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Despite the availability of retail management graduates, retailers continue to recruit graduates from any discipline. A key issue, therefore, is to what extent are retail degrees developing the competences of prime importance to retailers? Conversely, considering retailer graduate recruitment objectives, how well do students understand retailers’ priorities amongst competences in graduate selection? As a relatively recent management profession, do the retail competences differ from other more established management disciplines such as finance? This paper examines these issues through the results of a survey of employer and undergraduate perceptions of competence development in undergraduate degrees. Findings suggest that retail degrees provided a high level of perceived competence development. However, the strongest focus was not necessarily on those competences the retailers most wished to see in applicants. Furthermore, the competence profile of placement work was no closer to the retailers’ selection priorities than that of academic work. The paper concludes with a discussion of the main implications for retailers and retail management degrees.

The topic of management training and development (MTD) in small businesses is relatively under‐researched, and an increased understanding of the factors influencing the purchase of MTD by small businesses is needed. Therefore, a survey of 551 small businesses in the Midlands region of the UK sought to: identify influences on MTD investment and preferred MTD activities; and establish whether small businesses perceive a link between investment in MTD and business success. Interviews were also conducted with 12 organisations. Results show that the organisational characteristics of ownership, size, number of managers and family management have a significant influence on MTD investment. Of the sample organisations, 85 per cent considered investment in MTD to be linked to business success and 80 per cent of organisations engaged in some form of MTD. However, promoters of MTD to small businesses need to recognise that organisations in this sector are not homogeneous and desire customised training.

Discusses the impact of a self‐governing hospital trust’s accredited management development programme designed for health‐care professionals responsible for managing natural clinical groups. The programme was a dual qualification: a level 5 national vocational qualification in management, and a diploma in management. Identifies key issues resulting from this type of programme. Discusses participants’ evaluation of the two different formats for management development. Highlights the reservations of health‐care professionals in respect of competence‐based management development, particularly regarding assessment of their work performance. Recognizes that when a group of senior health‐care professionals are involved in a long‐term in‐house management development programme, they may be perceived as a threat by senior management. Concludes that health‐care professionals will only engage proactively with management development activities which they perceive to have value for them.

Presents a study of organizational culture in a community health‐care Trust in the UK. The Trust has been involved in attempting to create what was described as an information‐led culture and is concurrent with the implementation of a new information system. Describes some of the recent management initiatives which were intended to improve communications within the Trust and to provide employees with a better understanding of the changes which have been taking place. Identifies findings which suggest that there was some distance between the perceptions of management and those of employees. While the senior management team appear to have been in earnest in attempting to ensure that staff have the information and understanding they need, the results of an organizational culture survey suggest that these efforts may have been ineffective.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of new public management and modernization reform policies on control in the probation service.

The paper takes interpretivist, qualitative approach. It is based on ethnographic data, collected over a one‐year period in an English regional probation service. In the course of the fieldwork, 45 employees were interviewed. Data were also collected through participant observation and analysis of formal documents.

The paper suggests that new public management and modernization reform policies are interpreted by organizational actors as control mechanisms per se.

Findings can be relevant for understanding the “control” side of the reform policies in the public sector. To date those policies have been mainly considered as driven by change rather than by control.

The changing role of the manager has been a growing area of both academic and popular literature over recent years. In addition, the interest of the popular press has made terms like “grey suit” and “fat cat” common terminology. Management roles and managerial authority within today’s organisations have seen many changes. This has led to frustration and anxiety for managers as they have watched their role change. In the NHS, like other sectors, managers have become a target for organisational redundancies and have experienced increased responsibility, closer monitoring of performance and heightened job insecurity. This paper aims to offer a contribution to the empirical data on managers by investigating one group of NHS managers’ own perceptions of how others see their role. The findings suggest that NHS managers are very aware of the largely negative perceptions that surround them but accept this as an integral part of their role.

This paper considers the impact of the Investors in People (IIP) Standard upon small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Midlands. The paper describes IIP, then considers the significance of SMEs and the impact of training and development in that sector. The paper then presents an analytical framework, firmly rooted in a literature review, that provides the basis for an examination of the reasons why SMEs might commit (or fail to commit) to IIP, the difficulties encountered and the benefits received. Our empirical findings are discussed in the context of this framework. These findings are based on questionnaire responses from almost 600 SMEs, and interviews with promoters of IIP. Some key responses are broken down according to size‐band and/or growth‐orientation. In addition, follow‐up interviews were conducted with selected firms, ranging from IIP enthusiasts to rejecters. This study therefore combines quantitative data with qualitative input. The attitudes and experiences of the respondents offer fresh insight into the appropriateness of IIP as an organisational development tool for the SME sector. The SME support network in England and Wales is undergoing a critical transition. The role of the Training and Enterprise Councils in promoting IIP to SMEs also comes under scrutiny, and our study has lessons for the promotion of IIP by the new learning and skills councils.

Using insights from the relevant literature and recent empirical data, this paper investigates the relationship between organisational change and employee turnover. It proposes a mechanism for how widespread change translates into individual decisions to quit, and corroborates four relevant hypotheses. The paper also illustrates the importance for managers of understanding avoidability – the extent to which turnover decisions can be prevented – and concludes with a research agenda, encapsulated by a model describing the relationship between organisational change and turnover.

Considers the claims that the management standards developed by the Management Charter Initiative (MCI) reflect what is required of managers for effective job performance and that using the standards to train managers will lead to business benefits for organizations. Contends, however, that empirical evidence to support these substantial claims is not apparent. Argues that this evidence is necessary at a national policy level, at an organizational investment level and at the human resource functional level. Uses the example of a self‐governing hospital trust’s adoption of the management standards to illustrate the need to evaluate the MCI’s work rigorously. Presents a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of management training based on the management standards.

Analyses critically the conceptual basis of the management standards developed by the Management Charter Initiative (MCI) and the claims both for and against the utility of the standards. Identifies a number of conceptual weaknesses of the management standards and makes proposals to overcome them. Points out that the lack of empirical evidence to substantiate certain aspects of the MCI’s claims is a major deficiency. Concludes that examples of organizations which have used the management standards and achieved business benefits as a result are urgently needed.