Purpose The objective of this study is to investigate the differences between high and low-performing manufacturing organizations in relation to critical organizational performance dimensions. Design/methodology/approach The types and frequency of performance measures used by the sampled manufacturing organizations are compared using factor and cluster analysis. Findings Based on the results of this study, it appears that high-performing manufacturing organizations, relative to their low-performing counterparts, tend to emphasise more the performance aspects related to employees, customers and market share. As such, these organizations appear to consider employees and costumers related performance aspects as critical elements of the overall organizational performance. Research limitations/implications The sample used in this study is specific in nature. It consisted of Portuguese manufacturing organizations. Thus, the results should be interpreted accordingly. Practical implications This study clearly shows that organizational investments aimed at improving the aspects of organizational performance related to customers, employees and market share are justified. Originality/value This study has both practical and theoretical value, as it empirically explores the practical implications of some important issues related to organizational performance.

Purpose Examines the similarities and differences in the dimensionality of advertising attitudes between Turkish and New Zealand consumers. Design/methodology/approach Survey data, collected by questionnaire from 303 respondents in Turkey and 189 respondents in New Zealand were first analysed separately using principal components analysis to identify the underlying dimensions of advertising attitudes. The factor congruency technique was then used to examine the extent of similarity between the two samples. Findings Advertising attitudes consist of social and economic dimensions. The dimensionality of these attitudes exhibits a fairly similar pattern across both countries. Research limitations/implications The study was limited to a particular sample. Extensions of the research to other samples is needed for cross-validation. Potential moderators of advertising attitudes should also be considered in future research. Practical implications Findings suggest that advertisers in Turkey and New Zealand should create advertisements that are believable. The positive relationship between believability and overall attitudes towards advertising also suggests that advertisers should be sensitive to tactics that generate consumer scepticism. Originality/value Examines the relevance of previous North American and European findings in two culturally diverse countries.

Purpose – To propose a multicriteria approach for ranking the performance of the economic sectors of the Portuguese economy and to identify the most attractive sectors. Design/methodology/approach – A multicriteria approach using ELECTRE III and SRF software for eliciting the weights of criteria is used to solve the ranking problem statement. Findings – The sector nonmetallic mineral products was ranked in first place in relation to all the rankings; the wholesale trade and retailing trade sectors were ranked in second place in relation to all the rankings; the sector wood, cork and furniture was ranked often in second place; the electronic and electrical industry sectors was ranked in third place; the agriculture and fishing sector was ranked in the tailend of the ranking; the agroindustry sector and the transportation and distribution sector consistently were ranked in the lowest positions, just before the agriculture and fishing sector. Research limitations/implications – Other evaluation criteria can be used to improve the relative ranking classification, namely strategic and operational performance measures. Practical implications – The results of this application are useful for investors, business leaders, and policy makers. From the perspective of potential investors, investment opportunities can be evaluated based on the attractiveness of the economic sectors studied. From the perspective of Portuguese policy makers and business leaders, sectors of the Portuguese economy that are in need of fundamental restructuring are easily identified. For these sectors, business strategies and policy initiatives that are based on benchmarking effective innovations are in order. Therefore, joint partnership between business leaders, policy makers and higher education to lay the ground for innovative practices in these sectors may prove very useful. Originality/value – The proposed multicriteria approach utilized in this study is simple; furthermore it has the capacity to deal well with uncertainty. This study also contributes to an important, yet relatively new body of applicationbased literature, dealing with a multicriteria approach to decision making with the aid of fuzzy theory methodologies.

This article reports a practical application of intelligence gathering and strategic planning online. Firms in the reinsurance industry (defined in the text) face changed market realities and new challenges. As they attempt to chart new strategies and apply innovative business models in response to the changing marketplace, information technology can make a significant contribution. Internet-based e-business strategies and related business models have proven utility, which has greatly benefited many organizations in the service sector. The question is not whether e-business-based strategic business models will work for firms in this industry, but how to make them work effectively. The field study reported here proposes and tests a practical and systematic framework, finding it to be highly effective and applicable.

The strategic orientation of Portuguese firms in the porcelain industry is examined empirically. In the process, the effective use of traditional generic strategies as opposed to emerging strategies is compared. Special attention is devoted to the utility of classical Porter's generic strategies in comparison to time-based differentiation strategy. The study concludes that different variations of the classical differentiation strategy, which includes time-based differentiation, appear to be more effective than cost leadership or mixed generic strategies.

The literature related to benchmarking practices and theory was reviewed from 1986 to 2000. The earlier stages of benchmarking developments stressed a process and/or activity orientation. Recently, however, the scope of benchmarking appears to have expanded to include strategies and systems. Despite recent advancements, the field of benchmarking still suffers from the lack of theoretical developments which are badly needed to guide its multi-faceted applications.

In today's dynamic learning environment, educational delivery methods have become increasingly diverse. Using a unique opportunity to assess three types of course delivery—face-to-face, interactive television (iTV), and purely online delivery—the authors look at both initial knowledge acquisition and the retention of this knowledge. The results indicate that the online class outperformed the face-to-face and iTV sections on the initial performance evaluation; however, knowledge retention was greater in the face-to-face and iTV sections. The authors' findings suggest that diverse educational delivery methods provide unique benefits to students, but these benefits vary in relation to immediate learning outcomes and knowledge retention.

In partnership with Bristol Tennessee Essential Services (BTES) whose economic development initiatives provided fiber optic internet to local schools, an engagement agreement was drafted in which an ETSU graduate student team was contracted to develop an improved delivery methodology. This article presents a longitudinal case study and underscores the implications for engineering management education.

In this paper, we will introduce partial results from our 3-year NSF funded grant titled “Inverted and Active Learning Pedagogies (IALP) for Student Success.” We will present our results comparing student achievement between inverted (flipped) classrooms and traditional lecture formats in statistics classes at Texas Lutheran University. Included are a brief introduction, the study design, data gathering, faculty and students’ surveys, and the methodology used for the study. We will share results from instruments that were developed to measure different levels of cognitive understanding across multiple sections of the same introductory statistics classes. We will also examine grades, withdrawals, potential professor effects, student characteristics, class size effects, video saturation, accountability of students for watching videos, and student evaluations of various activities in the classroom.

Goal of this diploma thesis is to create a marketing strategy of the Prague Youth Philharmonic symphony orchestra including marketing concept definition, audience research and marketing communication project. The marketing strategy proceeds from internal and external SWOT analysis of the subject. Theoretical part of the thesis deals with classical marketing theory and its use in arts management praxis. It focuses on strategic marketing and its instruments.