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Schools of business administration have experienced a return to the importance of teaching effectiveness as external competitors are vying for declining student populations. To better assess teaching skills and offer suggestions for improvement areas, outlines the role of the key groups involved in assessment of faculty teaching and proposes an integrated development model for implementation.

Time is the top priority. We now live in real time. It's no longer life in the fast lane because every lane is fast. The computer has changed the way we view time. We expect everything to occur at Pentium speed! A time lag causes stress since it is viewed as an unnecessary waste. This is not a matter of immediate gratification; rather delays—such as standing in line—are viewed as something being wrong with the system, and the company that allows it to happen is perceived as not being up to speed! (Graham, 1996, p. 4).

Although the Peoples Republic of China's (PRC) is becoming more progressive, they are still criticized for their overcautious stance on entering the free market arena. This article explores China's reluctance toward foreign trade by examining past and present trade patterns along with future trade goals. The themes of culture, history and politics that remain blurred in Chinese culture are explored. The paper examines why foreign trade and capitalism cannot reproduce similar, instantaneous results in China to mirror western standards. Finally, the paper assesses the current and future economic climate and the emerging force of China in the global marketplace.

Venezuela ranks fifth in the world in oil proven reserves and has the largest accumulation of liquid fuel in the world. With its importance as an oil country, many countries including the U.S. have expressed concerns about Venezuela’s current economic and political situation. Using the popular SWOT analysis, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats facing the country, are identified. The discussion and conclusions summarize the observations and address the relative tradeoffs within the country. Finally goals and policies appropriate for Venezuelan reform are presented.

The target costing method works “backward” from traditional cost‐plus methods and begins with a targeted sales price for a product. This price is set based on what the customer is willing to pay. It considers not only the preferred current selling price but also the later life cycle pattern of prices. This technique has key managerial implications. This article considers these implications along with implementation guidelines. Examples of industries successfully using target costing are included. Ongoing controversies concerning where the techniques can best be used are discussed. Further considered are international differences in target costing as well as challenges of global outsourcing along the supply chain. The article ends with implementation challenges, significance for practice, and suggestions for future research.

The TQM literature suggests that success comes to organizations ready for a change in climate. Determining levels of readiness or conversely resistance to change is an important step, yet few organizations assess readiness in starting a TQM (Total Quality Management) implementation. This paper highlights an assessment of a major hospital's readiness to implement a continuous quality improvement process. Discussion of the survey of both managers and employees regarding these characteristics are presented. The case highlights the need for establishing a common vision and providing training for teamwork. Perceptions of management and employees are important because these groups function as if perceptions are real. Background information and implications of findings are also included. Ways to diagnose and identify ways to remove potential hurdles to TQM are identified. Suggestions for implementing the methodology using the assessment framework and model are included. The findings can be used to assist in formulating plans for TQM implementations assessments in other hospitals.

Supply chain management is built on the principles of partnerships and the development and use of the connections that exist between the links of the chain to provide information that will increase the efficiency of all members in the chain. Success stories abound describing lower costs, shorter lead times and increased customer service. Collaborative forecasting applies supply chain management concepts to the forecasting function and uses available information and technology to force a shift from independent, forecasted demand to dependent, known demand. Eventually, the future of forecasting may evolve to the point where forecasting is not even necessary. Demand information will be supplied completely by supply chain partners and the need to predict demand will be eliminated.

The TQM literature suggests that success comes to organizations ready for a change in climate. Perceptions of management and employees are important to assess because these groups function as if perceptions are real. Determining levels of readiness or conversely resistance to change is an important step, yet few organizations assess readiness in starting a TQM implementation. Highlights key assessment criteria and discusses the variables used to survey both managers and employees regarding these characteristics. Identifies ways to use the variables to develop a survey instrument as well as to diagnose and identify potential ways to remove potential hurdles to TQM. Indicates that both manufacturing organizations and service providers can use these variables to implement continuous improvement processes better.

With the growth of information technologies and with more firms partnering, a major concern for organizations today is the protection of competitive information from thieving. Firms must develop an understanding of the multidimensional flavor of defensive intelligence and its challenges in a bureaucracy, examine companies’ vulnerabilities and implement some basic defensive intelligence measures in order to protect their organization’s knowledge. Organizations must address major areas of vulnerabilities, including employees, partners and public information. Firms can take specific actions to minimize successful acts of espionage such as protections preventing unauthorized use of information systems. Companies should develop a set of priorities and determine where and to what degree security procedures need to be implemented. Beyond security, employing proactive measures can provide a valuable weapon for the long‐term prosperity of your firm.

US intellectual property (IP) is a key target of numerous other countries and individuals. Of specific interest to outsiders are technological resources. Illegally transferring information can range from the extreme of the often‐glamorized international espionage to the more traditional and common gathering of competitive intelligence (CI). This paper will review the key issues in the illegal transference of information technologies from the USA, will outline the role of other countries involved, and will discuss the impact on key, targeted industries. In particular the illegal attempts to procure key intellectual properties from technology firms will be discussed. In addition, the paper will distinguish between corporate intelligence, espionage, and economic espionage.