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Management Association (management + association)
Selected AbstractsA study to identify the training needs of life insurance sales representatives in Taiwan using the Delphi approachINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2006Chiang Ku Fan This article reports a study conducted to identify the needs for continuing professional development for life insurance sales representatives and to examine the competencies needed by those sales representatives. A modified Delphi technique was used. Most life insurance companies in the USA implement an education and training plan advocated by the Life Office Management Association. Insurance companies in Taiwan implement similar education and training plans, but they do not seem to result in the successful performance of their sales representatives. Besides augmenting knowledge of various financial products and marketing approaches, this study also suggests that life insurance companies need to train their sales representatives to an adequate standard in competencies of problem solving, communication, information technology utilization, culture compatibility, emotional intelligence, collective competence and ethics. [source] Equine abstracts HELICOPTER RESCUE , TO FLY OR NOT TO FLYJOURNAL OF VETERINARY EMERGENCY AND CRITICAL CARE, Issue S1 2004Rebecca M. Gimenez PhD Improved options for the successful transport of horses trapped in inaccessible areas (floodwater, steep ravines, etc.) during a disaster or emergency are available to practitioners using helicopter assets and the Anderson SlingÔ. Horses present a particularly difficult problem to remove from the rescue environment of a wide flooded area, or difficult steep terrain far from access by vehicles or heavy equipment. Due to their fractious and fearful nature, they may fight any effort to walk, climb or swim them to safety, and those attempts are inherently very dangerous for the rescuer(s). Unfortunately, many disaster or emergency scenarios may occur in areas not conducive to the use of other options (barge, rescue glide, simple vertical lift sling). Veterinary practitioners on scene should have familiarity with helicopter sling-load operations. The use of cargo nets, inappropriate home-made slings, and inadequate equipment has contributed to disastrous efforts by well-intentioned rescuers. There have even been desperate attempts at sling loading of cattle by roping the horns or one leg and transporting them into a waiting truck for removal from public lands. The Anderson SlingÔ has been successfully used for helicopter operations in multiple emergencies and training demonstration flights, and is the only Equine Sling recommended for this purpose. Although it was originally intended for clinical use in long-term recovery cases, it has become the industry standard for helicopter operations with equines because of its demonstrated safety margin, design and strength. In clinical use, leg straps further distribute the animal's weight to the legs, but are not necessary in rescue lifts. In some states, there are Large Animal Rescue Teams associated with the Veterinary School, the State Emergency Management Association, or local private Equine Ambulance Services that may have equipment and personnel trained in helicopter sling-loading. This is a specialty interest that requires prior coordination, significant planning, and training of all personnel involved. [source] In Search of the Classics: A Study of the Impact of JPIM Papers from 1984 to 2003,THE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2010Wim Biemans The Journal of Product Innovation Management (JPIM) was launched in 1984 and over its first two decades of existence evolved into the leading journal in the field of innovation and the management of technology. During these 20 years JPIM contributed to the field by publishing 488 academic papers. This paper is a follow-up study to an earlier study that looked at how JPIM evolved in terms of knowledge stock and knowledge flows during the first two decades (published in JPIM, March 2007). That paper looked at what was published during the first 20 years, which sources were cited, and which journals cited JPIM papers. This study takes a closer look at the impact of JPIM on the field of innovation and the management of technology by identifying the most classic papers published in JPIM during its first two decades of existence. This study used multiple research methods to identify 64 candidate potential classics from the 488 papers published in the first 20 years of JPIM's existence, to analyze how they differ from the other 424 papers published in the journal, and to investigate authors' motivations for writing these papers. Finally, using survey responses from the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) membership and other academics in innovation and new product development, the research then determines which 5 of the 64 candidate papers are considered to be the "most classic" papers published and the factors driving that determination. The findings show that classic papers are those presenting a "pioneering idea" in the field that creates buzz in both the academic and practitioner worlds. High numbers of citations are indeed the outcome of these endeavors, but being a classic requires more than having high numbers of citations. Authors of the true classics generally have worked hard to disseminate their research, usually to both academics and practitioners, perhaps also contributing to the network buzz created by their findings. While one of the five most classic papers represented the first investigation into a particular stream of research, the other four were culminations of a significant body of research, providing a distinct summary of known information on a topic at the time they were published and a clear road forward for future research on the topic. These bodies of knowledge have yet to be superseded by other culminating papers. [source] PERSPECTIVE: Trends and Drivers of Success in NPD Practices: Results of the 2003 PDMA Best Practices Study,THE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2009Gloria Barczak Since 1990, the Product Development & Management Association (PDMA) has sponsored best practice research projects to identify trends in new product development (NPD) management practices and to discern which practices are associated with higher degrees of success. The objective of this ongoing research is to assist managers in determining how to improve their own product development methods and practices. This paper presents results, recommendations, and implications for NPD practice stemming from PDMA's third best practices study, which was conducted in 2003. In the eight years since the previous best practices study was conducted, firms have become slightly more conservative in the portfolio of projects, with lower percentages of the total number of projects in the new-to-the-world and new-to-the-firm categories. Although success rates and development efficiencies have remained stable, this more conservative approach to NPD seems to have negatively impacted the sales and profits impact of the new products that have been commercialized. As formal processes for NPD are now the norm, attention is moving to managing the multiple projects across the portfolio in a more orchestrated manner. Finally, firms are implementing a wide variety of software support tools for various aspects of NPD. NPD areas still seriously in need of improved management include idea management, project leadership and training, cross-functional training and team communication support, and innovation support and leadership by management. In terms of aspects of NPD management that differentiate the "best from the rest," the findings indicate that the best firms emphasize and integrate their innovation strategy across all the levels of the firm, better support their people and team communications, conduct extensive experimentation, and use numerous kinds of new methods and techniques to support NPD. All companies appear to continue to struggle with the recording of ideas and making them readily available to others in the organization, even the best. What remains unclear is whether there is a preferable approach for organizing the NPD endeavor, as no one organizational approach distinguished top NPD performers. [source] PERSPECTIVE: Establishing an NPD Best Practices FrameworkTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2006Kenneth B. Kahn Achieving NPD best practices is a top-of-mind issue for many new product development (NPD) managers and is often an overarching implicit, if not explicit, goal. The question is what does one mean when talking about NPD best practices? And how does a manager move toward achieving these? This article proposes a best practices framework as a starting point for much-needed discussion on this topic. Originally presented during the 2004 Product Development Management Association (PDMA) Research Conference in Chicago, the article and the authors' presentation spurred a significant, expansive discussion that included all conference attendees. Given the interest generated, the decision was made to move forward on a series of rejoinders on the topic of NPD best practice, using the Kahn, Barczak, and Moss framework as a focal launching point for these rejoinders. A total of five rejoinders were received and accompany the best practices framework in this issue of JPIM. Each rejoinder brings out a distinct issue because each of the five authors has a unique perspective. The first rejoinder is written by Dr. Marjorie Adams-Bigelow, director of the PDMA's Comparative Performance Assessment Study (CPAS), PDMA Foundation. Based on her findings during the CPAS study, Adams comments on the proposed framework, suggesting limitations in scope. She particularly points out discrepancies between the proposed framework and the framework offered by PDMA's emerging body of knowledge. Dr. Elko Kleinschmidt, professor of marketing and international business at McMaster University, wrote the second rejoinder. Based on his extensive research with Robert G. Cooper on NPD practices, he points out that best practices really raise more questions than answers. Thomas Kuczmarski, president of Kuczmarski and Associates, is the author of the third rejoinder. Kuczmarski highlights that company mindset and metrics are critical elements needing keen attention. Where do these fit,or should they,in the proposed framework? The fourth rejoinder is written by Richard Notargiacomo, consultant for the integrated product delivery process at Eastman Kodak Company. Notargiacomo compares the proposed framework to a best practices framework Kodak has used for new product commercialization and management since 1998. The distinction of the Kodak framework is the inclusion of a product maturity model component. Dr. Lois Peters, associate professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), is the author of the fifth rejoinder. She brings out issues of radical innovation, a natural focal issue of RPI's radical innovation project (RRIP). It is highlighted that radical innovation may require unique, distinctive process characteristics a single framework cannot illustrate. Multiple layers of frameworks may be more appropriate, each corresponding to a level of innovation desired. The overall hope is that the discourse on best practices in this issue of JPIM generates more discussion and debate. Ultimately, the hope is that such discourse will lead to subsequent continued study to help discern what NPD best practice means for our discipline. [source] In search of legitimacy: personnel management associations worldwideHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2005Elaine Farndale In considering the development of the HR ,profession', there has been little exploration of the role of the professional association. This is particularly true looking across national boundaries, raising questions about the impact and extent of homogeneity of personnel management association activities. It is argued that professional associations have a legitimising role to play in establishing a specialist body of knowledge, regulating practice and providing a source of internal and external identity for practitioners. A recent worldwide survey of personnel management associations found that, although associations are active in these areas, there is a lack of mandatory control and regulation across the profession, diluting the legitimacy accorded by such activities. Association activities were also found to be largely generic across countries, resulting from inter-association collaboration, although different contexts result in different outcomes. [source] Managing the Commons Texas Style: Wildlife Management and Ground-Water Associations on Private Lands,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 3 2007Matthew Wagner Abstract:, As nearly all of Texas' rural lands are privately owned, landowner associations for the management of white-tailed deer and ground-water have become increasingly popular. Deer are a common-pool resource with transboundary characteristics, requiring landowner cooperation for effective management. Ground-water reserves are economically important to landowners, but are governed by the "rule of capture" whereby property rights are not defined. One ground-water association and four wildlife management associations (WMAs) were surveyed to characterize their member demographics, land use priorities, attitudes, and social capital. Members of the ground-water cooperative were part of a much larger, more heterogeneous, and more recently formed group than members of WMAs. They also placed greater importance on utilitarian aspects of their properties, as opposed to land stewardship for conservation as practiced by members of WMAs. If ground-water association members could be more locally organized with more frequent meetings, social capital and information sharing may be enhanced and lead to land stewardship practices for improved hydrologic functions and sustained ground-water supply. This, coupled with pumping rules assigned by the local ground-water district, could yield an effective strategy that is ecologically and hydrologicaly sound, and that allows rural provision of water supply to urban consumers. [source] | ||||||||||