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This outline paper stems from the shared interest of a criminologist and a scholar in business organisation in the problem of responsibility in the large and complex modern corporation. For the criminologist, this has a particular significance in the context of corporate crime; for the student of management, it opens up questions of decision making and control. For both, it raises considerations of business ethics as well as the function of law in regulating business practice. In particular, there is the central question of how an organisation can, per se, be held criminally liable, without the present requirement in English law, of identifying a ‘controlling mind’ Within it.

Presents an argument for the use of group decision support systems (GDSS) in the promotion of organizational learning. The combination of reflection, analysis, and openness that such systems encourage is postulated to encourage the learning process. Discusses problems associated with power, information loss, and cultural knowledge. Sets out a view of organizational learning which emphasizes that learning can occur at the organizational level through processes.

The purpose of this investigation is to look at four organisations to see whether they meet the criteria of learning communities. Two are involved with higher education, one is an army unit, and the fourth is an organisation responsible for aviation safety.

The research was based on qualitative analyses of what made the four organisations learning communities. This comprised interviews with key personnel and responding to a 15‐item questionnaire.

In the Australian example, specialised areas of responsibility were established to facilitate change. In the Indonesian example, a colonial past, a political/cultural divide, a feudalistic approach to modern day problems and a rich tradition presented a challenge to innovation. In the army unit, highly specialised knowledge had to be acquired, adapted and applied. In the aviation safety organisation, technological issues specifying flight operations were the main focus. This organisation was akin to both a learning organisation and an innovative knowledge community, although working within a bureaucratic structure.

One limitation was access to personnel such as CEOs. Another was translating the questionnaire into Indonesian. A third was related to confidentiality, i.e. should participants reveal the identity of their parent organisation, and their own?

The study identified the need to re‐define strategic objectives. Organisations must undertake this task when faced with changing circumstances.

The paper has value because it looks at effective, learning communities and the formal and the informal learning process.

The Advanced Management Course held at the Graduate Centre for Management Studies in Birmingham and introduced in 1965 represented what was in several ways a novel step in post‐experience courses at University level. It takes place each year from approximately October to March, being of six months duration and full‐time; most of those attending live at the Centre during the period of the course (though generally free to go home at the weekend if they wish). The members are, primarily, managers sponsored by companies or other organizations, with a normal minimum age of 25, sometimes aged over 40 but typically in the late 20's or early to mid‐30's. Usually there are a few self‐sponsored participants. This course provides, therefore, for the younger and middle manager. During the six months, he follows an intensive programme in the management sciences. He deals with economics, especially the economics of the firm, and the tools of numeracy in management; mathematics, statistics and management accounting. He also studies basic ideas in sociology and social psychology which relate to the management of the human resource. However, he also devotes a good deal of time to the applications of those ideas to such functions as finance, marketing and personnel and to important areas such as operational research and industrial relations. At the end of the course the Diploma of the Graduate Centre is awarded by examination. The Graduate Centre for Management Studies is a jointly sponsored institution of the Universities of Aston and Birmingham. Full details of the Advanced Management Course and of other aspects of the Centre's work may be obtained from the Secretary, Graduate Centre for Management Studies, 36 Wake Green Road, Birmingham B13 9PD, telephone: 021–449 4137.

Current models of strategy formulation do not always prove robust in application; here is one whose roles are short or long‐term criteria for financial control and the making of decisions at either corporate centre or business unit.

The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of evaluating the innovative/entrepreneurial capabilities of small firms in high‐technology industries.

The approach taken is a literature review and case study.

The contribution of the paper is twofold: in the first part, it is tried to distinguish the different forms of entrepreneurship existing. This leads to determine a form of entrepreneurship, plural entrepreneurship, that is typical in high‐tech start‐ups. In the second part, it is then tried to evaluate the innovative/entrepreneurial capabilities of a firm in such a framework. This is based on a longitudinal case study of a high‐tech start‐up where we explore how different dimensions of entrepreneurship coexist and interplay to create a firm's innovative dynamics depending on its initial resources and those added during the firm's growth.

The paper is an original attempt to distinguish different notions of entrepreneurship including the notion of plural‐entrepreneurship and capabilities in a small enterprise.

The article presents a practical approach to generating collective learning in organisations. The approach utilises a low profile on‐line group process support technology known as Teamworker, which is based on a wireless handset design. Group interactive sessions are arranged with a series of groups of eight to 16 employees from across the organisation. A case study is presented in order to demonstrate that this method can capture the interplay between individuals and groups of employees by aiding a process of dialogue that is central to organisational learning. The mode of operation of the technology, and the design of the group process, are critical elements to minimise defensive reactions of individuals, while seeking to maximise the outputs of collective communication and learning taking place in a political environment. Our conclusion at this stage is that this is a promising approach that is capable of further research and development by means of fieldwork linked with theory.

The research aims to examine how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is contextually understood, in comparison with the definitions proposed in the academic literature.

The research was based on a case study analysis of a local public hospital in France, using semi‐structured interviews with multiple stakeholders exploring the perceived responsibilities of the organisation.

The study findings provide the basis for the development of a model of CSR for the hospital. The findings highlight the importance of senior managers' involvement in stakeholder dialogue, as well as the effect of external influences, on the overall social performance of the hospital.

Case‐study replication of health care organisations would refine and allow for generalisations of results. Also the sample of participating stakeholders should be extended to include policy‐makers. The critical area for examination is whether management need to be at the core of open and constructive dialogue with stakeholders, in order for CSR application to be extended.

The proposed model serves as a basis for health care managers to understand the key elements of CSR and assess the social performance of their organisation.

Adopting multi‐stakeholder approach to explore contextually determined views of CSR, the study contributes to CSR research and is of value to academics as well as managers in the health care sector.

Introduction Contemporary marketing thought stresses that pricing decisions ought to be made within the context of the firm's entire marketing mix. Price is but one facet of a company's appeal to consumers and needs to be fully integrated with the physical product, its package, advertising, promotion, distribution and so on, in such a way as to enable it to complement, support and enhance every other component of the marketing mix. This means, among other things, that prices should be determined by reference to the market, set at levels which consumers are able, willing or can be persuaded to pay. In addition, the price he pays for a product should reinforce the consumer's judgement of its image and quality. Just as, according to the marketing concept, it is the buyer rather than the manager who defines the product and, thereby, the firm's business, so the meaning and level of the price at which the product changes hands should be decided ultimately by the attitudes and behaviour of consumers.

A hybrid approach for integrating group Delphi, fuzzy logic and expert systems for developing marketing strategies is proposed in this paper. Within this approach, the group Delphi method is employed to help groups of managers undertake SWOT analysis. Fuzzy logic is applied to fuzzify the results of SWOT analysis. Expert systems are utilised to formulate marketing strategies based upon the fuzzified strategic inputs. In addition, guidelines are also provided to help users link the hybrid approach with managerial judgement and intuition. The effectiveness of the hybrid approach has been validated with MBA and MA marketing students. It is concluded that the hybrid approach is more effective in terms of decision confidence, group consensus, helping to understand strategic factors, helping strategic thinking, and coupling analysis with judgement, etc.