Cd. Hansen et Wm. Kahnweiler, ORGANIZATIONAL TENSION AND OCCUPATIONAL SCRIPTS - STORIES FROM HR PROFESSIONALS AND TOP EXECUTIVES, Human resource management review, 5(1), 1995, pp. 25-51
This study compared the biases and beliefs of top executives and HR pr
ofessionals in Fortune 500 companies. The study's findings and theoret
ical framework were derived from the analysis of story components (e.g
., heros, villains, turning points) of informant-generated tales of wo
rk place experiences. The findings indicate that the two informant gro
ups differ with respect to values, beliefs, casual attributions, and p
riorities. Our work suggests that these differences may create a compe
titive undercurrent and communication breakdowns between top executive
s and the functions reporting to them. Implications for HR roles along
with suggestions for theory development and further research on occup
ational scripts are offered.