John Annett, Jean Wilson and John Piech
There is a well established belief that, once having learned, you never forget how to ride a bicycle. This is a myth. Whilst it is true that even after a long time without…
Abstract
There is a well established belief that, once having learned, you never forget how to ride a bicycle. This is a myth. Whilst it is true that even after a long time without practice, people do not very often actually fall off their bicycles as they did when first aquiring the skill, there is ample evidence that skills do deteriorate if they are not regularly practised. Highly skilled sportsmen and musicians will readily agree that continued practice is necessary to maintaining a high degree of skill.
In the first of our two articles on skill loss we concentrated on two kinds of investigation, surveys of the opinions of experienced individuals and controlled, but often highly…
Abstract
In the first of our two articles on skill loss we concentrated on two kinds of investigation, surveys of the opinions of experienced individuals and controlled, but often highly artificial, experiments. In this the second article we shall describe the results of some studies using the “natural experiment” technique. Carrying out a natural experiment is rather like studying an eclipse or an earthquake. There is nothing the scientist can do about arranging the events, as is the rule in the classic laboratory experiment; one simply takes things as they come but hopefully with telescopes, seismographs or whatever appropriate measuring devices suitably deployed to record the events for subsequent analysis.
In my training commentary in our November issue I suggested a basic information kit on worker participation. Since then a new survey, of major importance, has been published and…
Abstract
In my training commentary in our November issue I suggested a basic information kit on worker participation. Since then a new survey, of major importance, has been published and should be added to the list.
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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Laurie Larwood, Sergei Rodkin and Dean Judson
The need to maintain up-to-date technological skills despite an aging workforce makes it imperative that organizations increasingly focus on retraining older employees. This…
Abstract
The need to maintain up-to-date technological skills despite an aging workforce makes it imperative that organizations increasingly focus on retraining older employees. This article develops an adult career model based on the acquisition of technological skills and gradual skill obsolescence. The model suggests the importance of retraining and provides practical implications to the development of retraining programs. Suggestions for future research are also offered.
A striking feature of Jaques' work is his “no nonsense” attitude to the “manager‐subordinate” relationship. His blunt account of the origins of this relationship seems at first…
Abstract
A striking feature of Jaques' work is his “no nonsense” attitude to the “manager‐subordinate” relationship. His blunt account of the origins of this relationship seems at first sight to place him in the legalistic “principles of management” camp rather than in the ranks of the subtler “people centred” schools. We shall see before long how misleading such first impressions can be, for Jaques is not making simplistic assumptions about the human psyche. But he certainly sees no point in agonising over the mechanism of association which brings organisations and work‐groups into being when the facts of life are perfectly straightforward and there is no need to be squeamish about them.
Sweden, with a 3.4 million labour force, 45 per cent of it in commerce, transport and the service industries, tackles the problem of re‐training in a thoroughly imaginative way…
Abstract
Sweden, with a 3.4 million labour force, 45 per cent of it in commerce, transport and the service industries, tackles the problem of re‐training in a thoroughly imaginative way, as a film Investment in Manpower (col, 30 min) shows. Their National Labour Board deals with it in the round, fitting the men to the jobs, and treating its material throughout as human beings with modern human needs. There are no age limits, and prejudices about being too old to learn are firmly squashed. Rail fares to attend interview are paid, moving costs met, and grants given to keep the home going while training.
In recent months there has been a renewed surge of interest in the present national provision of training for training officers. This interest has been rekindled by a number of…
Abstract
In recent months there has been a renewed surge of interest in the present national provision of training for training officers. This interest has been rekindled by a number of events, including the second Loughborough Conference for training officer course tutors, held this summer, the establishment of an inter‐training board Working Party to draw up recommendations for the training of practitioners in the personnel/training field at both professional and sub‐professional level, and, not least, by comment in the professional press. In the June issue of Personnel Management Mr Frank Tyson, lately of the Chemical and Allied Products Industry Training Board, launched a devastating attack on the Introductory Course for Training Officers, which has been the main‐stay of the national effort in this direction for the past five years. Some of Mr Tyson's comments were entirely justified; others have already been refuted. However, at a time when the Central Training Council's Committee on the Training of Training Staff is in limbo, pending its reconstitution under the newly‐appointed CTC, it is good that the debate should be re‐opened. This article looks at the present situation from the viewpoint of a course tutor, whilst a subsequent article examines it from a consumer's point of view. By looking in this way at both sides of the picture, it may be that a way forward will emerge which will lead to the sort of improvements in training officer training which seem to be urgently needed.
A point repeatedly brought forward for the defence, or at all events for the purpose of mitigating the fine, in adulteration cases, is the statement that defendant's goods have…
Abstract
A point repeatedly brought forward for the defence, or at all events for the purpose of mitigating the fine, in adulteration cases, is the statement that defendant's goods have been analysed on former occasions and have been found genuine. As illustrating the slight value of analyses of previous samples may be taken the average laudatory analyses on patent or proprietary foods, drinks, or medicine. The manufacturer calculates—and calculates rightly—that the general public will believe that the published analysis of a particular specimen which had been submitted to the analytical expert by the manufacturer himself, guarantees all the samples on the market to be equally pure. History has repeatedly proved that in 99 cases out of 100 the goods found on the market fall below the quality indicated by the published analyses. Not long ago a case bearing on this matter was tried in court, where samples of cocoa supplied by the wholesale firm were distributed; but, when the retailer tried to sell the bulk of the consignment, he had repeated complaints from his customers that the samples were a very much better article than what he was then supplying. He summoned the wholesale dealer and won his case. But what guarantee have the general public of the quality of any manufacturer's goods—unless the Control System as instituted in Great Britain is accepted and applied ? Inasmuch as any manufacturer who joins the firms under the British Analytical Control thereby undertakes to keep all his samples up to the requisite standard; as his goods thenceforth bear the Control stamp; and as any purchaser can at any time submit a sample bought on the open market to the analytical experts of the British Analytical Control, free of any charge, to ascertain if the sample is up to the published and requisite standard, it is plain that a condition of things is created which not only protects the public from being cheated, but also acts most beneficially for these firms which are not afraid to supply a genuine article. The public are much more willing to buy an absolutely guaranteed article, of which each sample must be kept up to the previous high quality, rather than one which was good while it was being introduced, but as soon as it became well known fell off in quality and continued to live on its reputation alone.
Using a sample of 86 countries over the 1960–1999 period, this paper investigates the differential growth effects of ethnic division across cultural regions. While the evidence…
Abstract
Using a sample of 86 countries over the 1960–1999 period, this paper investigates the differential growth effects of ethnic division across cultural regions. While the evidence supports a negative relationship between ethnic fragmentation and economic growth, this relationship is significant only for Africa and Latin America. This study also uses a religious measure of ethnic fragmentation, and finds that religious diversity has a positive impact on growth. This impact, however, is present only in the Middle East and East Asia. Some possible reasons behind the heterogeneous effects of ethnic diversity are also explored.