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Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the non-market strategies adopted by government-contracted small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in order to address the challenges they faced in the business of procurement. Although SMEs are important contributors to employment and the national economy, they demonstrated different levels of effectiveness depending on the management strategies they adopted.

Using case study methodology, data were gathered by conducting interviews with the owners/managers of Indonesian SMEs. Findings were analysed using the (ia)³ framework developed to assist the understanding of non-market environments.

Findings indicated that a key characteristic of the Indonesian non-market environment was the influence of the government and Indonesian society. This led to differing degrees of dissatisfaction among SME owners and managers who reported that they had to work within a number of constraints for business survival, while simultaneously learning how to “play the games” demanded by the business and regulatory environment.

Limitations relate to the number of empirical cases represented and the geographical area covered. Further research is recommended in order to provide the opportunity for research generalisation.

These findings illustrate the need for transparency and integrity in the procurement process in relation to Indonesian SMEs. It is proposed that SMEs in similar sectors may benefit from forming strategic alliances/industry clusters to support future knowledge sharing and promote their collective voice.

To date, studies on non-market strategies have largely focused on developed countries and large firms. Consequently, this paper goes some way towards bridging the gap in the non-market environment in developing countries concerning SMEs and potential strategies for adoption.

The purpose of this research is to support responsible decision-making in Higher Education (HE) settings by understanding what type of learning journey satisfies students most in their HE experience and what they want from the learning.

This paper analyses the key tool used to assess satisfaction factors for UK students, the National Student Survey (NSS). It adopts peculiar regression statistical tests to identify the NSS items that influence “overall student satisfaction” by reviewing responses over 9 years from accountancy students at business schools located in England.

The findings of the study provide evidence that students are most satisfied with a learning journey where they are part of a course that is “well organised and running smoothly”, which provides “intellectual stimulation” that helps in developing their ability to “present themselves with confidence” and provides “academic advice and support”. The findings of the paper show that students are not satisfied so much by utilitarian aspects of learning but rather those that relate to who they are and where they are in their learning journey, the level of intellectual stimulation they have experienced, the self-confidence they have developed and the supportive relationship they have developed with academics. A factor that did not relate highly was “assessment and feedback” which has been the focus of much university resource. Results show the factors that impacted overall satisfaction are most related to students wanting to develop personal responsibility. These findings shape the key principles of responsible design and management of HE programmes and influence strategic decision-making.

Focussing on helping students experience, the type of learning journey that develops the virtue of responsibility emergent from the analysis will not only satisfy the student but will also have a knock-on effect of improving NSS scores, university league table ranking and accreditation under the Teaching Excellence Framework. The improved reputation aspects would then feed back into increased student satisfaction (Dean and Gibbs, 2015). The findings will also help HE managers and leaders to evaluate their decisions through three lenses: responsibility, students’ experience and students overall learning journey.

Much of the information published on the NSS have been predominantly descriptive and has resulted in decisions being made for students based on uninformed analysis of the survey’s results. This study uses advanced statistical modelling to evidence the relationship between factors of the NSS and overall student satisfaction providing key information regarding students’ importance to the type of learning journey they value and that this relates to a desire in wanting to develop responsibility. This study shows the link between factors of the NSS to provide useful lenses for HE managers and leaders to use to support responsible decision-making processes.

We issue a double Souvenir number of The Library World in connection with the Library Association Conference at Birmingham, in which we have pleasure in including a special article, “Libraries in Birmingham,” by Mr. Walter Powell, Chief Librarian of Birmingham Public Libraries. He has endeavoured to combine in it the subject of Special Library collections, and libraries other than the Municipal Libraries in the City. Another article entitled “Some Memories of Birmingham” is by Mr. Richard W. Mould, Chief Librarian and Curator of Southwark Public Libraries and Cuming Museum. We understand that a very full programme has been arranged for the Conference, and we have already published such details as are now available in our July number.

There are too many examples of CSR as a mere PR exercise however with public confidence in the existence of a ‘corporate conscience’ at an all‐time low, supported by the box‐office success of movies such as, ‘The Insider’, ‘Erin Brockovich’, ‘The Corporation’ and ‘Supersize Me’, it is recognised that trust needs to be restored. Although high‐profile media‐fuelled initiatives which identify and present awards to companies for ethical performance are regular events these days; customers, employees, shareholders and the general public expect not only quality goods and services but also increasingly demand a genuine commitment to ethical standards and practices, sustainable management of resources and community interaction. This paper explores the potential for furthering the ideals of CSR within the provisions of the recent EU constitutional treaty. The newly adopted Constitution aims to provide Europe with a common identity and set of goals which encompass both business and social interests, yet it has to date received a cool response from the business community. The impact of the Treaty and current CSR initiatives within the EU are discussed as to what extent their provisions might inform the current CSR debate in Europe.

The transition from centralised to market economy created a number of difficulties for Polish enterprises and many of them went bankrupt, especially after the Soviet market had been lost. While large companies, such as steelworks, coal mines, railways, etc, have been protected by the government for social reasons, the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) could survive only when they, by themselves or with some external assistance, were able to introduce internal changes and adjust to the market environment. Polish SMEs may be divided into two groups: emerging private firms and split firms which were created by a partition of large state‐owned enterprises. The various reasons for failure are discussed for both groups and compared with those described in the literature. A general model of consultancy intervention is presented and the attitudes of Polish enterprises towards change are described. In general, the state‐owned and split firms are reluctant to change unless their situation is critical, and if restructurisation is done it is rather superficial. Thus, a successful consultant has to be not only convincing and flexible but also must assess how deep a change is wanted by a given enterprise. This paper presents the approach used in helping the split firms by the University of Mining and Metallurgy (UMM), Faculty of Management Consulting Group. In order to find solutions for a given firm, a working team consisting of representatives of an enterprise and university was set up. The team devises a strategy of enterprise survival and prepares a detailed plan of the steps to be taken. This approach, which in many cases has proved to be successful, consists of trying to infuse the employees with the philosophy of enterprise survival and organising a series of relevant training activities. When the employees fully understand the essence of all the actions necessary for enterprise survival (privatisation, improvement of marketing, creation of systems of motivation, quality control, management information and other), the consulting group’s role as “company doctor” is limited to the supervision of the change planning process and the assessment of the solutions chosen. This system of triggering employee initiative has been found to be not only effective but also cheap, an aspect which in the case of small enterprises should not be underestimated.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the need for postsecondary education and the gap between students’ academic preparedness and the demands of college-level work.

The authors examined the advantages and disadvantages of different postsecondary institutions, their admission requirements, the cost of attending and the realities of degree attainment for underprepared students. The authors focus specifically on problems faced by students with weak literacy skills who enroll in universities that do not have admission requirements. They consider the importance of early learning and educational experiences that positively affect college readiness and highlight the responsibilities of institutions and faculty in assisting underprepared students who are enrolled in postsecondary programs.

Findings suggest the key to college readiness and postsecondary academic success depend on students’ ability to attain (a) proficiency in literacy at early grade levels, (b) knowledge of expository texts, (c) study strategies, and (d) personal behaviors such as paying attention, completing assignments, persisting in difficult tasks, and self-regulation that contribute to academic success.

This paper presents a synthesis of findings from reports on postsecondary students’ preparedness for college-level work. In that the authors draw on their experiences as professors in different types of institutions, this article is highly original and makes a unique contribution. Currently, there is a belief in the USA that everyone needs a college education. The authors demonstrate that this view is neither accurate nor realistic.

The purpose of this review is to integrate and organize past research findings on affective, normative and continuance occupational commitment (OC) within an integrative framework based on central life span concepts.

The authors identified and systematically analyzed 125 empirical articles (including 138 cases) that examined OC with a content valid measure to the here applied definition of OC. These articles provided information on the relationship between OC and four distinct life span concepts: chronological age, career stages, occupational and other life events, and occupational and other life roles. Furthermore, developmental characteristics of OC in terms of construct stability and malleability were reviewed.

The reviewed literature allowed to draw conclusions about the mentioned life span concepts as antecedents and outcomes of OC. For example, age and tenure is more strongly positively related to continuance OC than to affective and normative OC, nonlinear and moderating influences seem to be relevant in the case of the latter OC types. The authors describe several other findings within the results sections.

OC represents a developmental construct that is influenced by employees’ work- and life-related progress, associated roles, as well as opportunities and demands over their career. Analyzing OC from such a life span perspective provides a new angle on the research topic, explaining inconsistencies in past research and giving recommendation for future studies in terms of dynamic career developmental thinking.

ONE MUST BEGIN with Dickens. A chapter by Christopher Hibbert in Charles Dickens, 1812–1870: centenary volume, edited by E. W. F. Tomlin, and The London of Charles Dickens, published by London Transport with aid from the Dickens Fellowship, make a similar study here superfluous; both are illustrated, the latter giving instructions for reaching surviving Dickensian buildings. Neither warns the reader of Dickens's conscious and unconscious imaginative distortion, considered in Humphrey House's The Dickens World. Dickens himself imagined Captain Cuttle hiding in Switzerland and Paul Dombey's wild waves saying ‘Paris’; ‘the association between the writing and the place of writing is so curiously strong in my mind.’ Author and character may be in two places at once. ‘I could not listen at my fireside, for five minutes to the outer noises, but it was borne into my ears that I was dead.’ (Our Mutual Friend)

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationships between high-performance work systems (HPWSs) and four employee outcomes – job satisfaction, employee engagement, presenteeism and well-being – in Indian call centres.

A path model is developed to investigate the direct and mediation effects between the assessed variables. The study utilised a survey of 250 call centre employees working in five business process management firms based in India.

The findings indicate that HPWSs have a positive relationship with job satisfaction, engagement and well-being. Job satisfaction also had a positive relationship with engagement and presenteeism, and engagement was positively related to presenteeism and well-being. However, there was no significant direct effect of HPWS on presenteeism. Mediation analysis showed that HPWS has an indirect effect on well-being via engagement and also via job satisfaction and engagement combined.

HPWS significantly increases job satisfaction and employee engagement and indirectly influences employee well-being via these outcomes. However, job satisfaction and employee engagement was also found to increase presenteeism, which, in turn, can reduce employee well-being. These findings contribute to the HPWS theory and the literature on employee well-being, and have implications for HR personnel and call centre management.

Given the well-established challenges with employee retention in Indian call centre environments, one solution may be the adoption of a more strategic approach to HRM using HPWS. Such an approach may enhance employees’ perceptions that HPWS practices would have a positive influence on job satisfaction, employee engagement and employee well-being.