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Describes a two‐phase quantitative investigation of the effects of the introduction of just‐in‐time (JIT) manufacturing practices on shopfloor work. Results show that the introduction of product‐based manufacturing, incorporating strong elements of total quality management (TQM), was associated with: increases in employee autonomy; increases in some job demands; and no change in measures of social climate and employee wellbeing. The later introduction of core JIT practices and associated layout changes were associated with: no change in existing levels of employee autonomy and job demands; statistically significant increases in collective autonomy over the timing of group tasks; positive changes in group climate measures and increases in levels of job satisfaction. No change in employee strain was observed following either phase of shopfloor reorganization. Suggests that reductions in employee autonomy, increased production pressure and employee stress are not universal concomitants of JIT manufacturing.

Karasek's (1979) job demands-control model is one of the most widely studied models of occupational stress (de Lange, Taris, Kompier, Houtman, & Bongers, 2003). The key idea behind the job demands-control model is that control buffers the impact of job demands on strain and can help enhance employees’ job satisfaction with the opportunity to engage in challenging tasks and learn new skills (Karasek, 1979). Most research on the job demands-control has been inconsistent (de Lange et al., 2003; Van Der Deof & Maes, 1999), and the main reasons cited for this inconsistency are that different variables have been used to measure demands, control, and strain, not enough longitudinal research has been done, and the model does not take workers’ individual characteristics into account (Van Der Deof & Maes, 1999). To address these concerns, expansions have been made on the model such as integrating resources, self-efficacy, active coping, and social support into the model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001b; Johnson & Hall, 1988; Demerouti, Bakker, de Jonge, Janssen, & Schaufeli, 2001a; Landsbergis, Schnall, Deitz, Friedman, & Pickering, 1992). However, researchers have only been partially successful, and therefore, to continue reducing inconstencies, we recommend using longitudinal designs, both objective and subjective measures, a higher sample size, and a careful consideration of the types of demands and control that best match each other theoretically.

In this chapter, we review empirical research evidence on the relationship between stressors and catecholamines (i.e., adrenaline and noradrenaline) and cortisol. With respect to acute stressors, both laboratory and field research have shown that the exposure to stressors leads to an increase in catecholamine and cortisol levels. With respect to more chronic stressors, research evidence is less consistent. Chronic mental workload was found to be related to elevated adrenaline levels. With respect to cortisol responses the interaction between workload and other variables seems to play a role. Empirical studies suggest that chronic stressors affect the responsivity to acute stressors. Research showed that after the exposure to stressors catecholamine and cortisol recovery is delayed.

Describes an ongoing research project investigating how human resource strategies are conceived, designed and implemented in organizations as perceived by the managers involved. Data has been gathered using questionnaires completed by 723 managers studying the Open University MBA, over a five‐year period. The evidence shows most HR changes are organization wide and are intended to enhance organizational performance and support the achievement of primary business objectives. Whereas there is clear board level involvement at the initiation and planning stages, the responsibility for implementation is unclear. This absence of clarity, together with the citing of poor communications as the main reason for the failure of change initiatives, raises a number of questions about leadership, vision and direction, which are considered. The evaluation of the initiative is shown to be a difficult area, often involving inappropriate criteria and is perceived as having few links with the business strategy. From the perspective of their managers, it appears that organizations are still not effective in managing HR change and continue to make the same mistakes, despite the theories and prescription available in the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how just-in-time (JIT)-related job demands, problem-solving job demands and soft lean practices (SLPs) jointly influence employee well-being in terms of work engagement and exhaustion.

Based on the job demands-resources model, lean-related job characteristics were classified as resources or demands, and a set of hypotheses was developed to test their effect on work engagement and exhaustion, including the potential interaction between job resources and demands. The hypotheses were tested using moderated hierarchical regression and structural equation modelling, based on data from 138 workers.

SLPs act as job resources in a lean company, increasing work engagement and reducing exhaustion. Conversely, JIT-related job demands act as a hindrance, reducing work engagement and increasing exhaustion. However, SLPs can reduce the effect of JIT-related job demands on exhaustion, and JIT-related job demands may enhance the positive effects of SLPs on work engagement.

The study provides no conclusive evidence on the hypothesized role of problem-solving as a challenge job demand.

The results can guide practitioners’ understanding of how to implement lean without harm to employee well-being.

By employing a well-grounded psychological model to test the link between lean and well-being, the study finds quantitative support for: the buffering effect of SLPs on exhaustion caused by JIT-related job demands, and for the role of JIT as a hindrance. These novel findings have no precedent in previous survey-based research. In addition, it reveals the importance of studying SLPs at an individual level, as what matters is the extent to which workers perceive SLPs as useful and supportive.

The purpose of this study is to investigate conditions that facilitate shop-floor operators to fulfil their needs to carry out job roles and whether the need fulfilment affects their job performance in lean-implemented textile and apparel firms in Sri Lanka.

The data were collected from 922 shop-floor employees and their immediate supervisors. Statistical methods were used for the data analysis.

The results of the analysis imply the importance of managerial autonomy support and need fulfilment for enhanced job performance; the duration of lean production in operation moderates job performance in such a way that the longer the duration, the higher will be job performance.

It could be expected that academics and practitioners alike are motivated by a desire to clearly apprehend work systems in lean-implemented textile and apparel firms.

This chapter examines the acts of burial and exhumation in three contemporary British history plays. For the purposes of this argument, a ‘history play’ may be defined as a piece of writing for the theatre that engages with historical events or settings. Such plays inevitably, at the moment of their staging or revival, take on particular meanings for audiences, since theatre as a live, durational art form encourages spectators to compare the historical events depicted with their present historical moment. The chapter argues that acts of burial and exhumation in contemporary British theatre are intimately tied to notions of land, soil and belonging. These became increasingly pertinent ideas in the UK’s political climate in the years following the 2016 Referendum on membership of the European Union. Of the three case studies, Victoria by David Greig (2000) dates from more than a decade before this vote, whilst Common by D. C. Moore (2017), and Eyam by Matt Hartley (2018) were written and staged in the interim between the Referendum result and the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. All three, however, feature corpses on stage as a means to consider time, temporality, place and history. Each play offers a different interpretation of what it means to play dead and to stay dead.

To consider the motives for and expectations of mergers and acquisitions from various perspectives.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

There appears to be a growing consensus that a more focused view must be taken of acquisitions, as many shareholders reject the notion of acquisitions as a means of spreading risk. A relatively small company wishing to grow by buying up failing competitors takes a very different view from a large company that wants to acquire more global brands. Whatever the motivation for acquisitions, a strong business case must be made – many shareholders have discovered the hard way that bigger does not always mean better.

Encourages businesses which are considering mergers or acquisitions to avoid the temptation for “empire building” for its own sake and to have sound, strategic motives for their bid for growth by acquisition. Gives examples of how companies have grown and their perceptions of acquisition and mergers as a means of growth.

Commitment of employees can be an important instrument for improving the performance of organizations. Based on international literature and studies, commitment has been defined as organizational and task commitment, and is related to personal, job and organizational characteristics. Intends to explore some important relations between the characteristics of commitment and organizational effects. Between commitment and the level of the organization the most important relations are a better communication and less illness; at the level of the individual employee the commitment to change and to take part very actively in change processes, bringing up new ideas, is important. These conclusions are in line with the literature. Commitment is strongly connected with colleagues and the style of management and could be seen as an important asset of the learning company.