The decentralisation of employment relations in the British public sector

The aim of this article is to investigate differences between the British public and private sectors in terms of the decentralisation of employment relations. Drawing on data from the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey, the article arrives at three main conclusions. First, the analysis reveals that while local‐level managers in both sectors have similar levels of responsibility for employment relations issues, those in the public sector are, on the whole, significantly less likely to be able to exercise authority. Second, the results indicate some marked variations in practice within the public sector, with managers in education having the greatest level of authority. Finally, the article explores the extent to which differences in local‐level authority between the public and private sectors can be explained by higher‐level collective bargaining, and the presence of higher‐level personnel specialists. These factors have only a partial influence, and do not fully explain why local‐level employee relations managers in some areas (notably health) are less able to exercise authority than their counterparts in the private sector.     

High‐performance work systems and workplace performance in small,medium‐sized and large firms

This article draws on the Organisational Growth and Development (OGD) life cycle model to explore the relationship between high‐performance work systems (HPWS) and performance in firms of different size, thereby extending understanding of congruence or ‘best fit’ theory within strategic HRM debates. With reference to management control theory, economies of scale and the availability of specialist managerial skills, the article hypothesises that while an HPWS–performance relationship might exist in small, medium‐sized and large firms, the relationship will be stronger in large firms than in both small and medium‐sized firms, and stronger in medium‐sized firms than in small firms. Analysis of data from the British Workplace Employment Relations Survey demonstrates, however, that there is no association between HPWS and workplace performance in medium‐sized firms, in contrast to the positive relationship between HPWS and performance found in large firms and between HPWS and labour productivity in small firms.     

Leaving studies because of lack of interest: an analysis of the risk factors of school dropouts in Pakistan

Quality & Quantity - Among all the students dropping out of school for different reasons in Pakistan in 2017, nearly 23% of the students dropped out because they were not...     

The Implementation and Adaptation of the Balanced Scorecard in a Government Agency

Despite considerable progress in understanding the adoption and practice of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a performance management tool in government organisations, how a well‐designed BSC can become a sustainable organisational practice remains under explored and of central importance. Through a qualitative field study carried out within a government agency (Alpha), this paper demonstrates that Alpha's senior management implemented a BSC framework because they believed it would benefit the agency to realise its broader organisational and socio‐economic goals, namely sustainable organisational efficiency and social status. We conclude that an organisation's performance management systems can travel across internal organisational boundaries over time and could be assimilated by organisational actors to become a sustained internal control mechanism in a complex socio‐political setting.     

An empirical test of a correspondence model of expatriate managers' work adjustment

We develop and empirically test a model of expatriate managers' work adjustment. In this model we relate the fit between work-related abilities and needs of expatriate managers as well as the fit between the job requirements of, and incentives associated with, an international assignment to the level of expatriate managers' work adjustment. We test this model with data gathered by means of an electronic survey among 118 German expatriate managers. The empirical findings largely support our theoretical model. The paper enhances our understanding of expatriate managers' work adjustment and its antecedents and contributes to the theoretical and empirical basis of research into expatriate management.     

The impact of Investors in People on employer‐provided training,the equality of training provision and the ‘training apartheid’ phenomenon

This article draws on data from WERS 2004 to provide a follow‐up to previous research using WERS 98, which evaluated the relationship between Investors in People (IiP) and training. This follow‐up is undertaken in order to consider whether the Standard, which was revised in 2000, is now more effective in ensuring that recognised workplaces genuinely engage in training activity. An evaluation is also undertaken of the Standard's new aim of ensuring equal opportunities with regard to training provision. In the event, the analysis demonstrates that the proportion of employees in IiP workplaces that have not received formal training did not change between 1998 and 2004, but employees were now less likely to disagree that managers at their workplaces encourage people to develop their skills. However, the analysis finds greater evidence of inequality of training provision in IiP workplaces than in non‐IiP workplaces and that the Standard neither boosts training levels for typically disadvantaged employee groups, nor overcomes the ‘training apartheid’ phenomenon.     

Board Committee Meetings and Firm Financial Performance: An Investigation of Australian Companies

This article examines how the frequency of board committee meetings impacts on Australian firms' financial performance. Data were collected from 118 Australian listed companies – including 26 financial firms and 92 nonfinancial firms – for the period 1999–2007. Analysis of that data shows that the frequencies of audit committee meetings and remuneration committee meetings are positively and significantly associated with return on equity and return on assets. The frequencies of risk committee meetings do not show any significant effects on the financial performance of Australian firms. Estimated results are found to be robust after controlling for internal as well as external governance mechanisms that might affect Australian firm performance.     

Japan's International Tourism in the Context of its International Economic Relations

Despite the rapid growth of the Japanese economy, Japan still accounts for a relatively small share of international tourism as a recipient. However, Japan's outward tourism has grown to the point where it is the fourth largest tourism generator. This article analyses the role of tourist flows in Japan's external economic relationships and in the structural adjustments in the Japanese economy needed to correct its perceived external imbalance. Together with the massive and increasing outflows of long-term capital from Japan, increasing outward tourism could become an important factor in achieving external balance. Future policies and forecasts are also analysed.     

The Good,the Bad and the Ugly: Employment Relations In New Non-Union Workplaces1

David Guest, who is Professor of Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck College, and Kim Hoque, who is Research Officer in the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and Political Science, draw on a postal survey of nearly 350 new establishments to consider their propensity to unionise, to adopt practices associated with HRM, and to deliver a number of performance outcomes. Key findings are that not only were there examples of the ‘good’, the ‘bad’ and the ‘ugly’ so far as practice generally was concerned, but also that those establishments which used HRM practices extensively tended to report better results in terms of a number of both employee relations and performance outcomes.