Diversification strategies for the service sector

An analysis of the American economy shows that the service sector overshadows the manufacturing sector, both in size and in state of tunnoil. The tunnoil is due to Ute rapid expansion of franchise chains, computerization, evolving professional standards, and competitive pressures. From the consumer's perspective, as client sensitivity intensifies and professional malpractice suits become more threatening, the issue of understanding and examining services becomes more important. In line with Wind's (1982) observation, service decisions in a finn are not limited to individual services. A finn should take into account its service line (a number of related services), service mix (combination of service lines), and service portfolio (assortments of service mixes). The lines of demarcation among these tenns are not always clear because they depend on organizational position as well as personal preferences in defining classification systems. At the most basic level, an institution offers only a singular service. Extensions of offerings within a restricted and related group of service categories constitute a service line, an exanlple of which is the tax consulting services market where an accountant may file a tax form on behalf of a client either by mail or through computer services linked up with the IRS office.peer-reviewe

Biological aspects and ecological effects of a bed of the invasive non-indigenous mussel Brachidontes pharaonis (Fischer P., 1870) in Malta

No mussel beds were known to occur in the Maltese Islands previous to 2009, when a single bed of the Lessepsian immigrant Brachidontes pharaonis, first recorded from the islands in 1970, was discovered in Birzebbugia Bay. The population structure of B. pharaonis was investigated to assess its potential to spread and colonise new shores, while the biotic community at the mussel bed was compared to that present on uncolonised substratum to determine the effects of mussel bed establishment on the associated biota. Results indicate a lower species richness and slightly different community structure with greater small-scale heterogeneity at the mussel bed site compared to the adjacent rocky shore where mussels are present but where there is no bed formation. The B. pharaonis population had a peak density of 16550 ± 2051 ind.m-2 within the mussel bed and included recent recruits. These data suggest that the B. pharaonis population has the potential to expand. Establishment of extensive beds by this invasive mussel could change the structure of native rocky shore assemblages around the Maltese Islands and elsewhere in the Mediterranean.peer-reviewe

Cohort Analysis: Analyzing Data On Product Use

Palmore’s cohort analysis technique is a practitioner-oriented method to unravel age, period, and cohort effects in the data on product use.  The technique is fully explained, and towards the end of the article, it is applied to grocery data for illustration purposes

Information Priorities In Turnaround Situations

This study, carried out among members of the Turnaround Management Association, describes the information needs of turnaround managers as they go about rescuing firms from financial crises. Working with limited resources, within a very short timeframe, the managers prioritize their information needs. In so doing, they confirm three hypotheses. First, turnaround managers are more likely to source information from the companys management information system than from the companys customers. Second, they tend to opt for cost cutting rather than increasing revenues. Finally, they are more likely to adopt a current (instead of a future) time horizon in analyzing the information

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