bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Labour Code in the Republic of Slovakia
Authors: Majtan Borislav 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how the Slovak Labour Code has evolved as a result of the “velvet revolution” which saw Czechoslovakia begin the transition from a “command” to a “market economy, the establishment of a separate Czech Republic and a Slovak Republic and Slovakia's accession to membership of the European Union.Design/methodology/approachThe paper attempts to provide an empirical contribution to the understanding of how the process of industrial relations is evolving in the new democracies of Eastern and Central Europe in the post‐communist period.FindingsThe paper highlights how the detailed codification of trade union rights of the communist era have been drastically reformed in light of the Slovak Republic adopting a market economy and adopting the EU's social acquis communautaire. The governments desire to liberalise and encourage a more flexible labour market has seen many of the old powers of the trade unions transferred to other forms of employee representation such as works councils and works trustees.Research limitations/implicationsThe author has described the strategy of the government to marginalise trade unions by introducing works councils and transferring functions to them, which had previously been performed by the trade unions.Originality/valueThe paper provide an interesting insight into how “players” in the “employee relations game” perceive the re‐codification of the Slovak Labour Code. There seems to be a mixed response to the changes, for whilst the union claims that it is able to boast a 95 per cent success rate in winning cases in the courts arising out of the rights and protections provided for employees in the Labour Code, and not withstanding the very low incidence of industrial action, the paper notes with some irony that there is significant school of opinion amongst Slovak trade unionists that the price that they pay for all of this is some of the lowest wages in the region.
The Dutch trade unions – and their support activities in central and eastern Europe
Authors: van Tilborg Rene 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis paper aims to explains how the Dutch unions evolved in the post war period and the reasons why they committed such significant resources to developing strong links and assisting the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe complete the “Transition Process”.Design/methodology/approachThe author draws on his first‐hand experience as the president of the Dutch graphical union, and for many years president and vice president of the sector's international trade union federations – to give an insight as to the rationale behind international trade union cooperation and solidarity.FindingsThe paper suggests that the help and assistance provided by the West European workers organisations, although costly has brought added value to the enlarged European Trade Union movement in so much as it has ensured that the Central and Eastern European trade unions have been able to complete the transition period.Originality/valueThe paper provides a first hand account of the difficulties that trade unions in the former soviet block countries had to deal with during the transition period, and how trade unions in the West had to overcome ideological and historical prejudices in order to provide help and assistance to their sister unions in Central and Eastern Europe.
Academic women's promotions in Australian universities
Authors: Winchester Hilary , Lorenzo Shard , Browning Lyn , Chesterman Colleen 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine the hypothesis that under‐representation of women in Australian universities reflects barriers in the academic promotion process.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses three complementary approaches. Promotion policies and guidelines are examined using content analysis of documents from all Australian universities. A sample of 17 universities was selected for interviews with key gatekeepers to examine promotions practice. Data on promotions by level and gender were analysed for 16 of these universities 2000‐2002.FindingsThe analysis of promotions policies and guidelines established a range of practice. Policies supporting women's participation and success in promotions included explicit consideration of part‐time and non‐traditional careers, clear equity statements, and gender representation on promotions committees. Interviews emphasised the importance of support for and identification of female candidates, and the need for the establishment of institution‐wide and performance targets for senior managers. Implicitly, most interviewees accepted the premise that women experienced barriers in the promotion process, including reticence in applying and stereotypically gendered notions of merit. However, the analysis of promotions data showed a more encouraging picture. Application rates and success rates for women are similar to men's and, at professorial level, slightly higher. Nonetheless women remain under‐represented at senior levels, comprising only 16 per cent of the professoriate.Practical implicationsThe study provided a report to the Australian Vice‐Chancellors' Committee (AVCC) with a number of recommendations for improving University promotions policies. These recommendations are available on the AVCC website and have applicability beyond the Australian university sector.Originality/valueThis study is an original study across all Australian universities which has international applicability and policy relevance.
Not tokens: reaching a “critical mass” of senior women managers
Authors: Chesterman Colleen , Ross‐Smith Anne 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline the findings of a research project involving five Australian universities with over 30 per cent of their senior management positions filled by women. It explores the factors that enabled this to happen and also discusses the responses of the universities to the report.Design/methodology/approachThe research was essentially qualitative, based on 81 interviews, 50 with senior women and 31 with senior men. All those interviewed were in senior positions, from Vice‐Chancellor down to Dean, Director or equivalent. 46 (24 men and 22 women) were academics; 35 (28 women and seven men) were in administrative, support or general staff positions.FindingsInterviewees identified as crucial for the appointment of women having a critical mass of other women in senior positions, opportunities to network, encouragement and support from organisational leaders, friendly and collegial environments and strong organisational commitment to values.Practical implicationsThe paper describes the actions currently being taken by the five universities to build on the research findings and to ensure that their relative success in promoting women is maintained and improved. It considers whether it is possible to transform hierarchical and traditional cultures in order to establish networks of support and to raise questions about gendered assumptions about capacity and ambition.Originality/valueThe paper presents information which draws on the findings of a large scale empirical research project on how women reach senior positions in universities. It also discusses how these findings have been turned into organisational action to improve the position of women.
Women's progression to senior positions in English universities
Authors: Doherty Liz , Manfredi Simonetta 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to explore the career routes and advancement procedures for both academic and support staff in English universities and the extent to which these might constitute barriers to progression.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted in four universities, two pre‐1992 universities and two post‐1992 universities, based in one region of England. Secondary data were collected in the form of equality monitoring statistics and documentation relating to the universities' advancement procedures. Primary data were collected through 26 semi‐structured interviews with senior people involved in decision‐making about promotions. These included HR specialists and senior academics such as Deans, Pro Vice‐Chancellors and Vice‐Chancellors.FindingsThe research shows that women are now progressing well to the promoted lecturer grade, but that their careers stall beyond this level. Women's less developed research profile is the main impediment to them gaining professorial status. In “old” universities, the processes used for progression to some senior academic management roles are obscure and may operate as a form of indirect discrimination. There is some evidence that women adopt a version of the transformational leadership style, but it is not clear whether this helps or hinders their career progression. In addition, women are more reluctant than men to put themselves forward for advancement and they value work‐life balance.Originality/valueThis paper provides new evidence about the operation of advancement processes in universities. It points to specific areas where university HR processes and equality monitoring need to be improved. It also contributes to the debate about leadership/management and the extent to which women adopt a style which is different to that of men.
Mentoring for gender equality and organisational change
Authors: de Vries Jennifer , Webb Claire , Eveline Joan 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThere is considerable literature about the impact of mentoring on the mentees but little is known about the effect of the mentoring relationship on the mentor. This paper aims to address that gap.Design/methodology/approachInterviews with 15 mentors and survey responses from 128 mentees are used to examine a formal mentoring programme. Most emphasis is on the perspective of the mentors, raising questions about how they view outcomes for themselves and their mentees, as well as the effects of mentoring on the workplace culture over time. Questions about the mentoring relationship, including gender differences, are analysed against the background of a decade‐long organisational change strategy.FindingsMentors report significant benefits for themselves and the mentee as well as the organisation itself as a result of their participation. The findings suggest that a long‐term mentoring programme for women has the potential to be an effective organisational change intervention. In particular, men involved in that programme increased their understanding and sensitivity regarding gendering processes in the workplace.Practical implicationsThe importance of the impact of mentoring programmes on the mentors is an under‐investigated area. This study suggests that programme design, together with careful selection and targeting of mentors, enables mentoring to become a critical part of a culture change strategy.Originality/valueThe paper assists academics and practitioners to conceive of mentoring as a core element in an effective organisational change intervention. The innovation is to move mentoring away from assuming a deficit model of the mentee. As this programme shows, a focus on what needs to change in the dominant organisational culture, practices and values can lead to key players in the organisation becoming actively involved in the needed change process.
Absenteeism in the Nordic countries
Authors: Løkke Ann‐Kristina , Eskildsen Jacob K. , Wendelboe Jensen Troels 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the drivers of absenteeism and gives information of the relationship between absenteeism and personal and organizational characteristics in the Nordic countries.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical assumptions are tested empirically on data from a survey carried out in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. 10.748 employees from randomly selected households participated. Differences were examined using analysis of variance.FindingsAmong the findings are that Danish employees are less absent than employees in Norway, Finland and Sweden. Employees working in the public sector, more specific the municipalities, have a higher level of absence compared to the private sector. According to the personal characteristics, women are more absent than men in all Nordic countries, but the effect of age differs according to the country in question. If the manager however is a woman and the employee likewise, then the level of absence is higher in Denmark, Norway and Finland compared to the other gender constellations.Originality/valueBecause of the lack of international comparative studies of absenteeism in the Nordic countries, this paper brings new and a deeper understanding of the area as a basis of further empirical research and/or management concern.
Line managers’ views on adopting human resource roles: the case of Hilton (UK) hotels
Authors: Watson Sandra , Maxwell Gillian A. , Farquharson Lois 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore different levels of line manager perspectives, namely strategic and first‐line on their role in human resource management (HRM) and human resource development (HRD), and to identify enablers of and barriers to devolving HR to line managers.Design/methodology/approachUsing a deductive approach, case study data was collected from 76 hotels, owned by Hilton UK, via self‐administered questionnaires to strategic and first‐line managers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative results, prior to significance tests being conducted in SPSS to identify differences in means based on managerial positions.FindingsA number of points of divergence in opinions are revealed, implying that there is potential for the case organisation to secure greater engagement of its first‐line managers in HR roles. Reducing the workloads and short‐term job pressures of these managers, together with capitalising on the good relations with the hotel HR specialists are means to develop greater engagement. Importantly, improving all line managers’ understanding of the organisational basis of their involvement in HR may bolster their performance in HR activities.Originality/valueThis paper offers a fusion of two theoretical perspectives (HRM and HRD), in addition to identifying differences in perceptions of two different levels of line managers.
London calling: selection as pre‐emptive strategy for cultural control
Authors: Brannan Matthew J. , Hawkins Beverley 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis article seeks to explore forms of selection practice, focusing on role‐play techniques, which have been introduced in many organizations in an attempt to “objectivize” the selection process by offering a means of assessing task‐specific aptitudes.Design/methodology/approachThis article draws upon an ethnographic study of a call centre in which the researcher underwent the recruitment and selection process to secure work as a precursor to conducting fieldwork within the organization. Whilst there is little precedent for the employment of ethnographic techniques in researching recruitment and selection, we argue such techniques are appropriate to explore the social processes involved in practices such as role‐play. The discussion draws upon fieldwork which was conducted at “CallCentreCo”, who continuously recruit customer service representatives (CSRs) to work in their call centre. CallCentreCo uses role‐playing exercises extensively in the selection of all grades of staff and are argued by CallCentreCo's Human Resource Manager to be essential in the recruitment of CSRs to ensure the selection of suitable candidates and minimize initial attrition rates.FindingsThis article makes two contributions: first it provides empirical evidence to explore the basis of structured interviews by revealing how the view that role‐play can “objectivize” the selection process is potentially built upon false assumptions. Second, the article argues that supposedly “objective” practices such as role‐play seek to legitimize the overwhelmingly subjective interview process in order that it may serve purposes beyond initial selection: namely the control of future employees before they even enter the organization.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough we make no attempt to generalize from such a limited case study, this article raises issues that are likely to be relevant to organizations as they increasingly search for more “effective” selection procedures, and to academic endeavors to critically theorize the purpose and effects of selection for the employment relation.Originality/valueThe originality of this approach lies in the ethnographic study of the interview as a social interaction, the richness of which may be lost in the quantitatively dominated approach to analyzing selection.
Emotional intelligence at work: links to conflict and innovation
Authors: Suliman Abubakr M. , Al‐Shaikh Fuad N. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis paper aims at exploring, for the first time in the Arab World, the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in affecting work outcomes.Design/methodology/approachA self‐administered questionnaire was used to survey 500 employees from 19 organizations in the United Arab Emirates. The findings are discussed in the paper along with some recommendations for managers and researchers.FindingsThe results revealed significant differences between employees' perceptions of emotional intelligence, conflict and readiness to create and innovate.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample represented only financial and service sectors. The implications of the findings for researchers together with some future guidelines are discussed in the paper.Practical implicationsThe paper provides practitioners with some advice about understanding and managing climate and conflict.Originality/valueThe paper is the first study in the Middle Eastern context that explores the link between the multifaceted concepts of EI, satisfaction and performance.
Library fundraising in Pakistan
Authors: Mahmood Khalid , Hameed Abdul , Jalaluddin Haider Syed 
Published: January 2007

PurposeTo survey fundraising activities of government sector libraries in Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey of randomly selected 100 large university, college, public and special libraries of Pakistan is conducted.FindingsThe review of literature reveals that no formal survey of such activities was carried out before. However, general library literature in the country mentions the examples of donations and gifts received in libraries. Data collected through survey show that very few libraries are involved in fundraising activities. Significant donations are given by foundations, international agencies and some individuals. The reasons for non‐engagement of most of the libraries in such activities are shortage of staff and parent organizations' involvement through other offices. Most of the libraries have no future plans for fundraising.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey only focuses on large libraries in the public sector. Small libraries, school libraries and private sector libraries are not covered.Practical implicationsThis is the first paper on this topic in Pakistan. It will help LIS decision makers plan for fundraising activities in libraries.Originality/valueThis paper presents a comprehensive literature review on fundraising in Pakistan. It is the first survey of such activities in this country. The experiences shared by libraries can be helpful for other developing countries.
Archival landscape in Eastern and Southern Africa
Authors: Mnjama Nathan 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis article seeks to answer one basic question: “Are archival institutions in the Eastern and Southern African region developing, stagnating or receding backwards?”Design/methodology/approachThis article reviews the state of archives and records management in the Eastern and Southern African region. It argues that many archival services in the region have gone through a period of retardation and are in dire need of revitalization.FindingsThe article indicates that the challenges of managing electronic records are enormous and that unless measures are taken the region stands to lose much of its valuable historical and cultural heritage.Originality/valueThe article suggests various ways of revitalizing archival services in the Eastern and Southern African region.
Staff seminars and publications productivity: a study of academic librarians in Ogun State, Nigeria
Authors: Agboola A.T. , Oduwole A.A. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis study aims to examine the effect of staff seminars on the publications productivity of Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals in academic libraries in Ogun State, Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachTo elicit the necessary information, a two‐part questionnaire was sent to 41 LIS professionals in the seven academic libraries in Ogun state during the 2002/2003 session. Of this number, 34 (82.3 percent) were returned and found usable.FindingsAnalysis of the returned questionnaires showed that the majority of respondents' libraries hold seminars, though only occasionally (70.8 percent). Participation is largely restricted to academic librarians (62.5 percent), although some libraries (37.5 percent) allowed participation by their para‐professional staff. While presentation of papers is largely optional (66.7 percent), some libraries (33.3 percent) made it obligatory for their staff. Most of the respondents were of the opinion that staff seminars positively affected their publication output in terms of quality and quantity. A total of 66 out of the total of 79 manuscripts submitted for publication after they have been criticized by their peers at seminars were published. This constitutes 83.5 percent success. The study recommends that staff seminars should be taken more seriously in university libraries so as to improve on the quality and increase the publication output of librarians as well as to justify their academic status.Originality/valueThis study provides useful information for those interested in the effect of staff seminars on the publications productivity of LIS professionals in academic libraries.
Strategic planning for marketing library services
Authors: Olu Adeyoyin Samuel 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThe paper aims to centre on marketing of library and information services and to attempt to correlate marketing as a concept to the provision of library services.Design/methodology/approachThe user groups are identified with library classification in the paper. The paper also highlights library management in relation to marketing its services and products.FindingsIn view of the social, economic and technological changes, the paper advocates a paradigm shift from the traditional marketing system into a more vibrant and dynamic, strategic marketing of library services/products. The paper concludes that a major marketing campaign is necessary to increase awareness and educate the library users about available library resources. This crusade can be further strengthened by the provision of the right service at the right time and the right price to the right users in the right place while supported by a quality management team.Originality/valueThe paper provides useful information on the marketing of library and information services.