bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Industrial Relations Training for Shop Stewards: Training without Objectives
Authors: Sawbridge D. , Keithley G.R.
Published: February 2008

INTRODUCTION Shop stewards' educational requirements, in terms of individual needs, organisational and even national needs, are reasonably easy to demonstrate. The meeting of these needs, at these various levels, in terms of the quantity and quality of the education provided for shop stewards, is less easy to demonstrate. In fact, any examination of the current situation in the respects, leads to the inescapable conclusion that the responsible providing bodies are, with few exceptions, failing in this most important task.
Extending the Application of Decision Analysis
Authors: Fenwick Ian , Doyle Peter
Published: February 2008

Introduction In recent years decision analysis has become an integral part of marketing and management courses. The benefits claimed for the technique are that it provides:
Distributed Intelligence
Authors: Doouss B.M. , Collins G.L.
Published: February 2008

This monograph defines distributed intelligence and discusses the relationship of distributed intelligence to data base, justifications for using the technique, and the approach to successful implementation of the technique. The approach is then illustrated by reference to a case study of experience in Birds Eye Foods. The planning process by which computing strategy for the company was decided is described, and the planning conclusions reached to date are given. The current state of development in the company is outlined and the very real savings so far achieved are specified. Finally, the main conclusions of the monograph are brought together. In essence these conclusions are that major savings are achievable using distributed intelligence, and that the implementation of a company data processing plan can be made quicker and simpler by its use. However, careful central control must be maintained so as to avoid fragmentation of machine, language skills, and application taking place.
How Bad are your Marketing Communications?
Authors: Wills Gordon
Published: February 2008

This monograph presents a review of the frontiers' ideas in marketing communications as of today, in six exploratory steps. It begins with an examination of the nature of acceptable goals for marketing communications and then examines what and with whom we should communicate. Where and when communications should be placed is next discussed in terms of the objective functions of multimedia models and frequency effects. The sixth step focuses on the match between evaluative instruments and initial objectives and exhorts communicators to experiment better and more often and indicates how. A Self‐Audit questionnaire enables the reader to score himself badly or well according to conscience, whilst acting as a device for defining improvements that can sensibly be made. The monograph is empirically based on the Cranfield Programme's findings from 1972–1976 of which the author was Co‐Director; he is now its Co‐Chairman.
Managerial Implications of Current Cost Accounting
Authors: Lothian Niall
Published: February 2008

In all the debates and discussion papers on the accounting profession's proposed new rules for current cost accounting, the emphasis, not unnaturally, has been on the accountant's and auditor's role in the implementation of the recommendations. Very few discussants have addressed themselves to the problems and issues which will confront the manager if the accounting profession decide to go ahead with current cost accounting; this article considers some of the major areas of corporate activity to which the manager will need to give attention.
The Four Orders of Administration
Authors: Jones R.S. , Lakin C.F.
Published: February 2008

First Order Operation and Administration Many organisations have clearly defined objectives. A furniture manufacturing company obviously exists to make and sell furniture. All the activities which take place within such a company are ultimately dependent on the successful performance of this primary task. Many operations have to be completed if this task is to be accomplished. Some of these are physical in character and others are administrative. Employees will not work without payment. Consequently, it is essential that pay be calculated and distributed. Again, the company will be obliged to pay tax and produce financial returns of various kinds. Work of this sort is unavoidable if the primary task is to be accomplished. The company may need to raise finance to maintain or replace its plant and equipment. The work which this involves is also evidently necessary to the successful accomplishment of the primary task. Work which is essential to the accomplishment of primary tasks will be called “first order operations”. Some of these will be administrative in character and will be designated “first order administration”.
A Framework for the Prior Assessment of the Effectiveness of Management Science Effort
Authors: Marsh P.J.
Published: February 2008

Introduction The conventional method for the ex ante determination of the effectiveness of a proposed application of management science is, wherever possible, in cost benefit terms. This article argues that such a measure is inadequate and that several other factors need to be taken into account before a comparison between approaches may be made. In particular, the next section identifies three further basic structural factors controlling effectiveness in a particular organisational situation and hypothesises the general functional relationship. Each of these three factors is analysed to determine its make‐up and ways of changing it so as to contribute favourably to effectiveness.
Corporate Manpower Planning
Authors: Bowey A.M.
Published: February 2008

INTRODUCTION It has become almost mandatory to start a text on manpower planning with a debate on the definition of the subject. (For a good example see Thakur[8].) There is a wide range of opinion and confusion on the topic of what manpower planning is. In this review I will concentrate on describing, collating and appraising the recent work which has been called Manpower Planning and the definition of the subject will therefore be the net coverage of the work reviewed. As an aid to the reader unfamiliar with the subject, the following preliminary definition is offered as a starting point: “Manpower planning is a strategy for matching future manpower numbers and skills with organisational activities”.
The Role of Technical Change in International Competitiveness: The Case of the Textile Machinery Industry
Authors: Rothwell Roy
Published: February 2008

Introduction A recent paper in Omega has suggested that one of the prime reasons for the catastrophic decline in the UK's share of world ship building during the twentieth century has been a laggardness in innovation on the part of the UK industry. This raises the question of the importance of technical change in export competitiveness in other industry sectors. Indeed, in the light of the UK Government's recently stated industrial strategy which, under the auspices of an overall industry plan, is designed to operate on a sectoral basis, the determination of the relative importance of the technical sophistication of a good in that good's competitiveness, and the determination of how this factor varies between sectors, would appear to be of prime importance in formulating practical policies for the different sectors.
Selection and the Decision Making Process
Authors: Smith David
Published: February 2008

Introduction Decisions concerning who to select for a particular job, or which job to offer a particular individual are notoriously difficult to make. They usually involve assessing a wide range of intangible individual characteristics and matching these against job requirements which are only vaguely specified. In spite of this, surprisingly little effort is devoted to understanding these problems and improving the selection process in many organisational situations.
Unit Trusts: Performance and Prospects
Authors: Firth Michael
Published: February 2008

A unit trust is a vehicle by which a large number of investors can pool their varying amounts of money into one trust fund. In return they are issued with “units” in proportion to the fraction of the fund that they own. The fund is then invested, by the managers, on the Stock Exchange. Investors buy units from the managers at what is known as the offer price and can sell them back to the managers at what is known as the bid price. These purchases and sales can be made through direct contact with the managers or via an agent such as a bank, stockbroker, accountant or solicitor.
Managing a Large Construction Site
Authors: Halsey R. , Margerison C.J.
Published: February 2008

Introduction Every year millions of pounds are invested in designing and constructing massive development projects such as factories, refineries, housing estates, hospitals and similar ventures. The management problems associated with such work are immense. Rarely can one organisation do the job, therefore a number of separate contracting organisations come together to do the different mechanical, electrical, building, chemical and other technical functions.
Auditing Management Development
Authors: Ashton David , Braiden Elizabeth , Easterby‐Smith Mark
Published: February 2008

Introduction The purpose of this monograph is to describe a practical process for the assessment of management development in organisations. This aim is achieved through the examination both of a framework for looking at management development in practice, and a specific procedure—the Management Development Audit—by which organisations may obtain data of direct use in the assessment of their management development systems, analysed in a way which will encourage recommendations and strategies for change. Although the monograph focuses specifically on the Management Development Audit, it is also intended to stimulate the reader's thinking in terms of examination and reflection upon their own management development systems. This may be best achieved by reflecting carefully upon the kinds of questions and issues to which the Management Development Audit addresses itself.
Orientation to Work and Job/Work Design
Authors: Bennett R.D.
Published: February 2008

IntroductionDuring the past decade or so a considerable wealth of material has been written and published on the topics of orientation to work and job/work design. (e.g. Davis and Taylor, Daniel, Goldthorpeet al, Klein, 0ldham, Sheldrake, Wild). Much of this has treated the topics in separate fashion although some writers (e.g. Bennett and Wild have made reference to the one whilst discussing the other.
What's Wrong with Historic Cost Accounting?
Authors: Lothian Niall
Published: February 2008

The knowledge and practice that are known as accounting are little more than a complex series of conventions. The accounting historian, or researcher, or practitioner, cannot turn to any original authoritative source for confirmation or clarification on basic points of principle. To the financially untrained observer all talk of an unstructured and flexible foundation to accounting must seem to be at odds with the precision and authority with which he sees financial statements being presented to the reader, be he shareholder, banker or manager. Profit and loss accounts and balance sheets look so beautifully cut and dried, so obviously “right”. Well of course they are, but that is only because accountants have adopted and refined conventional procedures to produce such tidy statements. There is nothing unarguable or sacrosanct about accounts—absolutely nothing.
Management Accounting and Inflation
Authors: Small John R.
Published: February 2008

“Economists theorise about what causes it and how to cure it, financial accountants argue a lot about whether, and if so how, to report it, but management accountants have got to cope with it!”
Marketing Strategies, Financial Structure and Innovation in UK Retailing
Authors: Doyle Peter , Cook David
Published: February 2008

This study identifies those retailing strategies which have been successful in generating high profit performance in the UK. Findings are based upon information on the financial structure and marketing strategies of 88 major UK retailers. The first section identifies the key environmental developments of the later 1970s and appraises their impact on retailers. Second, the methods by which retailers have sought to adapt to these changes are outlined. Finally, a model is developed which distinguishes successful from unsuccessful retailing strategies and provides a methodology for evaluating alternative approaches to market positioning.
Organisation Structure and Attitudes to Work:
Authors: Kakabadse Andrew
Published: February 2008

The Seebohm recommendations assumed that any improvement in the social services had to be accompanied by fundamental administrative reorganisation. The rationalisation that social work activity would be best placed under one roof, generated, not unexpectedly, discussion and research, on managerial and organisational matters. Earlier publications concluded that wherever possible, organisational structures should not fall into the “bureaucratic trap” by having tall hierarchies, but should be flexible and adaptable to changing conditions. These praiseworthy sentiments however, were not accompanied by down‐to‐earth empirical study, but rather by:
Trends in Labour Supply and Their Implications
Authors: Ermisch John
Published: February 2008

Antecedents The development of labour supply over the next fifteen years has its roots firmly implanted in the past. This dynamic characteristic of labour supply changes extends to labour force participation rates as well as to changes in labour supply attributable to purely demographic changes, so we shall initially examine both of these components of labour force change over the post‐war period. Changes in the size of the labour force which would occur as a result of changes in the age/sex structure of the population and the propensity of women to many if age/sex/marital status‐specific labour force participation rates were constant is denoted as demographic, and Table I shows its contribution to labour force growth in the post‐war period. The primary force behind the demographically‐induced change in the male labour supply is earlier movements in fertility, but both past fertility and contemporary marriage behaviour affect the magnitude of the demographically‐induced change in the female labour supply. In particular, up to the early 1970s the increase in the proportion of women under the age of 70 who are married restrained labour force growth because of the generally higher labour force participation rates of unmarried women; the size of this negative impact did, however, decline over time.
A Survey of the Current Employment Situation
Authors: Dean Andrew
Published: February 2008

Introduction This paper is intended to provide a broad view of the labour market as a background to some of the more specialised papers presented at this conference. It inevitably covers some of the same ground as those other papers but with the purpose of putting the detailed analyses into perspective.
Inflation, Interest Rates and Investment
Authors: Barry D. , Edwards J.R.
Published: February 2008

The unwillingness to borrow for investment purposes has been much in evidence in recent years and is well documented, the result being a process of “deindustrialisation” in the British economy. Whereas a large number of considerations undoubtedly impinge upon the investment decision the cost of borrowing is frequently cited as a primary determinant of the propensity to invest. It is tempting, therefore, to subscribe to the view that the recorded low rates of capital formation of the last few years are due to unusually high interest rates and equally appealing to assume that a sharp decline in interest rates will lead to a revival of investment and the regeneration of manufacturing industry.
Pricing New Products:
Authors: Lawler‐Wilson Clive
Published: February 2008

Introduction The problem of establishing a price for a new product is typically related to one of a number of possible company pricing objectives. McCarthy and Shapiro, for example, divide possible pricing objectives into the categories “profit oriented”, “sales oriented” and “status quo”, and then further subdivide them according to the diagram in Figure 1. The status quo objective of “meeting competition” translates itself directly into a new product price, while that of “nonprice competition” implies that price is to be de‐emphasised—one is, nevertheless, left with a pricing decision. All the other pricing objectives require either an explicit or implicit knowledge of the relationship between the price of the product and the quantity of goods sold—i.e. the demand curve.
Industrial Relations Theory and Research
Authors: Kirkbride Paul
Published: February 2008

Introduction This paper has three related purposes or themes. Firstly, it will be argued that the dominant theory of industrial relations, the systems approach, represents an unsatisfactory attempt to explain the nature of industrial relations phenomena.
Common Approaches to Budgeting for Advertising
Authors: Mitchell Lionel A.
Published: February 2008

Editors' Note In this short article the authors briefly review and comment on the most common
approaches used by companies or proposed by specialists for setting the budgets to be
spent on advertising in an organisation.
Test Marketing—An Evaluation of More Recent Micro‐Marketing Methods
Authors: Jobber D.
Published: February 2008

The stimulus to this research project was an article by Thornycroft in the Financial Times where he wrote: “The old test marketing idea is virtually dead: it was too expensive. Once companies had committed themselves to manufacturing a new product for a launch in a sizable TV region they were almost bound by cash and executive conceit to proceed with it to a national launch, whatever the auguries. Now the most common procedure is a more selective test either through extensive consumer sampling or the Research Bureau's mini‐van operation or a Westminster Press test campaign, or a simulated supermarket or one of the other testing services on offer.” At the time this appeared a contentious statement—reducing conventional test marketing to little more than a shibboleth. In the event, it served as a hypothesis to study while, at the same time, provided scope for an examination of the newer methods of testing a product in the market‐place before national launch.
Managing the Mixed Economy
Authors: Hattersley Roy
Published: February 2008

Socialism and the mixed economy are entirely compatible. That belief is shared by almost every Labour voter in Britain and a vast majority of Labour Party members. Support for the mixed economy has been embodied—directly or by implication—in every decision that any Labour Government has ever made. Since Labour and the New Social Order—the manifesto of 1918 which first committed the Party to a programme of public ownership—we have invariably adopted the Tawney technique for determining the merits of additional nationalisation:
The Management of Microprocessors
Authors: Greenhalgh Kenneth
Published: February 2008

1. Preface There are by now no sentences left with which to make a dramatic introduction to a paper on microprocessors. The very best sentences have long since become part of common parlance, and most of those were never true anyway. The real facts about microprocessors are increasingly mundane and certainly socially depressing: as things stand right now it is quite uncertain that Britain will be a richer, more contented land by the year 2,000. There is no point in pretending that everything is fine. Most things are fairly bad: the rate at which British industry is making any attempt to come to terms with the microprocessor; the rate at which microprocessor engineers are being produced; the relatively low status afforded to anything practical; the evidence to date of union attitudes towards technology‐originated redundancies; all of these are cause for concern. We are in the middle of something qualitatively different from the last 50 years of industrial change, and the social implications are more than most will admit to. Employment will drop. To believe that workers replaced by microprocessor systems will inevitably find jobs in the construction of those same microprocessor systems is as foolish as thinking that horses replaced by motor cars could find jobs in the various branches of the auto industry.
On the Price Consciousness of Consumers
Authors: Gabor André , Granger C.W.J.
Published: February 2008

The authors report on an enquiry they carried out in Nottingham, to determine the extent to which housewives are conscious of the price of an article at the time of its purchase. They find that for many of the fifteen grocery products covered, a high proportion of housewives were aware of the prices, although the proportion varied somewhat between the products. The results of the enquiry are analysed in several ways and their implications discussed.
Price as an Indicator of Quality: Report on an Enquiry
Authors: Gabor André , Granger C.W.J.
Published: February 2008

I. Introduction It is generally accepted that price may enter into the determination of consumers' choice in two ways: as an indicator of cost and as an indicator of quality. Contemporary demand theory rests heavily on the first of these two functions while the second tends to be treated as if it were an exceptional and anomalous phenomenon, to be mentioned only in order to be dismissed as unimportant. Indeed, it is of considerable analytical convenience to ignore price as a quality indicator, because if this is not done, the utility function of the individual must be formulated so as to incorporate an additional set of independent variables, namely the prices of all the commodities in the market. The problem is not intrinsically insoluble but it leads to difficulties which can be avoided simply by denying the relevance of this aspect of price.
The Effect off Price on Choice: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation
Authors: Sowter A.P. , Gabor A. , Granger C.W.J.
Published: February 2008

Introduction This paper is a report on an experimental study of consumers' behaviour and on a new theory of choice between close substitutes which we developed from the indications of the results obtained. The theory is not in disharmony with the commonly accepted tenets of the fundamental analysis of demand but differs from the latter in so far as it involves only operational concepts.
Price and Consumer Behaviour—A Review
Authors: Gabor André
Published: February 2008

The concepts of the traditional theory of demand have not been found suitable for realistic studies of consumers' behaviour. Since 1954, however, new lines of exploration have evolved, of which that of Professor Jean Stoetzel has proved most fruitful. The idea that, since price serves as a powerful indicator of quality, the consumer bent on a purchase will approach the market with two price limits in mind was verified and further developed by the Nottingham University Consumer Study Group. The theory has been successfully extended to the competition between leading brands and applied to the exploration of consumer behaviour during the decimalisation period in the UK. Advances have been made also in the quantitative study of other related problems, such as the price image of retail establishments and the relationship between pack size, price and purchasing behaviour.
A Systematic Approach to Effective Pricing
Authors: Gabor André , Granger C.W.J.
Published: February 2008

Introduction Price is only one of the many elements in the marketing mix which determine the extent of the success or failure of a product, and since in any actual marketing situation price exerts its influence in combination with all the other factors, it would seem justified to ask whether it is at all reasonable to lift price out of the complex and discuss it by itself.
Customer Oriented Pricing
Authors: Gabor André
Published: February 2008

Introduction The psychology of pricing has two main divisions. On the one hand, there is the psychology of the price setter, an interesting field which offers much scope for further research, and on the other hand we have the psychology of the customer. Since pricing is unlikely to lead to business success if it is carried out in disregard of the customers' attitudes and reactions, the two are not unconnected, but the latter can well be discussed on its own and it is in this way that I propose to approach the problems of customer oriented pricing.
Price Distributions, Price Comparison Surveys, and Price Competition: A Comment on a Paper by Schmidbauer
Authors: Gabor André , Morris David , Reeson David
Published: February 2008

Klaus Schmidbauer presented a paper entitled “On the Price Structure in Consumer Markets: Results of a Secondary Analysis of Price Comparisons of Consumer Durables”. The paper analysed price data on consumer durables collected by the German Institut für angewandte Verbraucherforschung in order to throw some light on two important issues in consumer policy. First, Schmidbauer considered the shape and form of the distributions of prices of given makes and models of consumer durables found in local markets. Inspection of these empirical distributions permitted the author to reach some conclusions about the usefulness of providing price comparison information on a public good basis. Secondly, the variety of different prices on offer in a local market (as measured by the coefficient of variation) was suggested as a measure of local price competition. Simple correlations were found between the number of prices quoted for a model and the range of those prices (positive); the average variability of prices between sellers and the price level in a given local market (negative); and the size of the local market and the price level (negative). Overall these results were taken as confirming the notion that increased price competition is reflected in an increased variation in price.
Evaluating Group Decision‐Making in the Corporate Environment
Authors: Parker L.D.
Published: February 2008

Introduction The management of a business enterprise invariably requires meetings and group deliberations ranging from board meetings to first line supervisor meetings throughout the financial year. For the effective use of such group decision‐making situations, management must go beyond the assumptions and rational decision models of accountants and economists. While rationality, decision process steps, programmable decisions and statistical approaches can be most usefully considered, also important are the role of personal values in the decision‐making process, occupational identification, bias in thinking, rationalisation instead of rationality, the role of independent critical thinking, the problems of “group think”, lateral versus vertical thinking and the required conditions for group creativity.
Employment and Unemployment Issues in the 1970s
Authors: Mayhew K. , Rosewell B.
Published: February 2008

Introduction This monograph examines developments in the British labour market during the 1970s and in particular the impact of the unusual combination of high inflation and high unemployment that characterised the period. The reasons for the current high rates of unemployment are examined, and government attempts to ameliorate the problem reviewed. A growing labour force will make the Government's task more difficult and the main trends in labour supply during the seventies are described; changes in differentials and in the dispersion of earnings are evaluated and the effects of inflation and incomes policies assesed. Finally we analyse perhaps the most important area for policy‐makers, developments in the collective bargaining structure and in the role of trade unions.
The Micro‐Computer in Business Applications
Authors: Harrison F.L.
Published: February 2008

In the Financial Times of 21 January 1977, the statement was made:
But How DO Managers Make Decisions?
Authors: Rice George H.
Published: February 2008

One of the main things taught in business schools is managerial decision‐making. Often as a formal course of study, and always as an implication, students are taught that one of the main, if not major, responsibilities of a manager is to “guide the activities of the business”. Therefore, they are trained in reading the significance of events in the economic environment, and taught the intricacies of marketing, finance, production, and organising the work force. Much of this teaching presumes that the manager is a rational, cogent and calculating individual. He is taught that rules and theories govern business operations, and above all he is taught that he should use something called “scientific decision‐making”.
Personnel Management in the Management Hierarchy
Authors: Beaumont P.B. , Deaton D.R.
Published: February 2008

Introduction There have recently been a number of articles arguing that the status of personnel management within the management hierarchy of many firms in Britain is increasing quite considerably. These articles have then gone on to discuss some of the general factors, such as the extensive programme of industrial relations legislation of the previous Labour Government, responsible for this change. However, beyond these fairly general statements on the status of personnel management our “hard evidence” on the subject is very much confined to single industry studies (i.e. engineering, chemicals) that have been almost solely concerned with the influence of one variable, that of establishment size, on the development of the personnel management function.
The Methodology of Q‐Analysis
Authors: Atkin R.H.
Published: February 2008

The method I propose to discuss in this paper is one based on ideas of structure (essentially a geometrical notion): How we are to define it (make it precise) and how we are to discern and use it in any study of organisations or institutions (such as the modern industrial/commercial corporations). These ideas will lead us away from simple linear or stochastic modelling — although the latter ideas can be viewed as special cases of this more general approach — and will provide us with an analytical tool (computer based) which amounts to a new scientific methodology. This methodology is particularly relevant to those fields of study often referred to as the “soft sciences”: for example, such areas as social science, politics, industrial relations, community studies, planning, organisational analysis, and so on. By comparison, the “hard” sciences (such as the varied branches of physics and chemistry, their spin‐offs into engineering, astronomy, and some aspects of biology etc.) appear at first sight to be described by a mathematical language which gives them an exactness and predictability which is now beyond dispute; and when the precision sometimes seems to get lost then the mathematicians have provided us with a theory of probability which we use to generate a statistical approach to the subject. This “precision” is actually based on the “measurement” of phenomena in terms of the real number system — a technique which was summarised by an oft quoted remark of Kelvin's, to the effect that data are what can be measured (represented by a real number).
Company Response to the EEC
Authors: Nicholls J.R.
Published: February 2008

Introduction Musschenbroek pointed out in early 1973 that the accession of the UK to the EEC represented a major change in the environment for the UK food and drink industry. UK firms would be subject to higher raw material prices, different sources of supply, new ingredient and packaging legislation, new laws about competition and fair trading, and of course the whole regime of the Common Agricultural Policy.
Capital Budgeting in West European Companies
Authors: Baker James C.
Published: February 2008

Introduction Since 1951, the subject of capital budgeting has become deeply entrenched in the literature of financial management. Since Joel Dean's pioneering text (1951) many articles and books devoted to theoretical conceptualisation and empirical research have been published. In general, along with the growth in the literature of capital budgeting, it appears that usage of more sophisticated capital budgeting techniques has increased. Discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques, in particular, seem to be used more and more by large companies especially. This observation might be expected in view of the increasing sophistication in managerial analysis, computers, application of management science and quantitative methods, and the increasing complexity of worldwide business operations in general. Business firms in the US, Europe, and elsewhere, continue to search for those analytical techniques which will lead to an increase in shareholder wealth or maximum profits.
A Study of Industry Financial Ratios
Authors: Drury J.C.
Published: February 2008

The origins of financial ratio analysis can be traced back to the first decade of the twentieth century. It began with the development of a single ratio, the current ratio, for a single purpose—the evaluation of credit worthiness. Today ratio analysis involves the use of several ratios by a variety of users including credit lenders, credit rating agencies, investors and management.
Inter‐Divisional Transfer Pricing: An Artificial Accounting System or a Real Business Tool?
Authors: Smallman Alan , Adrien Henri
Published: February 2008

Transfer pricing, although a relatively new area, is now a large and complex subject. In large diversified and integrated companies, the necessity to identify separate “profit centres” generates “internal” prices or transfer prices from one subsidiary to another, from one product line to another or even from one function to another. As the movements of funds generated by these transfer prices remain strictly within the company books, and therefore do not generate any profit for the whole enterprise, it appears that the mechanism of setting the level of transfer prices is purely an artificial accounting technique which should not deserve too much management time and should not influence real business decisions. An enormous amount of internal time is, however, spent by the management of most large companies in discussing and negotiating transfer prices. This seems to be a waste of time and effort but is a logical consequence of the definition of separate profit centres. The primary objective of the company should be to maximise overall profit, which means the addition of the financial results of each profit centre, and therefore the transfer price system should be designed to reach that objective.
Mix Variances in Management Accounting: A Programming Analysis
Authors: Drury D.H.
Published: February 2008

Introduction Properly performed management accounting variance analyses frequently generate insight by management that helps to identify factors contributing to a poorer (or better) than expected performance, and to pinpoint persons or circumstances responsible for a variance. On the other hand, incorrect or inadequate evaluations are often dysfunctional to management. The wrong problem areas may be exposed by an incorrect evaluation, valuable time and expensive effort may be wasted in analysing the wrong problems, and improper actions might be enacted that would tend to hasten an already deteriorating situation.
Microcomputers in a Decentralised Company
Authors: Bubb P.L.
Published: February 2008

Introduction AFA‐Minerva (EMI) Limited is an international company with comprehensive interests in fire protection and intruder prevention. It has some 25 offices in the UK and operates elsewhere through strategically placed associated companies and agents. The company produces, installs and maintains electronic fire and intruder defence systems, fire doors and extinguishing systems. In the UK it operates a communication network with monitoring stations which respond to fire, security and process alarms. It employs around 2,200 people and has an annual turnover of approximately £40 million. As an operating company within the Thorn EMI Group it enjoys access to the financial and technical resources of a major UK‐based company.
Industrial Buying Behaviour: A Review of Literature and Research Needs
Authors: Kennedy Anita M.
Published: February 2008

I. Introduction Over the past twenty years, attempts have been made to advance knowledge on industrial buying behaviour as the basis for marketing strategy decisions. In spite of the recent proliferation of research interests in this area, there remains limited information on questions such as the locus of buying responsibility and the nature of the buying process within potential customer organisations. A brief summary of industrial buying literature serves to exemplify this point:
Effective Policing: The French Gendarmerie
Authors: Jammes J.R.J.
Published: February 2008

I. The Gendarmerie: Historical Background The Gendarmerie is the senior unit of the French Armed Forces. It is, however, difficult to give a precise date to its creation. What can be asserted is that as early as the Eleventh Century special units existed under the sénéchal (seneschal), an official of the King's household who was entrusted with the administration of military justice and the command of the army. The seneschal's assistants were armed men known as sergents d'armes (sergeants at arms). In time, the office of the seneschal was replaced by that of the connétable (constable) who was originally the head groom of the King's stables, but who became the principal officer of the early French kings before rising to become commander‐in‐chief of the army in 1218. The connétable's second in command was the maréchal (marshal). Eventually, the number of marshals grew and they were empowered to administer justice among the soldiery and the camp followers in wartime, a task which fully absorbed them throughout the Hundred Years War (1337–1453). The corps of marshals was then known as the maréchaussée (marshalcy) and its members as sergeants and provosts. One of the provosts, Le Gallois de Fougières, was killed at Agincourt in 1415; his ashes were transferred to the national memorial to the Gendarmerie, which was erected at Versailles in 1946.
Scientific Inventory Control and Manufacturing Environments
Authors: Walters C.D.J.
Published: February 2008

Inventory is an essential part of the manufacturing process, but quantitative analyses have tended to concentrate on a narrow range of problems. Although the characteristics of stock holdings in manufacturing industry vary widely, there is scope for considerable cost savings if scientific methods are employed. This article describes three cases in which savings have been made despite the lack of relevant tried theory.
Public Advices to Management Educators: 1960/1980
Authors: Wills Gordon
Published: February 2008

It is a familiar enough concept in the teaching of management that the business organisation is an open system, operating in an environment susceptible of analysis. The same logic can be applied to the business schools which thus teach. I accordingly have attempted to review in this article what have seemed to be the most critical pieces of public or environmental advices coming our way. Members of the advising environmental community have ranged from the National Economic Development Council and Lord Franks in the early sixties to Nancy Foy and the European Foundation for Management and Development in the late seventies. In between there have been a million suggestions by users, be they company management development advisers or programme participants. Finally, of course, there have been competitive activities by schools other than the one in which we find ourselves. They do not offer verbal advice; rather they demonstrate, should we care to observe carefully, how goals similar if not always identical to our own might be achieved. Accordingly, this discussion will not examine what we have done at Cranfield but only what I believe we can perceive other schools doing elsewhere.
The Consumption Function: Marketing's Role in Economic Development
Authors: Cundiff Edward W. , Hilger Marye T.
Published: February 2008

Introduction Everyone agrees that increasing levels of economic development is good, but hardly anyone agrees on how to achieve it. Theorists cannot even agree on what constitutes economic development; each writer on economic development uses his own measure or measures of development. Many of these measures represent attempts to assess levels of production and/or consumption in the economies studied. Thus, it would seem that the achievement of higher levels of production and consumption is a common goal of economic development theorists. The production‐consumption thesis is an accepted tenet in economic development planning. Unfortunately, most of the production‐consumption theories and planners have focused their attention entirely on developing the productive capacity end of the equation, under the assumption that increases in consumption will automatically follow increases in production. (See Figure I for an illustration of this dichotomy between theory and policy.)
What Employees Need to Know
Authors: Cowan Nick
Published: February 2008

Introduction To perform their jobs effectively, employees obviously need certain essential information. Part of this information is job related, whilst other information is about general terms and conditions of employment. Some will be given as part of the recruitment process whilst the rest will — or at least should — be given during the induction programme and during specific job training. In addition, there is a whole range of information which cannot be said to be essential to specific job performance but which is increasingly communicated to employees and their representatives as part of the process of improving motivation and increasing understanding of the business. In the United Kingdom, there is also a statutory duty on an employer to disclose certain information to trade union representatives without which they “would be to a material extent impeded in…collective bargaining”.
Japanese Experience of Employee Relations in the United Kingdom
Authors: Isherwood Michael
Published: February 2008

The success that has attended Japanese manufacturing and distribution ventures in the United Kingdom in the past few years has attracted much interest and a fair share of acclaim from observers in the media who are anxious either to imbue flagging British spirit with a new sense of purpose or who wish to snipe at some favourite bête noire such as the trade unions or management inefficiencies. There has been much written and heard about Japanese‐style management of late and there is a growing interest in the idea of quality circles as a means of motivating the work force and creating more of a sense of involvement on the shop floor.
A Progressive Strategy for Employee Relations
Authors: Wilson Brian
Published: February 2008

Introduction Despite the rather pessimistic analysis in the second section, the overall theme of this paper is optimistic. Whilst there is little doubt that traditional Employee Relations thinking is well nigh bankrupt and has little to offer, it is equally true that the pain faced by many companies and the instinct for survival have been powerful motivators in developing new employee relations approaches. These have proved very effective and have every chance of giving both greatly improved employee relations and also a much more competitive British Industry.
Intercultural Co‐operation in Organisations
Authors: Hofstede Geert
Published: February 2008

Organisations, Symbols, Culture and Values Organisations invade and shape our lives in many ways. They helped us to be born, tried to educate us, sell us their products, try to amuse us, employ us or pay us unemployment benefits, shape our physical environment, try to tell us what to do or not to do, pretend to protect us, heal us when we are sick and bury us when we are dead. As persons we are very much at the mercy of many organisations — yet collectively we are those organisations; we made them, maintain them, but rarely we seem to be able to direct them where we want them to go — even if we are called “Directors”. We are apprentice sorcerers, not only with regard to the technical products of our society but even more with regard to its organisational products. We know very little about organisations and organising.
Consultants, Lawyers and Industrial Relations
Authors: Beaumont P.B.
Published: February 2008

Introduction In Britain, discussions of the role of third parties in industrial relations have almost entirely concentrated on Government or quasi‐government bodies concerned with administering incomes policy or offering conciliation and arbitration services. Such discussion has rarely, however, been extended to include private third parties, such as consultants and lawyers. This deficiency seems somewhat surprising, not to say unfortunate, as one would expect that both consultants and lawyers have considerably expanded their role in the British industrial relations system from the 1970s, largely as a consequence of the increased legal regulation of the system. This is not, of course, to suggest that such individuals did not play an often important role in some situations, prior to that decade. For example, consultants certainly figured in the build‐up to the Fawley productivity agreements, although according to Allan Flanders,
The Japan Syndrome:
Authors: Smith J. Michael
Published: February 2008

For the last few years Japan has been the rage of many scholars who, with little or no business experience in their own culture, let alone in Japan, have turned Japanese management into a panacea for the ills of Western management. These scholars, many of whom have either relied on Western analytical tools which tend to be culture bound or have simply exploited their own Japanese heritage, have not only done the West a disservice, but have also succeeded in doing an even greater disservice to the Japanese. It is ironic that these rosy pictures of Japanese management perfection have come at a time when many Japanese would like to scrap their authoritarian management system in favour of a more “democratic” one.
The Vocational Preferences of Chief Executives
Authors: Margerison Charles
Published: February 2008

Chief executives have a considerable role in shaping policy and practices of organisations. However, the factors which influence them in their careers have received relatively little attention. The work of Mintzberg, and more recently that of Kotter and Lee, have illustrated different facets of the top job and the people who occupy such posts.
A Profile of the British Production Manager
Authors: Lockyer Keith G. , Oakland John S.
Published: February 2008

In any country which relies heavily on manufacturing for a healthy economy, its production managers constitute a major asset. Yet a recent study has revealed that the qualifications and ambitions of production managers are lower than those of other managers in other functions. More disturbing still, is the low level of usage of operations management techniques and concepts in Britain. Indeed, if British manufacturing industry is to survive, let alone succeed, much needs to be done to improve the education, training and status of the production manager in the UK.
ACTION LEARNING: The Cure is Started
Authors: Revans R.W.
Published: February 2008

Where We Have Got To This brief series of articles is intended to describe the order in which various things need to be thought about—and practised—in an action learning programme. It is intended to help real managers, working together, both to clear up some of today's troubles and, by doing so, to learn either how to prevent a few of tomorrow's or to clear them up more speedily if management has not learned quite enough from today's experience to forestall them altogether. We have, so far, tried to say what action learning is; this is a quite impossible task, since action learning has been practised in the jungles of West Africa as well as in the international board rooms of Brussels, and in the operating theatres of London hospitals as well as in the largest copper refinery in the world. All we can expect to do is to present a few logical arguments. At the moment we are on about the sequence: