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The study aims to contribute to the literature on board behavior and performance in public sector organizations, by investigating conflicts as a fundamental and inevitable part of interactions between board members. Despite impressive advances in studying the behavioral dimensions of governing bodies, several gaps still remain in our knowledge, especially for public sector boards. These face specific challenges related to multiple, conflicting, and ambiguous goals.

Earlier studies identified four different types of conflict (affective, cognitive, interest, and authority conflicts). These were used to guide a systematic literature review considering the source and the nature of conflicts to classify and describe the state of knowledge on the topic.

Most academic contributions emphasized cognitive and interest conflicts, suggesting that solving them was essential to improve board performance and enable boards to create value. The results suggest the utility of broadening the perspective of the governing board role, moving beyond agency and institutional theory, taking into consideration resource dependence theory as an alternative perspective to investigate board roles and task expectations.

Understanding conflicts within public boards is an interesting challenge from several perspectives. First, it provides a deep look inside board decision-making processes using a behavioral perspective. Second, analyzing the nature and sources of conflict places boards in a better position to address complex political issues. Finally, resolving conflicts may lead boards to channel their energies into collaborative activities that stimulate best practices, facilitate mutual awareness, and generate commitment to cooperation inside and outside the boardroom.

Purpose – To reflect on reasons for refusal in cross-cultural telephone surveys and address ways of reducing non-response from Chinese managers.

Approach – We first propose a conceptual model for telephone survey cooperation, drawing on existing research regarding survey non-response. This is evaluated through reflections on non-response to a telephone survey of 1,900 Chinese senior and middle managers working in privately owned high-technology firms.

Findings – We conclude with a framework for cooperation in cross-cultural telephone surveys, enhancing the leverage-saliency theory. Among many factors, home country interviewers are crucial in gaining access and generating survey interview responses. However, they require careful recruitment, rigorous training and monitoring to help ensure the quality of research data.

Research implications – Our framework provides practical advice in minimising non-response in cross-cultural telephone surveys. This includes sample selection, the development of the survey instrument (and translation), reasons for refusal, research incentives and the role of interviewers.

Originality/value – Our contribution in this chapter is twofold: an enhanced understanding of leverage-saliency theory in cross-cultural telephone surveys, and an articulation of the role of interviewers in changing the dynamics of positive and negative leverage through telephone interaction with managers.

A SERIES of null viscometers designed for controlling and regulating oil production including the refining of lubricating oils is being produced by SLOVNAFT, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. These Capillary Continuous Viscometers are designated KV‐2 and KV‐2E, the former uses a steam heated circuit and the latter is electrically heated.

This study was commissioned in 1999 by the South Dublin County Council Parks Department in order to survey and compile a comprehensive inventory of the flora and fauna and provide a detailed map of the wildlife habitats in selected parks. The ecological assets of each park were described and specific management recommendations to enhance biodiversity were provided, such as set aside areas of wildflower or hay meadows and the planting of native woodland species. Rare species and areas of conservation interest were highlighted and mapped. The information has been used by the local authority for management direction and educational purposes. The surveys also provide a baseline data‐set which will allow monitoring of future change; this is particularly important for the most recently developed parklands and for the municipal golf course which has signed up to the European Committed to Green programme.

The reactions to informal surveys conducted by the author about the effort to set a national policy that would include public school districts indicated it was either largely unknown or not understood by many school officials and professors of education administration. Thus, an inquiry was conducted to document the historical basis for creating the double entry method of accounting, the impetus for a national accounting policy, and the relevance to public school districts. The ultimate objective of the inquiries, therefore, was to offer a set of conclusions regarding the current status of accounting and budgeting policies with particular reference to their potential influence on the practices of public school districts.

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain how total productive maintenance (TPM) has been implemented in large and medium size UK manufacturing companies, focusing on why such a programme was introduced, the activities involved, and the effectiveness and difficulties encountered during the process.

The aspects listed were based on a review of the literature. A case study approach was favoured to collect the necessary data. Companies were contacted, four of which responded favourably, and a protocol was developed to enable interviews to be carried out at each.

“Culture” was highlighted as the main obstacle to successfully implementing TPM; others were lack of awareness about the advantages of the programme, low employee skills and high cost. Two benefits gained by the four companies were a significant improvement in the availability and performance of the equipment within the plant and improved communication between employees. Additional benefits were financial improvement, reduced energy cost and increased employee morale and job satisfaction.

The number of companies that were willing to take part in the study was poor, thereby making it difficult to generalise the conclusions.

The results should help large and medium size organisations to better understand the TPM discipline, to facilitate its adoption and prioritise its practice. They also highlight the effectiveness and obstacles that can be encountered during the process.

The paper highlights the strong potential of TPM implementation programmes in affecting organisational performance improvements. The study also offers a beneficial source of information to organisations, which are still lagging far behind when it comes to TPM practices.

The purpose of this paper is to reduce or eliminate the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE’s) speed loss in a lean manufacturing environment.

This action research study uses the lean manufacturing 5-whys analysis technique to reduce or eliminate the speed loss.

The application of the 5-whys analysis technique in a manufacturing industry (XYZ Corporation) completely eliminated its top speed loss and resulted in a valuable savings of USD 32,811.5 per annum.

The 5-whys analysis technique which has been primarily known to improve the OEE’s quality loss and changeover loss has been proven to be an effective approach to also tackle speed loss; a loss which has been regarded as the most dominating loss among all the types of OEE’s losses and a difficult one to eliminate.

Little or no attempt has been made to date to expand the use of the 5-whys analysis technique beyond its originally intended purpose. The lessons learnt in this study could be applied to other organizations. The outcome of the study has also opened the possibility of widening the horizon of the use of the 5-whys analysis technique beyond its original intended objective and could be applicable to solve other losses of OEE and non-value added activities of lean philosophy in general.

The paper seeks to reduce or eliminate the small stop time loss using SMED in a lean manufacturing environment.

The study uses the lean manufacturing single minute exchange of dies (SMED) technique to reduce or eliminate the small stop time loss. The overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is measured before and after the improvements are implemented.

The application of the single minute exchange of dies (SMED) technique in a manufacturing industry (XYZ Corporation) completely eliminated the small stop time loss. The SMED technique which has been only widely used to improve the changeover loss has been proven to be an effective approach to also tackle the small stop, a loss which has been regarded as one of the most difficult losses to be reduced among all the six big OEE losses. The elimination of the small stop has resulted in a valuable 2.08 percent improvement of XYZ's OEE.

The finding from this study is expected to benefit lean organizations in pursuit of tackling their small stops losses.

Although the SMED technique's impact and contribution to reduce or eliminate setup and changeover time loss is undeniable, the authors have extended the successful application of this technique to another key area of OEE's big loss, i.e. small stop.

Although municipal enterprise funds provide several advantages to cities in the provision of goods and services, little is known about how these municipally operated businesses affect other aspects of the fiscal management practices of the cities which use them. This is particularly true of non-utility enterprises. This study uses the concept of net revenue transfers to examine how five commonly used non-utility enterprises impact the tax, expenditure, and revenue generation practices of cities. The results provide a new perspective and counter some commonly held views about non-utility enterprises.