Search

These papers on reading research in the socialist countries were delivered at a conference held in Budapest, Hungary, in October of 1974. Included are the text of the introductory address and papers on the following topics: (1) the library and society; (2) the library as it relates to students, teachers, and engineers; (3) the role and effectiveness of the library; (4) the reading of non-fiction; and (5) the reading and reception of literature. (EMH)

The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences and similarities existing among successful European and American executives. Our premise is that the behavior of successful executives in industrial countries, especially in Europe, is very much alike. However, the behavior, or management style, of less successful managers may vary tremendously. The key element that determines organizational effectiveness is the relationship or "fit" between an executive's management style and the external environment of the organization. Participative management, MBO, and other organizational development techniques did not evolve in the United States because of a particular moral or cultural ethic. They are the result of the response to changing need patterns of workers and the dynamism of the modern industrial market place. The same forces exist in Europe, and successful European managers can trace their effectiveness to the fact that they did not adhere to traditional management styles.The authors support their premise by citing their own experience with European management and studies conducted by Management Center Europe, Mason Haire et al, and Sirota and Greenwood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To carry om this study, we first wrote to academicians in the international business area for examples of blunders. Next we tried to verify the examples they supplied. Finally, we conducted an extensive review of books, magazines, and newspapers. Of the many problems and mistakes uncovered, ninety-seven met every aspect of our definition of a blunder. The major conclusion to be drawn from these findings is thai there is a high correlation between product type, geographic area, and the type of blunder. Blunders in Asia tended to be marketing ones involving food products and "other" manufactured products, while blunders in Europe were largely management ones involving machinery and transportation equipment. This seems to indicate two things: products sold to final public consumers run higher risk of blundering as the disparities between the two cultures widen, and that products sold to intermediate consumers, such as businesses, are more specification oriented, require more management effort, and if not taken, run a higher risk of blunders in the "management" area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structures of primary and secondary general education in a number of industrialized countries are compared to show that there are all possible combinations of educational "systems" that are, in most cases, the outcome of a remote historical legacy. This legacy, regardless of its merits, should not be considered as inviolate, but rather should be subjected to new thinking time and time again, to allow for new factors (political, social, economic, cultural, scientific, and so forth) conducive to its evolution. The countries under consideration are the six member countries of the European Economic Community and the United States, Great Britain, and the U.S.S.R. The organizational structures of vocational and technical "secondary" education are not considered. The problems of reforming the structures of secondary education are not abstract: the difficulty does not lie in conceiving a system considered as ideal, but in conceiving transitional systems, concrete ways of changing over from the present parallel stream system to the reformed system, and in accepting the difficulties arising from this transition. (Author/IRT)

Eighty-six expatriate (US and European) and twenty-one Japanese executives were interviewed with regard to the nature of personnel related problems in international companies and Joint ventures in Japan. For crossvalidation 200 questionnaires each (with the same questions asked in the interview) were sent to different expatriate and Japanese managers. Expatriate managers perceived 16 specific problems, 12 of them mainly interaction difficulties like communication, information gathering, and problem solving, while 3 dealt with company-wide issues such as labor unions, personnel turnover, and recruiting of quality personnel. Japanese managers perceived only 8 major issues. The survey results basically concur with the findings of the interviews. Probable causes of the problems are discussed and solutions are suggested where appropriate. It is the conclusion of the study that expatriate managers in Japan like to change the people to fit the system while Japanese managers prefer to change the system to fit the people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses European management styles, as observed by staff members of the consulting practice Economics Research Associates. The article lists the characteristics of the European management community as: strong authoritarianism at top levels, excessive concern with detail by top management, a tendency among young managers to be self-important, habit of executives to take all leisure time allotted to them, and the extensive use of people whose skills are not related to their job titles.

Three components of a conference are reviewed to explore how teaching and learning about Eastern Europe might contribute to European Studies in British secondary schools. A series of lectures provided information about contemporary East European societies and broke down preconceptions of Eastern Europe as a monolithic block. Workshop sessions enabled groups of participants with common teaching interests to construct their own outline syllabi and units of course work. In these sessions, participants stressed a need to avoid generalizations about life and work in Eastern Europe, and suggested themes such as "the peasant" by which comparisons could be made across various states. Sample studies were also seen to be instructive. A plenary session allowed working groups to report on the units they had designed. There was agreement on ideas of integrating knowledge and experience of teachers and learners, and disagreement on the use of "topic" approaches and "general sweeps" of information. A workshop objectives section provides five sample units, including course framework, use of resource materials, and student activities. (AV)