Examines the involvement of UK logistics, service providers (LSPs) within Continental Europe markets and considers the strategies they have used for European operations together…
Abstract
Examines the involvement of UK logistics, service providers (LSPs) within Continental Europe markets and considers the strategies they have used for European operations together with their favoured expansion routes which have been following piggyback opportunities, acquiring local firms, joint venture arrangements and encouraging organic growth. Considers eight case studies of leading UK‐based LSPs involved in Continental Europe. Their European expansion strategies are examined in terms of their performance, their organisational development structures (multidomestic, Eurolinkers or pan‐European), their organisation of finance, marketing and information technology control as well as the influence of management culture. Finds that expansion in Europe has proved demanding for UK LSPs and that, despite the early optimism, the Single European Market has yet to fulfil its initial promise. Major UK LSPs are obliged to operate across European borders to service multinational customers but this continues to pose challenges.
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Marilyn A. Stone and A.H. Clarkson
Aspects of research conducted among financial institutions,specifically building societies, banks, charge card operators andinsurance groups are discussed. Within the context of…
Abstract
Aspects of research conducted among financial institutions, specifically building societies, banks, charge card operators and insurance groups are discussed. Within the context of trends in, and growing deregulation of, the financial sector, the role is examined of the marketing information systems to enable institutions to differentiate their marketing strategies and services. In particular, the ability to process information to develop precise targeting of customers with the appropriate value added services is considered. The MIS is increasingly crucial to strategic development within, and between, financial sectors. It is contended that size and use of technology are critical to leadership in the personal finance market.
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Although barriers to free trade across the European Union (EU) havebeen dismantled since the Single European Act was signed, some stillremain which are likely to hinder UK…
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Although barriers to free trade across the European Union (EU) have been dismantled since the Single European Act was signed, some still remain which are likely to hinder UK distribution operators′ strategic developments in Europe. UK distribution operators have moved towards closer integration of Continental European operations with UK activities. Some groups are focusing on the European market to the exclusion of all other international markets, implementing the strategic lessons of Porter of cost leadership, differentiation and focus. Within the European market, UK logistics suppliers are tending to concentrate on the provision of the higher value‐added services of distribution to targeted markets, primarily those in northern Europe, located within the favoured “golden” band of countries. For the future, the EU is planning to integrate European road and rail networks. It is to be anticipated that this improvement in infrastructure will have positive effects on the European distribution industry. However, the trend towards protecting domestic industry will constrain the development of integrated markets in logistics services.
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Describes the development of the teaching company link between Heriot‐Watt University and a “traditional” transport company. Discusses how an early project in the programme…
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Describes the development of the teaching company link between Heriot‐Watt University and a “traditional” transport company. Discusses how an early project in the programme identified the industrial partner′s need to develop a strategic marketing approach which focused on TQM. Describes how this was introduced into an unpromising environment, but ultimately revolutionised company culture. Assesses the value of using the teaching company as a “vehicle” for applying TQM, from the standpoints of both partners. Concludes that the success of a key project and with it the programme, is critically dependent on people, relationships and commitment.
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Deniz Gevrek, Marilyn Spencer, David Hudgins and Valrie Chambers
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of salary raises and employees’ perception of these salary raises on their intended retention and turnover. By using a survey data…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of salary raises and employees’ perception of these salary raises on their intended retention and turnover. By using a survey data set from a representative American public university, this study investigates a novel hypothesis that faculty perceptions of salary raises, relative to their perceptions of other faculty members’ assessments of the raises, influence their intended labor supply.
Design/methodology/approach
Using both ordered probit and OLS modeling frameworks, the authors focus on the impact of salary raises and the relative perception of these raises on intended labor supply behavior. They explore a hypothesis that a mismatch between one’s ranking of the salary raise and the perception of others’ rankings causes dissatisfaction.
Findings
The results provide evidence that salary raises themselves are effective monetary tools to reduce intended turnover; however, the results also suggest that relative deprivation as a comparison of one’s own perceptions of a salary raise with others affects employee intended retention. The authors find that employees who have less favorable perceptions of salary adjustments, compared to what they believe their colleagues think, are more likely to consider another employer, holding their own perception of raises constant. Conversely, more favorable views of salary raises, compared to how faculty members think other’s perceived the salary raises, does not have a statistically significant impact on intended retention.
Originality/value
This is the first study that explores an employee’s satisfaction with salary raises relative to perceptions of other employees’ satisfaction with their own salary raises, and the resulting intended labor supply in an American university. The results indicate that monetary rewards in the form of salary raises do impact faculty intended retention; however, perception of fairness of these salary raises is more important than the actual raises. Given the high cost of job turnover, these findings suggest that employers may benefit from devoting resources toward ensuring that salary- and raise-determining procedures are generally perceived by the vast majority of employees as being fair.
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Graduate development programmes are a well-established strategy for recruiting graduates into the sector at the start of a lifetime public service career. There are indications…
Abstract
Purpose
Graduate development programmes are a well-established strategy for recruiting graduates into the sector at the start of a lifetime public service career. There are indications, however, that public sector careers are becoming less secure and less long term in keeping with overall career trends across all sectors, a trend that has seen the emergence of employment contracts based on employability rather than job security. The purpose of this paper is to explore a graduate development programme offered by a state-based Australian public sector organisation to identify the extent to which it reflects and supports the shift to an employability-based contract from the perspective of programme participants.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 participants from three intakes of a public sector graduate development programme. Data were analysed through identification of first- and second-order themes as well as cross-case comparison.
Findings
Findings indicate that the one-year development programme partially supports an employability-based contract. The organisation could not promise ongoing employment and job security but did assist participants to develop skills and competencies for the future through its formal training and development programme. Work unit support for employability was, however, much more variable and depended to a large extent on line managers.
Research limitations/implications
The study was conducted in a single organisation and only included current and past programme participants who were still employed in the public sector.
Practical implications
The success of the programme was largely dependent on job placement and level of line manager support. Addressing these areas through better programme design and management can support the development of future leaders through opportunities for enhanced employability.
Originality/value
The study extends current research on employability by exploring how a public sector organisation provides support for graduates in a developmental programme from a participant perspective.
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Claire Camilleri and Marilyn Clark
The purpose of this study is to explore and theorise about the desistance process of Maltese mothers who previously used drugs. The study unpacks how initial and continued…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore and theorise about the desistance process of Maltese mothers who previously used drugs. The study unpacks how initial and continued desistance from high-risk drug use (HRDU) is impacted by being a mother within the Maltese context and identifies contingencies for desistance and examines how they are negotiated along the desistance pathways.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a symbolic interactionist-inspired career framework and involved in-depth exploration of trajectories of mothering and desistance of eight Maltese women with a history of HRDU. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews and analysis used an evolved grounded theory methodology.
Findings
Four explanatory categories were identified in the interview data to document the role of mothering in the various pathways to desistance recounted by the women. These are: becoming a mother; differing pathways of desistance in relation to mothering; the lived experience; identity negotiation and transformation. This study highlights how identity fluidity and transformation is central to the desistance process.
Practical implications
The paper aims to inform policy and practice with mothers who use drugs and their families and has important implications for the development and delivery of gender transformative interventions.
Originality/value
This study challenges taken-for-granted beliefs about the influence of mothering on desistance and identifies the complexities involved.