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[In view of the approaching Conference of the Library Association at Perth, the following note on the Leighton Library may not be inopportune. Dunblane is within an hour's railway journey from Perth and has a magnificent cathedral, founded in the twelfth century, which is well worthy of a visit.]

Draws on the results of recent Surveys which highlight the need for clear vision and sustained top management commitment in culture change. Suggests that in order to gain the necessary skills, management should adopt more of the attitudes, approaches, tools and techniques that have transformed management performance in benchmark companies. Uses the case of Rank Xerox to illustrate how a quality culture might be created.

Reports the key findings of a survey of major companies which reveal a diversity of individual and corporate learning requirements which are difficult to address through public programmes. As companies build differentiated corporate cultures they are finding it more difficult to absorb “general inputs” or “standard solutions” from outside. There are however opportunities for external partners to work with them in the identification and definition of workplace based projects that would be both intrinsically important and offer development opportunities.

This special “Anbar Abstracts” issue of the Health Manpower Management is split into five sections covering abstracts under the following headings: Management tools; Participation/roles; Types of change; Management Implementation.

The most marked example of progress in marketing communications is the emergence of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). Many organizations now consider IMC to be a key competitive advantage of marketing. This paper reviews the developmental progress of IMC. Now, just a few years into the 21st century, IMC is entering a critical period, with many businesses – and the agencies that service their needs – apparently enmeshed in the first stages of IMC development. The early promise that IMC offered seems to be fading, unless organizations start to take it seriously, even when faced by the realities of organizational exigency.

The Changing Business Environment, Intense global competition, financial uncertainties, dumping, protectionism, political constraints, alliances and joint ventures are the reality of today's business world. Successful managers in this challenging transnational environment are increasingly called on to make decisions in situations of high risk and uncertainty, all too often under crisis conditions. How does one prepare management for this turbulent environment? To what extent do “traditional” executive programmes, including those leading to an MBA, provide the multidisciplinary skills and the analytic, communication and decision‐making capabilities needed to cope with these realities? Do they equip participants with the international perspective and outward orientation needed to confront and handle revolutionary change?

A British Institute of Management report has revealed that most European organisations are focusing their attention on customer satisfaction. It suggests that everyone is responsible to the customer and that viewing their products/services through their customers' eyes is the way forward.

Reports on a survey, carried out by the British Institute of Management, which shows that to survive, organisations have to be more responsive to employee and customer needs. Asserts the successful management of relationships is critical to business success. Discusses management and customer issues. Records the findings of the BIM survey. Concludes that major corporations operate in an unstable world making them more vulnerable to competition and challenges beyond their control. Understanding these changes requires an awareness of underlying concerns and values. Asserts there is no single path to quality but common to all winning companies is that they view continuous improvement as never‐ending. The focus should be upon the customer throughout.

Organisational culture is largely the result of the interaction between the people of an organisation over time and communication plays a major role in such intra‐organisational interaction. The prevailing organisational culture will reciprocally determine the communication of the organisation, not only internally, but also externally with all of its stakeholder groups, and particularly with its customers. This external communication is particularly relevant to an organisation's ability to render service to its customers. This article investigates differences in the way in which managers and employees perceive the role of communication in an organisation in the automotive industry. The results indicate that managers consistently evaluate prevailing service‐related communication contexts more positively than employees. It is concluded that progress in service quality can be seriously inhibited by a false sense of security about prevailing service related communication procedures and practices among the managers of an organisation.

Agriculture is a sector highly dependent on climate, and thus it will experience multiple impacts from climate change. In contrast, agriculture is also one of the main contributors of climate change, emitting greenhouse gases, mainly related to land use, fertiliser application and livestock production. Higher temperature and atmospheric CO₂ concentration, changes in precipitation patterns and more frequent extreme weather events are expected to have a negative impact on crop productivity, water and soil resources. Coordinated mitigation and adaptation practices have to be a worldwide priority in order to maintain productivity levels and food production.