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Outlines the extensive survey of the 42 Anglican and 19 Roman Catholic Cathedrals in England undertaken by the author in 1991. Describes the six sections of the survey reports: factual matters, which included names and addresses of incumbents, architects, etc. and the physical construction of the building; major repairs; repair and conservation work needed for special parts of the fabric; resources, both financial and physical/personnel; recommendations; and subjective assessment. Explains the allocation of grants and their effect on the future of the cathedrals, and explores the possibility of future studies likely to spring from this work.

For the past several decades, the field of global leadership has made noteworthy theoretical and empirical progress. The role of a global follower, however, has not been addressed to date. This chapter focuses on global followers and global followership as vital elements of a global leadership process supporting a traditional followership view that “leadership can only occur if there is followership” (Uhl-Bien, Riggio, Lowe, & Carsten, 2014, p. 83). Two assumptions ground the arguments: global leaders and global followers are engaged in a partnering process of global leadership, and followers and global followers have distinctive characteristics influenced by their specific environments. To explore those assumptions, we start by introducing the followership theory and relevant followership characteristics. Subsequently, we address the role of context in global leader–follower dynamics, extrapolate global followership characteristics from relevant multidisciplinary literature, and offer an example of a global leader–follower partnership. Next, we examine mentions of global followers and global followership in academic and nonacademic literature, and define a global followership construct. The conceptual framework, global followership model, research agenda, and practical implications conclude the manuscript.

Organisation und Bibliotheksarbeit. By TIBOR SÜLE and ELLE BRANTHIN. Berlin: Deutscher Bibliotheksverband, 1977. 308p. DM26.50: This work is a collection of contributions from sociological and management points of view. Süle's introduction (pp9–16), which gives a short summary of each paper, attempts an interim account of work within the library field and work as yet unassimilated. The first part of the volume covers sociological aspects, the second management, as seen in Branthin's essay (ppl27–49).

‘THhis,’ wrote Mr Mackenzie a few weeks ago, ‘is the first formal report on the working of the Library; it covers a period of rather less than a year—from 16th September, 1963, when the Librarian arrived in Lancaster with half a dozen books in his brief‐case, until 31st July, 1964, when an effective library was in operation with a stock of over twenty thousand volumes.’ There, if we forgive Mr Mackenzie for his poet's licence, is the essence of the accommodation problem with which each new university is being faced. We are not being asked to expand existing book and reader accommodation, or to replace it by new building. We have started with nothing and we have to be operational a year or eighteen months afterwards.

Existing research suggests that the competitive advantage provided by technological development depends to a large extent on the speed and coordination of the technology’s implementation, and on how adoptable the technological applications are considered. While accepting this argument, the authors consider the explanatory model to be inadequate. This study aims to contribute to the theoretical discussion by analysing institutionalised industrial relations and other organisation-level factors, which are important for workplace restructuring and societal change.

The analysis is based on a representative nation-wide work and working conditions survey (N = 4,100) from Finland, which includes a variety of themes, including practices, changes and well-being at work. Changes are understood as organisational changes, focusing on modern technologies such as robotisation and digitalisation.

The results indicate that occupational division at workplace (low-skilled vs high-skilled occupations) affects job insecurity and acceptance of technologies at work. The characteristics of workplaces, such as the employees’ participation and involvement in the development of the organisation, play a significant part in both the acceptance and the implementation and outcomes of the technological transformations in the workplace.

The research provides new and interesting insights into working life practices. Furthermore, it reveals how technology acceptance and employment perspectives relate to working conditions and lessons learned from past reforms.

The authors consider current theories such as technology acceptance model at the micro level and that way rationalise the need for this study. This study shows the importance of individual, organisational and wider contextual factors in technology acceptance.

This paper aims to analyze the communication processes from both a management and an employee view during a corporate value implementation process within a Danish windmill company. The purpose of this paper is to develop further understanding of the potential problems that may occur during such a process within an organization.

The paper is a case study based on a social constructionist approach. A multi‐dimensional model of reception analysis is proposed in order to capture employees' readings of value statements.

The study shows that the distance between top management's views on the values and employees' perceptions is noteworthy. This distance is primarily caused by circumstances in the case company's historical and situational context. One of the questions this paper raises is whether values are an ideal management tool in times of an organizational financial crisis.

This paper only focuses on one organization. Additional research is needed in other organizations attempting to communicate values internally in times of crisis.

Managers need to take newer communication theory into consideration in order to be aware of what might go wrong in a communication process. They also need to consider both the daily working context of the employees and the historical and situational context of the organization before they launch a value project. The communicative competences of middle managers and their capability to enter in dialogue with the employees should also be taken into consideration.

The research illuminates the potential problems that may occur during an organization's value process and offers recommendations for future value implementation efforts in organizations.

Recently, scholars are pushing for an internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) view through employee perspectives regarding CSR efforts, particularly in considering how organizations can act responsibly toward internal stakeholders (May, 2011). Thus, research has begun taking a “micro-turn” in analyzing CSR (Aguinis and Glavas, 2012), focused on individual analysis of such practices within organizations. The purpose of this study is to uncover the organizational sensemaking of CSR by an important yet less understood stakeholder group, employees.

This study takes a primarily qualitative, micro-approach via interviews (n = 42) to understanding the internal sensemaking of various organizations' CSR efforts from the perspective of employees. Organizational discourse analysis is utilized.

At the individual level, findings from over 40 one-on-one interviews highlighted how this stakeholder group rationalizes, perceives and identifies with their employers' socially responsible efforts. Findings uncover both macro- and micro-level understandings of CSR, as well as the reality of CSR within particular organizations from an operational standpoint.

This study provides important theoretical and methodological implications, particularly in its explicitly interpretive and qualitative approach. Specifically, this work contributes to the micro-foundations and limited internal view of CSR by interviewing over 40 employees.

This study provides important pragmatic implications, particularly when considering how CSR is communicated to (internal) stakeholders. Additionally, CSR must be seen as strategic and embedded in core business practices, rather than a one-off campaign.

On a societal level, there is an expectation that corporations take care of their employees in terms of emotional and physical well-being, equity, work–life balance, among others. This study suggests a move to more inward-facing CSR practices—specifically those benefiting internal members.

This work contributes to research on the micro-foundations and limited internal view of CSR and provides important pragmatic implications. Specifically, the use of interviews of employees in gaining access to an important stakeholder group is a significant contribution to CSR scholarship.

The purpose of this research is to specifically explore the role of management characteristics in the international development of SMEs.

Since the intention of this study was to build theory from an unexplored area of research, a multiple case approach was deemed most appropriate. In doing so, this paper responds to recent calls in the literature for in‐depth case research (e.g. Westhead et al., 2002; Doherty, 2003).

This paper highlights the importance of objective and subjective characteristics as factors which impact not only the initial decision to expand and the support of overseas operations, but the subsequent path and pace of international development.

While this paper confirms the pivotal role of the owner manager in the international decision‐making of retail SMEs, it is recommended that future research examines the role of management characteristics in SMEs based in other industries.

The findings from this empirical study have important implications for both managers of SMEs and private and public sector organisations, and these recommendations are discussed in the conclusions of this paper.

While the effect of management decisions upon the internationalisation of SMEs is at a relatively developed stage in the literature, one of the less studied aspects is the role of decision‐maker characteristics. Given the manufacturing focus of research contributions in the field, this paper yields new insights into SME foreign development and the role of management in the context of the retail sector and the broader service industry.

Why is it that highly trained and seasoned executives fail? On the surface, this doesn’t make sense because they are very successful; yet research in the organization sciences provides no shortage of evidence to prove just that. From the classic Mann Gulch fire disaster of Weick’s famous collapse of sensemaking study, to studies of myopia of learning, escalation of commitment, threat-rigidity, dominant logic, the architecture of simplicity, the Icarus Paradox, to core competencies turning into core rigidities, and navigating new competitive markets using “old” cognitive maps, and many more such examples point to a ubiquitous phenomenon where highly trained and experienced professionals find themselves “stuck” in the heat of battle, unable to move and progress. On the one hand, for some, there is a desperate need for change, but are unable to do so, due to their trained incapacities. On the other hand, some simply cannot see the need for change, and continue with their “business as usual” mentality. For both, their visions of the world shrink, they have a tendency to cling onto their past habitual practices and oversimplify the complexity of the situation. In moments like these: DROP YOUR TOOLS and UNLEARN! This book chapter introduces a framework (grounded in clinical psychology) that has had consistent success in helping seasoned executives and key decision-makers open up the alternatives whenever they find themselves stuck with complexity.

Miss Elizabeth Petree has been appointed Administrative Assistant to the Director of Aslib, and joined the staff in November. Miss Petree was Deputy Secretary of the College of General Practitioners from 1954 to 1964. She was earlier employed at the Royal Institute of International Affairs.