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Organizations often seem to persist with decisions long after any sensible person might have given up. It is thought that such persistence results from foolhardy behaviour by decision makers motivated mainly by emotional factors such as pride and fear of failure. Analyses a case of a failing decision. Concerns a local government department with a reputation for corruption and incompetence. Concludes that although escalation may reflect emotional pressures, persistence is not necessarily irrational. From a practical standpoint, argues that we need to reconsider what we expect from decision makers.

Relatively few women are employed in the so‐called “heavy industries” because the technology acts as a barrier to recruitment. Argues that apparently essential working practices may conceal institutionalized discrimination and massive inefficiency and that it is necessary to “think the unthinkable” and challenge accepted ways of working in order to improve both efficiency and employment opportunities for currently disadvantaged groups.

Discrimination matters Volume 22 Number 2 of Health Manpower Management contains an article with this title by Catherine M. Prest, which outlines the changes in legal restrictions on the eligibility of dismissed employees to pursue unfair dismissal claims. Includes a discussion of recent decisions in this area and assesses the impact of these decisions on personnel practice and disciplinary procedures.

The purpose of this paper is to address the paradox that individuals face in seeking to both generate new ideas and be committed to delivering standardised processes in a creative industry. The authors explore this tension in order to better understand how synergistic benefits are reaped at the intersection of these competing demands.

The paper adopts a longitudinal case study approach inside a global media organisation in the creative industries sector. Data derived from participant observations, manager interviews, administered survey instruments, and archival documentation.

The authors find that creative organisations experience explore/exploit paradoxes which are nested at three levels: knowledge, learning and motivation. Further, the authors find that managers are able to respond to competing tensions through organisational processes that allow differentiation/integration simultaneously. These management responses are supported and sustained by both structural and contextual organisational forms.

First, the authors provide a clearer theoretical explanation of paradox in creative organisations by accounting for competing demands to explore and exploit through nested tensions. Second, the authors extend the understanding of management responses to these paradox by showing how managers balance both demands simultaneously rather than cumulatively over time, thereby offering insight into how managers behave over time. Third, the authors outline the supporting role of organisational form in sustaining management responses within creative organisations at the same time in order to reap synergistic benefits.

Purpose — This chapter reviews the key findings of the reported research in this volume using the wider international literatures on transport and social exclusion as its conceptual framework. It begins by briefly summarising the research and policy context in which the study is set. It then provides an overview of major conceptual, theoretical and methodological advancements relevant to this area over the last 10 years in order to evaluate the study’s contribution to research, policy and practice internationally.

Methodology — The conceptual framework for this chapter is based on a comprehensive review of the international literatures on transport and social exclusion. After a brief introduction to these, it outlines key conceptual, theoretical and methodological advancements as they pertain to transport-related social exclusion. In addition, it evaluates the scope and implications of the methodological approach with particular reference to contemporary scholarly debates in this area. The chapter subsequently explores the applicability of the research in policy and practice, both inside and outside the Australian context.

Findings — The chapter concludes that the research has made a significant contribution to conceptual, theoretical and methodological developments within the area of transport-related exclusion, and has helped move forward related debates within policy circles. Opportunities for further research are also identified.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the paradox inherent in the term “Creative Industry Management”. The challenges of applying creative industry experiences within a managerial context are explored through a careful selection of papers that identify linkages between creative industry practice and management theories.

The paper is a narrative commentary using the Jurassic Park franchise to highlight the potential application of management theory to explain the success or failure of a creative venture. The analogy of filmmaking and the creation of blockbuster movie sequels is useful in determining the tensions between creative production and management of a profitable franchise.

This paper identifies opportunities for theory building at the meso level in the management domain, born of the experiences of those in the creative industries. The papers presented add to the continuing discovery of ways of applying management theory in the creative industries. However, there remain opportunities for a cross-pollination of theory from the creative industry to management domains.

It is not possible to claim more than observation and exploratory inference from the selection of papers presented. The special issue has only uncovered one half of the theoretical perspective, namely management theory that can be applied in the creative industries.

The approach taken to liken the challenge of managing creativity to the production of creative works in moviemaking is novel and highlights the dearth of creative industry experiences that currently influence management theory.