Satisfaction and dimensions of control among call centre customer service representatives

This study explores the perceptions of HR managers on the strategic management of labour turnover in a selection of large hotels in Australia and Singapore. The main argument is that the effects of labour turnover can be mitigated with strategically managed human resources through the four key HR activities. The hotel industries in both Singapore and Australia revealed a comparable range of HR policies and practices being adopted, with an explicit recognition of the contribution an organization’s human resources have on the bottom-line. There was a clear convergence towards minimizing turnover primarily through the recruitment, selection and induction processes. This was despite fundamental social, economic and labour differences between Singapore and Australia.     

Women, information technology and 'waves of optimism': Australian evidence on 'mixed-skill' jobs

Optimism about the increased engagement of women in information technology employment has been informed, in part, by essentialist ideas about the suitability for women of emerging jobs combining technical with interpersonal, artistic or other 'non-technical' skills. Drawing on evidence from Australia, we highlight limitations to this brand of optimism, questioning the potential for women in mixed-skill jobs in computing and multimedia organisations.     

Social entrepreneurship: towards conceptualisation

The marketing in strategy dialogue and the emerging marketing/entrepreneurship interface paradigm stress the need for marketers to research entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneur‐ship, the entrepreneurship leading to the establishment of new social enterprises and the continued innovation in existing ones, is much discussed but little understood and given the increasing importance of such organisations should be addressed. This paper conceptualises social entrepreneurship as a multidimensional construct involving the expression of entrepreneurially virtuous behaviour to achieve the social mission, a coherent unity of purpose and action in the face of moral complexity, the ability to recognise social value‐creating opportunities and key decision‐making characteristics of innovativeness, proactiveness and risk‐taking. The paper discusses implications for policy and practice and concludes with a consideration of theoretical issues and directions for future research. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications     

Doing business in Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the Arabian Gulf region and, despite current political and economic uncertainties, offers investors and exporters many opportunities in a wide variety of business sectors. Key factors driving economic policy include the desire to reduce the dependence on oil, and the need to provide jobs, housing, and services to citizens in a time of rapid population growth. The foreign investment law of 2000 significantly changed the rules for foreign investors, permitting 100% ownership of projects. There is a streamlined foreign investment application process with various investment incentives. Important policies are privatization, economic diversification (such as the development of a tourism sector), and the education and training of Saudi workers. Although lifestyle in the kingdom is ultramodern and high‐tech, Saudi Arabia is an extremely conservative country and many of its citizens desire to preserve their religious values and ancient traditions. The Saudi culture is influenced by two dimensions: Islam and the Bedouin tradition. Foreign executives doing business in Saudi Arabia must be prepared to conduct thorough preliminary research, visit the kingdom regularly, show genuine concern for Saudi development goals and culture, be patient in business negotiations, and adapt carefully to the Saudi environment. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Changing Pay Systems,Occupational Concentration and the Gender Pay Gap: Evidence from Australia and the UK

While aggregate level pay equity comparisons between Australia and the UK confirm expectations based on their different wage distributions and regulatory systems, observation of trends and occupational level analysis reveal additional complexity. Our analysis suggests the need for a multi‐faceted approach to closing the average gender pay gap.     

The effect of self-selection bias on the testing of a stock price reaction to management's earnings forecasts

This study examines the inferential bias due to the failure to control for self-selection when studying the market's reaction to management earnings forecasts. The analysis is conducted by controlling for self-selection and comparing the results to those obtained when self-selection is not controlled. This comparison suggests that the overall inference of a market reaction to the management forecast issuance does not change. However, the statistical significance declines when self-selection is considered. Since the issuance of a management forecast is an obvious self-selection, the results of this study suggest that self-selection should be considered and evaluated in quasi-experimental studies in accounting and finance.     

Emerging issues in sales forecasting and decision support systems

There are two distinct groups of emerging issues in the area of sales forecasting and decision support systems: methodological issues and implementational issues. This paper discusses each of them. The discussion of implementational issues includes some results of a survey of forecasting practice. The paper serves as a preface to the special section on sales forecasting and decision support systems and introduces the papers included in the special section.