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This project aims to identify the circumstances in which different management controlled hours systems are currently used and the effects they have on organisations and employees.

The current debate on work‐sharing and shorter working hours is still largely conducted in terms of changes to men's working hours. ‘The old pattern of the 8‐hour day, 5‐day week, from 16–65 can no longer be taken for granted’, cry the pundits — but it has never been the norm for half the population. In Britain, France, the USA and Scandinavian countries women are now over 40 per cent of the labour force. Why, then, is so much time and energy spent researching and searching for ‘new patterns of work’ when a range of these already exist in women's working lives?

The purpose of this chapter is to describe a method for priority setting that can be used to identify options for disinvestment, and is also meant to serve as a tool for re-allocation of resources to achieve better outcomes with a given pot of resources.

This chapter draws on findings from the application of a priority setting and resource allocation framework known as Program Budgeting and Marginal Analysis (PBMA). Case studies are used to illustrate key points around implementation including factors for success and guidelines for improving priority setting in practice.

PBMA has been applied in over 150 settings over the last 30 years. Purposes varied from focusing strictly on disinvestment to examining opportunities for re-allocation. Many organizations report continued use of the framework and decision makers typically express a desire to not revert to historical allocation or political negotiation in deciding on the funding for programs.

Practical implications of this body of work on priority setting abound in that there are significant opportunities to improve resource allocation practice including better engagement of staff, clinicians and public members, greater use of evidence in decision making and improving process transparency.

As healthcare resources are limited, particularly in predominantly publicly funded health systems, prudent use of resources is critical. Actually applying the appropriate tools to ensure that funding aligns with organizational and system objectives is paramount.

Although there is a large body of literature on priority setting particularly in countries like the United Kingdom and Canada, this chapter serves to highlight key messages specifically in the context of fiscal constraint and in relation to the concept of disinvestment or service reduction.

Rising unemployment in the 1970s and particularly over the last six years (1979–85) has focused trade union strategies on the question of job creation. The initial response was largely a restatement of Keynesian macro‐economic policies plus a series of short‐term “special measures”. The deepening of the recession in the early 80s caused a minor re‐think and an examination of notions of work redistribution. The immediate solution was seen as “the shorter working week” and, despite a growing awareness of other options, this remans the cornerstone of TUC thinking and that of its major affiliates.

Outcome measurement procedures have been advocated recently as a means of eliciting better accountability and more effective program evaluation by non‐profit organisations. The principal benefits of utilising these techniques have not been appreciated widely, thwarting more widespread application. This paper analyses those benefits with a view to encouraging non‐profit organisations to embrace the opportunity to promote organisational learning.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the benefits of utilizing teams of personal and financial consultants to work with farm families in New York State on issues affecting farm business performance.

Program experience in implementing an integrated consulting model provides a framework for illustrating how such a model may be utilized on farms and other family businesses for succession planning.

An integrated personal and financial consulting model is effective in producing lasting business results such as business growth, improved profitability, and reduced interpersonal conflict on farms in New York State.

Farmers employ a multitude of risk management tools, such as crop insurance, to reduce various types of risk affecting their farm businesses in New York State, but an area often overlooked by farmers is managing human resource risk, namely succession risk. As the average age of farmers in the USA continues to increase, employing new tools and strategies is critical when developing an effective business succession plan for farmers.

The research objective was to assess the challenges of transition that firms face in adopting a market orientation in China, as the basis for providing a context‐specific explanation of market orientation.

A sample from the He Bei Light Industry Directory was selected by the systematic‐selection‐from‐lists procedure. The survey instrument was adapted from the widely used MARKOR scale.

Although some of the early results are consistent with those obtained in the West, an underlying lacuna needs to be addressed in order for a useful culture‐sensitive interpretation of market orientation to be offered vis‐à‐vis locale‐specific knowledge.

While there can be little doubt that market orientation delivers superior performance in developed western economies, implementations in many transition‐economy contexts reveal a range of paradoxes, which point to some gaps in both the theory and practice of marketing.

A useful explanation of market orientation in transition economies should necessarily embed an approach that accommodates the institutional peculiarities of the environment under study, focusing the temporal, spatial and wider socio‐cultural and historical characteristics of marketing itself.

To enhance the detection efficiency of printed circuit board (PCB) soldered dot, this study aims to detect PCB soldered dot with image processing method.

Through a series of image processing algorithms, threshold segmentation and feature extraction of the solder joint images were completed; then, sphericity was confirmed based on the area and perimeter, as well as the shape parameter and eccentricity ratio of the calculated region, paving the way for defect pattern recognition.

It proves that the method with high efficiency and precision can satisfy the requirements of PCB soldered dot detection.

This paper is original in presenting a method for PCB welding spot detection.

The ISO 9000 series of standards has formalised systems for evaluating the ability of organisations to consistently design, produce and deliver quality products and services. Total quality management (TQM) is seen as a relatively new concept and a way for organisations to improve the quality of their products and services, but it may well be the key to survival and achieving competitive advantage in today’s turbulent business environment. However, there are mixed views in the literature concerning whether ISO 9000 and TQM complement or contradict each other. The primary objective of this paper is to address the competing views on both concepts in an attempt to show that both concepts complement each other and ISO 9000 should be used in association with TQM to secure organisational success.

October 25, 1973 Damages — Remoteness — Negligence — Master and servant — Injury to employee's leg caused by employer's admitted negligence — Subsequent medical treatment causing encephalitis — Injection of anti‐tetanus serum — Negligent method of injection not causative of illness — Plaintiff with allergy to serum used — Illness an unforeseeable consequence of foreseeable medical treatment — Whether employer liable.