Caribbean: old myths and new realities

Attention is succinctly drawn to some trends which should encourage Caribbean islands to promote tourism further, and to exploit eg multicentre holidays. On balance, tourism can help these islands in several spheres.     

Managing the introduction of new technology

Most of the existing literature on the implications of new technology focuses on either its ‘impact’ or the social choices that lie behind strategies for its introduction into work organisations. The problems of managing the implementation of new technology have yet to be extensively examined despite this being one of the most critical aspects in the process of technological change. The findings from two case studies are presented which show how managers in the organisations concerned developed contrasting approaches to the problem of implementation in the context of opportunities and constraints presented by product markets and technological advance. Similarities between the two approaches are identified, in particular the role played by top management support in facilitating the acceptance of the new technology. The argument that management is able to develop a single unitary strategy towards the introduction of new technology is rejected in favour of a view of managerial actions as a series of flexible and changing sub-strategies associated with different stages in the process of change.     

A framework for the strategic management of future tyre technology

Strategically managing technology faces one major problem: technology planners and managers who mistake ‘R & D management’ for ‘strategic technology management’. In globally competitive markets, survival and growth of tyre companies will increasingly depend upon the ability to manage technological resources strategically. This article proposes a process model which views the strategic management of technology as ‘techno-business management’, where technology and business strategy, planning and implementation can be facilitated by the use of portfolio frameworks and technology forecasting techniques in analysing and addressing the key strategic management areas of techno-business strategy development and strategy implementation.     

RBRVS: old concepts, bad press

As health care finance has changed from a system of cash from patients to third-party reimbursement, a variety of mechanisms have been devised to bring equity to the payment process. The latest payment mechanism for this purpose is the resource-based relative value scale system implemented by Medicare, which is now being adopted by other third-party payers. However, too many payers are pushing for discounts from providers at the point of adoption of the system, thus foiling the equity aspect of the system.     

不确定性、学习与新技术序列投资决策

以不同性质不确定性与其解决方式(学习)和效率对投资价值的影响为切入点,研究新技术序列投资行为背后的决策机制与路径.在现有研究基础上,引入企业内部学习的异质性特征,把技术不确定性的解决效率分解为学习能力、累积学习效应与边际学习效应3个层次进行讨论.运用实物期权方法构建包含学习效应的新技术序列投资决策模型,并得到最优决策规则,通过数值方法对不同参数进行比较静态分析,并阐述结果的经济与管理涵义.     

Morphology: A tool for exploring new technology

New products, new services and new approaches to doing business may be essential in order to return to a period of long term economic prosperity. A particularly powerful approach to innovation is the technique called ‘morphology’. Kondratieff's use of the morphology technique to analyse business cycles, and also an original use of morphology to analyse the categories of existence, are here applied to deduce office worker archetypes and significant business management issues as a function of economic phase. The economic phases of prosperity, recession, depression and recovery are related to the following business management issues: productivity, time management, innovation and management by objectives. These issues correspond, respectively, to the following office worker archetypes: information worker, skill worker, knowledge worker and decision maker.     

Implementation of new technology: towards greater manufacturing flexibility

Changes in market characteristics over the past several years are forcing firms to eliminate/minimize dependency on costly buffers of capacity, lead time, or inventory. One way to accomplish this is via appropriate adaptation and enhancement of existing technological infrastructure. Recent technological advances present firms with a wide array of alternative technologies. In this paper, we discuss the impact of new technology on the manufacturing environment and the problems associated with its implementation. We present an integrated framework for implementing such technology based on a consistent hierarchy of organizational objectives and a general foundation of constraint theory.     

Production policy and the acquisition of new technology

This paper investigates the effects and implications of new technology on the organization and its environment and suggests the use of impact analysis to maximize the benefits and minimize the shortcomings of introducing new technology into the firm. Present models of organizational structure suggest a need for a broad system view of the firm so that a framework can be generated that is practically applicable. This paper proposes such a model to better guide the future acquisition, implementation, and evaluation of new technology. A comprehensive list of variables and decision alternatives also accompanies the proposed framework.     

Romancing leadership: Past, present, and future

This paper presents a review of the romance of leadership and the social construction of leadership theory 25 years after it was originally introduced. We trace the development of this theoretical approach from the original formulation of the romance of leadership (RoL) theory as attributional bias through its emergence as a radical, unconventional approach that views leadership as a sensemaking activity that is primarily ‘in the eye of the beholder.’ We subsequently review research published in management and organizational psychology journals, book chapters and special issues of journals from 1985 to 2010. Three overall themes emerged from this review: 1) biases in (mis)attributions of leadership, including attributions for organizational success and failure; 2) follower-centered approaches, including the role of follower characteristics, perceptions, and motivations in interpreting leadership ratings; and 3) the social construction of leadership, including interfollower and social contagion processes, the role of crisis and uncertainty, and constructions and deconstructions of leadership and CEO celebrity in the media. Within each of these themes, we examine developments and summarize key findings. Our review concludes with recommendations for future theoretical and empirical work in this area.     

Patient care: past, present, and future

The 40 years since St Christopher's Hospice opened has witnessed a burgeoning international interest in palliative care. Its key characteristics comprise a focus on the whole-person (physical, psychological, social, and spiritual), patient-centeredness (partnership with and empowerment of the patient and family), openness and honesty in communication, an acceptance of the inevitability of death coupled with improvement in the quality of life, multi-professional teamwork integrated with community (volunteer) involvement. Although much has been achieved, much remains to be done. Both in resource-poor countries and in more wealthy ones, the scope of palliative care has changed. Initially in the United Kingdom, palliative care was mostly limited to cancer patients but now strenuous efforts are being made to extend coverage to other patient groups, e.g., those with end-stage heart disease or renal failure. In India, with a dearth of chronic care facilities, palliative care services increasingly embrace those with chronic disability as well as progressive end-stage disease. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the devastating impact of AIDS is having a major impact on the development and delivery of palliative care. To maximize the benefits of limited financial and other resources, a strategic approach is necessary. The World Health Organization emphasizes three essential foundation measures: health service policy, public awareness and professional education, and drug availability. However, at the end of the day, if we are truly to honor Cicely Saunders, palliative care must remain a movement with momentum, combining creative charisma with inevitable bureaucratic routinization.     

CEO human capital,top management teams,and the acquisition of venture capital in new technology ventures: An empirical analysis

We combine signalling and human capital theory to analyze how competencies of new venture CEOs impact the amount of money technology ventures acquire in venture capital (VC) financing rounds. Using data on 117 financing events in the biotechnology industry, we show that education in management, founder-based firm-specific experience, international experience, and industry-specific experience of the CEO impact the VCs’ financial commitments. Moreover, we find that the effects of management education and industry experience are moderated by the size of the venture's top management team. We discuss the implications of these findings for the research literature on technology ventures and venture capital.     

Assessing the impact of new technology in information systems

Computer and communication technology is changing at an increasing rate. New technologies are emerging: the price- performance of current technology is improving. There is a need to assess the impact of technology on new information systems projects, particularly those dealing with distributed processing and electronic office systems. Such an assessment provides direction and guidance in long range and intermediate term information services planning. It can potentially prevent costly conversion efforts. An approach is developed for obtaining this assessment. Two case examples of applications are provided which illustrated the method, results and benefits.