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The idea of “leadership” has occupied an important position in the study of management, so that text‐books on organisational behaviour routinely allocate a chapter to discussion about it. It is invariably handled by recourse to a review of the major schools of thought and empirical findings associated with the concept. More specifically, writers of such texts are typically concerned with those aspects of leadership studies which have focused on its possible linkage with various indicators of performance or effectiveness. In addressing such issues, such writers focus on whether it is possible to isolate the personal characteristics of the effective leader, and whether it is possible to discern effective leadership styles.

This article reports the results of the re‐analysis of a substantial set of survey based quantitative data relating to food beliefs, practices and preferences. The particular focus of attention was upon gender contrasts. Several statistically significant differences between men and women were identified. These differences occurred in such areas as views on food and health, the ethical dimensions of food production and food selection, nutritional attitudes and choices, dietary change, food work and body image. Two distinctive patterns emerged, which the authors termed “virtuous” and “robust”, the former exhibiting attitudes more typical of women, and the latter attitudes more typical of men.

This article is based on a six‐year survey of first year undergraduates and their meat consumption. The main focus is vegetarianism and the declining consumption of red meat over the past two decades. The levels of meat consumption and avoidance were analysed by gender, father’s occupation, voting intention and the reasons given for reduction/avoidance. The results found that the majority of vegetarians were women, although they were also the majority of the sample. Age, political inclination and social class appear to have had little bearing on meat consumption. There is also the suggestion that vegetarianism has reached a plateau. A wide range of further studies is suggested.

The purpose of this paper is to consider a challenge to an occupational jurisdiction in the British police. Historically, street cops have defended the importance of operational credibility as a way of sustaining the value of experience, and inhibiting attempts to introduce external leaders. This has generated a particular form of policing and leadership that is deemed by the British Government as inadequate to face the problems of the next decade.

The project used the High Potential Development Scheme of the British police to assess the value of operational credibility and the possibilities of radical cultural change. Data are drawn from participants on the program, from those who failed to get onto the program, and from officers who have risen through the ranks without access to a fast-track scheme.

Most organizational changes fail in their own terms, often because of cultural resistance. However, if we change our metaphors of culture from natural to human constructions it may be possible to focus on the key point of the culture: the lodestone that glues it together. Operational credibility may be such a cultural lodestone and undermining it offers the opportunity for rapid and radical change.

The scheme itself has had limited numbers and the research was limited to a small proportion of the different categories outlined above.

If we change our metaphors for culture and cultural change – from natural to constructed metaphors – (icebergs and webs to buildings), it may be possible to consider a much more radical approach to organizational change.

Most assessments of cultural change focus on those charged with enacting the change and explain failure through recourse to natural metaphors of change. This paper challenges the convention that cultural change can only ever be achieved, if at all, through years of effort.

The purpose of this study is to fill a gap in the literature by examining a medium-sized firm. Most modern economies are characterized by a significant group of middle-sized firms, still owner-managed, but with multimillion naira turnovers. Many of these remain family companies and constitute an important reservoir of business initiative. One such family business is the focus of this research. The results of the study suggest that neither the existing typologies of small firm approaches to marketing nor the formal models of marketing attributed to big companies necessarily characterize the marketing planning and management of family business in Nigeria.

This study aims to examine how empowerment is perceived by individuals employed on construction projects. In contrast with previous research which has predominantly been conducted from a management perspective, this paper deals with employee perceptions of empowerment.

A qualitative approach was adopted for this study employing in‐depth interviews on four major construction projects.

The findings from the study indicate that there can be a gap between the employee experience and the management rhetoric. Health and Safety issues were often cited by the employees as a major barrier to empowerment. The strict Health and Safety regulations under which construction employees operate limit their freedom to influence the work that they undertake. A further factor that was found to have a strong influence on the diffusion of empowerment was the role of the employees’ immediate supervisor.

The data are based on case studies that illuminate our understanding of empowerment in relation to construction projects. This area of research would benefit from alternative research approaches that could establish the generalizability of the findings reported.

This article explores the notion that, as empowerment is a perception, management cannot easily regulate employees’ empowerment. This emphasises the importance of exploring employee perspectives when examining employee empowerment and its impact on workplace relations.

The purpose of this article is to examine the various meanings of empowerment for employees from their own perspective, the psychological dimension of empowerment and whether employees want to be empowered.

In order to understand how employees feel about empowerment, it is necessary to ask them directly so that one can understand their perceptions. A qualitative approach is adopted, employing 45 semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews with employees. The aim of the interviews is to provide an insight into the meanings of empowerment for these employees.

The findings indicate that the employees do not recognise the term “empowerment” nor do they reference the term “power” in relation to themselves. However, they are able to relate to associated concepts, notably “personal responsibility” and “control over their work”. Empowerment for the employees was found to operate as a continuum, as the extent to which employees seek empowerment varies considerably. The innate feelings that employees have with regard to empowerment enable an insightful understanding of what empowerment means and the employee response to it.

This study is based on employees from one particular industrial sector. The research would benefit from exploration in alternative sectors.

The study examines the various meanings of empowerment for employees from their own perspective. Furthermore, it explores whether employees want to be empowered.

Through a survey of 200 employees working in five of the thirty establishments analysed in previous research about the microeconomic effects of reducing the working time (Cahier 25), the consequences on employees of such a reduction can be assessed; and relevant attitudes and aspirations better known.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the ten years of the journal through a personal reflection.

A review of the articles published in the last ten years.

I argue that what has distinguished QROM in these ten years are two distinctive features: reflexivity on practices of qualitative research, and openness to the application of qualitative methods to unusual research topics.

The main limit of the paper resides in the subjectivity of the person who has read the articles. Other readers may have different opinions and may have chosen different criteria.