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Using newly available evidence, mainly from the Public Records Office (now the National Archive) in London, this article attempts to unravel the true extent of the role that British oil interests played in the decision of the British government to insist on a 'One Nigeria' solution in the Nigeria/Biafra conflict. While the official position of the British government was that its main interest in the Nigeria conflict was to prevent the break-up of the country along tribal lines, the true position was more complex. Evidence in this paper suggests that British oil interests played a much more important role in the determination of the British attitude to the war than is usually conceded. Specifically, Britain was interested in protecting the investments of Shell-BP in Nigerian oil. Furthermore, Britain was also at the time desperate to keep Nigerian oil flowing in order to mitigate the impact of its domestic oil shortfalls caused by the Middle East Six Day War. Supporting a 'One Nigeria' solution was considered its safest bet in order to achieve the above objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the role of business networks, and especially on the ways in which formal and informal interactions among economic agents shape the tourist product. Local businesses are considered as agents who realize and/or create economic opportunities and develop new goals and strategies. Businesses are not viewed as independent entities, but as actors whose actions are embedded in structures of ongoing relations. As such, similar resources and activities based in rural tourism destinations do not necessarily have the same consequences at different times and places. Business networking is a crucial factor in organizing activities and resources at the local level, leading to spatially different levels of integration. Such differences are focused on here, using illustrative examples and findings from the case-study regions in the UK, Spain and Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Both the UK''s Labour Government and Scotland''s devolved Labour–Liberal Democrat coalition Executive have committed themselves to reducing health inequalities. Furthermore, both institutions have emphasised the importance of using evidence to inform policy responses. In light of such political commitments, a significant amount of work has been undertaken in the field of health inequalities in order to: (i) review the available research evidence; (ii) assess the extent to which policies have been based on this research evidence; and (iii) evaluate the success (or failure) of policies to tackle health inequalities. Yet so far only limited attention has been given to exploring how key actors involved in research-policy dialogues understand the processes involved. In an attempt to address this gap, this article draws on data from semi-structured interviews with 58 key actors in the field of health inequalities research and policymaking in the UK to argue that it is ideas, rather than research evidence, which have travelled from research into policy. The descriptions of the varying journeys of these ideas fit three types—successful, partial and fractured—each of which is outlined with reference to one example. The paper then employs existing theories about research-policy relations and the movement of ideas in an attempt to illuminate and better understand the contrasting journeys. In the concluding discussion, it is argued that the third approach, which focuses on the entrepreneurial processes involved in the marketing of ideas, is most helpful in understanding the research findings, but that this needs to be discussed in relation to the political context within which negotiations take place. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Changing population demographics within the UK have become a source of increased interest to marketers as companies have realized the importance of targeting their products and advertising efforts towards minority and ethnic groups. In addition, as the UK’s ethnic minorities grow in both numbers and in terms of prosperity, so does the commercial significance of this market. A clearer understanding of both the nature of changing markets and the relative importance of different minority ethnic groups as consumers is imperative to facilitate both consumer understanding and business development; marketers need to understand better how to target these people, what they have in common with the mainstream and where the differences lie. This paper seeks to describe current understanding of ethnic consumers and their impact on the marketplace while highlighting an area where future research is potentially of considerable benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many productivity studies, if they cover the service sector, commonly enter a caveat that the data are uncertain or just look at manufacturing. This paper attempts to clarify what UK market-service-sector data are available, whether they should be treated as inaccurate, and what conceptual problems might make measuring service-sector output so hard Our overall conclusion is that most problems surround financial intermediation and business services. In financial intermediation, national accounts conventions and adjustments make the output data very hard to interpret. In business services many of the output measures are employment based. Elsewhere, for example, retail and wholesale trade, transport, and hotels and restaurants, the main problem is, in practice, lack of collected deflators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international (and, increasingly, global) nature of grocery retailing is promoting the need to consider developments across numerous markets in order to understand fully any given country's market characteristics. However, compared with the breadth of research on various aspects of UK grocery retailing, there is a relative paucity of work across the same range of topics and scales in European contexts (broad national-level comparisons excepted). The paper therefore extends work on UK retail change, assessing the extent of corresponding or diverging development trajectories elsewhere in Europe. Key indicators are used to map spatial variations in competition, saturation, and internationalization at a subnational scale. Inferences are made regarding likely patterns of future development through the identification of growth opportunities that may be exploited by organic expansion or merger-and-acquisition activity. Some speculative merger-and-acquisition scenarios are also considered, which suggest the validity of regulatory concerns over local competition and spatial monopoly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an ongoing debate within radical geography concerned with the trade union response to the hegemony of business interests apparent under neoliberal capitalism. In this paper, I contribute to this debate by exploring recent attempts to renew trade union organisation in the UK following decades of decline. I argue that, despite recent successes in stemming falling membership numbers and signing new recognition agreements, closer inspection reveals flaws in the renewal process that reflect the underlying nature of scale politics within the union movement itself. In particular, centralised strategies at the national level are failing to re-energise local-level union organisation leading to a rather hollow and pyrrhic renewal process. Drawing upon both macro-level analysis and evidence from a particular industry case study, I suggest that unions rethink their organisational geographies and scalar relations if they wish to re-connect with the grassroots and at a broader level remain a progressive force in the changing economic landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Van Stel A. J. and Storey D. J. (2004) The link between firm births and job creation: is there a Upas Tree effect?, Regional Studies 38 , 893-909. This paper examines the relationship between firm births and job creation in Great Britain. It uses a new data set for 60 British regions, covering the whole of Great Britain, between 1980 and 1998. For Great Britain as a whole, no significant relationship between start-ups and employment creation is found in the 1980s, but there is a negative relationship for the 'low enterprise' area of the North East of England. For the 1990s, a significant positive relationship for Great Britain as a whole is found, but for Scotland, which focused policy on start-ups, a negative relationship is found. The authors feel this raises questions over policies designed to raise rates of new firm formation as a strategy for employment creation, particularly in 'low enterprise' areas. Van Stel A. J. et Storey D. J. (2004) Le lien entre la création d'entreprise et la création d'emploi: l'effet Upas, existe-t'il?, Regional Studies 38 , 893-909. Cet article cherche à examiner le lien entre la création d'entreprise et la création d'emploi en Grande-Bretagne. On emploie un nouvel ensemble de données portant sur la période de 1988 à 1998 et pour 60 zones britanniques couvrant toute la Grande-Bretagne. Pour la Grande-Bretagne dans son ensemble, il ne s'avère aucun lien important entre la création d'entreprise et la création d'emploi dans les années 1980, mais un lien négatif pour ce qui est de la zone dite 'à faible entreprise', à savoir le nord-est d'Angleterre. Pour les années 1990, il s'avère un lien positif important pour la Grande-Bretagne dans son ensemble, à la différence de l'Ecosse où la politique a porté sur la création d'entreprise et qui fait preuve d'un lien négatif. Par la suite, des questions se posent sur les politiques qui cherchent à augmenter le taux de création d'entreprise dans le but de créer des emplois, surtout dans les zones dites à 'faible entreprise'. Van Stel A. J. und Storey D. J. (2004) Die Verknüpfung von Firmengründung und Arbeitsbeschaffung: Gibt es einen Upasbaumeffekt?, Regional Studies 38 , 893-909. Dieser Aufsatz untersucht die Beziehung zwischen Firmengründung und Arbeitsbeschaffung in Großbritannien. Dazu werden neue Datenreihen für 60 britische Regionen benutzt, die ganz Großbritannien im Zeitraum 1980-98 erfassen. Für Großbritannien als Ganzes ergab sich während der achtziger Jahre keine signifikante Beziehung zwischen Firmengründung und Arbeitsbeschaffung, doch eine negative in den 'unternehmensschwachen' Gebieten Nordostenglands. Für die neunziger Jahre wird für Großbritannien insgesamt ein signifkant positives Verhältnis festgestellt, aber ein negatives in Schottland, das seine Bestrebungen auf Firmengründungen konzentrierte. Dies wirft Fragen betreff Bestrebungen auf, die speziell auf Anhebung von Firmengründungen als Strategie zur Beschaffung von Arbeitsplätzen abzielten, besonders in 'unternehmensschwachen' Gebieten. Van Stel A. J. y Storey D. J. (2004) El vínculo entre los nacimientos de empresas y la creación de empleo: existe un efecto Upas Tree ?, Regional Studies 38 , 893-909. Este artículo examina la relación entre los nacimientos de empresas y la creación de empleo en Gran Bretaña. Utilizamos una nueva base de datos para 60 regiones británicas, cubriendo Gran Bretaña en su totalidad, entre 1980 y 1998. Para Gran Bretaña en su totalidad no encontramos ninguna relación significativa entre las nuevas empresas y la creación de empleo en los años 80, pero sí encontramos una relación negativa para la zona de 'baja actividad emprendedora' del Noreste de Inglaterra. Para los años 90 encontramos una relación positiva significativa para Gran Bretaña en su totalidad, sin embargo, para Escocia, que concentró sus políticas en la creación de empresas, encontramos una relación negativa. Creemos que esto plantea cuestiones sobre políticas diseñadas a aumentar los índices de formación de nuevas empresas como estrategia de creación de empleo, particularmente en zonas de 'baja actividad emprendedora'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the influence of the business environment on the choice of strategy within the UK textile industry. The question raised is whether a more radical strategy such as Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) is required, as opposed to TQM, which makes incremental improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of customer relationship management (CRM) implementations has grown dramatically in recent years. However, few academic studies of the issues associated with the implementation of the concept are available. This paper offers a modest contribution through the analysis of a case study of a CRM implementation at a UK-based manufacturing company. The case study illustrates that CRM is a complex and holistic concept, organised around business processes and the integration of information technologies. The study also highlights that implementing CRM requires effective leadership, sourcing, targeting and evaluation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of new business start-ups cannot be over-emphasised. The UK government has taken actions designed to stimulate the growth of new businesses and aid their survival. The identification of barriers to entry is important, together with strategies to minimise their impact. The UK continues to lag behind the USA in its levels of entrepreneurship. The removal of barriers to start-up is key to rectifying this situation and stimulating the new business aspect of the economy. The paper highlights the government's position in furthering entrepreneurship, draws on initial primary research into student barriers to start-up and makes recommendations for how higher education institutions can assist in breaking down the barriers identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research was to investigate e-business and e-supply strategies in Scottish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The paper reviews academic literature and recent survey reports on the degree of e-business adoption in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The qualitative methodology undertaken is described, findings are discussed and implications from this study for e-business strategies outlined. This was an exploratory study using a small sample with possible geographic biases. Nevertheless, the data so far are in line with findings from larger studies. The role of support agencies is examined, as well as how government could better serve the SMEs. Finally conclusions and future research plans are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of UK companies is adopting the practice of establishing employee working patterns under a system of annualised hours to offer greater flexibility. This paper describes the concept, examines the advantages of adopting such a system and gives a broad framework to support its effective introduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the state of the field of the sub-disciplines within UK management research, based upon the submissions of 94 UK higher education institutions to the Business and Management Studies Panel in the UK's 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). It offers observations on the UK model of the assessment of quality in, and funding of, research conducted in publicly funded higher education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant body of literature suggests that enterprises in the public education sector may differ from 'standard production' market firms in important ways. Substantial government involvement is then legitimized. However, this literature often uses withinsector comparisons of school types, rather than cross-sector comparisons of the education sector with other sectors. This paper compares the structure of education enterprises and workplace practices with those in other industries, namely (the rest of) the public sector and the private sector. Key differences, particularly as regards staffing resources, between education providers and these other enterprises are identified from prior literature and then tested. Data from the UK Workplace Employee Relations Survey (1998) are used. Our findings show substantial differences in labour rewards and factor management in the education sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marks & Spencer (M&S) was one of the world's great retailers, enjoying legendary and iconic status, being often held up as one of the best managed and admired businesses in the world. Its ‘fall from grace’ has been spectacular and dramatic and the company is currently fighting for its life. Based on extensive in-depth interviews with company managers and utilizing a case-study approach, this paper provides an exploratory study into failure at M&S and presents this in the context of the wider literature on organizational and managerial failure. It concludes that whilst external factors in the various trading environments affected the business, there were internal aspects of the crisis which exacerbated the situation and the problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research reviewed in this paper establishes that the VAT system generates heavy administrative burdens for small firms in Europe despite various measures taken to alleviate them. A possible solution would be to abolish VAT charges between registered traders which would, in effect, convert the tax into a sales tax. The conclusion is that such a change would necessitate modification of the 6th Directive on VAT. The other alternative might be to compensate small firms for their work as unpaid tax collectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores accounting change in the product development department of a small UK chemicals manufacturer. An institutional framework of accounting and a framework of power mobilisation help tease out the dynamics of the processes of change. The case highlights power over resources, decision making and meanings as being key facilitators to the implementation of accounting change. It also demonstrates barriers to change and conflict which emerge as new accounting routines fail to impinge on existing laboratory ways of thinking Focusing on the processes of accounting change within a specific organisational setting illuminates aspects of the change process which more conventional "static" approaches would likely ignore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an updated examination of self-employment, concentrating in particular on the UK. It opens with some observations about the type of person who may be suited to self-employment and then provides a commentary and analysis of empirical evidence on incidence, demographic features and social trends. The article concentrates primarily on the multifarious ways in which 'economists' have attempted to analyse this data and presents a contemporary assessment of their findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK's NJCC Code of Procedure for Single Stage Selective Tendering (now withdrawn) and its successor, the CIB's Code of Practice for the Selection of Main Contractors are criticized in the light of decisions of the common law courts with regard to regulation of the tendering process. It is argued that a new 'Tendering Code' should be produced in the style and format of a contract document which reflects not only the statutory regulation imposed on public bodies, but common law decisions of the courts. The nature of this tendering contract is explained as a means of regulating the tendering process. Issues discussed are: dealing with errors and irregularities found in tenders; dealing with non-compliant tenders; dealing with tender withdrawal prior to its acceptance or rejection; making provisions as to time for submission of tenders and dealing with late tenders; making provision for submission of tender by fax or other electronic means; making provision for evaluation of tenders received; and imposing or negotiating reductions in price with tenderers prior to acceptance. The paper concludes that the common law obligations placed on the owner to treat all tenderers equally and fairly arid to apply the tender conditions when evaluating tenders and awarding contracts seems to be good common sense and of commercial advantage, not only to the immediate parties concerned but also to the wider community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the determination of directors' compensation in UK quoted companies between 1985 and 1994. The primary innovation contained in the paper is the focus on the governance mechanisms that determine pay outcomes. Our results indicate that: (i) directors' compensation is positively related to pre-dated shareholder returns and company size with the quantitative effect of the latter dominating the former. (ii) We find that the pay-for-performance link has become quantitatively stronger over our sample period. (iii) There has been positive adherence to the principles of the Cadbury report, but these variables play little statistical role in shaping the direct compensation of top directors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I report the results of a study of the directors of twenty large retail companies as a contribution to the delineation of the morphology of the British business elite. Although some studies of the business elite have examined the characteristics of elite members in different business sectors (i.e. finance versus industry) or have hinted at differences related to specific types of activity, such as brewing, shipping and oil, the systematic study of the commercial elite has largely been neglected.[2] Many of the studies in this field have either not been concerned to distinguish between industrial and commercial companies or have been inhibited in their generalisations because of the small number of retail concerns present in their samples. Paradoxically, we probably know more about the men who inhabit the arcane world of the City than we do of those whose names can be found in almost every urban high-street. Nevertheless, there is some evidence to suggest that the retail sector is to some extent the Cinderella of the business elite, characterised by a relatively plebeian leadership and a low level of integration with other sectors through the mechanism of interlocking directorships.[3] Here we will explore in greater depth the extent to which this characterisation is valid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract--This paper examines the effect of entry and innovafive activity on total factor productivity growth. Using a sample of 79 industries in the U.K., 1976-79, significant effects are observed that persist over time, with innovative activity accounting for a larger positive effect on total factor productivity growth than domestic entry. Foreign entry has little apparent effect on productivity growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a large random sample of UK startups and a rich data set, the paper demonstrates that human capital is the 'true' determinant of survival and that the correlation between financial capital and survival is spurious. Provision of finance is demand-driven, with banks supplying funds elastically and business requests governing takeup. Firms self-select for funds on the basis of the human capital endowments of the proprietors with 'better' businesses more likely to borrow. A reason why others have seemingly identified startup debt-gaps may be the failure to test a sufficiently rich empirical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful fixed exchange rate regimes impose policy disciplines that are likely to lead to conformity in the business cycles of the participating countries. This conjecture is borne out in the present paper by the evidence that the business cycle affiliation of ERM member countries has shifted from the United States to Germany since the formation of the ERM. This effect is bolstered by growing links in trade and finance between the European countries. The United Kingdom is conspicuous among these in that its business cycle affiliation did not change in the period of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of recent studies have suggested that access to collateral in the form of housing assets may be an important factor in the process of new firm formation. In particular, it has been suggested that variations in housing wealth may be able to account for a substantial proportion of the variation in rates of business creation within and between the U.K. regions. Re-examining this issue, the paper finds that once appropriate allowance is made for the presence of dynamics in the formation process, the evidence for a positive relationship between housing wealth and regional rates of new business creation disappears. However, there is evidence in favour of the proposition that access to external collateral in this form may help established firms to stay in business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we argue that the influence of advertising upon the inter-product distribution of demand is a system-wide phenomenon which is investigated better through a demand equation system rather than through single equation methods. Attention is focused upon a dynamic version of Deaton and Muellbauer's AIDS model modified to include advertising terms. Within this framework, and using data on consumers' non-durable expenditures in the UK, we carry out a preliminary test of Galbraith's hypothesis that advertising may affect the composition of aggregate consumer demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the prospects in Britain for investment by financial institutions in private rented housing. The first section describes the previous and the current governments'policies on private rented housing, the policy-measures established to revive this sector of the housing market and their impact to date. The second section describes housing investment trusts (HITs) - a new investment vehicle aimed at attracting financial institutions into the market- and explains where they fit into the policy framework. The third section discusses the evidence about the rates of return currently being achieved by private landlords, including BES assured tenancy companies. The fourth section describes financial institutions attitudes' to investment in private rented housing, including returns required, and the circumstances under which investment may be made. The fifth section presents the results of financial modelling of the returns which HITs are likely to earn. The final section assesses the prospects of financial institutions investing in the private rented sector, including via HITs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies partner selection criteria in a sample of UK international joint ventures with Western European, US and Japanese partners. Rankings of selection criteria are derived for the sample using a typology that distinguishes between task- related and partner-related selection criteria. The most important task-related criteria are found to be access to knowledge of local market, access to distribution channels, access to links with major buyers and access to knowledge of local culture. The most important partner-related selection criteria are trust between the top management teams, relatedness of partner's business and reputation. A parsimonious set of selection criteria for the sample is provided by means of factor analysis. Hypotheses are tested on the relationship between the relative importance of selection criteria and a number of characteristics of the sample - partner nationality, industry of the joint venture, joint-venture purpose, geographical location of the venture, initial approach for joint-venture formation and relative partner size. The greatest variation in the relative importance of selection criteria occurs with the geographic location of the joint venture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the business history of Sutherland family. The wealth of the Sutherland family was exercised in influential ways in nineteenth century Great Britain. It had a crucial effect on changes in transport technology in Lancashire; by this wealth was accumulated one of the finest private collections of fine art in Europe; it was employed with traumatic and transforming consequences in the Scottish Highlands; it sustained at least five major aristocratic houses including one which rivalled the royal establishment, itself; it was capital, which helped to improve agriculture on two leading Midland estates to a high peak of efficiency; it maintained a level of sheer consumption, which employed large numbers of servants and providers; it was wealth which flowed, often eccentrically, into unusual parts of the British economy, and to the rest of the world; and it subsidized the lives of a large circle of relatives in the Sutherland family. The purpose of the paper is to establish more clearly than before and for a longer period, some of the dimensions and origins of the great wealth of the Sutherland family. It seeks also to explore some of returns yielded by its investments.

Gibrat's law of proportionate effect states that the proportional change in the size of a firm is independent of its absolute size. An implication of this is that large and small firms have the same average proportionate rates of growth. Earlier studies of the growth of firms up to the early 1950's have found evidence to support the law. This paper shows that during the last decade the law has ceased to operate and that now large firms are growing at a significantly faster proportional rate than small firms. Concentration has been increasing in industry over a long period, for much of which Gibrat's law with all its implications held. The fact that growth was found to be independent of absolute size was not in conflict but was, rather, an explanation of the trend. The finding that larger firms are now the fastest growing suggests concentration is increasing at an even greater rate than when the law held. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For 1948, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research published a list of the 100 largest quoted companies in the United Kingdom. A comparable list has been prepared for 1968, with the assistance of the Statistics Division of the Department of Trade and industry, and the object of this paper is to compare the two population of companies. The companies covered in this study are the largest zoo companies whose ordinary or preference shares were quoted on United Kingdom stock exchanges at the relevant time. Companies whose trading activities were primarily outside the United Kingdom are excluded, as are consolidated subsidiary companies of companies which are already included in the list. Companies engaged primarily in banking, finance, insurance, investment, property and shipping are also excluded. The above definitions are inevitably arbitrary. Their main objective is to define a fairly homogeneous population of quoted companies, engaged primarily in manufacturing and distribution within the United Kingdom, and to select the too largest from this population.

This section presents abstracts of articles on trade and transportation published in the May 1965 issue of the journal Bulletin of Economics and Statistics. The article The Malawi-Rhodesia Trade Agreement, by Arthur Hazlewood argues that the agreement provides for too small a fiscal payment because it reflects fallacious reasoning about the likely effect of the imposition of customs duties. Moreover, the paper titled The Long and the Short of Transport, by A. A. Walters discusses that although welfare theory, on the usual assumptions, requires a nationalised industry to charge prices which are equal to short run marginal cost, most practical work has been done in terms of some long run concept. On the other hand, the article Some Notes on Road Transport Costs, by A. J. Harrison presents data on the structure of road haulage costs in Great Britain, trends over the last 15 years in total costs and in individual cost items and on the incidence of taxation. The data is presented for light, medium and heavy vehicles and for both rigid and articulated units. The data on cost trends are compared with observed trends in the composition of the vehicle fleet, and the question of the projection of future cost levels is briefly considered.

This study provides a new perspective on the effect of social media use in SMEs. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of social media on firm performance with mediating role of marketing capabilities in the UK, hotel industry. In this research, a structural equation modelling method has been employed for data analysis. The survey data has been collected by mail survey from a sample of 384 hotels in the UK. Results from the data analysis demonstrate the positive and significant relationship between social media use and firm performance. However, the findings highlighted that marketing capabilities, namely branding and innovation, positively and significantly mediate the association between social media use and firm performance. • This research proposes a new perspective on the effect of social media in SMEs. • Investigating the effect of social media use on hotel's performance. • Found a positive relationship between social media use and hotels' performance. • Marketing capability mediates the relationship between social media and performance. • Branding and innovation capabilities positively effects on hotels' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the possible impact of the plan by the British coalition government to increase the number of social enterprises in the National Health Service (NHS). The white paper "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS" discusses how NHS staff can transform their organisations into employee-led social enterprises, since the approach is said to lead to high productivity, better care and greater job satisfaction. The health service union UNISON argues that social enterprise is equivalent to the privatisation of health services.

Purpose ? To examine why UK business seems to be lacking in opportunities for employees to be creative.Design/methodology/approach ? This briefing is prepared by an independent writer.Finding ? The article states that over half the workers questioned are not encouraged to be creative. Many respondents said they often keep ideas to themselves, and that there are no rewards for innovation. The manufacturing industry is particularly suffering.Practical implications ? Highlights the value of incentives. Offers advice on how to encourage innovation within organizations.Originality/value ? The paper is an independent piece based on a recent study of the UK workforce. Gives a good overview of the current state of innovation in UK business and suggests ways to turn the trend around. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on accounting practice and research. Readers of "Accounting Education: An International Journal" are aware of the worldwide attention given to calls for improvement in curricula. This section of Accounting Education includes three papers. Each is distinctively different, focusing on different aspects of the curriculum development issue. A paper suggests that process mapping and scripting can facilitate understanding of business processes, thereby helping students understand the interaction between functional areas. Another paper describes the process of revising curricula at a business school in the U.S. It presents an illustrative example of a programme designed to meet the needs of future accounting professionals. In addition to providing an example, the paper offers much in the way of guidance that others will find helpful. The third paper employs the technique of strategic mapping to help understand the relationship between the importance of vocational skills and the perceived deficiencies that accounting graduates and newly-qualified accountants possess. While the data in this paper are from the Great Britain, the implications of its conclusions are of worldwide importance. Also included in this section is a Literature Guide for curriculum development research.

This article focuses on the objectives of the British Department of Employment, which appeared in the White Paper Building Business…Not Barriers. The prime aim of the department is to encourage the development of an enterprise economy. The way to reduce unemployment is through more businesses, more self-employment and greater wealth-creation, all leading to more jobs. There are key aspects of the Department's work. First is to promote enterprise and job creation in growth areas such as small firms, self-employment and tourism. Second is help business to grow and jobs multiply by cutting red tape; improving industrial relations by ensuring a fair balance under the law and encouraging employee involvement. Third is to improve training arrangements so that young people get a better preparation for work, and adults obtain the skills they need to compete in the world. Proposals are presented for Employment Law. These are: considering action to deter ill-founded claims of unfair dismissal through the possible introduction of a fee for employees before taking a case to an industrial tribunal; extending from six months to two years the qualifying period after which employers are required to give a detailed statement of reasons for dismissal; and exempting firms with fewer than ten employees from the requirement to allow a woman to return to work within 29 weeks after the birth of a child.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to an article about the taxation of tampon to help abused women, which appeared in the July 2, 2016 issue.