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The article presents information on some causative factors of poor performance of government owned firms in India. Government owned firms in India have been severely criticized because of their relatively poor economic and financial performance in comparison to the privately owned firms in the country. The purpose of this paper is to search and analyze the predominant reasons for the poor performance of government owned firms, and to recommend measures that could alleviate problems confronting government owned firms. Government owned enterprises in India are organized along three main organizational patterns. They are, governmental department organization, the public corporation, and the company form. This paper limits its coverage to firms using either the public corporation or the company form of organization. Further, this paper is mainly concerned with the analysis of factors responsible for problems confronting the top managements of government owned firms. Ministerial interference, in-effective board of directors, a managing director whose authority scope is severely trimmed by representatives of the finance ministry on the board of directors, absence of professional management and dynamic, creative leadership, are some of the major top management problems presently confronting the government owned firms in India. Government owned firms in India need greater autonomy and freedom from frequent governmental interference. They also need a board of directors that is effective in performing its traditional functions, and a managing director who has the authority and leadership qualities to have his ideas and decisions accepted by the board of directors above him and by the organization reporting to him.

This research investigates the structure of self-perception attitudes of managers from India, Italy, West Germany and The Netherlands. A significant difference on a simplicity-complexity dimension of attitude structure emerged, with the Indian and Italian managers manifesting a relatively more complex structure of self-perception attitudes than the managers from the two Northern European countries. The inferences and implications of this finding are discussed. The primary mission of this research was to investigate the structure of attitudes towards one- self. The sample consisted of managers from India, Italy, West Germany and The Netherlands. While considerable research has been undertaken investigating specific attitudes and values of managers across cultures (1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), much of this research has resulted in small transnational differences relative to intra-national findings (3, 11, 13). However, none of the above studies have emphasized transnational differences in the structure of attitudes rather than specific attitudinal dispositions. This paper attempts to fill that hiatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on the main findings of an exploratory research study in India which sought to identify the patterns and problems of export-oriented product adaptation in a developing economy, with a primary emphasis on the exports of non-traditional engineering goods. The last two decades of India's export front witnessed a significant shift in emphasis from the traditional range of industrial raw materials and semifinished products, such as tobacco, jute manufactures, tea, cotton fabrics, spices, leather, etc., to non-traditional products like engineering goods, chemicals and marine products. The product adaptation was chosen as the focal point of this research study because India's involvement in international marketing is confined mainly to the exports of goods and services which reduces the marketing venture of a manufacturer/exporter to predominantly a product planning-cum-selling effort. Other components of marketing mix, such as promotion, pricing, distribution and customer service could assume prominence only after the involvement in international marketing gets beyond the export stage and takes the form of joint venture, manufacturing subsidiaries, wholly or partly-owned, and branch offices operating in other countries.

This article introduces articles published in the June 1, 1980 issue of the journal Management International Review. The present issue partly focuses on comparative study in management and international business. The article "Managing Material Shortages: The Russian Way," by Sumer Aggarwal discusses the philosophy of Soviet materials-distribution planning systems and reviews the currently operating organizational structures. The article "Dimensions of the Market Entry Behaviour of Recent U.K. First Time Direct Investors in Australia," by Peter Buckley and A. Mathew focuses on first time direct investors in Australia. The article "Women Executives in India," by D. Singh examines the attitudes of women executives towards their superior and subordinates, their position, job opportunities and promotion in business organization. The journal also invites authors to present their papers at the 6th annual conference of the European International Business Association, to be held in December 1980 in Antwerp, Belgium.

This section offers health regulatory and healthcare news briefs. "Visiongain" predicts that the value of India's medical device market will increase to 11 U.S. billion dollars by 2023 from 3 billion U.S. dollars in 2011. The Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) released a report recommending the improvement of Canada's drug review process to promote greater drug access. New Zealand's Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC) approved funding of two HIV combination therapies.