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1 – 10 of over 6000P.B. Beaumont, A.W.J. Thomson and M.B. Gregory
I. INTRODUCTION In this monograph we point out and analyse various dimensions of bargaining structure, which we define broadly as the institutional configuration within which…
Abstract
I. INTRODUCTION In this monograph we point out and analyse various dimensions of bargaining structure, which we define broadly as the institutional configuration within which bargaining takes place, and attempt to provide some guidelines for management action. We look at the development, theory, and present framework of bargaining structure in Britain and then examine it in terms of choices: multi‐employer versus single employer, company versus plant level bargaining, and the various public policy issues involved.
Mette Praest Knudsen and Erik Skov Madsen
The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific practices of management in the dispatching unit and to identify mechanisms for supporting transfer of shop floor knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific practices of management in the dispatching unit and to identify mechanisms for supporting transfer of shop floor knowledge embedded in operating manufacturing equipment.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies an inductive and a case study approach for exploring three empirical cases that represent different manufacturing facility relocation processes and differences in the applied managerial practices.
Findings
The paper identifies two important gaps in international production literature when firms relocate equipment to other sites; a time gap (from dismantling to re-assembly of production facilities) and a space gap (from the current to the new site abroad). These gaps are important for understanding why relocation processes are difficult and what management can do to facilitate such processes.
Practical implications
The paper identifies four issues that management faces in the dispatching context when relocating manufacturing facilities.
Originality/value
The paper gives new insights to a limited literature of shop floor knowledge transfer when relocating manufacturing facilities.
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In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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Anna Fredriksson, Anna Malm and Erik Skov Madsen
The purpose of this paper is through a literature study and a study of the Saab offset cases to identify strategies to increase inter-organizational transfer capability.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is through a literature study and a study of the Saab offset cases to identify strategies to increase inter-organizational transfer capability.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a literature study and a study of three of Saab’s offset cases and Saab’s process for technology transfer.
Findings
This study has identified inter-organizational transfer strategies based on the importance of the hierarchy of decision-making and the change from capacity transfers to capability transfers in offset business. The type of performance goals set in the business agreement decides how to realize the transfer. The hierarchy of decision-making creates a need to align the understanding of the performance goals between the different parts of the organization, which affect the plans for how to transfer knowledge between the organizational as well as the individual levels. To reach the performance goals of the technology transfer, there needs to be a balance between the disseminative capability of the sender and the absorptive capability of the receiver.
Research limitations/implications
This study is based on a single case within a relatively unique industry with an offset perspective and production transfers. Therefore, there is also a need for future studies to confirm the identified relationships within outsourcing/offset within other industries and other types of transfers.
Originality/value
A change from capacity transfers to capability transfers in both outsourcing/offshoring and offset business indicates that more research should be placed on the disseminative capacity of the sender. The literature review revealed that the disseminative capacity of the sender has been the subject of less research than the absorptive capacity of the receiver.
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New Zealand has had success in combating corruption. It has been ranked consistently as one of the five least corrupt countries in the world. The purpose of this paper is to shed…
Abstract
Purpose
New Zealand has had success in combating corruption. It has been ranked consistently as one of the five least corrupt countries in the world. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on this accomplishment.
Design/methodology/approach
An analysis of the policies, socio-cultural attributes and historical and geographical elements that have contributed to New Zealand’s success in combating corruption.
Findings
New Zealand’s long-term geographical isolation, egalitarian socio-economic and cultural traditions, its close legal and cultural affinity with Britain, and its unique regulatory civil service largely explain its success in combating corruption. Nevertheless, global influences, the absence of a single anti-corruption agency, and changing values may be eroding New Zealand’s record of success.
Originality/value
This paper will be useful to policy makers and those concerned with New Zealand’s recent decline in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.
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Arnaldo Camuffo, Andrea Furlan, Pietro Romano and Andrea Vinelli
The purpose of this paper is to investigate routes towards supplier and production network internationalisation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate routes towards supplier and production network internationalisation.
Design/methodology/approach
Multiple case‐study analysis has been applied to a sample of 11 Italian footwear and apparel companies with headquarters located in the North‐east of Italy. Within and cross‐case analyses illustrate and compare how these firms relocated one or more segments of their supplier and production networks to Romania.
Findings
The findings support theories that view internationalisation as an incremental process of experiential knowledge accumulation. The case studies suggest that firms undertake three different routes towards supplier and production network internationalisation: traditional subcontracting; co‐ordinated subcontracting; and supply system relocation. These routes' typology is grounded on an original model, which is the theoretical contribution of the paper, which elaborates Johanson and Vahlne's framework adding two variables: the nature of the technological knowledge that needs to be transferred to run the foreign operations and the nature of the customer‐supplier (CS) interaction context of the focal firm.
Research limitations/implications
The characteristics of the model proposed set the boundaries of the research approach and suggest new avenues for further research. First, the model rests on the idea that no firm can fully control the dynamics of its international network, since these are an emergent process. Consequently, the study does not provide practitioners with a rigid set of normative indications about what factors to consider when designing international supply networks. Secondly, the model does not consider all the factors that impact on the internationalisation of the supplier and production network. Finally, the model is not evolutionary and does not assess the relationships between the internationalisation process (its timing, speed, etc.) and firms' performance.
Practical implications
The typology can support managers when framing the problem of choosing among different routes of supplier and production network internationalisation. Furthermore, the findings suggest that these decisions are influenced by the nature of the technological knowledge involved and the CS interaction context.
Originality/value
The paper extends the theory of the supply network internationalisation process, proposing a model that captures the variables actually involved in such a process and their dynamic relationships.
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While evidence of the existence of gender‐based inequality in employment outcomes such as career grade and pay, abounds, theoretical disputes over the explanation for this…
Abstract
While evidence of the existence of gender‐based inequality in employment outcomes such as career grade and pay, abounds, theoretical disputes over the explanation for this phenomenon remain unresolved. Broadly, writers are divided over those who believe that unequal employment outcomes for women are the result of their individual choice (for example see Becker, 1975 and 1985; Lord, 1979; Hakim, 1991, 1993 and 1996), and those who believe this to be the result of the constraints placed on women (for example see Davies and Rosser, 1986;Curran, 1985and 1988; Collinson et.al., 1990; Vogler, 1994).
Using a large panel of employees from the New Earnings Survey, examinesthe subsequent earnings transitions of those who were in the lowestquintile of the earnings distribution in…
Abstract
Using a large panel of employees from the New Earnings Survey, examines the subsequent earnings transitions of those who were in the lowest quintile of the earnings distribution in 1976. Traces the quintile earnings positions in 1984 and 1991 of three age groups of 1976 – the young, the prime‐aged, and older workers. Presents and analyses transition probabilities for each group, and contrasts the experience of men and women in terms of the incidence of low pay and its persistence. Also examines the previous locations within the earnings distribution of those who were low paid in 1991.
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Vathsala Wickramasinghe and Saman Garusinghe
The purpose of this paper is to explore project‐level human resource aspects of international technology transfers (ITTs) to private sector manufacturing firms in Sri Lanka.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore project‐level human resource aspects of international technology transfers (ITTs) to private sector manufacturing firms in Sri Lanka.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 35 ITT projects. A self‐administered survey questionnaire was chosen as the main mode for data collection. In addition to descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression were used to analyse data.
Findings
Firms have acquired product, process and management‐system technologies from countries having different institutional environments, namely, the USA, Europe, China, Japan and India. It was found that the country from which technology was sourced and the type of technology predict several project‐level human resource aspects explored in this paper.
Originality/value
The acquisition of human resource capabilities provides the central underpinning in ITTs. There is a marked absence of research‐led literature on technology transfers at the project‐level that resulted in less developed countries in Asia.
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Introduction There have recently been a number of articles arguing that the status of personnel management within the management hierarchy of many firms in Britain is increasing…
Abstract
Introduction There have recently been a number of articles arguing that the status of personnel management within the management hierarchy of many firms in Britain is increasing quite considerably. These articles have then gone on to discuss some of the general factors, such as the extensive programme of industrial relations legislation of the previous Labour Government, responsible for this change. However, beyond these fairly general statements on the status of personnel management our “hard evidence” on the subject is very much confined to single industry studies (i.e. engineering, chemicals) that have been almost solely concerned with the influence of one variable, that of establishment size, on the development of the personnel management function.