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Based on the four principles of self‐organization formulated by Morgan (1986), a four‐stage implementation model for empowering teams was developed. From the first to the last stage, the attention shifts from routine tasks to non‐routine tasks, from the individual to the group, and from inwards oriented to outwards directed activities. This model was used to develop five teams in an industrial glass producing firm. After two years, team progress was measured by means of a questionnaire and the results were discussed with each team. These data were used to evaluate the viability and applicability of the empowerment plan and to find relevant factors which facilitate or hinder the empowerment process. The results indicate that the step‐by‐step plan facilitates the development of empowered teams but that it should not be seen necessarily as the best or the only way of empowering working groups. Moreover, the attitude and style of management, the team cohesion and the nature of the work involved seem to interfere with team empowerment.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the consumer‐centered approach to brand management theorized by Rust, Zeithaml and Lemon in 2004 to assist companies in reducing the depreciation of brand equity.

Brand equity was operationalized in the context of conjoint measurement. In total, 5,364 respondents participated in interviews testing drivers of brand equity for six brands each in 28 food categories.

Data from the large‐scale study revealed that across categories brand value may not hold much beyond the name in the minds of consumers. It was found that mindset segmentation may be a basis for brand management. Messages that focused on product functionality were found to be stronger drivers of preference of one brand over another. Product features instead of brand names emerged as the primary source of value across segments.

The study focused on brands in the food industry requiring the replication to additional industries.

It was found that brands did not hold much beyond their name. Companies holding strong brands will need to define product features in terms of their perceived functionality across consumer segments. Companies are to build and position brands around customer segments.

A cutting edge methodology to test mindset segmentation by combinations of product features as a new basis for brand management was used. In contrast to traditional brand management which is based on products, the paper bases brand management on consumer needs highlighting consumer equity rather than brand equity.

This paper aims to describe, analyze and explain British military graffiti (“latrinalia”) in ablutions blocks in two operational camps in the 1970s. This material was chosen for two reasons: first, it allowed the researcher to approach what the soldiers were thinking about and sharing in an unofficial context; second, such material is not represented in the scholarly literature on the British army. The aim of the research was, therefore, to explore a regularly occurring but under-researched field of British army organizational culture.

Latrinalia from one operational base was recorded and analyzed by quantity and type into a typology that emerged from the data. From this analysis, areas in which the graffiti authors were preoccupied were deduced. These graffiti were compared with similar material recorded from a different unit (with no personnel in common with the first) in the same context, two years later.

There was extensive common ground between the two sets of graffiti, particularly in the areas of identity, attitudes to the campaign, and opinions held about officers. Differences in the sets of results were explained by reference to factors external to the military campaign.

In view of the paucity of other research with which to compare, confirm or refute the findings of this study, further research on British military graffiti is needed.

It is clear that ablution graffiti/latrinalia in military units on operations provide insights into a unit’s organizational culture and matters of current concern to the soldiers. Such graffiti may, therefore, be considered as a useful ethnographic source.

There are implications for the better understanding of soldiers’ concerns on operations.

The paper approaches a hitherto unexplored aspect of the lived experience of British soldiers on operations.

Winner of the 2014 EFMD competition for best case on Indian Management Issues and Opportunities.

After a highly successful third round of funding in 2012, Gaurav Jain, founder of quick service restaurant chain Mast Kalandar, was looking to expand. In addition to opening new stores in other cities, Jain was also hoping to increase the profitability of his existing stores in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune. He needed to fully understand the financials of his current operations and identify the key drivers of success at the stores, at both the city and corporate levels. With this understanding, he would be able to evaluate how best to improve the performance of existing outlets and to choose an entry strategy for new cities. Students are asked to develop a financial model for outlets and use it to compare different growth strategies.

After analyzing this case, students will be able to:

• Assess the strategic and operational tradeoffs being made by the CEO of a company in a growing foodservice sector of an emerging market as he establishes and grows his enterprise

• Build a financial model for outlet operations that identifies key drivers of performance and allows for a comparison between different growth strategies

• Strategically prioritize growth opportunities for a company in response to an influx of new capita

Assess the strategic and operational tradeoffs being made by the CEO of a company in a growing foodservice sector of an emerging market as he establishes and grows his enterprise

Build a financial model for outlet operations that identifies key drivers of performance and allows for a comparison between different growth strategies

Strategically prioritize growth opportunities for a company in response to an influx of new capita

A lack of knowledge among university faculty members of the services their university libraries provide is a growing concern in university librarianship. Poor communication and inadequate interaction between the faculty and the library, and the library′s failure to apply marketing strategies to promote its services are foremost among the factors contributing to this condition. In order to analyse the situation within the context of the University of the West Indies a survey was conducted. A questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 150 faculty members of the six faculties on the Mona Campus, Jamaica. The findings revealed that on average the faculty were aware of only 47 per cent of the services, and that they were least aware of those services which required direct communication between the librarians and themselves. It was also significant to find that the level of awareness was influenced by such variables as academic status and the frequency of consultations with the librarians. A planned and direct approach to library public relations aimed at increasing the faculty′s take‐up of the services is recommended. The range of creative ideas suggested is intended to raise the level of awareness of the faculty, and subsequently improve their perception of the library′s worth.

Similar to other parts of the United States, its southern region is still wrestling with the implications of the resegregation of America’s schools. Unlike other parts of the country, however, the Deep South demons are rooted in a vastly different historical context. This chapter offers an historical analysis of the educational problems in the Deep South, with strong emphasis on gifted programming. Further, in this chapter, we present and describe a framework that could guide educators as they strive to identify giftedness among children of color and implement programming in a culturally responsive manner.

Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.

In this chapter, I offer a critique of linguistic field methodology, exploring the contribution that a participant-driven approach to data collection can make to language documentation and description. Bringing together material from linguistic field manuals, project documentation, hand-written field notes, and reflexive accounts of my field experiences, I trace my journey into the field, and through the process of collecting language data for the eventual production of a grammatical description. I establish that the basic field methodology advocated by linguists has traditionally involved tightly structured interviewing (known as “elicitation”). At the same time, I point to a literature in which this methodology is critiqued. While experienced fieldworkers no doubt employ multiple methodologies in the field, novice fieldworkers are encouraged to focus on their research goals. This can mean that elicitation sessions typically become the only way in which fieldwork is carried out.Drawing on my own experiences in the field, I demonstrate that linguistic fieldwork can combine ethnographic participation/observation methodology with community-driven text collection, and context-rich techniques of elicitation. This layered methodology prioritises people and social participation over the goals of academic research. It allows the research record to be shaped by the community, thus permitting the researcher to experience and seek understandings of the symbolic system of language from the perspective of the community. In my experience, such a methodology enhances the sustainability of the field project from both community and researcher perspectives. Crucially, it creates a context in which it is more likely that the linguist will be invited to return to the field and contribute in an ongoing way to a community, on their terms.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the findings from a small-scale, exploratory, study of principals’ instructional leadership practice in Malaysian primary schools. The dimensions and functions of instructional leadership, explicitly explored in this study, are those outlined in the Hallinger and Murphy’s (1985) model.

This study is part of a larger international, comparative research project that aims to identify the boundaries of the current knowledge base on instructional leadership practice and to develop a preliminary empirically based understanding of how principals conceive and enact their role as instructional leaders in Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 primary school principals in Malaysia. The sample comprised principals from 14 Government National schools (SK), nine principals from Chinese schools (SJKC) and seven principals from Tamil schools (SJKT). The qualitative data were initially analysed inductively, and subsequently coded using ATLAS.ti to generate the findings and conclusions.

The findings showed that the Malaysian principals, who were interviewed, understood and could describe their responsibilities relating to improving instructional practice. In particular, they talked about the supervision of teachers and outlined various ways in which they actively monitored the quality of teaching and learning in their schools. These data revealed that some of the duties and activities associated with being a principal in Malaysia are particularly congruent with instructional leadership practices. In particular, the supervision of teaching and learning along with leading professional learning were strongly represented in the data.

This is a small-scale, exploratory study involving 30 principals.

There is a clear policy aspiration, outlined in the Malaysian Education Blueprint, that principals should be instructional leaders. The evidence shows that principals are enacting some of the functions associated with being an instructional leader but not others.

The findings from this study provide some new insights into the principals’ instructional leadership practices in Malaysia. They also provide a basis for further, in-depth exploration that can enhance the knowledge base about principals’ instructional leadership practices in Malaysia.