Human capital theory presumes that skill-accredited immigrant professionals can access positions in the labour market to match their skills and qualifications. It implies that employers have little power to influence the labour market outcomes of immigrant professionals. Using social identity theory, we examine the influence of similarity effect in recruitment decision-making involving immigrant information technology (IT) professionals in New South Wales, Australia. We assess how decision makers (N = 331) hiring IT professionals need to associate and identify with people that resemble themselves in some way more than those that do not, can influence their perception of the immigrant candidate's fit into their organisation. Particularly, we examine how the level of exposure to diversity, the decision maker's origin and the diversity of clientele can moderate the assessment of the candidate's fit to the organisation. We also assess how attire, name, accent and any overtly expressed religious affiliations influence employer perceptions. The findings indicate decision makers with lower levels of exposure to diversity or working in organisations with mostly Anglo clients tend to be more concerned of the fit regarding the Indians, South-east Asians and the Chinese. They were also more likely to be negatively influenced by the non-Anglo personal attributes.

Concerns about job quality have become more widespread, crossing all industries and occupations. The call centre sector in particular has risen to the forefront of discussions about job quality because of the rapid growth and development of these new forms of work organization over the past two decades. However, despite there being an extensive quality of work life literature, and emerging research on call centre job quality, there is yet to be a study that systematically links the quality of work with employment in the call centre context. This article outlines current debates, highlighting the importance of bringing together and marrying these two branches of research. A qualitative research agenda constituting case study analysis of two call centres is introduced. A framework grounded in a job characteristics approach, comprising 10 key job-quality elements is also proposed as a means of examining the quality of work life in this context.

This article examines the transfer of Anglo leadership styles in a transforming society. It aims to investigate the transferability of two American leadership styles, namely performance-oriented and participative styles, to Vietnamese subsidiaries. Utilising an exploratory case study approach, this article presents evidence of a strong acceptance of these leadership styles, and tries to ascertain whether the adoption of a humane style of leadership in line with Vietnamese traditions is a means of leaders reconciling the cultural gap. Several complexities arise from the transforming nature of the Vietnamese socio-political and economic context. Specifically, the importance of subcultures -particularly those relating to generation -is highlighted. Situational contingencies, such as the skills set of the recipient group, also emerge as important considerations. Finally, the authors call for leadership dynamism as a means of facilitating congruence and adaptability between the leadership styles used and the various contextual complexities encountered in the transfer and reception process. AbstractThis paper examines the transfer of Anglo leadership styles in a transforming society.It aims to investigate the transferability of two American leadership styles, namely performance-oriented style and participative style, to Vietnamese subsidiaries.Utilising an exploratory case study approach, this paper presents evidence of a strong acceptance of these leadership styles, and tries to ascertain whether the adoption of a humane style of leadership in line with Vietnamese traditions is a means of leaders reconciling the cultural gap. Several complexities arise from the transforming nature of the Vietnamese socio-political and economic context. Specifically, the importance of subcultures -particularly those relating to generation -are highlighted.Situational contingencies, such as the skills set of the recipient group, also emerge as important considerations. Finally, the authors call for leadership dynamism as a means of facilitating congruence and adaptability between the leadership styles used and the various contextual complexities encountered in the transfer and reception process.

The issue of precarious employment has gained increasing currency over recent years, as OECD countries have shifted away from traditional standard employment models. Nevertheless, there has been little empirical research on the experiences of nonstandard workers and the links that can be established with precarious work. This article attempts to address this gap by introducing precarious employment as a subset of non-standard work and highlighting its distinguishing features. The Tucker model is introduced as a useful bridge between non-standard work and precariousness, and is used as a framework for examining employment experiences within two New Zealand call centres. Initial observations indicate evidence of precariousness in both workplaces, although more severe in the case of the small, outsourced call centre. In-depth analysis suggests precariousness varies depending on the nature of the employment arrangement and questions are put forth about the applicability of the 'Tucker' model to the call centre context.

Leadership styles are an important issue for a range of areas, including business and management. One aspect of this is the influence of the age of people on their receptivity to leadership styles. Yet, research on this area using Asian contexts is limited. Consequently, our research looks at the generational effect in the reception of leadership styles -performance-oriented and participative. In particular, we examine the different value orientations of age cohorts and their reception to different leadership styles in Vietnam. First, we outline three strands of literature, namely culture and leadership, generation as a subculture and Vietnam as a context for the transfer of leadership styles. Second, our research methodology is detailed. Third, our empirical research using case study methods is presented. Our results cover the characteristics of three main age cohorts: the resilience of the pre-1975 born, the adaptability of 1975 -1986 born and the arrival of the post-1986 born. Following the discussion and implications, we provide some brief conclusions.