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Article
Publication date: 1 February 2020

James Richards

Currently, sustainable HRM is largely an employer-driven exercise based on raising employee productivity. The purpose of the article is to expand this position by fully mapping…

5113

Abstract

Purpose

Currently, sustainable HRM is largely an employer-driven exercise based on raising employee productivity. The purpose of the article is to expand this position by fully mapping out sustainable HRM and placing employees at the centre of such practices. A further purpose is to provide a research agenda suited to a wider take on sustainable HRM.

Design/methodology/approach

The article centres on an analytical review of extant sustainable HRM literature, plus an analytical review of wider literature considering further ways to sustain employment.

Findings

Employee-centred sustainable HRM goes far beyond what is accounted for in the extant HRM literature. The new map accounts for wider parties to sustainable HRM, including trade unions and self-organised employees. An extensive research agenda is a further key output from the study.

Research limitations/implications

The article is based on a literature review. Follow-up empirical research is required to test out aspects of the new map, as well as address research gaps identified by the review.

Practical implications

The findings have practical implications for HRM and occupational health practitioners, line managers, built environment and ergonomics specialists, governments, trade unions and workplace activists. A key practical implication is the potential to create micro-forms of corporatism, where wider political structures are absent, to foster employee-centred forms of sustainable HRM.

Originality/value

The article is novel in terms of drawing on a wide range of incongruous literature and synthesising the literature into a new map and an extensive research agenda.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 44 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 September 2021

James Richards and Vaughan Ellis

A retrospective action-research case study of one branch of the University and College Union (UCU) is used to show how threshold requirements of the Act can be systematically…

Abstract

Purpose

A retrospective action-research case study of one branch of the University and College Union (UCU) is used to show how threshold requirements of the Act can be systematically beaten.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper responds to calls for “best practice” on how trade unions may react to member voting threshold requirements of the Trade Union Act 2016 (the Act). A broader aim is to make a theoretical contribution related to trade union organising and tactics in “get the vote out” (GTVO) industrial action organising campaigns.

Findings

Findings are presented as a lead organiser's first-hand account of a successful GTVO campaign contextualised in relation to theories of organising. The findings offer “best practice” for union organisers required to beat the Act's voting thresholds and also contribute to theories surrounding trade union organising tactics.

Research limitations/implications

Further development and adaptation of the proposed model may be required when applied to larger bargaining units and different organising contexts.

Practical implications

The findings can inform the organising practices/tactics of trade unions in relation to statutory ballots. The findings also allow Human Resource (HR) practitioners to reflect on their approach to dealing with unions capable of mounting successful GTVO campaigns.

Social implications

The findings have the potential to collectively empower workers, via their trade unions, to defend and further their interests in a post-financial crisis context and in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Originality/value

This is the first known empirical account of organising to exceed voting thresholds of the Act, providing practical steps for union organisers in planning for statutory ballots. Further value lies in the paper's use of a novel first-hand account of a GTVO campaign, offering a new and first, theoretical model of organising tactics to beat the Act.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 51 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2019

James Richards, Kate Sang, Abigail Marks and Susannah Gill

The purpose of this paper is to address a significant gap in the line manager, HRM and the diversity management literature, that of exploring the role and significance of…

3135

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address a significant gap in the line manager, HRM and the diversity management literature, that of exploring the role and significance of emotional labour (EL) in relation to the lived experienced of line managing neurodiversity.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach was used to explore lived experiences of line managers responsible for managing neurodiverse employees. Interviews were conducted with line managers employed in the UK transport industry.

Findings

The findings provide rich insights into line managing neurodiversity. A key overall finding is reasonable adjustments deemed essential to support neurodiverse employees require a myriad of hidden, complex, time consuming and often emotionally draining interactions with disabled employees, the employee’s wider team, and HRM and occupational health (OH) practitioners.

Research limitations/implications

This is an exploratory study and therefore limited by nature of the research design, industry focus, scope of study and sample size.

Practical implications

The findings have the potential to inform HRM and OH practitioner support for line managers responsible for managing neurodiverse employees.

Social implications

The study contributes to wider societal attempts to make employment more inclusive to a range of historically disadvantaged groups.

Originality/value

The study fills an important gap in the HRM literature on line managing neurodiverse employees. The study makes a specific and unique contribution to extensive literatures on line management, disability and EL.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 48 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 April 2012

James Richards, Shiona Chillas and Abigail Marks

This paper aims to examine the practice of teamwork in an under‐researched, yet growing industrial setting.

8067

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the practice of teamwork in an under‐researched, yet growing industrial setting.

Design/methodology/approach

Longitudinal ethnographic‐styled methods of data collection were used and data was examined using the Team Dimensions Model.

Findings

The findings suggest the Team Dimensions Model, with the addition of a customer service perspective, is of use for identifying managerial objectives and organisational outcomes of teamwork. However, this does not suggest that teamworking is easy to implement in the hospitality setting.

Research limitations/implications

The findings were obtained using unobtrusive participatory and observational methods and based on a single company.

Practical implications

The paper allows management practitioners to reflect on realities of implementing teamworking under a corporate customer service initiative.

Originality/value

The paper takes an existing theory on teamworking and develops the theory in an under‐researched and growing industrial sector.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 34 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 April 2012

Abigail Marks and James Richards

This editorial seeks to explore changes in both teamwork and developments in teamwork research over the last decade.

3229

Abstract

Purpose

This editorial seeks to explore changes in both teamwork and developments in teamwork research over the last decade.

Design/methodology/approach

The editorial review importantly focuses on the key debates that emerge from the papers covered in this special issue.

Findings

A review of the papers in this special issue, as well as historical analysis of teamwork research, indicate that while traditionally, analysis of teamwork was embedded in a manufacturing archetype, much of the contemporary research on teamwork is centred on service sector work where issues of cultural diversity, customer service, and lack of normative integration or task interdependence are increasingly apparent. This editorial suggests that we need to take account of the expansion of the service sector when attempting to conceptualise teamwork and the challenges that collective forms of working in such an environment bring.

Originality/value

This editorial and the special issue more generally provide an important contribution to the development of understanding of how changes in the workplace have had an impact on organisational and academic interest in teamwork.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 34 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2006

Timothy J. Richards, James Eaves, Valerie Fournier, S.E. Naranjo, C.‐C. Chu and T.J. Henneberry

The market for insuring insect damage is far from complete. This study introduces a new type of derivative instrument‐insect derivatives‐that provide growers a market‐based means…

Abstract

The market for insuring insect damage is far from complete. This study introduces a new type of derivative instrument‐insect derivatives‐that provide growers a market‐based means of transferring insect risk to speculators or others who may profit from higher insect populations. A risk‐neutral valuation model is developed and applied to Bemisia tabaci population data. Economic simulation models show how insect derivatives can improve risk‐return results for a representative cotton farm in the Imperial Valley of California. The results suggest that insect derivatives may become important risk management tools for a wide range of growers.

Details

Agricultural Finance Review, vol. 66 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-1466

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2012

James Richards

The main purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which employees have benefitted in the internet age and to identify research gaps that surround such activities.

3087

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which employees have benefitted in the internet age and to identify research gaps that surround such activities.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is a combination of a systematic literature review and an empirical analysis of secondary data drawn from press reports of emergent employee internet activities.

Findings

The internet continues to provide fresh and exciting opportunities for the employee to explore in relation to furthering employment‐related interests. However, the internet very much represents a “double‐edged sword” in that the many advantages of the internet can be quickly cancelled out by employer attempts to monitor, control, and exploit for themselves such activities, for their own ends. It is also evident that a full assessment of some activities cannot be made without further research.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is reliant on extant literature and resources that are known to have limited scholarly application.

Practical implications

A broad and eclectic discussion of employee internet activities is likely to be of interest to academics and human resource practitioners whose interests are based on a blend of employee relations practices and new internet‐based technological developments.

Social implications

The study addresses how a distinct actor in employee relations has faired in an age denoted by shrinking opportunities for collective action, yet also denoted by rapid developments in empowering user‐generated and social networking forms of information communication technology.

Originality/value

This paper synthesises literature and data from a wide range of largely incongruous academic and non‐academic sub‐disciplines to provide a fresh and authoritative account of emergent employee behaviour.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1994

James Michalko and John Haeger

Operating at the crossroads of higher education, librarianship, technology application, and service delivery, the Research Libraries Group (RLG) is a powerful partner to…

Abstract

Operating at the crossroads of higher education, librarianship, technology application, and service delivery, the Research Libraries Group (RLG) is a powerful partner to institutional efforts. For 20 years, it has identified critical research needs, provided responsive solutions, and expanded access to new and untapped information resources. With its highly skilled staff, sophisticated technical resources, and successful track record in managing and supporting interactions among its members, RLG is well positioned to help research institutions address the information challenges of the 1990s.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Article
Publication date: 3 October 2008

James Richards

The purpose of this paper is to re‐map the neglected phenomenon of organisational misbehaviour (misbehaviour) by reflecting the many approaches taken on this emergent field of…

13179

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to re‐map the neglected phenomenon of organisational misbehaviour (misbehaviour) by reflecting the many approaches taken on this emergent field of study, and articulate a revised research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

Both preceding and recent empirical and theoretical research papers are discussed and possible overlap and convergence of findings are examined. The discussions mainly surround studies from industrial sociology and organisational behaviour, yet studies from industrial relations and gender studies are also considered. From the re‐assessment, a revised map and research agenda for misbehaviour is produced.

Findings

More research should be directed towards humour and its uses in contemporary organisations, why managers break the rules, the internet as a tool and framework for defiant activities, informal and hidden employee identities as a framework for self‐organised misbehaviour, functional misbehaviour and informal strategies used by employees to survive work. Further work is required to unify the field and suggestions are made on how this may be achieved.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is based on a re‐assessment of the extant literature and the findings reflect the broadly problematic matter of reconciling incongruous paradigms.

Practical implications

The paper puts forward a revised and updated map of organisational misbehaviour. It also offers insights which managers can use to deal with a broad range of misbehaviour conducted within and outwith the workplace.

Originality/value

The paper provides a new map that goes beyond previous articulations of misbehaviour. The revised research agenda attempts to guide future research on the subject of misbehaviour in a more balanced direction.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 13 December 2021

Abstract

Details

Researching Craft Beer: Understanding Production, Community and Culture in An Evolving Sector
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-185-0

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