André Spicer, Pınar Cankurtaran and Michael B. Beverland
Consecration is the process by which producers in creative fields become canonized as “greats.” However, is this the end of the story? Research on consecration focuses on the…
Abstract
Consecration is the process by which producers in creative fields become canonized as “greats.” However, is this the end of the story? Research on consecration focuses on the drivers of consecration but pays little attention to the post-consecration period. Furthermore, the research ignores the dynamics of consecration. To address these gaps, we examine the changing fortunes of a consecrated artist – the musician Phil Collins. We identify the ways in which three actors (fans, critics, and peers) assemble for consecration, disassemble for deconsecration, and reassemble for reconsecration. Examining the changing public image and commercial fortunes of Collins as a solo artist between 1980 and 2020, we identify an N-shaped process of rise-fall-rise that we call the Phil Collins Effect. This effect offers a new way of thinking about how cultural producers gain, lose and regain status in their fields.
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David Desplaces and Steven W. Congden
The manager of engineering at Palm Oasis Engineering in Dubai expressed dissatisfaction with his compensation. The uncertainty of his continued participation at a key position…
Abstract
Synopsis
The manager of engineering at Palm Oasis Engineering in Dubai expressed dissatisfaction with his compensation. The uncertainty of his continued participation at a key position came at a critical time for the company. This case provides an event for the analysis of HRM issues of a small company in a nontraditional, international context. Real and perceptual issues surrounding expatriate employee compensation, including wages and benefits relative to home country, cost indices, inflation, and currency fluctuations, are analyzed. Motivation and negotiation strategy are also examined.
Research methodology
This case has been disguised to protect the anonymity of the company and key individuals. The industry, name of the company, and names of personnel have been changed. The authors were granted access to key personnel at the company during a limited time frame.
Relevant courses and levels
This case is designed for upper level, undergraduate international management, international human resource management, and human resource management courses. The case is designed as a mid-semester decision-based case that allows students to apply concepts on motivation, human resource management, and negotiation.
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Many personnel managers apparently fail to make an appreciableimpact on the running of their organization, possibly because their workis mainly seen as subjective rather than…
Abstract
Many personnel managers apparently fail to make an appreciable impact on the running of their organization, possibly because their work is mainly seen as subjective rather than aimed at effectiveness and efficiency. Reviews a package of diagnostic instruments for analysing the performance of personnel departments in the Health Service primarily in the light of the importance of customer service, the emphasis being on measurement of performance. Concludes that only in this way can the HR department shed its cosy image and be perceived as a mainline function.
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Adrien Bouchet, Mike Troilo and William Spaniel
The purpose of this paper is to explore the question: how does socially responsible buying/sourcing applies to human talent? The authors examine this question in the unique…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the question: how does socially responsible buying/sourcing applies to human talent? The authors examine this question in the unique context of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) relationship with the “buscones” (agents) representing prospects from the Dominican Republic.
Design/methodology/approach
Using game theory, the authors model how MLB teams create rules to curb unethical behavior within the supply chain. The principal relationship the authors will model is that of the franchises and the prospects. This relationship has as its core an investment decision by the individual franchises: should they incur costs to ameliorate the context in which the prospects find themselves, or not? The costs of investment, whether it is in academies, general education, a revision of recruiting policies or something else, must be weighed against the negative externalities that are likely to result if the exploitation of the DR recruits becomes common knowledge to other stakeholders, particularly the public.
Findings
The model shows that when investments are roughly evenly distributed, the teams successfully vote to outlaw unethical behaviors and thus collectively avoid the negative externalities. However, when investments are asymmetric, the teams invested in the current system vote against a ban to maintain a competitive edge, even though the system imposes costs on all of those involved.
Originality/value
This paper serves as the initial paper that examines international sourcing, social responsibility and baseball. As international sport clubs/franchises continue to source athletic talent from around the globe, the issues discussed in the paper are both original and pertinent.
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Stephen C. Willoughby and D.K. Wilson
Examines an approach for introducing total quality management (TQM) in a small safety, engineering and management consultancy. The assessment of the organizational climate using a…
Abstract
Examines an approach for introducing total quality management (TQM) in a small safety, engineering and management consultancy. The assessment of the organizational climate using a questionnaire survey followed by a series of meetings with staff to explain the results was found to be an effective means for highlighting problems and stimulating debate. On the other hand, the formulation of TQM strategy was found to be time consuming and complex, quality costing was considered by senior management to be too involved and complex, and there was resistance from middle management. Points out that a rigid approach to TQM cannot be taken in small professional service companies and the approach needs to develop in response to internal needs. Covers the basic introduction and the issue of quality costing.
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After years of covering industrial affairs with superficial film footage and studio chats with familiar management and union figures, television is at last making creditable…
Abstract
After years of covering industrial affairs with superficial film footage and studio chats with familiar management and union figures, television is at last making creditable efforts to explore the working of industry in greater depth. Led by BBC's Money Programme, other channels are devoting more time to business affairs. It's a trend which offers tangible benefits to industry, as Matthew Collins explains.
My title comes from Blanche Geer's (1964) famous paper ‘First days in the field’. When she was about to do the preliminary fieldwork for the project that became Becker, Geer, and…
Abstract
My title comes from Blanche Geer's (1964) famous paper ‘First days in the field’. When she was about to do the preliminary fieldwork for the project that became Becker, Geer, and Hughes (1968) on liberal arts undergraduates, she reflected on her own student ‘self’. That young woman had a taste for ‘milkshakes and convertibles’ (p. 379), which to Geer as an adult woman seemed incomprehensible and foreign. Being British, my life has never included any enthusiasm for milkshakes or convertibles which do not figure in UK culture, but the phrase has always enchanted me, and I have always wanted to use it as a title. This autobiographical reflection is in two main parts. The first half is a reflexive examination of my current life and scholarly work. In some ways that will seem to be the self-portrait of a somewhat uni-dimensional workaholic with an uneasy relationship with the symbolic interactionist intellectual tradition. The second part of the piece is an account of my family history, childhood and adolescence spent with my eccentric mother, and the reader is invited to understand the choices made in adulthood as largely contrastive: designed to ensure my life was as unlike my mother's as possible. Just as Geer looked back to her college years and found her youthful self strange, I look back to my childhood and see a very different person.
Purpose: This chapter examines how two basic rights, freedom of expression, and the right to equality based on one’s dignity, reputation, and honor, were balanced in a case…
Abstract
Purpose: This chapter examines how two basic rights, freedom of expression, and the right to equality based on one’s dignity, reputation, and honor, were balanced in a case involving a stand-up comedian and an adolescent suffering from Treacher Collins syndrome. Methodology/Approach: The case is contrasted with Jürgen Habermas’ concept of the public sphere and with the intrinsic and utilitarian values that Canadian courts have attributed to free speech. Findings: Because the case was dealt with first in a human rights tribunal and then by a court of appeal, a number of considerations were overlooked in court proceedings: how laughter occurs; the broadening of Ward’s audience and its consequences; and Ward’s publicity strategy. These aspects are explored here to give a more complete picture of the case beyond the court decisions. Originality/Value: In Canada, freedom of expression is usually dealt with ordinary courts. A whole new avenue for dealing with this right is human rights bodies and tribunals. Contesting free speech in the name of defamation is being replaced by rights entrenched in human rights charters, such as the right to equality based on the preservation of one’s dignity, reputation, and honor.