Severe competition in the domestic appliance industry is forcing manufacturers to examine their methods. One company decided that it needed to rationalise both the organisation…
Abstract
Severe competition in the domestic appliance industry is forcing manufacturers to examine their methods. One company decided that it needed to rationalise both the organisation and the methods of manufacture.
This article reviews the extensive history of dynamic performance research, with the goal of providing a clear picture of where the field has been, where it is now, and where it…
Abstract
This article reviews the extensive history of dynamic performance research, with the goal of providing a clear picture of where the field has been, where it is now, and where it needs to go. Past research has established that job performance does indeed change, but the implications of this dynamism and the predictability of performance trends remain unresolved. Theories are available to help explain dynamic performance, and although far from providing an unambiguous understanding of the phenomenon, they offer direction for future theoretical development. Dynamic performance research does suffer from a number of methodological difficulties, but new techniques have emerged that present even more opportunities to advance knowledge in this area. From this review, I propose research questions to bridge the theoretical and methodological gaps of this area. Answering these questions can advance both research involving job performance prediction and our understanding of the effects of human resource interventions.
At the Royal Society of Health annual conference, no less a person than the editor of the B.M.A.'s “Family Doctor” publications, speaking of the failure of the anti‐smoking…
Abstract
At the Royal Society of Health annual conference, no less a person than the editor of the B.M.A.'s “Family Doctor” publications, speaking of the failure of the anti‐smoking campaign, said we “had to accept that health education did not work”; viewing the difficulties in food hygiene, there are many enthusiasts in public health who must be thinking the same thing. Dr Trevor Weston said people read and believed what the health educationists propounded, but this did not make them change their behaviour. In the early days of its conception, too much was undoubtedly expected from health education. It was one of those plans and schemes, part of the bright, new world which emerged in the heady period which followed the carnage of the Great War; perhaps one form of expressing relief that at long last it was all over. It was a time for rebuilding—housing, nutritional and living standards; as the politicians of the day were saying, you cannot build democracy—hadn't the world just been made “safe for democracy?”—on an empty belly and life in a hovel. People knew little or nothing about health or how to safeguard it; health education seemed right and proper at this time. There were few such conceptions in France which had suffered appalling losses; the poilu who had survived wanted only to return to his fields and womenfolk, satisfied that Marianne would take revenge and exact massive retribution from the Boche!
Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way…
Abstract
Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way of using the law in specific circumstances, and shows the variations therein. Sums up that arbitration is much the better way to gok as it avoids delays and expenses, plus the vexation/frustration of normal litigation. Concludes that the US and Greek constitutions and common law tradition in England appear to allow involved parties to choose their own judge, who can thus be an arbitrator. Discusses e‐commerce and speculates on this for the future.
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Shenglan Huang, Zhi Chen, Hefu Liu and Liying Zhou
This paper aims to examine the moderating effects of job alternatives and policy support on the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the moderating effects of job alternatives and policy support on the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was conducted in China. The study sample consisted of employees from organizations of different sizes, ownerships and industry types. Finally, 462 valid questionnaires were obtained.
Findings
Cognitive job satisfaction has a stronger negative effect on turnover than affective job satisfaction, and both effects depend on the factors related to ease of movement. Cognitive job satisfaction is more effective when job alternative is low and policy support is high, whereas affective job satisfaction leads to lesser turnover when job alternative is high and policy support is low.
Research limitations/implications
First, the demography of the respondents may have limited the generalizability of our findings. Second, this study has the limitation common to all cross-sectional studies. Third, this study focuses on turnover intention of employees rather than actual turnover rates. Finally, although the authors have identified specific factors related to ease of movement as the moderators by drawing upon the organizational equilibrium theory and current HRM literature, there may be other moderators that can affect the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover.
Practical implications
HRM managers should apply organizational HRM to the local institutional environment, especially to the human resource policies of local governments, which vary significantly across regions in China.
Social implications
HRM managers should be very cautious to approach career development task in China, especially when they have an attitude of whatever works in mature economies will surely work in organizations in Chinese society.
Originality/value
The findings extend previous career development literature that assumes unconditional effects of job satisfaction on turnover intention. With the objective of exploring the effects of conditional factors, the current study explores the special role of job alternatives and policy support in the job satisfaction – turnover relationship in the context of China. Additionally, the findings provide support for the application of organizational equilibrium theory in the context of China.
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Felicitous writing is enormously important. However, the art of writing well is rarely addressed by marketing scholars. This paper seeks to argue that the marketing academy has…
Abstract
Purpose
Felicitous writing is enormously important. However, the art of writing well is rarely addressed by marketing scholars. This paper seeks to argue that the marketing academy has much to learn from historiography, a sub‐discipline devoted to the explication of historical writing.
Design/methodology/approach
Although it is primarily predicated on published works, this paper is not a conventional literature review. It relies, rather, on the classic historical method of “compare and contrast”. It considers parallels between the paired disciplines yet notes where marketing and history diverge in relation to literary styles and scientific aspirations.
Findings
It is concluded that marketing writing could benefit from greater emphasis on “character” and “storytelling”. These might help humanise a mode of academic communication that is becoming increasingly abstruse and ever‐more unappealing to its readership.
Research implications
If its argument is accepted by the academic community – and, more importantly, acted upon – this paper should transform the writing of marketing. Although the academic reward systems and power structures of marketing make revolutionary change unlikely, a “scholarly spring” is not inconceivable.
Originality/value
The paper's originality rests in the observation that originality is unnecessary. All of the literary‐cum‐stylistic issues raised in this paper have already been tackled by professional historians. Whether marketers are willing to learn from their historical brethren remains to be seen.
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Carol G. Carrere and Trevor J. Little
Like most industries that adopt a reactive manufacturing strategy, the clothing industry changes only when external forces dictate that the current approach or strategy will no…
Abstract
Like most industries that adopt a reactive manufacturing strategy, the clothing industry changes only when external forces dictate that the current approach or strategy will no longer satisfy the prevailing business environment. This paper presents a case study of the modular manufacturing system and discusses the underlying premises that support the success of modular manufacturing both in the formative stages and during sustained operation. A review of the known origins of modular manufacturing illustrates how this production system can be used to advantage for clothing manufacture. Modular is the apparel industry's attempt to optimise the social and technical components of a Sociotechnical System (STS). No single solution fits all products/tasks in fully optimising STS, given different technologies, environment and people, etc. Consistent with the requirements for STS, the authors have formed five conclusive statements regarding the characteristics of modular manufacturing for apparel.
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Prison social environments play an important role in the health of prisoners. How they respond to imprisonment is partially dependent upon how effectively they integrate into an…
Abstract
Prison social environments play an important role in the health of prisoners. How they respond to imprisonment is partially dependent upon how effectively they integrate into an institution’s social structure, learn to fit in with others and adapt to and cope with becoming detached from society, community and family ‐ hence, how they personally manage the transition from free society to a closed carceral community. This paper reports on findings of an ethnography conducted in an adult male training prison in England, which used participant observation, group interviewing, and one‐to‐one semi‐structured interviews with prisoners and prison officers. The research explored participants’ perceptions of imprisonment, particularly with regard to how they learned to adapt to and ‘survive’ in prison and their perceptions of how prison affected their mental, social and physical well‐being. It revealed that the social world of prison and a prisoner’s dislocation from society constitute two key areas of ‘deprivation’ that can have important health impacts.