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The changing environment within which SMEs are operating is examined by reference to detailed case studies of three medium‐sized firms (one in the pharmaceutical sector and two in engineering). Following the development of a framework for analysis the cases are discussed to illustrate the direct and indirect ways in which pressures in the network of business relationships affect the management of employment relations. Particular attention is given to the effects of these pressures on management structure, work organisation and human resources policies and practices. Far from enjoying greater discretion following the decline in institutional arrangements and labour market deregulation, managers in SMEs find themselves constrained in new ways. It is argued that employment relations in these firms is shaped strongly by specific customer requirements exercised through the supply chain rather than being driven by broad market forces.

Discusses how downsizing has been associated with the move towards lean working in organisations and with having negative consequences for employees. Considers the extent to which downsizing is lean and mean drawing on an extensive review of the available literature. Concludes that downsizing is rarely lean since it usually takes the form of quantitative changes in employment rather than qualitative changes in the process of managing. Evidence also suggests that downsizing usually has an adverse effect on both employees who leave and those who remain with the organisation. Yet this meanness is not inevitable since it depends partly on the extent to which human resources issues are considered.

Presents 31 abstracts, edited by Johanthan Morris and Mike Reed, from the 2003 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference, held at Cardiff Business School in September 2003. The conference theme was “The end of management? managerial pasts, presents and futures”. Contributions covered, for example, the changing HR role, managing Kaizen, contradiction in organizational life, organizational archetypes, changing managerial work and gendering first‐time management roles. Case examples come from areas such as Mexico, South Africa, Australia, the USA, Canada and Turkey.

This essay explores the reactions within police departments toward sexual harassment scandals. The study describes and analyzes reported cases of sexual harassment and misconduct in police departments to discern citizen narratives and political consequences for elected officials. This assessment hypothesizes that political leadership is an essential element in establishing organizational cultures that combat sexual harassment in local governments. The article contributes to the knowledge about possible gaps in agenda setting, especially for a policy area in which knowledge and problem definitions continue to evolve.

This Research Watch aims to summarise two recent research papers on social exclusion and mental health within minority Asian population groups in the UK and USA.

A search was carried out for research papers with a mental health and social inclusion focus published within the past 12 months.

The first paper summarises 12 recent research papers on the experience of British South Asians of accessing health care for long term physical conditions and depression. Gaining access to health care was a complex process of negotiation between those seeking it and health service representatives. This process was hampered by lack of fit between patients' and clinicians' cultural context and understandings. The second paper summarises 14 questionnaire‐based research studies of the relationship between discrimination experiences and mental and physical health in Asian Americans, finding significant links between discrimination and mental and physical health.

The first paper's authors used recently developed, rigorous methods of summarising findings from multiple interview and focus group studies, arriving at a new understanding of the processes experienced by British South Asians when accessing services for health conditions, including depression. The second paper extends existing knowledge about links between discrimination and poor physical and mental health in American minority groups to Asian Americans, a group relatively overlooked hitherto.

The purpose of this paper is to determine what aspects of board independence, in terms of board structure and characteristics of non‐executive directors (NEDs), are associated with effective monitoring of management, as evidenced through lower levels of earnings management.

This paper examines the effectiveness of board independence requirements under the 2003 Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) Principles of Good Corporate Governance and Best Practice Recommendations (POGCG) for a sample of 231 firms listed on the ASX in the financial year 2005. The associations of board composition, share ownership and compensation of NEDs with the level of earnings management are estimated. To explore the characteristics of NEDs that are important for effective monitoring, NEDs are separated into “grey” (affiliated) directors and independent directors and compensation is separated into variable and fixed components.

The results of the paper indicate a positive relation between earnings management and share ownership of NEDs, particularly that of grey directors. There is a negative relation between NED compensation and the level of earnings management, particularly the fixed compensation component for independent directors.

This paper is important to shareholders, academics and policy makers because it shows the type of remuneration and ownership levels for NEDs that are consistent with good corporate governance. NEDs are more effective monitors when independent directors are compensated more as a fixed amount that is not related to the firm's performance. The compensation of grey directors is not associated with the level of earnings management. On the other hand, NEDs are less effective monitors as share ownership by grey directors increases. The share ownership of independent directors is not associated with the level of earnings management. To ensure the independence of the board and enhance its ability and incentives to effectively monitor management, the paper recommends that remuneration of NEDs should be a fixed amount, and the share ownership of NEDs should be limited.

The findings provide guidance as to the meaning of board independence, in terms of the payments and returns that NEDs receive from a company. The results provide support for recommendation 2.1 in the ASX's POGCG that requires the majority of the board to be independent directors. The paper highlights the need for boards to be careful when choosing and rewarding NEDs.

The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act (which has been amended by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975) provides:

This paper aims to attempt to tie in specific events into the case of Linde v. Arab Bank to provide a greater context. This case is the first where a US court held a bank civilly liable for providing financial support to a terrorist organization, but to do so, the court had to decide on several factors, involving as follows: the application of the anti-terrorism act; the sufficiency of evidence; and the causation of the plaintiffs’ damages.

This paper is a case study of Linde v. Arab Bank. It also takes an in-depth view of one particular terrorist attack that was alleged to have been financed by Arab Bank PLC. This paper reviewed similar legal cases, law review articles on the subject, congressional and government reports, congressional testimony and open source news involving the case and the terrorist incidents involved.

The court, in this case, ruled in favor of holding Arab Bank liable for money laundering and terrorist financing, which allowed American families to sue the bank for the loss of their loved ones.

This paper focuses on a unique issue involved in money laundering and terrorist financing. It is not fully a legal paper or a traditional academic paper. It is also unique in that case studies are rare in criminal justice and criminology journals.

Using evidence drawn from case studies in four companies in the Scottish financial sector, this paper examines how both statutory and company family leave policies are operated by line managers. This paper considers the extent of line managers’ knowledge of statutory and company family leave policies and finds that their knowledge, particularly of statutory measures, is often wanting. In exploring the reasons for this situation, training on statutory and company family leave policies was found to be extremely limited and although support from human resource professionals was provided, line managers only referred to them in exceptional circumstances. This situation has clear implications both for consistency of operation of these policies and for the role of human resource professionals in ensuring that statutory and company provisions are effectively put into practice.

The purpose of this paper is to identify some key issues for the analysis of corporate governance based on the papers within this special issue including the Guest Editor's perspectives.

The five papers included in this special issue are summarized and their main contribution to the literature is highlighted.

The paper collectively deal with the role and impact of corporate boards on the quality of information provided to capital markets.

The theoretical and empirical research included in the special issue advance the understanding of corporate governance which provides impetus for practitioner and policy change.

The normative concepts of best practice need to be validated by empirical testing in the context of firms and their institutional settings. This suite of papers provides evidence of the effectiveness of corporate governance in improving accounting quality.