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This paper aims to explore the potential of ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) to incorporate the direct printing of electrical materials and arrangements (conductors and insulators) at the interlaminar interface of parts during manufacture to allow the integration of functional and optimal electrical circuitries inside dense metallic objects without detrimental effect on the overall mechanical integrity. This holds promise to release transformative device functionality and applications of smart metallic devices and products.

To ensure the proper electrical insulation between the printed conductors and metal matrices, an insulation layer with sufficient thickness is required to accommodate the rough interlaminar surface which is inherent to the UAM process. This in turn increases the total thickness of printed circuitries and thereby adversely affects the integrity of the UAM part. A specific solution is proposed to optimise the rough interlaminar surface through deforming the UAM substrates via sonotrode rolling or UAM processing.

The surface roughness (Sa) could be reduced from 4.5 to 4.1 µm by sonotrode rolling and from 4.5 to 0.8 µm by ultrasonic deformation. Peel testing demonstrated that sonotrode-rolled substrates could maintain their mechanical strength, while the performance of UAM-deformed substrates degraded under same welding conditions ( approximately 12 per cent reduction compared with undeformed substrates). This was attributed to the work hardening of deformation process which was identified via dual-beam focussed ion beam–scanning electron microscope investigation.

The sonotrode rolling was identified as a viable methodology in allowing printed electrical circuitries in UAM. It enabled a decrease in the thickness of printed electrical circuitries by ca. 25 per cent.

Benchmarking within the service industry is not as easily definable as in manufacturing, where there are many processes common to companies in businesses which are different from one another. Many of the key elements of service quality are more nebulous. Describes the study forms of some of the US′s most renowned service providers by groups of UK executives. Asserts that this type of benchmarking is more than just corporate tourism, detailing the areas of best practice which were around.

Addresses the value of laughter, play and a sense of humour as tools for improving communication, innovation and empowerment. Organizations around the world are hiring the author, and other facilitators, to deliver playful and humorous programmes designed to help team members develop a creative collaborative and customer‐centred culture. Lowering stress, improving interpersonal skills, increasing creativity and accelerating learning all can be accomplished by including fun in the workplace. These behaviours and skills support the empowered organization.

Addresses the value of laughter, play and a sense of humor as tools for improving communication, innovation and empowerment. Organizations around the world are hiring the author, and other facilitators, to deliver playful and humorous programs designed to help team members develop a creative, collaborative and customer‐centered culture. Lowering stress, improving interpersonal skills, increasing creativity and accelerating learning all can be accomplished by including fun in the workplace. These behaviors and skills support the empowered organization.

This article describes the importance of fitness (chiefly exercise) for top ranking executive leaders and for their respective organizations. The authors discuss how fitness can contribute to stamina, mental clarity, ability to cope with stress and a variety of other factors that can affect an executive’s ability to lead. The authors support this premise by drawing on key research studies and actual accounts of top executives from a variety of business organizations. The authors feature information obtained from direct interviews with the year 2000 USA presidential candidates, Al Gore and George W. Bush. The authors view them as high profile models of how fitness can be given high priority for maintaining personal effectiveness for even the busiest executive leaders.

For corporations competing in a global marketplace, time‐based management of their technology is becoming a significant resource. However, the concept of time in management of technology‐driven industrial organizations is not new. Classical management theorists like Frederick Taylor and others used time‐based management in “scientific” management of operations or for planning, organizing, scheduling, and controlling. However, due to opening of international barriers, fast changing technologies, and rapidly shrinking product life cycles, time‐based management is acquiring an increasing significance in its tactical and strategic roles. Develops a comprehensive taxonomy of time‐based management based on its three dimensions: form, origin and application. Discusses trade‐offs and linking of time‐based management with other strategic criteria, such as quality, performance, and delivery. Outlines six specific ideas for implementation of agility‐based strategy. Discusses some managerial implications for optimal utilization of time‐based management.

The experience is reported of a recent study tour of US companies which are known for their outstanding levels of customer service. A number of themes for success are highlighted which relate to human resource issues, operational considerations and marketing, together with some of the performance indicators which are central to the provision of excellent service.

Laughter, play and a sense of humor are key tools for improving communication. They can help team members to become more creative, collaborative and customer‐centered. They can also lower stress and accelerate learning. Claims that, without humour at the workplace, there can be no real empowerment.

Last year, General Motors Corp. lost $4.5 billion. So what? Times were bad. Sales of cars and light trucks in the US in 1991 were down 11% from the previous year.

The purpose of this paper is to argue that entrepreneurs are motivated not only by the desire to maximize profits but also by the desire for mastery. It then attempts to analyze the implications of mastery seeking for the economics and politics of government privileges and favors for businesses.

Using the existing psychological literature on mastery as motivation the paper first attempts to conceptualize how the desire for mastery manifests itself in the context of entrepreneurship. Next, it attempts to clarify the implications of this for the existing literature on the effects of government policies promoting cronyism.

The paper argues that in business mastery involves producing a good product or service, and validation of the performance occurs via the choices of sovereign consumers. Mastery is thus achieved through participation in a process of competition that is free from government favors. Given that crony polices can disrupt the consumer choice process and consequently the validation of performance, they can therefore affect the types of individuals who become entrepreneurs, with a high level of government intervention pushing success seekers to pursue mastery in other life endeavors, with adverse implications for innovation and growth in the economy.

The exploration of implications of a plausible but underexplored motive for entrepreneurs and the interaction between this motive and the effects of various policies fostering cronyism or rent seeking are potential contributions of the paper.