bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How has Management Changed? Evidence of Organisational Transformation in Larger UK Companies
Authors: Ezzamel Mahmoud , Willmott Hugh , Lilley Simon
Published: January 2008

This paper is situated within two debates. First concerns the theories of ‘disorganised capitalism’ and the like which argue for major restructuring of advanced capitalist societies. Reed (1991) usefully identifies and summarises three varieties of such theory: (i) Post‐Fordism/Flexible Specialisation (e.g. Piore and Sabel, 1982); (ii) Disorganised Capitalism (e.g. Lash and Urry, 1987); (iii) Post‐Modernism (e.g. Poster, 1984). Common to these theories of ‘disorganised capitalism’ is the understanding that the progressive development of an ‘organised society’ (Prestus, 1962) — characterised by concentration, centralisation and corporatism — is being interrupted/challenged by trends in a contrary direction. The second relates to arguments about the work of middle management (e.g. Goffee and Scase, 1986 v. Dopson and Stewart, 1990).
Organisational Change: The Role of Telework
Authors: Jackson Paul
Published: January 2008

The coming of the “Information Society” would, many believed, spell wholesale changes for the way we work. With the power of new information technology (IT) the means by which jobs and organisations may change has arrived: but will, as those such as Alvin Toffler prophesised, particular forms as telework multiply as a result? One crucial, and frequently underdeveloped area of the subject, is that of theory. If a more insightful approach is to be achieved, frameworks are needed which reflect the dynamics of new technologies and the use of space in structuring the organisation and designing jobs.
Redeployment and Competitive Strategy
Authors: Malloch Hedley
Published: January 2008

The aim of the paper is to demonstrate and explain the importance of redeployment as a HRM policy. The literature and empirical work on labour flexibility identifies three types of labour flexibility. The principal writers associated with this approach claim that the numerical/functional/financial distinction is one which explains virtually all the important dimensions of innovation in manpower management in Britain in recent years. (Atkinson 1985(b), p. 26). This paper will suggest that there is a fourth type of labour flexibility, that is redeployment which is defined as spatial or geographical flexibility or flexibility of place. Redeployment is ignored in the HRM and labour flexibility literature, but the empirical results reported in this paper suggest that it is both widespread and seen by many managers as an essential link between their HRM policies and their competitive strategies.
Experts, Professions and Organisations in Late Modernity
Authors: Reed Michael
Published: January 2008

The focus for this paper is the changing relationship between expertise, professional power and organisational control within advanced industrial societies. The analysis of this changing relationship is located within a more detailed appreciation of the ways in which the ‘expert division of labour’ within such societies is being restructured and the impact of this restructuring process on established patterns also raises some fundamental questions concerning the increasingly strategic role which specialist knowledge, and the organisational structures through which it is developed and managed, plays in shaping the power struggles that will determine the distribution of rewards between contending social groups within the ‘new’ political economies beginning to emerge in ‘disorganized societies’.
Citizenship, ‘Consumerism’ and Network Governance
Authors: Thompson Grahame
Published: January 2008

This paper investigates a range of terms and concepts that are increasingly used to describe and analyse organisational and institutional configurations. Broadly speaking, it is concerned with new forms of private interest governance. The problem is to characterise a number of interrelated developments that typify contemporary emergent organisational arrangements. Exactly what do these amount to in terms of their nature and significance?
Employers and Social Responsibility: The New Mandate to Expand Educational Benefits to Dependents
Authors: Barton Laurence
Published: January 2008

Sweeping changes in the attitude of senior managers at leading corporations towards the educational needs of employee children are evident. In just the past two years, hundreds of corporate‐ sponsored day care centres have opened throughout Western Europe and North America, and several multinational corporations have launched innovative programmes aimed at ensuring that employees children will be able to attend the high schools and universities of their choice.
Management in the 1990s
Authors: Rosen Tina S. , Kleiner Brian H.
Published: January 2008

To succeed in the 1990s management must be globally‐minded and extremely knowledgeable of the competition. Using new technology within flexible, downsized and decentralised organisations, they must react quickly to rapidly changing markets. Firms will turn to employees for help in improving productivity and quality. Likewise, managers must be more sensitive towards employees. They will offer creative incentives and working conditions to keep employees happy and attract quality employees, which will be in short supply.
The Effect of Conflicting Information on Leader Attributions for Poor Performance
Authors: Moser Steven B.
Published: January 2008

When a subordinate's performance is assessed by a superior in a work situation, whether or not he or she performed well is not the only issue. There is also concern as to whether he or she should be held responsible for accomplishments or failures. The assessment of responsibility has been termed ‘an attribution’ (Green and Mitchell, 1979).
Determinants of the External Audit Fee of UK Unquoted Companies — Some New Evidence
Authors: Brinn Tony , Peel Michael J. , Roberts Roydon
Published: January 2008

In recent years there has been a growing debate, in the academic, professional and popular literature, on the audit ‘expectation gap’ and the role and independence of the auditor. As noted by Waller (1991): ‘Much of the criticism of auditors concerns an apparent lack of impartiality. Outsiders feel that independence is compromised… who knows what short cuts are taken by auditors keen to keep “well in” with management for the sake of winning profitable consultancy work to supplement the audit fee?’
The Gravid Male: An Essay on Delivering a PhD
Authors: Mitchell V.‐W.
Published: January 2008

The conception, gestation and delivery of a PhD thesis has a direct parallel in nature — pregnancy. Although temporal variation exits, the events and emotions which take place during both happenings show remarkable similarity. This article explores the similarities and differences throughout the gestation of a PhD.
Effective Organisational Goal Setting
Authors: Cochran Trey , Kleiner Brian H.
Published: January 2008

As a business grows larger and more complex in today's competitive world, the role of organisational goal setting becomes more and more critical to the continued long term success of that organisation. Realistically developed, stated, and implemented goals can be the guiding principle for increased effectiveness and continued growth. On the other hand, the lack of effective goal setting will lead to declines in the organisation's performance. It is the responsibility of the organisation's management to understand the importance of goal setting and the environment within which these goals must be made.
Effective Coaching of Organisational Employees
Authors: Case Thomas J. , Kleiner Brian H.
Published: January 2008

The most important asset is people. This fact must be recognised before management can begin to effectively coach their employees. Since every person is in themselves an individual, however, it is impossible to guarantee that all people will respond identically to a single type of stimuli designed by management to bring about a desired effect. It is for this reason that “coaching” is not in itself a method, but rather it is comprised of many different tactics used to guide employees towards maximising their potential within the working environment. Rewards, compensation, training, employee development programmes, goal setting, discipline, employee participation, and group discussion problem solving are only some of the techniques that can fall under the general heading of coaching. Managers must be trained to become better “coaches” as well, since their degree of competency and expertise will have great impact on the effectiveness of their coaching programmes.
Last Buy and No Buy Effect on Risk Perception and Reduction
Authors: Mitchell V.‐W. , Prince G.S.
Published: January 2008

For over 30 years the topic of Perceived Risk has been of interest to consumer behaviour researchers. However, by far the majority of the literature has focused on applications of perceived risk rather than the testing of the concept itself or parameters which affect it. Such a critical generalisation does not discount the fact that there have been some notable contributions to the literature. In order to better understand a construct or phenomenon one must subject it to various tests or stimuli and assess its reaction. By examining perceived risk under various conditions, e.g., how it alters with demographics or purchase type, one can build up an improved understanding of how it operates. This knowledge may eventually lead to a model of the construct which will contain the various risk components, the factors which affect the construct and the degree to which they affect it. It was partly to this end that the present study was undertaken. It examines one facet of consumer behaviour which may affect risk perception and reduction, namely the recency of purchase.
The Relevant Effectiveness of Different Training and Development Methodologies
Authors: Richardson James D. , Kleiner Brian H.
Published: January 2008

Choosing an effective method for instruction is a decision the training professional must deal with as an integral part of course design. The importance of the training professional being able to make this decision is relatively obvious, but effective training methods are also something that every manager should be aware of. Given that people indeed are the most valuable asset to an organisation, developing that resource is a key responsibility of the manager.
An Undeveloped Subject: The Interaction between Environment and Strategy
Authors: Yu Wong Yim , Maher Thomas E.
Published: January 2008

Strategic management thinking emerged in the 1930s (Steiner, 1969), and developed significantly in the 1940s. An identifiable body of literature began to appear in the 1950s and increased significantly, so much so that strategic management became a separate discipline in the 1970s. Over these years, two main themes were pursued: (1) process and (2) content. A third theme, structure (sometimes referred to as “organisation”), received less attention, probably because of its overlap with process and content, and because its parameters have been difficult to identify.
The Role of the Interview in the Performance Appraisal Process
Authors: Phillips Carl R. , Cappel Sam D. , Steiner Dirk D.
Published: January 2008

Unquestionably, the appraisal interview is a significant part of the performance appraisal process. It is in this formal interview that feedback on subordinate performance is communicated, salary/promotion discussions are held, ways of correcting performance deficiencies are discussed, training and development needs are explored, and future work goals and objectives are delineated (Eichel & Bender, 1984; Pratt, 1985).
Decision Analysis and New Venture Creation in Hungary
Authors: Hisrich Robert D. , Vecsenyi Janos
Published: January 2008

To start a new venture is indeed a risky and costly undertaking. The odds are against successfully creating something new whether it be a new system, a new product, a new organisational structure, or an entirely new company. The probability for success in new venture creation can be significantly increased and the corresponding risks of failure reduced when the information on the intentions, actions, and potential reactions of the environment are systematically considered in each strategic decision.
Teaching Leadership Theory: Reconsidering the Situational View
Authors: Clement Ronald W.
Published: January 2008

All of us who have taught leadership to either our regular business students or to attendees in continuing education courses have probably covered the situational view of this “management function”. Both the basic management texts and the texts on organisational behaviour note the advantages of the situational view over the earlier trait and behavioural theories. Further, all the colleagues I have talked to seem to agree that the situational view is more valid, realistic, and practical than either of the earlier views.
Should Underdeveloped Countries Privatise?
Authors: Shahabuddin Syed
Published: January 2008

In many underdeveloped countries, most economic activities are controlled by the public sector. In fact, so many activities are being performed by the public sector that the performance of the private sector is inherently dependent on the performance of the public sector. As a result, the operations cost of the private sector is determined by the public sector. In addition, the large superstructure of the public sector takes away the resources which might have gone to the private sector. This not only increases the cost of operations for businesses but also limits the economic growth.
Professional, Participative and Managerial Unionism: An Interpretation of Change in Trade Unions
Authors: Heery Edmund , Kelly John
Published: January 2008

This paper offers an interpretation of the changing servicing relationship between trade unions and their members in postwar Britain. Its central claim is that union servicing has passed through three main phases, to which the labels professional, participative and managerial unionism can be given. The professional servicing relationship was dominant from the 1940s to the mid‐1960s and was characterised by reliance on professional negotiators to service a largely passive membership. The participative relationship emerged in the 1960s and flourished in the 1970s and was marked by an activist conception of union membership and a supportive or facilitating role for union officialdom. The managerial servicing relationship emerged in the 1980s and is still coming clearly into view. At its core is a view of union members as reactive consumers whose needs must be continually tracked and responded to by trade unions drawing on the techniques and practices of strategic management.
The Decentralisation of Industrial Politics? The Role of Regional Context in the Reshaping of Trade Unionism within British Engineering
Authors: Martin Ron , Sunley Peter , Wills Jane
Published: January 2008

Since the end of the 1970s, the restructuring of the economic landscape and the drive by governments throughout Europe to deregulate markets, reduce institutional rigidities, and flexibilise the movement of capital and labour, have confronted trade unions with the most serious challenges they have faced for more than half a century. According to many commentators, a process of decollectivisation and decentralisation of industrial relations is now firmly established. For example, Baglioni (1990) describes decentralisation as one of the dominant trends in contemporary European industrial relations. In his view ‘Decentralisation, all in all, is part of the general retreat of the labour movement. It is often a manifestation of the alteration of the power balance in favour of management, and it has created complicated problems for union strategy.’
Towards a New Unionism? The Deal, The Company, The Union and The Member
Authors: Morris Jonathan , Wilkinson Barry , Munday Max
Published: January 2008

The past two decades have witnessed several notable changes in the employee relations climate in the UK. Most obviously, there has been the dramatic decline in union membership and densities. In part this has been due to structural changes in the economy and more specifically the shift from strongly unionised heavy industry (coal, steel, shipbuilding etc) to lighter manufacturing and services. However, this merely represents a quantitative shift. Arguably, there has been as important a shift in the qualitative nature of the labour relations climate. The two, of course, are not unconnected. In a context of two major economic recessions and a more general, but not less dramatic erosion of the manufacturing base, employers' have arguably found it easier to force concessions from organised labour on a variety of issues. Allied to this, of course, has been the permissive nature of government legislation throughout the last fourteen years.
Opposition to Unions in the Non‐Union Sector in Britain
Authors: Beaumont P.B. , Harris R.I.D.
Published: January 2008

As the overall level of union membership and density has fallen in Britain throughout the 1980s (and into the 1990s), researchers have begun to pay more attention to the non‐union employment sector. For instance, considerable use has been made of the second national Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (1984) to investigate the determinants of non‐union status. The major limitation of such work, however, is that it treats the non‐union sector as essentially homogeneous in nature. Such an approach sits rather awkwardly with the following facts and findings:
Divided we fall: trade unons and their members in the 1990s
Authors: Bradley Harriet
Published: January 2008

The last two decades have been difficult times for trade unions, faced with declining membership, adverse public opinion and erosion of their powers through restrictive government legislation. Economic restructuring and the decline of heavy industry have deprived the union movement of its firmest traditional basis of support, while the most dominant growth area of the economy, private services, is resistant to union organization. In the face of this hostile economic and political climate, most unions have acknowledged the need to reconsider and reform their existing structures, policies and practices. Options available may include developing a more professionalised approach, offering members a range of financial and technical services calculated to appeal to their individual needs. Alternatively unions may seek to retain their traditional collectivist stance, attempting to find ways to get their members more involved in active campaigning. Both these approaches, however, would involve a recognition of the need to cater more effectively for members' needs, especially those members who often have been marginalized in the past; in the words of the General Secretary of the TGWU, unions must now cater for “the problems and aspirations of temporary and part‐time workers, young people and members of ethnic minorities who have, quite frankly, been neglected in the past.” (quoted Payne, 1989).
Can Management Cope with the Non‐Union Firm?
Authors: Beardwell I.J.
Published: January 2008

The issue of the non‐union firm has come to the fore in Britain principally because it has been seen as an exempler of one strand of the “New Industrial Relations” (Beardwell 1992). The decline in formal union membership and the reduction in the “coverage effect” of collective bargaining in the UK economy have been seen as significant indicators of a change in the established pattern of British industrial relations: the 1990 WIRS data (WIRS 1992) suggests that we might be seeing the emergence of “three systems” of industrial relations based upon a unionised private sector, a unionised public sector and a non‐unionised private sector — each representing about a third of the UK workforce.
For An End To ‘Splendid’ Isolation: The Need for a Euro‐Wide Trade Union Strategy
Authors: Welch Roger
Published: January 2008

This paper will draw on empirical research undertaken by myself concerned with: (a) the impact of legislative controls on the conduct of industrial disputes; (b) the forms of employee involvement used by employers in the East Anglian Region and their relationship with trade union recognition and EC proposals for employee participation.
Transcendental Mediators? Revisiting International Trade Union Theory Post‐Maastricht
Authors: Ramsay Harvie
Published: January 2008

The developments associated with the European Commission's ‘1992 project’ may be seen both as an opportunity for and a challenge to labour movement abilities to organise and bargain across frontiers. This paper will consider the opportunities and the prospective response to them against the backdrop of the challenge (summarised as restructuring and accelerated internationalisation of Euro‐capital, together with response in non‐European MNCs (Ramsay, 1992)). The emphasis will be less on the Social Charter as a window (see Ramsay, 1991 on this) and more on the capacities and limitations within the labour movement in Europe itself.
Trade Unions in a Europe of the Regions: The UK in Comparative Perspective
Authors: Burns Malcolm , Minns Richard , Tomaney John , Voss Eckhard
Published: January 2008

Whatever the outcome of the Maastricht ratification process, the process of European integration is creating new challenges for trade unions. The increased mobility afforded to capital by the existence of the Single Market, requires unions also to organise across national boundaries. At the same time, the European Commission is becoming increasingly involved in the regulation of employment conditions in an effort to establish a common labour market. Some trade unions have begun to alter their structures, for example through the creation of European Affairs Committees or the appointment of European Officers, in order to cope with these new demand and pressures. The activities of the ETUC and organisations such as EMB (European Metalworkers Federation) already seek to give a ‘European’ voice to trade union concerns, while the Economic and Social Committee gives at least a platform for the expression of some of these concerns.
Trade Unions and Networking in a Context of Organisational Change
Authors: Martinez Lucio Miguel , Western Syd
Published: January 2008

Informal relations between trade unionists that circumvent the narow ambit of their organisations and constituent political parties is nothing new. Yet, since the 1960s, we have witnessed an increase in such activity in the form of information networks that have complemented if not undermined what Heery and Kelly call the traditional model of professional and officer led trade unionism (Heery and Kelly, 1993). The 1970s, in particular, witnessed a brief flurry of shop stewards activity within certain sectors. Organisational inertia and even unease within the higher echelons of various trade unons undermined such developments, as did the somewhat Utopian and workplace orientation of the politics of the evolving networkers themselves.
Management style and employee attitudes in the non‐union firm: a no‐go area for unions?
Authors: McLoughlin Ian , Gourlay Stephen
Published: January 2008

It is widely recognised that if unions are ultimately to stem the trend in membership decline then they must move beyond what Willman (1989) terms ‘market share’ unionism, whereby unions compete with each other within an existing and declining membership base, to seek to recruit in unorganised sectors which are now the focus of employment growth. Indeed, many recent academic studies appear to point to the potential fruitfulness of directing union resources into such recruitment activities (Kelly and Heery, 1989, Kelly, 1989).
Unions on the Brink: the case of construction
Authors: Druker Jan , White Geoff
Published: January 2008

Although the history of trade unionism in the building trades extends back over 200 years, with building unions being among the first “new model” craft unions, the construction industry has never been highly unionised. The nature of the product and the labour process, with each workplace existing only for the period of the contract and a workforce composed of mobile and often casual labour, has made union recruitment and retention a recurrent problem. A recent study suggests a decline in union density from 34.6% to 30.4% between 1983 and 1989 (Green, 1992). Whilst figures provided by other studies may differ (e.g. Waddington, 1992, Millward et al, 1992), there is no doubt about the downward trend in union membership and density in an industry which has experienced a shift from direct employment to sub‐ contracting and self‐employment.
The UK's Private Security Industry: A Study of Trade Union Issues
Authors: Moran Peter
Published: January 2008

The UK's private security industry is an employer of substantial magnitude. APEX (1991) claim 30,000 members in this industry. Calculations of trade union penetration in this sector are difficult because data on the industry is very patchy. APEX have quoted an estimate of approximately 100,000 employees, but other estimates suggest the figure is much higher, perhaps as many as a quarter of a million.
Compulsory Competition and Trade Union Practice in Local Government
Authors: Colling Trevor
Published: January 2008

The public sector has been subject to dramatic and determined reform partly fuelled by the explicit objective of breaking union powerbases. Yet public sector unions have been relatively absent from the debates surrounding restructuring and the crisis of organised labour.
Undermining the Union: The National Union of Mineworkers since 1985
Authors: Winterton Jonathan , Winterton Ruth
Published: January 2008

In 1972, the NUM defeated Edward Heath's public‐sector incomes policy, and two years later contributed to his Government's downfall. The miners' militancy, which exploited the bargaining opportunity created by the return to industry‐wide pay determination and the oil shock of 1973, led to the tripartite agreement Plan for Coal, which appeared to guarantee a future for Britain's coal industry after 17 years of decline. From the return of the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher in 1979, however, the industry experienced further decline, which accelerated after the defeat of the 1984–85 strike. The demise of the coal industry has inevitably been accompanied by a dramatic reduction in the Union's bargaining power, but the campaign against the colliery closures announced in October 1992 suggests that an obituary for the former ‘vanguard of the labour movement’ would be premature.
Single Union/No Strike Deals at Japanese Transplants in the UK: The Implications for Trade Union Decline Based on Case Study Evidence
Authors: Grant David
Published: January 2008

This paper will provide a detailed account of what happened at two Japanese manufacturing transplants where single union/no strike deals (here on referred to as New Style Agreements) were in operation. The two transplants were in the UK consumer electronics sector and both had signed their New Style Agreements with the then Electrician's union the EETPU (now part of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union).
Trade Union Representation: The UK and Ireland in the European Context
Authors: Brewster Chris , Gunnigle Patrick , Morley Mike
Published: January 2008

This paper uses evidence from a major survey of employers (of more than 200 employees) with around 5000 respondents in 14 European countries to compare trade union representation at organisation level. It compares the situation in the UK and that in Ireland with the rest of Europe. The paper addresses trade union membership, trade union recognition and trade union influence. It also examines the locus of decision‐making on industrial relations within UK organisations and compares that too with Ireland and elsewhere in Europe and addresses the issue of human resource management (HRM). Finally, the paper attempts to locate the British and Irish situation within a European context.
The Legislative Reform of Union Government, 1979–93
Authors: Martin R. , Fosh P. , Morris H. , Smith P. , Undy R.
Published: January 2008

The paper analyses the legislation upon union government enacted by Conservative Governments since 1979 and discusses possible criteria for evaluating its success or otherwise.
Union Responses to the Introduction of Personal Contracts
Authors: Rowland Val , Robinson Izabela
Published: January 2008

A recent Court of Appeal ruling has highlighted the pitfalls of personal contract arrangements. It has indicated the need for employers to be careful to preserve individual employment rights when wanting to follow the increasing trend of dispensing with collective agreements and negotiating with employees individually. The ruling is a significant boost to trade union strategies by reinforcing individual rights to union membership.
Union Membership after Thatcher: Evidence from the National Child Development Study
Authors: Green Francis , Soper Jean
Published: January 2008

At the start of the 1990s trade unions were reeling from a decade of Thatcherism, in which their density amongst employees had been whittled down to 35% by 1990. Several explanations for the decline have vied for attention: the changing composition of industry and of the economy generally, with more part‐time work, fewer large‐scale establishments, the collapse of manufacturing industries and so on; the changing legal environment; the distinctly uncongenial macroeconomic environment, which with lowish inflation and mass unemployment was a discouragement to membership (see for example Disney, 1990; Green, 1991). Such explanations have varying implications for unions' future prospects. For example, if the changed level environment were the key factor, one would predict a further decline of union membership in the 1990s, unless there were a change of government and a wholesale repeal of Thatcherite trade union laws (which is not to be expected). A distinction has been drawn in the literature between the structural factors that determine the social context in which individual employees make their decisions with regard to union membership, and the varying preferences that individuals may have in favour of or against unions. Attempts have been made to show that despite years of attacks from Thatcherism, it is not so much the attitudes and commitment of workers to unions that has changed, as the opportunities that they face. Thus it is said that for many the reason that they left unions is because unions simply were not available at the new workplaces (Gallie, 1989).
Corporate Executives Express Need for Better Communication Between the Business World and Academia
Authors: Tucker Shirley H. , Hart Sara A. , Muehsam Mitchell J.
Published: January 2008

The increase in multinational companies and the rising level of global interdependency has brought to light the crucial need of producing business graduates who can successfully function and compete in an international society. It has become imperative that colleges of business not only produce graduates with all the qualities that make good managers in national companies but also with those qualities that will enable graduates to function in multinational companies. With multicultural employees increasing in number in American companies, international companies moving into the US, and US companies functioning internationally, it is imperative for today's business graduates to develop international business skills.
FACTORS THAT BIAS EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS
Authors: Gibbons Francis X. , Kleiner Brian H.
Published: January 2008

The fair evaluation of employees is crucial to the well being of the organisation, the manager and the employee. This article looks at four factors that have been shown to bias the appraisal process. These factors are the style of dress of the employee vis‐a‐vis the rater, the attributions made by both rater and ratee regarding performance, the prior expectations of the supervisor regarding the employee's performance, and the effect of employee grievances on his or her subsequent evaluations. These four factors are but four of many possible biases that enter into the evaluation process because of the human dynamic. They are instructive, but more importantly they should serve to alert appraisers to the many possible biases that may be operative in them but of which they are unaware.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH MBA RANKING SURVEYS?
Authors: Schatz Martin , Crummer Roy E.
Published: January 2008

The ranking of business schools has been a controversial subject for a number of years. It is only recently, however, that they have become popular and generally accepted. The Carter Report, the Ladd & Lipset Survey, and the survey of now defunct MBA Magazine all appeared in 1977. Carter used a measurement of the frequency with which the faculty published in academic journals as his basis to rank the schools, Ladd & Lipset questioned business school faculty about which schools they thought were best, and MBA Magazine had the deans of the business schools vote on the best programmes. Although those who were knowledgeable about business schools at the time were skeptical of the procedure, the results were not generally available to the public and, therefore, made little difference to the schools. In recent years, however, ranking of all colleges has become popular with the press, and has been highly publicised. As a matter of fact, one of the principal reasons for the rankings has been the ability of the articles to boost the circulation of the magazines.
LABOUR RELATIONS IN HUNGARY: MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR WESTERN INVESTORS
Authors: Chelminski Piotr , Chong John K.S.
Published: January 2008

Located in the heart of Europe, with a population of about 10.5 million people, Hungary is sometimes referred to as a jewel on the East European crown—at least, as far as international business is concerned (Dent, 1992). Although Hungary is a relatively small country, about the same size as the state of Indiana in America, it is generating a lot of interest among foreign investors because of its attractive business environment, especially when compared to the other newly emerged democracies of Eastern Europe.
The Technological Deficit of Spain
Authors: Pampill ón Rafael
Published: January 2008

In the technological balance of payments, annual flow of revenues (exports) and payments (imports) between a country and the remainder of the world is recorded as Technical Assistance and Royalties. By technical assistance is meant services provided, generally by engineers and technicians, for the design, setting up and operation of industrial plants and for the professional training of the workforce. The royalties are the payments or revenues by way of use, enjoyment and assignment of a patent.
Transportation Problem with Contractor Selection
Authors: Goyal S.K. , Gopalakrishnan M.
Published: January 2008

In this article we address the transportation logistic problem of a company which has a number of warehouses and has to supply to a number of customers (retailer outlets). The problem facing the decision maker is to select contractors to transport the items from warehouses to retailer outlets at the minimum possible costs. Only one contractor must be given a contract to transport items from a particular warehouse. However, all the contractors can provide transportation facilities at all the warehouses if required by the company. We formulate a math model to address this problem and solve it using a math programming software. The following selections deal with the model formulation and the solution.
Managing for Excellence in the Defence Industry Today
Authors: Toner John T. , Kleiner Brian H.
Published: January 2008

The defence industry has been widely criticised for selling six hundred dollar wrenches that may be purchased for under ten dollars at a local hardware store. Currently the United States Attorney General is conducting a major investigation of the contracting practices of civilian suppliers to the Department of Defence. The United States Congress has direct funding control of over two thousand individual budgetary line items and one hundred spending categories for the Department of Defence. Richard Cheney, Secretary of Defence, has submitted a budget request that includes $145 billion for products and services. Based upon previous studies (Packard, et al., 1986), this will generate over fifteen million separate contract actions by the government. With a history of problems, the defence industry needs to establish, nurture, and maintain excellence in organisations and personnel.
Motivational Practices at America's Best Managed Companies
Authors: Harris Chris , Kleiner Brian H.
Published: January 2008

Text book theories of motivation are abundant. Content theories such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's two factor theory or process theories such as expectancy theory and reinforcement theory are practiced in most American companies. The key difference between the best managed companies and other companies is their methods of implementation in their particular environment. Black and Decker, Lincoln Electric, Honeywell, Walmart, Dupont and Phillip Van Heusen are seven of America's best managed companies who use creativity and innovation to motivate employees.
Factors Affecting Consumer Risk Reduction: A Review of Current Evidence
Authors: Mitchell V‐W
Published: January 2008

In this paper, the main objective will be to discuss the factors which can influence the usage of risk reducing strategies found in the literature over the past 30 years. Some of the factors which have relatively consistent effects include age, socio‐economic group, education while other factors show complex effect e.g. self‐confidence, loss‐type and product risk. On the whole, the literature on risk reduction and how it is affected is unable to provide would‐be researchers with clear guidance for questionnaire construction and research design.
Whistle Blowing: Preventive Strategies
Authors: Tavakolian Hamid
Published: January 2008

Imagine working for a company that produces medical supplies. Suppose that one day, it is discovered that one of the products the firm produces could be harmful to a small segment of the population using that particular product. It is believed that knowingly producing and marketing this product is wrong and that something must be done. However, there are only three choices available: ignore the situation, report it internally within the organisation, or report it externally through channels such as the Justice Department or publicly exposing it to the news media (Barnett, 1992). This is an ethical dilemma faced by many employees every day. Each of the three choices holds both positive and negative consequences which will greatly determine the outcome of an individual's decision.
Escalation of Commitment in Groups and the Moderating Effects of Information Framing
Authors: Rutledge Robert W.
Published: January 2008

A manager who is responsible for making the initial decision to invest in a project will typically have a tendency to “over‐commit” additional resources to the project (Staw, 1976, 1981; Staw and Fox, 1977; Staw and Ross, 1978, 1980). This increased total investment can occur even when the project shows poor economic performance. The terms “escalation of commitment” or “escalation effects” are used to describe such investment tendencies.
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT: CAPITAL INVESTMENT PRIORITISATION IN THE UK
Authors: Appiah‐Adu Kweku , Morgan Robert E.
Published: January 2008

In order to fully appreciate the issues within this paper, a definitive framework is necessary so as to ensure clear semantic interpretation. Estate refers to property, possessions, capital or the collective assets and liabilities of a person and refers to large landed property. Investment is the giving up of a capital sum now in exchange for benefits to be received in the future. These will usually take the form of an income flow and/or capital gain (Enever, 1989). Real property is by definition essentially tangible. It is a legal interest in land and buildings classified as residential, commercial and including land (Littlefair, 1991).
Development Centres: Clues to Effectiveness
Authors: Goodge Peter
Published: January 2008

The article presents some surprising results on Development Centre use and effectiveness, e.g. on the widespread use of centres (even amongst smaller companies), the quite limited benefits of assessor training, and the effects of size.
The Enabling State: The Role of Markets and Contracts
Authors: Deakin Nicholas , Walsh Kieron
Published: January 2008

Contracts and markets have been crucial to the process of reinventing the public service in Britain which began a decade ago and is still in full flow. In this process the concept of contract is important as much as the basis of a new rhetoric and as a metaphor as it is as a formal legal mechanism. Relationships between different actors at all levels of government and outside it are being reconceptualised; and the metaphor of contract provides an ideal form which can be readily adapted to a whole range of situations and relationships.
‘Businessing’ Bureaucracy: entrepreneurial governance and public management
Authors: Du Gay Paul
Published: January 2008

The idea that public sector bureaucracies need reforming has achieved a somewhat axiomatic status. To what extent and in which direction remains a matter of some debate. In recent years, however, one particular approach has established a certain pre‐eminence and it is this approach which underpins many of the public sector reforms currently taking place across the advanced economies. This new modus operandi is often termed ‘entrepreneurial governance’ (Osborne and Gaebler, 1991).
Centralised Decentralisation: Education and Training in the Contract State
Authors: Vickerstaff Sarah , Ainley Pat
Published: January 2008

In this paper the development of the contract State and the unfolding of its many contradictions is assessed by the detailed consideration of education and training policy. Policy in these areas provide good case studies of the contract State for the following reasons. In Western Europe the link between education, training and economic performance have been hypothesised as crucial in an increasingly competitive and quality conscious world market place. Equally, education and training policies have implications for social and cultural development and therefore have a further ‘public good’ element. The public visibility of these issues and their significance for economic and social wellbeing makes it difficult for governments to deny some responsibility for ensuring the ‘system’ works effectively. In a comparison of different European approaches to these problems recent past British governments appear to be more resolutely free market than their neighbours, however, closer examination of policy suggests the development of new forms of state involvement through the contracting or franchising principle.
Management by Contract: Rhetoric and Reality in the NHS
Authors: Bennett Chris , Ferlie Ewan
Published: January 2008

For the past eight years the Centre for Corporate Strategy and Change has conducted a major stream of research looking at service change in the NHS and aspects of the implementation of the NHS reforms (Pettigrew, Ferlie and McKee, Ashburner, Ferlie and Fitzgerald, Bennett and Pettigrew, Ferlie and Bennett). This paper is based on the emerging findings from a new empirical study of the development of the process of contracting in the NHS.
Contrasts Between Public and Private Sector Managers in Britain and the Effects of the ‘Thatcher Years’
Authors: Poole Michael , Mansfield Roger , Martinez‐Lucio Miguel , Turner Bob
Published: January 2008

This paper involves an examination of public sector managers attitudes and reported behaviour, based on a longitudinal UK study, which broadly corresponds with the so‐called ‘Thatcher Years’. In Britain, the ‘Thatcherite critique’ of public enterprise has been fundamental in its consequences with ideological, economic and industrial relations components which are interrelated but which have had varying priorities attached to them at particular points in time. Above all, public ownership has been opposed because it has been seen to involve the government in economic functions which were considered properly to lie with individuals in the private sector. More specifically, too, public sector enterprises have been seen as inherently bureaucratic, as ‘crowding out’ enterprise, as being inefficient and costly and because of their monopolistic position (and consequent insulation from market and performance pressures) as being the seedbed of trade union power.
“Created Environments” and Public Management: A Preliminary Model of the Emerging Contract State
Authors: Sorabji Dick
Published: January 2008

During the last 15 years the British Government has led the world in implementing changes to the scope and operations of State controlled services. From 1987 the emphasis of these changes has shifted from attempts to reduce the scope of State activity, through Privatisation, towards attempts to change its nature through the introduction of competitive processes within State controlled services.
The Contract State: X‐Efficiency and Trust
Authors: McMaster Robert , Sawkins John W.
Published: January 2008

Economic theory emphasises the efficiency‐enhancing properties of the competitive imperative. In some way competition and efficiency are tautological. Comparatively recently some economists have, by applying economic techniques to essentially non‐market insitutions, questioned the efficacy of state provision. Their model suggests that the state is inherently inefficient, and that by extending the market mechanism to state activities efficiency improvements will follow. Over the past decade there has been a shift in emphasis in the role of the market mechanism in state activities, including the welfare state. Central government has adopted ambitious privatisation programmes popularised by the sell‐off of nationalised companies. Other forms of this adjustment in the role of the market in the state have included a shift in the state as a provider of welfare services to an enabler of welfare provision. This has several manifestations including competitive tendering of health and local authority activities, market testing, the regulation of privatised water provision, and the internal market in the NHS. The compelling arguments presented by those economists applying market techniques to state institutions seems to have struck a chord in Central Government.
Contracting for Training — Testing Some Theories of the Labour Market in South Birmingham
Authors: Bovaird Tony , Smith Dennis
Published: January 2008

There are a number of contesting theories about the failure of public‐sector policies for workforce training in post‐Fordist manufacturing industries, in a period of increasing marketisation of government training policy. This paper attempts to test the applicability of these theories in two major manufacturing companies in one locality in South Birmingham, building on previous work with these companies in the context of a localities research programme.