Search results

How large should a distribution facility be initially? What size additions to the facility should be planned and when? For example, should a regional distribution centre be built to accommodate the projected inventory volume at the time of its completion or the projected volume some five, ten or fifteen years in the future? Should investments in the building and the materials handling system coincide or be planned separately? Finally, can planned expansions be economically postponed by temporarily leasing outside space or by temporarily expanding the work force to achieve above‐capacity utilisation of the existing facility?

The distribution of freight in most urban areas is characterised by high concentrations of truck activity in central business districts (CBD's). In this context, the movement of freight from suppliers, to resellers to ultimate customers is typically performed by a very large number of small carriers who duplicate each other's paths with partially filled trucks while each is in the process of picking up and delivering a large number of very small shipments. In many communities, this distribution structure results in unnecessarily high levels of congestion, pollution and energy consumption, as well as high distribution costs which are passed on to consumers in higher product costs. Several decades ago, business organisations responded to these pressures and initiated shippers' associations and freight forwarder operations to achieve the economies of consolidated shipments. Since 1942, however, the growth in the number of freight forwarders has been drastically curtailed.

Contract negotiation demands the deliberate exercise of professional skills which extend well beyond simple bargaining.

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.

We are negotiating all the time: with customers, suppliers, trade unions, our family ‐ indeed, all with whom we come into contact. In business, in particular, negotiation needs management. There are said to be eight stages in negotiation: prepare, argue, signal, propose, present the package, bargain, close and agree. At the proposal stage one must be clear about what one must achieve, what one intends to achieve, and what one would like to achieve. The approach to constructive and competitive negotiation, the role of consultation, how to cope with deadlock and conflict, cross‐cultural negotiation, and the art of compromise are reviewed. The development and use of teams in negotiation is also an important factor, needing careful assessment. Negotiation will nearly always involve conflict, but steps must be taken to ensure that the participants remain on friendly terms.

While accurate measurement of customer service is important, of even greater importance is making the measurement effectively so that results can be used to improve business operations. Discusses a number of measurement methods and describes the market share method, which was developed to incorporate the important factors of these methods while linking it with company profits through market share.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of perceived satisfaction with mobile payment applications based on use experience, and subsequent stated expectations on brand loyalty and future use behavior using a theory-based research integrative model of factors that influence Arabs’ intentions to use mobile payment application(s).

A conceptual model was developed using the mixed research method approach. The focus group approach was used for the qualitative study and structural equation modeling for the quantitative study. Primary data were collected online. Participants were 305 Arab consumers from nine countries in the Middle East.

Satisfaction with the quality of mobile payment application(s) increased use experience and enhanced consumers’ expectations, which in turn positively affected loyalty and purchase intentions.

The study encompassed mobile payment application(s) in nine countries rather than focusing on one market, or on one product type and business. The paper did not perform a comparative study between sampled Arab countries, but rather it sees all countries and respondents just as Arabs.

Service providers should build mobile application(s) based on the features of usability, availability, reliability, adaptability, accessibility, responsiveness and security.

This study is one of the first studies that empirically examines mobile payment consumer’s usage behavior from nine countries of the Arab world where there is scarce research on the topic in the region.