Enhancing Employee Voice: Are Voluntary Employer–Employee Partnerships Enough?

One of the essential ethical issues in the employment relationship is the loss of employee voice. Many of the ways employees have previously exercised voice in the employment relationship have been rendered less effective by (1) the changing nature of work, (2) employer preferences for flexibility that often work to the disadvantage of employees, and (3) changes in public policy and institutional systems that have failed to protect workers. We will begin with a discussion of how work has changed in the last 20 years in countries like Australia and the United States, and then take up the issue of employees as organizational stakeholders and the ethical duties that are owed them, with special attention given to issues of power. We will then consider whether voluntary action by employers such as social auditing is sufficient to ensure equity for employees, and conclude with a discussion of how changes in public policy might ensure greater fairness in the employment relationship by bringing employers and employees together in partnership.     

Engaging employers in workplace training – lessons from the English Train to Gain programme

Despite the ambition of an employer‐led vocational education and training system, a lack of employer engagement in workplace training continues to be reported in England. There seems to be a mismatch between national policy level expectations of how employers should be engaging in workplace training and the practicalities of employer engagement at the local level. This paper presents findings from insider research on employer engagement in Train to Gain, the recent UK government flagship workplace training programme. The study draws on interviews with training providers and government contract managers in one local area to examine the impact of programme structures and funding arrangements on employer engagement and to identify lessons to be learnt. In their interview accounts, training providers identified rigidity and instability in government funding and management system structures as having constrained employer engagement in Train to Gain at the local level. The findings have implications for workplace training policy by suggesting that programmes with stable funding and local flexibility enable more effective employer engagement.     

Technical and non‐technical education and the employability of engineering graduates: an Indian case study

India's substantial growth in recent years has resulted in a significant increase in demand for engineers. Information technology companies, now a major part of the Indian private sector, have been prominent in such recruitment, but the competences they seek in engineering students appear to be different in terms of priorities from those sought by engineering firms. Against this background, and Indian employers' general dissatisfaction with graduates' skills, the present study aims to investigate the importance of technical and non‐technical education, respectively, in the employability of undergraduate engineering students. Employability was determined according to students' success in campus recruitment drives by information technology companies, that is, whether they received an offer of employment. The study used a sample of two cohorts consisting of more than 500 undergraduate engineers in total, drawn from one of the leading engineering colleges in South India. Independent variables consisted of marks scored at the higher education admission stage, grades in engineering at graduation and performance in non‐technical education. The last named comprised verbal reasoning, logical reasoning and soft skills. The dependent variable was whether or not they were offered employment. The results, obtained through correlation and ordinal regression, revealed that the performance of students in non‐technical education was a stronger predictor of employability than was grade obtained in technical education. The findings will be of relevance to engineering colleges because they can be used in the formulation of a strategy to improve the employability of their students. The context is a concern in many countries that those leaving higher education are not properly equipped for the world of work.     

Employer training in Australia: current practices and concerns

This paper presents and analyses results from a research project on current trends in employer training in Australia. While the formal vocational education and training (VET) system is well‐researched, the everyday training that happens in workplaces is relatively under‐researched in Australia. Using some of the results of an employer survey undertaken in 2015, the paper describes and analyses employer‐based training across a range of industry areas. The survey included groups of questions on a range of matters, including the reasons why employers train, and how these relate to employers’ perceptions of their operating environment, and the structures they have in place to manage and organize training. Detailed data are provided about three specific forms of training: in‐house training and learning; the use that employers make of external providers of training; and employers’ use of nationally recognised training – training from the VET system. Finally the paper reports what managers said about the barriers to providing more training. The paper analyses the findings in relation to the literature and also identified changes over time in training practices in Australian companies. Implications for training policy and practice, as well as for future research, are identified.     

Developing a contemporary conceptualization for consumer sciences in higher education in the UK

Consumer sciences and consumer studies as a recent interdisciplinary degree area in higher education in the UK has had limited published research either on the subject heritage or its disciplinary identity. Since the major subject review was undertaken by the Council for National Academic Awards 17 years ago, the research investigation aimed to study how consumer studies and home economics had moved to consumer sciences and consumer studies. The research has therefore involved a survey over a 15‐year period of development and changes of institutions and degrees and a content analysis of programme outlines and national benchmarking to reveal changing trends in how the subject has been conceptualized. The comparison used data from 1992, 1999, 2003 and 2007 to map degree programme and institutional changes. External and internal political and economic factors influenced subject growth, decline and development. It was found that the number of degree programme titles had remained relatively stable, with still a balance between BA and BSc degrees but that this disguised many changes in institutions and degree titles. The content analysis of trends was undertaken, comparing 1992, 1999, 2003 and 2007. Subject benchmarking statements introduced in 2002, currently being revised in 2009, were compared with programme content themes in 2003 and 2007. The content analysis showed that the overall approach or principles, areas of study, context, perspectives and processes for degree programmes at the undergraduate level had developed noticeably over the last 15 years and had been clarified by benchmarking guidelines. Themes of behavioural change, consumer ethics, consumer services, skills and education, sustainability and well‐being had developed with applied contexts depending on programme orientation. A model has been proposed to illustrate the current conceptualization of the subject in the UK at degree level, and Chenoweth's definition of consumer sciences and consumer studies has been redefined for the UK. It is recommended that there should be more theoretical reflection on the interpretation and development of the subject.     

Entrepreneurial Women as Catalysts for Socioeconomic Development in Transitioning Cambodia,Laos, and Vietnam

In this longitudinal study the authors examine the collective interplay of history, culture, policy and marketing, and their dynamic effects on entrepreneurial women in transitioning Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam (CLV). The authors introduce a systemic model to illustrate key factors and relationships, and then share results that indicate themes for entrepreneurial success and societal welfare. Important findings include insights into the evolving landscape in which women have opportunities to generate income, to provide employment, and to improve their own conditions, status and roles, as well as the well‐being of their families, communities and countries. The authors conclude with a discussion of policies and strategies to re‐orient various institutions and sectors to empower women as catalysts for greater economic growth and societal welfare. Opportunities for future research are suggested.     

Managing ethics in higher education: implementing a code or embedding virtue?

This paper reviews a publication entitled 'Ethics Matters. Managing Ethical Issues in Higher Education', which was distributed to all UK universities and equivalent (HEIs) in October 2005. The publication proposed that HEIs should put in place an institution-wide ethical policy framework, well beyond the customary focus on research ethics, together with the mechanisms necessary to ensure its implementation. Having summarised the processes that led to the publication and the publication itself, the paper then considers whether following the now commonplace corporate practice of implementing a code of ethics is appropriate for such institutions. Drawing on both the empirical evidence in relation to codes in the business ethics literature and a consideration of the nature of the university as an institution, the paper offers an alternative suggestion for how ethical issues in higher education might be managed.     

Students' Entrepreneurial Intentions: The Role of Prior Learning Experiences and Emotional,Social, and Cognitive Competencies

Despite literature acknowledges that emotional, social, and cognitive (ESC) competencies favor entrepreneurial success, research has scantly investigated if they influence entrepreneurial intentions. Moreover, studies use work and extracurricular activities as proxies for competency possession without investigating their impact on competency development. To address this void, we analyze the direct and mediating effects of ESC competencies on self‐employment intentions. Results from a sample of university students demonstrate that higher levels of ESC competencies predict entrepreneurial intent, and only international and cultural experiences indirectly favor self‐employment intentions. This study offers insight to the debate on competency development in entrepreneurial education.     

Employment change in independent owner-managed high-technology firms in Great Britain

There is a growing volume of literature that points to the potential for small technology-based firms to achieve substantial employment growth. As a direct consequence of such work this sector of any economy has attracted increasing attention from national and local Governments concerned with finding ways of revitalising economically deprived localities and creating employment opportunities. This paper provides up-to-date empirical evidence surrounding the ability of small high-technology firms to create additional jobs in Great Britain. In addition, key founder and business characteristics are isolated which are significantly associated with employment change in growing high-technology firms over the 1986 to 1992 period. With respect to factors influencing these high levels of employment growth, a high firm size (in 1986) was found to act positively on employment growth, as was a graduate level education for the key founder. On the finance side firms which had access to and used a multiplicity of sources of start-up finance tended to grow faster. Futher, on the basis of our results we would suggest (and recommend) a Government policy which at the firm level actively encourages high-technology firm start-ups (who record higher rates of survival than firms in more conventional sectors) as well as providing support for existing high-technology firms who have already demonstrated the inclination and ability to grow in employment size.     

Incorporating corporate social responsibility into graduate employability

To remain sustainably viable in today's business environment, employers require appropriate skills to support their commitment to social responsibility. When recruiting skills, employers recognize that graduate attributes are essential indicators of the capability to render constructive workplace outcomes. Graduates need to develop these attributes to demonstrate their employability potential to prospective employers. However, existing employability capital frameworks do not include the graduate attributes needed to measure capability in corporate social responsibility (CSR) skills. The objective of this study was to determine which graduate attributes would support employability capability in CSR skills. Following a theoretical investigation, a mixed-method exploratory study was undertaken in South Africa's state-owned electricity provider to determine the employability attributes required by the organization in CSR management. The first phase involved a data collection survey, 302 managers and supervisors in South Africa's primary electricity provider rated a proposed 44 personal attributes linked to nine theoretical determined CSR skills and their importance in CSR management. In the second phase, the survey results were validated through a separate Delphi technique with three Human Resource Development experts. Confirmatory factor analysis found significant relationships between the tested attributes and the nine CSR skills. The findings could assist graduates in understanding the attributes they need to develop to be deemed employable for CSR performance. Furthermore, higher education institutions can include the results in curriculums to contribute to the development of CSR skills. Finally, the attributes and skills could be used to conceptualize a focused CSR employability capital, which employers can use to test employability potential.     

Developing human resources for the technical workforce: a comparative study of Korea and Thailand

Asian countries face significant and growing shortages of technically skilled workers. Vocational‐technical systems are key components of national human resource development. Using labor market data from Thailand and Korea, this paper analyzes the economic payoff for individual investment in vocational‐technical education, and subsequent employment in a related occupation. The results are mixed, showing that relatively few men or women end up working in areas that they are trained for, but that for men in Korea and women in Thailand, employment in a related field pays off in terms of higher monthly earnings. As governments move toward workforce policy created in conjunction with firms and education, the results of this study reinforce the need for national development plans that address the relatively weak relationship between initial training and employment in Asian countries.     

Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets: New Insights and Directions for Future Research

In recent years, the entrepreneurship and emerging markets research streams have intersected. Emerging markets provide an opportunity to examine entrepreneurship in different contexts and forms. This article discusses the current literature that interconnects both research streams in general, comments on the contributions of the articles published in the special issue on entrepreneurship and emerging markets in particular, and sketches out future avenues for research. These contributions span several theoretical lenses, including institutional theory, internationalization theory, transaction cost economics, and the resource‐based view, as well as multiple geographic regions, including China as the largest emerging economy and other countries in East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. We weave a discussion of the extant literature and these contributions inside three key themes: Emerging Markets and China's Uniqueness, Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets, and Future Research on Emerging Markets Entrepreneurship. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Global Value Chains,the Rise of the Robots and Human Capital

This essay examines whether robots will lead to the reshoring of activity from low-wage countries to rich countries, leading to a revival of manufacturing in rich countries. I argue that reshoring will not lead to an employment boom in rich countries, because the brilliant robots are a capital-biased technology, and as such, they potentially replace smart people. As a result, the skill premium – the wage discrepancy between a university graduate and a high school graduate – is declining in Europe. I argue further that the expansion of higher education has been too aggressive in light of the capital bias of digital technology.     

Services policy reform and manufacturing employment: Evidence from transition economies

Policy reforms targeting the services sectors are a neglected dimension of the process of structural transformation and economic development. The effects of such reforms on employment across industries as a function of their use of services as intermediate inputs are theoretically ambiguous and remain largely understudied. This paper uses sector‐level data for 24 transition economies for the 1990–2012 period to assess the impacts of services policy reforms on downstream manufacturing employment. We find a negative effect of services reforms on manufacturing sector employment. This is mostly associated with the process of transition to a market‐based economy. Controlling for transition‐specific dynamics, the data suggest a neutral effect of progress towards adopting “best practice” policies for upstream services on employment in downstream manufacturing. Furthermore, in line with the extant literature, we confirm that services policy reforms enhance productivity of downstream manufacturing industries. Finally, we find that the negative effects on downstream employment are mitigated in countries with better economic governance and human capital.     

河北省高校毕业生就业供需匹配研究

毕业生就业实质是高校人才培养与社会需求匹配的过程。本文将河北省高校毕业生就业问题放在河北省产业结构优化升级的大环境中来进行阐述和分析,从河北省高校就业结构出发分析其就业结构偏离度。进而根据河北省高校毕业生就业专业相关性不高、主要集中在民营企业、灵活就业居多、就业稳定性差等就业现状,从市场需求出发,着眼于高校教育供给、毕业生就业能力培养和畅通就业市场人才流动三个方面,分析河北省高校毕业生培养类型、学历层次、学科专业、通用就业能力和劳动力市场分割等方面与市场需求之间存在的矛盾。基于此,从三个方面提出破解河北省高校毕业生就业市场供需矛盾的思路：一是对河北省高校毕业生培养方向进行调整,二是加强大学生就业能力培养,三是加快京津冀劳动力市场一体化建设进程。     

Graduate attributes in higher education: Examining academics' perception in the Middle East

Higher education institutes are facing increasing pressure to ensure that graduates are equipped with the right set of attributes that will make them desirable to potential employers. To deal with this pressure, universities have for some time been embedding employability attributes into their curriculum through classroom-based teaching and external programs. Yet, little research exists into examining academics' perception of graduate attributes and the potential challenges they face in delivering these attributes. The authors examine graduate attributes that are perceived as most important by academics. The findings suggest that communication, teamwork, problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, time management, and research skills were all seen as important for the employability.     

Consumer education in the UK: new developments in policy,strategy and implementation

Consumer education is an integral part of the European Community's consumer policy. It plays a key role in consumer empowerment, helping consumers gain the skills, attitudes and knowledge they need to be able to gear the choices they make as consumers to their economic interests and to protect their health and safety. In its policy statement, the Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection states that the European Community is aware that joint measures at national and Community levels should be more structured, in order to achieve maximum effectiveness. This paper aims to set out the current policy and strategic context for consumer education and empowerment in the UK; review the role of UK government bodies and other agencies concerned with developments; review recent literature; present the results of interviews with an extensive range of key stakeholders and the results of a survey of service heads for trading standards throughout the UK. It will consider implementation, partnership, resources, ideas and opportunities. The research found that the agenda for consumer education in the UK is at an interesting stage of development. The Enterprise Act 2002 gives the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) a statutory power to carry out educational activities. Consumer education is also moving up the agenda in the trading standards service. In addition, the teaching of citizenship in English schools is already stimulating new developments in consumer education. The paper will consider the need for organizations like these to work together to build on these policy developments and ensure that consumer education gains the profile it needs to influence consumer attitudes and behaviour.     

Institutional investors as stewards of the corporation: Exploring the challenges to the monitoring hypothesis

The study explores the challenges UK‐based institutional investors face when trying to monitor investee companies and influence their social, environmental, and governance practices. Consistent with previous research, I find that misalignment of interests within the investment chain and dispersed ownership are factors which inhibit investor activism. However, other underexplored challenges include lack of investee company transparency and investor experience in activism, as well as low client demand for engagement and internal conflicts of interest. The results contribute to the literature on institutional investor activism by using direct empirical evidence to systematically discuss the challenges to stewardship. Given the intensification of media and regulatory attention on shareholders in the post‐global financial crisis era, coupled with investors’ growing awareness and practice of stewardship, the research opens new avenues for enquiry which go beyond the on‐going debate about the monitoring versus short‐termism roles of institutional investors.     

Exploring factors motivating entrepreneurial intentions: the case of Italian university students

This study aims to identify the factors motivating the intentions of university students to become entrepreneurs. Leveraging data from a survey of 941 Italian students and adopting Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour, this paper employs the structural equation model to identify factors explaining students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The findings show that attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control positively shape Italian students’ intentions. Moreover, the findings signal that the skills acquired during the university pathway play a crucial role in encouraging students to consider entrepreneurial choices. The paper extends and complements the academic and policy debate in the field of entrepreneurship offering a comprehensive investigation of the factors affecting entrepreneurial intentions. It also allows us to contend that higher education may have an important role to play in fostering the entrepreneurial intentions of young people. This is especially significant given current global economic conditions and the renewed importance of self‐employment strategies.     

Microfoundations of institutional change: Contrasting institutional sabotage to entrepreneurship

This paper addresses little understood microfoundations of institutionally driven organizational change and utilizes an institutional‐conflict‐based approach to examine innovation in organizational forms. Using a two‐case comparative analysis, we longitudinally examine the antecedents, mechanisms, and success/failure of attempts at change by institutional entrepreneurs. We analyze and develop theoretical insights on the interplay between internal political processes and external competitive actions in the creation of innovation in organizational forms and the subsequent legitimacy struggles through which an organizational field evolves in a sports (cricket) business context. We draw implications for institutional actors by observing patterns in organizational and institutional evolution in such contexts. We contribute to institutional entrepreneurship literature by developing a nuanced process model of success and failure in institutional entrepreneurship. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.