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The purpose of this paper is to explore attitudes among church administrators to church tourism, and the vexing challenge of categorizing church properties as tourist attractions for the city visitor. Furthermore, it seeks to ascertain if in the current economic climate, evidence of a collaborative inclination exists between core and peripheral supply‐stakeholders towards delivering a church tourism trail in this visitor‐rich area of Dublin city.

Data were gathered to coincide with the busiest period of the tourist season. Using a qualitative methodology involving a series of semi‐structured interviews, initial research concentrated on attitudes to church tourism among both church administrators and church visitors. Subsequent interviews with key informants from both core and peripheral stakeholder groups focused on their attitudes to stakeholder collaboration in the development of a localized church tourism trail.

The findings of this paper would suggest broad support among most church administrators towards tourism and contextualising church properties as heritage attractions. However, operational dissonances associated with “church ethos” and “collaborative engagement”, particularly when embedded within individual fears of being associated with an official “tourist trail” were viewed as collaborative impediments among some traditional and peripheral stakeholders.

As international competition for the urban tourist intensifies, this paper, in adopting a supply‐sided perspective has, through counterpointing psychological barriers to the development of a church tourism product, with the absence of collaboration champions in the area, highlighted a number of limiting factors to adding value to the visitor experience in Dublin's Liberties. Challenges abide!

Outlines the processes involved in the development of a competency based framework for use by middle managers of three‐star Irish hotels within rooms division and the food and beverage department. Secondary research provides an overview of existing generic competency models. Competency models and frameworks have been applied and customised across a broad range of industry sectors. Seeks to address the need for an innovative and fresh approach to HRM within the Irish hotel sector. The primary research is conducted among three‐star hotels nation wide, giving equal representation to all regions of Ireland. Job analysis techniques are used as the basis for the primary research. The research is conducted among general managers and middle managers of three‐star hotels. While this study examines the three‐star hotel market, it is recommended that further research be conducted among four‐ and five‐star properties. It is envisaged that the outcomes of this project will help assist managers in three‐star hotels to benchmark their most important role challenges at a middle managerial level against others in similar roles.

Workplace learning and HRD are considered legitimate topics for study and investigation alongside organisational strategies and practices. Considers key themes in the workplace earning literature in addition to its relationship with HRD. Identifies a paradigm shift from formalised, intermittent and discontinuous learning to increasingly informal, experiential, asynchronous and real‐time situated learning. Highlights three contemporary themes in both the workplace learning and HRD literatures, namely: knowledge, expertise, competence and capability; organisational learning; and employability and career issues.

Managing a large multinational team such as the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) project (ongoing since the early 1990s) presents numerous leadership, communication and organization challenges. This chapter discusses the challenges that occurred in the GLOBE project owing to: (a) the long-term nature of the project, (b) the evolving (growing) size of the GLOBE team, (c) the large membership size of the GLOBE team, (d) the virtual nature of the team's communications, and (e) the cultural differences of the GLOBE participants. Survey responses from 50 researchers regarding their experiences in GLOBE help document our experiences. Because these challenges will be encountered by other multinational teams, we provide recommendations for forming and maintaining successful multinational teams.

In the Court of Appeal last summer, when Van Den Berghs and Jurgens Limited (belonging to the Unilever giant organization) sought a reversal of the decision of the trial judge that their television advertisements of Stork margarine did not contravene Reg. 9, Margarine Regulations, 1967—an action which their Lordships described as fierce but friendly—there were some piercing criticisms by the Court on the phrasing of the Regulations, which was described as “ridiculous”, “illogical” and as “absurdities”. They also remarked upon the fact that from 1971 to 1975, after the Regulations became operative, and seven years from the date they were made, no complaint from enforcement authorities and officers or the organizations normally consulted during the making of such regulations were made, until the Butter Information Council, protecting the interests of the dairy trade and dairy producers, suggested the long‐standing advertisements of Reg. 9. An example of how the interests of descriptions and uses of the word “butter” infringements of Reg. 9. An example af how the interests of enforcement, consumer protection, &c, are not identical with trade interests, who see in legislation, accepted by the first, as injuring sections of the trade. (There is no evidence that the Butter Information Council was one of the organizations consulted by the MAFF before making the Regulations.) The Independant Broadcasting Authority on receiving the Council's complaint and obtaining legal advice, banned plaintiffs' advertisements and suggested they seek a declaration that the said advertisements did not infringe the Regulations. This they did and were refused such a declaration by the trial judge in the Chancery Division, whereupon they went to the Court of Appeal, and it was here, in the course of a very thorough and searching examination of the question and, in particular, the Margarine Regulations, that His Appellate Lordship made use of the critical phrases we have quoted.

A former professional handball player and Olympic medallist, Iñaki Urdangarín played with FC Barcelona and on the Spanish national handball team from 1986 to 2000. He also served as First Vice President for the Spanish Olympic Committee. In 2001 he was awarded the Real Orden al Mérito Deportivo, which recognises outstanding contribution to sport in Spain. In recent years he has worked as a consultant specialising in human resources. He co-founded the Nóos Institute, a scientific association whose mission is to promote research into the management of patronage, social responsibility and sponsorship activities, and was its president until April 2006. He has an impressive number of sporting achievements under his belt. During his time with FC Barcelona, his team won over 50 major competitions, including the Spanish league on 10 occasions and countless national and European trophies. He was picked for the Spanish team 172 times and took part in three Olympic Games, winning two bronze medals. He also has two silver medals and one bronze from the European Championships. Iñaki Urdangarín has a diploma in business sciences (specialising in human resources) from the Central University of Barcelona, a degree in business administration and management and an MBA from ESADE Business School, where he lectures in the Department of Corporate Policy.

The purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative study of the views of a cross‐section of union regional activists and officers on the potential of a newly developed equality representative role in promoting greater equality in the workplace.

Findings are based on an analysis of interview data incorporating the views and experiences of 32 officers and activists currently promoting equality in a region of the UK.

Findings suggest that this is an equality initiative whose time may have come. This conclusion, however, is tempered by respondents' belief that the equality representative project can only fulfil its potential if the role is mainstreamed into branch structures, policies and processes and, crucially, that the same statutory recognition enjoyed by other union representatives is granted to the equality representative.

The project is at an early stage of development. Therefore, findings are based on the views of significant proponents of union equality initiatives in the region of study. Further research is needed to assess the actual impact of the new representatives as they become active in their branches and organisations.

There are clear implications for management in terms of allowing representatives facility time and thus sharing the potential benefits of this new source of equality expertise. For the unions, the challenge is to mainstream the new role at all levels of the union and negotiate adequate facility time for the equality representative.

The research is one of the few studies focussing on this new union strategy for better addressing the equality needs of their members and offers a clear insight into its potential success.