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The paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Innovation of the continuous quality and continuous improvement sort is not something that can be housed in a particular geographical position. It has to come from people – everyone from top to bottom – buying in on a culture of people's opinions and experiences mattering. The clever company recognizes this and, rather than restrict themselves to relying on the experiences and opinions of a few people at the top of the management structure, creates practices and procedures which allow everyone to have an input into innovation.

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

Looks at how the world has changed in terms of providing goods and services and what that means to the employees providing them

Examines how a complete quality process can encourage employee engagement.

A complete quality process takes concentration and times: surprisingly little time. The elapsed time between the decision to pursue this option and a fully implemented system with measurable, bottom‐line benefits was eight months in one instance and six months in the other. And the improvement in morale was equally striking

Employees generally refer to their place of work as “my company” when they are at home. Taking advantage of that natural feeling of ownership by extending trust and empowerment to all employees and giving them the means to be engaged in the continual improvement of everything the organization does is in the best interest of the employer, the employees, and their customers.

Ethics in the way organizations go about their business is increasingly important to customers, who are becoming increasingly aware of ‐ and increasingly discriminating against ‐ companies which fail to meet their criteria. But how to overcome the accusation that a policy, made at board level, is ignored in implementation? A written statement of policy can go a long way towards keeping an organization honest. But does the leader’s or organization’s philosophy actually need to be written down and published? In theory, if a leader is consistent, every subordinate should have a clear picture of what the leader’s philosophy is, and the organization will act accordingly. On the other hand, if a leader fails to make his or her philosophy explicit, i.e., what the work environment is to be, a philosophy will be assumed. Makes the case for a written policy on ethics, and offers examples from the US Marine Corps, and others.

One definition of a leader is a person who has followers. Argues that, to be a skilled leader, the role of follower needs to be clearly understood ‐ indeed a good leader should make a good follower _ and that somewhere within this concept is the very basis of teamwork. Using examples from the US military and the world of sport, explains the authors’ understanding of followership in relation to today’s business context, and offers a series of guidelines for effective “followership”.

It seems that one of the major buzzwords of the late 1990s is “virtual”we have heard of virtual bookshops, virtual universities, virtual shopping malls, virtual offices and, of course, virtual reality. So is the virtual world simply a passing fad or is it something which is truly changing the way we live our lives and the way we work and communicate? Despite the proliferation of virtuality it is difficult to find a common definition of “virtual” which is applicable in all of its uses. We do believe, however, that the concept has real value when addressing the subject of organizational development; and as a concept it is not so much about managing in the sense of planning, controlling, directing and organizing, but more concerned with the notion of continuous or institutionalized change. This implies not management but a process which is both self‐regulatory and selfperpetuating.

Examines the current literature on total quality management/continuous quality improvement (TQM/CQI) in the health‐care industry and determines the common threads that exist in the successfully implemented programmes. Based on the review of literature, proposes a comprehensive model on how to implement and maintain a TQM/CQI programme in the health‐care industry.

In April we celebrate Pets Are Wonderful Month (PAW) to honor the companion animals that bring joy and love to their owners' lives. Humans have lived with animals as companions for thousands of years and during that time our knowledge about the animals we choose as pets has grown enormously. Recent research involving pet therapy indicates that not only do pets give us love and companionship, but they also are beneficial to our physical and mental health. Pets are used in nursing homes, prisons, and mental health institutions, with autistic children, and in many other capacities.

Country‐specific information on risk management is increasingly important, not only for investors and decision makers in international markets but also, for those in national and regional markets. This study reports the results of a cross‐sectional survey of risk management practice and derivatives use by a sample of Australian firms. Overall, the results suggest that firm‐specific factors appear to have some influence on risk management practice with the industry of the respondent being the most important, while the degree of international exposure has the least. Larger and more internationally exposed firms are likely to have more frequent reporting of derivatives use, and are more likely to use swaps and options to manage risks than other types of firms. Issues and implications for international firms are discussed.

That someone can make us feel good is a quality in itself. There has been much talk within British government circles, for example, about “the feelgood” factor, which is constantly reminding us that it is just around the corner! Whether or not we can believe in this is another matter but it certainly displays an awareness that making other people feel good can also have positive benefits for ourselves. How this can be achieved will differ depending on our particular line of business. Having a good‐quality product does not in itself guarantee success as service quality must also be taken into account. This is where the feel‐good factor comes into play. It is all very well, for example, going to a restaurant to have a top‐class meal (in that the food was good), only to have it thrown at you. Quality, therefore, must not be seen as a separate entity, but more as a package deal. Service quality is important if you wish to retain your customer base as acquiring new customers can be both time‐consuming and costly. It quite often takes very little apart from good manners to keep customer loyalty as in the case of the restaurant. Other factors can, however, start creeping into the framework such as efficiency, timeliness and good communication. Is there, for example, a time limit on how long you can reasonably be expected to wait for your meal before it arrives at the table, and if there is a delay is this communicated to you? In other words, we all have expectations as to what is acceptable and what is not. The clever part is for the organization to learn by what criteria the customer judges its service quality performance.

The purpose of this viewpoint is to analyze and interpret the author’s career as a researcher in marketing.

This viewpoint applies case theory (Gummesson, 2017a), in which the author is the case.

One should respect the difficulty of understanding the complex and dynamic world of marketing and not be fooled into premature generalizations and reverence to established theory.

The emphasis is on marketing as a revenue-generating activity through interaction in the network of complex relationships; the need for less ritualistic research methodology; and the orientation toward theory generation, decision-making, implementation and achievement of desired results.