BPR—overcoming impediments to change in the public sector

Here the author examines the extent of BPR practice across UK government, reaching conclusions about overcoming impediments which arise in organizational change processes.     

China's wheat import programme

China is the world's largest foodgrain producer. It is also the world's major grain trader. China's participation in the world's grain market is unique because of its importance as both a grain importer and exporter, unlike other grain trading nations. This article considers the reasons for China's wheat import programme by following the controversy among Chinese academics, and attempts a more systematic appraisal by the application of regression analysis.     

Measuring the industrial firm's image

This article addresses the auditing of the firm's current marketing position. The corporate image of a medium-sized industrial manufacturing company is analyzed to determine how the company is perceived in the market by its own management and by its existing and potential customers relative to competition.     

Industrial salespeople's views on motivation

Much has been written on the subject of motivation but, until now, no one has conducted a survey of industrial salespeople to ask them what motivates them. This article reports the results of such a survey and offers recommendations.     

Evaluating and comparing salesmen's performance

The measurement and evaluation of the performance of salesmen is complicated in most firms by the situational, environmental, and personal variables involved. This complexity is further increased when management attempts performance comparisons among several salesmen or among an entire sales force. Territorial differences, multiplicity of products, and differences in backgrounds among salesmen are just a few of the factors of variability that compound management's performance measurement and evaluation tasks.In spite of these difficulties, the management process requires that the performance of salesmen be measured and compared to predetermined standards. Subjective judgements have frequently taken the place of objective analysis, particularly as to the overall or composite performance of salesmen, because of the difficulties sales managers encounter in the determination of composite measures of performance. Many have discussed the determination and use of objectives or quotas for salesmen, and some have been concerned with the development of composite measures of salesmen performance. However, most have suggested methods that require quantitative skills not possessed by many sales managers and salesmen. The application of computers to the quantitative methods that have been suggested does alleviate the computational problem but not the equally important understanding requirement. Sales personnel, particularly field managers and their salesmen, should thoroughly understand and accept the methods by which standards of sales performance are determined, in addition to the standards or quotas themselves if they are to accept evaluation against these standards [1].The purpose of this article is to discuss the various determinants of salesmen's performance and to present a practical analytical method for calculating and evaluating the overall performance of salesmen that will permit cross-comparison among all members of the sales force irrespective of differences in assignments and objectives. A hypothetical example is then presented utilizing a tabular analysis format equally appropriate for use by home office analysts or by field sales managers and their salesmen.     

Purchasing agent's influence in the buying process

As in previous studies the role of the purchasing agent can here been seen to vary throughout the buying process. The results both support and reject previous findings. This study finds that while purchasing agents are heavily involved in some buying stages, such as the selection of an order routine as suggested by previous studies, they may not be heavily involved in such other buying stages as post-sale performance feedback. This is contrary to previous findings. This study was conducted in the commercial construction industry.     

Industrial marketing education: Practitioner's views

A study of industrial marketing practitioner perspectives on industrial marketing education was conducted. Attitudes toward the educational process, definition of skills, continuing education, practitioner assistance in education and topic importance were queried. In general it was found that practitioners are favorably disposed toward industrial marketing education, are willing to assist in the educational process and have distinct perceptions on the nature of the educational process and how it should be carried out.     

Japan's policy on monopoly and competition in telecommunications

Telecommunications policy in Japan is about to undergo a significant change in the field of domestic telecommunications services. A monopolistic policy has long been maintained - monopoly by the government for the first 80 years and monopoly by the NTT, a domestic common carrier, for the past 30 years. Now, however, a policy of competition is required to meet the needs of citizens and companies when confronted with the age of the information society. This article analyses the trend of past, present and future telecommunications policy in Japan in relation to monopoly and competition.     

Careers in public sector science: orientations and implications

There is consensus that the world of science is changing (Ziman, 1994; see for example Nowotny et al., 2002). The environment in which scientists work is typified now as increasingly dynamic, managerialist and commercialised. This paper focuses on how scientists within different organisational and national contexts understand and enact their careers in the face of such changes. Based on empirical work in the UK and New Zealand, this paper introduces four career orientations evident in the career accounts of these participants. The categories are further analysed in terms of the key drivers to career: science, the organisation and the individual. Implications for career management are discussed in each section. In conclusion, the paper makes two related contributions. First, the evidence presented poses a challenge to highly individualised notions of the career actor central to current career thinking, instead revealing scientists' continued attachment to old institutional arrangements alongside new and emerging ways of understanding career. Second, with reference to the issue of career management of research scientists, the study highlights the need for those involved in management to look beyond employing organisations to other life interests, and science itself. It argues the need for those involved in career management to recognise the variety of legitimate ways to run a scientific career.     

Increase salespeople's prestige with a new title

The public tends to view sales occupations as relatively low in prestige. The authors present the findings of their study that alternative job titles enhance the prestige awarded sales occupations and suggest how sales titles should be changed.     

Managing a capital equipment business's market share

Several factors are investigated as possible contributors to market share for capital equipment business: product quality, service quality, a business's image for quality, and marketing communications. Cross-lagged correlations with PIMS data imply that product quality and image for quality influence market share, marketing communication influences image, and service quality results from all of these sources of influence.     

Purchasing's role in computer buying: A comparative study

The sale of Electronic Data Processing (EDP) equipment represents a large and growing market both in number of dollars and products. This article analyzes the purchaser's perceived role in the EDP acquisition process from both public and private sector perspectives. Major public and private sector purchasing differences are discussed in terms of their implications for improving EDP marketing success. Differences discussed include: purchaser influence in the EDP decision process, necessity of seller-buyer interface, method of purchase, and purchasing's organization structure for buying EDP equipment.     

A perspective on planning and crises in the public sector

Five diagrams indicate how crises open up five different kinds of ‘opportunity space’. Expanded opportunity spaces involve, in effect, a relaxation of the ‘normal’ constraints around decision-making in governmental systems. This perspective may allow for better prediction of crises, better choices during crises, and greater stability in solutions to crises.     

The changing face of research anddevelopment in the public sector

This paper examines the changes that have occurred in the management and scale of R & D, in the contextof the'gas industry's experience. As a resultof the discovery o f North Sea gas and new and expanding operations, R & D has become larger, more central, and thus more integrated into and accountable to the organization as a whole. This has resulted in greater centralization and planning administered according to the ‘sponsorship’ principle. These changes have highlighted the problems of R & D choice and the comparison of commercial and non-commercial objectives in a public sector industry. The unique constraints under which nationalized industries operate and their commitment to the ‘public interest’ as well as to commercial goals, are discussed. These bear upon the way in which R & D decisions not amenable to cost/benefit analysis (such as the balance between long and short term work) are made. It is emphasized that these decisions are made by the industry as a whole and that R & D must thus be seen to be complying with industry objectives. The example of British Gas R & D Planning is used to show how ‘sponsorship’ operates and its values for R & D and the restof the industry. Comparison with other public sector industries indicates that there is no one great system for R & D and that its administration is a function of the history, technological characteristics, and present situation of the industry. These imply different procedures appropriate for the innovation process within the Industry. The role of British Gas within a national energy policy is discussed. The separation of the fuel industries affects the assumptions on which R & D plans are made and thus the degree of uncertainty inherent in all R & D planning. This raises interest- ing questions about the degree of flexibility possible in defining each industry's own objectives.