Responsible people management and fairness during Covid-19 (Law and ethics-The case of Pan-Atlantic University)

When the world was informed about COVID-19 and the how the pandemic was going to affect human interactions, most organisations had not planned for such a crisis or expected a disease of that magnitude, and neither were there existing plans to forestall it. Some organisations made efforts to quickly adjust their human resource policies and employment contracts to accommodate the new work norms, sometimes in disregard of labour laws. The major interest of many managers was the survival of organisations' businesses and well-being of workers. In a bid to save economies, various countries made amendments to national employment laws to reflect new mechanisms for working in self-isolation, and legal solutions were proffered to buffer the effects of the restrictive measures that arose as a result of battling the spread of the pandemic. In some other countries, businesses did whatever they could to survive. This chapter focuses on the various lawful, equitable and fair people management strategies and practices adopted by some establishments with special reference to the Nigerian context. In particular, it presents the case of Pan-Atlantic University (PAU), one of the top private universities in Nigeria, to show a little example of what can be done in managing the imposed COVID-19 restrictive measures and other aftermaths of the pandemic. The chapter is divided into segments to show the various standards being applied under international laws and best practices in comparison with the current Nigerian employment laws and practices with a view to making recommendations for improvement in the people management sector. © 2022 Kemi Ogunyemi and Adaora I. Onaga. All rights reserved.

Relational agency and relational people management: evidence from Uganda's micro and small enterprises

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate whether relational agency fosters relational people management using evidence from micro and small enterprises in Uganda, an African developing country. Specifically, the paper examines whether the individual relational agency dimensions (shared learning, mutual cooperation, collective efficacy and interaction enablement) also affect relational people management.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional survey design using a quantitative approach was used in this study. Data were collected from 241 micro and small enterprises in Uganda using a structured questionnaire and were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists.FindingsThe results indicate that relational agency is positively and significantly associated with relational people management. Findings further indicated that collective efficacy, mutual cooperation, shared learning and interaction enablement individually matter in relational people management.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study may be among the first to demonstrate that relational agency and its individual dimensions (interaction enablement, shared learning, mutual cooperation and collective efficacy) foster relational people management in the context of micro and small enterprises of Uganda, an African developing country. Consequently, this study contributes to both theory and literature via the cultural historical activity theory, hence, adding to the scant existing literature on relational agency and relational people management.

Making the ethical case for effective domestic abuse policy and practice: the role of trade unions

PurposeThis paper focusses on the role of trade unions in policy and practice designed to address the workplace impact of domestic abuse. The paper aims to examine this union remit through the lens of corporate social responsibility (CSR).Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews were conducted with 39 union representatives in a region of England to capture their views on and experiences of supporting members experiencing domestic abuse.FindingsThere is a clear ethical model by which the unions might articulate the key moral, legal and business drivers in determining effective domestic abuse policy and practice. Furthermore, the degree of "proximity”, in terms of union deliberation with employers and particularly joint action following disclosure, suggests that unions could play a key part in achieving "substantive” domestic abuse policy and practice within organisations.Originality/valueDespite unions' capacity to offer significant support to employers and employees, the role of unions in addressing the workplace impact of domestic abuse is under-researched. With reference to the concept of CSR, the article adds to the knowledge of how to address the workplace impact of domestic abuse.

Research on Engagement and Burnout: a theoretical approach in times of COVID-19

Engagement and burnout have been defined as extremes of a continuum to represent the health and well-being of people at work, whether as a work result or other life circumstances. On the other hand, it must be recognized that the pandemic times have considerably affected all areas of human life, and the organizational one has not escaped this. In this context, this research aims to review scientific articles that deal with Engagement and Burnout to know the contributions made by researchers in this relevant organizational field, focusing the analysis on the times we live in as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. To achieve the objectives, a database of 315 articles published in Web of Science (WOS) indexed journals during the period 2020-2022 was analyzed. Following the guidelines of Toulmin's argumentative model (Rodriguez-Bello, 2004), the following causal assertion was defined: "The engagement and burnout of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic is influenced by the governance of organizations". The reviewed articles were established as evidence and the database as collateral. The main results show that social and organizational governance influences the health and well-being of workers, which impacts their performance and thus the outcomes of their respective organizations.

HOME OFFICE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR DURING THE PANDEMIC: EVIDENCE FROM THE EMPLOYEES OF A CREDIT UNION

The study aims to observe the perception of home office work and the behavior of employees of a credit union. A descriptive, survey and case study, quantitative/qualitative research was carried out. Data collection and analysis took place through interviews and forms. The results indicate that this type of work has shown positive and negative aspects. Regarding the positive aspects, several employees highlight the practicality and economy. However, the main negative points deal with the difficulty in adapting to the sharing of space between work and family. The research contributes to companies, as it enables the construction of strategies to improve the quality of life of workers and productivity in this modality.

Improving Project Management Curricula to Increase Student Employability: A Case Study

There is a growing need for qualified project managers who have skill sets that include leadership, people management, technical and business knowledge. As a result, formal project management (PM) education is increasingly important in many educational institutions. However, the prevailing industry judgment regarding the approaches taken by most institutions is that they are not adequate to meet the needs of the industry due to lack of exposure to "real" situations, lack of critical thinking and not knowing how to properly deal with conflicts. We present a case study of a novel teaching approach that combines face-to-face and/or online interactions in part to adapt to COVID-19 while increasing student employability through six complementary practices. They are a) blended learning environment, b) learn by doing, c) multidisciplinary pedagogical practices, d) continuous improvement, e) integration of teaching and research, and f) delivery by former/current project managers. © Proceedings of the 2021 AIS SIGED International Conference on Information Systems Education and Research.