bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Geometry factor determination of round specimens using fracture mechanic approaches in Al 2024‐T3
Authors: Khoshnaw Fuad M. , Hussain Nazhad A.
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to characterize the fatigue behavior, such as fatigue strength, and stress intensity factor values of aluminum alloy type 2024‐T3, using only a round specimen. The aim in this study is to interrelate the fatigue behavior directly with the microstructure, as an attempt to reduce other parameters that might be associated in using different specimen geometries.

Design/methodology/approach

For this purpose, round specimens were machined from 2024‐T3, and the fatigue behavior was studied with various heat treatments. Two different temperatures were selected; 160 and 200°C, at different times. From stress‐number of cycles diagram, the fatigue strength is determined for the selected specimens. Moreover, the linear elastic fracture mechanic approach was used to determine threshold stress intensity factor, crack growth rate, and fracture toughness. A replica method is used for following and calculating the crack depth in round specimens. Moreover, theoretical equations and approaches have been carried out to evaluate the effect of specimen geometry (correction factor) on the results.

Findings

The results showed that the specimen aged at 160°C for five h develops greatest values of fatigue limit, ultimate strength, yield strength, and hardness. Moreover, the specimen aged at 200°C for 15 h develops greatest threshold stress intensity factor and fracture toughness.

Practical implications

The heat treatment does not have a strong influence on crack growth rate. Generally, the specimens, which develop greatest values of strength values, and HB, had lowestKth, andKICvalues and vice versa.

Originality/value

The LEFM approaches can be used even on round specimens to follow the crack growth rate instead of plates. A specific equation as a correction factor of geometry effect has been determined for round specimen.
Vibration of anti‐symmetric angle‐ply composite plates under random excitation
Authors: Dogan Vedat
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The transverse shear deformation and rotary inertia effects need to be included for an accurate analysis in the response of the relatively thick plates. This paper seeks to use, one of the refined theories which takes into account those effects, The First Order Shear Deformation Theory, to obtain linear and non‐linear responses for anti‐symmetric angle‐ply composite plates under random excitation.

Design/methodology/approach

The random excitation is assumed to be stationary, ergodic and Gaussian with zero‐mean. A Monte Carlo Simulation of stationary random process is used. A multi‐mode Galerkin approach and numerical integration procedure are employed to find linear and non‐linear response solutions. Laminated composite plate is taken to be simply‐supported along four edges.

Findings

The vibration of composite plates at elevated temperatures is also investigated. The linear and non‐linear deflections root‐mean‐square (RMS) are obtained for various input levels, the different lamination angles and the number of layers.

Practical implications

Further, case studies might lead to a lighter design of thick panels used in high‐performance systems such as aerospace structures.

Originality/value

The paper provides information on the linear and more realistic non‐linear vibrations of thick composite plates in time domain so that it would be possible to obtain key statistical information directly from time‐response history.
An adaptive unscented Kalman filter for quaternion‐based orientation estimation in low‐cost AHRS
Authors: Pourtakdoust S.H. , Ghanbarpour Asl H.
Published: August 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to develop an adaptive unscented Kalman filter (AUKF) formulation for orientation estimation of aircraft and UAV utilizing low‐cost attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS).

Design/methodology/approach

A recursive least‐square algorithm with exponential age weighting in time is utilized for estimation of the unknown inputs. The proposed AUKF tunes its measurement covariance to yield optimal performance. Owing to nonlinear nature of the dynamic model as well as the measurement equations, an unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is chosen against the extended Kalman filter, due to its better performance characteristics. The unscented transformation of the UKF is shown to equivalently capture the effect of nonlinearities up to second order without the need for explicit calculations of the Jacobians.

Findings

In most conventional AHRS filters, severe problems can occur once the system suddenly experiences additional acceleration, resulting in erroneous orientation angles. On the contrary in the high dynamic accelerative mode of the new proposed filter the errors would not suddenly increase, since the additional to cruise accelerations are being continuously estimated resulting in substantially more accurate orientation estimation. This feature causes the associated filter errors to gradually increase, in the event of continuous vehicle acceleration, up to a point of zero additional acceleration that subsequently causes a subsidence of the error back to zero.

Practical implications

The proposed filtering methodology can be implemented for orientation estimation of aircraft and UAV that are equipped with low‐cost AHRSs.

Originality/value

Traditional AHRS algorithms utilize the accelerometers output for the computation of roll and pitch angles and magnetometer output for the heading angle. Moreover, these angles are also calculated from the gyroscopes output as well, but with errors that increase with time. Of course for some applications of AHRS system, orientation errors can be damped out with a proportional‐integral controller. In such a case, the filter cut‐off frequency is usually selected experimentally. But, for high accelerating vehicles utilizing AHRS, the system errors can become very large. A possible remedy to this problem could be to use more advanced nonlinear filter algorithms such as the one proposed.
Controlling critical Reynolds number of parallel plate flow by boundary input
Authors: Kucur Murad , Uzal Erol
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The aim of this study is to modify the critical Reynolds number (Recr) which is the critical parameter of the transition from laminar to turbulence regime. The transition to turbulence is delayed by increasing the critical Reynolds number.

Design/methodology/approach

A method to control the critical Reynolds number of viscous flow between parallel plates with an imposed pressure gradient to infinitesimal harmonic disturbances is introduced. The method consists of introducing harmonic perturbations to the lower plate based on skin friction measurements at the upper plate. The size of the introduced harmonic perturbation is chosen to be proportional to the measured skin friction. The proportionality constant is the control parameter for the manipulation of the critical Reynolds number. The resulting eigenvalue problem, similar to the Orr‐Sommerfeld problem, is solved for various values of the control parameter.

Findings

Solution of the eigenvalue problem shows that the critical Reynolds number for the instability with respect to infinitesimal disturbances can be increased from 5,772.22 to 37,900.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates that it is theoretically possible to increase the critical Reynolds number of parallel plate flow from 5,772.22 to 37,900 by applying a small motion to the bottom plate, the amplitude of the motion being proportional to the skin friction measured at the upper plate.
Data association for target tracking by IR sensors
Authors: Li Chen , Han Chongzhao , Chen Huimin , Zhu Hongyan
Published: August 2007

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine the dynamic problem of associating measurements at a given period from several IR sensors in the presence of clutter, missed detections.

Design/methodology/approach

On the basis of a dynamic S‐D assignment algorithm, a new association algorithm for associating and tracking multiple targets is presented. By considering the special feature of the IR sensor, the dynamic assignment cost coefficient incorporates the radiation intensity information into the association process using a joint probabilistic model for the two separate sources of information (intensity and trajectory).

Findings

The simulation results show that the new algorithm can attain almost the same accuracy of tracking estimation with less computational load by utilizing special feature information of the IR sensor into dynamic S‐D assignment.

Research limitations/implications

There are still some parameters to be set in advance, which influence the estimate result to some extent. And the tracking stage follows the image processor, so the tracking performance is also related with the quality of images. Those problems will be considered deeply in the future research based on different maneuvering level of targets and the real tracking environment.

Practical implications

This new algorithm may be adopted by tracking systems based on passive sensors in the future.

Originality/value

This new algorithm utilizes more information and fairly small and stable errors in position and velocity can be obtained. At the same time, it decreases computational load.
A human‐centred design agenda for the development of single crew operated commercial aircraft
Authors: Harris Don
Published: August 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to make a case that with the appropriate use of human factors methods it is possible to design and develop a single crew commercial aircraft using largely existing technology.

Design/methodology/approach

From a review of the literature it is suggested that some of the functions of the non‐flying pilot would be better assumed by either onboard automation or ground‐based systems.

Findings

It is argued that the design of the flight deck and the role of the pilot require re‐conceptualising to accommodate the requirements for flying a highly automated aircraft single‐handed. With such re‐design, considerable efficiency gains will be achieved, but to fully realise these gains a system‐wide approach is required which extends beyond the design of the aircraft per se.

Research limitations/implications

This is only a high‐level thought piece to stimulate debate. Much greater consideration of all the issues raised is required, as is a change in regulatory requirements.

Practical implications

If implemented, the single crew aircraft could result in a revolution in air transport, offering considerable cost savings, especially on shorter routes with relatively small passenger loads.

Originality/value

A first attempt to use human factors as a design driver to produce operational and economic efficiency by the novel use of existing technologies spun‐out from other areas of aircraft development.
Leadership style, organizational politics, and employees' performance
Authors: Vigoda‐Gadot Eran
Published: August 2007

Purpose

This study aims to examine perceptions of politics among public sector employees as a possible mediator between the supervisor's leadership style and formal and informal aspects of employees' performance (Organizational Citizenship Behavior – OCB).

Design/methodology/approach

The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) was distributed to employees of a public security organization in Israel (N=201), asking them to evaluate their supervisor's style of leadership. Employees were also asked to report their perceptions of organizational politics using the scale developed by Kacmar and Ferris. In addition, supervisors provided objective evaluations of the levels of their employees' in‐role performance and OCB. The intra‐structure of the leadership variable was examined by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with structural equation modeling. Two alternative models were examined: first, a model of mediation and second, a direct model with no mediation.

Findings

The research resulted in mixed findings that only partially support the mediating effect of organizational politics on the relationship between leadership, in‐role performance and OCB. A direct relationship between leadership and performance (in‐role and OCB) was also found.

Research limitations/implications

The differences between the models do not allow clear answers as to the mediating or direct effect of organizational politics in the relationship between leadership and performance. The implications on causality are also limited.

Practical implications

Managers should recognize the advantages and disadvantages of different leadership styles as these may affect organizational politics and eventually, formal performance and organizational citizenship behaviors.

Originality/value

The findings of this paper contribute to the understanding of the relationships between leadership, performance, and politics in the workplace and in the public sector in particular.
What can occupational stress diaries achieve that questionnaires can't?
Authors: Clarkson Gail P. , Hodgkinson Gerard P.
Published: August 2007

Purpose– The paper aims to demonstrate the efficacy of the qualitative occupational stress diary as a means by which to attain additional depth of insight into the way people experience stress, to foster individual reflection and self‐assessment, and as an aid to the development of context sensitive interventions.Design/methodology/approach– Using a free response format, a critical incident diary was completed by 15 clerical workers, employed in a higher education organisation, over five consecutive working days.Findings– The factors constituting causes and consequences of occupational stress were cognitively framed differently from one day to the next and it is unlikely that these insights would have been attained had we employed a series of preformed quantitative response scales. The diary facilitated self‐reflection and was reported to have cathartic qualities.Research implications/limitations– There is a need for context specific, tailored intervention measures. Accumulation of corroborating descriptions of how people respond to specific stressors will contribute to the development of such measures. The work reported now needs to be extended to larger groups and over longer periods to identify the most frequently used coping strategies, and which are most efficacious in a given situation.Practical implications– The qualitative occupational stress diary is a simple but powerful self‐reflective tool, which may lead to therapeutic outcomes.Originality/value– A growing number of researchers are critical of the practical influence of quantitative measures of occupational stress and coping. The study illustrates how the qualitative occupational stress diary might usefully complement traditional methods for research and intervention purposes.
Workplace boredom coping: health, safety, and HR implications
Authors: Game Annilee M.
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how people cope with boredom at work, and whether differences in “boredom coping” effectiveness are associated with differences in employee well‐being, and safety behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used two methods to gather information for this paper. Employees in a chemical processing organisation (n=212) completed a survey of individual boredom coping levels, self‐reported safety compliance, and a range of well‐being variables. Also, critical incident interviews with a sub‐sample of survey respondents (n=16) elicited strategies that employees use to cope with boredom at work.

Findings

High boredom‐copers reported better well‐being and greater compliance with organisational safety rules compared with low boredom‐copers. Relative to low boredom‐copers, high boredom‐copers tended to cope with boredom in ways that were more functional for themselves and the organisation.

Research limitations/implications

Because the research was exploratory and cross‐sectional conclusions are necessarily tentative. However, the findings add to the scant body of knowledge about workplace boredom and serve as a useful guide to future research.

Practical implications

This approach offers new insights into how the negative effects of boredom might be managed in future, both individually and organisationally. Training in boredom coping skills, in conjunction with job redesign initiatives, may help to reduce the frequency and impact of boredom at work.

Originality/value

Boredom at work is an important yet neglected area of human resource management research. The present study is the first to examine the construct of “boredom coping” at work and to demonstrate a potential link between differences in boredom coping tendency and employee health and safety outcomes.
Employee reactions to human resource management and performance in a developing country
Authors: Ghebregiorgis Fitsum , Karsten Luchien
Published: August 2007

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine employee reactions to human resource management (HRM) and performance. It placed employees on a centre stage in analysing HRM to provide theoretical insights.

Design/methodology/approach

To explore the theme, a survey of 252 employees drawn from eight organisations was conducted. Furthermore, on‐site interviews were carried out with managers, thereby contributing to the generalisability of the findings.

Findings

The findings from the study indicate a positive attitude of employees to HRM practices, such as promotion from within, staffing, equal employment opportunity, quality of training, reasonable compensation and paid vacation and sick days. Moreover, the evidence also shows that productivity has been increasing while employee turnover, absenteeism, and grievances are low. However, the evidence also reveals that training was not integrated in a planned way to employee career development.

Research limitations/implications

The present study adds to a growing literature that helps the understanding of HRM policies and practices in a developing country context. Future research would benefit from additional research in this area in other geographical settings to better understand the generalisability of the findings reported.

Originality/value

In contrast with previous research, which has predominantly been conducted from a managerial perspective, this article deals with employee perceptions. This emphasises the importance of exploring employee reactions towards HRM practices, policies and other aspects of firm life.
An investigation into pay communication: is ignorance bliss?
Authors: Day Nancy E.
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The paper's purpose is to investigate the relationships between pay communication and referent choice, pay satisfaction and pay equity perceptions.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 149 employed graduate business students from a variety of organizations were surveyed at two different times, first to assess dependent variables (pay satisfaction and pay equity perceptions), and second to measure perceived pay policies.

Findings

Contrary to predictions, increased pay communication was not associated with referent choice, and referent choice was unrelated to pay attitudes. Pay communication was also unassociated with pay satisfaction. However, increased pay communication was found to be negatively related to pay equity perceptions.

Research limitations/implications

A two‐questionnaire survey methodology was designed to minimize the possibility of common method variance. Because few employers communicate about pay, there was restriction of range for this independent variable, perhaps constraining results. However, the use of multiple employers, even in this student population, constitutes a meaningful sample.

Practical implications

Employers should be cautious about what pay information they provide to their employees, since this study suggests that increased pay communication results in lower pay equity perceptions.

Originality/value

Research in this area is extremely limited and thus this paper provides a strong foundation for further investigation.
Re‐vitalising learning and development?
Authors: Cassell Catherine , Lee Bill
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to provide a piece of empirical work that examines the impact of trade union learning representatives in enabling access to learning by those groups traditionally less likely to access such opportunities. This aim is discussed in relation to the literature on the significance of organizational learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The research conducted included an in‐depth qualitative interview study of full‐time trade union officials with some responsibility for learning in their union.

Findings

The findings are discussed in relation to how trade union learning representatives are approaching their role; how learning is being facilitated; who is gaining access to learning and how; and the ownership of learning more generally.

Originality/value

The paper presents original data on a new learning initiative about which very little is currently published.
Annual hours working in Britain
Authors: Gall Gregor , Allsop David
Published: August 2007

Purpose

This paper seeks to investigate the extent of the implementation of annual hours working in Britain and its impact upon employers, organisations and employees.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper deploys secondary data and sources to establish an overview of the salient issues.

Findings

Although there has been a growth in the extent of annual hours worked in the last decade, the rate of growth has slowed. This is related to the reduction in extant organisations that may consider introducing annual hours in tandem with the problems associated with annual hours worked.

Research limitations/implications

Issues of working time remain a key area of contestation between employers and employees, particularly as in recent years coercive competitive pressures on organisations have increased whilst a discourse about ‘family‐friendly’ working time polices has also emerged.

Practical implications

The plaudits of management consultants and policy groups concerning annual hours worked are revealed to be rather one‐sided, with considerable problems emerging for employers and employees alike.

Originality/value

Brings together an array of data to build up an analysis of annual hours worked.
Reconceptualising line management in project‐based organisations
Authors: Bredin Karin , Söderlund Jonas
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The aim of the article is to analyse HR devolution from HR departments to the line. Two important problems are addressed. The first problem concerns the disregard for the changes in line management that comes with HR devolution. The second problem addressed deals with the lack of studies of organisational contingencies.

Design/methodolgy/approach

The paper presents and analyses an in‐depth case study of a radically projected firm within the Tetra Park group where a new HR‐oriented management role has been created to replace the traditional line management role. Based on the case study findings, the paper elaborates on the new approach to line management and how a new management role is moulded in the context of project‐based organisations.

Findings

Based on literature studies, the paper identifies four key challenges for HRM in project‐based organisations that are critical for the development of the new approach to line management in such settings. Based on case study observations, it analyses the creation of a new management role – the so called “competence coach” – in project‐based organisation within the Tetra Park group. It argues that the new approach adopted points to the need of breaking out of traditional conceptions of line management, and of developing the concept of an HR‐oriented management role that is a legitimate player in the HR organisation of a firm.

Originality/value

The paper provides a rich case description of a project‐based firm in a HRM perspective. The descriptions and the analysis give practical as well as theoretical implications of HRM issues that arise in project‐based firms, and of changes in line management as a way of developing the capabilities to handle these issues.
The effect of enforcement on human resources practices
Authors: Andonova Veneta , Zuleta Hernando
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect that weak enforceability of property rights has on the human resource practices of firms operating in hostile business environment.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper questions the role of the state as the only provider of stability and guarantor of property rights and hypothesizes that it is not governments, which tend to be weak in weak institutional settings, but private firms that act as the main force behind the protection of entrepreneurial investments. The approach consists in developing a case study about a farm (Hacienda Gavilanes) in rural Colombia.

Findings

It is found that incentives together with inclusive human resources practices and empowerment are among those strategic arrangements that contribute most to the survival and sustainability of the farm today in a setting where legal enforceability is precarious. The replication of this policy might not be easy, however, because it requires a profound shift in the way landowners perceive workers in rural Colombia and many other parts of the world.

Originality/value

The case presented in this paper provides valuable lessons beyond Latin America for other developing countries with similarly fragile governments and economic environments.
Latent premises of labor contracts: paternalism and productivity
Authors: Rodriguez Dario , Rios Rene
Published: August 2007

Purpose

Labor contracts are built on the basis of different latent premises about expectations of the organizations and the workers. Paternalism is widespread in Latin America, and its diverse forms should be taken into account in the design of HR policies and management practices. The paper seeks to compare two Chilean banks and show that different forms of paternalism exist. As long as the organization is consistent with the premises it works with, productivity is not hindered by either form.

Design/methodology/approach

By means of a case study two banks's contractual premises are compared. Each one represents a different set of cultural expectations for the labor contracts.

Findings

Paternalistic and non paternalistic premises for labor contracts differ widely, but as long as the organization is coherent with them in its human resources policies and practices, productivity can be achieved indistinctively.

Research limitations/implications

The cases are representative of main types of organization's labor contracts, but not statistically representative. Generalizations are possible insofar as other organizations show similar cultural pre‐contractual premises.

Practical implications

Human resource management policies and practices need to be consistent with the premises underlying the labor contract and the social bond in order to allow for productivity increases.

Originality/value

Paternalism is still present in Latin American organizations, instead of dismissing it as traditional or premodern, acknowledging it will allow for organizations to act more realistically towards its labor force.
Managing people in radical changes (M&As)
Authors: Tanure Betania , Gonzalez‐Duarte Roberto
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to look at why and how HRM may take on a more strategic role within mergers and acquisitions (M&As) processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses the ABN AMRO Bank case. The Dutch bank first acquired one of the largest Brazilian banks and, later, the Brazilian subsidiary of an Italian bank. The paper seeks to understand to what extent the successful integration of the acquired banks by the acquiring one was determined by the consistency among three factors: the determining reason for the acquisition; the integration strategy adopted; and the HRM policies for the management of people.

Findings

The case has evidenced that, in processes of radical change, such as acquisitions, the president, as well as the top management of the acquiring company, has a critical role of establishing an understanding that people constitute, in fact, a key asset of the company, thereby opening avenues for HRM to assume a strategic role within companies.

Practical implications

Even though the HR managers should seek to undertake a more active and strategic role in M&As, contributing effectively to the performance of the organization, their actions are shaped by the consistency between discourse and practice of CEOs regarding the importance of people within organizations. Any disparity between this discourse and practice is likely to affect the role played by HRM within organizations.

Originality/value

This paper will be valuable for those attempting to link both streams of literature – HRM and post‐acquisition integration.
Psychological contracts and performance management in Mexico
Authors: Davila Anabella , Elvira Marta M.
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to use psychological contracts theory to explore performance management practices in Mexico paying particular attention to the impact of national culture, social and structural factors.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the content of psychological contracts from the viewpoint of both parties in the employment relationship – managers and employees – in the context of performance appraisals. It conducted focus groups and interviews at these two organizational levels in three different organizations.

Findings

Findings are organized around three themes: performance appraisal systems, the promises (fulfilled and unfulfilled) and the sources of terms and conditions as the content of psychological contracts for managing and participating in performance evaluation systems. For each theme the paper presents and contrasts the viewpoints of managers and employees.

Practical implications

Because of the sensitive cultural nature of performance appraisals, the findings help managers implement this process by explaining the underlying psychological contracts in Mexico. Specifically, employees experience the socio‐emotional behaviors that accompany performance evaluation and engage in the process at different levels of commitment. Both managers and employees respond according to their needs and what they perceive to be the company's reward.

Originality/value

Performance appraisal has received little attention from studies of psychological contracts, though it is a key practice in which work promises and rewards related to performance are made. In this study, the paper brings these two research streams together and apply it to a culturally unique setting.
Risk, safety and culture in Brazil and Argentina: the case of TransInc Corporation
Authors: Perez‐Floriano Lorena R. , Gonzalez Jorge A.
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show how employees' work cultural values in three cities of two different South American countries (Buenos Aires, Sao Paolo, and Rio de Janeiro) differ, and how these differences are related to the manner in which people perceive risk and construe the meaning of danger.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 220 line employees of a multinational enterprise in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires participated in this study. The paper compared the means of reported job satisfaction and cultural values among the cities. Furthermore, regressions are used for cultural values on perceptions of risks from job hazards.

Findings

There are different cultural values across the cities. These cultural values are associated with the manner people understand risk and respond to risk management programs. This could eventually influence the success of the implementation of safety management programs.

Research limitations/implications

This is a study carried out in a single organization within the transportation industry. Managers and scholars must be careful in generalizing these findings across geographical locations and industries.

Practical implications

The findings challenge the assumption that safety‐training methods can be applied indiscriminately in every country without taking into account national culture and intra‐national subculture differences.

Originality/value

This study explores the importance of culture in the transfer and administration of US‐made safety programs to South America within the context of the high‐risk transportation industry segment. Its findings are important for multinational enterprises concerned with the safety of workers in high‐risk industries.
e‐HRM in Mexico: adapting innovations for global competitiveness
Authors: Olivas‐Lujan Miguel R. , Ramirez Jacobo , Zapata‐Cantu Laura
Published: August 2007

Purpose

Using information and communication technologies to deliver human resource services (also known as e‐HRM) has become an important strategy for firms seeking to achieve a competitive advantage. A case‐based study was carried out with the purpose of investigating how four of the most competitive Mexican firms are implementing their e‐HRM strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature from e‐HRM and human resource management in Latin America is reviewed and integrated. Four case studies developed in Mexican firms are depicted.

Findings

Evidence suggests that, to fully understand the way e‐HRM is used in firms from emerging economies, it is important to take into consideration local idiosyncrasies.

Originality/value

This study integrates Latin American dimensions of HR management in the study of e‐HRM, a budding research stream that is under‐investigated in emerging countries.
Aracruz Celulose: best practices icon but still at risk
Authors: Osland Asbjorn , Osland Joyce S.
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this case study is to illustrate the global risks facing an award‐winning company known for best practices in sustainability and HRM that, nevertheless, is challenged by a contentious land dispute with indigenous communities and numerous stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a case study based primarily on secondary sources, such as reports and web sites of the company and its stakeholders.

Findings

Aracruz Celulose SA, a Brazilian pulp company founded by a Norwegian, owns legal title to land claimed by indigenous communities. As a result, they face a complex array of additional stakeholders with contradictory perspectives: local and international non‐governmental organizations, various Brazilian and Norwegian Government entities, the World Bank, and investors. The company runs the risk of losing land and assets, reputation, and investors. There are few simple solutions to the dilemma of unresolved property rights and agrarian reform problematic in much of Latin America. Even Aracruz's hoped – for court ruling may not guarantee an end to conflict without a creative solution.

Research limitations/implications

The controversy is ongoing and the outcomes are not yet determined. Based on one case, limited generalizations can be made.

Originality/value

Numerous best practices in the operational areas under a company's control cannot completely protect firms from risks related to larger societal dilemmas and the need to negotiate win‐win solutions with stakeholders.
Contextualising new modes of governance in activation policies
Authors: Borghi Vando , van Berkel Rik
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The first part of the paper aimed to interpret the changes addressed by the concepts of governance and activation in their context, in order to grasp the larger picture of the societal transformation underlying them: the starting point is the assumption that new modes of governance in activation policies are a fruitful entry point for effectively understanding deep waves of change of contemporary society. The second part aims to briefly introduce the papers included in this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper insists on a perspective according to which there are two main dimension characterising the context of addressed transformations: the paradoxical torsion of the historical process of individualisation in the new spirit of capitalism; the profound redesign of the institutional programme, implying a new horizon for the instances of publicness.

Findings

Different and contradictory trends are pointed out in the actual pursuing of objectives of governance and activation, as far as the process of individualisation and the redesign of publicness are concerned. The impossibility of finding an abstract and universal evaluation of these transformations and the necessity of situated empirical inquiries are stressed.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates the relevance of deepening the normative underlying dimensions (with regard to individualisation and publicness) of social processes for a better understanding of concrete transformations (specifically: operational and substantive changes introduced by new modes of governance in activation policies).
The “double dynamics” of activation
Authors: Newman Janet
Published: August 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to explore activation policy as a condensate for new forms of governance in respect of welfare institutions and in relation to welfare subjects. It asks how far apparently similar concepts – contractualisation, individuation, personalisation – can be applied to the governance of institutions and the governance of persons.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on a model of different governance regimes to trace different dynamics at stake in the shift to activation policy.

Findings

Tensions in the dynamics of the transformation of welfare governance around notions of activation are highlighted. It is also argued that different reconfigurations of power are at stake in the governance of institutions and the governance of persons. Finally tensions between notions of active, activist and activation conceptions of citizenship are traced.

Research limitations/implications

The paper challenges a govermentality perspective in which managerial discourses are assumed to have similar consequences for institutions and for persons, so drawing attention to the importance of context.

Practical implications

Limited value

Originality/value

This paper makes an original contribution to the field by tracing a number of different dynamics at stake in activation policy rather than assuming a coherent shift from earlier forms of welfare regime.
The government of activation policies by EU institutions
Authors: Serrano Pascual Amparo , Crespo Suárez Eduardo
Published: August 2007

Purpose

This contribution, using EU institutions' legitimacy‐seeking procedures as an analytical framework, aims to discuss the political traps of EU governance processes taking place in EU bodies in pursuit of a new institutionalisation of the Lisbon strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is in the form of a discursive analysis.

Findings

The discursive analysis shows the hegemony of two disciplines and approaches: economy and psychology. These will be shown to be interconnected, as they have together contributed to the depoliticisation of responses to current economic demands and social reforms and to the repoliticisation of individuals (contribution to an identity production policy). This “multi‐level governance process” which characterises the regulation of the EES by EU institutions might be transformed into a project of multi‐level governance without political government.

Originality/value

The paper looks at the process of seeking responses to the labour market crisis within Europe.
Governing the activation of older workers in the European Union
Authors: Carmel Emma , Hamblin Kate , Papadopoulos Theo
Published: August 2007

Purpose

This paper seeks to evaluate the EU's “active ageing” agenda as a governance strategy for the activation of older workers, and its impact on the regulation both of those who make, and those who are the objects of, policy. This case study is used to reflect more broadly on the implications of governance strategies for the regulation of social subjects in the European Union (EU).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a model of governance comprising two dimensions, namely formal policy (policy aims) and operational policy (policy means). This model is used to explain how and to what effect, discourses and institutions interact in EU governance to produce particular forms of social subject regulation; in this case, activation.

Findings

For the operational dimension, the paper explores how contradictions and tensions within and between employment, pensions and social inclusion policies are reflected in, and the products of, a re‐allocation of responsibilities between the EU, member states, social partners, and individuals. For the formal dimension, it explains how employment for older workers is constructed as having a different meaning to the employment of other workers, and how EU discourse on active ageing disguises crucial inequalities between groups of older workers, both pre‐ and post‐retirement.

Research implications/limitations

The paper concludes that active ageing policy in the EU institutes a new category of social subject, apparently eliding the former distinction between employment and retirement, namely the “activated retiree”.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates the efficacy of the two‐dimensional approach to the empirical analysis of governance strategies and identifies how key tensions in the production of EU social policies directly impact on the regulation of social subject categories in the EU.
The impact of contractualism in social policies
Authors: Bonvin Jean‐Michel , Moachon Eric
Published: August 2007

Purpose

This article's purpose is to analyse the current transformations of public action in two main respects: on the one side the relationships between individuals and institutions and their recent evolutions, on the other, the new contractual or market‐like ways of designing and implementing public action. This twofold transformation and the extent to which it represents a deep‐seated revolution or a more limited recalibration of the public realm are to be investigated against the case of Swiss active labour market policies.

Design/methodology/approach

This issue is examined through the design of a theoretical and normative typology, which is then applied to the case of active labour market policies in Switzerland, based on an in‐depth empirical investigation (more than 50 interviews with field actors).

Findings

The emergence of new modes of governance coincides with the promotion of market solutions to unemployment, thus leading to a conception of welfare and its individual beneficiaries as subordinate to labour market requirements.

Research limitations/implications

The empirical part of this paper focuses on one specific case, the Swiss ALMPs. Further research is needed for a more general assessment of the issue.

Originality/value

One key element of the approach is the link made between substantial and procedural issues related to recent evolutions in the field of social integration policies. In the authors' view substantial and organisational aspects of the political process should be studied jointly.
Individualised service provision in an era of activation and new governance
Authors: Borghi Vando , van Berkel Rik
Published: August 2007

Purpose

This article aims to discuss the individualisation trend in the provision of social services, focusing on activation services specifically.

Design/methodology/approach

The individualisation trend in the provision of activation services is analysed against the background of public sector as well as social sector as well as social policy reforms: the introduction of new modes of governance and the rise of the active welfare state respectively.

Findings

Concrete manifestations of individualised service provision are often based on various interpretations of individualisation and reflect different meanings of citizens’ participation, and refer to different modes – or rather, mixes of different modes – of governance. The general argument of the article is illustrated and elaborated by analysing three national case studies of individualised service provision in the context of activation: the UK, The Netherlands and Finland.

Originality/value

The trend that is analysed in the article – individualised service provision – is very clearly present in welfare state reforms, but has thus far not received much attention in academic literature.
The role of social distance in sharecropping efficiency
Authors: Bhandari Ravi
Published: August 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the role of culture in general, and social distance in particular, in influencing the choice and efficiency of various contractual modes in developing country agriculture. It aims to focus on sharecropping, but the model of social distance can be applied to any contract, mainly those in close‐knit village societies.

Design/methodology/approach

Principal components analysis (PCA) is used in the study to develop a social distance index for all sharecroppers, which is included as an independent variable in land productivity ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions.

Findings

Findings indicate social distance is a key determinant in sharecropping efficiency for marginal tenant farmers in rural Nepal. Specifically, social distance is found to be a significant factor in explaining land productivity differentials between owned land and sharecropped land.

Research limitations/implications

Future research hopes to see whether social distance is also a significant factor in the efficiency and choice of bonded labor contracts. It intends to use simple OLS regressions for sharecroppers and bonded laborers separately in which: input use and land productivity are separate dependent variables, and the various factors or proxies of social distance are independent variables to test for their particular impact; each type of contract is the dependent variable to see the extent to which social distance affects the choice of tenancy; and social distance is the dependent variable so one can see the specific impact of different proxies. Given the small sample (although representative), the strong results in this paper are limited.

Practical implications

From a policy standpoint, the results suggest that a relatively egalitarian agrarian structure, insofar as it results in lower social distances among parties to land and labor contracts, would have a positive impact on productivity. Therefore, the object of agrarian reforms should not be to alter or constrain the form of contracts (for example by banning sharecropping) but rather to improve the social relations among contracting parties.

Originality/value

This paper is original and provides value in three ways: a conceptually and theoretically innovative model that explains sharecropping efficiency independent of standard explanations of market imperfections, transaction costs, and risk; in developing a new measure of social distance that allows the data to determine the weights of the independent variables in constructing social distance; and to see the need to more importantly study the changing social relations on which contracts are based and are often only one element of.