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The purpose of this paper is to explore service users’ experience of community meetings (CMs) within a high secure setting.

A qualitative design was employed in which focus groups were used to capture service users’ experience of CMs. In all, 12 focus groups comprising a total of 27 participants were carried out using a semi-structured interview schedule. Data were analysed using thematic and saliency analysis, identifying themes which were pertinent to the research aims.

Positive experiences reported by service users included a safe space to explore ward issues and develop skills, with some viewing the meeting as a therapeutic forum in which to facilitate personal growth.

There were a wide range of patient presentations and views. Furthermore, only 20 per cent of the patient population were included within this study.

A number of recommendations have been identified that can have positive implications for patients (quality of life and recovery), staff (resolving conflicts and problem-solving) and the overall therapeutic milieu of the ward.

There are no reviews looking at CMs within the last decade. This paper brings the understanding up to date to allow the development of this potentially positive tool.

This article describes the perceptions of 177 senior executives within smaller firms as to the extent to which the marketing concept is practised within their company. The study was conducted amongst manufacturing firms in the Northern Indiana, Southern Michigan, Eastern Illinois triangle in the United States. The aim of the research was to discover the extent to which size delineated firms with respect to their marketing activity. Would the popular wisdom that small firms do not market, and as a corollary that larger ones do, be supported?

The relationship between strategic positioning and the appropriate mechanism for its implementation is important to most top managers. The determination of an appropriate organisational relationship will largely reflect the complexity of the trading environment. Intrapreneurship within traditional organisational structural formats is one mechanism to combat turbulent trading conditions. A “menu” of organisational relationships is presented which are used within a looser model of organisational relationships. Changes of this nature imply a re‐examination of managerial “grooming”. Educators must design school curricula around criteria of increasing self‐reliance and risk taking. Management developers should encourage the same characteristics. A change in political and social attitudes is also indicated.

Understanding employee reactions to acquisitions is important in assessing the dynamics of acquisitions and their possible success or failure. Proposes a typology of employee behaviors in acquisitions. Moreover, describes the general framework for studying employee responses, by showing the relationship between the factors contributing to the formation of attitudes which can lead to a certain behavior. Finally, discusses directions for future research regarding human resource issues.

Ten years ago, small businesses were very much viewed as “country cousins” and were considerably patronized by their larger counter‐parts in big business. The small‐business owner was considered rather odd, and was certainly bereft of the modern techniques and skills possessed by the larger company manager. Organizations were established, serviced by retired large company executives, in order to pass on their administrative pearls of wisdom to these ignorant embryos. Wise old “grandfathers” would smooth the way for these “children” to bypass the trauma of adolescence and achieve adulthood.

The perceptions of 497 consumers of the various philosophies involved in the evolution of marketing thought — product, selling, marketing and societal marketing concepts are examined. Results show that the sample fails to delineate the subtle distinctions between the product, marketing and societal marketing concepts, and support is lent to the view that if the marketing concept is to be more broadly implemented, product and social dimensions found within the definitional domain of the product and societal marketing concepts should be encompassed to establish a wider marketing‐oriented philosophy.

The multiple organizational factors impacting upon a merger as well as those processes being impacted upon throughout the merger process will be examined. Part 1 of this article examined corporate culture and its affects on employees when two companies merge and considered the importance of lucid communication throughout the process. Part 2 of the article addresses the critical issue of stress, which is an outcome within the new and uncertain environment. Finally, the article concludes with the process of managing and strategy throughout the phases, giving guidelines that managers and CEOs should follow in the event of an M&A. Furthermore, the five major sections (communications, corporate culture, change, stress, and managing/strategy) are sub‐divided into three sub‐sections: pre‐merger; during the merger; post‐merger. This is intended to further assist managers and CEOs distinguish the important issues facing employees at each of the three junctures of the M&A process.

This paper seeks to explore the role that boards can play in the contribution of organizational performance and to empirically examine the relationship between the chairman, key board composition variables and firm performance.

The data presented are drawn from a sample of 27 chairmen of Greek corporations listed in the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE). The authors examine hypothesized links between the demographic characteristics of the chairmen of the board, board composition variables, and organizational performance.

The authors found a positive relationship between age and competitive positioning which indicates that, the older the chairperson, the better the competitive positioning. Amazingly, the relationship between age and overall firm performance was found to be negative, indicating that even if the chairperson is older and more experienced the possibly efficient performance of the firm does not depend on that.

The authors managed to collect data from 27 questionnaires; given the small size of the sample, the authors cannot generalize the findings.

The research indicates that understanding the variables that influence top management team and firm performance enhances value creation to investors and shareholders.

The choice of the sample was based on a fundamental principle of corporate governance board leadership structure: the chairman of the board is a different entity from the chief executive officer (CEO). This is one of very few studies concerning corporate governance in Greece focusing on the perception of Greek chairpersons.

The primary purpose of this chapter is to examine some old truths about leadership at the CEO level, and to summarize a new perspective based on charismatic leadership theory that could help cast light on this important area of strategic management. In so doing, we attempt to move charismatic leadership theory in some new directions by bridging micro-and macro-level conceptualizations. The upper echelons perspective from the strategic management literature is first summarized. We then identify problems in conceptualization and measurement that have served to limit the usefulness of this theoretical approach with regard to understanding the leadership role and effects of CEOs. We present two alternative new models that incorporate the constructs of strategic change, CEO charisma, and perceived environmental uncertainty. Data are also presented, suggesting mixed support for the models. Suggestions are made with regard to future quantitative and qualitative research.

A report on the empirical findings of a research project examining the marketing practices, strategies and organisational characteristics of a sample of 23 banks and other companies in the UK retail financial services market. The better performing companies, which were identified by peer admiration, could be distinguished from the less successful companies by wealthier customers and greater skill at controlling the costs of supplying their services. The implications of these findings for banks and other financial companies are discussed.