With the increasing emphasis on improving service sector staff scheduling, many organisations have turned to employing part‐time staff in greater numbers. Operating managers need to schedule this staff in an efficient manner to cover the highly variable demand that is commonly present. This...

Within British Telecom training requirements are considered as part of the strategic planning process. The Internal Audit Division of BT has had an almost 70 per cent staff turnover in the last five years, with the majority of staff obtaining promotion within the company. In order for the...

For many managers the process of conducting a performance appraisal is an uncomfortable experience, one which is often put off to the last minute and then rushed through, simply to get it over with. As a result, not much is gained by the process and very often the employee leaves feeling...

This research investigates the market for Western clothing in Vietnam, one of the most under‐developed countries of South East Asia. The intention is to look at factors which will assist economic development in Vietnam because economic growth generally leads to greater GDP per capita and this...

With limited local demand, the Hong Kong clothing industry is traditionally export‐oriented for developed country markets. Local entrepreneurs, with the impetus of international trading experience, have led the industry to prosper and gain continually number one status in global clothing trade...

This paper provides a statistical summary of trends and competitive structures within the European Union (EU), concerning employment, trade policy, production, imports, exports, retail structures, consumer expenditure and labour costs aross the Member States.

Using the example of the motor industry in Poland, attempts to explain why foreign direct investment (FDI) has, in this sector, during the post‐reform period (i.e. since 1990) remained rather low. This is despite the fact that the labour costs are a small fraction of those in advanced...

Increasing competition in the market causes continued pressures for many companies to control or reduce costs. This has led to various responses by companies to seek more efficient operating models, in which the location where activities are performed has become a key determinant. The fast pace...

Many firms control product quality using inspection systems, which add to costs. The implementation of Statistical Quality Control and Just‐in‐Time, together, can improve quality which eventually lowers costs. In this way two new dimensions are added to Feigenbaum's four dimension...