This paper compares the findings of two studies, conducted in 1998 and 2004, of academic staff in British universities. It examines the stability over time of working hours, specific work stressors and levels of psychological distress. Comparisons are also made between the levels of psychological distress currently reported by academic staff and those reported by other professional groups and the general population in the UK. Finally, the paper assesses the extent to which UK universities are meeting minimum health and safety at work standards for the management of job stressors. The findings indicate that: there has been little change in the levels of most stressors experienced over the six year period; the high levels of psychological distress found in the 1998 study are undiminished and exceed those of other professional groups and the population generally; the majority of the health and safety at work standards are not met. Possible implications of these findings for the quality of UK higher education are discussed.

Reports on an investigation of computer‐based support for developing marketing strategy. First, on the basis of a literature study, the nature of marketing strategy development is clarified. The needs for computer‐based support are identified. The status and underlying problems of existing computer‐based information systems for developing marketing strategy are then examined. Finally, a mail questionnaire survey on computer‐based support for developing marketing strategy is discussed. The major issues addressed in the survey were: managers’ needs for computer‐based support in developing marketing strategy; the current provision of computer‐based information systems; and the gaps between the identified needs and current provision. It is believed that this was the first study to use a large‐scale questionnaire survey to explore these issues. The findings provide important evidence and implications for both researchers and designers of computer‐based support for marketing strategy development.

As they seek to develop a culture of``lifelong learning'', many UK companies are providing``in-house'' education and training for their employees. Some programmes make use of the techniques of``work-based'' learning to achieve greater synergy between work roles and an academic curriculum. This paper examines the possibility that the main motivational factors for manager participants to undertake and complete one such programme are not necessarily conducive to the most effective forms of learning. It reviews some of the literature focusing upon the motivation and learning styles of mature students, and uses this as a basis for examination of data from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with participants administered as part of a longitudinal research programme. Questions are raised about the suitability of the workplace as a site for successful academic learning and the value of such programmes to assist companies to become``learning organisations''.

A hybrid approach for integrating group Delphi, fuzzy logic and expert systems for developing marketing strategies is proposed in this paper. Within this approach, the group Delphi method is employed to help groups of managers undertake SWOT analysis. Fuzzy logic is applied to fuzzify the results of SWOT analysis. Expert systems are utilised to formulate marketing strategies based upon the fuzzified strategic inputs. In addition, guidelines are also provided to help users link the hybrid approach with managerial judgement and intuition. The effectiveness of the hybrid approach has been validated with MBA & MA marketing students. It is concluded that the hybrid approach is more effective in terms of decision confidence, decision quality, group consensus, coupling analysis with judgement, etc.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. ABSTRACTSmall businesses play a crucial role in national and local economies, but their problems are not always accorded the same importance as those of larger organisations. Research shows that many small businesses fail from lack of management ability. It has been argued that small businesses can improve their performance and increase their competitiveness with better information and decision support systems (DSS). Study of the few research papers available reveals that the current use of computers in small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) is often limited, and geared to operational support rather than managerial decision making. The work discussed in this paper investigated current DSS use in small manufacturing businesses in Bedfordshire, and canvassed the views of managers as to what additional support they most needed. Conclusions are drawn from the results of interviews with managers of six small manufacturing businesses and a large-scale self-report survey of Bedfordshire firms. MANAGERIAL AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS KEY WORDSDecision support systems, small manufacturing business, computer-based information systems #