States the need for all managers into the next millennium to innovate and respond in new ways. Sets out a way in which managers can act differently in order to create a creative climate within their work groups. Sets this practical approach in the context of research carried out by Goran Ekvall...

As pressures on organizations to adapt and solve problems creatively increase, employee creativity will become an increasingly important concern. The pressures on businesses and government organizations to adapt to new technologies and external threats require resourcefulness and creativity....

Providing knowledge is often not enough. Work groups may also require tools that help them apply it. Job support tools capture and spread best practice. Devices such as “traffic‐lighting” can also influence or change behaviour. The right tools increase understanding with each use. Job...

Although the UK’s call centre industry is booming, it is in danger of losing its lead in Europe to the might and experience of established US call centre operators. UK call centres must fight on two fronts if they are to win the battle for market share: first, they must improve customer...

The redesign of personnel officers' jobs in a hotel chain is described in order to provide a more direct role in training both for the officers and those subordinate to them. The process of agreeing the changes is set out, followed by a series of modules from the in‐company programme....

Changes in the environment in which organisations operate have a marked effect on how they behave, how they perform and even on their survival. Such changes force organisations to adapt by reengineering, restructuring, changing the focus or location of their production or to downsize, each of...

Functional competences and effective working styles are distinguished as aspects of occupational competence. Two types of review and guidance meeting are described: progress review meetings and transitional review meetings. Possible procedures for assessing functional competences and effective...

The small and medium enterprise (SME) sector is receiving increasing recognition and, as part of this, its human resources needs is a comparatively neglected area. This study of 300 companies consisted of a comprehensive investigation of all aspects of human resources. The focus here is on the...

The boundaries of living in the last millennium have disappeared. Time, distance and space have new meanings and make new demands. Structures which gave purpose and stability to the world of work are losing their relevance. We need to build wind turbines, not shelter walls, if we are to harness...

IT training has assumed a pivotal role in the corporate world. Yet official bodies such as the Institute of IT Training claim that much of the investment will be wasted because courses are poorly conceived, over‐reliant on technical input, and fail to take into account the basic drivers which...