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INTRODUCTION It has become almost mandatory to start a text on manpower planning with a debate on the definition of the subject. (For a good example see Thakur[8].) There is a wide range of opinion and confusion on the topic of what manpower planning is. In this review I will concentrate on describing, collating and appraising the recent work which has been called Manpower Planning and the definition of the subject will therefore be the net coverage of the work reviewed. As an aid to the reader unfamiliar with the subject, the following preliminary definition is offered as a starting point: “Manpower planning is a strategy for matching future manpower numbers and skills with organisational activities”.

This paper is concerned with job re‐design in operating systems: the types of change encountered; who advocates change and why; the implications of job changes for the job holders and their supervisors (and ultimately operations managers); and steps which can be taken to overcome or avoid supervisory management alienation. Also, the types of outcome typically emerging after implementation of job revisions.

What effects did the last Government's wage restraint policy have on wage and salary administration at company and local levels? A research team at Strathclyde Business School has been studying newly introduced incentive payment schemes and holding seminars with management and trade union negotiators over the past 12 months. This paper reports some of their findings, and shows how the jobs of wage and salary administrators have been affected by the experiences of the past five years.

Productivity has concerned managers, administrators and governments for many years, and understandably so when one considers the wide differences in rates of working and effectiveness of working which can be found between people.

This article is the second in the series detailing recent and continuing research into Payment Systems. The previous article dealt with some of the main features found to be important in scheme success, whilst this one, “Participation in Payment System Design”, shows how the research results can be translated into practice. The procedure outlined here is one that has been recently applied to a number of organisations with uniform success.

The concept of working in groups has typically been applied to different industries and different levels within firms in distinct ways, and for distinct reasons. Table I shows the major types of group working which have been employed most commonly with particular technologies and organisational levels.

There arc few published works dealing with British aircraft sanitary systems and associated equipment and a comprehensive survey of this particular subject should not, therefore, be out of place here. In this article, a history of the development work culminating in the evolution of a modern scries of chemical closets is traced. It is shown that for equipment of this nature . simplicity of design is essential if proper mechanical functioning, satisfactory hygiene standards and good serviceability arc to be assured. Two outstanding features of the modern chemical closet are the closed flushing system, in which one of a scries of special chemical fluids is used as the circulating medium, and the external servicing arrangements. Specific closet design information is presented. Details arc also given of aircraft toilet compartment layout and of representative types of ground servicing equipment.

The credibility of the comparisons that are made between wage rates and earnings in supposedly similar jobs is frequently a major factor in collective bargaining in an industry or company. This is so, whatever other arguments are used, such as productivity.

Drawing on research conducted over a number of years in a range of different organisations, how payment systems can be designed and implemented to increase the likelihood of success is explained. In addition, it is suggested that a participative approach to change can produce beneficial consequences for companies largely because the process of consultation can itself lead to greater understanding and commitment.

THE passenger seat in civil aircraft is an important piece of equipment. It is important, firstly because it is the one part of the aircraft with which the passenger is in intimate contact and, secondly, because of the bulk and multiplicity of installation in any aircraft, the aggregate weight constitutes a major portion of equipment weight.