bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Flexible Working Hours‐Panacea or Placebo?
Authors: Legge Karen
Published: February 2008

At regular intervals over the past two decades, management has been presented with various attractively packaged techniques, offered as the panaceas to cure hitherto perennial managerial problems. Although these “cure‐alls” may differ greatly (cf. MBO and productivity bargaining) they tend to have a common characteristic, that is, they claim that advantages will result for all the parties involved, and, often, that they will produce results in every organisation in which they are properly applied and given a chance to work. The experience that, in practice, some of the benefits claimed by the different groups involved are incompatible, or that some are more difficult to bring about than anticipated, or that the supposedly “universal” panacea “just does not work in our company”, does not seem to inhibit the discovery of new panaceas to replace or supplement the old.
FINANCIAL & LEGAL NOTES
Authors: Goch Desmond
Published: February 2008

Monopolies Commission Clears Eagle Star Bid The depressed state of the stock market and the deadlocked political situation have combined to take most of the steam out of the industrial merger situation but a recent bid by Eagle Star Insurance to extend its shareholding interests in two companies outside of its traditional field of insurance became the subject of widespread interest in the City.
Marketing Strategies for Building Societies
Authors: Doyle Peter , Newbould Gerald D.
Published: February 2008

This article appraises the current marketing policies of the building societies and suggests an alternative strategy based upon an assessment of the motivations of investors and the dynamics of the funds market. In particular a short review of the societies' growth over the previous decade shows their extremely successful performance (giving timely perspective to the recent and well‐publicised difficulties of the movement), but a detailed analysis of the marketing programmes and “products” offered by the societies does suggest that societies as a whole have been slow to adapt to the maturity and size of the market in which they now operate. It is argued that these delays have accentuated the recent difficulties of the movement, and clearly they hold serious longer‐term threats to growth. Finally a strategy of market segmentation is outlined which is based upon the heterogeneity of investors and the nature of competition for funds.
FINANCIAL & LEGAL NOTES
Authors: Goch Desmond
Published: February 2008

The Stock Exchange The Council of the Stock Exchange announced its intention to appoint its first chief executive in October 1973 but it was not until twelve months later that it was able to name the man who was to be appointed to the post. The successful candidate was Mr. Robert Fell, who came to his new job after a Civil Service career that took him to the position of chief executive of the Export Credits Guarantee Department.
MAKING MANAGEMENT EDUCATION EFFECTIVE
Authors: Cowell Donald
Published: February 2008

(i) The development of management education The period since World War II has witnessed the rapid development of management education in the United Kingdom. This growth has been particularly pronounced in the past ten to fifteen years. During this time the educational activities of many professional bodies have increased: colleges, polytechnics, and universities have introduced certificate, diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate and post‐experience courses, the Industrial Training Act has given an impetus to management education and the business schools have been founded. Management education has become a major activity and a major business.
FINANCIAL & LEGAL NOTES
Authors: Goch Desmond
Published: February 2008

The April 1975 Budget With modern Chancellors of the Exchequer seeming increasingly to favour having two or three Budgets a year, there is an ever‐present hazard when writing an article of this nature, that the comments one makes on changes and developments in taxation will have been superseded by further changes by the time they appear in print.
Quantitative Approaches to Forecasting Corporate Profits
Authors: Firth Michael
Published: February 2008

The annual value of equity stock exchange transactions and the annual value of mergers and acquisitions involve thousands of millions of pounds and thus considerable resources have been devoted to investment analysis, the discipline that sets out to value the worth of corporate enterprises. Probably the main requirement in investment analysis is the forecasting of company earnings, asset values and their growth rates. These forecasts are then used to determine the “correct” share price either by subjective means or by some equity valuation model.
Current OD Theory and Practice: Some References and Comments
Authors: Pate Larry E. , Rowland Kendrith M.
Published: February 2008

In a recent issue of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Blake strongly criticised an article on organisational change by Blumberg and Wiener for the authors' failure thoroughly to review the literature and for missing important material relevant to their study. In response, Blumberg simply stated that they were not aware of the material, because it had appeared in a relatively obscure journal. Indeed, a later writer (Zurcher) criticised one of Blake's papers on the same grounds, and then suggested that an event such as this might easily happen to any of us. Despite their apparent conflict, each of these individuals did agree, of course, that a thorough review of the literature on any given topic is necessary to good research and reporting. Our purpose here is not to pour salt on wounds, but rather to illustrate our raison d'être for presenting the material below.
FINANCIAL & LEGAL NOTES
Authors: Goch Desmond
Published: February 2008

Sandilands on Inflation Accounting The long‐awaited publication of the Sandilands Committee's Report on Inflation Accounting gave the signal for the resumption of hostilities in the correspondence columns of the financial and accountancy press as the opposing sides restated the arguments that have been tossed to and fro at intervals over the past twenty‐five years or so.
Dualistic Theory of the Processes of Management Learning
Authors: Cooper Cary L.
Published: February 2008

Over the years there have been numerous attempts in social psychology to examine the process of influence between change agents (e.g. parents, teachers, clinicians) and objects of their influence (children, students, patients). There has not been a concomitant effort to do the same in the field of management education, that is to explore the learning mechanisms between a management educationalist (e.g., teacher, trainer) and manager, although the parallels with social psychological theory are obviously there. It was felt that we might briefly examine a number of these theories here with a view to extracting concepts that may be useful in helping us to develop a working model of a learning theory applicable to the management education process.
Change Identification: A Necessary Prerequisite for Management by Exception
Authors: Lewis C.D.
Published: February 2008

Although “managing by exception” is often regarded as a reasonable principle on which to work, particularly where effective management resources are in short supply (and where are they not?), very little has appeared in the literature as to exactly what an exception is. This is indeed curious as the lack of definition of an exception totally precludes the possibility of managing by exception. For the purposes of this article an exception will be defined as a significant change with an identifiable cause. This definition requires of itself a definition of a significant change, and it is with this apparently simple task that this article is principally concerned.
Increasing Profitability through Decision‐Sharing
Authors: Gustafsson Ingvar
Published: February 2008

Background The St. Jorgen Hotel, Malino, is controlled by RESO, the Swedish nationwide chain of hotels. It comprises a nightclub, two restaurants, a conference division and a pizzeria. The experiment in decision‐sharing described below focussed initially on the restaurant side of the hotel, but has subsequently been extended to other areas, and other hotels.
Management Theory and Rational Decision Making
Authors: Gabor P.
Published: February 2008

Introduction The emphasis on verifiability as a basis for effective decision making stems from the current fashion (especially in public sector management theory) of stressing the importance of “rationally” based decisions. Rationally based decisions are built on a foundation of measurable facts usually ordered in a systematic manner. Such a process is given a host of names from terms of general application such as operations research, systems analysis, corporate planning, management by objectives, and systematic problem solving, through to techniques which apply to specific kinds of managerial situations, such as PPBS (budgeting), method study (job efficiency) or cost‐benefit/effectiveness analysis (programme commitment).
Systems Dynamics and Cash Flow Planning—A Model for Accountants
Authors: Shehata Hussien H.
Published: February 2008

This paper aims to explore the applicability of Systems Dynamics Methodology (SDM) to the formulation of long‐range cash flow policies. It also explains how the information generated from the model aids in understanding the behaviour of cash flow through time and helps in determining cash deficits, excess cash, including timing, and the contruction of cash budgets under different cash control policies. After a brief introduction which explains the basic ideas behind SDM, the structure of the model is developed and described and the results of a hypothetical example analysed. This is followed by some comments on practical aspects of implementing the model in real life and its potential for cash flow planning and control.
Leverage in UK Companies 1967–1973—An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Fox Robin B.
Published: February 2008

The amount of debt taken into a company's financial structure is one of the key financial decisions. When too much debt is taken on board, the company is risking technical bankruptcy if the company's cash inflow falls below the minimum level predicted. If too little debt is taken on, the company's cost of capital becomes unduly high compared with its competitors since it has failed to take advantage of the tax benefit from debt financing. The company's investment programme is impaired and the value of its equity falls on the stock exchange. This scenario might be described as the “conventional wisdom” of debt financing.
Using the Expectations Approach to Improve Managerial Communication and Organisational Effectiveness
Authors: Machin John
Published: February 2008

For many years it has been clear that one of the main barriers to improving managerial performance has been inadequate communication. This is in no way surprising given that in even a small managerial group of, say, 25 managers there are 600 potential two‐way communication channels, and increasingly the size of modern organisations is such that managerial groups in excess of 100 are relatively commonplace. A communication system based on the expectations approach was developed in 1973 capable of handling both the volume of communication and the complexity of communication channels which are used in the managerial groups of large organisations. Since that time over 700 managers in 25 organisations have used the system in a variety of applications.
Demarketing: An Optional Strategy for the Oil‐exporting Countries
Authors: Saddik S.M.A.
Published: February 2008

If the events of late 1973 have been the catalyst for an accelerated transition from the age of low‐cost oil, they have also demonstrated, on the one hand, the feasibility of demarketing as an advantageous optional strategy for the oil‐exporting countries and, on the other, the inevitability of demarketing as an appropriate strategy to cope with the new situation in the oil‐importing countries. Writing in 1971, Kotler and Levy asserted that the marketer's task is not blindly to seek increases in sales; rather, it is “to shape demand to conform with long‐run objectives”, including “that aspect of marketing that deals with discouraging customers in general or a certain class of customers in particular on either a temporary or a permanent basis”, i.e., demarketing. Kotler and Levy could not have hoped for a better situation to prove the soundness of their ideas than the present oil crisis.
New Directions for Management Education
Authors: Smith D.J.
Published: February 2008

Introduction This paper presents an educational philosophy and implied strategy derived from an analysis of the political basis of management education. This builds specifically upon the ideas of Paulo Freire as expressed in his Cultural Action For Freedom and Pedagogy of The Oppressed. The problem of ideology is met “head‐on” resulting in the definition of new directions for management education. Emphasis is upon the development in students of a capability for “self‐management”.
A View from the Engine Room: Junior Managers' Attitudes Towards Corporate Social Responsibility
Authors: Lowes Bryan , Luffman George
Published: February 2008

The past decade has witnessed a heated debate in the Western industrial nations about whether or not large companies should accept broader social obligations commensurate with their great power. This debate has been useful in highlighting the social pressures to which large companies are being subjected. It has also served to stimulate interest in the possibility of a wider, stakeholder ethos for guiding management decision‐making. The restricted profit‐making role historically assigned to business has been challenged in favour of a more radical alternative, which acknowledges that companies have responsibilities to all their stakeholders—employees, customers and the community—as well as shareholders. And as the debate has progressed, a whole new range of potential management functions have developed, concerned with monitoring social pressures, measuring company social performance by means of social audits and guiding management decision‐making through codes of conduct.
European Accounting
Authors: Nobes C.W.
Published: February 2008

Introduction Knowledge about European accounting is becoming steadily more necessary and more useful to accountants and businessmen. One of the reasons for this is the growth of large multi‐national companies and the prevalence of European subsidiaries even among fairly small British companies. Another reason is that the pace of change in accountancy has been rapid and accelerating over the last decade, and in such circumstances there is more scope for international influences on its development. Further, there are moves towards harmonisation that will affect all British companies. These reasons have, of course, been strengthened by Britain's entry into the EEC.
Marketing and Corruption
Authors: Guillet de Monthoux Pierre
Published: February 2008

Introduction Corruption is like the slow rotting of a dead body says a modern author. Unsatisfied with a “rotten body” analogy, one may want a non‐moralist definition of corruption. The subject of corruption and bribing has been treated in several theoretical essays but few empirical studies. Corruption has attracted the interest of sociologists, anthropologists, economists and political scientists. Drawing upon some of this corruption literature this paper aims at discussing corruption from a “narrow” marketing perspective. What makes a marketer corrupt? Are the consequences of “discovery” a deterrent? What uncertainties are there in corruption practice? Those are the pragmatic questions we will set out to discuss.
International Transfer Pricing
Authors: Slater A.G.
Published: February 2008

Introduction The growth and development of an individual business may take several forms, from internal growth to acquisition and merger. If development reaches the stage of a multi‐national corporation then complex central or divisional organisational structures will be formed to provide a suitable basis for management control. When a company uses decentralisation of power through a divisional structure they seek the advantages of being large at the centre and small at the divisional level.
British Consumerism and the Law
Authors: Mann James , Thornton Peter
Published: February 2008

Definitions of consumerism have ranged from the essentially pragmatic to the speculatively theoretical, from the simple “let the seller beware”, to the all embracing “concern for the total impact of business on society”. Regardless of the definitions, consumerism in Britain today is about consumer protection and how this can best be achieved. Whether this is merely a stage in the evolutionary development into something more comprehensive in its concerns and more radical in its approach remains to be seen. The main stream of the British consumer movement is middle class in origin and outlook. The social composition of the movement has been an important factor conditioning both its definition of consumer problems and its approach to their solution. Essentially the movement is concerned with ensuring that shoppers get a fair deal in the market place. The role of the consumer in the market place and the relationship between consumer and producer is never fundamentally questioned. The existing societal order and its concomitant economic relationships are simply accepted as part of the framework within which the consumer movement must work to achieve its objectives.
Managing The R & D Group
Authors: Margerison Charles
Published: February 2008

Communication in research and development has changed dramatically with our ability to organise. The innovators prior to this century had limited means of influencing people. The learned article, the book or the public presentation and debate were the major forms of message dissemination. Many good ideas were only communicated slowly. Some ideas got lost, others percolated to a wider audience. But in general the management of ideas into action was inadequate.
Moral Reasoning in Management
Authors: Dunstan G.R.
Published: February 2008

Morals in the Market Place “Business is business”, we used to be told. Grammatically speaking, the statement is as unexceptionable as one that “rain is rain”, and about as pointless. It is meaningful only in what it excludes or in what it implies. Doing business, for instance, is not the same as administering a dole or charitable distribution, just as rain is not a shower of confetti or spray from a hose. What used to be implied when people said “business is business” was that bargaining, buying and selling, hiring and firing, were processes conducted according to ruthless, unchallengeable rules, in which no concession to weakness, no consideration of personal factors or social interests had any part. Power went with possession, or with advantage; and power was to be used to the full.
Clues for Product Innovators
Authors: O'Leary Ray
Published: February 2008

“Developing a new product is one of the most exciting, costly and dangerous things a company can do.”
Inflation and the Redistribution of Wealth
Authors: Barry D. , Edwards J.R.
Published: February 2008

The significance of inflation to any economic system results largely from the redistributive consequences induced by unanticipated, or imperfectly anticipated, price rises. Indeed if all economic agents possessed perfect foresight and all prices were perfectly flexible upwards then inflation would have no redistributive consequences and the accounting system could easily incorporate inflation into its measurement procedures. This would then solve the basic problem associated with the measurement of profit which arises because of the difficulty of estimating the future income earning potential of a particular asset. The implications for measurement procedures of a situation where perfect foresight exists was in fact considered by Professor Lerner as long ago as 1951 who concluded that “It would be somewhat more trouble and involve more complicated book‐keeping, but it is quite feasible.
Car Market Price Competition in the Mid 1970s
Authors: Rhys D.G.
Published: February 2008

Rapid inflation, the severe reduction in demand for cars and the resultant over‐capacity, reestablished the importance of price as a competitive weapon in the car market between late 1973 and 1977. In times of steady economic growth the over‐whelming influence of changes in per capita income on car demand tends to relegate the price variable to a secondary position, and often it is almost totally discounted as a major causative variable. However, in a number of ways the state of the market in the mid 1970s has shown the continuing importance of relative prices: the pricing of imports, exports and price competition by domestic manufacturers all being geared to improving a manufacturer's market penetration. Consequently, the pricing decision remains as one of the most important features of competitive strategy and as a major factor in managerial decision making.
Ecological Pressures on the Firm: Cases and Conclusions
Authors: Ford D. , Vezeridis B.
Published: February 2008

Introduction This article examines a number of cases of companies' reactions to “ecological” or “environmental” pressure against their products. A first aim of the article is to identify common elements which are present in the different cases. It also traces those factors which may have led to “successful” outcomes of the controversies from both a company and a societal point of view. It then draws some general conclusions of benefit to management in planning for and handling such environmental pressures.
Employment and the Meeting of Human Needs
Authors: Chalmers Brian
Published: February 2008

In the CBI document entitled “The Road to Recovery”, the second “key message” was “wealth has to be created before it can be distributed”. My contention is that this apparent truism and the model on which it is based is inadequate if not totally false. This has important consequences for management strategy.
The Proper Scope and Content of Marketing
Authors: Arndt Johan
Published: February 2008

Marketing should be developed into a behavioural science concerned with the social instruments through which members of society receive their standard of living.
Work System Design — Deciding between Alternatives
Authors: Birchall D.W.
Published: February 2008

Currently there is much public concern about the quality of working life and the degree to which current methods of organising work meet the expectations and aspirations of the labour force. A large sector of the population, particularly school‐leavers, no longer seem to be attracted by the prospect of factory life. During a period of stagnation in the economy, occupations considered to be relatively desirable, such as teaching, may become difficult to enter, no longer offering the promotion opportunities available in the expansion of the 1960s. Rising levels of academic attainment and more “progressive” teaching methods develop expectations from work amongst school‐leavers considerably different from previous generations. The work system designer is required to develop solutions which achieve organisational objectives relating to aspects such as quantity, quality and cost of conversion. In order to achieve long term viability, however, the system must also satisfy the needs and expectations of individual employees.
Fixed Assets and Depreciation Stock and Cost of Sales
Authors: Fisher J.
Published: February 2008

As we have seen from the previous chapter it is not possible to consider the latest proposals for accounting for inflation (the Hyde Guidelines) in isolation. We must keep in mind that these proposals have been developed from the earlier recommendations put before the accounting profession in recent years. In order to consider fully the practical aspects of accounting for fixed assets and stock it is my intention in this chapter to concentrate on the proposals contained in Exposure Draft 18 on Current Cost Accounting and then to compare them with the Hyde Guidelines.
Monetary Items and the Gearing Adjustment: Who really pays for Inflation?
Authors: Lothian Niall
Published: February 2008

In our overview of the issues involved in inflation accounting we concentrated on two major problems, fixed assets and stock (which were analysed in depth in chapter two). We explicitly omitted any analysis of the other significant group of items in most balance sheets, monetary items; they are the liquid or near liquid assets and liabilities which a firm possesses such as cash, debtors, creditors, loan capital and so on. Agreement amongst accountants on how inflation affects monetary items is even more remote than agreement on fixed assets and stock. We have seen that the reformers of historical cost support one or other of two rival methods, current purchasing power or current cost accounting. Although the issues surrounding the treatment of monetary units are affected by whichever method is selected for the conversion of the main accounts (CPP or CCA), one cannot really polarise the discussion on monetary items so easily because, of the methods proposed so far for dealing with them, there has been a considerable element of overlap between the various treatments. This essay attempts to set down the main strands of the argument—it avoids deliberately the more esoteric topics of the debate which are explored by a few of the later contributors.
Implementing the Hyde Guidelines
Authors: Gibbs Martin
Published: February 2008

It looked as though the development of inflation accounting in the United Kingdom had come to a dead halt in July 1977 when the members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales voted against the compulsory introduction of any form of Current Cost Accounting (CCA). A year later, the position seems much more hopeful. It appears that about two‐thirds of the larger companies (other than financials) are complying with the Accounting Standards Committee's interim rccommendation, published in November 1977, that listed companies should include supplementary CCA profit and loss accounts with their annual reports.
Auditing CCA
Authors: Shaw J.C.
Published: February 2008

Introduction This is not the place for a major discussion of the nature of the audit task, definition of audit objectives, or examination of audit methods and techniques. However I do not think that we can expect to discuss the audit implications of CCA without a brief review of the audit process.
Inflation and Tax
Authors: Lynch Thomas D.
Published: February 2008

Preamble Taxation does not escape the effects of inflation. It too is distorted by the fall in value of the national currency. No problem would arise where a tax is applied to a simple base at a single rate, with no exemptions or allowances and without a significant time lag. This is however a rare case. Certainly so far as the British direct tax system is concerned there are usually multiple rates, thresholds and other allowances and, particularly in capital taxation, there may be significant gaps in time between the date of the imposition of the tax and the time when the tax becomes payable. For example the new rates of capital transfer tax announced on 26 October 1977 would apply to the estate of a person who dies in 1978, 1998 or in the next century or would do so but for the inevitable review which will be required mainly because of inflation arising between 1977 and the date of death. If this were not adjusted the heirs of the deceased would manifestly be required to pay more capital transfer tax than the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1977 intended them to pay. A simple example will illustrate this.
Some Practical Considerations of Current Cost Accounting
Authors: Baillie John
Published: February 2008

The problems of implementation which bedevilled, and ultimately killed, the ambitious and comprehensive approach of ED 18 have been referred to earlier in this book and, in any case, are well documented in the financial and professional press.
Management Accounting for Inflation in the Multiple Food Retail Industry
Authors: Millar J.L.
Published: February 2008

Introduction The debate on accounting for inflation has dwelt, almost wholly, on the presentation of published accounts, ignoring the implications for management accounting. This is surprising really. The distortions which inflation brings to our measurements are more immediate and decision‐affecting than the once a year public relations exercise of the annual accounts. The subject did get an airing in the Guidance Manual to ED18 but even there it was a technician's manual with no examination of the wider effects. This article (which has no academic pedigree) examines the effect of inflation on the compilation, presentation and interpretation of management information in the multiple retail food industry, i.e. in supermarketing. While not sharing the profundity of the learned debate on ED18 and Hyde, it deals with matters which immediately affect the company's health and where it most certainly does matter that inflation is reckoned with. Accountants in industry and commerce know they must account for inflation in their management accounting—a certainty of purpose lacking in our options in the published accounts. Perhaps if there was more discussion on how inflation affects day to day management decisions—and thereby how it is worked into the information leading to these decisions—then the whole debate might be a bit more real, and not as seems to many accountants in industry, on the edges of their accounting responsibilities.
Overtime Working—A Matter for Public Concern
Authors: Fishwick Francis
Published: February 2008

Introduction In March 1978 over 793,000 males classified within manual occupations were registered unemployed in Great Britain. This represented about 10·3 per cent of the number of full‐time male employees then at work in these same occupations. The 1978 New Earnings Survey showed that nearly 58 per cent of the 6·9 million men over 21 in manual occupations worked overtime, on average 10·4 hours in the survey week. From these figures one can calculate that the total number of hours of overtime worked by adult men in manual occupations exceeded 40 millions per week.
Principles of Useful Market Forecasting
Authors: Wensley Robin
Published: February 2008

The Concept of Usefulness Usefulness in forecasting implies two critical issues. Firstly, there is a concern to relate forecasting to its decision making context. This covers the vast majority of forecasting that is actually done although it is possible that a very limited number of instances are genuinely independent of a decision making process.
Industrial Buying During Recession: Farmers' Tractor Purchases, 1977–78
Authors: Foxall G.R.
Published: February 2008

Introduction The scope and popularity of academic research into organisational buying behaviour have increased immensely during the last decade as university business schools and departments of marketing have sought to enhance the effectiveness of companies' industrial marketing programmes. Most research into industrial buying has focused on areas where there is a fairly well defined group of individuals who are responsible for decision making. Further, in many studies, it has been comparatively easy to recognise a firm's “buying centre”—the group of people who influence the outcome of particular buying decisions. A typical buying centre may consist of the buyers themselves; the users of the purchased item; influencers, whose opinions shape the buying decision, perhaps by specifying one brand rather than another; deciders, who make but do not necessarily implement decisions; and gatekeepers, who are responsible for the flow of information and ideas to those who decide. Studies of buyer behaviour in manufacturing industry have reached a high level of sophistication in their ability to unravel the complexities of such intricate phases of the capital investment process as the precise manner in which a gatekeeper's editing of information impinges on final buying decisions, especially with respect to brand choice and the selection of particular suppliers.
Advertising Expenditure and Product Quality
Authors: Gilligan C.T. , Holmes D.E.A.
Published: February 2008

Editors' Note The following article reports an empirical study designed to find out whether products
on which a great deal of money is spent in advertising are on the whole of a higher
quality than products less heavily advertised. The results, whilst not absolutely
conclusive, indicate that this is not the case. A heavily advertised product is just as
likely to be poor quality as any other.
Managing Microprocessor Opportunities
Authors: Thornton P.C. , Mann J.
Published: February 2008

Recent developments in micro‐electronics, in particular Large‐Scale Integration (LSI) and the microprocessor, have already begun to have an important impact on the consumer product market. The first applications of micro‐electronic devices in products, calculators and digital watches, virtually wiped out two long established industries almost overnight. While this gives some impression of the potential effect of micro‐electronics on individual industries, it does not explain what is really crucial—that microprocessors can be substituted for nearly all mechanical and electro‐mechanical devices often at a fraction of the cost. It is much more efficient to move electrons around than mechanical parts.
Do More Extraverted People Make Better Sales Representatives?
Authors: Volard S.V. , McCarthy P.J.
Published: February 2008

Indroduction The impetus for conducting this study dealt with references to inferred characteristics of sales people. For example, Leavitt says:
Price Sensitivity of the Consumer
Authors: Gabor André , Granger C.W.J.
Published: February 2008

Even the best advertising campaign may fail if the price of the product is not appropriate, yet retail prices are still determined more by rules of thumb than systematic study.
Price and Consumer Protection
Authors: Gabor André
Published: February 2008

This chapter takes as its starting point the proposition that consumers are, by and large, far more rational in their attitudes and behaviour than suggested by most of the people who keep crying out for greater consumer protection, and also by some marketing men who seek to explain away their failures by attributing irrationality to their prospective customers.
Planning a Reliable Company Future
Authors: Churchley A.R.
Published: February 2008

Summary Reliability techniques in the widest sense may be applied to a diverse range of corporate activities, in order to predict the possibility of a successful outcome. The techniques could, for example, be applied to a series of commercial transactions, to a new marketing venture, or to research management. The outcome of any activity is sensitive to the configuration of the system producing it, and the probability of success may therefore be influenced by restructuring that system.
A Behavioural Scientist's Analysis of the Problems of Expanding the Role of the Internal Auditor
Authors: Hogan D.J.
Published: February 2008

This paper presents an account of a project which involved an analysis of the problems which were likely to be encountered in expanding the advisory aspect of the internal role within a large local authority. The project was conducted on behalf of Internal Audit by the Behavioural Science Unit, an internal consultancy group operating within the authority. The latter use concepts and frameworks taken from behavioural science for the conduct of their work. There were two main phases to the project. One was an examination of the role of the auditor within the authority. Particular emphasis was given to the elaboration of the policing and advisory aspects of the role in order to assess any difficulties in their compatibility. The second phase involved the collection of information from the auditor's clients, their potential clients, and from other service groups within the authority likely to be affected by an expanded audit role. The paper stresses the need to take account of the client's perceptions of the expanded role and emphasises their relevance in determining the extent to which the expansion will succeed.
Why Should A Management Accountant Know Anything About Marketing?
Authors: Piercy Nigel
Published: February 2008

Introduction It is noticeable that most management training and education incorporates an element of marketing studies in one form or another. This is true for business studies degrees and diplomas, for post‐graduate management degrees and diplomas, and for professional studies. It may be in need of particular justification, since it is often the case that it is easier to see the link between topics such as management accounting and functions such as production or personnel, than the relationship with marketing, which seems a rather different type of business discipline. In fact, this problem is complicated further by the changing nature of marketing itself, since views on the role of marketing in the company have changed radically in most companies in the last two decades.
The Balance of Payments and Unemployment Implications of the Declining Motor Industry in Britain
Authors: Sweeney M.T.
Published: February 2008

Introduction The growth in market share achieved by foreign car manufacturers during the last few years is a statistic frequently reported by the news media, but attention also needs to be given to the economic effects of this change in consumer preference.
Absence Problems — Are Attendance Bonus Schemes the Answer?
Authors: Behrend Hilde
Published: February 2008

The Question of Extra Pay for Better Attendance One of the important questions which faces managements in times of inflation is that of deciding what kind of appropriate action they can take in the wages field to boost performance. The regular award of pay increases associated with inflation has led to a loosening of the work contribution/reward relationship and has brought with it conflict between the “something for nothing” kind of pay increase which is expected as a matter of right as compensation for the rising cost of living and the “something for something” kind of pay increase, as represented, for instance, by extra pay for extra effort wage‐work bargains.
The Logic of Price Decision‐Making
Authors: Foxall Gordon R.
Published: February 2008

Introduction Contemporary marketing thought stresses that pricing decisions ought to be made within the context of the firm's entire marketing mix. Price is but one facet of a company's appeal to consumers and needs to be fully integrated with the physical product, its package, advertising, promotion, distribution and so on, in such a way as to enable it to complement, support and enhance every other component of the marketing mix. This means, among other things, that prices should be determined by reference to the market, set at levels which consumers are able, willing or can be persuaded to pay. In addition, the price he pays for a product should reinforce the consumer's judgement of its image and quality. Just as, according to the marketing concept, it is the buyer rather than the manager who defines the product and, thereby, the firm's business, so the meaning and level of the price at which the product changes hands should be decided ultimately by the attitudes and behaviour of consumers.
Social Responsibility and the Industrial Marketer
Authors: Blois K.J.
Published: February 2008

Introduction There is a growing discussion of industry's social responsibilities. The causes of this are numerous, but in particular it results from discussions and reports in the media of the impact of actions taken by particular industries and individual firms on society or particular sections of it.
The Future of Marketing: Views from Two Ivory Towers
Authors: Doyle Peter , Saunders John
Published: February 2008

Introduction All people of responsibility in marketing need to plan for the future. The marketing manager has to ensure that his company has the resources and products that will be needed in the 1980s and beyond. The marketing educator is training the marketing executives of the future. To do this they need to be aware of the direction of change of the total environment in which they operate and the organisations in which they work. The alternative to planned change toward a target in an identified future is to drift aimlessly or to make changes to suit crises as they arise.
The Performance of the Firm's Marketing Activities by Consumers
Authors: McNeal James U.
Published: February 2008

When business writings note that marketing costs are a certain percentage of total business costs, that figure is underestimated because it does not include the costs of those marketing efforts performed by consumers for business firms. Precisely those activities that we collectively term marketing are performed in part by consumers for the benefit of the firm.
Total Productivity — and its Link with Pay
Authors: Husband Tom , Ghobadian Abby
Published: February 2008

As one small part of a research project funded by the Science Research Council we have been working recently inside several British factories in an attempt to isolate the mechanisms of corporate productivity. Our ultimate objective is to derive robust measures of productivity in terms of batch manufacturing characteristics (e.g. product mix, throughput time, etc). But how does one measure productivity? It sounds simple until the range of possibilities is considered. After considering the range we eventually opted for “total productivity” measurement and this short article describes how we went about it. We applied this approach, for example, to a single, large machine shop in a heavy manufacturing firm; to the comparison of performance of several subsidiary firms within a group specialising in large batch production of high precision units; and to the overall performance of a firm in small batch production of technically complex units for military use.
Payment Systems in Smaller Enterprises in Sweden
Authors: Flykt Sven
Published: February 2008

Some Trends in the Pay Methods in Sweden SAF, the Swedish Employers' Confederation, organises 39 employer‐branch‐federations in the private sector and covers about 1,400,000 employees. The largest federations are the Swedish Engineering Employers' Association with 333,662 employees, the Swedish Commercial Employers' Association with 184,213 employees and the General Group of the Swedish Employers' Confederation with 125,042 employees. It is common to divide the branch‐organisations into three sectors:
An Experiment in Democratic Determination of Pay
Authors: Paterson T.T.
Published: February 2008

Throughout the industrialised democracies new organisational structures and systems of human relations are being developed. In Western Europe there is a movement from a capitalist towards a more socialist economy under the influence of political pressures of labour parties and trade unions — the movement called “democratic socialism”. The “democratic” aspect appears in the form of co‐determination and tripartism. In North America there is no or little parallel shift in the politico‐economic system, and co‐determination has gained hardly any foothold. Instead there is a strong humanist movement, based upon the cultural idiom of individualism, with accent upon motivation and the quality of working life: “human relations” are to be improved (although none of the experts on the subject even define human relations). It is all very sincere but empirical; there is no coherent philosophy such as that in Europe.
Level of Service: Inventory Management's Positive, Productive Side
Authors: Novak Tabor R.
Published: February 2008

Introduction The concept of inventory management consists of establishing and maintaining the proper balance of two complementary, yet conflicting goals: maximum level of service and minimum inventory investment.
The Role of the Marketing Accountant
Authors: Moss C.D.
Published: February 2008

The job description “marketing accountant” is increasingly seen in job advertisements, and this paper reports the results of a study into how companies use their “marketing accountants”; what they envisage the job description to mean, and what tasks these specialists are called upon to perform.
Decision Analysis with Multiple Objectives—Application to a Product Mix Problem in a Public Enterprise
Authors: Zif J. , Chatterjee K.
Published: February 2008

I. IntroductionThe general manager of a state owned manufacturing plant in a developing country has to decide how to allocate production between two products. The first product is more profitable, but the second is a priority product which the government wants to produce inside the country. Demand for the second product is uncertain, so that producing too much may decrease profits without increasing market satisfaction, while producing too little could result in unfavourable government and public reaction. This problem is typical of many decision‐making situations in the modern world—the dilemma posed by multiple, conflicting objectives in an uncertain environment.
Preferences for Decision‐Making Responsibilities Indicated by Skilled Blue‐Collar Workers
Authors: Savery Lawson K.
Published: February 2008

Except for a few notable exceptions, such as Zupanov and Tannenbaum, Arzensek, Ramsay and Bertsch and Obradovic, most studies on workers' participation appear to ignore the fundamental point that workers have a greater preference to participate in some areas of the decision‐making process than others. The workers' propensity to participate depends upon the ability and interest of workers. Arzensek's study indicated that a higher percentage of workers are interested in participating in personnel and social decisions than in economic decisions (Shuchman's terminology). Hespeet al, in a pilot study of steel workers in Sheffield, found similar results. This supports the concept that workers are more interested in participating in decisions which immediately affect them, rather than decisions which affect other parties, and may relate to long term matters. However, Dyson says that “people are not really much more interested (than their parents) in being consulted: but they would prefer to be told rather than ignored”.
Financial Reporting for Employees
Authors: Lyall David
Published: February 2008

The disclosure of financial information to trade unionists has received widespread attention in recent years and detailed lists providing specific guidance on the type of information to be disclosed have been published. The disclosure of information to individual employees, however, has received less attention and no clear understanding of the purpose and status of employee reports appears to have emerged.
The Practice of OR: Operationalising Ackoff
Authors: Sims David
Published: February 2008

Introduction In 1978, at the Operational Research Society Annual Conference, Ackoff presented two “state of the art” type papers, which were subsequently published. This article considers those views that are particularly concerned with the practice of OR, follows that with some reflections from practical work which exemplify and elaborate the concepts and ideas that Ackoff presented (with the intention not so much of assessing Ackoff's views as of inspecting the obstacles in the way of those who may wish to follow his suggestions) and finally summarises the experience of my colleagues and myself in following these suggestions.
Computer Selection in the Small Business
Authors: Coussins Steve
Published: February 2008

There are many problems that face an organisation or specialist department considering the introduction of an in‐house small business computer system for possibly the first time. However, there is no doubt that the introduction of computer techniques to business organisations often make a dramatic impact on efficiency and prove invaluable in maintaining a competitive edge. Equally, there is no doubt that computerisation, unless handled by people with relevant experience, can prove to be a disastrous experience.