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Gives an extensive historical overview of the industrial history of Scotland. Goes on to look at quality in Scotland today. Reports on a survey of 200 enterprises in Central Scotland with regard to the benefits of various quality practices. Concludes that quality is now instilled in the operations of Scottish companies and suggests that this will develop in the future.

The paper extends the discussion on the merit of using a net promoter score (NPS) to enhance the service design of organisations and to facilitate quality monitoring and improvement. NPS is a basic measure to assess the likelihood of a customer recommending an organisation to somebody else. This paper aims to show that this metric can be effective in monitoring and improving the quality of workplace training.

Investigating the merit of using NPS to improve organisational training involved a longitudinal study of training provided by IBM. Data is analysed using panel regression and partial correlation methods. Workplace training delivery is the unit of analysis in which an NPS and conventional customer satisfaction score evaluations were conducted at the end of the delivery. The efficacy of these measures to improve quality are compared and insights derived from analysing NPS are investigated.

The findings indicate that, although NPS is not necessarily related to the results or success of a business, from a corporate perspective it can provide a solid basis from which to make business decisions that benefit a company. The authors found that NPS was associated with improved satisfaction with training, although significant regional variations were observed. Building on the data, a service business model is proposed advocating NPS as a tool for continuous improvement.

The contribution to practice includes a clearer understanding of NPS as a quality and service improvement indicator and also as a driver for a service business design. In addition, it is indicated that enterprises operating in multiple regions should consider regional variations in NPS.

By analysis of IBM’s training data, the authors gain an understanding of an industry in which quality and the use of NPS has not been extensively studied. The data also offers a rich dimension in the examination of the factors that should be considered to effectively implement an NPS service improvement plan.

For many nations, their workforces are ageing. The purpose of this paper is to explore the concerns and attitudes of employers to employing older workers and what information they require.

A questionnaire survey of workplaces was undertaken in the Fife region of Scotland, which in economic and demographic terms is representative of wider Scotland and other nations in Northern Europe. Descriptive analysis was undertaken to give insight into concerns and actions taken regarding ageing workforces.

Most workplaces perceive more advantages to employing older workers than challenges. Many have adapted training and work practices, but many have not. The majority surveyed believe that existing policies and strategies are sufficient. This points to the need for national and local government and employer associations to become more active to persuade workplaces to better manage future workplaces.

Generalisability is problematic and the small sample restricted the scope of statistical analysis.

The authors were unable to judge the severity of how an ageing workforce impacts on workplace performance, as employers found it difficult to conceptualise and identify the impact of ageing from market and economic pressures.

Resulting from population ageing the workforce of many societies are becoming older, this will impact on workplace relations and the social identity of those over the age of 50 years.

Little research has been undertaken to assess workplaces awareness of, and how to adapt to, an ageing workforce, and research is required to inform and guide management strategy of employers.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of social networks, and the social capital embedded in them, to secure employment if someone had become unemployed after the age of 50 years and to reveal the process of accessing and mobilising that social capital.

A case study of a Scottish labour market was undertaken which involved an interview-based survey of those who became unemployed in their early 50’s and tried to regain employment. The interview had structured and unstructured parts which allowed both quantitative and qualitative analysis to compare those who were successful in regaining work with those who were not. The uniqueness of the paper is the use of social network components while controlling for other socio-economic and demographic variables in job search of older workers.

Those older people who were unemployed and, returned to employment (reemployed) had a higher proportion of contacts with higher prestige jobs, their job searching methods were mainly interpersonal and the rate of finding their last job via their social networks was higher than those who remained unemployed. Both groups mobilised social capital (MSC), but those reemployed accessed higher “quality” social capital. “Strong ties”, rather than “weak ties”, were found to be important in accessing and mobilising social capital for the older workers who returned to employment.

This work is limited to a local labour market and is based on a small but informative sample. However, it does show that policy is required to allow older people to enhance their social networks by strengthening the social capital embedded in the networks. The results support the use of intermediaries as bridges to help compensate for older people who have weak social networks. Besides the policy implications, the paper also has two distinct research implications. First, the use of social network component to the existing literature of older workers’ job search. Second, exploring the type and relational strength with network members to explain older workers’ reemployment.

The paper illustrates that how accessed and MSC can be measured.

As populations age, this work points to an approach to support older people to re-enter employment and to include them in society.

The paper extends social network and employment literature to fill gaps on how older people require to both access and mobilise social capital. The importance of “strong ties” in the reemployment of older workers contrasts with much of the literature on younger workers where the “strength of weak ties” so far has been regarded as essential for successful job search. Measures are forwarded to reveal the relevance of social capital. The policy value of the work is in suggesting ways to facilitate older people re-enter or remain in work and hence sustain their well-being.

In modern business the acquisition and management of information has become a competitive force. It can be argued that this has always been the case. Critical in the gathering of information and its analysis is the use of statistics, yet there remains a huge element of distrust amongst senior management in the use of statistical tools. Some of the reasons for this will be discussed in this paper and the issue of the need for statisticians to take more responsibility for bridging this gap will be raised. A theme of this paper is how recent trends in knowledge discovery and data mining (KDD) may be instrumental in breaking down traditional barriers between analysts and managers. Case studies from the use of KDD in customer relations management are presented, from which guidelines for the acquisition and management of information will be given. Some cautionary pointers, such as the need to look beyond current customer bases and to speculate in possible organisational and market futures, will also be given. Case studies will be drawn from the areas of contract electronic manufacture, education and financial retailing.

Entrepreneurship and innovation education has derived from established university curriculum and the context is set of concepts and tools used in the corporate world. The challenge of transforming a start‐up company into a business success needs different capabilities. It goes beyond the development of an idea and writing‐up a comprehensive business plan. This study analysed over 200 technology‐driven companies which have been created under the formal requirement of a business plan competition since 1996. The objective was to identify drivers for innovation and success. From the results, an agenda of entrepreneurial and innovation education was derived and is discussed.

It is widely recognized that the use of statistical experimental design techniques, including those advanced by Taguchi, can, when applied correctly, lead to a deep understanding of processes and often to their improvement. The benefit arises out of the methodologies providing a vehicle to allow the application of the scientific method. Teaching this to students and those at work is difficult and there is a tendency to get embroiled in the analysis of results, which can lead to missing many of the practical issues and alienation of non‐mathematical students. Reports ways of giving a practical insight in a classroom situation, focuses on the actual running of an experiment in class and gives some results and observations, and describes methods which have been found to achieve the educational aims of giving understanding, confidence and motivation.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association of social networks with being in work, contrasting those under age 50 with those over 50 years.

A case study is undertaken of a local labour market in Scotland. Data were collected by interview using a semi‐structured questionnaire from 194 people divided into four groups. Data include information on individuals' socio‐economic characteristics and on their networks. A four‐way comparison is made by age and employment status.

Those in work have denser social networks populated with members with higher social and human capital. For those over 50 years, the more contacts one has with higher prestige employment positions (a proxy for social capital), and the stronger the ties with these contacts, the more likely that one is to be in employment. For those under 50 years, their own qualifications and the number of contacts are important.

This work adds to both research on employability and social networks.

The over 50s tend to be the age group that is most likely to be not in employment and as populations age there is a need to ensure that barriers to employment against those over 50 are reduced. Finding routes to reduce unemployment will also help combat social exclusion.

This is in the combination of a social network approach with age cohort analysis to give insight into how social capital is associated with being in employment.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the innovation capabilities of Chinese enterprises. It is important to understand these innovation capabilities and to find how they might relate to promoting innovativeness.

In this paper, data obtained from a survey of enterprises in the Chinese provinces Liaoning and Henan are analysed using multiple regression to ascertain how facets of innovation capabilities might enhance the likelihood of innovation success. Analysis is conducted for innovation defined as incremental, radical and the total of both.

It is found that focusing on customers tends to reduce innovation for Chinese companies, whilst competitor orientation, knowledge enhancement and management capability are associated with enhanced innovative ability.

There are many determinants of innovation, notably as skills and attributes of the individual entrepreneur. In this paper the focus is on organisational facets and not on those of the individual. The paper shows the importance of monitoring competitors, as well as managing and enhancing knowledge.

The paper reports the analysis and extent of different capabilities for successful innovation from a unique data set from two provinces in China.