A satisfactory and healthy integration of work with other life domains is one of the key challenges of modern society. Work-life balance and work-life integration have become focal points of today's human resource management practice and theory. Professionals who have been described as "extreme workers" regarding their work hours and engagement are under particular pressure to balance work and "the rest of life."

This collection maps the increasingly extensive discussion of work-life issues for professionals and discusses key aspects in depth. What is work-life integration? What are the specific challenges for professionals? How do they manage their blurred work-life boundaries? How can companies intervene? Internationally leading authors discuss antecedents and individual and organizational outcomes of work-life integration, gender-specific perspectives and challenges as well as the use and usefulness of corporate work-life balance initiatives. In five sections distinguished researchers from across the world present experiences and research findings to provide a compendium of academic and applied research on the work-life integration of professionals. Cutting-edge research and novel theoretical perspectives make this collection a source of knowledge and inspiration for academic and business audiences interested in work-life integration issues in general and in the case of professionals in particular.

The decision to engage in corporate social action (CSA), and the debates regarding its costs, benefits and implications to corporate performance represent a demanding issue for scholars and managers. Research is inconclusive regarding the causal relations between CSA, corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP), despite numerous empirical and theoretical studies devoted to the issue. This book presents an in-depth study of corporate social action and the factors influencing a decision to engage in it. Going beyond the causal relationship between CSA and firm performance, the book stresses the link between CSA and a firm's core managerial policies and practices, reflecting the complexity and varied facets of CSA and the numerous internal and external factors that influence its outcomes. The book draws on the experiences of various industrial sectors to reveal the importance of a range of issues such as top management pay dispersion and ownership structure, which may influence the firm's decision to engage in CSA. It also explores some of the external influences on firms, such as institutional norms, the geopolitical environment and the industrial sector. The first part of the book provides an overview of the thematic issues of CSA and performance. The second part presents a series of empirical studies that examine factors and determinants of CSA. The third part presents case studies to illustrate the processes and outcomes of CSA policy and strategy in environmentally hazardous industries.

Written and edited by engineering contractors and industry project/maintenance managers as an easy-to-use guide for other industry professionals, this book identifies important process safety issues in the contractor-client relationship, which are not addressed by other groups and publications. While the issues may arise at any point in the life cycle of a plant, they should be resolved early in the relationship to permit a clearer focus on process safety issues. Topics covered are a general discussion of contractor safety programs; EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) contractual bases and work division as they address regulatory PSM issues; subcontractor relationships; and managing contractor-client risks

Commercial advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems have been around for about 25 years and have seen widespread adoption in a variety of companies. The promises made by APS system implementations are high, and at the same time, APS projects are complex, costly, and carry a significant risk of failure. There is a great need for guidance on how to successfully implement APS systems, which is why this book was written. In this book, we aim to discuss all facets of APS implementation, from theoretical background to definition, vendor selection, system design and the implementation process. In addition, this book helps readers understand how the underlying concepts were formed, why a concept will work in practice, and when it will not. The contents of this book are based on many years of academic research and APS implementation experience. It draws together theory and practice in production control and explains how theories can be applied to support planning and scheduling processes in practice. This book will help anyone involved in APS implementations to achieve success: human planners generate better plans than before, using the APS.

Whistleblowing has become a burning issue in contemporary society. When is whistleblowing appropriate? How is it best carried out? And how should managers and employers handle the issue? This book takes a look at whistleblowing at work taking a group of key occupation -- including the Health Service, Local Government, Accountancy and Education -- and from different points of view, including those of the employer, the trade unions and the employed. A whistleblower speaks for herself; advice is given on the whistleblower's best route; and the ethical issues are weighed and the legal situation set out. This book is invaluable to those concerned with employment, personnel, and human resource management; and to all those working in whistleblowing territory.

Although equal employment opportunity laws are often at the center of political debate, it has been difficult for students, teachers, and concerned citizens to learn about the controversy over EEO. Contributions to our understanding are scattered, this collection of writings is a broad interdisciplinary introduction to the struggle for EEO and its consequences. No other collection brings together articles on theories of dis-criminations; competing theories about the likely impact of EEO laws; analyses of the laws' impact on women, blacks, and other minorities; and debates about affirmative action.

Seven Moralities of Human Resource Management analyses morality of HRM from the perspective of American psychologist Laurence Kohlberg. This book examines and makes value judgements on whether or not HRM is moral from the viewpoint of Kohlberg's seven stages of morality as a follow-up study of the author's 2012 book, Seven Management Moralities.

Although equal employment opportunity laws are often at the center of political debate, it has been difficult for students, teachers, and concerned citizens to learn about the controversy over EEO. Contributions to our understanding are scattered, this collection of writings is a broad interdisciplinary introduction to the struggle for EEO and its consequences. No other collection brings together articles on theories of dis-criminations; competing theories about the likely impact of EEO laws; analyses of the laws' impact on women, blacks, and other minorities; and debates about affirmative action.

Enterprise IT Governance, Business Value and Performance Measurement reports on high-level academic research outcomes, providing evidence-based insight into the management and contribution of IT within organizations. It also offers practical insights, models, and tools that are instrumental in gaining business value from IT. With contributions from 35 international professionals, this valuable reference appeals to both academic and practitioners in the field of IT management and business and IT alignment.

It is difficult to argue with the notion that the world of work is changing. Rapidly changing technology, a fundamental sectoral shift away from manufacturing and the public sector all have major implications for the management of people and the systems of HR utilised. Working patterns have also changed during the last 30 years, so that the classic or 'old' image of work as principally male, full-time and permanent is no longer a useful guide. People are also changing. People are changing in their preferences for types of work, their involvement in unions and other collectives, and what they seek from their work and non-work experiences. However, one thing remains a constant through all this change is the requirement for the great majority of our population to work. In this book Wilkinson and Townsend bring together a team of specialists to reconsider some aspects of work, the employment relationship and organisations.

Globalized marketing strategies continue to increase the development of global business through its latest advances in technology. The adoption of new technologies for businesses and organizations fluctuate throughout different regions of the world. Global Diffusion and Adoption of Technologies for Knowledge and Information Sharing provides diverse insights from researchers and practitioners around the world to offer their knowledge on the comparisons of international enterprises. This book is useful to managers and practitioners to improve business practices and keep an open dialogue about global information management.

Exploring random maintenance models, this book provides an introduction to the implementation of random maintenance, and it is one of the first books to be written on this subject. It aims to help readers learn new techniques for applying random policies to actual reliability models, and it provides new theoretical analyses of various models including classical replacement, preventive maintenance and inspection policies. These policies are applied to scheduling problems, backup policies of database systems, maintenance policies of cumulative damage models, and reliability of random redundant systems. Reliability theory is a major concern for engineers and managers, and in light of Japan's recent earthquake, the reliability of large-scale systems has increased in importance. This also highlights the need for a new notion of maintenance and reliability theory, and how this can practically be applied to systems. Providing an essential guide for engineers and managers specializing in reliability maintenance and quality control, this book provides a useful resource for those with doubts carrying out maintenance of new and large systems. It is also intended for graduate students and researchers interested in operations research, statistics, industrial engineering and management science.

This book describes the methods used to forecast the demands at inventory holding locations. The methods are proven, practical and doable for most applications, and pertain to demand patterns that are horizontal, trending, seasonal, promotion and multi-sku. The forecasting methods include regression, moving averages, discounting, smoothing, two-stage forecasts, dampening forecasts, advance demand forecasts, initial forecasts, all time forecasts, top-down, bottom-up, raw and integer forecasts, Also described are demand history, demand profile, forecast error, coefficient of variation, forecast sensitivity and filtering outliers. The book shows how the forecasts with the standard normal, partial normal and truncated normal distributions are used to generate the safety stock for the availability and the percent fill customer service methods. The material presents topics that people want and should know in the work place. The presentation is easy to read for students and practitioners; there is little need to delve into difficult mathematical relationships, and numerical examples are presented throughout to guide the reader on applications. Practitioners will be able to apply the methods learned to the systems in their locations, and the typical worker will want the book on their bookshelf for reference. The potential market is vast. It includes everyone in professional organizations like APICS, DSI and INFORMS; MBA graduates, people in industry, and students in management science, business and industrial engineering.

Talent has become the most important resource for organizations across a wide range of sectors throughout the world including business, non-profit, and government. These organizations are now engaged in an increasingly fierce competition to acquire the best talent as they seek to gain the upper hand in today's fast changing environment. By combining the body of knowledge on entrepreneurship and talent management from a global perspective, this book provides a synthesized understanding of entrepreneurial mobility and talent management in the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem.The expert contributors combine empirical evidence and case studies to provide a nuanced understanding of global talent management from an international comparative perspective. The topics discussed include China's return migration and its impact on Chinese development, local engagement and transformation of Chinese communities in England, and reverse migration from the US to China. Furthermore, from a comparative perspective, contributors examine global talent and entrepreneurial mobility in the contexts of Silicon Valley, European university spin-off practices and entrepreneurial ecosystems in France, Italy, and South Korea, respectively. Scholars and students in entrepreneurship and talent management will find the scope for future research useful in their work. Entrepreneurs, managers, and policymakers will benefit from the examination of global perspectives and different national contexts. Contributors include: D. Assimakopoulos, D. Baglieri, Z. Chen, M.C. Cinici, L. Daily, T. Duan, T. Fang, W. Hou, A. Isaak, R. Isaak, K.W. Jensen, K-.C. Kim, X. Liu, D. Mavridis, M.L. Miao, A. Moore, Y.M. Myint, T. Petrin, F. Qin, S. Rezaei, T. Schott, F. Sussan, M. Tsouri, H. Wang, B. Wu, W. Zhang, J. Zybura

Organizations of all types are consistently working on new initiatives, product lines, or implementation of new workflows as a way to remain competitive in the modern business environment. No matter the type of project, employing the best methods for effective execution and timely completion of the task at hand is essential to project success. The implementation of computer technology has provided further opportunities for innovation and progress in the daily operations and initiatives of corporations. Knowledge Management and Innovation in Network Organizations: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential scholarly resource that explores the use of information communication technologies in management models and the development of network organizations operating in various sectors of the economy. Highlighting coverage on a wide range of topics such as cloud computing, organizational development, and business management, this book is ideal for business professionals, organizational researchers, and academicians interested in the latest research on network organizations.

Value Chain Marketing (VCM) is a promising strategy to overcome immediate customers' innovation resistance. By pursuing VCM, material suppliers enlarge their target group beyond their immediate customers and address their downstream customers as well. Treading on relatively unexplored grounds, this book explores the relevance of VCM and comprehends its process; identifies the critical factors for suppliers' marketing success, and compares the performance of VCM trials, using a multi-method design linking case study research and computational modeling.

This Research Handbook includes carefully chosen contributions to provide a well-rounded perspective on design thinking. Encouraging debate and development for future research in design conceptualisation, this forward-thinking Handbook raises crucial questions about what design thinking is and what it could be. With thirty-six expert contributors representing a wide range of disciplines, this Research Handbook contains seventeen chapters structured into three thematic parts to explore the people, processes, and practices of design thinking. Method case studies demonstrate how design thinking has been implemented across different disciplines and contexts. Challenging current design methodologies, chapters move beyond outcome-focused perspectives to examine the diverse range of processes employed for design research. While each chapter provides a novel perspective on design practice, read as an entire work, it continuously challenges the reader to reposition their perspectives. The Handbook unpacks the creative process by isolating each stage and examining them in detail, tracing success through empirical evidence back to design origins. The Research Handbook on Design Thinking provides an overview of the field's history, theoretical approaches, key concepts, perspectives, and methods. It is well-suited to academics and practitioners interested in the development of design thinking theory and the different perspectives traversing theory through to practice globally.

The current economic theory of innovation mainly analyses the technology factor and its impact on economic growth. In today's world, growth in information technology and knowledge of new ideas has altered the business paradigm dramatically. Modern economies have undergone a dynamic shift from material manufacturing to a new information technology model with research and development (R&D) and human capital. Through information and communications technology efficient information usage has achieved substantial productivity gains through learning by doing and incremental innovations. The present volume discusses this new paradigm in terms of both theory and industry applications, including Schumpeter in his innovation model and the emphasis on new innovations replacing the old. Growth of business networking and R&D consortium have dramatically helped the modern business to reduce their unit costs and improve efficiency. This volume presents some new models emphasizing knowledge sharing and R&D cooperation. Rapid growth in recent times in some south Asian countries have been cited as growth miracles are largely caused by knowledge spillover and learning by doing, and this volume also investigates the role of incremental innovations. With a strong focus and extension of the current theory of innovation and industry growth experiences of both the US and Asian countries, this book will be of interest to MBA and graduate students in economics, innovation management, and applied industrial economics.

The global market is constantly evolving and it has become essential for organizations to employ new methods of appealing to customers in order to stay abreast on current trends within the world economy. The Handbook of Research on Driving Competitive Advantage through Sustainable, Lean, and Disruptive Innovation features theoretical development and empirical research in social media platforms, internet usage, big data analytics, and smart computing, as well as other areas of organizational innovation. Highlighting implementation challenges facing innovative processes, this publication is a critical reference source for researchers, students, professionals, managers, and decision makers interested in novel strategies being employed by organizations in an effort to improve their standings on the global market.

This book provides a fundamental and practical introduction to Enterprise Engineering, demonstrating how to employ this approach to map the essence of an organization at the core level of internal cooperation. It then explains how, based on these insights, organizations can benefit from opportunities for improvement that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Further, the book explains how to adapt the structure of an organization to the needs of its management and offers valuable tools for improving and perfecting it, along with guidelines on implementing profound and sustainable organizational changes. The examples and cases it presents show an increase in efficiency of up to 70% and increases in productivity and sales performance of more than 40%, once the flaws in an organization's structure have been identified and resolved.

This book provides a comprehensive and state-of-the-art overview of simulation development, technologies, and implementation, including real-world examples and results followed by a preview of what's on the horizon that will further revolutionize the industry. More than a handful of books have been written on the use of simulations for training purposes, but this book focuses solely on simulations in employee selection contexts (e.g., hiring, promotion), making it a truly unique and valuable resource for both practitioners and academics. The science and practice of employee selection has advanced at a steady pace over the past two or three decades. However, recent advancements in both technology and assessment methods have been the catalyst for an evolutionary leap in the use of simulations in this area.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an important element in creating competitive advantages for enterprises in different sectors. The authors guide readers through the different cases studies in order to present the benchmarking of international standards and CSR initiatives, as well as CSR performance evaluation practices. This book aims to identify current problems that can arise during CSR implementation in manufacturing and services companies. Moreover some best practice examples suitable for the introduction of CSR in the small and medium size companies will be described. The authors show how different stakeholders can benefit from sustainable resource management and pro-social behaviors. This book will be a valuable resource for both academics and practitioners who want to deepen their knowledge of CSR. This scientific monograph has been doubled blind reviewed.

Financial analysis, based on ratio analysis, has been used as a tool for analyzing the financial strength of corporations. Although ratio analysis is generally used as a univariate strategy, the accounting and finance literature has evolved to include multivariate-based models in financial analysis, and these models can be used to explain important economic events and often predict them. Thus, in an exhaustive coverage of the economic events to which they can be applied, Riahi-Belkaoui discusses these models in a way that will have special value to corporate management, financial planners, and to their colleagues in the academic community who specialize in business and economic analysis.

Proceedings of China Modern Logistics Engineering covers nearly all areas of logistics engineering technology, focusing on the latest findings and the following theoretical aspects: Logistics Systems and Management Research; Green Logistics and Emergency Logistics; Enterprise Logistics; Material Handling; Warehousing Technology Research; Supply Chain Management; Logistics Equipment; Logistics Packaging Technology; Third-party Logistics, etc. The book will help readers to grasp the relevant aspects of the theory involved, research and development trends, while also offering guidance for their work and related studies. It is intended for researchers, scholars and graduate students in logistics management, logistics engineering, transportation, business administration, E-commerce and industrial engineering.

Provides an understanding of how HRM policies and practices differ across countries and how the development of management practice may be affected by different institutional and cultural contexts. Containing contributions from a range of well-respected HRM scholars across the world, this collection is based upon data from a unique research project.