bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Strategic Context of Interfirm Co‐operation
Authors: Edström Anders , Högberg Bengt
Published: January 2008

Theories of organisations provide alternative explanations of why business firms create linkage mechanisms such as joint ventures for interfirm co‐ordination and decision‐making. One point of view is based on what has been termed the resource dependence model. The reasoning behind this model is that specialisation of production makes any manufacturing firm dependent on other firms for important resources and for disposal of its output. To ensure the supply of scarce resources, a firm will resort to co‐operation. An alternative to the resource dependence model has been presented in a study of the use of joint programs by health and welfare organisations in the United States. There it is argued that innovative organisations generate more ideas about new activities than they can implement with internally available resources and will therefore seek co‐operation. Studies by other management theorists also stress the need for resources, especially complementary resources, as an important motive for engaging in joint ventures with foreign partners. In addition, however, it is argued that management of a firm will make a trade‐off between its need for unilateral control and its need for resources. Attempts to integrate these alternative explanations can be found both on the conceptual and empirical level.
Industry in the Development Areas: The Experience of Firms Opening New Factories
Authors: Northcott Jim
Published: January 2008

This PEP report finds that firms opening new factories in the Special Development Areas have varied greatly in their experience, but for every firm dissatisfied with its development area location there were four others which were pleased. While some firms have run into serious difficulties, and most made losses in the first year or two, nearly all the firms in the survey looked forward to further expansion and expected a viable future.
The Marketing of Consumer Products in an Inflationary/Low‐Growth Economy
Authors: Lau H.K.
Published: January 2008

This study aims to examine some of the special techniques required for the marketing of consumer products during periods of significant inflation and low economic growth.
Where Are They Now?: A Follow‐Up Study of the Unemployed
Authors: Daniel W.W.
Published: January 2008

Of people who were registered as un‐employed in the autumn of 1973, and were still of working age three years later in the autumn of 1976, only 38% had jobs. Thirty‐four per cent were still out of work or out of work again. Twenty‐eight per cent did not have jobs but were no longer looking for work because of their age, or state of health or because they had become housewives. Over a third, 36%, had not worked at any stage in the intervening years. Furthermore, 14% of those registered as unemployed in October 1973 had become officially retired and few of them had worked at all in the following three years.
A Survey of Modern British Co‐operatives
Authors: Chaplin Paul , Cowe Roger
Published: January 2008

There are three broad categories of worker co‐operatives, of which only one is covered by our survey. We concentrated on the common ownership (CO) movement (initiated by Scott Bader Chemicals in 1950), and recently given a boost by the Industrial Common Ownership Act (1976), restricting ourselves to small businesses (under 200 employees) engaged in production or ‘urban’ services, i.e. excluding agricultural co‐ops and communes. Before going on to describe the findings of our survey it is appropriate to describe briefly the two other classes of worker co‐operative.
Night Work
Authors: Carpentier J. , Cazamian P.
Published: January 2008

Every industrial society generates—and must then settle—a conflict between its functions of production and of the protection of the producer, between the needs of the economy and the biological and psychological requirements of the workers, and between the demands of industrial growth and the quality of individual and social life.
Technological Change in the Regional and Local Press
Authors: Webb Terry , Alexander Ann , Steer Heather
Published: January 2008

This study funded by the Printing and Publishing Training Board from 1975–77 examined factors affecting the management of technological change in three newspaper companies from the United Kingdom regional and local press. In terms of ownership the companies ranged from a small privately owned firm; a small company which was part of a conglomerate group; to a large newspaper house again group owned. In all three cases the companies were engaged in making a change from a conventional hot metal system to one which used photographic techniques in the composition of a newspaper.
Modelling Buying Intentions in the Machine Tool Market
Authors: Johne F.A.
Published: January 2008

This paper reports on a study undertaken to explore the feasibility and usefulness of applying attitudinal data for the practical marketing purpose of increasing sales. Specifically the study sought reasons which led production engineers to prefer buying a specified make of machine tool from one supplier rather than another, its purpose being to recommend to British suppliers of a particular type of machine tool ways in which they might reposition their products to capture an increased share of their domestic market. The paper suggests how conventional methods of measuring attitudes in industrial markets can be supplemented by using the newer multi‐dimensional scaling techniques developed initially for use in modelling consumer behaviour.
Consumer Perception and Preferences of Message Structure
Authors: Uusitalo Liisa
Published: January 2008

Consumer choice and decision‐making is always based on some kind of information regardless of what term (input, stimuli, cue, message, information) we use of it The inner information processes of the consumer, reception, perception, and processing of information, the reciprocity of information with attitudes and behaviour, and the storage and use of information can be seen as a sub‐field in a communication system which is formed between the sender and receiver of information. This communication system has proved to be essential both in recognising consumer wants and in stimulating his behaviour.
Vertical Integration and Different Inputs
Authors: Porter M.E. , Spence A.M.
Published: January 2008

Vertical integration decisions, which determine the boundaries of the firm, are among the largest investment decisions firms make and can have a major influence on their success. In some cases, the failure to integrate can result in the inability to obtain the desired inputs at reasonable prices. In other instances, an integrated firm may be severely affected by economic fluctuations due to overheads that the unintegrated firms do not bear. Research on vertical integration has stressed the balance between the inflexibility of integration and the cost reduction and/or potential increase in market power that integration may allow.
Bankruptcy Risk and the Choice of Financial Structure
Authors: Levy Haim , Sarnat Marshall
Published: January 2008

The research reported in this paper was undertaken as part of the International Institute of Management's on‐going research into the impact of the capital market's valuation of firms' shares on corporate policy. This paper treats a basic theoretical issue in the valuation of the firm, i.e. the impact of bankruptcy risk on a firm's optimal financial strategy.
The Shipping Industry in the United Kingdom
Authors: McConville J.
Published: January 2008

Shipping is not, as is often assumed, a monolithic industry. It is rather a complex of associated industries performing a different transport function and satisfying a different demand. There is no clear line of demarcation between the sectors; at one extreme there is a close association between cargo liners and tramps which can generally assume the other's function, while at the other extreme passenger liners have little in common with tankers. Shipping, therefore, is not a single industry but a group of industries which are to a greater or lesser extent related. It follows from this that any generalized discussion must be treated with circumspection, for a major influence in one sector or trade may only be of marginal significance in another. For example, the competition from the airlines for passenger traffic, particularly over the North Atlantic, had a disastrous impact on the passenger liner trade but left the other sectors of the industry virtually unaffected.
The Impact of ‘Quality of Working Life’ Initiatives on Trade Unions
Authors: Moore Roy
Published: January 2008

A research project investigating the impact of ‘quality of working life’ initiatives was undertaken at the Trade Union Research Unit, Ruskin College, Oxford during 1977 by Darryl Hull, supervised by Roy Moore and supported by a Social Science Research Council grant. The project was designed to throw light on certain broad questions relating to changes in work organisation of particular concern to trade unions. Has the concept of work organisation been two narrowly defined in relation to the total work situation? Does the involvement of workers in the planning and decision‐making processes of a plant produce a dynamic force capable of changing management and trade union structures at plant level? What are the implications for unions of the increasing application by management of work organisation initiatives? What has been the impact of such initiatives, in parallel with the development of a ‘joint management’ philosophy, on unions and their members?
The Productive Association—A Proposal for a New Legal Entity for Management in an Age of Equality
Authors: McCosh Andrew M.
Published: January 2008

Since the 1840's, the corporate form has grown to become the dominant vehicle for carrying on all kinds of business and commerce in the developed world and in most parts of the developing world. It started as a simple response to the dangers of bankruptcy, which could formerly have put a trader in prison for life. Then it grew, as more and more traders sought the protection of limitation of liability. Also, limited liability form allowed a trader to raise much more money than he could find on his own. People with a lot of money were reluctant to take a partnership, with unlimited liability, so the capital needs of industrial expansion could only be met through the corporate form. The economic development of the industrial world since that beginning is a testimony of the effectiveness of the corporate form as a legal vehicle of considerable power. With very few exceptions, it has served the industrial world well for over a century.
The Effects of Differences in Perceptions of Organisation
Authors: Bowey Angela M.
Published: January 2008

There are a number of different theories or models of organisation which can be identified in past and current management literature and teaching, and which have been analysed, studied and criticised by organisation theorists. Is this just an academic exercise reflecting an obsession with the historical development of Organisation Theory? Or are these different models empirically significant to behaviour in organisations? Do they help to explain things which happen in today's organisations? A research project started in August 1977 aims to find answers to these and related questions.
Organisation as a Matter of Style
Authors: Hedlund Gunran
Published: January 2008

The “cultures” of two large Swedish multi‐national corporations are described and shown in my research to be very different. Both companies do exhibit definite styles of their own, which have existed and evolved during a considerable period of time. In both cultures, there are self‐reinforcing characteristics that give them stability. The original evolution of the styles is closely associated with the initiatives and personalities of a few individuals in both cases. As the cultures have matured, there is an influence on the individuals working in the organisation through socialisation and selection.
A Modified Rules Approach to Workplace Industrial Relations
Authors: Lumley Roger
Published: January 2008

This paper makes a contribution to defining the scope of study in workplace industrial relations. Applications of a modified rules approach to industrial relations to the fieldwork setting of a large industrial construction site leads to interpretations and clarifications which give the subject a distinct focus while avoiding excessive overlap with other social science fields of study.
Planning Systems in European Industrial Groups
Authors: de Bethune André
Published: January 2008

Economic concentration is one of the main characteristics of the European business scene for the last ten years. The appearance of numerous industrial groups is the result of this move toward concentration.
Unemployment and the Structure of Labour Costs
Authors: Nickell Stephen
Published: January 2008

The last ten years have witnessed a dramatic rise in the level of unemployment throughout most of Western Europe. The level of registered unemployment has doubled over the last four years in the United Kingdom and West Germany and this is reflected in most other European nations. Sweden is, however, an exception. Over this period there have been a number of other notable changes in the labour markets of Western Europe and it is the relationship between two distinct areas of such change and the pattern of unemployment which is the concern of this paper. The first such change is the upsurge in what might loosely be termed “employment protection”. This refers to the increased difficulty experienced by employers who wish to reduce the size of their labour force. In particular there has been a series of increases in the period of notice required prior to dismissal, in the compensation payments which must be made to workers who are made redundant and in the legal requirements which must be satisfied before an employee may be dismissed. These changes have been brought about both via new legislation and via the increased attention paid to such matters by Trade Union negotiators. The second major change referred to above has been the increasing recourse by governments to so‐called “special employment measures” which refer among other things to wage subsidies of one kind or another which are introduced in order to reduce unemployment.
Taxation, Human Capital, and Uncertainty
Authors: Eaton Jonathan , Rosen Harvey S.
Published: January 2008

The growth of tax rates on earned income has focused attention upon the impact of such taxes on work effort. The effect of taxes on hours of work has been the subject of both careful theoretical and econometric study. The basic lesson of the theoretical literature is that the impact of taxation on hours of work is logically indeterminate because of the familiar conflict between income and substitution effects. Therefore, an enormous amount of econometric research has been done on this subject. Although there is a disconcertingly high variance in estimates of labour supply elasticities, it would probably be fair to say that the consensus is that the response in hours of work to changes in the net wage is very small for prime age male earners. This finding has been interpreted by some as evidence that taxes have little influence on work effort.
Concepts of Effectiveness and Inferred worth and their Application in Social Service Resource Allocation Models
Authors: Prentice R.C.
Published: January 2008

This paper considers the problem of including “objectives” in a resouce allocation planning model for personal social services. Essentially, are models to be built containing valued “goals” and/or “objectives” in a planning model for senior management in personal social services; that is, models which contain explicitly defined “goals” and/or “obectives”? Alternatively, are valued “goals” and/or “objectives” to be absent from our models but inferred from dialogues with the decision makers? And if the latter form is adopted what are the implications for the measurement of service effectiveness?
Hits and Flops in Media Selection
Authors: Simon Hermann , Thiel Michael
Published: January 2008

The media selection problem is characterised by a classical economic structure: a limited resource, the advertising budget, is to be allocated to alternate uses, the media, so that a given objective function, e.g. reach, gross‐rating‐points, etc. is maximised.
Why Workers Want Unions
Authors: Farber Henry S. , Saks Daniel H.
Published: January 2008

Why is it that some workers want unions to represent them and other workers do not? The question is basic to our understanding of union growth and behaviour. The answer must depend on what workers think unions can and will do for them and on how much particular workers value such union accomplishments. There are a number of potential points where a worker's preferences about unions could be observed: in a worker's decision to vote for having a union at the workplace; in the worker's decision to join an existing union in an open shop; in the worker's decision to take a job in a unionised firm; and in a worker's political behaviour toward the leadership and policies of his or her union. Unfortunately, the decision about the union is complicated by other potentially confounding decisions such as the undesirability of being a “free rider” in an open shop, the “tied sale” of taking a job and joining a union, and the array of interests which may determine the formation of political coalitions in unions.
What do the British want from Participation and Industrial Democracy?
Authors: Heller Frank , Wilders Malcolm , Abell Peter , Warner Malcolm
Published: January 2008

Employees in Britain have a remarkably low level of involvement in decisions that affect their working lives, but they do want a greater say in those decisions.
Influence and Responsibilities of First Line Supervisors
Authors: Partridge B.E.
Published: January 2008

The poor economic performance of British industry has attracted considerable public attention. Part, at least of this poor performance can be attributed to the low status of production management and the production function. Industry may well have been unsuccessful in attracting qualified people and some employers have reportedly become disillusioned with graduate recruitment. Production management is arguably not only the most difficult type of work in industry, requiring considerable ability, but it also imposes considerable strains in its combination of less pleasant working conditions, a front‐line role in industrial relations, less influence in strategic decision‐making, and poor career prospects. Salaries in production tend also to be lower than in other areas of management, while the public image of production management is one of no intellectual challenge, poor working conditions and bad industrial relations. For these reasons production has been called the “Cinderella of Management”.
Technological Innovation and Industrial Relations in the UK
Authors: Mok Albert
Published: January 2008

The main issue in the labour markets of the 1980s will be technological innovation and its consequences. About this I propose to ask four questions.
Technical Change, Manufacturing Organisation and Labour Markets
Authors: Sorge Arndt
Published: January 2008

A wave of discussion about the consequences of recent technical change has come to sweep industrialised countries. The topic is mainly the development, production, and use of integrated electronic circuits, specifically in the sophisticated form of microelectronics. The technology of information and control has made striking advances, and it effects important changes throughout all manner of products, production processes, and administrative procedures. Conspicuous and often‐quoted examples are watch‐making and newspaper production. These branches are often held up as showing what is to come everywhere: a radical transformation of technology, the death of established trades and vocations, and large‐scale redundancy and unemployment. Furthermore, such prospects are often associated with a change in the international division of labour, whereby recently industrialising countries of the Third World, such as Algeria, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, and many others, have come to produce industrial goods and import them to Europe and North America on an increasing scale. Because of higher labour costs here, there is a constraint to rationalise production and strengthen technical improvement, both of which are facilitated by new semiconductor technologies, particularly microelectronics, and the automation associated with it.
The Myth of Technology and Industrial Science
Authors: Fores Michael
Published: January 2008

Any group, such as that which comprises the creators and the readers of English‐speaking social science, which opts to use an idea like “technology” for the technical functions of manufacturing is in for trouble from the outset. This is the case, as well, for the idea of “industrial science”.
Changes in the Social Position of Professional Occupations
Authors: Child John , Fulk Schriesheim Janet
Published: January 2008

The position of professions within society has long been a subject of great interest and controversy among sociologists. Currently, however, the social position of professions appears particularly worthy of study, for two reasons. First, sociologists have recently formulated a variety of frameworks of analysis which attempt to identify the means by which occupations are able to secure and maintain for themselves the privileges and power of “profession” — thereby manipulating their social position. Second, some professions are now facing significant social changes which may provide greater threats to their established positions than they have experienced in the recent past. Sociologists such as Elliott and members of professions themselves have claimed that the professions face a “crisis.” These commentators describe changes which largely concern those issues of autonomy and power that are now coming to be regarded as salient in the study of professions — changes such as a diminution of professions' control over their conditions of practice and over their established market segments. Investigation of these changes should be able to furnish evidence which is relevant to a quesiton of current sociological concern, and also provide an interpretative challenge which may help to refine existing frameworks of analysis. These considerations form the rationale for the present paper, which analyses recent changes affecting the social position of five professions in the United Kingdom and the United States. The five professions are accounting, architecture, civil engineering, law, and medicine (including dentistry).
Shop Stewards' Attitudes towards Joint Consultation
Authors: Blyton Paul
Published: January 2008

This article summarises the findings of a study which examined the attitudes and perceptions of shop stewards towards their joint consultation committees (JCCs). A brief review is made of the extent of joint consultation and the levels of analysis which may be appropriate in seeking explanations for the continued interest in this form of labour‐management committee.
A Vehicle Routing Algorithm
Authors: Buxey Geoff
Published: January 2008

The Vehicle Scheduling Problem (VSP) is to assign specific routes to a fleet of delivery vehicles so that management's standards of operational efficiency and customer service are both satisfied. The basic format requires all carriers to operate from a common depot and to furnish any particular order with a single drop. In addition, total loads must be within each vehicle's capacity limit and distributed during the driver's statutory working day, whilst a variety of further constraints may have to be taken into account as circumstances dictate.
Alternative Work Patterns: Do Organisations Really Measure Their Worth?
Authors: Burdetsky Ben , Katzman Marvin S.
Published: January 2008

This article was written as a result of a study of alternative Work Pattern (AWP) applications in the United States. The study was designed to ascertain how Flexitime or other AWP's impact worker productivity, morale, absenteeism, turnover, or other such measures of woker's performance or attitude. The results of the study were inconclusive insofar as the main research question was concerned. 214 organisations throughout the United States were surveyed with a view toward the evaluation of their previously reported AWP applications. A one page survey schedule was mailed to the 214 organisations and there were 78 responses, thus yielding a response rate of 36 percent. Table 1 shows the response rate.
The Exigence to Evaluate Policy Decisions
Authors: Andrews David
Published: January 2008

PADIS‐ODE, described in MRN Vol. 3, Nos. 1 and 3, 1980, was developed to allow each separate aspect of any policy decision to be properly worked out in professional studies, and to provide formal means for communicating meaningfully to others the degree of risk that may remain in any policy as defined.
Flexitime ‐ Past Investigations and Future Directions
Authors: Lee Robert A.
Published: January 2008

From its origins in West Germany in the late sixties ‘flexitime’ has spread in various forms across Europe, The United States and the Western World generally. A number of organisations have emerged to provide time recording equipment for monitoring flexitime systems, their rapid growth in the seventies bears witness to the fertile conditions for flexitime which evidently existed during that period. In the U.K. applications of flexitime have been in Insurance, Banking, the Civil Service and Local Government as well as retailing and manufacturing.
Rights Issues
Authors: Keef S.P.
Published: January 2008

As explained by the majority of text books that deal with the subject, perfect market theory illustrates that the issue price in a rights issue is irrelevant to the short term wealth of the shareholder. Empirical evidence would suggest that stock markets react to rights issues in a manner that is not inconsistent with the theoretical model. A rights issue can be perceived to be part new issue and part scrip issue, and the greater the discount, that is, the lower the subscription price, the greater the scrip issue element. Most people would accept that a scrip issue only cuts the corporate pie into smaller pieces and does not represent a fundamental change to the net wealth of the shareholder.
Business and Society
Authors: Harvey Brian
Published: January 2008

The practical implications for industrial management of society's demand for ‘socially responsible’ business enterprise is the subject of a major research project at Nottingham University funded by the Social Science Research Council. Two research fellows directed by Brian Harvey, Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University's Department of Adult Education will be conducting intensive studies of a small number of selected firms.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF RISK MANAGEMENT
Authors: Andrews David
Published: January 2008

In a previous paper (MRN,5,1) it was shown that the liquidation of Rolls‐Royce Limited in February 1971 came about because the implied assumptions on which the RB 211 engine cost estimates had been based were not reflected in the engine development programme as it unfolded.
A Contingency Approach to the Use of Manpower Modelling Techniques
Authors: Davies Richard
Published: January 2008

The City of Bradford Metropolitan Council is one of the new Councils to appear as a result of the 1974 Local Government organisation. It has wide ranging responsibilities, including the provision of Education, collecting of refuse, repair of highways, housing etc. It employs just under 24,000 employees, and has a manpower budget of well over £100 millions.
Contingent Decision Making Processes in Operations Management
Authors: Wild Ray
Published: January 2008

An operating system utilises resources to transform or convert inputs into outputs in the form of goods or services. Conventionally operations management is defined as the task of designing, establishing, planning, running, controlling, maintaining and improving such systems. The identification of both goods and services as the output of such systems establishes operations management as a field of activity somewhat broader than production (or manufacturing) management which rests solely with the provision of goods or artefacts. However the distinction between goods and services is unclear and the latter category is broad and heterogeneous. It may therefore be worthwhile to have a more detailed definition, e.g. as follows — “An operating system is a combination of resources combined for the purpose of manufacture, transport, supply and service”; where these four functions are defined as below:
Business Protection Strategies for Smaller Companies in the Aquaculture industry
Authors: Chaston Ian
Published: January 2008

In the early sixties, aquaculture was perceived as a major investment opportunity; receiving attention in financial publications and attracting the interest of large corporate groups. By the late sixties it became apparent that the technological problems in moving aquaculture from a research concept to a commercially feasible proposition were such that the industry faced a long gestation period. This situation, coupled with the 1972–73 recession when many large corporations deemphasised any high risk or long‐term pay‐out projects, caused aquaculture to lose the “glamour growth industry” image. It was no longer an easy task to attract investors and many of the significant technological advances were achieved by small entrepreneurial groups who could percieve the long‐term benefits of creating viable culture units. These groups were assisted in certain instances by public sector research operations, but with a few notable exceptions (e.g. Ralston Purina, Coca Cola, General Mills, Kraft, Unilever) it was the poorly funded small companies who formed the nucleus of the industry by the late seventies.
International Marketing as Negotiation with Particular Reference to the People's Republic of China
Authors: Warrington MB , McCall JB
Published: January 2008

An international marketing strategy can only be as good as its implementation. Because implementation becomes more and more difficult through changes in international relations, economic ideologies, pressures of competition and growing professional competence, the negotiations by which implementation largely takes place assume an increasing significance in the outcomes.
Can Management Buyouts Give Better Performance than Worker Cooperation?
Authors: Dnes Antony W.
Published: January 2008

Management buyouts face much rosier prospects than the small wave of co‐operative ventures begun in the mid 1970s. Given that management are prepared to purchase a company, perhaps also offering shares to the workforce, this indicates that they believe it technically possible to run a business more effectively.
Planning New Industrial Products: Is Strategic Planning More Important Than Forecasting?
Authors: McTavish Ronald
Published: January 2008

Future research into forecasting and its relationship with new product planning will benefit from a more thorough analysis of the decision‐making processes involved at the micro‐level. Decisions to develop and introduce new products are predicted upon a corporate decision maker's judgement as to future buyer needs, competitive behaviour, technological change and the competitive abilities of the firm.
Researching Hours Systems
Authors: Lee Bob , Colman Sue
Published: January 2008

This project aims to identify the circumstances in which different management controlled hours systems are currently used and the effects they have on organisations and employees.
How to Attract Students to the Field of Management: An Empirical Study
Authors: Yavas Ugur , Tuncalp Secil
Published: January 2008

The retarded economic progress in developing countries is often attributed to a lack of management know‐how and shortage of qualified managers. Likely places for training managers are the local colleges and universities offering degree programmes in administration, commerce, or economics. However, educators face problems in attracting students to these areas.
Strategic‐Operational Approach to Management
Authors: Skipton
Published: January 2008

There have been many approaches to answering the question, “What is management?” This article outlines a further, strategic‐operational approach. The discussion is intended to contribute to the development of a theory of management which managers can use to analyse and improve their individual performance and the performance of their organisations.
Managerial Implications of Financial Futures
Authors: Gardener Edward P.M.
Published: January 2008

Cash flow management and liquidity control have assumed greater importance in a climate where business failure is often precipitated by inadequate or uncertain cash‐flow generation. Financial Futures is a technique which may improve both corporate cash flow management and profitability.
The Max Bell Business‐Government Studies Programme at York University
Authors: Gilles James
Published: January 2008

Managing the interface between the corporation and government has become one of the most rapidly growing management areas. The examination, evaluation and teaching of this aspect has been the work of the Max Bell Business‐Government Studies Programme at York University in Canada. The author describes the work of the programme to date and pays particular attention to the research being undertaken. The Programme has established itself as a major force in research and teaching in this area in Canada. The way in which both the public and private sectors can operate in the best interests of society as a whole is important to all.
The Extent of and Reasons for Quality Circle Failures
Authors: Dale B.G.
Published: January 2008

Sixty‐seven British companies took part in a survey to determine causes of failure of quality circles. The main reasons determined were: rejection of the concept by top management and trade unions; the disruption caused by redundancies and company restructuring; labour turnover; lack of co‐operation from middle and first line management; and failure by circle leaders to find enough time to organise meetings. The author was optimistic about the findings since growth in the number of companies using circles and the average number of circles per company is still taking place.
Advertising Agency Remuneration Practices: An International Viewpoint
Authors: Neelankavil James P.
Published: January 2008

Changing remuneration practices and methods are issues that advertising agencies are facing. Fixed commission of around 15 per cent was the traditional practice but fee or cost‐based methods are becoming more common. The article investigates the prevalent advertising agency remuneration patterns in various countries; the frequency of their use, the initiators of policy change (wherever it has occurred) including the role of governments, and finally, trends in agency compensation.
The Operation of Quality Circles in Service Organisations
Authors: Lees J. , Dale B.G.
Published: January 2008

A postal questionnaire survey of quality circles in the UK service sector has been completed. It was revealed that there are no major differences in the characteristics of circle programmes in the service and manufacturing organisations. However, service industries need to be aware of the individuality of each organisation before adoption of programmes.
Supplier Selection Criteria for Different Industrial Goods
Authors: Shipley David D.
Published: January 2008

The study's purpose was to update and extend the existing knowledge about industrial vendor selection criteria. The components of four sets of choice variables are described and tested against survey data from UK and US buyers of manufactured materials, components and machinery.
South and East Asia as a Source of Supply
Authors: Crawford John C.
Published: January 2008

Industrial buyers' willingness to buy foreign products is influenced in proportion to the political freedom of the country of origin, as opposed to its level of economic development. Countries at the same level of development as the buying country are perceived more or less favourably according to degree of political freedom. US buyers, for this reason, seem to favour Japan out of ten South East Asian countries, according to a random sample drawn from a membership list of a leading purchasing managers' association. The most favoured sources of products are those countries which are both developed and free.
International Cash Management A study of the practices of Netherlands Based Companies
Authors: Soenen L.A.
Published: January 2008

An increasing amount of effort has been devoted to cash management in the Netherlands in recent years but a survey undertaken among 350 Netherlands based companies (1982–3) indicates that cash flows are generally badly managed, cash and foreign exchange being handled on the basis of ad hoc opinions rather than soundly conceived cash management policy. Improvements can be achieved through clarification of organisational problems, positioning cash management within the entire financial function of the company, and definition of the foreign exchange managers' tasks and responsibilities.
An Investigation of the Effects of Three Variables in Response Rate of Mail Surveys
Authors: Kindra Gurprit S. , McGown K.L. , Gandhi Devinder , Benay Georges
Published: January 2008

The degree of interest in the subject of a survey has no effect on response rates from samples of the general public, and short questionnaires yield substantially higher response rates than lengthier ones. Two questionnaires of identical length but covering two different topics were used in a survey of 240 people drawn at random from a Montreal telephone directory; the results concluded that an offer of survey results to participants does not affect response rate significantly, but persistence alone represents the crucial factor in securing good returns.
Accounting for Customers as a Resource: A Forgotten Research Proposal
Authors: Filios Vassilios P.
Published: January 2008

A firm's human resources can be split into two groups, internal (employees) and external (customers, major suppliers/distributors, stockholders). Viewing each area as an investment, it is useful to identify, measure and separate costs into expense and asset components; thus with customer assets it is necessary to define the appropriate customer resource classes; determine specific factors most likely to affect each group's buying behaviour; and determine cost areas most likely to affect each of the major factors identified.
The Information Unit's Contribution to Industry
Authors: Norris J.R.
Published: January 2008

The role of libraries and librarians in industry is changing rapidly. This is the Information Age in which information transfer is all‐important. The implications for librarians are that there will be a gradual understanding by others of the importance of the librarian's role. The way in which this role is carried out will change with more emphasis on technology. Industry will look to the librarian to improve the quality, relevance and timeliness of the information. The challenge is for creative thinking in a rapidly moving environment. The opportunities come from the rapidly growing awareness of the role of information in industry and from the accelerating technological developments.
Confidentiality — Friend or Foe?
Authors: McKinna Alastair J.
Published: January 2008

In the realm of public and consumer awareness a more open attitude of government towards confidentiality is needed, whereas in the industrial sphere confidentiality is needed to maintain a healthy competitive and innovative spirit. The difficulty in defining confidentiality is discussed and cases in which confidentiality works for and against the public interest. Specific reference is made to the use of confidentiality in the oil business.
British Library Services to Industry and Commerce
Authors: King David
Published: January 2008

The British Library currently consists of two major operational divisions. The principal part of the library serving industry and commerce is the Science and Technology Division. The range of services comprising this division, e.g. the Business Information Service and the Science Reference Library, are outlined as well as facilities for on‐line searching and photocopying. The British Library's Strategic Plan for 1985–90 indicates that a high priority is to be given to industrial and commercial clients with enhanced services for business and industry.
Information for Industry at the Hatfield Polytechnic
Authors: Feldt Jill
Published: January 2008

HERTIS Information for Industry (IFI) is a service designed to meet the varied information needs of businesses in the Hatfield area. For companies without their own library, it provides access to a team of information specialists and a vital backup service for company librarians and information officers. Subscribers range from industrial giants to small firms and sole traders. The annual subscription enables clients to make unlimited use of the technical and commercial enquiry service and gives access to a postal lending and photocopying facility. These services, a research and consultancy service and business database are described as well as courses and seminars run by IFI.
Studying the Impact of Information Technology on the Role of the Management Accountant — A Conceptual Framework and Research Method
Authors: Johnson D.G. , King M. , Lee R.A. , Piper J.A.
Published: January 2008

Organisations are responding in different ways and at different rates to the wide range of “Information Technology”‐based opportunities and pressures. A project funded by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants and the Department of Management Studies at Loughborough University aims to focus specifically on the effects of IT‐related organisational changes on the management accounting function. The conceptual framework is based on the idea that the ideas and techniques which make up management accounting are evolving partly due to the changes taking place in information technology. The research method will include an assessment of IT development and a case study programme. Provision of future monitoring is also made. Project output will affect the training of accountants and possibly the attitudes and behaviour of those already practising who will face IT developments in the future.
Coping Strategies for Managing the Ineffective Subordinate in Production/Operations Management
Authors: Schniederjans Marc J. , Stoeberl Philipp A.
Published: January 2008

Production/operations managers want to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their subordinates. If an ineffective subordinate cannot be terminated the operations manager must devise a means of coping with this individual. A mail questionnaire survey of manufacturing firms listed in the 1984 Standard and Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives and a parallel telephone questionnaire survey were administered to production/operations managers in the USA. One hundred and eighty‐four usable returns, representing 82 manufacturing organisations, were received. Results show that coping strategies used by production/operations managers vary as a function of the superior's age, level of management and years of experience. Coping strategies change over time. Recently passive strategies have been used to a greater extent. Previously more active strategies were used. Active strategies for dealing with ineffective subordinates are now gaining favour again.
The Costs and Benefits of Multi‐Skilling
Authors: Cross Michael
Published: January 2008

Over the past five years manufacturing companies have been under increasing pressure, both social and economic, to become more flexible in staffing levels, working practices, hours of work, payment systems and the use of contract labour. As the role of manufacturing increases in the overall competitive strategy of many companies, maintenance will be increasingly pressurised to find ways of improving its cost effectiveness and quality of service. Multi‐skilling is an important way of reducing costs and improving performance. A description of the nature and extent of multi‐skilling among production and maintenance jobs in UK manufacturing industry is given and some of the operational costs and benefits of multi‐skilling are considered.
Personal Value Systems: A Determinant of Management Practices in a Developing Country
Authors: Ali Abbas , Twomey Daniel F.
Published: January 2008

This article investigates personal value systems in Iraq, in a sample of managers. The results indicate that the dominant values are those that compose the outward‐directed category: tribalistic, conformist and socio‐centred. In comparison American managers score high on manipulated values and the inner‐directed category is dominant. The results are discussed in relation to changes in Iraqi society and the functions of management.
An Analysis of Stockbrokers' Profit Forecasts
Authors: Atrill P.F. , Mangles T. , McLaney E.J.
Published: January 2008

The relative accuracy of profit forecasts was analysed for six firms of brokers. ANOVA was used to look first at performance across industrial sectors, then between industries. Individual broker's forecasts were significantly different in accuracy on the first measure and in general levels of accuracy between industries in the second. When a consensus forecast was calculated this always performed worse than the best individual.
Measuring Reversibility in Capital Budgeting Decisions
Authors: Singer A.E.
Published: January 2008

The importance of reversibility criteria is discussed and existing measures described. A procedure for calculating a Bailout‐Portfolio‐Funding Index is set out and its advantages and limitations are analysed.
An Evaluation of the State of Research in the Economic Lot Sizing Problem
Authors: De Silva W.G.N.L.U. , Mohanty R.P.
Published: January 2008

An attempt is made to classify the lot‐sizing problem based on evidence from the literature and current research trends. For future research a mixture of a heuristic method to find a sequence and cycle time and a mathematical program to find lot sizes would be feasible even for fairly large problems. Attempts should be made to apply marginal analysis in practical lot‐sizing problems since it may result in lower cost solutions.
U.S. Airline Labour Relations Under Deregulation
Authors: Cassell F.H. , Spencer F.A.
Published: January 2008

This article discusses the impact of airline deregulation on labour relations. It looks at price competition, wage‐cutting, “hard‐nosed” bargaining, strike‐breaking cadres of permanent employees and the detailed effects of the changes in attitudes and the bargaining environment. The implications for and responses of both unions and management are examined.
Management of the Retailer‐Supplier Interface
Authors: Dawson John A. , Shaw Susan A.
Published: January 2008

This article reviews the changes that have occurred, points to the factors involved and considers the likelihood of future changes in the management of the retailer‐supplier interface and their impact on the links between retailers and suppliers. At all times this is related to the impact on physical distribution.
Recent Trends in Warehousing Development
Authors: McKinnon Alan
Published: January 2008

This is a statement of just how much change warehousing has undergone in recent years and how different warehouse requirements are now. Companies which fail to realise these changes and to analyse and evaluate their own warehousing stock are at risk of losing their competitive position.
Sub‐Contracting Distribution
Authors: Harris Donald G.
Published: January 2008

The benefits and drawbacks of sub‐contracting distribution are reviewed. The financial aspects of the decision, whether sub‐contracting is to be wholly adopted or in part, are discussed together with the implications for management.