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Typologies of organizational environments have been essentially oversimplified representations of a complex phenomenon. This article presents a core typology consisting of 64 types which can be expanded depending on the user's interest and problems. Different types of environments have consequences for the planning of strategies, operations, and tactics; coalition behavior; and decision making. Four hypotheses are used to describe organizational reactions to four entirely different environmental situations. Some of the concepts have been drawn from frequently cited works and from the author's analysis of case studies and management journals. These together with a few concepts from systems theory have been revised, defined, and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marketing efficiency has been appraised primarily in terms of the relationship between trading costs and volume, although this simplification has been criticized for neglecting qualitative factors. Four more specific indicators of market efficiency are identified: (1) viability-stability, (2) ratio of units traded to marketing effort, (3) revenues of market participants and (4) realization of potential transactions. Results of simulation analysis show that these indicators are, at least in principle, measurable, and that they are not closely correlated with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study of the industrial buying process has been hindered by the lack of a conceptual framework, or model. Without an analytical structure, it is difficult to identify the critical variables and relationships which need explanation. A preliminary descriptive model is offered which breaks the industrial buying process into four elements problem recognition, assignment of organizational responsibility, the search process, and the choice process [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intent of this paper is to establish a comprehensive conceptual framework for the problem of managerial behavior and to investigate some of the critical components of the framework. Distinctive dimensions of managerial behavior and of situational variables were defined by factor analysis. The dimensions of managerial behavior were then correlated with effectiveness criteria to identify significant situational influences. A larger number of situational variables were found to influence the relationship between dimensions of managerial behavior and productivity than between these dimensions and morale. The importance of situational variables in influencing the effectiveness of managerial behavior is clearly shown in the results of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between performance and allocation of time to technical work, teaching, or administration was examined in this study involving 552 university, government, and industrial scientists and engineers for whom questionnaire and performance data were available. Respondents who spent full time on their technical work performed less well than did those who spent part time. Among nonsupervisory PhD's in both research and development labs, and among "assistant scientists" in PhD-dominated labs, about three-quarters time spent on technical work was optimal. Among nonsupervisory engineers in development labs, half time or less was optimal. Among those devoting part time to technical activities, nonsupervisory PhD's in research labs performed better if they did more administration than teaching. Among engineers, some time in teaching was advantageous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basic objectives of the business firm cannot be optimized by internal departmental planning, says this author. He argues that the satisfaction of departmental goals too frequently conflicts with other departmental goals and company objectives. Optimum interdepartmental planning is called INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT and training in this area is greatly needed in modern schools of business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantial progress has been made in reducing the costs of production and manufacturing activities. But similar cost reductions in marketing--activities particularly those associated with physical distribution--have failed to keep pace. The author shows the values of looking at marketing activities as an integrated whole, rather than as separate functional parts. The author wishes to acknowledge the aid of Canadair of Montreal, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, and of the Flying Tiger Line of Burbank, California. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boom in trading stamps and other consumer premiums raises some interesting questions about the social value of this form of marketing. The author indicates that consumer premiums have probably increased the social efficiency of marketing. He shows how substantial savings have resulted from moving certain types of goods to consumers as premiums. Also premiums are an outlet for competition where quick retaliation or other factors would make price competition infeasible. Finally, premiums have often stirred up competition which has taken non-premium forms. From all indications there have been enough shrewd shoppers and enough non-premium sellers to prevent "free" premiums from serving as a camouflage for price increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article evaluates how public policy should treat industries that are dominated by a few very large companies. The questions addressed in this paper include what are the advantages large firms have over smaller ones? Would consumers benefit if oligopolies were weakened and the marketplace had higher numbers of small and medium size firms? Do large firms exhibit an economy of scale which may be preferable in certain industries or services? Topics such as unit cost, minimum market share for optimum output and the practicality of deconcentrating certain industries are covered.

The article presents an outline prepared by the Distribution Cost Committee. The purpose of the outline is to address various misconceptions within the marketing industry pertaining to distributions costs. It is also suggested that the information contained in this outline may be useful to industry professionals conducting research studies. The outline contains information about subjects including marketing systems, marketing output statistics, and industrial efficiency in connection with distribution costs.

A conference paper concerning efficiency within the marketing structure is presented. According to the author, efficiency measurements pertaining to the physical aspects of marketing include time and motion studies, choosing channels of distribution and distribution costs. Also noted are aspects of efficiency pertaining to the contact between buyers and sellers.

A conference paper pertaining to the measurement of economic and marketing efficiency is presented. According to the author, economic efficiency is the proportion of output of income to the input of factors of production. The author lists a number of factors that influence efficiency, including specialization, use of capital and business organization.

This article provides an operational measure of the time frame within which a decision-maker is operating and empirical data indicating the importance of the time frame to the accomplishment of an organization's goals. It presents an initial analysis of the organizational climate that may encourage a long or a short time horizon on the part of decision-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite rapid progress in corporate management in recent years, the board of directors--ultimately responsible for the direction of an enterprise-remains an ineffective management mechanism. By summarizing the finding of a survey of thirty-three major companies, this article explores important trends affecting boards of directors and suggests ways of improving their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The board of directors is legally entitled to play the major leadership role in an industrial organization; but the actual power and effectiveness of this time-honored institution varies greatly. The author explores the reasons for ineffectiveness and offers concrete suggestions on how boards of directors may restructure and reconstitute themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A firm's ability to operate effectively and efficiently in a highly competitive environment is greatly dependent upon the quality of its human resources. The authors examine some of the problems in current management development programs and propose a comprehensive, integrated system of human resource planning and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an examination of the value placed on an organization's human resources. The author notes that it is becoming increasingly popular to measure the value of the individuals within an organization. He suggests that this interest is due to the notion that by failing to recognize the value of people organizations can suffer lapses in effectiveness. He examines what the need for measuring human value is for management, what research has been done to develop measures for measurement and what the managerial implications are for these developments.

This article discusses the value of an executive's time and the importance of proper time management. The authors note that an executive's time is an important resource and plays a significant role in the planning of an organization's activities. The authors examine time management literature and attempt to develop an easy to understand process for learning how to effectively and efficiently manage time. They present ten principals that outline the entire process of time management including planning, analysis, budgeting, flexibility, implementation and segmentation.

This article presents information on Computer Assisted Simulation Exercises (C.A.S.E.). The author suggests that this program can effectively accelerate the growth of general managers. The author notes that the use of business games is nothing new; however, he suggests that there is new effort being placed on their use as an educational tool. He discusses the need to develop managers who are able devise a strategy and then turn that strategy into operational plans. These managers become most effective when they are able to assess their environment, evaluate their resources, develop a variety of strategies and manage their organization to meet their goals.

The article presents information on work measurement practices. The author notes that having an accurate work measurement tool in place provides management with a valuable device for establishing a plan to improve planning, organizing, directing and utilizing resources. The author examines some of the variations that have been made to the time study method of work measurement that was first established by Frederick W. Taylor. Some of these variations include the introduction of elemental standard data, predetermined motion-time systems and rating systems.

The article discusses the role of a first-line supervisor in an organization, stating that the position is often overlooked but it very important. The article claims that the first-line supervisor is the link between management and the technology of the workplace and is a key to organizational effectiveness. The article describes the importance of teaching human relations skills to supervisors in order to properly motivate employees and reach managerial goals. The article explains research that was done to learn supervisory perceptions of their own organizational effectiveness, and how to best measure effectiveness.

The article presents an analysis of organizations as a set of flows, information, men, material, and behavior. As opposed to traditional hierarchical, and bureaucratic, organizational structure, the author proposes using a systems engineering approach to modifying organizational structures to enhance performance and optimize time management. He feels that his ideas are well adapted for incorporating new information and automation technologies within corporate and other organizational structures.

The article discusses the number of managerial levels which should exist in an organization. The author feels that organizations should not have more than seven managerial levels. The reasons why the author believes that seven is the appropriate number of levels for an organization are discussed, as well as the belief that the number of levels an organization has should be based on the organization's principles. Various questions regarding the place which managers play in an organization are also addressed, including the place in which managerial hierarchies play in bringing different areas of an organization together and the place in which managerial levels play in the relationship between managers and subordinates.

This powerful and popular mathematical business tool can often be built info existing cost accounting and control programs and serve management in many ways. However, it requires statistical analysis to achieve maximum effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on industrial democracy. The author focuses on changes that have been made in industrial organization and management since the conception of labor unions. Industrial democracy is evaluated using the examples of the system of codetermination in Western Germany and the worker-owned mills in the Pacific coast softwood plywood industry. Economic reform programs that attempt to offer more freedom for workers while maintaining industrial efficiency in production systems are also discussed. The practice of involving workers in policy making decisions is evaluated. It is suggested that the goals of employees are not always the same as the goals of the organization for which they work.

This study utilizes a planning and control model abstracted from the conceptual framework of general management knowledge to test the relative efficiency of administrators in three educational service organizations. The hypothesis that subordinates' perceptions of administrators' relative proficiency will be a function of the administrators' education, training, experience, and conscious use of management techniques appears to be substantiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's reply to a critique of his paper by Dr. J. Malcolm Walker. Topics of discussion include industrial organization, organizational behavior, and communication in organizations. The author suggests that Walker misinterpreted a diagram included in the article. Additional subjects related to industrial management are also discussed.

This study reports the design of and data generated by the second phase of a continuing study of managerial effectiveness. A predictor battery and criterion measures are developed and interrelated through correlational analyses. Factor analysis Is used to simplify the predictor domain and ultimate organizational criteria are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study complements the Journal March issue article by the author on "Personal Value Systems of American Managers." In the current analysis the author compares four levels of organizational goals with their assumed behavior importance and content. Organizational Efficiency, High Productivity and Profit Maximization form a subset of goals that are behaviorally very important and are viewed as maximization criteria and as alternative generators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article asserts that the responsibilities of operating management are sufficiently differentiated from those of lenders and investors to necessitate resort to a similarly differentiated structure of performance evaluation criteria. A chart is presented showing business activity as a four-stage process consisting of inflows of financial resources from investors and lenders, the conversion of these into physical inputs, the transformation of such inputs into physical outputs, and the conversion of physical goods and services through sales into financial outflows which are allocated to lenders, investors and fed back into the business. An overview of the management of this process is presented.

The article explores some approaches for designing parametric equations for computerized business gaming models. Details related to the problems associated with developing and quantifying the relationships which are to exist between participant decisions and operating results are presented. The author describes possibilities for decreasing returns curves. A discussion is presented about methods available to increase in returns relationships. The benefits of business games to organizational success are outlined.

It is the central thesis of this paper that the enterprise can usefully be described as a man-directed, dynamic network of processes and facilitating systems, and that a useful model of the administrator's job logically follows from this description. We shall first contrast the concepts of "process" and "system" and then integrate these concepts with certain other constructs toward building (a) a model of the enterprise and (b) a model of the administrator's job. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the stabilization of the internal wage rate structure in the U.S. in 1954. The author argues that a general wage increase policy is influential on the trends in the internal wage rate structure. In this regard, this research assessed the categories of the internal wage regulation in the country which include special job rate changes. In addition, the author also discussed the problems associated with the stabilization of the internal wage structure in the nation such as the liberalization of merit.

The principal objective of the American economy at the present time is to increase its productive capacity. Securing cooperation and maximum effort from the individual worker is vital to this task. In this article, Solomon Barkin reviews a variety of plans designed to increase worker productivity and discusses conflicting management views towards such plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on a two-year study which consisted of a detailed review of the literature, interviews, and correspondence with several hundred representatives of unions and managements with long experience in co-operation. A questionnaire was sent through the American Management Association to 1,000 manufacturing companies believed to engage in some kind of co-operation. Of these 263 replied, 226 stating that they have been practicing some kind of co-operation between 1941 and 1947. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses a deductive strategy for the design of systems in contrast to the more conventional inductive strategy, and indicates the improvements which may be achieved by the use of the Ideals Concept. Practical examples are quoted indicating the effectiveness of the strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last ten years the measurement of production efficiency has attracted increasing interest. In this paper a method for the calculation of an efficiency index has been developed, which takes into consideration changes in product assortment and in production and capital factor inputs. The method was applied, in different parts of Europe, at five subsidiaries belonging to a major Swedish manufacturing company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency of production systems consisting of a number of interconnected stations can be predicted from the characteristics of the stations when there is no internal storage. Formulae are developed for the efficiency of the basic connections, without and with redundancy. It is shown how the efficiency of more complex systems can be predicted using the basic formulae, The different types of redundancy, parallel, standby and splitting, are compared and it is shown that usually splitting, if feasible, is best. It is indicated how the results can be used to obtain upper and lower bounds on the efficiency with internal storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]