Alan Whittle and Sandy Macniven
Looks at one company′s attempt to avoid the pitfalls arising in the first two years of TQM introduction, especially when operating a multi‐site, multinational company. Discusses…
Abstract
Looks at one company′s attempt to avoid the pitfalls arising in the first two years of TQM introduction, especially when operating a multi‐site, multinational company. Discusses the company and its reasons for introducing TQM. Reflects on the lessons learned and concentrates on specific aspects relating to the milti‐site nature of the work. Concludes that, as the group moves into the third year of application of TQM, it is still premature to claim the installation of a one‐culture, one‐company approach, although TQM has played a significant part in achieving this.
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Millions of the British people have for some years now been struggling valiantly to live with hard times, watching them day by day grow worse but always hopefully that the cloud…
Abstract
Millions of the British people have for some years now been struggling valiantly to live with hard times, watching them day by day grow worse but always hopefully that the cloud had a silver lining; that one day, reason and a sense of direction would prevail. Tyranny in many forms is a feature of history; the greatest epics have been risings of ordinary people to overthrow it. The modern form of tyranny is that of Money; the cruel and sinister ways in which it can be obtained and employed and the ineffectiveness of any measures taken to control the evils which result. Money savings over the years and the proverbial bank book, once the sure safeguard of ordinary people, are whittled away in value, never to recover. Causes always seemed to be contained within the country's own economy and industrial practices, and to this extent should have been possible of control. The complex and elaborate systems constructed by the last Government were at least intended for the purpose, but each attempt to curb excessive demands for more money, more and more for doing less and less— the nucleus of inflation—produced extreme reactions, termed collectively “industrial strife”. Every demand met without compensatory returns in increased work, inevitably led to rises in prices, felt most keenly in the field of food and consumer goods. What else would be expected from such a situation?
The urgent need for decisions on new programmes is emphasised by Sir Richard Smeeton, Director of the Society of British Aerospace Companies. “With such aircraft as the supersonic…
Abstract
The urgent need for decisions on new programmes is emphasised by Sir Richard Smeeton, Director of the Society of British Aerospace Companies. “With such aircraft as the supersonic Concorde and the V/STOL Harrier we can truly claim to be ahead of all competition. But, particularly in STOL and V/STOL, our lead is being steadily whittled away and, unless action is taken on firm projects soon, it will stand in danger of being lost altogether.” Sir Richard continues: “At the same time governments of other countries, such as France, Germany and Japan, are showing a strong awareness of the need to expand their technological standing by offering increasing support to long‐term development of their aerospace industries”.
Christopher Long and Bridget Whittle
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the history and contents of an archival resource that is of interest to scholars of historical marketing. The Pirate Group Inc. archive…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the history and contents of an archival resource that is of interest to scholars of historical marketing. The Pirate Group Inc. archive, held by McMaster University Library’s William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections consists of over 27,000 sound recordings and 84 metres of textual records, documenting the work of Pirate, an award-winning Toronto-based advertising company founded in 1990. The comprehensiveness of the archives, which includes tens of thousands of advertising “spots”, gives researchers unprecedented access to the creative forces behind some of the most memorable advertisements produced in Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper aims to answer the following questions: what is the Pirate Group Inc. and what is their documentary legacy? How can scholars of marketing history benefit from the records contained within the Pirate Group Inc. archive? How can researchers access the material at McMaster University Library’s William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections?
Findings
The authors assert that the Pirate Group Inc. archive may be of particular interest to scholars engaged in research on the following topics: Canadian nationalism in marketing campaigns, the advertising history of companies whose histories are under-studied due to a lack of archival resources and the recent history of radio and television political ad campaigns.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to historical research in marketing by asserting that the Pirate Group Inc. archive has continuing value for further research. The Pirate archive, which allows for unprecedented access into the study of Canadian advertising due to its comprehensiveness and its uniqueness among archival collections from the contemporary era, makes it a strong primary source for marketing historians.
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Most years, several AIB members are elected as AIB Fellows on account of their excellent international business scholarship, and/or past service as AIB President or Executive…
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Most years, several AIB members are elected as AIB Fellows on account of their excellent international business scholarship, and/or past service as AIB President or Executive Secretary. The Fellows are in charge of electing Eminent Scholars as well as the International Executive and International Educator (formerly, Dean) of the Year, who often provide the focus for Plenary Sessions at AIB Conferences. Their history since 1975 covers over half of the span of the AIB and reflects many issues that dominated that period in terms of research themes, progresses and problems, the internationalization of business education and the role of international business in society and around the globe. Like other organizations, the Fellows Group had their ups and downs, successes and failures – and some fun too!
Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover…
Abstract
Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover specific articles devoted to certain topics. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume III, in addition to the annotated list of articles as the two previous volumes, contains further features to help the reader. Each entry within has been indexed according to the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus and thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid information retrieval. Each article has its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. The first Volume of the Bibliography covered seven journals published by MCB University Press. This Volume now indexes 25 journals, indicating the greater depth, coverage and expansion of the subject areas concerned.
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A hobby is any purposeful use of leisure time. Due in part to an increase in the amount of leisure time available to most Americans, the hobby and recreation industries have grown…
Abstract
A hobby is any purposeful use of leisure time. Due in part to an increase in the amount of leisure time available to most Americans, the hobby and recreation industries have grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years. There are countless publications on hobbies ranging from genealogy to doll collecting, from painting to needlepoint. Obviously, a compilation such as this cannot include publications on every imaginable hobby, so rather than appear biased, this author has attempted to include primarily publications that discuss many different hobbies, or deal with one major group of hobbies.
The notion of sexual health has become a buzzword across various spheres, including the scientific, political, and social arenas. In a similar manner, discussions about the…
Abstract
The notion of sexual health has become a buzzword across various spheres, including the scientific, political, and social arenas. In a similar manner, discussions about the subject of disability and sexuality are commonly articulated through the lens of sexual health and “healthy sexualities.” Greater focus has been placed on issues of protection, abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and unplanned pregnancy. Opportunities to talk about sex, desire, and pleasure is missing in this discourse. Drawing on my experience conducting studies about disability and sexuality, I interrogate the (over)reliance and unproblematized use in terms of the language of sexual health and healthy sexuality when it comes to people labeled/with intellectual disabilities.
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This paper aims to use a perspective informed by practice theory to examine the influence of change agents in enacting management control systems (MCS) in the process of shaping…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to use a perspective informed by practice theory to examine the influence of change agents in enacting management control systems (MCS) in the process of shaping strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses a case study approach to examine the implementation of a business strategy in the utility sector. The authors seek a better understanding of practice theory and its role in influencing institutional change and stability.
Findings
The case study findings show that the change agents enacted MCS practices that aided the metamorphosis of a once state-owned company into a for-profit enterprise. The findings show how the organisation transformed from a long-established preoccupation with technical systems and engineering and shifted to a focus on customer satisfaction and shareholder interests.
Research limitations/implications
In terms of policy implications, bureaucrats need to appreciate that inculcating business norms is not an easy path and can be met with resistance, which creates delays in strategy implementation. The current study, while reporting some of the influences of tribal loyalty, was nevertheless limited by not having the time and space to examine in-depth the intersections of MCS and strategy within a strongly tribal context. This can be an avenue for future research.
Practical implications
The study helps to understand embedded actors in the implementation of strategy by refocusing research on the actions and interactions of strategy implementation practitioners.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to the literature by seeking to use practice theory and offer a valuable understanding, from the actor level, of how practices are created and enacted. Often accounting studies have paid less attention to the change agents in the process of shaping business-oriented strategic activity. This study enabled us to gain a better understanding of the action and practice behaviour around the strategy-MCS nexus.