202 ANALYSING HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
BUSINESS-DOMINATED LEADERSHIP STYLE IN
A TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
This company had a 25-year-long reputation for innovation in training tech-
nology. Interviewees’ accounts of employee development and the role of TBL
were replete with reference to the company’s situation. They emphasized the
need for social cohesion within the function, acknowledged senior manage-
ment to have substantial capacity for initiating change in new directions, and
most voiced a general concern over their employment security. Employment
levels in the ‘HR, Training and Development’ function had experienced down-
sizing from 1,500 full-time people at its height down to 750 at the time of
the interview study, and further reductions were expected. This is not to say
that there was a pessimistic tone to their responses. Rather, the message was
one of hope that, so long as in-house training provision was found to be
competitive when assessed against external training providers and according
to the evaluations of key internal customers in the business units, then, the
training and development function would profit and grow.
... I do not believe, it is currently seen as important as it should be. First of all, our
communication tech and blue chip company, and we should be using the technology
that we look to see outside of [the company], inside [the company]. That has not
got a high level profile. So, I do not believe it is seen by all people in [the company]
as important. Some of the problems with that is the different pieces of hardware
that people have. We also have to work with lowest common denominator, different
hardware, different software packages, different e-mail packages. That has proved a
problem to us in the past. But, I believe that it is critical for our success. Absolutely
critical. And we need to be able to have a clear strategy in terms of how multimedia
will be used for development strategy in [the company]. (Management Development
Specialist, HR and Development Services)
Analysis of the themes and actions expressed in the interviewees’ responses
suggested that their priorities concerned, first, increasing employee develop-
ment through technical development of ‘training solutions’ implemented by
distance delivery. Second, their agendas attended to harnessing the design
power of the company for training and development by focusing on the
internal and external markets for TBL products. Third, they concerned the
felt imperative to serve business goals.
Within employee development, there were only a few accounts indicative
of a deliberate strategy by the middle and senior management to distribute
employees’ knowledge and skills. For example, there were not that many
accounts of moving employees around the company from one location to
another nor much talk of transforming the processes of ‘learning-by-doing’
such as in relocating employee development activities by transferring them
from one medium of learning and communication to another. Similar to the