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The Hong Kong companies are struggling with their Total Quality Management (TQM) program and the survey reveals that the adoption of TQM principles and practices are irregular. The inconsistency within the paradigmatic shift might explain the poor TQM adoption in those companies.

This study utilizes historical data to explore the effects of sales management succession, the characteristics of the successor, and type of succession on post-succession performance of an industrial sales organisation while controlling for pre-succession performance and economic conditions. Three theoretical positions were contrasted: (1) that a change in a sales manager will lead to a decline in a performance, (2) that such a change will lead to an increase in sales performance, and (3) that the change will have no impact on performance. The results demonstrated a positive effect due to succession, thus supporting the commonsense notion that a sales management change leads to improved performance. There was also some support for the proposition that experience and ability may mediate the succession effect. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The portfolio approach to financial management in the managed care environment is necessary to determine sound prices for managed care contracts and to meet an organization's total financial requirements. Portfolio management, which permits differentiation of accounts to enable application of other management techniques to the payer mix, involves determining risk factors associated with pricing mechanisms to prevent contract losses. The importance of pairing utilization and pricing review in managed care contacts are discussed., A FINANCIAL management system that allows account segregation so that different or multiple management strategies can be applied to the payer mix is a requirement for a sound pricing methodology [...]

A method for evaluating the relative importance of various cues used by consumers in rating and choosing a service is introduced. Conjoint analysis is used to examine the trade-off nature of cues in a restaurant selection process by consumers. The price factor apparently plays both a positive and negative role to the overall selection of a restaurant. More personal sources of information such as manner of employees and opinion of friends and relatives seem to have the greatest influence on both consumer service expectations and selection.

As implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement comes closer to reality, exporters should be aware that there are still some snags in the shipping process in Mexico. Improvements have been made, but caution is still prudent. Information is given on customs clearance procedures at the borders and how to best handle them are discussed. US and Canadian companies should work in conjunction with Mexican brokers to facilitate shipping. Excessively high fees are sometimes charged by these Mexican customs brokers, but competition and private and public pressure may lower these costs in time., Although improvements are many, a few snags remain in crossing the border with Mexico. Knowledge will help avoid delay. Exporters in Canada and the United States hear rumors about bad [...]

Hedge fund managers Brett Hendrickson, Ben Weinger, and Steve Hornstein agree on three broad ideas on how hedge funds should operate. These are to stick to the areas they know best, and that they need risk controls and to recognize that the credit crisis is not yet over.

Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs) have long been the workhorse for providing particulate emissions control for cement kiln applications. North Texas Cement (NTC), in Midlothian, Texas has three 870 TPD kilns all [...]

Factors Show Solid Gains in 1987; Uncertainties Cloud 1988 Outlook Factors had another good year in 1987, with most reporting strong gains in volume and profits. Business tailed off for [...]

Good corporate governance promotes ethical business practices, demands meticulous accounting policies and procedures, and includes a structure with effective checks and balances. Corporate governance is vital to the continued success [...]

'Upbeat' U.S. Shoe avows commitment to shoe biz U.S. Shoe Corp.'s chairman reaffirmed his company's commitment to staying in the footwear business before securities analysts here last week and called [...]

Problems for Europe, but Asia keeps on shipping NEW YORK (FNS) -- International trade in the U.S. apparel industry, in total, should not be sharply upset this year by the [...]

The largest construction dollar volume in the history of Hawaii -- which occurred in 1991 -- is now of little interest to builders. The more than $4 billion invested in [...]

WALL ST. SEES A TOUGH START FOR SA IN '88 Wall Street analysts expect apparel makers' earnings to be under pressure heading into 1988 because of the current retail slump, [...]

'88 to Start Slow, But Pick Up for Apparel Firms Wall Street analysts expect apparel makers' earnings to be under pressure heading into 1988 because of the current retail slump, [...]

Retail Earnings Hold Their Own In 3d Quarter, but 4th Looks Iffy Retail earnings held up fairly well in the third quarter, despite widespread markdowns and promotions to clear out [...]

Major Stores Manage a Small Gain NEW YORK (FNS) -- Despite all the widely reported problems afflicting retailers in the wake of last October's stock market crash, aggregate profits for [...]

Some Analysts Bearish On Second Half The recent slump at retail may mean poor fall and holiday business for apparel manufacturers, and some analysts are beginning to cut back their [...]

Retail net hiked by tax reform, expense control Continued benefits from tax reform and tight control over expenses added up to another strong bottom-line improvement for the nation's major retailers [...]

Special Items Mar Apparel Finish; But Analysts See Recovery in '87 NEW YORK (FNS) -- Apparel company sales and earnings were up moderately in the latest quarter, but a rash [...]

Reebok easily wins stock market steeplechase Reebok International, Ltd., hit number one on the Footwear News Stock Index this year, as its stock price shot up 223 percent for the [...]

SHADOWS OF BLACK MONDAY NEW YORK (FNS) -- Takeover speculation has helped lift the prices of fashion industry stocks during the last two months, but most are still below their [...]

STORES EKE OUT 4.8% NET GAIN IN 4TH QUARTER NEW YORK (FNS) -- Despite all the widely reported problems afflicting retailers in the wake of last October's stock market crash, [...]

A Steamy July Fails to Heat Up Big-Store Sales F.W. Woolworth, Dayton Hudson Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores racked up the biggest sales gains in July, a month of otherwise modest [...]

Shoe stocks outpace Wall St. NEW YORK (FNS) -- Footwear stocks have easily outpaced the market so far this year as athletic issues continue to sizzle and several troubled companies [...]

Woolworth to build up its footwear divisions PRINCETON, N.J. (FNS) -- F.W. Woolworth Co. will aggressively expand its footwear divisions this year as the company continues its transition from a [...]

Biz Good, but Some Clouds On Horizon NEW YORK (FNS) -- Apparel manufacturers reported another respectable quarter, but quota problems, rising costsand slow growth in the overall ecomony may be [...]

Quotas, higher prices stem apparel earnings Apparel manufacturers as a group reported another respectable quarter, but quota problems, rising prices and slow growth in the overall economy may be taking [...]

Ryka is ready to market high-tech women's line Ryka Inc., Weymouth, Mass., a new marketer of women's athletic footwear, is expecting about $2.5 million of venture capital from its scheduled [...]

SALE-PRICED U.S. ASSETS PULLING FOREIGN CASH The dramatic drop in the dollar over the last two years together with the crash in the stock market has made direct investment in [...]

Shoe-Town lbo to incur a debt of $98 million Shoe-Town Inc. will incur about $98 million in long-term debt as a result of the management-led leveraged buyout it expects to [...]

Most shoe export nations' currencies move up vs. $ With the exception of Brazil, the currencies of the major footwear exporting countries moved up against the dollar last year, and [...]

Year of Peaks And Valleys For Stocks Fashion stocks rode the roller coaster along with the rest of the market in 1987, rising sharply through the first part of the [...]

1987: THE YEAR FASHION STOCKS TOOK THE PLUNGE Fashion stocks climbed higher and crashed harder than the market average in the stock market roller-coaster of 1987. Stocks rose at an [...]

Cost of new immigration law eyed NEW YORK (FNS) -- Apparel manufacturers and their employees alike are unsure of the cost of the new federal immigration law to the apparel [...]