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Sensory Science has a number of analytical tools at its disposal, one of which is descriptive analysis. This is an objective method where the assessments are strictly controlled. Unlike consumer tests, the appearance, odour, flavour, texture and mouthfeel can be accurately described and measured. Once the panel has agreed and defined the terms, the members then profile the various products, giving each attribute a quantitative score. The methods used to present the data, once they have undergone statistical analysis, can vary from simple star diagrams, to complex generalized Procrustes plots.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the range of benchmarking applications that can be used in a principal‐agent relationship setting often found in the public sector.

Collection and critical analysis of secondary data from relevant publications addressing applications of benchmarking in the public sector. Extraction of knowledge from several research projects where the authors have been involved in studying and developing benchmarking approaches for different public sector organizations. Induction of new theory about the use of benchmarking in principal‐agent relationships in the public sector, grounded through empirical evidence from case studies.

A number of new approaches to benchmarking in the public sector have been identified and described, some of which are already used in real life cases, others which need further development before being implemented. All of these can introduce benefits to both principals and agents involved in such benchmarking efforts.

The paper explores benchmarking applications that are almost exclusively relevant in a public sector setting, although some of them might be adapted to certain private sector conditions.

Whereas most work on benchmarking in the public sector tend to view only improvement‐oriented, voluntary benchmarking as relevant and useful, this paper demonstrates how many different imposed benchmarking schemes with other purposes can be useful.

This paper intends to portray the situation of executive information systems (EIS) profitability, costs and benefits in Spanish big businesses. For this purpose, the author surveyed large Spanish companies in every industry. Comparisons of EIS developed in several countries provide insights that can be used to develop systems by companies in global markets.

Investigates the relationship between perceptions of women principals’ leadership (in terms of sex‐role orientation and leadership functions) and teachers’ work attitudes (in terms of sense of efficacy, sense of community and sense of professional interest) by controlling teachers’ personal demographics in a sample of teachers under the administration of women principals in secondary schools. Gives the results of Pearson and canonical correlation analyses, which indicated that, according to teachers’ perceptions, among the measures of perceived women principals’ leadership, human leadership, political leadership, symbolic leadership, structural leadership, educational leadership, androgynous orientation and undifferentiated orientation (negatively) were strong predictors of a teacher’s work attitudes. The findings of this study support the advocacy of the five leadership dimensions and androgynous orientation in women principals’ leadership. Advances implications for further study and practice.

This paper reports a study of managers in a small English building society. Its intent is to stress the importance of members’ contested understandings of the history of their institution. Management in this organisation were both a unitary and a divided group – collective in some respects but divided in others. This is demonstrated with particular reference to managers’ different accounts of the organisation’s past and the ways in which these were deployed as relevant resources for avoiding extinction in the future.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the COBIT framework, integrated within the internal control framework, enables improvement in the quality of financial reporting while helping to reduce or eliminate the material weaknesses (MWs) of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR). The Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) model is a framework for information technology (IT) management and IT governance. It is a supporting toolset that allows managers to bridge the gap between control requirements, technical issues and business risks. Preliminarily, the analysis in this paper illustrates how the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) framework impacts on the MWs, highlighting strengths and weaknesses. This paper shows how these limits can be overcome with the use of the COBIT framework.

This is a conceptual paper that aims to highlight the relationship between COBIT and COSO, by illustrating how the IT processes reduce or eliminate the main MW categories.

The analysis indicates that the implementation of the COBIT framework, or more generally the adoption of effective IT controls, provides important benefits to the entire company or organization. IT control objectives have a direct impact on the IT control weaknesses and indirectly on the other categories of material weaknesses.

The adoption of the framework allows managers to implement effective ICFR. In particular, the COBIT approach provides managers with a more evolved tool in terms of compliance with the Sarbanes–Oxley Act requirements. This framework also improves the reliability of financial reporting in relation to the requirements of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Auditing Standards No. 2 and 5.

The analysis provides an interdisciplinary approach, connecting accounting and information systems themes, and suggest solutions and tools than can help managers to address the internal control weaknesses. This paper addresses an area of relevance to both practitioners and academics and expands existing accounting literature.

The introduction sets out the scope of the special issue and suggests areas for further research.

This introductory article sets out the rationale and contents of the special issue of History of Education Review on “Outdoor Education in Historical Perspective”. It briefly summarizes the existing state of research and introduces the six articles that comprise the issue.

The introduction identifies four particular themes that arise from the existing literature and from the diverse contributions to this special issue: transculturality; space and place; religion and spirituality; and personality/personalities.

This special issue contains six original contributions to the study of the history of outdoor education, focussing on different locations in Europe and North America.

Past research on group diversity tends to overlook organizational contextual and group process variables. Although recent studies have revealed the main effects of group diversity on intra‐group conflict, it is important to examine the contextual factors reducing or facilitating those effects on intra‐group conflict. This paper presents a conceptual analysis and research proposals that build on past research on intra‐group conflict and organizational culture to examine the relationships between organizational culture, intra‐group conflict, and group diversity. The paper proposes that organizational cultural intensity and content have direct impact on intra‐group conflict and moderate the relationship between group diversity and intra‐group conflict, depending on the degree of value congruence and the value content shared among group members.

Multinationals operate in a setting where the rules of the game are ambiguous, contradictory, and subject to rapid change. The consequences of such conflict for the firm can be serious, ranging from nationalization and expropriation to increased operating costs and losses of market share, managerial control, and valuable executive time. Here are five ways of coping management may try.