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It doesn't matter how well employees in industry and commerce are trained in product knowledge and the skills of their trade if, at the end of the day, they alienate or offend the customers. In the long term nothing is more important to a business than customers. When times are hard they become even more valuable than during the good times; because then they are even more difficult to replace, and dissatisfied customers have very long memories.

Despite current financial setbacks, there seems to be no shortage of good audio‐visual equipment in educational establishments throughout Britain. According to latest figures there are 15,000 16mm film projectors, 20,000 8mm projectors, and 15,000 video recorders among 30,000 schools. Ths signs are, however, that much of it isn't being used nearly as much as it could be, largely because there aren't enough programmes available which teachers are prepared to use.

The whole point of Industry Year is to demonstrate to those outside industry that it provides interesting jobs and careers for bright and ambitious young people. It is not an easy message to get across; so much of the industrial picture is too large for anyone to be able to see it clearly anyway. The answer to many of these communications problems is, however, the television set. Corporate messages, training, and recruitment campaigns can all be put across on video with many times more impact than the written word.

A review is presented of some uses of video equipment, together with advice on how to select and whether to buy or hire.

Historians are well aware that adversity concentrates the mind most wonderfully. In the current business climate the best managers are finding that recession is having the same effect. When business cycles dip, everyone suddenly realises how important business efficiency is; and in the past training especially has been allocated a high priority during hard times. Unlike other forms of business efficiency improvement training is about people, not expensive equipment. And despite the increasing emphasis on the use of audio‐visual techniques to help improve training and educational communications, the hardware cost involved is usually relatively low.

A majority of the country's top executives believe their companies are undervalued by the equity markets, according to a recent Louis Harris and Associates, Inc., survey. And more than 20 percent of the 600 respondents thought their company's stock price was “seriously” below its true value. Yet, despite obvious concern, few corporations have implemented any systematic program to raise their stock price. Consistent increases in earning are no guarantee of growth in market value, while low prices make a firm takeover bait.