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All products eventually reach a point in their life cycle where they should be eliminated from the product line but this decision is generally ignored by management for several reasons. However, current developments in new manufacturing technology will force management to implement strategies for eliminating a product at an appropriate time in its life cycle. A model is presented based on the Theory of Shock Models which could help management decide when to terminate a product.

In this article the data are analysed on strike and normal working durations from three industries – the public school system, electronics, and seaports – over the period 1946 to 1987. The duration of strikes experienced immediately prior to negotiation is shown to have a positive effect on a bargaining unit′s duration of normal working during a current contract negotiation. For all three industries the impact of strike duration was greatest immediately following a strike; the longer the duration of the strike, the longer the ensuing normal working time.

The development of a manufacturing strategy that is in consonance with marketing objectives is an essential ingredient for success in the current business environment. Therefore, the relationship between marketing objectives and manufacturing strategies was examined in this article. Responses from 175 manufacturing organisations indicated that high levels of process structure complexity and organisational scope are associated with companies that have a dominant market share. Conversely, organisations that are minor competitors tend to have lower levels of process structure complexity and organisational scope.

The emergence of advanced manufacturing technologies such as Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) is forcing organisations to re‐examine their manufacturing strategies. CNC machines are an integral part of FMS. The literature dealing with the downtime behaviour of these machines is sparse. The purpose of this article is to analyse the behaviour and forecast downtimes of these machines using Box‐Jenkins time series analysis. It is concluded that the models fitted to the data are appropriate, and the results of this study can be used in production planning.

Data are analysed on strike and normal working durations from three professions – the public school system, electronics, and seaports over the period 1946 to 1987. The duration of strikes experienced immediately prior to negotiation is shown to have a positive effect on a bargaining unit′s duration of normal working during a current contract negotiation. For all three professions, the primary finding of this study is that longer duration strikes in time t produce longer normal working time at time t + 1.

Small businesses are vital for a nation's economic well being. In recent years, the rate of the failure of small businesses has been on the rise. These failures have been attributed to a number of factors, including a lack of implementation of scientific management concepts in their operations. These concepts are reviewed and their applicability in a small business setting explored.

World competition is forcing organisations to re‐examine and refocus their operations and business strategies. It has been argued that price‐based competition has given way to quality‐based competition. Several management techniques such as quality circles and “zero‐defects” have been developed and applied in order to improve the quality of products and processes. Here, a concept, operator self‐inspection (OSI), based on the integration of quality assurance responsibilities into individual workers′ jobs is advocated.

The introduction of flexible manufacturing systems, has resulted in many changes at the work place. These changes have implications in the area of industrial relations as well as in engineering and economics. The human factors are just as important as the technical aspects, if not more so, because they may well determine the ultimate success of the new system. Management, unions and technicians involved should thus be fully aware of the alternatives available in designing a flexible manufacturing system.

Generally, in the contracting industry, the contractor works in an,environment of risk and uncertainty caused by the economic factors such as fluctuations in the costs of labour and materials. This paper examines the overall effect of these factors on the policy for claiming payments under the price escalation clause type of contracts. Particular reference has been made to the formula ‘F’ of the Water Tube Boiler Maker's Association (WTBA), England. It has been shown that under certain circumstances the contractors can optimise the benefit, or minimise the loss, arising from changes in the costs of labour and materials due to inflation. An appropriate alogrithm based on dynamic programming is given.

In this article the following are discussed: (a) the role of quality assurance in the development of computer software systems; (b) factors of a successful quality assurance programme; and (c) the steps required in the development of such a programme. The implications for quality assurance for management are also considered.