Asserts that to maintain the competitive edge, organisations must move quickly to identify and then meet customer satisfaction. Examines methods of identifying customer…
Abstract
Asserts that to maintain the competitive edge, organisations must move quickly to identify and then meet customer satisfaction. Examines methods of identifying customer satisfaction, measuring and using the results to improve the quality of products and services. Sees customer satisfaction as the end product. Advises on how to identify and implement a quality improvement programme. Contends that complete customer satisfaction is only possible when there is full information about customer requirements in the hands of all and everyone who has influence on how they are met. Concludes that, by getting it right first time, the whole customer/supplier chain focuses on meeting the needs of the external customer, and providing customer satisfaction.
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Earlier this year Dr Barrie Dale led a quality fact‐finding mission to Japan. Eighteen European managers had a unique opportunity of seeing first‐hand the Japanese approach to…
Abstract
Earlier this year Dr Barrie Dale led a quality fact‐finding mission to Japan. Eighteen European managers had a unique opportunity of seeing first‐hand the Japanese approach to Total Quality. This review provides insights into their quality practices and identifies the key elements common to all successful Japanese organisations.
Marianne Gloet and Mike Berrell
Two paradigm orientations exist in the emerging field of knowledge management (KM). In one paradigm, information technology predominantly influences ideas about knowledge…
Abstract
Two paradigm orientations exist in the emerging field of knowledge management (KM). In one paradigm, information technology predominantly influences ideas about knowledge management. In the other, organizational learning is the major influence. For KM to contribute effectively to organizational strategy, organizations must build and strengthen the linkages between KM, human resource management (HRM), and business development. The dual paradigm nature of KM suggests that strategies driven by information technology exhibit quite different characteristics to those driven by organizational learning, the former being driven by technology, while the latter is dominated more by a focus on people. It is important for HR practitioners to understand how certain paradigm orientations to KM can lead to very different paths into thinking about HRM practices and can result in a lack of continuity between various strategic initiatives in an organization. In turn, quality initiatives in HRM will be affected. Suggestions for dealing with the dual paradigm nature of KM are also offered.
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Mike P. Cook, Ashley Boyd and Brandon Sams
The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers’ constructions of youth inform their text selections, particularly as they relate to a problematic author.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers’ constructions of youth inform their text selections, particularly as they relate to a problematic author.
Design/methodology/approach
As part of a larger, national study, the authors use interview data from 18 participants – 9 who still teach and 9 who no longer teach Alexie – to consider how teachers’ constructions of youth play roles in their decisions to teach or avoid complex and controversial authors and topics, specifically the work and life of Sherman Alexie in the #MeToo era.
Findings
Findings suggest teachers who constructed youth through asset-based frameworks – as complex and capable – were likely to keep teaching Alexie or have conversations about the #MeToo movement. Teachers who constructed students in deficit ways, as “not ready,” harkened back to Lesko’s (2012) critique, and were more likely to either remove Alexie from the curriculum entirely or engage students in conversations about the text only, leaving Alexie’s life out of the classroom.
Originality/value
Building on Lesko’s work on constructions of adolescence and its intersection with Petrone et al.’s youth lens and Critical Youth Studies (e.g., Petrone and Lewis, 2021), this study describes the ways in which teachers’ views of students served as rationales for their teaching decisions around whether, if or how to include the works and life of Sherman Alexie.
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The purpose of this article is to examine the increasing number of opportunities for pre‐16 young people at schools in England to become involved in work related and work based…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to examine the increasing number of opportunities for pre‐16 young people at schools in England to become involved in work related and work based programmes and to look at the key drivers of change and their impact.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach is descriptive, covering current trends and also uses a case study example.
Findings
The conclusions of the article are that there is an upward increase in work‐based learning which is likely to continue significantly in the immediate and medium term. The article also highlights the increasing importance of employer engagement and understanding of the new initiatives.
Research limitations/implications
This article has been written from the perspective of Education Business Partnerships, who act in a brokerage capacity for schools, colleges and businesses. It is not based on statistical analysis directly from schools.
Practical implications
The increased flexibility offered to schools, and the possibility of varied contexts for learning, means that there will be a greater scope for schools to meet students’ learning needs.
Originality/value
This article will be of especial interest to any colleagues and employers involved in post‐16 provision of work based learning in terms of progression issues.
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This chapter is a Marxist Critical Realist inspired discussion of my interest in, and experiences of, being a working-class academic from Indian/African heritage. I begin my…
Abstract
This chapter is a Marxist Critical Realist inspired discussion of my interest in, and experiences of, being a working-class academic from Indian/African heritage. I begin my autoethnography by problematising the limits of defining social class from a gradational approach, which is the most common way to make sense of social class in academia and beyond. I argue that neoliberal capitalism organises people into workers and owners of production and without this acknowledgement, discussion of social class in the gradational approach is limited. I then go on to critique the de-centering of social class, for which I used Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a case study. My intention is to promote the explanatory power of approaching social class as as an organisational relationship, which assimilates racism, in the service of capitalism. Throughout the chapter, I provide examples of the way that I navigate this intellectual standpoint in the classroom, specifically through utilising the concepts of mystification and feasibility that I developed through my PhD that focussed on social class in Sweden. Without dismissing the value of the gradational approach of understanding social class in toto, and also the importance of personal identities (indeed I have focussed on my ethno-racial identity), my basic argument is that without the centralisation of social class, and crucially its articulation with neoliberal capitalism, social class becomes a descriptive category rather than explanatory, rendering the possibility of radical social change as severely diminished.
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Air Products chairman and chief executive officer, Dexter F Baker, and president, Dr Bob Lovett, recently visited the main factory at Manchester of their company's new acquisition…
Abstract
Air Products chairman and chief executive officer, Dexter F Baker, and president, Dr Bob Lovett, recently visited the main factory at Manchester of their company's new acquisition Anchor Chemical Group.
Many entrepreneurs want to reach high to the heavens to achieve unlimited success. These hardworking, often underappreciated, venturers often crave fame and fortune as they strive…
Abstract
Many entrepreneurs want to reach high to the heavens to achieve unlimited success. These hardworking, often underappreciated, venturers often crave fame and fortune as they strive to create their personal business legacy. One strategic path many have wandered down is that of the Initial Public Offering (IPO), whereby shares of the company are sold to the public. The IPO has many strong attractions. Large amounts of capital can be brought into the company.The company's stock can be used as currency to acquire other companies. Early investors realize a good ROI. Employees can perceive real value in their stock options. Customers, banks, vendors, and other stakeholders pay more respect to the company. Is this truly the entrepreneurʼs nirvana? Or is it a case of “Be careful of what you wish for because it may really come true?” Read on.