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An informal survey conducted by Arthur D. Little, Inc., about three years ago showed that there were 200 corporations in the United States that, at one time or another, have used input‐output in some form in their corporate planning work. Of these 200 corporations, all of which have sales in excess of $500 million annually, 60 firms indicated that they used input‐output regularly and intended to continue to do so. From some other informal questionnaires that ADL circulated among some 50 or so major United States' corporations for whom it had undertaken input‐output studies, it was found that input‐output analysis was typically used in connection with forecasting work. A few other types of application have been made that tie directly into corporate planning.

This study aims to investigate the risks associated with managing the dispersed knowledge in inter-organizational arrangements for innovation. Specifically, it proposes a model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation, applied in four steps.

Initially, the authors carried out a systematic literature review (SLR) on the concepts that connect knowledge management, inter-organizational arrangements for innovation and risks. The SLR results led to a complementary theoretical review on the conceptual elements in question. Based on the findings, the authors have developed a model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation, which was validated by experts. It was then studied the case of GOL Airlines, a company that uses innovation to overcome the paradox between low-cost and full service in the commercial air transportation industry, considering the application and adjustment of the proposed model.

Open innovation is one of the inter-organizational arrangement types most applied in the context of innovation. Relations between agents are the primary sources of risks when managing the dispersed knowledge in these arrangements. The authors have found five main risks associated, namely, risk of the innovative effort does not reach the expected objective, risk of knowledge transfer being ineffective, risk of misappropriation of value, risk of dependency (lock-in) and risk of relations.

The practical implication is the proposition of a procedure for applying the model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation, which makes it a prescriptive model for identifying risks. The proposed model is described in four steps, namely, to identify the agents in the environment of the value of open innovation; to identify the types of relations of each agent; to consider the barriers to knowledge management in innovation; and to assess the risks considering the possibilities derived from the agents, their relationships and the barriers. The model is applied in the GOL case and the results are presented.

First, it uses a novel approach to investigate open innovation while studying its risks. This approach considers the knowledge is dispersed and flows from one organization to another through a combination of relations inside the environment of value where the open innovation materializes. Second, it contributes to theory development by opening a research front that fuses four areas: risk management, knowledge management, innovation and inter-organizational arrangements. Third, this paper proposes a theoretical model and presents its operationalization. The study aims to make an impact beyond academia and uses a case study to illustrate the model application in a real and interesting open innovation project to support the business model at GOL Airlines.

The product‐mix decision has received considerable attention in management accounting and economics literatures. However, many studies in these literatures are contradicting, inconclusive and lack rigorous analysis of this complex decision. They seek to develop weights for the products in the product mix based on one objective, to maximize the firm’s profit ability. But before developing these weights, the studies must first rank these products, Ranking is a complex endeavor since it is often driven by a multitude of hierarchical financial and non‐financial goals and objectives. Ranking is also difficult due to the use of complex concepts such as time, uncertainty, cost and interdependencies between accounting systems and manufacturing systems and among the products of the product mix. These concepts are inherently fuzzy and coextensively applied often with a confluence of variables operating simultaneously. This paper applies an advanced mathematical model to account for the product mix decision. The model combines the powers of fuzzy‐set theory (Zadeh, 1965) and the analytic hierarchy process (Saaty, 1978). The fuzzy‐analytic‐hierarchical process (FAHP), developed by de Korvin and Kleyle (1999), is sufficiently powerful to account for the ambiguous variables and the web of prioritized strategies and goals of cost leadership, product differentiation, financial objectives of earnings, cash flows and market share and non financial goals such as tradition and owners’ convictions and philosophies underlying the ranking of the products in the product mix. By way of example, the paper applies the FAHP model to rank order four products subject to these strategies and goals.

Outlines the trend in utilising the fixed tool/moving workpiece concept in automatic production processes, in which a standard robot can be employed for both positioning and orientation of the workpiece. This process is used widely in the automotive industry and its’ economic and technical advantages are illustrated by examining its use in several processes such as the glazing of automobiles, roller seam welding, deburring and griding of sand and die castings, power press feeding and spot welding. Concludes that many industrial processes in which the robot presently carries the process equipment through the manufacturing cycle can be technically and economically improved by allowing the robot to present the workpiece to fixed process equipment.

SEPTEMBER was free from large‐scale visits of bombers, and the arrangements the Associations made for meetings were realized. The Library Association, challenging the criticism that it was making no programme for the peace, requested its branches to produce ideas. Thus, those who made the criticism were asked to define their terms, as it were. The first outcome was a joint meeting of the London and Home Counties Branch and the A.A.L. which was held at the delightful new St. Marylebone Library on September 24th. Another joint meeting in London was that at the Institution of Electrical Engineers on September 26th, when the British Society of International Bibliography and A.S.L.I.B. actually met in quite substantial numbers to discuss the indexing and listing of periodicals. These activities are expressions of confidence in the future by librarians and those concerned with libraries. If the immediate results are not dramatic they keep us in good heart, and we hope will lead to other meetings.

This paper aims to explore, with the view to establish the prospects of applying Ubuntu-Botho African approach to stakeholder corporate social responsibility (CSR) for business organisations in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the experience of Basotho of Lesotho in using Ubuntu-Botho African principles and practices to pursue their socially responsible development fashioned in social responsibility (SR) terms.

Using data mainly from desktop research, the theoretical or conceptual content of the paper was established to inform the discussions on the prospects of applying Ubuntu-Botho African principles and practices to stakeholder CSR for business organisations in SSA.

Ubuntu-Botho African approach to stakeholder CSR could generate a very different notion of ideal SR of business organizations in the context of SSA as the experience of Basotho of Lesotho reveals. Whether or not one is persuaded by this Ubuntu-Botho approach to stakeholder CSR, the discussion serves to illuminate the need to broaden the terms of the debate over the appropriate role of business organizations, at least in the context of SSA, regarding their CSR and performance within which they operate.

The paper mainly uses secondary data that is considered to be most relevant, valid and reliable to inform discussions on the prospects of the application of Ubuntu-Botho African ethics to stakeholder CSR for business organisations in the context of SSA. The author’s knowledge of Lesotho – where he lived, studied and worked – informed the writing of this paper, as well as discussions on the prospects of applying Ubuntu-Botho African approach to stakeholder CSR for business organisations in SSA using the experience of Basotho of Lesotho in engineering their socially responsible development to become the granary of Southern Africa in 1900s.

It is more interesting to speculate on the reasons given for the changes made on 1st June last in the sale and availability of vitamin supplements in the Welfare Foods Service than in the action taken. After the date given tokens for free supply of vitamin supplements are invalid and supplies will be sold at prices which cover their cost to the Government, only for the use of expectant and nursing mothers, children under five years and one month and handicapped children. No changes are being made in the arrangements for obtaining liquid milk at the special welfare price of fourpence a pint or National Dried Milk at two shillings and fourpence a tin.

The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) is a rigorously designed tool for measuring inpatient safety culture. The purpose of this paper is to develop a cross-cultural HSOPSC for Hungary and determine its strengths and weaknesses.

The original US version was translated and adapted using existing guidelines. Healthcare workers (n=371) including nurses, physicians and other healthcare staff from six Hungarian hospitals participated. Answers were analyzed using exploratory factor analyses and reliability tests.

Positive responses in all dimensions were lower in Hungary than in the USA. Half the participants considered their work area “acceptable” regarding patient safety. Healthcare staff worked in “crisis mode,” trying to accomplish too much and too quickly. The authors note that a “blame culture” does not facilitate patient safety improvements in Hungary.

The results provide valuable information for promoting a more positive patient safety culture in Hungary and for evaluating future strategies to improve patient safety.

Introducing a validated scale to measure patient safety culture in Hungary improves healthcare quality.

SEPTEMBER, as always, sees us contemplating our activities for the winter months. Exigencies of publishing compel us to write these notes a short time before that month begins, and our contemplation of things this year is coloured by the now rather remote possibility that September may bring the invasion that has been the shadow ahead for a year or more. To plan in a twilight time, as it were, is more than ordinarily difficult, and yet it is a commonsense and correct course to go on, not as if nothing could happen, but to the full extent of our means as they exist. Otherwise general paralysis would occur every time our statesmen warned us of possible attacks. There is no fear of such premature paralysis, however, as our people only want to be up and doing “with a heart for any date.”