Building then dismantling relational coordination: Mechanisms that distinguish functional and dysfunctional dynamics between HR practices and relational coordination

Abstract

With the growing importance of relational coordination in today's multidisciplinary, interdependent work environment, practitioners are faced with challenges in designing and implementing relationship-oriented HR practices. We aim to identify key mechanisms either enabling or inhibiting the functional interplay between HR practices and relational coordination. Through an inductive qualitative study of a newsroom organization in Korea before and after the changes in its HR practices, we compared and contrasted functional and dysfunctional dynamics among HR practices, interpersonal relationships, and relational coordination. Before the changes, reporters coordinated across levels and functions as HR practices integrated formal and informal interactions and supported the shared notion on which professional behaviors and values are expected of a reporter. However, with the changes in HR practices, relational coordination among reporters dismantled as they experienced segregation between formal and informal interactions and upheld two different notions of journalistic values. Reporters were divided into two separate informal groups which rarely overlapped with formal work groups and these segregated interactions prevented reporters from sharing knowledge across levels and functions. Further, with the conflicting notion of journalistic values, reporters constantly debated over specific goals of practicing journalism and expressed disrespect toward those who held a different set of journalistic values. These findings redirect research by highlighting the fragility of relational coordination and the importance of designing HR practices which reflect formal and informal relational dynamics among employees and consolidate members under the same shared notion of professional values. K E Y W O R D S changes in HR practices, integration of formal and informal interactions, relational coordination, relational coordination dismantling process, shared professional values 1 | INTRODUCTION Relational coordination, "coordinating work through relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect," (Gittell, 2016, p. 13) has been widely studied in various industries including educa-