Federal Express has been involved in the customer‐satisfaction process for some 20 years. The company believes that the key to customer satisfaction is satisfying employees. Chris Hargett, manager of marketing research at Federal Express Corporation, describes how the company involves...

It is easy to increase efficiency when your manufacturing processes are automated ‐ all you do is turn up the speed. But it is different when the only resource a company has is people. There are no knobs one can turn to speed up an employee. However, Manpower Scandinavia may have found a way...

Texaco in the UK introduced self‐development using 360° feedback as part of the company’s quest to move away from hierarchical management. Describes the firm’s Mpower initiative.

Some people regard company hotlines as an effective way of cutting organizational waste, fraud and abuse. Others hear “Big Brother” calling. Explores the evidence for each point of view.

So‐called “enterprise” unions ‐ in which membership is restricted to a company’s employees ‐ predominate in Japan. Some are more independent from management than others. Examines the differences.

“Snouts in the trough” is a common tabloid newspaper reaction to news that yet another company boss has gained an enormous pay increase at a time when the firm has laid off large numbers of employees, imposed ever‐greater workloads on those who remain and given them little or nothing by...

Managers everywhere seek higher productivity for themselves and their organizations. But the path to increased productivity is not always clear. Doing the “wrong” things more effectively can actually harm overall efficiency. A critical‐success‐factors approach can help to refocus...

A career goal can signify that an employee has a clear picture of his or her future. It can provide a target that guides the individual’s actions. From the company’s perspective, a career goal can promote effective job performance and can help in human‐resource planning. But argues the...

Many companies have been through the wringer in recent years. They have streamlined, delayered and reengineered; they have installed internal mechanisms to promote innovation and meet customer expectations; they have implemented new marketing strategies and they have managed to jazz‐up the...

Investigates why unions have found it so difficult to get a foothold in Japanese‐owned automobile factories in the USA.