Due to changing demographics, improving health in later life, removal of a retirement age and increases in state pension age, older people (50+) are a growing phenomenon in the labour market. Consequently organisations and governments increasingly need to understand how to approach the development of older workers. Previous research reveals a variety of results regarding learning undertaken and attitudes towards learning. The ‘expansive-restrictive framework’ facilitates learning opportunities regardless of age, experience or market sector. It encourages, inter alia, formal courses and qualification acquisition. These features are challenged using a largely quantitative study of IT engineers in a UK pubic sector organisation. Results showed older workers found learning and variety essential. Both participative and acquisitive learning were valued, although courses rated lower than reading or the internet. Older respondents did not shun qualifications per se, several were working towards one, but they did not consider them that important. They would not pursue extra study to obtain a qualification - unless the additional work was directly relevant to their role. Therefore encouraging courses and qualification acquisition, as recommended by the framework, runs counter to the preferences and activities of the older workers studied. The thesis enhances understanding of the workplace learning of older workers in the high-end knowledge economy and UK public sector. It also adds to the few examples of quantitative analysis of participative learning. Finally, it shows the expansive-restrictive framework is not suitable for the older workers examined and suggests experience may be the cause rather than chronological age.

With a growing body of literature examining HR systems’ influence on organizational performance outcomes, there has been a plea for research that examines the underlying mechanisms that facilitate this in a service setting. This study adopts the notion of people management which incorporates the management of HR implementation and line managers’ leadership behaviour in its investigation of how HR affects performance. This study, by examining how frontline employees’ perception of people management practices affects individual level prosocial service behaviours, and by using a qualitative approach in data collection and analysis, offers an explanation of the underlying mechanisms in the causal chain. Furthermore, the setting of this research in an employee-owned organization affords a context- rich account of how HR systems affect individual level performance in a service setting. Thirty one semi-structured interviews were conducted, of which twenty three were conducted with frontline employees to elicit how their experiences of people management practices affected their display of prosocial service behaviours. Eight semi-structured interviews were arranged with frontline managers to offer an alternate perspective to data gathered from the employees. The research identifies bundles of practices, comprising both “employment” and “work practices” as instrumental in employees’ display of prosocial service behaviours. The results confirm the AMO framework as being a suitable explanation of mediating mechanisms in the HR-performance chain, whilst not only confirming the presence of a few existing intervening influences but also identifying novel factors not previously studied within the HR-performance discussion. It also demonstrates that adopting multiple theoretical perspectives in investigating HR-performance relationships offers a more comprehensive picture. Finally, the research confirms the role of the line manager as a protagonist within the HR- performance discussion whilst also demonstrating the significance of co-workers. The ownership context emerges as important in this enquiry – specifically work atmosphere and relationships – in influencing employees’ service behaviour.

This doctoral study aims to understand how experiences of critical illness or bereavement affect the way managers view and approach their work and their relationships at work. This is an interpretative phenomenological study examining the subjective meanings of personal experience and is underpinned by biographic narratives from four participants and interviews with their nominated workplace witnesses (i.e. colleagues who worked alongside the individual at the time of their trauma). As a consequence of the findings that have emerged across this study, three contributions to theory are presented. All four participants described their traumas as a professional growth experience for themselves as managers, which resulted in self-reported and observed behaviour change at work. Consequently, the first area of theoretical contribution is a suggested extension to the post-traumatic growth (PTG) framework (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2006) with the addition of a new behavioural dimension called ‘managerial growth’, when applied to the context of ‘ordinary’ organizations. The second area of theoretical contribution arose through the reflexive process that was created during data collection where participants and their witnesses remembered episodes of compassion interaction at work. The second area of contribution thus seeks to extend the existing model of compassion at work (Dutton, Worline, Frost and Lilius, 2006), by conceptualising compassion as a dyadic process between a compassion ‘giver’ and a compassion ‘receiver’ in which the compassion receiver ‘trusts or ‘mistrusts’; ‘discloses’ or ‘withholds’; ‘connects’ or ‘disconnects’ with the compassion giver. The third area of contribution is a new conceptualisation of reflexivity, ‘three-dimensional reflexivity’ (3DR) (Armstrong, Butler and Shaw, 2013). 3DR brings together three of the elements that have been missing from critically reflexive management research; by working with multiple variants of reflexivity in the same study; surfacing different reflexive voices to guard against the researcher’s (potentially) solipsistic own; and remaining sensitive to the concept of reflexive time. In doing so, 3DR not only provides a deeper understanding of individual lived experience; it is also a vehicle in which self-insight is gained. Furthermore, by engaging in its practice, those involved in this study have developed both personally and professionally as a result.

Return on investment (ROI) is one of several financial metrics increasingly advocated and used to evaluate expenditures on hum~n capital initiatives. This thesis explored empirically the discrepancy between growing interest in, and uptake of, ROI for human capital investments on the one hand; and evidence to date that implementation is problematic and actual usage limited, on the other. From within a constructivist/interpretivist paradigm, ten attempts to apply ROI were identified and reconstructed using the qualitative techniques of observations, interviews and document analyses. These attempts were drawn from three different contexts - corporate, health service and international development. Concepts from seminal theories on learning and skills acquisition, knowledge, practice, context and their relationship with each other, as well as the introduction of new technical approaches, were selected to provide a framework to guide the enquiries and interpretation of data. The study found the term ROI was used as a bridging metric and understood in three ways - metaphorically, as an aspiration of value; literally, as a metric; and procedurally, as a method for planning and evaluating human capital investments. The metaphorical use of ROI was widespread as a way of expressing a common goal when dealing with key stakeholders. However, the metric was rarely utilised to measure human capital investments because applying it was difficult and time consuming; particularly linking the investment and service system performance through people performance. Methodically, ROI seemed to-function as an aspirational map for planning and evaluating human capital investments. Learning and applying the method, even partially, was valued and tended to lead to changed behaviour and organisational culture. Significant variations between the three contexts were noted, and it is argued that the contingencies affecting the uptake and appropriateness of ROI in different settings would likely affect the appropriateness of other financial metrics for evaluating human capital investments.

This thesis is originally set out to document and critically assess employee performance appraisal practices in Bahraini companies. However, preliminary research findings suggest an additional research endeavour---namely, the role of gender bias (if any) in the performance appraisal practices---the results of which have been incorporated in this thesis. The term "gender bias" is used to capture direct and indirect discrimination that affects female employees. Gender bias concerns any case where an individual female or a group of females is singled out for favourable or unfavourable treatment as a result of culture, stereotype, or personal traits such as appearance or similar gender related qualities. To achieve the above objectives, three data collection methods were used at three distinct stages of the study: (1) hand-delivered questionnaires that were completed during face-to-face meetings, (2) a select number of case studies governed by focused interviews, and (3) mailed questionnaires. In the first stage, data on the various aspects of performance appraisal was collected through hand-delivered questionnaires, answered in the presence of the researcher, by managers in charge of managing human resources Activities at the companies under investigation. In the second stage, a case study method governed by focused interviews was used to examine in detail the performance appraisal systems and practices of three Bahraini companies. In the final phase of the data collection process, the mail survey method was employed to verify collected information concerning the perceptions of Bahraini employees toward the effect of gender bias, if any, on performance appraisal practices. Two main findings emerged from this investigation. First, the majority of Bahraini companies operate performance appraisal systems that may be inconsistent with the Bahraini cultural and social environment. Rather, such systems are mostly copied from Western companies. Companies in Western developed countries, especially those in the United Kingdom and the United States, often serve as models for Bahraini companies. The latter usually adopt their management practices form Western companies the sake of legitimacy, status, and acceptance. Second, Bahraini employees, especially females, feel strongly that performance appraisal practices are biased in favour of men. One important reason for such bias is the widespread social belief that women, unlike men, are less committed to work and long-term careers. This belief stems from the fact that it is neither socially nor religiously acceptable for women in the Arab Muslim culture to put their professional careers ahead of their domestic responsibilities.

As existing research on leader-follower value similarity and leader-member exchange (LMX) has shown varying results, this thesis has set out to explore whether the relationship between work values, LMX and work outcomes could be examined using another approach. Building on person-environment fit and discrepancy theories of job satisfaction research, this thesis proposes that similarity between the leader’s and the follower’s work values (work value similarity) and the leader’s fulfilment of the follower’s work values (work value fulfilment) are positively related to LMX and work outcomes (follower’s satisfaction with the leader, job satisfaction, organisational commitment, task performance and organisational citizenship behaviour). Related to this, it is proposed that LMX plays a mediating role on the relationship between work value similarity and work outcomes, just as LMX is proposed to play a mediating role on the relationship between work value fulfilment and work outcomes. Furthermore, it is proposed that work value fulfilment compared to work value similarity is more strongly related to LMX. To test the hypothesised relationships, two studies were conducted at a consumer products manufacturer in the UK and Denmark. The first study is cross-sectional and consists of 167 followers from the UK. The second study is longitudinal and data for this study were collected in two waves with a five-month interval from followers and leaders in Denmark. At time 1, the longitudinal study had a sample of 468 followers, of which 206 were rated by their immediate manager. At time 2 the study had a sample of 316 followers, of which 140 were rated by their immediate manager. Work value similarity and work value fulfilment were measured using direct and indirect measures of congruence, and the thesis uses structural equation modelling, relative weight analysis, and polynomial regression analysis. Across the studies, the thesis has generally found support for the hypothesised relationships. Findings of the thesis show that work value similarity and work value fulfilment are positively related to LMX and work outcomes, and that LMX plays a mediating role on the relationship between work value similarity and work outcomes, just as LMX plays a mediating role on the relationship between work value fulfilment and work outcomes. Furthermore, findings show that work value fulfilment compared to work value similarity is more strongly related to LMX. Generally, the results have been found by using crosssectional and longitudinal data, single-source and multi-source data, direct and indirect measures of congruence, and by using different advanced approaches for studying congruence. The implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.

Human behavior unfolding through organisational life is a topic tackled from different disciplines, with emphasis on different aspects and with an overwhelming reliance on humans as observation instruments. Advances in pervasive technologies allow for the first time to capture and record location and time information behavior in real time, accurately, continuously and for multiparty events. This thesis concerns itself with the examination of the question: can these technologies provide insights into human behavior that current methods cannot? The way people use the buildings they work in, relate and physically interact with others, through time, is information that designers and managers make use of to create better buildings and better organisations. Current methods’ depiction of these issues - fairly static, discrete and short term, mostly dyadic - pales in comparison with the potential offered by location and time technologies. Or does it? Having found an organisation, where fifty-one workers each carried a tag sending out location and time information to one such system for six weeks, two parallel studies were conducted. One using current manual and other methods and the other the automated method developed in this thesis, both aiming to understand spatial and temporal characteristics of interpersonal behavior in the workplace. This new method is based on the concepts and measures of personal space and interaction distance that are used to define the mathematical boundaries of the behaviors subject of study, interaction and solo events. Outcome information from both methods is used to test hypotheses on some aspects of the spatial and temporal nature of knowledge work affected by interpersonal dynamics. This thesis proves that the data obtained through the technology can be converted in rich information on some aspects of workplace interaction dynamics offering unprecedented insights for designers and managers to produce better buildings and better organisations.

In the UK, the development of integrated children's services over the past six years has led to an increased need for public sector managers to attend strategic, interagency meetings. However, there is little research in this field that can be used to support managers in ensuring positive outcomes from such meetings. The aim of this research was to identify the main concerns of managers attending strategic, interagency meetings and to develop a theoretical framework that can account for the ways in which they resolve these concerns. The research used classic grounded theory, an inductive methodology that results in a set of integrated, conceptual hypotheses that are grounded in the data. Data were obtained primarily from interviews and observation of meetings. The main concern of managers attending interagency meetings was identified as being to achieve the maximum personal value from engagement with the meetings. This main concern is resolved via the core category of 'advancing agendas', which accounts for most of the variation in the behaviour of the participants. The grounded theory of Advancing Agendas explains the social strategic process by which meeting participants: identify a personal agenda, that is, an understanding of what they want to get out of their engagement with the meetings; plan a strategy with which to advance this agenda; engage in the meetings and evaluate the outcomes of their actions. Advancing Agendas provides a framework that can be used by those who are chairing or attending interagency meetings, to support them in achieving the desired outcomes. Specifically, it can be used to understand the impact of meeting participants' differing motivations for attending meetings, to recognise situations in which group members' personal agendas conflict with the intended function of the meetings, and to identify ways of enabling full participation and engagement.

This thesis explores the subject of organisational performance in a partially franchised organisation, the EBS Building Society, a retail financial service business. It focuses on understanding why, in a dual distribution system, a franchised outlet outperforms a non-franchised outlet within the same organisation. In particular it examines the potential impact of Human Resource Management (HRM) and leadership practices at both the level of the individual and of the unit. Many studies have examined the link between HR practices and performance, however, few have studied the system of practices within a retail financial services network. This thesis is concerned with the behaviours of the managers of franchised units of the EBS Building Society and how those behaviours may potentially explain why managers outperform their colleagues in the company manned branch network from a financial perspective. Specifically, the study will highlight the current performance measures that are pertinent to both franchised and non-franchised outlets and it will set out to connect these measures to the HRM practices and leadership styles of managers in EBS units. In particular, the study explores the nature of the linkages between HRM/leadership practices and behaviours, focusing in particular on three possibilities: Empowerment, Perceived Organisational Support (POS) and Work Intensification to understanding how HRM or leadership impacts on performance in organisations. The Study found that, as anticipated, HRM had a positive indirect effect on employee service interaction behaviour with empowerment having the greatest consequence. There was also evidence that agency status within the EBS contributes to service quality, in part through the development of higher levels of unit-level employee service behaviours and unit level leadership. The importance of the research lies in the fact that it offers, for the first time, some evidence on the impact of HRM and leadership practices within a hybrid franchised financial firm in Ireland. It also offers for the first time a comparison of the three different possibilities or mediators and their explanatory powers on HRM and leadership and their effects on organisation performance by adopting a multi-level approach.

This thesis investigates Joint Consultative Committees’ (JCCs) effectiveness perceptions among its participants and the role of trust and justice on these perceptions. A two-year mixed-methods longitudinal study of JCC participants in two organizations (a Housing Association and a Professional Services firm) was carried out. Results from statistical analysis highlight a positive significant relationship between trust, justice and JCC outcomes (JCC performance, JCC usefulness, Partnership and outcome satisfaction). Moreover, industrial relations climate is found to moderate the relationship between justice and JCC performance, JCC usefulness and partnership; and the relationship between trust and partnership. Findings from the qualitative analysis of the two cases illustrate that employee and management representatives rely on different elements of trustworthiness to assess the other party. Furthermore, different dimensions of justice are shown to be more salient in different stages of the JCC’s operation. Specifically, during the early stages of the JCC process (pre-voice history, design, preparations, and first meeting) employee representatives relied on ability, benevolence and integrity and procedural and interactional justice to form expectations about the JCC’s role. During the last stage of the JCC process (subsequent meetings), employee representatives relied more on their evaluation of management’s integrity and ‘sharing and delegating control’, distributive and procedural justice when forming their trust and justice perceptions. Management, on the other hand, relied heavily throughout the process on employee representatives’ ability and less so on their integrity and benevolence. It is also demonstrated that management were not substantially concerned with justice dimensions. Additionally, expectations about the JCC’s purpose and the degree of risk the Decision Making Teams (DMTs) are willing to take when deciding whether or not to consult with the JCC are found to be influential. This thesis proposes several future directions for JCC research and practical implications for practitioners are discussed in light of the importance of trust and justice in forming JCC effectiveness perceptions.