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Article
Publication date: 1 January 1991

Herbert S. Kindler and Dennis Schorr

Stress‐management training benefits individual participants andtheir employer organisations in terms of improved health, higherproductivity, reduced absenteeism, and fewer…

Abstract

Stress‐management training benefits individual participants and their employer organisations in terms of improved health, higher productivity, reduced absenteeism, and fewer accidents. However, employee reluctance to enroll in stress‐management training programmes is common. An easy‐to‐complete, self‐administered diagnostic inventory can lower resistance of potential trainees. High stress scores and confidentiality often motivate employees to seek counselling, training, or both. The Personal Stress Assessment Inventory, which is self‐scoring and comprehensive, was found to be an appropriate instrument ‐‐ with a high level of internal consistency and external validity.

Details

Employee Councelling Today, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-8217

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 February 2012

Dennis Pitta and Elizabeth Pitta

Over the last several decades, product development efforts have seen unacceptably high new product failure rates. One important factor is the presence of competitors who can…

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Abstract

Purpose

Over the last several decades, product development efforts have seen unacceptably high new product failure rates. One important factor is the presence of competitors who can interfere with marketing strategy and force changes that sap resources and reduce success. As industries try to improve their success, line extensions, i.e. developing products similar but different to successful products, have become more common. Simultaneously, industries have reacted by refining the new product development (NPD) process to make it more reliable and accurate. The refined development techniques are so helpful in refining product benefits with which firms are familiar that they reinforce the pressure to extend the line. The result is overcrowded markets where destructive competition destroys profitability. A “blue ocean” strategy promises to change the destructive cycle of market crowding. Originally the framework focused on overall market strategy. However, it has a direct application to NPD. Revising the NPD process to incorporate a blue ocean viewpoint before the idea generation stage may reduce the failure rate and create breakthrough products that are not easily emulated. This paper aims to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews the NPD literature as well as work implementing a blue ocean strategy. It delineates the tools developed for applying blue ocean concepts to strategy. The paper then applies a blue ocean approach to the NPD process with the objective of developing new products and services that are unhindered by competitive offerings. Implementing a blue ocean strategy involves four main actions and may be focused on six targets. The paper integrates the elements into a strategic opportunity product development matrix which may help practitioners. Moreover, it identifies at which stage of the new product development process blue ocean concepts should be introduced.

Findings

The paper reveals that there are no unvarnished panaceas in product development. Applying a blue ocean strategy to avoid competition early in the product life cycle promises to reduce dangerous competition to allow the product to succeed. However, the gains will probably not extend indefinitely. It requires constant improvement and application of the concepts to gain a measure of sustainability. If firms are successful early, they may be able to defend gains in some areas to retain profitability, while seeking new blue oceans.

Practical implications

Blue ocean applied to marketing strategy has seen large gains in success. Integrating efforts to find uncluttered market space holds the promise of increased success. It will also refine the NPD process.

Originality/value

Blue ocean strategy has not been applied to the new product development process in the literature. The paper integrates the concepts of the strategy with the elements of product development. The result is a new approach toward success products and product introductions.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

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Article
Publication date: 1 July 2014

Elizabeth Joan Kelly

– This paper aims to compile an annotated list of films about or pertaining to the artist Andy Warhol.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to compile an annotated list of films about or pertaining to the artist Andy Warhol.

Design/methodology/approach

Films were located using library catalogs, databases and online searches. Selections were evaluated through inspection and both academic and popular film reviews. Inclusion was predicated not only on subject matter and merit but also on availability either on home media or online.

Findings

Warhol’s many artistic creations can be introduced and evaluated using a combination of visual and auditory representation. Movies and television (TV) depicting Warhol through dramatization, primary source film, biographical documentary and his art in the context of other artists and movements are readily available through a variety of media.

Originality/value

The selected titles provide a comprehensive introduction to the scholarly analysis of Warhol’s art and work through a format that allows the most extensive representation of Warhol’s artistic output.

Details

Collection Building, vol. 33 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2004

Dennis Quinn and Owen Hargie

On 4 April 2002 the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) officially took over from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). This historic symbolic change of name arose from the…

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Abstract

On 4 April 2002 the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) officially took over from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). This historic symbolic change of name arose from the Belfast Agreement, the subsequent Patten Commission and a long period of consultation and persuasion. Like so many UK police organisations the RUC had exhibited evidence that it recognised the need to address the issue of internal communications but had not been involved in any in‐depth assessment of its internal communications, nor did it have a written internal communications strategy. The use of communication audits had also been limited. By applying a validated audit methodology, this paper examines the position internal communications had within the RUC. Using a triangulation approach, the research encompassed structured interviews, the international communication audit questionnaire, and a critical incident approach. The results showed a general dissatisfaction in respect of communication and specific dissatisfaction in relation to particular areas of the organisation. The implications of the findings for the fledgling PSNI and other police organisations are discussed in the context of the role of communication strategies.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

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