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Properly conceived, conducted and interpreted, motivation research can be an extremely powerful management tool, designed to help the manufacturer or advertiser to sell more goods. Its aim is to expose the market situation, explain it and suggest courses of action which will lead to desired changes. It is a way of looking at a problem rather than a collection of specialist techniques and is strictly practical. Hence it can be used alongside other market research tools for the solution of marketing problems and can be applied to a wide range of business activities. Much of its development has been in the advertising field but it can also help in the formulation of production policy, solving packaging problems and marketing operations. It is examined here in all these contexts. The idea of motivation research, the reasons for its use and the techniques by which to apply it are discussed, as well as the pitfalls that are likely to occur. New and imaginary case studies are used throughout to illustrate points. A review of the subject literature is included.

A survey was carried out to determine the ways in which trade journal editors are able to answer the various types of enquiry which they receive, and to discover how far they are willing to do so. Editors of thirty‐five paid‐circulation and five controlled‐circulation journals were interviewed by means of the informal guided (focused) technique, the majority on a personal‐interview basis. The results from the paid‐circulation journals indicated that most of the enquiries received are telephoned, and require trade information. These can be answered most easily by the editors. Technical enquiries can be dealt with successfully by about half of the editors interviewed. Out of the enquiries relating to journal‐published material, those referring to editorial articles are usually handled by the editors concerned, whereas those referring to contributed articles tend to be referred to the contributing authors. Enquiries for marketing information can again be answered by about half of the editors interviewed, usually those whose journals aim to cover the marketing aspects of their fields. Peripheral enquiries tend to be referred to other trade journals. Most of the editors are prepared to spend between fifteen minutes and one hour on an enquiry, if necessary. About half of them are prepared to do research to find out answers to enquiries, and will give detailed answers when they are required. Just under half of the editors interviewed considered that readers' enquiries are very important, and nine of the sample journals provide some type of specialized enquiry service to deal with them. Since editors are up to date and well informed in their fields, they can usually put the enquirer in touch with people who can help. The degree to which an editor will help an enquirer depends largely on his personal attitude (whether he enjoys answering enquiries, for example), and also on the time he has available and whether he thinks the enquirer is ‘genuine’. The results of the interviews with controlled‐circulation journal editors were very similar to those of paid‐circulation journal editors.

This is the second in a series of three articles describing the automation system, based on McDonnell Douglas' URICA package used in the Department of Printed Books at the National Library of Wales. A description of the Cataloguing Module is given, including developments to respond to changing working practices and problems inherent in the original system design. The Retrospective Record Conversion procedures are described and the likely impact of CD‐ROM technology is recognised. Finally the Enquiry/Public Access and Circulation modules are described giving short‐comings of the existing system and suggested ways to improve the facilities in the future.

To demonstrate that stakeholder analysis has a significant contribution to make as a “middle ground” research method and as a means of organisational change.

A case study of performance appraisal in UK academic institutions uses stakeholder analysis to address issues of organisation performance and development in a way that bridges the divide between theory and practice. This approach is supported by locating stakeholder theory within modes of organisation enquiry, and by positioning it more specifically within its conceptual domain.

Demonstrates the integrity and value of stakeholder analysis as a “middle ground” research method via development of a stakeholder systems model that identifies design, operation and evaluation stages of the performance management process and links these to measures of effectiveness and equity.

“Joined up thinking” in organisation analysis implies incorporation of quantitative and qualitative research methods in a holistic method of organisation enquiry. Stakeholder analysis illustrates how different research philosophies and methods can be combined in a pragmatic but robust way.

The stakeholder systems model builds on the concept of multi‐source approaches to performance appraisal. Both broaden the basis of assessment by incorporating stakeholder perspectives but, while the former seeks stakeholder consensus at the evaluation stage, the later incorporates multi‐source (stakeholder) perspectives on design, process and evaluation stages and on the system as a whole.

The paper demonstrates how stakeholder theory can draw from the conceptual clarity and intellectual rigour of “objective” epistemologies while retaining acceptance of the “soft”, unstructured and value‐based nature of organisation problems.

The customer enquiry management (CEM) process is of strategic importance in engineer‐to‐order contexts but existing literature does not adequately describe how firms support delivery date setting and order acceptance decisions in practice. This paper seeks to explore how and why the CEM process varies between companies in the capital goods sector, thereby taking a contingency theory approach.

Multi‐case study research involving 18 Italian capital goods manufacturers in four industrial sectors. Face‐to‐face interviews with senior representatives have been conducted. Companies have been grouped into five clusters, based on similarities in their CEM decision‐making modes, to aid analysis.

Three contingency factors were found to be particularly relevant in determining CEM modes: degree of product customization, flexibility of the production system, and uncertainty of the context. These factors affect the choice of specific CEM decision‐making modes. However, a high level of cross‐functional coordination and formalization of the process were found to constitute best practices whatever the contingency factors.

The research focuses on companies belonging to the Italian capital goods sector – findings may differ in other countries and sectors.

The results indicate that all firms, including small and medium‐sized companies, should implement high levels of cross‐functional coordination and formalization in their CEM practices, in order to improve their performance. For other aspects of the CEM process, including supplier and subcontractor monitoring, the company context will indicate whether these aspects are required, according to a need of matching the approach to CEM with specific sets of contingency factors.

This paper provides a rare insight into the CEM processes found in practice.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a novel direction of enquiry into predictions of employee turnover through the application of a qualitative method adapted from marital research. This method focuses on diagnosing the relationship, and has been able to predict divorce with an accuracy of over 90 per cent, as opposed to existing turnover prediction methods’ modest success of about 30 per cent. By demonstrating that the method can be applied to turnover research, this study completes a seminal step in developing this promising direction of enquiry.

The Oral History Interview method for predicting divorce is adapted to employment settings, and tested on Australian legal and healthcare employees. A qualitative analysis of their responses maps the results from this inquiry onto separation-predicting processes identified in marital research. The results are compared to turnover data collected two years later.

Similar relational processes exist in marital and employment relationships when the marital relationship diagnostics method is applied to organisational settings, demonstrating the utility of this tool in the employment context. Preliminary turnover data indicate that some relational processes are significantly associated with employee turnover.

Future research should examine the predictive power of this tool on a larger sample, and apply it to a wider range of professions, tenure, and positions.

The results indicate that it is viable to diagnose an employment relationship using this diagnostics method developed in marital research.

The novel perspective offered in this paper has potential to greatly improve this employment relationship across jobs and organisations, thus improving organisational productivity and individual wellbeing.

Researchers of employee turnover and practitioners seeking to understand and manage it can benefit from this novel and practical perspective on employment.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the value of appreciative inquiry (AI) methodology in enabling co-productive work within mental health service development.

The methodology of AI is described and observations on its use in mental health service improvement are considered.

AI is a really helpful tool in supporting service improvement and is particularly applicable in mental health discussions involving service users and carers. Many service users and carers engaging with service development discussions have had adverse past experiences which can inhibit their successful contribution to planning discussions. AI allows a more positive reflection on how services can be improved which can help achieve positive results.

AI methodology is a really useful tool in supporting improvement discussions across health, and other public, services, and is particularly valuable in engaging mental health service users and carers in such activity.

The method is useful across service development needs and could be developed to support mental health service improvement locally, regionally and nationally. Developing the use of this method could make a real contribution to improving relations between service users, carers and health staff and support meaningful and positive change in the delivery of mental health services.

Helping to overcome dissonance between service users and carers, and health staff and commissioners; and developing the use of appreciative enquiry could enhance the value of co-production as a key driver for service improvement.

The author is aware of little discussion of the value of appreciative enquiry in the growing literature around co-production in mental health.

Higher education institutions have a significant role in preparing future generations for the world of work and sustainable development. This paper aims to present a curriculum model of an enquiry-based learning pedagogy and a sustainable development conceptual context as a mechanism for teaching skills in a geography module. Potential influences of this model on organisational change towards integrating sustainable development are explored.

Following the design and implementation of the curriculum model, semi-structured interviews of the module teaching team were conducted. Thematic analysis was undertaken against a priori objectives determined from existing theoretical frameworks.

Thematic analysis suggests powerful synergies exist between enquiry-based learning, education for sustainable development and skills teaching. Potential impacts are as follows: conceptual perspectives enhance cognitive potential around systems thinking, learning methods promote behavioural potential around professional capability and agency and cultural encounters raise affective potential around inclusive curricula.

Findings indicate potential for bottom-up curriculum intervention to enhance individual learner capability and outcomes, to promote the role of Geography in responsible futures, to build teaching team capacity for active learning pedagogies, to influence individual and institutional behaviour change towards sustainability practices, diversity and inclusion, and to catalyse organisational change around sector priorities including integrating education for sustainable development, active learning, inclusive education and enhanced graduate outcomes.

This paper identifies multiple benefits from a curriculum model combining skills teaching in a synergistic pedagogical and conceptual framework and its bottom-up potential to catalyse organisational change in higher education.

Examines the history of the Commission on Industrial Relations (CIR) 1969‐74 ‐ its origins, organization and policies ‐ and then evaluates its contribution as an agent of reform in the context of the perceived problems of the 1960s and 1970s. Considers whether there are any lessons to be learnt for the future given the possibility of a Labour Government, developments in Europe and the 1995 TUC policy document Your Voice at Work. Despite the drastic changes in industrial relations and in the economic, political and social environment, the answer is in the affirmative. In particular, the importance of a new third‐party agency having an independent governing body like the CIR and not a representative body like the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS); in its workflow not being controlled by government; and in its decisions on recognition being legally enforceable.

Enquiries for information put to library staff during a six‐month period in 1976 are analysed according to subject, originator, channel, source and frequency. Results are discussed, along with the implications for library policy.