Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategic integration of HRM practices with business/corporate strategy in the context of its applications and processes in two Japanese multinational companies in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – The research used...

Examines how Toyota′s worldwide HRM practice has been developed to sustain the Toyota Production System. Explains how, in setting up the European assembly plant in the UK, Toyota has been faced with both strong forces for international consistency in HRM practices and strong local cultural...

During an extended period of economic recession for most of the 1990s, broad and striking changes have been made to the Japanese employment system. How fundamental or reversible they are is harder to evaluate. If the economic recovery prevails, a considerable stabilization of Japanese human...

HRM and decision‐making patterns can affect the overall effectiveness of joint ventures. Discusses the results of case studies of Chinese‐Japanese and wholly Japanese ventures in China. Proposes that the Japanese managerial strategies may be more suited to building the ew management norms in...

The growing interest in total quality management programmes is well‐known, although there is some concern that such programmes have, in practice, paid only limited attention to human resource management issues. Uses the findings of a primary case study and two secondary case studies to examine...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine employee‐retention strategies and performance in the Nigerian banking sector over the period 2000‐2005, with focus on Zenith Bank in Nigeria. The sector is unique in terms of its contribution to Nigeria's gross domestic product....

This paper analyzes the efforts made by the Telefonica Group (the main Spanish firm in the telecommunications sector) to evolve from a bureaucratic culture to another oriented towards total quality and the customer. The need for this change came as a result of the liberalization in the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to emphasize how different service strategies are properly aligned with the external environment, and how organizational factors lead to a specific level of service‐related performance outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – A multicase research...

Purpose – This case study aims to illustrate the interaction of organizational culture, human resource (HR) policy and firm performance. It contrasts the cultures of two science‐driven organizations – the Navy's nuclear submarine force and Merck, the large pharmaceutical firm – and...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the case of one French multinational company which has undergone a process of radical restructuring and “internationalization” because of acquisitions of Anglo‐Saxon multinational companies. It examines how the organizational changes...