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The increasing internationalization of business and the development of a single European market will have implications for training and development. Looks at the implications for trainers of working with managers from other countries and cultures. Applies the research of Hofstede, Laurent, Tayeb and others and suggests that there are a number of cross‐national and cross‐cultural implications from training participants from other countries. These relate to the content of training, training methods, expectations about the provision of training, trainer competences and language skills. These form challenges which trainers will need to consider.

Reviews and integrates UK and North American research on job relocation relating to managerial and professional employees. Notes evidence which indicates an increasing level of reluctance by such employees to relocate for job reasons. Examines barriers to domestic relocation, including those related to financial and personal reasons, and organisational interventions designed to overcome them. Recognises that traditional forms of organisational intervention to alleviate barriers to relocation may be becoming less effective despite careful targeting. Analyses research data from the UK local authority sector to explore the effectiveness of organisational interventions to overcome barriers to relocation. Uses force field theory to evaluate the relationship between these barriers and organisational interventions in relation to organisations in general and UK local authorities in particular. Draws conclusions about the nature and use of organisational interventions to overcome barriers to domestic relocation, and discusses the applicability of the findings drawn from the UK local authorities research data.

Review paper which draws together the various theoretical and disciplinary strands used in the literature to evaluate downsizing and redundancy. Defines downsizing and redundancy within the organisational context. Explores complexity of the relationships with performance and effectiveness at both organisation and sub‐organisation levels. Evaluates downsizing strategies and implementation methods that organisations may use. Utilises the individual perspective to examine and discuss the consequences of downsizing relative to survivors. Considers the implications of this for managers. Relates theories of equity, organisational justice, job insecurity, job redesign and organisational stress to approaches which may mitigate negative responses to downsizing that impact on organisations’ performance and effectiveness.

To explore the implications for all employees' psychological contracts of a forced change from permanent to temporary employment status for some employees within an organisation.

A random sample of 30 employees, stratified by employment status was selected. Each employee undertook a structured card sort of possible emotional responses to change followed by an in‐depth interview to explore and explain their categorisation of these responses.

The nature of psychological contracts and organisational attachments for both permanent employees and forced temporary workers is complex. Permanent employees generally continue to exhibit relational forms of attachment to the organisation. These, they believe, are reciprocated by the organisation. Reactions from forced temporary workers are more varied. After a period of denial, some develop a more calculative approach to their interactions. Others maintain aspects of their previously developed relational attachments. Only some temporary workers appear to recognise that their future direction is no longer a concern of the organisation.

Although only based upon one organisation, the findings suggest that the process of psychological contract adjustment is likely to emerge through gradual re‐interpretation, rather than through re‐negotiation.

Management actions need to be recognised as important in re‐defining the nature of psychological contracts. The transitional nature of this process may be prolonged where management imposes transactional contracts and where communication and negotiation to create clear expectations is lacking.

The findings provide new insights into the implications of forcing employees from permanent to temporary contracts for their, and remaining permanent employees', psychological contracts.

This paper explores employees’ trust as a reaction to the management of change using the constructs of organisational justice. Following a review of organisational justice theory in relation to trust and change, employees’ reactions are considered using a case study of a UK public sector organisation. Drawing on 28 in‐depth interviews with employees, the nature of trust is explored. Little difference is found between trusting and mistrustful employees’ perceptions of distributive justice. Supporting earlier findings regarding the relationship between procedural justice and trust, the research also reveals the distinct importance of fairness of treatment (interactional justice) in enabling trust.

Explores the implications arising from the complete devolvement of human resource responsibilities within an organization to line managers. Reviews the changing role for line managers through the literature related to the adoption of HRM. Uses theories by Guest and by Storey as a framework to examine the success of completely devolving the human resources function to line managers within a medium‐sized private sector company. Uses data collected through a questionnaire, a card sort and in‐depth interviews from a sample of 51 employees to evaluate this framework. Data indicate that the promotion of a soft HRM approach was being displaced by a harder, piecemeal, resource‐based approach. Analyses the need for human resource specialists based on the case study data. Argues that the absence of an identified top management role which includes personnel had a negative impact on the organization’s ability to achieve strategic integration in the management of human resources. Relates this to further negative consequences in relation to commitment to the organization, flexibility and quality.

Considers the pursuit of high quality, flexibility and employee commitment alongside significant downsizing and delayering initiatives. Examines the impact on surviving employees in downsized and delayered organizations. Proposes that organizations need to be more mindful than they have been in the past of survivor responses and issues. Contends that the espoused aim of many organizations to achieve employee commitment may be dependent largely on the degree of success with which organizations overcome survivor responses which are negatively oriented towards them. Explores the scope for organizational action to address issues which the workforce believes are important, suggesting that this should help organizations to engender positive survivor responses and organizational commitment. Reports how findings from qualitative research have been used to develop a diagnostic tool to help organizations assess their own ability to manage these factors and to influence survivor commitment. Discusses the use and validity of this tool. Concludes by emphasizing the need for organizations to be aware of and to respond to these issues and their effects. Highlights the importance of developing the strategy to rebuild survivors’ commitment over a longer term.

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, to investigate the interpersonal communication skills that human resource (HR) managers expect managers in supervisory positions possess. Second, to identify which of these skills HR managers expect managers use to engender subordinate commitment to the organisation. Third, the paper aims to investigate what interpersonal communication skills that enhance employee commitment to the organisation are most lacking in managers in supervisory positions.

The approach of the study is a series of in‐depth interviews with 32 senior HR managers in organisations with over 100 staff.

The paper finds that senior HR managers expected managers to be effective in interpersonal communication focusing mainly on the clarity and frequency of the messages, their ability to actively listen and the ability to lead in a collaborative way. The way messages were sent, especially their clarity, and a leadership style that engendered trust, was of the highest importance when HR managers wanted to enhance employee commitment to the organisation. However, these skills were also the ones found most lacking.

HR practitioners need to consider more explicitly what behaviours are important to promote organisational commitment.

This paper highlights that the interpersonal communication skills that enhance organisational commitment and are most valued by organisations are those that are most lacking in managers. This paper also provides insight for practitioners to the interpersonal communication skills areas that managers need to develop so that their interaction with staff may enhance commitment to the organisation.

Recognizes the difficulties of evaluating training and argues that what is required to make it more effective is the adoption of an integrated approach to evaluation and, most significantly, the creation of an appropriate organizational culture, which promotes and recognizes the value of evaluation in general and training evaluation in particular. Discusses reasons for the absence of, or ineffective practice of, evaluation within so many organizations and these are shown to be related to organizational cultures which discourage training evaluation, especially organizational‐level evaluation. Discusses the nature and meaning of organizational culture from a practical point of view before providing advice to those responsible for training about how they can attempt to change an organization′s culture towards one which supports and values the evaluation of training.

High quality of provision in higher education is seen as an institutional imperative in the 1990s. This coincides with the need to reduce unit costs and increase productivity. The delivery of these three outputs results in considerable demands being made on staff and places great stress on the need to ensure employee commitment. Organizations are explicitly or implicitly seeking employee commitment through a number of human resource and quality initiatives. One of these means is through employee communication. Briefly examines the theory of employee commitment. Proceeds to examine the role of employee communication in helping to promote and manage employee commitment. Uses survey data related to the attitudes of staff at a British higher education institution to discuss the linkage between communication, commitment and quality. Discusses key issues for those who manage communication in order to attempt to achieve commitment for quality.