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College graduates need to have effective management skills in order to be successful in the competitive retail environment. Educators in Clothing and Textile programmes develop and continually update curricula to prepare students. Input from retailers concerning curriculum development is necessary for educators to stay current with industry needs. The purpose of this study was to identify management skill strengths and deficiencies of new managers from a retailer's perspective. The questionnaire consisted of three sections: (a) management skill competencies of individuals entering a management training programme, (b) components of management skills identified in Section A, and (c) demographic information. The sample consisted of three management levels: store managers, division managers and vice‐presidents (upper management) of a men's wear apparel retailer. Upper management reported that new managers have the following management skill competencies: ability to take on responsibilities, ability to work as team, communication skills, goal‐setting abilities, leadership skills, decision‐making skills, problem‐solving abilities, handling job‐related stress/pressure, ability to evaluate job performance, delegating skills and time‐management skills. When asked to identify the most important management skill competencies, upper management rated leadership skills (29 per cent), problem‐solving (11 per cent) and teamwork (10 per cent) as being the most important. Results of ANOVA indicated that three demographic variables had a significant effect on management skill competencies. Management level had a significant effect on delegating and time‐management. Store managers rated new managers' delegating skills and time‐management skills higher than did division managers. Education had a significant effect on employee performance evaluation although no significant differences were found between groups. The number of years as a manager had a significant effect on time‐management with no differences between groups. Educators should consider retailers' assessments of new managers in preparing students for retailing careers. Special attention should be given to strengthening those skills found to be most deficient such as time‐management, delegating and evaluating another's job performance.

The problems of One‐Man‐Bands (OMBs) began to be taken seriously in the early 1980s when the Aslib OMB group was formed. The group received considerable attention in the professional press, and became the object of a study by Judith Collins and Janet Shuter who identified them as “information professionals working in isolation”. Many of the problems identified in the Collins/Shuter study remain — not least of these being the further education and training needs of OMBs. These needs are studied in this report. The author has firstly done an extensive survey of the literature to find what has been written about this branch of the profession. Then by means of a questionnaire sent to the Aslib OMB group and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (INVOG), training and education needs have been pinpointed. Some of these needs have then been explored in greater detail by means of case studies. The author found that the most common deterrents to continuing education and training were time, cost, location, finding suitable courses to cover the large variety of skills needed and lastly, lack of encouragement from employers. The author has concluded by recommending areas where further research is needed, and suggesting some solutions to the problems discussed.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

Knowledge management (KM) is an emerging method of management. This study aims to explore the various aspects of implementing KM in university libraries of Pakistan.

A survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire, and data were collected from 75 chief librarians and reference librarians of 48 university libraries of Pakistan. A total of 60 valid responses received and analyzed using SPSS version-21.

The results disclose that a majority of respondents are familiar with KM, and literature reading is the major source of their awareness. The Pakistani academic librarians believe that KM can be applied, in the reference services, resources sharing, networking and information literacy programs of libraries. While, need for professional training and KM education are also reported. KM can be implemented in libraries through, use of ICT, developing knowledge sharing culture and developing mentorship in organizations. A lack of staff training, lack of expertise in KM, lack of knowledge gaining and sharing culture, lack of understanding of KM concept and its benefits and a lack of IT infrastructure are the major challenges faced by library and information science (LIS) professionals. Communication skills, information management skills, IT skills, leadership skills, human resource management skills are identified as key skills for the implementation of KM.

This study provides a base to develop a KM strategy and implementation plan for academic libraries in Pakistan. It will facilitate to constitute an important step toward the management of intangible assets in Pakistani libraries.

The results of the study will unveil the perceptions of academic librarians toward KM. It will help to understand the relationship between KM and LIS. The study will also identify the challenges faced by librarians and skills required for the implementation of KM in libraries.

With logistics increasingly adopting a strategic orientation in many firms, senior‐level logisticians must possess certain skills in order to successfully manage the logistics function. This article argues that the contemporary senior‐level logistics manager needs to be proficient in three categories namely: business, logistics and management skills. The purpose of this research is to report the results of a survey of US logistics managers designed to assess the importance of business, logistics, and management skills. Management skills emerged as the most important of the three, followed by logistics and business skills. These findings suggest that contemporary senior‐level logistics executives must be managers first and logisticians second. In addition, the emphasis on management skills suggests that high‐ranking logistics executives may have the opportunity of rising to top management positions such as the Chief Executive Officer – a career path unheard of two decades ago.

In order to be successful, micro‐enterprise owners in South Africa face several management challenges. To overcome these challenges it is crucial that they possess sufficient financial management skills to ensure business survival and growth. This article focuses on determining the extent to which the critical financial management skills that micro‐enterprise owners in South Africa require differ from those they possess, in order to identify specific interventions to develop the skills that are lacking. It was found that most micro‐enterprise owners do not possess the critical financial management skills required. Recommendations are made on how members of the accounting profession could become involved in developing these skills.

This paper examines the relationship among leadership skills, management skills and individual success and failure in formal organizations.

A model is presented depicting the interactive relationship among the three variables and explaining why some high potential employees suffer derailment while other individuals with similar skills continue to develop and achieve organizational success.

The model indicates that there is not one combination of management and leadership skills related to individual success.

Developmental activities should be ongoing regardless of the individual's level in the organization.

This paper synthesizes several streams of research into a coherent model that can be used as a guide for leadership development activities.

The growing scale and scope of the supply chain requires a greater understanding of the broader supply chain skills picture. This study aims to assess the supply chain skills needs within the context of a UK-based higher education institution involving graduates, academics and employers to appreciate the graduate skills demands of modern supply chains.

A mixed methods study entailing in-depth interviews with academics followed by a questionnaire distributed to graduates and employers has been designed and utilised.

The findings indicate that the changing supply chain scope encourages the requisition and development of different supply chain skills with varied levels of emphases in relation to 25 skills identified in the literature. Key graduate skills needs are highlighted, including time management, collaborative learning, teamwork and problem solving, with the addition of two supply chain skill areas, namely specialist training and the understanding and application of regulations. The findings of the current study present a limited emphasis on information technology (IT) skills, despite the significant IT advancements and changes in supply chains.

The study has been carried out in a UK university delivering undergraduate supply chain management courses. It would be beneficial to test whether the findings are exemplary across other supply chain courses and to investigate the integration of these skills within the supply chain syllabus and how employers, graduates and academic parties could actively engage in developing the agenda for future supply chain skills needs.

This research paper highlights the gaps in supply chain skills, which inevitably puts considerable pressure on operatives and managers whose responsibility it is to ensure compliance with regulations and professional bodies.

This paper contributes to the supply chain skills discussion and reports subject relevant challenges for supply chain educators by engaging three key stakeholders – graduate employers, graduates and academics. The findings have generated additional supply chain skills to the academic literature, in addition to providing an understanding of the weighting of skills in terms of their importance and application to industry needs.

Managers now face a new responsibility, critical to their job success — helping subordinates develop the key skills necessary to meet performance objectives. Due to a lack of formal college instruction, it is evident that managers and business professionals would benefit strongly from academic programmes in management education, enabling them to help their future subordinates develop the necessary management skills.

A description is given of the MBA programme which began in 1988 at the International University of Japan (IUJ) in conjunction with an American business school. A discussion of the traditional Japanese management development methods is given and differences from the Western approach are noted. In the 1980s, the global expansion of Japanese firms and the growing consumer demand for foreign goods and services prompted a review of the various management skills required and the methods of management development. The MBA programme at the IUJ aims to combine the best of both Japanese and Western methods and hopes to promote more effective communication between Japanese companies and their foreign counterparts.