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It is challenging for small health-care facilities to implement changes when human and financial resources are limited for day-to-day operations. This paper aims to propose an integrated model for small- and medium-sized health-care facilities to integrate sustainability in their day-to-day operations, which have been derived from the leadership and change theories.

Drawing on previous research on leadership and change theories, the paper first critically reviewed the approaches to implementing changes and how applicable they are in the context of small- and medium-sized health-care facilities. Next, it proposes an integrated model with an execution plan.

The first part of the paper discusses how either the planned approach or emergent approach for change may fail in facilitating the implementation of sustainable initiatives, as incorporating sustainability into operations require both leadership of change and open learning systems. The second part outlines the four-phase combined approach, which includes phases of “exploration”, “planning”, “action” and “integration”, and discusses how change readiness is ensured through such approach.

The authors propose an integrated model as a framework for integrating sustainability into the operations of small health-care facilities. The clearest possible steps at various phases are proposed. Potential barriers and risks are highlighted and the coping strategies proposed to maximise the chance of successfully transforming organisations.

Applying the “how to” ideas based on the integrated model for change management will help leaders of health-care facilities gradually integrate sustainability into their day-to-day operations.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a concise introduction of sustainability in human resource management (HRM) from the western perspective. With a review of Confucian thinking, it argues that the application of sustainability in HRM is more effective and efficient under the influence of Confucian values. Therefore, Chinese companies are likely ready to embrace the concept of sustainability and implement sustainable people management practices.

The paper is mainly theoretical in perspective. It also draws on semi-structured interview data derived from a study conducted in companies that operated in two cities in China: Guangzhou and Beijing to support the discussion of synergies between Confucian values and the western concept of sustainability in HRM.

In the interviews, it was evident that the interviewees were adhered to Confucian values, although they did not make the connection explicit. The interview data also showed how Confucian values (e.g. Ren, Yi, Li) affect Chinese management of human resources.

The number of interviewees involved was not sufficient to allow a conclusive comparison between groups. Further research is needed to develop comparisons.

The paper suggests a favourable application of Confucian values in sustainable people management practices.

The interview data provide insight into how Confucian values lend support to sustainability in HRM.

China is a fast‐growing economy, and many multinational companies (MNCs) have found their ways to infiltrate that market. The competition among the MNCs has generated human resource management (HRM) problems. When formulating approaches in dealing with these problems, the expatriate management of the MNCs often “speak for” their local employees, as if the latter has no voice of its own. It is suspected that MNCs know partly what their local employees value. With such limited understanding, the former may be ineffective in managing their local staff. The purpose of this paper is to report a study that explores the HRM problems from local employees' perspectives. To understand Chinese employees, the conceptual lens, stemmed from Chinese philosophical traditions instead of that derived from western experience, is used.

Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews with Chinese employees working in MNCs.

The findings suggest that “asymmetrical understanding” exists between expatriate managers and their Chinese employees, and that the former may know much less about the latter than it is normally assumed.

The findings, illustrated through interviews, have shed light on how MNCs could manage their Chinese employees, and how a meaningful dialogue could take place: understanding the other (Chinese employees) on their own intellectual ground to overcome “asymmetrical understanding”.

By allowing the voice of the other to come forth rather than to keep it in the background as, at best, a whisper, the study helps create a platform for a meaningful cross‐cultural dialogue between voices from the west and the other.

The purpose of this paper is to present a short note on postcolonialism as a field of critical inquiry in the business management field, and enable the guest editors to introduce the contents of a special issue entitled “Critical reflections on management and organization: a postcolonial perspective”.

The paper states that postcolonial theory seeks to critique and analyze the complex and multifaceted dynamics of modern Western colonialism and to develop an in‐depth understanding of the ongoing significance of the colonial encounter for people's lives both in the West and the non‐West.

The paper finds that modern western colonialism – a phenomenon with a history of roughly 500 years and a geographical reach that at one point spanned approximately 90 percent of the entire earth – is an episode of particular significance in human history.

The paper shows that the special issue contents reflect different aspects of contemporary issues in postcolonialism. In terms of postcolonial geographies, the special issue papers cover regions as diverse as Africa, Australia, China, India, Jordan, Malaysia, Poland, and the UK.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the level of knowledge management (KM) activity underway in the transportation sector. The environmental scan highlighted common business drivers for KM across transportation agencies.

The project team used outreach methods, environmental scanning techniques, targeted interviews constructed around amplifying questions to identify stakeholders. A two-day workshop was sponsored, where stakeholders could discuss common business interests and exchange KM practices.

The environmental scan methodology was successful and will be carried over to two other economic sectors in the coming year. The identification and elaboration of business drivers through the amplification process was a valuable contribution. Sharing of KM practices was highly effective because the participants were working from a common set of business drivers.

This activity has implications for other sectors. Well-designed environmental scans of KM programs and initiatives can identify stakeholders for intra-sector communities of practice. These communities of practice provide a support network for knowledge professionals working within organizations, provide the input for intra-sector KM research agendas, and a collaborative action plan for moving that agenda forward.

The workshop participants identified six action items to advance the practice of KM within their institutions.

The environmental scan and the workshop resulted in the creation of a community of practice of knowledge professionals for the transportation sector. The community of practice will work to advance KM within the transportation sector.

The authors believe the scan approach provides a new and valuable approach to encouraging the practice of KM in the field of transportation. The authors also suggest that this approach may be used effectively in other sectors to promote the discipline.