Reinsurance and financial‐services organization Swiss Re has repositioned its alternative risk resources after a radical reorganization. Strategic imperatives included establishing a new performance culture among its 500 associates, who mostly work in virtual teams as part of the new Swiss Re...

Over a five‐year period, AT&T Consumer Services experienced radical structural change, in preparation for US deregulation of the telecommunications and information‐services markets in 1996, and afterwards. This had far‐reaching internal impacts, including waves of downsizing, growth and...

Faced with declining revenues and significant business losses in the early 1990s, IBM reviewed its products, services, infrastructure, operations and functions. As part of this process, HR processes, policies and practices were either reformed or eliminated. Bob Gonzales, vice‐president of HR...

Despite recording more than $1 billion in annual sales world‐wide, LL Bean faces the pressures of all major retailers – competition, fluctuating sales, overcapacity in the sector and potential squeezes on margins. The business is one of the world’s best‐known brands in outdoor sports and...

When the CEO of a US rent‐to‐own company fired top HR people and eliminated many HR functions, he revealed more than one prejudice and set in motion a disastrous train of events which led to $47m of pay‐outs to plaintiffs. J. Ernest Talley’s decision to wipe out Rent‐A‐Center’s HR...

Job candidates are increasingly looking for a job that is a meaningful extension of themselves, as opposed to simply a way to make money. Motivating and developing people in modern, complex organizations therefore requires a management approach that recognizes how organizational decisions affect...

It’s good to talk. That was the catchy punchline of a hugely successful advertising campaign encouraging people throughout the UK to use their phones more. If you are in business, it is not only good to talk, it is essential, and we are not talking phone calls here, or communications with...

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to highlight the award‐winning turn‐around achieved by human resource (HR) managers at Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries following a spate of merger and bid activity. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on the comments of the company's group...