Industry & Industrial Studies books

Firms need to adapt to changes in both their internal and external environments and create new systems that focus on new trends, identify improvements, assess their potential impact on their management and manufacturing systems. They try to learn quickly how to implement changes to their standard operating procedures. To achieve this, they adapt agile approaches. Agile Business Leadership Methods for Industry 4.0 collates innovative research on new leadership styles that will develop agile managers and business leaders who can improve company success in the fast-paced environments created by Industry 4.0. The book will also examine current challenges and opportunities for organizations and how setting companies up for greater agility can ensure their value and longevity. It highlights topics including leaderships styles, organizational climate, and labor markets, and is ideally designed for managers, executives, business professionals, researchers, academics, and students. Akkaya provides relevant theoretical frameworks of new leadership styles and the latest empirical research findings on challenges and opportunities for firms in industry 4.0. This book is set to aggregate original theoretical, conceptual and empirical research on challenges and opportunities in the context of industry 4.0 and how can they make it better by being agile and managed by agile leaders. It aims also to investigate the new leadership styles and a related framework for assessing a postmodern leadership style, agile leadership.

This is the ninth volume in a series of studies on entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth. The work looks at social and technological factors affecting mid-size businesses, including: education; job training; health policy; and, information technology.

As the rapid acceleration of industry 4.0 catapults a number of changes within the space of library services and operations into effect, it is more important than ever to understand the impact of technological revolutions on the academic library. This edited collection showcases the emerging issues brought by the 4th industrial revolution, and the effects on how libraries function, manage processes and continue to deliver products and services on a day to day basis.  The contributing authors examine the role of the Internet of Things in the academic library, identify the nature of the emerging technologies, and investigate how these innovations might be used in academic libraries. Documenting original research which offers a fresh insight into the opportunities and challenges of a new digital world, this book also delves into the readiness of libraries and library professionals to adapt to the change and new technologies brought about by Industry 4.0.   Presenting a wide-ranging road map of the future of libraries and information centres, this is an essential read for library professionals working in service delivery, as well as researchers interested in the nexus between academic libraries and emerging technologies.

This book represents a continuation of an uninterrupted record of international research pertaining to high technology small firms (HTSFs) over a period that has witnessed a rebirth of interest in the growth problems of the small firm, and is a further addition to a portfolio of specialist work by academics and practitioners on the issues facing new technology-based firms (NTBFs). The book begins with a conceptual overview on the broad theme of innovation in NTBFs, providing a theoretical perspective on the problems of innovation at the end of the twentieth century and setting in context the more specific contributions to follow. A continuing theme of HTSF research is innovation management, and seven chapters are included under this heading focusing on topics such as university spin-out companies and the role of non-executive directors. The successful management of innovation in NTBFs is clearly critical to their survival and growth. Another key and recurrent area of interest to researchers concerned with the problems of NTBFs is finance, with three chapters here addressing the funding problems faced by NTBFs during often lengthy periods of product development. The book concludes with a set of contributions which deal with the increasingly important issues of clustering and location as they affect NTBFs. The chapters included in this book represent a strong set of themes indicative of what key workers in the area of NTBF development are thinking at the turn of the millennium. These issues of effective management, funding and networking are key themes that will continue in the new millennium.

This title is part of a series that aims to present timely, scholarly work on multiple levels of analysis, multi-level theory, research, and methods. The focus is on 'critical essays', theoretical work, empirical studies, methodological developments, analytical techniques, and philosophical treatments.

From 2009 all LGV drivers will need to acquire the new EU driver CPC in addition to a LGV driver licence. This book is the ultimate LGV training manual for any professional driver or transport manager, as it covers all areas a driver will need to know and understand in order to gain the licences necessary to drive a LGV vehicle. Not only does the book deliver the essential information to ensure drivers gain these licences, but it also provides a complete guide to driving safely, professionally and legally. Including information on; driving skills, health and safety, law, how to deal with paperwork, use of tachographs and driving abroad. The Professional LGV Driver's Handbook is the ultimate resource for anyone training to drive a LGV vehicle, as well as being an indispensible reference for experienced drivers and managers.