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As local councils modify their structures and practices to take account of, and prepare for competition and change, the employee relations systems within them have not been immune from such forces. The changes that have taken place within the employee relations systems have affected personnel departments, the trade unions and the relationship between them.

The British CBI introduced national educational and training targets in 1991. Small firms might be regarded as unlikely to respond to them because of, for example, lack of time, cost constraints and fears of other firms poaching their employees. Is this true? Surveys of South London employers in November 1992 and February 1993, which were carried out for South London Training and Enterprise Council (SOLOTEC), provide some interesting insights on the relative standards of training in small businesses. Reports findings which show that size does matter and goes on to argue that there could be a different set of training dynamics in many small firms. Poses a culture of rational and incremental change in training activity in large firms against a more visionary approach in small firms to explain some curious evidence on the uptake of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs).

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the UK National DNA Database (NDNAD) and some of the controversies surrounding it with reference to legal and ethical issues, focusing particularly on privacy and human rights. Governance of this database involves specific exemptions from the Data Protection Act (DPA), and this gives a rise to concerns regarding both the extent of surveillance on the UK population and the possibility for harm to all citizens. This is of wider importance since every current citizen, and everybody who visits the UK, could become a record in the DNA database. Principally, the paper seeks to explore whether these exemptions would also imply exemptions for software developers from codes of practice and ethics of their professional societies as relate to constructing or maintaining such data and the database.

The paper makes a comparison between the principles of the DPA, as would need to be followed by all other organizations handling personal data, professional responsibilities‐based codes of ethics of professional societies, and the current reality as reported in relation to the NDNAD and the exemptions offered through the DPA.

Primarily, if NDNAD was not exempted from certain provisions in the DPA, the potential for the kinds of data leakages and other mishandlings could largely be avoided without the need for further considerations over so‐called “data minimization”. It can be seen how the lack of afforded protection allows for a wide range of issues as relate at least to privacy.

The paper provides the first evaluation of the combination of law, codes of ethics, and activities in the real world as related to NDNAD, with concomitant considerations for privacy, liberty, and human rights. Originality is demonstrated through consideration of the implications of certain exemptions in the DPA in relation to crime and taxation and national security and in relating the expected protections for personal data to widely reported evidence that such protections may be variously lacking. In addition, the paper provides a broad overview of controversies over certain newer kinds of DNA analysis, and other relatively recent findings, that seem generally absent from the vast majority of debates over this kind of analysis.

This study aims to investigate the dynamic interplay between the management control system (MCS) and organizational identity (OI) in the Deepwater Horizon incident involving British Petroleum (BP). It examines how the MCS manages challenges, particularly those addressing the embarrassment stemming from identity disparities between external portrayal (frontstage) and internal operations (backstage), with a focus on the often-underestimated influence of the media.

This study builds upon the frameworks developed by Ravasi and Schultz (2006) and Malmi and Brown (2008) to construct a theoretical framework that profoundly investigates the relationship between MCS and OI. The framework developed guided the research design and incorporated a qualitative approach complemented by an illustrative case study. The research data was rigorously gathered from diverse sources, including official BP documents and influential media outlets, with a particular focus on well-established American and British newspapers.

BP’s MCS plays a dual role: it exposes discrepancies in safety, leadership and values, causing embarrassment and identity damage, yet catalyses a sense-making process leading to organizational transformation and shifts in the OI. This transformation influences sense-giving and prompts changes in MCS. The study reveals an intricate interplay in identity management between frontstage audiences (e.g. influential media) and backstage actors (e.g. BP’s senior management). It highlights interdependencies both within and between MCS and OI, emphasizing their roles in interacting within identity management. The longitudinal recovery is intricately tied to mutual political interests between BP and the USA, which are significantly facilitated by the media’s role.

This study acknowledges limitations that point future research opportunities. Interviews could provide a more dynamic understanding of MCS changes and organizational transformations. Investigating the role of leadership, particularly the new chief executive office, and the influence of political versus organizational factors in shaping identity claims is essential. Additionally, the effectiveness and historical context of interdependencies should be quantitatively assessed. Theoretical limitations in the OI and MCS frameworks suggest the need for context-specific categorisations. This research serves as a foundation for further exploration of the intricate dynamics between MCS, OI and organizational responses to crises.

This study offers valuable insights with practical implications for organizations facing identity challenges in the wake of significant incidents. Organizations can better navigate crises by recognizing the multifaceted role of MCS in identity damage and restoration. It underscores the importance of addressing both frontstage and backstage aspects of OI while managing identity discrepancies, thereby enhancing transparency and credibility. Additionally, understanding the intricate interdependencies within OI and MCS can guide organizations in implementing more effective identity restoration strategies. Furthermore, the study highlights the significance of media influence and the need to engage with it strategically during crisis management.

This study’s findings have significant social implications for organizations and the broader public. By recognizing the multifaceted role of MCS in shaping identity, organizations can enhance transparency and credibility, rebuilding trust with the public. Additionally, the study highlights the critical role of media in influencing perceptions and decision-making during crises, emphasizing the importance of responsible and ethical reporting. Understanding the intricate interplay between MCS and OI can inform better crisis management strategies and improve how organizations respond to and recover from incidents, ultimately benefiting society by promoting more accountable and responsible corporate behaviour.

This study’s distinctness lies in its innovative exploration of MCS, which transcends traditional methodologies that focus narrowly on front or backstage aspects of OI and often adhere to predetermined MCS practices. It underscores the importance of concurrently addressing both the front- and backstage audiences in managing the embarrassment caused by identity discrepancies and restoration. The research uncovers multifaceted interdependencies within MCS and OI, and these extend beyond simplistic relationships and emphasize the complex nature of identity restoration management.

This article explores the symbolic aspects of change agency on a learning platform designed to facilitate system-wide transformation in cancer care. A sensemaking–sensegiving perspective is adopted to analyze the construction of meaning in interaction between the leader of a regional cancer center, senior physicians, and an action research team in relation to patient-centered care. The analysis suggests that the physicians, as change agents, made sense of the vision from three quite distinct discourses in relation to the development effort. We argue that although meanings reconstructed in development initiatives may well be far from shared, this by no means implies that they are dysfunctional.

The paper aims to show how resource‐based views of the firm inadequately address the strategic importance of acquiring and using symbolic capital within the wider discursive institutional environment.

A single case using publicly available data on the strategic activities of the oil and gas firm BP was constructed.

Combining case data with a review of literature on firm capabilities and organization studies, the paper identifies a previously unacknowledged foundational strategic capability: securing a licence to act. It finds BP strategists understanding this capability as the realization of credibility and authority arising from the conscious and skilled articulation of firm commitments and activities.

Generalising from the case, the paper argues for the importance to firm performance of an understanding of how capabilities evolve in relation to the use of symbolic capital within inherently complex institutional environments. This leads beyond a purely economic view of institutional settings to cover market‐based political and social interests.

Recent years have seen the advocacy of person-centred approaches to dementia care. An important component of this approach has been the use of arts in the promotion of health and well-being. However, relatively little attention has been given to the barriers and facilitators experienced in trying to implement these types of interventions in a dementia care setting. It is therefore, the purpose of this paper is to help to redress this neglect by examining the process of implementing a personalised musical intervention for the clients of a specialist dementia home care service.

Drawing on interviews with five project stakeholders, the paper examines, not only the potential benefits to be gained from the musical intervention but also identifies the barriers experienced in its implementation and ways in which they could be overcome.

It was found that although the musical intervention had a potentially positive impact, there were multi-levelled barriers to its implementation including issues of training, leadership as well as contextual issues such as commissioning and resourcing more generally.

The key role played by these issues in the process of implementation suggests that practice should transcend its focus on individual wellbeing and address the wider factors that can facilitate or prevent its fulfilment. While the multi-levelled nature of the obstacles identified suggest that the implementation of innovative interventions within health and social care settings should adopt a similarly eclectic approach.

This conceptually‐focused paper looks at particular changes implemented in the UK National Health Service. The specific context is the creation of a new organisational form: the primary care group, which brings together general practitioners and other primary care staff in a given locality. The paper attempts to examine the consequences, for the development of these groups, of the shift from competition (in the internal market) to relationships based on collaboration and partnership. The broad policy objectives envisage much greater emphasis on working in partnership, participating in strategy and planning (via new health improvement programmes), developing joint working, and promoting the integration of service delivery. A relationship marketing perspective is explored as one way of conceptualising the development of new relationships between primary care groups, health authorities, local authorities, trusts and other agencies and the paper suggests that relationship marketing offers a way of facilitating policy change.