Problem characteristics, decision processes and evaluation activity: a preliminary study of mental health center directors

This article reports on the results of a preliminary study on the characteristics of problems and problem solving in mental health centers. The major findings were that directors were generally quite satisfied both with the available level of information intended to help them make decisions, and with their ability to make good, even optimal, decisions. Much of this confidence resulted from the use of assumptions about the problems which reduced the need for empirical information. The problem solving process was highly dynamic and interactive, with changes over time in the characteristics of problems, constraints and alternative solutions. The directors played an active role in attempting to foster and influence the direction of many of these instabilities. Some implications for evaluation and research are discussed.     

Safety training: An overview of current needs

Abstract

This article considers the changing nature of the demands and pressures faced by today's training practitioner. It emphasizes that safety is no longer a matter of ‘tin hats, safety guards and first aid boxes’, and explores the problems created by new legislation and rapidly changing technology. It also points up the skills required by the safety practitioner in effectively dealing with his/her organization, and the constraints placed on them by social and economic factors. The article reviews the training implications of this developing scenario.     

UK Privatization: Its Impact on Procurement

This study is concerned with changes in procurement and supply chain management in UK privatized companies. In most cases, privatization requires the organization to develop a completely new approach. This is because of the change in ownership and the new competitive environment into which the company moves. Part of this reassessment of the business by senior management can be expected to include procurement. The paper focuses on the nature and direction of the changes in procurement associated with privatization, based on research into the privatized sector in Britain. The method adopted involves an extensive questionnaire completed by 28 major companies privatized in the UK, followed up by interviews with twelve of these companies. Questions centre on the following key areas: changes in the structure of procurement, procurement strategy, the role and profile of procurement within the company, attitudes to outsourcing and supplier performance and changes in approach to assessing the performance of the procurement function. Our results indicate extensive change. Although cost reduction is often a driver of these changes, as the companies strive to reduce costs to meet City expectations and best practice in the private sector, another consideration is the contribution that procurement can make to the overall strategy of the company, so as to gain and maintain competitive advantage.