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Electronic point of sale applications have now been in operation for long enough to permit the development of some imaginative systems. At EPOS 80, the first Congress on automation at the point of sale, held in June in London, a half‐day session on “The Real Benefits of EPOS” was included in the programme. It consisted of an overview by Brian French, a presentation on the management of stock by David Hill, an examination of the use of POS in labour scheduling by Robert Selen, and it concluded with “a market researcher's viewpoint” by Norman Staples.

This wide‐ranging paper answers some of the questions which the retailer might like to ask about the effect of data processing on the retail trade. And the author does not start with the assumption that everyone recognises the benefits of data processing: the first question he asks himself is why should the retailer invest in this area at all? He also goes into the cost effectiveness of data processing, and the need for very flexible computer systems in the fast‐changing world of retailing. Moreover, it is not just the retailing giants who concern him. With the drop in the cost of computer hardware, he believes that the availability of hand‐held scanning devices could be good news for the small retailer. What with the benefits of UPC and EAN for stock control. This paper was presented in November in Paris at the CIES conference, EDP: focus on store operations.

In the period before Britain entered the European Community and again at the Labour Government's referendum, one factor which caused most concern in both those in favour and those against entry, was the possible loss of sovereignty by the Houses of Parliament to a supra‐national body. That there would be some loss was accepted but fears that it would be anything more than minimal were discounted, and not enough to affect the lives of ordinary people. Far‐reaching changes required by some of the EEC food directives and regulations, which even if held in abeyance for the usual transitional period will have to be implemented eventually, must be causing many to have second thoughts on this. If more were needed, the embarassing situation at the recent energy conference, at which Britain, as a major oil producer, demanded a separate seat, but had to submit to the overall authority of the Community, the other members of which, figuratively, do not produce a gallon of oil between them. A shift of power from Whitehall to Brussels may not be so evident at higher levels of government, however, as in secondary legislation; the language of the departments of government.

Considers the growing diversity in the workplace and the need for managers to be able to manage such a diverse workforce. Cites cultural differences as one important area which requires attention. Looks at the French culture in particular and compare this with the American culture in areas such as verbal communication, non verbal communication, meetings, reasoning and problem solving techniques, and leadership, status and authority. Concludes that there are significant differences which must be treated with understanding and respect.

Presents a special issue, enlisting the help of the author’s students and colleagues, focusing on age, sex, colour and disability discrimination in America. Breaks the evidence down into manageable chunks, covering: age discrimination in the workplace; discrimination against African‐Americans; sex discrimination in the workplace; same sex sexual harassment; how to investigate and prove disability discrimination; sexual harassment in the military; when the main US job‐discrimination law applies to small companies; how to investigate and prove racial discrimination; developments concerning race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; developments concerning discrimination against workers with HIV or AIDS; developments concerning discrimination based on refusal of family care leave; developments concerning discrimination against gay or lesbian employees; developments concerning discrimination based on colour; how to investigate and prove discrimination concerning based on colour; developments concerning the Equal Pay Act; using statistics in employment discrimination cases; race discrimination in the workplace; developments concerning gender discrimination in the workplace; discrimination in Japanese organizations in America; discrimination in the entertainment industry; discrimination in the utility industry; understanding and effectively managing national origin discrimination; how to investigate and prove hiring discrimination based on colour; and, finally, how to investigate sexual harassment in the workplace.

This paper aims to present the challenges faced by a small startup as entrepreneurship and marketing intersect to influence the success or failure of the venture. The entrepreneurial marketing focus of the case provides a deeper understanding of the practice-based interface of these two disciplines. The case focuses on the vision of two entrepreneurs and how they use the value creation process of opportunity recognition, evaluation and development to design a consulting service for Canadian firms that want to do business in China. It also provides insight on the difficulty of creating, communicating, selling and delivering a new consulting service to the Canadian business community.

The case is based on extensive interviews with QiaoLinx Inc.’s founders, relevant others and secondary data including press releases, social media and promotional material.

The events, issues and questions presented to track the entrepreneurial actions and marketing process of a startup from concept to market to tipping-point. The case is intended to serve as an instructional platform that encourages deductive reasoning in analyzing and synthesizing the application of entrepreneurship and marketing theories.

This teaching case can be used in undergraduate or graduate courses in entrepreneurship, marketing, new venture creation and international business. Researchers, faculty, practitioners and students can use the case to engage in a discussion on the underlying theories of entrepreneurship and marketing.

The French robot manufacturer and assembly systems company SCEMI is held in high regard by many forward looking French and multi‐national companies. In particular it has established a reputation in the electronics assembly field. Brian Rooks recently visited its factory in BourgoinJallieu, south east of Lyon.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

The aim of this study is to explore the attempts by early twentieth century cyclecar manufacturers in the UK and USA to segment the personal transportation market and to position early cyclecars through the development of unique product attributes and advertising. More specifically, the authors speculate about early twentieth century British cyclecar marketing strategies that implicitly recognized a sports car segment and positioned cyclecar brands to meet the needs of that segment.

The primary source material for this research is a sample of 205 print ads and articles from the early twentieth century (1912-1921) specialty magazines devoted to cyclecars in the UK and USA. We combine the content analysis of the sample of ads with a critical reading and interpretation of a sub-sample of those same ads.

Between 1910 and 1921, a new form of personal transportation was developed that combined the technology of motorcycles with the utility of automobiles. Known as “cyclecars”, these vehicles were typically constructed from off-the-shelf motorcycle parts and assembled in small batches by a myriad of manufacturers. Current scholarship suggests that the cyclecar craze of the 1910s ended with the introduction of low cost “real” automobiles such as the Ford Model T, Austin 7 and Morris Oxford. We use the content analysis of cyclecar advertisements to construct a brand-positioning map of this emerging segment of the transportation market. We argue that while the core cyclecar positioning was in direct competition with small economically positioned cars such as the Ford Model T, a significant part of the market, primarily centered in the UK, could be considered as for sports cars. That segment of the cyclecar market, along with the development of cyclecars into urban delivery vehicles, continued over time and has re-emerged today in a range of three-wheeled sports cars, including the updating and continuation of the British Morgan 3 Wheeler model which was launched during the heyday of cyclecars.

The authors can only speculate about the impact of the Ford Model T in this study. Further research on that issue is needed.

This is the first historical study of cyclecar marketing. Most of what little has been published about cyclecars focuses on their design and technology.

Réal Plourde helped to oil the Couche-Tard/Circle K machine for Alain Bouchard, speeding up the pace of acquisitions and smoothing out the integration of newly acquired chains. As an engineer and MBA graduate with extensive international experience, he brought considerable added value to Alain Bouchard's team. Among other things, he helped to train many of the organization's senior executives, including the current CEO, Brian Hannasch, who joined the company in 2001, working closely with Réal Plourde for nearly a decade before replacing him as Head of Operations in 2011 and ultimately taking over from Alain Bouchard as CEO in 2014.

Although officially retired for some years now, Réal Plourde continues to sit on the boards of several organizations. He also chairs the board of an engineering firm employing more than 2,000 engineers. His Foundation has received several awards for its social and community contributions.