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Applications of Technology and Risk Management 

Since change is a fact of life in today's business world, managing change is a crucial process.  In any production, program management, or operations research effort, it is important to recognize the roles of technology and risk management and the interplay between them.  Two approaches for dealing with the risks inherent in technological change are technical performance assessment and management process and a general risk management process.  These processes can help a company "steer the ship" through change rather than just be a passenger on it.
Michael E. Thorn

From Raw Materials to Customers: Supply Chain Management in the Service Industry

No man is an island and no company can operate without a supply chain.  Recent years have seen a change in the way many companies manage their supply chains -- holistically rather than as a series of separate pieces.  Manufacturers have taken the lead in improving supply chain management (SCM), but now the fast-growing service industry is adopting these principles.  A case study in the health care area illustrates how service businesses can benefit from the decreased lead times, faster product development, higher quality and reduced costs that can accompany successful SCM.
Jack S. Cook, Kathy DeBree, and Amie Feroleto

Virtual Venturing and Entry Barriers: Redefining the Strategic Landscape

virtual organizations are ones that rely extensively on outsourcing, strategic alliances, and other forms of partnering to accomplish their objectives.  The core of the organization only keeps functions that cannot be performed more efficiently another way.  Virtual organizations may have an advantage in overcoming competitive barriers to entry in particular lines of business -- barriers such as economies of scale, capitol requirements, access to distribution channels, product differentiation, switching costs, cost disadvantages, and government policies.
William M. Fitzpatrick and Donald R. Burke

The Write Stuff: What the Evidence Says About Using Handwriting Analysis in Hiring

Attracting and retaining capable and motivated people is so important to organizations today it is understandable that they will reach for virtually any yardsticks or screening devices that help them with this task.  Some reach for handwriting analysis, or graphology.  However, research offers virtually no support for the use of graphology as a valid tool.  At best, it is only moderately reliable, at worst, useless.  There is basically no evidence of a direct link between handwriting analysis and various measures of job performance.
Steven L. Thomas and Steve Vaught

The Hidden Force: A Critique of Normative Approaches to Business Leadership

Whereas in capitalist theory, business people attend to the bottom line, in normative theory they are cognizant of additional, moral obligations that should enhance, not hurt, the bottom line.  These obligations are to the well being of workers, customers, and other stakeholders.  The most famous critic of normative approaches remains Machiavelli, A review of some recent normative approaches leas us to recognize that as compelling as the dream of an enlightened community is, Machiavelli was also right in suggesting that it can be a dangerous dream.  Without profits, a business community cannot exist to be enlightened.
Michale Harvey