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The purpose of this paper is to test the idea that symbols can serve as a cue to group membership and to assess discrimination towards working with individuals displaying certain symbols – the ichthus, the gay pride symbol and the Confederate flag.

This study looked at one particular method (i.e. clothing worn) of revealing one's attitude towards an issue or group, such as the Confederacy or Christianity. This study was designed to test selection preferences for three different symbols each against a control group. The experimental independent variable of symbol had four levels (control, ichthus, gay pride triangle, and Confederate flag). Two subject variables were tested as moderating variables (ethnic identity and Christian identity). Each of these was measured via a questionnaire, and a median split on scores was used to create two groups: strong and weak identity for each scale. The dependent variable was the selection preference for the target individual. Participants were 265 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory psychology and management classes.

It was confirmed that there are many signs that people give off in their verbal and non‐verbal behavior that reveal bits and pieces of their personality and ideologies.

The discrimination that students showed in this study reveals the importance of training those who may go into management roles and be involved in selection decisions to be aware of their natural tendencies to categorize people and the behavioral outcomes this can have.

Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford: the names of these universities instantly conjure up images of the highest attainments of higher education. Of course, great universities also operate great university presses. So any reference book with the name of Oxford, Cambridge, or Harvard in the title possesses immediate credibility and saleability. But it was not always so. Prior to the latter half of the nineteenth century the Oxford and the Cambridge University Presses were known to the public primarily as publishers of the Bible. Oxford broke into reference publishing, and along with it widespread public recognition, by means of its famous dictionaries, of which the pinnacle was the massive Oxford English Dictionary. The Cambridge University Press [hereafter referred to as CUP] took a different approach to publishing scholarly reference works by producing authoritative and encyclopedic histories. According to S.C. Roberts, a long‐time secretary to the Syndics of the CUP, “apart from the Bible, the first book that made the Press well known to the general public was the Cambridge Modern History.”

The purpose of this paper is to describe the experience of being a peer support worker by drawing reflections from a working day.

This is a reflexive account of a person experience written from the peer support worker’s own perspective.

Reflections focus on the “non-directive” element of peer support and the danger of making assumptions when supporting others and working with staff.

While the research evidence for peer support continues to grow, there are few first person accounts of the experience of peer support working.

This study aims to investigate the mediating role of organizational subculture between job satisfaction, organizational commitment (dependent variables) and leadership, culture (independent variables) in health care organizations.

A survey on nurses from 26 wards from various types of hospital was used. A total of 251 usable returns were collected for the analysis (i.e. response rate of 63 per cent). Structural equation analysis was conducted to obtain the best fit model and to determine the direction of the causal effect between job satisfaction and commitment, and the role of subculture as a mediating variable, between commitment of its other antecedents.

Comparisons with alternative models confirmed satisfaction as an antecedent of commitment and the role of subculture as a mediating variable. The results of this study contribute to the clarification of the causal relations of the antecedents of commitment, and highlight the important role of local leadership and subculture in determining employees' job satisfaction and commitment.

The results of this study should not be generalized to other industries and other national cultural context. Furthermore, a longitudinal study may be necessary to determine the causal relationship of variables used in this study.

The findings could provide managers with valuable insight to focus their limited resources on improving the level of organizational commitment via the mediating role of organizational culture.

The research findings provide managers with a new lens to examine organizational culture using the three perspectives of: bureaucratic, supportive, and innovative. Furthermore, the results could renew interest in developing other organizational subculture models that determine the relationship between organizational subculture and commitment

This chapter examines the specific role of strategic communication as a facilitator for business internationalization. It provides a new and comprehensive rationale for explaining the contribution of strategic communication to the global success of companies and shows communication leaders how they could demonstrate the value of communication for internationalization.

The chapter identifies an important contribution of strategic communication in today’s globalized world, which demands further attention in academia and in practice by addressing three research questions: (1) How can strategic communication be conceptualized as part of the internationalization of firms? (2) Which specific objectives, responsibilities and practices can be assigned to strategic communication within the process of internationalization? (3) Does the theoretical framework capture the significant components of strategic communication within internationalization, appropriately from the point of view of senior experts in the field?

The chosen approach is conceptual and empirical. A cross-disciplinary literature analysis has been performed to construct a framework that links possible forms and manifestations of strategic communication to different situations of international business development. Qualitative interviews with senior communication executives were conducted to verify the plausibility of the theoretical framework from a professional point of view. The study identifies four core fields of strategic communication within the internationalization processes: initiation, transformation, expansion and integration. Communication should be implemented differently within the typical periods of internationalization, and communication management should focus on different aspects during these processes. Empirical findings indicate that the core fields depicted in the framework are either already applied in practice or perceived as plausible and doable.

From a theoretical standpoint, this study emphasizes the value of a cross-disciplinary perspective on corporate communications, which helps to bridge gaps between management research and communication studies. The study expands the body of knowledge in strategic communication by integrating new objectives and activities.

The applicability of learning curve theory to the construction industry has been investigated by several studies; however, the outcomes are characterised by inconsistent, rather sporadic patterns. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of learning on concrete masonry blockwork labour productivity in recurring building floor cycles.

Repetitive blockwork labour inputs from 52 multi-storey residential buildings were collected and analysed using the straight-line learning curve model. The cumulative average labour input for each recurring floor and its corresponding cycle number were modelled using the least squares method.

According to the learning curve theory principles, labour inputs are expected to decrease by a certain percentage as the floor cycle number within each building observed increases. Nonetheless, the patterns emerged from this study provide little evidence for that.

Contrary to several previous findings which have asserted the significance of the learning concept to construction productivity, the results obtained for the activity investigated suggest that there is no potential context for the theory to be used as a useful tool to quantify productivity improvement, or to provide for a practical project management observation and control system.

Notwithstanding the numerous research into the effect of learning on construction activities, this study is unprecedented in examining the applicability of the theory to concrete masonry blockwork labour productivity in building construction. It can thus assist in achieving reliable planning, determining the plausibility of correlating past performances or predicting future expenditures, and appraising the potentiality of the learning phenomenon as a useful tool to quantify productivity improvement over the repetitive cycle process of such a distinct construction activity.

The purpose of this paper is to challenge the existing paradigm of resistance to organizational change by offering a novel, interdisciplinary perspective. More specifically, this paper seeks to detach from traditional formulations of resistance to change and introduce a new paradigm, reevaluating resistance through the Good Lives Model (GLM) and the concept of Primary Human Goods (PHG).

This conceptual paper uses contemporary literature on resistance to organizational change to make the case that the existing paradigm is one of negativity and deficiency. The authors define resistance, as currently formulated, subsequently offering a new perspective through the GLM. The etiological underpinnings of the model are provided and the concept of PHG is defined to illustrate relevance in reevaluating resistance to change.

The paper illustrates that resistance behaviors are not individual problems of employees, which must be overcome for successful change. Rather, resistance behaviors are the manifestation of disruptions to the achievement of PHG. Moreover, the paper demonstrates the pursuit of PHG is an innately positive, human activity that change strategies should take into account. The Dialogic Organization Development approach is also integrated as a means to uncover priority goods and disruptions that may impact them.

The paper provides a novel reevaluation of resistance to change through the interdisciplinary application of the GLM and PHG. Further, the paper uses the model to integrate several fundamental theories of human motivation into one cohesive, consistent framework.

Argues that because service organizations are faced with greater uncertainty and ambiguity than manufacturing organizations they require a focus on learning in order to control the vagaries of the marketplace, on the one hand, and the uncertainty of the service encounter, on the other. Posits that, consequently, we use the concept of learning service to suggest that when learning is planned at two levels ‐ the service encounter and market research ‐ skills are assimilated and knowledge is generated by an increased awareness of tacit and formal knowledge. States that when this is performed by self‐managed multi‐disciplinary work teams then effective normative standards can be constructed. Demonstrates the concept of a learning service to show how such a service can provide opportunities for organizational development. Begins by examining the distinctive characteristics of service organizations and identifies how these might affect and facilitate organizational learning. Attempts to demonstrate this with an in‐depth case study in a healthcare setting. Discusses how healthcare in the UK is often presented in the context of a learning organization because the introduction of an internal market (The 1990 NHS and Community Care Act) created the separation of responsibility for healthcare provision from its purchase. Implies that “organizational learning” has come to show that organizations, like organisms, adapt to a changing environment. By going beyond the limitations of this biological metaphor attempts to provide a model of a learning service which is characterized by human agency.

Universities are social and economic instruments for investment in man and thereby for the development of human resources at the highest level. This is truer in the case of developing countries where science and technology have not yet extended their beneficial aspects to whole spheres of social life. While preserving culture and heritage, universities are the most powerful institutions for social change and innovation. At the same time, universities and colleges themselves are subject to changes and need to adapt to these.

This paper demonstrates that three intermediate care services in Shepway, East Kent each cater for distinct patient groups, and that data from a single assessment process (SAP) tool can be used to differentiate between them. By applying statistical techniques, inferences can be made about the likelihood of admission to a particular service, given specific health characteristics. In conclusion, we highlight the utility of standardised assessment as a means of providing data for audit and planning, and stress the importance of the SAP as a means of developing care services.