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Cyril Coffin, Director‐General of the Food Manufacturers' Federation was highly critical in a recent issue of RDM of the Monopolies Commission Report “Discounts to retailers”. Brian Thomas considers that his judgment is unnecessarily harsh and gives us his alternative view.

Considers the rise in trade with the Asian nations of the Pacific Rim and the increase in their economic strength. Provides some examples of this growing strength. Looks at the opportunities and threats from this phenomenon. Considers the potential for export and opportunities for financing growth. Concludes that there are benefits and concerns from this growing power and new strategies will be required by business to ensure future success. Suggests that many future graduates may work for companies who have foreign headquarters and new cultures.

Suggests that many methods of effective coaching are available to top management. Sets out a number of techniques for coaching employees and maximising their potential in the organisation. Examines motivation techniques, reward schemes and compensation, training and discipline. Concludes that it is up to management to choose their own coaching methods.

Health care financial management is not significantly different from financial management in other industries. The one area of financial management that is unique to health care, and thus requires additional expertise to be effective, is the accounts receivable and billing/collection function. With health care costs in the United States rising faster than inflation, there is considerable pressure on many fronts to reduce or at least contain costs. This pressure requires significant management expertise and attention focused on the accounts receivable (A/R) cycle of a for‐profit health care concern. To be effective, a financial manager must not only stay knowledgeable on the current reimbursement environment, but must anticipate and plan for continued significant changes in reimbursement rates, the method and timing of payment. In addition, the pressure on the volatility of the A/R cycle places significant importance on the other areas of financial management.

Discusses the five basic elements of an effective absentee control programme: maintaining detailed attendance records; determining reasons for absence; summarizing and analysing attendance data; taking decisive action to correct the problem; and providing quality leadership to employees. Traditional approaches to controlling absenteeism are discipline at progressive levels to punish excessive absences, and reward, in which various incentive systems are utilized to reward employees for outstanding attendance. Draws examples from US companies.

To meet the needs of the environment and to improve competitiveness through lower costs and greater responsiveness, the paperless office is once again being anticipated. While the concept of the paperless office was subject to derision until just recently due to the large volume of paper currently being produced, the large reduction in the costs of personal computers has made the paperless office viable. More than just a tool, it will redefine our concept of the document and the way we do business. Explains various facets of the paperless office. Electronic mail (e‐mail) will make the generation and transmission of letters and memos more efficient. Business forms will be better utilized through the improved processing offered by computerization and hand writing recognition software. Also addresses how document management makes information more readily accessible through the use of improved indexing.

The PCL‐R has been heralded as the ‘unparalleled’ (Salekin et al, 1996) risk assessment tool for assessing risk of violent and non‐violent recidivism. In the UK, the PCL‐R looks likely to become an industry standard assessment in psychological evaluation of individuals thought to have a dangerous and severe personality disorder. However, current knowledge about the PCL‐R is unsatisfactory, and a number of issues need to be addressed before clinicians can be confident in the use of this measure. This paper highlights these issues from the perspective of the practising clinician. Questions are raised about the theoretical, methodological and treatment implications of the use of the PCL‐R. Future research needs are established in this context of caution over the use of the measure in routine clinical and academic assessment.

The realm of organisational politics is an unpredictable and high‐risk environment. The political situation can be controlled and managed, however, with knowledge and understanding of political behaviour. Political behaviour can have both positive and negative effects. The underlying cause is individual self‐ interest. To deal with the political environment, managers can use manipulative techniques; but a problem‐solving approach is much more effective. A tactical approach involves the use of short‐term win/lose techniques. Only the strategic approach minimises the effects of individual self‐interest in the long‐term.

The purpose of this paper is to make an initial attempt to understand if environmental and social sustainability practices of suppliers influence the buying decision and ultimate supplier selection in a purchasing organization.

In order to test the effects of sustainability on sourcing decisions, this research utilizes two scenario-based behavioral experiments grounded in a transportation carrier selection context.

Two scenario-based experiments with managerial participants were conducted and results suggest that environmental and social aspects of sustainability are indeed relevant sourcing considerations that impact both economic and relational aspects of exchange relationships. These sustainability aspects enable carriers to differentiate themselves in a highly commoditized market.

Extant research advocates for sourcing organizations to take an active role in selecting sustainable suppliers. However, little is known about how supplier sustainability performance impacts sourcing decisions and supplier selection. This research addresses this gap in the literature and explores the effects of price, environmental, and social sustainability on purchase intentions and trust formation in a transportation carrier selection context.

The most important asset is people. This fact must be recognised before management can begin to effectively coach their employees. Since every person is in themselves an individual, however, it is impossible to guarantee that all people will respond identically to a single type of stimuli designed by management to bring about a desired effect. It is for this reason that “coaching” is not in itself a method, but rather it is comprised of many different tactics used to guide employees towards maximising their potential within the working environment. Rewards, compensation, training, employee development programmes, goal setting, discipline, employee participation, and group discussion problem solving are only some of the techniques that can fall under the general heading of coaching. Managers must be trained to become better “coaches” as well, since their degree of competency and expertise will have great impact on the effectiveness of their coaching programmes.