The changing environment within which SMEs are operating is examined by reference to detailed case studies of three medium‐sized firms (one in the pharmaceutical sector and two in engineering). Following the development of a framework for analysis the cases are discussed to illustrate the...

This article analyses the recent move from highly centralised and regulated Australian industrial relations processes towards a decentralised and deregulated system which emphasises enterprise and individual employee level determination of pay and conditions. The article focuses on the Western...

This case study narrates the experience of a medium‐sized UK manufacturing company in setting up and running a manufacturing plant in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. It details how features of the social organisation of production, the human resource policies and the management...

Labour flexibility is a central theme of management’s rhetoric in Greece. At the same time the securing of greater flexibility has been identified by policy makers as a central component of industrial relations reform. In spite of this endowing of flexibility with major significance there is a...

This article highlights the fact that in an attempt to cope with the turbulence and hostility which characterize their operating environments, many public sector organizations have embarked upon far‐reaching programmes of unsettling strategic change. These programmes often exhibit features of...

This article explores the relationship between an Australian financial institution’s training programme and its commercial fortunes, in particular its mix of technical skills and social skills training. In this industry, price and product differentiation are limited, and customer service is...

Classical transaction cost theory is not applicable to decisions on HRM or organizational design. This article overcomes such a fruitless situation. First on an operative level the two types of HRM and separately organizational transaction costs will be analyzed and then linked together in a...

There is an increasing realisation that managerial and professional staff play a crucial role in determining the success of the organisations which employ them, whether in the private or the public sector. Hence there is a growing concern with the quality and development of such staff. A...