A future for fishing?

This article outlines the potential in the fishing industry viewed from the present. The author argues that current methods are still relatively inefficient and that increases of 50–100 per cent can be expected in the next 10–20 years. Further that these larger catches can contribute markedly to world protein requirements. The article includes consideration of system fishing and concludes with a picture of the British fishing industry being among the most advanced in the world.     

Paving the way for coopetition: drivers for work–life balance policy implementation

An extensive literature provides evidence that conflict between employees’ family and work duties is associated with stress and poor well-being, which have negative consequences for firms and their employees. This paper analyzes the role of two internal and two external drivers that encourage (or discourage) organizations to adopt and implement work–life balance policies. The role of external financial assistance and specific laws (external drivers), together with budgetary provision for work–life balance policies and managers’ perceptions regarding problems due to work–life conflict (internal drivers), are analyzed. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis is used to pursue the study’s research goals. Analysis of data on 132 SMEs suggests that financial issues (external financial assistance and/or a specific budget within the company) are key factors for the implementation or lack of implementation of work–life balance policies. Moreover, to implement these policies, managers need not necessarily perceive problems due to work–life conflict. Finally, work–life balance legislation seems not to play an explicit role in the relationships discussed herein. Consequences of these findings are discussed in the final section of the paper.     

Looking for Public Administration Theories?

Since the sixties, a number of Western countries have conducted a lot of NPM type reforms in order to improve their public administration (PA). However, more than forty years of NPM type reforms raise questions about whether these reforms consist in an improvement of PA or if alternative theories could find their place in the field of PA reforms. In order to answer these questions, the five main public administration theories (New Public Administration, New Public Management, Public Value Management, New Public Service and New Public Governance) have been selected, and based on an original analysis of their incipits, some guidelines are proposed for practitioners and students in PA.     

The next step for physician executives?

The next step for career growth for many physician executives will be the top leadership role in a health care organization. The availability of such positions for physicians has been limited in the past but could very well open in the future. As physicians, administrators, and boards begin to trust each other more and form meaningful partnerships, the potential for physician CEOs increases. In 1997, the Physician Executive Management Center conducted surveys of physicians serving in CEO roles in hospitals and group practices throughout the country. We compared the results with earlier surveys we had conducted since 1986. This article reports the significant findings of these surveys on areas such as employment contracts, job duties, skills and talents, and remuneration.     

Are you ready for virtual organizations?

Success, and maybe even survival, in the future will go to those health care organizations that can respond to constant and rapid change in a timely fashion. And timely doesn't mean what it once did. Years and months may no longer be a satisfactory response time. Even weeks may not always do. Opportunities will have to be seized quickly, or they will disappear forever. One possible answer to the leaden nature of most bureaucratic, hierarchical organizations may be a new kid on the block--the virtual organization. Formed solely to work on a single opportunity, these organizations can be used to position the parent organizations for almost any conceivable change.     

Diversity Networks: Networking for Equality?

In recent years, the use of diversity networks as diversity management instruments in organizations has increased tremendously. Diversity networks support the needs of employees with different social identities, such as women, ethnic minorities, LGBTs, disabled and young people. The aim of this study is to come to a better understanding of how diversity networks contribute to equality by examining how diversity network leaders discursively construct the value of their networks against the backdrop of discourses on diversity and equality. We conducted a multiple case study of five different diversity networks in a financial service organization in the Netherlands. Our results show that network leaders tend to construct the value of their networks primarily in terms of individual career development and community building, to prevent their members’ isolation. However, they are much less articulate about removing the barriers to inclusion in the organization as a core value of their networks. We conclude that the value of diversity networks is limited when these networks only address the individual and group levels of equality and leave systemic inequalities at the organizational level unchallenged.     

Planning for banking—The Indian experience

Long Range Planning (LRP) as an integrated total planning system had been accepted by two major public sector banks in India. The system through its maiden cycle was confronted by many difficulties, particularly regarding the application of the model. The paucity of adequate environmental data, lack of appreciation of the purpose of internal appraisal, avoidance of sophisticated quantitative techniques were some of the major problems faced by the Corporate Planning Team. The author explains his experiences as the co-ordinator of Corporate Planning Team for implementation in one of these banks. Despite the hurdles, the system has taken roots in his bank.     

What lies ahead for medical management?

The consensus is that, in spite of a reluctance in Washington to undertake any drastic reform of the health care financing and delivery system, the changes that are already in place in individual organizations and that are in place or being contemplated at the state level are certain to make the health care system of tomorrow very different from that of today. Physician executives can play an important role in the transition that will be required, but they will have to use a flexible, especially nondogmatic approach if they wish to cope successfully in this increasingly whirling environment. For such physicians, the author says, the opportunities, though unknown, are enormous.     

A future for the corporate planner?

Although not initiated by the event, it seems appropriate that this article is written on the tenth anniversary of the founding of The Society for Long Range Planning. It is entirely coincidental that Ansoff's book ‘Corporate Strategy’, which has evolved into the standard work on corporate planning, also appeared about a decade ago. This fortuitous coincidence has been further emphasized by the recent publication of another book from the same authority which introduces an entirely new factor into the future prospects for corporate planners. An attempt is made here to assess its implications.     

Are you ready for generation X?

Generational analysis considers the differences in world view and attitude between various generations of Americans and uses this information to develop insight and business strategies. The much discussed generation gap between the Baby Boomers and their elders during the 1960s and 1970s is equaled or exceeded by the differences between Generations X and Y and the Boomers. Generation X physicians will be coming into practice over the next two decades. Successful medical leaders must understand Gen-Xers to create clinical environments that meet their unique needs and concerns. This article describes some of the philosophical and attitudinal differences between the generations and what these differences may mean to the future of medicine and health care organizations.     

Diversification—The key factors for success

This paper describes research aimed at finding the key factors for success and failure of diversification decisions. A survey of a sample of 200 French medium size companies was conducted through a mailed questionnaire. Further interviews were made in 20 firms which recently diversified their activities.     

Methods for Detecting and Estimating Population Threshold Concentrations for Air Pollution–Related Mortality with Exposure Measurement Error

The association between daily fluctuations in ambient particulate matter and daily variations in nonaccidental mortality have been extensively investigated. Although it is now widely recognized that such an association exists, the form of the concentration–response model is still in question. Linear, no threshold and linear threshold models have been most commonly examined. In this paper we considered methods to detect and estimate threshold concentrations using time series data of daily mortality rates and air pollution concentrations. Because exposure is measured with error, we also considered the influence of measurement error in distinguishing between these two completing model specifications. The methods were illustrated on a 15-year daily time series of nonaccidental mortality and particulate air pollution data in Toronto, Canada. Nonparametric smoothed representations of the association between mortality and air pollution were adequate to graphically distinguish between these two forms. Weighted nonlinear regression methods for relative risk models were adequate to give nearly unbiased estimates of threshold concentrations even under conditions of extreme exposure measurement error. The uncertainty in the threshold estimates increased with the degree of exposure error. Regression models incorporating threshold concentrations could be clearly distinguished from linear relative risk models in the presence of exposure measurement error. The assumption of a linear model given that a threshold model was the correct form usually resulted in overestimates in the number of averted premature deaths, except for low threshold concentrations and large measurement error.     

On dual power assignment optimization for biconnectivity

Topology control is an important technology of wireless ad hoc networks to achieve energy efficiency and fault tolerance. In this paper, we study the dual power assignment problem for 2-edge connectivity and 2-vertex connectivity in the symmetric graphical model which is a combinatorial optimization problem from topology control technology.The problem is arisen from the following origin. In a wireless ad hoc network where each node can switch its transmission power between high-level and low-level, how can we establish a fault-tolerantly connected network topology in the most energy-efficient way? Specifically, the objective is to minimize the number of nodes assigned with high power and yet achieve 2-edge connectivity or 2-vertex connectivity.We addressed these optimization problems (2-edge connectivity and 2-vertex connectivity version) under the general graph model in (Wang et al. in Theor. Comput. Sci., 2008). In this paper, we propose a novel approximation algorithm, called Candidate Set Filtering algorithm, to compute nearly-optimal solutions. Specifically, our algorithm can achieve 3.67-approximation ratio for both 2-edge connectivity and 2-vertex connectivity, which improves the existing 4-approximation algorithms for these two cases.     

Nordhaus–Gaddum bounds for total Roman domination

A Nordhaus–Gaddum-type result is a lower or an upper bound on the sum or the product of a parameter of a graph and its complement. In this paper we continue the study of Nordhaus–Gaddum bounds for the total Roman domination number \(\gamma _{tR}\). Let G be a graph on n vertices and let \(\overline{G}\) denote the complement of G, and let \(\delta ^*(G)\) denote the minimum degree among all vertices in G and \(\overline{G}\). For \(\delta ^*(G)\ge 1\), we show that (i) if G and \(\overline{G}\) are connected, then \((\gamma _{tR}(G)-4)(\gamma _{tR}(\overline{G})-4)\le 4\delta ^*(G)-4\), (ii) if \(\gamma _{tR}(G), \gamma _{tR}(\overline{G})\ge 8\), then \(\gamma _{tR}(G)+\gamma _{tR}(\overline{G})\le 2\delta ^*(G)+5\) and (iii) \(\gamma _{tR}(G)+\gamma _{tR}(\overline{G})\le n+5\) and \(\gamma _{tR}(G)\gamma _{tR}(\overline{G})\le 6n-5\).     

Waste paper—a case for government action

In this article, the author outlines many implications of waste paper management. He discusses supply and demand, current and potential usage and relates these to planning needs. In the final section, Mr. Whiting puts forward a personal view of the action which he considers necessary from the national viewpoint.     

Planning for a new international economic order?

Many a familiar planning instrument seems buried in the hot desert of the Persian Gulf: extrapolations, forecasts and projections. The corporate planner is now highly environmentally oriented. If he has recovered from the energy crisis, is conversant with the food emergency, and resigned to persistent inflation—he is about to face a new and unfamiliar phenomenon. It is ambitiously called “the new international economic order” (for the sake of brevity: NIEO).