Labour market flexibility is an issue that has been much debated but remains controversial. It is argued in this thesis that the lack of theoretical and empirical clarity which has impeded the study of flexibility has resulted from two main deficiencies. The first is that although the public sector has been identified as a major site of flexible forms of labour, the systematic study of this phenomenon has been largely absent. The second is that flexibility as a concept has obscured forms of employment relations that are distinct. One aim of this thesis was therefore to refocus the theoretical debates by drawing together a number of literatures that have so far remained discrete. This analysis provided the basis for a clearer empirical study by identifying the relationship between restructuring public sector employment, specifically in social services and schools, and one aspect of labour market flexibility: temporary labour. A review of previous research indicated that temporary work is likely to affect women, minority ethnic groups and young workers to a greater extent than the wider population. The literature also highlighted the statistical and managerial bias in the debates and in doing so indicated the need for new perspectives and methods to be adopted to further an understanding of issues that surround flexibility. The research for this thesis therefore examined temporary labour in the public sector from the perspective of employers, workers and trade unions in two case study local authorities and LEAs using qualitative methods. By adopting this approach the research data indicated that employers' conflicting motivations to use temporary labour are exacerbated by decentralised management functions. Personalised and arbitrary management associated with devolved powers highlighted a number of characteristics associated with temporary employment contracts. The central feature was the enhanced power imbalance in favour of employers created by the insecurity inherent in this form of employment, which resulted in forms of control that were gendered and racialised. The experience of temporary workers reflected these findings and emphasised the vulnerability of their situation. The trade union position on temporary work was however ambivalent, displaying a combination of responses even within branches of the same union, raising serious questions for trade union democracy.

This is a study of the working men's club movement from its foundation in 1862 until its silver jubilee in 1912. The structure of the study is as follows:- INTRODUCTION: The basic themes addressed in the study are set out and the method of investigation is discussed. CHAPTER 1: This chapter reviews key themes in the development of the club and the notion of 'clubbability' through a critical overview of the role of the club in British society from the late seventeenth century until the mid nineteenth century. Among issues given particular attention are the role of political factionalism in developing the club, the exclusive character of membership and the strong but not unchallenged stress upon the "maleness" of clubbability. CHAPTER 2: This chapter evaluated the first twenty years of the working men's club movement. It is shown that the club emerged as a product of the rational leisure movement and the specific influences which shaped the early years of the movement are discussed. This section also sets out the basic features of the club and discusses the ideology of paternalism which dominated the movement until the early 80's. CHAPTER 3: This section examines the development of the movement after the "revolt" of the early 80's which democratised the Unions. Clubs were now run by as well as for working men. It is also argued that despite this break in organisational structure there was a strong degree of continuity in the ideological concerns of the two eras of the movement. In particular there was a great deal of agreement regarding the ideals which club membership ought to set before the working man. It is also argued in this section that the club movement had to monitor its progress carefully in order tat its character as a national movement would be maintained. The following three chapters discuss crucial aspects of the internal life of the clubs. The aspects selected not only affected the evolution of particular clubs but also shaped the character and public imange of the club movement. CHAPTER 4: The issues raised by the supply of intoxicants in the majority of clubs are discussed in this chapter. It is argued that while the income generated by the sale of excisables produced a valuable source of revenue for the clubs which helped to assure its development the introduction of drink also had less beneficial consequences. In particular the club became reviled as a "menace to sobriety" and concerted attempts were made, led by the licensed trade and tho temperance movement, to place the clubs under legislative control. The history of that campaign is discussed and the role of drink in club life evaluated. CHAPTER 5: Educational work carried out in the club provides the focus of this chapter. It is argued that despite much criticism club education was more extensive and valuable than has been recognised. Moreover the ideology of citizenship which inspired much of that educational work has to be understood if the character of the club movement is to be appreciated. CHAPTER 6: The facilities developed for the amusement of the members are discussed. It is shown that clubs developed a varied and extensive programme of entertainments. The debate in the movement regarding the quality of club provision is also evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: The main themes examined are reviewed. It is noted that in objective terms the movement had made great progress from the humble beginnings of 1862. However it is also noted that there was some debate about the extent to which the ideals of clubbability had been realised.

This paper is the executive summary for the research project 'Re-Engineering the New Product Introduction Process.' The project is made up of a number of portfolio submissions describing differing areas of the research. The key reason for the research was to identify a way in which a case study company could radically improve its time to market for new products by improving the process followed. An action research methodology was employed and project team used to aid the development and validation of the process and supporting tools. The result of the work was a proceduralised process for the introduction of new products, Coupled with detailed supporting tools and techniques. This paper summarises the details of the new process and describes the supporting projects. The levels of validation and implementation for all tile projects are also described as these were at differing levels of implementation within the case study organisation.

This report summarizes the contents in Submissions 1-4 and divides them into 7 chapters. These are introduction, literature review, methodology, the system dynamics model, the balanced scorecard, multiple regression models, and forecasting models. As this report mainly focuses on the assessment of manufacturing competitiveness in China, findings on the balanced scorecard for manufacturing competitiveness and various key econometric models are discussed in greater detail. On the other hand, the system dynamics model providing support to the development of the balanced scorecard is presented in brief in this report; please refer to Submission 4 for further details if necessary. Furthermore, this report highlights the main innovation and originality of this study. A two-stage analysis methodology as a novel and original approach to examine the formulation of manufacturing strategy is discussed. The value and significance of this study, in terms of the literature, the manufacturing industry, and the author’s company - TTI, are also explained. A concluding chapter is given in the end.

This thesis is a study of contemporary labour relations in Cyprus and is based on seven case studies: three from the hotel, two from the banking and two from the construction industries. The case studies involved particular medium and large size firms and focused on specific workplaces but some generalisations and projections are also made concerning broader tendencies in the corresponding sectors. Labour relations are approached holistically, examining both the context and the content of labour power utilisation as well as its broader impact and significance on society as a whole. The thesis focuses on employment practices and work organisation but also includes within its analytic frame, the institutional and political factors involved, management and trade unionism. The workplace is approached as a site of power relations whereby social identities and divisions occur and authority is both established and contested. Thus labour and trade union organisation is examined at the workplace level and analysed from the workers' perspective, taking into account the experience of hierarchies and resistance, and the experience of cooperation and conflict. The study is located in a nationally specific context, situating the contemporary state of labour relations in Cyprus in the historical course of development and local particular conditions of the island. The colonial legacy, the ethnic conflict and the division of the country and the rapidity of modernisation have impacted substantially on both the industrial relations and the class structure of the society. On the other hand, international forces, trends and phenomena in the era of globalisation such as flexibility in and the deregulation of the labour market, increased capital and labour flows, neo-liberal discourses and trade union decline constitute the broader coordinates of the labour process. These facts and schemata are both examined in the light of empirical data from Cyprus and used to explore and explain issues of contemporary labour organisation and class composition. Theoretically and politically the thesis is situated within a general Marxian framework that is informed both by the conflict school of industrial relations and the tradition of class composition studies. Workers' resistance and class conflict, the means through which class is being composed, is seen not only as a political by-product of the labour process but ontologically at its centre and conceptually at its heart. Thus the thesis also includes references to and can be used in broader discussions in and of the Left and concludes with a characterisation of the challenges and the prospects of the labour and trade union movement in Cyprus.

This thesis explores how boundaries can be changed during a merger. Change literature has generally assumed boundaries are an unproblematic aspect of organisation life; readily definable and easily changed. Evidence from the emerging field of boundary theory suggest otherwise with boundaries seen as socially constructed, complex and ever-shifting. The thesis adopts an action-orientated methodology, drawing from three sources of theory building; existing theory, fieldwork and from practice. Defining boundaries as any difference between groups, the thesis categorises boundaries as physical, behavioural and cognitive and uncovers specific tensions that are unique to each boundary category and which require specific management interventions to resolve. Developing these insights, the action research study, a five-year process of merging two hospitals, explored how boundaries changed in practice, showing how boundary salience was influenced by two sets of interrelated strategies. One set drove integration and the other set drove separation. The thesis concludes with five theoretical insights into boundary change. Principal among these is the insight that boundary change can only come about when the boundary tensions are reduced and when the strategies supporting integration are dominant. The thesis contributes to the theoretical understanding of boundaries and M&A integration but also to the practising manager by providing a framework for the analysis of boundaries and the determination of actions that reduce tensions and create the appropriate environment for effective boundary change.

This research combines the in-depth study of technical rationality and social practices with broader institutional influences that support or subvert the course of technology-led change in organizations. It contends that technology is socially shaped within the institutional and technical boundaries and that the choices made by individuals embedded in power relations shape the course of technological adoption in organizations. Two in-depth qualitative case studies are used to explore the sociotechnical processes of continuity and change.

In this thesis I argue that rural industry is a critical element in the development of poor African countries, and that its virtue has been recognised by a growing number of interventions in recent years. Particular benefits of rural industrialisation are the support of agriculture, improved availability of consumer items and repair services within the rural community, the generation of rural income and a contribution to the development of the national technology base. However, in spite of the attention this sector has received, there has so far been little evidence of rural industry thriving. The general failure of rural industry to develop indicates that either it is inherently unviable in a modern context or that the interventions concerned with it have been recurrently faulty. I contend that, while the degree to which rural industry may thrive depends upon the level of formal industrial activity in the country, it is essentially viable but that where interventions have taken place they have usually been inappropriate. The bulk of this thesis therefore examines what interventions would be appropriate to encourage this sector. I show that two conditions are essential. Firstly that interventions must take as their point of departure the existing context and practice of rural artisans, for example, training should take place within their normal working environment, depending only upon the resources to which they normally have access or to which they gain access by means of the training. Secondly that the target group for any intervention must have a significant degree of control over it. Innovation is argued to be a key determinant of sustainability. The significance of confidence and its contribution to innovation are established, identifying the crucial nature of innovation itself within the artisanal context. Rural manufacturing industry is unlikely to thrive unless conditioning and circumstances encourage artisanal practitioners to innovate. I examine the factors that encourage or inhibit innovation, particularly attitudes towards existing practices and the perceptions of external agents. As well as examining in depth specific factors such as innovation and the control of interventions, the thesis reviews all the resources required by rural industry in order to thrive and demonstrates the importance of a balance between them. However it is argued that skill development is the field in which external agencies can most usefully assist informal sector, rural industry and that the results of interventions must be capable of autonomous propagation if they are to have any significance.

In organisational theory, there is increased concern over how a particular context affects the operations of firms, especially in multinational organizations. As these firms operate in different contexts, there is growing interest in learning how social institutions from these contexts may influence the operations of these firms. MNC subsidiaries, principally, have attracted the attention of academics because they move in different spaces that are interrelated (e.g. country of origin, industry and country of operations), which may have different institutional settings. The implementation of control mechanisms in MNC subsidiaries represents an organizational area that is significantly influenced by these forces. This thesis develops a theoretical framework to explain the presence of control devices in MNC subsidiaries. The framework encompasses different levels of analysis: country of origin, country of operations, industry and the organization itself. The aim is to explain the presence of control mechanism in MNC subsidiaries by examining features that might affect the implementation of these devices. The framework places particular emphasis on two areas. First, understanding the effect of institutions based in the country of origin on the implementation of control mechanisms in MNCs. And second, appreciating the effect of institutions in the country of operations on the implementation of these devices in subsidiaries.

International technical assistance today supports pro-poor intervention managed and implemented by a number of organisations working in partnership together located in several countries. They may include funding organisations, governments, non-governmental organisations and community groups. This thesis explores the meaning of aid sector partnership and some of the ways in which they work to support community development in Africa. The study is of the ways in which partners interact and learn from each other, the contextual issues that influence the process and the implication of this for what is achieved. Believed to be the first of its kind, the study compares two bilaterally funded projects implemented by Ghanaian NGO counterparts. The British Department for International Development (DFID) financed an adult literacy project in the North, while Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) supported a maternal and child health care project in the East of Ghana. The study examines the quality of relations between partners in the two projects and then the ways in which these are informed by incidental learning experiences. A fieldwork was conducted in Ghana, UK and Japan. Data are largely narrative derived from in-depth interviews with more than 100 informants. Critical incident analysis is employed as the main interpretative strategy. The thesis conceptualises instances of inter-organisational learning (TOL) in terms of theories of principals and agents, prisoners' dilemmas and women's place in community development. It shows (i) that IOL can be used to maintain and modify relations of control and dominance in partnership hierarchies, and (ii) that IOL serves as a by-product of horizontal relationships and be increased or reduced in the competition between partners for resources and identity. The influential role of individuals, beyond the boundaries of organisations is stressed through social networks and trust-based relations, as are instances of resistance to learning as a consequences of personal conflict. However, structural constraints in the aid system, as demonstrated by asymmetric access to resources, expertise, knowledge, status and networks, ultimately determine the quality of funding management schemes and an environment that stimulates mutual individual learning, which is advantageous circumstances may lead to organisational learning and inter-organisational learning.