Unlocking the potential to influence government skills policy: a case study of the UK construction industry

Despite a series of national policy initiatives aimed at addressing skills shortages in a number of sectors, little evidence of longer‐term change is apparent. This paper examines concerns expressed by small businesses that their local views are not sought or considered when national training policies and initiatives are either being developed or being implemented, and that the investment in skills development does not appear to adequately represent their skills needs. The research was carried out on the UK construction industry, which is characterized by a small number of large contractors who employ mainly managerial and professional staff, and a large number of small, micro‐ and self‐employed firms that provide, on a subcontract basis, the majority of the industry's demand for a skilled manual workforce. The identification and delivery of vocational education and training at an industry level rests firmly on addressing the skills needs of the small and micro‐type organizations and not those of the large construction firms, although it is the voice of the larger firms that appears to dominate the skills and training development agenda. The public policy model that articulates the requirements for training and skills development in the UK is based on sector‐specific skills councils. This model is examined in relation to the construction sector by drawing upon the experiences of the South Wales region as a case study. Findings indicate that the current construction skills framework, upon which public policy is formulated and delivered, fails to adequately reflect the structure, skills and training priorities of the industry. The tensions that exist in this system are highlighted and the implications for reform of public policy articulation with regard to sector skills councils are discussed.     

New Zealand Human Capital Development and Structural Reform

Between 1983 and 1997 New Zealand has undergone major economic and labour market changes moving it from one of the most protected economies and labour markets in the world into one of the most open. During the same period the vocational education and training infrastructure was largely abandoned. In 1992 after a four year gap, major initiatives were put in place to allow a voluntary, industry based, human capital development strategy to grow. This article looks at the historical position of education and training and attempts to evaluate the success of the new approach—suggesting the main human capital initiatives are proving successful when combined with economic reform.     

E‐learning: emerging uses,empirical results and future directions

The use of network technology to deliver training is the latest trend in the training and development industry and has been heralded as the ‘e‐learning revolution.’ In an effort to separate hype from reality, this paper reviews practitioner and research literature on e‐learning, incorporating unpublished information from interviews with managers and consultants directly involved in e‐learning initiatives. Specific attention is given to why organizations use e‐learning, what the potential drawbacks to e‐learning are, what we know from research about e‐learning and what the future of e‐learning may hold.     

The Effect of Stakeholder Preferences, Organizational Structure and Industry Type on Corporate Community Involvement

This paper analyses the relationships between corporate community involvement activities, the organizational structures within which they are managed, the firm's industry and evolving stakeholder attitudes and preferences in a sample of 148 U.K. based firms who have demonstrated a clear desire to be socially responsible. The research highlights significant associations between the allocation of responsibility for community involvement within the firm, its industry and the extent of its community involvement activities. Consistent with the view that managerial structures may play a significant role in the implementation of community initiatives, the results identify significant variations in community involvement policies across alternative organizational forms. However, important similarities in corporate community policies across alternative structures are also shown to exist suggesting that corporate community involvement activities may be influenced by the preferences of societal stakeholders.     

The role of training in reducing poverty: the case of the ultra‐poor in Bangladesh

Although microcredit is considered the main vehicle for increasing the income of the poor and alleviating poverty in Bangladesh, it is now well recognised that more than this is needed to reach the ultra poor in rural areas. Consequently, almost half of the Bangladesh population is in some way linked to non‐governmental organizations' development programmes, at the centre of which is poverty alleviation. The study reported here developed a comprehensive cross‐sectional intervention to examine whether the income of those who participated in the training programmes of non‐governmental organizations was related to that participation. The study was carried out in three leading organizations in three districts of Bangladesh using a quantitative associational research design. Three hundred responses were analysed using multiple regression analysis to elicit information from ultra poor clients who had received training. The results suggest that the post‐training income level of the trainees was negatively rather than positively related to the fact of their participation in training, the opposite of what human capital theory would lead us to expect.     

Global production networks and host-site industrial upgrading: the case of the semiconductor industry in Thailand

Although Thailand’s electronics industry has been considered as one of the strategic sectors, the evidence in this article shows that it is dominated by midstream and downstream activities. Despite accounting for a quarter of electronics exports, semiconductors manufacturing is confined to low value-added activities. The lack of industrial policy has restricted technological upgrading in the industry. Upgrading efforts made by both public and private initiatives have so far failed. The case studies show that firms in Thailand must acquire and develop technological capabilities to stimulate the industry’s transformation from low-to-high value-added activities.     

Corporate Social Responsibility and Societal Governance: Lessons from Transparency in the Oil and Gas Sector

This article evaluates the potential of the current Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agenda for addressing issues related to societal governance. The investigation focuses on the experience of the oil and gas sector, which has been among the leading industry sectors in championing CSR. In particular, the article analyses the issue of revenue transparency, which has been the principal governance challenge addressed by multinational oil and gas companies. The article suggests that (1) tackling governance challenges is crucial to addressing the impact of corporate activities; (2) current CSR and policy initiatives are entirely insufficient in addressing governance challenges and (3) corporate activities may be contributing to governance failures.     

Gaining legitimacy through CSR: an analysis of Turkey's 30 largest corporations

Grounded in institutional theory, this study provides an overview of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of Turkey's 30 largest corporations through a thematic content analysis. The study focuses on the G‐20 member Turkey and investigates the influence of isomorphism mechanisms on the adoption of CSR initiatives in a developing country context. The aim of this study is to integrate Carroll's CSR dimensions, the type of CSR engagement and coercive, mimetic and normative isomorphism mechanisms proposed by institutional theory. Through this integration the study makes a unique contribution to the literature by providing a different perspective. Findings reveal industry characteristics do not influence the selection of CSR initiatives. While business‐to‐business companies focus on CSR activities linked to their core business functions, business‐to‐consumer companies focus on CSR initiatives that are more discretionary, varied and philanthropic. In addition, findings show that multinational corporations implement CSR initiatives at the global level rather than focusing on local needs.     

Encouraging innovative environmental actions: what companies and managers must do

Increasingly environmentally proactive firms are interested in finding ways to encourage employees to take environmental actions that will improve the environmental performance of company operations, products and services. Results of an employee survey show that both environmental policies and supportive supervisory behaviors can increase the probability that employees will try environmental initiatives. We describe environmental policies and supervisory behaviors that exist in firms that are committed to sustainable development and employee environmental initiatives. From the survey results, we draw some lessons for managers and organizations that would like to support employee participation in sustainable development activities.     

The role of training in reducing poverty: the case of agricultural workers receiving microcredit in Bangladesh

The policy of providing microcredit and skill training to poor agricultural workers in developing countries is well‐established. In this study, an attempt has been made to assess the effectiveness of the training part of that policy. BRAC (formerly the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), the largest non‐governmental organization in Bangladesh, is making efforts to alleviate poverty by providing microcredit and relevant training to landless and marginal borrowers, who have less than 1.5 acres of land, in order to enhance their standard of living. The study aims to assess the effects of BRAC's training programs on the recipients' total household expenditure. Primary data were collected from female borrowers who participated in the microcredit programs of BRAC and these data reflect the key role women play in agricultural work and the lack of research on their status. The study shows that the training provided to the borrowers failed to create any significant impact on their household expenditure because only a small percentage of borrowers received training and the duration of the training was limited (on average three days per person). Moreover, many of those who received training experienced only a modest income effect. The findings are important not just for the practical purpose of influencing policies for reducing poverty in Bangladesh but also for their contribution to the understanding of the effectiveness of training. The existing literature is concerned mainly with the effectiveness of training in the context of business and other organizations in developed countries. Research on the effectiveness of training in developing countries, particularly in alleviating poverty, is less evident. Moreover, the present research is also exceptional as it focuses only on female trainees.     

Innovation in Experiential Business Ethics Training

Ethics training has undergone dramatic changes in the past decade. Global business growth and increased technological change have played a role in the increasing sophistication and development of ethics programs and communication devices. These training initiatives are based on organizational ethical decision making theories and empirical research indicating the benefits of training in developing an ethical organizational culture. In this article, we discuss the issues important in developing effective ethics training, examine the goals and methods currently used in training, introduce an ethics training behavioral simulation, and discuss its implementation and evaluation.     

Micro-credit NGOs and strategic trust: An odd couple?

This study contributes to the micro-credit literature by addressing the lack of philosophical dialogue concerning the issue of trust between micro-credit NGOs and rural poor women. The study demonstrates that one of the root causes of NGOs’ contested roles in Bangladesh is the norm that they use (i.e., trust) to rationalize their micro-credit activities. I argue that Bangladeshi micro-credit NGOs’ trust in poor village women is not genuine because they resort to group responsibility sustained through aggressive surveillance. I maintain so by drawing on a trust-based theoretical framework that uses various philosophical insights. Drawing on the same conceptual framework, I also contend, somewhat softening the previous claim, that if micro-credit trust is trust at all, it is at most strategic, not generalized. For being strategic, it has many undermining effects on local social solidarity norms, rendering Bangladeshi micro-credit NGOs and strategic trust an odd couple with no moral compass. To bring forth the moral impetus in micro-credit activities, I lay out some recommendations intended for organizations, managers, and policymakers, consistent with normative corporate social responsibility initiatives. However, further studies can be initiated based on this paper, suggesting its importance for future research.     

大商业物流本科创新人才培养体系研究

本文从现代商业发展潮流探讨物流专业人才培养方向,提出大商业物流这一崭新概念,并就大商业物流管理专业创新人才培养目标、培养模式、培养体系、课程体系、实践教学体系进行了深入研究;而且对实施方案提出加强产学研合作培养大商业物流创新型人才的具体举措。     

跨国公司在中国的研发活动

近年来,跨国公司加强了在中国的研发投资。跨国公司在华研发活动的增长性、集中性、合作性、控制性,促进了我国高科技产业的发展,增加了“技术溢出”效应,搭建了人才培养的平台,在此基础上,应从政策方面支持跨国公司在华的研发活动,引导我国企业采取科学的管理理念和模式,推动企业国际化的步伐,加强我国企业自身研发能力建设。     

An investigation into the relationship between training evaluation and the transfer of training

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between training evaluation and the transfer of training in organizations. We hypothesized that training evaluation frequency will be related to higher rates of transfer because evaluation information can identify weaknesses that lead to improvements in training programs and create greater accountability among stakeholders for training outcomes. The data were obtained from 150 training professionals who were members of a training and development association in Canada. The results indicated that training evaluation frequency is positively related to training transfer. However, among Kirkpatrick's four levels of evaluation criteria, only behavior and results criteria were related to higher rates of transfer of training, indicating that the level of evaluation criteria is important for training transfer. These results indicate the importance of organizational‐level initiatives such as training evaluation in addition to individual‐level practices for facilitating the transfer of training.     

应对高铁猛烈冲击,凸显民航竞争优势——新时期民航服务业人才培养的创新思考

高铁来势汹汹,面对严峻的外部环境,民航服务业人才培养更需加大改革力度,围绕民航总局提出的各项举措,确立人才培养的重心和发展方向,提升服务人员综合素质,提高行业总体竞争力,凸显"服务"、"速度"和"安全"三大优势,探索新时期民航服务业人才培养的途径。     

Old structures versus new logic in the electronics industry

Electronics is a branch of industry in which the competitive position of European firms is relatively weak, compared to the chemical, motor vehicle and mechanical engineering industries. This fact appears to some observers—in view of the electronic industry’s high rates of growth and its technologically “strategic” importance—to represent a threat to Europe’s future industrial development. This has led to intensive political discussions in recent years and to a multitude of initiatives for the revitalisation of the European electronics industry. This paper analyses the extent to which the discussions and initiatives have in fact dealt with the problems in hand.     

Ethical issues in contemporary human resource development

Training and development activities are perhaps the aspects of HRM that are least likely to come under ethical scrutiny. However, despite an espousal of ethical humanism, and various attempts to develop professional standards, training and development activities can be vulnerable to unethical practice.     

中国速递业立法的思考

文章指出,构建速递业立法体系,加强对速递业的法律规制,是我国速递业进一步发展的前提和基础。制定速递业立法规范,不仅要遵循一般法律规范所应遵循的立法原则与宗旨,还应充分考虑我国速递业发展的现状和特点,避免与相关法律规定相互冲突。文章认为,制定速递业行政法规应明确速递业行业主管部门,经营范围及经营中禁止的行为,速递市场经营主体,速递业管理与处罚的行政执法主体与行政处罚主体,以及违反速递业行业规范所应承担的法律责任等。     

Governing Corporate Social Responsibility: An Assessment of the Contribution of the UN Global Compact to CSR Strategies in the Telecommunications Industry

CSR has become an important element in the business strategy of a growing number of companies worldwide. A large number of initiatives have been developed that aim to support companies in developing, implementing, and communicating about CSR. The Global Compact (GC), initiated by the United Nations, stands out. Since its launch in 2000, it has grown to about 2900 companies and 3800 members in total. The GC combines several mechanisms to support CSR strategies: normative principles, networks for learning and co-operation, and communication and transparency about CSR activities. However, up to now only a few empirical evaluations of the contribution of the GC to CSR strategies have been conducted that however have not differentiated between different types of companies (regarding type of industry or regarding the maturity of CSR). This paper aims to partly fill this knowledge gap by a case study examination of three frontrunner companies in the telecommunications industry. The results show that the GC is only one of the many initiatives that these companies employ in shaping, implementing, and reporting about their CSR strategies, and that its role is at most modest. There are two important reasons. One is that many of the CSR issues that these companies deal with are industry specific and are hence addressed in specific networks. The second reason is that the GC principles are perceived as minimum requirements that do not provide many incentives to the three case study companies to perform better. A differentiation of norms for GC members is expected to enhance the contribution of the GC to CSR strategy employment, not only for frontrunner companies but as well for other categories of companies.