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This micro-level study unpacks the recruitment and retention of international professionals to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The study highlights the influence of the founders' international experience when applying organisational-level (meso) policies and practices. With their insider experience as skilled migrants, we share how the founders in each of the SMEs mobilised career capital into human resource management (HRM) strategies.

Combining literature on SMEs and skilled migrants' careers, we draw upon intelligent career theory to illuminate the recruitment and retention of self-initiated expatriates and skilled migrants in SMEs. With three SME case studies as samples–one micro, one small and one medium-sized organisation in Ireland–we consider the influence of the founders' international experience in the design and application of formal and informal HRM strategies (at the organisational level) that are operationalised to recruit and retain international talent to/in these organisations.

The HRM practices in the three SME cases in this paper, each run by migrant founders, vary from formalised (for our medium-sized organisation), semi-formalised (for our small-sized organisation) to ad hoc and tailor-made (for our micro-sized organisation). These particular SMEs were often more receptive to hiring other migrants. The important role of the three SME case studies' skilled migrant founders and their own international career experiences was apparent in the particular HRM approaches they adopted. The relevance of intelligent career theory when applying micro-level findings at the meso-organisational level is shown.

The paper presents how the international experience of founder–managers, in turn, impacts on the HRM practices and policies that are implemented to recruit and retain international employees. The study highlights how both organisation size and founder-manager international experience influence the degree of customisation of HRM practices and policies in SMEs, specifically pertaining to the recruitment and retention of self-initiated expatriates and skilled migrant employees. The heterogeneity within the sub-categories encompassed under the umbrella label of SME is emphasised; validating our case study approach, where nuance and detail of the specific organisation can be shared.

The purpose of this paper is to understand how inspection team members work together to conduct surveys of hospitals, the challenges teams may face and how these might be addressed.

Data were gathered through an evaluation of a new regulatory model for acute hospitals in England, implemented by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) during 2013-2014. The authors interviewed key stakeholders, observed inspections and surveyed and interviewed inspection team members and hospital staff. Common characteristics of temporary teams provided an analytical framework.

The temporary nature of the inspection teams hindered the conduct of some inspection activities, despite the presence of organisational citizenship behaviours. In a minority of sub-teams, there were tensions between CQC employed inspectors, healthcare professionals, lay people and CQC data analysts. Membership changes were infrequent and did not appear to inhibit team functioning, with members displaying high commitment. Although there were leadership authority ambiguities, these were not problematic. Existing processes of recruitment and selection, training and preparation and to some extent leadership, did not particularly lend themselves to addressing the challenges arising from the temporary nature of the teams.

Conducting the research during the piloting of the new regulatory approach may have accentuated some challenges. There is scope for further research on inspection team leadership.

Issues may arise if inspection and accreditation agencies deploy temporary, heterogeneous survey teams.

This research is the first to illuminate the functioning of inspection survey teams by applying a temporary teams perspective.

This paper identifies the strategic changes and explores the solutions for talent development and leadership management to address the challenges faced by the funeral service industry in Hong Kong.

In this study, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with seven key personnel (funeral director, salesperson, coffin shop owner, and mortuary transporter) engaged in the funeral service industry in Hong Kong. Thematic coding was used to identify and organize emerging themes from the data.

Four overarching themes were identified: (1) Perception of the funeral service industry in Hong Kong; (2) Recruitment, retention, and talent development; (3) Prospects of the funeral service industry in Hong Kong; and (4) Other novel challenges. The findings reveal continuous, radical, and complex challenges that may exceed the capacity of any leader to develop workable solutions.

The funeral service industry is facing radical challenges in modern times. A death-denying attitude is observed, which has severely undermined the study of the funeral service industry.

Clinical practice provides teacher candidates with opportunities to link teaching and learning theory to practice in a supported environment with strong mentorship through their initial phases of teaching. Teacher candidates wait in anticipation for the opportunity to get into classrooms to work alongside veteran teachers to promote student learning and achievement. This article presents one educator preparation program’s (EPP’s) innovative program that spans the boundaries of the USA to provide teacher candidates with a two-week intensive full-time clinical placement in schools located in the Cotswold Region of England.

Highlighted in this piece is the program’s partnership history, design, structure, connection to the nine essentials, assessment of program goals, and a synthesis of the literature on global education and its value in educator preparation.

Highlighted in this piece is the program’s partnership history, design, structure, connection to the nine essentials, assessment of program goals and a synthesis of the literature on global education and its value in educator preparation.

This article highlights one university’s innovation that places teacher candidates in the classroom for a two-week full-time immersive clinical experience in various schools in England. As early as their sophomore year, teacher candidates can participate in this study abroad program and do so while developing their own cultural competence and global citizenship.

This paper aims to introduce a model using a digital twin concept in a cold heading manufacturing and develop a digital visual management (VM) system using Lean overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) tool to enhance the process performance and establish Fourth Industrial Revolution (I4.0) platform in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

This work utilised plan, do, check, act Lean methodology to create a digital twin of each machine in a smart manufacturing facility by taking the Lean tool OEE and digitally transforming it in the context of I4.0. To demonstrate the effectiveness of process digitisation, a case study was carried out at a manufacturing department to provide the data to the model and later validate synergy between Lean and I4.0 platform.

The OEE parameter can be increased by 10% using a proposed digital twin model with the introduction of a Level 0 into VM platform to clearly define the purpose of each data point gathered further replicate in projects across the value stream.

The findings suggest that researchers should look beyond conversion of stored data into visualisations and predictive analytics to improve the model connectivity. The development of strong big data analytics capabilities in SMEs can be achieved by shortening the time between data gathering and impact on the model performance.

The novelty of this study is the application of OEE Lean tool in the smart manufacturing sector to allow SME organisations to introduce digitalisation on the back of structured and streamlined principles with well-defined end goals to reach the optimal OEE.

This paper aims to explore the content of Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) from older adult care homes to understand how safety is understood and might be measured in practice.

SARs relevant to older adult care homes from 2015 onwards were identified via the Social Care Institute of Excellence SARs library. Using thematic analysis, initial inductive coding was mapped to a health-derived safety framework, the Safety Measurement and Monitoring Framework (SMMF).

The content of the SARs reflected the dimensions of the SMMF but gaining a deeper understanding of safety in older adult care homes requires additional understanding of how this unique context interacts with these dimensions to create and prevent risks and harms. This review identified the importance of external factors in care home safety.

This study provides an insight into the scope of safety issues within care homes using the SARs content, and in doing so improves understanding of how it might be measured. The measurement of safety in care homes needs to acknowledge that there are factors external to care homes that a home may have little knowledge of and no ability to control.

This study aims to explore how human resource (HR) practitioners conceive of their practice, reveal challenges they grapple with in daily work and generate a conceptual framework of HR praxis.

The paper is based on interviews with HR practitioners in Sweden and a review of articles that examine aspects of HR practitioners' work.

The HR practitioners' work is fragmented and reactive, filled with meetings and affords few opportunities to work undisturbed. Operational tasks are prioritised over strategic work, and their work sometimes involves tasks that are not HR's responsibility. The nature of HR practitioners' daily work mimics the work of their main “customer”, i.e. managers within the organisations.

The HR practitioners were working mainly in the service of managers, which suggests that they have an internal focus. Consistent with current, prescriptive HR discourse, HR practitioners should adopt a multi-stakeholder perspective of human resource management (HRM) and a more external focus that is necessary to contribute to wider, organisational effectiveness. The findings could enrich what is taught in higher education by providing students with an account of the reality of HR practitioners' daily work.

The study provides a situated account of the daily work of HR practitioners, which is largely absent from the literature.

Physical activity is associated with both physical and mental health benefits for people with psychosis. However, mental health services have been criticised for failing to adequately promote physical activities. Occupational Therapy, with its focus on meaningful everyday occupations, is well placed to incorporate physical activity interventions. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of men with psychosis participating in an Irish community-based football programme.

Six men with psychosis participated in qualitative interviews. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Interview data were analysed thematically.

Participants identified many benefits of engaging in the programme. Football became a valued part of weekly routines and fostered re-engagement with previously valued roles. Participants identified improvements in social confidence and motor and process skills, as well as a positive impact on their mental and physical health.

This study highlights the value and meaning of participation in football for men with psychosis, as well as demonstrating the longer-term feasibility of football as a therapeutic medium in Occupational Therapy mental health service provision. Findings could help to promote the routine use of sports interventions to mental health services.

The purpose of this paper is to review and discuss Luciano Floridi’s 2019 book The Logic of Information: A Theory of Philosophy as Conceptual Design, the latest instalment in his philosophy of information (PI) tetralogy, particularly with respect to its implications for library and information studies (LIS).

Nine scholars with research interests in philosophy and LIS read and responded to the book, raising critical and heuristic questions in the spirit of scholarly dialogue. Floridi responded to these questions.

Floridi’s PI, including this latest publication, is of interest to LIS scholars, and much insight can be gained by exploring this connection. It seems also that LIS has the potential to contribute to PI’s further development in some respects.

Floridi’s PI work is technical philosophy for which many LIS scholars do not have the training or patience to engage with, yet doing so is rewarding. This suggests a role for translational work between philosophy and LIS.

The book symposium format, not yet seen in LIS, provides forum for sustained, multifaceted and generative dialogue around ideas.

Output from the Irish Dairy Industry has grown rapidly since the abolition of quotas in 2015, with processors investing heavily in capacity expansion to deal with the extra milk volumes. Further capacity gains may be achieved by extending the processing season into the winter, a key enabler for which being the reduction of duration of the winter maintenance overhaul period. This paper aims to investigate if Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques can be used to enhance operational maintenance performance, thereby releasing additional processing capacity.

Combining the Six-Sigma Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control (DMAIC) methodology and the structured approach of Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) widely used in process industries creates a novel hybrid model that promises substantial improvement in maintenance overhaul execution. This paper presents a case study applying the DMAIC/TAM model to Ireland’s largest dairy processing site to optimise the annual maintenance shutdown. The objective was to deliver a 30% reduction in the duration of the overhaul, enabling an extension of the processing season.

Application of the DMAIC/TAM hybrid resulted in process enhancements, employee engagement and a clear roadmap for the operations team. Project goals were delivered, and original objectives exceeded, resulting in €8.9m additional value to the business and a reduction of 36% in the duration of the overhaul.

The results demonstrate that the model provides a structure that promotes systematic working and a continuous improvement focus that can have substantial benefits for wider industry. Opportunities for further model refinement were identified and will enhance performance in subsequent overhauls.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the structure and tools of DMAIC and TAM have been combined into a hybrid methodology and applied in an Irish industrial setting.