bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An advanced professional qualification for trainers
Authors: Lowndes Richard
Published: February 2008

In ICT of October 1977, Duncan Smith's article, “An Advanced Professional Qualification for Trainers” identifies a central problem: namely in what way should we develop, educate and train those executives who themselves are to hold the key role of directing the training activity within employing organisations. His analysis of the problem, and his proposals to solve it, raise some fascinating trains of thought for the management educator who works in the sector of the polytechnics and regional management centres. Where Duncan Smith focuses upon the role and the skills, knowledge and personal qualities necessary to fulfil it, I shall attempt to relate those ideas to the general framework of management education which has developed and is developing in Britain. Taking the point that that framework may well currently be deficient in coping with the demand that Duncan Smith has identified, I shall advance the idea that we can learn from contemporary developments in the USA. Such developments relate to exploiting the potential of the Doctoral programme to accommodate needs of this kind. In Britain we have available the skeleton framework for such action, by virtue of the range available within the Council for National Academic Awards. Within that framework exists the opportunity to pioneer new developments through the medium of the PhD, and a starting point for such pioneering could be established by working from the analysis of the British scene provided by Duncan Smith and drawing upon relevant comparative studies, such as the USA case which I present later.
The organic approach
Authors: WELLENS JOHN
Published: February 2008

As the debate on participation has proceeded over the past eight years, two distinct streams of thought have emerged. One favours an imposed system, brought about by the law; the other favours the organic approach, starting informally from small beginnings but with no preconceived limits on how far it might ultimately spread. Although it may appear that the eight years of skirmishing in Britain have produced no concrete result, in fact they have been extremely productive in that they have clarified ideas on the subject to the point where the choice is now seen to lie between two well‐defined paths forward. In this article we consider the impact of the political situation on these two alternatives and argue that the imposed solution is not likely in the current political climate and that this gives the trainer the opportunity to initiate the organic approach.
Employee funds in Europe
Authors: BORE TOM
Published: February 2008

Interest in this important subject was stimulated by the articles written about it in July 1976, January 1977 and May 1977 by John Wellens. He draws attention to the lack of interest the trade unions and the employer associations in the UK have shown in the idea of employee shareholding. The start of a new round of wage bargaining suggests that in this third phase of incomes policy there will be no discussion on how incomes policy is linked to the wider problem of capital growth, wealth creation and the distribution of profits. But there will be a fourth phase of incomes policy in due course and since the conservative party is strongly in favour of employee share ownership schemes, the debate on their merits and demerits need not be too long delayed. As a member of the EEC it is worth recalling that the European debate about employee funds commenced at the end of the second World War. The war left destruction of productive capacity, disorganised local and community services and much poverty. Rebuilding the economic systems called for national purpose, national solidarity, restraint by the trade unions: they were forthcoming in good measure. And so, with the assistance of capital loans by America, rehabilitation of several countries took place.
Swedish employers
Authors: GORE TOM
Published: February 2008

The Swedish Employers' Federation (SAF), which reached its 75th birthday in September 1977, today operates in a highly developed economy. In 1902 Sweden was relatively a poor country, where 55 per cent of the working population was employed in agriculture and forestry, and only 27 per cent in industry and mining. Today, six per cent of the working population is concerned with agriculture and forestry, whilst industry, mining and construction account for 36 per cent. And there are 30 per cent in public administration and other services and fifteen per cent in trade. The rise of this industrial economy in some seventy years has been achieved largely by private enterprise and initiative, inventive genius, the development of foreign trade, and a sound system of industrial relations. Some forty per cent of the industrial production is exported which is equivalent to twenty‐four per cent of the total production of goods and services measured in monetary terms. The recent devaluation of the Krona has been designed to boost exports in order to overcome the balance of payments deficit which has increased considerably in the past year. Sweden, like Britain, has been affected by the slow economic recovery of Europe and other areas in the world.
The Mondragon model of participation
Authors: OAKESHOTT ROBERT
Published: February 2008

With the publication of a White Paper in October 1977, the Prime Minister and the Government have signalled their intention of setting up a new Co‐operative Development Agency at an early date. Assuming that the report's detailed recommendations are followed, then one of the main tasks of the new CDA will be to ‘identify, promote and encourage viable projects to be undertaken on a co‐operative basis.’ At least for the life of this government, support for new co‐operative enterprises seems likely to form part of official policy. The aim of this article is to contribute to this wider re‐opening of the debate about whether co‐operative production offers a practical middle way between private capitalist and state‐owned business. By co‐operative production I mean a system under which the ultimate control and ownership of an enterprise rests not with outsiders — whether private capitalists or state bureaucrats — but with all those working in it. What I shall attempt to argue is that such enterprises, if they are correctly structured, if they enjoy fully professional management, and if they enjoy adequate access to capital and markets, do indeed offer a practical and even a promising third way.
The numbers game
Authors: WELLENS JOHN
Published: February 2008

General Montgomery held the view that, to fight well, his soldiers needed to be well‐informed about their immediate objectives and how they fitted in to his overall strategy. Workers in industry and commerce are engaged in a major battle — a battle for markets, even a battle for survival. And so the Montgomery Principle might well apply to them. Here are some of the points that need to be communicated.
An outsider inside small engineering firms
Authors: DAGGER GEORGE
Published: February 2008

Inside small firms the loneliness of the Managing Director provides an opportunity for the trusted outsider who can offer viable advice. A new EITB service to small engineering firms aims to take advantage of this opportunity.
The industrial option in Sweden
Authors: GORE TOM
Published: February 2008

Economists have long been aware of the importance of human resource development. It is probably at least one aspect of the so called ‘dismal’ science they can agree about. Adam Smith, the founding father, in his famous book, The Wealth of Nations, first published in 1776 and still being issued, stressed the significance of education to the nation several times. Since then a wide range of literature is available dealing purely with the economics of education. Some of it links education with economic growth.
UK engineering training
Authors: Wallace John
Published: February 2008

In earlier articles, you have learned from Ray Wild and Stuart Brown something of the origins of the Teaching Company Scheme, and some details of the Molins/Henley/Brunel venture with which they are personally involved. It is now my task to give you, so to speak, the ‘policy background’ to the scheme and an over‐view of how it is developing, and in view of the complexity I make no apology for some repetition. We are still in the experimental stage of a complex and dynamic situation in which the factors involved are ill‐defined, and their importance and relationships are not well understood. The scheme guided by the management committee must obviously be flexible to allow for opportunism and judgment, but within a corporate policy. Such being the case, the opportunity for criticism of its actions is immense!
Democracy, accountability and participation
Authors: Parkyn Brian
Published: February 2008

The public debate on Industrial Democracy following the publication of the Bullock Report led me to make two observations. Firstly, it became abundantly clear that there is very widespread support for some kind of movement towards democracy and participation in industry. This appeared to stretch over a wide political spectrum, including Labour, Liberal and Conservative politicians, though excluding the extreme Left and Right. Support was forthcoming from leading trade unionists and the CBI. Various academics and others whose interests concerned industrial relations also seemed anxious to move in the same direction. There were, of course, a few who developed arguments totally opposed to any step towards industrial democracy, but those were clearly very much in a minority, though it should be stated that their reasoning was often difficult to fault. In short, therefore, it appeared that almost all informed opinion was in favour and considered that industrial democracy and participation is A GOOD THING.
Core competencies of a trainer
Authors: KENNY JOHN B
Published: February 2008

A great interest seems to be welling up in our North American society in career education, educational accounting systems, continuing education, professional development seminars, and so on. Education for and acceptance of the concept of occupational competence has suddenly blossomed as a concern for professionals and paraprofessionals alike. There appears to be trouble today, as professionals, in determining the difference between what is now called career education and the vocational education programs of bygone years. Career education, in the literature these days, is something which begins in early childhood and continues throughout the adult years. Both the technologist and the professional may well have to go back to school during their working lives to maintain their currency.
an integrated approach to IR training
Authors: BREWSTER CJ , CONNOCK SL
Published: February 2008

This article describes an approach to integrating law, skills and policy in industrial relations training for managers. It emphasises the importance of conducting the training on an in‐company basis and relating the training to the specific needs of the managers concerned.
communicating company information
Authors: UNWIN ALAN
Published: February 2008

One of the worst communication problems anyone ever had was that of the shepherd boy who cried ‘Wolf!’ His whole verbal currency was de‐valued — a plight we are all too familiar with nowadays. Yet as we hear on the national news and in all the other media, the claims and counter‐claims, the arguments as to whether or not the wolves of inflation and all the other economic ills really are at the door, and other arguments still as to how sharp their teeth may be, we cannot help wondering — was it really all the shepherd boy's fault?
the choices ahead part 5
Authors: WELLENS JOHN
Published: February 2008

This series is built around several independent propositions. One of these is that if managers (and personnel specialists in particular) are to be more effective then they will have to become more politically aware and seek to influence national decisions on work, employment and the economy. The assumption is that there is little point in slogging away at plant level trying to increase motivation, involvement and commitment and generally seeking to improve performance if the national climate is destructive of all these things. This is to pour water into a barrel with a huge hole in the bottom; it is more reasonable to try to repair the hole even if this means trying to influence events taking place outside the plant and therefore less under the manager's direct control. This is a new situation for the manager to face. Another aspect of my analysis is that in this socio‐political environment in which the organisation operates there are two influences in particular which have revolutionised our approach to the work and employment situation over the past century and, although these twin influences have had an enormous influence on industry and business, they have had virtually no effect on the way politicians behave or how they organise their own business. One of these influences is what we have learned about how to conduct human relationships and the other is the formal body of knowledge about management which has been built up over this period. Thus politicians, particularly the henchmen of the left‐wing political estate, are out of step with that large part of the national business and industrial community which has up‐dated itself on these two aspects of authority relationships and formal management procedures.
the inseparable two
Authors: FREEDMAN BL
Published: February 2008

The manager in today's competitive and industrial society is continually finding himself in a constant struggle between the commitments he has to his wife and family and the commitments he has to his job and company. His search to reach a balance between these two commitments are in the forefront of his mind and daily activities.
Higher education: problems and prospects
Authors: GORE TOM
Published: February 2008

Higher education demands considerable expenditure. In 1976–77 the recurrent expenditure alone in Great Britain was roughly £1 336 millions, which included maintenance grants of £362 millions to students pursuing advanced courses in the institutions concerned with them. The expenditure represents about 18 per cent of all recurrent expenditure in 1976–77 by the Department of Education and Science, the Scottish Education Department and the Welsh Office. Capital expenditure on higher education in 1976–77 was around £154 millions. These large sums of expenditure are basically determined by the size of the eighteen year old age group and those in this group who qualify for higher education by acquiring the required ‘A’ levels and who wish to pursue it. The age participation rate (APR) is crucial to any analysis of future developments.
The need for creative confrontation
Authors: Wellens John
Published: February 2008

John Wellens argues that what we want is more confrontation rather than less, but that it should be the confrontation of ideas and not the confrontation of power.
Verbal communication
Authors: WRIGHT D , WHALLEY P
Published: February 2008

Most people when asked which is the most effective means of communication will invariably answer — ‘by word of month’. Not a day goes by when some kind of verbal communication does not take place and consequently it could be thought that because the art was continually practised that some high degree of success would be achieved in transmitting messages, in such a way that the meaning is clearly understood. It is however patently obvious if some time is taken to listen to others' conversations, or even to analyse the results of our own verbal transactions, that making oneself understood, by the transmission of a verbal message, is a most difficult thing to achieve.
The European Social Fund its aims and how it works
Authors: STABENOW W.
Published: February 2008

Scope of the Fund. It is as well to clarify at the beginning that contrary to what the name European Social Fund may imply to some readers, the Fund does not cover the whole range of expenditure facing the European Community in the field of social policy. Nor is it, to counter another widespread misconception, a Fund empowered to step in to meet every kind of social need in cases where other resources, public and private, may be inadequate.
How to individualise job instruction
Authors: WINFIELD IAN
Published: February 2008

Instructors and supervisors have an acknowledged hard job. Explaining, demonstrating, setting to work and correcting errors all day long is extremely demanding. Often we hear our instructors, supervisors and chargehands complain that over the years their job is getting no easier. What do they specifically complain about? They complain that the pace of technological change brings in new skills almost daily, and, conversely that old skills disappear without trace almost overnight. They also complain of the apparent decline in standards of literacy and numeracy and the willingness to work among sections of the younger work force.
So many people need us
Authors: LOWNDES RICHARD , FOOT JACQUELINE
Published: February 2008

A great deal of literature exists on such topics as the problems and challenges of British manufacturing industry, on the need to encourage the growth of small firms, and on the urban planning activities of revitalizing sections of our cities with new industry and new housing projects. That literature ranges through articles in the business press, colourful publicity brochures, pamphlets of guide lines and advice, and detailed research studies. But what is it like to launch and manage a small manufacturing company in a new urban development area? What is it like to work in such a firm?
Risk management
Authors: TYE JAMES
Published: February 2008

The meteoric growth of Risk Management in the last ten years in the USA is now starting to be experienced in Europe. This is because cost conscious companies instead of having different departments dealing with identifying risks, measuring risk, controlling risks, or financing risks either externally or through self insurance, are now realising that their real objective is one of CONSERVING ALL RESOURCES. What is the distinction — often overlooked — between hazard and risk? What do we understand by pure and speculative risks?
Robotics and telechirics
Authors: THRING MW
Published: February 2008

Humanoid machines are built either to save money in manufacture of for humane reasons such as safety, elimination of boredom, extension of human skills and hygiene. Sceptrology is the technology of crutches or artificial limbs. Telechirs are machines that can put the hand‐eye coordinated skill of a trained craftsman at the other end of a cable. They will have great application for mining or undersea work. Robots are pre‐programmed by a human but can do a wide range of manipulative tasks. They will have very limited application.
Introducing the working mathematics group
Authors: THURSTON JOHN
Published: February 2008

The gap between industry and education should be a cause of concern to both sides. Employers too often see the gap as the failure of the education system to meet the needs of employment. This narrow view, however, is both arrogant and lacking in an appreciation of the full extent of the problem. It takes two sides to create a gap and in this case industry must accept its share of blame for the poor co‐operation and understanding which exists between education and the world of work.
Operation Phoenix 6
Authors: Wellens John
Published: February 2008

THE NEED FOR SOME MASTER PLAN THE NATURE OF THE CRISIS FACING SOCIETY A SITUATION REPORT I have reached the stage of being roughly half‐way through my analysis. It is my intention now to have a brief survey of where I think the whole thing leads before I complete the analysis.
Changes in leadership style
Authors: PRESCOTT BRIAN
Published: February 2008

Between the wars leadership style was mainly autocratic and was well suited to the demands of stable structured work patterns. The leader was seen as the expert who was capable of making effective decisions on most work matters since he dealt with a pattern of recurring work problems. At the same time, the educational level of most workers was low and their social values, shaped by the British class system with its emphasis on levels of authority, status and influence, were such that autocratic decisions were accepted without question, indeed expected. During the period 1945 to 1970, the growth of union power was the main force which caused leaders to adopt what could be called the consultative/negotiative style. The aim of consultation was to gain commitment to decisions made by management and resulted in the creation of the so‐called works councils. The aim of negotiation, on the other hand, was to reach compromise decisions and resulted in the employment of an army of industrial relations experts, and an explosion in industrial relations procedures and government legislation. Now, as we are moving towards tomorrow's world, we are entering a new phase.
Operation Phoenix
Authors: SMITH DUNCAN
Published: February 2008

The last time the British people were united in a common aim — the defeat of Hitler — prodigies of organisation, courage and innovation occurred. There were ups and downs during World War 2, but nothing then seemed impossible. No problem was so great that it could not be solved with imagination and drive. Afterwards, naturally, there was a reaction. Following so great an effort attention shifted to more domestic affairs, and Labour's Welfare State seemed a just reward for the sacrifices that all classes had made. But valuable though this has been in reducing inequalities, ‘welfare’ does not rank high in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It is not surprising, therefore, that the development of a welfare system, even when supplemented by the ‘never so good’ bout of material prosperity, has failed to provide a sense of national fulfilment. There have been grumbles, strikes and frustrations, but no surge of ideas or idealism such as that of 1945. For 30 years, indeed, there was a tacit political consensus about welfare and unemployment, but in other matters the battle between the Ins and Outs artificially polarised opinion and stifled long‐term thinking. And then in 1979 even the limited consensus was shattered.
Biofeedback:
Authors: WINFIELD IAN
Published: February 2008

Training Officers, Personnel Officers, Welfare Officers, Instructors and line managers find that much of their time is being taken up with activities related to destocking and labour shedding. But as well as this they also find that their everyday activities and roles are changing too. Increasingly they find themselves taking a caring role with staff; assisting whenever possible with their health, general welfare and mental well‐being. They find themselves talking with staff about general problems of living in today's changing world; about avoiding illness; ways of coping with social and personal disruption in their lives; about maintenance of sound health — even about avoiding health‐denying habits. At first sight all this seems due to the increased general population awareness of health and well‐being — the impact of Health Education Council public campaigns for instance. But is it? Is this the only reason?
A grass roots version of the training board system
Authors: LOMAX PETER
Published: February 2008

It is in the belief that the Secretary of State for Employment's call for new thinking about industrial training needs to include the views and experience of professional industrial trainers that this article has been prepared. The object of the article is to broaden the scope of the debate and to set out constructive ideas about: • The principles and objectives of industrial training • Methods of achieving these objectives • Establishing national training standards
Truancy, industry and the school curriculum
Authors: O'KEEFFE DENNIS
Published: February 2008

The significance of truancy ‐ This chapter discusses truancy from school as a focusing device for analysing the consequences, educational, social and economic of the nationalisation of the education system. In the opening sections, an attempt is made to define truancy and to indicate the scale of the problem. In sections 5 and 6, an explanation of truancy is advanced in terms of the effects that a nationalised education industry has on curricular and economic decision‐making. In section 7, the problem of truancy is analysed on a comparative basis drawing on differences between education in liberal society and education in collectivist society. Finally, tentative suggestions are advanced with a view to the partial denationalisation of the education industry.
Preparation For Industrial Society
Authors: Everard KB
Published: February 2008

There is no doubt that we are living in a turbulent society, and there are many who criticise the young for making it worse. Someone more renowned than I had this to say about it:
editorial comment on the news
Authors: WELLENS JOHN
Published: February 2008

Youth Training Scheme. The most important event in the manpower field over the past four weeks has been the publication of the MSC plans for its Youth Training Scheme which came out on 4 May. An element of confusion has been introduced into the topic owing to the fact that there are two top‐level bodies with their fingers in the pie: on the one hand there is the Government speaking through the Employment Minister and his Department; on the other there is the ‘independent’ Manpower Services Commission. Both speak with immense authority though it is the Government, in the person of Norman Tebbit, which has the ultimate upper hand.
Mischief for idle hands
Authors: MARSHALL GEOFFREY
Published: February 2008

Young people without enough to occupy them are tempted to get into mischief. The author looks into some of the forms this mischief can take and gives advice on how to deal with them. The warning is particularly apt at this time when employers are being encouraged to increase the number of unemployed school leavers they take on.
Operation Phoenix 16: The personal Dimension
Authors: SUESSMUTH PATRICK
Published: February 2008

As is obvious to most of us, we live in a time when one way of life is being replaced by another. We live at a time where we as a society are on the THRESHOLD between two distinctly different ways of life. We live in a time where the collapse of one system and the replacement of it by another is going on. This collapse and replacement of one system by another can be referred to as CLIMACTERIC. The replacement of our way of life over the Climacteric‐Threshold is vaguely apparent to each of us, though, each of us views it from a different perspective. This article deals with some of the factors involved as a consumer society person crosses the threshold turning into a conservator society person.
Current Themes in VOCATIONAL EDUCATION and TRAINING POLICIES:
Authors: THOROGOOD RAY
Published: February 2008

This overview of current themes in vocational education and training policies and systems is presented in three parts. PART 1 treats the context of vocational education and training and discusses the major issues influencing national Governments to change their role in vocational education and training. PART 2 discusses the common themes in how central Governments are changing their role in vocational education and training, particularly concerning the devolution of training responsibility to local bodies. The ways in which vocational education and training systems controlled by these local bodies are reacting to this increased responsibility are pursued in detail. PART 3 discusses the growing realization by central Governments that their responsibility for economic development and productivity can be discharged by a closer focus on vocational education and training, not at the delivery level, but at a policy level which includes both policies for vocational preparation of all citizens — particularly youth — and policies which promote new and existing enterprises which show high returns on investment and productivity.
Group Training schemes: An assured future
Authors: DAVIES T.
Published: February 2008

In all the clamour for attention in the wake of the far reaching changes and proposals which have occurred in the training world in recent months a number of highly successful small organisations have been busy providing training support and services to small and medium sized companies — that sector of industry and commerce which is alone in its efficiency and ability to create jobs. Group Training Associations now provide an amazing range of training courses, advice, etc. to their members and others, at practical grass roots level. GTAs assist the short and long term efforts of small businesses and will soon be the latter's only means of implementing the New Training Initiative.
Operation Phoenix 18
Authors: Wellens John
Published: February 2008

In my last instalment I developed the triple overview: the view that there are three distinct influences at work in our industrial society. These are: some sort of major depression of the usual cyclical nature; structural change in certain of the older industries and, third, a major shift in the way that human beings contribute to the economy and to society. Opinions vary as to which is the most influential factor at any time. I made the point that the media and the politicians, together with the trade union barons, talk exclusively about ‘The Depression’ and lump structural change with it, to the complete neglect of the major shift, which, to them, doesn't exist. This, in turn, explains their strategy: hoping for a natural return to yesterday's prosperity as the Depression moves in its inevitable cycle. The reason for separating structural change from the other two influences is that it is distinct in kind. Structural change tends to move production from one country to another rather than do away with it altogether or superceding it with something else. It is important to make this distinction.
Interactive video about authoring
Authors: PARSLOE ERIC
Published: February 2008

I'd like to look at two things this month, not entirely unrelated. I wrote last time about compatibility and interfaces. Since then, a number of experts in the field, several of them American, met at a conference in London during October; I'd like to summarise for you some of what they said. At the same time, I'd like to consider the subject of ‘authoring’, the process which has put interactive design into the hands of users with real needs but no computer background.
QUALITY CIRCLES in CONTEXT
Authors: HUTCHINS DAVID
Published: February 2008

Since my original article published in this Journal in January 1980, entitled AN INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY CIRCLES, the name of the concept has become a buzz word, a fact and the latest craze amongst consultants throughout the world. That is not to suggest that the article in question was responsible for such developments. It would have happened some time or other anyway. The fact that Circles have taken off is both exciting and yet worrying. Properly implemented and in the right industrial culture, Quality Circles can help create in an organisation, a competitive drive totally outside the experience of any one outside Japan where Circles originated. Badly implemented or misunderstood, Quality Circles are almost inevitably destined for the file entitled “we tried it once and it didn't work”. Perhaps the most imposing feature is the staggering number of differing interpretations emanating from a number of self‐appointed specialists.
Selecting your Training Venue
Authors: Rand Peter
Published: February 2008

Finding and booking facilities for a course or conference can be a nightmare in terms of time consumed and results achieved. This article aims to show training managers how to use external resources to resolve their problems in this area.
Towards Re‐establishing Naturalism in Management Training and Development
Authors: Stuart Roger
Published: February 2008

Learning is a natural human activity. The more trainers seek to contrive learning processes the more problems are created. The author argues for the removal of the mystification and jargon and for the re‐creation of the individual's instinctive and natural abilities to learn/help others to learn.
Training Provision in France and the Developing UK System
Authors: Roberts A. , Anderson I.J.
Published: February 2008

In France the state controlled training of apprentices is well developed and integrated with vocational education generally. The article offers an analysis and comparison with the UK system, which lags behind France in providing an educated, trained and flexible workforce.
How Valid is Validation?
Authors: Leslie Rae W.
Published: February 2008

Validation and evaluation are essential elements of the total training process if any indications are to be derived as to the effectiveness of such training. To counteract a purely cosmetic approach to validation, evaluation can be divided into validation, concerned with the effectiveness of training methods, and a wider assessment of the methods' practical results in the workplace. Post‐training questionnaires need to be well‐designed, and a three‐test approach in assessing learning derived would help reduce subjectivity.
Situational Influences on Learning Styles
Authors: Talbot Reg
Published: February 2008

One of the major themes of management education is the development of theoretical models to aid the education and training of managers. Such theoretical formulations help educators to decide which teaching methods are appropriate in various situations, to conceptualise learning processes and to understand processes of growth and development of the individual manager. One such model which has received attention is Kolb's (1971) model of experiential learning, the core of which is a simple description of learning as a cyclic process: reflections on aspects of experience are used to make sense of that experience which in turn provides the basis for choice of new experience.
A Strategic Approach to Management Development:
Authors: Wayne Smith H.
Published: February 2008

Although the US petroleum industry has been undergoing large‐scale realignments, the overall outlook for the surviving oil companies is much brighter now than it was in late 1981 and throughout 1982. Even so, the industry's difficulties due to the recession and the accompanying oil glut will have effects for some time to come. One of these effects is not immediately obvious. The current slump may have had serious long‐range consequences for the development of managers who will lead the petroleum companies into the next century. Indeed, the case can be made that a potentially serious problem existed before the slowdown. The present situation may merely have exacerbated it.
Group Training Associations
Authors: Davies T.
Published: February 2008

For many employers training is purchased from the in‐house Training Centre, Skill Centre, College of Further Education or Management Consultant. However, throughout England, Scotland and Wales there is a network of Training Centres and expertise — Group Training Associations — providing high quality courses and services at fees generally well below those charged by the traditional providers.
Using Assessment Centres as a Means for Self‐Development
Authors: Povah Nigel
Published: February 2008

Assessment centres have been around for just over forty years now; however, their acceptance in industry, whilst increasing, is still rather sporadic. One reason for this is that the words “Assessment Centre” conjure up an image of mysticism. What is it? How does it work? etc. So, apart from the fact that many organisations are unwilling to commit the finance and resources to assessment centres, the other major obstacle is the scepticism and mistrust which surround the process, simply because it is misunderstood.
Assertiveness Training for Meetings
Authors: Back Ken , Back Kate
Published: February 2008

Imagine yourself trying to: — keep an eye on time — listen to a long and confusing but relevant contribution — bring somebody into the discussion whom you believe has an important point to make — stop a “side meeting” that’s just developed all at the same time, and whilst being observed by a number of your colleagues. This is what we expect of someone who is running a meeting. No wonder most people find it difficult to do and, in turn, no wonder many managers take a dim view of the effectiveness of meetings. (The ones they attend, of course, not the ones they run themselves!)
Developing Skills for Matrix Management
Authors: Mumford Alan , Honey Peter
Published: February 2008

We are grateful to the Ford Motor Company first for the opportunity of working with them on the issues described here, and secondly for agreeing that we may write this article. We should, however, emphasise that the views expressed here are ours, and not necessarily those of our clients at Ford.
Learning from Outdoor Activities: Getting the Balance Right
Authors: Honey Peter , Lobley Roger
Published: February 2008

Ever since Peter Honey published The Manual of Learning Styles (with Alan Mumford) in 1982 he has been intrigued with the possibility of learning from any experience. Experiences come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some are sought, some just happen, some are welcome, some are decidedly unwelcome, some are stimulating, some are boring. As someone who is intrigued with the process of learning from experience, and who views “life” as just one experience after another, Peter Honey finds it easy to believe that everything that happens has learning potential. Imagine his delight, therefore, when in 1984 he was approached by Roger Lobley and John Bishop of ICI's Petrochemicals and Plastics Division and invited to work with them, and senior staff from the Outward Bound School at Eskdale, Cumbria, on the design of a programme that used outdoor activities as a vehicle to help in the development of learning skills and a structured approach to interpersonal skills.
Competence, Achievement and Qualifications
Authors: Tolley George
Published: February 2008

The reform of vocational qualifications is now under way. Britain's workforce is seriously underqualified and the need for competence, properly assessed and accredited, and personal qualities, such as attitudes and adaptability, must be met. The National Council for Vocational Qualifications is developing three major thrusts: towards competence, framework (the National Vocational Qualification), and accessibility and progression, giving a wide and more flexible range of learning opportunities.
The Role of the MBA in the UK
Authors: James Bernard
Published: February 2008

Two recently published reports — “The Making of British Managers” by John Constable and Roger McCormick, and “The Making of Managers” by Charles Handly — are compared, and their differing emphasis on the future role of the MBA is discussed. There are three possible roles for the MBA: an early accelerator for potential high‐fliers, a broadening mechanism for mid‐career managers, or a specialist qualification in particular areas. Both problems and opportunities are suggested by this analysis.
A MULTI‐LEVEL APPROACH TO TRAINING
Authors: Bogorya Yvonne
Published: February 2008

A review of changes in organisations and the different impact at different levels. Comments on the competencies required. Shows desirability of integrating training and education.
APPLYING SELF‐DEVELOPMENT IN ORGANISATIONS
Authors: Pedler Mike
Published: February 2008

In a report on two conferences concerned with “Applying Self‐development in Organisations”, the current position of the self‐development idea in management education and training is summarised. It is concluded that many management development practitioners have accepted the practical value of self‐development and are now concerned with attempting to apply the concept within organisations.
GESTALT IN INTERPERSONAL SKILLS TRAINING: OUT OF THE TWILIGHT
Authors: Clark Neil
Published: February 2008

The development of Gestalt thinking, especially the work of Fritz Perls, is reviewed. It is suggested that the Gestalt process has been marred in the past by placing too much power with the therapist. Gestalt can be used more appropriately in Interpersonal Skills Training by giving more real involvement to the learner.
Safety Training
Authors: WALSH BILL
Published: February 2008

Safety legislation is under review. In March 1970 a small but high‐powered body was set up to conduct a general inquiry across the whole field of safety legislation under the Chairmanship of Lord Robens. A review is certainly needed: ‘more than three lost day’ accidents in industry occur at a constant rate of around 1 000 per day, while it is suspected that other minor accidents are ten times as great as this. Every working day we manage to kill two men at work, yet there are firms which regularly record over 100 000 man hours of work without accidents. The discrepancy between the best firms and the worst in the same industry is unbelievable.
Asynchronous Sequential Control of a Billet Handling System for Feeding a Hot Forging Machine
Authors: Rooks B.W. , Okpere K.O. , Cheng R.H.M.
Published: February 2008

The use of industrial robots in the advanced countries of the world is growing. Whilst generally the concept of a robot is taken as a highly versatile human‐like device the term also extends to include much simpler devices of the pick‐and‐place type with a fixed sequence of events and these form by far the largest proportion of the world's robot population. Whilst they lack versatility in themselves they often form part of a much more complex automatic system in which some degree of flexibility is required. In addition they must operate at their optimum rate whilst being fail‐safe in operation. The design of a suitable control system to meet such demands particularly when a number of such devices and the primary process machinery have to be interlinked can be solved with the aid of sequential switching theory.
ASEA Industrial Robots‐Taking Over Unwanted Jobs Through Numerical Control
Authors: Hansson C.
Published: February 2008

Not many automation tools have been so much discussed as the industrial robot. Starting about ten years ago, robots were first marketed as universal machines, capable of replacing man in a number of industrial jobs. Those robots sold slowly during the first several years, and the question was sometimes raised whether they were only a temporary technical solution, soon to be forgotten.
A Microprocessor Controlled Visual Sensor for Industrial Robots
Authors: Bretschi J.
Published: February 2008

The handling of initially disordered mechanical parts with a robot manipulator needs some procedure for orientating these parts. A simple microprocessor‐controlled TV‐sensor which enables an industrial robot to perform this function by measurement of orientation and position of the parts is described. Constraining the parts to a finite number of stable positions by mechanical devices preceding the visual sensor, restriction to binary images, processing of only a few information carrying TV‐lines and a simple recognition algorithm lead to an easily programmable microprocessor‐controlled visual sensor which accomplishes all practical requirements of flexibility, high speed, low memory size and low costs.
V/I‐A visual instruction software system for programming industrial robots
Authors: Kelley R.B. , Silvestro K.C.
Published: February 2008

The visual instruction software system was designed with typical industrial situations serving as guidelines. The programmer is assumed to have little knowledge of computers. Rather, he is expected to have a detailed knowledge of the task to be performed. The V/I system provides a safe and simple means to communicate this knowledge to the robot control computer. The design of a software system for programming industrial robots is presented. This software system allows the robot's task to be described through visual means. Television cameras and hand‐held arrays of small lights permit the time spent in programming a robot to be radically reduced. Programmers need only place an array of lights in the robot's field of view and press a button on a hand‐held keyboard to specify robot hand position and orientation. Hence, time delays usually encountered when co‐ordinating the movement of robot arm joints are eliminated.
Force analysis and design considerations of grippers
Authors: Chen Fan Y.
Published: February 2008

The kinetic characteristics of grippers for industrial robots are studied. Determination of the input‐output force of grippers and calculations of gripping force for different combinations of gripper's posture and workpiece orientation are included.
3·D vision·guided welding robot system
Authors: LaCoe Dean
Published: February 2008

One ofthefirst 3D vision‐guided welding robots in production has gone to work in the tough environment of a Norfolk and Western railroad repair shop.
AGENTS GET FRAMED IN NOVEL ARCHITECTURE
Authors: Duffy N.D. , Herd J.T. , Eccles N.J.
Published: February 2008

Robot techniques appear to have made little impact on applications areas involving part assembly. This is mainly due to a lack of flexibility and consequent problems of cost justification, particularly where there are multiple products and short product runs. Ways of increasing flexibility include the reduction of fixturing by using more than one robot on an assembly task, the provision of enhanced sensing capabilities by using multiple sensors, and the use of the sensory system to provide information for an error‐correction and detection facility. A complex system with these facilities places particular emphasis on the requirement to integrate a set of sub‐systems. This integration is difficult to achieve using conventional methods of computer control, both from the viewpoint of real‐time operation and the provision of reliable and maintainable software.
THE SALISBURY HAND
Authors: Pellerin Cheryl
Published: February 2008

In the early 1980s, mechanical hands were little more than two‐fingered grippers, or quick‐disconnect wrists with different tools for each job. Today, thanks to engineering ingenuity, shrinking components and government funding for space station and other applications, they are becoming much more. One example of such evolving technology is the Salisbury Hand.
Analysis and Classification of Industrial Robot Characteristics
Authors: Hasegawa Y.
Published: February 2008

The robot has passed through a development period, and is now entering an era in which robots are being utilised by industry in production. In Japan, about 1500 robots are used on production lines and more than 50 robot makers are supplying their products to the market. Many users have completed trials with industrial robots, and have reached the situation in which repeat orders are being sent to robot manufacturers as a potential way of improving productivity. Many of the robot makers have completed the initial development of their products, and in future will be promoting their sales to reap the benefits of these developments.
Industrial Robot Feeds Numerical Controlled MachineTools
Authors: Auer B.H.
Published: February 2008

The industrial robot when associated with a workpiece magazine or conveyor system loading and unloading one or more numerical controlled machine tools opens a new way for automation in low series production. The possibilities for automatic handling together with machine tools within direct numerical controlled systems are discussed. After dealing with the master control selection and the signal flow some limitations resulting from the robot's kinematics are pointed out. Afterwards an actual manufacturing system, installed at the Berlin University, is introduced.
Some Industrial Robot Applications in Swedish Industry
Authors: Ryott J.P.
Published: February 2008

Since the beginning of January 1971 when the first Electrolux MHU industrial robot was installed for the production of motor housings for electric motors MHUs have been applied in many different types of production areas and industries in twelve countries.
The Metal Box Programmable Handling Arm
Authors: Atkins N.
Published: February 2008

The Metal Box P. H. A. was conceived to meet a need for a simple, yet highly flexible, automatic handling unit having wide application in repetitive pick and place operations. Such operations are found in many branches of industry and include: