Search results
1 – 10 of 16Irene Mains and Samantha MacLean
The purpose of this paper is to explore the operating factors influencing a cross-organisational mentoring initiative created to support leadership development. The research…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the operating factors influencing a cross-organisational mentoring initiative created to support leadership development. The research provides insight on participants’ views and mentoring practices around planning and preparation of mentoring relationships, to inform future training of leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is inductive in nature, using an exploratory approach via a two-stage qualitative analysis. The qualitative data were gathered via interviews with the initiative partners and questionnaires distributed to all mentors and mentees involved. Data were gathered at the outset of the initiative and one year later.
Findings
Emergent themes revealed that centrally driven criterion-based matching was deemed effective, with skills and experience of mentors perceived as more important than seniority. Support from senior management was of paramount importance at all stages. Clear personal and professional objective setting was vital at the outset of the mentoring relationship; however, a degree of fluidity in direction occurred over time. Planned periodic meetings to share experiences, aid reflection and gather feedback from individual mentors and mentees groups was requested. Finally, while the mentees should drive the process, it was recognised that mentors may be required to take the lead initially.
Research limitations/implications
It is recognised that wider generalisations are limited; the initiative would require replication with a number of different participants to increase validity. However, as the research is exploratory in nature, there is value in the initial research findings with potential for replication within other organisations and for other cross-organisational mentoring initiatives.
Practical implications
The research provides a number of useful themes which practitioners could use to explore the creation of a cross-organisational mentoring scheme and provides benchmarking indicators for this.
Originality/value
This is an innovative approach to leadership training that can be seen in the limited literature and theory related to cross-organisational mentoring as a leadership training tool that the design team, a partnership of HR academics and HRD professionals, were able to access.
Details
Keywords
Gillian A. Maxwell and Samantha MacLean
The purpose of this paper is to explore the operational implications and strategic actions involved in talent management (TM) in Scotland.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the operational implications and strategic actions involved in talent management (TM) in Scotland.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a literature review and focus groups comprising members of the Board of the Scottish Tourism Forum.
Findings
This paper finds that, in an industry with generally high labour turnover and rather negative public image as an employer, TM – in attracting, developing and retaining people – has significant potential to contribute to changing approaches to managing people and to improving opinions on careers in this sector.
Practical implications
Practical implications are that: individual businesses adopt TM approaches that best suit their business, employees and customers; industry bodies and leaders present exemplary practice in TM; business strategies including TM initiatives are actively supported by senior and operational managers in organisations; and educators develop, in liaison with the industry, toolkits for the implementation and evaluation of TM initiatives.
Originality/value
Any practitioner or academic interested in gaining insight into the practice and potential of TM, especially in the Scottish context, will find the paper valuable.
Details
Keywords
Samantha Wilkinson and Catherine Wilkinson
The purpose of this paper is to outline a study characterised by “pockets” of co-production and argue for the benefits of offering young people a palette of interdisciplinary…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline a study characterised by “pockets” of co-production and argue for the benefits of offering young people a palette of interdisciplinary methods to “opt into”, giving participants the opportunity to discuss their drinking practices and experiences “on their own terms”.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 40 young people, aged 15-24 years, from the suburban case study locations of Chorlton and Wythenshawe, Manchester, UK, were recruited for multi-stage qualitative research. The participants were presented with a suite of both long-standing and innovative methods that they could “opt into”, including: interviews, peer interviews, diaries, mobile phone interviews, text messaging and participant observation.
Findings
This paper shows that both long-standing and innovative methods have their own individual strengths for researching into young people’s alcohol consumption practices and experiences. Yet, each of the methods utilised in this study also had specific drawbacks for researching substance use. Offering a palette of methods for participants to “opt into” was thus beneficial in: offsetting the weaknesses of other methods; triangulating the study findings; and enabling participants to communicate with the researcher in culturally credible ways.
Originality/value
By offering an honest account about the successes and failures of deploying a range of methods when exploring young people’s drinking practices and experiences, this paper is valuable for researchers in, and beyond, the field of substance use, seeking to broaden their methodological toolkit.
Details
Keywords
The key purpose of this chapter is to identify some ways of enhancing feminist conceptual, empirical, and theoretical work on violence against women. Much attention is given to…
Abstract
The key purpose of this chapter is to identify some ways of enhancing feminist conceptual, empirical, and theoretical work on violence against women. Much attention is given to addressing the harms caused by new electronic forms of woman abuse, including the role of adult Internet pornography and sex robots. This chapter also emphasises the importance of revisiting some major feminist contributions from the past.
Details
Keywords
This chapter aims to discuss the changes that are happening in the heart of the James Bond films especially with how women are described and treated in the newest versions of the…
Abstract
This chapter aims to discuss the changes that are happening in the heart of the James Bond films especially with how women are described and treated in the newest versions of the movie franchise. For that, this chapter focusses on Miss Moneypenny, a recurrent presence since the very first movie, Dr. No (1962), and one that also appeared in Ian Fleming’s novels. Fleming based Moneypenny on four different women he knew, and she can be described as an intelligent, brave and beautiful person. Unfortunately, the original movie Moneypenny was painted as almost a comic relief, but since she was portrayed by the actress Naomie Harris in Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015), Eve Moneypenny (as she was not called) had an upgrade, becoming an action-oriented woman who provided a new base for the so-called ‘Bond Girls’ of the films.
Details
Keywords
This chapter seeks to compare and contrast two compelling portrayals of the bisexual or ‘gender-blind’ vampire: The Hunger (1983) and American Horror Story: Hotel (2015). These…
Abstract
This chapter seeks to compare and contrast two compelling portrayals of the bisexual or ‘gender-blind’ vampire: The Hunger (1983) and American Horror Story: Hotel (2015). These texts present a number of notable differences. They were released over 30 years apart and they also diverge markedly in form: Hotel is a 12-episode television serial, whilst The Hunger is a tight 97-minute-feature film. Whilst these differences highlight shifts in the format of horror more broadly, they also facilitate the reflection on whether the portrayal of the bisexual vampire has dramatically shifted alongside these changes. Such a reflection is ripe with potential given that in addition to their differences, both texts also share significant aesthetic and narrative similarities. Both Hotel and The Hunger foreground performativity and feature female protagonists who defy heteronormative understandings of gender and sexuality. Undoubtedly, Hotel can be read as an aesthetic homage to The Hunger. However, whether Hotel also echoes some of the more conservative aspects of the earlier film’s politics is a more complex question. Focusing on the ways that these female vampire protagonists, as well as a selection of their lovers and victims, are gendered, this chapter will illuminate a number of developments and lingering issues in the ways that horror depicts (or circumvents) complex facets of the relationship between bisexuality and gender.
Derek Worthing and Samantha Organ
The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that contribute to the development of an effective conservation management plan (CMP).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that contribute to the development of an effective conservation management plan (CMP).
Design/methodology/approach
The approach was based on a literature review from which key issues and concerns were identified. This was followed by in-depth interviews with a number of creators and users of CMPs.
Findings
CMPs have developed as an identifiable process with the key stages having a logic and synergy with each other. The research found that undue emphasis was placed on some stages at the expense of others which lead to ineffective management tools often being produced. The reasons for this are related to the interests and background of the creators and a lack of interaction with organisational culture and processes – and importantly a failure to engage with frontline staff. In addition, there were also resource and skill constraints within the client organisation.
Research limitations/implications
Interviews were conducted with six creators (consultants) and seven users. These were mostly from national heritage organisations and specialist heritage consultants. A wider range of user organisations and consultants could be identified for follow-up research. Also those who actually deliver CMPs “on the ground” and day to day could form an important part of the development of this research.
Practical implications
CMPs should be practical working management tools which have to be used by the heritage organisation in order to be effective. This research will hopefully help practitioners focus on what needs to be done in order to produce an effective plan.
Social implications
The conservation of built heritage is essentially concerned with the protection of a social good. CMPs have the potential to provide effective protection of that which is seen as valuable and significant to individuals, groups and society at large.
Originality/value
The management of heritage is an area that is generally under-researched. This work will hopefully be engaged with by academics and practitioners in order to help establish and promote a wider interest in the field.
Details
Keywords
Shannon L. Rawski, Emilija Djurdjevic and Leah D. Sheppard
Findings regarding the relationship between biological sex and job stress remain inconsistent. In the present chapter, we suggest that this is due to the overly simplistic and…
Abstract
Findings regarding the relationship between biological sex and job stress remain inconsistent. In the present chapter, we suggest that this is due to the overly simplistic and synonymous treatment of biological sex and gender. Specifically, researchers have operationalized gender as sex, neglecting the inherent complexity of the gender construct. To address this, we take a more nuanced approach and develop a theory around the effects of biological sex and gender on job stress, considering how sex, gender, sex-based prescribed gender roles and work roles interact to create role conflict. We predict that a lack of congruence between any of the aforementioned variables results in various types of role conflict, leading to stress, and requiring coping. Drawing on the literature on role conflict, emotional labor, and facades of conformity, we introduce the concept of gender façades as a coping mechanism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Details