Personal Blogs

Been a busy summer. Glad to be back on job. Just last month I was privileged enough to have attended an early career research (ECR) conference held by ESRC, UKRI and Closer.ac.uk with a plenary session presented by Commons Librarian Prof. Grant Hill-Cawthorne. Much of the conference experience involved ascertaining how good research studies are constructed, where exactly relevant sources of data are extracted from and how study results are compiled and interpreted via publication for various audiences including academia and those involved in policymaking.

https://closer.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/CLOSER-ECR24-Grant-Hill-Cawthorne-keynote.pdf

Designing a Robust MSc in HRM Dissertation Research Question

Craig Starbuck (2023) has a great entry in his book on People Analytics which explains the fundamentals of research design. He begins with a focus on the research question. In homage to the 5 A’s of evidence-based practice, Starbuck (2023) explains a simplistic design process that begins with the premise of a (null) hypothesis. The 1^st A, i.e. ask, is made analogous to the following criteria in his book:

• Internal validity refers to the robustness of the study.
• Confounding variables refer to an extraneous variable whose presence affects the results
• External validity (i.e. ‘the general or ‘can what we deem to work, work in general contexts'?)
• The use of Randomization…

Starbuck (2023) is a good source of short, sharp, and punchy insights. He later explores quantitative and non-experimental research approaches, particularly cross-sectional, correlational, and observational research in a people analytics context.

References

Earlier in the week, I was preparing to write something for Medium, before discovering this Open University online blog space. While I was still drafting the blog, I ran into an old friend of mine who shared an interesting read by Michael O'Dwyer from the Financial Times. I was somewhat concerned, as concerned as she was. Not only about the findings of the survey but about the decision-making processes that must have been taken to arrive at this clearly egregious course of action. What course of action am I referring to? 

I am referring to a preference to hire those with senior-level experience over candidates with diverse backgrounds. This is something I will refer to as an anti-diversity challenge.

An anti-diversity challenge, in my view, is any unfortunate course of action that contradicts the commitment an organisation has previously made towards promoting diversity (in this case, we are speaking of anti-diversity within boards).

Observing the rationale for greater board effectiveness through the lens of diversity

As per the article by Michael O’Dwyer, Spencer Stuart, the executive search firm conducting the study, noted in the firm’s 2023 UK Board Index that in the last 12 months and for the first time, the number of ethnically diverse and female directors in publicly-listed firms had fallen. Why was this the case? Indeed, Spencer Stuart reports that this phenomenon is owed to the fact that boards are seemingly self-perpetuating entities, preferring to hire candidates who have previous experience spearheading publicly listed companies.

We know that to their detriment UK Boards are lacking (somewhat severely) in HR expertise, according to recent CIPD research. But in order to combat this dilemma highlighted in the FT, what approach to board search is needed by listed companies in order to achieve the objective of greater board effectiveness?

Well, we all believe effective boards are competent boards. Right? Effective boards are able to execute their duties with maximum impact and without unnecessary hindrance. As such, the optimal search process should ideally attribute its resources impartially.

According to the FT’s columnist, Michael O’Dwyer, there is a caveat to the underlying findings of the Spencer Stuart Board Index. That caveat is that, despite the disappointing findings of the annual survey, there was an increase in women becoming senior independent directors. A role that is often a “good stepping stone” to the position of board chair.

A worthy caveat. However, this cannot possibly be the kind of workplace we want to work towards in our respective journeys or to promote on behalf of our organisations. Can it?

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This post was written by Alfred Anate Mayaki, a student on the MSc in HRM, and was inspired by the work of Stephanie J. Creary (2023) in an MIT Sloan Management Review article entitled, “How Diversity Can Boost Board Effectiveness”.