bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Courses for survival (1)
Authors: Brancher David
Published: February 2008

‘A great many people are in favour of Conservation, no matter what it means’, said William Taft, the United. States President, in 1910. Not only might we say much the same today, but we could also bracket with it another fashionable term — The Environment. Both represent a great deal of confusion, and both are important. Government and industry are beset with demands for action, from organisations of increasing power and prominence. Apostles of doom clash with the proponents of proper caution; scientific and parascientific journals grapple with each other in the clouds of dust. It would be fun to watch if the stakes were not apparently so high.
Courses for survival (2)
Authors: Bugler Jeremy
Published: February 2008

‘In the schools, you have to go a long way to find something really lively in environmental studies,’ says Colin Ward. He should know. He is the education officer of the Town and Country Planning Association unit, and in this position was given his head to produce the kind of magazine to propagate environmental education that he thought fit. Together with his assistant editor Anthony Fyson, he is responsible for BEE, by far the liveliest publication in its field. BEE is the Bulletin of Environmental Education and it differs — in one respect particularly — from most other journals with the same concern.
The way we do things here
Authors: Marlow Hugh
Published: February 2008

One of the most depressing features of the business and educational world is the continuing division between the educationist, the instructor and the business executive. This barrier has remained despite the efforts of the business schools and the industrial training boards. The major difficulty is matching the criteria of profitability with the aspirations of the educationist.
Captive audience
Authors: Curtis Douglas
Published: February 2008

Every year, 120,000 criminals from socio‐economically deprived backgrounds are processed through our prisons. They constitute over 90 per cent of the total prison population and, unlike their companions of middle‐class origins, they are likely to repeat their offences and become recidivists. Between them they will commit hundreds of thousands of offences ranging from theft to violent assault, drug‐taking, car offences, sexual attacks and homosexuality. 87 per cent of their offences will be against property and there is a clear causal connection between socio‐economic deprivation and crime.
Less than equal
Authors: Fowler Gerry
Published: February 2008

The outcome of the wrangle between Mr Hattersley and DES Ministers about the rate of growth in educational provision foreshadowed by the December White Paper was that Mr St. John Stevas at last confessed. Over the next ten years education would expand in ‘volume’ terms by only 3·4 per cent per annum, although the government expects the economy to continue to expand at a rate of 5 per cent. He argued however that that was no sin, in that education is a labour‐intensive industry, and more sensitive than others to increases in the wage and salary bill. In consequence, the rate of increase of expenditure on education would be much higher than the 3·4 per cent ‘volume’ expansion, and in accord with the government's hopes for the growth of the Gross National Product.
Social front
Authors: Matthew Jill
Published: February 2008

The CNAA document on its revised regulations for the award of degrees (July 1971) prompted considerable discussions among the polytechnics and technical colleges, but there is one aspect of course development which should be receiving immediate attention — general studies.
Pulling power
Authors: Edwards Don
Published: February 2008

Educational establishments that cater mainly for young people under the age of sixteen do not meet the problem of sales promotion to maintain a healthy intake of clients. But sixth forms, colleges of further education, polytechnics and universities compete strongly with each other (sixth forms, and colleges of further education — GCE courses; colleges of further education and polytechnics — professional courses; polytechnics and universities — degree courses).
Beyond reproach?
Authors: Hargreaves Peter
Published: February 2008

The achievement of professional status is, for teachers, an elusive ideal. Yet the supporting arguments are apparently straightforward and sensible. A homogenous group can always achieve far more than an individual in terms of advancing and exploiting knowledge, promoting research, establishing an ethical code, and raising standards in general. At the same time of course, those involved invariably benefit from a higher social status and a more powerful bargaining position in their salary negotiations.
Switching on
Authors: Bosworth David
Published: February 2008

The popular justification for programmed texts is that students can work at their own rate but this does not mean that increased efficiency can be taken for granted. For instance, it has been suggested that the time spent on a programme may not correlate with retention test results. Also it has been noticed that children who take a long time to complete their work on a programme seem to gain low marks on the final test. And it is claimed that, with some children, the time spent with the teacher is badly utilised.
Staff development in linguistics
Authors: Probyn Hugh
Published: February 2008

It might seem at first glance as though this is to be the story of what might have been. In fact, however, it is to be more an account of what might yet be, barring accidents and crises of the economy yet more serious than those we are encountering. For staff development — one of the newer fashions in progressive education — can be a costly business:
Directed private study
Authors: Jones Lyndon H. , Wylie A.
Published: February 2008

The incidence of drop‐out amongst those studying by correspondence per se is high. Various reasons have been hypothesised for the low completion rate, including:
Organisational development
Authors: Fuller Stephen H.
Published: February 2008

Dramatic forces of change are at work in our society today. There are signs of crisis in almost every major institution. Many of these centre around people — the desire of individuals for a higher quality of life in their everyday lives and job. Industrial concerns are being subjected to intense pressures seeking improvements in the work place and in the work environment. We hear and read a lot about ‘blue collar blues’, ‘dehumanisation of workers’, ‘monotony on the assembly line’ and ‘worker alienation’.
Career education
Authors: Mackertich Alex
Published: February 2008

The newest star to brighten the American educational firmament has been Career Education. With all the ballyhoo of Hollywood, Sidney Marland, Commissioner of Education in 1972, introduced the stunningly new concept that college was not necessary or desirable for all. With Federal monies behind him, school districts and colleges began vying for funding to set in motion the wheels of progress.
In‐service training in Polytechnics
Authors: Harding A.G.
Published: February 2008

The broad terms of reference of the James enquiry were not interpreted to include observations on the organisation of professional training programmes for Polytechnic teaching staff. Retrospective analysis of the reasons why this sector was omitted from the committee's deliberations can be no more than an unproductive academic exercise; but even though Polytechnics have not benefited from a direct probe by James, there can and must be a yield for this sector from the James study. This yield or spin‐off should be more than defining their contribution to the operation of second or third stage cycles for primary, secondary and FE teachers, it must also stimulate more conscious introspection in the training programmes for Polytechnic staff.
Some are more equal than others
Authors: Baker Edgar
Published: February 2008

A couple of lads had managed to talk their way into my room seeking an interview with me. They had pretty sound school certificates and thought these might be good enough to get them accepted on one of our professional courses leading to membership of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators or the Association of Certified Accountants. In fact, I believe they would have been capable of this aim; but we had over 1,000 applicants for only 60 places each year, so the standard of entry had to be very high.
Come the revolution
Authors: Walsh W.
Published: February 2008

Lost to sight in the furore of political changes, but slowly emerging once more, is the public debate on the changing role of the employee in society. There appear to be four real questions emerging:
Security in retirement
Authors: Smith E. Craig
Published: February 2008

The first of these articles dealt with the development of the State and Occupational Pension Schemes from their early beginnings up to the present time. Changes in public opinion taking place from time to time up and down the country have necessitated a periodic review and enhancement of pension provisions, such updating appearing to occur with increasing frequency. Teachers' pensions are the subject of an official Working Party on Teachers' Superannuation which has been in operation for a number of years, and is representative of Central and Local Government and the teachers' organisations.
Super‐efficiency—the bane of business
Authors: Jaffa George
Published: February 2008

No organisation runs effectively and economically—in the broadest sense—without more than a dash of one particularly vital ingredient. Call it what you may in the interests of semantic accuracy, its popular name is efficiency.
How not to run a business
Authors: Cooper Bruce
Published: February 2008

Until recently nobody was foolish enough to challenge the manager's right to manage, which essentially means to make executive decisions. Because this right was never questioned, no one bothered to ask from whom it was conferred. It was a bit like the divine right of kings, assumed to come from somewhere above. But managerial prerogative has been sorely tested of late. The amount of authority a manager can exercise is the amount of authority which those over whom he is responsible allow him to exercise. So every manager is exhorted to adopt a participative style and in the process is trying to find out, in his own situations, exactly what industrial democracy and joint consultation mean.
Germaine to the issue
Authors: Jones MCP Lyndon
Published: February 2008

When I first entered teaching one of my colleagues was a Miss Edith Knighton—an honours graduate in economics and a talented teacher. Certainly one deputy director of a polytechnic who, in his youth, had failed his 11‐plus will be witness to this, for Miss Knighton did much to help him in his 'teens. I too learnt a great deal from dear Edith. But there was one lesson in particular I still recall with vivid memory, It was: always avoid her first thing on Friday morning. For in those days women teachers received only four‐fifths of the salary paid to their male colleagues. In consequence, each Friday Miss Knighton would storm into the staff room, invariably corner me as the most junior male member of staff and thunder, as she slammed down the great pile of books she always appeared to carry, “You realise to‐day I am working for nothing”. And she had a fair point.
Problems of middle management
Authors: Kay Emanuel
Published: February 2008

Approximately 5 per cent of the non‐farm work force in the United States falls into the category of middle managers. The variations in titles and responsibilities in organizations make it difficult precisely to define middle managers; but they can generally be regarded as those who manage other managers and supervisors, and groups of primarily exempt employees. Thus at the lower limit for classification as a middle manager we would exclude first line supervisors of salaried clerical and hourly production employees. At the upper limit for classification as a middle manager we would exclude managers of business components who have profit and loss responsibility, functional and staff vice presidents, and all other executives in the hierarchy above those categories.
A typical year in the life of the Factory Inspectorate
Authors: Harvey Bryan
Published: February 2008

Because of a continuing extraordinary and discouraging history of accidents that should not happen a special watchdog unit may be set up to monitor the construction industry's safety performance.
Stop this waste of valuable manpower
Authors: Smith Terry
Published: February 2008

During the past few years everyone has become aware of the enormous growth of our “higher education industry”—in 1948 only 100,000 were in full‐time higher education yet by 1973 the universities alone had 245,000 full‐time students, another 100,000 were following full‐time advanced courses in polytechnics or other colleges, 45,000 were in full‐time teacher training. In addition there are very large numbers studying part‐time for advanced qualifications—over 107,000 in 1973—and the Open University has about 40,000 following undergraduate courses.
Adult illiteracy — an urgent problem
Authors: Cotterell Arthur
Published: February 2008

Increasingly the world is becoming aware of adult illiteracy. Its extent may still surprise many people—in 1970 there were 783 million illiterate adults throughout the world, at least one million of whom were living in the United Kingdom—but what should really give us reason to pause are the social and economic implications of the problem.
Overcoming mental stress
Authors: Baker Edgar
Published: February 2008

In the modern world we are all subjected to stresses and strain. The housewife living with small children in a high tower block, the operative doing the same repetitive job day in and day out, the middle executive threatened with the loss of his job through redundancy, the top manager squeezed by inflation — all find that pressures create anxieties which tend to become cumulative until they begin to affect their health.
Shop steward training
Authors: Jones Lyndon , King Joe
Published: February 2008

The case for the training of shop stewards has been recognised by a variety of bodies and organisations. For example, it has been supported by the Trades Union Congress, the Confederation of British Industry, the Commission on Industrial Relations, and the Gold Committee, which was set up by the Department of Education and Science.
Communication — an essential art
Authors: Probyn Hugh
Published: February 2008

In all courses in further and higher education some attention is paid at the outset to the most basic theory. A course in Philosophy considers the problem of defining philosophy itself, and discusses fundamental principles before looking at specific philosophies. So with Business Studies, or Science. So even with Education — or so it was. And if these fundamental, introductory programmes are compared with one another, they are found to have certain common ingredients. One in particular stands out; the need to define and have a common understanding of terminology, so that possible future misunderstandings can be avoided, so that there is common ground on which students and teachers can stand with a sure footing, and so that there are established bases for hypothesis and conjecture as the course unfolds. In other words, attention is paid to the need for an efficient medium of communication in the classroom. Once that medium is created, transfer can take place to the library or the study. The student takes it with him wherever he goes, and uses it whenever he works within his subject. How sad it is that he has no way of making use of it — or of the principles involved in developing it — in any other context.
What price people?
Authors: Martin Alec
Published: February 2008

Human resource management (HRM) may be construed either as the beginning of a new wave of authoritarianism — the Pharoahs presumably managed massive human resources in constructing the pyramids — or as part of a growing world‐wide movement expressing a reaction against ‘object‐level’ thinking about persons. On the one hand we are all increasingly documented, classified, tabulated and quantified to the extent that invasion of privacy is questioned; on the other hand there are indications of growing concern for the development of more complex ‘persons‐in‐relation’ models of man, emphasising interdependence and recognising subjectivity and quality as well as objectivity and quantity. People of all ages question in ‘future‐shock’ terms the validity of the object‐growth quantitative thinking which has tended to dominate western industrial civilisation. Realization of the rate of change tends to generate change‐resistant behaviour patterns or alternative technologies designed to reinstate persons above systems.
Optical videodiscs — the long leap forward
Authors: Findlater John W.
Published: February 2008

Author Alvin Toffler predicts in Future Shock that today's society is “on the edge of a long leap toward unparalleled cultural diversity”. We believe the optical videodisc is the springboard for this long leap forward and, in particular, that this new technology is destined to have a profound and permanent impact on the entire educational process. We are also confident that an inexpensive optical videodisc playback system will become standard in schools, colleges and public libraries during the next decade, and that business, professional, technological, and scientific information will be communicated increasingly through videodisc players probably within the next two or three years.
The subtle distinction between industrial training and technical education
Authors: Young Tom
Published: February 2008

The adoption of a new structure for manpower planning and training (following the Employment and Training Act of 1973) has brought again into prominence national attitudes towards training and its relation to education. In particular, the setting‐up of a substantially autonomous Manpower Services Commission, having responsibility for a training Services Agency with wide powers as one of its two executive arms (the other dealing with Employment), introduces into this country a pattern of training differing in a fundamental way from those which have preceded it. What industrial training is believed to be, therefore, and how it relates to the further education which is often associated with it, are questions which have now assumed a new importance.
Electricity supply
Authors: Walsh William
Published: February 2008

The Electricity Supply Industry in England and Wales is 172,483 people supplying over 19 million customers annually with electricity to the value of £2,400 million, and electrical wiring and appliances to the value of £191 million. It is also 168 power stations burning coal, coke breeze, oil, and other fuels to the extent of 80 million tonnes per year. Its fuel bill is £1,200 million — it pays out £403 million in wages and salaries, £279 million for other goods and services, and £383 million in interest charges; there is also £344 million depreciation on the £5,200 million worth of plant that it owns.
Dental hygiene
Authors: Noyelle Gillian
Published: February 2008

Dentists once believed that toothbrushing alone helped prevent dental decay. Opinion soon changed when they found the chief culprit was a bacterial film called Plaque that formed round teeth and gum margins. Normally invisible, Plaque is startlingly revealed by using special crimson‐stained disclosure tablets; without correct and regular brushing of teeth and gums, precious molars can loosen, decay, and be lost for ever.
Networks in training design
Authors: Elliott Brian
Published: February 2008

Many trainers and managers will have encountered networks either under that name or as Critical Path Analysis or PERT and, with these people in mind, I should like to discuss possible applications of the technique in training. Initially, the emphasis will be on the application of networks to self instructional techniques; but later I shall discuss its use on some instructor‐based courses.
Banking
Authors: Glover Eric
Published: February 2008

The Institute of Bankers recently held its Education Conference, attended by representatives from its local centres all over the world. It was revealed there that, as a result of changes in the Institute's educational structure, there were now 7,500 banking students enrolled on day release courses in the U.K.
Middle‐age — the in‐vogue industrial injury
Authors: Fogarty Michael
Published: February 2008

Social policy, it used to be said, is about children and pensioners; the middle‐aged can look after themselves. They sit in the seats of power, they have secure jobs and well‐established homes, and their financial position is usually easier than that either of families with growing children or of pensioners. Disasters can happen in middle age as at other times — widowerhood, physical break‐down, long‐term unemployment — but on the whole these have the look of comfortable people, well settled and problem‐free.
Open learning: an exciting opportunity
Authors: Postgate Richmond
Published: February 2008

This article comes after a two‐year study of Open Learning in various countries of the world, and of the attempts being made to extend educational opportunities by means other than increasing the number of institutions of full‐time study. The study was sponsored and financed by UNESCO and the Ford Foundation, and resulted in a book published in January 1976 containing seventeen reports from thirteen countries. It comes to the conclusion that Open Learning, in the sense of part‐time home‐based study, represents a valid addition in principle to the routes to education now available, and that ways and means of realising it effectively deserves further examination.
Inter‐college comparisons : a tool for increasing efficiency
Authors: Jones Lyndon , Adam‐Smith Derek
Published: February 2008

Last December, commenting on the CLEA proposals for regional machinery in England beyond school level, the Committee of Directors of Polytechnics said:
Hairdressing (Part 2)
Authors: Beresford Simon
Published: February 2008

There are two approved and recognised methods of entry to professional hairdressing. The first of these is the apprenticeship. This method has been in existence for many years, the basic principle being that a school leaver finds a salon willing to accept him/her as an apprentice to be taught the skills of hairdressing. The duration of apprenticeship is three years — with a probationary period of three months. This period of time is allowed as a “sampling” for both parties. For the employer it is a period in which he must assess the suitability of the probationer as an entrant to hairdressing, and as a future member of his staff fitting in with all other employees. It can well be that the apprentice, although suitable to hairdressing, is just not compatible in that particular salon.
Manpower Services Commission — a second year of achievement
Authors: Helmore Roy
Published: February 2008

Just over a year ago, when reviewing MSC's first year of operation1, I looked forward to a growing role for the Commission as it developed its concept of a comprehensive manpower policy. This article is an attempt to take stock of its present position after a year of very considerable activity on several fronts.
The training responsibilities of supervisors
Authors: Gellerman Saul W.
Published: February 2008

Why are training results so often limited to changing someone's vocabulary, but not his behaviour? Why is it so much easier to teach someone to answer a question correctly in class than to apply that answer overtly to his work?
Japan Ltd — what can Britain learn?
Authors: Jones Lyndon , Graham Ian
Published: February 2008

During the past twenty years Japanese growth has been spectacular, whilst extrapolation suggests that before the year 2,000 AD Japan will have overtaken America in terms of gross national product per head. Agreed no tree grows to the sky. Indeed, several ‘diseases’ may affect the growth of the Japanese ‘oak’, including:
Is NEBSS on course?
Authors: Stenner Brian
Published: February 2008

The National Examinations Board in Supervisory Studies (NEBSS) was established in 1964 on the initiative of the Department of Education and Science, and was supported by all the major organisations concerned with supervisory education and training. It is an independent, autonomous body administered by the City and Guilds of London Institute. It is not a corporate body, is non‐profit making, has few assets, no endowments, and does little research. The Board has the task of stimulating and co‐ordinating the provision of suitable courses for supervision at all levels over the whole range of industry, trade, and commerce and, by the provision and control of nationally‐accepted examination standards, establishing a general recognition of the cardinal need for supervisors to be properly qualified to enable them to discharge their responsibilities with maximum effectiveness. To achieve its objectives, the Board has established a flexible structure which assists the development of local initiative by encouraging technical colleges and industrial or commercial organisations to co‐operate in devising suitable courses and examinations to meet specific needs whilst, at the same time, establishing and maintaining national standards in supervisory studies.
Education, the media, and the quality of life
Authors: Swann FRS Michael
Published: February 2008

There was a time when I had fairly clear ideas on what constitutes the quality of life. But three years at the BBC, responsible not just to an academic community but to the whole of society, brings home to me how diverse are people's interpretations of that elusive concept. So much so that I felt tempted to make an Orwellian amendment to the title of this article, and write not about the quality of life but the quantity of it. For that is something that, as a biologist, I really know about.
Where have all the engineering apprentices gone?
Authors: Lewis D.J.E.
Published: February 2008

The view that many young people who apply to enter the engineering industry as apprentices these days are totally unsuitable for that activity is, unfortunately, no pessimistic exaggeration. In my own experience as Managing Director of an electronic engineering company, I have been forced to abandon the search for promising apprentices during this last year simply because we could not find one out of a large number interviewed who had a basic education sound enough to make him of any use to us. An example of this was their total lack of numeracy; they were not able to do even the simplest mathematical calculations, as for example:
Aims of higher education and effective utilisation of resources
Authors: Fowler Gerry
Published: February 2008

Some might think that there was a dichotomy between the two halves of the title of this article. They might wish to argue that it is possible to consider how resources in higher education might be used more effectively, without going into any detail in the consideration of the aims of higher education. Put in simple terms, it is exceedingly tempting to regard the throughput of students for a given expenditure as the criterion of effectiveness in higher education. Even then however we should have a concealed aim: namely, to maximise the number of students participating in higher education for a given cost. Unfortunately, such an aim is deficient in two respects. In the first place, it takes no account of standards — whether of teaching, of learning, of attainment, or of the general development of the student. Secondly, the maximisation of throughput is essentially a secondary objective, which can have no meaning without reference to a primary objective. Otherwise we beg the question of why we bother to provide higher education at all.
It's tough at the top
Authors: Rogers Parry
Published: February 2008

As a business man, I have experienced and observed stress in the management situation in a number of different companies and organisations. I hope, therefore, that I may be able to offer some observations on what seemed to me to be the factors which create stress in management. I do this, of course, as a layman; and will set out my observations and views without any attempt to interpret them in medical or mental health terms.
Making Rosla a year on the job
Authors: Montford Guy
Published: February 2008

At a time when there is increasing awareness and concern over the way in which young people are prepared for the world of work, it is opportune to review the place of work experience in the total education process and the ways in which it can contribute not only to the vocational preparation but also to the personal development and general education of young people.
Management Studies at first degree level
Authors: Clark Christopher
Published: February 2008

In recent years Management Studies has moved from the post‐graduate level to the area of major importance for Universities and Colleges: the undergraduate teaching of students. The prospective student may see the subject entitled Business Studies or Management Studies at the various institutions of higher education; and he or she would be advised to consider both University and Polytechnic courses before making a final choice.
Releasing assembly‐line creativity
Authors: Jones Lyndon
Published: February 2008

Time and again experience demonstrates that in a large number of cases the person most knowledgeable about a particular job is the individual actually performing it. And time and again management appear hell‐bent on stifling employee creativity. Even today it is not uncommon for a manager to take the line towards hourly paid personnel: I'm here to do the thinking; you just get on with the job.
English as she is written — 3. Nouns
Authors: Baker Edgar
Published: February 2008

There are various errors we can make in the use of nouns in English — spelling mistakes, singular for plural or plural for singular, mis‐pronunciation, etc. Let us examine a few points taken from examination scripts which show where we can go wrong.
Gowon has gone off, but education goes on
Authors: Deeson Eric
Published: February 2008

Enjoyed Britain's heat‐wave summer, have you? Did it make up a bit for the problems — the teacher unemployment, inflation, traffic jams, bombs, murders, strikes, shortage of money? Let me tell you about another world, then — almost a bottomless pit for teachers, plenty of sun, plenty of money, interesting work — and different problems.
Polytechnics: the radical imperative
Authors: Radcliff Philip
Published: February 2008

Uncertainty and gloom hang over the educational world. Fear is rife. Many, particularly in the higher education world, fear not a short term dislocation of activity, but a major discontinuity. Nowhere is this anxiety more widespread than in the Polytechnics. Established in the optimism and white heat of the 60s' technological advance, they appear to be losing their struggle for identity as a different, separate, but equal sector of higher education. The symptoms manifest themselves in a variety of forms such as:
Local government administration
Authors: Knowles Raymond
Published: February 2008

Continuing a trend discernible in the late 1960s, local authorities — each an independent employer within a national system — have provided in the three years since the reorganisation of local government substantially improved opportunities for administrative staff.
Adult education — the way ahead
Authors: Williams Shirley
Published: February 2008

In our diverse amd decentralised system of education, the best tool for the clear and collaborative thinking now needed for the future is the proposed Advisory Council for Adult and Continuing Education which I announced on 6 April. The terms of reference and the drive behind the establishment of this Council owe a great deal to Gerry Fowler, former Minister of State for Education. His articulate and persuasive support of continuing education is well‐known, and he deserves respect for his important contribution in this field.
Backs to the wall
Authors: Tolley George
Published: February 2008

This audience, taken together, is responsible for the development of a vast resource for the education, training, and development of the British manager. Each year you spend approaching £l0m on teaching staff, and some 40,000 managers pass through your hands. What good has it done, this expenditure of resources and energy over the years; what good will it do as young managers who have absorbed whatever it is you give them take their place, in the next few years, in more senior posts? We have to live with those questions, and we have to be prepared to provide answers; not merely because we are spending a good deal of public money, but because the British manager is fighting for survival and is going to need all the help he can get.
Management problems — what does the future hold?
Authors: Walsh William
Published: February 2008

It is sometimes possible in moments of quiet introspection to get a feel for the future — and if the subject of discussion is the training of managers for the future, then it is a bit obvious that someone should have a shot at forecasting what problems they are likely to encounter.
Management and 1984 — for ill or well?
Authors: Revd
Published: February 2008

1984 will be, presumably, post‐Bullock, post‐devolution, post‐North Sea oil euphoria; and by then the productivity, growth, and economic indicator curves will either be post‐catastrophic or will have shown some turn for the better. By 1984 EEC will be a reality, even for the conservative insular English. But, at the moment, questions abound. Will England's biggest trade rival in 1984 be Scotland? Will the return on North Sea oil, or the improved balance of payments position, have enabled British industry to have been retooled and rejigged? What, by then, will be the balance of the mixed economy? Will it be much as now; or shall we, by then, have moved so much nearer the East European bloc? Will overall productivity have improved to bring us somewhere near the levels of our industrial competitors? Will small and beautiful have won the day over big and ugly? Shall we have identified the most profitable and the most necessary developments requiring priority investment? What will be the technological eggs in our basket that we shall be most expectantly awaiting to hatch? There are plenty of questions.
Let the governors keep things moving smoothly
Authors: Baker Edgar
Published: February 2008

Some of us who serve on governing bodies in colleges sometimes ask ourselves what sort of function we should be performing. Is it one that has any significance? Is it worth while? Some governors rarely attend; others rarely open their mouths; others talk a lot, but often to no great purpose. The chairman is, it is true, a key figure and is constantly consulted by senior members of the staff. He reports back, and the rest of the governors normally acquiesce. There is, in fact, little cohesion in a body that meets on average three times a year and that has, in truth, little positive to offer. So are governors really necessary?
Behaviour modification
Authors: Jones Lyndon
Published: February 2008

To such apparently simple questions as “why do I work?” and “why do others work?”, some very complicated answers are forthcoming. Indeed, a veritable jungle of theories exists purporting to explain behaviour in general and employee motivation in particular. But basically, two major conceptions of the nature of human motivation and mental development dominate psychological thinking:
Training for a professional career
Authors: Allen OBE Bill
Published: February 2008

In the first article of this two part series an endeavour was made to stress the great importance of training and practical experience and the need for an ordered system, so that the professional man would be recognised as a participant in a progressive and purposeful pattern designed to guarantee that he would meet the highest standards required by that profession. The article in its original form was written in 1967 and had one essential object in mind: to persuade the Education and Articled Clerks Committees of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales to bring about developments in the field of education and training along the lines proposed in that article. Very little modification has been made to the original since the proposals, in my view, remain sound. More importantly, they represent very closely the lines followed not only by the Institute in recent years but also by the other leading bodies of accountants. This article is intended to show how remarkable have been the developments in this area of the accountancy profession. Reference is made in particular to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (the Institute), the Association of Certified Accountants (the Association), and the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants (the ICMA).
The rate for the job
Authors: Fowler Gerry
Published: February 2008

The recent report of the House of Commons Expenditure Committee on the attainments of the school‐leaver touches upon some delicate topics, only to veer away from them again. I hasten to add that this is no criticism of it; the sub‐committee which prepared it had bitten off quite enough thorny issues for the masticatory capacity even of ten able MPs.
Taming business gaming
Authors: Sykes Pam
Published: February 2008

Once upon a time The war game, as originally developed, was of a free or unstructured type in which the umpire made on‐the‐spot decisions over problems arising during play, and also made an evaluation at the end of the game. The power which he wielded under these circumstances was criticised and, as a result, the war game designers decided to develop new rules and to make the existing ones much stronger. Thus in the late 19th century a German, Von Reisswitz, produced what is now known as a rigid war game or Kriegspiel. This is a game where there are detailed, non‐deviating rules with the provision for chance events produced by the throw of a die, spin of a wheel, random number, etc.
Credit Management
Authors: Adams Bill
Published: February 2008

Neither a borrower nor a lender be This article is to suggest to you that the old adage above is largely impractical in a modern society and that being a “lender”, or given its proper title a Credit Manager, is a career well worth pursuing as one of very real satisfaction.
Making good managers
Authors: Macdonald Eleanor
Published: February 2008

What is Management? A number of classic definitions of the purpose and functions of management exist which serve to give overall comprehension and insight into this very complex activity. To state broad principles is very important, as they give the essential perspective to the manager's role. All too often day‐to‐day working on a job, particularly in the rapidly‐changing conditions in which management is practised today, tends to give an ant's eye, rather than a bird's eye, view of the manager's job. So much paper — so many crisis situations — too few resources — too many constraints — make many managers into “doers” of mini‐tasks, too few into broad vision organisers aiming for results.
Business education takes shape
Authors: Sellars John
Published: February 2008

In May the Business Education Council (BEC) will be four years old. In September colleges throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be enrolling students on a new generation of vocational education courses for business — courses leading to the new awards of BEC which are the first fruits of the Council's work. Since BEC was set up the education climate has changed to one of recognition of the country's need to put greater emphasis on appropriate vocational education and training for all our young people. The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Education & Science, and others have drawn attention to this need.
Accounting for BEC
Authors: Allen OBE Bill
Published: February 2008

It is my belief that the accountancy profession will take — and is taking — the opportunity of having a good hard look at the proposed BEC awards before deciding what concessions and exemptions should be granted to would‐be members of the profession. I believe this cautious approach to be entirely justified. BEC has a wonderful opportunity to make a major contribution to the development of business education in a wide field of financial occupations, but I do not believe it will do so unless there are clear differences between the new awards and their predecessors.
Where do we go from here?
Authors: Fowler Gerry
Published: February 2008

Everyone knows the story of the traveller lost in Ireland, and asking a passing local the way to Dublin. The reply was: If I were you, I shouldn't start from here. It seems to me that this Irish principle of progress is implicit in much of the discussion in Britain about the desirable future shape of further and higher education. It was certainly the key to understanding of much of the recent House of Commons debate on the universities.
The added‐value concept
Authors: Wood Duncan H.
Published: February 2008

Company results can be measured in physical terms (eg tons or dozens) or in terms of time (eg standard minutes) or in money terms. The first two will be essential for many purposes, and indeed the successful adoption of Added Value concepts may make them more rather than less important: ie more detailed information will be needed about why changes have taken place.
Effective management of the joining‐up process
Authors: Jones Lyndon
Published: February 2008

Poor employee performance is one of the most pervasive problems in organisations, for which there are two major contributory factors. The first is the ‘deficiency problem’ — employees do not possess the necessary skills, abilities and attributes for the job. This can be alleviated by selection strategies and training programmes, and by designing jobs to fit the people available, their strengths, weaknesses and expectations. The second factor is the ‘motivation problem’. This is much more serious and, in part, is often associated with the joining‐up process. The latter embraces recruiting, hiring, formal training and first assignment to the point when the new employee is performing at a pre‐determined level.
Continuing studies in management
Authors: Forrester P.G.
Published: February 2008

A healthy society depends upon healthy industrial organisations which provide us with the goods and services we need, and in which a large proportion of the population spend much of their working lives. By a healthy organisation I mean one which meets the demands of its markets, satisfies the needs of its members for satisfying and well‐rewarded work, and produces sufficient profits to service its capital and provide for replacement and development of its capital resources.
Lay it again, Sam
Authors: Hampson Keith
Published: February 2008

I would not want to argue that there should be any attempt to match the content of education precisely to manpower needs; it cannot be done. But breaking down the isolation of education for the world outside would be worthwhile, and the relationship of further and higher education with industry should be closer that it is at present. It is not that difficult for a businessman to identify an appropriate department in a university, or to find out who in particular might be able to help with a problem. But the reverse process is infinitely more complicated and difficult. Many lecturers in FHE have established good if somewhat limited contacts, but one simply cannot expect them all to have the time or inclination. So why not see whether it is practicable to establish a contact point?
Action learning to improve clerical work
Authors: Birchall David
Published: February 2008

Many managers responsible for functions where much of the work is of an administrative and clerical nature are expressing concern about the level of motivation apparent amongst employees. Changes in the nature of the tasks to be performed have resulted directly from mechanisation and automation. Such rationalisation is normally accompanied by reductions in staffing, a factor often leading to low morale. Opportunities for employees in clerical jobs to progress within the organisation are also diminishing, since the skills currently required for clerical work are not those generally demanded for management.
Puppet on a shoe‐string
Authors: Fowler Gerry
Published: February 2008

What is the role of the DES Further Education Curriculum Development Unit? Despite the leadership provided first by John Tomlinson — who has now gone to chair the Schools Council, and is one of the most imaginative and dynamic Chief Education Officers in the business — and latterly by the Revd. Dr. George Tolley — who has made such a success of the development of Sheffield Polytechnic — the Unit has yet to make any significant impact on the world of further education. This is doubtless in part because the Unit is understaffed and underfinanced; a budget of under £100,000 is peanuts when set against the mammoth task of reviewing what is taught in FE and how, or by comparison with the budgets of any of the institutions the Unit should be guiding.
Politics or philosophy — which should we teach?
Authors: Baker Edgar
Published: February 2008

There have been recent proposals that schools should teach politics. In a recent book Political Education and Political Literacy (Longman £3.95), the case is argued at length on behalf of the Hansard Society. It is in effect a report of a working party, chaired by Professor Bernard Crick, in which political literacy is defined as: the skills, knowledge and attitudes to be effective in political situations. The survey reveals that school‐leavers are politically inept and almost totally ignorant. (A quarter of them thought the IRA was a Protestant organisation). The report also recommends that a small core of general politics should be taught to all teachers in training, that all local education committees should have advisers on political education, and that the DES should have its own specialist HMI on the subject. In fact two of these three recommendations have already been adopted in part: an experienced HMI (an historian) has been given responsibility for political education, and Sheffield recently appointed a subject adviser in politics.
How do you sack the professionals?
Authors: Fowler Gerry
Published: February 2008

It is now very difficult for an employer to sack anyone, except in a redundancy package, and even there the procedures are carefully regulated. This is in my view wholly right. In most cases where an employer dearly wishes that he could be rid of an employee's “services” it is a consequence of the inadequacy of his own hiring techniques, or because he has come to perceive the man working for him as a “trouble‐maker” (perhaps even, heaven forfend, a proselytiser for the Union) — which tells us more about the employer than it does about the employee. Few however have noticed that the task is doubly difficult if one is dealing with a member of a profession — that is to say someone who claims for himself an arcane and recondite body of high‐level knowledge, his possession and use of which can be properly judged only by his own professional peers.
The feedback classroom
Authors: Wheeldon C.P.
Published: February 2008

It may be that education and training is on the brink of a most significant advance, brought about by the marriage of feedback and electronics and their offspring — the Feedback Classroom. Feedback has always been used in training in so many ways such as: repeat after me; now you do it; question and answer; hands up those that, etc; and it has proved successful. But it does have one or two drawbacks when applied in the normal manner.
The European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD)
Authors: Allen OBE Bill
Published: February 2008

When Europe went through the pangs of rebirth after World War II it cast envious eyes across the Atlantic. The USA appeared to be a model of success, not least in the high place which it accorded to management education and in its vast home market, which seemed to provide such an incentive to her productivity and prosperity. From those beliefs INSEAD was born: to serve both the greater European unity and the cause of management studies. Article 1 of its statutes provides that it: