bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Training the training analyst
Authors: Moore R.J.
Published: February 2008

Despite the pressures over the years to base industrial and commercial training on identified needs, it is still probably true that the majority of training is not the result of thorough training needs analysis (TNA) at the organisational level. There are a number of reasons for this situation, including the relative lack of integration of the training role within the total organisation and the demands placed upon training officers to run courses. One other important reason, however, is that comparatively few training officers have developed the necessary skills to undertake TNA at the organisational level.
Facing both ways
Authors: Fowler Gerry
Published: February 2008

It was once a common charge that many senior administrators in the British Civil Service had been well educated in the Classics, but knew much less about the modern world and its needs than they did of Rome and Greece. Clearly there was substance in the charge. For it becomes increasingly clear that the Department of Education & Science has as its patron saint no Christian, but the Roman god Janus — two‐faced and looking in opposite directions at the same time. It is by his example that the education service is administered.
Design engineering
Authors: Vesma Vilnis
Published: February 2008

This article is about what has been described as the aristocracy of the engineering profession: design engineers. I hope, before I continue, that I have no readers for whom the term engineer has connotations of greasy spanners. The professional design engineer is a highly technically qualified, literate, numerate and creative individual, as will emerge from what follows. Spanners do not enter into it, greasy or otherwise.
Extinction — how to get results by doing nothing
Authors: Jones Lyndon
Published: February 2008

Ignore him and he will stop it. When a person does something irritating, he will generally stop it if ignored; although initially he may repeat the action more often, or in a noisier fashion, in an effort to gain attention. Hence how to get results by doing nothing, and the possible drawbacks from such policy, form the subject of this article.
Curriculum planning and technological change
Authors: Lawton Denis
Published: February 2008

I believe that it is not too far‐fetched to link our industrial and economic decline with deficiencies in the educational system. Schools today are failing to produce an adequate curriculum for the present scientific and technological society. This failure of the English educational system can be traced to a lack of educational planning which has been evident since the nineteenth century.
A conflict of policies
Authors: Fowler Gerry
Published: February 2008

It seems certain that there will be no expansion of educational provision in Britain in the next several years. In particular the teaching force will not expand, and in some areas there will be redundancies. This is true not only of the schools, but equally of higher education — in the public sector at least. We must therefore do the best job we can with the human resources we already have, supplemented by a much reduced intake of new teachers and lecturers from initial teacher training or from other occupations.
Let 'em all learn EFL — 1
Authors: Baker CBE Edgar
Published: February 2008

Should we learn modern languages? If so, why? The answers to these questions would be simple in the minds of those whose mother tongue does not extend beyond the national frontiers; but they are not so easily answered in English‐speaking countries. The undoubted decline in the teaching of modern languages in schools in the UK reflects the growing scepticism. Generations of school children have grappled with French with little success and even smaller enjoyment or profit to themselves, and first‐rate modern language teachers are becoming rare birds.
ABEnews
Authors: Coffin Tom
Published: February 2008

An article on a survey carried out in the USA some years ago indicated the following reasons why businessman “went bust”, “folded up” or “ceased to trade”.
Lloyd's of London
Authors: Allen OBE Bill
Published: February 2008

This famous establishment is unique among the world's insurance organizations. It is an international market whose members cooperate with each other, compete against each other, and compete too against other insurance organizations. The scope of its operations and their diversity, the flexibility of its underwriters and their versatility, the speed at which business can be transacted, and above all its integrity, have made Lloyd's of London a familiar and respected name throughout the world. Its history alone is evidence enough of its capacity to survive and flourish, and to adapt and evolve in a rapidly changing world.
Uneasy riders
Authors: Fowler Gerry
Published: February 2008

The recent controversy about school transport charges should not be buried and forgotten until we have drawn some conclusions from it. They may be of as much interest to those working in further and higher ecucation as to those in the school sector and to parents.
ABE news
Authors: Coffin Tom
Published: February 2008

It was the German poet Goethe who once said: Nothing is as terrifying as ignorance in motion. It is pleasant, therefore, to note the maintenance of overall standards in the results of the December 1979 examinations — and the very great improvement in the results of the Accounting & Finance examination. When recording the June 1979 results, I did refer to the possibility that the course content of that particular subject might be spread over two examination papers instead of one. After careful study of the syllabus content it was decided that this split was not justified. The decision was proved to be correct by the increase in the pass rate in that particular subject from 24% in June 1979 to 48% in December 1979, which seems to be an indication of the realisation of all concerned of the need for more careful preparation in Accounting & Finance since the standard at which the examination paper was set remained unchanged.
Going down
Authors: Fowler Gerry
Published: February 2008

A lower proportion of 16‐19 year olds attend post‐compulsory education in the United Kingdom than in any other Western developed country, except the Republic of Ireland and Portugal. I should not doubt that they will both pass us in the next decade. If we just take 18‐year‐olds still at school, we find that way back in 1973 the USA could boast that 75 per cent fell into this category, Belgium had 47 and Sweden 45. Dear old England mustered just under 20 per cent.
Promise of the eighties
Authors: Tolley Leslie
Published: February 2008

At this time the economic news, not only of this country but of the whole world, is uniformly bad; and you might well think that anyone who talks of the promise of the eighties is naive, ill‐informed, or needs his head examined. But I do believe that there are strong reasons for hope for the future; and what we now have to do is to translate such hopes into confidence, decision and action. Of course we must admit that the seventies have been disastrous for the Western world and the United Kingdom, and we must show quickly that we have learned the lessons of these disasters if we are to grasp the opportunities presented by this new decade. The major disaster of the seventies and before has been the rapid decline of our manufacturing industries; and if our hopes for the future are to be realised then the priority requirement is to reverse this decline, and restore manufacturing industry in this country to its previous success. For only in achieving this shall we again start the process of creating wealth, and only in this way can we ever expect to provide this densely‐populated country with the employment its people must have.
Computers in accounting education
Authors: Garbutt Douglas
Published: February 2008

It is possible to define accounting as the art and science of designing, installing and operating procedures for collect‐ing and reporting information, mainly financial, on the activities of accounting entities in such a way that it influences decisions. In these terms, accounting is one example of a management information system.
The City Markets
Authors: Allen OBE Bill
Published: February 2008

We know little of the earliest origins of Billingsgate — we can only conjecture that at some point in or near the City there must have been from the earliest stage wharves for the off‐loading of fish, and a market place for their sale. So it is not surprising that it is uncertain as to what date can be “fixed” for the foundation of Billingsgate. It seems pointless to try to base any such date on the name itself. What does it profit to theorise whether Billingsgate was the water gate of Billing, or whether the name derives from an ancient king Bellin, or whether it descends from the Saxon customs place of Blynesgate?
Administrative management
Authors: Cousins John
Published: February 2008

The title covers a body of theory and practice which has come into being in recent years as a result of two main developments. The first development has been the increased importance attached in commerce, industry and government to the office, and to the facilities and information it can provide. The second has been the growth, in parallel with that of the office, of such techniques as systems analysis, organisation and methods, and the application of computers and microprocessors to business matters — all techniques which may be said, in broad terms, to be office‐based.
Preparing for the world of work: 1. The British pattern
Authors: Roberts A.
Published: February 2008

In December 1977 an international comparison of the arithmetical abilities of 14–15 old school children was released by the National Foundation for Educational Research. England and Wales with a mean score of 34% compared badly with Japan at 70%, as did Germany, Denmark, Scotland and the USA (25, 33, 35 and 40% respectively). The survey also showed that for 1970–77 the averages for England and Wales together, and Scotland separately, fell by 12% and 5%, while Germany registered a slump of 27%. The European figures suggest that people may have been seeing a totally superficial connection between Britain's economic performance and the academic standards of school leavers — a claim made in 1977 by the President of the National Association of Head Teachers.
Supervisory management
Authors: MacRae L.M.
Published: February 2008

The Institute of Supervisory Management is unusual among Britain's important professional bodies, in that its headquarters are not in London but in the Midlands. This central position in the country has proved to be a great convenience to its 12,000 members in the United Kingdom. There are also over a thousand members overseas, and this category is growing fast.
ABEnews
Authors: Strickland Nigel
Published: February 2008

It hardly seems possible that I have now been in the secretarial chair for six weeks. I am still busy learning the ropes, but hopefully my response time to your enquiries is improving. We continue to have a steady stream of visitors to our office at 3 Station Parade, which I may say we much enjoy. We also get a large number of letters from overseas on a wide variety of subjects. These again we enjoy, particularly as it helps to widen our horizon from the rather narrow outlook of the office and get us out into the world beyond.
Improving supervisory performance
Authors: Jones Lyndon
Published: February 2008

Many supervisors feel that they are stuck with an impossible job, with insufficient authority. Simultaneously, management does not believe supervision is accomplishing as much as could be expected. Not infrequently both parties look to some form of training as the answer. In many cases substantial sums are invested in supervisory training; and few would question that most persons, let alone supervisors, can benefit from suitable well‐structured training programmes. But:
Management vitality — the future need
Authors: Markwell Don
Published: February 2008

In some ways the question of Management Development alone can be thought of as a misnomer even in contemporary industrial society, since in most respects business is concerned not just with the development of a few managers but with the many. Certainly for the future Human Resource Development probably better describes what the business world is about in this regard than simply management development. Having said that, however, there is an element of uniqueness attached to manager development in the future which separates it from its current activities of developing its human resources in order to make the maximum use of their contribution and capacity. It is this unique element which is the need and objective of developing some people — call them success‐orientated managers — who will be sought to exercise, in the very best sense of the word, the finest qualities of leadership in the work environment. This will bring real achievement to organisations and reverse the trend away from the bureaucratic, self‐perpetuating and self‐protecting managers we know so well today.
ABE news
Authors: Coffin Tom
Published: February 2008

The ABE Space Shuttle Visitors to our offices at 3 Station Parade will be pleased to know that negotiations are well in hand for ABE to take over the first and second floors of the building. Their pleasure will be nothing as great as that of the members of staff who, with the phenomenal growth of ABE, have been hard put to it to find room to breathe, let alone work. Those visitors who have suffered from oxygen deficiency by the time they have climbed 56 steps will also be delighted to find our reception offices on a lower floor.
The teacher‐learner continuum
Authors: Page Denys
Published: February 2008

Most supervisory and management trainers will already be familiar with the continuum approach to leadership which was introduced by W. Schmidt and R. Tannenbaum in their paper How to choose a Leadership Pattern (Harvard Business Review Volume 36 No. 2 1958). This describes the various ways in which a manager or leader, given accountability for a certain range of decision‐making in an organisation, can differentially use his own authority in combination with the contributions of his subordinates to get necessary decisions made for meeting the objectives of the organisation, while using an appropriate style of decision‐making which fits the forces within himself, his subordinates, and the situation being managed.
Examination success — is there a best route of study?
Authors: Jones Lyndon , Glover Eric
Published: February 2008

Strong consumer movements exist in a number of countries, including the USA and UK. High on their list of objectives is the provision of information designed to enable consumers to make more informed choice. In some cases efforts are directed towards facilitating the “best buy” in education. This is to be welcomed. Certainly there appears considerable scope for furnishing improved advice in this field for it may result in lower student wastage rates. Witness the situation relating to students studying for professional qualifications.
ABEnews
Authors: Price Norman
Published: February 2008

We have now taken over the extra accommodation on the first and second floors at 3 Station Parade, and the offices are being redecorated and furnished so that we can move in this month.
Work experience on employers' premises
Authors: Robins F.E.
Published: February 2008

The Education (Work Experience) Act 1973 made it possible for pupils in their last year of statutory schooling to sample a job environment. In this school since that date there have been several hundred placements in work as diverse as banking and bricklaying on the one hand, and medicine and mechanics on the other. Pupils participating have been drawn from all levels of ability, covering work of a very routine and perhaps mundane kind to that necessitating considerable knowledge of intricate scientific processes.
ABEnews
Authors: Price Norman
Published: February 2008

Experience has clearly shown detailed forecasting of manpower needs, and hence central determination of a required output from the system, to be impracticable.
Motivational training
Authors: Giles David
Published: February 2008

In an earlier article, published in the June 1979 edition of Education & Training, I outlined a programme which we now call Discipline Skills which was being developed at Rolls Royce Technical College to demonstrate the value of self‐awareness and discipline as an enabling skill for young people in industrial training.
ABE news
Authors: Price Norman
Published: February 2008

Reg Prentice MP, Founder President of the Association, has now resumed the Presidency.
The evolution of banking technology and training
Authors: Pickerill Bernard
Published: February 2008

Quill pens were before my time. Technology had replaced them with steel nibs well ahead of the start of my working life in the Bank in the late 1940s. Only three months later, however, technology made a much greater impact on the work in my branch, with the installation of electric accounting machines. These came to relieve us of the laborious system of writing ledgers and statements by hand. In fact they represented simply an improved method of carrying out the same duties with some saving of manpower. Mechanised accounting had begun to be used before the war, of course; but it was not until 1957 that we could claim its use in every branch of Lloyds Bank. Only three years later we were preparing the installation of a computer to service our largest branch, and to utilise a technological development of much greater importance.
BEC and the accounting technician
Authors: Sainsbury VRD Tony
Published: February 2008

The Association of Accounting Technicians has a particularly close connection with BEC. It is quite fortuitous that its first President, Mike Lickiss, was also Chairman of the latter's B2 Financial Studies Board, and that this foot‐in‐both‐camps stance resulted in no harm to any of the parties involved. It is the result of a more deliberate policy decision by AAT that John Sellars, the Chief Officer of BEC, is a co‐opted member of its Council: so far the only one. Either, let alone both, of these appointments manifests the close connection between the two bodies.
Are they really interested?
Authors: Holdsworth Ruth
Published: February 2008

Educational wastage, in respect of students failing successfully to complete their course in the time assigned (either by dropping‐out, failing, or resitting) is a matter of concern to any institution. Those who see educational wastage in financial terms can currently point to specific courses in specific institutions where wastage, as defined above, runs at over 40 per cent. Even those who focus more on the developmental needs of students than on the money involved are disturbed by the psychological wear and tear of failing to cope adequately with a course. In looking for causes the students tend frequently to blame the institution, and vice versa. Perhaps the most frequently expressed cause, agreed on by both parties, is lack of interest. ‘He or she just doesn't seem interested in the work’, or ‘I found when I got there that I wasn't interested in the subjects’. This leads one to ask whether students sufficiently check out their interests before applying, and whether course tutors tend to make the assumption — not always warranted — that because students apply for a certain course they must be interested in it.
Communication failure at undergraduate level
Authors: Hobshaum Philip
Published: February 2008

The system of study in Glasgow University is that every student undergoes two years reading in general subjects at a relatively elementary level, something akin to sixth‐form work in England. At the end of that period, the student can go on to specialise in one or two particular subjects for two more years to take an Honours degree. The alternative is to complete the course as a general student in one more year, and take what is called an Ordinary degree.
Business skills for student engineers
Authors: Rooke Denis
Published: February 2008

Engineers are the agents of technological change in society; and the nation's prosperity depends on the success of their efforts. They help to generate the wealth we need to create a civilised, caring society — a society which provides education for the young, and care for the elderly. One would expect, therefore, that the importance of the engineer's role was generally recognised and understood. Unfortunately this is not so, and one is led to question why.
Learn to KISS
Authors: Jones Lyndon
Published: February 2008

A famous wartime politician once stated:
Educational mobility in Europe
Authors: Martin Ronald G.
Published: February 2008

The Commission of the European Communities, and in particular its Directorate‐General for Employment, Social Affairs and Education, which I represent, welcomes the opportunity to speak on a subject with which it has been, is, and will be very pre‐occupied, and to be able to bring one up‐to‐date with current Commission activity and thinking in this field. The commission regards this as very important in the total context of the development of its work in the field of academic mobility.
Are you a Professional?
Authors: Wilkinson Roderick
Published: February 2008

The ideas that many young people have about the job of management are often vague, frightening and confused with ideas of business ownership, worry, money, paperwork, spectacles and meetings.
A European thesis
Authors: Liggett Eric
Published: February 2008

Has expenditure of energy on the Europe debate in the United Kingdom significantly enhanced political adaptability?
From penny bazaar to St. Michael
Authors: Jones Lyndon
Published: February 2008

Leeds, Yorkshire, 1884. Michael Marks, a Polish immigrant, opens his first penny bazaar under the laconic slogan: Don't ask the price — it's a penny. Today, Marks & Spencer is Britain's biggest retailer, and the fifth‐ranked company in Europe in terms of market capitalisation. Group sales in the last financial year, achieved during a time of recession, increased unemployment and the worst winter in living memory, were in excess of £2,000 million, while profits were £222 million. Additionally sales and profits were swollen from overseas earnings, notably from the stores in Paris and Dublin.
A Model of Quality of Work Life as a Developmental Process
Authors: Carlson Howard C.
Published: February 2008

Quality of Work Life (QWL) is both a goal and an on‐going process for achieving it. As a goal, QWL is the commitment of any organization to work improvement — the creation of more involving, satisfying and effective jobs and work environment for people at all levels of the organization. As a process, QWL calls for efforts to realise this goal through the active involvement of people throughout the organization.
Reading time improvement plan
Authors: Jones Lyndon
Published: February 2008

This is the age of information overload. Paper pollutes our lives. In order to cope effectively, it can be helpful to implement a Reading Time Improvement Plan — see Figure I. Materials read should be classified under appropriate headings and the time spent analysed.
YOP in perspective
Authors: Taylor Colin
Published: February 2008

In September 1978 the Government, through the Manpower Services Commission (MSC), launched the Youth Opportunities Programme (YOP). The programme was introduced to offset growing unemployment among the young, and aimed at providing them with good quality training and work experience. One of its major objectives was to improve their prospects of permanent employment.
The Tao of Management
Authors: Gold Donald
Published: February 2008

Professor Reg Revans is well known for his perseverance in promoting the practice of Action Learning. For more than 40 years he has battled against prejudice and pre‐conceived ideas to obtain recognition for what he believes to be the only efficient way to educate managers in the skills of management.
How to study
Authors: Baker Edgar
Published: February 2008

We are all different one from another, and therefore we behave in different ways. Generalisations about human conduct are bound to be open to exceptions, and no absolute rules about how we should do things can apply. Nevertheless with experience we learn successful ways of conducting our affairs, including efficient methods of study. In this and a subsequent article I shall try to identify certain general principles that may be of some help to those who are on a course, or are about to embark on a course, of study. These notes can be no more than suggestions, but they are based on direct experience and have been found to work. The individual can modify them in the light of his own temperament and need.
The British accountant and the European Economic Community
Authors: Richardson Roy
Published: February 2008

The member states of the European Economic Community are at present the original six partners — Belgium, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Netherlands — plus three — Denmark, Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom — plus, later, Greece and, more recently, Portugal and Spain. Relations in the twelve member states vary from the highly cordial to the openly hostile. This article will not enter political controversy or seek to justify the inclusion or adherence of any country — including the UK — in the EEC; nevertheless, the Community is a fact and this country is a member state.
Langham Secretarial goes electronic
Authors: Walker Judith
Published: February 2008

Langham Secretarial College has been successfully training students to become top secretaries for some 35 years. Towards the end of the 1970s, however, a great change took place which dramatically altered the whole face of secretarial work; word processors started invading our desk tops.
Managing one's own time
Authors: Baker Donald
Published: February 2008

We have done everything with time except learn how to waste it. Now adolescents and adults are faced with the problem of beguiling their time. To the middle‐aged redundancy or early retirement presents a vista of boredom or bliss, depending on how they can fill their days; while to school‐leavers and graduates, the prospect of idle hours is stark reality when they visit the Job Centres. The implications of compulsory idleness are catastrophic and frightening, for they augur a change in attitude to time and work that will revolutionise society and the philosophy of education that interprets it.
What is communication?
Authors: Page Denys
Published: February 2008

Putting it across loud and clear. Communications is a much misunderstood word. It means more than just sending messages; proper communication consists of achieving a fully reciprocal understanding between two (or more) people, and this is a very complicated process. One person (the sender) has to turn his thoughts or intentions into words (written or oral) which he intends to communicate to the other. Some senders take a great deal of trouble to prepare and polish what they are going to say in an attempt to achieve a perfectly clear message. Others do not — they say or write the first thing that comes into their heads.
Retailing and distribution
Authors: Romano Soraya
Published: February 2008

As part of the development of syllabuses and examinations at Pitman Examinations Institute, and in response to a changing educational environment, a new examination in Retailing and Distribution is being introduced.
With performance aids, who needs training?
Authors: Jones Lyndon , Page Denys
Published: February 2008

In many situations improvements in training can be facilitated without investment therein. Among the alternatives to training are:
Education and training — survival and advancement
Authors: Tolley George
Published: February 2008

In a rapidly changing world we need to run very fast to stay in the same place. But most people do not want to stay in the same place; they need therefore to run that much faster. The world of work is changing and it will be a very long time, if at all, before the world of leisure takes over in ensuring personal fulfilment and satisfaction. Changes in the world of work are not due solely to technological change, important though this is; there are three other factors that are of crucial importance:
Can we change other people's behaviour?
Authors: Jones Lyndon , Page Denys
Published: February 2008

In this chapter the authors point out the necessity for a careful analysis of the pinpointed and tracked (charted) behaviour in terms of its antecedents and consequences, as a prelude to attempting to change its incidence.
Student section
Authors: Marklew A.
Published: February 2008

The main purpose of this article is to explain and clarify the general approach to examining in Marketing as an aid to students of the Association. It may be useful, however, to start with a brief discussion of marketing and its role in modern management, and to identify factors which tend to differentiate it from other areas of management study and practice.
Study skills and adult training
Authors: Sutcliffe Glenna
Published: February 2008

Advanced managerial methods, computer know‐how, with entrepreneurial and financial skills — these are the life blood of a healthy economy. The education system, and probably more specifically the training and development of the adult workforce, caters for many if not all of the areas of commerce and industry that require these particular skills. It is rather surprising that, until fairly recently, the ability to learn how to learn has hardly been questioned. It is, of course, basic to all the advanced skills. The world of education is realising that the young mind does not necessarily know, instinctively, how to learn the lessons set before it. The good teacher, and there are many more than the media will give credit to, understands how to help each child develop his or her true potential. This is often a subconscious understanding of how the students' minds work, rather than a considered and planned attempt to structure their learning.
Can we change other people's behaviour?
Authors: Jones Lyndon , Page Denys
Published: February 2008

The balance of consequences can be used to analyse and change people's behaviour. The following structural approach may be used:
Behaviour modelling — a needs based approach
Authors: Swierenga Harm
Published: February 2008

Demonstration of a concrete model for each discussion situation in which the steps are clearly identifiable.
Psychological approach to examinations
Authors: Davies Don
Published: February 2008

Examinations represent a measure of performance under stress. Public examinations commonly constitute one of the most extreme forms of competition in contemporary society, wherein the psychological pressures can be immense. Thus examinations often become as much a measure of temperamental robustness and resilience as of knowledge and ability. Indeed, it is widely appreciated that the level of such emotional states as anxiety and excitability can make all the difference between passing and failing. Yet for one reason or another, the whole emphasis on preparation for examinations invariably centres on the intellectual development of the individual and the acquisition of skill and knowledge. Systematic psychological preparation in the affective domain is virtually non‐existent.
Okay, so you're the boss
Authors: Taylor Colin
Published: February 2008

Two years ago, in May 1983, as an optimistic graduate clutching my well earned BA(Hons), I would have laughed at the idea of running my own business. After a year of unemployment and full time job‐hunting, such an option seemed less outlandish. Now, in April 1985, I find myself at the end of my first year as my own boss. Not long ago I had difficulty spelling entrepreneur; now I am one.
Learning to write right
Authors: Baker Edgar
Published: February 2008

The verb is the most important word in a sentence, and most mistakes made by overseas students arise out of the misuse of verbs and their tenses. It is not easy to determine whether these mistakes are due to ignorance or to carelessness; probably a mixture of both. It is difficult to do anything to correct carelessness, but easier to dispel ignorance. The verb is the word that tells us what is taking place in a sentence. If, for example, we write My brother…a letter, we see that there is some sort of link between the two words. It is the verb that will explain that link: My brother has, reads, loses, admires, writes a letter. The verb tells us what is going on: it is the key word.
Training the Counsellors — 1. Employee assistance
Authors: Parkinson Margaret
Published: February 2008

During the 1970s management and unions in Australia, concerned about losses both to employers and employees in the areas of safety, productivity, absenteeism, health and family breakdown caused by personal problems, began to devise support programmes to help personnel solve those problems and to resume a productive role in the workforce.
Variety in the sixth form and beyond
Authors: Beer JP Ian
Published: February 2008

We have a problem with our sixth forms; it is a comparatively new one since, until recently, sixth form education in England has been respected across the world for its ability to motivate a pupil's mind to delve in depth into a limited number of subjects. But times change and, with the change, our approach is found to be wanting. New subjects, such as Computer Studies, Economics for Life, Creative Design Technology — these we cannot find room for in the sixth form curriculum alongside ‘A’‐level work, while older specialisms are beginning to converge into more unified disciplines within the Humanities and integrated Science. Most importantly the world outside the schools has changed, and we need to respond to that challenge.
Solving the IT skills shortage
Authors: Beckett Terence
Published: February 2008

In recent years companies who continue to think in terms of old technology have fallen by the wayside, and lengthened the dole‐queues, either through lack of changes or because of fear of change. Technological change is not as bad as it is sometimes painted. True, in manufacturing industry we now employ fewer production workers; but then automation and robots on the production line call for more technicians and better maintenance — in other words more occupation of a high‐tech nature, not fewer jobs. Similarly in the service sector, we see fewer clerks and penpushers; but they have been replaced by highly‐skilled keyboard personnel: computer operators and technicians. Again new occupations, not fewer jobs.
Validation of accounting software
Authors: Bronson Peter
Published: February 2008

In any analysis or review of accounting software, the day‐to‐day environment in which this software will ultimately be used must surely be the starting point. The bewildering array of business packages that are currently on offer, all claiming features and capabilities that make them the ideal choice for a small business requiring computerisation, present a terrifying prospect for the unsuspecting and unitiated end‐user. It often transpires in the slick demonstration situation that the salesman will gloss over important issues because of personal inexperience in accounting procedures. It can just as easily happen that a prospective customer will avoid asking pertinent questions for fear of revealing his limited technical knowledge. It is long overdue that, just as an accountant would turn to guidelines to help determine the format for a set of annual accounts, he should be able to turn to similar guidelines for assistance in selecting a computer system.
Starting a new job
Authors: Roberts Don
Published: February 2008

Starting a new job is not a unique experience for most managers. However, when this occurs at senior level it can have a significant impact on organisation performance. I was a member of a consulting team in the early 1970s working with the Chief Executive Officer of a medium‐sized telecommunications company, part of a larger group, in the United States. The external consultant, Dr. Charles Seashore, had extensive experience in working with individuals and organisations experiencing important transitions. My job was Director of Organisation Development for the headquarters company and four operating companies of the telecommunications group.
Quality improvement through Activity Analysis
Authors: Brown Paul L.
Published: February 2008

Improving the quality of products and services has become a major goal of most sophisticated companies and organisations in the 1980s. The challenge of competition from the Japanese, coupled with a growing awareness that millions of dollars in production and operating costs can be saved when things are done right first time, has captured the interest and imagination of thousands of managers and executives. Businesses that had never thought much about whether their services conformed to requirements, or their products were fit for use, have begun to turn their attention to the issue of quality. Even more mature companies that have earned a reputation for achieving excellence have begun to take a closer look at their internal activities and processes with a view to reducing rework, scrap, and costs in order to remain competitive.
Not by accident
Authors: Taylor Colin
Published: February 2008

Creativity and commerce have to a great extent been separated in the education and business worlds in this country. Design education in Britain tends to ignore the profoundly symbiotic nature of the design/business relationship. This is more true of fields such as fashion/textiles, jewellery, ceramics and footwear than it is of more technical areas like product or engineering design. Of course students of the former subjects are aware that their designs must sell; but that is little better than making a trainee chef aware that food must be digestible. The complexity of the difference between an awareness and an appreciation or understanding of commercial criteria is, in practical terms, the difference between a successful profitable product/business and a failed loss‐making one.
Exporting to Europe
Authors: Shaw Humphrey
Published: February 2008

The United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973, and one of the main benefits derived was access to a tariff‐free market of 270 million people. Politicians had been urging British companies to export more ever since the end of the Second World War. The post‐war period had seen trade with what could be called the ‘Old Empire’ in decline, while trade with the EEC had grown considerably. Many politicians no doubt believed that British companies would be encouraged to export more if the UK became a member of the EEC, for in effect the home market was being expanded almost five‐fold from approximately 56 million. This market would be larger than the United States with 230 million people, or Japan with 117 million.
Interactive video in training
Authors: Pearcey Mary
Published: February 2008

It doesn't take an expert to work out that interactivity is the key to good training. From the nursery school child on the teacher's knee to the university tutorial, people learn best when they're involved, talking, reacting, DOING something. That might seem to be an argument against distance learning; but distance learning is often the most convenient, cost‐effective way of providing for a training need. And interactive video — good, well designed interactive video — can provide uniform and efficient individual training which involves every student, every inch of the way.
Organising yourself to communicate
Authors: Sheldon Robert
Published: February 2008

Memorandum is a written communication between the originator and one or more other officials or departments of the same firm. It can go by other names such as a departmental communication or an internal message, and is used in preference to an oral communication when:
Taking the Assessment Centre road
Authors: Sheldon Robert
Published: February 2008

If a large company is not to become a dinosaur it must foresee the need for change, not least in personnel practices, and must have staff to do this and help bring in new ways.
Marketing education and training
Authors: Willis Eric
Published: February 2008

Great concern has been expressed at the appallingly low rate of commitment to training by British industry and commerce. While Britain's managers must share some of the blame for this, the actual providers of training must also be considered at fault.
Challenge to British Industry
Authors: Henderson Denys
Published: February 2008

I should like to make a few comments on the successful businessman or woman. I come from the school of thought which says that you learn business by doing it, that management is mainly achieved by wide and diverse management experiences. People are to be judged on their track record — what they actually achieve — rather than by what they have on pieces of paper, or how they display their goods in the shop window.
Education for the working environment
Authors: Baker Kenneth
Published: February 2008

One of the principal tasks of our education system is to prepare pupils and students for employment. The Government's policy is to get the system to discharge that task effectively and without unacceptably high burdens on the economy, including the industrial and commercial taxpayer.
Adult Education and the Unemployed
Authors: Wymer Keith
Published: February 2008

Adult education, the poor relation of the education service, always suffers first from expenditure cuts. In some areas it survives only through voluntary efforts, self‐supporting classes, or facilities provided by community organisations. In 1986, adult education is further out of the mainstream than at any time since 1945.
Skills Shortages in Information Technology
Authors: Virgo Philip
Published: February 2008

This is not a summary of the day's proceedings. It is merely a list of salient points which I had not heard made with such clarity of force on other occasions. Some are controversial; but since the meeting I have taken the opportunity, while editing the proceedings, to check that reasonable evidence is available to substantiate all those quoted.
The Current Educational Literary Scene
Authors: Baker Edgar
Published: February 2008

The Coombe Lodge studies had their origin in seminars between the Staff College and the British Council some eight or nine years ago. The DES requested these two bodies to organise a series of visits abroad to study vocational education, and the papers represent the outcome of those visits. Coombe Lodge now claims to possess the largest and most up‐to‐date collection of information on vocational education and training in the Federal Republic of Germany to be found anywhere in the UK. There are a dozen titles in the first series ranging in price from £2.50 to £3 a copy; some have been up‐dated in 1983 and later.
Engineering Education in Scotland
Authors: Rankin Alex
Published: February 2008

I will define Higher Education as post‐school studies which are set at a standard above English “A”‐level or Scottish “H”‐grade. Using this definition, engineering courses in higher education in Scotland are available in six universities, five central institutions (the Scottish equivalent of polytechnics) and in 37 Regional Authority further education colleges
The Prospect for CACGS
Authors: Pierce‐Price Peter
Published: February 2008

It is usual to divide Computer‐Assisted Guidance Systems (CAGS) into three broad groups. The first are information‐retrieval systems in which the function of the computer is basically to find the “page” on which particular data are stored, and to retrieve them for users of the system. The second are information‐processing systems in which the function of the computer is to analyse and search occupational, job, or educational course databases, in order to identify suitable “matches” between the opportunities available and the user's requirements; these are functions at which the computer is particularly good. The third are learning systems, so‐called because in addition to performing matching they help users learn and practise relevant skills and concepts such as decision making, self‐assessment, ways in which the world of work is organised, and the implementation of educational, personal, and career plans.
Adult Training for Industry
Authors: Walden George
Published: February 2008

I make no apologies for beginning my Address by looking back briefly over the past few years at what has been happening in the relationship between the DES and the so‐called Responsible Bodies. Though the policies for direct funding of extra‐mural provision in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are for the Secretaries of State for those countries, some of our objectives for England will I am sure apply not only over the borders but also to those of you not in receipt of RB funding.
Educational Preparation for Working Life
Authors: Baker CBE Edgar
Published: February 2008

The first two books on the list are case studies conducted in schools; one is an investigation into how 12‐year‐old pupils settle down when they transfer from a Middle to a Comprehensive school, the other is a study of a curriculum for the less‐academic streams during their last two years of compulsory education. The remaining two books are studies of the transfer of pupils and university graduates into their first jobs. All four books then, in different ways, deal with the transfer from one mode of life into another and more challenging invironment.
GRADUATE RECRUITMENT PROCEDURES IN THE ACCOUNTANCY PROFESSION
Authors: Taffler Richard , Harvey‐Cook Jane
Published: February 2008

In 1986 6,200 students entered into training contracts under the aegis of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, of whom nine out of ten were graduates, making the profession by far the largest single recruiter of graduates in the UK; and this voracious appetite may well increase. Most firms expend considerable resources on recruitment to get it right; yet Institute statistics demonstrate that up to 40 per cent of graduate recruits ultimately fail to qualify. Perhaps at best one fifth of the original entrants will still be with their original firm three years after qualification. A large proportion must be viewed as recruitment failures.
BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR TRAINING
Authors: Nunn Bill
Published: February 2008

Education and training are vital to the economic growth of any nation, and the UK's failure fully to realise the potential of both its future and existing labour resources has been well documented. Investment in this area from both the public and private sectors is now being stepped up sharply.
AN APPRAISAL FOR THE TEACHER
Authors: Baker Edgar
Published: February 2008

In Education + Training (July‐August 1987) I reviewed two publications, one from Croydon and the other from Suffolk, which dealt with pupil and teacher appraisal. Here are two more publications from the same sources that deal with the same problem. In addition there are three other publications on the subject. They all bear witness to this important issue that is likely to assume greater prominence in the near future. It behoves all of us then to inform ourselves and come to our own conclusions. The striking thing about these five titles is the unanimity of views expressed, but I will come back to that later.