PROFESSIONALIZATION AND BRITISH MANAGEMENT PRACTICEPROFESSIONALIZATION AND BRITISH MANAGEMENT PRACTICE: CASE EVIDENCE FROM MEDIUM-SIZED FIRMS IN TWO INDUSTRIAL SECTORS*

High levels of occupational specialization, problems of cross-functional integration and distinct bureaucratic tendencies have traditionally been seen as problems endemic to British management practice. Over the last decade, these problems are expected to have disappeared - or at least diminished - as major developments in management and organizational theory, as well as changing economic circumstances, have redirected management thinking towards ‘new’ ideas of flatter, simpler organizational structures, increased flexibility and decentralization, improvements in the quality of inter-functional relations and the like. Yet, despite these developments, there is comparatively little research that has investigated actual patterns of change within management and, in particular, what is happening in what could be regarded as the mainstream of British industry - namely, ‘ordinary’, medium-sized firms operating in ‘traditional’ industrial sectors. Moreover, rarely does such research focus upon the implications of management change for the strategies of professionalization adopted by competing specialist occupational groups within management. This paper sets out to help fill these gaps, by reporting the findings from case studies of four such firms, taking into account the particular contexts and historical circumstances that have helped shape any such change and drawing out the key influences on changed management practice.     

Modelling a Research Portfolio Using AHP: A Group Decision Process

The problem of choosing a research portfolio has been in the literature for many years. Suggested solutions have ranged from simple scoring models to complex mathematical resource allocation models, but the acceptance rate has been low. In this paper we present an application of a model based on the Analytical Hierarchy Process to a group decision situation. The results are encouraging, showing the positive nature of a model as a focal point in the process. They show that the interactive nature of the methodology encourages the development of subjective estimates and their subsequent discussion. An attempt to counter the problems of biasing has also been made. The methodology presented is seen to be easy to use and adaptable, and becomes an integrating mechanism for the group.     

Reviews

Regenerating town centres. Evans, R. 1997: REGENERATING TOWN CENTRES. Manchester: Manchester University Press, £30.00 cased.

Privatised utilities. Marvin, S., Graham, S. and Guy, S. 1996: PRIVATISED UTILITIES AND REGIONAL MANAGEMENT. Harlow: SEEDS (South East Economic Development Strategy), £25.00 plus £3.50 postage and packing.

Women returners. Chisholm, L. (ed) 1997: GETTING IN, CLIMBING UP AND BREAKING THROUGH. London: The Policy Press, £15.25 paper.

Regionalism. John, P. and Whitehead, A. (eds) 1997: POLICY AND POLITICS VOL 25 NO. 1 SPECIAL ISSUE. REGIONALISM IN ENGLAND: CURRENT TRENDS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS. Policy Press.

Socially regulated labour markets. Peck, J. 1996: WORK-PLACE. THE SOCIAL REGULATION OF LABOUR MARKETS. New York and London: The Guilford Press, £16.99 paper £35.00 cased.

Private delivery — public goods. Arnold-Forster, J., Lee, M. and McLeod, J. 1997: HAND IN GLOVE: PRIVATE SECTOR DELIVERING PUBLIC GOODS. London: Fabian Society, supported by Generale des Eaux, £15.00 paper.

Bio-tech. Milhell, D., Kingham, D. and Stott, M. 1997: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BIOTECHNOLOGY SECTOR IN OXFORDSHIRE: IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC POLICY. Oxford: Oxford Innovation Limited, £5.00 paper.     

Social security in the UK under New Labour: what did the Third Way mean for welfare reform?

In 1997, the Labour Party was elected in the UK with few explicitly articulated ideas about social security reforms. This paper reviews the large number of subsequent reforms to social security, and argues that some consistent themes have emerged. A commitment to keep to the tight spending plans of the previous, Conservative, administration left little scope for increases in benefit spending during the first two years in office. Since that time, increases in the generosity of some social security programmes have been directed towards achieving certain goals. An emphasis on encouraging paid work has been a consistent theme, whilst aims of reducing poverty rates for children and pensioners have been emphasised since 1999. Spending to achieve these goals has often been directed through means‐tested programmes, and there has been a related weakening of the link between paid National Insurance contributions and benefit entitlements. It remains to be seen whether reforms to the process of income assessment will increase take‐up.     

Assessing the technological capabilities of firms: developing a policy tool

The development of technological capabilities results from an extended learning process and external policy agents can play an important role in its development. This paper outlines trends in governmental and non-governmental policy initiatives and the use of concepts such as capability and absorptive capacity, which are positioned within generic-staged models of capability maturity. This paper describes the development of a technology capability assessment/audit tool that has been designed to help locate firms within four archetypes based upon their level of maturity on nine key dimensions of the management of technology. The tool is intended to help bridge the gap between our theoretical understanding of the principles of technology management and policy practice – allowing policy makers to design mechanisms that focus resources in areas of greatest need through the appropriate selection of policy mechanisms and the targeted design of policy. The use of this tool in field experiments is described along with the implications for policy making.     

How Network Strategies and Institutional Transitions Evolve in Asia

This article contributes to the literature on network strategies and institutional transitions in emerging economies in Asia by identifying a realistic, intermediate phase between the early and late phases of institutional transitions suggested by Peng (2003). Focusing on the intermediate phase, we advance two arguments based on network strength and network content. First, in terms of network strength, we leverage earlier insights that networks can be classified as strong ties and weak ties. Consequently, we suggest that as institutional transitions unfold, strong-tie-based networks, instead of being phased out, are being transformed into weak-ties-based networks. Second, from a network content standpoint, we argue that the various scale and scope of institutional transitions shape the content of different networks which focus on business-to-government (B2G) ties and business-to-business (B2B) relationships. Our propositions delineate how different transitions of political and legal institutions affect the evolution of B2G and B2B networks. Overall, we suggest that networks not only differ in strength but also in content, and that their evolution is driven by the impact of different dimensions of institutional transitions governing B2G and B2B relationships. Mike W. Peng (Ph.D., University of Washington) is a professor of global strategy at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he holds the university's first ever Provost's Distinguished Research Professorship. He was formerly an associate professor at the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. He is the author of nearly 40 scholarly articles and three books, including, most recently, Global Strategy (2006). He has served on the editorial boards of AMJ, AMR, JIBS, and SMJ, and acted as a guest editor for JIBS and JMS. He is the first elected officer of the Global Strategy Interest Group at the Strategic Management Society. This is his fifth contribution to APJM. Jessie Qi Zhou is a Ph.D. candidate in international business at the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. Her research interest includes strategy in emerging economies, network strategy, and organizational learning. Her main theoretical interest is institutional theory, with a focus on how institutional distance affects MNE strategies. The comparative analysis of firms' strategic choices across countries in response to different institutional environments is also of particular interest to her. Her work has been presented at the Academy of Management and Academy of International Business conferences.     

Cadence:充分展示适应力

两年前,Cadence设计系统公司面临困境。在电子设计自动化(EDA)行业独占优势10多年之后,行业老大的地位被Synopsys公司夺走。为了对付Synopsys公司,Cadence迅速设计了一种集成电路物理设计套件。半年后, Synopsys公司收购了Cadence的宿敌Avanti公司。主要由于Synopsys的疏忽,也归功于Cadence的集中精力,两个季度之后,Cadence夺回了第一的位置。