Membership and management of a 'virtual' team: the perspectives of a research manager

Many sectors of human activity are growing increasingly dependent on information and its contextual processing in the creation of knowledge. Nowhere is this process more crucial than in distributed R&D communities. This paper draws on experience of working in such communities and on investigations into the role of information and communications technologies. This work may have begun to uncover a framework on which to base the effective application of IT in this context.
A recent research study, supported by the EC Human Capital and Mobility Programme, was undertaken by a team which was itself distributed and comprised those with background disciplines in management science, developmental psychology and information technology. It focused on the communications channels (the media) used by international R&D communities and an analysis of the case study data revealed three significant dimensions:
• individuals and their engagement in the community;
• the nature and stages of R&D tasks;
• management and organization of distributed teams.
This paper focuses on the last of these themes whilst drawing upon the others. It reviews the dynamics of R&D tasks and the way that this requires changing organizational styles which establish, support and maintain each individual's contribution to the collective goal as the task passes through the phases of intention, procedure and operation. It begins to address the issue concerned with capitalizing on diversity rather than the more usual approach of always seeking a unifying consensus.     

Looking for people,places and connections: hindrances when working in multiple locations: a review

Mobile multi‐locational workers move a lot spatially, utilise different locations for work and communicate with others via electronic tools. This article presents an analysis of previously published empirical studies focusing on mobile workers' experiences of hindrances in five types of locations. Our review shows that some of the hindrances are unique for certain types of locations, while others recur in all or most of them. The change of physical locations results in continuous searching for a place to work and remaining socially as an outsider in all communities, including the main office. Limited connections and access in used locations seem to be the main challenges of virtual spaces despite of the recent developments in technology. In addition, we discuss the importance to consider hindrances caused by changing contexts as job demands, which can be influenced in work re/designing process.     

经济评价中“决策油价”确定方法的探讨

原油销售价格是油田开发项目必须及石油石化项目经济评价应采用的重在参数之一,但随着我国与国际原料市场的接轨,近年来原油价格变化非常大,油田开发项目的建设周期又比较长,原油价格常常具有可变性,如何利用该参数进行项目经济评价是摆在我们面前的一个重要课题。引入“决策油价”的概念,并根据对世界的油价史和油价影响因素的分析,结合油介变化动态,确定“决策油价”进行经济评价工作,对冀对进一步开展该类项目的经济评价工作起到参考作用。     

Recent Developments in the German Apprenticeship System

After passing through a period of relative crisis in the first half of the 1980s, by the end of the decade the 'dual system' appeared once again capable of providing Germany with the highly skilled work force it needed to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. This paper reviews the changing nature of apprenticeships and apprentices that has taken place over the last decade and the responses of government, the training authorities and employers to the sharp decline in the number of young people entering the labour market in recent years. Particular attention is given to the process of reforming and updating training regulations — a major concern of the parties involved in training over the last two decades. Finally, the paper suggests that unification of the two Germanies makes the future of the youth labour market and the labour market for skilled workers very unclear.     

How to balance like an academic

The academic's tasks are usually succinctly described as research, teaching, and service. To be successful in one's career, each of these must be kept in balance, and prioritized correctly. This is challenging, as the tasks usually are running in parallel, all are time demanding, and any one task can become overwhelming as deadlines approach. We first take a deeper look at the various tasks that must be balanced by the academic. Following that discussion, we provide a series of suggestions for how junior academics can become good at prioritization and other skills that help them achieve the desired balance between the tasks of research, teaching, and service, and between work and personal life.     

The link between computer use and job satisfaction: The mediating role of job tasks and task discretion

This study focuses on the consequences of the use of computerized work equipment (hereafter: computer use) on the content and quality of work. It investigates, first, the relationship between computer use and both job tasks and task discretion and, second, their mediating role for the relationship between computer use and job satisfaction. With our German-UK comparison, we contribute to the long-standing debate on the upskilling/de-skilling nature of the use of technology and its repercussions on the quality of work. We analyse data from the Skills and Employment Surveys for the UK and the BIBB/BAuA Employment Surveys for Germany using structural equation modelling. In line with the literature on routine-biased technological change, we show that computers are complementary to the performance of less routine and more abstract cognitive tasks and that this relationship is conducive to a higher level of task discretion and job satisfaction in both countries. Accounting for differences in job tasks performed, we find a negative direct effect of computer use on both task discretion and job satisfaction in the United Kingdom but not in Germany. Our results indicate that the ultimate effect of computer use on both task discretion and job satisfaction depends on the institutional contexts in which technology is introduced.     

Richard Hyman: Marxism,Trade Unionism and Comparative Employment Relations

Richard Hyman has been a hugely influential figure in the field of industrial relations for the best part of four decades. At a time when the future of the very subject has been questioned, we highlight three areas of Hyman's work that we believe provide fertile territory for future research. The first concerns the importance of theory and the continuing need to broaden the subject of industrial relations so that it is treated as an area in which we can examine wider questions about ‘the political economy of waged labour’. The second area is the changing nature of employee representation which, for much of Hyman's career, was synonymous with the analysis of trade unions under capitalism. The third area is one of the more striking recent successes within the subject, namely the study of comparative industrial relations. Each of these areas reveals Hyman's talent for identifying and clarifying a set of issues around the politics of work that will endure regardless of whether the subject is known as industrial relations, employment relations or human resource management.     

Gender and teleworking identities in the risk society: a research agenda

This paper discusses the potential implications of a risk society on identities due to alterations in work practices. The promise of 'flexibility' via at-home telework entails a renegotiation of the home–work boundary. This brings into play the gendered identities and roles attached to these different spheres of life. After deconstructing promises made on behalf of telework, we construct an alternative research agenda engaging with writings on changing work identities in the risk society where traditional sureties are called into question.     

宏观调控与微观干预

宏观调控是近几年出现频率最高的词，然而关于宏观调控的真正内涵却很少有人能说清楚，文章就这一词语的真正内涵及外延进行了探讨。指出宏观调控与政府干预的不同，以及微观干预与宏观调控之区别，并就我国当前宏观调控的任务谈些自己的观点。     

To infinity and beyond?: workspace and the multi‐location worker

The paper examines the spatial implications of multi‐location work considering how the spaces such workers travel through and work in shape the type of tasks they conduct, how they act to create a workspace in such locations and the implications that this type of working has for how the workplace is conceptualised.     

The Economics of Teams among Technicians

This paper examines the economic logic of organizing field technicians into self‐managed teams, an approach to work organization that shifts the division of labour from a hierarchical to horizontal one. Economic efficiencies arise through the integration of direct and indirect labour tasks and the alignment of'the organizational structure with the occupational logic of communities of practice among technicians. Self‐managed teams absorb the monitoring and co‐ordination tasks of supervisors, substantially reducing indirect labour costs but without adversely affecting objective measures of quality and labour productivity. For technicians, team membership means longer work hours, but higher wages through overtime pay.     

Changing requirements and mental workload factors in mobile multi‐locational work

Working in multiple locations creates continuously changing physical, virtual and social settings for mobile employees. This paper shows, by exploring locally and globally moving employees, that changing environments arouse varying perceptions of both well‐being and stress. The identification of mental workload factors is necessary both for working in and managing mobile, multi‐locational work.     

Maintenance work, maintenance skills: the case of a major water company in the UK

This article explores how maintenance work and the requirements of maintenance skills may have changed in a changing technological and organisational environment. A closer examination of the skill requirements for maintenance work in the case study firm has revealed a wider range of skill components than existing literature on maintenance skills has focused on. This paper argues that organisational change may lead to the requirement of new skills for maintenance work and that interpersonal skill may be an important skill element required.     

Employability and the ICT worker: a study of employees in Scottish small businesses

This article reports on the changing nature of employment and employability for high‐tech workers in Scotland over the last decade. A somewhat stagnated industry has led to extrinsic rewards such as a good work–life balance, being prioritised over creative work and skills development. The sector is now dominated by small, specialist organisations providing limited training for the few remaining graduates.     

安装配合土建工程施工界面的技术管理

在现代建设工程项目中施工界面的管理是主要难点之一，现代建设工程包括测量、结构、水、电、风、气、装修等众多专业工种。各专业接口处的施工界面存在大量管理和协调工作，如组织、技术、经济、合同等多个方面。文章从技术管理角度分析了安装配合土建预埋阶段的施工界面管理，针对实际施工中容易发生的质量通病，提出了应采取的措施。     

Making sense of overconfidence in market entry

Entrepreneurs are often described as overconfident (or at least very confident), even when entering difficult markets. However, recent laboratory findings suggest that difficult tasks tend to produce underconfidence. How do entrepreneurs maintain confidence in difficult tasks? Our two laboratory experiments and one archival study reconcile the literature by distinguishing types of overconfidence and identifying what type is most prominent in each type of task. Furthermore, we critically examine the notion that ‘overconfidence’ explains excess market entry: we find that entry into different markets is not driven by confidence in one's own absolute skill, but by confidence in one's skill relative to that of others. Finally, we consider whether overconfidence in relative skill is driven by neglecting competitors or by systematic errors made when considering them. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Work organization and occupational development in CIM: the case of Swedish NC machine shops

This article reports the results of a large survey of Swedish manufacturing companies employing numerically-controlled technology, on work organization and the changing nature of operator skills. The results are assessed in the light of likely changes in organizational structures and skill composition in future forms of computer-integrated manufacturing.     

Creating value in business relationships: The role of sales

Understanding the creation of value in business relationships has been a long-standing goal of researchers and managers alike. By adopting a relational perspective, recent research on business relationships has made much progress in understanding value-creating processes. As the sales function is thought to be a pivotal part of the value-creating processes in business relationships, the evolving view on creating relationship value clearly has implications for our understanding of the role of sales in these processes. In contrast to its importance, the question of how the sales function contributes to creating value in business relationships has been largely neglected in extant literature. The objective of our paper is to answer this question by systematically linking the relational value creating process to the sales function's content. Interpreting value creation as interaction process, we identify four features of value-creating processes in business relationships suggested in recent research (i.e., jointness, balanced initiative, interacted value, and socio-cognitive construction) and, based on these, outline a framework that is used to define a set of tasks that are key to creating value in business relationships and hence become critical for sales in its hitherto neglected role as co-creator of relationship value. We illustrate the various tasks of this new role of sales with data from 43 interviews with sales managers and salespeople. Along with related normative recommendations in extant literature, the interviews provide support for the validity and relevance of our framework for understanding the role of sales in creating relationship value. This framework puts forward a much-needed first effort towards a theory of sales' role in creating relationship value and offers several opportunities for future research.     

Structure of US aquaculture: Developments in politics,organization and research

The author examines the politics of the changing legal and support system for US aquaculture, at federal and state levels. The history of the industry is discussed, and recent investments in research and farming are outlined. It is concluded that sociopolitical conflicts and legal uncertainties have created obstacles to the modernization of the industry.     

Ethics of care and co‐worker relationships in UK banks

Utilising an analytical framework based on an ethics of care approach, this article examines the changing nature of co‐worker relationships in UK banks under the rise of performance management practices. It illustrates that with the implementation of performance management practices in general, and electronic performance management monitoring in bank branches in particular, co‐worker relationships have become increasingly objectified, resulting in disconnected and conflict‐ridden forms of engagement. The analysis reveals the multi‐layered and necessarily complex nature of co‐worker relationships in a changing technologically driven work environment and highlights the possibilities for people to defend the capacity to care for others from the erosive tendencies of individualised processes.