Trade union members, on the basis of their work experiences and aspirations, tend to develop an implicit paradigm within which they expect their trade union to function. The survey conducted by the Workers’ Participation Development Centre (WPDC) of the University of Malta reveals how trade...

Reports findings from a research designed to investigate the main issues of the current human resource (HR) performance evaluation systems in over 150 UK‐based quality‐focused organisations. The study identified the main characteristics of HR performance evaluation systems currently...

The diffusion of “best management practice” across national boundaries is becoming a significant strategy for multinational companies (MNCs) to achieve competitive advantage in global markets. Several studies have shown that national cultural and institutional differences may constrain or...

Reviews the main tenets of TQM and strategic HRM, and identifies both similarities and tensions between the two approaches. Presents a case study of Tubemakers Australia, winner of an Australian Quality Award. Illustrates how Tubemakers managed the integration of TQM and strategic HRM....

Mergers are big, risky business and they frequently fail. This article reviews the literature around managing human resource management (HRM) risk in a merger. It finds that poor merger results are often attributed to HRM and organisational problems, and that several factors related to...

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to assess the influence of different forms of organisational representation on the provision of work‐life balance employment policies. Design/methodology/approach – The article uses on‐site semi‐structured interviews with employees, HR and line...

Purpose – This paper aims to evaluate the institutional complementarity thesis, which anticipates that the institutional context of the firm will have a considerable influence on the choice and success of employment relations strategies. Focusing on two liberal market economies, the paper...

The range of pressures which has impacted on local government in the 1980s has forced the emergence of dynamic and sophisticated forms of industrial relations at the workplace level. It is clear, however, that with conceptual tools forged to analyse developments in the private manufacturing...

Traces the development of personnel management in Britain over four distinct periods from the late nineteenth century onwards, and identifies the economic, political, social and institutional forces in the growth of the function. Builds up a detailed profile of the personnel practitioner,...