Sally Woodward and Allan P.O. Williams
Despite numerous exhortations by a variety of professional organisations and trade unions, many companies still fail to involve their employees in any meaningful way. How an…
Abstract
Despite numerous exhortations by a variety of professional organisations and trade unions, many companies still fail to involve their employees in any meaningful way. How an employee opinion survey conducted during a period of work redesign not only enables employees to contribute to the process, but also provides useful information for management and trade unions is shown. The survey also facilitates the constructive exploration of differences between the parties.
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Yehuda Baruch and Sally Woodward
An investigation was undertaken into the important, yet neglected area of the people aspects of management buyout (MBO/MBI). Since prior work suggests that management is, by far…
Abstract
An investigation was undertaken into the important, yet neglected area of the people aspects of management buyout (MBO/MBI). Since prior work suggests that management is, by far, one of the most crucial factors in the success of MBOs an in‐depth study focused on the characteristics of buyout managers, the culture of management buyout teams, and influences on behaviours during the transaction. This paper reports one part of the study ‐ that relating to management buyout stressors. The aspect of the transaction that generates the most stress was found to be time pressure. Generally, however, the results suggest that stressors, identified by the literature and through focus groups, were not perceived as stressful by this group of buyout managers. Related to this, was the finding that the majority were able to cope with these stressors. Regression analysis indicated that a key factor in manager’s ability to cope was the open/interactive nature of the management team culture.
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This paper describes the personal history and intellectual development of Morris B. Holbrook (MBH), a participant in the field of marketing academics in general and consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper describes the personal history and intellectual development of Morris B. Holbrook (MBH), a participant in the field of marketing academics in general and consumer research in particular.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper pursues an approach characterized by historical autoethnographic subjective personal introspection or HASPI.
Findings
The paper reports the personal history of MBH and – via HASPI – interprets various aspects of key participants and major themes that emerged over the course of his career.
Research limitations/implications
The main implication is that every scholar in the field of marketing pursues a different light, follows a unique path, plays by idiosyncratic rules, and deserves individual attention, consideration, and respect … like a cat that carries its own leash.
Originality/value
In the case of MBH, like (say) a jazz musician, whatever value he might have depends on his originality.
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Lucrezia Songini, Chiara Morelli and Paola Vola
Notwithstanding the relevance of managerial control systems (MCS) in any organization, as well the distinctive role they can play in family business, due to its specific features…
Abstract
Notwithstanding the relevance of managerial control systems (MCS) in any organization, as well the distinctive role they can play in family business, due to its specific features, the literature rarely dealt with the role and characteristics of MCS in family business. Taking into account previous contributions from different disciplines (organization, management accounting, and family business), the current work aims to better understand the state of the art about research in the field of MCS in family business in order to identify main research gaps and propose future research directions.
Forty-five articles have been analyzed, which were issued in 29 sources. Research findings show that the literature on MCS in family business is limited and not very conclusive. Some authors focused on the type of controls, other authors outlined the role of MCS in managerialization and the relation with professionalization. A few studies focused on some specific mechanisms, especially strategic planning and compensation. Some contributes dealt with MCS’ determinants and impacts. Differences between family and non-family firms were proposed. However, a clear and organized picture of the features of MCS in family firms, their determinants, and impacts has not yet been developed. Particularly, the impact of the distinctive features of family business on MCS represents an underdeveloped research field along with how MCS can be differently developed and used in different kinds of family firms. In the light of findings of the literature review, we propose a reference research framework on MCS in family business.
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Ally Forbes, Kay Biscomb and Jean Williams
The launch of the Football Association's (FA) Women's Super League in 2011 was a major milestone towards the professionalisation of women's football in England. The league's…
Abstract
The launch of the Football Association's (FA) Women's Super League in 2011 was a major milestone towards the professionalisation of women's football in England. The league's formation aimed to increase the competitiveness of elite women's football in England at domestic and international level (Dunn & Welford, 2015). In 2014 the league expanded, creating a second division now known as the FA Women's Championship. This chapter explores the impact of the professionalisation of women's football in England on the second tier of women's football, by examining how players and staff at a Women's Championship club are negotiating the transition from amateur to semi-professional status. This qualitative project adopted a single case-study approach. Observations took place on home match-days to explore the match-day experience. Follow-up semi-structured interviews were then carried out with players and staff. The empirical data highlighted the key challenges and opportunities faced by clubs and their players as women's football continues to develop in this professional era. The introduction of the Women's Championship has helped to bridge the gap between amateur and professional club football in England. However, the experiences of the players and staff illustrate that operating effectively in the Women's Championship required significant sacrifice. Players were required to meet the more professional demands that were being placed upon them, without receiving any significant financial rewards for their commitments. Paid staff roles were underpinned by precarity, with the funded staff roles disappearing should the club not be able to maintain its Championship status.
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Sally Rao and Chad Perry
This research used the somewhat new methodology of convergent interviews to develop a conceptual framework about relationship constructs in an Internet environment. More…
Abstract
This research used the somewhat new methodology of convergent interviews to develop a conceptual framework about relationship constructs in an Internet environment. More generally, this article describes and illustrates the processes and the strengths of convergent interviewing to investigate under‐researched areas, and compares it with alternative qualitative techniques like in‐depth interviews, case research and focus groups. The illustration involves interviews conducted with marketing managers and business consultants from ten service companies, about Internet and relationship marketing. It is argued that convergent interviewing is more appropriate than some other qualitative methods to investigate under‐researched areas where there are few experts because it provides a way of quickly converging on key issues in the area, an efficient mechanism for data analysis after each interview, and a way of deciding when to stop collecting data. Convergent interviews could become another useful qualitative research method to explore new issues about emerging marketing phenomena.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore what existing literature about the care home environment for people with dementia reveals. It also evaluates the implications for practice…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore what existing literature about the care home environment for people with dementia reveals. It also evaluates the implications for practice, to show which parts of the care home environment staff feel have the most impact on the day to day lives of residents living with dementia. In turn, this paper seeks to feedback to care home management to improve practice and to contribute to research in care homes in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review forms the basis of this research, in addition to four semi-structured interview conducted with care home staff of different roles; allowing them to share their experiences with little restriction. Participants were recruited through informal discussions with the researcher before the research took place, as part of her job role and using purposive sampling.
Findings
Data were analysed using computer software Nvivo and identified four main categories which all participants discussed: social interaction, staff involvement, staff restrictions, staff involvement and physical elements of the environment. This research has shown the importance of staff presence in the care home environment to facilitate social interaction among residents with dementia.
Research limitations/implications
The sample is very small due to staff not having the time to take part in the interview and this itself is a key finding. Interviews were able to capture feelings but not the overall experience of interaction between resident and staff, which observations would have achieved if there was more time to conduct the research.
Originality/value
A literature review and qualitative research signifying the importance of staff presence in the care home setting in order for the residents to socially engage in their environment. However, it has also show the lack of time that is face by staff and the impact this has on people living with dementia.
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R. Lyle Skains, Jennifer A. Rudd, Carmen Casaliggi, Emma J. Hayhurst, Ruth Horry, Helen Ross and Kate Woodward
Pat Townsend and Joan E. Gebhardt
One definition of a leader is a person who has followers. Argues that, to be a skilled leader, the role of follower needs to be clearly understood ‐ indeed a good leader should…
Abstract
One definition of a leader is a person who has followers. Argues that, to be a skilled leader, the role of follower needs to be clearly understood ‐ indeed a good leader should make a good follower _ and that somewhere within this concept is the very basis of teamwork. Using examples from the US military and the world of sport, explains the authors’ understanding of followership in relation to today’s business context, and offers a series of guidelines for effective “followership”.
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Maura J. Mills and Leanne M. Tortez
We review the state of the literature concerning work–family conflict in the military, focusing on service members’ parenting roles and overall family and child well-being. This…
Abstract
We review the state of the literature concerning work–family conflict in the military, focusing on service members’ parenting roles and overall family and child well-being. This includes recognition that for many women service members, parenting considerations often arise long before a child is born, thereby further complicating work–family conflict considerations in regard to gender-specific conflict factors such as pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, and breastfeeding. Subsequently, we consider more gender-invariant conflict factors, such as the nature of the work itself as causing conflict for the service member as parent (e.g., nontraditional hours, long separations, and child care challenges) as well as for the child (e.g., irregular contact with parent, fear for parent’s safety, and frequent relocations), and the ramifications of such conflict on service member and child well-being. Finally, we review formalized support resources that are in place to mitigate negative effects of such conflict, and make recommendations to facilitate progress in research and practice moving forward.