Search results

The role of top management and its responsibility for quality is addressed by asking five key questions covering measurement, cost, objectives, recognition and support of quality initiatives and communications.

Describes a 15‐year learning journey, working with clients to develop skills facilitation. Set against the backdrop of the changing role of facilitation in UK business – from the domain of the training room, via use of designated facilitators working with quality groups, to a central place in leadership and management practice. Case studies and details of competence research illustrate different approaches to skills development. Suggests that the influence of context on the facilitation role is crucial, and needs to inform the type of development process suited to a particular situation. Anticipates that facilitation will be acknowledged increasingly as a central process of organization change rather than limited to designated positions. Facilitating in “unknown territory” will require people to discard pre‐prepared scripts, dispense with the safety of “facilitator neutrality” and be open to profound processes of change.

Introduction As public and private organisations in all sectors undergo unprecedented change on many fronts, functional roles are changing too, and with them the skills required for effective performance. Administrative competence and technical specialism remain essential ingredients. Increasingly, however, “change‐agent” skills of facilitation are required of trainers, personnel and other management services, if they are to provide proactive direction and support for the achievement of business goals.

Why do some customers cross‐buy different services from the same provider while others are less disposed to do so? The present research examines the drivers of the customers’ cross‐buying intentions for services. Cross‐buying refers to the customer's practice of buying additional products and services from the existing service provider in addition to the ones s/he currently has. The results obtained from two samples of service consumers indicate that the customers’ cross‐buying intentions are primarily associated with image conflicts about the provider's abilities to deliver high‐quality services from different service activities, and the perceived convenience of cross‐buying from the same provider. Customers’ experiences with the service provider have a weaker or marginal effect on cross‐buying.

ELEVEN years ago a small group, of whom the writer was one, met in Oud Poelgeest Castle in Holland to consider forming a European body concerned with Work Study. They share a sense of pride that the Federation which emerged will celebrate its decennary next month. Sadly, of the four British members of that group only two survive to greet the event.

This study aims to identify the challenges of Muslim women in terms of their dress code in Western society by including their clothing needs in the strategies of the fashion industry and marketing. The study focuses on wardrobe choices that have helped overcome these challenges and facilitated Muslim women’s integration into western society.

Descriptive statistics were used in this study through a questionnaire that was distributed among 265 randomly selected Muslim women in London, UK. The results have been presented in charts showing the percentages and frequencies of the different behaviors and challenges that were faced by Muslim women in the west.

The majority of the study sample preferred to use a variety of modern fashion trends from global brands to integrate with the community. The essential criteria for the Muslim women’s clothing choices include head hair cover and conservative full-length clothes that are non-transparent that cover the neck and chest area.

A study has investigated the clothing needs and behaviors of Muslim women in the west for their community integration. It analyzed the results and linked them with the role and contributions of designers, producers and fashion marketers in accepting the western society of Muslims and their integration with its members.

ASTM D01.56 on Printing Inks, a subcommittee of standards‐writing Committee D‐1 on Paint and Related Coatings and Materials, has announced the approval of five standard test methods for the evaluation of printing inks and prints.

There has been a revolution in the winemaking and marketing of the country wines of southern France in the Languedoc‐Roussillon — the Vins de Pays d'Oc. This revolution has been founded on premium varietal wines and exploited modern techniques of vinification and marketing, which have drawn heavily on the experiences of the so‐called ‘New World.’ These new wines have successfully penetrated export markets, particularly the UK. Such developments, however, have attracted controversy, being criticised for encouraging the production of homogeneous, geographically inert, formulaic wines from well established rather than local grape varieties. However, a number of ventures are now showing increased recognition of local varieties and geographies in their winemaking and it is expected that such developments will continue. Moreover it is argued that the introduction of modern techniques in vinification and marketing, far from having a detrimental effect, have been of great benefit to the region.

THIS issue opens the new volume of THE LIBRARY WORLD and it is natural that we should pause to glance at the long road we have travelled. For over forty years our pages have been open to the most progressive and practical facts, theories and methods of librarianship; our contributors have included almost every librarian who has held an important office; and we have always welcomed the work of younger, untried men who seemed to have promise— many of whom have indeed fulfilled it. In the strain and stress of the First World War we maintained interest and forwarded the revisions in library methods which adapted them to the after‐war order. Today we have similar, even severer, problems before us, and we hope to repeat the service we were then able to give. In this we trust that librarians, who have always regarded THE LIBRARY WORLD with affection, will continue to support us and be not tempted because of temporary stringency, to make a victim of a journal which has given so long and so independent a service.

This viewpoint paper is based on consultancy project in developing strategic marketing plan for building a professional recording studio in Bandung, Indonesia. Nonetheless, previous studies that scrutinize the key success factors in music recording studio industry are noticeably lacking, whereas music artists still rely heavily on recording studio providers to record their music and distribute it to the market. Hence, finding out the critical success factors (CSF) can help recording studio to craft strategic marketing plan within effective and efficient budget. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Methods carried out in this study are based on triangulation which comprises of primary observation, interviews to experts in the respective field, and literature reviews regarding CSF, service quality and service excellence. Five years of primary observations took place in five studios on two major cities in Indonesia which are Bandung and Jakarta of which many prominent musicians were originated. The interviews were conducted to six respondents who have more than ten years of experience in music industry, and have produced at least two albums through professional music recording processes in music studios including recording, mixing, and mastering.

It is found that by exploiting the conceptual theories of service quality and service excellence as the foundations, there are primarily three critical factors in music recording studio industry in Indonesia which are human resources development in primarily technical aspects, communication skills, and servicescapes which involve the recording facilities and also the studio surroundings.

This study only took samples from five studios, two major cities in Indonesia and limited experts opinion. Nevertheless, confirmatory study is expected in the future in order to gain deeper insights or other additional point of view in determining CSF in the recording studio industry. This paper, however, has contributed to the existing literature of service quality, service excellence, and CSF in a narrow scope of industry which is music recording studio.

Managers who wish to start a recording studio business must look deeply into these three critical factors to address the budget effectively and efficiently in initial investment of the studio. Through this study it can be observed that music studio as a service firm can still focus on creating critical values to strive even though the music industry landscape has been deteriorated due to piracy and the development of technology. It is expected that through this study, by understanding the CSF, managers in music recording studio can focus on creating value effectively and efficiently in recording studio business.

This study contributes to fill the gap of empirical discussion in determining CSF in the music recording studio business in Indonesia in the context of service quality and service excellence, which has not been examined by previous scholars.