One of the most cOlnmon changes of strategy occurring in manufacturing organizations today is a new 'emphasis on product quality. When the mission of improved quality is operationalized, it involves the setting of quality improvement objectives and the design of programs to implement the ne\-\' strategy. One of the most popular programs for implernent.ing improved product quality is statistical process control (SPC) (2). SPC esta blishes current levels of quality variance in each st.age of the manufacturing process in order to provide a basis for formulating improvement objectives. Then, continued measurernents of quality variances are made to motivate and insure quality improvement through reduced variance a.t each stage in the process. Thus, SPC is used to formulate quality improvement objectives and to implernent the quality improvement strategy, as well as to evaluate and control strategy implementation. The implementation of a strategy of improved product quality using SP(; provides a. uniquely useful opportunity to study the complete strategy implementation process. Th:e organizations in this study are all involved in the manufacture of components for the automobile industry and are all pursuing a strategy of improved product quality. They are implementing that strategy using statistical process control. The purpose of the study "vas to see whether managers in different types of organizations use different mechanisms to implement the new quality strategy.

In 2004, Kennesaw State University became a part of the North American Consortium for Entrepreneurship (NACE). Its mission is advance the study and practice of in the North American business community and develop successful entrepreneurial careers in the expanding markets fostered by the implementation of the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA). In spring 2006, KSU hosted students from Canada, Mexico, and the United States as part of the NACE global initiative. Volunteers from an on-campus student organization, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), coordinated the project. This paper presents a descriptive case study of the semester-long exchange, along with a discussion of lessons learned and some suggested best practices for similar events. The North American Consortium for Entrepreneurship: Lessons Learned and Best Practices in Hosting International Students The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) defines ((high expectation entrepreneurship as ((all start-ups and newly formed businesses which [sic] expect employ at least 20 employees within 5 years (Global Entrepreneurship 1 Xu et al.: North American Consortium for Entrepreneurship Produced by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2006 118 Journal for Global Initiatives Monitor Research Consortium, 2005). GEM researchers found the highest concentration of these aspirants be in North America. In response a legislative mandate, the u.s. Department of Education created the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) to improve the quality of and access postsecondary education through grants that support reform and innovation (FIPSE, 1995). In 1995, FIPSE funded the North American Mobility (NAM) in Higher Education Program «to support educational consortia of American, Canadian, and Mexican institutions encourage coordination of curricula, exchange of students, and opening of educational opportunities throughout North America (FIPSE, 1995). In 2003, the field of converged with the NAM initiative when the North American Consortium for Entrepreneurship (NACE) was founded and became one of the 17 projects funded by FIPSE that year. This paper presents a case study of an iteration of the NACE project noted above. Its purpose is provide an overview ofthe operational nuances associated with creating and delivering an international student exchange experience using an all volunteer workforce and management team comprised of members of an on-campus student organization. The paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learned and suggested best practices for staging similar programs.

For most academic institutions, selecting and/or designing a Program Assessment methodology for Assurance of Learning is a challenging task. This paper describes the steps taken to establish goals, values and criteria driving this process for a College of Business. In this case analysis, we document the options we explored in finding the right vehicle for our particular situation. Our experience with a beta test and full rollout of our Program Assessment is detailed. After considerable research and a trial and error process, we have implemented a hybrid Program Assessment approach for our undergraduate students. This approach includes a business simulation product that has been customized and tailored for our institution along with locally developed major field exams. Our lessons learned from this experience include issues surrounding student resistance, faculty engagement, logistics, and the need to use multiple assessment vehicles.

Abstract This paper presents a number of case study lessons learned by successful and unsuccessful small businesses during the 1996 Summer Olympic games in Atlanta, Georgia; and constructs a descriptive model from which implications and recommendations are drawn for small businesses interested in the likely impact of large scale special events such as the forthcoming 2000 Summer Olympic games in Sydney, Australia. There were two major reasons for undertaking Olympic businesses case studies. The first was to develop a theoretical framework of factors critical to businesses specifically catering for the significant increase in perceived demand for goods and services that arise when staging a large scale special event. The second’ major purpose was to apply the lessons learned from the descriptive model in constructing a normative model for businesses gearing up for a future Olympiad, or a similar large-scale special event. Businesses expecting to make a quick fortune out of the Sydney Olympics are likely to be disappointed; the experiences of entrepreneurs in Atlanta indicate that it will not be an easy task. The study found that the businesses most likely to be successful are those that are already established with surplus funds to deploy into new ventures in which they can afford to take a risk.

ABSTRACT Two important questions facing undergraduate mathematics majors are: What type of career can I look forward to and how can I prepare for it? While there are many career opportunities for math majors, most undergraduates are unaware of them. To help answer these questions, the Department of Mathematics at Slippery Rock University has developed the idea of a Special Interest Area to complement the BS in mathematics.

The relationship between organisation size, technology implementation, and organisational culture is examined. Thirty‐five American and Canadian manufacturing organisations were surveyed concerning their approach to implementing statistical process control (SPC) technology. Organisations were classified as either large or small and hierarchic or non‐hierarchic. Approaches to implementing SPC were measured and compared among the four groups (large hierarchic, small hierarchic, large non‐hierarchic and small non‐hierarchic). Results indicated that both the size of the organisation and its culture determine how that organisation goes about implementing technological change. Larger organisations use inter‐departmental liaisons, temporary task forces, and permanent implementation teams more than smaller organisations in implementing new technology. Non‐hierarchic organisations appear to use goal and direct contact mechanisms at higher levels than hierarchical organisations when it comes to innovation and change. Results also indicate that there is more in common in the area of technological implementation between large and small businesses, and hierarchical and non‐hierarchical organisations than is often suggested.

Local uniqueness of solutions to the Cauchy problem is shown for certain classes of operators whose principal part is an even power of a strictly hyperbolic operator and whose lower order terms satisfy finite order zero conditions instead of the usual Levi conditions.

where each P/(x, t, D,, D,) is a homogeneous operator of orderj with smooth coefficients. We assume that the characteristic roots of P, satisfy Calderon’s conditions: the roots have constant multiplicity, real roots are simple and never become nonreal, and nonreal roots are at most double. For noncharacteristic operators with smooth coefficients, these conditions are sufficient for uniqueness of solutions vanishing for t 0. Our results include uniqueness for these operators, as well 374 0022.0396/80/120374-19$02.00/O