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Considers the extent to which ISO 9000 and total quality management (TQM) are being successfully implemented in Malaysian manufacturing companies. A survey on Malaysian companies was conducted in 1995 and produced 247 positive responses. Highlights the findings of the survey such as the status of TQM and ISO 9000 implementation, the benefits and difficulties, quality activities most frequently used and the future trend of Malaysian quality improvement activities. Also highlights a model for the implementation of TQM for the Malaysian small‐ and medium‐sized manufacturing companies.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

OUR readers will, we trust, appreciate our double souvenir number issued in connection with the Library Association Conference at Glasgow. Special features are the articles on the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, 1874–1924, by a member of the staff, Mr. J. Dunlop, and one on the Burns Country, by Mr. J. M. Leighton, of Greenock Public Library. We printed the provisional programme in our July issue and as we go to press have little to add to the particulars there given, except to compliment the Library Association and the Local Reception Committee on the excellent programme arranged for the occasion, from both the professional and social point of view.

The series of articles on the reform of the British Museum Library, which began to appear, of all places in the world, in the columns of The Morning Post, on January 19th, 1912, should have the effect of informing the public on certain defects in the administration of that institution which are known to many who, unfortunately, remain silent. Among the alleged blemishes pointed out are the bad method of appointing the staff by a narrow and unsatisfactory system of nomination, which does not always succeed in procuring properly qualified men; the absence of a fairly complete subject catalogue; the tendency to give special attention to favourites among the readers by certain members of the staff; and the hopeless jumble of the classification in the reading room, and in the library generally. Other serious defects have been pointed out, such as the official insistence on limitations of various kinds both in the collecting and cataloguing of books; and, above all, the delays which occur in the delivery of requisitioned books to readers. The library is, bluntly speaking, a thoroughly stagnant place, which has only changed slightly for the better during the past thirty years. Although supported by the contributions of publishers, who are compelled to deposit copies of their publications, and by the people at large through the Civil Service Estimates of the Government, the library remains a kind of close corporation, swathed in red‐tape convention and official traditions to such an extent that it is of much use only to a handful of authors, antiquarian grubbers of various kinds, and the officials. It has done little for the man of business or the general student, or for the national education of the country, and the time has come when this great public library should be democratised and made useful and valuable to the many instead of to the pampered few. The army of effete literary hacks who haunt the reading room, without a perceptible infusion of fresh young life, and the lack of business‐like purpose in more than a third of the number, is probably unique. Why should such a group of ordinary individuals have practically the monopoly of a great publicly‐supported library, to the exclusion of the aspiring young, the practical man of affairs, and the citizens of the country in general? Why should such exclusion be brought about by impossible conditions, hours, regulations, and imperfect cataloguing, not to mention other defects? And why should a body of trustees (responsible to no one) and officials have power to perpetrate with impunity such injustice upon the general public of the country? These are questions which must now be threshed out in the open, and all professional men should applaud the Morning Post for its public‐spirited action.

The intention of this paper is to draw attention to recently observed developments in the application of “flexible working hours” or “flexitime” systems. The idea that organisations are changing from “fixed time” to a system involving less control may be an oversimplification: “flexitime” can offer a method of re‐establishing control or setting limits to a failing “fixed time” or “laxtime” system. Discussion of actual “flexitime” decisions is used to indicate why powerful “anti” lobbies may develop within some organisations and why some managements are now turning to “flexitime” as a useful control device.

Research into flexible hours control systems has been largely confined to analyses of the impact of flexitime. This article argues that this aspect of management control is too important to be examined in simplistic and piecemeal fashion. There are a wide variety of potential hours control systems, each with its own particular characteristics and range of application. The subject of hours control systems is introduced by developing a theoretical framework. It is then explored by describing the results of a survey of 228 companies. This leads to some modifications to the framework and some conclusions which have clear implications for management.

The financial problems of the 1970's are forcing universities and C.A.E.'s to give increasing attention to the resource allocation process. In considering this issue one of the first problems encountered is the lack of goal clarity, a lack which makes rational budgeting a difficult task. The nature of the budgetary process is strongly influenced by the structural character of university decision‐making which is primarily political, despite the use of quasi‐bureaucratic devices such as formula budgeting. There is empirical evidence to support the political model and internal pressure groups play the major role in this although the external funding of research is also a significant factor. One of the predominant influences is the incentive system of the institution and the fact that there are few rewards for improving the efficiency of the educational process has implications for resource allocation. Modern techniques which have proved to be useful in government institutions such as program budgeting, do not appear to have wide application in tertiary education.

Recently, ISO 9000 and its associated versions are rapidly becoming a “license to compete” worldwide. Its standards are generic in the way that they can be applied to all functions and all industries in various areas of human endeavor. They have been described as the “one size fits all” standards. In developing countries like Pakistan, adoption and implementation of ISO 9000 quality management system is slow due to lack of awareness and initiatives. The present study is an attempt to analyze different practices of ISO 9000, like its status, problems faced (before, during and after implementations), benefits gained, its impact, certification cost, the next step after ISO’s 9000 certification, critical success factors, the role of training, consultancy, top management support, use of ISO 9000 in the international markets, future prospects and in particular, general practices of ISO 9000 in the Sports Industry of Pakistan. In this study, detailed case studies clearly explain the current status and existing practices of ISO 9000 in the sports industry.

The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total employment. It is estimated that in 1970, average annual hours worked per employee amounted to only 60% of those for 1870. Two major factors are attributed to explaining the underlying trend towards a reduction in working time: (a) the increase in the number of voluntary part‐time employees and (b) the decrease in average annual number of days worked per employee (Kok and de Neubourg, 1986). The authors noted that the growth rate of part‐time employment in many countries was greater than the corresponding rate of growth in full‐time employment.