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States that flexible working methods are a permanent feature of the modern employment market; they offer companies cost savings and other benefits and it has been predicted that by the year 2000 one quarter of the British working population will be involved in flexible working. Many human resources departments are not prepared to meet these changes. Argues that human resources must adapt to these changes and see them as an opportunity.

Edmund Burke, the 18th century Irish orator said … ‘those who propose change should work hard to persuade a rational man that innovations or reforms would not end in damage or absurdity’.

Universal Robotics Systems is a small Palo Alto R&D company dedicated to the development of unique mechanical, electromechanical, and electronic devices for application to the fields of industrial robotics, robotics research, and rehabilitative robotics/ electronics. In the past 18 months, a number of projects have been brought to the working prototype stage. These are:

The work of David John Farmer has been recognized as critical to the Public Policy and Administration canon. Its impact has been far-reaching both geographically because of its international application and theoretically because of the vast array of public administration challenges it can help resolve. This paper uses the concepts of rhizomatic thinking and reflexive interpretation to describe Farmerʼs work. And because a critical piece of Farmerʼs work is a bridging of the gap between theory and practice, it formally introduces Farmerʼs research approach as Farmerʼs Method. This article is intended to serve as a useful tool for students, practitioners, and theorists in understanding the vast contributions of David John Farmer and the practical application of his work.

Research relying on laboratory protocol and case studies has demonstrated positive effects from cognitive conflict and controversy. Reported benefits have included better judgments, improved strategic decisions and a better understanding of others' positions. This study develops and assesses the psychometric properties of an instrument designed to examine decision conflict in field settings. This instrument was administered on site to 63 managers. Factors identified in the instrument were disagreement, openness, and control. Interestingly, the openness dimension was positively associated with job commitment. The control factor was inversely associated with job satisfaction.

Many firms have adopted one or more “radical” management remedies in a quest for breakthroughs in performance. But their goal of “discontinuous” improvements usually has an unspoken stipulation: change that causes breakdowns is not acceptable. A few innovative companies have found, however, that process and offering breakthroughs can't occur without carefully orchestrated management system conflict and breakdowns.

The metaphor of a poker game suggests the reality of international business as a competitive field in which players test their wits against each other, often using guile, and play at high levels of uncertainty. The game's rules are essentially simple but there is extensive room to maneuver. If business were actually conducted internationally with one set of clear rules used by all, then it would be like chess. A chess master can play against many others, given the highly structured nature of the game's processes. A poker master takes on a different kind of complexity, and in that, the reading of others’ minds, characters, behavior patterns, and interactions becomes crucial. The essential challenge of the global mindset is that, whereas you might think you are playing chess against several opponents, you are actually playing poker.

ESPE, the market leader, is a medium-sized German manufacturer of precision dental impression materials competing in a shrinking market. To grow the business, ESPE invests substantial resources in innovative impression materials and associated distribution mechanisms. Squeezed by the shrinking market, the competition is increasingly using the proprietary channels (dispensing mechanisms) and brand equity (trademark) of ESPE to maintain their market share. There is a potential infringement. Explores how ESPE is organized to execute on the options imbedded in its IP rights.

To provide students with an understanding of how to use brands and trademarks in conjunction with trade secrets, patents, and other forms of IP in mature markets to build and maintain innovation-based competitive advantage.

Aslib Library holds a collection of thesauri, subject headings and classification schemes which are used to answer members' enquiries about the existence of schemes for particular subject fields and many of which are available on loan for two weeks. Our policy is to acquire all significant English language publications and bilingual or multilingual items with English as one of the languages.