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THE study of fatigue from a physiological aspect is a field which motion study technicians have made little or no attempt to explore. Shame on their heads. The physiological simplification of motions aimed at reducing fatigue could have completely offset the notion that motion study is aimed at converting the operator into an automaton. It may well be that an elaborate motion pattern set‐up designed to simplify the work merely succeeds in setting up stresses in the worker. The superimposing of a time‐studied standard for the job may not have taken into account the adaptation of the speed of motions to the physiological limitations of the operator working at a high level performance. Very few practitioners have attempted to study motions in the factory with a view to reducing fatigue and stress as a prerequisite to studying the set‐up for increased production. Still fewer have attempted to evaluate these factors. It is about time they did.

This Overview article focuses on mental health services and, specifically, looks at some aspects of government policy that remain a challenge for managers and practitioners. In particular, new ways are considered of undertaking the assessment of need and a description is given of one initiative: benchmarking to help practitioners measure performance. Examples of new service models emerging as part of the primary care agenda are also highlighted.

In this study, a formula is derived for the period specific beta (market risk) for a portfolio of financial assets that has been formed on the basis of directional forecasts. This is an important contribution to the literature since measuring the risk of an actively managed portfolio is problematic due to the fact that managers may change fund risk conditional on market expectations. The period‐specific nature of the measure is a significant advantage since historical fund returns are not required and the beta is not influenced by prior fund returns' deviations from the bench mark. The methodology employed allows for the development of a time series of fund betas that permits investigation into a number of important empirical issues. This study is also of practical interest from the perspective of risk management and for both portfolio performance and attribution. Finally, there are many active strategies based on directional forecasts and the approach used here encompasses a significant proportion of these.

For a number of different reasons, some more rational than others, public sector management has often fallen for the allure of the “quick fix” promised by the latest managerial fashion. Although it is commonly accepted that complex problems rarely, if ever, have simple solutions − this has not hindered public organizations from eagerly experimenting with trendy, increasingly radical, managerial practices. More often than not, these experiences, when weighed on the background of the original promises and eventual outcomes, prove to be utter failures. In order to clarify the reasons behind this pattern of failure, this article deconstructs two of the most notable recent managerial fashions: Total Quality Management (TQM) and Business Process Reengineering (BPR). It proposes that management fashions fail to lead to effective and productive organizational change primarily due to the fact that their logical construct, which relies on over-dramatization and oversimplification of organizational realities, is at odds with the operational complexities of public sector management. In particular, they fail to account for politics. To this extent, then, they are more likely to be destructive than productive when zealously adopted in public service.

Legislation is being prepared in both Canada and the USA to force a new social reality on the workplace in which pay systems will be made equitable. The vehicle will be job evaluation. This article details, in practical terms, how job evaluation techniques can be used as a means of social‐reorientation towards a new era of industrial relations.

STIMULATING the interest of the employee in his job has become one of the most challenging problems facing management today. Daily repetition of tasks seemingly unrelated to the end product can very quickly cause boredom and fatigue, reducing individual efficiency and lowering productivity.

The construction industry resides in a period of intense introspection as it seeks to improve its performance and productivity. Yet, yielding such improvements requires each individual organization to adopt a customer value strategy that enables organizational learning to become an integral part of an organization’s fabric. This paper reviews the elements of a learning organization within the context of the construction environment. A conceptual framework that can provide managers with a better understanding of how a learning organization in construction can be nurtured is presented. Embodied within this framework are factors such as strategic shift, organization transformation, customer orientation and quality centered learning. The paper concludes by suggesting that the key success factor for each individual organization may no longer be a matter of size or the number of assets, but the amount and quality of experience it can apply and manage.

Successful leaders can recognize and handle the reality of random and chaotic influences that send others headlong into disaster.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the current perceptions of company employees regarding the use and understanding of the terms “benchmark” as in performance measurement and “benchmarking” as in measurement followed by identification of best practices for improvement.

A brief review of the literature from various industries is summarized on this issue, and then related to the research question. A qualitative research study is used to examine the perceptions of 42 participants who were primarily full‐time employees at companies in the New York metropolitan area pursuing a part‐time graduate business degree.

The hypothesis is supported by the literature and the research findings that there is indeed a misunderstanding between the commonly used terms relating to performance measurement benchmarks and true benchmarking where identification of process leaders is only the first step in a complete process that then identifies best practices to be adapted.

Limitations of the study are identified such as the size and characteristics of the study population, and suggestions are made for future research endeavors to verify the findings.

This paper reveals that a more precise terminological use of true benchmarking practices should be promoted and used by management leaders, educators and writers.

This is a valuable empirical research study that examines the important issue of misunderstandings and misstatements of mere performance benchmarks for comparative analysis and real benchmarking practices that identify best practices for adapting via continuous improvement.