This research was undertaken in the United States within two different regional airlines and examines the attitudes and behaviours of managers to operations performance measurement and review (PMR) systems during separate periods of crisis and growth. The aim and objectives were to examine whether managers would consciously adopt the necessary attitudes and behaviours that are required to positively interact with a PMR system and to further examine what these behaviours should be. A secondary aim was to understand whether the prevailing business state of crisis or growth affected the attitudes and behaviours of managers as they used the PMR system. The research spanned seven years and was conducted over four iterative cycles within an Action Research paradigm and used semi-structured interviews and repertory grids to examine individual personal construct systems. The research is essentially qualitative but draws on quantitative techniques where appropriate. The research has shown that people do not automatically adopt the behaviours necessary to achieve performance goals. Unless there is structure, support and an inherent commitment to training managers on how to, correctly, interpret operations performance data then there is likely to be an uncommitted and uninformed response to the PMR system. The research has confirmed that both business states of crisis and growth can have a positive impact on some people and encourage them to adopt performance-driven behaviour.

One of the major economic themes which characterised the development of modern company law was the well-documented separation of ownership from control and the increase in management control brought about by the wide dispersion of share ownership in large public companies.The growth and complexity of the modern corporation with diversified ownership created the need for governance mechanisms to facilitate the monitoring of managers and to restrain them from acting inappropriately, while not unduly restricting their ability to make decisions. The issue of corporate governance has been fiercely debated in both the US and the UK for several decades. The impact of globalisation and the recent financial crises in East Asia and elsewhere have spurred on corporate governance reform, which is now being implemented in many jurisdictions around the world. In recent years, China appears to have adopted some of the basic corporate governance structures of the Anglo-American system. However, little comparative empirical work has so far been undertaken to document systemic differences in ownership structures, institutional arrangement and legal rules betweenthe current Chinese corporate governance system and the systems in the UK and the US, or to determine how a corporate governance regime can best be designed to overcome the agency problems created by the separation of ownership from control in the Chinese context. In this thesis, we investigate the characteristics of China's corporate ownership structure and assess how effective shareholders are in monitoring directors' activities; we examine how boards are structured and function to ensure the efficient running of the company; and we consider the legal duties imposed on directors and how these duties are enforced in China, drawing comparisons and contrasts with the UK. Also, given the distinctive features of the Chinese corporate governance system, we estimate a regression model to investigate the relationship between corporate governance and corporate performance in China. Our results indicate that the weakness of the Chinese corporate governance system is not only a consequence of the concentrated state-ownership structure. This weakness is also in part due to the ineffectiveness of internal monitoring rules, inadequate/incomplete law and poor law enforcement. Finally, we provide some suggestions for the Chinese government to improve the Chinese corporate governance system.

This study is an investigation of aspects of tourism planning and management in Europe. In particular it is an examination within three distinct and complementary case study areas in the European coastal zone, of factors that may contribute to tourist area success. The historical development and the current problems of the tourism industry at international and national levels are discussed and the framework of European Community and national government approaches to tourism planning are analysed. Based on studies of the planning and management framework and extensive field work undertaken in Weymouth, the Algarve and Malta the thesis provides an interpretation of the mechanisms of development and control in operation at destination areas. It considers the extent to which the aims presented in the planning documentation for the area have been met in terms of visitor, resident and business success, and explores the relationships between these factors. The study concludes that, in general, the planning mechanisms and support for tourism development have been implemented only as a reaction to market failure and that resort managers are ill-equipped to deal with many of the problems that are evident in the tourism system. In particular the study highlights the importance of information and monitoring within the process of planning and control, and argues for greater emphasis on the role of residents, businesses and the quality of the environment in the tourism planning process.

The development of new products in the personal finacial services (PFS) sector is an area that is being increasingly relied upon by organisations to provide competitive differentiation in the highly competitive environment that they now operate within. Despite this reliance, relatively little is known about how new product development (NPD) activity is undertaken within the PFS sector. The literature in this area is inundated with different models and techniques to aid development programmes, but how closely they are followed and implemented in the reality facing personal financial service companies is questionable. The first stage of the research therefore examines the implementation of planned new product development in the sector, in order to highlight the gap between theory and practice, and provide for a more contingent approach to development activities. The second and third stages of this study are concerned with providing a detailed investigation of the development, launch and distribution of a particular new PFS product. Specific attention is paid to the organisational and behavioural factors that influenced its development and eventual market outcome. Such factors are given very little consideration in the existing literature supporting NPD activity, yet it is shown that the consequences that they can have for the success of new PFS products in the marketplace can be critical. The overall value of the research is found in its questioning of the universal nature of the existing provision of theoretical approaches to, and support techniques for NPD, in addition to determining the need for companies, both within and outside of the PFS sector, to take into account highlighted behavioural and organisational factors when involved in development programmes.

This thesis originates from first hand early experiences of the researcher regarding current processes and practices in operation in BAE SYSTEMS Ltd (now referred to hereafter as `the Company'), and recognises the potential for improvement within the realm of knowledge management. The huge volume of internal and external information overwhelms the majority of organisations and knowledge management provides solutions to enable organisations to be effective, efficient, and competitive. The software agent approach and information retrieval technique indicates great potential for effectively managing information. This research seeks to answer the questions of whether software agents can provide the Company with solutions to the knowledge management issues identified in this inquiry and whether they can also be used elsewhere within the organisation to improve other aspects of the business. The research analysis shows that software agents offer a wide applicability across the Company; can be created with relative ease and can provide benefits by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of processes. Findings also provided valuable insight into human-computer-interface design and usability aspects of software agent applications. The research deals with these questions using action research in order to develop a collaborative change mechanism within the Company and a practical applicability of the research findings in situ. Using a pluralistic methodology the findings provide a combination of the subjective and objective views intermittently within the research cycles thereby giving the researchera more holistic view of this research. Little attention has been paid to integrating software agent technologies into the knowledge management processes.This research proposes a software agent application that incorporates: (1) Co-ordination of software agents for information retrieval to manage information gathering, filtering, and dissemination; (2) To promote effective interpretation of information and more efficient processes;(3) Building accurate search profiles weighted on pre-defined criteria; (4) Integrating and organising a Company resource management knowledge-base; (5) Ensuring that the right information gets to the right personnel at the right time; and (6) So the Company can effectively assign the right experts to the right roles within the Company.

The Treasury's report "Institutional Investment in the United Kingdom: A Review" (the Myners Review) suggested in 2001 that various sectors of the UK equity market may be suitable for active investment management, tacitly assuming that some sectors are efficient whilst others are not. The validity of this assumption is tested against 29 industrial sector indices within the FTSE All Share index. Sector efficiency is, taken to be that index values reflect information correctly (strong efficient) or to the point where benefits do not exceed costs (weakly efficient). Existence of a sector index following a random walk is used to identify strong efficiency with the subsequent conclusion that passive management would be appropriate. Where the time series is not random, forecasting gains less than the management costs of active trading indicate weak efficiency with the corollary that passive management is still applicable. Industrial sectors where the index can be forecast with gains in excess of costs are not efficient and are appropriate for active management. The indices are tested for stationarity: none are stationary in levels but all reject the Dickey Fuller null hypothesis of a unit root in their first difference, the logarithmic return. Tests for randomness are based on pure random walks and random walks with drift and/or trend. Non-random time series are examined for maintained regressions based on AR, MA and ARMA. Where appropriate, ARCH is applied to the variance, utilising GARCH, Threshold GARCH, GARCH-in mean, Exponential GARCH and Component GARCH. Additionally there is a test for cointegration. All potential data generating processes' residuals are tested for independent identical distributions using the BDS test. If the maintained regression produces residuals that are III) then that series is assumed to be explained. The results show that four indices are strong efficient and five are weak; giving nine sectors that should be managed passively. Only one sector is found where there is scope for active management to make an abnormal gain in excess of costs. Nineteen of the indices had GARCH, which indicated a possible lack of efficiency but no decision on management style. One index was unexplained. Thus the Myners review's suggestion of active management where appropriate was valid, but limited solely to the Personal Care & Household Products sector.

My thesis has a dual focus. It is an account of both the journey of my inquiry, and the outcome of that inquiry. The Professional Doctorate, for which this work is submitted, emphasises practice development and at all times I have kept a watchful eye on my progress towards becoming a 'scholarly professional'. I am a facilitator - this means taking a variety of roles, including group leader, supervisor, coach, mentor, change agent. I use the term 'facilitator' as shorthand for all of these. My thesis makes a contribution to practical knowledge in relation to the subject matter and the methodology. My main focus is the practice of group facilitation, especially the way that a facilitator can work in a distress free manner, when the presence of the facilitator is apparent and distinct through an individual signature. I take the optimistic stance that facilitator presence can be developed, and have gathered a range of ideas that may support the practitioner in this respect, predominantly drawn from my own experiential and theoretical learning. With regard to autoethnography, the issue of judgement criteria is a particular offering. I see the whole of my thesis as autoethnographic, and have navigated a fine line between doing autoethnography, and finding out what an autoethnography is. In fully committing to this methodology, I take on the responsibility of writing from my own experience, whilst incorporating insights from the work of predecessors and peers.

The prime objective of the research is to establish why commercial sponsors use motor sport as an element of their marketing communications. A comparison has been undertaken between car and bike racing, as represented by Formula One and MotoGp, to establish any differences in approach. The initial historical element of the research revealed that motor sport had been sponsored by vehicle manufacturers since the origins of the petrol combustion engine in the late 19th century. Any suggestion that sponsorship of motor sport is a recent, late 20th century science has been dispelled. The investigation found that the sponsors of top level car racing place major importance on achieving awareness for their brands through media exposure, particularly television. This aim is shared by motorcycle racing sponsors too and a common model is identified. Where motor cycle racing is specifically concerned the research established that there is an almost identical approach to the usage and application of sponsorship to that in car racing. The only difference being that the wider commercialisation of F1, in which brands outside those intimately involved with automotive industries have made use of motor sport sponsorship, has been around for longer than that in motorcycle racing. The motorcycle sponsors have therefore taken slightly longer to reach the same level of marketing sophistication in a sport which is recognized as having less money overall. The research reveals that the most important element of the business plan for both types of motor sport relies largely on a business model linked to global television audiences. Such audiences are seen as vital in generating awareness of sponsors and their products. Such plans provide an entirely relevant platform for the initial steps of the AIDA theory (Awareness; Interest; Desire; Action) of product adoption. The research also identifies that this commonality of approach is not entirely accidental as similar promoters have been involved at the top level of both sports. The research advises that the future of motor sport should continue to involve the application of the latest technologies appropriate to passenger vehicles if it is to continue unhindered. It is suggested that motor sport should become the definitive technological test bed for vehicle propulsion systems that are sustainable and kind to the environment.