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While there is much `time-related research', there is little `research on time'. This is striking since time is a key point in understanding organizations, their actions, culture, efficacy, etc. Most studies of time in management and organizational theory take time for granted. While there are numerous studies that address temporal issues, they are widely dispersed and unsystematic. This paper provides a classification of temporal studies of organizations and management. The scheme is built around two criteria: concepts of time and the role of time in research design. In the former, there are two contrasting concepts of time: clock time and social time. In the latter, time plays the roles of independent or dependent variables. By intersecting the two criteria, four notions of temporality (`deciding', `working', `varying' and `changing' times) are introduced to account for a variety of studies of time. The resulting classification not only reveals the current situation of studies about time, but it also indicates a direction which further research effort should take. We conclude by showing that temporally sensitive approaches will benefit research on organizations.

In this paper the problem of high‐level nuclear waste disposal is viewed as a five‐stage, cascaded decision problem. The first four of these decisions having essentially been made, the work of recent years has been focused on the fifth stage, which concerns specifics of the repository design. The probabilistic performance assessment (PPA) work is viewed as the outcome prediction for this stage, and the site characterization work as the information gathering option. This brief examination of the proposed Yucca Mountain repository through a decision analysis framework resulted in three conclusions: (1) A decision theory approach to the process of selecting and characterizing Yucca Mountain would enhance public understanding of the issues and solutions to high‐level waste management; (2) engineered systems are an attractive alternative to offset uncertainties in the containment capability of the natural setting and should receive greater emphasis in the design of the repository; and (3) a strategy of "waste management" should be adopted, as opposed to "waste disposal," as it allows for incremental confirmation and confidence building of a permanent solution to the high‐level waste problem.

In considering what should be the role of government in a community like Tasmania we need to understand the context within which we are working. We are a small population that is almost without exception a branch economy. No major corporations are based here – we have branch offices or divisions of major companies. We lack a managerial class – headquarters and management staff are based elsewhere – decisions made by the level of management based in our state do not take the welfare of the state into account. Our private sector does not have the capital and quite clearly the capacity to take up the challenge posed by a reduction of government services or a contraction of services. When public sector jobs are cut in Tasmania they stay cut. The private sector does not step into the breach and create jobs. Tasmania has always relied, to a large extent, on the public sector for its economic viability – with the contraction of public sector funding, the viability of the state's economy has been seriously eroded.

What role do cultural play in the survival of companies that face existential problems? We try to provide some answers by looking at the decline of the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. In 1996 this company went bankrupt and among the causes of this event cultural factors rank high, at least at first sight. We show that differences in national culture could have played a role in one of the defining moments in Fokker's existence: the failed take-over by the German aerospace giant Deutsche Aerospace (DASA). But we also show that an over-ambitious management was responsible for the situation in which there were no other options to survive besides a take-over by DASA. An increasing gap between the ambitions of the management to be one of the worlds prime aerospace companies and the limited resources of what was essentially a second-league player put Fokker in such a bad financial condition that it surely had to become an unbearable burden for DASA. So culture played a role in Fokker's decline, but its influence was at its peak long before the problems that brought the company down were recognised.

Even though much research has been published in operations and information systems, both functional areas find their roots in other disciplines. While operations management evolved from operations research in the 1960s, the field of information systems is of more recent vintage and traces its original roots to computer science. Both disciplines now naturally have come closer together as information and process‐technology‐based changes force manufacturing firms to become more efficient and customer focused. Market and technology‐driven e‐commerce initiatives that are likely to dominate business strategies in the future cannot be successfully achieved without a successful integration of operations and information systems. In this paper, we present a unifying framework that can be used to better understand the management of the functional interface between operations and information systems. We also categorize and highlight the contributions of the articles that appear in this special research focus issue. Finally, research directions that emerge from our understanding of this interface are outlined in an effort to stimulate further thinking and research that can advance our knowledge of this interface area.

A study was conducted to explore what could and should be a reasonable response rate in academic studies. One hundred and forty-one papers which included 175 different studies were examined. They were published in the Academy of Management Journal, Human Relations, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Journal of International Business Studies in the years 1975, 1985, and 1995, covering about 200,000 respondents. The average response rate was 55.6 with a standard deviation of 19.7. Variations among the journals such as the year of publication and other variables were discussed. Most notable is the decline through the years (average 48.4, standard deviation of 20.1, in 1995), the lower level found in studies involving top management or organizational representatives (average 36.1, standard deviation of 13.3), and the predominance of North American studies. It is suggested that the average and standard deviation found in this study should be used as a norm for future studies, bearing in mind the specific reference group. It is also recommended that a distinction is made between surveys directed at individual participants and those targeting organizational representatives.

We assessed retrospectively in two periods of evaluation all inpatient crisis interventions (n1 = 75, n2 = 65) conducted in a psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents aged 13 to 19 years. In a first preliminary study we described patterns of family dynamics and developed an evaluation plan, which was used in the second study reported here. Familial conflict situations proved to be the essential factors. The adolescents' psychiatric diagnoses differed considerably from those of adult patients. Therapeutic management using a psychoanalytically oriented focal therapy and a more social-psychiatrically oriented crisis management is discussed. Data on adolescents' and families' collaboration as well as on the success of therapy are reported. It was possible to offer developmental prospects if the adolescents were able to consider their inner conflicts and if concurrently an agreement could be reached with the family. Collaboration with community health-care professionals, in particular with the appropriate social workers, was an important step in the majority of cases. Usually discharge to the home followed within a few days, in some cases to a supervised residence group. Twenty-three percent of patients required longer inpatient therapy.

The radar chart approach is one of a number of special analytical tools that have been developed in connection with benchmarking in the private and public sectors. Although well established as a management tool, the radar chart approach has to our knowledge never been applied to benchmarking labour market performance. This paper assesses the usefulness of the radar chart approach in this policy area. The radar chart approach makes two important contributions: First, it provides a simplified presentation of multiple performance indicators, which is highly intuitive even to non-experts. Second, the surface area, formed by the four (or more) axes, can also be used as a composite performance indicator. ; Der Radar-Chart-Ansatz ist einer von mehreren Analyse-Instrumenten, die speziell für das Benchmarking im privaten und öffentlichen Sektor entwickelt worden sind. Als Management-Instrument sehr gebräuchlich, wurde die Radar- Chart-Methode nach unserer Kenntnis bisher nicht für das Benchmarking der Leistungsfähigkeit von Arbeitsmärkten verwendet. In diesem Beitrag wird die Nützlichkeit der Radar-Chart-Methode für dieses Politikfeld untersucht. Zwei Vorteile des Radar-Chart-Ansatzes stechen ins Auge: Erstens bietet es in einfacher und überschaubarer Form die Möglichkeit, mehrere Leistungsindikatoren gleichzeitig darzustellen, die auch für Nicht-Experten schnell erfaßbar sind. Zweitens kann die aus mehreren Teilflächen bestehende Gesamtfläche als Gesamtleistungs-Indikator interpretiert werden.

In this contribution, two recent developments in Dutch administrative law are discussed. The codification of administrative law in a General Administrative Law Act (1994) has contributed much to this field of law, but has also caused additional legal complications for the administration. In 1997 the so called Van Kemenade-Committee has published a report in which these problems were brought into attention. As a reaction to this, in 1998 a governmental Point of view on the `Juridification of the public administration' appeared in which some adjustments of the General Administrative Law Act are announced. In 1998, the so called Leemhuis-Committee published a report on the organization and the management of the Judiciary. Most important proposition is the establishment of a `Council for the Judiciary' which will be responsible for a more adequate management of the Judiciary as a whole. In the Memorandum `The Judiciary in the 21st century' of 1998, the Government follows the propositions of the Leemhuis-Committee to a great extent. However, the proposed power of the Council for the Judiciary to direct binding policy rules to the courts is denied, because this would be in conflict with the judicial independence.

Local Public Spending Bodies (LPSBs) occupy an important position in the contemporary structures of governance in the UK. As exemplars of many of the diverse characteristics of the New Public Management, LPSBs inhabit the fuzzy space between the public and private spheres, both in terms of organizational structure and service delivery. One finding from recent research into the internal governance of three kinds of LPSBs – Further Education Colleges, Housing Associations and Training and Enterprise Councils – was that the language of strategy predominated over that of policy on the boards of such organizations. In this article we assess the significance of this finding. We contend that the two terms are not interchangeable and that a vital distinction needs to be maintained between them. Specifically we argue that policy refers to collections of decisions grounded in public values whereas the concept of strategy, particularly as currently understood in the context of the New Public Management, refers to the positioning of an organization in its struggle to survive and grow. We conclude that LPSBs have been invited to behave strategically within a framework of increasingly centralized policy objectives and resource allocations.

Vorgestellt wird eine neue Konzeption der Universität Dortmund, bei der durch besondere Formen der Vernetzung von Hochschule und Unternehmen eine neue Qualität der Ausbildung erreicht werden soll. Gliederung: 1. C. A. M. P. U. S.: Integration von Lernen, Forschen und Managementtätigkeiten durch Zusammenarbeit zwischen Hochschule und Unternehmen. Der C. A. M. P. U. S. Dortmund ist ein neues Bildungsinstitut, das aufgebaut werden soll. Der Name versteht sich zugleich als Begriff und Programm. "Der Begriff Campus verweist auf den Mikrokosmos von Lernen, Forschen und Leben, der auf dem ehemaligen Kasernengelände entstehen soll. Als Abkürzung steht C. A. M. P. U. S. für das Programm des Center for Advanced Management, Projects and Utility Studies, das die Integration von primärer Managementausbildung und Forschung mit unternehmerischer Tätigkeit und damit die Umsetzung eines neuen Konzepts der praxisorientierten Ausbildung von Managern anstrebt". Das Project wird von fünf Säulen getragen: - Einer privaten Dualen Grande Ecole (Kernstück - Integration von berufsbezogener Eliteausbildung und projektorientierter Managementausbildung), - mehreren parallel arbeitenden Zukunftslaboren, in denen Wissenschaftler und Praktiker Schlüsselprobleme der modernen Industriegesellschaft lösen, - einem Weiterbildungsinstitut (Integration von Arbeit und Lernen, Projektform), - einem Institute for Advanced Study, in dem hochkarätige Vertreter verschiedener Wissenschaften in einen interdisziplinären Diskurs über problemorientierte Grundlagenforschung treten können (Wirtschaft, Technik, Gesellschaft) und - ca. 120 bis 150 Unternehmen aus dem In- und Ausland, die sich partiell auf dem Campus ansiedeln sollen und die primären Kooperationspartner der Bildungsinstitute sind. Weiterhin wird im Beitrag näher erörtert: 2. Grundprobleme der Dualität von Lernorten. - 3. Die Integration der Lernorte im C. A. M. P. U. S. - 4. Projektorientierte Managementausbildung am C. A. M. P. U. S. - 5. Vorteile des Engagements im C. A. M. P. U. S. für die Unternehmen. (HoF/Ko.).

The author examines the contributions of linguistic analysis and rational choice analysis to understanding the urban policy process, with the aid of the issue of air-quality management and a specific case study of metropolitan London. She argues that these theories can complement each other in providing empirically grounded analyses at the urban level. By means of the rational choice approach, she considers the choice situation facing local and central government in dealing with urban air pollution. However, forestalling some central criticisms made of the rational choice approach, she also considers the way in which the problem of urban air quality is constructed and the rhetorical structure of the policy solutions that can be discussed. It is shown how the constrained-choice situation of key policy actors meshes with the construction of the problem as one of urban air-quality management and the preferred policy solution of enhanced monitoring. This is characterised as diversionary and symbolic policy action which devolves much policy responsibility to the level of the individual—a potentially contradictory strategy for government.

This paper draws on empirical research into the recruitment, training, and management of female flight attendants, working primarily in the transatlantic business travel sector of the contemporary airline industry. We argue that whilst the `skills' which flight attendants are required to deploy are denied, being treated as somehow inherent abilities and thus neither trained nor remunerated, they are nevertheless managed in a directive way. This management involves, in particular, a focus on a flight attendant's figure, and `dieting' - what Naomi Wolf has referred to as `the essence of contemporary femininity' (Wolf 1990:200) - as a recruitment, training and managerial strategy. The work of a female flight attendant involves adhering to culturally prescribed norms on femininity as well as organisational regulations governing her figure - its presentation and performance - whilst undertaking work which involves, at least in part, serving food to others. We conclude that this aspect of the work of flight attendants is thus `a symbolic representation of the subordination of women... a concrete expression of their position as servers and carers of men' (Charles and Kerr 1988:84).

Wetlands all over the world have been lost or are threatened in spite of various international agreements and national policies. This is caused by: (1) the public nature of many wetlands products and services; (2) user externalities imposed on other stakeholders; and (3) policy intervention failures that are due to a lack of consistency among government policies in different areas (economics, environment, nature protection, physical planning, etc.). All three causes are related to information failures which in turn can be linked to the complexity and 'invisibility' of spatial relationships among groundwater, surface water and wetland vegetation. Integrated wetland research combining social and natural sciences can help in part to solve the information failure to achieve the required consistency across various government policies. An integrated wetland research framework suggests that a combination of economic valuation, integrated modelling, stakeholder analysis, and multi-criteria evaluation can provide complementary insights into sustainable and welfare-optimising wetland management and policy. Subsequently, each of the various components of such integrated wetland research is reviewed and related to wetland management policy.

Himalaya (formerly Himalaya Research Bulletin) is a fully open access journal published by the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies. The journal can be found at http://himalayajournal.org/. The journal's archive of issues can be found at http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/. ; In this paper, it is argued that four distinct issues have prevented adequate management of toilets, water quality and sanitary conditions in Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park. First, numerous interest groups, both government and non-governmental, have apportioned work requirements and responsibilities for the infrastructural obligations in the park thereby drawing accusation and criticism for unmet needs. Second, there lacks a strong sense of community in several of the densely populated and/or popular tourist sites and therefore these areas are either ill-equipped, do not have the necessary community will or all-together neglect certain public sanitation needs. Third, there is no regulatory body that consistently enforces sanitary rules from the original park management plan. Lastly, various development initiatives in the park have created a cycle of dependency and the expectation that sanitation structures will be built and maintained.