bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Challenges of Developing, Implementing, and Evaluating Interventions
Authors: Noblet Andrew J. , LaMontagne Anthony D.
Published: September 2009

This article discusses the practical challenges and difficulties in introducing and evaluating organizational interventions. Its overall purpose is to examine the key steps involved in planning, implementing, and evaluating organizational well-being interventions and identify the major challenges confronting coordinators at each stage of the program planning, implementation, and evaluation cycle. It draws on the literature to identify the strategies coordinators can employ to help overcome these challenges. The intervention development and evaluation framework presented in this article, as well as the likely challenges and suggested means of addressing these challenges, have been largely informed by the workplace health promotion and organizational development literature. These disciplines are underpinned by guiding principles and values that have influenced both the content of the planning framework and the methods for overcoming key challenges.
Organizational Coaching and Mentoring
Authors: Passmore Jonathan , Anagnos Jodie
Published: September 2009

This article focuses on the extent to which personal development activities, such as mentoring and coaching, can enhance well-being, individual performance, and lead to positive organizational outcomes. It starts by exploring the differences between coaching and mentoring, where the different approaches are being used and the potential of each to address individual and organizational needs. Then, it moves on to consider the development of both over the past decade, the growing evidence, and the potential impact, with a particular focus on coaching models and coach/mentor behavior. This is drawn together in a model for coaching/mentoring and the article finally ends with a series of questions which still remain to be answered about the efficacy of the two interventions.
Climato‐economic Niches of Employee Well‐Being
Authors: Van De Vliert Evert
Published: September 2009

This article tells a fairy tale of how humans cope with climate, use money to do so, and end up happy and healthy. It starts off with a brief overview of individual and cross-national differences in well-being and of their economic roots. At the lowest level, each employee adapts his or her own well-being to a mosaic of work conditions, group characteristics, and organizational circumstances, which is perhaps hardly shaped by climate and wealth. At the highest level, each nation's entire workforce adapts its well-being to the overarching climato-economic niche within which all work has to be performed. This article contains a discussion of climato-economic traces in organizations, which might well be generalizable to how the national workforce experiences life as a whole and well-being in organizations as a major part of it.
The Point is Not Just to Explain the World but to Change It
Authors: Cox Robert W.
Published: September 2009

This article argues that the study of international relations should focus first on the key issues affecting the biological survival of the human race; and then on the pursuit of justice in the condition of peoples, which is essential to maintaining their support for a survivable world order. A short list of priorities would include: survival of the biosphere; avoidance of nuclear war; moderating the rich/poor gap; assuring protection for the most vulnerable people; and effective arrangements for negotiating conflict resolution. The point for us now is to try to understand the world as people are making it so as to gain some control over where we are going; and to forgo speculation about an immanent logic of history that will turn out to be an illusion.
Realism
Authors: Wohlforth William C.
Published: September 2009

The academic study of international relations can be considered a debate about realism. Realism provides a foil against which many other schools of thought define themselves and their contributions. Take realism out of the picture and the identities of these other schools as well as the significance of their arguments become much less clear. The study of international politics thus is in an important sense inexplicable without a grounding in realism. Gaining such a grounding, however, is harder than it seems. Precisely because realism is so influential, it is also systematically misunderstood. Whether favourably or unfavourably disposed toward realist ideas and theories, scholars face powerful incentives to make realism into something it is not. As a result, many of the most popular criticisms of realism miss the mark. This article attempts to set the record straight. It argues that the notion that realism can and should be reduced to a single, internally consistent, and logically coherent theory is the taproot of the greatest misunderstanding.
The Ethics of Marxism
Authors: Rengger Nicholas
Published: September 2009

This article focuses on the ethics of Marxism in international relations. Given that Marxism's relationship to ethics is much more complex than it appears on the surface, the article seeks to lay out the character of that relationship, to emphasize certain key features of Marxist thinking in relation to the ethics of international relations — not all of which are necessarily congruent with one another — and then, finally, to point to the fundamental problem with the Marxist tradition in thinking about the ethics of international relations in particular and indeed, the social world in general. It explores whether it is likely that Marxism, as an independent tradition of thought, has, can, or will offer serious points of departure for ethical reflection on international relations — and later suggests that it cannot. Nonetheless, as a contributor to ethical reflection on international relations, Marxism indeed offers some important and arresting insights.
The Ethics of the English School
Authors: Cochran Molly
Published: September 2009

The English School understands ethics to be central to the study of world politics. However, the English School never aimed to evaluate the moral appropriateness of the choices made by statesmen. The evaluative conclusions drawn by the English School were few. For much of its history, any judgments made by these writers were limited to what they believed necessary to responsible international society management. Today, English School scholars are asking whether international society is viable as a moral concern. However, in doing so, both the long shadow of moral scepticism and the School's recourse to empiricism remain. This article argues that the extent to which the English School tradition can demonstrate promise as an approach to international ethics will rest on whether it develops criteria for moral-philosophical judgment that are workable within the themes and concerns of English School thought. The article addresses the following issues: the extent of the horizon of ethical possibility which exists within international society according to the English School; the degree to which these notions have changed over time within the tradition; and, regarding the concepts of ethics employed within this tradition, one more minimal and one more maximal, the best way to define the English School. In the course of this discussion, reference is made to the relationship of the English School to other approaches such as realism and critical theory, and their conceptions of international ethics.
Critical Theory
Authors: Shapcott Richard
Published: September 2009

This article provides an overview of the most important elements of the critical theory of international relations. Any inquiry into critical international relations theory has to distinguish at least two central components. The first is the epistemological and methodological, what it says about theory; and the second is the normative and substantive, what it says about the world. In other words, ‘why do we study international relations and how do we study international relations’? The article demonstrates this by examining, first, the nature of the critical theory theoretical project and how it differs from and challenges mainstream conceptions of international relations; and secondly, the contributions that have been made by critical international relations theory so far. It begins with a brief discussion of the origins of critical theory and critical international relations theory before examining the major claims and achievements.
The Ethics of Postmodernism
Authors: Lawler Peter
Published: September 2009

This article argues that contemporary post-structuralist international relations scholarship does not cohere tidily with progressivist orthodoxy as developed within long-standing lines of antirealist and nonrealist thinking. Herein lies perhaps a key reason for the ongoing hostility toward post-structuralist scholarship, on ethics in particular, within the international relations field. The distinction between other strands of critical thought and post-structuralist or deconstructionist thinking arises particularly in the latter's preference for localized, contingent responses to ethically troubling cases, rather than the erection of transnational processes or institutions designed to dispense justice according to supposedly universal norms or codes of conduct. The idea of an inescapable ethical responsibility to others certainly looms large in post-structuralist writing. However, while being global in its reach, it pointedly does not appeal to a universal conception of human subjectivity or a notion of solidarity that presumes ‘we [are] all potentially or imaginary citizens of a great state’.
The Ethics Of Feminism
Authors: True Jacqui
Published: September 2009

Feminist perspectives on international relations are explicitly and positively normative. Together with feminists in other fields, international relations feminists seek to understand existing gender relations — the dominance of masculinities over femininities — in order to transform how they work at all levels of social, political, and economic life. More recently, feminists have given an explicit account of their alternative methodological approaches to research on global politics. However, the axiological dimension of feminist international relations is still relatively underdeveloped. In particular, there is little scholarship that translates feminist theory into guidelines for ethical conduct by state and nonstate actors in international relations. International relations feminists share a praxis-oriented normative theory — consciously building theory from practice and to guide political practice — but their normative approaches are plural. They differ over the philosophical grounds for their knowledge of gendered international reality, the theoretical location and centrality of gender as an analytic category in the study of international relations, and, on the basis of these, their prescriptions for ethical conduct. This article explores these differences among international relations feminisms and their significance for international relations theory. It also considers the debates between feminist and other international relations perspectives, often construed as one-way conversations.
Methodological Individualism and Rational Choice
Authors: Kydd Andrew H.
Published: September 2009

This article discusses the concept of methodological individualism and rational choice (MIRC). MIRC strives to explain international events by positing individuals, states, or substate actors, with fixed preferences and identities, who rationally adjust their beliefs and strategies in response to the information they receive and the strategies pursued by other actors. MIRC derives tremendous legitimacy from its relationship to the two strongest belief structures in the world today, liberalism in the normative sphere and science in the positive sphere. It draws further strength because it presents a unified (at the level of assumptions) body of theory that can be generalized and extended to new issue areas with relative ease. Ironically, for a scientific movement, it is on weakest grounds empirically; confirmation of its findings has been difficult. However, nontrivial empirical regularities have proved very difficult to find for any theory in international relations; typically the more precise and falsifiable the theory, the more resoundingly falsified it is. Given the difficulty in establishing robust law-like findings in international relations, strong theoretical frameworks such as MIRC will continue to be useful in the discipline.
Quantitative Approaches
Authors: Mansfield Edward D. , Pevehouse Jon C. W.
Published: September 2009

This article surveys quantitative research on international relations, tracking its development and assessing the contribution that this body of literature has made. The aim is to analyze how quantitative work has informed some key debates in the field of international relations. It concludes with three observations about the use of these methods. First, quantitative analyses are now increasingly common in the field. The use of statistical techniques started during the Cold War, but the end of the superpower rivalry corresponded with a sharp increase in both the amount of quantitative research and the topics on which this research focused. Secondly, concomitant to the general rise of statistical approaches in the discipline and the end of the Cold War, researchers became increasingly interested in the roles of domestic politics and international institutions in shaping global outcomes. Thirdly, and most importantly, while some continue to criticize quantitative approaches as atheoretical, statistical work in the field of international relations has advanced our empirical understanding and has pushed theoretical boundaries.
Case Study Methods
Authors: Bennett Andrew , Elman Colin
Published: September 2009

This article focuses on a third generation of qualitative methods research. Third-generation qualitative methods provide a unique bridge between the single-logic-of-inference and interpretivist communities. Accepting comparison and intuitive regression as part of its underlying justification, the third-generation case study approach is readily compatible with large-n studies, as well as being accepting of many of the claims of the comparative advantages offered by quantitative methods. The article considers some of the ways in which the third generation has developed and suggest potentially fruitful directions for future research. It focuses on some key innovations in third-generation qualitative methods over the last decade regarding within-case analysis, comparative case studies, case selection, concepts and measurement, counterfactual analysis, typological theorizing, and Fuzzy Set analysis. It concludes with a discussion of promising avenues for future developments in qualitative methods.
Historical Methods
Authors: Quirk Joel
Published: September 2009

Research into both international and intellectual history has flourished in recent times. This article highlights a number of recent contributions, paying particular attention to the relationship between history, theory, and method. The article is organized into five distinct sections. The first section offers a brief sketch of the vagaries of history as a field of study. The second section is concerned with the search for universal models, and the relationship between rationalist theories, radical simplification, and international history. The third section is concerned with critical responses to the historical limitations of radical simplification, and allied attempts to come to terms with questions of contingency and complexity. The fourth section explores more recent developments in rationalist theory. Using innovations in realist theory as an explicatory focal point, it examines a number of recent contributions that have placed rationalist approaches on a stronger historical footing. The main focus throughout this discussion is the origin and operation of the state system, which has long been a premier site for historical inquiry in international relations circles. The final section takes up the parallel field of intellectual history, exploring how recent works on the history of ideas have been shaped around contemporary agendas.
International Political Economy
Authors: Ravenhill John
Published: September 2009

This article begins with a discussion of the emergence of the international political economy (IPE) as a significant field of study in international relations. It then considers the definition of IPE, early work in IPE, and the efforts to draw distinction between how IPE evolved in the United States in contrast to other parts of the world. It is argued that the range of topics covered by the field to date has been excessively narrow. The majority of the research has focused on international trade issues; global finance has been the second-most significant issue area but has received less attention than trade, while issues relating to foreign direct investment and the reorganization of production have been left largely to management studies and to sociologists. The field has seen plenty of excursions into what proved to be theoretical dead ends. But as Cohen himself argues, to judge progress in IPE by whether or not students have produced a general theory is to set the hurdle unrealistically high. Even the excursions into dead ends did generate new understandings.
Big Questions in the Study of World Politics
Authors: Keohane Robert O.
Published: September 2009

This article argues that students of world politics have an obligation to democratic publics to help them understand the most pressing problems of the current day. Yet this moral obligation does not imply that we should focus on topical issues or be ‘policy-relevant’ in a narrow sense by speaking to governments in terms that are acceptable to them. Our task is to probe the deeper sources of action in world politics, and to speak truth to power — insofar as we can discern what the truth is. Students of world politics have made theoretical progress in recent decades on issues of war, cooperation, and the role of multilateral institutions; and conceptual progress on issues of sovereignty. However, most of this progress has focused on seeking to establish static conditional generalizations. Although we are living in a period of unprecedented change, our understanding of change is very inferior to our understanding of fundamental long-term regularities.
Introductory Remarks
Authors: Ferlie Ewan , Lynn Laurence E. , Pollitt Christopher
Published: September 2009

This article gives an assessment of the major trends in the study of public management. It also briefly outlines the organization of the book. Section 1 orientates the reader by exploring basic frameworks, background, and key current controversies at a high level of generality. This is followed by Section 2 which explores alternative theoretical and disciplinary perspectives on public management. Section 3 covers a number of current public policy and management themes, albeit from a scholarly and social science-based point of view. Section 4 considers developments in particular functional areas, such as Human Resource Management. This is followed by Section 5 which explicitly considers the international and comparative dimensions of public management reforming. The book ends by considering emerging overall themes and outlines possible future directions.
Public Management
Authors: Hood Christopher
Published: September 2009

Though authors vary in the detailed definitions of the term “public management” that they offer, most of the standard definitions of public management amount to some variant on “the study and practice of design and operation of arrangements for the provision of public services and executive government,” while management itself is conventionally defined as the direction of resources or human effort towards the achievement of desired goals. And it is often observed that organization—and the willingness to be organized—is as important, if not more so, as money and other resources for the effective conduct of warfare, welfare, and many other kinds of public activity. So if the design and operation of public projects, services, and organizations forms the heart of public management, the subject might seem straightforward.
Networks and Inter-Organizational Management
Authors: Klijn Erik-Hans
Published: September 2009

This article provides a brief overview of the literature on networks and looks at what it has to tell us about policy processes and public management. In essence the literature on networks and inter-organizational relations challenges some existing aspects of public management that are taken for granted. It stresses the interdependency of various organizations in realizing policy initiatives, it challenges the central position of public actors in decision making and implementation processes and it challenges the way policy processes are managed and evaluated. This article tries to explain the growth in popularity of the network concept. It provides an overview of the findings that two decades of network research have delivered. It also devotes attention to the main concepts that are used in network research. It focuses on networks as prescriptive theory and discusses the role of public manager in this perspective and the available strategies.
Virtual Organizations
Authors: Margetts Helen
Published: September 2009

This article investigates the various visions of virtuality which have been applied to public organizations over the past decade, discerning three ways in which we might expect organizations to become more virtual. It then examines the evidence to assess the extent to which organizations have experienced “virtualization.” Although the evidence does not appear to justify the wildest claims of some commentators, there is no doubt that two key trends in public management discussed elsewhere in this volume—e-government and new public management—are bringing virtuality in various guises. The final part of the article looks into the future, at the potential for these trends (and the relationship between them) for bringing further virtualization.
The Theory of the Audit Explosion
Authors: Power Michael
Published: September 2009

This article revisits the main elements of the theory of the audit explosion, critically addressing the extent to which its claims have relevance beyond the UK context. The argument begins with the traditional model of auditing, against which the transformations implied by the audit explosion theory can be evaluated. This is followed by a broad, and no doubt familiar, account of the public management reforms which have, in some countries and in some domains, been strongly associated with an audit explosion. Third, an explicit comparison between the UK and the USA is made and its implications for the theory are considered. The second half of the article shifts to the critical focus of the theory of the audit explosion. First, the significance of auditable systems of control for the expansion of audit processes is emphasized. Second, a variety of adverse consequences of the audit explosion are addressed. The article concludes with a series of reflections on the normative issues at stake in the design of auditing and inspection practices if the worst excesses of the audit explosion are to be avoided.
Decentralization
Authors: Pollitt Christopher
Published: September 2009

For the last quarter century or so, decentralization has been virtually unassailable. Almost everyone has been in favor of it, from the centralized French to the already decentralized Germans; from the majoritarian British to the consensual Danes and Dutch, and so on. The aim of this article is to probe and problematize the concept of “decentralization.” More specifically, it takes note of the long history of decentralization; explores the concept, and identify its various meanings; considers the (often unspoken) alternative—”centralization”; and reviews (necessarily superficially) some of the evidence concerning the practice of decentralization.
Evaluation and Public Management
Authors: Dahler-Larsen Peter
Published: September 2009

The term “evaluation” encompasses a rich and dynamic set of approaches some of which are interesting counterpoints to the idea of a “happy marriage” between evaluation and new public management. The dual relation between evaluation and public management is reflected both in the content and in the design of this article. This article moves between the two, showing where they are in alignment, and where they are not. The first part of the article describes the evaluation wave, which has hit most western countries during the last decade or two. It shows that different explanations of the current interest in evaluation are possible, and that each type of explanation leads to different views on evaluation and different expectations about its promises and pitfalls. Next, it presents different approaches to evaluation. With the risk of unduly reducing the complexity of the field, the article argues that goal-oriented evaluation, theory-based evaluation, and responsive/participatory approaches to evaluation are useful labels to identify significant and often competing schools of thought in evaluation.
Change and Continuity in the Continental Tradition of Public Management
Authors: Proeller Isabella , Schedler Kuno
Published: September 2009

This article aims to characterize French and German public administration and management, outline their specific reform trajectories, and indicate the influence both systems have had abroad. It begins by highlighting some characteristic traditions of the German and French systems. This is followed by an overview of important reform trajectories in each country, which highlights factors that have shaped the national administrative systems. The final section focuses on the influence of Germany and France on foreign public administrations.
Afterword
Authors: Ferlie Ewan , Lynn Laurence E. , Pollitt Christopher
Published: September 2009

The Afterword provides some final thoughts, which it states will not remain final. It is more realistic to explore in very general terms what this mass of material tells us about the current coordinates of the field. What do the efforts of the anay in this title show about the view or views which academic public management takes of itself? The Afterword asks the following questions: What are the boundaries of “public?” What are the boundaries of management?” What are the appropriate epistemological frameworks or paradigms within which the work of this field should be carried forward? What particular disciplines and theories are in play? And how do scholars in the field handle the distinction between the descriptive, the prescriptive, and the normative dimensions of their work?
The History of the Multinational Enterprise
Authors: Wilkins Mira
Published: September 2009

This article discusses the vast literature focusing on the historical evolution of multinational businesses. A broad consensus prevails among most students of the history of multinational enterprise that the modern multinational dates from the mid or late nineteenth century — that it is in fact a post-industrial revolution phenomenon. Only with steamships, railroads, and cables was it possible for managers to exercise control over business operations across borders in a meaningful manner. Transportation and communication revolutions were prerequisites for the existence of effective coordination within an individual firm. Over the years, however, this consensus has been challenged. Indeed, for decades it has been recognized that certain aspects of the modern multinational enterprise have had a long history. The research on pre-industrial age multinational enterprise adds new insights into the nature and history of this most important organization.
The Key Literature on IB Activities: 1960–2006
Authors: Dunning John H.
Published: September 2009

In considering the origin, form, and global spread of the value-added activities of multinational enterprises (MNEs) over the past four and a half decades, this article traces the main thrust and content of two influential strands of literature. The two strands are closely interrelated. The first examines the development of scholarly thinking on the determinants of the ownership, sectoral pattern, and geographical scope of MNE activity. The second identifies, and where possible evaluates the significance of the main changes in the external technological, economic, and political environment that, in part at least, have helped fashion these determinants. In reviewing both literatures, and the interface between them, the article considers three main time periods, viz. the 1960s to the mid 1970s, the mid 1970s to the late 1980s, and the late 1980s to the early 2000s.
Multinational Enterprises and Public Policy
Authors: Rugman Alan M. , Verbeke Alain
Published: September 2009

This article reviews and integrates representative literature on the exceptionally broad topic of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and public policy. It considers the literature on MNEs and public policy as it has emerged since 1970 and makes projections ahead to the relevance of this literature for the year 2020, which is the target date for the members of the Asian-Pacific Economic Community (APEC) to realize full trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) liberalization. Such liberalization has already been implemented in the European Union, and has been started in NAFTA and Mercosur. Three approaches to analysis of MNEs and public policy can be adopted. First is a ‘normative’ approach; second is a ‘behavioural’ approach to public policy; and third is a resource-based approach to the firm. This third approach, adopted in this article, provides insight into the managerial aspects of the firm-level strategy process.
Strategy and the Multinational Enterprise
Authors: Tallman Stephen , Yip George S.
Published: September 2009

This article uses a strategic analysis framework to examine the key strategic issues facing multinational enterprises (MNEs). While much of the discussion of international business has to do with the external conditions of international markets and industries, and much of the discussion of MNEs addresses their organizational structures and systems, it is believed that a distinct role exists for multinational strategy. Using an explicitly strategic perspective is meant to emphasize this position. Within this overall framework, the article discusses strategic considerations of the multinational enterprise specifically and ties different approaches to international strategic analysis back to standard strategy tools.
Strategy and Management In MNE Subsidiaries
Authors: Birkinshaw Julian , Pedersen Torben
Published: September 2009

This article aims to review the large and growing literature on MNE subsidiaries, and to offer some perspectives on how it may evolve in the future. There is clearly some overlap between the content of this article — notably those concerned with the strategy and structure of the MNE as a whole, and the article about alliances and joint ventures in MNEs. What makes this article distinctive is its focus on the wholly-owned subsidiary company as the primary unit of analysis (where the subsidiary is defined as a value-adding activity outside the MNE's home country). The research reviewed here typically is concerned with the activities and/or responsibilities of the subsidiary company, and how the subsidiary company relates to other entities inside and outside the MNE. And from an applied perspective, it is typically directed towards the agenda of subsidiary managers.
Strategic Alliances
Authors: Inkpen Andrew C.
Published: September 2009

Over the past several decades there has been an enormous increase in the formation of international strategic alliances and in the research efforts devoted to understanding alliances. This article analyses the major issues and research questions in the international strategic alliance area. Although the objective is to be as comprehensive as possible, the volume of research in this field is so large that various areas can be discussed only peripherally. The article begins with a brief overview of alliances forms and then moves on to consider alliance formation and governance structures, alliance performance, control issues, bargaining power, the role of trust, evolutionary processes, and alliance networks. Within each section, key research areas and questions are identified and the major supporting research and associated findings are discussed.
Culture and Human Resources Management
Authors: Graham John L.
Published: September 2009

Culture has a pervasive impact on the management of human resources. Culture influences how blue- and white-collar workers respond to pay and non- pay incentives, how international firms are organized, the success of multinational work teams, and even how executives compose and implement business strategies. This article is organized as follows: First, the central notion of culture is defined including discussion of its dimensions and measurement. Next, culture's influences on interpersonal behaviours and negotiation styles are presented. Third, human resources policies are outlined that take into account cultural differences in employee groups. The final section focuses on culture's impact on managers' and policymakers' strategic thinking.
Taxes, Transfer Pricing, and The Multinational Enterprise
Authors: Eden Lorraine
Published: September 2009

For more than ten years now, transfer pricing has been the top international taxation issue faced by multinational enterprises (MNEs). This article aims to outline, for the reader, the complex issue of transfer pricing, as seen by MNE managers and by governments faced with the daunting task of taxing business profits. The article is organized as follows. First, it briefly discusses transfer pricing from the MNE's perspective and the problems that this raises for national governments. It then reviews the basic rules of international taxation as they apply to MNE profits. The specific rules and procedures that apply to transfer pricing, as practiced in the United States and recommended by the OECD, are then outlined. It concludes with a discussion of unresolved problems that are likely to plague transfer pricing over the next few years.
Political Risk and Country Risk in International Business
Authors: Luo Yadong
Published: September 2009

Assessing international business risk is critical to every multinational enterprise (MNE) when it plans to invest overseas. Such risk assessment has grown in importance as more firms' overall success relies upon their risk-adjusted net returns in foreign operations. Unexpected political events (e.g. terrorism) and abrupt changes in regulatory schemes reinforce the necessity of risk assessment in international business. Continuous opening up of emerging economies provides MNEs with many new opportunities but at the same time solidifies international business risk. The importance of political risk creates demand for its assessment. The various ways to measure the risk can be roughly classified into two categories: (1) qualitative approaches and (2) quantitative techniques that result in political risk indices.
Introduction
Authors: Cartwright Susan , Cooper Cary L.
Published: September 2009

For most organizations, human resource costs continue to be the single largest operating cost, accounting for between 50 and 80 percent of annual expenditure. Whilst the debate as to the most effective way to measure human capital continues to capture the interest of both academics and practitioners, there is a shared belief that individual employee performance contributes to organizational outcomes. Consequently, achieving optional performance from individual employees is of paramount importance to the development and performance of any organization. The field of Personnel Psychology is broadly concerned with the study of individual differences and their consequences for the organization. It is about providing a comprehensive understanding of a range of factors that influence and enhance individual performance. The purpose of this volume is to bring together the contributions of leading international scholars within the field to present state-of-the-art reviews on topical and emergent issues, constructs, and research in personnel psychology.
Job Analysis and Competency Modeling
Authors: Voskuijl Olga F. , Evers Arne
Published: September 2009

It has been argued that job analysis is not relevant to the changing world of work; some authors find it is outdated or are of the opinion that it could even be declared dead. Competency modeling is often seen as the solution to the problem; the term is fashionable and probably more marketable, but of course there is more to it than that. This article focuses on the role of “conventional” job or work analysis, and discusses the differences between these approaches to the analysis of work and competency modeling. It describes the characteristics of job analysis and some well-known instruments and methods of job analysis. The article presents a variety of approaches to competency modeling. It also contrasts and integrates job analysis and competency modeling. Finally, the article summarizes the consequences of past developments in work for job analysis.
The Effective Interview
Authors: Blackman Melinda
Published: September 2009

The face of the employment interview has been gradually transforming over the past fifty years with the culmination of new research, theory, and practices. Now more than ever, researchers and human resource professionals are demanding interview formats that accurately and reliably predict a plethora of criteria in addition to the job candidate's skill set. No longer is the implementation of the traditional structured interview format sufficient for screening applicants. The effective interview is on its way to being transformed into a multifaceted instrument that aims to surpass the predictive precision of standardized selection tests. This article outlines the impetus of research, theory, and practice that spurred on the interview's transformation and the long-term payoff which employers are receiving from the changes. It gives a glimpse of where the employment interview is headed in the upcoming decade and the factors that make today's employment interview so effective.
Current Theory and Practice of Assessment Centers: The Importance of Trait Activation
Authors: Lievens Filip , De Koster Liesbet , Schollaert Eveline
Published: September 2009

Assessment centers have always had a strong link with practise. This link is so strong that the theoretical basis of the workings of an assessment center is sometimes questioned. This article posits that trait activation theory might be fruitfully used to explain how job-relevant candidate behavior is elicited and rated in assessment centers. Trait activation theory is a recent theory that focuses on the person–situation interaction to explain behavior based on responses to trait-relevant cues found in situations. These observable responses serve as the basis for behavioral ratings on dimensions used in a variety of assessments such as performance appraisal and interviews, but in also assessment centers. The article starts by explaining the basic tenets behind the assessment center method and trait activation theory. It shows how trait activation theory might have key implications for current and future assessment center research. The article also provides various directions for future assessment center studies.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of On‐line Testing
Authors: Bartram Dave
Published: September 2009

Psychological testing probably touches more people more often than any other application of psychology. On-line testing has made tests more available and more accessible. This article considers the impact the development of the Web has had on employment testing. Its main focus is on the impact the use of remote forms of assessment has had on practice and on the development of new ways of managing the risks associated with assessment “at a distance,” especially in high-stakes situations. The use of the internet for assessment raises many other issues, such as the impact of remote assessment on applicant reactions, implications for the design of robust systems, the use of complex test forms, and on-line simulations, to name but a few.
Models and Methods for Evaluating Reliability and Validity
Authors: Murphy Kevin R.
Published: September 2009

Tests and structured assessments are used to make inferences and decisions about individuals and groups. In personnel selection, these can range from assessments of the knowledge, skills, and abilities thought to be necessary for successful job performance to evaluations of current and past job performance. This article discusses assessments that range from paper-and-pencil tests of work-related abilities and skills to the measures based on the judgments of an interviewer or a supervisor. Many of the principles of psychometrics were first developed in the context of multi-item written tests of abilities or other enduring characteristics of individuals. In this article, the descriptions of the main models and methods of psychometrics are often framed in terms of specific characteristics of these tests (e.g., the use of multiple test items, in which all items are designed to measure the same characteristic of individuals).
Flexible Working Arrangements: From Work–Life to Gender Equity Policies
Authors: Lewis Suzan , Roper Ian
Published: September 2009

This article discusses the social and psychological cases for gender equity and for policies and practices to support the integration of work and non-work life. As the implementation of flexible working arrangements (FWAs) is influenced by public policy provisions, it considers the regulatory background from a European/UK perspective before going on to consider the types of “work–life” policies or FWAs introduced in organizations. Furthermore, the article discusses the impact and effectiveness of these policies and residual barriers to their success. Such outcomes include wellbeing and perceived organizational justice, as well as organizational learning and other organizational issues. The article finally demonstrates the interrelationships between individual and workplace outcomes, emphasizing the limitations of policy alone and the importance of implementation and practice.
Labor Relations
Authors: Kelloway E. Kevin , Hepburn C. Gail , Francis Lori
Published: September 2009

Although the extent of unionization may have declined in some jurisdictions, the practice of labor relations continues to have considerable impact on both individuals and organizations. On the organizational front, labor relations practice has implications for the implementation of human resource practices in organizations. For individuals, the dynamic of labor relations has been characterized as involving both conflict and change. This article reviews research on labor relations, highlighting its impact on individuals and organizations. It begins by considering the extent and nature of unionization in various jurisdictions. The article then considers the major “events” characterizing labor relations; from an individual's decision to join a union, through the negotiation of collective agreements and related strike action, to the administration and enforcement of agreement provisions via member grievances. It concludes with a review of other research assessing consequences of labor relations that are of critical importance for human resource management.
The Boundaryless Career
Authors: Inkson Kerr
Published: September 2009

The boundaryless career type provides a model of career development that appears to have some advantages over traditional occupational or organizational models. In a changing environment, it encourages mobility, flexibility, the development of knowledge and networks, and the taking of responsibility for one's own career. The boundaryless career also resonates effectively with the temporary organization structures and “knowledge workers” becoming characteristic of the new century. It appears a particularly appropriate way of understanding careers in industries, such as film production and software development, that are based on temporary projects rather than permanent structures, but these industries may be merely extreme examples of a wider loosening and crossing of boundaries in the world of work. The organizational career is dead or dying, and boundaryless careers are representative not just of a creative elite of workers, but of the mainstream.
Old Testament
Authors: Rogerson J. W.
Published: September 2009

This article reviews Old Testament scholarship during three periods: (1) up to 1945; (2) from 1945 to 1970; and (3) from 1970. Seventy years ago, the discipline was still reacting in various ways to the theory of the history of Israelite religion and sacrifice and the theory of how and when the Old Testament had been composed, which had received classical expression fifty years earlier in J. Wellhausen's Prolegomena (1883). In Germany, the discipline faced the determined attempts of the ‘German Christian’ movement to banish the study of Hebrew and the Old Testament from universities and the use of the Old Testament from Christian worship. However, the ending of the Second World War initiated a period of consolidation with strongly marked theological interests, until the emergence, in the late 1960s, of new methodologies including structuralism, literature criticism, feminist and liberation theology, deconstruction, and canonical criticism.
New Testament
Authors: Morgan Robert
Published: September 2009

This article reviews New Testament scholarship over the last seventy years. It focuses on three scholarly generations that differ sufficiently to be labelled as times of continuation (1935–62), transition (1960s and 1970s), and innovation (1980–2005). The changing social, political, and economic environments are reflected in a tendency towards cautious theological synthesis in the first generation; theological radicalism, internationalism, and ecumenism in the second; and a new pluralism, including some retreat from or repudiation of theology, in the third.
Study of the Graeco-Roman World
Authors: Richardson Peter
Published: September 2009

This article examines the impact of Graeco-Roman world studies on biblical scholarship. Classical language, rhetoric, philosophy, and culture have had a continuing impact on study of the Bible since antiquity. The rise of formal biblical scholarship during the Renaissance set the study of the Bible firmly and naturally within the humanist and intellectual context of the study of the Graeco-Roman world. The development of critical biblical studies in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries triggered another major leap in the importance of classical study upon biblical studies, for virtually all scholars of theology and biblical studies then had deep classical roots. Greek and Roman languages, literatures, and histories directly and indirectly informed the study of the Bible.
Language and Translation of the New Testament
Authors: Porter Stanley E.
Published: September 2009

The language and translation of the New Testament are two closely related issues. One addresses the question of the nature and background of the language in which the New Testament was written by its original authors, and the other addresses the varied and ongoing responses to this text by those who for various reasons have found it necessary to read the New Testament in languages other than the original. This article discusses the issues surrounding the Greek of the New Testament, with reference to theories regarding other languages that may have played a part in the linguistic milieu of the New Testament. It then considers issues surrounding the rise of modern translations, especially those into English.