published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

The research question was offered by the sponsor of this Ph.D., The National Examining Board of Supervision and Management (NEBS Management). This research is a study of the First Line Management (FLM) role in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK and China. Different culture background, management styles, and communication systems, can be expected to affect the roles of managers. The Chinese style of managing the organisation has long been a subject of interest to researchers and practitioners. Research studies on managerial work and managerial roles have been well established in Western countries. Until recently, the cultural and political climate in China was less conducive to research into areas that might have caused too much debate. As a result, those researching management in China tended, until relevantly recently, to be isolated from main stream academic debate. It is believed that this study is unique in focusing on the FLM in China as well as in the UK. In both countries research on the FLM in SMEs is limited. This research attempts to bridge this gap by trying to define, for the first time, the roles, functions and skills required of FLMs in SMEs in the UK and China. The study argues that it is crucial to understand the FLM's role and place it within the organisation. The FLM is a critical link in any organisation because it is at this level that managerial and non managerial employees meet face to face and work in a close relationship with each other. The evidence from the research suggests that the FLM's role in the SME is broader than that of equivalent FLM role in the large organisation. It was found that FLMs in SMEs were seen as 'non-specialist', expected to cope with whatever aspect of work came their way. The implication of this broad 'nonspecialist' role was that they were expected to be a 'master of many trades'. The skills required to perform the FLM role were not perceived, despite their breadth as specialist skills such as finance, quality, purchasing and so on. Rather they were perceived as underpinning generic key skills which could, and should, be further supported by improved training and development. The research revealed that FLMs in SMEs perform a unique and a valuable role.There has been some concern about the extent to which models and practices of supervisory management are capable of being transferred from one country to another. The UK and China have evolved supervisory management styles and systems which are rooted in their respective social, economic and political circumstances but which are now being shaped increasingly by external, international and global patterns, trends and models. The study revealed there was a surprising degree of consistency in certain aspect of the FLM role in both countries. In particular, responsibility for 'organising and managing' was perceived as the core element ·of the FLM role. Differences were reviewed in how this core role was delivered in the two countries. For example, FLMs in the UK favoured a team working approach which was not adopted to the same degree by their Chinese counterparts. Other examples of differences included greater involvement and responsibility for financial matters in China than in the UK. These and other examples arise from different social, cultural and political circumstances and help illuminate the detail differences in both countries. In conclusion, the influence of international and global trends is likely to reduce the level of difference in the future. Summarising the FLM role in the SME, the research suggests that the FLMs are both co-ordinators and human relations engineers.

The cross-spread formed by intersecting source and receiver lines, or “hybrid gather” consisting of all common mid-points (CMPs) in a reflection patch defined by the acquisition geometry, has been revived in recent years as a possible solution to the increasing need for ever-improving imaging of 3-D seismic reflection data. These hybrid gathers, however, are currently not widely used in processing. Development of processing procedures for hybrid gathers is needed to further the efficiency of their application. The use of hybrid gathers in processing is justified by their performance as an areal array in attenuating both random and coherent noise from all azimuthal directions. Hybrid gathers also allow for azimuthal filtering to correct for wave propagation effects. Through an azimuthal analysis in an azimuthally anisotropic medium, the effects of structural dip on reflection time can be isolated and separated from pre-stack propagation effects of the media, particularly distortions due to azimuthal anisotropy. A binning strategy is determined for hybrid gathers which best allows for azimuthal anisotropy to be observed and distinguished from structural dip. This allows for improved velocity estimation for imaging and separate analysis of azimuthal variations in propagation properties of subsurface media at an early stage in the processing sequence. The degree and orientation of the anisotropy can then be estimated using a semblance method. / text

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4 pp. / Wheat Production on Lettuce Beds / In 2009, over 56,000 acres were planted to wheat in Arizona, all of which following either a lettuce or cotton crop. For wheat grown in the region, the conventional tillage sequence prior to planting can be tied to as many as seven field operations that consume valuable time, labor, and resources. In this study, our aim was to determine the effectiveness of reducing the number tillage (minimum till) operations in fields immediately following lettuce harvest. And demonstrate to Southwest wheat producers a means for conserving time, fuel, and resources. Growing wheat on lettuce beds immediately following lettuce harvest did not significantly reduce grain yield or quality. Although the regrowth of the previous crop can have significant implications for Durum grown with minimum tillage if not managed effectively, lodging was not a significant factor in this study as the degree of lodging was similar in both growing systems. The significant savings in fuel, labor and time, with no apparent reduction in Durum yield or quality, may be a significant benefit to wheat producers who incorporate minimum tillage practices following a lettuce crop.

The rapid telescoping of the need to communicate cross-culturally in an ever widening range of contexts sets the basic circumstances for this study. Private and public sector interviewing become more important as cultural and cross-cultural factors emerge in coventuring enterprises. Standard interviewing programs and procedures do not usually focus on cross-cultural variables. A model is necessary through which to orchestrate the interview in a generic form and into which substantive illustrations for cross-cultural interviews can be placed. The Cube model designed by Dr. T. Frank Saunders, in his Double Think book, was adapted to this purpose and provides a comprehensive and exhaustive format for this study. The advent of CD ROM, high storage and easy retrieval computer technology, makes the design presented here an effective and efficient system for the collection and collation of demographic and ethnographic data. The Cube model and procedures set forth in this study should facilitate the data collection and development of an interview manual for cross-cultural interviewing.

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