The institutional antecedents of the assignment of HRM responsibilities to line managers

This article uses large-scale international data to examine how much autonomy organizations have to assign human resource management responsibilities to line managers, as indicated in the prescriptions of the literature. We use data from 11 countries to explore the impact of a variety of internal characteristics of organizations and the kind of economy in which they operate. We find that around half of the organizations assign HRM responsibilities to the line and that organizations appear to have considerable latitude in making choices in this area. Organizations in the Nordic economies are most likely to assign responsibilities for HRM to the line and those in the liberal market economies are the least likely to do so. In any economy, larger organizations, unionized organizations, and those with strategically positioned HRM departments are the least likely to allocate responsibilities for HRM to the line. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research and for practice.

Managing non-standard international experience: evidence from a Finnish company

Purpose – This paper extends the increasing debates about the role of international experience through mechanisms other than standard expatriation packages, in particular through the use of short-term assignments. It explores the different forms of short-term assignments (project work, commuter assignments, virtual international working and development assignments) and the different sets of positive and negative implications these can have for the company and the individuals concerned. The integration-differentiation debate is reflected here as elsewhere in IHRM, with the company moving towards greater centralization and control of its use of these assignments. Design/methodology/approach – Since the research is exploratory, we adopted a qualitative approach to get a more in-depth understanding on the realities the corporations and the assignees are facing. The study was implemented through a single case study setting in which the data were collected by interviewing (n=20) line managers, human resource management (HRM) staff and assignees themselves. In addition corporate documentation and other materials were reviewed. Findings – The present case study provides evidence about the characteristics of short-term assignments as well as the on the management of such assignments. The paper identifies various benefits and challenges involved in the use of short-term assignments both from the perspectives of the company and assignees. Furthermore, the findings support the view that a recent increase in the popularity of short-term assignments has not been matched by the development of HRM policies for such assignments. Research limitations/implications – As a single case study, limitations in the generalizability of the findings should be kept in mind. More large-scale research evidence is needed around different forms of international assignments beyond standard expatriation in order to fully capture the realities faced by international HRM specialists Practical implications – The paper identifies many challenges but also benefits of using short-term assignments. The paper reports in-depth findings on HR development needs that organizations face when expanding the use of such assignments. Social implications – The paper identifies many challenges but also benefits of using short-term assignments. The paper reports in-depth findings on HR development needs that organizations face when expanding the use of such assignments. Originality/value – Empirical research on short-term assignments is still very limited. In that way the paper provides much needed in-depth evidence on why such assignments are used, what challenges are involved in the use of such assignments and what kinds of HR-development needs are involved.

Mineral and geochemical characterization of a leptic aluandic soil and a thapto aluandic-ferralsol developed on trachytes in Mount Bambouto (Cameroon volcanic line)

Mineral and geochemical investigations were carried out on soil samples and fresh rock (trachytes) from two selected soil profiles (TM profile on leptic aluandic soils and TL profile on thapto aluandic-ferralsols) from Mount Bambouto to better understand geochemical processes and mineral paragenesis involved in the development of soils in this environment. In TM profile, the hydrated halloysites and goethite occur in the weathered saprolite boulders of BC horizon while dehydrated halloysite, gibbsite and goethite dominate the soils matrices of BC and A horizons. In TL profile, the dehydrated halloysites and goethite are the most abundant secondary minerals in the weathered saprolites of C and BC horizons while gibbsite, hematite and kaolinite occur in the soil matrices of BC, B and A horizons. The highest gibbsite content is in the platy nodules of B horizon. In both soil profiles, organo-metal complexes (most likely of AI and Fe) are present in the surface A horizon. Geochemically, between the fresh rock and the weathered saprolites in both soils, SiO2, K2O, CaO, Na2O and MgO contents decrease strongly while Fe2O3 and Al2O3 tend to accumulate. The molar ratio of SiO2/Al2O3 (Ki) and the sum of Ca, Mg, K and Na ions (TRB) also decreases abruptly between fresh rocks and the weathered saprolites, but increases significantly at the soil surface. The TM profile shows intense Al enrichment whereas the TL profile highlights enrichment in both AI and Fe as the weathering progresses upwards. Both soil profiles are enriched in Ni, Cu, Ba and Co and depleted in U, Th, Ta, Hf, Y, Sr, Pb, Zr and Zn relative to fresh rock. They also show a relatively low fractionation of the rare earth elements (REE: La, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Yb and Lu), except for Ce which tends to be enriched in soils compared to CI chondrite. All these results give evidence of intense hydrolysis at soil deep in Mount Bambouto resulting in the formation of halloysite which progressively transforms into gibbsite and/or dehydrated halloysite. At the soil surface, the prominent pedogenetic process refers to andosolization with formation of organo-metal complexes. In TL profile, the presence of kaolinite in soil matrices BC and B horizons is consistent with ferralitization at soil deep. In conclusion, soil forming processes in Mount Bambouto are strongly influenced by local climate: (i) in the upper mountain (>2000 m), the fresh, misty and humid climate favors andosolization; whereas (ii) in the middle lands (1700-2000 m) with a relatively dry climate, both andosolization at the soil surface and ferralitization at soil deep act together. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the consistency of near-infrared water vapor line intensities using high-spectral-resolution ground-based Fourier transform measurements of solar radiation

Calculations of the absorption of solar radiation by atmospheric gases, and water vapor in particular, are dependent on the quality of databases of spectral line parameters. There has been increasing scrutiny of databases such as HITRAN in recent years, but this has mostly been performed on a band-by-band basis. We report nine high-spectral-resolution (0.03 cm(-1)) measurements of the solar radiation reaching the surface in southern England over the wave number range 2000 to 12,500 cm(-1) (0.8 to 5 mm) that allow a unique assessment of the consistency of the spectral line databases over this entire spectral region. The data are assessed in terms of the modeled water vapor column that is required to bring calculations and observations into agreement; for an entirely consistent database, this water vapor column should be constant with frequency. For the HITRAN01 database, the spread in water vapor column is about 11%, with distinct shifts between different spectral regions. The HITRAN04 database is in significantly better agreement (about 5% spread) in the completely updated 3000 to 8000 cm(-1) spectral region, but inconsistencies between individual spectral regions remain: for example, in the 8000 to 9500 cm(-1) spectral region, the results indicate an 18% (+/- 1%) underestimate in line intensities with respect to the 3000 to 8000 cm(-1) region. These measurements also indicate the impact of isotopic fractionation of water vapor in the 2500 to 2900 cm(-1) range, where HDO lines dominate over the lines of the most abundant isotope of H2O.

The Klein-Gordon equation on the half line: a Riemann-Hilbert approach

We solve an initial-boundary problem for the Klein-Gordon equation on the half line using the Riemann-Hilbert approach to solving linear boundary value problems advocated by Fokas. The approach we present can be also used to solve more complicated boundary value problems for this equation, such as problems posed on time-dependent domains. Furthermore, it can be extended to treat integrable nonlinearisations of the Klein-Gordon equation. In this respect, we briefly discuss how our results could motivate a novel treatment of the sine-Gordon equation.

Training to address attitudes and behaviour of rural bank managers in Madhya Pradesh, India: A programme to facilitate financial inclusion

Given their physical presence in India, banks are arguably well-placed to improve financial inclusion in rural areas. However, uncertain repayment capacities and high transaction costs mean formal financial institutions are often reluctant to lend to the rural poor. Conversely, high transaction costs in dealing with banks are also incurred by clients, through, for example, lengthy, cumbersome and potentially ignominious procedures. Negative attitudes towards poor clients can be an important component of such transaction costs. An applied research project funded by the Enterprise Development Innovation Fund (EDIF-DFID) developed an innovative training programme designed to encourage more positive attitudes of bank staff towards poor clients, and towards their own role in rural poverty alleviation and development. This paper examines the development of the training programme, its implementation, and the results of its evaluation. It is shown that training can bring about attitudinal change, which in turn is reflected in behaviour and social impact.