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The support for local initiatives by large organisations has become substantially institutionalised in the UK through Business in the Community. How much further it will go, and how much it will be supported by government, is the subject of debate and conjecture. An overview of how large firms support small and medium enterprise development — the motivations and how they are changing — is provided. The problems in evaluation and a case study of Shell UK Ltd are provided, and future directions, possible shifts and influences are considered.

Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover specific articles devoted to certain topics. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume III, in addition to the annotated list of articles as the two previous volumes, contains further features to help the reader. Each entry within has been indexed according to the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus and thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid information retrieval. Each article has its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. The first Volume of the Bibliography covered seven journals published by MCB University Press. This Volume now indexes 25 journals, indicating the greater depth, coverage and expansion of the subject areas concerned.

The author describes IBM's system of employee relations, and assesses its role in contributing towards the company's aspirations in terms of productivity and quality.

A feature of the industrial landscape in the 1990s is the emergence of a growing number of non‐union companies. Numerous factors have been suggested to explain this increase such as an increasingly competitive product market; fear of unemployment; a shift in managerial attitudes towards trade unions and the use of human resource management policies which are inimical to unionism. However, the most comprehensive attempt to establish the factors which increase the probability of union avoidance among companies is to be found in the industrial relations literature in the USA. Based on a survey of Irish manufacturing companies, evaluates the explanatory framework which has emerged from this literature and concludes that its validity is questionable in an Irish context.

This study aims to perform a systematic literature review to organize the abundance of information on employee relations (ER) and sustainable organizations. Moreover, this study identifies the research gaps by investigating the review of ER’ mediating and moderating variables and the relationship between ER and sustainable organizations.

This study is based on the systematic literature review methodology involving 257 studies in the final stage. The Scopus and Google Scholar databases with search criteria “employee relations” and “employee relations and sustainable organization” were used to achieve the research objective. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, researchers come to the distribution of the articles based on the subthemes, geographical region, types of methods, top authors with affiliation and complete research articles based on the citation. In the final stage, this study concluded with the conceptual model comprising mediators and moderators of ER as well as the mediating and moderating variables of the relationship between ER and sustainable organizations.

The reviewed literature shows that employee relation is an optimal strategy for retaining employees via proper disclosure of human resources (HRs) and ER Index. This study included the top six publishers, namely, Emerald, Elsevier, Sage, Springer, Taylor and Francis and Wiley Online Library, to do an exhaustive review on a specific topic. The findings indicate that after COVID-19, the ER index, HR disclosures and the sustainability of ER are among the new and required paradigm shifts needed to manage a crisis impact and perform productively. The mediator and moderator variables that can improve employee–employer relationships are organizational trusts, organizational justice, perceived job satisfaction, organizational structure and firm ownership. On the other hand, variables that mediate and moderate the relationship between ER and sustainable organizations are organizational climate, organization trust, organization culture, perceived organization support, psychological empowerment, firm ownership, leadership behavior and attitude, respectively. The findings concluded that harmonious and cordial ER are pertinent in building sustainable organizations and accomplishing organizational goals.

The mediating and moderating variables that have been identified can be helpful for enthusiastic researchers in contributing to empirical research. Practitioners and managers can use the findings in making an effective organizational model that develops good employee–employer relationships and helps create a culture of trust and harmony. This study focuses on exploring the variables of ER, which strengthens employee–employer relationships and supports organizations to stay agile and attain sustainability to endure in the future.

This study insights on the specific mediating and moderating variables of ER and sustainable organizations. Till date, studies exploring constructs of ER and sustainable organizations are still in deficit. Better employee relation reflects and leads to a more resilient organization. Future researchers should explore the connection between pandemics and ER which is done insufficiently in the present time.

The aim of this paper is to investigate peach juice as a cheap, raw, green and non‐toxic anti‐corrosion material for mild steel corrosion in hydrochloric acid at different temperatures.

The corrosion inhibition of mild steel in 1 M HCl solution in the presence of peach juice at temperature range of 30‐60°C and concentration range of 5‐50 cm³/l was studied using weight loss and polarization techniques. The inhibition effect, adsorption characteristics, mathematical and electrochemical modeling of peach juice were addressed.

Results show that inhibition efficiency rose with the increase of inhibitor concentration and temperature up to 50°C, while at temperatures above 50°C the values of efficiency decreased. The inhibitor adsorbed physically on metal surface and followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Monolayer formed spontaneously on the metal surface. Maximum inhibition efficiency obtained was about 91 percent at 50°C in the 50 cm³/l inhibitor concentration.

This work is an attempt to find a new, safe to environment, non‐toxic corrosion inhibitor. Peach juice is a readily available material in Iraq and Middle East markets.

Honey peaches are rich in a variety of vitamins and are well known in China as the queen of fruit. However, as highly climacteric fruit, peach is too easy to affect its economic value. In this paper, a new passive modified atmosphere packaging system was proposed to solve the lack of water vapour removal capacity – which is still the technical bottleneck of passive modified atmosphere packaging. This paper aims to address this issue.

Under the conditions of relative humidity 85−90% and temperature 28°C−38°C, the influence of new passive modified atmosphere packaging on the shelf life and quality of 70% ripe peaches was studied in the paper. The effect of the new passive modified atmosphere packaging (PMAP) on fruit appearance, colour, taste, flavour, soluble solids, Vitamin C and titratable acid was investigated.

Regardless of whether 1-Methylcyclopropene is added or not, the research results show that the new PMAP has a significant effect on extending the shelf life and maintaining the quality of peaches. Compared with the control group, the shelf life of peaches treated with modified atmosphere packaging and 1-Methylcyclopropene was prolonged by 7 and 11 days, increasing the retailer's revenue by 44 and 75%.

A new integrated structure, which is composed of two types of films with high oxygen and high water vapour permeability was designed for the retail of peaches at room temperature. The former was mainly responsible for regulating the concentration of O₂ and CO₂, while the latter was for removing water vapour and regulating the relative humidity in PMAP.

The preliminary figures for the production of fruit in the United States of America for the year 1930 issued by the Department of Commerce, Washington, are as follows:—Apples, 163,543,000 bushel; grapes, 2,368,557 tons; peaches, 53,286,000 bushel; pears, 25,703,000 bushel; strawberries, 59,996,000 quarts; cranberries, 570,000 barrels. Assuming the bushel to be equal to fifty pounds weight (Av.), the weights of apples, peaches and pears produced are 3,650,000 tons, 1,189,000 tons, 574,000 tons respectively. The Department of Commerce has no means of intimating the proportions of fruits used for the raw, canning and preserve markets. The production of canned fruits is, however, high in the United States, a much larger proportion of the total crop of fruit being used for this purpose than is the case in this country. In the United States the fruit that is preserved is marketed either as jam, the fruit for this purpose being more or less in the form of pulp; or as preserved fruit when the fruit is whole or unbroken; or as fruit butter, which is fruit juice and fruit pulp evaporated till they form a semi‐solid homogeneous mass with or without the addition of sugar, spices, or vinegar; or as fruit jelly, which is the juice or water extract of fruit concentrated to a suitable consistency with the addition of sugar. In 1929, according to the Bureau of Census figures, the total value of the four products above named amounted to $44,073,809, or in round figures about £9,000,000. It appears that some two hundred firms are mainly engaged in the manufacture of these, a small and unknown amount being made as a kind of side line by certain wholesale grocers. It may be observed that (1) the fruit used is home grown; (2) the product, whether it be preserved fruit, jam, fruit butter or fruit jelly, has to be made in accordance with Federal or State definitions of these products; (3) the label on the pot or tin must truly describe the contents as to nature, quality and quantity; (4) that misleading statements or designs on such labels are forbidden by law. At the request of the National Preservers' Association the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce recently completed a survey of the preserving industry. The results are incomplete, as many firms did not make returns, but the figures obtained would appear to cover about 40 per cent. of those relating to the industry for the year 1929. These figures are at least useful for comparative purposes, and multiplication by 2½ is probably justifiable under the circumstances as affording some guide to the total amount. Thus the actual figures obtained by the Department for production by “major classification” are as follows:—Preserves and jams, 62,490,389 lbs.; jellies, 32,301,654 lbs.; fruit butters, 40,019,560 lbs.; citrus marmalade, 1,849,104 lbs. Total, 136,660,707 lbs. This total when multiplied by 2½ shows that something over 150,000 tons, of 2,240 lbs. to the ton, of the products mentioned above were made in 1929. If the population of the United States be 125 millions, it is certainly near that figure, the output is low compared with the output in this country; for preserves and jams very low. The deficiency in this item is offset by the high percentage compared with our figures of fruit jelly (235), and of fruit butters (30) produced. Much fruit grown in the United States is, however, absorbed by the canning industry which has been long established and has reached enormous dimensions; and also in the production of fruit juices as beverages. Again, anything but a numerical comparison, even if that be directly permissible, is to our disadvantage. For while the fruit grower in the United States finds a ready market for his crops in the markets for jam and its associated products, our fruit growers would seem to receive no such measure of encouragement from our jam makers, who purchase large quantities of cheap imported fruit pulp of questionable wholesomeness in many cases. As to the quality of the material it is safe to say that much of the jam made in the country at the present time would be refused entry into the United States. As to the kind of jam and preserve made in the United States, there are three kinds: Standard, Compound, and Imitation. In round figures 75 per cent. of the jam is of standard grade, 19 per cent. is compound, and 6 per cent. imitation. For jellies the figures are: 45·45 per cent. standard, 27 per cent. pectin and apple base, imitation 27 per cent. As to the kinds of fruit used in making jam, strawberry jam heads the list with 39 per cent. of the total; raspberry with 19 per cent. No other percentages run into double figures. The next highest is peach 8·74 per cent., the lowest is gooseberry 0·13 per cent. 78·5 per cent. by weight of the strawberry jam is of standard quality, 19 per cent. compound, 2·3 imitation; 75·5 per cent. of the raspberry jam is standard, 21 per cent. compound, 1·6 imitation. The average invoice values of these jams are as follows:—Standard strawberry jam, 17.64 cents per lb., say 9d. per lb.; compound strawberry, 7d.; imitation strawberry, 5d. The corresponding figures for raspberry being 7½d., 6½d., 5¼d. These figures being about the average invoice prices for all kinds of jams of the three qualities named. From these figures it would appear that it is possible in the United States to market strawberry and raspberry jam of a nature conforming to Dr. Johnson's definition at a fairly low price. In the United States of America there are two laws which govern the purity of the food supply. One is the Federal Law of 30th June, 1906. The Federal Law applies to the Federal District of Columbia and to Inter‐State Commerce, that is to say to goods which may be sent from one State of the Union to another State of the Union. The other laws are the State laws which have been passed by the legislatures of the various States. Before these laws were passed, manufacturers of adulterated food products were at liberty to make and sell such products in their State. These State laws are applicable only to the particular States for which they have been passed. As a general rule they are founded on the Federal Law or follow the wording of this law closely as a matter of expediency, but the various States responsible for these enactments are not bound in any way by the wording of the Federal enactments. The State Laws, however, are complementary to the Federal Law. The power of a State to protect itself against the ill‐effects of unsatisfactory food products manufactured in another and imported within its boundaries is extremely limited. This is a matter for the Federal authorities in the enforcement of the Federal Law. On the other hand the Federal Law has no power over goods manufactured in any given State for sale in that State. It is only when such goods pass from one State to another and thus become part of Inter‐State Commerce that the Federal Law has authority. Nevertheless the Federal and State officials are in close co‐operation, and a network of protective legislation covers the United States, and the laws and regulations are administered by keen and experienced legal and technical officers.

Using a single case study approach this paper provides empirical evidence about managerial practices in a small, non‐unionised firm which represents many of the features characteristic of the black‐hole of “no unions and no HRM”. The efficacy of recent union organising strategies is explored against the “context” of pleasant and unpleasant employee experiences, paternalistic management and labour and product markets. It is argued that the ideology of a “family culture” is a significant barrier to a new organising model of unionism. Consequently, the evidence supports the case that small family‐run firms can be exploitative and state support may be necessary to extend voice and collective representation.

The newsvendor problem is fundamental to many operations management models. The problem focuses on the trade-off between the gains from satisfying demand and losses from unsold products. The newsvendor model and its extensions have been applied to various areas, such as production plan and supply chain management. This chapter examines the study about newsvendor problem. In this research, there is a review of the contributions for the multiproduct newsvendor problem. It focuses on the current literature concerning the mathematical models and the solution methods for the multiitem newsvendor problems with single or multiple constraints, as well as with the risks. The objective of this research is to go over the newsvendor problem and bring into comparison different newsvendor models applied to the flower industry. A few case studies are described addressing topics related to the newsvendor problem such as discounting and replenishment policies, inventory inaccuracies, or demand estimation. Three newsvendor models are put into practice in the field of flower selling. A full database of the flowers sold by an anonymous retailer is available for the study. Computational experiments for practical example have been conducted with use of the CPLEX solver with AMPL programming language. Models are solved, and an analysis of different circumstances and cases is accomplished.