Three professors at Telfer recently published a paper titled:  Performance Management in Canadian Public Organizations: Findings of a Multi-Case Study in the International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. This large scale empirical study on performance management practices in five public organizations has not been previously done in the Canadian context. The study was carried out by Professors Swee C. Goh, Catherine Elliott and Greg Richards.

The results of this research highlight the barriers and success factors that can make performance management practices more effective in public sector organizations. The paper also provides insights into how organizational context can explain some of these barriers and why some management practices can facilitate successful implementation of performance management in public organizations. This unique perspective on the importance of context will allow for further theory development and new directions for research on performance management.

Funding for this research was provided by the Interis Research Cluster on Performance Management at the Telfer School of Management.

The paper is available at this link in the International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 64, No. 2 (2015), pp. 157-174.

How can the obstacles to responsible investing be overcome? Despite some encouraging inroads made by the responsible investing (RI) community, significant barriers remain, says Darlene Himick, assistant professor at the Telfer School of Management, who recently considered RI with a focus on pension plan sponsors. She and Sophie Audousset-Coulier of Concordia University analyzed the practices of evaluating and monitoring asset performance among 60 public pension funds in Canada to determine how they may enable, or interfere with, the adoption and implementation of responsible investing. The work aligns with Himick’s affiliation with Shareholder Association for Research and Education, an organization that facilitates pension fund responsible investing through practices such as proxy voting and shareholder activism.

The integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles in investment analysis has been the subject of increasing focus for the financial industry and governments. By virtue of their economic clout, large, institutional investors have been viewed as a priority target for responsible investment. (The Caisse de dépôt, for example, has identified the economic development of Quebec – and sustainable development – as among its key policy pillars, and recently announced an agreement with the Government of Quebec to carry out public infrastructure projects in the province).

On the other hand, while pension funds have increasingly turned their minds to responsible investing, many commentators have expressed surprise that pension funds have not been drivers of even greater change than has been witnessed.

Barriers and Opportunities

In their study just published in the top-rated Journal of Business Ethics, Himick and her colleague used empirical data that has so far been ignored in the academic research: the statements of investment policies and procedures adopted by pension funds. Their study analyzes the ways responsible investing is framed to fit with the existing beliefs and practices.

It is misleading to view responsible investing as “on the rise” solely on the basis of volume of RI assets managed, the researchers contend, without considering what happens to those assets once they have been placed. “This notion [of assets under management] is only partly informative, and our study considered the practices by which the investment managers are evaluated, and through which the investments are structured, to determine where the barriers for meaningful responsible investing implementation occur.”

Particularly problematic is the context into which RI must fit, one strongly influenced by the “short-termism” which characterizes pension-fund governance practices, heavily influenced by monitoring and compliance. The majority of the funds under study followed the aim of tightly benchmarking on a quarterly basis, in order to meet particular risk and return objectives. This context, as a ‘frame’ into which RI practices must fit, makes it harder for investment managers to adopt long-term horizons or introduce tools such as shareholder activism and targeted investment.

Himick concludes: “If the investment managers are evaluated on criteria that constrain their abilities to introduce RI-favourable practices we will continue to experience this puzzle of having achieved apparent success through growth in the RI industry, but lack of success in making meaningful change.” A way forward would include recognizing such barriers, and working carefully and slowly to align the financial frame already in place with different frames that RI approaches can take. 
Access the full paper here.

Access the full paper here.

Large Canadian accounting firms devote considerable effort to appeal to Millennials’ values and expectations in their messaging to potential recruits, a Telfer School professor concludes in a new study.

The authors, Sylvain Durocher of the Telfer School and Merridee Bujaki and François Brouard of the Sprott School of Business, Carleton University analysed the web communications big accounting firms direct at Millennials. The group’s expectations in terms of work experiences and work environment were closely mirrored in firms’ messages. The appeal to Millennials also seeks to counter critical perceptions such as those related to the negative accountant’s stereotype, work-life balance issues, and perceived lack of diversity in accounting firms’ work environment.

This study adds to the accounting literature that uses legitimacy theory to make sense of accounting phenomena. It makes a unique contribution by suggesting that the socialization of new accounting recruits might well be a two-way process in which millennials contribute to both the production and reproduction of accountants’ identities.

Durocher is to present the paper at the London School of Economics on January 28.

Evidence-based practices for human resources project management are the focus of a new publication co-edited by François Chiocchio, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management at University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management.

The book discusses the foundational elements of all successful HR projects, and pushes the envelope in its consideration of timely global, technical, and strategic issues. With contributions from leaders in theory and practice, it presents case studies and empirical lessons, offering a foundation that can be used to guide large-scale HR projects in any professional context. Each chapter summarizes the best available evidence on how to proceed through project stages and manage strategy, providing an opportunity to gain insights on key topics in human resource management. Advancing Human Resource Project Management is edited by Richard Klimoski, Beverly Dugan, Carla Messikomer, and François Chiocchio.

Professor Chiocchio received his PhD in psychology from Université de Montréal in 2002. His research focuses on projects, teamwork, and collaboration in various organizational environments, including health care organizations in Canada and Africa.