High performance work systems and workplace partnership: a case study of aerospace workers

This article provides case study analysis of the impact of high performance work practices and workplace partnership on skilled workers in the UK's aerospace industry. In contrast to assumptions that such practices increase empowerment and participation we find evidence of a democratic deficit in workplace decision-making and deterioration in the quality of working life.     

The professional background of company law pressure groups

In a recent article, Jones (1995) notes that witnesses before the nineteenthcentury government committees played a pivotal role in the initiation of company accounting recommendations and, ultimately, in subsequent legislation. However, very little is known about these witnesses, particularly in relation to their professional occupations/affiliations and the degree to which different professions were represented before various parliamentary committees. Research on these questions will improve our knowledge and understanding of nineteenth-century influences on company law reform. This preliminary study indicates that the representation of different professional groups varied between committees. Furthermore, certain professions and interest groups tended to be better represented than others throughout the nineteenth century. Finally, accounting recommendations of witnesses appeared to vary across different professions.     

A practical but theory-based framework for selecting cross-cultural training methods

Increased internationalization in the economic, political, and social arenas has led to greater interpersonal cross-cultural contact. Because much of this contact has not been successful, cross-cultural training has been proposed by many scholars as a means of facilitating more effective interaction. However, most firms do not utilize cross-cultural training. The cross-cultural training framework proposed in this article is based on both theory and a review of the cross-cultural training literature. The contingency framework proposed provides a practical guide for determining the method and rigor of cross-cultural training most effective in various circumstances.     

Professional service quality A step beyond other services?

The management and measurement of professional service quality is particularly problematic. To enable managers of legal practices to improve service quality they must understand the service attributes their clients consider important. Drawing on a series of focus groups conducted in the UK, this study provides insights into the assessment of legal services by commercial and corporate clients. A review of literatures pertaining to the evaluation of professional service quality, the concepts of quality and value, and dimensions relating to outcome and process is presented. The results of a series of focus groups are considered in the context of continuing research.