The migration of professionals within the EU: Any barriers left?

As shown by the intense legislative effort at the European Union level, the mutual recognition of professional qualifications represents an important step towards the completion of the single EU labor market. In this paper we provide the first empirical evidence on the link between intra‐EU mobility and mutual recognition of professional qualifications. Our results show that bilateral EU migration is positively affected by the destination country's rate of recognition of professional qualifications obtained in another EU member state.     

CONTINGENT PRICES AND MONEY*

Price posting with directed search is a widely used trading mechanism. Coles and Eeckhout showed that if sellers are allowed to post prices contingent on realized demand instead of one price, then there is real market indeterminacy. In this article, we fit this contingent price‐posting protocol into a monetary economy. We show that, as long as holding money is costly, there exists a unique equilibrium rather than a continuum. In this equilibrium sellers post a low price for when the buyer is alone, a high price for when several buyers show up, and buyers randomize between sellers and money holdings.     

Learning and skills formation in the new economy: evidence from Greece

In today’s knowledge–driven economy, education and training are considered major factors affecting a society’s level of economic attainment and growth. Lack of information–related knowledge and skills, in particular, are among the prime factors likely to delay a country’s progress towards the information society. Experience, however, has shown that an educated labour force does not automatically translate into dynamic economic development and technological innovation. The human resource potential is not a simple outcome of the education system but it is a much more complex process that involves tacit knowledge, learning by doing and on–the–job training. This means that skills and knowledge acquired depend not only on the educational system but on firm organisation and culture as well as ties between organisations. The present study examines the relationship between skill supply, firm organisation and learning by means of interviews in 23 firms in Greece. It shows that a major problem faced by SMEs in peripheral European countries is the lack of in–house capabilities and knowledge which limits the amount and type of learning that takes place. Finally, the article argues that policy–makers should institute educational policies and training programmes that will compensate for the inability of Greek firms to provide a learning environment.     

Mediator Tactics and Sources of Conflict: Facilitating and Inhibiting Effects

Sometimes mismatches between tactics used by mediators and causes of the dispute may reduce the likelihood of achieving a settlement. Data from collective-bargaining disputes suggest that when party inflexibility was a source of the dispute, added mediator pressure increased the likelihood of a settlement, but discussing alternatives reduced the likelihood of a settlement. However, mediation success improved in cases where there is a high level of interparty hostility and mediators focused on negotiation processes.     

Creativity,celebration and play at the Bauhaus,Berlin, 1920: lessons from history for contemporary marketers and arts organizations

• Organizations can be seen as rigid, rewarding conformity not creativity. Managing the creative team or individual can be challenging. This paper contributes to this special issue of the International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing by addressing ways to manage creativity in an organization, as well as to creatively market the organization. It presents a case study of an organization based in Germany in the 1920s, the Bauhaus. This art and craft organization achieved extraordinary creative output in just over a decade of operation, during the devastation of post World War I. This paper demonstrates how its leader managed the creativity of the staff and students and creatively marketed the organization despite a lack of funds and the desperate shortage of resources. The Bauhaus provides a key lesson for contemporary marketers and managers in developing the characteristics of organizations that nurture creativity and the creative individual.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘It’s every breath we take here’: Political astuteness and ethics in civil service leadership development

ABSTRACT

This paper uses survey and interview research with senior civil servants to argue that leadership with political astuteness is a specific contextual requirement for public servants who work closely with politicians. Also important are technical skills, judgement and a sharp sense of ethics and integrity. The fine balance of political astuteness and other capabilities is shown in a framework about leading in an ethical way. Implications for the development of civil servants are considered.     

Visualizing the Metaphor

This paper explores the nature of metaphors used in magazine advertisements theoretically and empirically, illustrating how they may be differently interpreted according to an individual's perceptions, interests, experiences and motivations. Extraneous factors influence the whole process and research is required in order to establish how they exert influence. Gender differences are reflected in perceptions, interests, experiences and motivations and impact on the whole process of how the metaphor is conceptualized in people's minds. The impact of cultural differences is illustrated and a model of how metaphors used in magazine advertising are assimilated or rejected by viewers is presented.