A UK construction‐services company is giving its director‐level managers a broader understanding of the business through a development program that helps them to make the transition from project management to strategic management.

Companies introducing cellular manufacturing have concentrated on such technical issues as classification methods, the design of the workflow sequence and the physical arrangement of machinery for reducing set‐up times. The experience of one Australian manufacturer indicates, however, that the...

Purpose – This article describes how an interim manager helped mobile‐telephone company Carphone Warehouse to transform its operations to cope with growing demand caused by the launch of its free‐to‐talk service, increasing its customer numbers from 385,000 to more than 500,000 in less...

Purpose – This paper aims to argue that procurement practices in the construction industry, and building‐services in particular, have lagged behind other industries. It also aims to highlight the efforts of two UK construction companies, Rok and NG Bailey, to make procurement more unified...

When things were looking particularly bleak last year for UK politician, Ian Duncan Smith, a national newspaper came up with some joke headlines. These impossible stories were, the paper suggested facetiously, more likely than the Conservative Party Opposition leader ever becoming the UK Prime...

Purpose – This paper aims to describe AskHR, an online tool for responding to HR‐focused employee queries, which has been introduced at UK insurer Norwich Union. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explains how Ask HR operates and the advantages it has brought. Findings – The paper...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how a coherent HR strategy focused on delivering the company's key strategic goals has helped Mitchells & Butlers, a UK operator of restaurants and pubs, to post industry‐leading sales and profit growth over the past three years....