Different paths to economic reform in Russia and China: causes and consequences

Economic reform in Russia has been described as ‘shock therapy’ because rapid industrial privatization, price liberalization and democratic reforms of the political system were introduced simultaneously. However, shock therapy led to insider control of most manufacturing firms, with important consequences for foreign investment. In contrast, China’s ‘gradualist’ reforms, without privatization or significant democratization, facilitated foreign joint ventures as the dominant means of reforming State-owned enterprises incrementally. This paper proposes an explanation for these contrasting reform paths in Russia and China and then traces their consequences for inward foreign domestic investment (FDI), exporting and for corporate governance in the short and long term. The impact of national level policies on enterprises is demonstrated in a matched pair of cases in Russia and China. Conclusions are drawn for policy, for practice and for future research.     

Contracting Public Services: the Management of Compulsory Competitive Tendering In Two County Councils

Trevor Colling, Research Fellow in the Industrial Relations Research Unit at the University of Warwick, discusses the experience of two local authorities, one Labour- and the other Conservative-controlled, in managing compulsory competitive tendering. Both authorities were faced with the task of making radical changes in employment practices to compete against the private sector. Yet the pace and extent of change differed markedly reflecting not just the political complexion of the two authorities, but a range of factors. Employee as well as employer responses were crucially important in each case.     

The ubiquitous tourist brochure explorations in its intended and unintended use

The format and content of tourist attraction brochures are examined. Emphasis is on their function in encouraging tourists to establish authentic “traveler-like” personal contact with the local people and area. The Old Order Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is the setting studied. Findings indicate that brochures advertising staged tourist attractions implicity encourage tourists to move away from contact with the indigenous population and culture. Attractions are presented as convenient, efficient, and authentic means of “sampling” the region. Questions are raised about the probable consequences for a local area and its people, should large numbers of tourists choose to seek our direct and “authentic” contact with the indigenous community. It may be the staged attractions, while often the object of intellectual critique, protect the community from the pressures of mass tourism.     

Highly qualified and highly ambitious: implications for workforce retention of realising the career expectations of graduate nurses in England

Although increasing numbers of graduates now enter the UK labour market, there has been little evaluation of the benefits that this component of the workforce is reported to bring to employing organisations. This study focused on nursing; a profession in which graduate entry is increasing but potential benefits of moving to all‐graduate entry are strongly contested. Career behaviour and expectations of graduate nurses were compared with those of diploma‐qualified nurses. Career behaviours were similar but differences were found in fulfilment of expectations that reflected findings reported for graduates in other employment contexts. Graduates entered nursing with higher expectations than diplomates but these were often unfulfilled. Graduates reported lower levels of satisfaction than diplomates over time and became less likely to intend remaining in nursing. Implications for increasing graduate entry are discussed, together with strategies to facilitate better synchronisation between graduate expectations and opportunities within the NHS and beyond.