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Focuses on critical issues related to variable cost drivers essential in establishing criteria or parameters to consider in the modification and/or design of production facilities. Key concepts and relationships influence the choice of alternative technologies and methods in the design, upgrading, modification, or expansion of manufacturing and process facilities. Cost relationships are important in evaluating whether to retain an existing facility or, alternatively, scrap the assets and “start over”. For brevity, focus is restriced to decisions concerning overhaul, modification, upgrade, expansion, abandonment, and fresh investment as “design”.

This paper examines and updates an earlier study of the liquidity of an extensive array of common stocks traded on NYSE/ASE/NML‐NASDAQ. It reports apparent variances in liquidity due to trading location and other variables. The paper suggests causes for these differences.

Briefly describes the nature and importance of capital investments and why managers of all functional areas should understand the basics of analysis. Reviews conceptual issues. Develops important perspectives for corporate leaders, managers and analysts. Provides practical guidelines for analysis. Furnishes a useful format for analysis easily adaptable to spreadsheet analysis. Illustrates techniques of analysis using a sample capital project. Interprets the results in a common‐sense manner and in terms of the contribution of the project to shareholder value. Addresses issues at a level appropriate for each professional manager regardless of their area of expertise and functional assignment.

Examines how individual projects will affect the organization’s stated desire to “add value” by its operations, particularly how the market will judge each project on this basis. Considers rates of return, risk and cost of capital. Provides practical guidance for managers seeking to establish the cost of capital for a number of different types of project. Also provides special guidelines useful in the analysis of cost reduction projects.

Focuses on understanding accounting and economic concepts, relationships and factors important as a basis for economic decisions that create value. Provides the background essential for understanding the future papers in the series. Offers a review and develops perspectives useful to those with or without knowledge of accounting. Distinguishes between accounting and economic events, providing examples to support understanding of issues such as types of cost, relevant costs in economic analysis, economic contribution margin and break‐even, and basic concepts related to product pricing, and the relationship between risk, expected economic profits and value. Relates costs and risk factors that have an impact on value and addresses issues critical in decision making.

Focuses on sources of capital to an organization, investment and flows of capital within an organization, interaction with markets, the generation of economic returns, and the potential for the creation of value. Illustrates how the creation of value provides benefits to employees, shareholders, and society. Provides numerical illustration of the dollar value of a capital project to employees, shareholders and separately to society. Provides the foundation for understanding concepts such as economic value added, a practical understanding of how economics works, especially in terms of allocation of capital, invested capital, flowing capital, and returns on capital. Traces the creation of value to the markets for goods and services.

Focuses on the operating cycle. Provides a conceptual and practical understanding of issues and relationships of importance to all managers, such as invested capital, flowing capital, return of and on capital, lost and idle capital, risk‐return‐value relationships, basic cost relationships and economic break‐even. Explains and emphasizes how the operating cycle, and indeed the survival of the firm and creation of value, are critically dependent on the marketing function. Demonstrates why the contribution of each individual to the “team” is vital to creating value. Illustrates the importance of and provides guidelines for applying the concepts in the different functional areas with an example focusing on human resource management.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the problem of achieving “organizational justice” for children within integrated children's services. Justice is understood, following Byers and Rhodes discussion of Levinas as respecting the “unique and indivisible” character of a given child.

The empirical material reported here is drawn from a large study of interagency working in children's services in the UK. Data are taken from Developmental Work Research sessions. Methodological details are outlined in Daniels et al. and Leadbetter et al.

The key finding discussed here is that in order to balance the outcome measures used in children's services, participants use a further abstraction “the outcome of improved outcomes”. The logical and practical consequences of this abstraction are analysed.

The paper offers an empirically grounded contribution to conceptual debates about otherness and ethics in organization. In particular, it argues that a concern for the other need not preclude a high level of concrete categorization and minute target setting. The philosophical debate is seen to be “resolved” in practice.