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Top management commitment is considered a significant factor in improvement programmes, and many papers have been written about the role of top management commitment in implementing a quality management system. However, not considering other management levels’ commitment, such as middle management, may lead to issues in achieving organisational development. Public organisations that work through vertical structures may face a lack of middle management commitment, which might have a negative impact on lower and non-management staff commitment to improvement programmes. In this regard, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of middle management’s commitment towards improvement initiatives in public organisations.

Empirical research with a mixed-method design used semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire to explore the current practices of continuous improvement (CI) and examine employees’ views from different management levels of the implications of current improvements in a Saudi public service organisation.

The analysis indicated that the lower managers and non-management staff agree that, after the implementation of the quality management system, the organisation’s middle management showed a lack of commitment to that system. Moreover, this lack of commitment is recognised in the analysis of participants’ views of CI practices recorded in the questionnaire and interviews. This lack of commitment has caused poor employee commitment and thus a lack of problem solving in organisational departments. It is also responsible for a lack of employee involvement, the centralisation of decisions, deficiencies in terms of determining and applying training, inequality between employees and a lack of trust between employees and their managers. These issues could be managed and resolved through middle management and their commitment.

Increasing middle managers’ awareness of the importance of their commitment to improvement initiatives can have an impact on employees’ commitment towards improvement initiatives, especially in those public organisations that have vertical/hierarchical structures. The level of commitment towards the implementation of improvement programmes needs further in-depth analyses to identify which factors influence public organisation leaders’ commitment to improvement programmes.

The results of this study could motivate middle managers in public organisations to review their policies and to facilitate CI initiatives.

Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.

Corporate communications is often less successful when it is competing for influence with neighboring functions such as marketing or sales within organizations. This article addresses the internal positioning of communication departments by developing a conceptual framework which helps to understand, analyze and optimize their standing in organizations.

The research is based on a literature review across several disciplines (e.g. organizational communication, strategic management) and supported by 26 qualitative in-depth interviews with board members, executives and communicators in a global industry company. By combining the theoretical and empirical insights, a framework for positioning communication departments within organizations was developed.

The framework depicts seven strategies (e.g. expectation and impression management, supporting ambassadors from other departments) and three spheres of influence (organizational integration, internal perceptions and social capital) to strengthen the position of corporate communications.

The conceptual framework has been supported by one case study so far, and future research may further develop and verify it by applying it to a larger number of companies in different industries.

Practitioners can use the framework as an analytical tool to reflect the current situation in their organization and identify opportunities for strengthening it.

This article introduces a novel view in the academic debate about the role and influence of corporate communications. It establishes a framework that helps to identify different drivers and strategies, and lays ground for future research.

Assesses the benefits and limitations of franchising as a tool for the development of small‐to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs); focuses on the use of franchising in transitional economies, with particular reference to central European countries. Reveals that franchising ‐ with its numerous advantages over conventional market entry ‐ has played a significant role in the development of SMEs in the industrialized West and transitional economies in general, but that in central and Eastern Europe the uptake of franchising has been negligible. Identifies that there are reasons, particular to these countries, including ‐ inter alia ‐ political, organisational, cultural, economic and legal, which make the use of franchising unattractive to both foreign and domestic franchisors; outlines the evolution of indigenous franchising in other transitional economies, citing successes in Asia. Summarizes the challenges facing Central European countries in realizing the potential of franchising in the development of SMEs, and suggests further areas for research.

Through a survey of 200 employees working in five of the thirty establishments analysed in previous research about the microeconomic effects of reducing the working time (Cahier 25), the consequences on employees of such a reduction can be assessed; and relevant attitudes and aspirations better known.

Presents the empirical findings regarding the ethical attitudes of business people in four culturally and economically different countries (Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, and the United States) based on the assumptions of integrative social contracts theory. Given the quality of institutions in the four surveyed countries and the quality of economic interactions, it was anticipated that the United States would rank the highest in ethical attitudes, followed by Slovenia and Turkey, and then Russia. The hypothesis was largely confirmed with some interesting, situationally induced, exceptions.

We use Canadian data to examine the help‐seeking strategies of women dealing with the consequences of violent victimization. Consideration of the help‐seeking strategies of victimsmay provide insight into other decision‐making processes. The analytic framework integrates research on police reporting and intimate partner violence with the wider help‐seeking literature. This integration allows for an examination of the effect of the victim’s relationship to her offender on decisions to seek help from family, friends, doctors, social service agencies and the police. The research has two objectives. First, we aim to determine whether help‐seeking exists as isolated choices or whether there is a discernable set of help‐seeking strategies used by crime victims. Although many victims do not call the police, they often rely on family, friends, social service and mental health interventions.We find that those victims who report their victimizations to the police also seek support from family and friends. Second, we examine the correlates of these help‐seeking decisions. In doing so, we explore the effects of the offender relationship on decisions to seek help. We explore differences in help‐seeking across attacks by strangers, spousal offenders, dating offenders, and other known offenders. Our findings suggest that women victimized by a spousal offender are more likely than others to use a substantial help‐seeking strategy that includes disclosure to the police, doctors and social service agencies.

The purpose of this is to present the characteristics of emerging concepts and practices of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Latvia.

The paper includes reviews of CSR concepts and related values, a mail survey of CSR benchmarks, action research on emerging SCR programs, and concluding remarks on prospective CSR development. Survey data are supplemented with validation checks and selected interviews. This empirical survey information is intended be the starting point for comparative studies of CSR in Latvia.

The survey shows understanding and CSR applications at a very early stage of development. Minimization of external social costs is unknown to most respondents. Conceptual understanding is complicated by traditional beliefs in conflict with remnants of collectivist expectations. Follow up interviews suggest the most common CSR principle is the ethical “doing right” to achieve business goals. As related research done by authors of this study show, these goals are shaped by institutional environment and the personal values. Significant CSR is practiced by larger firms. Education, personal and public communications are the expected change factors.

The basic weakness is that the external cost concept is new to respondents. Wider CSR acceptance is linkable to a situation where personal and public communications and education are major factors of change.

The information and related analyses of CSR extend the original survey data, first published in Latvian. This first study of externalities leads to further study of CSR and related strategic actions.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics and stability of switched supply system considering the influence of the retailer competition and deteriorating items.

A discrete dynamic switched model is developed to analyze the evolution process of the switched supply chain. The existence and the local stability of the switched supply chain are analyzed using an analytical method and a parameter plot basin.

The author finds the switched supply chain will exhibit stable, periodic, and divergent behaviors with different parameters due to the system’s switching mechanism and the switched supply chain presents complex dynamics when the stable and unstable subsystem coexist.

The originality and value of the research rests on this paper considering the influence of the retailers’ competition and deteriorating items on the supply chain dynamics under stock-dependent demand. The obtained results provide the decision maker with some guidelines on how to make stable designs for the switched supply chain design according to the parameter values.

In the space of slums are many stakeholders; the extent to which their assistance contributes to slum administration is sparsely studied. The study aims to examine how external stakeholders contribute to slum administration within the Ghanaian context.

Using the stakeholder theory, the study used an exploratory qualitative design based on face-to-face, in-depth interviews among 21 respondents. Participants were purposively selected from stakeholder organisations and slum residents based on the stake in slums governance in Ghana.

The results indicate that stakeholders have contributed towards slums livelihoods in the general areas of housing, trading, skill development and capacity building. It shows that stakeholders’ contributions tend to enhance slums’ living conditions and affect local assemblies positively. The study finds that slum dwellers categorise stakeholders’ contributions as short-term relief and long-term solutions. Additionally, it emerged that in the areas of policy design, implementation and policy feedback, external stakeholders have supported the government in that regard.

The conclusion drawn from the study is limited to the four communities and the stakeholder organisations. However, communities with similar characteristics globally might benefit from the findings.

The study uncovers a context-specific role and assistance of external stakeholders in the domain of slums. This provides a guide to the government regarding key areas of stakeholder collaboration towards slum governance in the Ghanaian context. Theoretically, this study has contributed to new knowledge about stakeholders’ contribution to the overall governance of slums.

The study expands the frontiers of knowledge in the field of slum administration by focusing on external stakeholders. This study departs from previous studies, which have examined, in broader perspectives, stakeholders’ roles within the space of slums.