of automation in Poland”4. It should be mentioned that in these reports, robotization is understood very broadly, and RPA is identified with the automation of processes including industrial robots. Nevertheless, as a result

4 The reports presented are available in electronic version: Publikacje, McKinsey & Company, https://mckinsey.pl/wydarzenia-i-publikacje/publikacje/ (12.11.2018).


Piotr Sliż

of a detailed reports analysis, a common ground with the results of the study by S. Anagoste is visible. This means that there exists an indication in the reports of the automation potential given the types of activities including the robotic process auto-mation, according to the article’s definition. Data processing (71%), data collection (65%), use of knowledge and experience (29%) and human management (9%) were mentioned among them. Moreover, the discussed report underlines the potential of automation according to industries, including: administration (40%), telecommu-nications (36%), finance and insurance (36%), and the professional, scientific and technical activity (33%).

Table 3. The number of people working in Poland according to sectors as of 31.12.2017

SpecificationWorking in thousands

(as of 31XII) PotentialNumber of employees with the potential of automation

in thousands

2017

Information and communication 366.5 0.36 131.94

Financial and insurance activity 353.3 0.36 127.188

Real estate market service 224.3 0.42 94.206

Professional, scientific and technical activities 680 0.33 224.4

Administration 589.2 0.4 235.68

Source: own study based on CSO data and the report “Hand in hand with a robot”.

Based on the CSO data contained in the report entitled “Employees and remu-neration in the national economy in 2017 in Poland” [GUS, 2018], the main sectors with high potential for automation taking into account the number of employees were estimated.

4. Analysis of the labor market in Poland in terms of new job positions related to RPA

When discussing implementation of process automation, it should be accentuated that in addition to the changing labor market as a result of the use of modern tools aimed at automating the standardized activities in the implementation of processes, new workplaces are also being created. In order to verify it, job offers on the Polish market were verified based on the website pracuj.pl data5 (Table 4).

5 As of 17.11.2018.



Table 4. Job offers for the RPA and robotic process automation entries in Poland

Province/ EntryRobotics process

automation (number of offers)

RPA(number of offers)

Robotics process automation (in %)

RPA(in %)

Dolnoslaskie 4 9 11.11 11.84

Kujawsko-Pomorskie 1 1 2.78 1.32

Lubelskie 1 1 2.78 1.32

Lubuskie 1 2.78 0.00

Lodzkie 2 4 5.56 5.26

Malopolskie 5 14 13.89 18.42

Mazowieckie 1 28 2.78 36.84

Opolskie 1 1 2.78 1.32

Pomorskie 1 3 2.78 3.95

Podkarpackie 2 1 5.56 1.32

Slaskie 5 6 13.89 7.89

Wielkopolskie 7 6 19.44 7.89

Zachodniopomorskie 2 2 5.56 2.63

Warminsko-Mazurskie 1 0 2.78 0.00

Podlaskie 1 0 2.78 0.00

Swietokrzyskie 1 0 2.78 0.00

In total 36 76 100.00 100.00

Source: own study based on the analysis of job offers on the pracuj.pl website.

The analysis revealed that the most common work categories for the entries: robotics process automation include: engineering and production, while for RPA: IT – development of software, IT – administration, engineering, research and devel-opment, while for process automation: IT – development of software, engineering and production. In turn, the offers for the robotics process automation entry were directed only to specialists (100%), RPA to specialists (82.89%), managers (10.53%) and others (6.58%).

Conclusions

When analyzing the contemporary market realities of organizations in Poland, determined by high fluctuation and shortage of employees in some sectors, devel-opment of advanced technologies and the need to dynamically adapt to prosumer expectations, one can assume that in the coming years the demand for robotization will grow. Based on the conducted study, three general conclusions were formulated.


Piotr Sliż

First of all, robotization can be included in projects oriented towards the stan-dardization of processes, while also increasing intelligent processes in the area of activities that can only be performed by man. This is directly related to the need to reconfigure the desired role of the employee, from the perspective of the organi-zation’s goals and strategies, into the intelligent process structure. This means high validation of operations’ contractors focused around the activities generating the added value in the value chain, implementing new processes using the reengineering principles and building, shaping all factors of the organization in order to increase the flexibility of activities and increase their degree of independence in designing processes [Grajewski, 2012: 61].

Another conclusion is that the high level of robotization and automation of activities in business processes is associated with the domination of conceptual skills to design process over the employees’ implementation skills. This means that the “high level of intelligence of business processes is connected with the combination of implementation and conceptual skills in one process link for designing process” [Grajewski, 2012: 62–63].

To sum up, due to global trends related to the development of technology, the interest in the robotic process automation will most probably grow, which will con-tribute to the reconfiguration of the labor market in Poland, the formation of new or expansion of the current directions of education, as well as retraining of employees.

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automation (RPA): A case study, Workshop on Engineering Applications, Springer, Cham.

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[4] Brilman J. [2002], Nowoczesne koncepcje i metody zarządzania, Polskie Wydawnictwo Ekonomiczne, Warsaw.

[5] Cleveland W. S. [1979], Robust locally weighted regression and smoothing scatterplots, Journal of the American Statistical Association 74 (368).

[6] Cleveland W. S. [1981], Lowess: A program for smoothing scatterplots by robust locally weighted regression, American Statistician 35 (1).

[7] Cleveland W. S., Devlin S. J. [1988], Locally weighted regression: An approach to regression analysis by local fitting, Journal of the American Statistical Association 83 (403).



[8] Cleveland W. S., Devlin S. J., Grosse E. [1988], Regression by local fitting: Methods, properties, and computational algorithms, Journal of Econometrics 37 (1).

[9] Davenport T. H., Kirby J. [2016], Just how smart are smart machines? MIT Sloan Man-agement Review 57 (3).

[10] Fisher D. M. [2014], The business process maturity model: A practical approach for identifying opportunities for optimization, Business Process Trends 9 (4).

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Piotr Sliż

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ROBOTIZATION OF BUSINESS PROCESSES AND THE FUTURE OF THE LABOUR MARKET IN POLAND – PRELIMINARY RESEARCH

Abstract

The main goal of the article was to present the results of the preliminary assessment of the process automation potential on the Polish labor market. The partial objective was to deter-mine the existing state of knowledge regarding the robotic process automation. The research objectives formulated in the article were implemented using such research methods as: quan-titative and qualitative bibliometric analysis of statistical methods (LOESS regression). The first part of the article describes the results of the literature review. The second point presents the results of the analysis of the popularity of the robotic process automation entry using the Google Trends tool. Then, the results of the secondary research were characterized and the job offers related to RPA were presented quantitatively. As a result of the conducted research, a growing interest in the robotic process automation was observed in the field of management and quality sciences, as well as business practice.

Keywords: robotic process automation, RPA, process approach, BPM, labor market

JEL classification codes: O300, O320, O330



ROBOTYZACJA PROCESÓW BIZNESOWYCH A PRZYSZŁOŚĆ RYNKU PRACY W POLSCE – BADANIA WSTĘPNE

Streszczenie

Głównym celem artykułu jest przedstawienie wyników wstępnej oceny potencjału robo-tyzacji procesów na polskim rynku pracy. Celem cząstkowym jest określenie istniejącego stanu wiedzy, dotyczącego robotic process automation. Sformułowane w artykule cele badaw-cze zrealizowano przy wykorzystaniu metod badawczych, jak takich: ilościowa i jakościowa analiza bibliometryczna metody statystyczne (regresja LOESS). W pierwszej części artykułu opisano wyniki przeglądu literatury. W drugiej przedstawiono wyniki analizy popularności hasła robotic process automation przy wykorzystaniu narzędzia Google Trends. Następnie scharakteryzowano wyniki badań wtórnych i ilościowo, przedstawiono oferty pracy zwią-zane z RPA. W rezultacie przeprowadzonego badania zaobserwowano rosnące zaintereso-wanie problematyką i jakością robotic process automation w dyscyplinie nauk o zarządzaniu oraz w praktyce biznesowej.

Słowa kluczowe: robotyzacja procesów, RPA, podejście procesowe, zarządzanie procesami, rynek pracy

Kody klasyfikacji JEL: O300, O320, O330


Sustainable Reward Systems Design from the Perspective of HR Professionals

KATARZYNA KLIMKIEWICZ*, EWA BECK-KRALA**

SUSTAINABLE REWARD SYSTEMS DESIGN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE

OF HR PROFESSIONALS

Introduction

Trends such as globalization, development of information technologies, increasing consumer and employee awareness require constant improvements in the field of management processes and their communication. In particular, current directions in the management theories, such as Stakeholder Theory [Freeman, 1984], or the concept of Sustainability reflect challenges in the contemporary organizations. Enter-prises start to recognize that designing organization’s strategy requires taking into account social norms and values [Freeman, Gilbert, 1991] and aligning organization’s and stakeholder’s goals. The Triple Bottom Line concept [Elkington, 1998], which emphasizes the importance of three aspects of the organization’s outputs: economic, ecological and social, offers an extended understanding of profit All these dimensions are emphasized in particular by the notion of Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR [EC, 2011] and Value Management [Blanchard, O’Connor, 2003]. The philosophy of sustainable management also strongly crosses the border of Human Management [Pabian, 2011]. In these perspectives, the key assumption is that decision-makers strive to achieve specific values, goals that they consider to be important and appropriate. Basu and Palazzo [2008] define corporate social responsibility as “the process by which managers within an organization think about and discuss relationships with stakeholders as well as their roles in relation to the common good, along with their behavioral disposition with respect to the fulfillment and achievement of these roles and relationships” [Basu, Palazzo, 2008: 124].

* Katarzyna Klimkiewicz, Ph. D. Eng. – AGH University of Science and Technology.** Ewa Beck-Krala, Ph. D. Eng., Associate Professor – AGH University of Science and Technology.



In this context, this article raises the question of the role of Human Resources Management (HRM) in introducing or supporting the values promoted by CSR. In particular, remuneration is shown as the key element of HRM system that affects employees’ behavior, showing them what behaviors are desirable. Thus, the aim of this article is to discuss the HR managers’ perception and understanding of their role and the role of the HR in supporting and implementing CSR activities. The first part of the article refers to the role of the HR in shaping social responsibility of the organization, then the notion of sustainable remuneration, which acknowledges organization’s stakeholders interest in the HRM policies is discussed. The empirical part of this paper discusses the results of the research conducted among HR managers, who explained their approaches and understanding of the HR role in introducing and supporting CSR.

1. The role of the HR Department in shaping the CSR policy

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a management concept that proposes that organizations should strive to integrate social, environmental and ethical aspects as well as human rights as part of their business strategy. In close cooperation with stakeholders, they agree to minimize the negative effects of their activities and create shared value for both the owners and stakeholders [EC, 2011]. Corporate social responsibility covers the activities towards internal stakeholders, such as managers and employees, as well as external stakeholders, primarily customers, suppliers, local communities, government administration, non-governmental organizations and others.

The literature provides various ways of perceiving the relationship between CSR and Human Resources Management. Borkowska [2006] understands CSR as one of the dimensions of HRM [Borkowska, 2006], while Voegtlin and Greenwood [2016] indicate three types of relationships between HR and CSR:

� HR can be seen as an element of CSR – refers to situations when HR acts as a CSR guarantor for internal stakeholders;

� CSR can be seen as an element of HR – refers to situations when CSR is used to achieve HR goals – attracting talents, building employer’s image [Klimkiewicz, 2013; Woźniak, 2017; Zaleśna, Wyrzykowska, 2017], employee retention, age management and diversity [Klimkiewicz, 2010; Warwas, Sołtys, 2018], the work-life balance policy [Syper-Jędrzejak, 2014], CSR (e.g., employee volunteering) as a tool for responsible people management;

� CSR and HR are parallel functions of an organization that can interfere or exist independently.



In turn, Stefano, Bagdadli and Camuffo [2018] based on the literature research illustrate the relationship between HR and CSR in the matrix with two dimensions: people vs. processes and internal vs. external. Authors propose that in the quarter of internal processes, the aim of HR is to support the development of a sustainable organization, while in the quarter linked to internal – people orientation, the aim of HR is to develop a sustainable system of people management (Sustainable HRM). In the quarter of external – people orientation, the role of HR is to support the develop-ment of local community, and in the quarter of external processes HR supports the sustainable development of the organization’s ecosystem. The matrix with examples of activities in each quarter is presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Typology of relations between HR and CSR

Source: based on Stefano et al. [2018].

Stefano, Bagdadli and Camuffo [2018] point out that, in the literature, the most HR research concentrates on the quarter: HR for CSR and refers to how particular elements of HR system support CSR activities. Recognizing HR as an instrument for the implementation of CSR goals may be a consequence of perceived supporting role of HR in the relationship with the business strategy. This stream of research dis-cusses the role of HRM elements, such as acquiring, assessing, developing, rewarding,



creating career paths for achieving CSR goals. In turn, the second often represented stream of research linked to the sustainable human management indicates to a greater extent the equivalent relationship between both functions. Sustainable people man-agement may be differently understood [Beck-Krala, Klimkiewicz, 2017; Urbaniak, 2017; Zaleśna, Wyrzykowska, 2017]. In this approach, the key aspect is to identify employees as the main stakeholders of the HR department, therefore the role of HR is to ensure employee well-being, fair and transparent HR practices, equal opportuni-ties at work and development [Järlström et al., 2018; Pabian, 2011]. Focusing on HR activities towards development of community offers an extension of the philosophy of employee-oriented activities to activities focused on the employees’ families and the local community. Organization recognizes the needs of external stakeholders (financial, educational, developmental and other) and strives to involve employees in the development of initiatives for these stakeholder groups. In turn, the last dis-cussed approach suggests that the role of HR is to provide processes and structures, as well as to develop competences and motivate employees to work for sustainable development of the organization’s ecosystem. In particular, the responsibility of HR to improve the labor standards across the whole supply chain is stressed.

2. Sustainable remuneration systems

The reward system plays an important role in corporate social responsibility development. On the one hand, it supports business strategy [Armstrong, Brown, 2005] and promotes core organizational values by indicating the desired employ-ees’ behaviors [Klimkiewicz, 2011]. On the other hand, it should also correspond to employees’ expectations and create their well-being. The core aspects of sustainable remuneration system refer to remuneration fairness and transparency, work-life bal-ance policy and ensuring decent living conditions for employees [Beck-Krala et al., 2019; Juchnowicz, 2018; Zając-Pałdyna, 2018]. In turn, the discourse on sustainable human capital management indicates the manner in which the reward system con-tributes to creating value for subsequent groups of stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, the local community, as well as the natural environment. This research area addresses such issues as green rewards, sustainable remuneration in the supply chain or the impact of the remuneration system on socially responsible (or irresponsible) employees’ attitudes and behaviors affecting external stakeholders [Klimkiewicz, 2017; Klimkiewicz, Beck-Krala, 2015; Moxey, 2016; Sahakiants et al., 2015].

Sustainable remuneration system is characterized by holistic perspective on rewarding employees that covers both the goals of the organization and its owners, as well as reflects understanding of the economic, social and ethical expectations of other groups of stakeholders. The sustainable remuneration system therefore aims



at shaping the right relations between the economic efficiency of the system, which is profit-driven, the system effectiveness oriented towards its core objectives and the responsibility towards the main stakeholders of the organization. This responsibility means taking care of the harmonious development of the organization and its main stakeholders in the long term perspective. The design of sustainable remuneration systems requires therefore moving away from the narrowly understood (only in eco-nomic terms) organization’s purpose and taking into account the triple bottom line – that is, applying solutions that are both socially responsible, ecologically friendly and economically valuable [Rok, 2004].

Two perspectives for the analysis of sustainable remuneration systems can be distinguished: [1] perspective oriented towards the impact of CSR policy on the policy and remuneration and its tools and [2] the perspective of employee behavior and its impact on generating value for the organization’s stakeholders [Beck-Krala et al., 2019]. The first approach refers to the basic functions of remuneration systems such as: compliance of the system with the law regulations and shaping a fair level of wages, ensuring security and stability of work and pay, fair remuneration, trans-parency and ensuring the well-being of employees and economic sustainability. In turn, the second approach stresses the importance of analysis and monitoring of the effects of behaviors around which the remuneration system is oriented. This applies both to the promotion of behaviors aimed at creating value for stakeholders, as well as limiting counterproductive behaviors that contradict accepted social values or norms. In this sense, sustainable remuneration systems are characterized by [Beck-Krala, Klimkiewicz, 2016; Beck-Krala, 2018]:

� long-term oriented development of the organization and its participants, � cohesion with the business strategy and the HRM policy, � economic efficiency of the system, � compliance with applicable legal standards, � taking into account the binding moral and ethical standards, � respect towards employees reflected in employee dialogue and employee partic-

ipation.The sustainable remuneration systems should help to generate value for key

stakeholders. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor and systematically assess the effectiveness of these systems in terms of their impact on stakeholders’ goals. The assessment should be comprehensive (should include both positive and negative effects of employees’ actions and behaviors) and refer to the Triple Bottom Line – the economic efficiency as well as the social and environmental stakeholder expectations. Examples of values on which sustainable remuneration systems should be oriented are presented in Table 1.



Table 1. Examples of values generated by a sustainable remuneration and motivation system for various stakeholder groups

Stakeholder Economic value Social value Environmental value

Shareholders/Owners

Long-term increase in the company value

Loyalty among employees and customers, building trustworthy brand, social legitimization

Promoting environmental friendly solutions in management (e.g., 0 Waste, Green Office)

Employees, Managers

Competitive remuneration, improvement of professional skills of employees, increase in employability

Decent and fair remuneration, promoting team-work and team spirit, improving employee participation (e.g., financing social events), knowledge sharing, personal development, volunteering programs, work-life balance policy

Health insurance and prevention, promotion of pro-environmental behaviors, financial support for environmental initiatives

Customers Remuneration systems are oriented towards customer needs and company acts to fulfill them (avoids counterproductive behaviors, such as miss selling)

Customer Satisfaction during the sales process and in aftersales, employees should deliver reliable information, communicate in a transparent way and take responsibility for the quality of the product/service offered. Remuneration systems should motivate employees to create relationships among important social values (e.g., social, environmental)

Product/services environmental and healthy assurance and safety, raising awareness towards customers with regard to the quality of production process and its environmental impact, customer involvement in the organization’s environmental policy

Suppliers Timely settlement of obligations, pay systems cannot promote delay in this regard, or encourage misinforming by employees e.g., on the status of inventories (in order to obtain a bonus)

Fair wages for business partners throughout the supply chain (e.g., fair trade), working conditions and payment audits of contractors, inclusion of social criteria (e.g., respect of human rights) as part of the selection process of suppliers, compliance with the principles contained in codes of ethics/obligations towards contractors, social dialogue

Environmental criteria for selection process of suppliers, promoting sustainable packaging solutions, sustainable transport, and obtaining energy from renewable sources. Supporting the development of “clean technologies” among suppliers, implementing a policy of closed loop in the supply chain

Local community

Ensuring stable jobs, financial support for social initiatives, cooperation with local authorities in the area of development of local infrastructure

Supporting youth development on the local labor market, cooperation with schools and universities, knowledge sharing, cooperation with cultural and sports centers, education of the local community and promotion of healthy lifestyle

Limiting the negative impact on the natural environment (e.g., CO2 emissions, water, soil pollutants, noise), care for the aesthetic side of the common space (e.g., aesthetics of buildings), pro-environmental education

Source: own study.



Development of sustainable remuneration systems depends mainly on the aware-ness and competence of HR people involved in creating remuneration policy in organ-izations. Researchers indicate that the disclosure of human management policies is an important tool in the hands of managers [Francis, 2002; Zaleśna, 2018]. Human Resources managers encode how they understand their professional role and respon-sible HRM, while researchers – by giving them the voice – allow to discover a deeper meaning of sustainable human management [Gioia et al., 2013; Järlström et al., 2018; Szczupaczyński, 2010]. This perspective was adopted by the authors of this study when designing research.

3. Research methodology

The aim of the research is to analyze how HR managers perceive the role of remuneration and motivation systems in relation to CSR policy. The study of HR managers’ opinions allows to present the functions and activities undertaken by HR department, which from manager’s perspective are crucial for the development of CSR and sustainable organization.

Six interviews were conducted with HR managers responsible for shaping the personnel policy, including remuneration systems. In order to conduct the research a group of HR managers from organizations that are actively engaged in CSR were invited. Interviews were semi-open: main problem areas were identified, however, managers were free to speak. This assured that the research was oriented towards manager’s perspective which was not influenced by researcher’s suggestions. The qualitative content analysis of the transcribed interviews was conducted by two independent researchers, who identified the core statements and systemized them into given framework.

Interviews focused on four areas: the first concerned the respondent, his expe-rience, function and perception of his professional role. The second part detailed the organizational structure, goals and culture, including the main reasons for CSR activities, as well as their scope. The third area was related to the role of HR managers and their relation to CSR, in particular the perception of remuneration policy with regard to CSR was discussed. Here the authors tried to understand how remuneration systems are designed, to what extent they meet the assumptions of sustainable remu-neration systems and how they support socially responsible behavior of employees.



4. Perception of the role of HR in implementing the CSR policy

All surveyed managers work for large organizations (employing from several hundred to several thousand employees), representing the following industries: finan-cial, automotive, food, IT, tourism and chemical sector. Three of these organizations represent only Polish capital, from which two of them are international and one national. The remaining organizations have foreign capital, operate on international markets, with headquarters in another country. The respondents were both women (4) and men (2) holding the position of HR manager, with extensive professional experience in HR – from 10 to 25 years.

Based on the respondents’ statements, possible roles with regard to CSR were distinguished. Surveyed HR managers identify them with: [1] the role of initiators of activities for the sustainable development of the organization, [2] the role of sup-porting CSR activities undertaken in the organization, and [3] the administrative role. Two of the surveyed managers strongly identified themselves with the carried out CSR activities and perceived them as their own mission as well as the mission of the entire organization. In both cases, these were organizations with Polish capital.

“We see how our actions and initiatives change the awareness and mentality of our society”, “we want to change something for the better. If we won’t do it, who else will?” [HR manager, a company from the financial sector].“We educate and develop young people so that the whole region may prosper. We start from the youngest, because we are the only one in the region” [HR manager, a company from the automotive industry].

The second identified role was of supportive character. Five managers mentioned the importance of HR providing active support for activities in the area of CSR.

“We want to support activities focused on the local community” [HR manager, a company from the chemical industry],“We take part in many CSR actions in the region” [HR manager, IT company].

In four cases, HR managers perceived their role also as an administrative one. At the same time, only one HR manager did not identify with the initiatives taken, simply saying:

“We do not deal with it – we only administer certain activities. This is the CSR department which is responsible for it” [HR manager, food industry].

The manager, who made this statement works for organization, where all CSR initiatives come from the headquarter, at the international level, and are to be



implemented at the national level. This may suggest that the identification is related to the level of participation and autonomic decision in this field.

The detailed analysis was made in relation to the four selected perspectives from the typology on relations between HR and CSR (Figure 1).

4.1. Sustainable remuneration system – an internal perspective oriented towards employees

All respondents emphasize that a sustainable reward system first of all must be legal and take into account the expectations of employees. This perspective is consistent with the postulates formulated by Freeman and Gilbert [1991]. In all of the surveyed organizations, employees’ needs and expectations are regularly examined, and the reward system is transparent: employees know exactly how the individual remuner-ation package and its components are shaped as the rules are clearly defined. Basic salaries are shaped based on the job evaluation process and market pricing, which helps to ensure an adequate standard of living for employees. Respondents pointed to the annual evaluation of the level and attractiveness of the entire remuneration package. In all organizations, short-term variable remuneration is applied, and their proportions, according to respondents, are balanced to ensure high stability and safety of employees while taking care of the performance.

In two organizations (from the financial and food industry), the variable remu-neration was at a higher level due to the specificity of these industries. Although in these systems penalties for potential unethical employees’ behaviors were included. Managers emphasize the importance of external confirmation of high standards applied in their organizations by subjecting audits to the following initiatives: Fair-Play Employment, Diversity Charter (three of the surveyed organizations) and the Employer of the Year award (one organization).

An important element of the reward systems are benefits supporting the balance between professional and personal life. According to the respondents, they express the concern for the well-being of employees but also are an important asset in acquiring talents. Among the most popular benefits managers mentioned: various forms of flexible working time (the possibility of remote work, flexible scheduling, part-time work), recreational and sporting services (including swimming pool, sauna, gym, cards for sports and cultural services), additional medical care, broad possibili-ties of professional and personal development (great emphasis is placed on social and language competences), meals for employees. One of the organization offered scholarships for employees’ children. Interestingly, in the surveyed organizations, the benefits package was well balanced, as it contained the most desired benefits on the labor market, however it was not too extensive, which may indicate economic rationale of the system.



4.2. Remuneration supporting CSR – an internal perspective aimed at supporting the process of creating a sustainable organization

According to the respondents, sustainable organization on the one hand integrates its goals with the objectives of its stakeholders. On the other, it monitors and limits the potential negative impact that it may have on the environment and society. All respondents indicated integration of the reward system with the business strategy as well as with the HR policy. The goals of the executives in the organizations were closely related to the business goals. In two of them a balanced scorecard that included CSR objectives was implemented.

When speaking about the main aims of the CSR initiatives undertaken in the organizations, one of the managers admitted that these were primarily of economic nature. Others pointed to building relationships and employer branding: attracting and retaining employees, creating employee engagement and developing employee competences. While social aims were present mostly in the minds of managers, there were no statements indicating the significance of ecological goals, nor the role of HR in the transformation of behavior and environmental policy of the organization.

Based on the HR managers statements, we identified three main directions in which HR can support the creation of a sustainable organization: [1] process improvement through employee inclusion and employee participation, [2] monitoring behavior and the impact of employee behavior resulting from the reward system, and [3] education (building value for external and internal stakeholders).

Ad 1. Managers who emphasized that the implementation of the organization’s business objectives depends directly on cooperation with stakeholders pointed to HR programs aimed at increasing the participation and involvement of employees and clients. Employee involvement was supported by active dialogue and employee participation in decision-making processes. For example, in a tourism company employees were invited to support and develop customer service processes by using free hotel services and the opportunity to comment on their quality and the entire service process.

Ad 2. All managers confirmed systematical evaluation of the effectiveness of the reward system, also by analyzing the satisfaction of external stakeholders – clients. In two organizations the potential impact of the system on unethical employees’ behavior was analyzed as managers spoke openly about severe penalties (dismissal of employees) for counterproductive behaviors that harmed external stakeholders (in food and financial industry). In other two organizations, managers referred to the corporate governance and organizational culture conditioning the observance of certain moral and ethical standards (automotive and IT industry).



Ad 3. Education helps in creating a sustainable organization and improving inter-nal processes within the organization (internal perspective). Respondents (four of them) emphasize that cooperation in the education, offered internships, patron classes in schools and universities create the image of a good employer and encourage pupils and students to start working with them after completing their education. In turn, companies operating in smaller towns that face the problem of a shortage of quali-fied candidates on the labor market perceive their activities in the field of education as strategic activities for the organization that are at the same time directed to the region’s development. Here, education is focused on building relationships with the local community as well as the sustainable development of the local society (external perspective, described in the next section).

4.3. Remuneration oriented towards the sustainable development of the community – an external perspective

Managers in medium-sized towns combine the development of their businesses with the region’s development, therefore the education of the local community plays an important role in the organizational mission. Developing the qualifications of children and youth is perceived through the prism of ensuring a high level of employability within the region. Managers are convinced that these relationships with graduates of programs and patron classes supported by the company will encourage young people to return to their home town after completing their studies and work for their company.

Such clarity in combining social and economic goals in the long perspective results in close cooperation with local authorities and organizations, including employees and their families in activities for the benefit of the local community and enabling employees to undertake their own pro-social activities (cultural, sports initiatives) on behalf of the company.

In all organizations, managers point to employee volunteering programs aimed at supporting the employees’ activities and behavior building the sustainable development of local society. Employees have the opportunity to undertake voluntary activities at a time paid by the employer (about two days) or receive funds for the implemen-tation of social programs. Employees can decide themselves which activities they want to participate in. In five of the analyzed organizations, employees could apply for additional funds to finance the initiative proposed by them for the benefit of the local community and the natural environment. In one of the analyzed organizations, a fixed percentage of profit was allocated for the CSR activities.

In all organizations, the choice of a specific initiative that was implemented dependent on the prior evaluation of the relevant committee. The most important



initiatives included broadly understood education addressed to the local community, marginalized groups (disabled and elderly people), children and young people.

Three of the surveyed organizations conducted activities related to financing edu-cation of capable young people from the region, financing education and help in find-ing work for people from discriminated groups, organizing information campaigns related to improving the quality of life (directly related with the problems connected with the organization’s activity, e.g., road safety, proper waste segregation, actions for a healthy lifestyle and the prevention of civilization diseases). The described activities were not aimed at acquiring potential candidates for work, and the participation of employees in similar initiatives was appreciated in a non-financial manner. Symbolic prizes dominated (dinner with the president, cups and additional funds for the inte-gration of the team) and publicizing media initiatives.

4.4. Remuneration oriented towards sustainable development of the business environment – an external perspective

Three of the surveyed organizations undertook activities aimed at further devel-opment and promotion of ethical values in the business environment. The most important activities undertaken in this direction concerned:

� nationwide conferences in the field of ethical conduct in the industry, � educating clients belonging to excluded and discriminated groups, � promoting responsible attitudes throughout the supply chain – supporting the

development and education of suppliers and growers from developing countries, � selection of suppliers adhering to basic human rights.

Limited statements in this area may indicate that it is attributed to the logistics and purchasing departments to a larger extent. There were also no specific references to the criteria for remunerating people working in purchasing departments or ways to promote values among business partners.

Conclusions

The perception of the role that the HR manager has in creating/supporting CSR policy depends both on external factors and internal factors. First, it relates to where the HR department is placed in the organizational structure and what are the organi-zational goals. Second, manager’s internal motivation, commitment and understanding of CSR affects the way it is implemented into HR programs and to what extent it sup-ports the value creation of the sustainable organization. This is important as the HR managers participate and often take decisions concerning employee rewards, incentive



and remuneration systems, which in turn have a significant impact on the way the organization fulfills its social obligations to both external and internal stakeholders.

Incentive programs supporting CSR goals and activities used by employers include: paid time for employee voluntary activities, financing employee charity initiatives outside the working time e.g., employee participation in charity football/volleyball games, encouraging employees to initiate events directed towards local community, encouraging employees’ participation in implementation CSR goals and activities, offering incentive programs related to pro-ecological goals e.g., saving natural resources in the organization. Human Resources also helps to monitor achieving CSR’s goals by including them into employee evaluation criteria, also at the management level.

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SUSTAINABLE REWARD SYSTEMS DESIGN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HR PROFESSIONALS

Abstract

Integration of the principles of sustainable management and corporate social responsibil-ity into the practice of Human Resources Management is not a novel perspective. Recently however, the impact of the reward system on the value creation among various stakeholder groups is gaining more and more attention. In the face of ever-emerging practices of Sustain-able Human Resources Management in organizations, the question occurs how HR profes-sionals perceive their role in this process. The aim of the research presented in this paper is to analyze how HR managers perceive the role of rewards systems in relation to the princi-ples of corporate social responsibility and the process of creating a sustainable organization.



Keywords: sustainable rewards systems, corporate social responsibility, HR role and function, HR manager, sustainable management, stakeholder management

JEL classification codes: M12, M14, M52, J24, J33

KSZTAŁTOWANIE ZRÓWNOWAŻONYCH SYSTEMÓW WYNAGRODZEŃ – PERSPEKTYWA PROFESJONALISTÓW

Streszczenie

Integrowanie zasad zrównoważonego zarządzania i społecznej odpowiedzialności przed-siębiorstw w praktyce zarządzania ludźmi nie jest zagadnieniem nowym, jednak dopiero w ostatnim czasie zwraca się uwagę na rolę systemu wynagradzania i motywowania dla gene-rowania wartości wobec różnych grup interesariuszy. W obliczu coraz częściej pojawiających się praktyk zrównoważonego zarządzania ludźmi w organizacjach znaczenia nabiera to, w jaki sposób profesjonaliści, odpowiedzialni za prowadzenie polityki HR postrzegają swoją rolę w tym zakresie. Celem zaprezentowanych w artykule badań jest analiza postrzeganej przez menedżerów HR roli systemów wynagradzania i motywowania w odniesieniu do realizacji działań z zakresu społecznej odpowiedzialności przedsiębiorstw.

Słowa kluczowe: zrównoważone systemy wynagrodzeń, społeczna odpowiedzialność biznesu, rola działu HR, menedżer personalny, zrównoważone zarządzanie, zarządzanie interesariuszami

Kody klasyfikacji JEL: M12, M14, M52, J24, J33


THE COMMITTEE ON ORGANIZATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

The Committee mission

To stimulate growth of the organizational and management sciences in Poland and to promote accomplishments of organizational and management sciences and their authors in other academic circles and among practitioners.

The Committee aim:

� to represent the scientific community of organizational and management sci‑ences, to interact with other sciences, boards and other bodies of Polish Academy of science, government bodies and international organizations dealing with the problems of organization and management;

� to stimulate the quality of scientific institutions and members of the community forming the society of management sciences;

� to actively influence young researchers, local scientific communities and prac‑titioners;

� to integrate the community of organizational and management sciences; � to involve the Committee in cooperation with international community.


THE COMMITTEE ON ORGANIZATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

The Committee mission

To stimulate growth of the organizational and management sciences in Poland and to promote accomplishments of organizational and management sciences and their authors in other academic circles and among practitioners.

The Committee aim:

� to represent the scientific community of organizational and management sci‑ences, to interact with other sciences, boards and other bodies of Polish Academy of science, government bodies and international organizations dealing with the problems of organization and management;

� to stimulate the quality of scientific institutions and members of the community forming the society of management sciences;

� to actively influence young researchers, local scientific communities and prac‑titioners;

� to integrate the community of organizational and management sciences; � to involve the Committee in cooperation with international community.

SGH WARSAW SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

The Warsaw school of economics (sGh) was founded in 1906 by August Zieliński, being Polish first university of economics. Currently the sGh is a internationally renowned institution, which played important role during economic transformation of Poland in 1990 s. sGh graduates are members of Polish, european and global most influential institutions such as the Polish Parliament and Government, the National bank of Poland and the european Commission. They also hold top managerial posts in numerous Polish and international companies.

Over 15 000 students are currently enrolled for studies at the sGh. it consists of 6500 full‑time students and about 5400 part‑time students. Additional 2700 students participate in postgraduate courses and 1200 are candidates to doctoral degree. The sGh offers three degrees of undergraduate/postgraduate studies as well as a variety of postgraduate courses including 2 MbA programmes.

research, along with education, is crucial activity of the sGh. research topics are selected to support the teaching process and enhance educational standards of the academic staff. research projects are conducted by Collegia, institutes and de‑partments and cover a wide range of current issues of a significant impact on theory and practice.

The international co‑operation plays significant role in enhancing research ac‑tivities and development of educational methods. The school is traditionally open to exchange of knowledge, educational and research practices with abroad partners. The international character of the school increases as various organisational units of the sGh and its employees now maintain international contacts and co‑operate with more than 150 foreign universities. The school’s academic teachers participate in in‑ternational academic conferences. The school takes part in almost a hundred research projects conducted in co‑operation with foreign centres. The sGh is a member of CeMs, the Global Alliance in Management education and Partnership in interna‑tional Management consortium.

SGH Warsaw School of Economics was founded in 1906 by August Zieliński, being Polish first university of economics. Currently the SGH is an internationally renowned institution, which played an important role during economic transformation of Poland in 1990s. SGH graduates are members of Polish, European and global most influential institutions such as the Polish Parliament and Government, the National Bank of Poland and the European Commission. They also hold top managerial posts in numerous Polish and international companies.

Over 15,000 students are currently enrolled for studies at the SGH. It consists of 6,500 full-time students and about 5,400 part-time students. Additional 2,700 students participate in postgraduate courses and 1,200 are candidates to doctoral degree. The SGH offers three degrees of undergraduate/postgraduate studies as well as a variety of postgraduate courses including two MBA programs.

Research, along with education, is crucial activity of the SGH. Research topics are selected to support the teaching process and enhance educational standards of the academic staff. Research projects are conducted by Collegia, Institutes and Departments and cover a wide range of current issues of a significant impact on theory and practice.

The international co-operation plays significant role in enhancing research activ-ities and development of educational methods. The School is traditionally open to exchange of knowledge, educational and research practices with abroad partners. The international character of the School increases as various organizational units of the SGH and its employees now maintain international contacts and co-operate with more than 150 foreign universities. The School’s academic teachers participate in international academic conferences. The School takes part in almost a hundred research projects conducted in co-operation with foreign centers. The SGH is a member of CEMS, the Global Alliance in Management Education and Partnership in Inter-national Management consortium.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE AUTHORS OF ARTICLES

The text should be written in English in Microsoft Word, Times New Roman 12 pt., 1.5 line spacing, margins of 2.5 cm on each side.

PREFERRED VOLUMEScientific articles and research messages – up to 15 pages.

STRUCTURE OF THE ARTICLEInformation about the author: name and surname, degree/academic title, affiliation and for editorial office purposes – e-mail address, telephone number.

The title of the article: 6–8 words.

Introduction: explanation of the reasons for conducting the research and specifying the question to which the answer was sought for.

The main part of the article: divided into parts (chapters/sections).

Conclusions: key results and findings.

References: up to 25 scientific positions.

Abstracts in English and Polish: up to 1,000 characters, containing justification for the purposefulness of research or discussion; presentation of the research problem and goal definition of the prepared work; description of the research methodology or a solution to the theoretical problem; synthetic presentation of results.

Keywords in English and Polish

Title in Polish

JEL classification codes

FOOTNOTESFootnotes: in the text in the format: [author’s name, year of publication: quoted page/pages].Examples: [Wachowiak, 2013: 78]; [Wachowiak, Gregorczyk, 2018]List of references: alphabetically. Examples: Dworzecki Z., Jarosiński M. (eds.) [2014], Within and beyond boundaries of management, SGH Publishing House, Warsaw.Gregorczyk S. [2014], Business models of Polish enterprises during the economic crisis, Journal of Management and Financial Sciences 18(4): 63–89.Skowronek-Mielczarek A. [2013], Innovations in resources management of enterprises, SGH Publishing House, Warsaw.Trocki M. [2016], Designing project organization, in: Trocki M., Bukłaha E. (eds.), Project management – challenges and research results, SGH Publishing House, Warsaw.

FIGURES AND TABLESIn graphic programs, CorelDraw, Illustrator, Excel, or Word, in a vector form with the possibility of applying patches, preserving shades of gray. Table formatting limited to the necessary minimum.

Please send the materials to the following e-mail address: [email protected] Editors reserve the right to shorten and adjust the text, change the title.

Preparation of the article in accordance with the above requirements is a condition for submitting it for review.

We do not return unsolicited texts and electronic media.More instructions for authors on www.sgh.waw.pl/oik

nO. 2 (185) YEAR 2019

Index 367850 ISSn 0137-5466

ORGAnIZAcjA I kIEROwAnIE

ISSN 0137-5466 THE COMMITTEE ON ORGANIZATIONALAND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

SGH WARSAW SCHOOL OF ECONOMICSCOLLEGIUM OF MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE

Head office:Division I: Humanities and Social Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences The Committee on Organizational and Management Sciences PKiN, Plac Defilad 100-901 Warsawwww.pan.pl

Address:SGH Warsaw School of EconomicsCollegium of Management and Finance al. Niepodległości 16202-554 Warsawe-mail: [email protected]/oik/

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