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States that the usefulness of theory, developed in the United States, in international settings, is of particular interest. The wider the domain to which theory can be applied, the greater its value to the body of knowledge to which it belongs. Examines the applicability of Michael Porter′s Three Generic Strategy Typology (1980) in the developing manufacturing nation of Portugal. It was concluded that the typology is an excellent representation of the strategic orientations of manufacturing firms in Portugal. The existence of the strategic options of cost leadership, differentiation and focus were identified, in their pure form, through factor analysis. Regardless of the apparent lack of formal strategic planning processes, Portuguese manufacturing firms appear to be following internally consistent business level strategies.

Executive courage is an important cultural variable that influences the survival of a business organization in an increasingly competitive global business environment. This study presents the results of an empirical cross‐cultural investigation of executive courage. Forty American and 29 Arab executives participated in the study. Nine hypotheses were tested. Results indicated that the two samples exhibited significant differences with regard to their perceptions of the dimensions of executive courage, the role of executive courage in today's business organization, the relative importance of personal growth and personal courage, and the interaction between executive courage and the organizational reward system. It is concluded that executive courage is a positive cross‐cultural force, deserving careful consideration by researchers and practitioners. It is also concluded that business organizations can best serve their need for survival by rewarding those who seek to do the right things, rather than those who do the expected things right.

The importance of quality and statistical quality control as strategic tools, well established in the manufacturing community, has recently been extended to the service sector. The application of statistical quality control techniques within the banking industry is discussed. Recommendations for establishing a quality control programme within a typical banking service environment are provided.

Certified public accountants (CPAs) must advise their clients about potential environmental problems and solutions. Only by doing this can the long‐term survival and profitability of many clients be ensured. Reports on a survey of 940 CPA firms which identified their inconsistent attitudes to timing of disclosure, measurement issues and income statement presentation. Inconsistent practices are mainly owing to lack of authoritative support in the area. Recommends future actions and suggests the CPA should be aware of three critical issues that can adversely affect clients′ operations: valuation of the business, acquisition and divestiture and access to capital. Discusses the CPA′s role as external adviser.

Argues that US health care is in a state of crisis. Escalating costs account for 13 per cent of GNP, making health care the third largest industry in the USA, and spending is expected to increase. Claims health‐care providers need to control rising costs, improve productivity and flexibility, adopt appropriate technologies, and maintain competitive levels of quality and value. States that TQM may provide an environment that will focus on quality of patient care and continuous quality improvement at all levels of the organization including the governing body, the administrative, managerial, and clinical areas. Any new national or state health‐care plan will force providers to be more efficient while maintaining quality standards. Concludes that it will be strategically imperative that health‐care providers ranging from family physicians to major medical centres and suppliers ranging from laboratories to pharmaceutical firms establish methods for making rapid continuous improvement and total quality management the cornerstone of the strategic planning process.

It is clear that dramatic changes are taking place in the way health care organizations are being managed. Health care executives are having to make the transition from managing with a “pass the cost along to the consumer” perspective to one of extreme competitive pressure to reduce costs while maintaining appropriate levels of quality. Reports the results of a survey of 135 American hospitals′ executives. Uses factor analysis to uncover four distinct strategies being operationalized. Classifies hospitals′ strategies as: strategic analysers, externally focused and offensively proactive; quality providers, internally‐focused and defensive reactors; price negotiators, externally‐focused and offensively reactive; or cost efficiency providers, internally focused and defensively proactive.

Within most organizations, accounting has traditionally been a stand‐alone discipline with little effort to integrate accountants into the strategic aspects of management. Other functional areas within a firm often view accountants as producers of dated and irrelevant information. The accounting profession, in particular the education sector, has recognized the increased importance of the field in the management process. However, owing to the present structure of the majority of accounting programmes, graduates in accounting are often not prepared to assume a role in strategic decision making. Given this deficiency, constructive changes are being made to the accounting curricula. Discusses how these changes aid accountant graduates in becoming part of the strategic alliance of the firm and helps managers better to understand the changing role of accountants. There are lessons to be learned for the internal auditing profession from this experience.

For those interested in studying the effects of stakeholder theory on organizational performance, the establishment of measures that represent both explicit and implicit claims on the firm’s outputs is vital. While net organizational capital (NOC) has been shown to represent the value of the firm after honouring implicit claims of stakeholder groups, practical application requires the use of surrogates such as net intangible assets (NIA). Attempts to extend research in this area by establishing additional surrogates, segment sales (SS) and research and development intensity (RD), which can be easily calculated and reflect operating characteristics of the organization being observed. Concludes that RD is a reasonable indicator of the firm’s NIA for both bond upgrade and downgrade situations, but that SS can be viewed as a surrogate for NIA during upgrade situations. Both, however, can provide great insights to the researcher and can be used to assist in classifying firms with respect to stakeholder group influence.

The competitive bidding process is the method by which firms efficiently and effectively make purchases for necessary goods and services at a desired level of quality. Those firms with managers who understand the competitive bid process and are sufficiently sophisticated with regard to its implementation can create a tremendous competitive advantage in the marketplace. Explains the concept of buyer sophistication in terms of the skills necessary for successful competition in markets heavily influenced by the competitive bid process. Places particular emphasis on how the seller must map the sophistication level of the buyer in order to determine the most appropriate sales and negotiation strategy.

States that owing to foresight and planning by Portuguese business executives, most firms in Portugal survived the difficult 1970s and 1980s and, as a consequence, are stronger in today’s competitive internal and external challenges. Sets out the methodology used and gives data analysis and results in a descriptive way, with the use of explanatory tables. Closes by stating that time‐based differentiation may offer new ways for firms competing in highly differentiated markets.