This article provides an interview with Amin Rajan.
Abstract
Purpose
This article provides an interview with Amin Rajan.
Design/methodology/approach
Amin Rajan answers questions about workforce diversity.
Findings
Amin Rajan provides views and opinions on workforce diversity.
Originality/value
Provides an insightful interview with Amin Rajan.
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Keywords
To elicit the views of a senior consultant to companies including ABN‐AMRO, British Telecom, Ford, GSK, HSBC, IBM, ICI, ICL, Lloyds TSB, Merrill Lynch Investment Management…
Abstract
Purpose
To elicit the views of a senior consultant to companies including ABN‐AMRO, British Telecom, Ford, GSK, HSBC, IBM, ICI, ICL, Lloyds TSB, Merrill Lynch Investment Management, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Motorola, Rolls‐Royce, Shell and UBS.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is an interview with Amin Rajan, a visiting professor at the Cass Business School, London Guildhall University and at the Centre for Leadership Studies at Exeter University, and also President of the Scientific Committee at Audencia‐Nantes, Ecole de Management.
Findings
The interview covers Rajan's views concerning the business benefits of and practical challenges involved in the promotion of workforce diversity.
Originality/value
Provides insights into the thinking of a prominent researcher, consultant and author in the field of employment and workforce diversity.
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Keywords
Two thirds of executives believe that creativity is the key to gaining and sustaining competitive advantage in today’s global business environment, according to recent research…
Abstract
Two thirds of executives believe that creativity is the key to gaining and sustaining competitive advantage in today’s global business environment, according to recent research. However, the report, Harnessing Creativity to Improve the Bottom Line – by Professor Amin Rajan and Barbara Martin, also reveals that most UK organizations have cultures which stifle creativity.
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Professional development will become a crucial investment rather than an irritating cost in the 21st century. Financial services professionals often see continued professional…
Abstract
Professional development will become a crucial investment rather than an irritating cost in the 21st century. Financial services professionals often see continued professional development (CPD) as a chore which requires the routine collection of points or hours through attendance at conferences and courses to maintain their professional status. The new FSA Training &Competence regulation has extended the requirements for CPD to a very wide group of financial experts in all specialisms. The authors draw on their research to argue here that the pace of change in the sector makes CPD a strategic necessity for survival. They outline the changes apparent in the core skills required of senior professionals and managers, espacially in the areas of risk management and control. Finally, they suggest that the new regime is also bringing about major change in the working practices of compliance professionals and propose a model of skills and knowledge which mean that CPD is as important for them as for their colleagues.
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Krishna Regmi, Jennie Naidoo and Sharada Regmi
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of discrimination in the workplace; and to draw general lessons, which might help to develop appropriate policies to reduce…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of discrimination in the workplace; and to draw general lessons, which might help to develop appropriate policies to reduce discrimination in the workplace setting.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed‐methods approach was used in the research, which consisted of self‐administrated questionnaires (n = 115), in‐depth interviews (n = 10) and group consultations (n = 20).
Findings
The paper provides empirical evidence that workers continue to face subtle forms of discrimination despite the implementation of numerous Employment Acts, designed to protect employees from unequal treatment due to their gender or ethnic origin. Workers' perceptions of discrimination were found to be positively associated with increased stress, intentions to seek new employment positions, and decreased satisfaction, commitment and citizenship behaviours. More education and awareness, coupled with changing managers' and employees' attitudes, perceptions and behaviours in today's organizations, are important strategies in tackling discrimination and promoting a more diverse workforce.
Originality/value
This paper brings together a number of important themes, highlighting and synthesising the complex relationship between discrimination and its manifestations, and its impact on discriminated‐against individuals and groups in terms of access to, and progression within, the labour market. Research assistants from the target group were employed. This innovative research method not only enabled authors to get closer to the knowledge and experience of the target groups in relation to the barriers affecting these groups but also empowered them and enhanced the research.
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As the nation's manufacturing base continues to shed jobs, the role of services as an alternative source of employment has increasingly come into focus. There are those who see…
Abstract
As the nation's manufacturing base continues to shed jobs, the role of services as an alternative source of employment has increasingly come into focus. There are those who see the service industries at the forefront of the fight against unemployment. There are others who dispute this inevitability because they see the recent growth in service employment as a temporary phenomenon, sparked off by a combination of exceptional events.
The City of London has a number of leading‐edgefeatures. The demand for its services is forecastto continue growing, albeit at a somewhat slowerpace. Its product mix has moved…
Abstract
The City of London has a number of leading‐edge features. The demand for its services is forecast to continue growing, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Its product mix has moved away from standardised to customised products, involving increasing use of new technologies, a trend which, if anything, is expected to accelerate after 1992. Historically, it has relied heavily on the external recruitment of permanent staff, failing to train anywhere near adequate numbers for its own needs. However, the City does not seem to have fully recognised that it will become increasingly difficult to poach the skills it requires from the rest of the economy. While there is some evidence that the City is moving towards strategic, longer‐term solutions to its skill shortages problems, there is little indication that they are focusing on human resource or cultural development. The likely product and technology changes require a massive investment in human resource development.
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This article concerns itself with one personnel management policy and explores its indirect link with the introduction of new technology. The implications of new manufacturing…
Abstract
This article concerns itself with one personnel management policy and explores its indirect link with the introduction of new technology. The implications of new manufacturing processes for harmonisation policies are discussed under two broad headings. The article will consider firstly how the introduction of new technology disturbs the social ecology of the organisation so that harmonisation is seen as a cure for this disturbance. Secondly new technology can be seen as indirectly enabling personnel managers to pursue harmonisation and single status policies.