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This thesis aims to understand the influence of various institutional elements on the transfer of multinational corporations' human resource policies and practices to their international subsidiaries. Drawing upon comparative i.nstitutionalist theory, the thesis considers the host- and home-country national business systems at the macro level as the most significant impact factors on the formation and transfer ofthese policies. The thesis also aims to test the applicability of the national business systems approach in a distinctive 'hybrid transitional' business system, which is argued to be different from various typologies developed in the literature. To test 'dominance' effects, multinationals originating from one of the most powerful systems, the US, are studied. To investigate the influences ,I of other significant institutional elements at the industry and organisational levels on the substantive human resource management issues, a four-level analytical framework is developed.' At the empirical level, the thesis carries out qualitative case studies ofAmerican multinationals in the distinctive business environment ofTurkey mainly by using interviews. The cases are chosen according to theoretical sampling, and companies that exhibit features hypothesised to be important variables - sector, size, age, ownership structure, and unionisation - are investigated. Overall, the thesis argues that, firstly, the distinctiveness of 'hybrid transitional' business systems result from two elements. On the one hand such systems are characterised by a combination ofthe various institutional elements ofthe theoretical typologies, hence 'hybrid'. On the other hand, they are open to direct and significant influences of globalisation for institutional change from both internal and external organisations through 'trickle-down' and 'trickle-up' trajectories, thus 'transitional'. Such openness results not only from a permissive legal environment but also from the willingness of significant internal actors for change. Secondly, such 'hybrid transitional' business systems present both challenges and opportunities for the transfer of human resource policies and practices for multinationals. In the case ofTurkey, challenges stem mostly from labour market conditions, in terms of availability of skills and qualifications. The permissiveness and pro-business nature of the Turkish legal framework, and the weakness and cooperativeness of labour unions make it easier to transfer home-country policies. Large Turkish holding companies, although strong partners in international joint ventures, do not present major challenges. Local actors, including owners and professional managers of large Turkish companies with a positive attitude towards particularly American policies and practices, mean strong 'pull' effects are observed, in addition to 'push' effects of transnational and international institutions internally and externally.

In order to achieve the title 'Registered' or 'Certified', ergonomists undergo lengthy training and certification processes to demonstrate their membership of the profession. However, there has been little study to date on what skills, in particular, are required to be expert as an ergonomics advisor. There is some opinion that the 'softer' skills (such as active listening and empathy) which are key to client-advisor relationships do not generally form part of ergonomics taught courses, whereas the 'harder' knowledge content and technical skills do. Furthermore, in some ergonomics arenas (particularly in the physical domain) other non-ergonomist professionals such as Health and Safety Advisors, Occupational Health Advisors and Physicians, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, and Specialist Fumiture Suppliers, also apply ergonomics principles. Rather than the tertiary ergonomics education of the ergonomists, many of these other professionals will undertake short course ergonomics training or leam 'on the job'. This begs the question 'will they all be delivering the same 'product', containing the same message, of the same quality and with the same goals?' In other words, are there qualitative and quantitative differences in ergonomics expertise between ergonomists and others in the field?

The accident rate in the Malaysian construction industry is among the highest compared to other developing countries. The Malaysian government has recommended the self-regulation of safety management systems (SMS) for construction projects with the hope of improving the situation; however, the readiness of the local contractors to implement this is questionable. There are many issues involved in implementing SMS. Failures are still common despite advances in the SMS approach. Little has been written on the views of contractors in processing plants about the issue they have with SMS implementation. Therefore, an investigation of SMS implementation can help to identify the problems encountered by contractors. This research sought to develop a theory not only about what the issues are, from the contractors' perspective, but also how these issues appear in and may affect the outcomes of SMS implementation. In Stage One, the researcher explores the existence and availability of SMS among Malaysian contractors working in processing plants through the distribution of a survey questionnaire. In Stage Two, the researcher explores the issue and underlying problems of SMS implementation in depth through semi-structured interviews with 13 respondents. An adapted grounded theory analysis, following the original Glaser and Strauss (1967) philosophy, was used to analyse the data extracted from the interviews. The findings of this research appear to show that many obstacles encountered by contractors are interlinked, including cultural factors, working conditions and the organisational process. These factors have formed the underlying root causes of ineffective SMS implementation: the misperception of safety responsibility is responsible for the poor communication and training during the SMS implementation process. The findings were then plotted into a model. It is hoped that the findings of this research will lead to effective SMS implementation. The result of this study will be of particular interest to the stakeholder and policymaker. A series of practical recommendations are presented at the end of the thesis.

This study uses a social constructivist epistemology and a compatible methodology to look at models of HR in three disparate organisational contexts: a British public sector organisation, an entrepreneurial European private sector company in high growth mode, and the Asian operation of the same company in the lead up to a major acquisition, providing an opportunity to examine an organisation in a time of considerable change and upheaval. The study originated in a dissatisfaction with the ability of current models of HR to explain the diversity of approaches to HR found in organisations, most notably theories of SHRM, best practice and best fit approaches and contextually based HR. It attempts to develop a new descriptive research model of HR which incorporates the discrete RBV and neo-institutional frameworks of HR into a flexible model which can explain the operation of HR in a variety of organisations. The social constructivist perspective allows the model to take a view of strategy formulation and implementation which gives weight to the profound influence of the actors on HR strategy and its deployment. The conclusion of this study is that a viable descriptive research model can be produced, which utilises contextually based HR as a diagnostic, but gives substantial weight to the influence of the organisational actors. Further research is, however, required in order to fully test the model and resolve several areas about which the projects in this study raised questions.