Safer Guildford

There has been an increasing trend in recent years for public agencies to work in partnership with each other and with commercial organizations, which has presented special managerial issues and problems. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 gave the police and local authorities a statutory duty to work in partnership in order to promote and improve community safety. One such partnership is Safer Guildford, which was formed before the legislation came into force and which consequently already had a range of community safety initiatives in place. However, the partnership still had to comply with the new legislation and had to conduct an audit of crime and disorder in its area and publish a strategy for dealing with it. By examining the progress of Safer Guildford using a management perspective, a number of lessons can be drawn that will inform the future management of community safety partnerships.     

Implementing corporate social responsibility through social partnerships

This paper examines how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is implemented through social partnerships. Drawing on previous literature and case study research, it presents a conceptual model of the process of implementation. An exploratory case study of the social responsibility partnership programme at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has been conducted. The case study draws on interview data and documentary sources of evidence gathered from UEFA and the six partner organisations that comprise its CSR portfolio. The conceptual model identifies three stages of the implementation process (selection, design, management), with partnership evaluation being an ongoing process during all three. The latter consists of two elements, namely project and process evaluation. A key finding is the lack of process evaluation due to a high degree of inter‐personal trust. The conceptual model adds to the growing body of research on the implementation of social partnerships and CSR. This paper is also the first to empirically explore the process of CSR implementation through social partnerships in the football sector.     

Trade Liberalisation,Market Structure and the Incentive to Merge

In this article, we consider whether a movement towards freer international trade generates incentives for firms to merge and if so what forms of merger are most profitable. In a linear Cournot framework, we show that a reduction in trade costs may, but will not necessarily, encourage mergers. Both market structure and the level to which trade costs fall are shown to play a decisive role. Domestic mergers will be encouraged only if the product market is not highly concentrated and trade costs fall below a threshold level. International mergers can be encouraged in any market structure, and are generally more profitable than domestic mergers.     

Structure and Culture Change In Two Uk Organisations: A Comparison of Assumptions,Approaches and Outcomes

Christopher Mabey and Geoff Mallory, who are respectively Head of and Research Fellow at the Open University Business School's Centre for Human Resource and Change Management, focus on attempts to modify behaviour and cultivate new competencies through cultural and structural change. They explore these issues, first, theoretically, by reviewing the growing body of relevant literatures and, second, empirically, by analysing two case organisations – the General Motors-Isuzi joint venture, IBC Vehicles Ltd, and Grampian Health Board – which adopted very different approaches. In both cases, they consider what assumptions underpinned the change processes, what human resource strategies policies were pursued, and what outcomes were apparent.     

Developing technologically induced environments: the case of the Nigerian banking sector

This paper addresses issues regarding prevalent values and themes in technologically induced environments in terms of planning, development, and implementation. Emerging themes (efficiency, usability, control, and security) are debated and developed in relation to underpinning values (quality, education, and reach/concern) which provide a comprehension of technological adoption in the developing economy of Nigeria. In addition, problems relating to new product development, innovation processes, synthesising marketing technologies, and strategic planning are investigated and explored. Discussion on technological adoption and use produces diverse perspectives and interpretations, which consequently prompts questions on its nature and understanding in developing societies. Assessing life-world perspectives and interpretations through phenomenological hermeneutics and consumer and communication models this study examines levels of technologically induced customer services in the banking services sector from a Nigerian perspective.