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Research has shown that one of the reasons lean transformations fail is inadequate lean knowledge of supervisors. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development of a lean training program for front-line manufacturing supervisors to provide them with the knowledge needed to engage their teams in daily continuous improvement.

A literature review was conducted on best practices in training design for positive transfer. Action research using qualitative methodologies was used to develop and pilot a new lean leadership training program for supervisors at one site within a case study company. The pilot was evaluated and continuously improved for future waves of training, consistent with action research, lean philosophies and training best practices.

Employee engagement has dramatically increased since the training class began and the number of lean improvements implemented in Operations at the case study company has increased 160 per cent. Manufacturing lead-time has also been reduced by more than 30 per cent. Because of the positive results from the training, it has been expanded at the pilot site and spread to other sites within the case study company.

As with any case study, one must take care when attempting to generalize findings beyond the case being examined. However, the pilot training program was successfully extended to several sites across different business segments of the case study company, increasing the likelihood that similar results may apply in other cases.

The case provides empirical evidence of the development of an effective training program to mature the lean capability of supervisors. Other companies seeking to provide training to develop front-line lean leaders can benefit from the lessons learned from the case study.

This paper aims to clarify the need for Chief Knowledge Officers (CKOs) and explain how some recent views on competencies for educational guidelines, a Knowledge Management (KM) competency model and expansion of practice management concepts make the need for CKOs clearer.

This viewpoint was developed in response to recent publications disparaging the idea of a CKO. The method used was to extract ideas from published and in-work papers to establish the basis for and explain the postulated Unified Competency Theory of KM and its implications regarding the need for CKOs.

CKOs are needed to ensure that all organizationally relevant functions’ knowledge and KM assessments and/or audits are individually complete and collectively sufficient. A risk/opportunity management role also provides justification.

This paper mainly limits its discussion to the papers that comprise research leading to the Unified Competency Theory of KM, its implications and an updated practice management model. Other points of view that might substantiate or refute the conclusions have not been addressed.

The KM field needs to better identify KM’s risk and opportunity management role and functional imperative. Organizations may need to reevaluate their directions with regards to KM and a CKO.

It extends the concept of practice management to permit differentiating disciplines. It provides new rationale for CKOs.

The purpose of this paper is to critically explore the evidence that human resource management (HRM) could contribute to the improvement of organizational and individual performance. It aims to examine the historical development of HRM and its emergence as a distinct management discipline. The evidence indicates that HRM is the product of several different traditions that range from a concern with employee welfare to the development of workplace relationships. The paper critically re‐evaluates what human performance is and assesses its contribution to organizational effectiveness. What is particularly important is the lack of empirical literature on the contribution of HRM and business performance. This paper will call for the re‐evaluation of more contemporary criteria of how people contribute to organizational performance in private, public and the emerging non‐profit making sectors.

The methodology adopted in this research uses critical literature on the contribution of human resource management performance.

The main finding of this research is the understanding of the problems of research design in measuring the contribution of HRM to develop performance in organizations.

The research presented in this paper needs to review and standardize comparative research design to confirm the performance of HRM in organizations. It compares the alternative perspectives of measuring performance in financial criteria.

This paper reviews the research between key authors for exploring the correlation between HRM and organizational performance for future research and examines the influence of human resource professional bodies.

The purpose of this research is to identify key interrelated components of successful, sustained lean transformation. When implemented successfully, lean not only allows for cost reduction while improving quality but it can also position a company to achieve tremendous growth. However, although many companies are attempting to implement lean, only an estimated 2-3 per cent are achieving the desired level of success.

A thorough literature review was conducted and the findings indicated six key constructs that can act as enablers or inhibitors to implementing and sustaining lean. A theoretical framework was developed that integrates these constructs and develops research propositions for each. A multiple-case study analysis was used to test the framework on four companies that have achieved successful lean transformations to validate the model.

Sixteen propositions were supported in all four of the case studies and one proposition was supported in three of the four case studies.

This research proposed and tested a model lean transformation on cases drawn from the very small number of companies in the USA that have achieved successful, sustained lean improvement. The case studies represented a broad variety of manufacturing industries, increasing the likelihood of the research being able to be broadly generalized and applied. The model provides a set of related tangible actions that organizations planning to undertake a lean transformation can focus on to help insure successful implementation and sustainment.

This paper aims to evaluate the aims and methods of appraisal, and the difficulties encountered in the appraisal process.

The paper uses a review of the literature to evaluate the development of appraisals and argues that the critical area of line management development that was identified as a critical success factor in appraisals has been ignored in the later literature evaluating the effectiveness of performance appraisals.

The review identifies the lack of theoretical development in appraisal and argues the psychological approach of analysis and a more critical realisation of appraisal, re‐evaluating the challenge to remove subjectivity and bias in judgement of appraisal.

Further evaluation of key interpersonal skills is required for appraisal systems to develop performance.

The use and design of performance pay in public and private services linked to appraisal have not always improved organisational performance and can contribute to reduced motivation.

Little research has evaluated the current increases in using appraisals and the changes in focus from appraisal to performance management. The paper adds value to the existing body of knowledge and offers insights for practitioners and researchers.

Explores the burgeoning literature on HRM with the aim of assessing its distinctiveness in terms of the arguments expounded by Guest in 1989 in his article “Personnel Management and HRM: Can You Tell the Difference?”. Summarizes Guest’s article, drawing out his three main approaches; reviews each of the three themes in terms of later contributions to the subject; evaluates the distinctiveness of HRM in relation to the three approaches laid down by Guest; and, finally, raises some issues of discussion and conclusion on the distinctiveness of HRM, its efficiency claims and its effects on the practice of personnel management.

At a macro level there is evidence of greater numbers of people involved in the working practices associated with the “flexible firm”, i.e. part‐time, temporary, agency workers and self‐employment. However, if flexibility is to provide the promised source of competitive advantage then we may expect to see, not only a rise in the numbers of people involved in these “non‐standard” forms of work, but also greater evidence of strategic approaches to flexibility within UK organizations. As average firm size continues to decline it is particularly important that we know something of the extent to which SMEs are adopting flexible working practices. In addition, as the majority of SMEs are non‐union, the commonly held assumption is that such firms have the freedom to be more flexible than their unionized counterparts. In order to investigate this area the article draws on national survey data and findings from two research projects. It concludes that, although there is greater incidence of non‐standard forms of work, the adoption of such practices in the SME sector is more a reflection of pragmatism than a radical new approach to flexibility.

A number of developments and activities in the British Library are reviewed. Developments in the field of copyright are outlined and the development of internal networking is described in some detail. A number of recent exhibitions in the Library are briefly reviewed and significant additions to the collections are described.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether perceptions of fair pay are characterised by social norms about the appropriate bases of pay differentials.

In order that the employees could voice their opinions without the restrictions of pre‐coded categories individual interviews were carried out with employees from five private sector organizations. The design of the study allowed an examination of attitudes towards pay criteria in the context of changes in organizational pay structures towards more individualism in pay awards.

The most popular bases of pay were “responsibility”, “qualifications” and “performance”. The attitudes appeared to reflect widespread norms about the most appropriate bases of pay. There was some evidence for an interaction between employee attitudes towards pay determination and organizational characteristics on the design and implementation of pay policies.

The interview methodology restricted the size of the sample and consequently the generalisations that can be made from the findings. Future research could use qualitative or quantitative methods to check whether the findings replicate with different types of groups of employees.

The paper contains useful information for human resource practitioners about maintaining “felt fairness” in the design of new pay systems.

The qualitative approach of this study produces rich information about employee perceptions of pay differentials in the context of current changes towards more individualised pay determination.