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Inventory control is not the same as stock control ‐ it means control of each item that goes to make up the total inventory. In this exercise Keith Padden shows how his hypothetical range of crystal balls ‐ by which he means baked beans, soft drinks, instant coffee, or anything else ‐ can be rationalised. The result can be a release of working capital sufficient to make good the deficit in cash flow ‐ or to buy sites, build and fit out six 15,000 sq ft supermarkets.

One in ten housewives faces an out of stock situation in current conditions. For the retailer, this means an immediate or potential loss in two‐thirds of the cases; for the supplier, the sales wastage could be considerable. This was the message emerging from the recent massively‐attended conference on “Out of Stock” organised jointly by the Institute of Grocery Distribution and Nielsen.

Today's problems ‐ and they include stock levels in grocers ‐ are not unique. I doubt if there is anyone in the trade who, during the past few years, has not used or heard many times that over‐worked euphemism “stock rationalisation”. For the plain fact is that no organisation wants to carry more stock than it has to, whatever the economic climate.

The purpose of the study was to gather data to determine whether instructional coaching partnerships can improve teachers’ implementation of learned mathematics instructional strategies. Teachers are willing to learn and implement new mathematics strategies after professional development sessions to see better student learning results. However, the implementation process can become difficult. Our purpose was to determine whether implementing mathematics strategies improved if an instructional coaching partnership supported teachers.

“Do instructional coaching partnerships improve teachers’ implementation of mathematics instructional strategies?” We gathered data to determine whether instructional coaching partnerships support teachers’ capacity to implement new learning. Data were collected using video recording or classroom observation as a pre- and post-assessment. Teachers received 4 to 6 weeks of instructional coaching support during the intervention. Teachers completed a questionnaire about their intervention experiences. Student testing data were also analyzed to determine whether the intervention increased learning outcomes.

Our findings showed improved mathematics strategies, explicitly implementing the open-ended questioning strategy used during mathematics instruction. Open-ended questions to check students’ mathematics understanding increased by 42%. Teachers responded to a qualitative survey and stated overall satisfaction with the support provided by the instructional coach. Additionally, state testing scores in Grades 3 to 5 increased proficiency levels. Grade-level growth comparisons increased between 5 and 28%.

This study adds to current research stating that instructional coaching cycles and the implementation of partnership principles can positively support the execution of learned teaching practices. The study also indicates the effects of coaching support on students’ learning.

Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover specific articles devoted to certain topics. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume III, in addition to the annotated list of articles as the two previous volumes, contains further features to help the reader. Each entry within has been indexed according to the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus and thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid information retrieval. Each article has its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. The first Volume of the Bibliography covered seven journals published by MCB University Press. This Volume now indexes 25 journals, indicating the greater depth, coverage and expansion of the subject areas concerned.

Interest in management development is mushrooming. The number of articles which address different aspects of it are likewise increasing apace. This has heightened the need for a broad‐based review which will pull the material together, give shape to it, evaluate it and draw out its implications. In this, the first of a two‐part article, this task is commenced.