Professor Carol Kulik

My research interests span three areas: human resource practices, workforce diversity, and organisational fairness. I’m particularly interested in understanding how human resource management interventions influence the fair treatment of people in organisations. At the moment, I’m actively engaged in four large-scale ARC-funded research projects:

Working against type: Stereotype threat effects on mature age workers.
Mature age workers are often stereotyped as less competent than their younger colleagues. A mature age worker who is aware of these societal stereotypes may experience "stereotype threat" -- anxiety about the possibility of confirming the negative stereotypes. Our goal is to identify organisational policies and practices that counteract stereotype threat effects by signalling an organisation's commitment to creating an age-friendly environment.

Managing diversity: Diversity practice configurations and organisational effectiveness.
Organisations expend millions of dollars on their diversity efforts but often fail to implement the most effective diversity management practices. Left unmanaged, workforce diversity can create internal conflict and lower organisational performance. In this project, we are tracking Australian organisations’ diversity management practices over a three-year period. Our goal is to identify “diversity practice configurations” (strategic bundles of interrelated management practices designed to address diversity challenges) that maximise organisational effectiveness for large and small organisations.

Competent but less likeable: Social stereotypes and strategic choices in negotiation.
A large body of research demonstrates that women consistently receive poorer negotiation outcomes than men: lower starting salaries, lower bonuses, and fewer pay rises. Unfortunately, the research also suggests that “best practice” negotiation strategies frequently backfire for female employees and damage their relationships with employers. Our goal in this project is to identify negotiation strategies that enable both men and women to obtain good economic outcomes while maintaining their organisational relationships.

The psychological contract: Bridging human resource management practices and organisational effectiveness.
“Psychological contracts” summarise the beliefs that employers and employees hold about their joint obligations to the employment relationship. In this project, we are examining how tangible day-to-day human resource activities shape psychological contracts. Our goal in this project is to identify strategies for leveraging these contracts to improve organisational effectiveness and promote employee commitment.

In all of my research, I work closely with the business community, especially members of the Australian Human Resource Institute and the Australian Senior Human Resource Roundtable, to ensure that academic research is addressing problems of interest to the business community. I’ve authored a book titled Human Resources for the nonHR Manager (published by Erlbaum in 2004) that makes cutting-edge research on human resource issues accessible to managers with no formal training in human resources.

Centre for Human Resource Management

Member, Academy of Management
Member, American Psychological Association
Fellow, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Member, Phi Beta Kappa
Division Chair Leadership Track, OB Division, Academy of Management, 2004-2009

Ph.D. 1987 University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

B.Sci. 1981 cum laude, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

• Human Resource Management
• Workforce Diversity
• Organisational Justice
• Cognitive Processes in Organisations

Kulik, C. T., Cregan, C., Metz, I., & Brown, M. (2009). HR managers as toxin handlers: The buffering effect of formalizing toxin handling responsibilities. Human Resource Management, 48, 695-716.

Perry, M. B., Kulik, C. T., & Field, M. (2009). Sexual harassment training: Recommendations for addressing gaps between the practitioner and research literatures. Human Resource Management, 48, 817-837.

Roberson, L., Kulik, C. T., & Pepper, M. B. (2009). Individual and environmental factors influencing the use of transfer strategies after diversity training. Group and Organization Management, 34, 67-89.

Ashforth, B. E., Kulik, C. T., & Tomiuk, M. A. (2008). How service agents manage the person-role interface. Group and Organization Management, 33, 5-45.

Kulik, C. T., Bainbridge, H. T. J., & Cregan, C. (2008). Known by the company we keep: Stigma by association effects in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 33, 231-251.

Kulik, C. T., & Perry, E. L. (2008). When less is more: The effect of devolution on HR’s strategic role and construed image. Human Resource Management, 47, 541-558.

Kulik, C. T., & Roberson, L. (2008). Common goals and golden opportunities: Evaluations of diversity education in academic and organizational settings. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 7, 309-331.

Metz, I., & Kulik, C. T. (2008). Making public organizations more inclusive: A case study of the Victoria Police Force. Human Resource Management, 47, 369-387.

Perry, E. L., & Kulik, C. T. (2008). The devolution of HR to the line: Implications for perceptions of people management effectiveness. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19, 262-273.

Kulik, C. T., Pepper, M. B., Roberson, L., & Parker, S. K. (2007). The rich get richer: Predicting participation in voluntary diversity training. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28, 753-769.

Kulik, C. T., Roberson, L., & Perry, E. L. (2007). The multiple category problem: Category activation and inhibition in the hiring process. Academy of Management Review, 32, 529-548.

Roberson, L., & Kulik, C. T. (2007). Stereotype threat at work. Academy of Management Perspectives, 21, 24-40.

I am able to provide media comment in the following areas of expertise:

Discipline: Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management

• Managing Diversity in Organisations
• Sexual Harassment
• Organisational Fairness
• Human Resource Management