No one today can doubt that pensions are big news. Whereas a few years ago those involved in pension matters were left to conduct their affairs away from the spotlight of public attention, in more recent times their activities have attracted substantial interest attended by official enquiries,...

Recent developments in alcohol policies provide tangible signs that major strands of personnel policy are beginning to merge (concern for welfare, corporate efficiency and joint determination through collective agreement) as indicated by a survey of alcohol policies carried out in Britain.

In the past, constant pay rates and piece-rate systems were applied to reward employee effort. Now pay adjustments may vary between employees on the basis of subjective judgements of performance. Consequently, employees may feel that they are unfairly treated. Conflict follows with managers or...