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A performance management system has been implemented by Cancer Care Ontario (CCO). This system allows for the monitoring and management of 11 integrated cancer programs (ICPs) across the Province of Ontario. The system comprises of four elements: reporting frequency, reporting requirements, review meetings and accountability and continuous improvement activities. CCO and the ICPs have recently completed quarterly performance review exercises for the last two quarters of the fiscal year 2004‐2005. The purpose of this paper is to address some of the key lessons learned.

The paper provides an outline of the CCO performance management system.

These lessons included: data must be valid and reliable; performance management requires commitments from both parties in the performance review exercises; streamlining performance reporting is beneficial; technology infrastructure which allows for cohesive management of data is vital for a sustainable performance management system; performance indicators need to stand up to scrutiny by both parties; and providing comparative data across the province is valuable. Critical success factors which would help to ensure a successful performance management system include: corporate engagement from various parts of an organization in the review exercises; desire to focus on performance improvement and avoidance of blaming; and strong data management systems.

The performance management system is a practical and sustainable system that allows for performance improvement of cancer care services. It can be a vital tool to enhance accountability within the health care system.

The paper demonstrates that the performance management system supports accountability in the cancer care system for Ontario, and reflects the principles of the provincial governments commitment to continuous improvement of healthcare.

Maintenance management consists of an aggregate effort to perform maintenance by effectively utilizing manpower and material through the application of standard procedures. It is a complex and multifaceted task. An ever‐growing number of computerized maintenance management information systems are available on the market to facilitate this task. In order to install a computerized maintenance management system, a company has two options: either to buy or to develop such a system. Briefly describes the major functions of maintenance management and suggests an instrument to evaluate comparatively the available computerized maintenance management systems.

Discusses quality and environmental management systems integration. Concepts of a system and a “system of systems” are addressed, followed by a description of different management systems, and their interrelations and integration. Subsequently, strategies for integration of the quality system based on the ISO 9001 standard and the ISO 14001 environmental management system are presented. The harmonization of related audit sub‐systems, namely ISO 10011 and ISO 14010/11/12 is also addressed. Finally, a discussion on the development of a generic performance management system is provided.

The purpose of this article is to present a subsection circulatory management (SCM) model of Library 2.0. The design idea of Library 2.0 system architecture is to be illustrated and a five‐tier model of service‐oriented architecture (SOA) is to be put forward and analyzed.

The SOA model conforms to the desires of Library 2.0. Libraries require integration of literature resources, knowledge services and operations management and together all these integrations must be based on the user service. The realization of the concept and technology of Library 2.0 is similar with the SOA model.

Current library management systems (LMS) remain at the era of Library 1.0, which focused on literature management. The new design principles are aiming to manage library resources much better. Library 2.0 must break through the current framework, and adopt a multilayer structure, user‐centered and service‐oriented system architecture to integrate the resources, the services and managements. Amongst other things, Library 2.0 should utilize the multilayer architecture based on the module mode, improve the flexibility and adaptability of modern management systems, both in system configuration and operational management.

The SOA model is applied in Library 2.0 for the first time and is divided into five tiers – hardware tier, system tier, data tier, operation management tier and knowledge service tier. According to the architecture, three application systems – LMS based on librarians, knowledge service system based on patrons, and knowledge search engine, are designed.

In many industries (e.g. cars and clothing) manufacturing complexity and unpredictability have increased over the last couple of years because of an increasing variety of products and shortening product life cycles. At the same time the manufacturers in these industries appear to have more problems with maintaining high quality levels. This paper aims to develop a methodology to study the effects of these developments on quality management systems.

At three European automotive manufacturers the two trends have been studied by means of a case study approach. Simons' four levers of control model is utilised to categorise and interpret the results of the case studies.

The application of a management control model in the field of quality management is found to be useful in explaining what changes are necessary to maintain high quality levels. From the case studies in the automotive sector it is concluded that there is a shift in quality management systems from a diagnostic towards a more interactive approach. This is in line with what can be expected as a result of the increasing uncertainty in the automotive sector, caused by shortening life cycles of car models and smaller batch sizes.

This research presents a novel application of Simons' four levers of control model to the field of quality management. Based on the experience with three case studies at European automotive manufacturers, this approach seems to have potential.

The purpose of this paper is to utilize “Wuli‐Shili‐Renli (WSR)” system methodology to analyze complexity of knowledge and knowledge management and create models for knowledge management system (KMS) synthetically.

As a complex system, knowledge management should be analyzed and established by system methodologies. There are many system methodologies. Owing to WSR is characteristic of oriental culture; the paper introduces concept and working process of WSR system methodology in knowledge management from WSR perspective.

WSR system methodology can be used to analyze contents of WSR in KMS and to establish an effective KMS.

How to define WSR in KMS is a little difficult for users.

A new approach for system analysis and establishment of a successful KMS.

The paper shows how the WSR system approach can integrate quantitative approach and qualitative analysis to analyze and establish a KMS synthetically.

Presents a discussion on the importance of management information systems in management. It explains the role of information, as an essential tool for managers in planning and decision making. It describes MIS as a well co‐ordinated information system, a database that is to provide management with needed information to plan and make decisions. Modern technology has further made the resort to MIS in management imperative because of the changing circumstances and environment. Also identifies some problems which can hinder effective use of MIS. These are lack of management involvement in the design; poor appreciation of mangement support. Finally, recommends that organizations, both private and public; commercial and non‐commercial should endeavour to set up an MIS unit in their organizations so that adequate information can be put at the disposal of their management.

It is proposed that future work should move on from existing network and system management methodologies to consider enhancing the management methodology for ATM and other networking technologies to meet existing and future requirements. This paper outlines an area where significant potential for further research exists and proposes a component‐based management architecture. The discussion indentifies the technological limitations and architectural drawbacks of current solutions and proposes the extension of existing services and an enhanced management framework to overcome the current restrictions.

Plant configuration management systems address all phases of the plant’s life cycle, from engineering design, re‐design, maintenance, to operations. However, as yet little research has been reported on plant configuration management information systems analysis. During the past decade, the object‐oriented approach has received much attention in information systems development. This paper describes an object structure for plant configuration management systems analysis. Three major aspects of configuration management (maintenance, re‐design change, and business process) and fundamental types of objects engaged in configuration management are described. The association between these objects is then built through identifying the messages between the objects. Practical application of this framework shows that it is useful for the analysis and design of a plant configuration management information system.

This study aims to explore the role of successfully implemented enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems by investigating changes in management accounting (MA) and the influence of the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on the adoption and implementation process in an emerging market economy, namely, Saudi Arabia.

A case-study approach was used to review and compare the ERP adoption and implementation process in two Saudi SMEs from different industries for the descriptive analysis and assessment of changes in MA following the adoption of the system and influence of context. Secondary data were analyzed, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data.

The results indicate that successful ERP implementations support and unify the core business processes and functions and improve analysis, decision-making, reporting and the overall quality of data. Furthermore, the results show that a management accountant's role is widened and shifted from a mere information provider to a business advisor and analyst, enhancing management accounting techniques. The results confirm that ERP implementation is related to the SMEs' technological, organizational and environmental contexts, which must be fully understood to achieve the desired improvements in the management accounting system.

This study contributes to understanding how ERP systems impact MA and management accountants, particularly in SMEs from developing countries, namely, Saudi Arabia. Specifically, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is one of the first to use the technology–organization–environment framework and contingency theory to investigate post-ERP implementation changes in SMEs MA in an emerging market economy.