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This paper aims to theoretically proffer and empirically evidence five inter-related high performance working (HPW) groupings of value to practitioners interested in developing HPW in their organizations.

The empirical research is based on three UK-based qualitative case studies. Data are drawn from nine in-depth interviews with managers (three from each case) and three subsequent focus groups (one in each case). Focus groups comprised six, eight, and four employee (non-manager) interviewees.

The empirical findings validate the theoretical importance of the five identified HPW groupings. More, they imply a number of relationships within and between the five groupings, confirming the need to view the groupings collectively and dynamically.

The five HPW groupings provide a foundation for further research to closely evaluate the dynamism within and across the groupings. They also offer practical types of human resource interventions and actions for practitioners to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of HPW in their organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the operational implications and strategic actions involved in talent management (TM) in Scotland.

The paper is based on a literature review and focus groups comprising members of the Board of the Scottish Tourism Forum.

This paper finds that, in an industry with generally high labour turnover and rather negative public image as an employer, TM – in attracting, developing and retaining people – has significant potential to contribute to changing approaches to managing people and to improving opinions on careers in this sector.

Practical implications are that: individual businesses adopt TM approaches that best suit their business, employees and customers; industry bodies and leaders present exemplary practice in TM; business strategies including TM initiatives are actively supported by senior and operational managers in organisations; and educators develop, in liaison with the industry, toolkits for the implementation and evaluation of TM initiatives.

Any practitioner or academic interested in gaining insight into the practice and potential of TM, especially in the Scottish context, will find the paper valuable.

Academic interest in managing diversity is now developing from conceptual analyses to practical examples. However, the conceptual relationship between managing diversity and equal opportunities remains rather blurred. Perhaps investigation of managing diversity in practice may help bring greater focus to the relationship. This article seeks to bring further insight into the debate on managing diversity in terms of its link with equal opportunities and key dimensions in practice. On the basis of consideration of theoretical perspectives and dimensions of managing diversity, a practical development of managing diversity is discussed in a longitudinal case study of a proactive diversity initiative in BBC Scotland.

If you are possibly the best‐known broadcaster of TV and radio programs in the world, and your output is both phenomenal in number and hugely wide‐ranging in content, it goes without saying that lots of those programs are bound to involve issues of race, diversity, equal opportunity and discrimination – positive or otherwise. Not just factual, documentary or discussion‐type programs. Dramas and comedies also have to take account of the make‐up of the communities they serve if they are to have a resonance with the whole audience.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how formal mentoring programmes may enhance female mentees' career development, particularly in a case study of a major high street bank.

Empirical case study work, from mentees' and mentors' points of view, on the evaluation of a pilot formal mentoring programme for the career development of females is discussed. The two stage evaluation encompasses gender issues such as the impact of gender imbalance and the nature of ambition, together with mentoring issues such as expectations and development of the programme.

Overall, it is found that the mentoring programme is considered, in different ways to mentees and mentors, to be highly successful. Further, it can offer benefits to mentors too. Although females' self‐perceptions, gendered values and perceptions of management and leadership can often impede the career development of females, effective, formal mentoring can be seen to offset such impediments.

The main inference is that effective formal mentoring can actively bolster females' management career development. The case evaluation exposes a series of good practice points in formal mentoring programmes. Capitalising on these points, organisations can enable females' development in management roles.

The paper acts to support greater gender equity in females' career development in management in the UK finance sector, conceptually and practically.

The purpose of this paper is to examine Generation Y, potential graduate entrants to UK retailing, in respect of their job experiences, career perceptions and initial employment expectations.

Utilising qualitative research methods, an exploratory study was undertaken with 33 students (all of whom fell into the category of Generation Y) from two UK universities.

The study found that many of the propositions contained within the Generation Y literature were reflected among participants in relation to their future career and lifestyle aspirations. This points to the need for retailers to carefully manage graduate expectations and experiences to ensure commitment to the sector.

Being an exploratory study, the results are not genralisable to the wider population. The findings frame a future longitudinal study on the retail careers of Generation Y graduates as they move from the anticipation to the encounter stage of their career development. This will seek to further explore the implications of Generation Y values, including those relating to diversity and equality which were not raised as an issue in this preliminary study.

The findings of this research contribute to our knowledge of the career aspirations of Generation Y. It indicates to retailers some of the future recruitment and HR practices they might adopt to meet the needs of this generation of employees.

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the perceptions of senior managers in companies in the Sunday Times list of UK best employers on the practice of HRM in their organisations.

The approach taken was to conduct semi‐structured interviews with senior line and HR directors/ managers.

In the organisations investigated, HRM is afforded high‐level organisational support at chief executive, if not always senior operational manager, level. It is generally recognised by senior managers as contributing to business effectiveness when it centres on business needs. It is integrated with business strategy processes at both strategic and operational levels. Indeed HRM is elemental to business strategic planning processes, which has the effect of reducing the potential gap between strategic rhetoric on HRM and practical implementation of HRM. Leadership and performance management are current HR policy priorities.

The generative primary data represent senior managers' perceptions of how HRM operates in their organisation therefore cannot be generalised.

Senior manager support of HRM means focusing HRM efforts in organisations on business needs and integration between HRM and business strategy processes. The corollary is that HRM policy priorities are derived from the strategic business direction and that they are perceived to support business operations and, consequently, business performance.

Senior line managers and HR specialists inform the research which contributes to understanding of current, best practice HRM from an evidence base; a model of contemporary best practice is proposed.

The aim of this paper is to highlight some preliminary findings regarding students' perceptions of retail employment. It concentrates on those students who belong to Generation Y, those born between 1977 and 1994.

The research instrument consisted of a questionnaire survey administered to business studies students at two Scottish universities – Glasgow Caledonian University and Stirling University. This paper reports on responses to 340 of these questionnaires – those students who already have some experience of retail employment, mainly as their part‐time employment experiences while studying for their degree.

Retail employment experience is common with the majority of students. Their expectations for future retail employment after graduation is to enjoy their work, while they are also concerned with fairness, equality and tolerance from their future employment.

The results are of benefit to retail employers' as preliminary indications of how they can attract potential graduate entrants into the sector. They provide some areas that retail companies should be addressing in their recruitment literature. These factors include future career opportunities including opportunities for self development, training and development, as well as pay and job security. Other factors that are also important to highlight are responsibility and challenging work opportunities and the maintenance of a good work‐life balance.

This is an under‐researched topic in the area of retail employment and Generation Y.

Looks at the principal causes and consequences of the promotion to what can no longer be viewed as a complete vacuum: women in positions of general management. Focuses on the views of four female general managers in different international hotel groups. From an analysis of their experience and views concludes that potential for women holders of these senior positions is significant, though the industry appears unwilling to make specific “concessions” to use this largely latent labour resource.

Profiles the Hilton Group plc and some of the human resources issues that arise from operating an international portfolio of 500 hotels, with more than 60,000 employees in 50 countries. Expansion in 1999 triggered an extensive market research exercise to determine customer expectations of the Hilton hotel brand. This led to the development of Hilton’s worldwide quality initiative, “Equilibrium”. The aim here is to ensure that individual guest needs are met, and because service quality is central to this, a human resource policy initiative called “Esprit” has been developed to embrace the key principles of employee recognition, respect and reward. What then are the strategic linkages between these initiatives? The article draws on practitioner perspectives to explain the relationship between the strategic human resource management and business performance challenges for the business.