Browsing by Author "Brewster, Chris"

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    An Anglo Swedish Comparison of Employee Participation in the Banking Sector
    (Cranfield University, 1994-09) Holden, L. T.; Jackson, A. C.; Brewster, Chris
    The purpose of this research was to compare employee participation practices in a Swedish and a British bank. There has been considerable interest in human resource management over the past decade, of which employee participation forms an important part, but there have been very few studies which attempt a qualitative comparison of international aspects of this subject. By using a wider study, the Price Waterhouse Cranfield Project on . International Human Resource Management, a European context is provided for the case study material, which examines in depth the forms and outcomes of employee participation in a Swedish and British setting. A triangulation methodology was employed using two questionnaires given to employees of each organisation, a series of in-depth interviews, a reading of company documentation and personal visits. This enabled the use of a multiple of approaches with the questionnaires providing a framework for the in-depth interviews. Four hypotheses were posed which offered tentative explanations for the similarities and differences in employee participation practices in Sweden and Britain. The findings were then analysed using Poole's Framework of Participation which proposes a number of contingent factors which influence the outcomes of employee participation. The thesis showed that Swedes allow greater participation in the workplace than the British, explanations of which are rooted in the cultural and ideological differences of the two societies. Secondly, it was shown that the drive for profit or financial stability will override participation mechanisms if it is felt necessary for survival. Thirdly, HRM techniques of employee participation are used mainly at a micro (workplace) level in the organisation as they can safely be distanced from any strategic decision making. Thus the strength of employee participation is very much anchored to the latent power of employees which is influenced by convergent forces such as economic, technological and political factors, and divergent forces such as cultural and ideological factors.
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    Balancing rigour and relevance: the case for methodological pragmatism in conducting large scale multi-country comparative management studies
    (Wiley, 2020-04-27) Parry, Emma; Farndale, Elaine; Brewster, Chris; Morley, Michael J.
    Collecting large‐scale comparative management data from multiple countries poses challenges in demonstrating methodological rigour, including the need for representativeness. We examine the rigour of sample representativeness, the counterbalancing effect of sample relevance, and explore sampling options, equivalence across countries, data collection procedures and response rates. We identify the challenges posed by cross‐national survey data collection, and suggest that the ideal research designs presented in much of the literature might not be practical or desirable in large‐scale, multi‐time‐point, cross‐national comparative management studies because of the need to ensure relevance across such contexts. Using the example of Cranet – a large‐scale, multi‐time‐point, cross‐national survey of human resource management – we offer suggested solutions for balancing both rigour and relevance in research of this nature.
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    The career competencies of self-initiated and assigned expatriates: assessing the development of career capital over time
    (Taylor and Francis, 2016-05-04) Dickmann, Michael; Suutari, Vesa; Brewster, Chris; Mäkelä, Liisa; Tanskanen, Jussi; Tornikoski, Christelle
    Building on a modern careers approach, we assess the effects of working abroad on individuals’ career capital. Given the dearth of longitudinal studies, we return to a sample of economics graduates in Finland eight years later. We measure changes in three dimensions of career capital; ‘knowing how’, ‘knowing whom’, ‘knowing why’ and find that company assigned expatriates learn more than self-initiated expatriates. All three career capital areas benefit from international experience and all are increasingly valued over time. Based on our findings, we conclude that a dynamic notion of career capital acquisition and use is needed. Managerial implications include the need for a wider view of talent management for international businesses.
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    Career satisfaction of expatriates in humanitarian inter-governmental organizations
    (Elsevier, 2021-03-03) Lazarova, Mila; Dimitrova, Mihaela; Dickmann, Michael; Brewster, Chris; Cerdin, Jean-Luc
    We examine the careers of expatriates in an inter-governmental organization (IGO) who undertake a mix of hardship and non-hardship assignments. Considering the individual, organizational, and broader environmental domains, and using conservation of resources theory, we examine what contributes to such expatriates’ career satisfaction. Based on survey data, we find that career satisfaction is influenced by views of how their assignments fit their overall career and the procedural justice of their organization’s career management system. Since their careers – unlike careers in most multinational corporations (MNC) – are likely to include one or more hardship postings, we also look at whether these hardship postings are associated with lower career satisfaction. Our results provide support for such negative relationships only when IGO expatriates’ career motivations of dedication to cause and challenge-seeking are low. We contribute to a greater understanding of career success and expatriation outside the MNC ‘norm’ and to research on expatriation in extreme contexts.
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    A Case study examination of managerial activities in four UK trade unions formed by merger
    (Cranfield University, 2004-04) Dempsey, Michael; Brewster, Chris
    In 1985, the researcher took up employment in what he regarded as a senior management position as Assistant General Secretary (Administration) of NALGO, the public service union. The objective was to gain management experience alongside continuing management education. Whilst there were others seeking to manage to the best of their ability, the idea was not universally accepted. However, the union, by the end of the decade, had embarked on management development courses for senior managers and by the time it merged and became part of UNISON, managerial activities were visible in many areas. It was not, however, clear the extent to which – if at all – such phenomena were observable in other trade unions. The literature did not help in this respect. Research to establish whether trade union managers existed and, if so, what their roles were appeared to offer the prospect of examining a new area of trade union life. This research is based on interviews with 56 senior trade union staff in four trade unions formed by merger – CWU, PCS, UNiFI and UNISON. Only one of those individuals professed not to accept a managerial role and that person accepted that he had a responsibility to ensure that the union was managed. Original findings include the following:- • There is a category of employee in trade unions known as a ‘trade union manager’, a role not previously identified by empirical research and discussed in the literature. • Trade union management develops depending on the level of institutional support. In the case study unions, there were links between this and the stage of merger that the unions had reached. Prior to institutional acceptance, there are managers who do their best to manage, operating in something of a cocoon. • Trade union managers espouse trade union principles which include the notion of fairness, imputing a concern for the way people are treated, including the staff for whom they are responsible. • Management remains in many ways a problematic concept in trade unions, leading often to its undervaluation. Trade union managers may perceive that it involves the exercise of power of the powerless, judgment on the weak. Trade union managers may as a result be ambivalent at being judgmental and, consequently, at managing conduct or performance. • Trade union managers manage stakeholders in polyarchal organisations but boundaries with lay activists are unclear; they engage in contests to define those boundaries and to manage what they regard as their own responsibilities. • Boundaries may include those relating to conflictual relations, constitutional boundaries, moveable boundaries, staff boundaries and policy/political boundaries.
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    China : management in time of change
    (1988) Brewster, Chris
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    Culture : the international dimension.
    (1991) Brewster, Chris
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    Disaggregating the liberal market economies: Institutions and HRM
    (Sage, 2024-03-22) Brewster, Chris; Brookes, Michael; Wood, Geoffrey
    It has been argued that the different ways human resource management is conducted in different countries can be at least partly explained by theories of comparative capitalisms. Earlier work has highlighted much diversity between coordinated market economies, but the liberal markets are commonly assumed to represent a more coherent category. This article scrutinizes the latter assumption more closely by examining differences between the liberal market economies in their approaches to HRM. The authors find that the USA displays greater centralization in human resource management practices, higher turnover rates and less delegation to employees, than in the UK and Australia; this being associated with differences in institutional realities. The study highlights how, under a broad institutional archetype, specific systemic features may exert strong effects on specific HRM practices and challenges assumptions of close institutional coupling in the most advanced economies.
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    The effect of international work experience on the career success of expatriates: a comparison of assigned and self-initiated expatriates
    (Wiley, 2017-07-12) Suutari, Vesa; Brewster, Chris; Mäkelä, Liisa; Dickmann, Michael; Tornikoski, Christelle
    This paper examines the long-term effect of expatriation on careers, comparing the impact of international work experience on the career success of assigned and self-initiated expatriates. Our sample consists of employees who were working abroad in 2004 and we examine their subjective and objective career success eight years later. Despite the ‘dark side of international careers’ arguments associated with the repatriation literature, we find that the long-term impacts of international work experience on career success are generally positive and mainly unrelated to whether the work experience was acquired as an assigned or self-initiated expatriate. Companies recruit employees with international experience externally but are much more likely to offer further internal jobs to assigned expatriates. This reinforces the need for further research and for companies to see all those with international experience as important elements of the workforce.
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    Financing small businesses : a comparative study of Pakistani-immigrant businesses and UK-indigenous businesses in the travel trade
    (Cranfield University, 1997-09) Yousuf, Shahzad; Harper, M.; Brewster, Chris
    This research is about financing practices of Pakistani-immigrant and indigenous-owned small travel agents. The study provides an understanding of the capital structures of businesses owned by both groups and compares these to draw similarities and differences between both groups. The research integrates the "ethnic enclave" immigrant theory, the capital structure theory in particular the Pecking Order Hypothesis, the role of "networks" in business financing, and the business life-cycle theories. The research question and the research hypotheses emerged from the literature reviewed. Ten case studies, five Pakistani businesses and five indigenous businesses, confirmed the hypotheses which formed the basis of a survey of a large sample of sixty businesses, thirty in each group. The case study data is considered invaluable since it provided the real evidence of the sensitive nature of financial information in these businesses. The methodology adopted was a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. The findings of the study show that there are more similarities than differences among the capital structures of both groups of businesses. The nuclear family plays a crucial role throughout the life-cycle of the business in both groups. The role of family labour is not as prominent as among other industries such as Confectionery, Tobacconists, and Newsagents (CTN's). Informal sources of finance are preferred over formal sources by both groups of businesses due to their availability and lower cost. The Pecking Order Hypothesis theory applies to both groups of businesses. The main sources of formal finance were high street banks, bank overdrafts and loans. Pakistani businesses were not disadvantaged in any way by the formal providers of finance. This research is the first to report on the comparative capital structures among both groups of businesses. However, although considerable contribution has been made by this research to the small business finance literature further research should be conducted into the area.
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    Managing the global manager : new research data
    (1989) Brewster, Chris
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    New forms of international working
    (Cranfield University School of Management, 2000) Petrovic, Jelena; Harris, Hilary; Brewster, Chris
    The new forms of international working have emerged as a result of companies trying to answer the challenges coupled with the expatriate assignments. The alternative forms of the traditional assignment include shortterm, international commuter and frequent flyer assignments. As the number of international assignments continues to increase, and companies are increasingly adopting more flexible approaches to international assignments, it could be assumed that long-term assignments may now form only a small part of the total international workforce. This report represents summary of findings of the survey, and provides the background for the second stage of the research project. The second stage will consist of in-depth case studies in some of the participating companies, looking at the impact of these new developments from both the management and individual's perspective.
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    Overtime working in the U. K.
    (Cranfield University, 1990-09-01) Spink, R. M.; Brewster, Chris
    The key objectives for this research were to: () Provide a database in order to extend the knowledge and understanding of the management and use of overtime across the whole economy; ii) Review and test a range of research questions and hypotheses concerning specific problems and controversies surrounding the use of overtime. The research was structured within three main phases viz. desk-research, fieldwork and analysis. The Initial search for Improved U. K labour market management revealed overtime to be a key factor, equivalent to 1.5 million full time jobs, and apparently little understood. It had been forecast that overtime would fall In the late 1970s and 1980s and that this fall would result from the combined effects of: unemployment, uncompetitive unit labour costs and increasing management scrutiny. In the event overtime Increased considerably and continues to increase, confounding many of the soothsayers. In 1988-89, the cost of overtime to employers was £15,000 million, £5,000 million of which was the premium paid to secure the benefits which management must have considered the overtime would bring to their organisations. A research market gap was found regarding the use and management of overtime across the economy as a whole. Moreover, this knowledge would be needed since change remains an apparent inevitability. It was against this backdrop that overtime was investigated. Desk- research was directed at providing an unbounded literature review, addressing the key issues which surround the use of overtime. This review established that there is a high degree of controversy regarding the use of overtime and it facilitated the detailed design of the research questions and hypotheses. A multi-faceted methodology was developed to Investigate these questions and test the hypotheses. This Involved building on the desk-research, using two mutually supportive fieldwork techniques; firstly, a survey, using a mailed questionnaire, and secondly, a set of semi-ethnographic case studies. The Survey covered all economic sectors, sizes of establishment and regions of the U. K. It yielded 225 usable cases, representing over 40,000 employees and collected a wide range of statistical data regarding the use and management of overtime and structures and perceptions of working time. These results were analysed by reference to a number of structural variables, including: sector; regional location; size of establishment; type of worker and overtime levels. The resulting series formed a basis for standardised comparisons between the structural variables. A range of statistical data and significant associations and differences were established, providing a unique empirical database and thereby satisfying one of the key objectives of the research. Thus the survey produced a skeleton of statistical evidence, whereas the case studies built on this framework to give the detailed explanation and Interpretation needed for a better understanding of the processes involved. The results of both the desk-research and fieldwork were drawn together to help resolve the research questions and test the hypotheses. It was established that overtime detracts from operational flexibility, confounding the majority of managers who claimed flexibility-based reasons such as'unexpected demand' and 'emergency cover' as the prime explanations of their use of overtime. Indeed, about 75% of overtime was found to be systematic, insofar ash was predictable, and therefore operated either by management choice or default. The effects of overtime on employment were more significant than had been indicated in the literature. For example, the substitution of overtime for employment was found to be more widespread than most commentators had predicted, although managers did not readily yield to this fact. Conversely, worker dependency on overtime earnings was found to be much less common than previous research had allowed. In concert with the literature, however, dear and extensive evidence was found to associate overtime with ineffective management. A significant amount of overtime was simply unnecessary from an operational viewpoint, and the majority of the balance was ineffective In that it was less cost-effective than the alternatives. Such unnecessary and ineffective overtime was characterised by phenomena such as: mistaken management understanding of its application, effects and comparative costs; an inappropriate management decision process leading to its use; the improper and inadequate utilisation of management controls; employee control of the overtime and adverse employee welfare associated with its use. Notwithstanding the above conclusions, a minority of overtime was found to be an effective and rational means for management to satisfy demand and to meet corporate objectives.
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    A potential paradigm shift in global mobility? the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
    (Elsevier, 2023-12-08) Mello, Rodrigo; Erro-Garces, Amaya; Dickmann, Michael; Brewster, Chris
    The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected the global mobility (GM) policies of multinational enterprises (MNEs). Through interviews with policy decision-makers in 32 companies, we applied Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to examine how the pandemic accelerated changes in MNE policies and the management of GM. Our framework builds on contingency theory, traditionally concerned with aligning organizational policies with macro- and meso-level contextual factors. We extend this by integrating micro-level individual variables, such as career aspirations and well-being, as contingent factors influencing GM practices. There is variation in GM responses in relation to the volume of GM activities, GM-related policies, investments in digitalization and technology, and variations in mobility types. We observed a potential paradigm shift that affords employees greater agency in their global mobility paths, thereby greater granularity to contingency theory. This nuanced approach opens new research avenues and equips organizational leaders with a comprehensive set of variables for GM decision-making. Our findings indicate lasting global mobility changes but foresee gradual implementation due to associated risks.
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    Repatriation : factors related to individuals' expectations of international assignments
    (Cranfield University, 1999-10) Pickard, Juana; Brewster, Chris
    This thesis is concerned with understanding the expectations that corporate employees form about the work- and career-related outcomes of an international assignment. Such expectations are frequently cited as being "unreasonable" and a major source of problems in the repatriation and reintegration of international returnees. There is, however, a lack of research evidence to indicate when these expectations form, how they change with time, or what factors influence their formation. The research takes a UK perspective in view of the comparatively low levels of research into British international assignees in general and their motivations and expectations in particular. The author believes this to be the first study devoted exclusively to the expectations of international assignees. The main stage of this research comprised of a postal survey to collect information about international assignees, about their work-related and career- related expectations, and about a number of factors which might prove to be precursors or predictors of expectations. Data were captured from a comparatively homogeneous population comprising British employees of profit-making companies. The main contribution of this thesis is an increase in our understanding of the work-related and career-related expectations that corporate employees form when assigned overseas. In particular, the thesis increases our knowledge of when these expectations form; how they vary with time; and what personal characteristics, actions taken by the employing organisation, and characteristics of the assignment itself affect those expectations during the course of an international assignment. A secondary contribution of this thesis is to identify a number of classes or categories of assignment that appear to be intrinsically associated with different types and degrees of expectation.