Purpose -To explore how an increasing attention which is being paid to language and culture in organisations can help people to understand the impact of particular management concepts in business practices. Design/methodology/approach -A range of publications has been selected to indicate how important language in organisations is and how particular cultural backgrounds influence the applicabilty of management concepts. This has been illustrated with the concept Ubuntu, which gains popularity in South Africa. Findings -The applicabilty of Ubuntu in companies will rely on the habitus of the manager to be a good conversationalist. Originality/value -So far the Western literature about management knowledge has neglected the development of particular management concepts originating in other parts of the world.

This study investigates the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and organizational performance. Results based on a sample of 82 organizations from private and public sectors in Eritrea indicate that some of the practices have a significant impact on employee turnover, absenteeism, grievances and productivity. While compensation was the only independent variable found to be statistically significant in affecting grievances, employee selection had no effect across all performance measures. However, the study's results offer support for the assertion that investments in HRM practices results in better organizational performance.

Purpose -This paper seeks to examine employee reactions to human resource management (HRM) and performance. It placed employees on a centre stage in analysing HRM to provide theoretical insights. Design/methodology/approach -To explore the theme, a survey of 252 employees drawn from eight organisations was conducted. Furthermore, on-site interviews were carried out with managers, thereby contributing to the generalisability of the findings. Findings -The findings from the study indicate a positive attitude of employees to HRM practices, such as promotion from within, staffing, equal employment opportunity, quality of training, reasonable compensation and paid vacation and sick days. Moreover, the evidence also shows that productivity has been increasing while employee turnover, absenteeism, and grievances are low. However, the evidence also reveals that training was not integrated in a planned way to employee career development.Research limitations/implications -The present study adds to a growing literature that helps the understanding of HRM policies and practices in a developing country context. Future research would benefit from additional research in this area in other geographical settings to better understand the generalisability of the findings reported. Originality/value -In contrast with previous research, which has predominantly been conducted from a managerial perspective, this article deals with employee perceptions. This emphasises the importance of exploring employee reactions towards HRM practices, policies and other aspects of firm life.

In this article, we reconstruct the lifecycle of MANS, a less well-known Dutch management fashion. Studying less well-known fashions is necessary because it challenges existing understandings of management fashions. First, it is argued how such reconstructions can be helpful. It creates a need to combine existing diffusion and translation perspectives on management fashions, it accentuates existing limitations, and it brings unnoticed aspects of management fashions to the forefront. Second, a detailed historical account of the lifecycle of MANS itself will be presented to illustrate these points. Finally, two remarkable and new aspects of MANS are discussed. To begin with, MANS shows an active role of (collectives of) managers in different phases of the life cycle. Additionally, MANS draws attention to role changes of individuals involved. Concepts are not only diffused and translated by different individuals in different roles, but concepts also stimulate individuals to move from one role to another.

Purpose -This article seeks to examine the challenges and prospects of human resource management (HRM) in a developing-country context. It focuses on contextual factors and employee involvement in analysing HRM to provide theoretical insights. Design/methodology/approach -To explore the above theme, on-site interviews were carried out with general managers, human resource professionals, line managers and union leaders in eight firms. Furthermore, a sample of 252 employees was included, thereby contributing to the generalisability of the findings. Findings -This article provides substantial and current information on HRM knowledge and practices in Eritrea. The paper argues that some contextual variables impose certain challenges to HRM practices. However, evidence also reveals that the concept and knowledge of HRM practices, such as training, recruitment, compensation, employee participation, performance appraisal and reward systems, are in place with some indicators of local influence. Research limitations/implications -In light of the above findings, the article informs multinational companies that transferring managerial expertise to Africa may not necessarily be required, as the knowledge already exists there. A major limitation may derive from the use of convenience sampling in selecting the firms, but extreme caution is taken to get a faithful representation. Originality/value -Contrary to the dominant view that African management is characterised by authoritarianism, this study shows the participative style of managers. Moreover, it incorporates the attitudes and perceptions of employees, a generally neglected part of HRM studies.