Lean and mean in the civil service: the case of processing in HMRC

The public sector has been importing private sector methods and practices aimed at generating efficiencies and cost savings. However, the consequences of these changes on the working lives of civil servants are under-researched. This article uses detailed fieldwork to investigate the impact of Lean on labour processes in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). We argue that Lean has a detrimental effect on employees, their working lives, and the service that is provided to the public. The consequences of Lean on public sector work are highly problematic, which is of serious concern given its progressive impact on other civil service departments in the UK.     

Enablers and inhibitors of the development of network capability in entrepreneurial firms: A study of the Irish micro-brewing network

Focusing on the Irish micro-brewing industry, this paper identifies and describes the factors that both enable and inhibit the entrepreneurial firm's development of its network capability. The empirical research entailed in-depth interviews with the entire network of micro-brewery entrepreneurs in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland comprising nineteen firms. Using multiple levels of network analysis, findings illustrate the complexity of network capability development. The factors inhibiting the development of network capability were found to outweigh the ones enabling it. Past network experience, information sharing and participation in coordinated consumer events represent some of the factors found to enable network capability. Conversely, a desire for control over decision making, a lack of knowledge sharing or joint problem solving and the perception of value chain activity links and resources as unnecessary inhibits network capability. The main contribution of the paper is a framework of factors enabling and inhibiting network capability based on a multi-level network analysis.     

Nonmarket valuation in developing countries: incorporating labour contributions in environmental benefits estimates

There are limitations associated with the application of nonmarket valuation techniques, including choice experiments, in subsistence economies. In part, this is due to the concern that using money as a mode of contribution may not capture the potential contribution of low‐income households. To address this limitation, respondents in this study were provided with the option of contributing towards the management of invasive plants in labour terms if they were unwilling to contribute in monetary terms. The results show that the existing practice of using dollar values to estimate willingness to contribute may disproportionately exclude the concerns of some groups within the community. The analysis also indicates that allowing respondents to express their willingness to contribute in labour increases their participation in environmental decision‐making processes and hence increases the estimated value of forest ecosystem services. This study contributes to the limited empirical literature on the development of nonmarket valuation surveys, particularly choice experiments, in low‐income countries in general and rural areas in particular.     

A cross-cultural comparison of the network capability development of entrepreneurial firms

The business-to-business network literature has made interesting and insightful contributions in relation to networks as a core trajectory for external resource acquisition for the small, entrepreneurial firm. Using the micro-brewing industry in Ireland and Belgium as an empirical base, the purpose of this paper is to extend this research through examining the relationship between national culture and the development of network capability in an entrepreneurial context. Findings from in-depth interviews with fourteen firms, and analysed in light of Hofstede's five dimensions illustrate that culture matters. Low power distance facilitated network capability development through wider network engagement. High masculinity and individualism negatively impacted network capability development as evidenced by a lack of experience in interaction, a desire for control and independence and minimal information sharing. Strong uncertainty avoidance scores allowed for joint problem-solving and industry cooperation whereas a short-term orientation led to more transaction-based exchange within the value chain. The core contribution of this paper stems from it being the first rigorous investigation regarding how national culture impacts network capability development in a business-to-business network context.     

Sustainable procurement: Past,present and future

Sustainable procurement is increasingly on the agenda for purchasing and supply managers seeking to demonstrate corporate social responsibility in their supply chains. In this paper, we identify trends in the literature and establish that this is a burgeoning field. We identify methodological challenges and research gaps to guide future research. We propose a sustainable procurement framework to help structure future research across supply chains. Finally, we introduce each of the papers in the special issue, and identify what makes them stand out as making a novel contribution to research in the field.     

Organizational Accidents: A Systemic Model of Production versus Protection

Production pressure is often cited as an underlying contributory factor of organizational accidents. The relationship, however, between production and safety protection is complex and has not been adequately addressed by current theories regarding organizational accident. In addressing this gap, this paper uses the methodology of system dynamics to develop a causal model to address the dynamic interaction between management of production and protection, which can accumulate in an organizational accident. A case study of a fatal rock fall accident in Tasmania, Australia was conducted based on the developed model and is used to uncover the intricate dynamics linking production pressure, risk tolerability, perception of safety margin, and protection efforts. In particular, the study demonstrates how a strong production focus can trigger a vicious cycle of deteriorating risk perception and how increased protection effort can, ironically, lead to deterioration of protection.     

An investigation into the values dimensions of branding: implications for the charity sector

• Branding is being adopted by charities and written about in academic and practitioner charity literature with increasing frequency. There is also growing concern, however, about the over-commercialistion of the sector and the misappropriation of techniques developed specifically for the commercial environment. Literature supporting the claim that charities are values-based organisations is reviewed and the proposition is made that it is in fact the non-negotiability of charity values that differentiate them from commercial organisations. Given the significance of values in the charity sector, the paper argues that a clearer understanding of how values are conceptualised in branding is necessary in order to establish whether branding is an appropriate and effective tool in the charity context. To achieve this, the paper reviews relevant branding literature focusing in particular upon the delineation of the values dimensions identified in for-profit branding models. To aid further understanding of these values dimensions in the non-profit context and their applicability (or otherwise) to it, the metaphors of brand as ‘mirror’, ‘lamp’ and ‘lens’ are introduced.
• It is argued that in the corporate sector the brand concept has been utilised to ‘mirror’ those values that underpin the needs and desires of consumers. In contrast to the passive mirror, when operationalised as ‘lamp’, it is claimed that the brand aims to influence both the values of the organisation and the values of its target audience. It is postulated that neither of these approaches is appropriate for values-led organisations and that it is only as a metaphorical ‘lens’, projecting the values of the organisation itself that branding offers an applicable and effective model in the charity context.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Skilling marginalised or skills eco-system,precarious workers and higher education—A case study of Roma in Liverpool,UK

This qualitative case study explores the Human Resource Development (HRD) interventions utilised in respect of local eco-skills with one marginalised group, the Roma, in the City of Liverpool, UK, and responds to HRD research calls into the cause of cycles of inequality. The case study illustrates the challenges experienced by precarious workers in accessing education and training. Further, it shares the interventions taken to address inequalities that a Higher EducationUK University and a local Non-Government Organisation took between 2016 and 2019. Roma is among the UK and Europe's most disadvantaged and marginalised groups. Working in partnership, utilising Community-Based Participatory Research, we developed three HRD interventions: stakeholder groups (adult and young Roma), motivational interviewing and employability/education events. The findings unpack an understudied experience and context: the need for more attention to developing skills at a local level for marginalised precarious workers. We found that aspiration grew through focused community support and a partnership approach, and educational opportunities emerged, albeit at a relatively slow pace. This paper ends with a call for action for more HRD educators to work with those at the margins of society.     

The Employment Landscape for Accounting Graduates and Work Experience Relevance

This study outlines the results of a survey undertaken at an Australian university in 2007 and examines the factors that are associated with an undergraduate accounting student obtaining a job offer. Undertaking relevant part‐time work, academic performance and social (extra‐curricular) activities are significant factors leading to job offers prior to graduation. Our study also identifies a high level of part‐time work currently undertaken by full‐time students, confirming the trend identified in other studies. Interestingly, this high level of part‐time work was not found to negatively affect students’ academic performance.     

Risk disclosures on the second tier markets of the London Stock Exchange

The identification, management and disclosure of risks have been the subject of recent legislation, directives and reporting standards issued across a number of international jurisdictions. To inform the disclosure debate, this paper provides a detailed analysis of the risk warning disclosures of initial public offering (IPO) companies and the factors that drive such disclosures. We find that risk disclosures of IPO companies contain a greater proportion of forward‐looking information but a lower proportion of information on internal controls and risk management than the disclosures of listed companies. We find evidence that such disclosure has increased across time but that larger directors’ shareholdings are associated with a reduction in risk disclosure.