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Production/operations managers want to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their subordinates. If an ineffective subordinate cannot be terminated the operations manager must devise a means of coping with this individual. A mail questionnaire survey of manufacturing firms listed in the 1984 Standard and Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives and a parallel telephone questionnaire survey were administered to production/operations managers in the USA. One hundred and eighty‐four usable returns, representing 82 manufacturing organisations, were received. Results show that coping strategies used by production/operations managers vary as a function of the superior's age, level of management and years of experience. Coping strategies change over time. Recently passive strategies have been used to a greater extent. Previously more active strategies were used. Active strategies for dealing with ineffective subordinates are now gaining favour again.

There are elevated debates on the role of teacher unions on the effectiveness of education in the USA. The purpose of this paper is to examine if the unionization of education has an impact on the comparative performance of public education in the USA.

The authors classify states into two groups such as highly unionized states and less unionized states for comparing their performance differences. The analyses consist of two stages. First, the authors apply data envelopment analysis (DEA) to the key performance indicators of the groups. Next, the authors use statistical analysis for confirming the statistical significance of the performance differences that may exist between two groups.

The authors have confirmed the adverse impact of unionization on public education using DEA models and non-parametric rank-sum tests. However, the authors are cautious for generalizing the finding due to the limitations described in the research limitation section.

The finding is limited within the selection of the variables and model specification and requires additional studies using different variables and models. The authors hope that the study motivates researchers to conduct further studies in this area.

Major contributions of the study include a novel approach for measuring the performance of primary and secondary schools at the state level by classifying and choosing less or highly unionized states and suggesting insights for improvements.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the efficiency scores of branches and districts, the sources of inefficiency for branches and projections of variables for inefficient branches. It measures the comparative performance of branches of a credit union for internal benchmarking.

The paper measures the performance of 35 branches of a credit union in the USA and suggests managerial insights. Data envelopment analysis is used for measuring the relative performance of the branches and districts of the credit union. The paper also compares performance differences among the districts using non-parametric statistical analyses.

Parts of the findings indicated that branches should focus on cost containment by reducing operating expenses and increasing their loan balances. In addition, districts were operated in different market conditions, which were evidenced by scale efficiency. The major contributions of the study are filling the void of benchmarking studies at a branch level in the credit union sector, suggesting a framework for internal benchmarking, and providing practical insights to managers of credit unions. The framework of this study can be applied to similar financial institutions with minor revisions.

The limitation of this study is found in the use of cross-sectional data, which is mainly due to the sensitivity of information disclosure of the credit union.

The paper includes implications for the development of benchmarking studies at a branch level in the credit union sector.

This paper fulfills an identified need to study how to identify source of inefficiencies so as to further improve the efficiency of branches.

Selecting appropriate variables for analytical studies is critical for the validity of analysis. It is the same with data envelopment analysis (DEA) studies. In this study, for benchmarking using DEA, the paper seeks to suggest a novel framework based on return on assets (ROA), which is popular and user‐friendly to managers, and demonstrate it by use of an example.

The paper demonstrates the selection of variables using the elements of ROA and applies DEA for measuring and benchmarking the comparative efficiency of companies in the same industry.

It is frequently impossible to obtain internal data for benchmarking from competitors in the same industry. In this case, annual reports may be the only source of data for publicly traded companies. The framework demonstrated with an example is a practical approach for benchmarking with limited data.

This study employs financial data and is subject to the limitations of accounting practices.

The approach is applicable to various studies for performance measurement and benchmarking with minor modifications. Contributions of the study are twofold: first, a framework for selecting variables for DEA studies is suggested; second, the applicability of the framework with a real‐world example is demonstrated.

This paper aims to analyze and benchmark the operating efficiency of resale shops run by a charity organization and to suggest strategies for improved operations.

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to compare the operations of nine resale shops of a charity organization. Data include annual reports of the shops for two years.

The relatively efficient shops are located in the affluent communities, the eastern parts of the city. Accordingly, location is a major contributor to operating efficiency. For resource utilization, charges related to buildings are mostly underutilized among expenses, especially ownership costs and rents. DEA was found to be a useful approach for benchmarking resale operations.

This study is subject to the limitations of DEA, which measures relative technical efficiencies of decision‐making units. Results will vary according to data and decision‐making units included in the model.

The contributions of this study are found in the first attempt for benchmarking resale operations of a charity organization and in its strong practical application.

The purpose of this paper is to measure and benchmark the retail operations of selected coffee stores owned by a specialty coffee company.

Data envelopment analysis is used for benchmarking the performance of eight coffee stores for two years using internal annual reports.

Major findings are that the inefficient stores need to improve occupancy related expenses and revenues from non‐coffee items. In addition, the coffee stores locate in an affluent residential area outperform the stores in the business district.

The limitation of this paper is in the use of financial data. To overcome this issue, non‐financial data should be included.

The contributions of this paper are twofold: providing a framework for performance measures within a benchmarking perspective and evaluating the comparative efficiency of coffee stores using internal data, which is not accessible to the general public.

Leadership and power are often used to influence people’s behavior. However, little is known about the degree and directional relationship between these two constructs and gender. Equally unknown is the degree of impact that culture and gender together may have on such a relationship. This paper attempts to establish an empirical relationship between these two constructs and culture along with gender. Baba and Ace’s modified instruments on leadership and Hinkin and Schriesheim’s instrument on five sources of power were used in surveying 486 students from four business schools in Korea and the USA to derive functional relationships between leadership and power. Results suggest there is a statistically significant relationship between power and leadership and that gender has an impact on that relationship. However, this study does not support the contention that gender plays an important role in cross‐cultural environments; instead, it plays an important role only when considered within a specific culture.

“What kinds of internships are possible?” “How should we decide whether to utilize internships, and if so, how can we ensure they will pay off?” The purpose of this paper is to help answer these key questions facing talent management professionals, educators, and interns.

This is achieved by reviewing the scattered literature to distill the lessons regarding internships for each of these stakeholders. First, the paper better defines internships through enumerating 11 key dimensions, helping give all internship stakeholders a common language to clarify communication. Second, the paper synthesizes and lists the potential benefits and costs/pitfalls of internships for interns, schools, and employers to provide a fuller view of internships from all stakeholder perspectives. Third, the paper summarizes recommendations to help stakeholders maximize the actual benefits obtained from internships while minimizing the costs and avoiding common pitfalls.

Many benefits for interns have been identified in the literature. These can be categorized as job-related benefits, career-related benefits, and networking/job market benefits. For most interns, the costs of the internship are minimal. Nevertheless, potential pitfalls stem from the fact that employers and interns often do not have consistent or shared expectations regarding the internship. The benefits of internships for schools can be significant. These include filling an important modern need for experiential and vocational learning. For employers, hiring an intern for a full-time position after the assignment can lead to savings in the areas of recruitment and selection.

The paper provides stakeholders with “one-stop shopping” for the best general advice about creating and growing successful internships.

The purpose of this study is to benchmark the wireless mobile communication service providers in the USA for the relative efficiencies of assets and expenses in conjunction with revenues. In addition, the impact of merger activities on the efficiencies will be investigated.

The authors use data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure comparative efficiencies of wireless mobile communication companies. Data include annual reports showing assets, expenses, and revenues.

For the relative efficiencies of total asset utilization, eight decision‐making units (DMU) out of 16 are 100 percent efficient. Likewise, seven DMU's are 100 percent efficient in the current asset model. However, only five DMU's are 100 percent efficient in the expense model. Accordingly, the companies maintain relatively higher efficiencies for asset management than those for expense management. Merger activities adversely affect the efficiencies of the companies in the models. Thus, the companies need to make stronger efforts to improve their efficiencies after consolidation.

This study is subject to the limitations of financial data and DEA that measures relative technical efficiencies of DMU. Results will vary according to data and DMU included in the model.

The major contributions of this study are that this is the first attempt of benchmarking using DEA in the wireless telecommunication industry in the USA and its investigation of the impact of merger and acquisition activities on efficiencies.

American wineries have taken marketing steps toward attracting consumers. They employ tasting scores to augment and solidify market share. According to Oster (1999) and Porter (1985), competitive advantage comes from either cost advantages or product differentiation. American wineries use tasting scores they receive from experts as the basis for product differentiation and raising prices. To achieve competitive advantage, the product must be seen as important and an improvement in the market, while simultaneously lacking imitation. This article looks at how tasting scores given by wine experts may affect American firms' competitive advantage, barring entry by importing rivals, such as Australian firms. If these tasting scores provide product importance and improvements, while delivering a product that lacks imitation, competitive advantage may result. If importers to the US realise this, these firms can undermine American advantages, increase competition, and gain market share through their own competitive advantages.