Customer mind-set of employees throughout the organization

Previous research has provided strong evidence for the benefits of embracing a market orientation, an organizational focus highlighting the needs of customers, and the creation of customer value. This study extends this focus on the customer to the individual worker level. A construct, customer mind-set (CMS), is developed that reflects the extent to which an individual employee believes that understanding and satisfying customers, whether internal or external to the organization, is central to the proper execution of his or her job. In this exploratory study, the authors develop a parsimonious scale for measuring CMS. Relationships between CMS and significant organizational variables are examined to establish CMS's validity and provide some tentative insights into its value to researchers and practitioners. The authors believe the CMS construct will allow for operational-level analysis of the extent to which a customer orientation is embraced throughout an organization, permitting managers to implement targeted improvement strategies. Karen Norman Kennedy is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of South Florida. Her research interests include customer orientation and cultural change in organizations, as well as the evolving role of customers and employees in today's marketplace. Her work has been published in theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, theJournal of Services Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, and theJournal of Marketing Education. Felicia G. Lassk is an assistant professor in the Marketing Group of Northeastern University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of South Florida. Her research interests include customer orientation, salesperson job involvement, and measurement issues. Her articles have appeared in the theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Industrial Marketing Management, and theJournal of Marketing Education, among others. Jerry R. Goolsby is the Hilton/Baldridge Eminent Chair of Music Industry Studies at Loyola University New Orleans. He received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. His research interests include issues related to market orientation and its implementation, customer and employee relationships, and sales interactions. His work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and other marketing journals.     

Control and organizational order

This paper presents a broader conception of control, exploring its role within pluralistic organization. Reconceptualization is necessary because conventional authoritative and consensual versions of the manegerial control model fail to take account of autonomous activity. An alternative conception, regarding controlling as causing and attributing control to all sources of stability and change, is needed to recognize that forces other than senior management can and do shape organizational order. Control is not management's prerogative; organizations are also self-governed through the assumptions, principles and rules underlying their beliefs and behaviours. Control is, thus, a non-cybernetic system encompassing both managerial and autonomous activity. Repositioning the conventional model within a pluralistic framework provides an understanding of why conceptualizing control as the cybernetic implementation of management's intentions has often obscured rather than illuminated the concept.     

An Analysis of Individual NYSE Specialist Portfolios and Execution Quality

The value of specialist assistance to the trading of low-volume stocks has important implications in exchange design. We study the relation between the structure of individual specialist portfolios and the transitory volatility of low-volume stocks in these portfolios under the traditional NYSE auction-dealer market structure. We find that the trading quality for inactive stocks is positively related to the trading volume of active stocks in the same specialist portfolios. These results are consistent with specialist subsidization of low-volume stocks in their portfolios and suggest that specialists provide important support to the trading of inactive stocks if they have the resources.     

Using Irrigation Insurance to Improve Water Usage of the Rio Mayo Irrigation System in Northwestern Mexico

In many regions of the world, the timing between rainfall and the cropping season does not coincide creating the necessity for managing water resources. Although reservoirs and irrigation systems can usually guarantee needed water supplies for peak cropping periods within a single crop year, their risk-reducing effectiveness over a period of years can be diminished by annual rainfall and climate variables. The authors investigate a financial instrument based on river flow accumulations—irrigation insurance—to address drought-induced income shocks and water allocation problems. A stochastic simulation based on economic and hydrological characteristics of the Rio Mayo irrigation system in northwestern Mexico is used to study the concept.     

A theory of role stress in boundary spanning positions of marketing organizations

Role stress and its effects on marketing organizations represents one of the most researched areas in marketing. In spite of this tremendous volume of research, the boundary spanning roles of marketing organizations continue to be plagued by the deleterious effects of role stress. The theory developed in this article expands current theoretical frameworks used to investigate role stress impacts in the marketing literature. The theory is integrative and expansive with relation to the body of knowledge and may serve as a framework for future research. Specific propositions from the model are developed and suggestions for their empirical testing are discussed.     

6σ在设备维修改进项目中的应用（续）

六、分析阶段和工具 分析阶段的目标是确定问题发生的原因。对测量阶段所收集的数据进行详细的分析，剖析因果关系和评估失效的原因和后果。此阶段使用的工具有：①排列图。②因果图。③5个“为什么”。④失效模式和影响分析。⑤故障树分析。⑥试验设计。     

Post-IPO Operating Performance, Venture Capital and the Bubble Years

Abstract:  We analyse the post-issue operating performance of 316 venture-backed and 274 non-venture UK IPOs 1985–2003. The finding of a statistically significant five-year, operational decline exhibited over the full sample period is not robust. Rather it is driven by the dramatic underperformance during the 1998–2000 bubble years while IPOs perform normally in the remaining years. Cross-section regression results indicate support for venture capital certification in the non-bubble years but a significantly negative relationship between operating performance and venture capitalist board representation during the bubble years. The bubble year underperformance is explained by market timing and by low quality companies taking advantage of investor sentiment.     

Pension Plan Investment Management Mandates: An Empirical Analysis of Manager Selection

We examine the impact of several factors on the selection of portfolio managers for Australian pension plan mandates. Performance measures do not affect the probability of a mandate allocation. Pension sponsors tend to choose managers with top-quartile five-year performance who have recently beaten a market benchmark. Management expenses have a negative impact on a managers chances. A surprising result is sponsors tolerance for high portfolio trading costs. Mandates are spread across manager investment styles. The style and institutional attributes of preferred managers suggest trustees reputation and prudential concerns matter, particularly for the aggregate annual mandate allocations.     

Embellishing the past: middle manager identity and informality in the implementation of new technology

This article illustrates how themes which were prominent in the industrial sociology of the 1960s and 1970s can refine our understanding of how management processes impact on the introduction of new technology and the employment relationship. Using a case study in the air traffic sector, this paper shows how middle managers' competitive struggles and over-reliance on worker informality can lead to omissions in the planning of technical change and the neglect of worker concerns during its implementation.