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It appears that incorporating innovative practices is positively related to quality of care. Although cost containment may be necessary for continued survival, efficiency improvement efforts do not seem to lead to improved quality of care.

This review is concerned with assessing the use and popularity of general management simulations in the strategic management course and arguments for using or not using simulations as a learning tool. Simulation use for teaching strategic management concepts has not changed substantially, and the rise of microcomputers has not had much of an impact on usage. Conversely, the games themselves and the method of administering games have changed, but the rationale for using or not using simulations has not changed.

This paper reviews the historical perspectives and contemporary perceptions of merit plans as tools to promote excellence and productivity. A review of literature involving merit plans, their success, and conditions linked with successful and unsuccessful plans is combined with a survey of deans of public and private business schools to determine perceived residual benefits of merit pay plans. Implementation problems are also addressed. Inasmuch as merit pay systems are currently being externally imposed on a number of public universities, this study --with its implications and suggestions for future research --should be of interest to administrators, departmental chairs, and faculty as well as to researchers involved in "merit pay" as a stream of research.