Intensity of Interaction in Suppy of Business Advice and Client Impact: A Comparison of Consultancy, Business Associations and Government Support Initiatives for SMEs

This paper assesses the supply of business advice using new empirical evidence from a large scale survey of SMEs. The chief focus of the paper is on a comparison of suppliers that operate in different environments of regulation, contract and reputation. The paper argues that interaction intensity varies with the level of information asymmetry of these different environments, between different types of service supplier and their clients. Interaction intensity between suppliers also varies as a result of the level of trust they enjoy: for example, the low trust enjoyed by consultants appears to encourage higher intensity of interaction which improves the tailoring of the service to the client's needs and enhances impact. The paper assesses interaction intensity using the existence of site visits and/or a written brief/contract as indicators. Although these measures have limitations, the paper demonstrates clear and significant differences between suppliers in terms of interaction intensity, use of contracts and impact in three broad categories: private sector consultancy (low trust, high intensity, high impact), business associations (high trust, low intensity, moderate impact) and government support agencies (moderate trust, moderate to high intensity, moderate or low impact). Multivariate estimation methods demonstrate that significant differences in interaction intensity, use of contracts and impact by client type are much less important than differences in supplier type. This indicates that suppliers generally develop more into niche service fields or groups of services rather than niches related to types of firm.Business Services, Contracts, Business Link, Trust, Reputation

The Use and Impact of Business Advice by SMEs in Britain: An Empirical Assessment Using Logit and Ordered Logit Models

This paper assesses the effect of differences in types of client on the use and impact of business advice by SMEs in Britain using new survey evidence from the Cambridge ESRC Centre for Business Research Survey of 1997. The survey, covering over 2500 respondents, is the largest and most definitive assessment available in Britain. Moreover, the survey allows an assessment of the full range of the providers of external advice, the private sector, business associations and various public sector bodies, as well as the fields of advice. Using multivariate logit models we find that size of firm, rate of growth and innovation appear to be the main variables influencing the likelihood of firms seeking external advice, both from different sources and from different fields. Other variables which are investigated include, age, profitability, skill levels, manufacturer/services, and exporter/non-exporter. Ordered logit models of the impact of the advice demonstrate that there are significant differences between clients' perceived impact of advice and the sources of advice they use, chiefly as a result of firm size, and to a lesser extent for growth, innovation and export levels.Business Advice, Business Link, consultancy, logit, ordered logit

Creating and Sustaining a Maintenance Strategy: A Practical Guide

Manufacturing companies should create maintenance strategy and link it to the manufacturing and business goals but recent research in the North East of England suggested that few companies do this. It is unclear why this inertia existed but it could have been due to the complexity and variety of the advice on offer in relation to the formulation and implementation of strategy. The purpose of this paper was to provide a simple generic guide or roadmap for practitioners to follow. It began by highlighting the importance and benefits of a maintenance strategy and then considered literature appropriate to the topic. A key point arising from this review was that the three elements; process, content, context, need to be considered over the lifecycle of a strategy. Moreover, most strategic models converged to simple sequential models affording a generic functional process to be developed. This involved the integration of the “corporate hard systems” model and the “Plan, do, check, act, cycle“, forming a suitable maintenance strategy process. Accordingly, further guidance on policy assured the right “content”. The paper concluded with a short questionnaire used to audit the effect of “contextual factors” on maintenance strategy. The result was a comprehensive guide on how to formulate and implement maintenance strategy

Measuring the alignment of Maintenance and Manufacturing Strategies – The development of a new model and diagnostic tool

Purpose - To outline the development of a new conceptual model and diagnostic tool which assesses the strategic processes and links involved between maintenance and manufacturing strategies and the effect on manufacturing performance. Methodology - The new model was developed in two stages. Firstly a conceptual framework was produced and then a holistic diagram. From this theoretical model a diagnostic tool was generated. This tool was then verified and tested during an empirical research phase which produced four extensive and detailed case studies. A brief overview of one of the case studies is provided in this article. Findings - It was found that the conceptual model provided an accurate representation of the strategic processes and links which should exist in a manufacturing plant. Moreover the diagnostic tool proved to be a valid and reliable test instrument to measure and display this information. Practical implications - The diagnostic tool provides a snapshot of the status of manufacturing and maintenance strategies which then can be used to benchmark improvements over time. If required the individual questions from the questionnaire can be “reverse engineered” to provide detailed information for senior managers to carry out corrective action. Originality/value – This theoretical and empirical research closes a gap in the literature relating to the linkage between maintenance and manufacturing strategies. It does so by providing a unique and holistic model showing the strategic processes and links which should exist within a manufacturing plant. Moreover the diagnostic tool produced from the model is a convenient audit facility which enables companies to move toward functional coherence

Towards a Simpler Selection Process for Maintenance Strategies

Recent research at four large manufacturing sites in the North East of England showed that maintenance organisations were failing because they were locked in a cycle of quick fix and mend despite deploying extensive planned maintenance policies. Consequently they were unable to plan and formulate strategies because they did not have the time. Simple and quick tools were needed to select the best maintenance approach for the machines and the plant. Two possible selection tools were developed. Firstly a truth table was produced based on the key characteristics of each maintenance approach and these mapped against simplified failure mode combinations. This offered a quick and easy selection method for machines, based on failure mode patterns. Secondly, the macro level was addressed using a conceptual model employing a 2x2 matrix. This consisted of two axes, the level of machine failures and the level of improvement activity. The resulting framework was used to predict how maintenance organisations would progress from a state of reactive maintenance towards world class. Then informed by the truth table it was possible to select an appropriate maintenance approach which was most suitable for each stage. It is suggested that these two methods offer simple and quick approaches to guide vital maintenance decision making at plants in difficulty. This of course does not preclude the need to develop maintenance strategies but rather facilitates this process by freeing up time and resources

Planning for winter livability in the resource sector

iv, 30 p. : ill. ; 28 cm

Oral History Interview: Robert Robson

This interview is one of a series conducted with former employees of the Huntington Owens-Illinois, Inc. glass bottle factory. Mr. Robson worked at Owens for twenty-nine years, before which he was employed at the St. Claire Glass Company in Ceredo, Ohio. In the interview Mr. Robson describes his experiences at both factories as a skilled worker: a mold maker. The mold makers had their own union and enjoyed more status and a higher salary than the other workers at Owens. Mr. Robson ends the interview with his forecast for the economic climate of Huntington, West Virginia.https://mds.marshall.edu/oral_history/1401/thumbnail.jp

Lecturer passion: a pre-requisite for inspirational teaching

 With reference to the ever-changing landscape within higher education and the issue of marketplace differentiation, it has been suggested that universities need to prioritise the quality of the overall student experience including the quality of classroom teaching (Holbeche 2012). In the light of this, it is evident that institutions of higher education are attempting to address the upskilling of their lecturers through a blend of initiatives. This is important because research studies have shown that students value effective teaching and expect  their lecturers to possess a range of key teaching qualities. However, results from student evaluations show that concerns over teaching quality persist. I would argue that the true catalyst for transformational change is the passion for teaching which an individual lecturer personally feels. A lecturer with a genuine passion for teaching will be motivated to continually fine-tune and hone their craft and to seek to perfect the art of teaching. Lecturers who are genuinely passionate for their teaching craft will be driven not only by the satisfaction they derive from their classroom ‘performance’,  but also by the eventual learning outcomes for the student. It is the passion for teaching that drives teaching excellence. From the students’ perspective, the ability to inspire is the criterion against which lecturer performance will be measured. Keywords1. Teaching quality2. Inspirational teaching3. Lecturer self-development4. Learning enhancement

The famine of 1899 and 1900 in Rajputana, India : with special reference to the diseases and epidemics following thereon : and also inquiry into the working of the famine code for native states

I have endeavoured to set forth, as they appeared to me, all those conditions leading up to and prevalent during the famine season, together with the methods adopted to deal with the situations Which arose during these months. The practical working out of the Indian Famine Code will no doubt result in many alterations being made from time to time. In the course of my critical examination I have suggested a few such alterations. Again, in describing the diseases and epidemics I have noted chiefly those points where the disease has been modified or changed by the famine conditions existing, or where the symptoms differed to some extent from those occurring Burin ordinary times.Again while direct evidence of famine is seen in such conditions as Debility, and Famine Diarrhoea, indirect evidence is given by the modification in the symptoms of the other diseases note., and in the prevalence of so many epidemics within the famine period

Overlooking causes in healthcare accident analysis.: Choosing the analysis is choosing the results

This paper demonstrates the influence of one's assumptions and angle of analysis on the causes discovered during an accident investigation. The research investigates a real medical case where a physician diagnosed a dislocated shoulder and a pneumothorax on a patient who was subsequently found to only suffer an undisplaced fracture of the shoulder blade and contused ribs. The physician inserted a tube into the thoracic cavity in order to drain the suspected pneumothorax. In doing so, the patient's liver was punctured twice. Three successive analyses of the case were performed: human-centred, organisation-centred, and joint (cognitive and organisation brought together). By comparing analyses, we tested the type of causes of the accident that can be overlooked, and the type of conclusions that can be drawn, depending on the type of analysis performed. We demonstrate the interest in carrying out a joint analysis: it highlights organisational conditions that influence individual behaviour, and therefore minimises the loss of information when looking for explanations. We address the issue of the early decisions and assumptions made in the investigation process. We claim that these determine one's ability to discover complex causes, and have an impact on the capacity of an organisation to protect itself against re-occurrences. Our research discusses these assumptions and lists recommendations that are relevant to the field of accident investigation in the large. As such, our paper can support the work of safety practitioners in a wide range of industrial sectors