This chapter introduces themes that recur throughout this book, and reflects on a collection of topics that are covered. One key theme concerns the common areas and differences in people’s responses and needs before, during, and after emergencies, incidents, disasters, and disease outbreaks (EIDD). It presents a strategic approach to meeting people’s mental health needs. Four areas common to EIDD are identified. First, preparedness before EIDD is critical to shaping how societies, communities, families, and people respond and recover. Second, a wide range of stressors have impacts on people affected by EIDD, and adversity and socioeconomic disadvantage play substantial parts in how people react, cope, and adapt. Third, the impacts of displacement are huge. Fourth, the wellbeing, psychosocial, and mental health agendas of care are extremely important aspects of the care that is required to meet the needs of survivors of EIDD and, often, those of their relatives.

This chapter discusses response evaluation theories (RETs), which foreground a process of response evaluation. It zooms in on the goal-directed theory of Moors (2017a), which proposes a goal-directed cycle as the causal-mechanistic explanation of the phenomena called emotions. The cycle starts with the detection of a discrepancy between a stimulus and a first goal, which activates a second goal to reduce the discrepancy. This reduction can take the form of assimilation (of the stimulus to the goal via overt action), accommodation (of the goal to the stimulus by changing the first goal), and/or immunization (reinterpretion of the stimulus as less discrepant). Assimilation requires further selection of the action with the highest expected utility. This in turn activates a third goal to engage in the action, leading to overt somatic and motor responses and feelings. The goal-directed theory can account for continuity, a rich form of Intentionality, phenomenality, bodily aspects, heat, control precedence, and irrationality. This wide scope is combined with parsimony in that presumed emotions and non-emotional phenomena are explained by the same mechanism. The goal-directed theory does not deliver discrete emotions, but can nevertheless make sense of them. Empirical research that tests the goal-directed theory is discussed.

We analyze how firms from emerging markets upgrade their capabilities to improve their international competitiveness. We argue that firms use a combination methods, the four-I mechanisms, to upgrade their capabilities – imitation, integration, incorporation, and internal development – and that the underdevelopment of emerging markets affects this catching-up process. We propose that initially, as laggards in global competition, firms are more inclined to imitate products and services from more sophisticated firms, leveraging the relatively weak intellectual property protection of their home countries and aiming to serve low-income consumers. As they catch up, firms are more likely to integrate best practices through alliances to obtain technologies, or to learn by serving as suppliers of more sophisticated firms. Firms then incorporate best practices by acquiring technologies or firms that own sophisticated knowledge. Finally, as they catch up to leaders, firms focus more on internal development of capabilities. We highlight how the four-I mechanisms evolve with the development stages of firms and emerging economies.

Chapter 1 introduced the basic ‘tools’ of performance and reward management, including key aspects of purpose and practice. In this chapter we introduce two overarching concepts of alignment that recur throughout this book: ‘strategic alignment’ and ‘psychological engagement’. The design, implementation and maintenance of effective performance and reward management systems requires simultaneous, systematic and constant attention to both of these dimensions of alignment.

‘Strategic alignment’ refers to the plans, processes and actions involved in establishing and maintaining an alignment between an organisation’s overarching purpose or intent and how it manages employee performance and reward, as well as all other aspects of people management.

In this chapter, we introduce the bare-bones model of electoral interventions in elections. The theoretical argument we develop produces a rich variety of comparative statics. We amend many aspects of the conventional wisdom. A state which acts as a liberal hegemon in a foreign election does not always promote more democratic elections. Two liberal outsiders in conflict are better for democratic elections. Conflicts between liberal and illiberal powers do produce some of the worst outcomes as far as clean elections go.