ENGGEN 204: Technical Communication for Engineers

Engineering report writing

Handout # 3 How to use references in an engineering report

Table of Contents

1. Introduction _____________________________________________________1 2. The basics of referencing ___________________________________________1 3. The two main systems of referencing: overview _________________________1 4. Choosing between referencing systems ________________________________2 5. Citing references in the text _________________________________________3
5.1 Author-date (APA, Harvard) system _____________________________________ 3

5.2 Numbering system_____________________________________________________ 4 5.3 Copying or adapting illustrations ________________________________________ 4

6. Formatting the List of References ____________________________________5

6.1 Listing types of sources on paper ________________________________________ 5
6.1.2 Books___________________________________________________________________5 6.1.3 Journal papers ___________________________________________________________6 6.1.4 Other types of sources on paper likely to be used_______________________________7

6.2 Web pages ___________________________________________________________ 8 6.3 Information obtained from an interview __________________________________ 8

7. Example (both systems): text and corresponding List of References _________9

7.1 Author-date system____________________________________________________ 9 7.2 Numbering system ____________________________________________________ 11

Appendix 1 Further examples: text and corresponding List of References ______12

IMPORTANT Please dont use only these notes. You should also view the Cecil material for this section of the course, since it has extra explanatory material that will help you. The material in ENGGEN 204 gives you the basics of what is needed. For more detailed material, see the following books: 1. 2. Silyn-Roberts, H. (2002) Writing for Science: a Practical Handbook for Science, Engineering and Technology Students. 2nd edition. Pearson Education, Auckland. Written for undergraduates. Many copies on short loan in Engineering library. Silyn-Roberts, H. (2000) Writing for Science and Engineering: Papers, Presentations and Reports. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. Written for postgraduate students and junior professional engineers and scientists: greater scope and more detail than (1). In Engineering Library.

Heather Silyn-Roberts, 2012

1. Introduction
What is referencing? Its a system of referring to other peoples work in a document youre writing. Many authors of professional reports need to do this. Why use referencing?
To acknowledge other peoples work or ideas in relation to your own.

To enable readers of your document to find your source material. To avoid plagiarism, or literary theft. Failure to acknowledge sources is plagiarism and is a form of stealing. People who do not fully acknowledge their sources, or copy text word-for-word from them, are implicitly claiming that the work is their own.

When will you need to use it in your BE? Youll need to use in your Part 4 project reports. Other report-type assignments in the BE may require you to include references You will need to use references whenever you write a document that refers to factual material from other sources. These sources can be:
1. Material on paper such as books, newspaper articles, publicity material, etc. 2. Electronic sources such as web pages; CD-ROMs; and electronic databases. 3.

Visual and audio material such as DVDs; videos; CDs; and audio tapes.

2. The basics of referencing

1.

There are two linked elements to referencing a technical document: (a) The sources that you used in preparing your document (web sites, books, articles, etc) are cited at the appropriate places in the text. (b) All the sources are then listed at the end of your document in a section called List of References (which can also be called just References).

2.

There are two basic systems of referencing technical documents u sed in the Faculty of Engineering: the author-date (Harvard or APA) system the numbering system Referencing is one of the most convention-ridden areas of scientific and technical documentation. Many assessors expect the conventions to be observed in the minutest detail. This material assumes no previous knowledge; the aim is to give you all the information required in this area.

3.

There are two main systems commonly used in technical documentation for crossreferencing citations in the text with the full reference in the List of References. The two systems are described in overview in Table 1.

3. The two main systems of referencing: overview

Table 1 Overview of the two referencing systems

The author/date (APA, Harvard) system. In the text of the document Surname of the author and the date of publication placed in parentheses. For example: (Brown, 2005). Page numbers of a book can be included if needed. For example: (Smith, 2006, 103-121) The numbering system In the text of the document Each citation in the text is given a unique number, either in square brackets e.g. [5], or superscripted, e.g. 5. Each is numbered in the order in which it appears in the text. If you need to cite a reference more than once in the text, the number of its first appearance (its unique number) is used each time you cite it. List of References Not listed alphabetically. It is a list numbered from 1 to n, the number of each listing corresponding to the unique number that each source was assigned in the text.

List of References Listed in alphabetical order of the surnames of the authors.

4. Choosing between referencing systems

For a departmental assignment you MUST use the system that is required by your department. If none is specified, ask the staff member in charge. For the EngGen 204 assignments use the author-date (Harvard or APA) system
Either one system or the other must be used in a document. Care must be taken not to use a mixture of both. Use Table 2 to assess the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Table 2 Advantages and disadvantages of the two referencing systems The author/date (APA/Harvard) system. Advantages Allows the source to be recognised by author and date in context within the text of the report (Note: this is seen as a considerable advantage by people familiar with the literature). Provides an alphabetical list at the end of the document. Inserting an extra reference into the text is easy. The numerical system Advantages The text of the document is not interrupted by wordy citations. Only a number needs to be repeated: prevents repetition in the text of the same wordy citations.

Disadvantages Can create disruption to the text when there are many citations in one place.

Disadvantages While reading the text, readers familiar with the literature cannot recognise the work that you are citing. They have to turn to the List of References to match a numerical reference to its source. It can be difficult to add another citation and renumber all successive ones. But this can be overcome by using the wordprocessor endnoting function or a referencing software package. The numbers give no information about the work, and it is easy to forget to use the earlier number when you need to refer to it again later in your report. Again, the wordprocessor endnoting function or a referencing software package will overcome this.

5. Citing references in the text

5.1 Author-date (APA, Harvard) system

Overview: The sources cited in the text are in the form of (Author, year of publication)

Authors surname and date placed in brackets Authors surname cited in the text

The wind velocity and behaviour of a geographical region is a function of altitude, season and hour of measurement (Johnson, 2001). Miller (1999) showed that glucose and cellobiose are taken up and metabolised to succinate, acetate and small amounts of formate. This runoff has also introduced heavy metals (Louma, 1974), pesticides (Schultz, 1971), pathogens (Cox, 1969), sediments (Gonzalez, 1971), and rubbish (Dayton, 2006). The considerations are developed by assuming the general mathematical scheme defined in the case of a single slit (Zecca and Cavalleri, 1997). Martin and Zubek (1993) compiled a comprehensive list of dust activity on Mars, from 1983 to 1990.

References precisely placed

The source is by two authors

The source is by more than two authors cite the surname of the first author and add et al. (italicised in some house styles)

In the soft X-ray band pass, the solar X-ray flux varies by about one order of magnitude during the solar cycle (Peres et al., 1999). or Peres et al. (1999) found that in the soft X-ray band pass, the solar X-ray flux varies by about one order of magnitude during the solar cycle. The locomotion activity of a given species may be a source of considerable error in estimating energy budgets (Boisclair and Sirois, 1993; Facey and Grossman, 1990; Hansen et al., 1993; Lucas et al., 1993; Ney, 1993; Ware, 1975)

Several sources are cited within one set of brackets Depending on house style: separate them by semicolons, and cite them in order of either (1) publication date or (2) by alphabetical order of the author.

5.2 Numbering system

Overview: Each source cited is given a unique number, shown in the text either by superscripting or placing within brackets. Each source cited in the text is given a unique number, in the order in which each is cited. If you need to cite a reference more than once in the text, the number of its first appearance - its unique number - is used each time you cite it. The wind velocity and behaviour of a geographical region is a function of altitude, season and hour of measurement [1]. Mylona [2] has analysed changes in sulphur dioxide and sulphate concentrations in air during the period 1979-1986. or: The wind velocity and behaviour of a geographical region is a function of altitude, season and hour of measurement 1. Mylona 2 has analysed changes in sulphur dioxide and sulphate concentrations in air during the period 1979-1986.

5.3 Copying or adapting illustrations

You MUST cite the source of any illustration, even if you have adapted it yourself. Use the format: Below the figure, write: Figure (number of figure). Title of figure. Reference (as in the following examples) Examples You have used an exact copy of an illustration from someone elses work: Author-date system: Figure 4 A typical graphite block heat exchanger (Reproduced from Hewitt, 1999). Numbering system: Figure 4 A typical graphite block heat exchanger (Reproduced from [2]).

You have redrawn an illustration from someone elses work:

Author-date system: Figure 4.2 Apparatus for examining isoclinics in a stressed transparent model (Redrawn from Alexander, 1983) Numbering system: Figure 4.2 Apparatus for examining isoclinics in a stressed transparent model (Redrawn from [1]) Author-date system: Figure 3.5 Schematic diagram of AFLP analysis (Adapted from Vos et al., 1995) Numbering system: Figure 3.5 Schematic diagram of AFLP analysis (Adapted from [5])

You have adapted someone elses data or figure, and incorporated it into a table or figure of your own:

6. Formatting the List of References

Overview The List of References (which can also be called References) is made up of a list of the papers, books, articles etc that you have cited in the text of your work. It is placed at the end of your document, immediately before the Appendices. For the author/date system, the sources are listed in alphabetical order of the surname of the author, or first author if there are more than one. For the numerical system, the sources are in the form of a sequentially numbered list, the numbers corresponding to the unique number that each source was assigned in the text.

Points to note: 1. The aim of a citation in the List of References is to allow the information to be retrieved again. You therefore need to provide the information that will allow your reader to retrieve the material you cite. Be sure that every full-stop or comma is in the right place, and all other aspects of the formatting are correct. Formatting of references is riddled with convention, and assessors often check this area very thoroughly.

2.

6.1 Listing types of sources on paper

A generalised scheme is shown here. But be aware that there can be minor variations in order and formatting of the individual items; it depends on the Faculty of Engineering department or other institution.

6.1.2 Books
Surname and initials of the author(s) or editor(s) (surname first, followed by the initials). If editor, place Ed. after the initials. The year of publication

Title of the book (underlined or in italics, and with the main words (everything except articles, prepositions and conjunctions) capitalised. For the conventions, see Capitalisation of book titles, Chapter 16, Editorial Conventions, page #) If there is a subtitle, it is separated from the main title by a colon (:) (see example 1) Title of series, if applicable Volume number or number of volumes, if applicable. Edition, if other than the first Publisher Place of publication (city or town)

Examples One or more authors One volume of a multi-volume work Second or later edition of the book Barrett, C.S. and Massalski, T.B. (1980) Structure of Metals: Crystallographic Methods, Principles and Data. Pergamon Press, Oxford. Erdlyi, A. Ed (1955) Higher Transcendental Functions. Vol. 3. McGrawHill, New York. Kornberg, A. And Baker, T.A. (1992) DNA replication. Second edition. W.H. Freeman and Co., New York.

6.1.3 Journal papers

Surname and initials of the author(s) (surname first, followed by the initials) The year of publication in round brackets ( ) Title of the paper The name of the journal (in its correctly abbreviated form (see Note 3, above). The volume number of the journal, usually in bold face (with the issue number, if there is one, in brackets, see examples 1 and 2 below) The numbers of the pages on which the paper begins and ends. Note: The actual page from which your information is taken is not cited.

Single author Two authors Multiple author Paper in the proceedings of a conference As for a journal paper but in addition: State the number of the conference, its title theme, the place it was held and the date.

Zizzi, P.A. (1999) Quantum foam and de Sitter-like universe. Int. J. Theor. Phys., 38 (9), 911-918. Rippon, P.J. and Stallard, G.M. (1999) Iteration of a class of hyperbolic meromorphic functions. Proc. American Mathematical Society, 127 (11), 3251-3258. Dufton, P.L., McErlean, N.D., Lennon, D.J. and Ryans, R.S.I (2000) an exploratory non-LTE analysis of B-type super-giants in the small Magellanic cloud. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 353 (1), 311-321. Bhattacharya, B., Egyd, P., and Toussaint, G.T. (1991) Computing the wingspan of a butterfly. Proc. Third Canadian Conference in Computational Geometry (Vancouver), Aug 6-10. pp 88-91.

6.1.4 Other types of sources on paper likely to be used (For a more comprehensive
list, see Silyn-Roberts, 2000) Lecture material If the writers name is stated: Carter, R. (1996) Robotics. Lecture handout, Engineering and Society, The University of Middletown.. If the writer is unknown: Wetlands (1996). Lecture handout, Conservation Ecology, The University of Middletown. Newspaper article Author is known: Nicholson-Lord, D. (1995) Does work make you stupid? Independent on Sunday, 29 January, p 21. Author is unknown: Could alcohol be good for your liver? (1999) The Week, 13 November. Magazine article Author is known: Crystal, D. (1999) The death of language. Prospect, November, 12-14. Author is unknown: Shades of green (1998). Consumer, Number 344, 21-24. Fact/data sheet: no author, undated CD article; video or audio cassette State whether a CD, or video or audio cassette. Anything where the author is not stated: Describe them as fully as possible. The order of the items cited is: The title of the document should be cited first Date (when possible), otherwise (undated) The organization / institution that produced the document. Any identifying number, such as designation code, or contract number. Twintex TPP fact sheet (undated). Verdex International S.A. Radio Frequency and Wavelength Ranges (1999) Microsoft Encarta. CD. The Life of Plants (1995). BBC Natural History Unit Production. Videocassette. For citation in the text: use an abbreviated form of the title.

6.2 Web pages

- If the site has a stated author: Author (Family name, followed by initials of given names). Title of the web page (in italics). Retrieved (date) from (URL) Example: Siano, D. The algorithmic beauty of the trebuchet. Retrieved January 14, 2005 from http://members.home.net/dimona/ - If the site has no stated author: Title of the web page (in italics). If appropriate: the authority under which it appears (this will give validity to your use of the source). Retrieved (date) from (URL) Example: An introduction to stand-alone wind energy systems. The Canadian Wind Energy Association. Retrieved July 11, 2004 from http://www.canwea.ca/downloads/en/PDFS/Intro_Stand_Alone.pdf

- If you are using the Author-date system, and you need to cite an unauthored source in the text, use the first few words of the title. See Section 9, sample texts (The virtual trebuchet).

6.3 Information obtained from an interview

In the text: Treat it as a normal text citation: either [4] or (Atkins, 2007) In the List of References: Atkins, T. G., Fisher and Paykel, (2007) In interview with the author.

7. Example (both systems): text and corresponding List of References

7.1 Author-date system

Note: You dont have to include this column when writing a referenced document; the notes are here just for your information Electronic sources: four with cited authors, one with no cited author.

Text

The recent upsurge of interest in the mechanical efficiency of medieval hurling devices has resulted in their use as student construction projects in engineering (OConnor, 1994). There is also a wealth of web-based material: for instance, graphics and information (Miners, 2007), desktop models (Toms, 2007), and computer simulations of trebuchets (Siano, 2007; The virtual trebuchet, 2004). Used in ancient times to hurl everything from rocks to plague-ridden carcasses of horses (OLeary, 1994) and - in a modern four-storey-high reconstruction - dead pigs, Hillman cars and pianos (OConnor, 1994), the trebuchet relied on the potential energy of a raised weight. Its mechanical efficiency has been compared unfavourably by Gordon (1988) with that of the palintonon, the Greek hurling device, which could hurl 40 kg stone spheres over 400 metres (Hacker, 1968; Marsden, 1969; Soedel and Foley, 1979). This device incorporated huge twisted skeins of tendon, a biomaterial that can be extended reversibly to strains of about 4% (Wainwright et al., 1992). The palintonon used the principle of stored elastic strain energy, the fact that when a material is unloaded after it has been deformed, it returns to its undeformed state due to the release of stored energy (Benham et al, 1996). The motion of the palintonon (Hart, 1982) and that of its Roman equivalent, the onager (Hart and Lewis, 1986), has been analysed by use of the energy principle applied to the finite torsion of elastic cylinders.

-Repeat of a previously-cited reference -Author mentioned in text -Three references in a series, placed in chronological order, separ-ated by semicolons -An et al. reference more than two authors -Precise placing of references in the text; one referring to the palintonon, and another to the onager

NOTE: Sources are listed in alphabetical order of first authors surname

-Book. Note publisher, place of publication (Harlow) and relevant page(s) -Book -Chapter in book. The book is Volume 9 of a series called Technology and Culture. An In: reference. -Paper in journal -Paper in journal -Book -Electronic source with cited author

-Article in journal, no
volume number -Editorial in journal - Web page with cited author

Benham, P.P., Crawford, R.J. and Armstrong, C.G. (1996) Mechanics of Engineering Materials. Second edition. Longman, Harlow, page 67. Gordon, J.E. (1981) Structures or Why Things Dont Fall Down. Penguin, Harmondsworth, pages 7889. Hacker, B.C. (1968) Greek catapults and catapult technology: science, technology and war in the ancient world. In: Technology and Culture, 9, pages 3450. Hart, V.G. (1982) The law of the Greek catapult. Bull. Inst. Math. Appl., 18, 5868. Hart, V.G. and Lewis, M.J.T. (1986) Mechanics of the onager. J. Eng. Math., 20, 345365. Marsden, E.W. (1969) Greek and Roman Artillery. Clarendon Press, Oxford, pages 8698. Miners, R. The Grey Company Trebuchet Page. Retrieved May 17, 2007 from http://members.iinet.net.au/~rmine/gctrebs.html OConnor, L. (1994) Building a better trebuchet. Mechanical Engineering, January, 6669. OLeary, J. (1994) Reversing the siege mentality. Mechanical Engineering, January, 4. Siano, D. The algorithmic beauty of the trebuchet. Retrieved May 17, 2007

List of References

--Article in magazine - Web page, no cited author - Web page with cited author -More than two authors. An et al. reference in the text

from http://www.algobeautytreb.com/ Soedel, W. and Foley, V. (1979) Ancient catapults. Scientific American, 240, 150160. The Virtual Trebuchet. Retrieved June 3, 2007 from http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~oddharry/blide/vtreb.html Toms, R. Trebuchet.com. Retrieved May 17, 2007 from http://www.trebuchet.com/ Wainwright, S.A., Biggs, W.D., Currey, J.D. and Gosline, J.M. (1992) Mechanical Design in Organisms. Second edition. Longman, Harlow. Page 83.

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7.2 Numbering system

Note: You dont have to include this column when writing a referenced document; the notes are here just for your information

The recent upsurge of interest in the mechanical efficiency of medieval hurling devices has resulted in their use as subjects for student construction projects in engineering [1]. There is also a wealth of web-based material: for instance, graphics and information [2], applications such as desktop models [3], and computer simulations of a trebuchet [4, 5]. Used in ancient times to hurl everything from rocks to plague-ridden carcasses of horses [5] and, in a modern four-storey-high reconstruction, dead pigs, Hillman cars and pianos [1], the trebuchet relied on the potential energy of a raised weight. Its mechanical efficiency has been compared unfavourably by Gordon [6] with that of the palintonon, the Greek hurling device, which could hurl 40 kg stone spheres over 400 metres [7, 8, 9]. This device incorporated huge twisted skeins of tendon, a biomaterial that can be extended reversibly to strains of about 4% [10]. The palintonon utilised the principle of stored elastic strain energy the fact that when a material is unloaded after it has been deformed, it returns to its undeformed state due to the release of stored energy [11]. The motion of the palintonon [12] and that of its Roman equivalent, the onager [13], has been analysed by use of the energy principle applied to the finite torsion of elastic cylinders.

-A second reference to Source Number 1. Note: it is not assigned a new number -Author mentioned in text -Three references in a series, separated by commas

-Precise placing of references in the text; one referring to the palintonon, and another to the onager

NOTE: Sources are listed by number in the order in which they appear in the text of the document
1: Article in journal, no volume number 2, 3 4: electronic sources, each with a cited author 5: Electronic source, with no cited author 6: Editorial in journal 7: Book . Note publisher, place of publication, and relevant page number(s) 8: Article in magazine 9: Chapter in book. 10: Book 11: Book with four authors

List of References
1 OConnor, L. (1994) Building a better trebuchet. Mechanical Engineering, January, 6669. 2 Miners, R. The Grey Company Trebuchet Page. Retrieved May 17, 2007 from http://members.iinet.net.au/~rmine/gctrebs.html 3 Toms, R. Trebuchet.com. Retrieved May 17, 2007 from http://www.trebuchet.com/ 4 Siano, D. The algorithmic beauty of the trebuchet. Retrieved May 17, 2007 from http://www.algobeautytreb.com/ 5 The Virtual Trebuchet. Retrieved February 1, 2004 from http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~oddharry/blide/vtreb.html 6 OLeary, J. (1994) Reversing the siege mentality. Mechanical Engineering, January, 4. 7 Gordon, J.E. (1981) Structures or Why Things Dont Fall Down. Penguin, Harmondsworth, pages 7889. 8 Soedel, W. and Foley, V. (1979) Ancient catapults. Scientific American, 240, 150160, 9 Hacker, B.C. (1968) Greek catapults and catapult technology: science, technology and war in the ancient world. In: Technology and Culture, 9, pages 3450. 10 Marsden, E.W. (1969) Greek and Roman Artillery. Clarendon Press, Oxford, pages 8698. 11 Wainwright, S.A., Biggs, W.D., Currey, J.D. and Gosline, J.M. (1992) Mechanical Design in Organisms. Second edition. Longman, Harlow. Page 83. 12 Benham, P.P., Crawford, R.J. and Armstrong, C.G. (1996) Mechanics of Engineering Materials. Second edition. Longman, Harlow, page 67. 13 Hart, V.G. (1982) The law of the Greek catapult. Bull. Inst. Math. Appl., 18, 5868. 14 Hart, V.G. and Lewis, M.J.T. (1986) Mechanics of the onager. J. Eng. Math., 20, 345365.

12: Book with three authors 13: Paper in journal

14: Paper in journal

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Appendix 1 Further examples: text and corresponding List of References

A1.1 Numbering system

First part of the Introduction section
Criterion Manufacturing Ltd. is Australasias largest and most successful manufacturer of ReadyTo-Assembly (RTA) furniture [1]. The company was established in 1964 when Walter Smaill began building audio and television stands from his garage workshop. Since then, Criterion has moved to a new plant in East Tamaki, Auckland, and employs around 330 staff [2]. Criterion has the capacity to produce over 500,000 entertainment units, storage cabinets, office desks, kitchen cabinets, computer desks and home furniture products annually [3]. Criterion has achieved its m arket share by c ompeting through a g ood cost-quality mix, an extensive product variety, and good flexibility in adjusting to current market trends [4]. Criterion has recognised the need to supply its customers with environmentally friendly products, and is working towards qualifying for the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard. The benefit of sustainability for Criterion does not only lie in environmental considerations. An opportunity also exists for the company to gain market share through the advertising of its sustainable products and processes. So far the emphasis of the companys sustainability programme has been on the elimination of production waste and the introduction of a n environmental management programme. A previous project at Criterion by Marco Oudshoorn identified an opportunity to reduce the companys environmental impact through the elimination of polystyrene in the packaging system [5, 6]. Criterions RTA components are assembled, stored, and shi pped to the customers in convenient cardboard boxes. The drawback of the current packaging method is the large volume of environmentally detrimental polystyrene used in each box for protection of the product. The large scale of Criterions production suggests that a reduction or elimination of the polystyrene in its packaging would be of major benefit to New Zealands environment.

First part of the List of References

1. Bowden, S. (2005) Case in point : best cases from the 2005 International Conference on Case Study Teaching and Learning, ed. M. Wilson. GSE Publications, Auckland, pp 301-319. 2. The National Business Review (2003) The Achievers' Column. NBR, 15 August 2003. 3. Brocklesby, J. (2001) World Famous in New Zealand - How New Zealand's leading firms became world-class competitors. The University of Auckland Press, Auckland. 4. Campbell-Hunt, C. (2000) The Criterion Group, in Competitive Advantage New Zealand. Victoria University of Wellington: Wellington. p. 28-41. 5. Oudshoorn, M. (2005) Reducing environmental impact of furniture production at Criterion Group Ltd, in Internal Company Document. Criterion Manufacturing Ltd. 6. Oudshoorn, M. (2005) Building a foundation for incorporating sustainable furniture production at Criterion Manufacturing Ltd, in Internal Company Document. Criterion Manufacturing Ltd.

Important point: References are listed in the numerical order inwhich they appear in the text.

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A1.2 Author / date system

First part of the Introduction section
Criterion Manufacturing Ltd. is Australasias largest and most successful manufacturer of ReadyTo-Assembly (RTA) furniture (Bowden, 2005). The c ompany was established in 1964 when Walter Smaill began building audio and television stands from his garage workshop. Since then, Criterion has moved to a new plant in East Tamaki, Auckland, and employs around 330 staff (The National Business Review, 2003). Criterion has the ca pacity to pro duce over 500,000 entertainment units, storage cabinets, office desks, kitchen cabinets, computer desks and home furniture products annually (Brocklesby, 2001). Criterion has achieved its m arket share by c ompeting through a g ood cost-quality mix, an extensive product variety, and good flexibility in adjusting to current market trends (Campbell-Hunt, 2000). Criterion has recognised the need to supply its customers with environmentally friendly products, and is working towards qualifying for the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard. The benefit of s ustainability for Criterion does not only lie in environmental considerations. An opportunity also exists for the company to gain market share through the advertising of its sustainable products and processes. So far the emphasis of the companys sustainability programme has been on the elimination of production waste and the introduction of an environmental management programme. A previous project at Criterion by Marco Oudshoorn identified an opportunity to reduce the companys environmental impact through the elimination of p olystyrene in the packaging system (Oudshoorn, 2005). Criterions RTA components are assembled, stored, and shi pped to the customers in convenient cardboard boxes. The drawback of the current packaging method is the large volume of environmentally detrimental polystyrene used in each box for protection of the product. The large scale of Criterions production suggests that a reduction or elimination of the polystyrene in its packaging would be of major benefit to New Zealands environment.

Bowden, S. (2005) Case in point : best cases from the 2005 International Conference on Case Study Teaching and Learning, ed. M. Wilson. GSE Publications, Auckland, pp 301319. The National Business Review (2003) The Achievers' Column. NBR, 15 August 2003. Brocklesby, J. (2001) World Famous in New Zealand - How New Zealand's leading firms became world-class competitors. The University of Auckland Press, Auckland. Campbell-Hunt, C. (2000) The Criterion Group, in Competitive Advantage New Zealand. Victoria University of Wellington: Wellington. p. 28-41. Oudshoorn, M. (2005) Reducing environmental impact of furniture production at Criterion Group Ltd, in Internal Company Document. Criterion Manufacturing Ltd.

First part of the List of References

Important: References are listed in alphabetical order of surname of first author

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