Management research to boost UK competitiveness
Previous Article Next Article The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has put its weight behindthe push for UK competitiveness with the launch of a new management researchinitiative. Funded by £17m of taxpayers’ money over five years, the Advanced Institutefor Management (AIM) will bring together people from universities, industry andgovernment. It follows the setting up of the Centre for Excellence in Management andLeadership (CEML) by the DTI and the DfEE in 2000 and will take forward some ofCEML’s recommendations. AIM will also address ESRC’s long-standing concernabout the quality of management research in the UK, and concern from theGovernment, CBI and other bodies about the apparent gap in productivity betweenbusinesses based in the UK and those in other countries. AIM is headed by Anne Sigismund Huff, who took up her appointment asdirector in mid-January. Huff’s career includes professorships of strategicmanagement at UCLA, the University of Illinois, the University of Colorado andCranfield School of Management. Her research interests focus on strategicchange, and she is past-president of the Academy of Management, aninternational research-oriented organisation. “The main objective is to have an impact on national competitiveness,but the immediate objective is to improve the nature of research onmanagement,” said Huff. One of her first tasks is to draw up an advisoryboard to help identify a programme of research and development relevant tobusiness needs. Huff’s initial dialogues will involve people from the researchcommunity, business, and government. “AIM will try to draw together activities now occurring in relativeisolation. I’m particularly interested in pulling together company concernswith issues from research. We want to have a set of company partners involvedin specific research on issues they are concerned about.” AIM will have its own website and a series of public forums is planned,drawing on AIM Fellows from the UK and overseas. The first such programmeshould be under way in the next six or seven months. As work progresses, paperpublications will also be produced. Deputy director of research at the ESRC, Adrian Alsop, said: “If theinitiative works well we shall have a more effective, sustainable partnershipbetween the best UK academic researchers on management issues and people inbusiness. There will also be research outcomes in their own right which wewould expect to shed light on issues which are relevant to the productivitygap.” Huff added: “I anticipate that if it is successful, the project willhave a longer presence than its initial five-year horizon. That depends on theresults we can achieve.” By Elaine Essery Management research to boost UK competitivenessOn 1 Feb 2002 in Personnel Today Comments are closed. Related posts:No related photos.
Related posts:No related photos. Comments are closed. This month’s Going globalBarry K AllenHas joined Qwest Communications International as executive vice presidentand chief HR officer. Allen brings more than 25 years of senior managementexperience in the high-tech, telecoms and healthcare sectors to Qwest. QwestCommunications International is a leader in reliable, scalable and securebroadband data, voice and image communications for businesses and consumers. Rolf DeusingerIs the new executive vice-president for group HR at ICI. He will also be amember of the company’s executive management team. Prior to the move he wassenior vice-president for HR in ICI Paints, having joined the group in 1999. Hehas held senior international HR roles with several leading multinationalcompanies based in Germany and the US. Paul HarropHas taken over as director of HR for Europe at energy service firm AEP.Harrop began his career in the Royal Air Force and following his retirement hejoined Cathay Pacific Airways in Hong Kong where he spent 10 years managing HRinitiatives around the world. In his most recent position, as director ofHR-Europe for clinical research company Kendle International, he led EuropeanHR in the UK, France, Holland, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland and Australia. Donald E HillierHas been appointed senior vice-president, HR, at global IT consultancy firmKeane. Hillier, a 30-year veteran of the insurance industry, brings to Keane adepth of experience in multinational HR, strategic planning and employeecommunications along with a proven track record of improving organisationalperformance in environments of rapid change. Robert W Lincoln JRHas joined Manpower in the newly-created position of senior vice-president,global human resources. Lincoln will report directly to Jeffrey A Joerres,chairman and CEO of Manpower. Certified by the Society of Human ResourcesManagement as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Lincoln has 25years of experience in HR management. Margie MaderHas been appointed vice-president of HR at US-based Hyperion. Mader willplay a key role in attracting and retaining Hyperion’s global workforce. She isresponsible for worldwide HR and facilities management for Hyperion’s workforceof 2,300. Hyperion is a supplier of business performance management software. Ian MarshallHas joined UK-based Kalido Group as vice-president of HR. Marshall’s responsibilitieswill include international organisational development and performance andemployment strategies. The Group markets software that integrates disparateinformation from across the enterprise for use in business intelligencereporting and performance management. Remote working, remote control Figures from the UK’s Institute of Employment Studies show a sharp rise inthe number of teleworkers and demonstrate the employers’ willingness to adapt. However, many are failing to recognise the new dynamics of this workingenvironment as the ability to give instant employee feedback and recognition islost. Although improved technologies – such as broadband internet connections andmultimedia portable computers – are now affordable and allow staff to work fromalmost any location, these systems do not answer all the demands of theoff-site employee. Teleworking is about more than just the practical systems that enable staffto write e-mails from the bath. It is about adopting a completely new way ofworking, including adaptable hierarchies and the ability to manage, motivateand empower staff from a distance. The real challenge for organisations is to implement affordable HR systemsdesigned for unconventional ways of working, while at the same time retaining atraditional approach to performance management. Web-based technology makes it possible for the first time to openmeasurement, feedback and review channels throughout the organisation, ensuringstaff in disparate locations are given equal attention. But recognising and reacting to the contribution of staff is the key tomanaging the new mobile workforce. Linda Cooper, director consulting services, Odysseyzone.com Ltd London Previous Article Next Article Going globalOn 1 Sep 2002 in Personnel Today
NHS lures doctors back by using ‘golden hellos’On 7 Jan 2003 in Personnel Today Doctors returning to the NHS are eligible for ‘golden hellos’ of up to£12,000 under a new initiative aimed at boosting hospital recruitment. The scheme was introduced in April 2001 for doctors joining the NHS for thefirst time. But it has now been extended to doctors and consultants returningto the NHS fold, and has been increased from £10,000 to £12,000. The national ‘Returners’ campaign will offer advice, training and support toGPs, consultants and doctors who are not currently working in the NHS. It aimsto offer returning doctors a clear route back into the NHS with the option ofworking either full- or part-time. Doctors will now be able to organise their hours on an annual basis, workingdifferent hours at certain times of the year – more hours during term time andfewer during school holidays, for example. The scheme will also provide more support for returnees including childcare,counselling services and mentoring. David Amos, deputy director of HR at the Department of Health, is optimisticthe scheme will help the NHS meet some of its staffing shortages. “We know there are a lot of doctors out there who aren’t working in theNHS and some want to come back. “This increases the opportunities and objectives we’ve got to meetgrowth targets,” he said. Returning doctors will receive fully-funded refresher training, and supportfrom returner co-ordinators and educational supervisors. Comments are closed. Previous Article Next Article Related posts:No related photos.
Previous Article Next Article On the moveOn 3 Jun 2003 in Personnel Today Paul Pagliari has been appointed as a lay member of the Employment AppealsTribunal. He will continue his duties as HR director of Scottish Water, whilefulfilling his new responsibilities on a part-time basis. The Employers Organisation for Local Government (EO) has recruited KellySandiford as assistant director of skills development. She joins from theLondon Borough of Lambeth, where she had a role managing front-line services.Sandiford will be responsible for delivering a practical framework for workforceplanning and staff development. She will also play a major role in buildingworkforce skills to meet service delivery targets. Donna Campbell has been promoted to training and development manager at theBeardmore Conference Hotel in Glasgow. This new role includes developing andimplementing a comprehensive training and development programme for all hotelstaff. Campbell joined the Beardmore when it first opened nine years ago, andwas formerly its executive housekeeper. The US-based Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has announcedthatJ Robert Carr will be the new vice-president for HR and strategic planning.With nearly 27 years of experience, Carr has a broad range of HR expertise inthe Government, non-profit and higher education sectors. Carr is managingpartner of Carr & Associates – a consulting firm in Washington, providinglegal and advisory services. Comments are closed. Related posts:No related photos.
Previous Article Next Article HR needs to improve its wooing skillsIt seems that HR has a truckload of work to do on interviewing techniques,if Reed’s jobseeker survey is anything to go by (News, 23 March). We’re all battling to recruit the right people and unemployment is at an alltime low, yet we’re failing to take the interview process seriously. Two out ofthree candidates are turning down jobs because they are unimpressed at best,and cheesed off at worst, by the interview they’ve had. Part of the problem of course is those damned line managers, who are doingdaft things such as swearing during interviews, flirting with candidates andtaking phone calls at inappropriate moments. HR needs to be pushing more basic training for interview skills. And we’vegot to sharpen our act and lead by example. We need to remember, for instance,to do the little things – such as reading a person’s CV before interviewingthem. Let’s push the cause for common courtesy. Insisting that all job applicantsare replied to within a certain time frame, whether they’re suitable for aninterview or not, is a good start. Last week, Personnel Today asked readers to write in and tell us about theirworst interview experience with a prospective employer. Here’s just a taste ofsome of the replies: – ‘I was left in an office for 40 minutes waiting for a manager to meet me.They finally turned up totally unprepared.’ – ‘I was interviewed by a deputy manager while the senior manager read anewspaper.’ – ‘The interview I had seemed to be for a different job than the one I hadapplied for.’ – ‘An area manager stated halfway through my interview: “So you’re alesbian, then”.’ HR – we have a problem…Hartley is an HR director at large HR HartleyOn 30 Mar 2004 in Personnel Today Comments are closed. Related posts:No related photos.
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Has “normal business hours” become a thing of the past? These days, I rarely meet anyone who almost immediately following waking up in the morning, wont grab their phone from the bedside to check their email, or who considers their nights to be personal or family time, which not so long ago seemed the norm. What is it about modern day issues and work problems that are more important than those that we were facing years ago that can’t wait until the next day? Or is it a simple case that our ability to prioritize is being depleted due to such ease of systems access which allows many organisations’ staff to turn any computer, laptop, tablet or mobile device into a make-shift work station?I’m as guilty as the next person of the late night emails and struggling to switch off but I’m one of the lucky ones who enjoys what I do enough that it doesn’t feel like a chore. What about those who aren’t as lucky and feel like they don’t have the pressure release of being able to go home and un-wind?Human nature dictates that if we get too used to something, it becomes habitual and we begin to expect it. This being the case, if this isn’t carefully managed, how long will it be before being “switched on” at all times is an expected part of a job as opposed to it being a sign of an engaged and happy employee who will strive to go above and beyond any contractual obligations? Don’t get me wrong, the huge emphasis which these days is placed on interoperability and mobility of internal systems of course is a great thing and phenomenal feat in technology advancement but with it comes the potential for more risk, more pressure and more un-happy staff if it is not managed well. HR: Does business hours mean all hours?Shared from missc on 9 Dec 2014 in Personnel Today
Plasma insulin and growth hormone levels were measured during morning and afternoon oral glucose tolerance tests performed on 12 young men at three monthly intervals in the Antarctic. No diurnal or seasonal differences in growth hormone levels were found. However there were diurnal and seasonal variations in the blood glucose/plasma insulin relationship.
The plasmapause and the mid-latitude ionospheric trough have been observed simultaneously from two Antarctic stations, Halley and Faraday, during five winter nights covering a range of geomagnetic disturbance conditions. The equatorial radius of the plasmapause was measured using whistlers recorded at Halley, whilst the poleward edge of the trough was located from ionospheric soundings at one or other of the stations. Before midnight the trough was well poleward of the plasmapause (by 1–2 L) when first observed (typically at ~21 LT), but then moved rapidly equatorwards. After local magnetic midnight the two features were roughly coincident, and in general moved slowly to lower L-shells with increasing local time. At no time were there simultaneous and identical movements of the two features, suggesting a lack of coupling between them. Agreement of the observations with statistical studies and models was fair, given the considerable variability among the five cases studied. For the geomagnetically quieter nights the trough data fit the Spiro model predictions, whereas in the most disturbed case, agreement is better with the Quegan et al. model. The latter model predicts a difference in L between the two features which would fit the data better if shifted 1–2 h later in local time.
Recent observations from the EISCAT incoherent scatter radar have revealed bursts of poleward ion flow in the dayside auroral ionosphere which are consistent with the ionospheric signature of flux transfer events at the magnetopause. These bursts frequently contain ion drifts which exceed the neutral thermal speed and, because the neutral thermospheric wind is incapable of responding sufficiently rapidly, toroidal, non‐Maxwellian ion velocity distributions are expected. The EISCAT observations are made with high time resolution (15 seconds) and at a large angle to the geomagnetic field (73.5°), allowing the non‐Maxwellian nature of the distribution to be observed remotely for the first time. The observed features are also strongly suggestive of a toroidal distribution: characteristic spectral shape, increased scattered power (both consistent with reduced Landau damping and enhanced electric field fluctuations) and excessively high line‐of‐sight ion temperatures deduced if a Maxwellian distribution is assumed. These remote sensing observations allow the evolution of the distributions to be observed. They are found to be non‐Maxwellian whenever the ion drift exceeds the neutral thermal speed, indicating that such distributions can exist over the time scale of the flow burst events (several minutes).