The dynamics of HRM systems in Indian BPO firms

This paper highlights the context within which business process outsourcing (BPO) has rapidly grown in India and the critical need to investigate the dynamics of human resource management (HRM) practices and systems in this sector. Using a mixed-method approach involving both in-depth interviews and self-completing questionnaires, we analyze the nature of HRM systems in BPO organizations operating in India. The analysis is based on a sample of 51 BPO companies, a majority of which are located near the capital of New Delhi. The results focus on the nature and structure of work and organization of Indian BPOs, as well as the strategic role played by HRM in such organizations. Furthermore, the findings highlight the way specific HRM practices such as recruitment, performance appraisal, training and development, and compensations are implemented. Our study suggests the existence of formal, structured, and rationalized HRM systems in Indian BPOs. A number of insights related to HRM policies and practices are shared by the HR managers interviewed shedding more light on the inner workings of the Indian BPO companies and their challenges. The analysis provides original and useful information to both academics and practitioners and opens avenues for future research on the nature of HRM systems and practices in the Indian BPO industry.

Mechanical properties and the evolution of matrix molecules in PTFE upon irradiation with MeV alpha particles

The morphology, chemical composition, and mechanical properties in the surface region of α-irradiated polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) have been examined and compared to unirradiated specimens. Samples were irradiated with 5.5 MeV 4He2+ ions from a tandem accelerator to doses between 1 × 106 and 5 × 1010 Rad. Static time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), using a 20 keV C60+ source, was employed to probe chemical changes as a function of a dose. Chemical images and high resolution spectra were collected and analyzed to reveal the effects of a particle radiation on the chemical structure. Residual gas analysis (RGA) was utilized to monitor the evolution of volatile species during vacuum irradiation of the samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the morphological variation of samples with increasing a particle dose, and nanoindentation was engaged to determine the hardness and elastic modulus as a function of a dose. The data show that PTFE nominally retains its innate chemical structure and morphology at a doses <109 Rad. At α doses ≥109 Rad the polymer matrix experiences increased chemical degradation and morphological roughening which are accompanied by increased hardness and declining elasticity. At  α doses >1010 Rad the polymer matrix suffers severe chemical degradation and material loss. Chemical degradation is observed in ToF-SIMS by detection of ions that are indicative of fragmentation, unsaturation, and functionalization of molecules in the PTFE matrix. The mass spectra also expose the subtle trends of crosslinking within the α-irradiated polymer matrix. ToF-SIMS images support the assertion that chemical degradation is the result of a particle irradiation and show morphological roughening of the sample with increased a dose. High resolution SEM images more clearly illustrate the morphological roughening and the mass loss that accompanies high doses of a particles. RGA confirms the supposition that the outcome of chemical degradation in the PTFE matrix with continuing irradiation is evolution of volatile species resulting in morphological roughening and mass loss. Finally, we reveal and discuss relationships between chemical structure and mechanical properties such as hardness and elastic modulus.

Public sector investment appraisal:the place of flexibility in the decision making process

This thesis reviews the main methodological developments in public sector investment appraisal and finds growing evidence that appraisal techniques are not fulfilling their earlier promise. It is suggested that an important reason for this failure lies in the inability of these techniques to handle uncertainty except in a highly circumscribed fashion. It is argued that a more fruitful approach is to strive for flexibility. Investment projects should be formulated with a view to making them responsive to a wide range of possible future events, rather than embodying a solution which is optimal for one configuration of circumstances only. The distinction drawn in economics between the short and the long run is used to examine the nature of flexibility. The concept of long run flexibility is applied to the pre-investment range of choice open to the decisionmaker. It is demonstrated that flexibility is reduced at a very early stage of decisionmaking by the conventional system of appraisal which evaluates only a small number of options. The pre-appraisal filtering process is considered further in relation to decisionmaking models. It is argued that for public sector projects the narrowing down of options is best understood in relation to an amended mixed scanning model which places importance on the process by which the 'national interest ' is determined. Short run flexibility deals with operational characteristics, the degree to which particular projects may respond to changing demands when the basic investment is already in place. The tension between flexibility and cost is noted. A short case study on the choice of electricity generating plant is presented. The thesis concludes with a brief examination of the approaches used by successive British governments to public sector investment, particularly in relation to the nationalised industries

Political leadership and the politics of performance:France, Syria and the chemical weapons crisis of 2013

This article draws upon developments in UK research on political rhetoric and political performance in order to examine the incident in 2013 when French President François Hollande committed French forces to a US-led punitive strike against Syria, after the use of chemical weapons in a Damascus suburb on 21 August. The US-led retaliation did not take place. This article analyses Hollande's declaration on 27 July and his TV appearance on 15 September. His rhetoric and style are best understood as generic to the nature of the presidential office of the Fifth Republic. The article concludes by appraising how analysis of the French case contributes to the developing literature on rhetoric, celebrity and performance.

Variation and change in the use of hesitation markers in Germanic languages

In this study, we investigate crosslinguistic patterns in the alternation between UM, a hesitation marker consisting of a neutral vowel followed by a final labial nasal, and UH, a hesitation marker consisting of a neutral vowel in an open syllable. Based on a quantitative analysis of a range of spoken and written corpora, we identify clear and consistent patterns of change in the use of these forms in various Germanic languages (English, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese) and dialects (American English, British English), with the use of UM increasing over time relative to the use of UH. We also find that this pattern of change is generally led by women and more educated speakers. Finally, we propose a series of possible explanations for this surprising change in hesitation marker usage that is currently taking place across Germanic languages.

The importance of collaborative frontloading in automotive supply networks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how research and development (R&D) collaboration takes place for complex new products in the automotive sector. The research aims to give guidelines to increase the effectiveness of such collaborations. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology used to investigate this issue was grounded theory. The empirical data were collected through a mixture of interviews and questionnaires. The resulting inducted conceptual models were subsequently validated in industrial workshops. Findings – The findings show that frontloading of the collaborative members was a major issue in managing successful R&D collaborations. Research limitations/implications – The limitation of this research is that it is only based in the German automotive industry. Practical implications – Practical implications have come out of this research. Models and guidelines are given to help make a success of collaborative projects and their potential impacts on time, cost and quality metrics. Originality/value – Frontloading is not often studied in a collaborative manner; it is normally studied within just one organisation. This study has novel value because it has involved a number of different members throughout the supplier network.

The evaluation of information systems in the organisational context of the National Health Service. Available in 2 volumes.

This thesis describes a project which has investigated the evaluation of information systems. The work took place in, and is related to, a specific organisational context, that of the National Health Service (NHS). It aims to increase understanding of the evaluation which takes place in the service and the way in which this is affected by the NHS environment. It also investigates the issues which surround some important types of evaluation and their use in this context. The first stage of the project was a postal survey in which respondents were asked to describe the evaluation which took place in their authorities and to give their opinions about it. This was used to give an overview of the practice of IS evaluation in the NHS and to identify its uses and the problems experienced. Three important types of evaluation were then examined in more detail by means of action research studies. One of these dealt with the selection and purchase of a large hospital information system. The study took the form of an evaluation of the procurement process, and examined the methods used and the influence of organisational factors. The other studies are concerned with post-implementation evaluation, and examine the choice of an evaluation approach as well as its application. One was an evaluation of a community health system which had been operational for some time but was of doubtful value, and suffered from a number of problems. The situation was explored by means of a study of the costs and benefits of the system. The remaining study was the initial review of a system which was used in the administration of a Breast Screening Service. The service itself was also newly operational and the relationship between the service and the system was of interest.

Business implications of manufacturing innovation : the experience of increasing automation in smaller to medium sized companies.

Despite the considerable potential of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) for improving the economic performance of many firms, a growing body of literature highlights many instances where realising this potential has proven to be a more difficult task than initially envisaged. Focussing upon the implementation of new manufacturing technologies in several smaller to medium sized enterprises (SME), the research examines the proposition that many of these problems can be attributed in part to inadequate consideration of the integrated nature of such technologies, where the effects of their implementation are not localised, but are felt throughout a business. The criteria for the economic evaluation of such technologies are seen as needing to reflect this, and the research develops an innovative methodology employing micro-computer based spreadsheets, to demonstrate how a series of financial models can be used to quantify the effects of new investments upon overall company performance. Case studies include: the development of a prototype machine based absorption costing system to assist in the evaluation of CNC machine tool purchases in a press making company; the economics and strategy of introducing a flexible manufacturing system for the production of ballscrews; and analysing the progressive introduction of computer based printing presses in a packaging and general print company. Complementary insights are also provided from discussion with the management of several other companies which have experienced technological change. The research was conducted as a collaborative CASE project in the Interdisciplinary Higher Degrees Scheme and was jointly funded by the SERC and Gaydon Technology Limited and later assisted by PE-Inbucon. The findings of the research shows that the introduction of new manufacturing technologies usually requires a fundamental rethink of the existing practices of a business. In particular, its implementation is seen as ideally needing to take place as part of a longer term business and manufacturing strategy, but that short term commercial pressures and limited resources often mean that firms experience difficulty in realising this. The use of a spreadsheet based methodology is shown to be of considerable assistance in evaluating new investments, and is seen as being the limit of sophistication that a smaller business is willing to employ. Several points for effective modelling practice are also given, together with an outline of the context in which a modelling approach is most applicable.

The development of chemical exposure limits for the workplace

The thesis examines and explains the development of occupational exposure limits (OELs) as a means of preventing work related disease and ill health. The research focuses on the USA and UK and sets the work within a certain historical and social context. A subsidiary aim of the thesis is to identify any short comings in OELs and the methods by which they are set and suggest alternatives. The research framework uses Thomas Kuhn's idea of science progressing by means of paradigms which he describes at one point, `lq ... universally recognised scientific achievements that for a time provide model problems and solutions to a community of practitioners. KUHN (1970). Once learned individuals in the community, `lq ... are committed to the same rules and standards for scientific practice. Ibid. Kuhn's ideas are adapted by combining them with a view of industrial hygiene as an applied science-based profession having many of the qualities of non-scientific professions. The great advantage of this approach to OELs is that it keeps the analysis grounded in the behaviour and priorities of the groups which have forged, propounded, used, benefited from, and defended, them. The development and use of OELs on a larger scale is shown to be connected to the growth of a new profession in the USA; industrial hygiene, with the assistance of another new profession; industrial toxicology. The origins of these professions, particularly industrial hygiene, are traced. By examining the growth of the professions and the writings of key individuals it is possible to show how technical, economic and social factors became embedded in the OEL paradigm which industrial hygienists and toxicologists forged. The origin, mission and needs of these professions and their clients made such influences almost inevitable. The use of the OEL paradigm in practice is examined by an analysis of the process of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, Threshold Limit Value (ACGIH, TLV) Committee via the Minutes from 1962-1984. A similar approach is taken with the development of OELs in the UK. Although the form and definition of TLVs has encouraged the belief that they are health-based OELs the conclusion is that they, and most other OELs, are, and always have been, reasonably practicable limits: the degree of risk posed by a substance is weighed against the feasibility and cost of controlling exposure to that substance. The confusion over the status of TLVs and other OELs is seen to be a confusion at the heart of the OEL paradigm and the historical perspective explains why this should be. The paradigm has prevented the creation of truly health-based and, conversely, truly reasonably practicable OELs. In the final part of the thesis the analysis of the development of OELs is set in a contemporary context and a proposal for a two-stage, two-committee procedure for producing sets of OELs is put forward. This approach is set within an alternative OEL paradigm. The advantages, benefits and likely obstacles to these proposals are discussed.

The role of industrial design in technological innovation

This is an exploratory study in a field which previously was virtually unexplored. The aim is to identify, for the benefit of innovators, the influence of industrial design on the commercial success of new science-based products used for professional and industrial purposes. The study is a contribution to the theory of success and failure in industrial innovation. The study begins by defining the terminology. To place the investigation in context, there is then a review of past attempts by official policy-making bodies to improve the competitiveness of British products of manufacture through good design. To elucidate the meaning of good design, attempts to establish a coherent philosophy of style in British products of manufacture during the same period are also reviewed. Following these reviews, empirical evidence is presented to identify what actually takes place in successful firms when industrial design is allocated a role in the process of technological innovation. The evidence comprises seven case studies of new science-based products used for professional or industrial purposes which have received Design Council Awards. To facilitate an objective appraisal, evidence was obtained by conducting separate semi-structured interviews, the detail of which is described, with senior personnel in innovating firms, with industrial design consultants, and with professional users. The study suggests that the likelihood of commercial success in technological innovation is greater when the form, configuration, and the overall appearance of a new product, together with the detail which delineates them, are consciously and expertly controlled. Moreover, uncertainty in innovation is likely to be reduced if the appearance of a new product is consciously designed to facilitate recognition and comprehension. Industrial design is an especially significant factor when a firm innovates against a background of international competition and comparable levels of technological competence in rival firms. The likelihood of success in innovation is enhanced if design is allocated a role closely identified with the total needs of the user and discrete from the engineering function in company organisation. Recent government measures, initiated since this study began, are corroborative of the findings.

Functionalisation of ethylene-propylene rubber with glycidyl methacrylate in the presence of comonomer and in situ compatibilisation of PET/f-EPR blends

The main aim of this work was two fold, firstly to investigate the effect of a highly reactive comonomer, divinylbenzene (DVB), on the extent of melt grafting of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) on ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) using 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-bis-(tert-butyl peroxy) hexane (Trigon ox 101, Tl 01) as a free radical initiator, and to compare the results with a conventional grafting of the same monomer on EPR. To achieve this, the effect of processing conditions and chemical composition including the concentration of peroxide, GMA and DVB on the extent of grafting was investigated. The presence of the comonomer (DVB) in the grafting process resulted in a significant increase in the extent of the grafting using only a small concentration of peroxide. It was also found that the extent of grafting increased drastically with increasing the DVB concentration. Interestingly, in the comonomer system, the extent of the undesired side reaction, normally the homopolymerisation of GMA (polyGMA) was shown to have reduced tremendously and in most cases the level of polyGMA was immeasurable in the samples. Compared to a conventional EPR-g-GMACONV (in the absence of a comonomer), the presence of the comonomer DVB in the grafting system was shown to result in more branching and crosslinking (shown from an increase in melt flow index (MFI) and torque values) and this was paralleled by an increase in DVB concentration. In contrast, the extent of grafting in conventional system increased with increasing the peroxide concentration but the level of grafting was much lower than in the case of DVB. Homopolymerisation of GMA and excessive crosslinking of EPR became dominant at high peroxide concentration and this. reflects that the side reactions were favorable in the conventional grafting system. The second aim was to examine the effect of the in-situ functionalised EPR when used as a compatibiliser for binary blends. It was found that blending PET with functionalised EPR (ƒ-EPR) gave a significant improvement in terms of blend morphology as well as mechanical properties. The results showed clearly that, blending PET with ƒ-EPRDVB (prepared with DVB) was much more effective compared to the corresponding PET/ƒ-EPRCONV (without DVB) blends in which ƒ-EPRDVB having optimum grafting level of 2.1 wt% gave the most pronounced effect on the morphology and mechanical properties. On the other hand, blends of PET/ƒ-EPRDVB containing high GMA/DVB ratio was found to be unfavorable hence exhibited lower tensile properties and showed unfavorable morphology. The presence of high polyGMA concentration in ƒ-EPRCONV was found to create damaging effect on its morphology, hence resulting in reduced tensile properties (e.g. low elongation at break). However, the use of commercial terpolymers based on ethylene-methacrylate-glycidyl methacrylate (EM-GMA)or a copolymer of ethylene-glycidyl methacrylate (E-GMA) containing various GMA levels as compatibilisers in PET/EPR blends was found to be more efficient compared to PET/EPR/ƒ-EPR blends with the former blends showing finer morphology and high elongation at break. The high efficiency of the terpolymers or copolymers in compatibilising the PET/EPR blends is suggested to be partly, higher GMA content compared to the amount in ƒ-EPR and due to its low viscosity.

The role of cannabinoid receptors in modulation of GABAergic neurotransmission in the rat medial entorhinal cortex in vitro

Type 1 cannabinoid receptors (CB1R) have a well established role in modulating GABAergic signalling with the central nervous system, and are thought to be the only type present at GABAergic presynaptic terminals. In the medial entorhinal cortex (mEC), some cortical layers show high levels of ongoing GABAergic signalling (namely layer II) while others show relatively low levels (layer V). Using whole-cell patch clamp techniques, I have, for the first time, demonstrated the presence of functional CB1R in both deep and superficial layers of the mEC. Furthermore, using a range of highly specific ligands for both CB1R and CB2R, I present strong pharmacological evidence for CB2Rs being present in both deep and superficial layers of the mEC in the adult rat brain. In brain slices taken at earlier points in CNS development (P8-12), I have shown that while both CB1R and CB2R specific ligands do modulate GABAergic signalling at early developmental stages, antagonists/ inverse agonists and full agonists have similar effects, and serve only to reduce GABAergic signalling. These data suggest that the full cannabinoid signalling mechanisms at this early stage in synaptogenesis are not yet in place. During these whole-cell studies, I have developed and refined a novel recording technique, using an amantidine derivative (IEM1460) which allows inhibitory postsynaptic currents to be recorded under conditions in which glutamate receptors are not blocked and network activity remains high. Finally I have shown that bath applied CB1 and CB2 receptor antagonists/ inverse agonists are capable of modulating kainic acid induced persistent oscillatory activity in mEC. Inverse agonists suppressed oscillatory activity in the superficial layers of the mEC while it was enhanced in the deeper layers. It seems likely that cannabinoid receptors modulate the inhibitory neuronal activity that underlies network oscillations.