A comparison of test marketing practices of large and small consumer goods manufacturing firmsBhagaban Panigrahi; Fred O. Ede; Stephen Calcich
2003 Management Research News
doi: 10.1108/01409170310783493
Data collected from 202 large and 92 small consumer goods manufacturing firms were analysed to examine the perceptions and experiences of these companies with test marketing as part of their new product development strategy. Seventy six per cent of the large companies and twenty four per cent of the small firms in the study test marketed their new products before full‐scale introduction. Chi‐square analysis indicated a relationship between firm size, type of business/industry, the scope of marketing operations, and whether the firm conducted test marketing or not. Cost, time constraints, and the generic nature of the product were the most prominent reasons cited by all firms for not conducting test marketing. In addition, small firms cited their size as amajor reason they did not engage in test marketing.
Management and development: the training programmes for small and micro enterprises in Palestinian TerritoriesMohammed I. Al‐Madhoun; Farhad Analoui
2003 Management Research News
doi: 10.1108/01409170310783529
The economy of the Palestinian Territories (PT) is small, poorly developed, and highly dependent on Israel; at the same time, the land is limited, Israel controls 80‐85 per cent of the Palestinian water, and there is large‐scale unemployment. Faced with this situation, small and micro‐enterprises have come to play a critical role in the economy of the PT. Donors, the Palestinian Authority (PA), and UNRWA have recognised that many of the managers suffer from managerial weaknesses, and training is one of the long‐term keys to promote the development of small and micro‐enterprises and alleviate the problem of persistent unemployment in the PT. To support the peace agreement, the International Community promised to support the Palestinian economy. Part of this aid has been spent for small and micro‐enterprise development, and for establishing managerial training programmes. These programmes aim to encourage economic development of the PT, through supporting small business education and entrepreneurship training. These programmes suffered from various problems, such as lack of professional trainers, the majority of the managers did not attend the training programme courses, some of these programmesmissed funding. Therefore, some training programmes were closed during the last two years. On the other hand, the managers of small businesses still suffer from various managerial problems. However, this article presents a description of the current situation in PT. Especially, the economic and managerial situation, particularly for the SMEs and TPs in the PT.
New developments concerning workplace safety training: managing stress arising from workTeodor Pretrus; Brian H. Kleiner
2003 Management Research News
doi: 10.1108/01409170310783538
Balancing the demands of work and family life becomes more difficult and complex. Every week an estimated 95 million Americans suffer a stressrelated problem and take medication for their aches and pains. There are estimates that as much as 80 per cent of all illness is stress‐related, and 85 per cent of all industrial accidents are linked to personal worker behaviour that includes adaptation to stress. In new data from a study done by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Analysis Group, researchers estimate that depression, which can be triggered by ongoing stress, costs American business $43.7 billion a year. This is as much as heart disease (Mcllwain, 1999). Health studies provide that if the problems are identified early and responded to quickly, most are easily and successfully resolved. With this in mind many employers realise the importance of providing assistance and resources in finding solutions to personal or professional concerns employees might have in order to assist them in maintaining the quality of their lives.
Attitudes toward codes of ethics: the effects of corporate misconductSpero C. Peppas
2003 Management Research News
doi: 10.1108/01409170310783547
Recent news of corporate misconduct at Arthur Andersen, Enron, WorldCom, etc., has focused attention on ethics in business. Government, business, educational institutions, as well as professional organisations have had to rethink ways of addressing this issue. This article presents the findings of a study of attitudes toward business codes of ethics. The attitudes of Master’s‐level US business students at two different points in time, before and after recent reports of corporate misconduct, are compared to see what changes had occurred, to see whether these changes were linked to the disclosures of unethical corporate conduct, and to examine whether taking a course in ethics had an effect on attitudes.