Daniel F. Twomey

The enterprise perspective: a new mind‐set for competitiveness and sustainability

Purpose – The purposr of this paper is to introduce a new perspective on the organizations role, purpose, and relationships, both within and among organizations, that holds the promise of more ecologically sustainable and economically competitive business practices.Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyzes critiques of the current corporate perspective of organizations and builds upon Roomes framework for sustainable management to articulate a new model for organizational relationships that engage value‐chain members in an enterprise‐based competitiveness model. The paper offers examples to illustrate the potential of the new model.Findings – The new model requires a shift in the mind‐set of executives and major shareholders, but that shift holds the theoretical potential to improve long‐term competitiveness and environmental sustainability.Practical implications – The enterprise perspective model (EPM) holds the promise of improving competitive strength for firms and reducing negative environmen...

UK business schools and business: activities and interactions

This paper reports on a comprehensive study of business schools in the UK. Data were obtained from two mail surveys ‐ one of faculty members and the other of deans from all of the UK business schools. Among the factors studied were demographic and institutional characteristics; the time faculty spends on major activities; faculty rewards, competencies and networks; faculty interaction with business; receptivity and support for increased interaction; benefits of increased interaction; characteristics of faculty who do applied research; barriers to applied research; and the role of advisory boards. The results show an internal alignment of activities and rewards for teaching and research, but limited support for applied and collaborative research, and a divergence between the two principal activities ‐ academic research and teaching. Interaction by business school with business appears to be mostly information passing.

Assessing and Transforming Performance Appraisal

Proposes that by redirection performance appraisal can become a pivotal force for translating, articulating and instilling commitment to an organization′s strategy. Presents a framework for assessing the success and failure of performance appraisal systems in achieving their evaluation and development role on several dimensions. Resolves the limitations of conventional systems by transcending the dysfunctional conflict between evaluation and development. The transformational performance appraisal system is consistent with the new ways of managing and with new organizational forms.

A TQM Study: Integrating the Importance-Performance and Intra-Organization Impact Analyses

This study demonstrates the value of employing a TQM perspective in institutions of higher education. Using data collected from a Mid‐Atlantic university,Importance‐Performance Analysis and Intra‐Organizational Impact Analysis are introduced. An integration of the results of the two analyses identifies those areas within the university where cooperative arrangements are necessary to achieve improved performance and customer satisfaction.

The Evaluation/Development Dichotomy: Experiencing the Dual Role of Performance Appraisal

The dual role of evaluation and development in performance appraisal and the split interview are established concepts (Myers, Key, & French, 1965), but in large part remain unexperienced phenomena. In the role play presented here, participants explore the cognitive, behavioral, and affective aspects of evaluation and development, separately and in combination, in a realistic but low pressure environment with opportunity for feedback, comparison, and experimentation. The characteristics (aims, dynamics and outcomes) of an evaluation interview are in sharp contrast with those of a development interview. Without distinguishing the characteristics and the processes needed to achieve the separate objectives of performance appraisal, managers often muddle through performance interviews not understanding the individual requirements of evaluation and development, thereby frustrating themselves and their employees. Experiencing and exploring the skills, emotions and interactions prompted by an evaluation and