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Economists usually try to avoid making moral judgements, at least in their professional capacity. Positive economics is seen as a way of analysing economic problems, in as scientific a manner as is possible in human sciences. Economists are often reluctant to be prescriptive, most seeing their task as presenting information on the various options, but leaving the final choice, to the political decision taker. The view of many economists is that politicians can be held responsible for the morality of their actions when making decisions on economic matters, unlike unelected economic advisors, and therefore the latter should limit their role.

Human resources management, international human resources management.

The case is suitable for undergraduate or graduate/training programmes specialised in international dimensions of HRM.

The study aims to evaluate the experiences of hotel employees at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok's new employee centre. This centre, called the “O-Zone”, is an example of the hotel's commitment to the well-being of its staff. On a larger scale, it is an illustration of a method to maintain employee motivation and commitment in the luxury hotel industry. The case is particularly useful to investigate as the hotel has created a unique approach to employee well-being in a large urban setting where employees experience a stressful living environment, including long commutes. This is supported by studies in the literature which reveal that burnout and stress are important factors to consider for hotel employees.

The case study allows students to discover the following key learning points: an example of a well-being initiative for employees of a luxury hotel in the Thai context; an investigation of the need for employers in luxury hotels in Thailand to attract and retain talent; and an understanding of the use of incentives at work for employee motivation in the Thai luxury hotel industry.

Teaching notes are available; please consult your librarian for access.

Winn & Coales appoint new MD. Mr Alan Lewis, MInstM, has been appointed managing director of Winn & Coales (Denso) Ltd, succeeding Mr Eddy Webb on the latter's retirement after 13 years as the firm's Chief Executive.

EVOLVE is a tool for evaluating the design of housing for older people. It is used to assess how well a building contributes to the physical support and personal well‐being of older people. Developed from research into extra care housing, it can be used for a variety of building types, including sheltered housing and individual private houses. The tool can be used by architects, housing providers, commissioners, researchers and individual tenants or home owners. EVOLVE can be used as a briefing document or an aid to design. It can provide a rational basis to the selection of proposals in a competitive procurement process. The EVOLVE tool can also be used to evaluate existing housing stock, including schemes where remodelling is under consideration.

I MUST THANK David Gerard for responding so warmly to my review of Mr Murison's The public library in Human world 13; and I must thank Mr Murison for responding to the double onslaught (in NLW March) so effectively. (It was not, by the way, a concerted attack, though Mr Murison might be excused for thinking so, especially in view of his other trials.) And if I gave the impression of thinking of him as rather dim and unquestioning, I must simply apologise; this was not my intention. I chose to review his book because it typifies some of our vast social problems in an exceptionally clear‐cut way; because it demonstrates, through the clarity of its presentation, both the virtues and the limitations of socialised thought. This is not, I think, an insult.

Gary Parr, deputy chairman of Lazard Freres & Co. and Kellogg class of 1980, could not believe his ears. “You can't mean that,” he said, reacting to the lowered bid given by Doug Braunstein, JP Morgan head of investment banking, for Parr's client, legendary investment bank Bear Stearns. Less than eighteen months after trading at an all-time high of $172.61 a share, Bear now had little choice but to accept Morgan's humiliating $2-per-share, Federal Reserve-sanctioned bailout offer. “I'll have to get back to you.” Hanging up the phone, Parr leaned back and gave an exhausted sigh. Rumors had swirled around Bear ever since two of its hedge funds imploded as a result of the subprime housing crisis, but time and again, the scrappy Bear appeared to have weathered the storm. Parr's efforts to find a capital infusion for the bank had resulted in lengthy discussions and marathon due diligence sessions, but one after another, potential investors had backed away, scared off in part by Bear's sizable mortgage holdings at a time when every bank on Wall Street was reducing its positions and taking massive write-downs in the asset class. In the past week, those rumors had reached a fever pitch, with financial analysts openly questioning Bear's ability to continue operations and its clients running for the exits. Now Sunday afternoon, it had already been a long weekend, and it would almost certainly be a long night, as the Fed-backed bailout of Bear would require onerous negotiations before Monday's market open. By morning, the eighty-five-year-old investment bank, which had survived the Great Depression, the savings and loan crisis, and the dot-com implosion, would cease to exist as an independent firm. Pausing briefly before calling CEO Alan Schwartz and the rest of Bear's board, Parr allowed himself a moment of reflection. How had it all happened?

An analysis of the fall of Bear Stearns facilitates an understanding of the difficulties affecting the entire investment banking industry: high leverage, overreliance on short-term financing, excessive risk taking on proprietary trading and asset management desks, and myopic senior management all contributed to the massive losses and loss of confidence. The impact on the global economy was of epic proportions.

The objective of the research is to identify and analyse the main barriers to new product development within small manufacturing companies.

The study has employed a longitudinal case‐study methodology, which has focused on data gathering from three manufacturing companies that have undertaken new product development activities in‐house. The detailed case‐study material has been derived from project documentation and interviews with personnel at various technical and managerial levels.

Three generic managerial issues that impinge on new product development are identified: the influence of a dominant owner/manager; a focus on time and cost ahead of other key factors; and a failure to understand the importance of product design.

Although the case studies are detailed, only three manufacturing companies are assessed. Future research should expand on the generic issues, increase the number of case‐study companies, and ideally include an assessment of new product development within small companies from outside of the UK.

In order to overcome some of the inevitable managerial limitations within small companies, new product development activities should seek to promote a more systematic approach to design. This may encompass formal design training for senior managers and the implementation of simple design tools, such as product design specifications.

Barriers to and opportunities for new product development within small manufacturing companies are neglected areas in terms of detailed research studies. The issues highlighted in this paper will help to inform managers, practitioners and policy makers who are engaged in enhancing the competitive advantage of “traditional” manufacturing companies.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a research project into strategic planning and design in the service sector sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and supported by the Design Council into Design for Accounting.

The research used a mail survey questionnaire to gain information on design and strategic issues.

The findings are that the majority of medium‐sized service enterprises do not have a design function or use design. For those that do use design, the majority see design as very important: the benefits of design relate to the brand image of both the organisation and the services provided, closely followed by increased profits. Design has been used in the past to add value and improve quality, while innovation has been and will in the future be the main strategic area to concentrate on. Key strategic activities in the past have been adding new customers, whereas in the future the key strategic activities will be to understand customer needs.

The findings of the paper are important because they shed light on the importance of design and the benefits of design in the service sector, the service design strategies responsible for current performance, how the performance of service sector medium‐sized enterprises is assessed in terms of financial, market and service supply criteria, how service sector medium‐sized enterprises have reached their current status and how they intend to progress in the future, and the organisational, service supply and market factors employed in the past and how these might change in the future.

We expand on the use of monuments and memorials in the social studies classroom, while further promoting a more inclusive curriculum that better represents women in the social studies. The way and frequency in which history textbooks and social studies classrooms represent women has improved over the decades; though, it still needs refining. The imbalance goes beyond the social studies classroom and includes the very resources we are advocating social studies teachers use, the United States’ historical monuments and memorials. We, therefore, offer social studies teachers a rationale, resources, and suggested activities for incorporating monuments and memorials commemorating the role of females in U.S. history. Considering less than eight percent of the United States’ cataloged, public outdoor statues honoring individuals are of women.