Mohamed Branine

Graduate recruitment and selection in the UK: a study of the recent changes in methods and expectations

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the changes in the methods of graduate recruitment and selection that have been used by UK‐based organisations and to establish the reasons for the main changes and developments in the process of attracting and recruiting graduates.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through the use of a structured questionnaire. Questionnaires were sent to 700 UK‐based employers selected from the Prospects Directory, the Graduate Employment and Training (GET) Directory and the Times Top 100 Graduate Recruiters. The response rate was just over 50 per cent and the data were analysed by using the statistical analysis software SPSS. The variables used were organisation size, recruitment methods, selection methods, cost, skills and reasons for the use of methods.Findings – The analysis has shown that all employers, regardless of organisation size or activity type, tend to use more sophisticated, objective and cost‐effective methods of recruitment and selection than before. T...

Human resource management with Islamic management principles: A dialectic for a reverse diffusion in management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and contents of Islamic management practices and their consequent implications for human resource management (HRM) in Arab countries. In addition, it aims to examine the implications for multinational companies (MNCs) operating in Islamic countries and the impact of globalisation before proceeding to an analysis of managerial problems in Arab countries and the need for understanding Islamic management principles by Arab (national) and international managers.Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a qualitative approach based on an extensive review of relevant literature and the employment of examples from selected Arab countries.Findings – The study reveals that a gap exists between the theory of Islamic management and the practice of management in Arab countries. Management in Arab countries is informed and heavily influenced by non‐Islamic traditional and national cultural values and norms of different countries and by Wester...

Cross-cultural training of managers: an evaluation of a management development programme for Chinese managers

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to provide an evaluation of how Chinese managers perceive and respond to training and management development programmes that have been designed and delivered by Western experts, and of the extent to which such programmes have been successful in achieving their learning outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – Data have been collected from experience of a management development programme for Chinese managers in 20 state‐owned enterprises, and from interviews with 45 senior Chinese managers and officials who had been involved in a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the training of Chinese managers.Findings – It was found that although considerable efforts had been made to train the largest possible number of managers, there was still a gap between what Chinese managers could do and what they had been expected to do in order to meet the demands of increasing economic reforms. Limited resources, inadequate means, traditional ways of learning, power relati...

Observations on training and management development in the People’s Republic of China

Gives an eye‐witness account of how training and management development policies are put into practice in Chinese state‐owned enterprises. Makes observations on how training is perceived and implemented in a period of rapid economic change. Also discusses the contribution that western countries could make and the obstacles that could be met, as a result. Draws evidence for these observations from the author’s involvement in a major United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the design and teaching of management strategy and human resource management courses to cohorts of managers from selected Chinese foreign trade corporations (FTCs). Asserts that, despite much effort being made to train and develop as many managers as possible, there is still an urgent need for appropriate management training programmes that could meet the quest for skilful and efficient managers who would be able to cope with the managerial demands of increasing economic reforms. Argues, therefore, that there is a gap between the abilities and the process of developing Chinese managers on the one hand and what is required from them for exploiting the economic reform on the other. The process of introducing and implementing training programmes in the People’s Republic of China is characterized by a clear emphasis on quantitative rather than qualitative knowledge and by a poor appreciation of training priorities, because of the way in which management is perceived and managers are controlled.

Part‐time work and jobsharing in health care: is the NHS a family‐friendly employer?

This paper examines the nature and level of flexible employment in the National Health Service (NHS) by investigating the extent to which part-time work and job sharing arrangements are used in the provision and delivery of health care. It attempts to analyse the reasons for an increasing number of part-timers and a very limited number of job sharers in the NHS and to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each pattern of employment. Data collected through the use of questionnaires and interviews from 55 NHS trusts reveal that the use of part-time work is a tradition that seems to fit well with the cost-saving measures imposed on the management of the service but at the same time it has led to increasing employee dissatisfaction, and that job sharing arrangements are suitable for many NHS employees since the majority of them are women with a desire to combine family commitments with career prospects but a very limited number of employees have had the opportunity to job share. Therefore it is concluded that to attract and retain the quality of staff needed to ensure high performance standards in the provision and delivery of health care the NHS should accept the diversity that exists within its workforce and take a more proactive approach to promoting a variety of flexible working practices and family-friendly policies.

Ageism in work and employment: thinking about connections

Emphasizes the universality, variety and scope of ageism. Considers why systematic investigation of the phenomenon has begun in recent years and how it has become a subject of political argument and debate. Suggests how thinking about ageism should be linked to the study of many economic, social and political factors. Argues that two contrasting theories, commodification and greening, may be useful in exploring the ways in which ageism influences and is influenced by the unfolding development of contemporary advanced, and many developing, societies.

Part-time work in the public health service of Denmark, France and the UK

The aim of this paper is to consider the extent to which and the ways in which part-time work is used in the health services of Denmark, France and the UK. The reasons for and the implications of introducing part-time work in the three EU countries are also analysed and compared. Data were collected using questionnaires and interviews from hospitals in Denmark, France and the UK. Questionnaires were completed by heads of department and by part-time employees. Interviews (for the UK sample only) were held with the managers responsible for the introduction of flexible working practices. The findings show that part-time employment is the most common flexible working practice in the health services of all three countries but that the purpose of its introduction differs from one country to another. Part-time work seemed to have satisfied the desire of those who run the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK for cost reduction and for flexibility of working practices. In the French health service it was aimed ...

Managing across cultures: concepts, policies and practices

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Why Study Managing across Cultures? The Meaning and Importance of Managing across Cultures Contexts and the Cultural Dilemma of Managing across Cultures Part I Case Study Bob over the Globe - Chevron and Saudi Aramco PART TWO: MANAGING IN ANGLO-SAXON COUNTRIES The USA and Canada The UK and Ireland Australia and New Zealand Part II Case Study 9/11 - The Effects and Organizational Response PART THREE: MANAGING IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES Japan and South Korea China and Hong Kong Indonesia and Malaysia Part III Case Study The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis PART FOUR: MANAGING IN WESTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES Belgium and France Germany and The Netherlands Denmark, Norway and Sweden Greece, Italy and Spain Part IV Case Study EU Enlargement and Its Implications for Work and Employment PART FIVE: MANAGING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES African Countries Arab Countries India Central and Eastern Europe South America Part V Case Study Making Poverty History PART SIX: CONCLUSION Emerging Issues and Future Challenges in Managing across Cultures

Human resource management in Algeria

Managing Human Resources in the Middle East provides the reader with an understanding of the dynamics of HRM in this important region. Systematic analysis highlights the main factors and variables dictating HRM policies and practices within each country. Diverse and unique cultural, institutional and business environment factors which play a significant role in determining HRM systems in the region are also elaborated upon. The text moves from a general overview of HRM in the Middle-East to an exploration of the current status, role and strategic importance of the HR function in a wide-range of country-specific chapters, before highlighting the emerging HRM models and future challenges for research, policy and practice. This text is invaluable reading for academics, students and practitioners alike.

Ageism and the labour process: towards a research agenda

Offers a fairly general discussion of the significance of ageism in work and employment and then proceeds to suggest that labour process researchers might very usefully pay some attention to it. Writers about the labour process tend to emphasize the issue of labour exploitation and gender and race discrimination but, to some extent, seem to overlook the problem of ageism in work and employment. In this context, considers the character of links between a number of economic and social phenomena and ageism, namely life cycles, divisions of labour, managerialism and industrialization. Specific aspects of ageism in the UK are discussed and the need for debate and policy formulation about the issue of ageism is called for.