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About this book -- About the authors -- Acknowledgements -- The context and meaning of change -- Organizations and their changing environments -- The nature of organizational change -- Changing organizations -- Organizational design, structure and change -- Culture and change -- Power, politics and change -- Leadership styles and leading change -- Strategies for managing change -- Hard systems models of change -- Soft systems models for change -- Future directions and challenges -- References -- Author index -- Subject index

PurposeTo investigate the level of organizational commitment in agency workers compared with permanent workers by taking into account relations between the two groups.Design/methodology/approachA mixed methods design was employed comprising of a quantitative survey of 157 call centre workers followed by 29 qualitative interviews with permanent workers, agency workers and employers.FindingsAgency workers had a significantly lower level of organizational commitment compared with permanent workers once the relation between agency and permanent workers was controlled. Significant correlations were found within the sample between organizational commitment, being valued and job satisfaction further supported by a hierarchical multiple linear regression.Research limitations/implicationsAs with all cross‐sectional research causality cannot be confirmed and difficulty accessing call centre workers led to a restricted sample size. The measurement of worker relations needs developing. Further research is proposed to address these limitations and extend the findings.Practical implicationsThe implication for human resource management is that employers must be aware of the possible adverse influence that agency workers may have on permanent workers and as such try to incorporate agency workers within the organization to support their commitment.Originality/valuePrevious studies have found inconsistent variations in the relative organizational commitment of permanent and temporary employees; a counter‐intuitive finding given the precarious employment contract held by temporary workers. This study casts light on these results by controlling for the relation between agency workers and permanent workers.

Previous research into the reliability of the "Belbin" team role self‐perception inventory has concluded that internal consistency reliability is poor, raising concerns about the validity of the inventory as a selection and development tool. This paper argues that, in overcoming the problem of unequal scale lengths between respondents, researchers have tampered with the true error variance contained within item response sets, leading to a misapplication of Cronbach's alpha in this case. Using weighted average inter‐item correlation coefficients in a formula unrelated to scale length, alternative estimates of the internal consistency reliability of the TRSPI's scales are derived. For a large data set (n=5,003), results show that the internal consistency of item responses is better than previous research suggests and tends towards the boundary at which internal consistency is considered acceptable in social and psychological research.

While exploring the relationships between the strength of an individual's team roles and his or her cognitive styles, this study examines the convergent validity of the Team Role Self-Perception Inventory (TRSPI) with Kirton's Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI). Data were obtained from two samples of 109 managers and 114 students. Results from students were compared to those obtained by Fisher, Macrosson, and Wong (1998) to explore differences arising from the use of Cattell, Eber, and Tatsuoka's (1970) 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) and the TRSPI. Data from managers were used to examine convergence between team role preferences and cognitive styles. The TRSPI showed convergent validity with Kirton's cognitive styles. KAI subscale correlations were more coherent than those obtained by Fisher et al. probably due to misinterpretation of innovative and adaptive subscale scores. Cognitive style differences were found in the two samples. Future research and practical implications for team-building interventions and team performance are discussed.

In the context of the widespread and extensive use of team work in organizations this study analyses the relationship between individual team role preference and styles of managing interpersonal conflict. Data were collected from 26 work teams containing 169 individuals at two times four months apart. Results show that team role preference is related to Dominating, Integrating, Avoiding, Compromising and Obliging conflict management styles. Moreover, two different effects were observed over time. Firstly, at Time 2 an increase in the role clarity (reduction of role ambiguity) of team members was observed. Secondly, time pressure and team learning processes moderated the relationship between team roles and conflict managing style. Results have theoretical as well as practical implications for team building programmes in search of integrative solutions to conflict.

Abstract
This paper explores how the grand strategies of a Slovenian firm, LEK, evolved during the period 1992–2002. Using a unique methodological framework, data was collected qualitatively from published sources in order to identify and explore the strategic actions that LEK realized. The findings showed that LEK realized organic growth and external finance‐raising strategies together with a number of incremental strategic actions such as those relating to mergers and acquisitions and organic concentric diversification.
By focusing upon how the strategies and strategic actions realized by LEK evolved over an 11‐year period, this paper has contributed to a gap in the existing literature about strategy development by pharmaceutical firms based in transitional economies.
Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PurposeGuided by institutional theory, this empirical paper examines variations in the adoption of HRM practices among SMEs in three different business sectors (services, manufacturing and trade).Design/methodology/approachData from 300 owners/managers representing three business sectors were collected through a survey method.FindingsThe results suggest that service SMEs use more formal HRM practices than manufacturing and trade SMEs. Manufacturing SMEs are more formal than trade firms. Results are not affected by firm age.Research limitations/implicationsSocial desirability bias may have influenced respondents into portraying a positive image of the organization by inflating HRM sophistication. A further limitation is that the performance of the firms was not measured. As such, it is not possible to judge whether greater HRM formality correlated with improved organizational performance.Practical implicationsThis study shows how the business sector shapes HRM practices in Pakistani SMEs. Findings help to inform Pakistan's Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) in dealings with manufacturing and trade firms in terms of improving HRM practices.Originality/valueGiven the important role of SMEs in economic development, comparative research on HRM in SME contexts is scarce. Since SMEs are vital for Pakistan's economy, an improved understanding of the sector's approach to human resource development is important. The findings extend the boundaries of prior comparative HRM literature in SMEs by addressing sector influences while controlling for contextual factors.

PurposeSuccessful localization policies are critical to the resolution of difficult social problems in the Gulf States relating to rising populations and youth unemployment. Successful localization is proving difficult, however, and this paper aims to look specifically at Omanization in an effort to contribute to a better understanding of a complex socio‐economic arena.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on 25 interviews with Ministerial officials and senior private sector managers with human resource management responsibilities in Oman. Interviews were open‐coded to allow factors specific to Oman to emerge from the data.FindingsKey findings are that the perceptions of the employability of locals remains a difficult supply side problem and employers' preferences for foreign labour remains a difficult demand side problem.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is strengthened by the involvement of senior managers yet it is difficult to separate stereotypes of local labour from stereotypes of foreign workers.Practical implicationsThe insights reported in the paper identify key areas for further development of localization policy.Originality/valueThe paper provides a new perspective on the difficulties of localization in the Gulf States.