John Mendy

Learning from failure: A study of failed enterprises of self-employed African migrants in the UK

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the high failure among African entrepreneurs post-2008 financial crisis. It evaluates the evidence of actual and perceived disadvantage and endogenous and exogenous factors affecting black and minority ethnic businesses. Design/methodology/approach The research is based on an interpretivist frame which uses a dialogic methodology. It uses in-depth interviews. The researchers framed discussion questions so as to invite the participants to articulate directly their experiences for the benefit of the readership, other existing African businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs. Findings The findings from the interviews with 20 leaders of “dead” businesses indicate the impact that place, people and poverty have on business failure and identify reasons for African business failure rates compared to other minorities. This study reveals that culture, an often understated variable, is critical in understanding the deeper reasons for the under-performance of African small entrepreneurs and its impacts on individual and collective lives. Practical implications Recovery solutions ought to be formulated from participants’ call for diversification, inter-cultural learning and integration as potential remedies. The research addresses the socio-economic problems encountered by owners of “dead” businesses. Policymakers and financial organisations ought to pay heed to the skills and resources that minorities offer as part of remedies for future enterprises. Originality/value Studies on failed African businesses are under-represented in the literature. This study identifies the important role of culture on the failure of small businesses owned by African migrants in the UK. It highlights the significant socio-economic and situational barriers that they navigate in quest for recognition and cultural integration through business endeavours.

Employees’ witnessed presence in changing organisations

In recent years, governments, businesses and other organisations have increasingly been forced to attempt to survive by reorganising themselves fundamentally. Although this happens at present on a large scale, it is not unprecedented. In fact, most organisations have had to change their working practises at some time for some reason—for example, when the competition catches up or when technology threatens to make production obsolete. The usual strategy is to fire part of the staff and to redistribute tasks. This tends to put a heavy burden on staff. They have to search for other jobs or attempt re-skilling. Those remaining may face substantial changes in their relations to their managers, who will require changes … ‘or else’. The study reported in the paper focuses on people’s reactions to this approach. Some employees accept and leave. Others become aware of an opportunity to damage their company. Others again see a way to resist and change the way the managers behave and thereby turn around the company and maintain or increase the number of jobs. The study focuses on two questions. The first is how one should model or describe the behaviour of people in the third category, i.e. those wishing to contribute. It does not seem useful to follow one’s first hunch, i.e. to search for quantifiable patterns. People’s behaviour will always be contextualised as a reaction to what managers do. This suggests the use of qualitative methods. The second question is whether the concept of presence may clarify the behaviour and identify ways for employees to contribute positively to changes in their organisations. An obstacle to answering the second question is that qualitative methods focus on people’s experiences in some context, and on the emergence of their behaviour, but do not necessarily lead to suggestions on how to behave with what effect. It is attempted to answer the second question and thereby the first question with the aim of identifying what people may do who are not immediately fired or made redundant when fundamental organisational changes are introduced. Data have been collected from four companies that decided to initiate such changes in 2003–2004.

Application of human resource management's universal model: An examination of people versus institutions as barriers of internationalization for SMEs in a small developing country

Although the importance of people and institutions has been highlighted in MNE studies, the association between people, institutions and the internationalization of SMEs is under explored from a small developing country context. We examine theories subsumed under the Universal Model of HRM onto SMEs to study the hypothesized people and institutionally-orientated barriers posed to SMEs’ internationalization. Using quantitative analysis, the impacts of the barriers on internationalization are highlighted with particular attention to employer attractiveness. Following extant literature review, this study has used primary data collected through questionnaires from 212 Bangladeshi SMEs. We developed and validated partial least square based structural equation model (PLS-SEM) to assess the impacts and successfully framed People versus Institutional barriers as a second order hierarchical reflective model which has not been done previously. Given their marginal significance over institutions, people-oriented cultural barriers should be included as an extension of the Universal Model to study SME internationalization

Teaching human resources and organizational behavior at the college level

New aspects of human resource management and organizational behavior have emerged in recent years. As such, it has become imperative to facilitate proper educational initiatives for professionals entering these fields. Teaching Human Resources and Organizational Behavior at the College Level is an essential reference source for the latest empirical research on emerging teaching strategies for business-oriented frameworks. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics and perspectives such as talent development, curriculum development, and career competencies, this book is ideally designed for students, practitioners, and managers seeking current research on learning methodologies and conceptual developments in human resources management. Topics Covered The many academic areas covered in this publication include, but are not limited to: · Business Leadership · Career Competencies · Curriculum Development · Human Resource Analytics · Organizational Performance · Talent Development · Teamwork Table of Contents and List of Contributors Search this Book: Preface John Mendy Chapter 1 Key HRM Challenges and Benefits: The Contributions of the HR Scaffolding (pages 1-24) John Mendy Whilst HRM is responding to organizational challenges, HRM tutors have to deal with avoiding labour imposition (Mather et al., 2007) and ensuring... Key HRM Challenges and Benefits: The Contributions of the HR Scaffolding Chapter 2 Undergraduate Programs in the U.S: A Contextual and Content-Based Analysis (pages 26-57) Steven D. Charlier, Lisa A. Burke-Smalley, Sandra L. Fisher Given the importance of human resource management skills both in management education and business in general, an empirical review of undergraduate... Undergraduate Programs in the U.S: A Contextual and Content-Based Analysis Chapter 3 Creating University Spaces of Inspiration: Examining the Critical Link Between Leading and Lecturing (pages 59-101) Iain Densten Our review and research examines the power bases and influences university lecturers can deploy to motivate their students to learn. Lecturers are... Creating University Spaces of Inspiration: Examining the Critical Link Between Leading and Lecturing Chapter 4 Rethinking the Contribution of Organizational Change to the Teaching and Learning of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management: The Quest for Balance (pages 103-132) John Mendy One of the great attributes of acting as a Human Resource Manager is being reasonable. One may not know what is best for a company but one should be... Rethinking the Contribution of Organizational Change to the Teaching and Learning of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management: The Quest for Balance Chapter 5 Embedding Career Competencies in Learning and Talent Development: Career Management and Professional Development Modules (pages 133-171) Sue Mulhall, Mark Campbell The chapter researches theoretical positions and practical applications that enable educationalists to equip students with the knowledge and skills... Embedding Career Competencies in Learning and Talent Development: Career Management and Professional Development Modules Chapter 6 The Call to Teach Human Capital Analytics (pages 173-195) Clive Trusson The Human Resource Management profession has increasingly taken an interest in applying analytical techniques to data collected concerning... The Call to Teach Human Capital Analytics Chapter 7 Teaching Teamwork in University Settings (pages 196-210) Lesley A. Clack Teamwork is essential to the success of any organization, as well as to the success of employees. Particularly in multidisciplinary professions... Teaching Teamwork in University Settings Chapter 8 Putting Across Tangibility: Effectiveness of Case-Study-Based Teaching of Organisational Behaviour (pages 211-225) Dieu Hack-Polay This chapter examines a case study-approach to teaching organisational behaviour. It explains the effectiveness of the use of case study in teaching... Putting Across Tangibility: Effectiveness of Case-Study-Based Teaching of Organisational Behaviour About the Contributors Index Description | Table of Contents | Topics Covered | Author(s)/Editor(s) Bio | Indices Author(s)/Editor(s) Biography John is currently a Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for Full-Time MSc HRM. He is interested in Research, Teaching and Learning Methodologies, HRM and Organisational Behaviour, how to manage relationships between international graduates, home graduates and other employees and smart cities as learning cities. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK, an Associate Editor of Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, Member of British Academy of Management and the European Academy of Management and a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, UK. He teaches on Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes and supervises PhD candidates. He continues to publish in refereed journals and presents his work at international conferences.

And labor came to us: making use of an opportune workforce - enhancing migrant integration into British economy

This article considers the opportunities presented by the availability of migrant labor in the U.K. employment market and its utilization. The research found that despite their qualifications, migrant labor is underutilized, thereby resulting in a readily available workforce being shunned and excluded from participative integration. This raises economic and ethical questions whose exploration revealed structural barriers (individually, communally, and institutionally) that impeded migrants’ fulfillment of citizenship obligations to host communities and U.K. businesses. The article’s key contribution is to highlight a skills mismatch and the persistent absence of institutional, communal, and strategic frameworks to support migrants’ integration.