bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Performance, Environment and Size on the Identifiability of Firm Strategy
Authors: Bantel Karen A. , Osborn Richard N. 
Published: March 2005

SUMMARYThis paper empirically examines the broadly held assumption that higher performing firms pursue identifiable generic and/or industry‐specific strategies, as opposed to pursuing an unidentifiable strategy. Here, in a sample of 200 banks, the identifiability of strategy was linked to two dimensions of the environment (interdependence/complexity and munificence) and bank size. The linkage between identifiability and performance was more complex. The discussion emphasizes the potential importance of institutionalization, and implementation in the performance‐strategy identifiability link.
Technology Investment and Management Accounting Practice
Authors: Nixon Bill 
Published: March 2005

SUMMARYManagement accounting techniques and information are often accused of having many limitations that are likely to constrain investment in new technology. However, relatively little is known about the actual influence of management accounting practices on investment decisions. The empirical evidence of this research shows that new technology investment decisions are both highly complex and political. These decision attributes give rise to a protracted, circuitous, decision process that is very different from the rational model which dominates the capital budgeting literature. The research also shows that the management accounting system captures only a fraction of the information generated by this process and consequently has a relatively low influence on these investment decisions.
A Critical Review of Research in Marketing
Authors: Wensley Robin 
Published: March 2005

SUMMARYAn historical review of research in three major sub‐fields within marketing: market structure and segmentation, market networks and interfirm relationships, and market orientation and the implementation of the marketing concept, suggests that there remain a number of key issues in terms of significance and interpretation. It is noteworthy that these issues, which have important strategic and managerial implications have not, in general, been reflected in the content of key marketing textbooks. A number of more general issues can be derived which are relevant not only to future research in the marketing arena but also the wider context of strategy research.
Organizational Transformation and Top‐Down Change: The Case of the NHS
Authors: Ashburner Lynn , Ferlie Ewan , FitzGerald Louise 
Published: March 2005

This paper analyses the effects of government‐sponsored attempts to change the way that the NHS, one of the largest employers in Europe, is managed. The theoretical issues raised relate to the concept of transformational change and attempts at public‐sector restructuring, which set the context for the presentation of data. The empirical research, carried out over three years, examines the changes since the most recent reforms (the NHS and Community Care Act 1990).The research considers the extent of organizational change which can be seen as the outcome of these reforms in relation to: a multiple and inter‐related change agenda; the creation of new forms of organization; the creation of new roles; the reconfiguration of power relations; and the creation of a new culture, ideology and organizational meaning. These are presented as the key variables which could indicate whether transformational, rather than incremental, change has occurred. The focus of this analysis is at local board level.This article concludes that earlier analyses of the limited success of administrative reform are no longer the case. Our analysis of the key variables suggests that what is occurring at least at local board level goes beyond incremental change and may represent the beginnings of an ‘organizational transformation’. This contains unintended as well as intended elements as an unanticipated ‘hybrid’ form of management may be emerging.
Supply Chain Management: Relationships, Chains and Networks
Authors: Harland C. M. 
Published: March 2005

The term supply chain management is used to represent a variety of different meanings, some related to management processes, others to structural organization of businesses. This paper identifies and discusses various definitions of supply chain management, summarizes the associated bodies of knowledge and connects them using a systems approach. Systems levels of supply chain management are identified as the internal supply chain, the dyadic relationship, the external supply chain and the inter‐business network.Empirical research on behavioural aspects of relationships, chains and networks in the European automotive aftermarket is discussed, identifying gaps in perceptions of requirements and performance held by customers and suppliers in the areas of quality, delivery, service, range and price. A combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis demonstrates substantial differences between approaches to supply chain management, though performance in relationships, chains and networks in the territories examined does not differ significantly.Customer dissatisfaction in relationships is shown to increase upstream in the supply chains examined, extending the applicability of the industrial dynamics ‘Forrester effect’ to softer, behavioural aspects of performance. Conclusions are drawn supporting the suggestions of operations strategists that position in the supply chain is an important strategic variable which, to date, have not been comprehensively proven empirically.
THE SIMPLICITY OF THE LIVING GOD: AQUINAS, BARTH, AND SOME PHILOSOPHERS
Authors: FRANKS CHRISTOPHER A. 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThe traditional notion of divine simplicity is frequently misunderstood. Philosophers of religion who defend it and theologians who dismiss it agree on its Greek, rather than biblical, heritage. On the contrary, a particularly Christian account of divine simplicity, as reflected for example in Thomas, maintains a Creator‐creature distinction as understood in light of Trinity and Incarnation. Stump and Kretzmann's discussion of simplicity appears to follow Aquinas, but misses the character of this distinction, and so treats a human idea of “the simple” instead of Thomas's living source of being. The true modern follower of Thomas on simplicity is not Stump and Kretzmann, but Barth.
Trends in the Higher Civil Services of Anglo‐American Systems
Authors: HEDE ANDREW 
Published: March 2005

The managerial reforms that have been implemented in the public sectors of many countries over the past decade are part of an international trend (Aucoin 1990, 134). Managerial reform in public administration can be seen as a Zeitgeist, a pervasive idea whose time has come. As Caiden (1988, 354) points out, effective administrative reform can be sustained only by a “crusading spirit” or the burning flame of idealism, and such a flame has blazed up in the past ten years. History may well show that the managerial reforms of the late 20th century had as dramatic an impact on public administration as the merit reforms of the late 19th century.These managerial reforms have invariably involved an emphasis on giving the public better value for money, and have usually included the introduction of efficiency measures and corporate planning techniques, the improvement of financial management procedures, the assessment of performance in terms of results against goals, the adoption of private sector human resource management practices, and the use of management information systems and other management tools. The implementation of such managerial reforms has typically been heralded by the establishment of a unified elite group of senior executives in the higher civil service. This paper reviews the recent trends in the higher civil services of America, Canada, Britain and Australia, and considers how they exemplify the managerial approach to administrative reform.1
Local Government in Transformation: The Case of Constitutional Reform in Yugoslavia
Authors: JOGAN SAVIN 
Published: March 2005

The previous communal system in Yugoslavia (since 1955) did not prove viable. Owing to its great size (nearly 500 km2 and more than 40,000 inhabitants), municipality in this period didn't affirm itself as a real community. Having many abilities in developmental planning, it was at the same time dependent on the state in the spheres of finance and normative regulations. The difference between the sphere of local government (LG) and state politics was substantially blurred.Given the changing social conditions (introduction of market economy, political pluralism and the forms of parliamentarian democracy), the need for repeated establishment of the system of local government based on the altered position of citizens in the political system becomes evident. In this environment it is necessary to reestimate the experiences of LG in particular Yugoslav regions (republics) before World War II, and simultaneously, take selectively into account the experiences and development in other developed European countries.This article compares the constitutional regulations of LG among particular Yugoslav republics, and between them and the characteristic orientations in other European countries, enlightening it with the aspect of actual processes and demands of centralization and decentralization, regionalism, moving the regulation of communal and other everyday needs closer to the people in LG, all in the sense of post‐behavioristic trends of the “bottom‐up” approach to the processes of decision‐making.
Personnel Management Reform in the Philippines: The Strategy of Professionalization
Authors: VARELA AMELIA P. 
Published: March 2005

The strategy of professionalization which is a multi‐pronged system aimed at efficient, effective, and responsive delivery of government services is the current thrust of the Civil Service Commission (CSC). As such, a package of personnel reform measures is instituted by the Commission which includes the pursuit of merit, competence and performance; development and institutionalization of positive attitudes, ethical conduct and behavior; motivation through an integrated system of rewards and punishments; continuing human resource development; and the encouragement of public sector unionism.Relevant issues on the professionalization thrust have been raised: (1) since the strategy of professionalization rests more on administrative controls, will the effort bring about increased bureaucratization and routinization instead (or the issue of professionalization vs. bureaucratization)? (2) are the policies coming from diverse sources like the CSC, Department of Budget and Management, Office of the President, and Congress — to mention a few — fully coordinated so as to produce convergent rather than divergent results? (3) is the government really sincere on the issue of public sector unionism since it denies the unions their basic rights to strike and bargain collectively for better pay and working conditions?There is a need to assess further the current efforts toward professionalization to find out if the Commission is really moving toward its avowed goals of deregulation, decentralization and managerial and professional discretion rather than becoming more routinized or bureaucratic.
Administrative Reforms and Their Impact on Training the Public Bureaucracy in Bangladesh
Authors: AMINUZZAMAN SALAHUDDIN 
Published: March 2005

Bangladesh has recently experienced a number of administrative, institutional, structural and policy reforms which have attempted to recast the modalities of the public delivery system and address the perennial issues of “efficiency, effectiveness and productivity” in the public administration system. A number of these reform packages have called for drastic changes in the mode of governmental operations/processes as well as in institutional arrangements.In this article, the author has reviewed such reform efforts and their impact on the overall public administration training curriculum and academic programs of the training institutions as well as with the universities in Bangladesh. The entry–level training packages have not adequately covered the critical areas that have been highlighted by the different reforms. The article concludes with a suggestion to review all entry–level training programs and identify some thematic areas to make the training programs “practical, pro–active and action–oriented.” A close collaboration between the universities and the public administration training institutions is also strongly recommended.
The Puzzle of Presidential Leadership: Persuasion, Bargaining, and Policy Consistency
Authors: WEATHERFORD M. STEPHEN 
Published: March 2005

Political science can offer few theoretical generalizations about the exercise of presidential power. From one perspective, this is no disadvantage: there are few presidents, and presidential leadership so intrinsically involves the interplay of ideas and persuasive deliberation that success depends on personal traits and the fit of the president's ideas with the times. Striving for inductive generalizations in such a case would mistake rote scientific method for the pursuit of knowledge. Others argue, however, that the dearth of theoretical generalizations is a temporary weakness, remediable by shifting to a deductive approach. Deductive theorizing can claim insights in other areas once typified by historiographic methods, notably in studies of Congress, and formal models of legislation have been extended to generate hypotheses about transactions between president and Congress.I suggest that neither side of the dilemma offers a satisfactory and complete approach to the puzzle of presidential leadership; it then goes on to specify how the contributions from each side fit together. Rational choice models, based on bargaining as the mode of influence and the repeated game as the image of process, show how institutional structures can produce stable decisions where majority rule tends toward endless cycling. But the cost is that the resulting decisions are typically ad hoc and disjointed. Achieving consistent and coherent policy requires more subtle coordination of individual expectations than legislative organizations can manage, and it is this limitation of bargaining that establishes the potential for presidential leadership. Presidents can attempt to capitalize on this opportunity either by intervening as an additional (but situationally advantaged) bargainer, or by employing persuasion, the explicit appeal to collective goals rather than particularistic trades. I develop the distinction between bargaining and persuasion as alternative strategies of advocacy, and illustrate their use with examples from President Reagan's interactions with Congress over his key economic policy proposals.
Towards an International Antitrust Authority? Key Factors in the Internationalization of Competition Policy
Authors: DOERN G. BRUCE 
Published: March 2005

Negotiated access to markets through the internationalization of business framework rules is of increasing importance. The article examines the political‐economic factors that are contributing to, but also setting limits on, the greater internationalization of one such aspect of policy—competition policy. It analyzes whether internationalizing forces are likely to transform existing international arrangements in competition policy matters from those of a loose regime to that of a fully fledged international institutional system. The latter could be represented by recent proposals for an International Antitrust Authority. The four factors examined are: conflicting ideas about competition policy; the exercise of political power by nation states and business; the roles and stances of international agencies; and democratic concerns about the accountability, representativeness, and transparency of competition policy institutions.The analysis concludes that future forms of institution‐building at the international level of competition policy are important. This is so because, if lejt totally as a set of international regimes, competition policy may be arranged to an excessive degree in the interests of business power or in the interests of one or more dominant countries.
Public Service Reform in Malta, 1988‐95: Lessons to be Learned
Authors: POLIDANO CHARLES 
Published: March 2005

Malta's latest round of administrative reform has produced mixed results. While it has achieved more than any previous initiative, vital elements of the reform program have not been carried out and results have fallen short of initial expectations.The reform initiative yields a number of lessons, some of which have already been brought to light—the need to keep the reform agenda small, the need for sustained political backing—and others which are less well known, such as the difficulty of creating an effective authority to direct reform, and the drawbacks to giving reform agencies lavish funding and a high profile.
Influence of strategic direction for NHS Scotland knowledge services on indexing policy for the NHS Scotland e‐library
Authors: McLeod Lorraine , Thain Annette , Wales Ann 
Published: March 2005

AbstractObjectives:  Indexing* policy for the NHS Scotland e‐Library needs to maximize future inter‐operability with other significant health‐ and social‐care‐related resources. The strategic drive towards integration and partnership working means that the indexing system has to be widely acceptable to the full range of disciplines within the integrated health‐care family.Methods:  Indexes identified by various means and then shortlisted using predefined criteria.Results:  Three subject indexes have been chosen—Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), CareData and the Government Category List (GCL), plus mapping between natural language and MeSH terms. This decision was a reasonable compromise between the strategy‐driven aim of seamless access for all ‘partners in care’, and practical constraints of time/manpower. Other authority files (e.g. geographical area, language) are also standards based, and customised to reflect the information needs of an increasingly integrated health‐care system.Conclusions:  No single index could provide the scope required to meet the widening range of NHS information need. The influence of high‐level strategic aims and objectives have extended their reach to influence indexing policy for the e‐Library. Our indexing policy will continue to evolve and contribute to a knowledge management infrastructure capable of supporting current and future NHS Scotland information needs and strategy. Layperson terminology was identified as a gap; additional measures to address this gap are highlighted.
A survey of UK clinical librarianship: February 2004
Authors: Ward Linda 
Published: March 2005

AbstractAim:  This article will describe a survey carried out in February 2004, the aim of which was to summarize the form and content of clinical librarian (CL) and other similar outreach information services to UK health professionals in the acute (secondary or tertiary) sector.Objectives: (i) To survey the activities and views of UK information professionals offering information services involving the librarians’ presence in the clinical setting, (ii) to develop a tool to explore critical aspects of this form of information work, (iii) to create a contacts database for UK CLs, to be made available on the Internet.Methodology:  All known information specialists/librarians offering CL or similar services were surveyed. The semi‐structured questionnaire was piloted. Respondents were asked to consider their activity over a period of 4 weeks.Results:  Twenty‐six people responded to the invitation to take part and met the inclusion criteria.Conclusions:  A summary of a ‘typical’ clinical librarian revealed by this survey is given, with a major conclusion that there is a very mixed picture of activity. Opinion on how far CLs should go in fully appraising search results is uncertain. The survey suggests reasons for this and the developments that may influence change are discussed. Recommendations for future research and development are offered.
SCISTER act: delivering training in information skills for social‐care professionals
Authors: White Caroline , Booth Andrew , Cooke Jo , Addison Fiona 
Published: March 2005

AbstractPurpose:  To develop and evaluate a programme of information skills training for social‐care practitioners and health‐care librarians.Setting:  Two one‐day training courses run separately for 13 social‐care practitioners and 10 health‐care librarians in the Trent geographic region within Northern England.Methodology:  Qualitative and quantitative feedback collected through questionnaires supplemented by participant observation.Results:  While generally feedback was favourable, the courses were overly ambitious. More training sessions of shorter duration would offer participants opportunities to practise and use the skills they have acquired. Social‐care practitioners responded more positively to skills associated with appraising qualitative research than with randomised controlled trials. Librarians appreciated the opportunity to learn about unfamiliar social‐care resources. Both practitioners and health‐care librarians reported that they acquired skills to support evidence‐based social care as a result of the training intervention.Discussion/conclusion:  Involvement of a multi‐disciplinary team and support from a social‐care information provider maximized the impact of this experimental training intervention.
POLYPHENOLICS EXTRACTS FROM LEGUME SEEDS: CORRELATIONS BETWEEN TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY, TOTAL PHENOLICS CONTENT, TANNINS CONTENT AND ASTRINGENCY
Authors: AMAROWICZ RYSZARD , TROSZYŃSKA AGNIESZKA , BARYŁKO‐PIKIELNA NINA , SHAHIDI FEREIDOON 
Published: March 2005

ABSTRACT Extracts of polyphenolic compounds were obtained from seeds of faba bean, broad bean, adzuki bean, red bean, pea, red lentil and green lentil using 80% (v/v) acetone. The total antioxidant activity (TAA) of extracts was determined and their astringency (Sensation Astringency Indices – SAI) investigated using the sensory scaling method. The content of tannins in extracts was expressed as absorbance values at 500 and 550 nm after color developed with vanillin/HCl reagent and after n‐butanol‐HCl hydrolysis, respectively. A statistically significant correlation was found between the TAA values and total phenolics (P = 0.01), TAA and tannins determined by vanillin method (P = 0.05), TAA and tannins determined after n‐butanol‐HCl hydrolysis (P = 0.05), SAI values and tannins determined with vanillin method (P = 0.10), SAI values and tannins determined after n‐butanol‐HCl hydrolysis (P = 0.05), SAI values and total phenolics (P = 0.01), total phenolics and tannin content determined by vanillin method (P = 0.01), total phenolics and tannin content determined after n‐butanol‐HCl hydrolysis (P = 0.05), tannins determined with vanillin method and tannins determined after n‐butanol hydrolysis (P = 0.02).
GLYCEROLIPID EVOLUTION DURING SAFFLOWER SEED FORMATION AND RIPENING
Authors: HAMROUNI IBTISSEM , TOUATI SLIM , DHIFI WISSAL , CHAHED THOURAYA , AYACHI SAMEH , SALAH HAMADI BEN , MARZOUK BRAHIM 
Published: March 2005

ABSTRACTLipid accumulation during formation and ripening of safflower seeds by plants cultivated in the north‐west of Tunisia was evaluated. The results obtained showed an increase in oil content and total lipids. At the level of fatty acids, seed replenishment resulted mainly in an increase in the rate and the amounts of linoleic acid (C18:2), the major fatty acid identified in seeds (75% of total fatty acids). The ripening process of safflower seeds was also characterized by an increase in the content of triacylglycerols (TAG) and a decrease in the diacylglycerols (DAG), phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidic acid (PA) contents. To explain these results, the hypothesis of TAG biosynthesis from PC and PA via DAG was advanced and discussed. Finally, ripening of safflower seeds was characterized by a decrease in the amounts of main galactolipids, indicating a decrease of the photosynthetic activity in storage tissues.