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States that the mid‐Kent area of Kent Social Services has been engaged in a programme of organization development for the last three years. The objective of this initiative has been to provide high quality services to the vulnerable people who need them. There was early recognition that the organization needed to be more responsive to those who used its services, but also to its staff. Explains how agreement was reached on the content of a learning organization policy. Sets out how, by asking two key questions of staff and listening and responding to their replies, it was possible to introduce a programme of personal development and performance management, along with an assessment programme which is helping to develop the behaviour of managers and supervisors. Gives practical examples of the opportunities created by staff to share their learning, demonstrate initiative, effect change and enjoy recognition for their efforts.

ONLY a few short months have passed since Great Britain entered the European Economic Community. Brief though it is, it has served to inflict a barrage of political prophecy upon the citizens. Most of it has been remarkably optimistic in tone, as if the mere act of joining was an Open Sesame to guaranteed prosperity. A few cautious words of warning have been uttered but the trouble is the ease with which the qualifying context is forgotten while the shining promises live on.

Mid Kent Area is part of Kent County Council Social Services Department. In 1993, its managers asked if a typical local authority bureaucracy was a suitable organization from which to provide the quality, customer responsive services espoused in recent public service legislation and government guidelines. They shared their concerns with staff, and the “Towards Excellence!” programme is a direct response to those discussions. Relates how staff enthusiastically identified the disempowering characteristics of the organization, throwing down the gauntlet for change. In response all staff agreed on a statement of the area’s overriding purpose, established a communication charter giving rights to essential information, received vitalizing feedback on their performance, and released a flood of creativity and innovation. The principles of a learning organization, reflected in responsiveness to customers and in the continual development of staff, have made a dramatic impact. Outlines the processes employed, as well as some of the unintended consequences of this approach.

Literature on face‐to‐face intercultural business communication (IBC) suggests that language, culture, business culture, and interpersonal context variables lead to misunderstandings, but these predictors have not been studied with regard to e‐mail communication. This exploratory study identifies variables that cause e‐mail miscommunication, reduce work accomplishment, and harm business relationships. We conducted a survey to capture the effect of common predictors and asked respondents to share the most commonly employed strategies when communication problems arose. We offer a multi‐dimensional model for further research.

The purpose of this paper is to further fill the void of American slavery within management history and leadership studies by presenting the unique case of Joseph E. Davis's paternalistic leadership.

This case was selected because of Davis's attempt to transplant Robert Owen's utopian practices of social harmony in an industrial, textile‐mill setting to the backdrop of his slavery plantation. The method used is the historical method of analyzing both primary and secondary sources of data about Joseph E. Davis, a Mississippi planter, during the time periods of antebellum and reconstruction.

This analysis indicates that Joseph E. Davis exhibited benevolence, authoritarianism, and, to a degree, moral paternalistic leadership with his slaves. Yet, due to his ideology and the context, he still defended slavery and Southern rights.

Historical knowledge about paternalistic leadership during the antebellum slavery and reconstruction time period will help to end the denial of slavery in management studies, as well as contribute to the understanding of paternalism in many contemporary cultures.

This is the first article to provide primary evidence of paternalistic leadership in management history studies within this erroneously disregarded period.

Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.

This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.