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The conventional view of project management is challenged by a contemporary construction industry that is rethinking its processes and procedures as it seeks to align itself with clients' business needs. Project managers must update their skills. They require flexible education and training that complements work place experience rather than distracts from professional obligations. Educational technology offers an exciting opportunity to accommodate these, often conflicting, requirements. Computer-aided learning (CAL) is supported by a government keen to promote a Learning Society, the expansion of Higher Education (HE) postgraduate provision and the construction industry's own initiatives to engender a culture of lifelong learning. Enthusiasts argue that CAL provides greater access, enhances quality and overcomes the inherent disadvantages of distance learning. Yet the apparent eagerness to develop innovative CAL applications is not evidenced in an educational survey of built environment postgraduate course provision. On the contrary, only small pockets of CAL activity are available. A new distance learning project management educational software application (DIMEPM) is developed and compared with a traditional multiple media resource and a well-established postgraduate module delivered in part-time mode. The design of DIMEPM draws on the expertise of experienced practitioners in HE and the views of leading academics in the field. Qualitative and quantitative approaches are employed in a longitudinal evaluation that assesses the relative learning gains, student attitude and confidence of HE students. And, in order to gain reaction from industry, DIMEPM is subjected to an illuminative evaluation within a leading engineering and project management consultancy. The research study finds no significant difference in the academic performance of students in the control and experimental groups. However, it is clear that technically orientated tasks lend themselves more readily to CAL than interpersonal skills. Distributed educational packages provide opportunities for enhancing distance learning but alternative pedagogic approaches are needed to encourage web-based dialogue and promote vicarious learning. Practitioners suggest that the distinction between these alternative delivery methods is artificial and that an integrated approach should be explored. Crucially, the research identifies considerable advantage in linking outcomes to delivery mechanisms and advocates the use of an "Associated Delivery" model.

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One of the critical debates in IHRM concerns the influence of globalisation and multinational enterprises on convergence in HRM practices. In this context, much of the literature on HRM policies and practices in Sino-foreign joint ventures (SFJVs) has been written either from this convergence/universalistic perspective, which has emphasised the transfer of Western ‘best practice’, or from a comparative perspective, which is still underpinned by convergence assumptions on the idea of ‘progress’against universalistic Western standards. This literature has pointed out how SFJVshave either transplanted Western-style HRM or else have adapted them to form some kind o f‘hybrid’ HRM mode. Viewed from a relativistic epistemology, however, these models of ‘progress’ may be misleading. Instead, if we look from the perspective of the Chinese managers to see how HRM practices have developed in SFJVs, we are likely to get an alternative account that has less to do with such a ‘progress’ of so called ‘Westernisation’ and convergence and more to do with developing workable HRM policies and practices which are not only differentiated from those of their Western partners and the traditional Chinese personnel management, but also capable of becoming embedded in the distinctive Chinese business system. It is believed that such embedded HRM practices in SFJVs will lead to positive results. This thesis attempts to see how HRM operates in SFJVs from the perspective of their Chinese HR managers/professionals. Based on a small sample of interviews with Chinese HR managers (i.e. key informants) from various SFJVs in Beijing and a survey of Chinese HR practitioners in 102 SFJVs in the same region, the thesis examines policies and practices in a wide range of HRM activities. The author concludes that, in general, SFJVs have been developing embedded HRM practices by moving away from the Chinese traditional ‘iron rice-bowl’ system. The effectiveness of such workable HRM practices is significantly associated with a ‘hybrid’ corporate culture. More specifically and practically, the HR-related managerial patterns and local managers’HR-related knowledge and skills have been identified, from the Chinese perspective, as two key success factors for SFJVs to enhance the effectiveness of their embedded HRM practices. This study attempts not only to contribute to the theory regarding how HRM operates in SFJVs and provide evidence to support the institutionalist predictions on the embeddedness of IHRM practices in a SFJV in the national business system of the host country, but also to provide mangers with some practical guidance to enhance HRM effectiveness in SFJVs.

Given the numerous economic and societal consequences of undeclared work, there has been growing interest in understanding its causes so that it can be tackled. This has been particularly the case since the onset of the economic crisis, which has resulted in the fight against tax evasion moving higher up the agenda. To contribute to advancing understanding of the undeclared economy, this thesis seeks to explain the motivations of workers for participating in quasi-formal employment, which is one of the least discussed types of noncompliance. This practice is based on a formal employer and a formal worker agreeing to declare only one part of the wage, while the rest is given as an undeclared cash payment in order to evade tax liabilities. Based on quantitative data from approximately 25,000 individuals surveyed during the period 2007-2015 around Europe and 39 qualitative interviews with workers and representatives of relevant institutions in Croatia, this thesis reveals that the phenomenon is more complex than was previously assumed. Although a proportion of workers agree to this illegitimate wage arrangement simply to escape from unemployment and are exploited by employers, the study shows that this cannot be generalised to the whole quasi-formal workforce. It appears that workers are primarily social agents who heavily base their decisions on the behaviour of other taxpayers and the perceived quality of the psychological contract between the state and citizens. Moreover, many workers see take-home pay as the ultimate goal of employment and accordingly voluntarily agree to this wage arrangement if they believe they can earn more when being under-declared. Apart from its theoretical contribution to understanding workers’ motivations for accepting envelope wages, the thesis thus also has a practical significance. It demonstrates that tackling this practice requires an indirect policy approach that not only increases the credibility of the state apparatus but also improves the tax morale of citizens.

In October 2006 the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) became the mechanism of pay progression for approximately one million National Health Service (NHS) staff (NHS Employers 2008). Integral to the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay reform, the introduction of KSF was intended to define the knowledge and skills that staff must demonstrate to deliver quality services whilst providing the basis for both pay and career progression (Moss, 2004, Watts, 2004, Wilkinson, 2004). The establishment of KSF is reliant upon integrating a system of appraisal; by which staff and their managers can identify personal development requirements and evidence elements of the KSF that have been achieved. Implementation of KSF has been hindered by complexity, leading to a debatable realisation of its purported benefits in terms of people and service development (O'Dowd, 2007).This study utilised Action Research (AR) to implement KSF within the Facilities directorate at a large acute healthcare Trust in the North of England (TRUST A). The Trust employs approximately 6500 employees with 25 per cent of staff working within Facilities. For numerous Facilities directorates there had been scant evidence of either appraisal or career development mechanisms previously. The introduction of AfC and KSF has, consequently, been widely problematic (May et al., 2006). Focus groups and semi structured interviews were used to gather data that informed the AR process. Focus groups and interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using NVIVO qualitative analysis software. Appendices 1 & 2 provide an overview of Agenda for Change and the Knowledge and Skills Framework. The AR process led to 'micro' and 'macro' interventions. Micro interventions included changing appraisal documentation for support staff, implementing accelerated learning methodologies for awareness raising of KSF, developing a self assessment tool for pay band navigation and the cessation of sending KSF outlines with job applications. Macro interventions were the establishment of an employability scheme to facilitate recruitment and the creation of a bespoke career development pathway for staff. In addition to assisting with KSF implementation, findings from this study may be transferable for use in the broader contexts of organisational development and change management.

The concept of organisational culture has been the subject of considerable debate within the literature on corporate culture and organisational behaviour. Central to the issue is whether or not managers can create, manage and change culture in the workplace. Some commentators are clear that it is within the sphere of management control; others are equally clear that it is not; others support the idea that managers can influence the dominant culture within their organisation. Organisational culture has become closely associated with the concurrent development of the models of human resource management (HRM). Employee commitment is frequently a stated aim and aspiration for both corporate culture initiatives and HRM practices, both seeking to affect employee behaviour at work. This research investigates how culture within the workplace affects the behaviour of service industry employees and their intentions regarding whether or not to leave their job.