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Argues that organizations should be thought of as cultures rather than machines, and that managing is as much a social as a technical process. Suggests that effective leadership, and the successful design of appropriate organization development programmes, are dependent on executive understanding and sensitivity to organizational culture. Describes Schein′s model of culture and illustrates each of its major elements with examples drawn from the literature and the author′s own experience. These examples demonstrate the importance and the power of cultural approaches to understanding organizations in general and the leadership function in particular. Demonstrates a new set of tools for mobilizing commitment and enforcing control that can have important performance implications, and which will be of value to the practising manager.

Considerable progress has been made in connection with the scientific survey now being undertaken as a preliminary to the consideration of improved methods of treatment and prevention of the ever increasing menace of grain pests, of which there are some seventy varieties. The survey is being made by the Stored Products Laboratory, of the Imperial College of Science and Technology, under the direction of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and is being conducted by Professor Munro, assisted by a staff of experienced entomologists. At the commencement of the survey a research committee was appointed under the chairmanship of Dr. E. J. Butler, C.M.G., C.I.E., the Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council, to supervise the survey, consider its results, and report to the Department. Membership of the Research Committee includes, in addition to representation from Government Departments, Mr. W. P. Henderson, the Chief Chemist of the L.M.S. Railway, and Mr. W. McAuley Gracie, M.B.E., M.Inst.T., Chairman of the Standing Conference on Pest Infestation set up by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. At a recent meeting of the Research Committee, Professor Munro submitted a progress report dealing with the scientific survey, and on the convincing evidence contained in the report the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research sought the opinion of the Standing Conference on Pest Infestation as to whether consideration of control and remedial measures should be undertaken forthwith. The Standing Conference, whose membership comprises representatives of Government Departments, trading authorities and associations, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the four main line railway companies, the Port of London Authority, the Association of Master Lightermen and Barge Owners, the Research Association of British Flour Millers, the National Federation of Corn Trade Associations, the National Association of Corn and Agricultural Merchants, the National Farmers' Union, the Brewers' Society and the Maltsters' Association, took unanimous resolutions desiring the Department to secure immediate consideration of control and remedial action appropriate to the varying circumstances, and to extend the constitution of the Conference to bring into contributing membership interests outside the grain trade, but who are concerned with other produce susceptible to pest infestation, inasmuch as they would derive benefit from this stage of the work. The Chairman was authorised to negotiate with the Department accordingly and standing orders were suspended to enable him to admit into membership such bodies as furnished the requisite proof of interest. The Conference also urged that the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research should consult immediately with other appropriate public departments to secure adequate arrangements being made for the complete treatment of the problems of prevention and cure. The cost of such treatment, however, has to be met largely by industrial contributions, but it is understood that there is indication that generous contribution may be made from public funds towards the cost of the immediate remedial stage, providing that substantial industrial financial backing is forthcoming. Promises of further financial support have already been secured, but more money is required before negotiation can be entered into with the Department to obtain help from public funds. The co‐operation of all industrial organisations faced with the problem of infestation, by taking up contributory membership to support the conference in its national work, is urgently required. The problems of infestation can only be successfully combated if the complete co‐operation of all sections of industry in any way affected is secured. Full details and information regarding membership of the Conference can readily be obtained on application to the Chairman of the Standing Conference on Pest Infestation at the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, 16, Old Queen Street, London, S.W.1.

The following definitions and standards for food products have been adopted as a guide for the officials of this Department in enforcing the Food and Drugs Act. These are standards of identity and are not to be confused with standards of quality or grade; they are so framed as to exclude substances not mentioned in the definition and in each instance imply that the product is clean and sound. These definitions and standards include those published in S. R. A., F. D. 2, revision 4, and those adopted October 28, 1936.

The daily loaf or cake of bread is undoubtedly Man's first and oldest form of prepared food. Except in the the cereal used to make it, it differs little the world all over, but changes are taking place in this staple food, in its preparation and distribution. In recent legal proceedings, a charge of selling a loaf not of the nature, etc., in that it contained rodent contamination, was brought against partners in what was described as the last surviving family baker's business in a relatively large and populous suburban area of London. “Take‐over bids” are the order of the day and in modern business, which includes the baking of bread, the accent is on combination and concentration. The Magistrates must have had a wistful regard for the things that are passing for they fined the “little man” about half the amount they subsequently fined a larger undertaking for a similar type of offence.

This paper seeks to investigate whether disaggregated bank earnings better predict next period earnings than contemporaneous aggregated earnings.

Fairfield et al.'s (1996) regression approach is used for predicting next period's return of equity (ROE) and stock prices using disaggregated earnings data.

The results show that the mean adjusted R‐square significantly increases with the progressive disaggregation of earnings. The results also demonstrate that disaggregated components are better able to predict next period earnings and stock prices than aggregated earnings.

The findings support the US Financial Accounting Standard Board's contention that disaggregated information may be more useful than aggregated information for investment, credit, and financing decisions.

Investors and analysts should use disaggregated income statement information in predicting next period earnings and stock prices for the banking industry.

The main contribution of this paper is to demonstrate how fully disaggregated earnings explain ROE, stock prices, and analysts forecast error in the banking industry.

It is a pleasure to write these lines on the Report of Proceedings under the Diseases of Animals Acts for the year 1934. The report is addressed by the Chief Veterinary Officer to the Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. It is a record of most important duties efficiently carried out by the central veterinary authority and the local veterinary authorities in Great Britain during the aforesaid year. Reading “ between the lines ” of the necessarily formal and official wording of the report it is easy to appreciate the extreme complexity of the scientific, administrative and economic problems these various authorities are confronted with in the course of their work. Problems that have to be quickly and satisfactorily dealt with. Admittedly, we owe much to the fact that we are an island, but this fortunate geographical circumstance would not avail us much unless it were inforced by efficient administration and veterinary knowledge kept up to date by research and collaboration with the veterinary world at home and abroad. It is remarked that no cases of cattle plague have been reported since the year 1877 ; no cases of sheep pox—the Peel's pox of an earlier generation of farmers—since 1850 ; no pleuro‐pneumonia since 1898.

Developing a performance measure and reporting the results to support decision making at an individual level has yielded poor results in many health systems. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the factors associated with the dissemination of performance information that generate and support continuous improvement in health organizations.

A systematic data collection strategy that includes empirical and theoretical research published from 1980 to 2010, both qualitative and quantitative, was performed on Web of Science, Current Contents, EMBASE and MEDLINE. A narrative synthesis method was used to iteratively detail explicative processes that underlie the intervention. A classification and synthesis framework was developed, drawing on knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE) literature. The sample consisted of 114 articles, including seven systematic or exhaustive reviews.

Results showed that dissemination in itself is not enough to produce improvement initiatives. Successful dissemination depends on various factors, which influence the way collective actors react to performance information such as the clarity of objectives, the relationships between stakeholders, the system's governance and the available incentives.

This review was limited to the process of knowledge dissemination in health systems and its utilization by users at the health organization level. Issues related to improvement initiatives deserve more attention.

Knowledge dissemination goes beyond better communication and should be considered as carefully as the measurement of performance. Choices pertaining to intervention should be continuously prompted by the concern to support organizational action.

While considerable attention was paid to the public reporting of performance information, this review sheds some light on a more promising avenue for changes and improvements, notably in public health systems.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the current farm economic downturn and credit restructuring by comparing it with the 1920s and 1980s farm crises from both economic and regulatory perspectives.

This paper closely compares critical economic and regulatory aspects of the current farm downturn with two previous farm crises in the 1920s and 1980s, and equally importantly, the golden eras that occurred before them. This study compares key aggregate statistics in land value, agricultural credit, lending regulations, and also evaluates the situations and impacts on individual farmer households by using three representative case studies.

The authors argue that there are at least three economic and regulatory reasons why the current farm downturn is unlikely to slide into a sudden collapse of the agricultural markets: strong, real income; growth in the 2000s, historically low interest rates; and more prudent agricultural lending practices. The current farm downturn is more likely a liquidity and working capital problem, as opposed to a solvency and balance sheet problem for the overall agricultural sector. The authors argue that the trajectory of the current farm downturn will likely be a gradual, drawn-out one like that of the 1920s farm crisis, as opposed to a sudden collapse as in the 1980s farm crisis.

The review provides empirical evidence for cautious optimism of the future trajectory of the current downturn, and argues that the current downturn is much more similar to the 1920s pattern than the 1980s crisis.