The BE GREAT LLC Academic World Tour heads to Virginia
The paper titled “In the Eyes of the Beholder: HR Managers Stereotyping when Assessing Others” will be presented at the International Research Conference in the Americas held in Richmond, Virginia. The paper was co-authored by John Rovens, CEO of BE GREAT LLC; Andrew Rovens, of BE GREAT LLC; Darlene Russ-Eft, professor of Adult & Higher Education in the College of Education; and Laura Boehme, a doctoral student at Oregon State University.
The paper, to be presented by Professor Russ-Eft, discussed the ways in which the stereotypes and biases of human resource (HR) managers influence their perceptions of front-line manager effectiveness. It elaborated on the critical role of HR managers in determining the skill level and training needs of these front-line managers, who oversee the day-to-day operations and develop their employees. The researchers gathered data through surveys of HR managers, front-line managers, and the managers and subordinates of the front-line managers; in addition, in-person interviews were undertaken with selected HR managers. The findings indicated the HR managers view front-line managers as ineffective. The paper examined the ways in which these views contribute to stereotyping by HR and may lead to reduced support given to training of front-line managers.
Recommendations from the study suggested the importance of HR’s role in providing unbiased assessments that would lead to needed training and development of front-line managers.
