Explores the issue of rumour and gossip in organisations. Given that rumour and gossip can break the harmony of the workplace unless well managed, it is rather surprising that they have not been sufficiently examined in management and organisational studies. In addition to providing an analysis...

Decribes how ESC, a holding company for a gas and electric utility and non‐utility energy business, completed the acquisition of Oracle’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution (finance and related applications) at a cost of US$6.5 million in March 1997. From initiation to completion,...

Management researchers, academics and educators and self proclaimed management gurus have produced an enormous literary output on the topic of management and organisations over the past 100 years or so. There is no dearth of information available to practitioners on almost any topic in this...

Tenure, the permanency of employment offered to university professors, is discussed in the context of an institutionalized practice. This article examines the bases of legitimacy of this institution, specifically as a mechanism to protect academic freedom and trade‐off for higher pay. An...

According to recent developments in decision‐making theory organizational decisions are governed by organizational values and identities according to a logic of appropriateness rather than calculative and preference‐driven rationality. Similarly, leadership theory has developed from ideas...

Purpose – To determine the views of a prominent speaker, author and teacher on his views on nurturing invention and managing innovation. Design/methodology/approach – The article is an interview with John Seely Brown, a visiting scholar at the Annenberg Center at the University of Southern...

Purpose – To share the views and experiences of a chief executive with a reputation for troubleshooting expertise. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is an interview with Pierre Yves Gerbeau, who was, until January 2001, CEO and board director of the much criticized New Millennium...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that how HRD is undertaken needs careful consideration, since some HRD implementation schemes may actually prevent the acquisition of new knowledge, thereby developing stagnation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses qualitative data...