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There are both “Swedish” and “Japanese” models for the organization of final assembly. Discusses the theoretical and historical background to these models and the main practical differences between them. Provides an empirical study based on action research conducted in the final assembly area of a Scottish electronics company. The aims of the research were to effect change in the company by applying just‐in‐time (JIT) assembly methods, and to observe the process of change and the consequences for production of the cellular approach to assembly and the formation of assembly teams. Two projects were undertaken. In the first, a JIT cell was built for the assembly of a new product; this cell and an existing, conventional flowline operated in parallel for a period. In the second, a work team was formed, consisting of the operators assembling an older product on a machine‐paced line; the members of this team were given a significantly higher level of work autonomy than before. Provides a detailed account of the two projects.

Describes a study undertaken for a major Scottish drinks company. The company believed that the quality of service to its customers had declined in the course of merger and rationalization. Presents the background of the company and describes relevant company procedures in outline. Also describes the recommendations made and presents top management reports with measures of customer service. Discusses issues concerning implementation.

The present paper aims to discuss the concept of competence from a multicultural perspective, for organisational success. It argues that models that view competence as a sum of competencies for management development within organisations could benefit from a multicultural perspective that put those competencies within the context of cultural sensitivity and understanding, so as to promote a trustworthy organisational environment crucial for any institutional change for competitive edge. It analyses theoretical approaches to the concept of competence in organisations, focusing particularly on those that take into account multicultural concerns and the need for building trust within organisational environments. It then addresses the meanings of competence as understood by executives acting in some organizations in Brazil, depicting emphases and silences in those discourses, as well as implications for logistics and management decision in a multicultural perspective.

The question of the best commercial method of retailing milk requires to be dealt with from the various standpoints of the different classes of milk vendors.

School sex education has the potential to evoke a range of personal and political reactions. While it is usually agreed that sexuality should be ‘done’ in school, few agree on the best way of ‘doing’ it. This article provides a personal account of the development of sex education at Shepparton South Technical School, Victoria, Australia from 1973‐1985. It is supported by interviews with the people involved in those events and archival materials, including media reports. It also documents the efforts of extreme right activists to discredit and stop programmes, and the State Liberal government’s attempt to formulate a policy on sex education. First I provide a general background to technical schools in Victoria in the 1970s followed by a discussion of Shepparton South Technical School specifically. I then discuss the development of the sex education (social biology) programme, the pivotal role of the Social Biology resource Centre, and the networks involved. I also describe the attacks on the programme in the late 1970s, and their origins and impact. I conclude with a discussion of the outcomes of this intense public scrutiny, and the demise of social biology and the secondary technical schools, the ‘techs’ in the 1980s.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects on quality-related learning resulting from the use of the quality cost information (QCI). Specifically, this paper analyzes to what extent the diagnostic and interactive uses of QCI contribute to improve quality-related learning.

The proposed model was tested using a structural equation modeling procedure with AMOS and the data were collected through a questionnaire survey conducted on a sample of Portuguese certified companies.

The results shed light on expected relationships since the interactive style of use of QCI, unlike the diagnostic style of use, has a positive effect on quality-related learning. However, the diagnostic use of QCI was found to be a predecessor of the interactive use of QCI, in line with previous studies. Finally, diagnostic use of QCI exerts an indirect positive impact on quality-related learning through the interactive use of QCI.

This paper contributes to the body of research on the use of interactive and diagnostic systems, providing evidence that a balance between those systems improves quality-related learning.

The results show that the use of QCI to promote participation, dialogue and involvement of all participants (according to an interactive style of use), and not just to control the accomplishment of predetermined objectives (according to a diagnostic style of use), is a necessary condition for quality-related learning.

Despite the wide-ranging literature focused on the identification, measurement and reporting of QCI, less attention has been paid to how this information is used in the management process. The way in which the use of QCI can contribute to the improvement in quality-related learning is also an unexplored topic in the literature.

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is widely applied as a performance measurement and strategy implementation tool by organizations. Research has revealed that the term “balanced scorecard” may be understood differently by managers both within as well as across organizations implying that the performance measurement systems implemented in organizations may not be similar to the construct envisioned by Kaplan and Norton. Using Kaplan and Norton's Balanced Scorecard construct as a basis, the paper aims to develop and test a five‐level taxonomy to classify firms' performance measurement systems.

A Balanced Scorecard taxonomy is validated using a large sample of professional accountants working in Canadian organizations.

The five‐level taxonomy is used to categorize the performance measurement systems of 149 organizations. It is found that 111 organizations' (74.5 percent) performance measurement systems met the criteria to be classified as a Basic Level 1 BSC, while 61 (40.9 percent) organizations have structurally complete Level 3 BSCs, and 36 (24.2 percent) organizations have fully developed Level 5 BSCs. The paper also discusses differences between Level 1 and Level 5 BSC organizations.

While many researchers assume that organizations' performance measurement systems are similar in implementation level and use, the paper demonstrates that organizations are at different levels of BSC implementation and use, a factor that should be taken into consideration when designing empirical studies to test the efficacy of Kaplan and Norton's BSC.

The five‐level BSC taxonomy scheme provides managers working with Kaplan and Norton's BSC with a tool to plan their implementation steps and then benchmark their progress towards implementing a fully developed Level 5 BSC.

In developing and empirically validating a BSC taxonomy, the paper builds on and extends previous research on BSC implementation and its potential implications.

The NEW TECHNICAL SERVICES Laboratory of the Mobil Oil Company Limited have recently been completed at Coryton on a site adjacent to the Mobil Coryton Refinery. Work here covers Product Development, Quality Control and Technical Services to Marketers, Distributors and Customers and the impression that we gained on our recent visit was that Service is the correct key word to all work done here. This is not a laboratory for fundamental research, since this is done by Soeony

Using sex education at Shepparton South Technical School (South Tech) as a prism, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the Victorian Technical Schools Division policies and practices during the 1970-1980s.

The paper draws on a documented history of South Tech by using a blended methodology consisting of interviews, media-centred debates and a range of documentary sources.

The Technical Director, Edward “Ted” Jackson's 1970 policy empowered principals as educational leaders, in partnership with their community, to develop courses responding to student needs. This paper analyses a controversy concerning sex education in 1980 that brought such courses under the scrutiny of the Victorian public.

Identifying the policies and practices of a sex education course that proved successful in the past enhances the development of contemporary courses.

Victoria's former secondary technical schools provide an important insight into current social and vocational problems.