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The purpose of this paper is to use the critical approach to management research (Alvesson and Deetz), to examine intellectual capital (IC) with the twin perspectives of from inside the classroom and as a bottom‐up approach, and, in the process, develop a micro IC model of knowledge flows.

The paper presents a case study, based on the author's experience in applying the concept of micro IC to the classroom and student learning.

IC is created without the students being formally aware of its extent. The focus moves from a top‐down evaluation of IC stocks such as student academic performance to a bottom‐up view of IC flows in which discipline knowledge is applied and generic attributes such as collaboration, communication and critical evaluation are exercised with incremental improvement. These are not normally noticed by the students. However, some skills which do not form part of the university skills plan are acknowledged by students. These include high engagement in the classroom instead of passive learning, more confident, flexible communication and persuasion, as well as the ability to speak unprepared without resorting to reciting from the textbook or lecture slides.

The model for micro IC is based on case study research which has been conducted longitudinally for three years. The micro IC knowledge flow model has been developed outside the business environment but with reference to it.

There is scope to compare and apply the insights from the micro IC model to business performance without requiring an overarching interwoven set of indicators as is required by approaches such as the balanced scorecard.

A micro IC approach provides a bottom‐up method for understanding the often significant benefits of IC that are hidden by a top‐down approach.

A micro IC approach has not been previously proposed. The paper both provides a model drawn from the knowledge literature and then applies it to learning and teaching in management accounting coursework which uses a team‐learning approach.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon and describe the introduction of an articulated engagement learning and teaching approach to a diverse cohort in a postgraduate management accounting unit of study.

A case study, based on the authors' experiences teaching diverse cohorts applies Bandura's social learning theory. Observation and modelling (which shaped earlier educational experiences and dominate student behaviour and classroom engagement) were used to overcome passive learning behaviour in diverse cohorts.

Better preparation for class by students is engendered by showing how study is applied. High engagement during class time is a combination of careful team construction and a task that has work relevance. Diversity need not be a constraint on teaching nor a barrier to learning. Diversity can be harnessed to facilitate learning. Reflection of the experience of students indicates high engagement, more confident, flexible and non‐scripted student responses and awareness of the value of diversity in the team.

An articulated engagement learning and teaching approach is described which caters for diversity, using resourcing problems with alternative recommendation choices, requiring justification, critique and defence.

Blues music is in the midst of its second revival in popularity in roughly thirty years. The year 1960 can be identified, with some qualification, as a reference point for the first rise in international awareness and appreciation of the blues. This first period of wide‐spread white interest in the blues continued until the early seventies, while the current revival began in the middle 1980s. During both periods a sizeable literature on the blues has appeared. This article provides a thumbnail sketch of the popularity of the blues, followed by a description of scholarly and critical literature devoted to the music. Documentary and instructional materials in audio and video formats are also discussed. Recommendations are made for library collections and a list of selected sources is included at the end of the article.

President Bill Clinton has had many opponents and enemies, most of whom come from the political right wing. Clinton supporters contend that these opponents, throughout the Clinton presidency, systematically have sought to undermine this president with the goal of bringing down his presidency and running him out of office; and that they have sought non‐electoral means to remove him from office, including Travelgate, the death of Deputy White House Counsel Vincent Foster, the Filegate controversy, and the Monica Lewinsky matter. This bibliography identifies these and other means by presenting citations about these individuals and organizations that have opposed Clinton. The bibliography is divided into five sections: General; “The conspiracy stream of conspiracy commerce”, a White House‐produced “report” presenting its view of a right‐wing conspiracy against the Clinton presidency; Funding; Conservative organizations; and Publishing/media. Many of the annotations note the links among these key players.

Although emotions are relevant for conflicted interactions, the role of emotions in organizational conflicts has remained understudied. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this by looking at the role of nonverbal affective elements in conversations.

Bringing together organizational “becoming” and embodiment approaches, the study focused on a conflict which emerged during a multi-actor consulting conversation. The episode in question was analyzed via a detailed, micro-level discursive method which focused specifically on the participants’ use of prosodic and nonverbal behaviors.

Changes in prosody were found to have an important role in how the conflict between a consultant and an employee client emerged and was handled. Nonverbal and prosodic means had a central role in creating legitimate space for the employees’ feelings: they helped to validate the feelings and thus led the interlocutors to act in a more constructive manner in their handling of the conflicted situation.

Findings are based on a single case study. Multi-modal analysis proved effective in capturing the relevant interactions in a comprehensive manner.

Conversational “traps” may be observed by becoming alert to interactional patterns involving repeated chains of actions. A nonverbal response, validating the interlocutor as someone who is entitled to her/his feelings, can be sufficient in providing emotional help in consultancy.

Nonverbal elements of interactions are important in handling delicate issues in conflicts.

To the authors’ knowledge, no previous organizational research has provided a detailed description of a conflicted interaction “as it happened” between clients and a consultant.

The relationship between organisation size, technology implementation, and organisational culture is examined. Thirty‐five American and Canadian manufacturing organisations were surveyed concerning their approach to implementing statistical process control (SPC) technology. Organisations were classified as either large or small and hierarchic or non‐hierarchic. Approaches to implementing SPC were measured and compared among the four groups (large hierarchic, small hierarchic, large non‐hierarchic and small non‐hierarchic). Results indicated that both the size of the organisation and its culture determine how that organisation goes about implementing technological change. Larger organisations use inter‐departmental liaisons, temporary task forces, and permanent implementation teams more than smaller organisations in implementing new technology. Non‐hierarchic organisations appear to use goal and direct contact mechanisms at higher levels than hierarchical organisations when it comes to innovation and change. Results also indicate that there is more in common in the area of technological implementation between large and small businesses, and hierarchical and non‐hierarchical organisations than is often suggested.

E‐service is a critical strategic marketing consideration today for many firms, based largely on the promise of more cost‐effective models of self‐service relative to large (and expensive) call centers for technical support and customer service. The rapidly emerging electronic customer relationship management (e‐CRM) industry provides the primary tools for implementing e‐service. Interestingly, the e‐CRM industry faces the same challenges and strategic marketing considerations as their organizational customers, in that they must deliver exceptional service and support to the companies purchasing/using e‐CRM software. A review of organizational mission/vision statements suggests that e‐CRM companies are generally positioning themselves as exemplars of customer satisfaction provision and relationship management. However, recent industry analysis suggests that their organizational customers generally report low to ambivalent ratings on customer satisfaction measures (our study also supports these findings). This discrepancy could be partly attributed to very little empirical inquiry having appeared to date to assess the efficacy of existing relationship marketing theories within this fast‐moving industry. The current study provides an exploratory investigation that looks at the well‐established (in other marketing settings) relative influences of quality, customer satisfaction, and loyalty in the formation of future purchase intentions and word‐of‐mouth behaviors within the e‐CRM industry. Concludes that e‐CRM marketers must first identify means of increasing the overall level of customer satisfaction within their industry, and then begin to consider moving beyond customer satisfaction toward broader loyalty‐based strategic marketing objectives to support their relationship marketing practices. Practitioner and research implications of the reported study are discussed.

Examines Just‐in‐Time (JIT) from its evolution as a Japanese concept through to a review of its philosophy and implementation. Cites several techniques of implementation. Includes a review of the early work of various researchers and practitioners. Concludes that JIT is a very effective manufacturing philosophy which is universal in nature encompassing all aspects of manufacturing. Suggests a few deficiencies in current literature.

This study aims to propose the emotional response of gratitude as a mediating mechanism to explain the relationship between perceptions of a service organisations’ relationship marketing investments, customer cynicism and reciprocity and overall satisfaction. Further, the study seeks to test the significance of the mediation effects of these constructs on customer overall satisfaction.

Using theories from service marketing and consumer psychology, this study develops and tests a customer gratitude model (CGM). Field surveys based on existing measures were used to elicit data from 1,104 respondents. The measures were validated and subsequently the CGM was tested to establish the veracity if the nomological network presented.

Results indicate that perceived relationship marketing investment exerted an indirect effect on gratitude through the mediating effect of reciprocity and cynicism. Further, perceived relationship marketing investments impacted overall satisfaction through its mediating effect of gratitude, and gratitude explained the indirect influences of reciprocity and customer cynicism on overall satisfaction.

This study contributes to services marketing literature by examining the emergent role of gratitude between customer perceptions of service organisations and pro-organisational attitudes, like overall satisfaction.

This research encourages service organisations to implement relationship-building strategies, beyond that of purely economic benefits, that seek to enhance the emotion of gratitude, which will lead to greater overall customer satisfaction.

Despite emphasising relationship longevity between customers and service organisations, literature has not yet focused on the role of gratitude. The CGM provides valuable insights for further inquiries.

Approaches to the sociology of culture have largely been constituted around the long tradition of functionalism in sociology. This has hampered the field greatly. Among other shortcomings, this intellectual foundation has led to a limited understanding of ideology and civil society, a conservative political orientation and an overdeterministic view of social action and the actor. In this paper, I explore and then apply a new approach to the sociology of culture, one that attempts to conceptualize more robustly the dynamics of ideology, ideological conflict and civil society. As part of this project, I endeavor to map out a critical cultural perspective that establishes a multidimensional understanding of the contingency of social action.