The first wave of interest in appraisal interviewing took place in the late 60's and 70's. That particular wave culminated in such classic studies and texts as Anstey et al 1976…
Abstract
The first wave of interest in appraisal interviewing took place in the late 60's and 70's. That particular wave culminated in such classic studies and texts as Anstey et al 1976, Randell et al 1974, and many others. After something of a lull in interest there now appears once again to be a revival in staff training for appraisal. The reasons behind this re‐emergence of interest must of course lie in our current experience of de‐industrialisation, labour‐shedding and rationalisation. Today's Training Manager, either starting a company appraisal scheme afresh or intending to rekindle interest in an existing one, will quickly find that attitudes towards appraisal interviewing have changed. They differ drastically from those of five or ten years ago. Gone is the naive faith in appraisals as a panacea to cure all ills; gone is the immediate seduction of a behaviourally‐based performance objectives approach; tarnished is the shibboleth of better two‐way communication. Nowadays, by and large, the unspoken feeling so often is one of suspicion: rating systems are viewed as distasteful; public recording of performance is seen as potentially threatening, and all documentation related to appraisal systems is scrutinized and criticised by all and sundry within organisations. Yet schemes have to be implemented afresh, personnel have to be convinced of the usefulness of schemes and the Training Manager must ensure that all his staff know the mechanics of his company scheme.
Instructors and supervisors have an acknowledged hard job. Explaining, demonstrating, setting to work and correcting errors all day long is extremely demanding. Often we hear our…
Abstract
Instructors and supervisors have an acknowledged hard job. Explaining, demonstrating, setting to work and correcting errors all day long is extremely demanding. Often we hear our instructors, supervisors and chargehands complain that over the years their job is getting no easier. What do they specifically complain about? They complain that the pace of technological change brings in new skills almost daily, and, conversely that old skills disappear without trace almost overnight. They also complain of the apparent decline in standards of literacy and numeracy and the willingness to work among sections of the younger work force.
Describes current research on organizational learning and change beingconducted in the Midlands region in the UK, centring on the industrialconurbation of Derby. One of the…
Abstract
Describes current research on organizational learning and change being conducted in the Midlands region in the UK, centring on the industrial conurbation of Derby. One of the catalysts for the current upsurge in interest in organizational learning within this region has been the arrival of Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK Ltd and the perceived revitalization of the region′s economy that this investment is seen to have made. Research at Derby University focuses on ascertaining the degree to which Toyota Ltd can be attributed as being a point source of change for firms learning, emulating and adopting what are known as new wave manufacturing strategies and associated human resource management practices. Discusses and theoretically frames empirically derived results.
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The first purpose of this short essay is to respond to Howells and Scholderer’s (2016) harsh critique that organizational unlearning is a superfluous concept. The second purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
The first purpose of this short essay is to respond to Howells and Scholderer’s (2016) harsh critique that organizational unlearning is a superfluous concept. The second purpose is to establish a relationship between organizational unlearning and the learning organization.
Design/methodology/approach
To respond to Howells and Scholderer’s critique, the author carefully examines their arguments – focusing on their comments on the author’s previous publications – and checks whether the arguments are logical and coherent. To establish a relationship between organizational unlearning and the learning organization, the author draws on his own research of international joint ventures in China.
Findings
Howells and Scholderer seriously miscited the ideas in one of the author’s publications, and their main arguments are blatantly flawed. Moreover, they are unaware that many of the faults they find in the organizational unlearning literature are also present in the organizational learning literature. As to the second part of this essay, the study of the acquisition type of joint ventures clearly indicates the presence of organizational unlearning. Moreover, for such ventures to be learning organizations, the unlearning step has to be well managed.
Research limitations/implications
As mentioned, the author’s response to Howells and Scholderer’s critique focuses on their comments on the author’s publications. It is highly likely that they have made other erroneous arguments that this essay fails to capture. The author’s discussion of unlearning and learning organizations is constrained by the context of acquisition joint ventures.
Originality/value
This essay forcefully rebuts Howells and Scholderer’s critique, which can become an obstacle in the development of organizational unlearning research. The dynamics of knowledge transfer in acquisition joint ventures suggest that skills of unlearning, and not just learning, are essential to reaching the goal of being a learning organization.
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This article provides a descriptive account of the impact of new production methods and the consequences for the internal dependency relationship. The case study examples…
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This article provides a descriptive account of the impact of new production methods and the consequences for the internal dependency relationship. The case study examples illustrate the nature of the internal dependency relationship under the new production methods and attempts to assess how this internal dependency relationship interacts with increasing devolved responsibility, problem solving and continuous improvement at source, and the use of increased information at shop floor level. Implications for future management of these dependencies are examined.
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This case study narrates the experience of a medium‐sized UK manufacturing company in setting up and running a manufacturing plant in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. It…
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This case study narrates the experience of a medium‐sized UK manufacturing company in setting up and running a manufacturing plant in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. It details how features of the social organisation of production, the human resource policies and the management practices of the UK parent company were successfully transferred and adapted to the unique labour market and business environment encountered in mainland China. The study concludes by reviewing two major challenges that directly lie ahead for the company.
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Examines how Toyota′s worldwide HRM practice has been developed tosustain the Toyota Production System. Explains how, in setting up theEuropean assembly plant in the UK, Toyota…
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Examines how Toyota′s worldwide HRM practice has been developed to sustain the Toyota Production System. Explains how, in setting up the European assembly plant in the UK, Toyota has been faced with both strong forces for international consistency in HRM practices and strong local cultural forces calling for differentiation. Analyses this dialectic of forces by critically examining Toyota′s emergent HRM practices at its UK plant. These HRM practices are intended by the company to promote the four goals of employee integration with the organization; employee commitment; workforce flexibility and adaptability; and, finally, an emphasis on quality. Evaluates the evidence.
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Continuous improvement (CI) programmes have been recognised as one way of contributing to the productivity and efficiency within the manufacturing setting. However, the…
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Continuous improvement (CI) programmes have been recognised as one way of contributing to the productivity and efficiency within the manufacturing setting. However, the development of a sustainable CI programme has proved more problematic and in some cases fails to proceed any further than one‐off improvement activities. The research presented here illustrates the utility of Bessant and Caffyn’s framework for the development of CI capability, by assessing the structure of CI within one case study organisation. The structure of the CI programme and examples of CI activities provide evidence of the link to top down strategic business targets. The discussion suggests that the organisation has moved to a “goal oriented CI” where there is formal deployment of strategic goals through the structure of the CI activities and the relationship with business activities. Practical and theoretical implications of using this framework are considered.
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David McHugh, Deborah Groves and Alison Alker
Sets out the agenda for, and examines the findings from, the initial stage of a longer‐term project aimed at identifying the constraints which guide what are portrayed as…
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Sets out the agenda for, and examines the findings from, the initial stage of a longer‐term project aimed at identifying the constraints which guide what are portrayed as self‐managed learning initiatives leading to the creation of “learning organisations”. At this stage the project has focused on qualitative research with informants and groups of practitioners in North‐West UK companies which have involved themselves in learning initiatives and analyses of official discourses and data relating to the criteria inherent in appraising such initiatives. The project has examined tacit agendas in training and development and concludes that the attempts to link individual development with organisational strategy inherent in the human resource practices necessary to underwrite a learning organisation can serve to restrict the possibilities of creating such an organisation.
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Describes and compares the objectives and content of the graduate training programme conducted in Japan by a Japanese retailer and by its Hong Kong subsidiary. The case company…
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Describes and compares the objectives and content of the graduate training programme conducted in Japan by a Japanese retailer and by its Hong Kong subsidiary. The case company uses different approaches to train the Japanese graduate trainees in Japan and the local graduate trainees in the Hong Kong subsidiary. Like the Japanese female graduate trainees, the local graduate trainees are not expected to work for the company on a long‐term basis; are regarded as peripheral employees; and are not expected to be the primary contributory element for organizational learning within the company. Notes various negative factors related to the training provided at the Hong Kong subsidiary, citing factors such as the fact that it is aimed at meeting short‐term needs rather than long‐term development.