Emerald, the new name and vision for MCB UP Ltd
Emerald, the new name and vision for MCB UP Ltd
From 2002, the publishers of this journal will be changing their trading name from MCB UP Ltd to Emerald. In doing so, we shall be building on the success of the Emerald Fulltext database – the online database which contains the current and archival content of Team Performance Management and many other journals besides. You will see some very clear changes in 2002: this journal will feature a new logo and an entirely new cover design, both reflecting the Emerald brand.
It is very likely that you already know the Emerald name because electronic usage of our journal content has doubled every year since 1996 and the trend continues. Here are some interesting statistics about the Emerald database:
There were nearly 1 million user sessions in 2000.
Over 5.5 million articles were delivered to users in 2001 (more than 16,000 per day).
Between January 2000 and May 2001, the number of academic institutions with access to Emerald Fulltext more than tripled.
Of the world's top business schools, 95 per cent choose Emerald journals and 93 per cent of them have contributed articles to Emerald journals ("top"business schools based on Financial Times Business School rankings 2000).
Why is this such important news for all potential authors among this journal's readership? Simply because any paper published in this journal in 2002 will ultimately be disseminated to a vast, global audience of both academics and practitioners. What better incentive could there be for submitting your work to Team Performance Management in 2002?
Content coming your way in 2002
A small sample of the papers to be published in Team Performance Management in 2002 would include:
The impact of netcentricity on virtual teams. Digital networks are changing the way people and organizations work and communicate. Traditional work teams where members have to meet face-to-face at a certain physical location to pursue organizational objectives, have also been impacted by network centricity. The twenty-first century will witness an increase in the number and use of virtual workplaces. As a result, virtual teams will also become more common. When organizations globalize their workforces to take advantage of strategic business opportunities, virtual teams will be highly diverse. In this global context, the management of diverse virtual teams represents a new performance challenge for organizations. Working closely together to accomplish specific tasks is also a major undertaking for virtual teams. This paper discusses how virtual teams are formed, interact, perform their tasks, and are evaluated. It also examines how team leaders emerge, and the impact of netcentricity and network security on virtual teams.
Collaborative computing technology: the hot new managing tool. In a few years, the Internet has gone from being the communication tool of scientists to a primary route of information exchange for everyone from fashion designers to financial analysts. The Internet and its related services create an interactive working environment for users. Through the Internet, effective collaboration becomes possible whenever, wherever, and with whomever. Recently,there has been a significant growth in collaborative products and services aimed at small and mid-sized businesses. The aim of this paper is to discuss the capabilities of the collaborative computing technology. The trends in collaborative products and services and some of the collaborative computing products generating the most interest will be examined.
Implications for organization design. Efforts to adapt to increased volatility and uncertainty are still arguably plagued by the traditional wisdom and domination of command-and-control hierarchies. This paper highlights over two decades of intimation for appropriate organizational structural fit and identifies recurring barriers to change. To achieve organizational adaptability and improve change initiative success, the paper proposes the creation of pockets of excellence. These self-organizing team structures are positioned as a resource to developing internal efficiencies and business opportunities as a means to enhance productivity and provide a measure of sustainable competitive advantage. The proposed team structure is informed by the developing field of complexity theory and evaluated through focus group discussions.
Key events for your diary in 2002
The following events will be of interest to readers of Team Performance Management:
Third Conference on HRD Research and Practice Across Europe (2002),sponsored by the University Forum for HRD, EURESFORM and the Academy of HRD,Point Hotel, 34 Bread St, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, 25-26 January 2002. See http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/ufhrd/events/euroconf3.htmfor further information.
Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) International Research Conference, Radisson Hotel Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 27 February-3 March 2002. See http://www.ahrd.org/events/events_main.htmlfor further information.
Academy of Management 2002 Conference, "Building effective networks", 9-14 August, 2002, Denver, Colorado, USA. See http://www.aom.pace.edu/meetings/for further information.
Conference reports from readers on any of these events would be welcome(contact pfernandez@emeraldinsight.com).
