“Corporate planning” is the term which, perhaps more than any other, epitomises the adoption of business management techniques by the public sector. In Britain, with massive local…
Abstract
“Corporate planning” is the term which, perhaps more than any other, epitomises the adoption of business management techniques by the public sector. In Britain, with massive local government reorganisation in 1974, many librarians were forced to come to terms with such techniques whether they liked it or not. Of course, in its purest sense corporate planning applies to the combined operation of an entire organisation be it local authority, university, government department or industrial firm. However, in this paper I do not intend discussing “the grand design” whereby the library is merely a component part of a greater body. Rather, it is my intention to view the library as the corporate body. It is a perfectly possible and very useful exercise to apply the principles of corporate planning, and the management techniques involved, to the running of a library or group of libraries. Indeed, many librarians have already done this either independently or as their part in the corporate plan of their parent organisation.
DURING the past fifteen years technical literature has garnered as much information as in all previously recorded history, and man has grown very adept at quickly converting this…
Abstract
DURING the past fifteen years technical literature has garnered as much information as in all previously recorded history, and man has grown very adept at quickly converting this knowledge into machines and processes. Doing so has provided him with more material comforts than the greatest in the land enjoyed a few centuries ago. This increase in knowledge and the employment of sophisticated technology over a broad field means that every industrialized country can echo the old Swiss boast: ‘Got any rivers they say are uncrossable? Got any mountains you can't tunnel through? We specialize in the wholly impossible, doing the things that no others can do.’
The concept of packaged training is quite new. A typical training package consists of films, transparencies, slides, tapes and so on, supported by printed materials. Not all these…
Abstract
The concept of packaged training is quite new. A typical training package consists of films, transparencies, slides, tapes and so on, supported by printed materials. Not all these different media of presentation are to be found in any one package; just that selection which will present the material in its optimal form. Sound films are usually a must, the printed matter invariably so; the element of choice normally centres round the method of projecting the still pictures, charts and tabulated matter.
Leon C. Prieto, Simone Trixie Allison Phipps and Babita Mathur-Helm
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to knowledge in the field of business by recognizing two historic entrepreneurs who played an important role in the African-American…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to knowledge in the field of business by recognizing two historic entrepreneurs who played an important role in the African-American community, and by viewing their contributions through the lens of servant leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is conducted by reviewing and synthesizing a number of writings from sources, such as history journals, newspapers and other resources.
Findings
The main finding is that two former slaves (Merrick and Herndon) practiced servant leadership in the early twentieth century as a way to create jobs and transform communities.
Originality/value
The contributions made by African-Americans have not been adequately covered in the literature. This paper begins to fill a noticeable void by highlighting the contributions of two former slaves who managed to become successful servant leaders within their communities.
Details
Keywords
F. Harman and John Humble
PERHAPS surprisingly, at a time of economic crisis, British companies are taking their social responsibilities much more seriously than ever before.
A NEWCOMER to the ranks of the growing army of symposium organizers is Participation Consultants Ltd., a group of people claiming to have considerable experience and expertise in…
Human resource management (HRM) may be construed either as the beginning of a new wave of authoritarianism — the Pharoahs presumably managed massive human resources in…
Abstract
Human resource management (HRM) may be construed either as the beginning of a new wave of authoritarianism — the Pharoahs presumably managed massive human resources in constructing the pyramids — or as part of a growing world‐wide movement expressing a reaction against ‘object‐level’ thinking about persons. On the one hand we are all increasingly documented, classified, tabulated and quantified to the extent that invasion of privacy is questioned; on the other hand there are indications of growing concern for the development of more complex ‘persons‐in‐relation’ models of man, emphasising interdependence and recognising subjectivity and quality as well as objectivity and quantity. People of all ages question in ‘future‐shock’ terms the validity of the object‐growth quantitative thinking which has tended to dominate western industrial civilisation. Realization of the rate of change tends to generate change‐resistant behaviour patterns or alternative technologies designed to reinstate persons above systems.
Despite the emphasis on management training during the past decade, it is doubtful whether more than 10 per cent of practising managers have ever read a book on management. Much…
Abstract
Despite the emphasis on management training during the past decade, it is doubtful whether more than 10 per cent of practising managers have ever read a book on management. Much as educationists may deplore this, it is hardly surprising. After all, as busy practical people facing practical problems, most managers are interested in solutions, not theories. And unless a management book can point the way to such solutions, it tends to remain unread—except by students and those whose professional interests lie in management education.
Examines the changes facing middle managers as organizations move toleaner, empowered organization focused on delivering service tocustomers. The model of the inverted triangle…
Abstract
Examines the changes facing middle managers as organizations move to leaner, empowered organization focused on delivering service to customers. The model of the inverted triangle leaves middle managers still in the middle, but now confused as to their new role – their world is literally topsy‐turvy. The reasons for these changes are the revolution of information technology, the absence of a hierarchically‐based career path, the need for greater creativity in organizations and the increasing focus on values. Although much has changed, much remains the same. Managers today still have many of the same needs they had in 1967. Identifies five factors of a high‐performing manager.