The thesis extends previous research (Pitts, 2009; Nishii and Özbilgin, 2007; Ng and Burke, 2005; Ely and Thomas, 2001; Cox, 1993; Cox and Blake, 1991) on diversity management, and the perception of employees of its effective implementation. It does so firstly by quantitatively and qualitatively analysing the organisational culture of a private institution, and secondly by proposing a model that underlines the relationship between diversity management and employees’ understanding of the organisational culture. The purpose of this research is to investigate the business case for cultural diversity in an organisation in Cyprus. It aims to contextualise issues around diversity within the current peculiar politico-economic environment, and identify the drivers as well as barriers to diversity in the company. The business case has been used to rationalise the introduction of diversity management initiatives (Johns, Green and Powell, 2012); here, the research examines the situation in a specific organisation and attempts to link diversity policies to the perceptions of employees of organisational culture and effective diversity management. The focus for the research was as follows: What does the literature say about the management of cultural diversity? What are the drivers towards the management of cultural diversity in the organisation? What are the barriers and resisting forces to the management of cultural diversity at the organisation? How can cultural diversity be managed at the organisation? More specifically, I focus on the connection between diversity, employees’ perceptions of their organisation, and their sense of organisational culture and leadership. As revealed by the research, the organisation has not established any form of diversity management policy; however, the human resources model toward human commitment that has been developed causes employees to feel that they are treated with respect, are encouraged to freely speak their opinion, and as a result cohesion and morale are enhanced. Though the organisation has established an organisational culture that promotes synergy and collaboration, still the absence of a formal diversity management policy makes the culture vulnerable to misunderstandings and misinterpretations. If the company goes for the option of not establishing a comprehensive policy of diversity, then it will be incapable of fulfilling core benefits such as creativity, increased morale and better marketing of different obligations to the public, including the protection, restoration and improvement of public health.

The corporate social responsibility (CSR) landscape in Uganda was for a long time undocumented. Additionally, Uganda, like many other low-income countries (LIC) has lacked a definitive theoretical base on which to explain what is happening around its CSR affairs. A combination of these two knowledge gaps has left scholars and practitioners wondering what exactly is happening in Uganda. The fact that there is a relatively large difference between Western countries and Uganda or other LIC (in terms of sociocultural, economic, and political-legal frameworks and environments) means that the CSR knowledge gap in Uganda needs to be closed. Hence, this thesis aims to contribute to doing so by answering the following questions: (i) What is the state of CSR in Uganda? and, (ii) How are the most important CSR issues in Uganda managed? This thesis found that the state of affairs regarding CSR in Uganda is defined neither legally, nor by any form of nationally recognized CSR framework. However, most prevailing CSR practices are characteristic of Uganda’s societal values (such as taboos, customs, and traditions). These values are rooted in Uganda’s traditional society, which means that any company intending to conduct CSR in Uganda needs to pay attention to the sociocultural issues that define a CSR beneficiary group. However, the most important CSR issues are education, healthcare, job creation, skills/entrepreneurship development, anti-corruption, agricultural and food safety, water and sanitation, infrastructure development, and environmental conservation. These issues are largely managed in the context of poverty reduction, and in a way that aligns with internationally recognized frameworks, such as the current Sustainable Development Goals (formerly Millennium Development Goals) agenda and ISO 26000 (a social responsibility guidance standard). Lastly, the most applicable theories defining CSR in Uganda are stakeholder theory and corporate citizenship doctrine.

Qatar in the Arabian Gulf is one of many states worldwide trying to improve governance. In 2008, Qatar introduced various ‘human resources management (HRM) practices to improve management of employees. However, there is a growing belief that importing undiluted systems based on other cultures may potentially erode local Arab culture significantly and harmfully. The research project aimed to evaluate if Government Ministries in Qatar can use principally Western HRM theory and practice to manage employees successfully while still allowing them to preserve and strengthen Arab and Islamic values and identity. Some months into the project which commenced in 2006, the State initiated further major reforms and introduced new Ministers and top executive teams in each of 13 newly created Ministries. This created much additional noise in the data making it difficult to separate the effects of wider reforms from those caused by new HRM practices. Given the difficulties of using more conventional statistical analysis techniques, research then adopted a Mixed-Methods Exploratory Sequential Research Design the research completed extensive and detailed research into HRM systems in place in each Ministry. It also collected data and information about perceptions of executives about HR reforms, leadership and management style and other salient factors. The research reached eleven important findings. Among these, the findings showed the people management systems bore much closer resemblance to classic personnel management system. This negated any likely benefits of introducing HRM. The findings also found considerable differences between the national culture of Qatar and that of the West, from where the State drew many of its new ideas for reform. Adoption of such culturally dissimilar systems had the potential to offset efforts to preserve the Gulf’s highly distinctive culture. The work also make practical recommendations with which reform efforts could be improved, though not at the expense of local culture. The thesis completes with recommendations for further research.

The research problem was to ascertain the effect of providing financial information to employees. After reviewing the different literatures concerned with financial information, industrial democracy, influence, power and social psychology, a model of the various types of financial information and contexts for its presentation was constructed. The model posited that over time an employee. with suitable opportunities for Involvement in decisions and training to understand the financial information, would desire to become involved at a higher level in the organisation with its concomitant increase in financial Information. As the intention was to find out what employees made of financial Information. It was considered logical to investigate their construing of the Information. This together with the difficulties of making the model operational and testable lead to an approach involving the psychology of personal constructs thus reformulating the problem in terms of personal constructs. Previous research was of orthodox experimental design and took an organizational or social view and rarely the view of the individual. Longitudinal field studies were conducted in three different organisations. These field studies were not orthodox in design for the approach was to focus on the individual and it was considered. In the main, more appropriate to use an idiographic analysis rather than the straight-jacket of orthodox (nomothetic) experimental design. It was found that the construing of employees generally altered after financial Information had been provided. The alterations were more profound in situations where some training relating to financial Information was provided. There are that in suitable conditions, employees do begin to understand the financial Information which becomes more Integrated into the construing of employees, simultaneously some employees construe more power, actual and desired influence, and wanted more financial Information. Future research could well pursue this rich area with studies of larger numbers in similar situations receiving more comprehensive training.

There appears to be a lack of research into user perceptions of technology and the office. Five studies of user perceptions of technology and the office were completed using questionnaires devised by the author (Studies 1-3), evaluation of videos produced by manufacturers (Study 4), and content analysis of media articles about computer-based technology (Study 5). In Study 1 eight factors were identified: information-handling, human contact, paper-handling, financial security, communication, technology, work, and health preservation. These factors reflected key features mentioned by respondents and accounted for 80.4% of the variance. In Study 2 subjects perceived that they would choose technology significantly more often than non-technology for document preparation, information management, and communication, and non-technology significantly more often than technology for decision-making. In Study 3 it was found that users and the computer industry seem to share broadly similar views of the nature of the Ideal Office’. However, while users appeared to emphasize an enhanced version of existing systems current developments seem to have the potential to create radical changes in the way people work and live. In Study 4 evaluation of video presentations about two prototype computer systems suggested that user perceptions could be deployed to evaluate the suitability of computer systems for application in different situations. In Study 5 content analysis of media portrayal of the computer industry supported the idea that the perceptions of technology and the office held by both users and the computer industry can also be categorised according to the eight dimensions identified above - thus, showing some convergence between the findings of different studies using different methodological approaches. However, whereas the users regarded all the dimensions as of broadly similar importance, the computer industry as represented by journalists appeared to regard technical details and financial issues as paramount. The thesis highlights the role of understanding user perceptions when evaluating technology and considering office work.

Dynamic capabilities have been widely discussed in the academic literature for over twenty years. Yet there remains a lack of consensus or conceptual clarity on a common definition. The priority for researchers is therefore to pursue further theoretical development of the concept. In addition, most empirical research to date has been based on quantitative research. Qualitative, granular treatment of the topic has been encouraged (see p.44). Accordingly, in this thesis, the data from the main study was collected from in-depth interviews with change consultants, and the emerging theory was tested in a follow-up study using further interviews with case study participants. The data from both studies was analysed using a grounded theory approach. The emergent and flexible nature of grounded theory complements the use of semi-structured interview questions, because both grounded theory and semi-structured interviews facilitate the drilling down into, and the microscopic exploration of, those data which are of greatest interest. I identify a phenomenon in the primary data from the main study, which I call ‘orchestrated stakeholder dialogue’– the purposeful orchestration of dialogue amongst the organisation’s stakeholders. Some empirical examples of this phenomenon are presented. The follow-up study further examines the phenomenon of orchestrated stakeholder dialogue in order to explore: 1) the relationship of this phenomenon to dynamic capability theory; 2) the context of the phenomenon; 3) how it is deployed; and 4) its potential for securing sustainable competitive advantage. The thesis uses an instrumental reading of stakeholder theory in order better to depict and locate orchestrated stakeholder dialogue in relation to the organisation’s traditional boundaries. I conclude that the phenomenon of orchestrated stakeholder dialogue is a foundational, underlying component of the dynamic capabilities concept, which underpins all dynamic capabilities. The identification of orchestrated stakeholder dialogue represents a significant step in developing a conceptual theory of dynamic capability in which dialogue is a consistent component. Further research could build on this advance in dynamic capabilities theory. The detailed depiction of orchestrated stakeholder dialogue in the thesis also represents a significant empirical contribution for strategy as practice. The thesis offers two steps towards advancing the practical value of the concept of dynamic capabilities to practitioners: (i) the organisation is encouraged to use dialogue to map more fully the sources of value derived by particular stakeholders from their relationship with the organisation and its capability; and (ii) where possible, organisations must reconceive and reconfigure the relationships with stakeholders in order to accommodate and harness heterogeneous perceptions of value.

This research sets out to contribute knowledge about developments and implementation of corporate social responsibility. The six papers used in the submission (thesis) bring together different perspectives of corporate social responsibility garnered from empirical investigations of corporate entities in the UK which was originally termed by scholars as CSR 1.0 model consisting of - defensive, charitable, promotional and strategic Visser (2010), Claydon (2011), Idowu and Schmidpeter (2016) and Camilleri (2017). It revolved round the following dominant paradigms - greed, philanthropy, marketing, management and responsibility. It became apparent that there was the need to use a different model of CSR to deal with social and environmental issues of the 21st century Visser (2014). That old model of CSR - CSR 1.0 was originally the strand of CSR which was perceived, propagated practiced and understood by different actors in the field of CSR in the United Kingdom – a country which is an acknowledged leader in the field worldwide Ward and Smith (2006) and elsewhere. CSR 1.0 model was noted to have failed to have any significant impact on many of the most serious global CSR challenges (Visser, 2014). Hence, the need for CSR 2.0 model which is now in vogue became urgent. The areas covered by the studies in the submission are – motivations for CSR reporting by corporate entities, practicing CSR by corporate entities in the UK, corporate secretaries contributions to corporate entities’ embedding of CSR into their strategies and operational practices, using accounting information for decision making purposes in an attempt to promote sustainable development, piecing together in a logical sequence the history of CSR in the UK and the ideological source of CSR. The sole objective of the exercise is to derive a coherent view of how CSR has journeyed through its different stages of metamorphosis in the United Kingdom up to the period of the sixth paper used in the submission (2012). This thesis therefore presents an analytical account of the research projects at different times namely 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011a, 2011b and 2012 which have culminated into the six papers that form the cornerstone of the submission. The research problem it explores is divided into six research perspectives which culminated into the six papers noted in Table 1 of Section 3 and made up of six research questions in four components. In 1987 the Brundtland Report had brought the issue of sustainable development and the consequences of our failure to operate sustainably to our consciousness. Similarly in June 1992, the Earth Summit of the UN Conference on Environment and Development had set what is often referred to as Agenda 21, which documented the United Nation’s plan for the world in the 21st century in CSR terms. At the beginning of the second millennium, the quest to put into action and demonstrate some reasonable awareness of what social responsibility is and what corporate entities and individual citizens around the world should do in terms of CSR had already been put in place around the globe. The United Nations had initiated a Millennium Summit of 189 world leaders at the UN Headquarters in New York to set the Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2015. The putting in place of the MDGs 2015 brought about calls for more understanding of many of the issues surrounding CSR a number of new scholars in the thriving field of CSR had emerged. It had downed on this researcher some three years into the 21st century that a number of areas in CSR need more understanding, this heralded the commencement of his studies and journey in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility and all its related areas. What follows has chronicled six of this researcher’s studies in CSR.

Many public sector organisations worldwide have implemented performance management systems to improve performance. Performance management was initially designed by the private sector in Western countries and then adopted by the public sector. Now, performance management has become a global reform also implemented in the public sector of countries in transition such as Russia. A system of performance management has been designed and introduced by the federal government of the Russian Federation in 2007 as a part of the Administrative reform agenda. Success in implementing the performance management in the public sector organisations has varied. The thesis explores the experience of implementing a system of performance management in the local governance of the Russian Federation for the period of time 2013-2014. It addresses a series of questions prompted by the process of implementation. First, the thesis explores the actual process of performance management implementation in the context of the Russian local government. Second, it provided the insights on the attitudes and perceptions of the local authority managers regarding the performance management purpose and implementation. Third, it explores the major challenges encountered during the process of the implementation. Drawing upon theoretical assumptions of the policy transfer theory, institutional theory and the integrated approach to performance management system, this thesis proposes a richer understanding of the Russian local government performance management implementation in practice as it is looking at the same phenomenon from different angles. The thesis employs a single method qualitative case study approach. Data is collected mainly through semi-structured interviews, with support of documentary research and participant observations. Study particularly looks at the local governance of the Russian public sector by using Krasnoyarsk City Administration as a case study. The study gives effect to the basic principles and values of public administration in relation to the implementation of performance management system. The study contributes to the current theories and debate on the mainstreaming and institutionalizing of public service delivery to determine organisational performance by governmental institutions. Particularly, this contributes to the existing body of knowledge regarding challenges encountered during the implementation of Performance Management System in the public sector organisations. It adds to understanding of the public managers’ experience of implementing a performance management system in local government and it contributes to the research in this field conducted in transition countries.

Many organisations view leadership as a feature of competitive advantage and competent leaders as instrumental in achieving organisational performance and productivity. In the hotel industry, there is a strong relationship between leadership culture and leader behaviour with employee satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity that has a subsequent impact on service quality, profitability and growth. Consequently, many hospitality organisations invest significantly in the development of their leaders using a variety of internal and external Human Resource Development HRD interventions and practitioners. A key challenge for HRD practitioners in this setting is to design and deliver effective leadership development interventions that provide relevant learning that is transferred to the workplace for individuals and management teams. However, the learning approach is not the only concern and transfer is a crucial element of effectiveness, particularly where the practice setting of the workshop, where skills and knowledge are gained, is very different from the business setting where they are to be applied and so the concept of far-transfer must be factored in to the design and delivery. This case study reviews the evolution, design, delivery, evaluation and training transfer of a large scale Leadership Development programme for managers in a single organisation in the hotel industry, carried out by an independent HRD consultant practitioner and submitted as a thesis for a Practitioner Doctorate in Personnel and Development. The participants were all members of management teams operating within the UK and Continental Europe. This action research account treats the stages of the programme as four separate yet connected cycles, each with discrete practitioner-researcher concerns. Researcher and practitioner questions arising out of an initial diagnostic and alignment activity led to programme design and delivery considerations. These were followed by evaluation and subsequent transfer enquiries. Through these cycles, core questions at the heart of HRD consultant practice in a real world situation were explored. These relate to creating and providing effective interventions that facilitate the required sustainable behaviour changes within the client system, recognising that the criteria for how effectiveness is defined, identified and evaluated are multi-variant and highly likely to be unique in each case. A key outcome is the development of the concept of Inspirational Leadership as a potentially relevant model for developing leader effectiveness in this setting underpinned by Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Orientation (FIRO) Theory as the central behavioural model. A structured Training Intervention Framework (TIF) is also proposed as a holistic methodology for the diagnosis, design and delivery of similar interventions in order to create a robust strategy and tactics for training interventions to occur. This is presented as a theoretical contribution to professional practice for HRD practitioners for future interventions in similar settings.

Evolution in the world of work has led to the adoption of outsourcing. These evolutions have not being without challenges hence indicating the need for greater attention to be paid to the complexities surrounding the potential impact of outsourcing on employees. This study focused on the effects of outsourcing on the employees' perception of the psychological contract. The study explored whether applying a relational content analysis model will give better insight into the complexity of the psychological contract and provide in-depth understanding of what influences the psychological contract. Key relational content analysis concepts and tools such as; reactions and coping strategies, diagrammatic representations and tabular mapping were used. Thirty (30) interviews from five departments (Property management, IT and Administration, Brokerage, Marketing and Valuation) of two estate management organisations were conducted. Data gathered from these interviews were analysed to draw out the reactions and their resulting responses between employees and the organisation. The findings showed that the outsourcing experience was perceived as a violation of the psychological contract by a majority of employees and an in-depth analysis model indeed provides in-depth understanding of the effects of outsourcing on the employees' perception of the psychological contract and experience of violation. Through the implementation of research approaches the study fully addressed the research questions meeting the requirements for the research objectives.