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The commentary paper aims to delve into how social media are being used by chief marketing officers (CMOs) and shows that while many in business-to-customer have understood how to use social media already, their CMO counterparts in business-to-business (B2B) have not made up their minds. So some key questions are raised about B2B CMOs’ readiness to use social media, what this accomplishes and resulting effects upon the role of the CMO within an organisation.

The research paper involves use of case studies drawn from IBM experience with social media.

B2B CMOs are not ready to make use of social media. Even those who are actively engaging are expressing concern that they are pioneering and have not yet put in place a strategy that they are satisfied with. In addition, social media can be used for after-sales service, getting sales leads, engaging with key influencers, building the company’s reputation and enhancing the industry status of key individuals. B2B firms need to exploit the capabilities of processing massive amounts of data to get the most from social media.

The paper brings insights to the challenges facing CMOs of B2B firms when using social media. It provides a better understanding of what should be the role of CMOs in the use of social media. The CMO must be the voice of the customer as well as the custodian of the values that enable effective use of social media. Effective collaboration within the boardroom is essential and if the CMO is not a board member, then the company should consider making that change.

This book chapter reflectively explores the challenges of studying provocation, satire, bad taste and offence in stand-up comedy. The author’s sociological lens on the topic is situated within the broader field of humour studies, which is a relatively small yet creative and innovative field within the human, cultural and social sciences. This lost ethnographic project contains shelved and dormant interview data with a number of stand-up comedians, including the controversial and emotive late Bernard Manning and an early career Steve Coogan. The project also explores the author’s autoethnographic journey into rant poetry, as both a hobbyist and, on further reflection, a way of keeping the project informally but theoretically alive. The issues of censorship, political correctness and informed consent are key ones in the author’s confessional type analysis. Finally, the value and richness of loss, failure and resilience as marginalised yet significant and unacknowledged learning resources in our academic adventures are frankly discussed. The call here is for more lost ethnographic projects to be recognised and appreciated in academia.

US National Park Service personnel are resistant to training programmes derived from business and industry. The circumstances leading to development of a customised training programme are described – in particular the development and presentation of a simulation which was a key feature.

To describe the part played by Maurice Line in the use of survey evidence and performance information in the management of academic libraries, commencing with the publication of the “Parry Report” in 1967.

The Parry Committee found little practical evidence in 1963, and had to commission some work. Two studies carried out by Line at Southampton University were available, and this and other work by Line featured significantly in the committee's work. The emergence of Line as a major figure in the development of academic and research libraries, the further development of the use of an evidence‐based approach to the management of academic libraries, and the links between these two factors are outlined.

The advance of Line's professional career was accompanied by a substantial output of highly‐regarded professional writing, which incorporated original thought and an evidence‐based approach to a degree which was unusual for that time, especially from somebody in a relatively junior post. The paucity of similar work prior to 1970 is outlined and the development of the empirical approach, especially through the work of the newly‐founded Library Management Research Unit (LMRU) is described. The 1976 report of the Atkinson Committee is portrayed as confirming the importance of evidence for the future management of academic libraries.

Sketches the early stages of a career which has had a profound impact on the development of academic and research libraries since 1960.

There is massive interest within the financial community in ways of improving and shortcutting the arduous process of planning and budgeting. Sponsored by Accenture, researchers at Cranfield School of Management’s Centre for Business Performance reviewed the literature and interviewed 15 leading companies to obtain insights into the best practices organizations are actually adopting. While some companies have simply exorcised the term budgeting from their corporate vocabularies, a group of pioneering Scandinavian companies have dispensed with budgeting altogether.

Trace Instruments have announced that Mr Tony Battaglia has been named central regional sales manager.

Alpha Metals, supplier of solders and solder related chemicals, has promoted Mr Stan Renals to the position of Sales and Marketing Manager, reporting to the General Manager. Having been with the company for some five years, originally as Southern Regional Sales Manager and latterly in the position of National Field Sales Manager, Mr Renals will take on the additional responsibilities of internal sales, marketing and export sales.