ALBERT

Notizen: Discusses the problems created by shortfalls in the performance of certain information highway services, Asyncrous Transfer Mode, and in the behavior of users. Describes individual attempts which are being made to iron out these problems, in effect introducing a system of "policing" the network.

Notizen: Refers to the growing popularity of "Fidonet" in Africa and compares it with the Internet. Acknowledges that developing countries may miss the information revolution because they lack national information infrastructures and the knowledge and skills required to provide the relevant content for them. Argues that global information should promote human development in areas such as education, health, social services and commercial activity. The Conference of African Ministers recently declared support for the building of Africa's information highway, recognizing the need for African countries to develop information networks for full Internet connectivity, enabling access to the same information systems for Africa's economic recovery and sustainable development.

Notizen: Describes how MCB University Press has started to come to terms with the metamorphosis which electronic publishing offers. Sees a future where interactive multimedia products and services are the norm and are quite differently distributed, based on new alliances from within but also from outside the traditional players. Explores how MCB's strengths might be used to succeed in the new frameworks and concludes that double-loop action learning is the only viable way ahead. Suggests that authors will be a constant point of reference and that networked desktop PCs and networked homes will open vast new markets to those who can re-present knowledge and information to gain and hold their attention. Outlines what MCB has done so far.

Notizen: Outlines the efforts of the state library of North Carolina to provide access to the Internet and to electronic information resources for libraries in the state. The major challenge of finding a cost-effective alternative to its statewide network, which was terminated by a 1993 legislative mandate, has led to opportunities to provide better services and resources by switching public libraries to point-to-point accounts and by migrating the state library's information resources to an Internet-accessible workstation.

Notizen: Argues that collection development libraries, because of their experience in the areas of collection, organization, evaluation and presentation, are uniquely qualified to create World Wide Web subject resource collections for an academic audience. By learning how to use Internet subject directories and searching sites, and by acquainting themselves with basic HTML tags, these librarians can create guides which can become valuable tools for all Internet users. In the process, they can also expand their own library collections by providing access to networked information which would have otherwise been inaccessible to their users.

Notizen: The information highway is changing our society in very dramatic ways. Argues that state libraries need to make it a priority item on their agendas. They need to provide leadership, promote collaboration and provide empowerment for local libraries. Observes that these three key elements, successfully applied, will position libraries and the library profession as leaders within their communities and their states.

Notizen: Proposes the "cyberpunk librarian" as an identity for the librarian able to operate in the emerging cyberspace. Describes the properties and culture of this electronic frontier. Reviews a broad range of literature to identify future directions for libraries and librarians who will have to seek a response to the major social impact of technology-driven change. Argues that librarians are presented with an opportunity to reaffirm and assert their professional values and beliefs. They can help to shape a vision of cyberspace that provides benefits to society and individuals based on a fair and equitable distribution of information resources.

Notizen: Briefly assesses the growth and impact of the Internet, which provides an opportunity for all businesses to use it as a cheap source of communication for more focussed strategic advantage. Outlines some of its benefits and disadvantages if it is used in this way.

Notizen: Outlines the reasons for the formation of an Internet-based bank in 1995. States that financial services providers must take any opportunity to provide easier customer access.

Notizen: The information highway is a management issue with the same importance as information technology applications and information technology management. Deals with some critical issues which arise in the evolution of an information highway age and its alignment with the evolving management perspectives and strategies.

Notizen: Discusses some of the problems designers face in building catalogs in large networks and relates them back to the resource discovery problem. Currently many catalogs tend to be built in an ad hoc fashion - which leads to a great variety in the quality of publicly accessible network catalogs. Furthermore, the research surrounding these catalogs tends to focus on narrow technical issues - resulting in difficult-to-use catalogs. Addresses this problem by providing a usability framework based on the library science and human computer interaction literature, and demonstrates some of those principles via an example of a prototype. Results are interesting to resource discovery tool developers in that a framework for understanding the general resource discovery problem is provided and some techniques for dealing with those problems are presented.

Notizen: Many of the activities people perform with the Internet are new, and possibly could not have been conceived before the network became available. Describes innovative uses of the Internet by staff of two Australian universities. While the Internet provides opportunities for communication among its users, it poses challenges to the computing and information systems professionals who support them. It also presents librarians with the opportunity to apply their established skills as educators, information managers, custodians, information providers and change agents in their work with Internet users.

Notizen: Explains how the NASA Technical Report Server, a World Wide Web report distribution NASA technical publications service, has been modified for performance enhancement, greater protocol support and human interface optimization. Results include: parallel database queries, significantly decreasing user access times by an average factor of 2.3; access from clients behind firewalls and/or proxies which truncate excessively long Uniform Resource Locators; access to non-Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) databases and compatibility with the Z39-50.3 protocol; and a streamlined user interface.

Notizen: Looks at the possible directions in which the information superhighway could take us, considering both the benefits of increased knowledge and subsequent increased participation and also the dangers such as the excess of raw information. Suggests that this information needs to be structured and packaged if it is to have a positive effect. Considers these points in a global sense in terms of humanity as a whole.

Notizen: States that the ongoing success of a mature product depends largely on the product manager's ability to identify creative new ways to market the product. Suggests that one reason why many marketing programs lack creative initiatives is that product managers operate under significant time pressure, and time pressure kills creativity. Highlights four business practices (formal planning process, use of teams, interaction with other functional areas, experience with the product category) which were expected to help product managers to cope with time pressure. Finds, however, through a survey of consumer goods product managers, that only experience with the product category worked as expected. Concludes, therefore, that top management must directly reduce time pressure by examining policies on practices such as frequent product reassignment and downsizing, and the proliferation of line extensions.

Notizen: Points out that, although blind tests have generally revealed that consumers can detect little difference between store brand and national brand products, private brands still only have a small market share (14.9 percent). Using an environmental psychology model as the study framework, which postulates a stimulus-response process, examines the effects of store atmosphere on consumer evaluations of private brand grocery products. Analyzes the results which show that store aesthetics do influence consumer perceptions of store brand quality. Discusses the managerial implications of the findings and the limitations of the study, and makes suggestions for future research.

Notizen: Contends that adapting consumer products to foreign market tastes is one of the more difficult challenges facing international marketers; the stakes are high, with even minor cultural mistakes resulting in lost sales and corporate embarrassment. Chronicles how one company in the global greeting card industry developed its international marketing strategy. Uses a Delphi panel of company managers to identify key factors in the product adaptation process. Draws on corporate expertise to pinpoint key similarities and differences between the US home market and prospective foreign markets. Concludes that where there were major similarities, prospects were deemed good for global standardized strategies. Where there was great diversity among key indicators, a multinational country-by-country approach was followed.

Notizen: Provides a new way to look at competitive brand strategy through analysis of switching, where the only data required are market-level brand-switching matrices. The parameters indicate, for each brand, the degree to which it insulates itself from competition. Shows empirically that this insulation is characteristic of both market leaders and market nichers. Compares results across eight data sets which range from consumer packaged goods to services to durables. Suggests that, by applying this method to panel or survey data, managers can better map out long-term marketing strategies such as product design, segment targeting and advertising campaigns, and gives some examples of how this can be carried out.

Notizen: Asks which product qualities are decisive for the satisfaction of the customer and which features merely prevent dissatisfaction. Proposes Kano's model of customer satisfaction for answering these questions and for drawing conclusions for the management of product development. In his model, Kano distinguishes between three types of product requirement which influence customer satisfaction in different ways when met: must-be requirements, which are basic criteria of a product - if these requirements are not fulfilled, the customer will be extremely dissatisfied; one-dimensional requirements, where customer satisfaction is proportional to the level of fulfillment, the higher the customer's satisfaction and vice versa; and attractive requirements, which are the product criteria which have the greatest influence on how satisfied a customer will be with a given product. Attractive requirements are neither explicitly expressed nor expected by the customer.

Notizen: Using a sample of 872 shoppers and data for 14 products, tests the degree to which extrinsic cue reliance differs between "store brand" versus "non-store brand" prone consumers. Results indicate that store brand prone consumers exhibit significantly less reliance on extrinsic cues in quality assessment. Reliance on brand name had an especially strong effect in forming taste expectations. Price reliance had a marked effect in determining perceptions of quality and reliability of ingredients. Discusses the implications for management.

Notizen: Despite the long term decline in per capita consumption, eggs remain an important staple in the British diet. Having recovered from the salmonella scare in 1989, the image of eggs has suffered in recent years due to the growing awareness of (and concern over) diet and health, and bird welfare. Finds evidence drawn from a consumer market research study which highlights the importance of effective marketing communication and the potential for adding value to the basic British egg.

Notizen: Claims that, as an addition to the product manager's set of tools, performance-importance analysis can provide insight into customer perceptions. Managers can use a combination of performance perceptions along with importance ratings to understand the relative success of product features. Plots importances for product features of an analytical instrument against the product's pre-introduction expectations and post-product-test satisfactions. Considers product design issues as well as positioning strategy. Changes in evaluations ("expectations" to "satisfactions") as well as competitive positioning demonstrated the flexibility of the method.

Notizen: In the mature stage of product and technology life cycles, major breakthroughs in performance are difficult to achieve. However, a series of small incremental improvements may cumulatively make a significant difference. At this stage, execution of the best organizational practices becomes even more important. Uses team New Zealand's extremely successful 1995 America's Cup program to illustrate how these practices and success factors can be brought together in an effective high technology product design process. Identifies these factors and practices as high quality human assets, participatory leadership, sufficient resources, a climate of innovation, external scanning, interactive involvement with sophisticated users, and technology strategy and competitive strategy match.

Notizen: Describes the results of a survey of 281 adult women in the state of Florida. We used the 15 adjective pairs of the Malhotra self-concept scale to measure their self-image. A valid and reliable self-report scale measured their fashion innovativeness, thus identifying those consumers most likely to buy new fashions after they first appear in the market. T-tests compared the mean scores on the self-image adjective pairs between 30 innovators and 251 later adopters. Pearson correlation analysis was also performed. The results of both analyses showed that the fashion innovators described themselves uniquely as more comfortable, pleasant, contemporary, formal, colorful, and vain than the later adopters. The results were quite consistent with an earlier published study of college students, lending confidence to this approach to profiling fashion innovators and suggesting that using self-image could be a fruitful way to appeal to these important consumers.

Notizen: Focuses on how brand managers in fast-moving consumer goods industries view their contacts with the various interfaces, allocate their working time and perceive the significance and quality of these contacts. Based on the product management literature, several hypotheses are proposed and empirically examined using data collected from a sample of 161 product managers, working for 48 companies in five different sectors in Greece. The results show that brand managers working in various sectors differ in the perception of their contacts with the various interfaces.

Notizen: The processes of consumer perception and decision making remain relatively complex phenomena despite the depth of research undertaken in the area. One way in which these processes may be influenced is through the explicit mentioning of product attributes in advertising. This study investigates consumer perceptions of mentioned product attributes in magazine advertising for a specific product category. Results confirm a clear relationship between attributes specifically mentioned in advertising for the three selected brands and respondents' rating of those attributes against evaluative criteria for the product category. Factor analyses of respondents' ratings indicate a clear convergence of factors extracted and the mentioned attributes for each brand.

Notizen: At an early stage in the new product development process, marketers often evaluate several concept statements in terms of customer preferences to choose the best concept for further development. Purchase intention scale is often used to measure consumer preferences at this stage when the product is still a concept statement or a mathematical position on a perceptual map. This paper discusses the limitations of two methods of aggregating individual preferences, namely plurality (first-choice) and the Condorcet (pair-wise majority) methods. The plurality method is subject to the top-box paradox while the Condorcet method suffers from the paradox of voting. The Copeland method is presented as an alternative to the Condorcet method when the latter fails to identify the majority's choice. Some limitations of predicting product trial are also presented.

Notizen: Most airlines utilize a revenue maximizing technique called yield management (YM), which allows the airlines to allocate their fixed capacity of seats to various fare categories in the most profitable manner possible. The discriminatory pricing goal is to sell only non-discounted seats to the business travel segment. Suggests that yield management techniques may also be appropriate in certain retail settings where capacity (i.e. product inventory) is not necessarily "perishable" in the same sense as unsold seats on an airline flight however, its value may decline with the culmination of a well-defined shopping period (e.g. the "Christmas holiday" shopping period). Examines how knowledge of customer price sensitivity as it pertains to this shopping period, coupled with the appropriate use of discount pricing, can maximize the revenue gained from sales of a seasonal product associated with a specific holiday.

Notizen: Service industries, such as public bus transport, are time-bound, which makes it impossible to inventory their service output. The potential revenue from an empty seat on a bus is lost for good once the service run is complete. Conversely, when demand for a seat on a service run exceeds supply, the revenue is also lost. As public bus transport has a high fixed to variable cost ratio, these demand and supply imbalances have a significant impact on cost recovery performance. Addresses a number of factors that influence the cost recovery performance of public bus transport using data from one of Australia's largest operators. It considers the shortcomings of current fare price structures and how these may be changed to reflect operational cost drivers in a way that improves cost recovery performance. The various non-monetary costs passengers incur when purchasing and using public transport are also considered along with methods of reducing these to increase the revenue-generating performance of operators' fixed capacity.

Notizen: Data from national brand manufacturers suggest they are more willing to take legal action against other independent manufacturers than against retailers when they think their trademark brands have been infringed. Imitation by other independent manufacturers prompts national brands to be more likely to improve their products than imitation by retailers. Those manufacturers who have taken legal action against imitating retailers are less fearful of possible retaliation tactics, such as delisting, or losing shelf space in the retail environment.

Notizen: In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to positioning and, more specifically, positioning of service brands. This is so because of the unique characteristics of services. Although some authors argue that there are no marked differences between positioning in services and that of physical goods, the vast majority of marketing scholars believe that it is difficult to embark on positioning strategies in services. Sheds some light on this issue within the context and aims to contribute to the debate.

Notizen: A brand is a kind of sign by which we can distinguish one commodity from another. Commodity prices, as well as consumers' utility and firms' profit, are affected by brands. Presents a theoretical framework that incorporates aspects of brand in microeconomic analysis. The theory developed makes it possible to infer the quality of differentiated products from the price distribution of the second-hand market for that product. A case study illustrates the workings of the methodology; the application evaluates the quality of the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers.

Notizen: The marketer's principal objective is typically to build a relationship with buyers, rather than merely to make a single sale. Ideally, the essence of that relationship consists of a strong bond between the buyer and the brand. Outlines six strategies for building that relationship: linking the brand to a particular need; associating it with a pleasant mood; appealing to subconscious motives; conditioning buyers to prefer the brand through reward; penetrating perceptual and cognitive barriers to create preference; and providing attractive models for buyers to emulate. The choice of an individual strategy or combination depends mainly on the nature of the branded product or service. The success of the strategy depends heavily on the marketer's understanding of the preference building and bonding process.

Notizen: There is research evidence that suggests that perceptions of price unfairness give rise to consumer resistance to prices and result in decreased profit to the firm. However, it is as yet unclear what factors influence perceptions of unfairness. Answers the question, "What is fair?" by proposing that consumers sometimes infer a firm's motive for a price and that the inferred motive influences perceived price fairness. A study provides evidence that consumers use contextual information to infer a firm's motive. When consumers infer a negative motive, the price is perceived to be unfair and when consumers do not infer a negative motive, the same price is perceived to be fair. Suggests that marketers should: provide reasons for prices; consider consumers' likely inferences of motive and either avoid taking actions that are likely to give rise to inferences of negative motive or manage the motive inferred; and consider the inferences that consumers may make for other marketing actions in addition to price.

Notizen: Rather than taking the more traditional approach of measuring brand equity for accounting or strategic reasons, the approach taken here is concerned with optimizing brand equity through parsimonious manipulation of the marketing mix. To this end a macro-model is first developed; this model is then operationalized and tested (in terms of predicted versus actual brand share) in three Korean markets. The contribution of the paper lies in the development of a methodology through which management can efficiently build brand power in their markets. The statistical methods (factor analysis and preference regression) are commonly used in commercial research and the research requirements to build such a model are quite modest - the proposed model makes a theoretical contribution but can also be used as a practical managerial tool.

Notizen: An experimental design is used to examine the effect of products' country-of-origin on first-mover advantage. Specifically, focuses on the effects of favorable/unfavorable country-of-origin on first-mover advantage, as well as its effects with regard to "early followers" and "late followers". The results have direct implications for products entering international markets as a first mover, "early" follower, or "late" follower. Results indicate that with increasing number of competitors entering an international market, a product's favorable country image begins to lose its strategic importance. Consequently, the pursuit of first-mover advantage may be more relevant than a positive country-of-origin effect. Also, the results suggest that for products from countries with a less than favorable image, it may be more useful to be a "follower" than a "first-mover" because the advantage of being first in a market can be negated by the unfavorable country-of-origin effect.

Notizen: Assesses how branded ingredients affect consumer product quality perceptions, confidence in product quality perceptions, product evaluations, taste perceptions, purchase likelihoods, and reservation prices of host brands of varying quality. In two experiments, we find that branded ingredients consistently and positively affected moderate-quality host brands, but only occasionally positively affected higher-quality host brands. Suggests that managers of both moderate and higher-quality host brands consider implementing branded ingredient strategies, albeit for different reasons. While moderate-quality host brands can improve their competitive position by using branded ingredients, higher-quality host brands generally do not. However, higher-quality host brands may benefit most by securing the most desirable branded ingredients for their own use, thereby blocking moderate-quality host brands from using a branded ingredient strategy to improve their competitive position.

Notizen: Examines the product life cycle (PLC) concept as presented in much of the marketing literature, and the implications of PLC-based strategic action for marketing practitioners. A range of problems is identified with the PLC, and an evolutionary perspective for product management decisions is considered. Concludes that an evolutionary perspective is more appropriate than PLC-based approaches, and proposes an evolutionary model known as "Lamarckism", which is better able to account for the realities of product evolution than the Darwinian model.

Notizen: Identifies some managerially relevant factors that influence the size of the price premium that consumers will pay for national brands over store brands in grocery products. We define price premium as the maximum price consumers will pay for a national brand over a store brand, expressed as the proportionate price differential between a national brand and a store brand. Overall, perceived quality differential accounts for about 12 percent of the variation in price premiums across consumers and product categories and is the most important variable influencing price premiums.

Notizen: This study concerns consumer responses to new product offerings in the category of high-tech audio equipment. For the purposes of the study, consumers were categorised as high-innovators or non-innovators. The general objective of the research was to determine how differing groups of consumers view innovativeness, and how innovativeness is assessed, with particular reference to high-tech product offerings. The research was carried out in two stages; a series of focus groups was run to determine the dimensions of the problem, and a questionnaire derived from this. The questionnaire was then administered to visitors at a consumer-oriented trade show. Statistical analysis of the questionnaire revealed that there are significant differences between groups of consumers regarding the relative importance of various factors in the process of assessing innovativeness.

Notizen: Examines the way in which the performance of the pharmaceutical product manager is evaluated. Attempts to provide a picture of the principal functions on which the Canadian pharmaceutical product manager is evaluated, as well as of performance appraisal systems currently used in the pharmaceutical industry. Two methodologies are used, both in-depth interviews and survey, in order to provide the most comprehensive examination of this area. Additionally, examines whether or not these systems are proving useful in linking job tasks to performance appraisal in order to achieve the goals of the organization.

Notizen: Reviews instructional approaches based on the use of different media to provide examples of strategies and evaluation tools for media integration. Uses an introductory information systems undergraduate course taught at the George Washington University as an example.

Notizen: The emergence of online education creates opportunities for positive education changes centering on improved learning rather than on reaping economies of scale. We can develop online strategies for using class time more productively; courses can be arranged to correspond to the varying learning curves of different students; and degrees can be tailored to the actual competencies students achieve. Further, the online world based in hypertext and virtuality creates the possibility of providing entirely new educational materials and environments. These improvements depend on faculty seizing control of the way technology is used in education.

Notizen: Represents a case study of an instructional health-care department's journey through a technological metamorphosis. Highlights the process and challenges that instructional departments undergo so as to provide guidance for those interested in bringing about a technological transformation. Explores motivations for technological change, a planning process including budget needs, assessment of infrastructure, and priority determination for direction of resources. Defines a needs assessment process, including determination of the resource needs and interest levels of administrators, faculty and students, as well as the prudence of investigating pre-existing models. Finally, addresses strategies for technological success.

Notizen: Two main areas of activity can be identified in the field of network security: the local area network and the common point between networks. Presents an overview of two projects concerning the above-mentioned areas. While the first will concern security architectures based on active firewall components, the second presents a secure intranet solution. The combination of active firewall components with the DMZ concept can translate a security policy into reality and will result in a high level security firewall system. One of the most important security problems in an intranet is to ensure that every user has access only to the information which is relevant for his/her work. In our project this is solved using role-dependent information access for each user.

Notizen: The Java programming language supports the concept of downloadable executable content; a key technology in a wide range of emerging applications including collaborative systems, electronic commerce, and Web information services. Java enables the execution of a program, on almost any modern computer regardless of hardware configuration and operating system. Safe-Tcl was proposed as an executable content type of MIME and thus as the standard language for executable contents within e-mail messages. However, the ability to download, integrate, and execute code from a remote computer, provided by both Java and Safe-Tcl, introduces serious security risks since it enables a malicious remote program to obtain unauthorised access to the downloading system's resources. In this paper, the two proposed security models are described in detail and the efficiency and flexibility of current implementations are evaluated in a comparative manner. Finally, upcoming extensions are discussed.

Notizen: Finding specific information on the Web can be difficult and time-consuming due to the Web's tremendous size and the current speed of network connections. Information agents that search the Web on behalf of users are invaluable. Since information needs are diverse, there should be tools for users to build their own agents that specialize in finding the information they want. These tools should be usable by non-programmers. This paper describes ARIS, a shell for constructing information agents without coding. Our approach is akin to expert system shells, where the user supplies the knowledge for each specialist agent, and a common engine utilizes the agents' knowledge. An agent's search is guided by knowledge about how Web sites in a given domain are typically structured. We also report on our experiences with two agents built using ARIS.

Notizen: The study described in this article aimed to gather insights into what people think when they search the Internet for information. The premise is that people relate to information services and systems metaphorically. In other words, they identify the system or service as analogous to something perhaps more mundane or commonplace. These are known as wild metaphors. They help to explain the unknown or unfamiliar and help us to learn new things. They arise from our individual beliefs and backgrounds but they are also inevitably influenced by our collective experience of contemporary media characterisations of the Internet. This study relates the analogies that academics in Australia report for the Internet with the satisfaction that they derive from information seeking on the network. It provides some insight into how academics in Australia perceive the Internet when they use it to search for information.

Notizen: The Internet has the potential to facilitate understanding across cultures and languages by removing the physical barriers to intercultural communication. One possible contributor to this development has been the recent release of freely-available automated direct machine translation systems, such as AltaVista with SYSTRAN, which translates from English to five other European languages (French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese), and vice versa. However, concerns have recently been raised over the performance of these systems, and the potential for confusion that can be created when the intended meaning of sentences is not correctly translated (i.e. semantic processing errors). In this paper, we use an iterative paradigm to examine errors associated with interlingual divergence in meaning arising from the automated machine translation of English proverbs. The need for the development of Web-based translation systems, which have an explicit cross-linguistic representation of meaning for successful intercultural communication, is discussed.

Notizen: This paper examines the concept of the Internet as a virtual cultural region with its own demographics and psychographics. Longitudinal studies of the changing make up of Internet users have been running for much of the 1990s and market intelligence companies have been applying their proprietary segmentation models to this data and also creating new models specifically for the Internet. At a more sociological level, what are the cultural norms and cutoms of the population of the Internet cultural region? This paper complements the market intelligence research by an investigation into the applicability of cultural classification schemes as exemplified by Hofstede with a view to information extant and prospective Internet involvement. Finally, practical recommendations are made in order to reduce the risk of activities likely to cause irritation of and non-response from this burgeoning new market.

Notizen: Eight college and university Webmasters in three midwestern states were interviewed to explore their communications practices and activities by applying a traditional mass media gatekeeping perspective. The results suggest that gatekeeping theory is a valuable approach for studying individuals responsible for the mediation of messages in the emerging online media. Webmasters' personal characteristics and attitudes were found to influence their media content decisions, they share common values used to determine content and design, and they face a variety of organizational and related constraints, some exclusive to Web gatekeepers in an academic setting. Examples of gatekeeping activity and observations by the informants are presented, and suggestions for future research are included.

Notizen: Considers the world-wide emergence of "educational superhighway" policies: government programmes aiming to connect school systems to the Internet - and explores their relevance to education. By examining the key actors and motives behind educational Internet initiatives the paper argues that such policies are primarily economically not educationally driven. The implications of this are then considered in the light of increasing global information priorities.

Notizen: The Internet environment, with its packet-switched network and lack of resource reservation mechanisms, has made the delivery of low bit-rate real-time communication services particularly difficult and challenging. The high potential transmission delay and data packet loss under varying network conditions will lead to unpleasant and unintelligible audio and jerky video play-out. The Internet TCP/IP protocol suite can be extended with new mechanisms in an attempt to tackle such problems. In this research, an integrated transmission mechanism that incorporates a number of existing techniques to enhance the quality and deliver "acceptable" real-time services is proposed. These techniques include the use of data compression, data buffering, dynamic rate control, packet lost replacement, silence deletion and virtual video play-out mechanism. The proposed transmission mechanism is designed as a generic communication system so that it can be used in different systems and conditions. This approach has been successfully implemented and demonstrated using three separate systems that include the Internet Phone, WebVideo and video-conferencing tool.

Notizen: This paper examines the issue of fraud on the Internet and discusses three areas with significant potential for misleading and fraudulent practices, namely: securities sales and trading; electronic commerce; and the rapid growth of Internet companies. The first section of the paper discusses securities fraud on the Internet. Activities that violate US securities laws are being conducted through the Internet, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission has been taking steps to suppress these activities. The second section of the paper discusses fraud in electronic commerce. The rapid growth of electronic commerce, and the corresponding desire on the part of consumers to feel secure when engaging in electronic commerce, has prompted various organizations to develop mechanisms to reduce concerns about fraudulent misuse of information. It is questionable, however, whether these mechanisms can actually reduce fraud in electronic commerce. The third section of the paper discusses the potential for fraud arising from the rapid growth of Internet companies, often with little economic substance and lacking traditional management and internal controls. The paper examines the three areas of potential Internet fraud mentioned above and suggest ways in which these abuses may be combated.

Notizen: The increasing dimension and heterogeneity of global Web systems make their management with tools based on the client/server model more difficult. The mobile agent technology overcomes the limits of traditional approaches and proposes solutions that are suitable for the management of distributed and heterogeneous Internet-based systems. The paper describes the MAMAS environment and its implementation with a mobile agent technology. MAMAS has the goals of monitoring the whole system, introducing dynamic corrective actions and modifying system policies at run-time. MAMAS achieves these objectives by answering the guidelines of both security and compliance to standards. The choice of Java as the implementation language has made it possible to achieve portability, to exploit the language security features, and to provide Web accessibility. The MAMAS compliance with CORBA ensures interoperability with legacy management platforms.

Notizen: Examines the general requirement for security technologies in order to provide a basis for trust in the e-commerce environment. The discussion is supported by the findings from two surveys, conducted by the authors, among general Internet users (i.e. potential target consumers) and commercial businesses. These surveys considered both the attitudes to e-commerce in general and opinions relating to the associated security requirements. Attempts were also made to assess the respondent's knowledge of the existing security safeguards that may be applied. The survey results suggest that, while there is significant concern among Internet-based consumers regarding the security of their purchasing activities, these are outweighed by the merits offered by the medium. The results also suggested a lack of awareness or understanding of the security technologies that are available and it is concluded that overcoming this problem would help to establish a wider foundation of trust in the new technology.

Notizen: Although benchmarking has touched many areas of an organization, including information systems, very few examples are available on how this powerful methodology can be used to specifically address one of the fastest growing elements within information systems - the World Wide Web. This paper presents a case study on how benchmarking was used to determine how one organization's Web site compared to Web sites of related schools and professional organizations. The results of the benchmarking study provided a measure of how our Web site compares to the sites of related organizations, ideas on how we may further enhance our site, and also a way to regularly evaluate our site.

Notizen: WebCT has been used to support traditional teaching techniques for the entire 1997-98, and half of the 1998-99, academic years. It was used within the structure of over 60 courses (enrolling a total of more than 1,000 students) in the English, Theology, Modern Languages, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Management Information Systems, Law, Pharmacy, Medicine, and Business programs. Concerned with the impact WebCT might have within a traditionally oriented liberal arts teaching environment, the author explored the views of the students, rather than the faculty and system administrators, who were required to use the WebCT tools in their classes. Data from students addressing the use of WebCT in their classes are now available for three full semesters, providing an expanded assessment over earlier findings. The ramifications of the use of WebCT as a course adjunct and course presentation tool are addressed based upon the data collected from Creighton University students over the past 18 months of WebCT use.

Notizen: Documents Hewlett-Packard's (HP's) systematic approach to benchmarking, as an integral part of its total quality system. Describes the organization's IMPACT project which was born out of corporate priorities to find specific ways and means of improving customer satisfaction after a survey revealed that there were improvement priorities to be considered. Claims that through internal process analysis and an externally motivated expedition to learn about best practice, the HP benchmarking team have successfully brought about changes and new learning which have led to various benefits such as a new complaint system with effective outcomes and with less rework, the development of a formal recognition system.

Notizen: Describes a business process re-engineering project in the department of surgery of a publicly-funded hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. Through the creation of an internal marketing approach, by splitting the health system into purchaser and provider elements, the need to refocus on service provision became very apparent. Patient focus review teams were put together to analyse internal processes. Discusses in detail the outcomes of the review, highlighting the need for further changes and setting the direction for a re-engineering programme.

Notizen: Explores the reorganization of a sales and distribution operation. Describes a case study in which an integrated yet flexible organization was created by focusing strongly on identifying and re-engineering the core business process. Presents a structured approach which was developed in the course of implementing an integrated information system. To reduce the complexity of systems design the core business process is identified, and flexibility requirements are reduced to functional problems. The method is to reduce to one time and place the tasks that require flexibility. The basis of implementation is integrated information systems, such as SAP R/3, which enable tasks (that previously had to be performed by several people at different times and in different places) to be done in one place at one time.

Notizen: Kaplan and Norton's concept of the balanced scorecard has received wide acceptance from both academics and practitioners. The design and construction of balanced scorecards has not, however, been well documented. Reports on a study undertaken for three companies to determine, develop and implement a balanced scorecard for senior managers' use. Reviews the theoretical background of integrated performance measures, describes, analyses and cross-compares the performance measures designed by the three companies. Concludes with a discussion on whether or not the generic model developed by Kaplan and Norton is the most appropriate model for all companies.

Notizen: Notes that the project management approach has enjoyed growing acceptance by a wide variety of businesses and organizations over the past 20 years or so. Emphasizes the usefulness of training in the basics of project management to management training and team development. Following a brief description of project management, discusses implementation factors to facilitate the successful implementation of this approach in the workplace and the expected benefits. Describes a sample of basic management techniques and tools for the planning and controlling of projects. Concludes that managers and trainers can readily see that adopting project management can be done with minimal disruption to the workplace and that the costs of adopting project management are relatively small compared with the potential benefits in terms of improved individual and team efficiency and productivity, high standards of work quality, and reduced employee stress and conflict in teamworking among other benefits.

Notizen: Argues that teamworking is often portrayed as a panacea for a host of organizational problems. Reports that many modern managerial practices stress the importance of human resources and encourage movement away from the traditional individualistic approaches. Contends that effective teamworking requires relevant organizational systems and practices rather than those which were designed for the employment of individuals.

Notizen: Points out that, if high performance is to be sustained in metal-industrial organizations, co-operative action among personnel becomes essential - the explosion of information today and the complexity of our times demand it. Maintains that team management, then, is vital to achieve and maintain high output at a time of fast growth. Stresses that thinking managers must be committed to learning the skills of group dynamics, including how to influence team processes and activities, norms and values, and task and maintenance functions. Discusses group leadership which implies clarifying roles and relationships; sharing of unique talents and decision making; and acquiring new tools such as the computer to control the diverse elements involved in matrix, project or product management. Discusses the creation of an effective team culture which improves performance beyond the sum of individual member efforts. Suggests that behavioural scientists can provide team building to ensure group productiveness and synergy. Determines that successful management actively not only promotes a team spirit, but installs team mechanisms and the means to develop in team skills.

Notizen: Describes the application of open systems theory in a manufacturing plant. Outlines the theoretical foundation on which the intervention was based, as well as a description of the team design, compensation system and plant organization.

Notizen: States that the use of work teams is becoming more and more prominent in organizations today, and that these work teams are empowered to formulate and solve an organization's problems and thus involve the naturally occurring dynamic of conflict. Explains that conflict is perceived as negative but with positive qualities that are beneficial to the organization. Focuses on the dynamic of conflicts; its effect on work teams' decision-making process; and the types of conflict, A-type and C-type, and their effects on the decision-making process of work teams. Finds that C-type conflict focuses members' discussion of differences on issues related to the task at hand; fosters creativity, open and honest communication; and utilizes members' skills and abilities. Claims that this creates a desirable environment for C-type conflict to exist and impact the decision-making process. Presents an eight-step technique through which C-type conflict can be managed noting that, as the use of work teams increases, the effectiveness of those teams will come into question. Argues that the ability to understand the different types of conflict and to manage it successfully will give work teams the competitive edge.

Notizen: The use of team-based activities is popular in education and training settings, but such exercises are not without their problems. Examines the group-formation process and specifically explores the use of games as a means for potential team members to share background information before the groups are chosen. Describes the process used to develop the "circle-and-sniff" game and its administration, and presents the results of the study.

Notizen: Most of the 50 largest organizations in Finland have undertaken business process re-engineering (BPR) projects during the last five years. This study concentrated on business process re-engineering projects in 21 large Finnish organizations. Of the 21 organizations interviewed, six represent manufacturing industry, seven large public institutions or enterprises, and eight belong to the trade and services sector. The objectives of the study were to shed light on BPR projects in large Finnish organizations in terms of their scope, focus and adopted change management practices. Respectively, a threefold conceptual framework was developed for the study. The findings of the study show that the firms in the trade and services sector have undertaken very comprehensive BPR initiatives. BPR projects in the public sector have been slightly more limited. Manufacturing companies seemed to have the most limited approach to BPR. In change management, all studied organizations identified questions related to change navigation as the most important problem area in the actual management of the BPR projects. On the other hand, management involvement was clearly perceived as the area where the organizations' capabilities were the strongest. As to the preconditions for a successful BPR project, four major conclusions can be drawn on the basis of the study. First, the broader the projects are in terms of scope and focus, the better the overall results. Second, strong management involvement is a basic requirement for a BPR project to succeed. Third, change navigation is the most critical area of concern, clearly differentiating successful BPR projects from the less successful ones. It is also the area where organizations encounter the greatest problems in BPR project implementation. Fourth, personnel involvement, as well as training and development projects, play a supportive role in BPR and are usually handled quite well in the organizations.

Notizen: Reengineering is becoming an increasingly popular option for corporations seeking radical process change. Central to the success of reengineering is the coordination of information technology (IT) throughout the organization. Essentially, IT represents the core mechanism of information flow. When companies improve core IT processes, such as gathering data only once, integrating cross-functional systems or increasing information speed to customers, radical business process change is possible. However, for IT to be an enabler of reengineering or organizational change, it is imperative that managers are conversant with the various methods by which IT can help advance process change. At the same time, management needs to be aware of the numerous pitfalls that may doom any change effort using IT.

Notizen: Investigates the perceptions of staff in regard to critical success factors (CSFs) for successful BPR implementation in the public sector. The research methodology involved semi-structured interviews and staff surveys within a large public sector organisation. The results of the study show that many of the key CSFs identified for BPR in the private sector are equally relevant to the success of BPR in the public domain. The factors deemed most important for successful BPR in the public sector included items such as: top management support, commitment and understanding of BPR; communication; empowerment; and alleviation of downsizing fears. Also identifies a number of unique characteristics of public sector organisations which have a bearing on the application of BPR. These include: the existence of many intricate overlapping processes with multiple stakeholders; the existence of a professional workforce; and the existence of defined internal organisational boundaries.

Notizen: The growing importance of the service sector in almost every economy in the world has created a significant amount of interest in service operations. In practice, many service sectors have sought and made use of various enhancement programs to improve their operations and performance in an attempt to hold competitive success. As most researchers recognize, service operations link with customers. The customers as participants act in the service operations system driven by the goal of sufficing his/her added values. This is one of the distinctive features of service production and consumption. In the paper, first, we propose the idea of service operations improvement by mapping objectively the service experience of customers from the view of customer journey. Second, a portraying scheme of service experience of customers based on the IDEF3 technique is proposed, and last, some implications on service operations improvement are given.

Notizen: An overview of the success/failure literature in new product development points to a long list of critical success factors (CSF), which define what should be done to enhance new product success rates but not how to do it. The net result is failure rates which are marginal improvements on previous decades. The basic tenet of this paper is that the effective use of market information throughout the new product development process (NPD) can enhance the success rates of new products. We examine the contingencies affecting the perceived utility and use of market information in the NPD process and develop propositions describing these contingencies. The outcome of our discussion is a conceptual framework, which can aid research in this critical area of organisational activity.

Notizen: Notes that benchmarking is an under-utilised tool in the field of innovation. Examines consumer brands in the UK cosmetics and toiletries sector and attempts to use both soft and hard metrics in terms of benchmarking measurement. Considers various types of benchmarking approach and also the nature of both "hard" and "soft" measurement. Focuses on numerous factors relating to brands, using data from the cosmetics and toiletries sector. Concludes by underlining the need for organizations to pay attention to both quantitative and qualitative dimensions if benchmarking is to be effective.

Notizen: The article will propose strategic community management as a new management style and innovation technique for large, established companies, that is implemented through the creation of a variety of strategic business communities. The article will take up, as a new model case of the use of strategic community management in business, the expansion of Japan's multimedia communication market achieved by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, Inc. (hereafter, NTT), Japan's largest telecommunications carrier, over roughly the past four years. The article will explain how NTT cultivated this new multimedia market, which was spawned from its creation of business communities (both internal and external, and including communities with customers) using strategic outsourcing and various strategic partnerships with businesses in other industries.

Notizen: The study of franchising as a small business growth strategy is only weakly researched and understood. This preliminary, qualitative investigation examines the experiences of 17 operational and five "failed" franchises in the UK, in translating their business concepts into a franchise format. It reveals that small firms select franchising as a growth strategy for both economic and idiosyncratic reasons, but that economic reasons tend to prevail. The findings suggest that franchising is a viable growth strategy for small firms and that per se it creates few major problems for growth-oriented small businesses. It is argued that further research is needed, particularly into the experiences of "failed" franchises and into the problems encountered by growing small firms who do not adopt franchising as a growth strategy.

Notizen: The transition from centralised to market economy created a number of difficulties for Polish enterprises and many of them went bankrupt, especially after the Soviet market had been lost. While large companies, such as steelworks, coal mines, railways, etc, have been protected by the government for social reasons, the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) could survive only when they, by themselves or with some external assistance, were able to introduce internal changes and adjust to the market environment. Polish SMEs may be divided into two groups: emerging private firms and split firms which were created by a partition of large state-owned enterprises. The various reasons for failure are discussed for both groups and compared with those described in the literature. A general model of consultancy intervention is presented and the attitudes of Polish enterprises towards change are described. In general, the state-owned and split firms are reluctant to change unless their situation is critical, and if restructurisation is done it is rather superficial. Thus, a successful consultant has to be not only convincing and flexible but also must assess how deep a change is wanted by a given enterprise. This paper presents the approach used in helping the split firms by the University of Mining and Metallurgy (UMM), Faculty of Management Consulting Group. In order to find solutions for a given firm, a working team consisting of representatives of an enterprise and university was set up. The team devises a strategy of enterprise survival and prepares a detailed plan of the steps to be taken. This approach, which in many cases has proved to be successful, consists of trying to infuse the employees with the philosophy of enterprise survival and organising a series of relevant training activities. When the employees fully understand the essence of all the actions necessary for enterprise survival (privatisation, improvement of marketing, creation of systems of motivation, quality control, management information and other), the consulting group's role as "company doctor" is limited to the supervision of the change planning process and the assessment of the solutions chosen. This system of triggering employee initiative has been found to be not only effective but also cheap, an aspect which in the case of small enterprises should not be underestimated.

Notizen: Large owner-users of real estate increasingly search for methods to streamline their operations and reduce expenses without decreasing services to building occupants. This paper describes a model successfully adopted by a variety of corporations to accomplish these objectives. Key to achieving these results is the establishing of Standard Service Agreements between occupants and service providers and the 'bundling' of similar services under a unified management umbrella.

Notizen: Many organisations have increased collaborative performance by introducing new technologies and new processes; by integrating these with innovations in the working environment they can catalyse additional and sustained improvements in collaborative performance. If planned, designed and managed as an integrated system encompassing people, process and place issues, the workplace environment can be a powerful catalyst for business change.

Notizen: Even the most experienced and hardened negotiators tend to 'lighten up' when they step onto foreign soil. Current global conditions, however, allow for a systematic, diligent and professional approach to lease and purchase negotiations. This paper encourages corporate real estate professionals to do the right thing - wherever they may be.

Notizen: The proportion of real estate in a non-property company's asset portfolio has increased to anextent where it has become an asset capable of enhancing corporate wealth. This initial study hopes to establish the foundation and provide background information on corporate real estate holding profiles of listed Singapore businessfirms. Using financial statement data and firm market values from 1987 to 1996, this paper provides an analysis of real estate holdings in both absolute and relative terms. Real estate holdings by business segment and asset subtype,growth in corporate real estate holdings over time; and key financial characteristics of corporate real estate (eg real estate as a percentage of shareholders' equity and real estate relative to market value of the firm) are included in the paper.

Notizen: The cost of occupying and utilising a real estate asset, whether leased or owned, if an important element of controlling corporate resources. Yet, the focus of corporate real estate departments is often in the areas of acquisitions, dispositions and facilities rather than cost control. This paper takes the reader through the methods of identifying and controlling costs as the transaction progresses through the real estate life cycle.

Notizen: Benchmarking techniques have evolved over the years since Xerox's pioneering visits to Japan in the late 1970s. The focus of benchmarking has also shifted during this period. By tracing in detail the evolution of benchmarking in one specific area of business activity, supply and distribution management, as seen by the participants in that evolution, creates a picture of a movement from single function, cost-focused, competitive benchmarking, through cross-functional, cross-sectoral, value-oriented benchmarking to process benchmarking. As process efficiency and effectiveness become the primary foci of benchmarking activities, the measurement parameters used to benchmark performance converge with the factors used in business process modelling. The possibility is therefore emerging of modelling business processes and then feeding the models with actual data from benchmarking exercises. This would overcome the most common criticism of benchmarking, namely that it intrinsically lacks the ability to move beyond current best practice. In fact the combined power of modelling and benchmarking may prove to be the basic building block of informed business process re-engineering.

Notizen: Examines how an iterative continuous improvement process was successfully implemented to change admissions, retention, and career guidance processes in an AACSB-accredited school of business housed in a medium-sized (8,500 students) state university in the south-eastern USA. The continuous improvement process consistently produced regularly revised and prioritized student relations improvement goals, initiated programmes to satisfy their concerns, became a model for improving other processes concerning curriculum, instruction, and strategic planning, facilitated and expedited faculty participation and provided documentation necessary for AACSB reviews.

Notizen: Much has been written about quality in manufacturing environments, less has been written about quality in service environments, and little, if anything, has been written about quality in the specific computer systems development environment. Explores quality in such an environment. Identifies three major undefined issues which hinder the progress of quality in computer systems development: a definition of quality and quality management within a computer-oriented service environment; agreement on a scope for computer systems that is subject to quality management; and a definition of a methodology which can be used to measure quality within a computer environment. Aims to explore these three issues, offer recommendations for resolving the issues and suggest methods and tools for the measurement and control of computer systems development quality. In this regard, identifies 13 key factors for measuring systems development quality, but also acknowledges that additional key factors might be identified by others and added to this listing. Also identifies the various basic quality metrics, both attributes and variables, which can be applied to each of the 13 key factors in order to assure that the final computer system, as developed, will be a "quality" computer system encompassing all of the end-user's requirements, wants and needs. Presents various methods and tools for the measurement and control of the 13 key factors to assure the quality development of a computer system.

Notizen: Presents the findings concerning a search for an objective way of assessing the quality of commercially-available, multi-criteria decision support software. As hardware prices continue to decline, consumers are spending relatively large sums of money on software. There is a powerful need for decision makers to justify these cash outlays based on the impact on the quality of the decisions made using multi-criteria tools. After a thorough literary search for such an assessment uncovered the lack of field-tested assessment batteries, develops an evaluation tool and undertakes an experiment to gain insight on the performance of this evaluation tool.

Notizen: Important management practices that lead to the achievement of quality and high performance fall under the areas of leadership, information management, strategic planning, human resource management, product development, process management, and customer focus, which represent the principal focus areas of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria. Aims to identify the key practices that lead to competitive success from a process viewpoint, and provide examples from Baldrige winners and other leading companies.

Notizen: This paper presents findings from a major research study investigating management training and development (MTD) activity within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the East Midlands. Despite the fact that the academic evidence linking training and development with business performance remains inconclusive, the previous UK Government clearly signalled the importance of improving skills levels to promote business success. The Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) are charged with a key role in stimulating MTD activity within SMEs, a sector where MTD has traditionally been given a low priority. The system of government-backed support for SMEs is currently under review, and the continued existence of the TECs in their present form largely depends upon their ability to provide proactive, tailored solutions to local business needs. It is, therefore, an extremely opportune time to review the TECs' performance. Based on detailed analysis of the activities of six TECs in the East Midlands, the paper examines how they define MTD, establish the MTD needs of SMEs within their respective catchment areas, and formulate appropriate strategies to meet those needs. The reasons why generic MTD products are not generally taken up by SMEs are explored; supply-side obstacles hinder the promotion of generic products by the TECs and demand is constrained as owner-managers are reluctant to adopt such initiatives, although the boundaries between these two sets of factors are blurred. After reviewing the ways in which the TECs evaluate their activities, the paper concludes by offering some recommendations as to how the TECs could increase the take-up of MTD by SMEs and improve the targeting of SMEs for assistance.

Notizen: Presents a positioning model which describes five clusters of organizational characteristics in relation to the adoption of total quality management by a business unit. For each cluster, general advice is given as to what business can do to increase the pace of its improvement efforts. It is argued that the model can provide the requisite encouragement to those more traditional businesses in less advanced countries to take a series of small steps along the total quality management journey.

Notizen: States that the benefits of benchmarking are still largely unrecognized in the construction industry, despite the fact that the best practice concept has been indirectly investigated by both practitioners and researchers. Notes that some confusion seems to exist in construction circles as to what exactly benchmarking is and what it can achieve to improve productivity. Addresses the benchmarking concept and its application to construction and presents a three-level internal, project and external framework for benchmarking current practice. The three levels are examined in detail, with an illustration of the need to adapt to improve construction productivity. Uses a generic definition of benchmarking throughout to ensure applicability to the different and many aspects of the construction process.

Notizen: Presents results of a study on evaluating the efficiency-effectiveness relationship of quality circles (QCs). Defines QCs as a means by which organizational goals can be achieved. States that prior studies have examined QCs in an organizational setting. However, these studies have not provided an approach to relate effectiveness and efficiency of QCs at the same time. Extends the body of literature on QCs by presenting an approach management can use to examine the efficiency-effectiveness relationship of QCs. Uses a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach and computer-generated data to illustrate the means by which QCs can be evaluated. Notes that DEA is a linear programming- (LP) based method. Provides an approach for visualizing the efficiency-effectiveness relationship of QCs. Uses the LP model output to gain insight into the ways to improve performance of QCs and notes that the LP output could be used by a manager to take the necessary corrective action.

Notizen: First there was traditional benchmarking and then "expanded" benchmarking. Both analyse the gap between current practice and best practice. Introduces what might be the next great value-add in store for benchmarking. Proposes that benchmarking gap analysis be extended by estimating the measurement value needed to achieve total customer satisfaction. Concludes that this new type of benchmarking sets goals where they are most needed - on satisfied and loyal customers.

Notizen: The dairy industry has been changing rapidly owing to competitive pressures since the early 1980s. Basic operations in most dairies are being continuously improved. Deals with an application of a benchmarking process in a dairy firm. The calving operation is one of the most complex and significantly profitable operations in the dairy industry. Owing to a high mortality rate, the dairies are likely to lose in several ways, including profitability. Therefore, reducing the mortality rate will result in a significant increase in the efficiency of the operation. Describes details of the benchmarking process as they apply to the calving operation. Data were collected and analysed for a large dairy firm in California. Presents the results of the benchmarking process and recommendations.

Notizen: Examines the vendor evaluation and selection models developed by many researchers during the past ten years. Some of these models are very simple and intuitive but some of them are more sophisticated and mathematically oriented. These models show supplier selection decision making processes based on a set of supplier performance criteria. Examines these models to find out if there is a need for a more representative model and develops a simple model for supplier evaluation and selection in an advanced manufacturing technologies' environment. The model offers decision makers a variety of scenarios on which they can select the best criterion or set of criteria for vendor evaluation and selection. Additionally, presents a numerical example to illustrate the model and to prove its practical utility.

Notizen: Patent citation statistics, used to measure the technological standing of firms and nations, uniquely suggest that the quality of Japanese technological output is superior to that of the USA. This study explores whether there is something in Japanese citation practices which may inflate citation ratings without any underlying technological superiority. Using telecommunications equipment industry patent citation data, suggests that Japanese companies do appear to cross-cite one another's patents much more heavily than is the practice among their North American or European competitors.

Notizen: In statistical process control, a number of items are selected from all items produced every h time units (which we will refer to as an inspection period); these items are used to make inferences about the state of an unreliable machine or process. This paper considers an unreliable process which can shift from an acceptable in-control state to an unacceptable out-of-control state. Based on a Shewhart-type c-chart, this paper extends the framework developed in Klastorin et al. to define the expected number of samples needed to confirm that the process shift has occurred when we use a sequential sample of the last n items produced in an inspection period. Comparing this result to the case where a random sample is used, we show that the probability of detecting the shift using a sequential sample is greater than or equal to the probability of detecting the shift using a random sample. Thus, sequential samples will result in a control chart that requires fewer expected samples to detect a shift and has lower expected total costs.

Notizen: Continues the series of book reviews begun in Benchmarking for Quality Management & Technology, Vol. 2 No. 1. Reviews two further publications on benchmarking. Outlines their content and shows how they are valuable to both practitioners and academics.

Notizen: Examines the current literature on total quality management/continuous quality improvement (TQM/CQI) in the health-care industry and determines the common threads that exist in the successfully implemented programmes. Based on the review of literature, proposes a comprehensive model on how to implement and maintain a TQM/CQI programme in the health-care industry.

Notizen: The "at the source" emphasis of total quality management (TQM) has reduced the reliance on post-production statistical quality control approaches such as acceptance sampling. In cases where it is appropriate more proactive approaches such as statistical process control have improved productivity in manufacturing environments. For social processes where the inputs are ill-defined and the outputs are difficult to measure, traditional quality control approaches have rarely been applied. Addresses the problem of monitoring use of illegal drugs, a critical social problem. Because the inputs, the use of drugs, are not easy to document and the process which results in an individual's decision to use drugs is too complex to model, one must rely on the detection of drugs as a measurement of drug abuse. The behaviour of interest is the detection of illegal drug use through urine testing. The technique for monitoring this behaviour in a population of interest is single-attribute, Bayesian acceptance sampling. Applies a partial drug-testing methodology based on single-attribute acceptance sampling to a population of probationers in Madison County, Illinois, USA. The approach offers probation offices with a lower cost approach to monitoring drug use among populations of known drug users. The use of acceptance sampling allows Madison County to reduce the total cost of testing by reducing the total amount of testing that must be done to monitor use of drugs among their probation populations.

Notizen: Understanding cyclical activity is an important component of efficient portfolio management. Property appraisal models that do not explicitly take into account cyclical fluctuations may produce unrealistic valuation estimates resulting in property assets being incorrectly added to or removed from the general investment portfolio. In this paper we use conventional spectral analysis techniques to examine property and financial assets for evidence of cycles and co-cycles. One finding is that the very pronounced cyclical patterns that appear in direct real estate markets and the economy as a whole are very much less obvious once they have filtered through to securitised property markets and financial assets markets.