The belief that firms can be more efficient and effective when they concentrate on core activities and let specialist service providers take care of the rest has made outsourcing the provision of services a rapidly rising trend: from 2001 to 2009, the worldwide services outsourcing market grew from $65 billion to $110 billion, and it is forecasted to reach $130 billion by 2013. With this increasing reliance on third-party services, what can companies do to ensure that they receive high quality?
Ageing populations are increasingly confronting the elderly care provision systems in Western countries with a number of challenges, including increasing and changing needs, personnel shortages and financial challenges. This calls for new policy strategies and rethought and restructured organisations and institutions.
This 2010 edition of the Belgium’s Annual Report on United States Direct Investment in Belgium examines the structure and evolution of the activities of US-owned affiliates operating in Belgium. In addition, the report reviews major trends in the level of US direct investment in Belgium as well as in global direct investment flows. This report is a joint effort by the American Chamber of Commerce and Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School.
The changing European market and increased globalisation may have consequences for current top logistics regions, such as Flanders (Belgium). New regional distribution centres to serve the local East European markets may arise, but they will not replace the economic value-adding distribution centres currently located in Flanders. In addition to helping us understand the differences between the European Distribution Centres and giving us a view on their landscape, the analysis of these centres can also guide a region in developing its logistics policies.
This successful text takes an integrative approach to provide a clear and compelling overview of the nature of services management. Now in its Second Edition, the work has been fully revised and restructured in line with lecturer feedback. The book starts by examining the nature of services and their fit with the management process.