Search results

States that for the first time a marketing unit has won the Market Driven Quality (MDQ) Bronze Award from within IBM’s 50 business units. The MDQ which is based on the Baldrige Award has been won by IBM UK’s Information Network (IN), which is also the smallest unit in the corporation to have achieved this award. States that IN provides a variety of services for its customers on a worldwide basis. Explains that its strong performance in increasing customer satisfaction is mirrored in its business results. Shows how quality is implemented and concludes that it is confident of maintaining these standards.

Through a survey of 200 employees working in five of the thirty establishments analysed in previous research about the microeconomic effects of reducing the working time (Cahier 25), the consequences on employees of such a reduction can be assessed; and relevant attitudes and aspirations better known.

This classroom activity helps students tie together the concepts of absorption costing for inventory, selling and administrative (SA) cost calculations, and sales price decisions. It shows students how all costs fit together and are used to make business and pricing decisions, synthesizing discrete sections of most managerial or cost accounting books into a complete process. The activity is designed to be run in one 75-minute class session using an Excel template that allows students to focus on business decisions and less on the mechanics of completing calculations. The seven segments of the activity have students calculate target cost, allocate items of overhead into production and service departments, calculate absorption product cost, allocate SA to the production departments, determine the full cost, evaluate product viability, and calculate target price. At the end of the activity, students better understand how all these cost items fit together in a manufacturing setting.

The Food and Drugs Bill introduced by the Government affords an excellent illustration of the fact that repressive legislative enactments in regard to adulteration must always be of such a nature that, while they give a certain degree and a certain kind of protection to the public, they can never be expected to supply a sufficiently real and effective insurance against adulteration and against the palming off of inferior goods, nor an adequate and satisfactory protection to the producer and vendor of superior articles. In this country, at any rate, legislation on the adulteration question has always been, and probably will always be of a somewhat weak and patchy character, with the defects inevitably resulting from more or less futile attempts to conciliate a variety of conflicting interests. The Bill as it stands, for instance, fails to deal in any way satisfactorily with the subject of preservatives, and, if passed in its present form, will give the force of law to the standards of Somerset House—standards which must of necessity be low and the general acceptance of which must tend to reduce the quality of foods and drugs to the same dead‐level of extreme inferiority. The ludicrous laissez faire report of the Beer Materials Committee—whose authors see no reason to interfere with the unrestricted sale of the products of the “ free mash tun,” or, more properly speaking, of the free adulteration tun—affords a further instance of what is to be expected at present and for many years to come as the result of governmental travail and official meditations. Public feeling is developing in reference to these matters. There is a growing demand for some system of effective insurance, official or non‐official, based on common‐sense and common honesty ; and it is on account of the plain necessity that the quibbles and futilities attaching to repressive legislation shall by some means be brushed aside that we have come to believe in the power and the value of the system of Control, and that we advocate its general acceptance. The attitude and the policy of the INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON ADULTERATION, of the BRITISH FOOD JOURNAL, and of the BRITISH ANALYTICAL CONTROL, are in all respects identical with regard to adulteration questions; and in answer to the observations and suggestions which have been put forward since the introduction of the Control System in England, it may be well once more to state that nothing will meet with the approbation or support of the Control which is not pure, genuine, and good in the strictest sense of these terms. Those applicants and critics whom it may concern may with advantage take notice of the fact that under no circumstances will approval be given to such articles as substitute beers, separated milks, coppered vegetables, dyed sugars, foods treated with chemical preservatives, or, in fact, to any food or drug which cannot be regarded as in every respect free from any adulterant, and free from any suspicion of sophistication or inferiority. The supply of such articles as those referred to, which is left more or less unfettered by the cumbrous machinery of the law, as well as the sale of those adulterated goods with which the law can more easily deal, can only be adequately held in check by the application of a strong system of Control to justify approbation, providing, as this does, the only effective form of insurance which up to the present has been devised.

With the rapid growth of the video and VCR market since the 1980s, librarians have increasingly used videos for staff training and development, as well as for instructional purposes. As a medium, video provides a potentially stimulating and accessible alternative to other training approaches. In many training and instructional situations, video can clarify technical procedures, step‐by‐step, using such functions as slow motion and replay. For training programs emphasizing soft skills development (including communication, supervisory, and management skills), video can enhance role playing and behavior modeling. It can also provide opportunities for self‐observation and evaluation through the taping of simulated or actual interactions.

Undertakes a historico‐theoretical study to outline the constitutional and developmental predicament of the Native Indian people in Canada against the hegemonic models instituted by the Federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Analyses a factual survey done by Statistics Canada to highlight the various kinds of socio‐economic problems being faced by Native Indians and to point out the prospects before them. Recommends an ecological alternative in the light of the new land rights being signed between the Federal Government and the Native Indians in Canada. Introduces a concept of social wellbeing and formalizes this as a criterion for evaluating the economic, social and political factors in an interactive and consensual way to generate better futures with conflict resolution.

Social economics[l] is a small but growing school of thought in the United States. At first sight it appears as if “social economists” are a rather heterogeneous group defying satisfactory description. Yet we believe that there is a unity of focus: a deep concern with human needs rather than just a description of human preferences being co‐ordinated. We define “needs” as “necessary” wants and immediately the question imposes itself: necessary for what? Our answer is human life with its higher or lower qualities. Social economics seeks not only to enable and maintain life, but also to “enlarge” it and fulfil it. As a direct result values are hierarchical, from the lower (survival) values to the highest (ethical, aesthetic) values. Such is implicit in the generally acknowledged human‐values‐orientation of the field, since values can be seen as need satisfiers.

Regulations which have for their object the correct labelling of pre‐packed foodstuffs have been drawn up and issued by the Ministry of Food from time to time as the need for such regulations became evident. Every manufacturer of such foods has without doubt made himself acquainted with these regulations, as well as those whose duty it may become to investigate the nature, substance and quality of any sample of such foodstuffs as may be submitted to him. In spite of this a few general observations may, we think, be of interest to readers. The Ministry of Food was not established primarily either for purposes of historical research or record. Its purposes are more immediate and practical, still the future student of social conditions of these times may in cursorily perusing these regulations and in the assumed absence of other evidence wonder how we managed to survive in health and pocket. However, a “little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” The misdeeds of the few tend to bring discredit on the many. The regulations have been drawn as much to help the honest manufacturer faced with illegal competition as to discomfort those who by wilful misdescription have endeavoured to raise the practice of adulteration and misdescription of food‐stuffs to the status of a fine art for their own benefit. Conditions created by the war and its after effects are still acutely felt, and are likely to be for a long time to come, in the form of scarcity of many ordinary food‐stuffs and enhanced prices for all. In addition to this, but not exclusively due to the after‐effects of war, increasingly large quantities of pre‐packed and in some cases highly processed foods have been put on the home market. Pre‐packed food is officially described as food made up in advance ready for retail sale in a wrapper or container. The weight or measure must be correct under penalty. Obviously over the counter sales under these conditions demand at least that the legend on the packet label shall be a true statement of its contents. The printing on the labels must also be legible and conspicuous. But, after all, these give little protection to the purchaser, who, by the nature of such a transaction, cannot examine the contents of the packet on the spot. Records of legal action taken under the Food and Drugs Act for the exposure for sale of foods which analytical examination has shown to be of questionable quality are of everyday occurrence, and such foods must in many cases, when sold in packet form, have been misdescribed or incorrectly labelled. These, however, call for no particular notice here. Attention may be recalled to a statement in the main order, No. 1447, 1944, that forbids claims of a general nature as to vitamin or mineral content of a food being made on wrapper, container, or unattached label except for certain vitamins and for calcium, iodine, iron, and phosphorus enumerated in Schedule 1 and 2. No claim shall be made for these either on label or by advertisement unless the amount of these in milligrams per oz. or fluid oz. be stated. It is certain that if many of the articles whose questionable nature has made them the subject of prosecutions under the Food and Drugs Act had been correctly labelled no one in his senses would have thought of buying them. It is, unfortunately, no less certain that a prosecution also suggests successful sale in possibly hundreds of instances. The term food is defined in the main Order as any article used as food or drink for human consumption, and any substance used in the composition or preparation of food, also any flavouring, sweetening matter or condiment, or any colouring matter for use in food. An article shall not be deemed not to be a food by reason only that it is also capable of being used as a medicine. The labelling provisions of the Labelling of Food (No. 2) Order is now amended by an Order, No. 1550 of 1945, so that “sweets,” including British wines and spirituous liquors containing not more than 40 per cent. of proof spirit, are brought within the field of operation of the main Order. In the case of liquors, other than spirits, with a fruit basis, and rhubarb is included in such fruit bases, the nature of these bases must be “appropriately designated” with a specific name in clear block letters not less than one‐eighth inch high with the minimum alcohol content expressed as “per cent. by volume” or “per cent. proof spirit.” This amending Order, in so far as it relates to retail trade, comes into force on April 1st, 1946. It may be added that if a liquor, other than spirits, is not made wholly or in part from fruit, the fact must be stated, together with the alcohol content. The same condition applies in the case of spirits. Unless a liquor, so far as its fruit content goes, is not derived exclusively from grapes, it must not be described as “wine.” If a fruit other than grape has been used the word wine on the label must be preceded by a word, specifying the name of the fruit used, in identical lettering. It is to be hoped that the new regulation briefly referred to above will do something towards clarifying the conditions relating to the sale of alcoholic liquors. The Ministry has stated its willingness to give the trade all possible help in the labelling of alcoholic liquors, of which there now seems to be a very large number of varieties. We may, however, remark that men can no more be made moral by regulations than by Acts of Parliament. It follows, therefore, that when the interests of legitimate trade have been dealt with the misdoings of a residuum will still demand attention. It is likely that as conditions gradually tend to become normal some of the wrong doers may conclude that the game will not present such alluring prospects of immediate gain, but for all that there will still be some who will continue to gamble on the chances of non‐discovery. It seems to us that if people of their own free will choose to place themselves on a level with the common thief they should, if convicted, be treated as such, and that penalties should be not merely a fine, which in many cases they write off as a bad debt, but, as the man in the street has already made a liberal contribution to the finances of these gentlemen, the man in the street would also not be unwilling to give him a holiday free of charge as an acknowledgment of his activities.

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.

In Table IV. are given the averages of the three samples of each cow's milk given morning and evening. The average fat for the three samples of the milk of cow A is 3.92; cow B, 3.26; and cow C, 3.24, and if these were all mixed together the average fat would be 3.45 for the morning milk. The average fat of the three samples taken from the cows A, B, and C in the afternoon is—A, 5.08; B, 3.08; and C, 3.54; and the average of the three milks is 3.85. In the same table are shown the first two samples of each cow's milk mixed together both morning and evening. By referring to Tables II. and III. under cow A it will be seen that the milk fat of the first and second samples is 2.30 and 3.67, and these added together are shown on Table IV. under cow A, and similarly with cow B and cow C night and morning. It will also be seen that the milk fat in the morning milk of cow A is 3.21; cow B, 2.49; and cow C, 2.15, and if these were mixed together the average fat would be 2.61. The average fat of two samples of milk taken from cow A in the afternoon is 4.50; cow B, 2.67; cow C, 2.12, and if mixed together the average fat is 3.08. It is interesting to note that if cow B was milked for six minutes in the morning, and the milk sold, the sample would be .51 deficient in fat, and the dairyman could honestly say that the milk was sold as it came from the cow. There is also a deficiency in the fat of the milk of cow C in the morning, and cows B and C in the afternoon.