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This paper aims to suggest a user-approach to doing style designs for apparel products.

A case of the approach to produce a collection of party dresses for mothers-to-be was presented. Two consecutive studies were conducted to understand and identify the needs of contemporary business women for maternity party dresses to attend banquets and functions. In these two studies, direct dialogue with target customers and scene deployment were used to collect the voice of the customer (VOC); affinity diagramming was used to organize the collected VOC data into items that were required by target customers; and the pairwise comparison method of analytic hierarchy process was used to identify important requirements.

In using various design techniques and incorporating appropriate fashion elements, style designs were produced with the primary focus on meeting user needs.

It has been a common practice that marketers do market research and designers do style creation. However, a joint effort of these two parties is required to better understand and address user needs. With the main focus on collecting and analyzing the VOC and organizing it into customer needs before applying various design techniques and incorporating appropriate fashion elements, the style designs that were produced in this case study were highly capable of satisfying user needs.

This paper describes a project which uses the quality‐function‐deployment technique to improve a distance‐learning program, operated by a government training organization in Hong Kong, for junior staff in the clothing‐manufacturing industry. The scope of this study is twofold: it identifies 12 appropriate study modules for modifying the course content; and it identifies the kinds of supporting services which help students to study the course. An evaluation is made of the existing study modules and supporting services that are identified as successful. Suggestions are made regarding bridging the gap between importance and satisfaction for some of the important quality dimensions. The methodology attempts to translate customers’ voices into various design features of the products and services in order to prepare the course for continuous improvement.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a thinking model to recommend to the vocational education institutions for planning their educational business in the face of marketization.

The systems approach is adopted for developing the model. It is not only used for the conceptualization of the principles of systems, but also applied as the technique for reviewing and proposing where and in what direction the institutions should improve their business plan to meet the transformational change.

The current objective and strategy of the institutions are found to be necessary, but not sufficient for meeting the real challenge of marketization. The model recommends the vocational education planners to focus on the new objective of satisfying individuals' working needs and improve the process of course design to enhance the competitiveness of the institutions in the open market.

The proposed new dimension of business planning has two implications for vocational education practitioners. First, course design should start with taking the individuals' perspective to decide how their working needs can be met. Second, it is necessary to explore new methods for collecting, interpreting and incorporating the voices of working needs into the design of contents and features.

The thinking model offers an objective and rational approach to vocational education planners and practitioners for formulating a holistic business plan to meet new challenges. It is hoped that the recommendations will assist the institutions to perform their changing roles in the new economy of the society and to achieve long‐term success in the dynamic environment.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study on the development of an in‐house training course, with the focus on providing the job incumbents with the necessary knowledge and skills to achieve the performance required by the management.

The study adopted a user‐oriented and learner‐centred approach and followed the key principles and basic steps of QFD. Affinity diagramming and conversion table were used to assist in the collection, processing and deployment of the voice of the customer (VOC), and the AHP was employed to operate the various prioritizations involved.

The job incumbents found the training course to be helpful in managing their learning. The members of the course development team also gained a greater understanding of both the performance requirements of the management and the knowledge and skills needed by the job incumbents.

The successful application of QFD in this study has provided the training industry with a course development methodology for meeting the learning needs of the job incumbents.

The purpose of this paper is to build on recent analysis of sustainable vulnerability reduction of the Government of Indonesia tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction plan by applying a sustainable livelihood framework for disaster risk management (DRM) for improvement in understanding potential livelihood strategies for the specific context of vulnerable people previously involved in fisheries livelihoods in Aceh.

Brief discussion of the preliminary findings of the work of Salim reveals the recommendation of further examination within a sustainable livelihoods DRM framework. Thus, after development and exposition of this framework, interviews and secondary research allow brief description of the context in which livelihood strategies might be implemented.

By combining the preliminary assessment of resource provisions with discussion of the institutional and vulnerability context of fisheries activities, preliminary recommendations of important considerations in developing appropriate vulnerability‐reducing livelihood strategies are listed under the categories of resource provisions.

This paper should be valuable to researchers interested in further development of applicable DRM models and to government and non‐government agencies interested in the effectiveness of assistance in achieving long‐term sustainable livelihood and sustainable development goals.

The endpoint and hallmark of the success of intercultural teaching is often seen as the attainment of intercultural competence. Yet, there is a need for a detailed examination of some of the enduring personal and professional identity and culture aspects of cross-cultural teaching. In this chapter, I deliberate over the application of narrative inquiry tools for unpacking teachers' experiences of immersion in a foreign country and culture of schooling. I reflect on my own experiences as a teacher in Japan and draw on an inquiry into the experiences of novice Canadian teachers in Hong Kong or Japan to shed light on fluid conceptions of culture shock and reverse culture shock in terms of cultural identity transformations. I also raise to the forefront inquiry puzzles about the phenomenon of intercultural competence acquisition.

Businesses are under pressure to ensure social responsibility in their globalised supply chains. However, conventional factory audits are not providing adequate data about production workers’ well-being. Industry attempts to measure working conditions have shown bias and inconsistency, and there is no consensus on what to measure, or how. Well-being can be intangible and difficult to capture without appropriate theoretical and methodological frameworks. This paper investigates factors influencing the well-being of a Chinese factory’s workers, tests an innovative research method, and proposes interventions to improve well-being in factories.

This is a longitudinal study using the diaries of production workers at a large assembly manufacturing site in China. Workers left daily digital voice diaries about their day, which were analysed to identify factors related to their well-being at work.

The picture is more complex than the concerned Western narrative suggests. Workers’ personal and professional concerns extend beyond the criteria currently measured in audits, tending to be more relational and less about their physical state.

The current approach of auditing management practices neglects workers’ well-being. This study offers a more comprehensive view of well-being and tests a new method of investigation.

This is the first study to use diary methods in a Chinese factory. It addresses an issue supported by little empirical evidence. It is the first longitudinal study to hear from factory workers themselves about how they are and what impacts their well-being daily.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between national culture and best practices as recommended in country-level corporate governance codes.

Measures for four corporate governance variables – board independence, gender composition, board leadership and meeting frequency – were collected from corporate governance codes for 55 countries. Scores from Hofstede’s cultural dimensions – power distance, individualism vs collectivism, masculinity vs femininity and uncertainty avoidance – were gathered for these same countries. Average scores on the cultural dimensions were compared for groups of countries based on each of the corporate governance variables.

Data analyses reveal significant relationships between Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and the four characteristics of corporate governance examined in this study. Results highlight the importance of understanding cultural influences on board characteristics for companies considering international expansions or partnerships.

While prior studies have focused on the influence of national culture at the company level, this study examines the relationship at the regulatory level through review of country-level corporate governance codes.