Across the UK organisations are experiencing high‐velocity, discontinuous, radical change scenarios. As part of their strategic response, many are introducing more flexible and empowering structures and cultures. One outcome of this strategy has been the dispersal of change agency to a more...

In this article two personnel management strategies are discussed: a control strategy and a commitment strategy. The main argument is that in most circumstances a balanced strategy has clear advantages over one of the two extreme options.

Results of a stress audit conducted among personnel working in the offshore oil and gas industry indicated that sources of stress varied as a function of employment, including the type of installation, the rig size and location, and the actual status of the employee. Suggests that the...

To survive in an increasingly competitive environment, companies today are searching for innovative ways to enhance the creative potential of their workforce. Like total quality management (TQM) and re‐engineering, empowerment has become a 1990s mantra. Yet empowerment in practice is more than...

Alignment is a key aspect of strategic change. Alignment between customers and employees is a critical component. Two functional areas ‐ marketing and human resources ‐ are well positioned to play important roles in the alignment process, and they share similar methods. But in most...

This case study research involved 31 successful small manufacturing companies in the southeastern USA for the purpose of identifying, among other things, their perceptions of high performance and other human resource related characteristics in their organizations. Analysis of the transcripts and...

Reviews the historical origins of behavioral style and overviews the most commonly used behavioral style assessment instruments. The perceived benefits of behavioral style assessments and their similarities to and differences from personality instruments are discussed. Suggests that research is...

This paper reviews three studies that examine the main causes of employee stress and well‐being in call centres. All three studies were conducted by the author and his colleagues and reveal that employee well‐being in call centres is associated with: effective job design; performance...

US demographers predict that women, people of color and ethnic minorities will represent over 50 percent of all new entrants to the US workforce by 2008. This shift in demographics plus the pressure from a growing competitive global marketplace are forcing organizations to rethink models of...