This thesis centres on three core issues: determinants of urban worker earnings in Tanzania and Ghana: the role of education, determinants of selection into employment sectors in urban Tanzania and Ghana and finally an investigation into the pattern of returns to education in Ghana. On determinants of urban worker earnings in Tanzania and Ghana, we examine the role of education in earnings determination by using Urban Household Worker Surveys on Tanzania and Ghana for 2004-2006 in pooled sample estimations. We begin the analysis by investigating earnings determinants amongst self-employed (informal sector), private and public sector workers with particular focus on education. Secondly, we examine the role of education and other characteristics in facilitating entry into employment sectors in addition to analysing the pattern of returns to education along the earnings distribution. After addressing endogeneity and selectivity biases, we find that education plays an important role in promoting access to lucrative formal sector jobs particularly public sector employment, but has a minimal impact on earnings within the sector particularly in Ghana. Overall, we find higher returns to high levels of education in both countries particularly within the private sector. Estimated earnings determinants along the earnings distribution indicate primary and secondary levels of education are earnings inequality reducing among workers in Tanzania contrary to that of Ghana where these levels of education are found to increase earnings inequality. A consistent pattern is found for tertiary education in both labour markets which is indicative of the fact that tertiary education widens earnings inequality. Consequently we conclude that in Tanzania, primary and secondary education and ability are substitutes whereas tertiary education and ability, as is the case for all levels of education in Ghana are complements in the labour market.

The extent to which any organisation dedicates its finite resources towards employee health and well-being issues is driven by some combination of ethical, legal and economic factors. This thesis is concerned with demonstrating the economic value of investments in employee health and well-being, focusing on how economic information is and could be generated and how organisations process this information in their decision-making regarding employee health and well-being issues. The thesis explores the notion that better, more appropriate economic information and more rigorous economic evaluation methodologies are important in creating incentives for organisations to invest in and better manage the health and well-being of their employees. A series of studies are presented: a review of the existing literature reporting cost-of illness and cost-effectiveness type studies; a study exploring current practice using a focus group followed by a series of individual interviews with key occupational health professionals in the UK; a study reporting a survey of specialist and generalist managers' attitudes, perceptions, information needs and experience of employee health and wellbeing 'business cases'; economic evaluation methods and their application to the occupational health setting are reviewed. These studies served to directly inform the design and development of an economic framework approach using employee self-report data to construct empirical case studies to demonstrate the correlation between employer costs and employee health and well-being metrics. These studies provide new information on the relative marginal effects of cost to an organisation of changes in different employee health and well-being measures. This knowledge could aid resource allocation decisions by providing estimates of the value to an organisation of effects that could be delivered by a diverse range of employee health and well-being interventions or policies. The separation of this economic information about the costs of employee health and well-being issues from economic information about specific interventions is likely to be key in creating incentives for organisations to invest in employee health and well-being.

There have been many studies conducted in the West supporting a positive relationship between HRM systems and firm performance. The black box underlying the HRM-firm performance relationship has however remained unlocked. In the current research conducted in Hong Kong, organizational capability was identified as the black box for investigation. HRM practices can build organizational capability as a source of competitive advantage. Organizational capability represents a firm's ability to manage its people to gain competitive advantage and is determined by the employees who are properly hired, how they feel about working for the organization, how they are trained and rewarded for meeting customer needs. Firm competitiveness is derived from organizational capability which is firm-specific. Additionally, differentiation strategy as moderator in the HRM-firm performance relationship was examined. Most MNCs and Chinese firms pursue differentiation strategies. While MNCs align differentiation strategies with appropriate HRM practices, Chinese firms do not much value the HRM function. Based on cross-sectional data collected through postal questionnaire survey across firms in various industries with two sources of data per sample firm, the current research adds to the RBV theory and fills the gap in knowledge by specifically examining the HRM-organizational capability-performance model. While conclusion of past studies drawn from the West on HRM-firm performance relationship is generalized to firms in Hong Kong, this research has also found support to the mediation and moderation perspectives. Organizations must constantly assess customer needs and modify the organizational capability to satisfy such needs. If HRM systems do not improve the organizational capability, firm performance will neither be enhanced. When this happens, managers must carefully check the design of HRM practices. Further, HR managers should adopt a system approach of HRM practices that should be designed to reinforce the firm's chosen business strategy in the combination of internal and external fit perspectives

Building on the contribution of practice perspectives in highlighting the social construction of knowledge, it is proposed that additional insights can be gained by considering knowledge as a local discursive achievement and knowing as discursively performed. HR provides a particularly germane context for this exploration. While a growing volume of research problematises HRM, literature regarding HR professionals remains broadly functionalist. It emphasises the roles necessary to successfully deliver HRM; roles achieved through the application of specialist professional knowledge. In contrast, here HR professionals' work and identity is regarded as emergent, requiring continual negotiation and validation of their knowledge, both within the broader framework of HRM and the specific organizational context. From this perspective, examining knowledge as a local discursive achievement offers the opportunity of critical insight into HR professionals' practice. These ideas are explored through an ethnographic study of a HR department which had recently undergone substantial organizational change. HR professionals' construction and negotiation of, and indeed competition for, knowledge are examined as they attempt to secure professional legitimacy in the aftermath of this change. Through a discourse analysis of observational, interview and documentary data, a range of knowledge claims are examined. The analysis considers how personal knowledge and experience are positioned as the most credible sources for identifying solutions to HR problems. These problems are embodied in employees and therefore 'knowing people' becomes an essential aspect of knowledge claims. The invocation of experience involves relative (I know more) rather than absolute (I know about) claims which further provide a (not uncontested) means of dividing HR work according to hierarchical seniority. Through considering the dynamic nature of these constructions and their relationship to the subject positions enacted (including knower and known) this analysis extends both our understanding of HR professionals' practice and the social construction of knowledge

This thesis provides an examination of the theory and practice of Employee Involvement and Participation in the Libyan context. It consists of three case studies of multinational oil companies operating in Libya. Additionally, a detailed discussion is also provided about the Libyan oil regulatory agency - the National Oil Corporation (NOC) - and its influence on multinational oil companies operating in Libya. The empirical work involved, interviews with management and employees and a survey of employees as the main data collection tools within the three companies, and analysis of corporate documents. The results suggest that the three multinational companies i.e. Italian Eni-Gas, German Wintershall, and British Expro, share a similar approach to Employee Involvement and Participation, exhibiting popular downward communication, weak upward problem-solving techniques, and a lack of financial participation and nominated representative participation. Most of the similarities among these case studies are attributed to the strong influence of the NOC. Various differences were also observed in many respects, being explained by contextual factors such as technology, the style of management, and some small influence from the parent foreign company. This study also suggests that employee participation in decision-making is generally at the infonnative level, with consultation featuring at the bottom of ladder. The scope of EIP programmes was found to be tactical rather than strategic. Due to 'spiritless' initiatives of EIP programmes, their implementation was largely in the hands of individual managers. The effects of employee involvement and participation were also varied such as high levels of commitment, organisational performance and improve employee attitudes. It was confirmed that employee trust in their nominated representatives was minimal, and that more trust was placed in managers.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is an integral part of most careers, particularly where practitioners have to deal with challenges of technological change and advances in knowledge along with economic, institutional and political uncertainties. CPD is undertaken across a wide spectrum of professions, but what it consists of, and how it should be implemented to develop a career, are aspects of CPD that are not completely understood. Public demand for accountability of professional conduct reinforces the role that CPD plays in maintaining and improving professional effectiveness and competencies. CPD is encouraged within professions as the assumption is that it is beneficial and that by undertaking CPD a professional upholds standards. In these respects, farming is no exception. Evidence that this is the case is less obvious and because many of the outcomes of CPD can only be examined subjectively, rigorous evaluation is problematic. CPD is investigated, first generically, to gain a better understanding of its purpose and nature, looking at systems in place across organisations and how its success is assessed. This research has explored patterns of CPD among farmers, focusing on the relationship between CPD and the farmer and farm business. A multi-method approach began with a review of the existing literature which directed the design of the initial Vocational Training Scheme (VTS) survey conducted in the South West of England to obtain baseline information on CPD undertaken by farmers. Statistical investigation of relationships between farmers and farm characteristics and CPD identified influential factors, from which a model was developed predicting which farmers are likely to act after the CPD has been undertaken. Cluster analysis was applied to determine two overarching types of farmers: those undertaking 'Dynamic CPD' and 'Occasional CPD', which sub-divided into four distinct types: Progressive Professionals, Secure Socialisers, Change Followers and Change Resistant. Each type has homogeneous CPD patterns associated with farm and personal characteristics. Subsequently, the Farm Business Survey (FBS) containing large, national data sets was used to test the inferences drawn from the previous part of the research, and answer questions that could not have been addressed by using the VTS survey alone. The influential factors that have been identified include the farmer's level of education, attributes of the farmer's approach to management information, features of the CPD undertaken, and farm characteristics, all as linked to patterns of CPD. It is concluded that farmers have CPD inputs comparable to other professions, although initially farmers underestimate their CPD activity. The farmers who are most active in CPD take action and apply CPD when making changes to their business. Typically, these farmers have a high education level, are from large or intensive farms and their business is involved in discussion groups and benchmarking. This research recognises the distinction between CPD as a management process and a training programme as an event. The reported outcomes and their implications for the farming industry provides a sound basis for discussion and development of the thinking on CPD for farmers and all those involved in farmers' CPD.

This research explored how extrinsic performance incentives (EPIs) affect the alignment of frontline police performance and police strategy using the Hong Kong Police Force as a case study. A formal research model was developed and used to explore the correlations between EPIs and organisational alignment, between EPIs and constructs of individual performance and between individual performance and organisational alignment. A combined methodology was adopted using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to test the formal research theory. The findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between EPIs, when measured in terms or effort reward imbalance (ERI), and organisational alignment, but not generally between the realisation or expectation of an EPI and organisational alignment. There are no consistent patterns or relationships between EPIs and the constructs of individual performance. The effect of EPIs on the alignment of frontline police performance and police strategy is influenced by the officer’s career stage. The results and findings support the notion that stewardship theory fits the case organisation more closely than agency theory. This research contributes to the body of knowledge relating to the effects of EPIs on frontline performance and organisational alignment. Further research should apply the research model to other case settings.

Individual Performance Related Pay (IPRP) has become increasingly popular in the public as well as private sector. There have been moves to extend their coverage to the lower reaches of the organisational hierarchy-clerical and administrative staff, skilled and semi skilled manual workers from the narrow to higher managerial bands. IPRP is being prescribed as a strategic tool used as a way of simulating or reinforcing broader organisation transformation. For example IPRP has been mobilised to simulate greater employee commitment, individualise the employment relationship, revitalise the role and authority of the line manager, enhance staff management communications, and weaken the influence of trade union's. The aim of this study is to evaluate employee attitude towards their line /appraising manager, Also managers prescribe towards trade union operating in partnership with their organisation. The focus of this work is on examining the influence of IPRP on industrial relations. Resultsw ill be derivedf rom quantitativea ndq ualitativea nalysiso f datao btained from employeea ttitudes urveya nd industrialr elationss urveysT. he informationh as been used to gauge whether there is an impact of IPRP on industrial relations and if so to what extent. Information gathering took place as follows: several semi - structured and informal interviews, with managers who introduced or are operating such schemes were conducted. Further to initial knowledge gained from literature review and subsequent information gained from interviews helped a great deal to identify and structure a list of topic for further review to identify and structure a list of topic for further review and to the development of questionnaire for surveys.

‘Career choice is the result of the interplay between individuals within organizational and social structures’ (Ozbilgin et al, 2004: 2). However, much of the career choice literature examines career choice from an agency or structure perspective. “This tendency to separate individual agency and social structure leads to reductionist understandings that fail to account for the complex interplay between these dimensions” (Duberley, 2006:282). The transition from third level education to the graduate labour market can be a time of great uncertainty and stress. The decisions made at this time, the emergence of the “boundaryless” and “protean” career notwithstanding, can have ongoing and long term impact on individual careers. It is especially important therefore that those transitioning into the graduate labour market have an understanding of the context in which their careers develop including, and perhaps critically, an understanding of the agentic and structural barriers and enablers impacting on their career choice. It is likewise important that those actors in this field including career guidance professionals and educational providers are cognisant of these structural and agentic influences. A qualitative focus group methodology is used. Focus group participants comprised final year students on an honours undergraduate business programme. This approach is considered appropriate given the exploratory nature of this research and its ability to capture the complexity of the structure agency duality in career choice. The research confirms students’ ability to grasp the complexity of this duality. It also provides further evidence of the extent to which career choice is shaped by a complex interaction of social factors and individual attributes and that career choice is a continuous process which is constrained and enabled by individuals’ ongoing interaction with changing structural forces. This research is based on a cohort of final year business programme students. Further and wider study is required in order to estimate the extent to which the opinions and experiences expressed reflect the opinions of the wider student population.

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