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Learning effect on labour productivity of repetitive concrete masonry blockwork: Fact or fable?
|
[
"Labour productivity",
"Building construction",
"Concrete masonry blockwork",
"Labour inputs",
"Learning curve theory",
"Repetition"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The learning curve concept is fundamentally based on a premise that organisations, crews or individuals become more efficient at performing a task when the same task is performed repeatedly. The effect of learning on repetitive activities has consequently attracted the attention of numerous researchers, and therefore several definitions of the concept have been reported in the literature and different methodologies have been developed to determine the rate of learning acquired as a result of repetition.\n2. Learning curve theory: The learning curve concept was first introduced to the aircraft industry when Theodore Wright published an article in the Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences, in which he offered a mathematical model for predicting labour input reductions over time, primarily due to skill and efficiency development that come from experience and practice (Wright, 1936).\n3. Learning curve models: In an effort to acquire the benefits of the learning process, several scholars have focussed on developing mathematical models which describe the time per cycle as a function of the cycle number. The main objective of such mathematical models is to provide, predict or measure improvements in productivity through repetitive work. Five major mathematical learning curve models have been reported in the literature (Thomas et al., 1986). The various models are: the straight-line model; the Stanford \"B\" model; the cubic power model; the piecewise model; and the exponential model.\n4. Unit vs cumulative average learning curve: Learning curves models have been named after the individuals who developed them or the companies that first applied them, e.g., Wright, Crawford, Boeing and Northrup curves (FAA, 2005). Nonetheless, they all represent one of two basic models, which are agreed to describe how cost or labour input decreases as the quantity of the produced item increases. The two basic models are typically designated as the \"unit\" and \"cumulative average\" learning curves.\n5. Learning curve theory application to the construction industry: It had been asserted that the time required to perform a certain process in a repetitive construction environment tends to fall progressively as the same process is repeated for a sufficient number of successions (Hijazi et al., 1992). According to Parker and Oglesby (1972), the expected range of the learning rate for most construction activities falls between 70 and 90 per cent. What this simply means that, if a certain activity follows, for instance, the 80 per cent learning curve, and if the cost to construct the first unit is 100 labour-hours, then the cost to construct the next two units would be 80 per centx100 or 80 labour-hours, and the cost to construct the next four units would be 80 per cent times the cost of the previous two units, that is, 80 per centx80, or 64 labour-hours, etc.\n6. Research method: In order to ensure undisrupted repetition in the activity observed, laying concrete block masonry labour productivity data were collected from multi-storey residential buildings characterised by recurring wall configuration cycles.\n7. Data analysis: The screened data were entered into a spreadsheet where regression analyses were carried out using the \"PHStat\" statistical software. The learning curve models for projects monitored were fitted using simple linear regression (Sincich et al., 2002). The relationship between cumulative average labour inputs and cycle numbers, at 5 per cent significance level, was quantified by the power function model shown in the following equation (Thomas et al., 1986; Couto and Teixeira, 2005; Jarkas, 2010; Jarkas and Horner, 2011): (1)\n8. Results and discussion: Table V summarises the results obtained from the 52 building projects monitored. The number of recurring cycles, quantified learning rates and labour productivity improvement achieved, if any, for each building observed are presented. It can be seen from the table that all buildings observed either show a negligible reduction or an increase in labour inputs as the floor cycle number increases, contrary to the basic underlying principle of the learning curve theory.\n9. Conclusions and recommendations: The influence of learning curve theory on concrete masonry blockwork labour productivity of building floors was explored. In total, 52 buildings having recurring floor configurations were selected for observation. Based on the basic principle of the theory, as the cycle number increases, labour inputs should decline by a certain percentage, commonly referred to as the learning rate. On the contrary, all of the buildings monitored exhibited either an increase or an imperceptible saving in labour inputs as the cycle number increased.\n",
"role": "user"
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{
"content": "Purpose: The applicability of learning curve theory to the construction industry has been investigated by several studies; however, the outcomes are characterised by inconsistent, rather sporadic patterns. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of learning on concrete masonry blockwork labour productivity in recurring building floor cycles.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Repetitive blockwork labour inputs from 52 multi-storey residential buildings were collected and analysed using the straight-line learning curve model. The cumulative average labour input for each recurring floor and its corresponding cycle number were modelled using the least squares method.\nFindings: According to the learning curve theory principles, labour inputs are expected to decrease by a certain percentage as the floor cycle number within each building observed increases. Nonetheless, the patterns emerged from this study provide little evidence for that.\nPractical implications: Contrary to several previous findings which have asserted the significance of the learning concept to construction productivity, the results obtained for the activity investigated suggest that there is no potential context for the theory to be used as a useful tool to quantify productivity improvement, or to provide for a practical project management observation and control system.\nOriginality/value: Notwithstanding the numerous research into the effect of learning on construction activities, this study is unprecedented in examining the applicability of the theory to concrete masonry blockwork labour productivity in building construction. It can thus assist in achieving reliable planning, determining the plausibility of correlating past performances or predicting future expenditures, and appraising the potentiality of the learning phenomenon as a useful tool to quantify productivity improvement over the repetitive cycle process of such a distinct construction activity.\n",
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Factors facilitating effective use of electronic patient record systems for clinical audit and research in the UK maternity services
|
[
"Maternity services",
"National Health Service",
"Medical information systems",
"Records management",
"Clinical governance",
"Clinical audit"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The Government has made many claims about the benefits of electronic patient records (Department of Health, 2002; NHS Executive, 1998; 2001), and one central claim is that new electronic patient record systems will both support \"day-to-day patient care\" and, \"as a natural by-product\" of this activity, produce clinical information for audit and research (NHS Executive, 1998). Clinical audit is one of the main activities aimed at monitoring and improving the quality of care in the NHS, along with activities such as accreditation and risk management, that have become known in recent years under the umbrella term \"clinical governance\" (Chief Medical Officer, 2004; Scally and Donaldson, 1998). In the early years of implementing \"Information for health\" the expectations for electronic patient record systems were that they would \"improve access to clinical data\" (Department of Health, 2000, p. 11) for purposes ranging from clinical governance, to public health research, to management information.In this article we examine the factors that made services more or less effective in using electronic patient record systems to produce clinical information for clinical audit and research. We draw on the analysis of data from three in-depth case studies of the use of electronic patient record systems in maternity services in England, which were undertaken as part of a national research project examining the professional and public acceptability of electronic patient records, undertaken between 2001 and 2003[1].\nDefinitions: We use the term maternity information system in this article, rather than maternity electronic patient record because while these are, literally, electronic patient record systems, they were mostly designed and procured before the term electronic patient record was widely used in the NHS. We use the term hospital information systems to refer specifically to Trust-wide patient information systems similar to those implemented by Wirral and Burton Hospitals two of the most nationally recognised electronic patient record \"high-flyers\" (National Audit Office, 1996; Spours, 1995; Wainwright and Waring, 2000). The HIS in our electronic patient record \"high-flyer\" case study (Case site B) was this type of system.\nMethods: The methodological approach we adopted was that of \"realistic evaluation\", the purpose of which is to go beyond describing \"events\" to identify the \"causally generative structures\" that \"combine to produce the observed events\" in complex settings such as healthcare organisations (Kazi, 2003; Pawson and Tilley, 1997). The precursor to the case studies was a survey of maternity services that we undertook in 2001, in which heads of midwifery reported wide ranging differences in the ability of their maternity information systems to provide clinical information for audit and research purposes (Jones et al., 2002). Our case studies research aimed to go beyond the survey results and explore further the factors determining these differences in experiences of using electronic patient record systems.In this context, theory - or as Layder (1998) describes \"orienting concepts\" - inevitably played a part in the choice of questions, and the categorisation of variables and values (Layder, 1998; Miles and Huberman, 1994), albeit allowing that \"the initial orienting concept may turn out to be a temporary means of imposing order on the data and may be supplanted or modified later on and which might require re-coding around different categories\" (Layder, 1998).The case study sites were, therefore, purposively selected (Kuzel, 1986) with two main criteria in mind:1. to choose NHS Trusts that represented different stages of electronic patient record development (using the categorisation of electronic patient record development offered in Information for Health (NHS Executive, 1998), rather than to be representative of all Trusts and;2. to choose maternity services that appeared (from the survey) to have had differing degrees of success in using their existing maternity information systems.These criteria produced the following selection of case sites:* Case Site A: a Trust with little Trust-wide electronic patient record system development, using a patient administration system with little integration with other systems (\"level 1\", according to the Information for Health categorisation), and a maternity service with a maternity information system that they had used for 10+ years but with high levels of dissatisfaction.* Case site B: a Trust with a national reputation as an electronic patient record \"high-flyer\", having implemented a HIS in 1998 (claiming to have achieved \"level 4\" in the Information for Health categorisation), and a maternity service with a maternity information system that they had used for 10+ years with high levels of satisfaction and a national reputation for obstetric audit and research.* Case site C: a Trust with little Trust-wide electronic patient record system development, using a patient administration system with little integration with other systems (\"level 1\", according to the Information for Health categorisation), and a maternity service with a maternity information system that they had used for 10+ years with high levels of satisfaction and evidence of sophisticated use of the system for obstetric and midwifery audit.While we recognised the particularity of the case study settings and the inappropriateness of generalising from these studies to all situations, we expected, none-the-less to make \"reasonable judgements about the representativeness of findings drawn from a particular setting to wider populations\" (Hammersley, 1992), in this instance to maternity departments and to other specialist clinical services.Within each case study, the specific methods used were semi-structured interviews, focus groups, observations and shadowing of NHS staff, and process mapping. In total 216 NHS staff and clients participated in the case studies. We assured anonymity to both the NHS Trusts and the individuals participating in order to allow as full as possible access to activities and discussions, and allow people to express their views freely.All interviews, focus groups and observation notes were transcribed and analysed using \"NVivo\" (software for qualitative research analysis). Coding was undertaken mainly by one researcher with regular discussions of transcripts, interpretations and coding with the two project directors, and discussion of early results with an advisory group mainly made up of healthcare practitioners and academics. Early results were also validated by research participants, academic peers, and policy makers in a consultation event held in January 2003.\nCase study sites record-keeping and use of their maternity information system: In this section we briefly profile the different services and describe how they organised their record keeping and used their maternity information system, in order to provide a context for the results relating to their use of their systems for audit and research, described in the subsequent section.Case study site A\nResults: key factors determining effective use: Clearly, there were many contributing factors in each case site. However, the three main groups of determining factors that emerged from the research were these:1. The resources devoted to, and acceptability to midwives of, the \"IT midwife\";2. maternity managers prioritisation of information related matters;3. the relationship of maternity information systems with Trust-wide systems.We discuss each of these in turn.The IT midwife: resources, skills and acceptability\nConclusions: These case studies show how the \"IT midwife\" role is crucial for extracting and interpreting data for clinical audit and research in maternity. This reinforces the message that while computerised electronic patient record systems clearly can facilitate the analysis of data for audit and research, information benefits cannot be assumed. Such systems require considerable additional work in the extraction and analysis of clinical information (Berg and Goorman, 1999), work conducted by people - individuals that are well-trained, skilled, and have the respect of all clinical staff. This is as important as the extra work required if clinical information is to be communicated and acted on to bring about improvements in care (Kennedy, 2001; Scally and Donaldson, 1998; van der Lei, 2002).The results also suggest that those developing new, national electronic patient record systems in the UK need to be clearer about the different functions different systems serve. Another assumption in government policy is that macro-level data - epidemiological data - will be the \"natural by-product\" of electronic patient record systems designed to support micro-level activities, such as recording diagnoses or blood tests results. The experience in Case Study B suggests that systems may not be able to support both types of work as easily as that. Maternity, as a specialty, has done more than most to achieve regional and national level analysis of clinical data (Audit Commission, 1997; Department of Health, 1993) (also see documents relating to The Confidential Enquiry into Stillbirths and Deaths in Infancy, now The Confidential Enquiry into Maternal And Child Health at www.cemd.org.uk accessed 21/8/04). Achieving this to date has been difficult (Chapple et al., 1999; Kenney and Macfarlane, 1999; Steer, 2002). What this research suggests is that we cannot assume that new electronic patient record systems being rolled out as part of the National Programme for Information Technology will simply improve on this work: they could, rather, present risks for such work by replacing existing specialist electronic patient record systems that have been developed over many years to provide high quality specialist data for audit and research.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper examines the factors that made services more or less effective in using electronic patient record systems to produce clinical information for clinical audit and research.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Case studies of the use of electronic patient record systems in three maternity services in England, using qualitative research methods (semi-structured interviews, observations and shadowing).\nFindings: - There were many contributing factors in each case site. The three main groups of determining factors were these: the resources devoted to, and acceptability to midwives of, the \"IT midwife\"; maternity managers prioritisation of information related matters; the relationship of maternity information systems with Trust-wide systems.\nOriginality/value: - Provides services with lists of factors they need to consider if they want to maximise the benefits realised for clinical audit and research from existing and new electronic patient record systems.\n",
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The impact of the brand management system on performance across service and product-oriented activities
|
[
"Brand performance",
"Brand management system",
"Formative scale",
"Objective financial performance",
"Services versus products"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The impact of brand management on firm performance is a major concern for chief executive officers (CEOs), who often question its efficiency and lack a clear view of brand management activities and their contribution to shareholder value (Madden et al., 2006). More generally, \"managers are increasingly focused on linking resources deployed in developing marketing assets with firms' financial performance (Rust et al., 2004)\" (Morgan and Rego, 2009, p. 59), in line with the stated research priorities of the Marketing Science Institute (2014), i.e. the need for marketing to contribute to the financial health of an organization as well as to measure how marketing capabilities influence business performance.\nThe brand management system: For practitioners, the BMS concept is often confused with the generic term \"brand management\" (Alsop, 2004). Entrepreneurial capabilities such as creativity, originality and vision have been identified as key to brand success (Hankinson and Cowking, 1997). In the marketing literature, three approaches to BMS can be identified, as outlined below.\nModel and hypotheses: the brand management system and performance: Our main aim is to assess the impact of the BMS on objective performance. The ultimate goal of any marketing action and of a good BMS should be to increase objective financial performance and the value of the firm. But the road from marketing investment and BMS to firm value is often circuitous, as Hanssens et al. (2009, p. 115) affirm:\nResearch methodology: Data collection and sample\nResults: The mediating effect of subjective brand performance (H1a and H1b)\nDiscussion and conclusion: H3a - that product-oriented sectors positively moderate the impact of BMS on subjective brand performance - is supported by the findings. However, it should be noted that BMSs always have a significant impact on subjective brand performance, whatever the sector, and that the impact of brand subjective performance on objective financial performance remains significant at 0.05, whatever the sector.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to analyze the impact of brand management system (BMS) practices on subjective and objective performance in both service- and product-oriented sectors.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on a \"grounded-in-practice\" approach to BMS, a comprehensive formative BMS scale is developed and its validity is assessed. The impact of BMS on subjective brand performance (i.e. predictive validity) and on objective financial performance is assessed. Data are collected from a sample of 298 brand managers and marketing directors in five business sectors (cosmetics, convenience goods, industry, bank/insurance and media) and from a financial database. Path analysis and multigroup analysis are performed to test mediating and moderating effects.\nFindings: The results reveal that subjective brand performance (perceived brand performance) mediates the relationship between the BMS and objective financial performance of the firm and on each of the three BMS dimensions; and product-oriented (vs service-oriented) sector positively moderates the relationship between the BMS and subjective brand performance.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper offers insights into adapting brand management practices along all BMS dimensions to achieve better business performance and improve objective financial performance in product-oriented activities. It highlights the role of brand management implementation, as well as the role of brand management in hierarchical relationships, in improving performance in service activities.\nPractical implications: The formative BMS scale offers a tool which can be used to improve strategic decisions and give practical guidance on product vs service sector specificities. The indirect impact of a BMS on financial objective performance reinforces the legitimacy of brand managers and marketing managers.\nOriginality/value: This paper shows the impact of the BMS on objective financial performance by using a \"grounded-in-practice\" BMS scale. It also affords explanation on sectoral effects of brand management practices and their consequences on subjective and objective performance.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Risky business in a volatile world: How should HRM respond to the need for better risk thinking?
|
[
"Resilience",
"HRM",
"Risk",
"Organization culture"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nSeeing all the angles: The willingness to take risks - and knowing when to do so - is often seen as a hallmark of great entrepreneurs.\nGlobal volatility: In the same way, an organization's people are the ones ultimately responsible for creating the resilience and flexibility that will enable organizations to withstand unexpected external shifts and changes. It is generally accepted that the world is now going through an exceptionally volatile phase from which businesses cannot possibly be immune. The 2016 Global Risks report by the insurers ZFS mentioned to give just a few \"highlights\", uncontrolled or involuntary migration, societal instability, energy price shocks and poor response to climate change.\nThe \"gig economy\": Employment models will need to change as people's growing mobility throws up new challenges. The jobs themselves are changing at a faster rate, but how and where people work is also changing. The fastest growing parts of most economies are self-employed or micro businesses. Many people are choosing to work more for themselves out of necessity rather than being driven by any real entrepreneurial zeal. The number of people who work in more flexible and self-employed working relationships is also set to grow. We see this in the emergence of models such as Uber, the technology-inspired cab hire company, and the growth of the so-called \"gig economy\" where people take on temporary and more informal work.\nA quality in decline: There is considerable evidence, however, that trust has been declining during recent years - whether of the \"establishment\", leaders, big business or the media. It is a worldwide phenomenon with a recent survey suggesting that more than 60 per cent of countries surveyed revealed trust levels of the mass population to be below 50 per cent. It is the mentality that, many observers argue, paved the way for the UK Brexit vote and for Donald Trump's rise to genuine contender for the US presidency.\nComment: This review is based on \"Managing risk and building resilient organizations in a riskier world\" by Cheese (2016). The analysis here offers many observations that could equally apply to any era. Nevertheless, this article offers a comprehensive view of the issues, many outside their control, which now face business organizations throughout the world.\n",
"role": "user"
},
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"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to explore the nature of risk as the world becomes a more volatile place. Risk thinking is gaining a higher profile within human resource management, and this paper examines the responses being made and the characteristics of resilient and adaptive organizations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper presents a categorization of risk using the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous metaphor to lay out the likely shape of imminent business risks and the concept of adaptation to show how responses can be effective.\nFindings: Businesses will be forced to re-examine how they work in ways that will have an impact on customer expectations, product enhancement, collaborative innovation and organizational forms. Firms will need to understand corporate cultures and governance issues, as well as traditional talent management practices and processes.\nOriginality/value: This paper provides a wide-ranging examination of the nature of risks - internal, external, political, and societal - and points to the importance of human resource management strategists in addressing these issues and shaping policy.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Getting in with the "In" crowd: how to put marketing back on the CEO's agenda
|
[
"Strategy",
"CEO",
"CMO",
"Emerging Consensus Technique (ECT)",
"Role of marketing",
"Strategic decision making"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: For decades, marketers have been trying to be more accountable and elevate marketing from a purely functional and tactical level (Gronroos, 2006, 2009; Reibstein et al., 2009) to a strategic level (Kumar, 2004; Piercy, 1991). Yet marketing remains heavily criticized for its inability to present compelling evidence of the effectiveness of the huge sums it directs to promotion and brand building (Verhoef and Leeflang, 2009). This perceived lack of accountability is linked to a reduction in marketing's influence in strategic decision-making (Verhoef et al., 2009; Webster, 2005) and a cause of resentment from other functions (e.g. Press, 2013).\nTheoretical foundation: The emphasis of our study is to explore how marketing can be again elevated on the firm's strategic agenda. The focus is therefore not on discussing the multitude of scholarly definitions of marketing, ranging from value creation (e.g. Alderson, 1957), to market orientation (e.g. Kohli and Jaworski, 1990) to customer focus (e.g. Gronroos, 2006). Most of them, regrettably, are of very little relevance to members of the boardroom or to CEOs in particular (Fournaise Marketing Group, 2011). As a result, they are unlikely to be discussed by senior executives in terms of developing corporate strategies. Neither do we attempt to enter the recent prevalent scholarly discussion about applicability of new all-explanatory normative paradigms (Wright and Russell, 2012), given that they do not appear to have caught managers' attention (based on the lack of attention that they receive in the business press).\nMethod: In order to discover CEOs' perceptions of marketing and its role in the firm, the study features a three-step method. First, the study explored the perceptual attributes of CEOs toward marketing and marketers through in-depth interviews. Next, we coded and purified the data, incorporating a systematic comparison approach and hierarchical coding to ensure that we observed all the data thoroughly and explored all their dimensions (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). Finally, a panel of judges scrutinized the emerging themes using Emerging Consensus Technique (ECT) (Klaus, 2013a).\nFindings: The study identified four main themes:\nDiscussion: Quo Vadis, marketing? Or to be more precise, how can marketing (and CMOs in particular) become indispensable to the firm's strategic direction? Should they play a larger role rather than simply trying to increase the influence of traditional marketing? Does progress hide in integrating the goals of marketing into a larger, more encompassing vision of markets and consumers (Webster and Lusch, 2013), or are we simply over-theorizing what CEOs are looking for in order for marketing to have an impact on strategy?\nLimitations and future research direction: As with all scientific research there are limitations that need to be stated. Our research sought to uncover issues impacting marketing's perceived role within organizations, with a specific emphasis on the lack of strategic influence CMOs have with their CEOs and boards of directors. This information was gathered through in-depth interviews with 25 CEOs with headquarters in thirteen countries (from North America, Western Europe, and Australia). While this sample represents a judgment sample (Churchill, 1979, p. 67), the relative magnitude of the different issues uncovered cannot be assessed for the population of firms. Therefore, quantitative research needs to be conducted with a large sample of CEOs from around the world to assess the degree to which the issues uncovered reflect companies overall.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Despite efforts by researchers and managers to better link marketing activities with business financial outcomes, there is general agreement that by and large chief marketing officers (CMOs) (and marketing in general) have lost strategic decision-making influence within organizations. The purpose of this paper is to understand the causes of this decline and offer recommended solutions to counteract this trend.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In-depth interviews lasting between 40 and 55 minutes were conducted with 25 chief executive officers (CEOs) of service companies located in Western Europe, North America, and Australia. In total, 13 difference countries were represented. Using Emerging Consensus Technique, we identified four main themes, which cause the goals of CEOs and those of CMOs/marketing to diverge.\nFindings: The primary cause of the decline of strategic influence of CMOs and marketing overall with CEOs is a function of four key issues: first, the role of the CMO (e.g. task overload, focus on tactical issues, \"outdated\" skill set); second, lack of financial accountability (e.g. the inability to connect marketing efforts to financial returns); third, digital and social media (e.g. a perceived obsession with new technology); and forth, lack of strategic vision and impact (e.g. lost sight of \"core\" job, use of irrelevant metrics).\nPractical implications: The findings indicate that CMOs must address the four key issues uncovered for marketing to attain/regain a role in strategic decision making. A proposed roadmap for putting marketing back on the CEOs agenda is presented to guide CMOs.\nOriginality/value: This research provides marketers with a CEO eye view of their role within organizations.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Do environmental management systems affect the knowledge management process? The impact on the learning evolution and the relevance of organisational context
|
[
"Knowledge management",
"Environmental management system",
"Organizational context",
"Green product innovation",
"Human Capital training and development",
"Learning evolution"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: According to the resource-based view of a business (RBV), the creation and keeping of strategic resources over time helps firms to build a sustainable competitive advantage (Wernerfelt, 1984; Peteraf, 1993). A strategic resource should be valuable, rare and difficult to imitate and substitute so that the firm can generate a sustained competitive advantage (Barney, 1991). The advent of the \"new knowledge economy\" has led to an increased emphasis on knowledge as the main strategic resource of companies, and is critical for firm performance and competitive advantage, especially in an increasingly dynamic and globalised business environment (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Spender and Grant, 1996; Carayannis et al., 2014). According to Drucker (1989, p. 251), knowledge is information that \"changes something or somebody either by becoming grounds for action, or by making an individual or an institution capable of different and more effective action\". In the past decades, to reduce the environmental impacts of both production and consumption processes, several governments in industrialised countries have urged companies to acquire knowledge in the environmental protection field (Demirel and Kesidou, 2011; De Marchi and Grandinetti, 2013). To better meet legal requirements and, increasingly, stakeholder pressures, several companies have chosen to implement environmental management systems (EMS) according to the most diffused voluntary certification schemes: International Organization for Standardization's ISO 14001 and European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS; Boiral, 2007). Both these environmental standards foresee training for employees and their representatives to acquire (or increase) and transfer knowledge within organisations for good environmental management performance (EMAS and ISO 14001, 2011; EMAS User's Guide - European Commission, 2013). Owing to the skills and competencies required for their implementation, EMS are viewed as knowledge management tools fostering firms' eco-innovation (Kesidou and Demirel, 2012), but with mixed empirical results (for a review, see for example Bossle et al., 2016). The non-univocal findings might be linked to different commitments of firms in the knowledge process. Indeed, the mere assumption of the EMS as a source of knowledge lacks consideration of the process through which it is achieved. As discriminating factors of the knowledge process, both cognitive capabilities of the agents and the organisational context in which they interact should be analysed (Del Giudice, 2017), although previous studies considering the influence of EMS on eco-innovation have failed to examine such key aspects. The purpose of our study is, thus, to fill this gap in the literature, by firstly investigating the propensity of firms who have implemented an EMS to undertake effective knowledge management practices for the improvement of the cognitive capabilities of their workforce, and then analysing their impact on corporate openness towards green product innovation. To capture a possible different effect arising from the organisational context, we distinguish between family and non-family firms.\n2. Theoretical framework and hypotheses development: 2.1 Environmental management system, knowledge and organisational context\n3. Research design: 3.1 Description of the variables\n4. Results: 4.1 Descriptive statistics\n5. Implications and conclusions: 5.1 Implications for research\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how an environmental management system (EMS) might affect the environmental product innovation propensity of a firm through its influence on two factors shaping the knowledge process: the human capital management practices of training and development and the organisational context.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To test the study's hypotheses, an empirical analysis was carried out on 262 companies drawn from 16 developed European markets included in the S&P Europe 350 Dow Jones index over the years 2005-2015.The authors adopted regression analysis by using the ordinary least squares and the binary logit econometric models.\nFindings: Consistently with the study's predictions, results show that for organisational contexts characterised by the presence of family owners, the EMAS-certified EMS reveals as a significant moderating factor that positively influences their approach to the knowledge management tools for the improvement of the workforce cognitive capabilities, with a significant impact on the firm's openness towards green product innovation. On the contrary, the ISO 14001-certified EMS tends not to stimulate such proactive behaviour, in both family and non-family firms.\nPractical implications: The findings suggest that an EMS can stimulate the knowledge exploration in the environmental protection field. To this end, top managers should overcome the bureaucratic vision of an EMS and conceive it as a knowledge management tool able to support the learning evolution of the organisation through an effective commitment to human capital management policies of training and development.\nOriginality/value: Drawing from social identity and institutional theories, this is the first study - to the best of the authors' knowledge - that theorises and tests why the adoption of an EMS might stimulate the knowledge advancement of the organisation in a different way, especially in peculiar organisational contexts of family firms where the identity overlap between the family and the firm tends to affect the knowledge management process.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Managerial effectiveness: an Indian experience
|
[
"Adaptability",
"Flexibility",
"Indian management",
"Managerial effectiveness",
"Productivity"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Managerial effectiveness: The concept of managerial effectiveness has been a major concern for academicians and practitioners for several decades. This issue is, of course, important, for both public and private sectors in all economies but perhaps particularly so in developing economies where there is a desire to capitalize on strong economic growth opportunities (Analoui, 1999). Due to its complexity and wide scope, managerial effectiveness has been defined in diverse ways. In the literature, a great deal of misunderstanding and vagueness exists regarding: \"What is Effectiveness?\", \"Who is an effective manager?\", and \"How to gauge and quantify effectiveness?\" (Analoui, 1999; Bamel et al., 2011; Bao, 2009; Braithwaite, 2004; Brodie and Bennett, 1979; Hamlin et al., 2011). Therefore, it may be deduced that there is no clear agreement among scholars concerning the concept of managerial effectiveness. A number of scholars have investigated managerial effectiveness in terms of job roles and job behaviours (Hamlin and Patel, 2012; Harrow and Willcocks, 1990; Linna et al., 2010; Martinko and Gardner, 1990; Metts, 2007; Pareek, 2008; Rastogi, 2009; Wang, 2011; Willcocks, 2002), whereas, others correlate it with the skills and required competencies (Allen et al., 2006; Boyatzis, 1982; Harley, 1995; Narayan and Rangnekar, 2011; Nwokah and Ahiauzu, 2007; Shipper et al., 2003; Spencer et al., 1990; Verbeek-Heinsman et al., 2008). However, parallel to this research a third body of research has developed. This has centred on the belief that individual job behaviour is a function of his/her skills and competencies and the idea that job behaviour invariably predicts job performance (Analoui, 1999, 2007; Analoui et al., 2010; McClelland's, 1971; Nwokah and Ahiauzu, 2007). Moreover, this is interlinked with social learning theory which supports the fact that managers can be more effective by developing their behaviour through skill enhancement (see Porras and Anderson, 1981). These developments established managerial effectiveness as a subjective and socially constructed concept (Willcocks, 1998). Therefore, managerial effectiveness can be postulated as the product of the interactions among individual and contextual factors (Hamlin, 2002; Hamlin et al., 2011; Miron et al., 2004; Raelin and Cooledge, 1995; Shao and Webber, 2006).\n2. Dimensions of managerial effectiveness: As part of the quest to identify, distil, and understand managerial effectiveness there have been a number of attempts to isolate its vital factors. For example, Mott (1971) developed an instrument to measure managerial effectiveness and identified productivity, adaptability, flexibility as key dimensions of managerial effectiveness. Katz (1974) identified three major dimensions of effectiveness - technical, conceptual, and human - in managerial roles. Moreover, Analoui (1995, 1997, 1999, 2007) identified eight parameters of managerial effectiveness incorporating: managerial perception; skills and knowledge; organizational criteria; motivation; constraints and difficulties; choices and opportunities; inter-organizational relationships; and dominant managerial philosophy and proposed that personal, organizational and environmental contextual factors influence these parameters significantly. Drucker (2006) further identified eight factors: need identification, familiarity with organization culture and climate, development of action plans, responsiveness towards decisions, effective communication, taking advantage of opportunity, productive meetings, and teamwork. He suggested that these elements are replete in corporate environments and enable the executive in conjunction with required content knowledge (and the translation of this knowledge) to produce advantageous outputs. In addition, Hamlin and Serventi (2008) identified behavioural items which relate to individual effectiveness and condensed these into three dimensions, i.e. managing self, achieving outcomes, and managing and leading a team. As can be seen, extensive work and debate have been conducted on effectiveness, however, while progress has been made, and a range of potentially significant factors have been identified, the possibility of identifying a select group of key factors of managerial effectiveness has been challenging.\n3. Managerial effectiveness and the Indian context: Within the Indian context, scholars have also been engaged with the issue of effectiveness. Initially, Dhar (1978) enumerated a number of important characteristics of an effective supervisor in Indian contexts. These characteristics included physical courage, effective communication and influential talk, managing self-space, job knowledge, concern for their team members, and discipline and obedience of organizational codes. In another such effort, Jain (1999) identified three dimensions to measure the effectiveness of Indian executives, namely, functional, interpersonal, and personal effectiveness. Similarly, Sen and Saxsena (1999) enriched the list by adding: \"do the right things\", \"focus on self-contribution\", \"time-handling\", \"motivational aspect\", \"management of change\", \"value system\", and \"ethics\" as some important traits of an effective manager. Though a number of researchers have been involved in the issue and have come up with many dimensions of effectiveness there has, nevertheless, been broad consensus in the Indian context around the importance of the dimensions of effectiveness of productivity, flexibility, and adaptability (see by way of example, Bamel et al., 2011; Chauhan et al., 2005; Narayan and Rangnekar, 2008, 2009).\n4. Demography and managerial effectiveness: Historically, Pfeffer (1983, p. 348) argued that:\n5. Type of organization and managerial effectiveness: Effectiveness of executives depends not only on individual competencies but also on organizational contexts. In terms of sector and type of organizational context, be it public, private, or third sector, a wide-ranging series of studies have been conducted on managerial effectiveness (see e.g. Analoui (1995) on Indian Railways; Analoui (1997) in Romania; Analoui (1999) in government departments in Ghana. Similarly, Willcocks (2002) explored managerial effectiveness in the public sector and identified that understanding and reinterpretation of different role expectations of \"role occupier\" shape his/her level of effectiveness within the complexity and subjective framework of organization. Furthermore, Page et al. (2003) conducting research in New Zealand, assessed that respondents perceived their successes and failures as a function of their organizational size, level, and environmental factors. Moreover, a study by Page et al. (2003) concluded that contextual factors emerge as critical to the degree of effectiveness. In a further study, McKenna (2004) correlates contextual pre-dispositions with managerial skills, and identified contextual importance in determining management skills. Finally, Bao (2009) explored the managerial effectiveness in public and private sector contexts and identified provisions of necessary resources, appropriate staffing, training, and setting achievable goals as key factors and identified ways in which effectiveness of managers in the public sector could be further increased.\n6. Gender and managerial effectiveness: In recent decades, a number of scholars have increasingly investigated gender roles, stereotyping and gender typecasting (Heilman, 1983, 2001; Heilman and Chen, 2003; Schein et al., 1996). Findings of these studies advocated that, in certain contexts, men may be more suitable for managerial and entrepreneurial roles then women (Bosma et al., 2009; De Bruin et al., 2007; Gupta et al., 2008; Schein et al., 1996). Nevertheless, in last two decades, increases in the number of female employees in the workplace have been accompanied by an increase in the women holding managerial positions (Neher, 1997). In spite of the rising number of female managers, the position of \"the manager\" is still all too often identified in masculine terms (Ivy and Backlund, 2000; Reardon, 1995). Indeed, Hogan et al. (1994), Ivy and Backlund (2000), and Reardon (1995) revealed that prejudicial stereotypes are still prevalent in some settings; men are still perceived by certain sexist perspectives to be more capable, more acceptable, and are preferred for management positions. In a recent study, Akintayo (2010) also posited that male managers are more effective in managing organizational resources for goal achievement. Adekola (2006) and Williams and Warrens (2003) corroborate the above stereotyping and report further interesting debates and effects of gender difference on effectiveness of the managers.\n7. Levels (senior, middle, and junior) and managerial effectiveness: Management scholars and practitioners have indicated that managerial behaviour consistently changes with organizational level or hierarchy. Traditionally, Katz (1955) and Mann (1965) initiated this debate by proposing that managers at different levels need to be equipped with different skills. More recently, empirical evidence of many studies has reinforced this view (see Freedman, 1998; Huy, 2001; Kaiser and Craig, 2011; Mumford et al., 2007). Hamlin (2002) in his study on managerial effectiveness in a National Health Service hospital revealed the fact that both superior and subordinate managers actually appeared to have the similar degree of effectiveness.\n8. Research methodology: Nature of sample and profile of respondents\n9. Discussion: This study provides an overview of managerial (senior, middle, and junior level) effectiveness of Indian managers. Our main research objective was to verify how perceived behavioural indicators of managerial effectiveness such as productivity, flexibility, and adaptability operate in the Indian context. The results of the present study are consistent with the outcomes of many previous studies in that, to be effective, an executive must be productive and adaptive to the changes (Analoui, 1997; Chauhan et al., 2005; Drucker, 2006). The resultant factor structure (exploratory and CFA) clearly, reflects the Indian managers' perception concerning the elements of effectiveness, i.e. productivity, flexibility, and adaptability. From the findings, it is apparent that Indian managers are aware of the importance of these factors for effective conduct of their responsibilities in complex economic scenarios. It is also important to observe that the productivity factor has been given emphasis by Indian executives and this is explained in the maximum variance overall in the examined effectiveness criteria. Productivity was viewed as increasing with same levels of inputs and for increased productivity fewer resources are needed for a given output level (Dilworth, 1989). Therefore, increased managerial productivity progresses an organization's competitiveness and determines its longevity as well improves the economic status of the nation (Bulkeley, 1994). Despite recent progressive moves in the Indian economy, increased managerial productivity appears to remain an essential concern for the Indian organizations.\n10. Conclusion: In this work we have tried to comprehend the issue of managerial effectiveness in the Indian context. Primarily, we were concerned about examining the Indian managers' perception regarding productivity, flexibility, and adaptability as elements of managerial effectiveness. The findings undoubtedly verified the significance of managerial productivity, managerial flexibility, and managerial adaptability in predicting overall managerial effectiveness. Second this study addressed the notion that attitudinal variables (type of ownership, gender and organizational levels) impact on managerial effectiveness. Initially the extant literature described the challenges in connecting effectiveness to attitudinal variables but the study did not find any significant empirical evidence of variation in managerial effectiveness due to attitudinal variables. In addition, the study did not confirm any significant difference in the effectiveness of focused categories of managers, i.e., male, female, public, private, junior, middle, and senior, however, it also has documented the slight variations in the effectiveness of different categories of managers:\n11. Implication and limitations: In terms of the practical implications of the study, the comparative empirical confirmation may provide the managers and practitioners with evidence to look at the issue of effectiveness of their team members. Management has always been greatly concerned on how to map the effectiveness of an executive. Therefore this study provides a platform from which to map the productivity and other dimensions of effectiveness by empirically validating the instrument in contemporary business scenarios. Hence, it proposes that with the end of improving effectiveness; productivity, flexibility, and adaptability of Indian managers need to be improved. Finally, this comprehensive study enables human resource development professionals/academicians and multinationals outside India to understand managerial effectiveness of Indian managers. The results indicated that middle managers were found to be most effective followed by senior and junior counterparts. This underlined a need to focus on novice and veteran executives. To meet these challenges, management practitioners need to develop types of training and development programmes which can be used to increase the effectiveness of junior and senior managers in Indian organizations.\n",
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{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conduct an investigation into the interaction of three factors: ownership (public and private sector organizations), gender (male and female), and level of manager (senior, middle, junior) in relation to the concept of effectiveness in the Indian context.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study is based on a data set of primary responses from 200 Indian executives. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was employed to retrieve and validate the instrument. Finally, 2x2x3 factorial ANOVA (GLM) was performed.\nFindings: First, the study proposes a valid and reliable measure of managerial effectiveness. Second, the interaction pattern of predictor variables in relation to managerial effectiveness provides further insights.\nPractical implications: Through its empirical evidence the study offers insight into issues of managerial effectiveness and provides suggestions for managerial action.\nOriginality/value: The study attempted to gather the views of executives regarding issues of productivity, adaptability and flexibility as constructs of managerial effectiveness. Last, comparative analysis of different categories of managers (based on gender, organizational position, and institutional ownership status) provide an understanding of these issues in the Indian context.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Emotionally engaging customers in the digital age: the case study of "Burberry love"
|
[
"Digital channels",
"Customer relationships",
"Design and emotion",
"Digital behaviour"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Disruption through digital innovation has in many cases seen the emergence of an entirely new class of competition in businesses. The challenge faced by companies is keeping up with these changes and in turn developing new theories, models and methods in order to learn, respond and adapt their position in such competitive environments. The mobile internet and social media have created new digital communication channels between a company and its customers labelled as \"digital channels\" (Edelman, 2010). Digital channels have played a major role in the digital revolution through the provision of communication abilities and online connectivity. Brandt and Henning (2002) explain that digital trends in society have allowed individuals to communicate without the boundaries of time or place, accessing multitudes of information worldwide and making multiple transactions in real time. This advancement means that customers are no longer just downloading or searching for static data, but are able to engage, upload and share their own content to a wider online network.\n2. The digital challenge in luxury fashion: The emergence of new technologies has revolutionised the way companies interact and engage with customers. As of 2015 there were approximately three billion internet users, a number that is continually rising (Internet World Stats, 2015). This has subsequently increased the number of digital channels and routes for communication, leading to customers to become \"detached from the channels that used to claim them\" according to Numes and Cespedes (2003, p. 98). In a society that offers an abundance of choices of products and services from a number of companies, the ability to form relationships with customers is critical for customer retention (Chiu et al., 2011; Payne and Frow, 2014; Wallace et al., 2004). The challenges of integrating luxury branding on the internet and digital environments is outlined by Okonkwo (2009, p. 302), who states \"luxury is neither a product, an object, a service or is it a concept or a lifestyle. It is an identity, a philosophy and a culture\". More recently Kapferer (2014) suggests the digital domain could assist luxury brands by managing omni-channel connections with customers, by diffusing brand content and providing higher levels of service. This diffusion of brand into a digital environment could be associated with what constructs a brand as luxury. Phau and Prendergast (2000) explain the four constructs of brand luxury as evoking exclusivity, have a well-known brand identity, enjoy high brand awareness and perceived quality, and retain sales levels and customer loyalty. The luxury fashion sector is unique in that its customers acquire goods for what they symbolise and represent (Dubois and Duquesne, 1993; Belk, 1988, 2014). Atwal and Williams (2009, p. 339) explain that contemporary customers use these good to \"make statements about themselves, to create identities and develop a sense of belonging\". These customers have formed a new individualistic consumption model, driven by new needs and desires for experiences (Atwal and Williams, 2009). The importance of understanding customer needs and desires is apparent in design and marketing literature due to customer purchase decisions being based on more subjective terms (Miao and Mattila, 2011; Tumbat, 2011; Mugge et al., 2010). Consequently, this demand requires companies to possess knowledge and processes that allow them to understand their customers and develop deeper connections to form emotional relationships with them.\n3. Understanding customer emotions and experiences: The process of creating an emotional connection is complex and involves many differing factors, however, it is affect (emotions, feelings and mood) that has the greatest influence on it (Plutchik, 1962; Ekkekakis, 2008). In Damasio's (1994) theory, a typical case begins with thoughts and evaluations about the stimulus; this mental activity triggers a bodily response (emotion). According to Damasio, these emotions are crucial in the decision-making process and the chose of action (behaviour). The as-if-loop in the somatic feedback theory (Figure 1) is the process of directly signalling the brain (the amygdala and the prefrontal cortices) without the bodily activity actually occurring. Damasio (1994, p. 155) explains \"this will generate a feeling more quickly and efficiently, although it may not feel the same as a genuine bodily response\". Sections A and B in the somatic feedback theory relate to Damasio's definition of emotion, which trigger a bodily reaction (C) to create a certain activity in the body (D).\n4. Designing an approach: A new attitude to business strategy has only recently incorporated the customer as a driver to create and deliver value. This would allow a company the ability to sense, learn, respond and adapt their strategic position in an evolving environment. One such approach is a customer-centric approach, specifically via the research field of design and emotion, which may be able to overcome technological threats through a deeper understanding of customer needs (Dell'Era et al., 2010). The position of design is explained further by Guenther (2012, p. 56), who states \"Design can be employed to go beyond what exists today, extending the boundaries of thought, and creating new options for strategy and future development\". Two key authorities in this area are Verganti (2006) and Brown (2008) who both build upon and collate theories such as creative culture, thinking styles and design skills to provide new approaches for business management. Both are pushed by a design approach to gain a deeper understanding of customer meaning and value, rather than being informed only on user requirements (Verganti, 2006). A prominent distinction of this approach is explained through Brown's (2008) Venn diagram of design thinking, which intersects the fields of business, technology and people. This framework has been used as the foundation of this study to include the perspectives of emotion, business strategy and digital channels, to explore the customer's experience of digital channels.\n5. Research context and design: Even though the internet and digital channels \"play a significant role in fuelling the universal appeal of luxury brands to a global consumer group\" according to Okonkwo (2007, p. 178) there is a perception that digital channels have a negative impact on the innate attributes of luxury brands such as \"prestige\" and \"exclusivity\". The issues pertaining to luxury brands and their presence in the digital environment is the concern of misrepresentation in the digital translation, such as a loss of aura in the brand. These issues have yet to be addressed in literature. However, the implementation and management of successful digital channels is a necessity to maintain and sustain a competitive advantage in this particular industry sector. As Okonkwo (2007, p. 186), explains \"consumers of luxury goods are among the global consumer population that craves continuous internet access\". The luxury-purchase decision process utilises a high dose of emotions and irrationality which are boosted by a high-impact experience (Okonkwo, 2007).\n6. Business case: Burberry: Burberry has a rich history, at over 150 years old its fashion has seen the trenches of First World War, has been an official supplier to the royal family and worn by a range of celebrities (Ahrendts, 2013; Phan et al., 2011; Moore and Birtwistle, 2004). Upon this historical backdrop Burberry has been known as British fashion royalty, however, over time this has deteriorated (Phan et al., 2011). In 2006, Burberry changed their vision to be \"the first company who is fully digital\" and \"to build a social enterprise\" according to Ahrendts (2013). This vision was formed after a loss of net profits, expansion of fashion and beauty lines, and an incoherent marketing strategy globally. The aim of this new vision was to provide customers with total access to \"Burberry across any device, anywhere, anytime and they would get exactly the same feelings of the brand, feelings of the culture regardless of where, when and how they were accessing the brand\", as stated by Ahrendts (2013). The driving business model of Burberry is \"a distinctive global luxury brand\" (\n7. Analysing Burberry's success: To understand Burberry's success, the mission statement, core strategies and five digital campaigns between 2009 and 2014 were analysed via a content analysis methodology (Krippendorff, 1989) and triangulation analysis techniques (Denzin, 1978; Thurmond, 2001). For the content analysis, digital campaigns were defined using Straker et al.'s (2015b) definition of a digital channel as a technology based platforms that use the internet to:\n8. Emotional coding: Following a content analysis of \"campaign objective\" and \"digital channels\" (Table III) emergent coding was used and described in detail by Haney et al. (1998). Many texts have an affective or emotional content, which if ignored may reduce the validity of the analysis but which if attended to may increase the researcher's ability to interpret the text. There are a number of difficulties in attending to the affective content of the text many of which stem from the fact that a large number of \"emotions\" are not semantically distinct. Researchers have attempted to classify and measure emotions (Scherer, 2005; Ekman, 1994; Richins, 1997; Desmet and Hekkert, 2002; Kleinginna and Kleinginna, 1981). For this study Desmet's (2005) emotional typology was chosen for the emotional analysis (Table II). Through the use of emergent coding and content analysis, 22 emotions, along with the eliciting conditions were used to analyse campaign objectives and emotions evoked and infer the strategy of each. The purpose of the analysis is to understand the emotional drivers of the business strategy and understand the connection to the emotional response of customers.\n9. Results: Results of the emotional analysis of Burberry's mission statement and six core strategies revealed that the two emotional drivers were stimulation (a promise for understanding through exploration or a new action) and pride (approving of one's own praiseworthy action). Table III outlines the results; first the digital channel campaign objects of each, details of the digital touchpoints implemented for each campaign, a sample of customer responses from these digital touchpoints, the emotional coding of these comments, how this relates to the strategy and the overall impact of the campaign.\n10. Exploring the relationship between emotions, identity and digital engagements: By starting with people, companies can uncover individual customer needs, and in turn understand how to design for their needs (Guenther, 2012). This research aims to address the intersection of business requirements and human needs guided by technology. To do so the results from this study have built upon Brown (2009) and Guenther's (2012) theories to inform the digital engagement conceptual model (Figure 3). It is the proposition of the model that implementing customer emotions at the centre of a company's business strategy can strengthen relationships and provide innovative digital channel experiences. The model illustrates the intersection of emotion (people), identity (business) and digital channels (technology) to explore how emotional engagement can be designed with customers. These areas are company and customer engagement, digital channel strategy and digital customer experience. It is important to note that the framework should start with the customer and not an existing technology or digital channel (1-3). The conceptual process of the model builds upon Damasio's (1994) somatic feedback theory, to include the customer's emotional experience to the digital channel experience. The three aspects of \"association\", \"creates\" and \"evokes\" relate to Damasio's (1994) theory which begins with a person's thoughts and evaluations about the stimulus in a situation. The first aspect association is in connection to a customer's existing feeling, emotion and/or mood of the company. Associations are informed from past experiences with the company, and can be linked to branding, advertisements or social interactions with the company (Lundahl, 2011). This mental activity evokes an emotion, which Damasio (1994) explains as crucial in the decision-making process and ultimately creates the action and behaviour required. The findings of this study have been used to explain and develop this conceptual model in more depth.\n11. Explaining the success of Burberry's digital engagement: Through all Burberry's digital campaigns, their customers are motivated by a set of key emotions, resulting in them to \"be part of the Burberry story\". Each digital channel provides a unique and consistent message, which bring together the brand, culture and customers to be part of the same story. This story aligns with the brand DNA (British heritage) and the key product (trench coat).\n12. Impact and challenges of emotion-driven digital innovation: The results from this study illustrate the impact of digital channel engagement, and act of falling in \"love\" with the Burberry brand is aided through the emotions evoked and connection formed throughout the experiences via the digital channels. Failure to engage customers emotionally may result in under-performance, loss of competitive advantage and/or missed opportunities (Wrigley, 2013). Designing, managing and continually evolving a customer's emotional experience is incredibly complex, due to the varying expectations, messages and values of not only the customer but also for the company and digital channels. Benefits such as financial and competitive advantages could result from positive experiences, due to the higher user involvement with a digital channel (e.g. time spent, number of pages viewed, amount of personal information revealed) translating into firm revenue (Trusov et al., 2010). The understanding of customer emotions is key to innovating through digital channels. This research proposes that innovation requires insights into how and why customers behave in order to deliver emotional digital engagements.\n13. Theoretical development: The aim of this study was to explore how a sucessful case study communicated and emotionally engaged with customers via digital channels, to develop new theories and models to aid in the utilisation of digital channels. Damasio's (1994) somatic feedback theory, Brown's (2008) and Guenther's (2012) design theories have been developed into a conceptual model outlining the process of a customer's digital channel engagement. Similar to Damasio's (1994) original theory this model includes the fundamental emotional response to stimulus in a situation, however focuses on a digital engagement and resulting experience (Figure 5). The model begins with an existing association of feelings, emotions and moods derived from the company, an interaction with the company's digital channel will evoke a feeling, emotion or moods, which informs and creates an attitude, behaviour or meaning towards the company. This process is a loop, as after progressing through steps 1-3, (seen on Figure 5) the experience will alter original associations made regarding the company stimulus.\n14. Conclusions: In a society that offers an abundance of choices among products, services and businesses the ability to form relationships with customers is critical for customer retention. Fulfilling an emotional experience depends on the overall emotional consumption experience, which is determined not only by the consumption of the product but all engagements with customers. The Burberry business case provides academics and practitioners avenues for future research and applied considerations. In times of digitisation, organisations are required to rethink the traditional concept of customer relationships, as new technologies are empowering customers. The conceptual framework presented leverages the role of design, highlighting opportunities made possible through digital channels. This research contributes by providing processes to better enable companies to build highly engaging customer experiences via technology, specifically digital channels. With the ability to impact scholars and practitioners alike, future research should focus on extending the theoretical domain of digital channels to include customer emotional experiences and requires practitioners to publish best practice and outline key strategies and tactics with proven results.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how companies can design digital channels to evoke desired emotions.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The successful business case of retailer Burberry has been examined to understand the strategy and customer engagement of digital channels implemented by decoding the emotional intensions.\nFindings: Results illustrate that the ability to create engaging interactions via digital channels with customers has a significant impact on growth, revenue and brand advocacy. Findings from this study provide a new empirical support for the proposition that emotions can be utilised to guide company digital strategy for building digital channel relationships with customers.\nOriginality/value: This is the first study to examine the relationship between digital channels, emotion and customer responses to digital engagements. The inclusion of an emerging theory model is outlined to explain the successful process of reformulating business strategy through a dynamic and creative process of intersecting emotion, strategy and digital channels.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Low-cost strategy through product architecture: lessons from China
|
[
"Management strategy",
"Automotive industry",
"China",
"Design"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The global financial downturn that began in 2008 has pushed much of the world's car industry into crisis; carmakers serving the US market, including strong performers like Toyota and Honda, have experienced double-digit declines in their sales. The Chinese car industry, on the other hand, is booming. It overtook the US in 2008 to become the second largest in the world, producing 9.4 million vehicles.Foreign carmakers located in China have played their part, but local players such as Geely, Chery and BYD have also had a role in the expansion. This article will argue that the rapid growth of indigenous Chinese carmakers is not driven by low labor costs, but by innovations in product architecture that have enabled Chinese carmakers to follow a low-cost strategy while still producing products that are broadly equivalent to their foreign counterparts. By changing the product design, local carmakers with less than 15 years experience have managed to produce cars in the same product category as their western competitors but at a significantly lower price.We begin by briefly highlighting the link between breakthrough strategies and product design. We follow this with a discussion of product architecture and identify a form of transitional product architecture created by Chinese carmakers known as a quasi-open modular architecture. We then present a case study of a Chinese carmaker, Geely, which illustrates the nature of the car industry in China and shows the impact that this transitional architecture can have. Finally, we address the possible implications of this approach for car production by the mainstream US and European car industry.\n2. Breakthrough strategies and product design: 2.1 Breakthrough strategies\n3. Product architecture: the missing link in breakthrough strategy?: Product architecture is a conceptual representation of the physical components that go to make up a product, together with any interactions between them that affect the functioning of that product. Takahiro Fujimoto argues that a fit between capabilities in manufacturing and product architecture can create an advantage for a particular industry in a particular country or region and identifies product architecture as one of the most important sources of a country's comparative advantage (Fujimoto, 2007).Fujimoto defines product architecture in terms of an approach that links the functional and structural design of a product. He divides product architecture along two dimensions: modular-integral and open-closed. The modular-integral dimension refers to the level of integration of the components in a product. Products with a high degree of component integration have many-to-many links between their components, meaning that the product has to be produced as a single integrated unit. A low level of component integration means that components have a simple one-to-one correspondence and can be treated as discrete modules. The open-closed dimension refers to the level of standardization. An open architecture implies the existence of industry level standards for components; a closed architecture means that standardization only exists within the boundaries of a single firm.By combining these two dimensions, Fujimoto identifies three possible forms of product architecture, open-modular, closed-modular and closed-integral. According to Fujimoto, the fourth category, open-integral, is a logical contradiction and a practical impossibility (Figure 2).Fujimoto's classification of product architecture provides us with a useful way to think about the links between the design of products and the strategic positioning of a company. For example, the often-repeated story of IBM (Baldwin and Clark, 1997) can be recast in terms architectural evolution.Viewed in this way, IBM's story is as follows. In the 1950s, computers were specialized, custom-built machines created to perform specific tasks, clearly corresponding to the closed-integral cell in Fujimoto's model. At that time, IBM was the market leader in the manufacture of custom-built data processing machines such as the IBM 704. However, in response to growing demand in the 1960s, IBM began to introduce new products such as the IBM System 360 range that shared the same hardware and software. This moved IBM into the closed-modular cell in the model. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a new market for desktop computing began to emerge in which Apple was the market leader. IBM launched its own desktop PC in 1981 and, in order to cut costs and speed up development time, outsourced heavily (Figure 3). This effectively moved the desktop into the third open-modular cell of Fujimoto's model, which in turn created the conditions for companies such as Intel and Microsoft to make a strategic breakthrough and become the new market leaders.Although there is no single pattern to architectural evolution, according to Baldwin and Clark (1997), the general trend is a movement from closed-integral to open-modular architectures, a trajectory that can also be seen in the production of complex mechanical products such as cars.For example, according to Langlois (2002), the 1930s marked the transition from craftsman built, open-modular car production to a mass production closed-integral model. This model remained dominant until the 1990s when, driven by competitive pressures, a number of leading European carmakers began to move to a closed-modular type production, e.g. platform sharing between Citroen and Peugeot cars in the PSA group, or Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Seat in the Volkswagen group. However, this modularity has remained at the company, rather than the industrial level; consequently, the change from closed to open product architectures that we can seen in the PC industry is not present in the US or European car industry.In China however, carmakers and their suppliers have begun to move towards a more open, modular form of production based on what is termed a quasi-open modular product architecture. Fujimoto describes this development in the following way:... imitation-turned-versatile parts are being gathered and assembled by numerous companies and this is different from a full-fledged open architecture based on a carefully worked-out plan as seen in various digital products made by American companies (Fujimoto, 2002, p. 35).In China, best selling foreign cars are routinely imitated through reverse engineering. Major components from those foreign cars, such as engines and chassis, have, through repetitive remodeling, become de-facto generic components that can be used by indigenous manufacturers. By mixing-and-matching remodeled components from existing cars, Chinese manufacturers are able to produce completely new cars more quickly and at a much lower price than their foreign counterparts are able to achieve (Figure 4). Although this approach is a radical departure from western practices, it remains only a quasi-open modular architecture as the modularity of the remodeled components has not yet reached the industry level.The analysis of the case study that follows provides a concrete illustration of how this quasi-open modular architecture works in practice and additionally illustrates some of the unique features of the Chinese car industry that contributed to its emergence.\n4. Case study - China Geely Automobile Co. Ltd: 4.1 Method\n5. Conclusion: implications for the automobile giants: Attaining low cost production is a perennial challenge for most manufacturers. The current incremental approach towards cost reduction using existing product architectures, which predominates in the western car industry, seems to be reaching its limits; only a radical architectural change in product design will allow a company to lower its costs so significantly that its competitors will find the move hard to follow. In just a single decade, through its innovative use of product architecture, Geely has moved from having no experience of car making to a position where it is the ninth largest carmaker in China and is able to produce and sell cars that are significantly cheaper than its foreign counterparts. In 2009, Geely announced a sales growth of 25 percent and no job cuts despite the financial crisis and a global economic downturn.Although Geely's progress has been dramatic, it is by no means an exceptional case in China's car industry. Other local carmakers, including Chery, BYD and Great Wall are making similar progress using similar methods. We estimate that cars featuring quasi-open architectures now represent around 30 percent of total production in China. In addition to the carmakers, developments among component suppliers are reinforcing the move towards quasi-open architectures. For example, Mitsubishi is selling its engines to at least 21 different carmakers in China and Delphi's engine management system has become modular so that it can be used with any Mitsubishi engine in order to increase its sales. In short, the Chinese market has become the crucible from which a new product architecture for automobiles has begun to emerge: local consumers, carmakers and leading component suppliers are all contributing to expansion of the quasi-open architectural paradigm.Leading carmakers in other parts of the world are confronting multiple challenges to their position; so far, the response seems to have been to continue to adhere to closed product architectures. However, technological advances such as greater fuel efficiency or the development of technically complex hybrid or other forms of so-called \"green cars\" have failed to stimulated sales in mature markets due to their high price. Abandoning the low cost bottom of the pyramid, as the market in developing countries is sometimes referred to, to local manufacturers could be a strategic mistake as these are exactly the markets where the innovations that seem set to produce low-cost strategic breakthroughs appear to be happening.Developments such as the quasi-open architecture found in Chinese car manufacturing seem to have the potential to produce cars of comparable quality to those of the established carmakers, but at a significantly lower cost. Mainstream western carmakers may have the edge on new technology, but this alone seems unlikely to give them the strategic breakthrough they need. The current car making giants and others need to be fully aware of the strategic potential of innovations in product architecture, both as a potential driver of breakthrough strategy and as a threat to the current position. Manufacturers based in the mature markets of the US and Europe ignore the lessons of low-cost production through innovations in product architecture that are beginning to emerge from China at their peril.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The article shows how changes in product architecture have become the driving force behind a breakthrough strategy that has enabled Chinese carmakers to produce vehicles that are broadly equivalent to the products of western carmakers but at a fraction of the price.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The article presents an analysis of the development of a strategy based in an innovative product architecture used by a Chinese carmaker. The analysis covers the period between 1998 and 2006 and presents the results of a longitudinal study carried out by one of the authors in China between 2002 and 2007.\nFindings: - The article uses the literature on product architecture and breakthrough strategy to describe a quasi-open modular product architecture used by Chinese carmakers. It provides an historical account of one company's approach to car making using this strategy and describes how it has allowed it to move from being a manufacturer of refrigerators to the ninth largest carmaker in China in period of ten years.\nPractical implications: - The article highlights the strategic potential of innovations in product architecture in general and that of quasi-open modular architectures in particular. It also highlights the role of the emerging markets in China as the source of potential drivers for breakthrough strategies and as a threat to the current position of western carmakers.\nOriginality/value: - This article uses evidence based on direct observation to describe a novel approach to product architecture that has been pioneered in the emergent markets in China.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Authenticity matters more than intelligence and personality in predicting metacognition
|
[
"Five-factor model",
"Intelligence",
"Authenticity",
"Metacognition",
"Personality traits",
"Self-alienation"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Metacognition matters, in both academic and business settings. Described as \"thinking about your thinking\" (Flavell, 1979), or \"knowing about knowing,\" (Metcalfe and Shimamura, 1994), metacognition consists of strategies individuals use to plan, monitor, and regulate their cognition (Pintrich, 1999). In addition to being consequential in educational settings (Dimmitt and McCormick, 2012; Pintrich et al., 2000), metacognition is a positive predictor of work-related outcomes: job search behaviors (Turban et al., 2009), learning (Schmidt and Ford, 2003), and training transfer (Keith and Frese, 2005). Despite advances in understanding the positive consequences of metacognition, its predictors are - comparatively - neglected. Our objective is to redress the balance and examine individual difference predictors of metacognition, including two traditional (general mental ability (GMA), five-factor model (FFM) personality traits) ones, and a novel one, individual authenticity. In doing so, we aim for a better understanding of metacognition preconditions, which has theoretical and practical implications.\nHypotheses: Intelligence and FFM personality traits as predictors of metacognition\nMethods: Participants\nResults: Means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations among study variables are presented in Table I. All correlations are in the expected direction. We tested our hypotheses using multiple regression analysis to examine the extent to which the predictors were associated with the dependent construct -- metacognition. For H1, we regressed the dependent variable onto the two sets of predictors, GMA and the FFM personality traits (see Table II). Our results indicated that metacognition was not predicted by GMA (b=-0.04, ns), which failed to support H1a. Conversely, both conscientiousness (b=0.17, p\nDiscussion: Given that metacognition is useful in both work and academic settings, it is necessary to advance our understanding of its predictors. As our results indicate, intelligence, and metacognition are not significantly related; on the other hand, metacognition is positively predicted by trait conscientiousness and extraversion. Finding a non-significant relationship between GMA and metacognition is surprising, especially in the light of theoretical conceptualizations that intelligence and metacognition are interrelated (and sometimes close to equivalent, as in the \"intelligence model;\" Elshout and Veenman, 1992; Sternberg, 1990). Yet our results do not support this, being more aligned with \"independency\" (g and metacognition are independent; Allon et al., 1994) and \"mixed\" models (Stankov, 2000).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Metacognition - or learning how to learn - is an important competence in business and academic settings. The purpose of this paper is to examine individual difference predictors of metacognition, including two traditional (general mental ability (GMA), five-factor model (FFM) personality traits) ones, and a novel one, individual authenticity.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Volunteers (n=243) were asked to rate the extent to which they agreed with the respective statements on a seven-point Likert-type scale for GMA, FFM personality traits, and authenticity measures. Data were collected at different points in time to introduce psychological separation among the study measures.\nFindings: The authors found that while metacognition is not predicted by GMA, it is positively predicted by two of the five-factor model personality traits, conscientiousness, and extraversion. More importantly, the authors examined that individuals' authenticity - in the form of (low) self-alienation - will enhance metacognition, over-and-above the previously mentioned predictors.\nOriginality/value: The authors attempt to broaden the understanding of authenticity and its relationship with another important outcome construct, metacognition along with GMA and personality traits, in academic settings.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Escaping accountability: a case of Australia's asylum seeker policy
|
[
"Australia",
"Human rights",
"Policy networks",
"Asylum seekers",
"Accountability"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: This paper addresses two research questions:\n2. Theoretical orientation and method: In this section we outline the theoretical orientation and methods used within the paper.\n3. Evolution of Australia's offshore processing policy - the state and legitimacy: UMAs have been a continuing problem for Australian Governments because they have been regarded as evidence of incompetent border control and therefore a challenge to the political legitimacy of the government of the day. The Australian Government's response to UMAs can be viewed as an attempt to mediate both national and international legitimacy: national by seeming to reduce the number of arrivals and international by seeming to align with international treaties. We provide a summary of the political work that went into establishing the key capacity for delivering Australia's offshore current asylum seeker processing policy, through the political construction of \"regional processing countries\".\n4. Networks and spaces of governance: capacity, governance and intermediation: This section outlines the actors that constitute Australia's UMA policy. We are of course aware that there are many different actors in this network, for example the media and OECD national contact points, but we focus on those actors with whom the government directly engaged in establishing the policy.\n5. Assessing accountability - the case of health care: The above section outlines the immediate state, private sector and NGO actors in Australia's offshore processing policy. The network is formed using MOUs and contracts which specify the accountability obligations of the diverse actors in the network. In this section, we draw on the theoretical perspective outlined above to analyse the complex and contradictory relationship between legitimacy and accountability at play within the policy. We focus on two different logics for \"the giving and demanding of reasons for conduct\" (Roberts and Scapens, 1985) at play within the policy network. First, we study the actual performance reporting and accountability criteria in the government's contract with IHMS for the provision of health care services to transferees in Nauru and PNG. These reporting criteria serve a curious purpose. On the one hand they articulate a commitment to, \"accountable and transparent health care service to Transferees\". But drawing on the conditions in the camps we show that the accountability mechanisms do not satisfy Australia's obligations under international human rights law. Second, we study the discourse surrounding the public financial accountability of the policy and show how the need to show stewardship for public money establishes Australia's international human rights obligations (Mulgan, 2000).\n6. Conclusion: The Australian Government's offshore processing policy bears much of the hallmarks of contemporary approaches to governing. It is just one example of the complex networks of trans-state, corporate, NGO relationships that characterize international political economy.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address two questions: first, what contracts, instruments and accounting activities constitute Australia's offshore asylum seeker processing policy in practice? Second, how are notions of legitimacy and accountability mediated through the network constituted by this policy?\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper is located in the critical interpretivist approach to accounting research. It is based on an exhaustive documentary analysis. Policy documents, contract documents, records of parliamentary inquiries (Hansard) and legislation were analysed drawing on a network policy perspective.\nFindings: The paper finds that the Australian Government has sought to escape its accountability obligations by employing a range of approaches. The first of these approaches is the construction of a network involving foreign states, private corporations and non-government organizations. The second is through a watered down accountability regime and refusal to be accountable for the day-to-day life of asylum seekers in offshore processing centres through a play with the meaning of \"effective control\". Yet while the policy network seems designed to create accountability gaps, the requirement within the network to remain financially accountable undermines the governments claims not to be responsible for the conditions in the detention camps.\nResearch limitations/implications: The paper focuses largely on the period starting from when Kevin Rudd became Prime Minister to the death in Papua New Guinea of asylum seeker Reza Barati on 17 February 2014. Earlier periods are beyond the scope of this paper.\nPractical implications: The paper will result in the identification of deficiencies inhuman rights accountability for extra-territorialized and privatised immigration detention and may contribute towards the formulation of effective policy recommendations to overcome such deficiencies. The paper also provides empirical data on, and academic understanding of, immigration detention outsourcing and offshoring.\nSocial implications: The paper will inform debate regarding treatment of unauthorized maritime arrivals and asylum seekers generally.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides the first detailed and full understanding of the way Australia's offshore asylum seeker processing policy is practiced. The paper also provides an empirical analysis of the way national policy and its associated accountability mechanisms emerge in response to the competing legitimacy claims of the international community and national electorate.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A block-based inspection policy for a multi-component system subject to two failure modes with stochastic dependence
|
[
"Inspection",
"Maintenance policy"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Periodic inspection is one of the efficient maintenance policies that are carried out to check the condition of systems. Based on the probability of detection, we can characterize the failure modes of a system into two general types: hidden failure and revealed failure. The hidden failure is non-self-announcing because an occurrence of which does not stop the system from operating, and thereby, it can be detected just by inspection (Moubray, 1997; Nakagawa, 2003, 2006). On the contrary, the revealed failure is self-announcing; i.e., it reveals itself by stopping the system from working (Chelbi et al., 2008).\n2. Problem definition: The essential assumptions are listed as follows to describe the problem:\n3. Inspection model: 3.1 The expected total cost\n4. Numerical example: Let us consider a general infusion pump, which is used to accurately deliver liquids through intravenous or epidural routes for therapeutic and/or diagnostic purposes. The infusion pump is a complex medical device which has a variety of types which may experience different failure modes, see the case studies reported in Taghipour et al. (2011) and Wang (1992). Here, we assume that it is subject to hidden and two-stage revealed failure with stochastic dependence.\n5. Conclusion: This paper mainly focuses on the modeling of a black-based inspection policy for a multi-component system subject to hidden and two-stage revealed failures with stochastic dependence. Some components of the system have healthy state and hidden failure state, and the other ones have healthy, defective and revealed failure states. The hidden failure is non-self-announcing, i.e., it does not stop the system from working. Therefore, it is only identified by inspection, and the failed component is replaced. However, there is a downtime from the hidden failure of a component to its detection at inspection, which decreases the system's performance. The defective state can be detected just by inspection; however, if a faulty component left unattended, its defect changes to a revealed failure and generates a shock to all the other components, which increases their occurrence rate of defects, hidden and revealed failures by a certain percentage. The revealed failure is self-announcing, i.e., it reveals itself by stopping the system from operating. Minimal repair can fix the defective component; however, the failed component should be immediately replaced.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to model a block-based inspection policy for a multi-component system with stochastic dependence. Some components may develop a hidden failure, an occurrence of which neither stops the system nor accelerates the other components' deterioration. On the other hand, other components may experience three states: healthy, defective and revealed failures. Any revealed failure of each component not only stops the system but also generates a shock to all the other ones, which increases their occurrence rate of hidden, defect and revealed failures.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A block-based inspection policy is considered to take advantage of economic dependence as follows. In addition to the periodic inspections, the system is also inspected at revealed failures' moments of each component to detect and fix both defects and hidden failures on all the other components. To calculate the expected total cost, the recursive equations for the required expected values is first mathematically derived. Then, due to computational complexity, an efficient Monte Carlo simulation algorithm is designed to calculate the expected values.\nFindings: The proposed approach is illustrated through a numerical example, and the optimal periodic inspection interval over a finite time horizon is obtained via minimization of the expected total cost. Finally, the correctness of the results is validated by conducting sensitivity analysis.\nOriginality/value: Planning an appropriate inspection policy over a finite time horizon becomes more complicated when considering a multi-component system because different units may experience different failure modes with stochastic dependence.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Construction labor productivity convergence: a conditional frontier approach
|
[
"Australia",
"Modelling",
"Construction industry",
"Productivity capacity",
"Productivity rate",
"Economic theory"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Construction labor productivity is regarded as an effective indicator of the efficiency of the industry activities. Research into labor productivity is an area of interest to both economists and policy makers. The long-run trend of the growth in construction productivity at an industry level was explored, suggesting that exogenous technological progress and the existence of capital are the most important factors influencing construction labor productivity changes (Ofori, 1994). Allmon et al. (2000) presented an approach to studying long-term construction productivity trends in the USA; by analyzing a diverse collection of work, their research argued that construction labor productivity increased from 1970 to 1998. However, another study, which was mainly conducted based on data at the aggregate level, demonstrated that US construction productivity decreased over the same period (Teicholz et al., 2001). This controversial argument in relation to construction labor productivity trends was further explored by subsequent research that argued that one main difficulty with construction productivity research is the measurement of construction output, which does not exclude the inflation effects on the aggregate data (Goodrum and Haas, 2002; Rojas and Aramvareekul, 2003). Nevertheless, the majority of previous studies looked into national industry construction productivity as an aggregate, while the regional similarities or distinctions in the construction industry across the country have been ignored.\nMeasurement of labor productivity: Due to complex definitions of construction labor productivity, various models and arguments have been developed at different levels. A general and simple definition of labor productivity is as a ratio between an output and an input. Illustrations of the definitions of construction labor productivity vary from different perspectives of interest. Yi and Chan (2014) summarized three main measurements of construction labor productivity at activity, project and industry levels; the major differences between these measurements are the source of data, the level of aggregation, the definition of the production process and the completeness, as indicated in Figure 1. The input and output proxies used to reflect construction labor productivity vary from detailed physical quantities to general economic indicators, as the aggregation of interest moves from the micro-perspective to the macro-perspective.\nConditional frontier convergence hypotheses and models of labor productivity: Consider that construction production performs over an infinite discrete period. The production process is divided into an industrial process and an economic process. From the industrial process, in each period the output of construction is produced using certain amounts of capital and labor. In a closed economy where the economic level does not change, production occurs according to a constant return to scale. The inputs of capital (K) and labor (L) can produce an industrial yield (F[K, L]) via the industrial process, where F denotes a production function associated with K and L. This means that the amount of the output is dependent on the amount of the input, where output increases by that same proportional change in input. However, according to the previous discussion, the output of construction is also associated with the level of technological development over certain periods. Inputs can generate an average yield at a certain technology level (E) indirectly and a disturbance yield (D) directly. In this case, construction production occurs in accordance with variable returns to scale, rather than constant returns to scale.\nLabor productivity and capital-labor ratio in Australian states and territories: Although the gross value added, capital stock and average weekly hours worked are widely used as proxies for construction labor productivity calculations, these three series of data are released by the ABS at the national level annually. This means the data reflect neither the quarterly changes nor the differences across regions. On the other hand, the values of construction commenced and work done from the Building Activity Survey and Engineering Construction Survey reports record the approved values of the building and engineering construction projects commenced and completed during the corresponding quarter at a state level, while the number of employees from the Labour Force report reflects the quarterly number of people working in the construction industry across the Australian states and territories (ABS, 2014a, b, c). Although the completed projects are not the same projects commenced within a certain discrete quarter, the value of the completed projects can still be regarded as the output by using the capital input that is equivalent to the value of the commenced projects from a continuous perspective.\nConditional frontier convergence of construction labor productivity across Australia: Long-run equilibrium of construction labor productivity\nSimulations of Australian construction labor productivity: The equilibriums and dynamics of Australian regional labor productivity have been explored by the three types of convergence models, including the absolute model, semi-club model and club model. This research further applies these convergence models in order to simulate the productivity and to discover the regional clusters. Specifically, by using the three types of convergence models, Australian regional labor productivity is simulated for the period from the March quarter 2013 to the December quarter 2013, respectively. The simulation results for regional construction productivity are presented in Figure 4.\nConclusions: This research has adopted a conditional frontier convergence approach in order to investigate the long-run equilibrium and the dynamics of construction labor productivity. Using the technique of panel ECMs, three types of convergence hypotheses have been proposed and the associated models specified. The models have subsequently been applied to the data for the Australian construction industry. The long-run equilibrium and dynamics of construction labor productivity across the Australian states and territories have been revealed. The developed models have been further used to simulate regional construction productivity in order to discover the regional clusters for Australian construction labor productivity.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Understanding and simulating construction activities is a vital issue from a macro-perspective, since construction is an important contributor in economic development. Although the construction labor productivity frontier has attracted much research effort, the temporal and regional characteristics have not yet been explored. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the long-run equilibrium and dynamics within construction development under a conditional frontier context.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Analogous to the simplified production function, this research adopts the conditional frontier theory to investigate the convergence of construction labor productivity across regions and over time. Error correction models are implemented to identify the long-run equilibrium and dynamics of construction labor productivity against three types of convergence hypotheses, while a panel regression method is used to capture the regional heterogeneity. The developed models are applied to investigate and simulate the construction labor productivity in the Australian states and territories.\nFindings: The results suggest that construction labor productivity in Australia should converge to stable frontiers in a long-run perspective. The dynamics of the productivity are mainly caused by the technology utilization efficiency levels of the local construction industry, while the influences of changes in technology level and capital depending appear limited. Five regional clusters of the Australian construction labor productivity are suggested by the simulation results, including New South Wales; Australian Capital Territory; Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia; South Australia; and Tasmania and Victoria.\nOriginality/value: Three types of frontier of construction labor productivity is proposed. An econometric approach is developed to identify the convergence frontier of construction labor productivity across regions over time. The specified model can provides accurate predictions of the construction labor productivity.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Reform in the Indian real estate sector: an analysis
|
[
"Real estate",
"Real estate regulation",
"Real Estate Regulatory Authority",
"Union budget"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The real estate industry (REI) has become an attractive sector over the past few years, proving its value to investors around the world. Industry analysis by PWC, 2016, suggests that the emerging trend of REI in the USA and Canada placed it at the top of the commercial sectors for investment and development prospects. The trend in Europe points to an unyielding capital flow and bigger allocations to logistics during 2015-16. Logistics continue to be the most popular property type for investment prospects in Asia-Pacific as well. It is estimated that global investable REI will grow substantially (particularly in emerging economies), by more than 55 per cent in 2020 as compared to that in 2012.\n2. Objectives and methods: The objectives of the paper are to:\n3. Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016: The Act encompasses ten chapters with 92 sections explaining and dealing with basic definitions, registration of real estate projects and agents, functions/rights and duties of promoters and allottees, regulatory authority, central advisory council, appellate tribunal, offences and penalties, financial matters including audits and other related miscellaneous clauses. The salient features of the Act are discussed below.\n4. Shortcomings of the Act: The passage of this Act is a significant move in the effort to regulate the Indian RES. However, some are apprehensive that the Act will not be able to holistically monitor and address some fundamental issues associated with the industry. Some of these important issues are related to capital efficiency, the approval process and black money regulation[8].\n5. Economic impact: 5.1 Foreign direct investment policy and real estate\n6. Conclusion: The RES in India plays a pivotal role because of its immense multiplier effect on the economy. Its transformation began with several reform measures that provided budgetary support by the government to boost its ambitious, growth-oriented plans, such as \"Make in India\", \"Swachh Bharat\", \"Digital India\", \"Housing for All 2022\", \"Start Up and Stand Up India\" and \"100 Smart Cities\", which call for massive infrastructure development requiring an enormous investment, mainly FD inflow. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, became law on March 26, 2016, with the aim of providing consumer protection through a single-window mechanism, and of providing transparency, safety and confidence in the market to all stakeholders, focusing on developer/promoters, customers and real estate agents. The Act is aimed at promoting sustainable growth while maintaining competitive advantages and benefits gained from the high rate of infrastructure development. Stakeholders have high hopes. The impact of the Act can be seen in a recent case in which the Supreme Court of India, the apex court (Economic Times, July 2, 2016 and Times of India, September 16, 2016), decided that a group of home buyers who invested their hard-earned money to buy flats in a high-end residential project, could not be allowed to suffer because of the bad financial condition of the builder. The Court directed the builder, who delayed completion of the project, to refund the money to the buyers. However, only time will tell as to the Act's effectiveness in meeting current and future challenges in the Indian real estate sector.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to discuss the essential features, merits and drawbacks of the recently enacted Indian Real Estate Act, 2016, an economic reform measure pertaining to the real estate sector (RES). This paper analyses the impact of the Act and Union Budget 2016 on the inflow of foreign d irect investment (FDI) in India, and examines its ramifications on the world economy.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study is based on secondary data sources, including consumer forum reports, investigative reports from national agencies, court decisions, government websites, real estate companies and industry associations. A sample survey on the implications of the Act has been conducted using Facebook and and through personal interaction with various stakeholders.\nFindings: The Indian RES was unregulated prior to the passage of the Act, which has several provisions aimed at protecting the interest of consumers by tightening fraudulent practices of promoters/developers. Stakeholders are hopeful, but there is some apprehension. The government's budgetary and fiscal support for infrastructure development has had an impact on the FDI inflow.\nPractical implications: The Act is new, so there is not enough data to judge its real impact on the economy. However, it has started showing evidence of impact through a recent judgment by the Supreme Court of India punishing a promoter.\nOriginality/value: Regulating the Indian RES is a challenging task, but the new regulations are likely to provide confidence to foreign investors who may see India as a safety net for investment. This paper is timely and may help move things in this direction.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Responsibility, authority, and accountability in school-based and non-school-based management: Principals' coping strategies
|
[
"Principals",
"Accountability",
"Authority",
"Responsibility",
"School-based management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Neoliberal reforms over the past three decades emphasized globalization, while governance led to decentralization processes using a major reform policy - school-based management (SBM) - which Leithwood and Menzies (1998) defined as \"administrative control,\" whereby SBM gives principals, assisted by their school councils, authority over budgets, personnel, and curriculum. The aim of transferring the authorities to principals (Nir, 2009) was to boost principals' effectiveness, and the process was specifically designed to enable improvements (Caldwell, 2005; Murphy and Beck, 1995). Thus, the school is given power that includes decisions about curriculum and learning management; the recruitment and management of education personnel; and financial management of the school. As a result, the principals who on a daily basis are located in the schools and aware of all the school's economic, pedagogic, and social needs can lead processes which are appropriate for the school. Alongside other reforms, those processes increased the complexity of the principals' role. Their routine work became relentless, stressful, and involved wide-ranging activities (Dinham et al., 2011; Earley, 2013; Earley and Bubb, 2013; Earley et al., 2012). These principals' work characteristics intensified their sense of responsibility (Pont, 2014) toward different domains as well as various individuals and groups (e.g. teachers, parents, pupils, and stakeholders). Not only are principals perceived as responsible for the school's performance in many areas, they are expected to be accountable for in-school processes toward internal and external forces (Caldwell and Hayward, 1998). SBM principals often cope with increased demands for improved outcomes and measurable standards, accompanied by competition, consumer choice, efficiency, and performance (Anderson and Turnbull, 2016). Many countries faced challenges in implementing the SBM reform (for Australia, see Caldwell and Spinks, 1998; Bush and Gamage, 2001; for the UK, see Levacic and Glover, 1997; and for the USA, see Wohlstetter and Odden, 1992), and in designing the principal's role in the wake of the reform. In Israel, complexity in implementing SBM principles arises primarily from the lack of legislation and implemented reforms (Gibton, 2011), as well as opposition from officials in the Ministry of Education and the LEAs (Volansky, 2006). Authority spheres were thus never fully transferred. Against the backdrop of these change processes, the study focuses on how primary school principals in the Israeli education system perceive and cope with the gaps between authority and responsibility which they encounter in their work, and which derive from partially implemented processes, and how all these relate to SBM and accountability principles. Focusing on the principals' perceptions of their routine work may make a theoretical contribution to the existing literature on principals confronting decentralized processes, and the consequences of different degrees of reform implementation as reflected in their work.\nTheoretical framework: (De) centralized structures of schools\nMethods: Sample\nFindings: Principals' perceptions of responsibility and authority will be presented, followed by the gaps between the two, and finally the strategies which principals use when dealing with those gaps.\nDiscussion: The current study examined three main questions. The first question underlined the principals' perceptions of the spheres of responsibility and authority in their work. The principals perceived responsibility as an intrinsic component of their work (Lauermann and Karabenick, 2011). In the absence of clear authorities (Cohen et al., 2007; Nir and Bogler, 2012), it becomes a more comprehensive and central element in a principal's life and work. In addition, although authority is perceived as more external and therefore less available for control and for free choice, it seems that the responsibility becomes deeper and more dominant even when the authority given is wide - as in SBM schools. Still, very high levels of authority are necessary in order to overlap with responsibility. The characteristics of the principals' responsibility may be the key for understanding the difficulties in the process of accountability.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand how primary school principals in Israel cope with the gaps between authority and responsibility in their work, deriving from partially implemented decentralization processes, and how this relates to school-based management (SBM) and accountability principles.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using the qualitative method, 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with school principals from one district in Israel. Thematic analysis was used in order to identify themes in the interviews that enable creating codes for the characteristics of authority and responsibility and for the principals' strategies.\nFindings: Gaps were found between authority and responsibility, with particularly low levels of authority alongside high levels of responsibility. Coupled with the demand for accountability, those gaps led principals to adopt three strategies - active, partly active, and passive - to help reduce the tension resulting from them. The SBM definition has links to the specific strategy that principals used.\nOriginality/value: The results indicate the importance of clear definitions of authority and responsibility in principals' work. The current study deepens the understanding of the gaps between these concepts as key for understanding accountability at decentralized schools; tensions that principals cope with as a result of those gaps; and the strategies that enable principals to ease the tension for the benefit of all those involved in the principals' work.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Competences management for improving performance in health organizations: The Niguarda Hospital in Milan
|
[
"Performance management",
"Human resource management",
"Assessment",
"Healthcare organization",
"Clinical competence",
"Privileges"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Professionals, especially in health organizations, play a key role as specialists. In hospitals, as in all local health organizations, along with levels of technology and propensity to innovation and research, experience and behaviors of staff are a key aspect of quality of services. Health organizations thus need to adopt a model of value creation based on professional staff and competitive advantage based on competences (West et al., 2006; Fitzgerald et al., 2007). In this context, the evaluation, enhancement and development of competences are strategic objectives for the production of excellent and lasting results. As noted in literature (Scully et al., 2013), the following are thus the imperatives for a health organization:\nEvaluating competences: what and how: There is no single definition of competence in the literature (Boyatzis, 1982; Le Deist and Winterton, 2005; Spencer and Spencer, 2008). It is often a question of knowledge, judgement, capacity and experience in performing an activity or reaching an objective. Clinical competences thus belong to a physician who has the appropriate knowledge and judgement, etc. to make a correct diagnosis and prescribe suitable treatments (Burg and Lloyd, 1983). However, over and above the definition given in the literature, clinical competence is broader and more complex, not only a matter of academic or professional qualifications (Stern, 2006). On top of knowledge, technical skills and professional qualifications required, clinical competences also entail relational, organizational and operational qualities the individual specialist needs in his or her professional environment (Epstein and Hundert, 2002; Marvin, 2007; Kirk, 2007).\nNiguarda Hospital: a case study: Context\nThe survey: The questionnaire\nConclusions: Competences evaluation systems are grounded tools that management can use to oversee and enhance clinical governance. Our findings are that clinical leaders and top management accept them particularly because they facilitate team leadership and planning of activities.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and construction of a privilege mapping system (clinical and organizational competences) of the medical staff of the Niguarda Hospital in Milan, Italy. The second aim is to measure and assess the impact of implementing an evaluation process of clinical competences at the same hospital.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper retraces the development and implementation of the evaluation of the privilege system, highlighting the subjects involved, the phases and outputs. Moreover, a questionnaire was distributed to 50 heads of unit involved in the planning, building and implementation of competences mapping. Five areas were investigated: competences evaluation for professional development; the impact on work organization and professional roles; professional collaboration; its impact according to context (hospital or unit) and time scale (short or long term); and ability to evaluate clinical outcome.\nFindings: Results reveal success factors for the development and implementation of a privilege mapping system. Furthermore, the survey revealed that clinical leaders are aware of the importance of competences evaluation. In particular, they consider it as a management tool useful for professional development, for identifying excellence and planning operational activities.\nOriginality/value: Literature and practical evidence recognize the need to assess the clinical and organizational competences in order to assign tasks and responsibilities. However, there are no studies that describe the construction of systems of evaluation of privileges, as it has never been investigated as professionals perceive these tools.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Board governance of independent schools: A framework for investigation
|
[
"Schools",
"Governance",
"Leadership",
"Australia"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nBackground: In terms of governance, schools can generally be categorized into one of three categories. For example, in Australia, the largest is the public school sector, comprising state school systems, catering for approximately 67.5 per cent of all school children. Relatively smaller are the Catholic school systems, which cater for approximately 20 per cent of all school children. The third category comprises independent schools, which cater for 12.5 per cent of all school children (ABS: Schools in Australia, 2004). Their respective state or religious bureaucracies ultimately govern schools in the first two categories, whatever the extent of systemic decentralization or devolution of decision-making. Indeed, even if considerable power were devolved to a systemic school board, one could confidently predict bureaucratic intervention if the school board were perceived to be ineffective with negative consequences for the school or system.The majority of Australian independent schools are separately incorporated as \"not-for-profit\" companies limited by guarantee. These legal entities are public companies governed by a board of directors sometimes referred to as a school council. However, there are some independent schools such as the Seven Day Adventist schools, the Lutheran schools and a small number of Anglican schools that, at least for governance purposes, have a systemic structure. This structure comprises a central board of directors with management committees acting as school councils for individual schools. In most of these cases annual budgets and major capital expenditure plans are put forward by individual school management committees for approval by the company's board. In all other matters the management committee acts in the same way as a non-systemic school council or board. Hence, it may be argued that the boards of independent schools and school management committees play a particularly critical role. This is the focus of this article. It should be noted that whilst the above examples are in the Australian context, the analysis that follows should be relevant for all countries in which there are board governed independent schools.\nGovernance: In general terms, governing boards are common elements of many organizational structures, particularly in the corporate sector. Indeed, some writers have identified a growing interest in governing boards, generally, and argued there is evidence that effective governance contributes to strategic direction and organizational performance (Kroll et al., 1997).It is generally accepted that governance involves responsibility and accountability for the overall operation of an organization (Bohen, 1995). According to Wood (1996) it involves decisions and actions linked to defining an organization's mission, establishing its policies and control mechanisms, allocating power, determining decision-making processes and establishing organizational culture and structures that facilitate accomplishment of the organization's goals. In independent schools, as in other non-profit organizations, a School Board usually undertakes this role in concert with the Head. The Head and other senior executive staff of the school are usually responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of the School Board's policies. However, increasingly some school boards appear to have become involved in operational management through sub-committees (Bush and Gamage, 2001), suggesting that it may be more realistic to describe school governance as a shared organizational process of leadership and policy-making. Although the School Board ultimately is legally responsible and accountable, it must authorize the Head and senior executive staff to carry out top-level functions. Thus, governance is not only a board activity but also an interdependent partnership of leaders albeit, an unequal one because only the Board has ultimate authority and has the power to dismiss the Head (Gann, 1998). It follows that boards should not be regarded as closed, but rather, open systems (Scott, 1998).Governing boards as collective entities\nLeadership: Generally, it is accepted that leadership refers to the process of influencing individuals or a group in order to achieve a shared purpose (Chemers, 2001). Hoyt and Blascovich (2003, p. 678) have argued that, \"Leadership is an important element of groups, one necessary for directing behaviours of group members in pursuit of common goals\". However, traditionally, leadership research has been examined from the perspective of one leader working with a group of followers (Bass, 1985). In the case of school boards, leadership arises in a context different from that traditionally considered in the literature, in that leadership may not be constrained to one leader because all school board members have significant responsibility for leadership. In practice, this may mean that leadership may be performed singularly by the Board Chair and collectively by the School Board. Clearly, the group-based structure of a school board means that leadership is more complicated as leadership roles are shared and the lines of authority and decision making become blurred (Avolio et al., 1996).Research into teams, indicates that leadership can exert a disproportionate effect, positively or negatively, on group motivation, efficacy and performance (Hackman, 1990; Katzenbach, 1997; Kozlowski et al., 1996; Zaccaro et al., 2001). However, in the group context, it is likely that the effect of leadership on group effectiveness may be mediated by group processes such as collective cognition, collective efficacy and shared group goals. Nevertheless, evidence (Zaccaro and Klimoski, 2002; Zaccaro et al. 2001) seems to suggest that, whether leadership is performed by the School Board or the Board Chair, it is essential to understand how leadership contributes to school board effectiveness.Leadership in small groups\nA theoretical framework for future research: Currently, the research on school governing boards is severely limited by the paucity of empirical investigations. An important limitation is the failure \"to treat school boards as discrete units of analysis\" (Land, 2002, p. 28). Indeed, school boards are often analyzed and discussed only in terms of relationships with the school heads, without boards being considered in their own right (Land, 2002).There is clearly a need for rigorous, empirical investigations of independent school boards. It is also evident that a theoretical framework that will guide future research needs to be developed in order to increase understanding of school board effectiveness.Figure 1 shows a preliminary model based on the literature review above, that may be used to guide future studies. It is based on the governance, leadership and group processes literatures, and represents an initial step in the development of a coherent model to describe the relationships of the variables that may influence school board effectiveness. The purpose of the model is to propose relationships that can be tested empirically (Land, 2002). Figure 1 shows relationships between context and group processes and between group processes and school board effectiveness. Essentially, this model proposes that board group processes moderate the relationship between context and school board effectiveness.Figure 1 shows the theoretical framework at two levels. The first, macro level, identifies three distinct contexts that could be important for governance processes. The environment is that of the school organization. It is clearly beyond the scope of this paper to discuss details of a complex environment. For example, there is clearly a large number of government agencies that strongly influence independent schools, for example, in terms of funding and various forms of accreditation. Other important environmental elements, for example, could be competition from other schools or economic conditions. Some parents may be choosing between schools, when selecting a school for their child. Independent schools charging relatively high fees, may not attract or retain as many students during an economic downturn. Such circumstances would need to be accounted for in studying Board policy decisions. The school context, again is likely to be very complex, but the school's culture is likely to play an important role. For example, a board-initiated change could be contrary to established norms within the school and resisted by staff. In such circumstances, one may expect the relative power of the Board, Head and individual staff members to be very important. Board context could also involve issues of how the Board is constituted. For example, members whose main goal for the school is success on the sporting field could dominate a Board, or Board members could also sit on corporate boards and bring \"corporate\" attitudes to their roles on school boards. Of course these contexts are probably not independent of each other, but it is reasonable to differentiate them to assist conceptualization and facilitate the design of appropriate research methods.A school board is a group of people, and hence, group processes, identified earlier are likely to be important determinants of board effectiveness. Figure 1 shows a combination of leadership, collective cognition and group dynamics constructs that were argued earlier to be relevant for this theoretical framework. Of course this list is not exhaustive, but does provide a good basis for understanding boards as collections of individuals and as singular entities.Board effectiveness is unlikely to be meaningful without reference to context. However, constructs consistent with a goal model of organizational effectiveness (Hoy and Miskel, 2001) and the earlier literature review have been incorporated into the theoretical framework. In this sense, school board effectiveness is posited in terms of the extent to which the school's goals are achieved, and extent to which the Board's goals are achieved. Because of the emphasis on the environment, the activity of boundary spanning has been included in the model, acknowledging the institutional role played by boards (Hoy and Miskel, 2001). Boundary spanning consists of activities that link the school and its environment, and when effective involves management of the school's relationship with the environment. Again, this taxonomy is not exhaustive, but rather a starting point for empirical investigations.\nConclusions: Independent schools are named as such because they are not subsystems of education systems and not ultimately governed by educational bureaucracies. This special characteristic lends particular significance to their governance structures and processes. The institutional role of an independent school board is likely to be quite different, and considerably more significant than the role of a board of a systemic school.This paper has canvassed and integrated relevant school and corporate governance, leadership and group processes literature to argue for a theoretical framework that relates context, board processes and board effectiveness of independent schools. It may be argued that this approach may, in the end, be more promising than focusing only on a small number of important phenomena, such as the relationship between the Head and Board, to the exclusion of other variables. Although based in part on some normative proposals for board governance, this theoretical framework is not intended to be normative. Rather, it is intended to guide empirical investigations of governance of school boards of independent schools. Because of the innate complexity of each specific school environment and context, the framework is necessarily general in nature. It is anticipated that this framework will guide research into independent school boards that will enrich our understanding and lead to modification of the framework and the eventual development of a valid, empirically derived normative model that can provide guidance for governance practices in independent schools.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper develops a theoretical framework to guide future inquiry into board governance of independent schools.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The authors' approach is to integrate literatures related to corporate and educational boards, motivation, leadership and group processes that are appropriate for conceptualizing independent school board governance processes.\nFindings: - Shows that the institutional role of an independent school board is likely to be quite different, and considerably more significant than the role of a board of a systemic school.\nOriginality/value: - This paper develops an original theoretical framework that will provide a sound basis for investigation of an important but neglected aspect of educational administration in Australia.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Crowdsourcing to manage service gaps in service networks
|
[
"Industrial marketing",
"B2B marketing",
"Business networks",
"Crowdsourcing",
"Service networks",
"Service quality gaps"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: For industrial marketers, the delivery of services is becoming both more important and more complex. Today, service offerings are increasingly used as part of a strategy to respond to changing markets because they can offer firms alternate growth options (Kumar and Kumar, 2004; Kowalkowski et al., 2017). As a result, not only are firms re-orienting themselves to service strategies but also partnering with others to provide the required services to customers. In particular, firms are developing service networks to meet market needs that are beyond their own capabilities (Weigel and Hadwich, 2018). For business-to-business (B2B) firms that rely on services provided by partners in their network, the quality of the services is very important. That is, these firms rely on services, such as delivery, warranties and troubleshooting, to ensure their own performance (Kumar and Kumar, 2004; Morgan et al., 2007). Yet, managing quality across service networks is underrepresented in both the industrial marketing and services marketing literatures.\nService quality gaps in business networks: Business networks\nThe network as the crowd: Crowdsourcing\nAddressing gaps in service quality with crowdsourcing: As the preceding section reveals, crowdsourcing has already been used to create value in B2B contexts. One area that crowdsourcing has the potential to contribute to, but which research has not yet explored in detail, is how crowdsourcing can be used to address service gaps. Linking service networks, service quality gaps and crowdsourcing, is the central goal of this research. In what follows, we present a series of propositions on the potential effects of crowdsourcing activities to manage service quality gaps for service networks (Figure 2).\nManagerial considerations: The foundational concept of crowdsourcing is that the value of the knowledge of many outweighs that of a few (Surowiecki, 2005; Brabham, 2008; Edgeman et al., 2015a). This is a critical consideration when setting up a crowdsourcing activity using a business network. Members of a firm's network will likely know more about the specific industry and associated business issues than the average person. If the objective of the crowdsourcing activity is to have a high degree of diversity of thought, it may be better to use the general public to participate rather than the business network. However, for certain problems, expertise may be a prerequisite and defining a minimum level of expertise at the outset is likely to improve outcomes (Rosen, 2011). Although there is some risk to the diversity of outputs from the crowd when restricting it from an expertise perspective, firms have successfully tapped into their business networks for solutions they could not achieve on their own (Simula and Vuori, 2012).\nImplications and conclusions: The contribution of this paper is twofold - it further defines service quality gaps in service networks and proposes crowdsourcing as a means to address these service quality gaps. Literature was explored on business and service networks and the management of service quality and crowdsourcing in business networks. A model for the identification of service gaps in a network was presented. Propositions were offered for future research to better understand the effectiveness of crowdsourcing as a means to address service quality in networks. Managerial considerations for implementation were also offered. Service quality in service networks and crowdsourcing in business networks are both underexplored areas in the practitioner and academic literature. Thus, this paper aims to provide a starting place for the continued exploration of this area and offer a foundation for future understanding.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to illustrate and conceptualize how crowdsourcing can be implemented as a potential means to address gaps in service quality within service networks and to provide guidance to marketing practitioners on the use of crowdsourcing within service networks.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper conceptualizes how crowdsourcing can be used to address service quality gaps in service networks and provides propositions regarding the effects of crowdsourcing on service quality gaps.\nFindings: Conceptual paper with a literature review, suggested a model for service quality gaps in service networks and propositions regarding the effects of crowdsourcing to manage service quality gaps.\nResearch limitations/implications: This research contributes to the literature on crowdsourcing by theorizing how crowdsourcing impacts service quality in service networks.\nPractical implications: Considerations for managers implementing crowdsourcing strategies and activities within service networks are provided. In particular, implications with regard to forming the crowd, developing the most appropriate approach and integrating value into the firm are discussed.\nOriginality/value: This paper offers an original contribution linking crowdsourcing to service quality.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Factors affecting choice and image of ethnic restaurants in Serbia
|
[
"Service quality",
"Image",
"Price",
"Ethnic restaurants",
"Interior/exterior",
"Quality of food"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The increasing trend of eating out is becoming a mainstream way of life in most developed nations. With increasing pace of life, many individuals are turning to dining out in local establishments ranging from fast-food stalls to full-service restaurants. One report stated that by 2000 for every dollar spent on food in the USA, some 45 cents were spent on eating out, which was almost double the value compared to 1955 when only 25 cents were spent on out-of-home eating (Highbeam Business, 2013). The expansion of restaurants has certainly followed this trend. In addition, ethnic restaurants account for a considerable proportion of eating establishments in the contemporary restaurant market. The growth of Indian restaurants in the UK perfectly illustrates the growth in popularity of ethnic cuisine. In the 1960s, there were only 500 registered Indian restaurants; by 2011 this number had risen to over 9,400 - generating over PS3.5 billion in revenues annually (The Federation of Specialist Restaurants, 2013).\nLiterature overview: Quality of food\nMethodology: The conducted research had two basic goals. The first goal was related to identifying key factors that have an impact on the customer's choice of ethnic restaurants. In this context, we asked survey participants to evaluate the significance of the variables considered when they make a choice regarding ethnic restaurants. A total of 120 respondents, evaluated the importance of each factor in relation to other factors considered. The second goal of the research was to determine the factors that contribute toward improving the image of ethnic restaurants. For this purpose, a new group of 254 respondents was surveyed.\nResults: Study 1\nDiscussion and implications: The conducted studies had an objective to determine factors that influence choice, as well as identifying statistically significant triggers of perceived image for ethnic restaurants. The study contributes to the existing literature mainly through focussing exclusively on the ethnic restaurant sector. In comparison with regular, full-service restaurants, this sector possesses certain characteristics related to specific menu and traditional national cuisine, unique atmosphere and interior that are rich in cultural elements of a given society. Unlike regular full-service restaurants, the business strategy of ethnic restaurants is not based solely on food and service quality, but also on adorning the dining area with national and cultural artifacts that resemble a particular ethnic heritage. In addition, particular attention is given to restaurant staff, whose wardrobe usually has ethnic authenticity. In such context, ethnic restaurants are quite different from classic restaurants, allowing for the examination of elements that are the most important for building their public image.\nLimitations and directions for future research: The study that was conducted has several limitations. The research was completed in two phases - in the first phase the AHP model was employed, while in the second, the SEM model was used. However, the ranking of factors significant for choosing an ethnic restaurant was done by using the AHP model (data used in this case came from customers prior to visiting an ethnic restaurant), while the SEM model was used to identify statistically significant triggers of perceived image after a visit to an ethnic restaurant. In future studies it would be desirable that both models are used to determine antecedents of the same variable (e.g. positive image) and that both models are employed in the same time frame, which would allow for comparison of the results through both models. In addition, it is desirable that future models include additional, new variables. Given that interior is identified as adding to the uniqueness of the ethnic restaurant, it would be rather useful to identify specific sub-dimensions of the interior of the ethnic restaurant. A conceptualized research model could be used for comparison in future studies and not only for the ethnic restaurant market, but also on the regular full-service restaurants market. This methodology would make it possible to investigate whether there are significant differences in customer perceptions among various elements of service between the two restaurant groups.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: With the expansion of dining out, visiting ethnic restaurants is becoming one of dominant trends worldwide. Given the fact that ethnic restaurants involve a number of peculiar elements that are not present when visiting regular \"local\" restaurants, the purpose of this paper is to identify the key determinants of choosing a particular ethnic-themed restaurant, as well as factors that have an impact on an ethnic restaurant's perceived image.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Research was done by conducting two separate studies. The first study identified factors that were generally the most significant to respondents when making a choice of an ethnic restaurant in which to dine. For the second study, a new sample of respondents - consisting of those who had just visited such an establishment - was used in order to determine which factors have the most significant impact on creating an image of ethnic restaurants. The research was therefore directed toward those restaurants where the customers can experience a unique atmosphere and ambiance that are synonymous within a given culture.\nFindings: The results obtained from the first study show that quality of food and price are the two most significant factors that determine which restaurant will be visited. On the other hand, the interior and exterior ranked as the two least important factors. In addition, the second study revealed that following the visit, the strongest impact on the restaurant's image was its interior. Following interior, service quality surfaced as the most important antecedent of perceived image, while the impacts of price and exterior were weaker, but still statistically significant.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study itself was done in two stages. In the first stage the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) model was used for ranking factors significant for choosing an ethnic restaurant, while in the second stage, structural equation modeling (SEM) model was used to identify triggers of perceived image after a visit to an ethnic restaurant. Future research should utilize both models to determine antecedents of the variables used. Apart from this, it is recommended to employ new variables that further explore the uniqueness of the ethnic restaurants.\nOriginality/value: One of the main contributions of this work is related to combining of the AHP and SEM models, with the objective of completing a comparative results analysis, identifying in the process the positive aspects of both models and building a foundation for their coordination in terms of future use. This is significant, given that only a few prior studies have used such synergy.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Scaling the notion of Islamic spirituality in the workplace
|
[
"Workplace",
"Spirituality",
"Islam",
"Indonesia"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Recently, researchers have sought to understand why employees' workplace behavior has increased levels of deviant behavior such as theft, vandalism, fraud, and sabotage. This has sparked them to explore the area of spirituality in the workplace (Kamil, Al-Kahtani and Sulaiman, 2011; Sulaiman and Bhatti, 2013). Recent research has indicated that workplace spirituality is attracting more followers (Ahmadi et al., 2014). Its existence is becoming an important issue because it affects organizations' overall sustainability and economic development (Kamil, Sulaiman, Osman-Gani and Ahmad, 2011). Employees are longing for a more humanistic work environment, increased simplicity, more meaning, and a connection to something higher (Kazmi, 2004; Marques et al., 2005; Roof, 2015).\nLiterature: Spirituality: an overview\nMethods: Sample\nFindings: Stage 1: item generation\nDiscussion: The result of this study is useful for the future development of modern organizations as employers take into consideration the importance of spirituality in the workplace. Spiritual transformation does not only work at the individual level but also at the institutional/ corporate level (Roundy, 2009). Before the twenty-first century in which an exponential interest in spirituality started, business institutions tended to ignore transpersonal values. Every employee is becoming aware of the importance of bringing religious values into the workplace, which is becoming a vital discussion point at work (Kazmi, 2004; Marques et al., 2005). Companies now measure potential employees' spirituality in Islamic-based institutions during the recruitment and selection process. Nonetheless, defining and measuring spirituality is a challenging task for scholars (Adawiyah et al., 2009) because spirituality is \"intangible\" in nature. The Qur'an indicates that the spirit is a difficult matter to understand:They ask thee concerning the Spirit; say: \"The Spirit is of the Command of my Lord.\" Of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you (O men!)(Qur'an-17: 85).\nConclusion and implication: After conducting the procedures of the study, the authors reduced the 20-item scale that they originally proposed as a result of focus group discussions to 13 items after the validation process. The results of the study enrich human resources development literature, especially in the area of workplace spirituality, by empirically assessing the dimensionality of Islamic workplace spirituality constructs in an Indonesian context. Islamic-based human resource managers can use the instrument to measure their employees' workplace spirituality. The recruitment and selection process in these particular organizations involves the element of spirituality as an employment prerequisite in an Islamic-based institution. Scholars and professionals may use the research findings to justify their efforts in designing, developing, and implementing appropriate learning and performance improvement interventions, so that Islamic spirituality can increase continuously among Muslim employees.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Exponential growth in interest of workplace spirituality has led to the development of numerous theories based on various religious faiths. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the underlying dimensions of workplace spirituality in Islam by developing a scale to measure it and to present a subset of knowledge on workplace spirituality from both western and Islamic perspectives.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors collected data from 223 employees working at Islamic-based institutions in Indonesia. They tested the validity and reliability of the proposed indicators of Islamic workplace spirituality using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis.\nFindings: This study enhances the literature in the field of human resources development, especially in the area of workplace spirituality, by empirically assessing the extent of spirituality in the Islamic workplace. The findings revealed 13 indicators that define Islamic workplace spirituality in the Indonesian business organizational context.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study was limited to Indonesia. In order to apply the 13 indicators in a broader, more global context, researchers need to conduct similar studies on a number of institutions worldwide.\nPractical implications: Scholars and professionals may use the research findings to justify their efforts in designing, developing, and implementing appropriate learning and performance improvement interventions, so that Islamic spirituality can increase continuously among employees.\nSocial implications: This study provides guidelines to the human resources managers of Islamic-based institution to assess the degree of spirituality of each job applicants during job selection.\nOriginality/value: This study is one of the first attempts to examine and measure Islamic spirituality in the workplace, not only in Indonesia, but also worldwide. The 13 indicators, drawn from religious psychology, provide a new scale to measure spirituality.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
From an "idea generator" to a "solution facilitator": A study of the changing roles of advertising professionals in the social media marketing era
|
[
"Change management",
"Role identity",
"Social media marketing",
"Organization studies",
"Advertising professional"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The emergence of social media marketing has brought tremendous changes in consumption patterns and consumer culture, and the use of social media becomes dominant in the marketplace. Based on this assumption, consumers are potentially playing a leading role in all kind of social and marketing activities (e.g. Acar and Puntoni, 2016; Scheinbaum, 2016). Advertising professionals are no longer dominating the advertising media and message distributions as in the past. As Schultz (2016) states, it is going to be a reversal of buyer and seller roles in future advertising practices. Consumers influence other consumers over the social media, discussing brand choices and making decisions. This is why some pioneer advertising professionals and brand managers have made use of this powerful channel to promote their brands.\nWhy studying advertising professionals' roles? Does it matter?: Biddle (1979) suggested that \"role theory\" is the major construct for integrating the studies of role and human behavior in social science studies. There are two sociological perspectives on studying one's roles: the structural-functionalist; and the symbolic interactionist (e.g. Blumer, 1969). Structuralists define roles as \"sets of behavioral expectations associated with given positions in the social structure\" (Ebaugh, 1988, p. 18), and view roles as a function for the social system within which they are embedded (Parsons, 1951). Some role theorists (e.g. Nicholson and West, 1988) have used the term \"role\" to mean shared expectations held by the role set; some to designate patterned predictable behaviors; and some to refer to social or occupational positions held. Nevertheless, researchers (e.g. Pratt et al., 2006) generally believe that employees' perceived role identities could influence how they act and interpret their work situations. Thus, the roles help professionals to formalize tasks and capture services by negotiating a personal space (Ashforth, 2001). Negotiation plays a very crucial part in role identification, particularly in the advertising industry, where employees (particularly advertising professionals) are the core assets of the organizations (Nixon and Crewe, 2004).\nThe identity construction in creative organization: It is important to understand how employees construct their identity in relation to their working environment. Employees working in an organization engage in identity construction; they are trying to achieve a strong and coherent self-concept in relation to their work tasks and social relations (Alvesson, 2000). A strong employee's role identity is central to the development of an individual's sense of self, and creates a strong commitment to protect his/her identity, and motivates role performance (Burke, 1991). This concept is particularly important in studying innovative organizations like advertising agency. It is because, employees' creativity is affected strongly by intrinsic motivation, and a strong role identity is an important driver for creative performance (Amabile, 1998). Research in organizational studies contributes to understand the relationships between organizational and self-identities of employees, not least in creative industries. Several researchers (e.g. Drazin and Schoonhoven, 1996; Petkus, 1996; Ford, 1996) found a strong relationship between role identity and organizational creativity in the workplace. Creative employees usually have strong self-images linked to their creative work (Barron and Harrington, 1981). Furthermore, employees with strong creative role identities are expected by their peers to be more creative at work (e.g. Barron and Harrington, 1981; Pratt, 1990; Fisher, 1997), and employees are more likely to define themselves as \"creative\" if their co-workers expect them to be so (Farmer et al., 2003). Likewise, Amabile (1996) suggested that the organizational environment should promote the value of creativity in work performance. In fact, more and more senior managers have realized the importance of encouraging their employees to be creative in tackling unpredictable technological changes in an increasingly competitive marketplace (Shalley and Gilson, 2004). Some studies (e.g. Madjar et al., 2002; Zhou and George, 2001) have shown that employees' creativity within the workplace is developed through mutual support, open communication, encouragement and informational feedback. Openness and accessibility are intrinsic values of social media (Saunders, 2010), which suggests that its growing popularity has the potential to increase employee's creativity. Given the focus of this study on advertising professionals, who are acknowledged as crucial employees within their knowledge-intensive industry (Malefyt and Moeran, 2003).\nThe construction of professional identity is a key to successful organizations: Professionalism is a term used in researching occupational change, particularly the process of development in professions (Evetts, 2005). Evetts (2005) defined it as \"the process to pursue, develop and maintain the closure of the occupational group.\" This seems to be an ultimate goal for forming an occupational group. This assumption explains why it is essential to stay together within a professional community. Professional identity is one of the core areas for understanding changes in professionalism. Professional identity is also commonly described as the distinct role of a professional, and this identity affects a professional's behaviors and self-concept (Empson, 2004). Although the traditional concepts of professional identity have been discussed substantially within the area of sociology (e.g. Abbott, 1992), they have been challenged by social change. Cooper et al. (1996) gave a clear explanation of this:The attributes which sociologists of the professions used to identify as the hallmarks of a professional, such as education, vocation, esoteric knowledge, self-regulation, and civility, have been replaced, or at least augmented, by an interpretation that stresses punctuality, style, dynamism, financial success and entrepreneurialism(p. 631).\nThe role change and the change of an organization: According to Schein (1978), work identity and professional identity are comparatively stable relative to other identities, because people can define their professional roles easily in terms of work attributes, values, motives and experiences. Nonetheless, the fast pace of change in contemporary society has created competitive pressure on industries and has made it a matter of urgency for organizations to develop new products and services. This means that organizations have to look continuously at their own roles as well as those of their employees. Facing a constantly changing environment, traditional assumptions about the stability of jobs and careers have become obsolete in many occupations (Arthur and Rousseau, 1996), with the advertising industry no exception. When change is the norm and stable equilibrium the exception (Nicholson, 1987), people are always in a state of \"becoming,\" as they move between and through different roles, identities and relationships (Ashforth, 2001). In other words, a work environment and the careers within it are always changing, requiring individuals to adapt constantly to new roles and responsibilities (Ilgen, 1994). More generally, there has been a shift from industrial-based to knowledge-based work in contemporary society. Individuals are required to engage in continuous learning and the mastery of new and diverse experiences (Arthur and Rousseau, 1996). Moreover, work identification has come to be based more on individual rather than organizational role identity. Individuals are expected to be proactive in seeking opportunities for career development, moving across functional, organizational and even national boundaries (Ashforth, 2001). Individual initiative, networking and learning are therefore increasingly important for career development and work identification (Arthur and Rousseau, 1996), in the advertising industry as much as elsewhere (Gilmore et al., 2011). Moreover, it is preferable for organizations to have employees who are more flexible rather than attached to rigid roles (Zaleznik, 1989); the \"protean career\" (Hall and Mirvis, 1996) is driven by the individual rather than by the organization (Hall, 1976). Hence, understanding role from an individual perspective is crucial in order to understand how organizations work. It seems that an employee's role may no longer be defined primarily by organizational or social expectations; it is indeed a subjective standard (Ashforth, 2001). This echoes a symbolic interactionists' stance whereby roles are negotiated as part of understandings between individuals.\nResearch methodology: The key research question of this study is as follows:\nAnalysis and discussion: Based on the result of the empirical research, a key change identified is that advertising professionals generally face divergent role identities that are distinctly \"traditional\" and \"digital\" in responding to the rise of social media marketing, in which these identities evolve in relation to their working organizations, workgroups and relational identification. According to the interviews, the interviewee DH/CD2, creative director of a multinational digital agency, characterized himself and his \"team\" as \"digital professionals\" and other colleagues as \"traditional professionals,\" even while he identified commonalities across the two categories:DH/CD2: \"[...] My work as an advertising creative is probably the same no matter whether I work in traditional or digital teams. We work in advertising and it is all about communication. Even though my team and I work more on digital platforms as digital professionals, the process that we go through or the thinking method of the traditional professionals in other teams is the same. The major difference is that we may use different channels or media to reach our target audience.\"\nConclusion and implications: This study also argues that an important new element of advertising professionals' role is a \"facilitating role\" instead of that of a \"hired hand\" for clients. The advertising professionals in this study expressed their dissatisfaction at being treated like \"hired hands,\" implementing or executing creative ideas rather than originating creative marketing strategies in traditional or digital media. This is because many ideas are constrained by fixed marketing strategies and plans that the advertising professionals have to follow. However, they see their role as changing from an executional level to a strategic level in the social media marketing. They contribute ideas on marketing and advertising strategy, going beyond advertising production ideas. Referring to the theory of identity construction proposed by Alvesson and Willmott (2002), an individual's identity is improvised by a period of construction, re-forming, maintenance, strengthening and revision. The advertising professionals indicate that they are beginning to transcend the traditional creative role, constructing and negotiating a new, more diverse role in relation to the different stakeholders involved. Advertising professionals are changing the nature of their work, from concentrating on creative idea generation to the facilitation of social media marketing campaigns. Moreover, as consumers become empowered through using social media platforms, the advertising professionals are responsible for new ways of bridging advertising communication and consumer culture (Thompson and Haytko, 1997). This study found that, with the rapid development of social media marketing and empowerment of consumers, the advertising professionals expand their role sets and include a wider range of stakeholders in the marketing and advertising process. These include digital experts, interactive designers, programmers and animators, which they referred to as the \"tech team.\" They also described consumers as playing a more active role in brand activities. The advertising professionals facilitate the marketing and advertising process by providing their clients with knowledge and solutions regarding formulation of strategy, technology applications and tactics for consumer engagement, in order to achieve the social media marketing goals. This implies that the role of advertising practitioner is changing from a traditional \"idea generator\" to a \"solution facilitator\" toward in response to the rise of social media marketing.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The rise of social media marketing has brought significant implications for advertising industry and its organizations. The traditional role of advertising professionals had been changing from a clear identity to an unclear one. However, previous research has studied relatively little about advertising professionals' roles and identities or how they may be changing in the social media marketing era. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A qualitative, interpretive approach was taken in this study. It involved 32 in-depth interviews with advertising professionals in advertising organizations differing in size, digital focus and ownership in different multinational full-service advertising organizations and digital organizations.\nFindings: The findings indicated that the role of advertising professionals is innovating from a traditional \"idea generator\" to a \"solution facilitator\" in response to the social media marketing.\nOriginality/value: This study identified the key experiences of advertising professionals that they were found to have divergent role identities linked to their identification with traditional and digital organizations.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The influence of corporate social performance on employer attractiveness in the transport and logistics industry: Insights from German junior talent
|
[
"Logistics",
"Human resources",
"Talent",
"Transport",
"Corporate social performance",
"Employer attractiveness",
"Job seekers"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In aging societies, such as western Europe or Japan, talented and highly educated employees are becoming scarce (Beechler and Woodward, 2009). Human capital is becoming more important as a critical success factor. At the same time, current and prospective employees are gaining power (Mitchell et al., 1997); that is, the labor market is turning into an employees' market. Accordingly, the job market in the European transportation and logistics industry increasingly has a scarcity of well-educated junior talent (PwC, 2012). Given the competitive importance of employees' professional knowledge, creativity, and capabilities for a logistics company's market success (Esper et al., 2007), companies in the transportation and logistics industry compete for promising, qualified talent. In the prevailing \"war for talent,\" employer attractiveness is becoming more important to win and retain the most talented staff (Backhaus et al., 2002).\nConceptual background: CSR reporting\nDevelopment of research hypotheses: Organization attractiveness toward job seekers\nMethod: Design, participants, and procedure\nResults: To answer H1, which states that job seekers acquire job-offer information exhaustively, including employers' CSP, we performed three analyses with the process-tracing data[4]. First we examined if participants acquired all information at least once. Second, we looked at participants' information-acquisition strategies, which were determined by the completeness and direction of information searching. Finally, we showed how often participants acquired individual pieces of information.\nDiscussion and conclusion: By showing that the vast majority of participants acquired CSP information in the pre-decisional phase of the judgment, we found that CSP information was important to job seekers. Our results thereby support the signaling function of CSR information to job seekers, as proposed by signaling theory. However, the gross salary is the attribute with the highest attention and may therefore be considered as the dominant decision criterion or driver of the attractiveness of an organization. In seven out of nine decision scenarios, the offer with the highest gross salary beat or equaled the competing offer. The trade-off of CSP and monetary motives depended on how CSP information was presented. We found that performance indicators that supported CSP comparability shifted preferences toward companies with a high CSP. Furthermore, we consistently found that the attractiveness of companies that only partly disclosed CSP information, deteriorated. Our research enriches existing studies of voluntary disclosure, which argue that voluntarily disclosing CSR information can be a tool for impression management (e.g. Hooghiemstra, 2000; Cho et al., 2010). Our findings are also in line with social identity theory, which points out the relevance of employers' reputation for job seekers. Our study is the first to focus on the impact of voluntary CSP reporting in the context of job attractiveness for logistics companies.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Job markets in the transport and logistics industry are characterized by a scarcity of well-educated junior talent. Employer attractiveness is becoming more important in order to win the most talented junior staff. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how corporate social performance (CSP) profiles of logistics companies influence their attractiveness for job seekers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In a computerized laboratory experiment, the authors provided 95 students in their final year with job offer data that include general and CSP information about the company, and the job seeker's potential salary. The authors manipulated how the CSP information was presented and monitored the information accessed during job seekers' decision-making processes. The authors investigated how information presentation affected choices.\nFindings: The vast majority of talent acquires CSP information in the pre-decision phase of the judgment, compares this information across companies, and trades off this information with the conditions of employment. The authors find that the ease of comparability of corporate social responsibility (CSR) information, expressed by meaningful indicators of CSP, increased preference for high CSP.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study enriches existing studies of voluntary disclosure, which argue that voluntary disclosing sustainability-related information can be a tool of impression management.\nPractical implications: Companies with a compelling CSP should push for a broadly accepted methodology to benchmark CSP within industry-specific sectors, such as logistics services.\nSocial implications: Potential employees demand that companies should consider their social impact on individuals and society as a whole. To remain attractive for employees companies in transport and logistics industry have to cope with a broader scope of expectations.\nOriginality/value: The authors provide the first analysis on the relevance of CSP information for employer attractiveness in the transport and logistics industry. This research provides insights into the relevance of CSP criteria, information provision, and comparability processes from the perspective of young job seekers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The antecedents of salespeople's relational behaviors
|
[
"Relationship marketing",
"Business‐to‐business marketing",
"Salespeople",
"Relational behaviours",
"Singapore",
"China",
"Sales force",
"Behaviour"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Empirical research has demonstrated a link between salespeople's characteristics and customer relationships. Those characteristics include familiarity (Brown, 1995), expertise (Brown and Swartz, 1989), customization (Smith and Smith, 1997), similarity (Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Bendapudi and Berry, 1997), empathy (Pilling and Eroglu, 1994), likability (Jones et al., 1998), and power within the organization (Moorman et al., 1993). Moreover, the notion that customer relationships can become friendships is not new to marketing research (Brown, 1950). Several studies in marketing have specifically examined the combination of friendships and business, and many suggest that the effects are generally positive (Grayson, 2007; Beatty et al., 1996; Frenzen and Davis, 1990; Haytko, 2004; Johnson and Selnes, 2004). Within some of the same literature (Grayson, 2007; Beatty et al., 1996; Haytko, 2004), together with others, have noted that combining friendship and business imposes a clear instrumental goal and could therefore create potential conflicts (Heide and Wathne, 2006; Krugman, 1958; Price et al., 1995).Despite the research interest, several important issues remain unaddressed. In particular, it is unclear why salespeople cultivate relationships with their customers. Drawing on social exchange theory and interpersonal relationships studies, this article presented the conceptual argument on three factors: perceived consequences, affect-based judgement, and individual's relationship orientations influence salespeople's relational behaviors. Research hypotheses were then tested using a sample of 224 salespeople from business-to-business industries in China. All hypotheses were supported. The findings showed that salespeople's perceived reciprocity from the customer, a liking for the customer and relationship orientations were driving factors of relational behaviors. That is, communal orientation, perceived reciprocity from the customer, and a liking for the customer positively affected relational behaviors, whist exchange orientation had a negative impact on those behaviors.The most striking factor of this paper was the finding of communal orientation as a primary driver for cultivating relationship with customers as the concept of customer relationships has usually been viewed as exchange-oriented. This paper also demonstrated that both affect-based (e.g. a liking for the customer) and cognition-based (e.g. perceived reciprocity from the customer) factors drive relational behaviors. The findings confirmed that customer relationships, especially those at the individual levels are driven by a combination of social and economic considerations. Interestingly, the result indicated that individuals' exchange orientation has a negative impact on relational behaviors. This is particularly important for marketing practice and management thinking as short-term based incentives may discourage salespeople from developing long-term relationships with customers.This paper is organized as follows. First, we review the literature on relationship marketing focusing on social exchange theory and interpersonal relationship studies. Next, theoretical justification and hypotheses development are provided. The methodology design, data analysis and results are also presented. This paper ends with a discussion of contributions and limitations of the present study and, accordingly, directions of future research are highlighted.\n2. Literature review: In general, customers may form a relationship with an individual employee in the selling organization and/or with the selling organization as a whole. Firm-level relationships usually start with first contacts between individual employees from two organizations, and business is supposed to be developed from their interactions (Ford et al., 2003). Experimental research shows that when people evaluate another individual, they make stronger, quicker, and more confident judgments than when they evaluate a group; those judgments are also more strongly related to outcomes and behaviors (Hamilton and Sherman, 1996). Accordingly, customers' judgments based on the relational characteristics of an individual employee will be stronger, more confident, and more strongly linked to outcomes than their judgments based on the relational characteristics of a selling firm (Plalmatier et al., 2007). A close salespeople-customer relationship has been argued as having both beneficial and detrimental effects (Haytko, 2004). For example, many firms discourage staff from developing strong customer relationships for the fear that customers might divert their loyalty to the salesperson (Plalmatier et al., 2007), and the salesperson can \"kidnap\" the customer (Bendapudi and Leone, 2002) when they switch to other jobs. Nevertheless, Plalmatier et al. (2007) find that customers' loyalty to the salesperson directly contributes to the more tangible seller financial outcomes of sales growth and selling effectiveness, whereas both salesperson-owned loyalty and loyalty to the selling firm increase the customer's willingness to pay a price premium. As such, the positive effect of relational mediators on outcomes will be greater when the relational mediator is targeted toward an individual member of the selling organization than when it is targeted towards the organization itself.However, the marketing literature does not have a lot to say about customer relationships at the individual level, other than statements such as \"personal relationships and reputations between boundary-spanning members play an important role in facilitating and enhancing inter-organizational exchange\" (Weitz and Jap, 1995, p. 316). Weitz and Bradford (1999) improved on this with a relationship marketing perspective. They assumed that salespeople, same as the firm, manage a portfolio of relationships ranging from transactional, long-term relationships to alliances, and the relationship type is determined by the level of dependence on the customer (Weitz and Bradford, 1999). Even this improved approach has a tendency to confuse interpersonal salesperson-customer relationships with impersonal firm-level customer relationships.Hence in this literature review, we attempt to offer a holistic view of the salespeople- customer relationships, the marketing exchange perspective as well as the human relationship perspective.2.1 The social exchange framework\n3. Hypotheses development: In the social exchange tradition, the approach of expectancy theory studying salespeople's motivations is particularly influential. The principle of expectancy theory is that: rewards should be closely tied with behavior, rewards administration should be frequent and consistent, and people are motivated by outcomes (expected or past) (Mitchell, 1982). Expectancy theory is dominating the sales force motivation literature since 1980s (Teas and McElroy, 1986), and expectancy (or instrumentality) model has been considered an effective framework for studying sales force motivation. According to expectancy theory, the motivational process is described as a circle: the motivational level of salespeople influences the effort or behavior, which leads to some level of achievement on one or more dimensions of job performance (outcome), and the performance is rewarded, then the rewards lead to motivation which again influence behavior (Krafft, 1999).Therefore, we propose that,H1. Salespeople's perceived reciprocity from the customer will positively affect their relational behaviors.Nevertheless, this approach overlooks the significance of affect-based judgment. Zajonc (1980) has made a strong case for the primacy of affect in the formation of certain preferences. For affect-based attitudes, affective reactions are primary and powerful influence on the individual. The attitude is initially acquired with minimal cognitive appraisal. Relevant information that is acquired subsequent to these affective reactions may serve to confirm or bolster the initial attitude. Eventually, the individual's attitude will be supported both by strongly felt emotions and by an arsenal of facts and beliefs about the issue. The cognitive structuring that takes place is likely to be in service of the affect and does not constitute the basis of the attitude (see Zanna and Rempel, 1988). One possibility is that attitudes with affective origins may be relatively impervious to influence attempts that rely on rational argumentation and might be more responsive to persuasive appeals that tap their affective bases (Zajonc, 1980), e.g. emotional arguments are more effective when they come from attractive people. Zajonc thus suggests affective reactions can occur without extensive perceptual and cognitive encoding, and can be made sooner and with greater confidence than cognitive judgments (Zajonc, 1980).Therefore, we propose that,H2. Salespeople's liking for the customer will positively affect their relational behaviors.Moreover, Clark and Mills (1979) make a fundamental distinction between two forms of relationships orientation: exchange and communal. When benefiting one another, individuals with exchange orientation have a specific expectation of receiving comparable benefits in return. Contrastingly, those with communal orientations give benefits to others to demonstrate a concern for them and to attend to their needs. For example, in exchange relationships, people are concerned with equity and keep track of who is contributing what to the relationship. In communal relationships, people are concerned less with who gets what and more concerned with how much help the other person needs. Clark and Mills propose that individuals with communal orientation tend to foster relationships whilst those with exchange orientation are more interested in the instant benefits, which they can obtain from others.Therefore, we propose that salespeople's relationship orientations will affect their relational behaviors.H3. Salespeople with communal orientations are more likely developing relationships with customers.H4. Salespeople with exchange orientations are less likely developing relationships with customers.\n4. Research method: 4.1 Design of measures\n5. Results: 5.1 Assessment of measures\n6. Discussion, implications, limitations and directions for future research: With data collected from a sample of 224 salespeople who had business dealings with business customers from various industries in China, four hypotheses have been supported by the results of statistical tests of 200 cases. Overall, salespeople's communal orientation, perceived reciprocity, and a liking for the customer were positively related to salespeople's relational behaviors whereas exchange orientation had a negative impact. The regression model results presented a good fit for the proposed relationships among these variables based on the theoretical framework. The findings provided strong support for the importance of cognitive (e.g. perceived reciprocity), affective (e.g. a liking for the customer) factors and relationship orientations (e.g. communal orientation) as drivers of salespeople's relational behaviors. Taken together, these results suggested that, first, increasing levels of salespeople's communal orientation, perceived reciprocity, and a liking for the customer had driven salespeople to cultivate relationships with their customers. Second, salespeople's exchange orientation tended to discourage them from relationship building.6.1 Theoretical implications\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to examine the driving factors of salespeople's relational behaviors in the business to business marketing context.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The hypotheses were tested through a quantitative study via an online survey. Data were collected from 224 salespeople dealing with business customers in manufacturing as well as service industries in China.\nFindings: - The results showed that perceived consequences, affect-based judgment and salespeople's communal or exchange orientation influenced their relational behaviors. In particular, communal orientation, perceived reciprocity from the customer, and a liking for the customer positively affected relational behaviors, whilst exchange orientation had a negative impact on those behaviors.\nOriginality/value: - This paper provides a framework of the antecedents to salespeople's relational behaviors in the business to business marketing context, filling in the gaps found in previous research by studying the driving factors, not the outcomes, of individual salespeople's relational behaviors.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Exploring the ambiguity: what faculty leaders really think of sustainability in higher education
|
[
"Sustainable development",
"Higher education",
"Universities",
"Academic staff",
"Educational personnel",
"Faculty",
"Canada"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: The increased awareness of environmental degradation and environmental problems threatening human and ecosystem health has resulted in pleas from the international community to adopt the principles of sustainable development. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio 1992, was one of the first formal political endorsements of sustainable development by the political leadership of the world, and aimed to promote sustainable development through global cooperation, and gained awareness to environmental issues and the pursuit of a sustainable future. This conference, among others, has set a framework for sustainability and its implications (Waas et al., 2011). Sustainability has been incorporated into legal documents, international policies and national strategies and claims action-guided power (Christen and Schmidt, 2012). Sustainable development requires cooperation on all scales, by all stakeholders, and education is viewed as one area that can act as a powerful instrument of change. Education is becoming so increasingly important that the United Nations declared 2005-2014 the decade of education for sustainable development (ESD) (UNEP, 1992). ESD aims to create sustainable societies through empowered responsible citizens. ESD prepares people to deal with the complexities of environmental, societal and economical systems in order to find solutions to the problems threatening the sustainability of the planet (UNESCO, 2007).Universities have been recognized as key institutions that can contribute to a better understanding of complex environmental and social issues, as well as create sustainable solutions for the future (Wright, 2007). Further, many scholars claim that universities have a moral obligation to be leaders in sustainability as their role in society is to educate future decision makers (Orr, 1992; Clugston and Caldar, 1999).Sustainability in higher education (SHE) is an emerging field that has gained credibility and has increased in output following the Ubuntu Declaration of 2002 which calls for the mainstreaming of sustainable development into curricula at every level of education (Ubuntu Declaration, 2002). Yet SHE scholars have recognized a gap in the literature concerning the understanding of sustainable development and sustainability held by major university stakeholders and differing opinions on the role of the university can play in building a sustainable future (Wright, 2007). There has been a large discussion and debate in the past decade of the terms \"sustainable development\" and \"sustainability\", it is not uncommon to find that one person will use the terms referring to different scientific, political or symbolic meanings interchangeably (Wals and Jickling, 2002). A roundtable study in Sustainability: The Journal of Record identified a prevalent lack of understanding surrounding the term of sustainability, its definition, components and implications for different disciplines, among faculty members (Rowland, 2009). This is a major concern as faculty are an influential cohort when it comes to implementing sustainability in university institutions. Further, Orr (1992) argues that universities are perpetuated by their faculty and that the university is a reflection of their thoughts and work. If universities have been recognized as key institutions in contributing to global sustainability, it is imperative that university stakeholders share a common understanding of the term and come to some consensus on role that universities can play in creating a sustainable future.This study examines the conceptualizations of a cohort of university faculty leaders regarding sustainable development, sustainable universities, the role universities play in achieving a sustainable future, key issues facing the university over the next decade, and the barriers to implementing sustainability initiatives on campus.\n2 Methods: This study is part of a larger Pan-Canadian project that investigates various Canadian university stakeholders' (faculty leaders, administration, students and facilities management directors) understandings of sustainable development, sustainable universities and the role the university can play in creating a sustainable future. The population for this study was limited to leaders of faculty associations at English speaking universities that are members of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (n=62). In Canada, faculty members are the academic staff of the university and rank from Lecturer (most junior position) to Full Professor (most senior position). The majority of faculty members hold PhDs or the equivalent. Leaders of Faculty Associations tend to be senior-level faculty members within the university. The sampling frame was created using web searches and telephone inquiries to faculty associations at each of the member universities, in search of the presidents, directors, or other designated leaders of the faculty association. Potential participants were contacted by e-mail (with telephone follow-up when necessary) and invited to participate in the study. A total of 32 (n=32) participants gave consent for a response rate of 52 percent.Each participant was interviewed once via telephone. The interviews took an average of 25 min. Interviews were semi-structured with seven open-ended questions about sustainability and sustainable universities previously established by Wright (2010) in the pilot study for the Pan-Canadian project:1. What are the key issues facing your university over the next ten years?2. When you hear the term sustainable development, what does this mean to you?3. What role, if any, do you feel universities should play in achieving sustainable development?4. When you hear the term \"sustainable university\" what does this mean to you?5. What, if any, barriers do you see preventing your university from engaging in sustainability initiatives?6. Do you foresee different barriers and challenges in the future?7. What factors do you think would make becoming a leader in sustainability the top priority for your university?In addition, participants were asked to complete two checklists (sent just prior to the interview) during the course of the interview to determine what they believed were essential concepts of sustainability and sustainable universities. The items listed on the checklists were developed by Wright (2010) based on two separate bibliometric reviews of the academic literature and popular culture print publications (newspapers, magazines, etc.). Each checklist (sustainable development, and sustainable university) contained key phrases that represented common understandings (or misunderstandings) of the terms. The checklists were not representative of the authors' biases or personal opinions of what constituted sustainable development or a sustainable university. In each case, participants were given the opportunity to provide their own items if they felt something were missing from the list.Interviews were recorded using a Sony digital voice recorder and transcribed with the permission of the participant given through consent forms. Each participant was given a respondent number to ensure confidentiality and was ensured their name and institution would not be used in the publication of the results. This allowed participants to be candid about their perceptions without fear of being judged.Data coding and analysis took place after the completion of all interviews. Data were analyzed using open coding which allowed for the identification of themes to emerge. The data was then grouped based on these themes. The analytical computer software N'Vivo, 2009 was used to analyze the emerging themes into codes and aggregate statistics.\n3 Results and discussion: The following sections are organized in order of question asked during the interview process and reports on the analysis of data and responses of participants. Frequency of responses are reported out of the total of participants (n=32).3.1 Question 1: what are the key issues facing your university over the next ten years?\n4 Conclusions: This study provides insight into the key issues facing several Canadian universities as seen by faculty leaders: their understandings and conceptualizations of sustainability, the role universities can play in achieving a sustainable future, the barriers their institutions face in implementing sustainability initiatives, and what they believe would drive their institutions to become models of sustainability. The findings of this study reveal that university faculty leaders agree on the key issues threatening their institutions. Financial concerns and enrollment issues were at the forefront of this discussion. It reveals that faculty leaders have varied opinions on the term sustainable development, and although there was little uncertainty amongst individual responses, it is clear that a consistent understanding is not present among this cohort.There was some consensus about the major roles universities should be playing in achieving a sustainable future. Faculty leaders have presented that universities should be educating on sustainability, completing research, and acting as models of sustainability as institutions. Faculty leaders did not suggest a restructuring of their curriculum but suggested sustainability is included on an issue basis where relevant, or that introductory ethics classes were taken.In addition, the majority of participants felt that the term \"sustainable university\" implied a university that modeled sustainability in education, research and as role models, with the most emphasis on their operations. It is evident that the majority of faculty leaders believe financial barriers are the primary reason universities are not implementing sustainability initiatives and they see this trend continuing into the future, but with the impression that through increased awareness, financial barriers may be overcome.Finally, it is revealed that faculty leaders rely heavily on administration, government and the student body to transform universities into leaders of sustainability. Faculty leaders suggest that leadership must come from administration; as well, incentives in forms of funding or legislation must be directed from the government; and, that demand should rise from the study body.While the analysis of the interview data provide an understanding of faculty leaders' conceptualizations of sustainability, a resulting and related benefit to the study was the ability to engage and inspire further dialogue amongst faculty members on the subject of SHE. Most participants claimed they had either never considered the subject, or had never been given the opportunity to reflect or discuss sustainability and the university before. Public outreach, through environmental communication is a vector in social change (Oepen, 2000). According to Ornetzeder and Rohracher (2005), people exposed to discussions of sustainability are an important though often neglected factor in the change processes. As such, it is believed that this study resulted in increased awareness and analysis of SHE amongst the cohort of participants.Finally, this study reveals some of the gaps in understanding sustainability of faculty leaders and the barriers they face in implementing sustainability initiatives. This information can be used to contribute to the understanding of SHE scholars but, also provides universities with insight and information that can be used to reflect on the state of their own institutions. Offering the results of this study to the participants and the academic community will provide an avenue for increased communication amongst faculty members and collaboration with other stakeholders. Further research should include similar studies with other university stakeholders within Canada, as well as studies in other countries that can allow for a global understanding of sustainability and the role university stakeholders feel higher education can play in creating a sustainable future.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine how a cohort of university faculty leaders in Canadian universities conceptualize sustainable development, sustainable universities, the role universities play in achieving a sustainable future, key issues facing the university, and the barriers to implementing sustainability initiatives on campus.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Research was collected through in-depth interviews with university faculty leaders from university members of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. Interviews included both closed and open-ended questions and two checklists focused on sustainable development and sustainable universities. Interview transcripts are analyzed through the identification of respondent themes and using N'Vivo software.\nFindings: - The majority of participants demonstrated they had previously given thought to their own understanding of sustainable development, but less had thought about the term sustainable university. The majority of participants would like to see their institutions incorporate sustainability in the avenues of education, research and daily operations. Participants agreed that the most obvious barriers to sustainability were financial and that leadership, incentive and demand are required to move forward with improving sustainability at universities.\nOriginality/value: - There are few studies that explore the conceptualizations of sustainability, what constitutes a \"sustainable university\" and what role universities should play in achieving sustainability held by major stakeholders, including faculty leaders. Higher education scholars share a reasonably common understanding of these concepts, but if universities are accountable for creating a sustainable future, all university stakeholders too must share a common understanding. This paper attempts to make a contribution to this significant gap in the literature.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Service recovery system antecedents: a contingency theory investigation
|
[
"Contingency theory",
"Service recovery",
"System design"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: At some point, all service firms make mistakes. Subsequently, all firms need to proactively correct the errors. The collective activities taken by firms to rectify service failures, titled \"service recovery\" (SR), have positive benefits for companies (Hart et al., 1990). Traditionally, SR has been examined from the customer perspective with most research focusing on the impact of specific recovery activities (Blodgett et al., 1997; Tax et al., 1998) or the evaluations customers make before and after a firm attempts recovery activities (Davidow, 2003; Smith et al., 1999). Recently, SR research has begun to investigate aspects of service recovery systems (SRSs) from an organizational perspective (Contiero et al., 2016; Homburg and Furst, 2005; Johnston, 2001; Smith and Karwan, 2010; Smith et al., 2009, 2010). These works provided initial insights into the operational aspects of SRS from a systematic or process point of view and laid the foundation for what firms could do to plan for SR (Johnston, 2001; Miller et al., 2000). Interestingly, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution as the SRS needs to be tailored to the characteristics of the firm and its environment (Davidow, 2003; Roschk and Gelbrich, 2014).\nTheoretical development: Research investigating the impacts of organizational or system design is often centered on the concept of fit, which is defined as a match between firm activities and contingencies facing the firm (Zajac et al., 2000). Fit, a core focus issue in the strategic management literature can positively influence firm performance (Parker and Witteloostuijn, 2010; Peteraf and Reed, 2007; Zajac et al., 2000). It is from this perspective that contingency theory emerged (Drazin and Van de Ven, 1985; Venkatraman and Camillus, 1984; Venkatraman, 1989) wherein the overarching concept was that firms design systems to be aligned with the conditions under which they operate in order to maximize performance. Fit has been applied across different aspects of organizations, including internal characteristics of the firm, such as strategy and structure (e.g. Chandler, 1962) as well as in relation to external aspects, such as organizational structure and the competitive environment (e.g. Donaldson, 2001; Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967). A more detailed and systematic analysis of previous studies addressing the concept of fit and the role of internal and external firm characteristics in influencing organizational outcomes is beyond the scope of this article. The reader is referred to two existing review articles on this subject (Boyd et al., 2012; Sousa and Voss, 2001).\nResearch methodology: Sampling procedure\nAnalysis and results: The constructs employed herein were all modified from existing scales, so we assessed the psychometric properties of the latent constructs through a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988). In this case, all variables were tested simultaneously where each item was constrained to load on the intended construct. The results from the CFA indicated that the data fit the model reasonably well as demonstrated by the relevant fit statistics (kh2=1,174.6 (df=607), TLI=0.86, CFI=0.88, RMSEA = 0.08). Reliability was measured via the composite reliability (Fornell and Larcker, 1981) with results indicating the constructs were reliable (see Tables AI and AII) as each construct exceeded the rule of thumb of 0.70 (Nunnally, 1978).\nDiscussion and conclusion: The stated goal of this research was investigate the antecedents to the development of an SRS. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that has provided an overarching theoretical rationale as to what factors affect the specific design components of an SRS. Specifically, this is an early attempt to empirically determine the antecedents to the development of an SRS as has been recommended in recent research (van Vaerenbergh and Orsingher, 2016). In essence, this extends prior work on the contingent nature of the SRS design (e.g. Contiero et al., 2016; Smith et al., 2012) through the utilization of an established theoretical framework accompanied by a large-scale empirical validation.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of different antecedent factors (contingencies) on the design of a service recovery system (SRS).\nDesign/methodology/approach: A conceptual model was framed and a series of hypotheses generated and tested using data from 158 practicing managers using a multivariate general linear modeling technique.\nFindings: The analyses indicated that firms, by and large, mainly considered environmental factors in the SRS design. Additional evidence suggests that managers do consider other contingencies but may do so in a fragmented manner. The results presented herein indicate that firms design back-office aspects of SRS in response to external factors (i.e. the environmental contingency). In contrast, the front-office components appear to have more diverse antecedents but are strongly influenced by the firm's recovery orientation. The specific recovery practices appear to be implemented per industry standards. In sum, evidence indicates that there are diverse driving factors to total SRS design.\nResearch limitations/implications: Limitations are based primarily on the methodology as data were obtained from a single person who represented the entire SRS. Care was taken in the study design in order not to compromise the validity of the findings.\nPractical implications: The results indicated that managers responsible for system design need to be holistic in SRS design to more tightly link decisions across multiple contingencies so as to more fully integrate total service system design. This is potentially accomplished through the inclusion of aspects of all relevant contingencies when designing recovery systems.\nOriginality/value: This paper's main contribution is that it employs established theory to develop and test a model to show that firms consider multiple contingencies while designing SRS. It contributes to the emerging body of work on SRS design by providing insights that can be considered as driving forces behind the design of SRS.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Design, process and commercial benefits gained from AMT
|
[
"Performance measurement",
"Statistical analysis",
"Manufacturing performance",
"Advanced manufacturing technology",
"Manufacturing industry"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Maquiladora companies, also known as \"shared production plants\" or \"twin plants,\" emerged as a new manufacturing operation model, which are mostly located in the Mexico-US border (Munguia et al., 2018). Generally, maquiladoras are foreign-owned companies that temporarily import equipment and raw materials, which are later processed and assembled in Mexico in order to be then exported overseas under preferential tariff programs (Hadjimarcou et al., 2013). Also, maquiladoras take advantage of qualified and inexpensive workforce, different labor laws, and preferential union policies in host countries.\n2. Literature review and hypotheses: Table I illustrates a taxonomy proposed by Small and Chen (1997) and the main benefits gained after a successful implementation process, as well as authors reporting their industrial usage and support. Those categories of AMT and benefits represent latent variables in this study that appear in first column and the items or observed variables are displayed in the second column with an acronym. The following paragraphs describe them, as well as report a list of authors that support their implementation.\n3. Methodology: Questionnaire design\n4. Results: Descriptive analysis of the sample\n5. Discussion: Descriptive analysis\n6. Conclusions, limitations and future research: Stand-alone systems, such CAD, CAPP, NC machines, MLWL, and robots integrated to the manufacturing industry known as the maquiladora sector, always guarantee design benefits, such as low time in design and redesign process as well as quality in design, consequently, a low lead-time from design to manufacturing process. Specifically, CAD and CAPP are the most significant for obtaining a flexible manufacturing production system that will enable to have reduced lot sizes and volume flexibility. This category is not expensive and the human skills required are small, since most maquiladoras have access to this type of technology.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to measure the relationships between advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) categories (stand-alone, intermediated and integrated systems) implementation and design, process and commercial benefits obtained.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A survey is designed with benefits gained from AMT implementation as well as its categories, which is applied to the maquiladora industry. A structural equation model with data from 383 responses is used to measure the relationship between AMT categories and benefits gained using nine hypotheses that are tested statistically significant using partial least squares. Also, using conditional probabilities, a sensitivity analysis reports how low and high levels from AMT implementation influence on the obtained benefits.\nFindings: Integrated systems are the most important AMT for maquiladoras and have the strongest impact on design, processes and commercial benefits.\nResearch limitations/implications: Data obtained support the model, but results may be different in another industrial sector and countries with different labor culture and technological level.\nPractical implications: Managers in maquiladora industry must focus their attention on integrated manufacturing systems, because high implementation levels guarantee the biggest probability to gain benefits in design, production process and commercial.\nOriginality/value: The relationship between AMT and their benefits has not been measured in depth, and this paper contributes to understand that problem. In addition, this paper is the first to report a sensitivity analysis that enables managers to acknowledge the probability of obtaining certain benefits.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Ethnic communities: a factor of industrial clustering
|
[
"Confirmatory factor analysis",
"Clustering factors",
"Ethnic community",
"Industrial/business clusters",
"RMSEA"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Industrial clustering is a geographic concentration of associated businesses, factories, institutions and suppliers of a particular industry (Krugman, 1991; Porter, 1990). They are well recognized as a catalyst to increase the productivity with which companies can compete but also cooperate, nationally and globally (Porter, 2000; Januska et al., 2010). Prevezer (1997) critically describes the types of clusters, their dynamics and role in innovation and development.\nGeographic location and demographics of the understudy area: The city of Hyderabad is located at 25.367 degN latitude and 68.367 degE longitude with an elevation of 13 meters (43 ft), It is located on the east bank of the Indus river and is almost 93 miles away from Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh province. Two of Pakistan's largest highways, the Indus Highway and the National Highway meet at Hyderabad. Its geographic lactation lends the area a lot of economic significance. Hyderabad is the second most populous city of Sindh and the sixth most populous city in Pakistan. The total population of the city is 2.3 million and the area of the city is 1,011 square kilometer. The demographics of the city include a multi ethnic mix consisting of Sindhi, Urdu-speaking Muhajirs, Punjabis, Pashtuns, Memons and Baloch people, and the most industrious ethnic group among the population is Memons (Osmani, 2008).\nCommercial background of the city: Hyderabad is an important business center in Sindh where many industries are established including cement, textiles, glass, plastics, soap, paper, hosiery mills, tanneries, ice, pottery and sawmills. Handicraft industries including gold and silver work, ornamented silks, lacquer ware and embroidered leather sandals are also well developed. Almost all ornamental glass bangles of the country are being produced in this city. Hyderabad is a major trade zone for the agricultural produce of the vicinity, including cotton, millet, wheat, rice, fruits and vegetables.\nJustification for the sample city: Commercial production of motorcycles started in Pakistan by the Atlas Honda Group in 1964, when a production plant was installed in Karachi, the biggest and most industrialized city in the country. Today, 24 percent of motorcycle producers are in Karachi, as the city has the best industrial base and infrastructure in the country, attracting many investors. The highest number (31 percent) of motorcycle producers are located in Lahore, second biggest city in the country in terms of population and commercial and business activities. Lahore has exclusive industrial zones, better infrastructure and a good manufacturing industrial base. The gathering of new motorcycle production units in these cities is not surprising because they already have the factors leading to an industrial clustering. There are 80 motorcycle producers in different cities of Pakistan, and they are producing 1.6 million motorcycles annually (Shaikh, 2015).\nResearch objective and contribution: The objective of this study is to empirically find out the reasons behind auto industry clustering except the common factors, and what others factors can contribute to the formation and development of industrial clustering. Industrial clusters are researched enormously from different aspects, but most of the time, the focus remained on the established clusters of the developed and rapidly developing countries. This study is important because it gives an account of the factors of an industrial gathering of evolving clusters.\nData collection and research methodology: After a thorough literature review including government policies and interviews of the experts, a questionnaire was designed on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (extremely unimportant) to 7 (extremely important). The Likert scale was utilized because it is a potent and advantageous tool with universal comprehension, making it easy for the respondents to understand, thus enabling the authors to clearly map the perceptions of the population within the understudy industrial cluster (Boone and Boone, 2012).\nSampling technique: Within the understudy area, the entire population of the cluster was studied, and in order to eliminate bias and for the purpose of developing a thorough understanding, the triangular technique (Currie, 2005) was utilized through which questionnaires, interviews and personal observations were used to collect the data to be compared and cross-checked.\nFactor analysis: Factor analysis used to regroup variables into a limited set of clusters based on a shared variance. Hence, it helps to isolate constructs and concepts (Yong and Pearce, 2013). Factor analysis is useful for big data sets that consist of too many variables, and it converges variables into \"groups\" (factors), i.e. factor analysis assembles common variables into descriptive categories (Rummel, 1970). Factor analysis is useful for studies that involve a few or hundreds of variables (Yong and Pearce, 2013), items from questionnaires which can be reduced to a smaller set, to get at an essential concept and to simplify the interpretations. The two main factor analysis techniques are the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The CFA attempts to confirm hypotheses and uses path analysis diagrams to represent variables and factors, whereas EFA tries to uncover complex patterns by exploring the data set and testing predictions (Williams and Child, 1973). The EFA was conducted to make classifications, and then the model was tested for fitness with the CFA.\nCFA for an in-depth exploration of industrial clustering in the understudy area: For the understudy area, the CFA technique has been utilized instead of the EFA because the EFA is utilized for a more complex analysis where more complex patterns of data exist (Afthanorhan and Ahmad, 2013). The primary data collected within the understudy area fulfill the requirements of the CFA, and the literature review combined with the authors' personal experience enabled the authors to identify the factors causing an industrial clustering.\nReliability and validity analysis: In the first set of analysis: Cronbach's a was measured; Cronbach's a is used for the reliability test of internal consistency, and its values between 0.7 and 0.8 are considered as acceptable and good (Nunnally and Bernstein, 1994; Sekaran, 2003). Except the variable of geography, all other variables showed good results (Table IV). In the second set of analyses, the correlation of ethnic community was investigated with those variables which were perceived as close and distant constructs. For this purpose, a correlation matrix was calculated which showed a significantly strong correlation and a significantly weak correlation to account for convergent and discriminant validity. Discriminant validity was measured with average variance extracted (AVE) test. AVE is used to measure the discriminant validity, and the value of AVE for each variable/construct should be at least 0.5 (Bertea and Zait, 2011; Fornell and Larcker, 1981). To further evaluate the fitness of the variable, confirmatory analyses was conducted, in which two models were tested. First, factors of production (land, labor and capital) were combined and tested. Second, a nine-variable model was tested, as extracted by the EFA. The kh2/df values of less than 2.5 are recommended for a good model fit (Arbuckle, 2006). A value greater than 0.90 is an acceptable fit and a value above 0.95 represents a good model fit for the comparative fit index (Bentler, 1990). The nine-factor model showed the best model (Table III).\nMeasures of factors: Ethnic community\nFactor structure: An EFA showed six possible dimensions of the role of ethnic community. This helped investigate the assumed factor structure. A minimum 0.3 threshold was used to include items within a factor for factor loading. It began with a principal-axis factor analysis with oblimin rotation and identified seven factors with eigenvalues greater than 1. The total summed variance explained by the seven factors was 71.82 percent. Then, a principal-axis factor analysis with oblimin rotation was performed with a nine-factor solution (Table II) that explained 80.236 percent of the total variance.\nConstruct validity: The influence of ethnic community on the formation of the industrial cluster in terms of descriptive value is high. It is rated at 5.217, which is the highest score of all searched variables, while the herding effect was on fourth average descriptive measures 5.019 Table IV.\nTheoretical contribution: In the case of SMEs in the developing world, many factors for the formation of an industrial clustering have been studied extensively, and researchers have presented good models with weights. However, in this study, two unexplored factors for the formation of the industrial gathering were found. First, a theory was developed that ethnic community and herding can also be the factors behind the industrial clustering. Second, the role of both the factors was empirically tested. Although the variables and the model are not perfect, but contribute toward building a better understanding and a more comprehensive model.\nStrengths and limitations: This study constructed a social behavior theory for the economics. It found that collective behavior of individuals can also be a factor for the formation of the industrial cluster.\nImplications and future research: This study just focused on the model fit and the factor extraction; in future, there is room for testing the hypothesis in more detail, aiming to find the coefficients of these factors. Policy makers may hesitate to take it as a model because it leads to a biased policy, but if a community has some competitive advantage in any field or industry, then they must be facilitated for the betterment of local economic conditions.\nConclusion: The importance of ethnic communities cannot be ignored in the formation of industrial clusters, especially in the low-tech and traditional industrial sector of the developing world. Mutual trust among the community members and the ease of communication may lead them to dominate an industry in a city or nationally. Herding effect should also be considered as the reason for the formation of industrial clusters because individuals with capital and the lack of new ideas would also like to invest in the same flourishing industry, and this investment in the same area may form a cluster. Herding effect and ethnic ties are social behaviors, and these behaviors can be the factors of industrial clustering.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper not only draws conclusions from the available literature but also offers some new factors as well, which are not included in the existing literature. To be more precise, the purpose of this paper is to ascertain factors behind the clustering of the motorcycle industry, a low-tech and low investment industry. This paper weighs the government's policies, role of factors of production, infrastructure, geography and other drivers for the subject industry and associated industries in the geographic location of Hyderabad.\nDesign/methodology/approach: For collection of data, a questionnaire was designed to survey the cluster (n=250) after reviewing the literature and conducting interviews of experts of the motorcycle manufacturing industry, i.e. owners, managers, auditors, suppliers, etc.; a component matrix was developed to reduce the dimension of factors and measure the correlation, which helped to weigh the influence of factors. A confirmatory factor analysis proposed four factors as the best fit.\nFindings: The study conjectured a new viable factor for industrial clustering: \"ethnic community,\" as it acts as a catalyst to diffuse knowledge, experience and skills within the industrial cluster.\nResearch limitations/implications: This research does not find the weightage of the factors for industrial clustering, i.e. it does not calculate the influence of factors behind the industrial clustering.\nPractical implications: The above findings aim to stimulate policy makers and researchers alike to further pursue the line of inquiry developed in this paper.\nOriginality/value: A first-time confirmatory factor analysis is used to find the reasons of industrial clustering. Root mean square error of approximation is used to test the model fit. Most importantly, it is the research about an emerging industrial cluster.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity in investment management
|
[
"Investment management",
"Hegemonic masculinity",
"Blocked reflexivity",
"Gender performativity",
"Gendered behaviours"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Gender performativity is a central tenet of the work of Judith Butler and rests on the idea that gender is constructed through the ongoing and repetitive practice of dialogue and actions \"to produce the phenomena that it regulates and constrains\" (Butler, 1990, p. 2). Her ideology presents gender as a process, which comes into being as a consequence of performativity. This performance is influenced by dominant conventions of gender, which exist in particular settings. Connell (2000), drawing on the work of Butler, in her analysis of the performance of masculinity conceptualised the term hegemonic masculinity. The term was used as a paradigm to explain men's dominance over women and other marginalised men in society. This dominance is a consequence of their performance of masculinity. This paper considers the role of gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity within the Irish investment management sector. It examines how both constructs underpin the continued gender inequalities in this particular labour market space.\nGender performativity, hegemonic masculinity and the labour market: Constructions of gender and, in particular, hegemonic masculinity dominate the labour market landscape with masculine modes assumed the norm (Acker, 2011). There is a significant body of research in women and men's studies concerning how organisations and occupations are \"gendered\" with men dominating well-paid, power positions (Nentwich and Kelan, 2014; Broadbridge, 2010). Kumra et al. (2014) argue that the performance of gender in the workplace is a powerful organisational process, which reinforces societal stereotypes and reproduces inequality. For women in male-dominated sectors, gender performance is far more prevalent, with many women citing the need for the \"undoing of gender and doing gender differently, to fit in and survive\", (Butler, 2004, p. 27; Kelan, 2010). Whitehead (2001) contends that the daily doing of gender is characterised by contradictions and varying representations of self. Simpson (2011, p. 381) concurring, posits that \"individuals in a reflexive manner mobilise, negotiate and renegotiate gender in their day-to-day activities\" to conform to normative and context-specific notions of what it is to be a woman or man. In male-dominated spaces, the construction of gender identity for women is particularly unstable with women shifting and altering how they (un)do gender according to organisational settings and their associated gendered norms. Adkins (2003) drawing upon McDowell (2011) study of investment management employees within \"The City\" in London highlighted how women use gender in different ways to fit in and succeed. Women move from performing an overt femininity in certain client-facing situations to behaving like a man to fit in within the investment floor.\nInvestment management: organisational and social culture: To date, literature concerning investment management has focused on the culture of the sector with the common theme being the existence of a work hard/play hard extreme work ethos as an organisational norm (Hall, 2013). Such practices normalise masculine linear uninterrupted career paths and sustain rituals that are highly gendered and disadvantage women. Slater (2007) contended that for women:\nMethodological approach: The philosophical underpinnings of this research draw from a subjective ontology and interpretivist philosophical stance. This approach ensures emphasis is placed on the understanding and interpretation of gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity in investment management, rather than proving or disproving laws or facts. In line with Lewis and Simpson (2010), subjective knowledge based on the lived experiences of interviewees guided understanding of how gender was done and (un)done. This perspective also aligns with the feminist lens through which this research is undertaken and the overarching objective to \"give voice to women's activities, experiences and perspectives\" (Brooks and Hesse-Biber, 2007, p. 6). Within this research, women are seen to occupy multiple realities and perspectives, which is reflective of the multifaceted nature of feminist research.\nFindings: Embodiment of success\nDiscussion and implications for practice: The findings from this research advance existing theory by highlighting those, \"aspects of work rarely written down\", which underpin gender performance and sustain hegemonic masculinity in the sector (Gregory, 2016 p. 15). Rather than simply considering organisational rules or structures that create barriers for women, this research considers the \"lived experiences, of investment management employees - both male and female. By examining everyday interactions, the gendering process characterised by the \"patriarchal dividend\" is brought to life. The findings highlight hegemonic masculinity as manifested and performed through social interactions on the investment floor, which are both overt and covert. Such mechanisms ensure women are placed as outsiders who do not belong in the sector. The findings also highlight that while there is evidence of overt closure regimes, the hegemonic norms on the investment floor remain for the most part \"normalised\" and unacknowledged as discriminatory. Everyday social practices are seen as sectoral norms with men largely unreflexive about gender in their everyday behaviours and actions. This lack of awareness of gendered behaviours merely sustains women's marginalisation even further (Simpson, 2011; Martin, 2006; Whitehead, 2001).\nConclusion: The aim of this research was to explore gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity within investment management. The overarching conclusion from this study is that investment management remains a gendered sector, in which what it means to be a woman is performed and constructed daily. The sector is one in which a performance-driven culture of hegemonic masculinity and power-based hierarchical gender relation prevails. This power structure places men in positions of power such as front office roles and creates a culture, which has been maintained and cultivated through organisational structures and daily social interactions. These structures, in turn, perpetuate the tacit male norm. This study concluded that stereotyped perspectives concerning the long hours/presenteeism culture, which led to men being considered the better employee because they appeared more committed was widespread. As discussed, such behaviours must be addressed at a sectoral level if gender equality truly is an objective for these organisations. Similarly, the findings indicate that women were acutely aware that stereotypes regarding gender roles were to the fore within the recruitment and promotion track. Many interviewees were of the view that \"organisational closure behaviours\" existed in this domain and women were excluded from front office roles on the basis that they did not \"fit\". Notions of \"fit\" were underlined by the gender difference argument presented in the literature by Connell (2000). Interviewees were of the belief that women did not have the killer instinct or confidence as compared with male peers to succeed in front office jobs. Equally, the potentially interrupted career path of women owing to their ability to reproduce compared with the male uninterrupted career path was used as a mechanism to highlight gender difference and maintain men's power position. This view was evident among male and female interviewees alike and indicated clearly that investment management is a site in which the preservation of male power and sustainment of a hegemonic masculine culture remains widespread.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Through an examination of the everyday organisational and social practices, this paper aims to consider gender performativity and hegemonic masculinity within front office investment management. At the core of this research is the need to understand the interactions between gender, power and patriarchy.\nDesign/methodology/approach: An interpretivist philosophical stance underpins the study. A theory-building approach using 19 semi-structured interviews with investment management employees based in Ireland was undertaken.\nFindings: The findings highlight a sector in which gender is performed in line with sectoral expectations, which place men in positions of dominance with hegemonic masculinity inherent. The organisational structures and daily interactions are imbued with male norms, which dictate how gender is to be performed, and which places women firmly as \"different\" and \"outsiders\". These mechanisms of inequality are further supported by men's \"blocked reflexivity\".\nPractical implications: The findings of this study indicate clear evidence of a \"patriarchal dividend\", which is underpinned by the maintenance of closure regimes and gender blindness particularly, among senior male gatekeepers. Such results call for policymakers to go beyond goals of numerical parity and ensure transparency and equality across all aspects of work. A holistic and multifaceted approach to addressing issues of gendered culture and the normalisation of men's privileged relationship with power positions is needed.\nOriginality/value: This paper is situated within a relatively under-researched labour market space, that of investment management. The findings conceptualise gender as a social process, thus facilitating traditional assumptions about gender at work as a single entity to be challenged. The results also advance theoretical insights of misogynistic work cultures and hegemonic masculinity through the analysis of gendered behaviours within this traditionally male environment.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Rule-breaking and legitimacy: a failure of artful navigation?
|
[
"Entrepreneurship",
"Enterprise culture",
"Media",
"Criminality",
"Rule breaking",
"Vance Miller"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: There is growing recognition of entrepreneurship as a process that takes place in a social and cultural context, where the interests of the individual entrepreneur, the firm, and a wider range of societal stakeholders are intertwined (Steyaert, 2007; Baron and Shane, 2007; Kuratko, 2008; Welter, 2011). In this context, notions of legitimacy, reputation and ethical behaviour have been argued by some as crucial for the overall success of a growing entrepreneurial endeavour (Lounsbury and Glynn, 2001; Downing, 2005; Jones et al., 2008). Yet entrepreneurs can court controversy when challenging established orthodoxies, particularly where rule-breaking takes place (Panaviotopoulous, 1996; Smith, 2005; Warren, 2007; Brenkert, 2009; Anderson and Warren, 2011), which can raise questions over the ethics of entrepreneurial behaviour. Perceived rule-breaking can also present dilemmas for the media, who often portray entrepreneurs in an \"heroic\" light, as validated societal change agents (Nicholson and Anderson, 2005).\nBackground literature: Brenkert (2009) argues that if entrepreneurs are viewed as engaging in \"creative destruction\", this notion would also apply to the law and morality as well as to business forms. However, prior to considering issues of rule-breaking it is necessary to consider the concept of legitimacy in relation to entrepreneurial behaviour (see Suchman, 1995 for a discussion of legitimacy in relation to institutional norms). Suchman identified three primary forms of legitimacy, namely pragmatic (based on audience self-interest); moral (based on normative approval); and cognitive (based on comprehensibility and taken-for-grantedness). In this paper, we use these forms as a theoretical framework to help us analyse multiple and competing legitimacy claims. These require different strategies for gaining, maintaining and repairing legitimacy. De Clercq and Voronov (2009a, b) have differentiated between the role of Cultural and Symbolic Capital in relation to an entrepreneur's ability to meet expectations about conformity in particular habitus. They argue that entrepreneurs engage in a socially embedded process of pursuing legitimacy, which is contingent upon their expectations about conformity in their chosen milieu. The entrepreneurs simultaneously conform to existing field arrangements (i.e. to \"fit in\") and to be perceived as innovators (i.e. to \"stand out\"). For De Clercq and Voronov this sets up a paradoxical relationship which the entrepreneur has to \"artfully navigate the possible conflicting demands to fit in versus stand out through impression management\" (or not). Thus domination and being dominant are important masculine traits in broadcasting one's legitimacy as an entrepreneur (De Clercq and Voronov, 2009c). The notion of institutional profiles for entrepreneurial propensity, consisting of regulatory, cognitive, and normative dimensions, is of interest in relation to this developing argument relating to legitimacy and we argue the enactment of specific institutional differences which contribute differently to levels and types of entrepreneurship (Busenitz et al., 2000). This is important in the context of this study, because the institutional framework of legitimation for a criminal entrepreneur (or someone socialised into criminality) will be different from that of an entrepreneur from a law abiding business background. Also institutional norms amongst small town entrepreneurial elites will obviously differ from those encountered in a corporate business environment.\nMethodology: Thus, to explore Miller's rule-breaking behaviour and the connection with the legitimacy of his entrepreneurial activity, we examine media reports on Miller's career, including press articles, his biography, TV documentaries and Miller's own web site. The main methodological approach used in the study is that of documentary analysis (Platt, 1981; Scott, 1990; Wesley, 2010). Approaches that rely on analysing discursive devices from secondary data sources have been around for some time (Ljunggren and Alsos, 2001; Nicholson and Anderson, 2005; Brown, 2005; Duarte et al., 2005; Amernic and Craig, 2006; Warren, 2007; Radu and Redien-Collet, 2008; Anderson and Warren, 2011). Fielding and Fielding (2000) argue that such qualitative data offers rich insights into the social world particularly in relation to researching sensitive topics and/or hard-to-reach actors. The secondary data approach has been advocated for use in ethics-related research too, by Cowton (1998) who articulated the problem of obtaining valid and reliable primary data by other methods. We conduct a close reading (Amernic and Craig, 2006) of texts documenting the emerging story of Vance Miller. In practical terms, we carry out:\nVance Miller as hero or villain: analysis: After presenting a simple timeline (Table I), this section first analyses the negative media coverage in regard to Miller (press reports and two TV documentaries), then goes on to analyse a more positive view, mainly emanating from sources controlled by Miller as he musters narrative resources and techniques to construct an alternative account. Throughout the analysis, our task is not to delineate a \"correct\" account, but instead to examine and interpret the discursive devices that arise in the rhetorical twists and turns over time. We stress that it is not our objective to articulate, nor mediate on the differences between criminal, unethical, negative and illegitimate behaviours. These concepts are NOT the same as each other and each influences perceptions of legitimacy. Obviously there are many possible interpretations of the Vance Miller story. We adhere to our authorial task of exploring perceptions of morality, criminality and legitimacy as presented in the media. We also acknowledge that in retelling the Miller story, much of the material which demonstrates the rule breaking and legitimacy work is of necessity descriptive in nature.\nDiscussion: We argue that the public discourse on Miller, identified above, is indicative of the tensions between rule breaking and legitimacy. We have shown a combative discourse conducted publically, where neither side explain their position on morality, or define it. Miller, of course, has to artfully navigate towards success in a complex and competitive business, whereas his detractors in the media have only to sell newspapers and steer clear of the libel laws. Miller is demonstrably successful, economically. He admits to breaking rules, both in his early life, and in his early business practice to achieve economic success. The explanatory discourse on Miller's blog sets out his interpretation of laws and rules that he encountered in achieving a set of entrepreneurial goals. Yet despite this success, and explanations, Miller's earlier rule-breaking has not been forgiven, and overlooked, in the construction of an heroic identity (Brenkert, 2009), but has instead been highlighted and amplified, as past criminality was connected to unethical trading practice. It is still unclear as to why this happened, if his business was no better, or worse, than similar businesses. Was he just bad at basic business public relations and reputation management, failing to \"artfully navigate\" the situation (De Clercq and Voronov)? He admits to not playing by the accepted rules of business and sums up his business philosophy as being - \"If you don't give a f***, you can never be beaten\". Miller himself hints at a local conspiracy surrounding planning and development ambitions around his Maple Mill site in Oldham. If, as Clarke and Holt (2010, p. 320) suggest, entrepreneurs self-legislate, relying instead on their own ability to continually judge business life in spite of prevailing opinion and values, then Miller has surely misjudged his direction, though not to the point of business failure. However, we would argue that he has fallen foul of the legitimacy paradox explained by De Clercq and Voronov (2009a, b, c), whereby he has been unable to bridge public perception of him as being untrustworthy. He seems therefore, to exist in a different symbolic space (Clarke and Holt, 2010) to his counterparts who are either portrayed in a heroic manner in the media, or hounded as they fail. In an article in the UK's Daily Express in 2010, Miller is quoted as saying \"I played along with the whole Kitchen Gangster thing\", he says. \"It actually helped my business at the time but I want to get rid of that rough diamond image now\". This fits in with the work of Down and Warren (2008) who reported on the mythicizing of the entrepreneur and the construction of entrepreneurial identity. Thus, if the entrepreneur is seen through a hagiographic fog as a near mythical being it is difficult to reconcile this with narratives which express a contradictory element of criminality, or even, for Down and Warren (2008), sheer ordinariness. Miller has patently become a victim of his own mythicizing and legend building as well as of media misrepresentation. He has been figuratively been \"hoisted by his own petard\".\nConclusions, limitations and implications: We hope that our \"telling or re-telling\" of the media portrayal of Miller's entrepreneurial antics and escapades is engaging and convincing and has begun the process of unravelling how entrepreneurs engage in legitimacy building strategies, to counteract, where necessary, unfortunate media-inspired perceptions of them. We add to the small, but important, literature that discusses the hero-villain paradox, and the difficulties of artfully navigating (De Clercq and Voronov, 2009a, b, c) the fine line between the two. In doing so, we generate deeper insight into the trajectory of the \"falls from grace\" referred to by Smith and Anderson (2004) and Smith and McElwee (2011) when navigation fails. Given the media interest in such stories, exploration of this paradox would be a fruitful theme for other researchers to follow. Further, from our close reading of the Miller story, we can learn a lot about rule-breaking and legitimacy in the context of entrepreneurship. In particular, this paper has illustrated how Miller used stories aligned to pragmatism; appeals to culturally accepted moralities; and stories which fit accepted and expected normative behaviours in line with the legitimation strategies proposed by Suchman (1995). In his life-time, Miller has broken the rules, and admitted to it. However, the media have ensured that this behaviour was constantly exposed in the media spotlight. Despite a spirited fightback, he is still characterised as the Kitchen Gangster, but yet trades successfully, despite many setbacks. Miller is now domiciled in China (to escape the bad publicity) and perhaps unfairly, his biography is sold as a crime story and located in bookstores with gangster books. If, as Harris et al. (2009) suggests, we need to reconcile rule-breaking and path-breaking, towards an ethics of entrepreneurship, then Miller's distinctive position case may be instructive as to where some boundaries might lie, and again this would a fruitful area for other researchers to study in a systematic manner. One might also question an ethics of journalism in regard to entrepreneurs, particularly those with a criminal past, but that is another study for scholars of communications and ethics. This study is limited in that we did not have an opportunity to consult or interview Vance Miller himself. Obviously, this is one of our future research aspirations and will form the basis of a future book chapter. Moreover, it is also an incomplete interpretation since we have not yet canvassed the views of the journalists involved in the saga. Again, studies to establish the extent to which the media representation results from biases or merely journalistic practices would be valuable. A missing voice in this interpretation is that of Oldham Trading Standards, who have been cast in the role of pantomime villain. The conduct of the department and the investigation has been called into question but to date no journalist, nor academic has sought to establish their perspective on the case. This is an omission we hope to rectify in the near future; more widely, the role of regulation in studies of legitimacy could be developed further.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the tension between rule-breaking and legitimacy for entrepreneurs, who are expected to challenge and change social or business norms. In doing so, they may be presented as heroes in the media, or alternatively, are cast out as villains with attendant negative press with consequent loss of legitimacy.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Through secondary data methods, the paper analyses the case of Vance Miller, an entrepreneur from the North of England who has achieved economic success amid reports of alleged criminality and poor ethical behaviour. Thus he spans rule-breaking and legitimacy.\nFindings: The paper illustrates how rule-breaking directed towards demonstrable entrepreneurial achievement does not always result in media legitimacy. Miller's storyline both chimes with and clashes with the discourse of the enterprise culture, providing a cautionary note for aspirant entrepreneurs.\nResearch limitations/implications: The hero-villain paradox remains relatively unexplored in the media, and thus further qualitative research is required, particularly for aspirant entrepreneurs with controversial or criminal backgrounds.\nPractical implications: Entrepreneurs should question carefully the extent and potential consequences of rule breaking in regard to legitimacy.\nSocial implications: The paper highlights and indeed questions the role of the media in their representations of entrepreneurship, and challenges the valorisation of rule-breaking behaviour by entrepreneurs.\nOriginality/value: The paper makes a distinctive contribution to the literature by examining the relation between rule-breaking and legitimacy for an entrepreneur who is represented negatively in the media, yet remains successful, counter to the heroic stereotype.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Assessing the effects of exchange rate depreciation on the US economy: Evidence from a factor-augmented VAR model
|
[
"Contractionary",
"Exchange rate depreciation",
"Expansionary",
"Factor-augmented VAR model",
"US economy"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The years 1971-1973 marked the end of the Bretton Woods system, with which exchange rates of most currencies in the world went float. Under this new floating exchange rate system, exchange rate shocks could pose major risks to countries engaging in international trade and capital flows. Understanding the effects of exchange rate shocks on the US economy is becoming more important today than ever before for at least two reasons. First, the US economy has become much more open. Up to 2007, US imports and exports rose from about 5 percent in early 1970s to 17 and 12 percent of US GDP, respectively (Figure 1). US foreign direct investment assets and liabilities grew from less than 10 percent in early 1970s to 40 and 36 percent of US GDP, respectively, in 2014 (Figure 2). Such high exposure to external influences has made the US economy more sensitive to any exchange rate changes. Second, as a result of the emergence of other major currencies like the euro, the Chinese renminbi, the Japanese yen, the dominant role of the dollar in the global economy has been challenged, creating more uncertainty in the exchange value of the US$. As can be seen in Figure 3, since 2002, both major US$ nominal exchange rate indices have shown persistent depreciation[1].\n2. Literature review: The literature has documented contrasting evidence of the effects of the exchange rate depreciation on output, inflation, capital flows and stock prices, for the developed and the developing countries. For example, while some studies found strong contractionary effects of depreciation in the developing countries, such as Kandil (2006), others could not find any evidence of it (Kamin and Klau, 1998; Kim and Ying, 2007). Edwards (1986) found no contractionary effects of devaluation in the long run for developing countries during the period of 1965-1980. Bahmani-Oskooee and Miteza (2003) concluded that the effects of devaluation depend on country-specific characteristics, the model and estimation techniques. For instance, papers that mainly focused on the channel of demand for developed countries are more likely to find that devaluations are expansionary while the studies of the supply-side channels for developing countries are more likely to arrive at the opposite conclusion.\n3. FAVAR model: Yt is defined to be an Mx1 vector of observable variables, which have widespread effects on the economy. In this paper, the vector Yt contains one variable, the US$ exchange rate. The economy on which Yt affects can be described by Xt, which is an Nx1 vector of informational time series, describing all aspects of the economy, where N is large and t is the time index. A Kx1 vector of unobservable factors Ft will be extracted from Xt and reflect the co-movements of informational variables in period t. Ft represent abstract economic concepts such as \"economic activity\" or \"inflationary environment\" that cannot be simply captured by one or two time series but rather are reflected in a wide range of economic variables. We assume that the informational time series Xt are related to the unobservable factors Ft and the observable variables Yt in the following observation equation:(1)\n4. Empirical results: In this paper, Xt consists of a balanced panel of 116 monthly time series from 1973:02 to 2007:12, representing a wide range of macroeconomic aspects of the US economy, including production, employment, consumption, prices, stock market price, money supply, interest rates, and trade. Most time series were log first differenced or first differenced and all were demeaned (as in Kose et al., 2003)[6]. A detailed description of the data with transformation information is provided in Appendix 1. Data beyond 2007 were excluded to avoid the financial and macroeconomic turmoil related to the most recent financial crisis. Since our main focus is to study the effects of exchange rate depreciation shock to the US economy, we restrict the data to times when exchange rate and most macroeconomic variables perform under relatively normal conditions. Most variables are obtained from the Federal Reserve Economic Database, and a few are from International Financial Statistics of the International Monetary Funds (IMF).\n5. Robustness analysis: To check for robustness, we conducted the following analysis: replace EXM with the broad measure of trade weighted US$ index, EXB; estimate the baseline model with three factors; estimate with four factors; use nine lags; and use 13 lags. Figures 11-15 present the impulse response results of eight selected variables for these alternative estimations. As can be seen, all results were qualitatively similar to those in the baseline model. So we can be confident that our baseline results are robust.\n6. Conclusion: In this paper, we investigated the effects of exchange rate depreciation shock on the US economy in a factor-augmented VAR model using monthly data of 117 time series for the period from 1973:02 to 2007:12. Using the one-step Bayesian approach and the Gibbs sampling technique, we estimated two factors representing \"economic activity\" and \"price pressures,\" respectively, and identified exchange rate depreciation shock using Choleski decomposition. This study contributes to the literature on whether exchange rate depreciation is expansionary or contractionary, in particular, to the US economy.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of exchange rate shock on the broad spectrum of the US economy using a factor-augmented VAR model (FAVAR).\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors developed a two-factor FAVAR model and estimated it with the single-step Bayesian likelihood approach using the Gibbs sampling technique. The two factors represented, respectively, the economic activity and price pressures. The exchange rate shock was identified with the Choleski decomposition method for VARs. The authors used the data of 117 time series for the period from 1973:02 to 2007:12. Impulse responses and variance decompositions were computed as the main results.\nFindings: The authors found that exchange rate shock has pervasive effects on the US economy as the following: depreciation does not appear to help reduce the US trade deficit as both import and export rise with the depreciation shock; in the short run, depreciation appears expansionary as industrial production, manufacturing and employment all increase within a year; in the medium run, depreciation appears inflationary, as consumer price, producer price, import price and export price all increase; and in the medium run, depreciation appears contractionary as personal consumption, consumer confidence, stock price and housing start tend to fall.\nResearch limitations/implications: Some caveats remain: first, our simple model symmetrically estimates depreciation shock and appreciation shock and, hence, cannot draw inferences for how exchange rate appreciation and depreciation may affect the US economy asymmetrically. Second, the simple model used did not distinguish the different possible sources of exchange rate depreciation shock, the knowledge of which may lead to richer policy implications and is the direction of research for the future.\nOriginality/value: This research contributes to the literature of whether exchange rate is expansionary or contractionary to the US economy using the FAVAR model. This is the first comprehensive study in the literature studying the pervasive effects of the exchange rate on the broad spectrum of the US economy in one integrated model.\n",
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] |
Lucky to reach the top? : Gendered perspectives on leadership acquisition across Qatar and Denmark
|
[
"Culture",
"Leadership",
"Networking",
"Locus of control",
"Serendipity",
"Luck"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: When leaders are appointed, there is something appealing about the idea of meritocracy: a social system in which merit or talent is the basis for sorting people into positions and distributing rewards (Scully, 1997, p. 413). However, as shown in a recent study of recruitment by Nielsen (2015), the principal of meritocracy is often at odds with how selection actually works. Numerous factors, other than job-related skills, are involved in leadership acquisition and some of them are affected by gender norms. Indeed, a meta-analysis by Koenig, Eagly, Mitchell and Ristikari (2011) showed that masculinity is still perceived as a dominate feature of a leader across cultures. In accordance, numerous studies show gender bias in recruitment, with male applicants being evaluated more positively than female applicants despite similar degrees and seniority (Castilla and Benard, 2010; Isaac, Lee and Carnes, 2009; Ottsen, 2018; Steinpreis, Anders and Ritzke, 1999). Furthermore, several studies show that women are paid less and advance at a slower pace compared to their male peers despite identical qualifications (Dobele, Rundle-Thiele and Kopanidis, 2014; Metz, 2009; Vinkenburg, van Engen, Eagly, and Johannesen-Schmidt, 2011). This suggests that women's underrepresentation in leadership positions cannot be explained by meritocracy alone. Perception of factors less controlled by the candidates needs to be explored too.\nLeadership acquisition: Job-related skills, networking upward and serendipity are all factors that can influence leadership acquisition. According to Levenson (1981), the opportunity to network upward towards powerful business connections, as well as random chance (framed positively as serendipity) both represent external factors, in that these factors are unpredictable or controlled by others. Conversely, job-related skills represent an internal factor because it is perceived within the control of an individual to enhance abilities and talent through hard work and long hours. This variable is associated with meritocracy by reflecting a justice belief that status differences in a society is merited through skills and personal achievements (McCoy, Wellman, Cosley, Saslow and Epel, 2013). In the following, I briefly review these three factors.\nAttribution of control across gender and culture: Expectations of control dictated by societal norms impose a continuous influence on what we perceive as possibilities in life; which goals we find attainable; and how we go about achieving them including the goal of becoming a leader (Ajzen, 1991). Perception of control can be operationalized through the multidimensional locus of control scale. Locus of control refers to the subjective appraisal of factors that we hold accountable for the outcome of the events we experience. As outlined above, such variables can be divided between factors that represent internal control - for example, job-related skills - and factors that represent external control - for example, Serendipity (Levenson, 1981).\nCulturally controlled norms for gender: The cultural context provides information about appropriate gender roles, and when entering adulthood, girls and boys are faced with expectations to commit to culturally ascribed social roles. Recent findings show that norms for gender has a structuring effect on plans for the future (Ottsen and Berntsen, 2015). These plans might include goals of leadership acquisition, thereby making it relevant to explore cultures with markedly different views of gender roles.\nThe present study: The aim of the present study is to examine belief in leadership acquisition across gender and cultures, thereby providing new data to aid our understanding of the gender gap in management. Based on the strong beliefs in meritocracy and internal control across cultures, it is expected that participants will perceive job-related skills as the most important factor in leadership acquisition across cultures and genders but also that Scandinavians will focus even more on the importance of job-related skills than Middle Easterners, because of the positive perception of meritocracy in Western societies. The prediction for external control is that Middle Eastern men will be more confident than Middle Eastern women that connections to powerful people and opportunities created by chance will facilitate their leadership acquisition, while this difference will not be significant in Scandinavia.\nMethod: Materials\nResults: First, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted on the three variables combined to show discrepancies between internal and external control. This analysis had the control-related variables with three levels; job-related skills, networking and serendipity. Second, a 2 (gender) x 2 (culture) factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted on each control-related variables separately. Table I shows means, standard deviations and effects across culture and gender for each of the three control variables. The pattern of results was the same when these excluded participants were included in the analyses, with the exception of a main effect of gender on Networking Upward, which was insignificant in the current study (p = 0.064), but would have been rendered significant if participants age 30 and over had been included F(1,247) = 4.99, p < 0.03.\nDiscussion: Few studies have examined gender difference in the perspectives of future leaders across cultures. This study begins to fill the gap in the literature by investigating how male and female university students in two very different cultures perceived the importance of personal job-related skills versus the less controllable factors of networking upward and serendipity when seeking to achieve a leadership position.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: As organizations aim to become increasingly diverse, it is important to understand how perspectives of potential future leaders vary across culture and gender. This study aims to advance the understanding of the persistent gender gap in management.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Samples from the gender-segregated Qatar and the co-ed Denmark present a unique opportunity to investigate the potential effects of gender. Here, 115 Middle Easterners and 121 Scandinavians rated perceived importance of job-related skills, networking upward and serendipity in leadership acquisition.\nFindings: Effects of gender showed that compared to men, women across cultures expected that serendipity has less to do with leadership acquisition. Middle Eastern women also showed low expectations regarding networking with people in powerful positions. Nevertheless, both genders showed conviction of meritocracy by rating job-related skills as the most important factor in leadership acquisition. Cross-culturally, Scandinavians presumed job-related skills to be more important than Middle Easterners.\nResearch limitations/implications: Despite meritocracy beliefs, it appears that gender differences in perceived possibility of leadership acquisition contribute to the gender gap in management. Scandinavian women relied more on networking than Middle Eastern women, but still lacked faith in serendipitous opportunities compared to male peers. Perceived luck enhances achievement motivation. If men rely more on luck than women, then they are more confident in succeeding and more ambitious about pursuit of leadership. Women's lack of faith in serendipity might affect their career ambitions negatively even in societies emphasizing equality.\nOriginality/value: This is the first study that directly focuses on gender differences in perception of opportunities for leadership acquisition through serendipity.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Neoliberal governance in Indonesian universities: the impact upon academic identity
|
[
"Higher education",
"Policy",
"Indonesia",
"Academic identity",
"Neoliberal governance"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The expansive colonisation of neoliberalism ideology reflected upon its market principles into higher education institutions has been breath-taking both in its depth and breadth (Ball, 2003; Billot, 2010; Harris, 2005; Deem, 1998). One manifestation of this market influence has come to be seen as a determinant which has given rise to the emergence and proliferation of the economy education as Ball (2000) wrote. Under the notion of economy education, academics have particularly been perceived as intellectual actors upon whom the accomplishment of economic goals of nations can be elicited (Ball, 2000). The impacts of such as assumption above have been twofold that affect both individual subjects and institutions. At the individual subject levels, academics are increasingly touched by market ideology, leading academics to behave in market-driven manners to meet the increased expectation of government-driven policy bounded in the lexicon of accountability, efficiency, performativity, and quality assurance (Ball, 2000; Olssen and Peters, 2005; Lorenz, 2012). Whilst at the institutional level, higher education institutions have been pressurised to transform their roles and functions to become more complete organisations and corporate organisations as these are the contextual prerequisites to enable the market-driven management from occurring (Boer et al., 2007).\nIdentity: Identity or self-concept has been conceptualised in many ways drawn from different theories. Identity is not a static construct, rather it is a dynamic concept in a sense that it may change through participation of self-individual in their social contexts in which it interacts with other individual. As Clegg (2008, p. 329) argued that \"identity is understood not as a fixed property, but as part of the lived complexity of a person's project\". It is a lifetime dialogical process (Valimaa, 1998) which continues to develop and render the process of \"who am I\" and \"where do I belong to\" in given contexts. This process engages with the significant of others (Valimaa, 1998) of individuals embeddedness (Kogan and Hanney, 2000) influenced by \"individual values, beliefs, and norms which intermingles with others\" (Valimaa, 1998, p. 131). This concept of identity is very much influenced by symbolic interactionism paradigm and communitarian moral philosophy (Henkel, 1997) in which the social world is constructed through social interaction through the use of symbol (language) to attribute meanings to object (Mead, 1934, cited in Henkel, 1997).\nIndonesian higher education: Modern forms of higher education institutions in Indonesia were introduced by the Dutch in order to provide professionals for their colonial government and such institutions limited their access only for aristocrat families of native Indonesian leading to the construction of elitism and closed society (Tajuddin, 2007). The provision of higher education to produce professionals had signalled that the nascent emergence of economic, market-driven purpose of higher education institutions in Indonesia had been paved by the colonialist government (Sulistyono, 2007).\nThe methodology: We design our proposed research study in a qualitative case study approach. The case study approach is considered as an ideal approach when we want to understand holistically \"a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context\" (Yin, 2009, p. 18). In this study, its main purpose is to gain in depth understanding about the accountability process manifested in the lexicon of efficiency and productivity and how the respondents give meaning to this process within Indonesian university contexts. This process is considered as a social construction of the members of Indonesian higher institutions through their day-to-day interaction and these cannot be explored by using survey instruments (Merriam, 1998).\nMethod: Sampling procedures\nMethod of data analysis: The data were analysed using systematic qualitative data analysis proposed by Miles and Huberman (1994). The interviews were analysed through coding process to generate categories and themes. In producing codes we were guided by the research questions. The original interview transcripts (in Indonesian language) were translated into English. So the English-translated interview transcript version became the source for us to create code schemes. After categorising, the data were coded and themes were generated. The themes were applied to each sorted data from the interview utilised. These themes then were tagged and acted to describe the whole sentences. Drawing on this procedure, the themes under each category were compared to all interview transcripts for each faculty and then put them in the same group.\nFindings: Academics' perceived negative advantages towards the shift in accountability and quality assurance: the implication upon academic identities as perceived by academics.\nDiscussion and conclusion: The results of this study demonstrates that academics under three universities where this research was carried out have felt considerable impacts of the application of online assessment upon the meaning of their identity in their crux of their activities. The autonomy, held by academics as their primary academic identity has to a larger extent been challenged. The challenge encountered is reflected upon the control held by DGHE in scrutinising all aspects of academics' works. In view of this issue, academics' territory has been encroached leading to the diminishing power of their professionalism. Professionalism per se conveys an idea that power is given to the subjects to determine their own matters (Olssen and Peters, 2005).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the under life of Indonesian academics during ongoing implementation of government-driven policy enacted in higher education instititutions in Indonesia. The attention was specifically focused on the new programme of accountability and quality assurance moderated by the implementation of online assessment system to monitor and evaluate the perfromance of lecturers directly and how this system impacted upon the meaning of academic identity perceived by them.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study was drawn from a qualitative research of case study approach. Semi-structured interviews were utilised to collect data and conducted with 30 academics from three state universities.\nFindings: This study revealed that academics were grappling to balance their schism between keeping their existing identity tenable and excercising new prescribed roles from external environment. However, academics were still able to practice their preceived identity through their principled personal project that legitimate them to become academics and pursue their success rather than use instrumental means.\nPractical implications: The results of this study will be expected to contribute to a better understanding on the dynamics of academics' world as it is encountered against government-driven policy, and provide indications for policy makers to take into account this issue in the formulation and enactment of their policy.\nOriginality/value: A new aspect of identity in academic profession was found, that is to say religion.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Challenges and competencies for project management in the Australian public service
|
[
"Project management",
"Barriers",
"Competences",
"Challenges",
"Public service organizations"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the last 20 years, the public service has changed its approach to program delivery to respond to the increasing and evolving expectations of government and the public. Known as new public management (NPM), this changed approach borrows heavily on private sector financial and management practice, shifting away from a traditional stewardship focus toward performance based on outcomes and efficiency (Halligan, 1997). In the same way that commercial entities realize change through projects, the delivery of the key policies of Government has become projectized. In recognition of this and building on lessons learned by relevant transformation efforts in Europe (Jones, 2006; Maddock and Morgan, 1998), the Australian public service commission (APSC) added project management to the suite of skills required of public service leaders (Australian Public Service Commission, 2014a). Despite the focus on project delivery, for more than a decade and greater than $100 billion in investment, public projects are failing to meet delivery expectations (Young and Grant, 2015; Young et al., 2012). To mediate this, the APSC supports a nationally recognized qualification, BSB41513 Certificate IV in project management practice, to improve the skills of public servants working in project environments (Australian Public Service Commission, 2014b). In addition to training strategies, the APSC has also sought to improve capability by attracting project managers from the private sector into roles with the Australian public service (APS). However, these career project managers may still be at a disadvantage if they have little understanding or experience of the specific complexities of delivering projects in a government environment (Boyne, 2002).\n2. Competencies and challenges in public sector project management: Competencies for public sector managers have always been under focus, especially in their relation to those used in the private sector (Hondeghem and Vandermeulen, 2000). The literature has been examined to identify competencies which are common to all project management environments, and assess if there are variations, specifications or additional technical, contextual, or behavioral competencies required for successful delivery of projects in a public setting. Transferring of practices from the private sector to the public sector came to the fore after the introduction of NPM in Australia during the mid-1990s. Critics of NPM initiatives believed that the public and private organizations were fundamentally different and therefore no business practices could be successfully transferred between them. To examine this view, Boyne (2002) collated the results of 34 separate empirical studies in management dating from 1970s to 1980s. The aim was to determine if there were statistically significant differences between public and private practice across four distinct areas: the environment (or context), goals, structures, and values (including ethics). The organizational differences and goals between the public and private sector were often unexplored, sparse, or inconsistent in these studies. Nevertheless, the findings did not support a view that the two sectors were inherently dissimilar. However, it did identify that there were significant differences in values and ethics, approaches to human resource management, and decision-making processes (Boyne, 2002, p. 118). Therefore, this suggested that any attempt to effectively apply private sector competencies to the public sector though NPM would require that processes and techniques be tuned or supplemented for successful transition.\n3. Research method: The research protocol developed, described the research methods to be employed as well as the way in which they would be applied to the current research. The research protocol as presented hereafter, was approved by the researchers' organization ethics team. The ethics approval purpose is to make sure that the ethics is aligned to the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.\n4. Research findings: 4.1 Understanding the social and operating construct in the APS\n5. Results and discussion: Participants in the study confirm Boyne's (2002) earlier research that while public sector and private sector environments perform similar functions, they are dissimilar in their approaches. Specifically, external consultants or project managers entering the APS find an environment \"more different than similar\" (interviewee response) to their experience of the private sector. While they can \"draw on the fundamentals [...] there is tuning to be done\" (interviewee response) to apply those approaches effectively in the public service. This supports Gomes et al. (2008) who found that although Portuguese project managers in the public sector showed familiarity with the processes of effective project management practices, they highlighted the specific nature of public sector operational systems and their influence on their use.\n6. Conclusions: Despite significant investment over a decade, public sector projects have failed to meet delivery expectations, and the lack of significant project management experience in the APS has been identified as a contributing factor. The Commonwealth government has sought to address these gaps and improve future outcomes by increasing project management competency in the APS through training.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Public sector projects still fail to meet delivery expectations, and the lack of significant project management experience in the Australian public service (APS) has been identified as a contributing factor. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the importance of competencies required for delivering public sector projects, as well as challenges faced by the project managers when operating in a public context.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were used to enlighten the social and operating construct in APS. In parallel, a quantitative survey was used to determine the relative importance of various competencies to effective project delivery.\nFindings: The research concludes that communication, accountability, business alignment, scope and deliverables, change, and project and program orientation are the most important competencies in APS project delivery. Furthermore, there is evidence that the operating environment acts as a barrier to successful project delivery, noting that it does not let project management practice deploy its full potential for increased effectiveness and efficiency.\nPractical implications: The research findings noted that the specific needs, values and functions of project management in the APS are not well defined, and therefore there were limited criteria against which public sector project management competencies could be designed and measured.\nOriginality/value: This empirical research contributes to the open dialogue of improving efficiency in project management within the APS context. The findings point to the conflict between the operational nature of APS agencies and their project activities, and how they struggle to define themselves as project organizations rather than lack of appreciation to individual competencies.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Is the risk management committee only a procedural compliance? An insight into managing risk taking among insurance companies in Malaysia
|
[
"Malaysia",
"Insurance companies",
"Risk management",
"Committees",
"Risk management committees",
"Audit committees",
"Underwriting risk"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Financial crisis and unexpected collapse of many corporations and banks in the US have resulted in relentless consequences, including reduced economic activity, loss of public confidence, and unstable financial system. Many factors may have contributed to these fragilities, however, excessive risk taking is probably one that has also made internal control to be essential. Besides, a competitive environment that continues to shape and drive market change intensifies rivalry among companies and is likely to lead them to undertake even more risks over time. Partly for these reasons, it is; imperative to have continuous risk monitoring and assessment in order to uphold corporate accountability (Brown et al., 2009).The risk management committee (RMC), a unit that used to mean little has now become an important emphasis. Traditionally, risk management activities have been embedded as part of the key functions of an audit committee. Depending on the regulatory changes, the scope of an audit committee has been extended to take up risk management and internal control, apart from ensuring integrity and transparency in the financial reporting process. Not only audit directors should be financially literate, the audit committee needs to be familiar with risk management as ways to optimise the checks and balance function (Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), 2010). Focusing on the clear fiduciary duties spelled out in various frameworks and guidelines, the audit committee expectedly engages in numerous risk exercises, such as risk identification, evaluation, management and control. However, the trust placed on the audit committee in protecting shareholders' investments is somehow challenged by a number of corporate failures and scandals, such as in the cases of HIH Insurance, Enron, and WorldCom. The recurrence of business collapses substantially casts doubt about the effectiveness of an audit committee in overseeing and executing risk management program (Bates and Leclerc, 2009). The purported multiple roles have been objected by Zaman (2001) that it is unreasonable to expect an audit committee to carry out high-level review as its members have only limited resources in terms of skills and time. Risk is more than the description defined from a financial perspective; it encompasses politics, economy, regulation, and market (Burton, 2008). Against this background, Bugalla et al. (2012), among others proposed that an audit committee should be independent from an RMC in order to preserve the integrity and protect against fiduciary malfeasance.The above insights provide two implications - first, it underscores the need to separate duties and responsibilities between an audit committee and an RMC. Second, auditors and RMC members should not be linked in any way to ensure fair assessment of all risk management functions. De Lacy (2005) strongly recommended the setup of an independent RMC given the more complex risk environment. This is similarly supported by Brown et al. (2009) that an audit committee may be unable to oversee both financial and non-financial risks. Moreover, Daly and Bocchino (2006) confirmed that many audit committee members found it uncomfortable to be overburdened with workload in risk oversight. It is believed that a stand-alone RMC is able to strengthen the internal control mechanism (Yatim, 2010).The increased concern regarding risk management practices has considerably prompted legislative reforms worldwide. In Malaysia, for example, the central bank, BNM made changes in the financial regulatory environment in order to instil corporate governance values in the financial service industry. More specifically, the audit committee has been in principle redefined in terms of roles and responsibilities after the official requirement is announced for the setup of a new committee - the RMC in 2003. From the decomposition of the integrated functions earlier, the audit committee is now focused on maintaining the integrity and transparency of financial reporting process; while the RMC oversees activities conducted by the senior management in key risk areas; in addition to the duty to ensure that insurers have an appropriate risk management process that functions effectively in companies (BNM, 2010). Subsequently, the concept of risk management, corporate governance, and internal control are interlinked (Yatim, 2010) and the RMC turns out to be a key governance mechanism that assists boards and management in managing risks.While many advocates of RMC have highlighted the numerous benefits of a stand-alone committee to oversee risk, the empirical finding in this association remains vague and narrow. Among the RMC related researches, Brown et al. (2009) conducted a thorough review of risk management in the Australian biotechnology companies. Subramaniam et al. (2009) examined how the establishment of an RMC is associated with a firm's characteristics and board factors, while Yatim (2010) also performed a similar research in the Malaysian context. Bugalla et al. (2012) on the other hand, proposed a new model of governance and risk management for financial intermediaries. How well an RMC in place could serve its purpose in minimising the tendency to take risk remains the critical point. We believe that an RMC continues to play an integral part in various risk issues that influence the success of the operation, particularly after the regulatory change. Given the importance of the RMC in the insurance sector, this paper is set to address whether the characteristics of an RMC mitigate underwriting risk among insurance companies. The study will investigate if the attributes of an RMC is related to risk taking among insurance firms and specifically, examine how an RMC's size, independence and its number of meetings are related to the underwriting risk of insurance companies between 2003 and 2011.This study is in fact among the very few that focuses on the RMC and risk taking. The topic is scant for two possible reasons due to limitations in data collection. First, the data and information about RMC are often limited given their relatively shorter history of establishment, as compared to other more prominent committees, such as the compensation and audit committees. Second, the optional formation of an RMC across many nations and industries makes its data insufficient. However, such data is available in Malaysia following BNM's ruling on the mandatory setup of an RMC in each insurance firm since 2003. Throughout the nine years' time frame until 2011, sufficient information related to RMC disclosed in the insurance companies' annual reports was obtained to perform this study, which will first contribute to the research field with more empirical findings on RMC that is not usually possible in previous studies. In addition, it is still unclear to what extent an RMC could influence a firm's risk management activities and practices. The evidence of this study may in turn reflect to the authorities as how companies' reaction justifies the national policy to achieve organisational objectives in risk oversight. Third, this study will bridge the knowledge gap on the insurance industry, which is yet to be fully explored, particularly in emerging economies. Besides, it is found that many fundamental questions about finance remain unanswered as little theoretical and empirical knowledge on financial intermediation is concerned with developing countries (Bolton, 2002). Therefore, it is noteworthy to study the Malaysia's insurance industry, specifically in relation to an RMC and risk taking.In the next section, a brief discussion on previous works related to both the RMC and audit committee is presented. It is followed by explanations on the research framework and sources of data for further analysis. The relationships between the characteristics of an RMC and risk taking will then be analysed in the empirical results section. The study will conclude with a summary and suggestions for policy implications.\nLiterature review and hypotheses development: Risk taking is one of the many factors that have considerably influenced the potency of the insurance industry. Krause (2006) agreed that risk is inherently found in all activities undertaken by a company but it is vital for the company to have good understanding of the risks it faces. It is believed that excessive risk taking incur not only financial losses to the shareholders; the consequences could also threaten the entire financial system and lead to economic breakdown.The authorities have been consistent in exercising their ultimate powers to sustain the reliability and resilience of the financial system; while governmental support has been traditionally seen as a critical element in keeping the system work. Even with definitive rules and regulations in place, reliance on regulatory oversight alone may not be sufficient to protect all stakeholders' interests. In fact, unexpected business failures and recurrence of financial crisis worldwide have led to a strategies shift towards emphasising internal control. Does an ineffective internal governance mechanism impede progress? In reality, the 1997 Asian financial crisis significantly raised awareness on the importance of corporate governance. During the crisis, various initiatives had been taken to instil good corporate governance practice, making it an integral part in company management, including the formalisation of its framework and guidelines. Since then, corporate governance has been identified as one of the key instruments to alleviate conflict of interest among stakeholders. It is but more of a strategic and proactive collaboration between business owners and the management that could complement each other with supervisory functions to achieve progress.More recently, the global financial crisis have called attention to how systemic and idiosyncratic risks are attributable to financial system shock. The supervisory authorities subsequently look for policy action to deal with risks, including risk and capital management. Whether the present crisis is just another episode of the rerun of those in the past, one thing is clear and for sure that all businesses must be more responsive to changing circumstances by embracing risk management policy as part of the operating procedure (Brown et al., 2009). As a result, risk management reform is taken more seriously in many developed countries with more operational shifts to risk control. The practice of risk management is becoming noticeable by looking at a more formalised system dealing with risk in organisations (Sarens and Christopher, 2010; Subramaniam and Carey, 2011).Specifically, the formation of RMC in view of good corporate governance will help ensure adequate industry health and strength. At minimum, an effective risk management system helps organisations to achieve their objective, improves the quality of financial reporting, and enhances company reputation (Subramaniam et al., 2009). To support this, it is important for the board to oversee the execution of risk management activities and make a review on its effectiveness (KPMG, 2006).Risk management functions such as asset management activities and financial reporting have been traditionally the responsibility of the audit committee. Just like in other countries, the audit committee of Malaysia's insurance industry has been tasked with duties related to accounting, auditing, risk assessment and detecting fraud. Somehow, it is high time for an independent RMC to be setup, as the risks associated with operations are broad, comprising both financial and non-financial risks, which technically go beyond the scope of an audit committee. Brown et al. (2009) pointed out that the responsibility for managing risk is no longer part and parcel of an audit committee duty alone. Rather, the increasing complexity of business model and the varying situation provides justification why an RMC has the responsibility to actively engage in risk oversight. Relatively, many corporations have called for the strengthening of internal control and governance especially after the recent breakdown of the international debt market. This is not hard to imagine as investors who contribute substantial amount of capital are on the lookout for safer platforms in wealth planning. Questions on risk identification, evaluation, management, and control have emerged as hot and frequent debates in the boardroom in order to protect shareholders' interests and look after company assets.With regulatory reform, BNM has made it compulsory for all Malaysia's insurance companies to have a stand-alone RMC in 2003. With a primary responsibility, the role of an RMC is comprehensively specified in BNM (2010). First, an RMC needs to review and make recommendations to the board regarding risk management strategies, policies and risk tolerance levels. Second, the committee is required to review and evaluate how effective are the risk management policies and framework in identifying, measuring, monitoring, and controlling risks. Third, an RMC has to ensure that all resources needed for the risk management system is adequate. Fourth, all risk management reports need to be reviewed periodically.As mentioned earlier, issues about RMC are not extensively explored and studied, thus making this topic a scant one. In contrast, there is a considerable amount of studies emphasising the effectiveness of an audit committee. Since an RMC resembles the similar function of an audit committee, much of the theories and empirical knowledge of this study is linked to corporate governance mechanism, the audit committee in particular. To examine the association of an RMC and risk taking, this study focuses on three attributes that have been recommended in previous works on audit committee. The attributes include the number of directors in the committee, the proportion of independent directors in the committee and the frequency of meetings (Lin et al., 2006; Liu and Zhuang, 2011). Identifying risk management expertise is nonetheless a challenge due to its limited disclosure in the companies' annual report. In fact, the Minimum Standards for Prudential Management of Insurers (Consolidated) does not explicitly set the disclosure requirement for expertise matter in an RMC (BNM, 2010) and thus making the proficiency of the director largely unavailable. With this obstacle, we have excluded director skill and knowledge from our analysis.Size of RMC\nResearch design and methodology: Sample and data\nEmpirical results: Descriptive statistics and correlation matrix\nDiscussion and conclusion: Financial crisis, collapse of corporations, the competitive environment and globalisation are consistently testing the insurers' capability of survival. In view of this, having continuous risk monitoring and assessment have become one of a priorities in company management and the implementation of public policies in order to uphold corporate accountability and enhance operating performance. With these, the RMC has turned out to be a very significant measure for most corporations.This paper examines the relationship between an RMC's attributes and underwriting risk in Malaysia's insurance sector. The analysis shows that the presence of an RMC appears to be closely related to risk management and the internal control mechanism. Specifically, an RMC's size and its number of independent directors are negatively associated with underwriting risk. These results remain the same even after risk variation for loss ratio is substituted in the model. As for the frequency of RMC meetings, the results lent no support to earlier hypothesis that frequent meetings reduces risk taking.The findings of this study are important to both the insurers and policymakers. First, it is vital for the regulatory body to consider independent directors in determining the composition of an RMC. As indicated in this study, a higher composition of independent directors in an RMC results in more objective and rational decision making, and therefore it is able to lower risk taking. Second, this finding shows that higher number of directors in an RMC is good for the insurance sector. A larger RMC may provide more effective supervision over various risk issues and subsequently help reduce excessive risk taking; which can devastate the financial system. Overall, this study suggests that the RMC has a significant bearing on risk management and a monitoring board is needed to explicitly deal with risk within the industry. Intrinsically, incorporating an RMC as part of the corporate governance mechanism is a key success factor for insurance companies in controlling and managing risks.From the remarkable findings, however, it is undeniable that the geographical scope and the evidences of this study may be considered small, at least from an international perspective. Therefore, future studies may be extended to cover more economies, such as the developed nations as well as emerging markets to fill the knowledge gap while providing thorough analysis. Additionally, it is important to incorporate risks proxies based on market data in future researches, such as companies' stock return volatility as this data is expected to affect future study results.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationships between risk management committee characteristics and risk taking of the Malaysia's insurance companies, from 2003-2011. The paper aims to examine three identified characteristics of a risk management committee, namely, size, independence, and number of meetings.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The sample comprises 329 observations throughout the nine years' time frame until 2011. Pearson's correlation, pooled ordinary least squares regression, and panel regression model are used in this study. Sensitivity testing with an alternative measure of underwriting risk is also performed.\nFindings: - Out of the three characteristics, size and committee independence appear to be negatively associated with underwriting risk. Meanwhile, the frequency of risk management committee meetings is insignificant in this study.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The sample of this study is limited to the Malaysia's insurance sector only.\nOriginality/value: - A risk management committee is an influencing force for risk oversight and the internal control system. The empirical evidence enriches the understanding of corporate governance in the context of the role of a risk management committee.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Well-being and innovativeness: motivational trigger points for mutual enhancement
|
[
"Well-being",
"Employees",
"Motivation",
"Innovativeness",
"Public service development"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Continuous improvement of services, products and processes is essential for organisations. Developing and renewing are no longer seen as purely the responsibility of managers or research and development departments, but rather all employees need to participate in innovation activities (Anderson et al., 2014). This paper investigates how to persuade employees to participate in innovation activities and renew their work - especially in the public sector, where monetary or other tangible rewards are not available. According to the expectancy theory (Vroom, 1964), for a motivational state to arise, an actor must perceive a plausible link between his action and a valuable outcome. This paper investigates how perceptions of relationships between well-being and innovativeness could serve as plausible links to valuable outcomes in motivation to participate in innovation activities or improve well-being.\nData and methods: Organisational context\nResults: The perceptions about the connections between well-being and innovativeness were studied, and evidence of all eight possible links was found (Figure 2). Most often, the interviewees reported perceptions about the links that were proposed by the JD-R model (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007, 2014) and the original model of Huhtala and Parzefall (2007). The perceptions of ordinary people seem to agree with these theoretical models.\nDiscussion: Arguments concerning the interconnectedness between well-being and innovativeness that would be most plausible for motivating employees to participate in innovation activities were searched. Members of two public sector organisations perceived all eight theoretical links between well-being and innovativeness. Our findings especially support three of the four links presented by Huhtala and Parzefall (2007): high well-being was perceived to increase innovativeness (link A), low well-being to decrease (B) innovativeness and high innovativeness was perceived to increase well-being (C). Their model also proposed that people may perceive high levels of developmental activities as a demand (D), thus reducing well-being at work. This perception was present in the data, but less than the view of innovativeness as a resource.\n",
"role": "user"
},
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"content": "Purpose: This paper focuses on employees' motivation to participate in innovation at the workplace. The best arguments to persuade employees to renew their work were searched. According to the expectancy theory (Vroom, 1964), a plausible link must be perceived for a motivational state to arise. The paper investigated the perceptions that employees, team-leaders and directors have about the relationships between innovativeness and well-being.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The data consisted of thematic interviews with 14 persons from knowledge- and labour-intensive organisations in the public service sector. Data included material from directors, team-leaders and front-line workers. The theoretical model of Huhtala and Parzefall (2007) was applied to analyse perceptions about links between well-being and innovativeness.\nFindings: Results indicated that all eight possible links between well-being and innovativeness were perceived as plausible. The most common views were that high innovativeness connects to high well-being and vice versa. Additionally, low well-being was seen to decrease innovativeness. All organisational levels of knowledge- and labour-intensive organisations shared these views. More specifically, the interviewees shared the view that participating in innovation activities gives the employee opportunities to influence one's work, which in turn leads to well-being. Another commonly shared perception was that if employees were encouraged and praised for their efforts, innovativeness would increase. These provide plausible arguments for leaders to persuade employees to participate.\nPractical implications: Practical advice about effective arguments for motivating employees is given: tell them that innovativeness is desired for, time and space is allocated for innovations, the amount of change will be managed, and the innovation activities present an opportunity to have voice.\nOriginality/value: This paper shows potential motivational trigger points for enhancing the interaction between well-being and innovation.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Customer segmentation based on buying and returning behaviour
|
[
"Strategy",
"E-commerce",
"Supply chain management",
"Buying behaviour",
"Customer segmentation"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In shifting market conditions, the choice of supply chain strategies is a critical aspect of competing to serve customers (Gattorna, 2010). It is accepted in theory that the \"one size fits all\" approach to supply chain design is no longer valid (Christopher et al., 2006; Gattorna, 2010; Ericsson, 2011; Godsell et al., 2011). However, even in the highly competitive e-commerce market, organisations still utilise a \"one size fits all\" strategy to create and deliver value to their consumers, thereby implicitly assuming that consumers' demands and buying behaviour are homogeneous and, therefore, that there is no profitable reason to differentiate delivery in terms of service.\nResearch design, method and measurement: Designing supply chain and organisational strategies in the FMCG business, especially within fashion e-commerce, requires a profound understanding of customer behaviours and requirements. Therefore, the development of supply chain strategies must be both context-specific and close to the competitive environment, and accordingly, it is appropriate to use a single-case design to test the well-known \"one size fits all\" theory. To test the overarching hypotheses presented in the previous section, one must select a case organisation, determine a unit of analysis and collect and assess data. The case organisation, Nelly.com, was selected primarily because it fit the purpose of testing specific theories, i.e. this organisation did not segment its customers or differentiate its offerings to customers in terms of products or services. Furthermore, the organisation was willing to support the research with transactional data for the purposes of testing the aforementioned theory on the organisational and customer levels. For the quantitative analysis, Nelly.com exported transactional data from their ERP system. The data contained all (502,429) of its orders for a period of two years (2008-2009) across their four markets in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Because the analysis was performed on a customer level, the authors performed detailed calculations to reveal various aspects of each customer's behaviours, including the customer's order sales figures, return figures and contribution margin. Thereafter, each customer was analysed in terms of total sales, average sales per order, total contribution margin, average contribution margin, total number of orders, and total number of returns. The organisation's operations manager was interviewed on site during the research and supplied the researchers with vital information regarding freight costs, return freight costs and costs that were related to the handling of orders and returns.\nResults: Contribution per order\nDiscussion and conclusions: Gattorna (2010) highlights the importance of understanding the dominating buying behaviour in a supply chain. This study tested whether the \"one size fits all\" strategy results in a homogeneous behaviour in fashion e-commerce. The grouping of customers (Table I) performed in this paper is not segmentation as such; however, it certainly indicates a heterogeneous buying behaviour and therefore merits further qualitative research regarding differentiated service delivery. The results from the quantitative analysis indicate an interesting pattern that supports Gattorna's (2010) theory that the dominating behaviour found in one market appears in the others as well. Furthermore, the findings also support the theory predicting reduced behavioural homogeneity within countries and increased commonalities across countries (Broderick et al., 2007), as the analysis found a heterogeneous pattern within markets and matching patterns among markets. However, the research design that was used does not allow for discussion as to whether the behaviour has changed over time, as suggested by Broderick et al. (2007), it only acknowledges the matching patterns.\nFuture research: The findings reported in this study indicate how customers behave and demonstrate that there is clearly a heterogeneous response from customers to the \"one size fits all\" strategy. It is important, though, to stress that customer segmentation is only a starting point for aligning the resources of the firm (Gattorna, 2010) and the supply chain. Future studies should include qualitative research that creates a detailed understanding of why customers behave differently, as it is important to investigate customer values. This future research should also address methods of designing and delivering matching value propositions from a supply chain perspective.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to empirically test whether a \"one size fits all\" strategy fits the fashion e-commerce business and second, to evaluate whether consumer returns are a central aspect of the creation of profitability and, if so, to discuss the role of returns management (RM) in the supply chain strategy.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Transactional sales and return data were analysed and used to categorise customers based on their buying and returning behaviours, measuring each customer's net contribution margins.\nFindings: The e-commerce business collects a vast quantity of data, but these data are seldom used for the development of service differentiation. This study analysed behaviour patterns and determined that the segmentation of customers on the basis of both sales and return patterns can facilitate a differentiated service delivery approach.\nResearch limitations/implications: This research empirically supports the theory that customer buying and returning behaviours can be used to appropriately categorise customers and thereby guide the development of a more differentiated service approach.\nPractical implications: The findings support a differentiated service delivery system that utilises a more dynamic approach, conserving resources and linking the supply chain and/or organisational strategies with customers' buying and returning behaviours to avoid over and underservicing customers.\nOriginality/value: Consumer returns are often viewed as a negative aspect of doing business; interestingly, however, the authors revealed that the most profitable customer is a repeat customer who frequently returns goods.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
On creating the school-running characteristic of university
|
[
"University",
"Category characteristic",
"Core idea of education",
"Institutional research",
"School-running characteristic"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The developing process of things is a creative process. \"The future does not exist in the present\" Alfred North (see Mesle, 2009). Things are generated in the creative process. So far as Chinese university concerned, it has been only ten years or so since the concept of school-running characteristics put forward and gained attention. In order to create school-running characteristics, we need constantly review, summarize and research so as to push it forward.\nFrom summarizing characteristics to creating characteristics: Since the evaluation of undergraduate teaching, university began to think highly on school-running characteristics. The undergraduate teaching assessment plan set up \"characteristic projects,\" and clearly defined that the conclusion of evaluation for excellent schools must show \"distinctive characteristics,\" a good school must have its characteristic project. Thus, this promoted various schools to research and sum up their own school-running characteristics.\nEstablishing the directions and goals of creating the school-running characteristics: The school-running characteristic refers to a long lasting, stable development style with social identified, unique and excellent traits of a university that formed in the process of development. On the connotation of school-running characteristic, I have discussed in the Chinese issue - Higher Educational Research, \"On the school-running characteristics of the undergraduate teaching assessment\" (\nEffective implementation of creating school-running characteristics: Once its direction and objectives are set, university should put all the efforts effectively to push forward the establishment of school-running characteristic. The following three points are of vital importance.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: It is a very prominent problem that Chinese universities lack school-running characteristics. In the past ten years, because of undergraduate teaching assessment requirements of the Ministry of Education, universities attach great importance to school-running characteristics. What is the reality and how to improve the effectiveness of creating the school-running characteristics of universities? It is a problem that needs to be solved. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using the survey method, literature study, case studies and other methods, this study reviewed ten years of school-running characteristics construction and explored some laws of creating school-running characteristics.\nFindings: This study found although universities in China are beginning to attach great importance to the school-running characteristics, but they are still staying in the summarization of characteristics. School-running characteristics are very rough. Creating school-running characteristics are mainly efforts responding to the superior government. Creating school-running characteristics should be based on category characteristic. Universities need to change in competition and create characteristics within its history and culture. Universities need to refine the core idea of education, develop a big picture and then renew them in the assessment cycle.\nOriginality/value: The originality of this study was that it put forward some new laws including changing from summarizing to creating its own school-running characteristics, putting category characteristic as the prerequisite and considering the core idea of education as the focus of school-running characteristics. This research will enrich the theory building of higher education research and has some value in promoting the creation of school-running characteristics.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The knowledge of Italian wines on export markets: A nonparametric methodology to analyze promotional actions
|
[
"CBBE model",
"Export market",
"Foreign consumer preferences",
"NPC test",
"Wine knowledge",
"Wine promotion"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In last decades, the world wine market has changed. Wine consumption is declining in traditional producers such as Italy and France and increasing in new consumers countries. From supply side, new producing countries were able to satisfy the emerging demand because of competitive and standard production (varietal wines) and strong marketing strategies (brand, label, design, promotion) (Campbell and Guibert, 2006). Conversely, old producing countries show a wide wine variety (Bernetti et al., 2006) and an oversupply which can be mitigated by exports. Accordingly, the wine promotion plays a key role in enforcing competitiveness on international markets by improving the consumer perception as well as by building up the consumer loyalty (Campbell and Guibert, 2006; Bernetti et al., 2006). On export markets, wine promotion campaigns should be designed according to both target country features (Rod and Beal, 2012; Corsi et al., 2010) and competitive aspects such as price (Parcero and Villanueva, 2011).\n2. Methodology: multivariate permutation tests and NPC: The method applied in this paper is the NPC (Pesarin and Salmaso, 2010). The NPC method offers an innovative, flexible and well-tested approach for the analysis of multivariate hypothesis when we are dealing with complex problems. This nonparametric method seems to be well suited for analyzing our survey data because: the knowledge of the dependence structure among variables is not required; it handles any type of variables including multivariate categorical/mixed ones or stratified/groped ones; and it handles missing values.\n3. The survey: The survey has been carried out in cities located in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Leiden, Utrecht), Belgium (Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels), Baltic Republics (Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius), USA (Chicago, Miami, Boston and New York) and Japan (Tokyo). The survey panel includes press agents, restaurateurs, wholesalers, importers, winemakers and wine experts.\n4. Results: 4.1. NPC test on country groups\n5. Conclusions: The analysis has been carried out on survey data coming from four wine PR activities collected in countries within and outside EU. The NPC methodology employed for the analysis was able to handle a large amount of variables even when records are scarce and it does not require the knowledge of the dependence structure among variables.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The European Union (EU) has strongly rearranged the management of EU wine policy by introducing actions for promoting wine in third countries. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate factors affecting the knowledge of Italian wines in foreign consumers, i.e., to what extend wine promotion actions can improve the consumer's awareness or the reputation of Italian wines. As a consequence, these activities may increase the wine consumption as well as wine exports in emerging markets.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data have been collected through survey questionnaires where information about wine tasting, sensory satisfaction and preferences about Italian wines have been collected. The sample survey collects preferences of wine market operators in both EU and third countries. The survey, carried out from 2009 to 2011, includes 3,579 interviews classified according to four promotion actions: press conference, wine tasting, tasting course, knowledge of Italian wines. Data have been analyzed through a nonparametric combination (NPC) of dependent permutation tests to evaluate differences between and within country groups and to assess the consumer perception about Italian wines through the Keller's model.\nFindings: So far, Italian wine promotion activities, supported by EU wine policy, are fragmented among in many small and sometimes low effective actions. Research results may be helpful in designing more effective promotional strategies on third countries. In particular, promotional activities which should be focussed on consumer's appreciation of Italian wines as a brand instead of promoting specific wines or wineries.\nResearch limitations/implications: The NPC method is a nonparametric tool which does not measure the structure of consumer's preferences, i.e, it does give any measure of relationships among consumer's utility and factors affecting it as it happens when a modeling approach is applied.\nPractical implications: Targeted promotion and information actions strongly focussed internal and external wine attributes can increase the level of knowledge in foreign consumers. It can make more efficient the marketing activity oriented to the export market.\nOriginality/value: The NPC method offers an innovative, flexible and well-tested approach for the analysis of multivariate hypothesis when we are dealing with complex problems in wine market.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Exploring the living learning laboratory: An approach to strengthen campus sustainability initiatives by using sustainability science approach
|
[
"Campus sustainability",
"Sustainable development",
"Sustainability science",
"Living lab",
"Institution of higher education"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The living laboratory concept, or \"living lab\" for short, is defined as \"the co-creation process in integrating research and innovation in a systematic way, on a given territorial context\" (Von Hippel, 1986; Chesbrough, 2003; Bilgram et al., 2008; Pallot, 2009). In the context of institutions of higher education (IHE), the campus acts as a living lab with its role and function as a teaching and learning institution in a given educated society that allows more robust of research output, improve the campus operation and as a societal learning process.\nThe role of living learning laboratory in promoting innovative and creative teaching and learning environment: The word of co-creation in living lab concept is defined as a management initiative, or form of economic strategy, that brings different parties together (for instance, a company and a group of customers) to jointly produce a mutually valued outcome (Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004). It emphasizes collective effort, which allows more innovation and research which tally with the systematic approach. The latest approach is suit with the IHE environment. This study involves IHEs, so a given territorial context can be a complete campus that may consist of governance and administrative buildings, faculties, residential colleges and a support system. Knowing the main role and function of IHE, the elements of research and innovation may suitable to the main characteristics of the IHE as a living learning lab.\nLiving learning laboratory and campus sustainability: In the context of the campus that pursues sustainability, the adoption of LLL approach will accelerate the transformation of the conventional campus into a sustainable campus. The presence of living laboratory projects allows more interaction between the three elements of campus community, students, academia and non-academia staff (Sharp, 2002; Moore, 2005; Mcmillin and Dyball, 2009; Zen et al., 2013; Rahman and Zen, 2015). The process, however, challenges the academic society in applying the trans-disciplinary research that needs new skills on the researchers' part in adopting innovative pedagogical techniques, and a practical layman vocabulary in translating sustainability into practice for the rest of the community on campus. The additional skills of academia are needed in practicing LLL by involving trans-disciplinary teams. This urgency is defined as a new academia concept in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) (Zaini Ujang, 2012).\nEffort in adopting sustainability in institution of higher education in Malaysia: Along the ESD, the effort in institutionalizing sustainability commenced at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in 2005. The embedded ESD program was initiated by the Center for Global Sustainability Studies and the relevant faculties such as the School of Humanities. Sustainability initiatives are practiced and pioneered on the campus through the introduction of the comprehensive Healthy Campus concept known in Malay as Kampus Sejahtera (Meng et al., 2007). The transformational agenda won the university the prestigious award of Accelerated Program for Excellence (APEX) from the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education in 2009.\nFramework approach of living learning laboratory and sustainability science: Sustainability science as a new discipline of science is technically defined as:\nThe several applications of living learning laboratory in campus sustainability: Ecosystems services are one of the examples of how the living laboratory approach is adopted in Yale University. The project-based implementation and real case study involves the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies participating in developing Yale's Ecosystem Services Plan. The students were required to integrate knowledge on biophysical scientific, business, economic, political and standard issues to propose with the recommendations (Banerjee et al., 2011; Bouffard et al., 2011). The one-semester student project with Yale Office of Sustainability, Facilities and Operations and other University offices was intended to understand and articulate the goals of the sustainability strategic plan. The project not only involved the students in Yale's sustainability agenda but also involved the process, which is part of the student learning and exposure with the real problems in implementing sustainability in the university. The student groups proposed how Yale University could best manage its campus using an ecosystem services perspective such as \"healthy\" ecosystem services relationship and unlock the future and potential of possible future state of Yale Facilities and Operations. The interlinkages between teaching and learning, research and operation under the living laboratory approach were compared to the non-living laboratory approach, where the output is not integrated into other purposes. Furthermore, the project does not only mediate the involvement of various disciplines in sustainability science but also enhance the teaching and learning method based on real world setting by using campus \"Yale facilities and operations\" as a case study. All of these characteristics fall under sustainability science approach.\nThe steps towards living learning laboratory in campus sustainability: The several examples of LLL displayed in most of the websites of universities that practice sustainability. The UTM Campus Sustainability by using the project based of living lab approach access in www.utm.my/sustainable/living-lab/. Several key initiatives as a project-based approach includes Green Office, Sustainable Arcade, Sustainable Energy Management Program www.utm.my/energymanagement/utm-sustainable-energy-management-program-semp/. By using the sustainability science approach to analyse the campus LLL project-based approach from various campus sustainability with experience in organizing the UTM Campus Sustainability, the study has come up with several important steps as follows.\nConclusion: The LLL approach may have several impacts in IHE. Its functions in providing a platform for innovative and creative teaching and learning mechanism especially for subject related to environment. The LLL approach accelerate the implementation of campus sustainability initiatives by providing a platform in the mediation of a structural challenge in adopting sustainability science in IHE. Vice versa, the problem-solving nature of sustainability science provides a platform for implementing campus sustainability by creating a real case study, inter-, intra- and transdisciplinary approach. It challenges the researcher to provide a prompt response as part of societal learning process. It can be an effective tool to achieve a sustainable operation, allowing students to experience the real-world case studies. It becomes a test-bed for researchers to apply their tools, equipment and systems or approach for more robust research output. At the same time, it exposes the campus society to the environment and makes it more sensitive towards environmental issues.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The paper aims to explore and analyse the potential of campus living learning laboratory (LLL) as an integrated mechanism to provide the innovative and creative teaching and learning experiences, robust research output and strengthening the campus sustainability initiatives by using the sustainability science approach.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The challenge to adopt sustainability science as an interdisciplinary approach juxtaposed against the structure, teaching and learning of single disciplinary approach in institution of higher education (IHE). The LLL approach can be one of the options on how the integrative teaching and learning, combination fundamental and applied research and campus operations should conduct to strengthen the implementation of campus sustainability.\nFindings: The review of application of LLL from several campus sustainability and combining with the experiences in conducting the UTM Campus sustainability results the strategic operational mechanism of the integration process.\nResearch limitations/implications: The LLL approach which applies the sustainability science approach did not cover the challenges and issue related to the inter-, inter- and trans-disciplinary during the campus LLL application. Further study needs to be conducted to strengthen the fundamental approach to developing campus LLL as one approach to operationalizing the Sustainable Development agenda in IHE.\nPractical implications: The experiences and findings produces from this study help other campus sustainability to articulate the benefits of campus LLL initiatives, anticipate implementation challenges in teaching and learning, research output and the operation. The problem-solving nature of sustainability science provides a platform for implementing campus sustainability initiatives which allow inter-, inter- and trans-disciplinary approach for a more synergize effort of a real case study and project based approach.\nSocial implications: Furthermore, the implementation of LLL challenges the researcher/academia to provide prompt response as part of societal learning process in strengthening applied-based research as well as to contribute to the fundamental research. Successful LLL approach require both top-down commitments from the top management of the university and bottom-up drive from interested faculty, core research themes, operations and students.\nOriginality/value: The integrative framework and operational mechanism to operate LLL in campus sustainability which resulted from the analysis taken from several universities that implement campus sustainability is the origin values of significant contribution from this study.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The drinking water response to the Indian Ocean tsunami, including the role of household water treatment
|
[
"Tidal waves",
"South East Asia",
"Disasters"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Background and introduction: The Great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of December 26, 2004 released enough energy to supply the entire global population for six weeks (Bilham, 2005), and the tsunamis it generated devastated coastal regions of eleven countries around the Indian Ocean. At least five million people were affected in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Myanmar and Somalia. The death toll exceeded 290,000 victims, and more than one million persons were displaced (Reuters Foundation, 2005).Citing the threat of outbreaks from waterborne diseases, governments, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) urgently appealed for assistance in providing safe drinking water to affected populations, warning that:... poor quality and quantity of water and insufficient sanitation, overcrowding and poor hygiene in temporary camps will bring forward the risk for outbreaks of different diarrhoeal diseases. Thorough and sustained water purification is an absolute priority (WHO, 2005a).Calls for the provision of safe water became a central theme in the campaigns of many organizations, including those that accepted in-kind donations of filters, chlorine and other water treatment products.News reports have touted how \"coordination was the key\" in the prevention of a \"second wave\" of tsunami-related mortality that might have occurred due the spread of infectious disease (New York Times, 2005, editorial). However, in reality those involved reported that in many areas the first three months were a nightmare of disorganization, with conflicting opinions, poor cooperation, territoriality, organizational self-promotion, and irrational use of resources. This study thus seeks to elucidate those measures that indeed have reliable evidence of success in the area of household-level point-of-use water treatment.The progression of the tsunami response corresponded roughly with a series of stages in emergencies observed by Davis and Lambert (2002):* the immediate emergency phase;* a stabilization phase ranging from a few days to a few weeks;* the recovery phase; and* a prolonged reconstruction phase.The length of each of these stages varies depending on the disaster. In an emergency context, when normal supplies of drinking water are interrupted or compromised, affected populations have long been encouraged to boil or chlorinate their drinking water in order to ensure its microbiological integrity (CDC, 1993). In recent years, the treatment of water at the household level has been shown to be more effective in preventing endemic diarrhoea than traditional methods of improving or protecting the microbial quality of water at the source or to the point of distribution (Fewtrell, 2005; Clasen et al., 2006). In the response to the tsunami, some organizations attempted to implement household level water quality interventions.Data on the impact of household water quality interventions in emergencies are scarce. Thus in March and April 2005, we conducted a review of first hand accounts and written documents to assess the drinking water component of the humanitarian response to the tsunami in general, and household water treatment (HHWT)/safe storage interventions in particular.\n2 Methodology: Most of the information for this assessment was obtained from unstructured interviews with national, regional, and local representatives of governmental ministries and authorities, UN agencies, NGOs and private-sector companies (including on-site personnel working on water and health issues), conducted via phone, e-mail, and in the field (during two-week site visits to India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia). During site visits, we also interviewed members of affected populations and reviewed a variety of reports generated by participating relief organizations. Where possible, we reviewed data collected by aid providers and health workers dispatched to the affected regions in the weeks following the tsunami. Because there are few published studies of quantitative data derived from evaluations of the tsunami response, our findings will be presented in a mostly qualitative fashion.Although we took steps to collect as much relevant information as possible, circumstances limited our investigation. Logistical issues and costs permitted us to conduct field assessments in only selected countries and locations. Also, in soliciting information for this study, we agreed to respect the confidentiality of our sources, where necessary, in order to encourage candid disclosure, respect privacy and protect proprietary information. While we acknowledge that these factors may bias our results, they are the limitations that typically attend emergencies of this kind and thus may be necessary to some extent in order to obtain potentially useful lessons.\n3 Findings: 3.1 Pre-existing water supplies and impact of tsunami\n4 Discussion: The experience of relief organizations with HHWT technologies in the tsunami response should not be interpreted to mean that HHWT is unsuitable in emergency situations. The tsunami was an event of extraordinarily large scale that placed an enormous burden on relief workers. In such circumstances, other priorities, such as the provision of sufficient water supply, may take precedence. In recognition of these conditions, many relief organizations that had procured HHWT products for introduction in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami reported that they set implementation plans aside, but still intended to distribute the technologies in more appropriate circumstances. Some reported that they planned to take advantage of the presence of large numbers of people in settlements to introduce HHWT as part of an overall water/sanitation/hygiene program and ensure its proper use before people began to return to their home sites and no longer had access to bulk supplies of treated water.In future disasters of lesser scale, the decision to use HHWT technologies should be based on their immediate availability, their acceptability and the effort required to distribute and promote them. It was noted that HHWT interventions currently fall between the responsibilities of logistics teams, water and sanitation engineers and hygiene promotion teams, and that emergency staff must receive training in order to optimize their deployment in the field.The limited disease surveillance data collected following the tsunami highlight the difficulty of assessing the prevalence of diseases such as diarrhoea that are consistently under-reported at health facilities. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that an outbreak of an epidemic disease such as cholera would go undetected for long.Some reports suggest that fecal-oral transmission of disease can increase after flooding (WHO, 1998; Ahern et al., 2005), but the bulk of evidence from reported studies indicates that epidemics following natural disasters are rare (Seaman, 1984; Blake, 1989; Noji and Toole, 1997). The provision of safe drinking water and other preventive measures can play a role in reducing the risk of epidemics.Efforts to minimize the risk of infectious diseases and maintain good disease surveillance are key elements of disaster response, in particular since natural disasters disproportionately affect the least developed countries in the world where levels of endemic water-related diseases are already high.Under the coordination of UNICEF and with technical support from CDC, plans are under way in Aceh to involve more NGOs in an extension of the original surveys. This will involve water quality monitoring (at source and household level) and active diarrhoeal disease surveillance through household surveys in around fifty sentinel camps and temporary living centers. This will provide a more accurate picture of living conditions and highlight areas for improvement in the response as it evolves.The fact that no serious outbreaks of waterborne diseases were reported from the affected areas should not lead to an inference that the drinking water quality was consistently sufficient. However, the evidence supports the perhaps obvious point that in the absence of sufficient quantities of water, interventions to improve quality at household level are ineffective (Clasen et al., 2006) and most approaches to HHWT require considerable programmatic support. This simply may not be practical in the initial phases of a disaster response when other priorities out-compete in the demand for time and resources.\n5 Conclusions and recommendations: 5.1 Continue to take steps to minimize the risks of waterborne diseases following natural disasters\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - To document the drinking water component of the humanitarian response to the Great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of December 26, 2004, including a focus on the promotion of household water treatment (HHWT)/safe storage to minimize the spread of diarrhoeal disease.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Firsthand accounts of the response effort, interviews, and literature review.\nFindings: - The combined efforts to mobilize a drinking water response were timely, comprehensive and effective. HHWT/safe storage efforts (other than the continued promotion of boiling) appeared to play only a secondary role in the initial response to the disaster for a variety of reasons.\nPractical implications: - The enormity of this disaster and the unprecedented scale of the relief effort limit the broad lessons that can be learned at this time.\nOriginality/value: - Shows that there is a clear need to continue to take steps to minimize the risks of waterborne diseases following natural disasters, develop and disseminate practical solutions for the special circumstances associated with tsunamis, including saline water intrusion, clarify the conditions under which proven approaches to HHWT may be useful in emergencies and assess their role in the medium- and long-term response, improve water quality and surveillance without compromising emphasis on water quantity, take advantage of the enormous resources committed to the tsunami response to make effective and sustainable improvements in water, sanitation and hygiene in the affected areas, and document experiences from the tsunami response, distil the lessons learned, disseminate the results and develop guidelines to inform future actions.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A maturity assessment model for manufacturing systems
|
[
"Action research",
"Manufacturing management",
"Manufacturing strategy",
"Manufacturing systems",
"Manufacturing performance"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Since the publication of Wickham Skinner's seminal papers (Skinner, 1969, 1966), manufacturing strategy (MS) has become an important research topic for the achievement of competitive advantages (Chatha and Butt, 2015). Using MS formulation, companies make long-term decisions for their manufacturing systems. According to Wheelwright (1984, p. 85), \"[...] manufacturing strategy consists of a sequence of decisions that will enable a business unit to achieve its desired competitive advantage.\" Miltenburg (2005, p. 2) stated that \"The essence of manufacturing strategy is to formulate explicitly how manufacturing decisions will be made so that manufacturing will help the company achieve a long-term advantage over its competitors.\" In turn, Arafa and ElMaraghy (2011, p. 507) define MS as a \"[...] pattern of decisions, both structural and infrastructural, which determine the capability of a manufacturing system in order to meet a set of manufacturing objectives that fit with the overall business objectives.\"\n2. Theoretical background: 2.1 Maturity models\n3. The proposed maturity assessment model: In this paper, MS content is understood as the set of variables required to assess manufacturing system maturity. At the same time, it is expected that the MAMMS provides a baseline for MS formulation. Using an action-research process, this investigation was conducted in four phases (see Figure 1). Also, several approaches, such as expert panels, a survey conducted in 49 companies, and immersion in two manufacturing companies, were used. Based on Figure 1, a brief explanation of the research process carried out to construct the proposed maturity assessment model is provided in the following subsections.\n4. Results and discussion: 4.1 Maturity assessment in two manufacturing companies\n5. Conclusions and further research: From the academic perspective, the proposed MAMMS contributes to the closing of the identified gap in the MS literature. In particular, it provides a useful tool to establish the overall maturity level of a manufacturing system. The proposed maturity model supports strategic decisions oriented toward improvement capabilities in three components: CP, ML, and manufacturing's strategic role. Participants from manufacturing companies gave a highly favorable evaluation on these components, providing empirical evidence to support the relevance of the MAMMS. Based on practitioner and expert opinions, it may be concluded that the MAMMS has real potential for new applications, including further research. Obtained results suggest that the MAMMS could be a valuable and useful tool in the support of decision making in MS. Also, since few investigations have been conducted from the action-research paradigm, this study contributes to understanding its usefulness and legitimacy for further operations management research.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Assessment of manufacturing systems provides a baseline for manufacturing strategy (MS) formulation. The purpose of this paper is to develop and propose a maturity assessment model for manufacturing systems (MAMMS). The MAMMS provides a maturity index, in order to establish manufacturing system performance on five possible levels: preinfantile, infantile, industry average, adult, and world class manufacturing.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Three main steps were taken: MAMMS design; maturity-level assessment in two companies; and MAMMS validation. Based on an action-research process, several research tools, such as surveys, expert panels, and immersion in two manufacturing companies, were used.\nFindings: By integrating 79 variables into a maturity index, the maturity level for two manufacturing companies was obtained. Considering three main components (competitive priorities, manufacturing levers, and manufacturing's strategic role), the analyzed companies showed a performance at the average industry level. According to participants, the MAMMS is a valuable tool to support decision making in MS.\nPractical implications: Empirical evidence supports the relevance of the proposed MAMMS and its practical usefulness. In particular, the maturity index identifies strengths and weaknesses in the manufacturing system, providing a baseline from which to deploy MS.\nOriginality/value: The literature review shows a lack of contributions regarding maturity models, particularly, the non-existence of maturity assessment models for manufacturing systems. The proposed MAMMS is a valuable tool to support decision making in MS. Also, this paper contributes to understanding the action-research paradigm, for further research in operations management.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Overcoming stakeholder social media fatigue: a trialogue approach
|
[
"Social media",
"Strategies",
"Influencer",
"Relationship",
"Fatigue",
"Vicarious interaction"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The advent of Web 2.0 made social media both easily accessible and prevalent for stakeholder use, which has allowed them to communicate across multiple channels. On these social media platforms, stakeholders interact both with other users and brands. Correspondingly, social media marketing has played a crucial role in corporate communication in recent years, and in turn, marketers and public relations managers have allocated large budgets for social media marketing to create a strong social media presence. According to eMarketer (2019), nearly $25bn were spent on social media advertising in 2018, and eMarketer forecasts advertising budgets will grow to approximately $34bn by 2021.\nStakeholder social media fatigue: Social media fatigue is defined as \"social media users' tendency to pull back from social media when they become overwhelmed with too many social media sites, too many friends and followers and too much time spent online maintaining these connections\" (Technopedia, 2019). Although social media fatigue has not been defined medically, people can experience stress and exhaustion due to their concerns about privacy or simply because they experience boredom when using social media (Technopedia, 2019). Some social media markets have begun to focus their attention on social media fatigue and the degree to which users experience this phenomenon in its various forms. According to a Royal Society for Public Health (2017) survey, individuals between the ages of 14 and 24 believe numerous social media networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, have a detrimental mental influence on their physical and mental well-being. Specifically, respondents reported social media networks to provoke feelings of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. The survey showed respondents feared missing out on social interactions. This, in turn, left them vulnerable to cyberbullying due to the perception of being unwelcome to participate in social interactions. This opened them up to ridicule for their perceived social awkwardness and seclusion.\nSocial media fatigue in corporate communications: As the concept of social media fatigue has seldom been investigated in the field of corporate communication, we propose the following conceptual definition of stakeholder social media fatigue in the domain of corporate communications (Figure 1), jointly contributed by three factors:\nRecommendations for anti-fatigue social media strategies: Based on the above diagnoses of stakeholder social media fatigue, we now provide anti-fatigue social media strategies based on existing research and their implications:\nVicarious corporate-influencer-stakeholder interaction: Not all social media users are engaged with organizations in the same fashion (e.g. interacting with each other in interactive exchange online), as some might simply observe others online without any posting, sharing or interacting activities (Lee and Seltzer, 2018). Mapping how stakeholders engage with a brand identifies their role in the trialogue diagram (Figure 2). The nature of influencer content asserts a high level of legitimacy due to the visible value and high power ascribed to the influencer account by other stakeholders. To identify these powerful influencers, also known as definitive stakeholders, brands should consider these accounts' standing within a network to engage audiences. A high standing increases the level of urgency and legitimacy attributed to the content posted. Definitive stakeholders possess legitimacy in their content, connectivity on their account, and urgency ascribed to the value of their content. Those with less connectivity in a social network are considered non-stakeholders and dependent stakeholders. Non-stakeholders do not express interested in being connected with an organization on social media, whereas dependent stakeholders hold the potential to become connected through a Boolean search or by other means of seeking out an organization's account (Sedereviciute and Valentini, 2011, pp. 230-232).\nThe trialogue: corporate-influencer-stakeholder (parasocial) relationships: The trialogue, corporate-influencer-stakeholder (parasocial) relationship on social media, commonly occurs in two forms, from a stakeholder's perspective:\nConclusion: Fostering meaningful vicarious interactions and strengthening parasocial relationships among corporations, influencers provide value to stakeholders through their content. This enables stakeholders who experience social media fatigue to engage with corporate communications with reduced overload and emotional drainage as a result of the social media environment. Parasocial content strategy, emphasizing message relevance and trust, serves to promote commitment and closeness to a brand/corporation or influencer. The fact that it would not require direct interactions between stakeholders and the corporations, which helps alleviate the overall social media overload situation and allows individuals breathing space online to cope with emotional exhaustion and tedium. Marketing managers and corporate communications should consider influencers' self-disclosure and engagement with followers when making contract decisions. Brand/corporate accounts may benefit from fostering parasocial relationships with their stakeholders by applying the concepts discussed regarding influencers to the brand account content strategy. In sum, corporate social strategies incorporating vicarious interactions and enabling the corporation-influencer-stakeholder trialogue will help reenergize stakeholders and enhance the effectiveness of overall corporate communication effectiveness.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The continuation of rapid changes in Web 2.0 has transformed the practice of business communication and stakeholders' expectations. This paper aims to paramount one issue facing corporate communicators is stakeholders' social media fatigue that leads to online disengagement and social media strategy ineffectiveness.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A systematic review of research literature and a deep dive in the professional reports regarding corporate communication and social media strategies are conducted.\nFindings: To tackle the challenge of stakeholder social media fatigue, a conceptual model is provided to guide the development of alternative social media strategies that capitalize on the impact of vicarious interaction and reenergize stakeholders via trialogue based on the corporate-influencer-stakeholder (parasocial) relationships.\nOriginality/value: A model for overcoming stakeholder social media fatigue via optimizing corporate-influencer-stakeholder (parasocial) relationship is proposed and elaborated, with actionable social media strategies recommended for corporate communicators to use.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Examining the willingness to produce organic vegetables in the Bono and Ahafo regions of Ghana
|
[
"Organic",
"Vegetables",
"Certification",
"Environment",
"Heckman selection model"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Agriculture production throughout the world has improved with a synchronised development in pesticides, weedicides, fertilisers and other agrochemicals used to meet the growing population's demands for food (Pokhrel and Pant, 2009). Suffice to say that, agriculture and food production have grown over the last decade because of immense reliance on pesticides and inorganic fertilisers (Tilman et al., 2002). Aside from these reasons, the use of agrochemicals have been extremely relevant because pest and diseases are the significant constraints confronting vegetable farming in the tropics (Abang et al., 2014). In Ghana, it is reported that, even though most vegetable farmers did not have the requisite knowledge in the safe handling of pesticides, usage has been intense (Ntow, 2001; Ngowi et al., 2007). Besides, farmers also use unapproved pesticide cocktails or banned pesticide products in crop production (Mohammed et al., 2019). The most worrying trend is the inappropriate use of pesticide (such as confidor 200SL, champion 80WP, etc.) meant for the control of cocoa, coffee and other tree crops pests diseases in vegetable production (Obiri-Danso et al., 2011). The indiscriminate use of agrochemicals by crop farmers and vegetable producers, in particular, poses a health risk not only to themselves but consumers as well as the environment (Mohammed et al., 2019). The most significant risk is the possible death of the farmer as a consequence of accidental or intentional exposure to pesticides in vegetable production (Boccolini et al., 2017). Also, there are concerns about prenatal exposure and health effects on children because residues of pesticides are reported to be found in human breast milk (Gunier et al., 2017). Besides, since most consumption of vegetables is in the raw or partially cooked state, it poses a grievous risk of consuming high insecticide residues (Amoah et al., 2006; Bempah et al., 2011; Donkor et al., 2016). Also, the highest prevalence of allergies, nasal congestion, has been reported from farms that use agrochemicals (Kongtip et al., 2017). Moreover, common symptoms of pesticide exposure are asthma attacks and shortness of breath (Bakhsh et al., 2016). Some studies have also testified the associations between specific pesticides and bladder cancer risk (Boulanger et al., 2017). Prostate cancer development and pesticide exposure in agricultural occupations have also been stated to correlate (Rusiecki et al., 2017). Several environmental problems such as pests' resistance to pesticides and reappearance due to elimination of natural enemies are also discussed extensively in the literature as well as the cause of both soil and water pollution and reduction of soil fertility (Adeyinka and Mustapha, 2005; Crowder et al., 2010; Opoku, 2012; Abdollahzadeh et al., 2015; Owusu and Abdulai, 2019). Above and beyond, heavy metal contamination in drinking water as a result of the use of agrochemicals in vegetable-growing areas has been conveyed in Ghana (Obiri-Danso et al., 2011).Consequently, there is a growing concern among policymakers that ecological or organic agriculture and farming have a substantial role to play in addressing the persistent problems associated with agrochemical use and over usage in conventional farming (Kameya et al., 2015). In response to the need for sustainable agriculture, salvage the situation and shape policies and strategies to contain and reduce this growing menace, the market potential of fresh organic vegetables and fruits in Ghana has been measured a lot through empirical studies; mostly by evaluating the perceptions and market demand from the perspective of consumers (Owusu, 2009; Owusu and Anifor, 2013; Adams, 2015). Likewise, Nouhoheflin et al. (2004), revealed that consumers in Ghana and Benin were willing to pay over 50% price premium on vegetables that are free from of chemicals. Similarly, Adams (2015) discovered that there was a vast market potential for organic fruits and vegetables in the Techiman Market. It is therefore evidently clear that most of the studies undertaken in Ghana are consumer-based with limited empirical studies on the willingness to produce organics by primary stakeholders, farmers. Besides, the production and consumption of organic products are possible if most farmers have enough knowledge or are aware of the effect of conventional farming on the environment. Thus, even if farmers are willing to produce organic vegetables, their level of awareness of the importance of organic farming to the environment is essential information for policy strategies. However, pieces of evidence from literature on these are inadequate and scanty.\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Environmental impact of conventional farming\n3. Materials and methods: 3.1 Study area\n4. Results and discussion: 4.1 Demographic characteristics of respondents\n5. Conclusion: From the study, farmers' responses to questions related to the methods of organic production convey a sense of a traditional knowledge concerning what an organic system should entail. Further, the empirical results showed that pepper production, residential status, knowledge of organic certification processes, perceived environmental effect of conventional farming on the soil and climate change positively influenced the willingness to produce organic and certified organic vegetables. In contrasts, household headship status, a garden eggs farmer, perceived knowledge on the grading and standards of vegetables as well as the perception that only pesticides can be used to control vegetable pests and diseases negatively influenced willingness to produce organic vegetables.\n6. Recommendations: The study recommends that, perceived negative environmental effect of conventional farming among farmers could be a rallying point to sensitise and encourage farmers to involve in organic vegetable production. However, increase, and sufficient awareness and availability of organic pest control strategies and processes are recommended to enhance adoption of willingness to partake organic vegetable production in the country. The Government of Ghana can achieve this by the inclusion of subsidised organic fertilisers and pesticides under her flagship project of Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) to whip and maintain interest in organic production. Moreover, organic certifying bodies should decentralise their activities of certification into the district level and approach small-scale farmers through groups to increase the awareness of availability, benefits and the processes of certification. Besides, stakeholders in organic vegetable production should give much attention to pepper producers as they are more likely to produce organic compared to other vegetable producers. From the study, it is recommended that further study assessing the relevant requirements or parameters needed to get farmers, especially pepper farmers certified is essential to investigate to ensure sustainable and environmentally viable agriculture.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to analyse the demographic, crop choice, institutional and environmental factors that will influence the vegetable growers in Bono and Ahafo regions of Ghana to produce organic vegetables. The study also assessed the knowledge level of vegetable growers on organic certification processes.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Primary data were collected with the help of a structured questionnaire from 120 vegetable growers via a multistage sampling technique. The Heckman selection model was used to analyse the factors that influence farmers' willingness to adopt organic production as well as the intensity of adoption.\nFindings: In this study, pepper (Capsicum spp) production, residential status, knowledge of organic certification processes, perceived negative environmental effect of conventional farming on the soil, and climate change positively influenced willingness to produce organic vegetables. Likewise, pepper production perceived negative environmental effect of conventional farming on the soil positively influenced the intensity of adoption. Household headship status, garden egg (Solanum integrifolium) production, perceived knowledge on grading and standards of vegetables, as well as the perception that only pesticides can be used to control vegetable pests negatively influenced the willingness to produce organic vegetables however perceived expertise of the farmer on grades and standards influenced intensity of adoption negatively.\nOriginality/value: In Ghana, even though most vegetable farmers do not have the requisite knowledge in the safe handling of pesticides, usage is widespread. Subsequent to this, is a health risk to farmers, consumers and the environment. As a result, there is a growing awareness that organic agriculture has a role to play in addressing problems associated with agrochemical use and over usage. However, most studies are consumer oriented with limited empirical research on the willingness to produce organics by farmers.\nPeer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-12-2019-0723\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Patients
'
preference on selecting a medical institution
|
[
"Conjoint analysis",
"Patient preference",
"Utility",
"Hospital management",
"Patients",
"Japan"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Rapidly increasing medical expenses has been a serious issue from the perspective of national finance in Japan. Among the attempts recently made to control medical expenses, a daily prospective payment system (PPS) using Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC), a classification by diagnostic category unique to Japan which was introduced to specific-function hospitals in 2003, is considered to have had a big impact from the perspective of hospital management (Okamura et al., 2005). Thereafter, the daily PPS based on DPC was expanded and introduced to general hospitals as well, and the number of hospitals adopting this system has been continuously increasing (Abe et al., 2005).\nMethods: Conjoint analysis (CA) is a method of analyzing the relative importance of each attribute based on the evaluation on a combination of multiple attributes (Ratcliffe, 2000; Ryan, 1999). In the CA, multiple factors (attributes), which are considered to constitute the values of the evaluation targets, are classified into several levels. Moreover, from the evaluation on the respondents regarding the combination of levels for attributes, relative importance of each attribute and partial utility value (preference) of the levels in each attribute can be assessed. CA has been used mainly in the area of marketing research, however, it has increasingly begun to be applied in health economic evaluation (Ross et al., 2003; Bishai et al., 2007; Flach and Diener, 2004; Albus et al., 2005; Bishop et al., 2004; Bech et al., 2005; Ratcliffe et al., 2004). The CA also has been used to inform health policy makers including issues related to hospital selection (Akkazieva et al., 2006; Jan et al., 2000; Leister and Stausberg, 2007; Leung et al., 2001; Markham et al., 1999; Morgan et al., 2000; Oudhoff et al., 2007; van den Berg et al., 2008).\nResults: Respondents\nDiscussions: In the evaluation of attributes that are thought to be considered when selecting a medical institution, relative importance of the quality of the medical institution was the highest for all the stratified analyses and relative importance of organizational form was the lowest. The result that the quality of the medical institution was evaluated as the most important attribute in selecting a medical institution reconfirms a recognition we generally have. Regarding the result that the relative importance of organizational form is low, we suspect that the difference in the organizational forms that were raised in the questionnaire was not fully understood by respondents.\nConclusions: When selecting a medical institution, the quality of the medical institution was considered most important and the impact of organizational form on the selection of a medical institution was least important. Regarding organizational form, being a public hospital was most preferred, and being a hospital managed by a company and a private hospital were least preferred.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relative importance of attributes for patient selection of a medical institution and to quantitatively evaluate the impact of different types of organizational forms upon the patient\nDesign/methodology/approach: By using a conjoint analysis, evaluation criteria in patient selection of a medical institution were examined. The paper assumed the selection of a medical institution under the situation of \"being given a diagnosis of suspected diabetes with a physical examination and then visiting a medical institution\". The attributes included in the questionnaire were: quality of the medical institution, distance to the hospital, amount paid at the initial visit, amount paid at hospitalization for examinations, and organizational form of the hospital. Relative importance of the attributes and relative importance of organizational form were assessed. A total of 140 people were requested to respond to the questionnaire by way of researchers who have a connection with the authors. Completed responses were obtained from 111 subjects (79 per cent).\nFindings: The results of the conjoint analysis revealed that the most important attribute was quality of the medical institution. Organizational form was the attribute with the lowest importance. The utility value of being a public hospital was the highest within the organizational form attribute for all respondents and being a private hospital was the lowest. The quality of the medical institution was considered the most important factor in selecting a medical institution and the type of organizational form was considered least important. Regarding organizational form, being a public hospital was most preferred and being a hospital managed by a company and a private hospital were least preferred respectively among healthcare professionals and other occupations.\nOriginality/value: The paper provides a relative evaluation of the factors thought to be important for patients in Japan when selecting a medical institution.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Using food choice motives to model Pakistani ethnic food purchase intention among tourists
|
[
"Pakistan",
"Theory of planned behaviour",
"Ethnic food",
"Tourists",
"Food choice motives"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: It is difficult to assess the exact eating habits, as a lot of factors affect the selection process of edibles (Vabo and Hansen, 2014). In spite of the fact that people are accustomed to eat their already settled social and cultural diets, they are still curious to experience new tastes and flavours in order to satisfy their desire to explore new and exotic dishes. This is the very reason that ethical cuisines have been coupled with other evolving menus in most of the dishes of the Western countries (National Restaurant Association, 2017). They are considered as a vital portion of dietary routine of almost every person (Sarah, 2001), and the desire for these types of combined food habits has been predicted to increase in the coming few years (Howell, 2005).\n2. Literature review: 2.1 Ethnic foods\n3. Material and methods: The present study utilised non-probabilistic convenience sampling technique using an intercept method, because no comprehensive and exhaustive list of tourists was available. Convenience sampling has advantages in terms of operational ease and budget size, but it remains appropriate for research that aims to test the relationships of variables (like this study) (Sekaran and Bougie, 2010). Data were collected from 559 tourists visiting the Northern region of Pakistan, specifically the tourist destinations of Swat, Gilgit and Muree. The tourists visiting these popular destinations during the summer season were from all parts of country. All the questionnaires were self- administered. The questionnaire was sub-divided into two main sections: demographic profile questions and construct-specific questions. Table I provides demographic details of the respondents. Most of the respondents were female and in the age range of 19-30 years, followed by the age group of 31-40 years. By occupation, most of the tourists were students and salaried employees facing moderate financial situations.\n4. Results: The structural equation modelling technique was used to test the research model, and partial least squares (PLS) was used as the statistical tool to examine the measurement and structural model, as it can accommodate smaller sample sizes without normality assumptions considering that survey research is usually not normally distributed (Chin et al., 2003). The PLS analysis was performed using SmartPLS 3.2.8 software (Ringle et al., 2015). The measurement model was first tested, followed by an examination of the structural model adhering to the guidelines in the literature (see Anderson and Gerbing, 1988; Hair et al., 2017).\n5. Discussion of findings: Based on the findings, there are three factors that clearly contributed to the consumption of Pakistani ethnic food among the local tourists: the tourists' positive stance towards Pakistani food (attitude), the influence of others' judgment on their perception of Pakistani food (subjective norm) and whether they perceived it easy or difficult to consume Pakistani ethnic food (perceived behavioural control). All hypothesised food choice motives, except health concern, were important in determining one's attitude towards ethnic food. Price, in particular, had the strongest impact on the tourists' attitude whereby authentic Pakistani ethnic food that can be bought at relatively inexpensive prices definitely enhances how the tourists regard Pakistani ethnic food. The importance of the price factor can be attributed to the fact that a large number of the tourists surveyed were young, college/university-going individuals from moderate financial backgrounds.\n6. Implications: 6.1 Theoretical implications\n7. Limitations and suggestions for future research: The research is not free from limitations. The study concentrated mainly on the local tourists who visited Swat, Gilgit, and Muree. In other words, data were only collected from high traffic, popular tourist destinations. Due to the fact that other regions and localities of the country were not covered, one should interpret the findings of this study bearing in mind that the findings may not be representative enough of the various ethnic foods from other regions in Pakistan. Thus, future studies on Pakistani food should be broadened to include more localities and regions within the country.\n8. Conclusion: The current, fast paced, modern life has caused the contemporary generation to be more zealous about their food habits and cautious about their food choices. Whereas Western food has become popular with Pakistani people, traditional, ethnic food remains a staple in society. Similar to other types of ethnic foods, Pakistani food also has its own story that includes its origins, heritage, culture, nutritional benefits, etc., tied to it. Nevertheless, not much understanding can be readily found about Pakistani ethnic food, considering there is scant research conducted for this type of food. Thus, through this research, it is hoped that a better understanding and knowledge about the state of this country's ethnic food and the willingness of its people to consume it has been achieved.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of different food choice motives on attitude and, subsequently, the impact of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control on the purchase intention of Pakistani ethnic food, based on the food choice motives theory and the theory of planned behaviour.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Using an intercept survey, data were collected from 559 local tourists coming from different areas of the country, who visited Swat, Gilgit and Muree regions of Pakistan, and the data were analysed using SmartPLS software.\nFindings: In terms of direct effects, mood, familiarity, natural content and price were found to be significant predictors for attitude, whereas attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control were found to positively affect intention to purchase Pakistani ethnic food. In addition, attitude was found to serve as a mediator for the relationships between mood, familiarity, sensory appeal and price on purchase intention.\nOriginality/value: This study has shed some light on the food choice behaviour of domestic tourists opting for their own local cuisine in Pakistan, which is under-represented in the tourism and food research literature. We also tested an integrated model of food choice motives and the theory of planned behaviour in modelling purchase intention in the tourism perspective. The present study also adds to the existing literature on mediation by modelling attitude as a mediator between food choice motives and purchase intention in the context of a developing country.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Chained to a rock
|
[
"Social media",
"Reputation",
"Twitter",
"Polarization",
"Boycotts",
"Brand threat",
"Donald Trump"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: As a punishment for stealing fire from Olympus, Zeus had the immortal Prometheus tied to a rock in the Caucasus where an eagle pecked out his liver ever day before it grew back at night. For eternity. In this era of political polarization in both real and virtual social communities around the world, more than a few brand managers are feeling like they are sharing this fate. With the proliferation of initiatives such as #Grabyourwallet on the left and RightBoycott on the right, very little that brands do or say today passes without offended notice and threats of consumer withdrawal (McGrath, 2017; Redditt, 2017). The recent decision by Delta and Bank of America to withdraw their funding from the Public Theater's production of Julius Caesar because Caesar looks like President Trump and his wife has an Eastern European accent is only the latest in a series of events that have placed brands in the crosshairs (Gerard, 2017). While the data on the financial consequences of these brand \"tantrums\" is ambiguous, it is clear that brands will need to develop new tools and processes for managing them in a way that prevents or mitigates long-term brand erosion (Garcia, 2017).\nStrengthen employee guidelines: For retail brands, nothing will be more important than helping employees understand what is and is not appropriate in their relationship with customers. Like the general public, customer-facing employees are also experiencing strong emotions inside today's political maelstrom and are not always appropriate in their behavior. When a woman wearing a Trump t-shirt walked into a Starbucks in Charlotte, North Carolina, in June 20,017, the baristas shouted \"Build a Wall\" and replaced her name with \"Build a Wall\" on the printed label on her coffee cup (Ernst, 2017). Starbucks apologized immediately: \"We failed to meet this customer's expectations of us, and we have apologized and are working directly with her to make it right\". This incident illustrates the need for brands to be very clear with employees about what respect for the customer means. Similar incidents will undoubtedly occur, but can hopefully be minimized, especially for companies with a history of social activism whose employees share their worldview.\nKnow your customers: In a heated political environment, it is also easy to forget that corporate executives may have very different viewpoints and beliefs than those of their customer base, and this can lead to deeply awkward situations. In May 2017, financial services firm USAA pulled its advertising from the Hannity show on Fox News alongside eight other companies, in part because of the host's focus on the discredited story of the conspiracy behind the murder of a Democratic National Committee staff member in 2016 (Hawkins, 2017). In doing so, USAA completely misread the reaction of its customer base, composed principally of active and retired US service members and their families, many of whom are avid supporters of President Trump. These customers deluged the company's Facebook page after the news broke with messages threatening to close their accounts. Within a week, USAA climbed down and announced that it would recommence advertising on Hannity and other shows across the political spectrum. Understanding your customers' likely response to any policy change has to be the basis of any planning process, and companies need to review customer response with great care prior to acting. In this particular instance, USAA had claimed that their decision to pull the advertising from Hannity was because they had \"just become aware\" that their ads were running on the show. This was, allegedly, in violation of their policy not to advertise on politically oriented shows dating back to 2011, a rationale that many saw as entirely lacking in credibility.\nPractice 360o self-awareness: In an atmosphere of political volatility, it is critical to scrutinize all corporate and brand actions and communications for potential risk in an integrated manner. The political contributions of individual executives, actions of the corporate foundation, investments in foreign markets, support of advocacy organizations, as well as marketing campaigns, all need to be considered potential flashpoints for liberal or conservative consumers aroused in the current environment to let nothing go unnoticed. The stock price of sporting apparel manufacturer Under Armor was actually downgraded by Susquehanna analyst Sam Poser on the grounds of reputational risk when the CEO Kevin Plank suggested that President Trump was \"an asset to the country (Barker and Mirabella, 2017)\". Recognizing the seriousness of the threat, Under Armor subsequently ran full-page advertisements in The Baltimore Sun underscoring its corporate values, including its commitment to equal rights for all.\nStrap yourselves in: Finally, brands that want to continue to have an impact in the age of social media and political polarization will need to develop a thick skin to survive the inevitable outrage of the hour or day. This requires not only a deeper understanding of the relationship the brand has with its customers and a more stringent review of all activities through the lens of brand risk, but also a certain intractability. They need to practice the long game and hasty over-reaction to calls for consumer boycotts can create more problems than it solves. We believe that brands that stick to their guns and refuse to react to consumer outrage, even at white-hot temperatures, will reap the rewards of demonstrating long-term strategic credibility.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the extraordinary reputational challenge for brands in social media in an era of heightened political and cultural polarization. In a time when the tension between liberal and conservative consumers has grown significantly, brands are being threatened with boycotts from both the left and right. In this paper, the authors identify some core approaches for brands facing this dilemma.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors' approach is to review the experience of various brands which have been the victims of consumer boycotts motivated by political considerations. The authors examined these events from the perspective of the severity/duration of their impact on the brand, how the brands chose to respond and how their response was perceived to suggest the approaches that seem to be most effective in mitigating brand damage.\nFindings: The authors have found that the critical factors in mitigating brand damage are giving clear guidelines to employees about customer relations, understanding the composition of the customer base more deeply through the lens of politics and culture, developing a comprehensive risk management approach and creating a consistent point of view on handling political threats and boycotts to ensure consistency.\nResearch limitations/implications: The authors' evaluation is by definition subjective and the insights gained have not been tested empirically.\nPractical implications: While the potential political threats to a specific brand are reasonably predictable, consumer perceptions are influenced by many factors only partially within the brand's control.\nSocial implications: Much as companies gained expertise in managing reputation crises throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the authors believe that brands adopting their approach to politically driven boycotts will gradually learn how to manage them and the threats will become a routine part of a brand's relationship with its stakeholders.\nOriginality/value: While a great deal has been written about the nature and growth of politically driven brand threats, the authors believe this paper is an original contribution to how to manage them.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Who is engaging with whom? Internationalizing opportunities for business schools in emerging economies
|
[
"Globalization",
"Business schools",
"Emerging economies",
"Exchange programmes",
"Networks"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The purpose of universities has long been debated. Recent critiques, fuelled by the latest global financial and economic crisis, suggest that universities need to direct more of their efforts to serving economic imperatives and the demands of the labor market. This idea is not new and as has been so eloquently stated by Nigel Biggar (2009)[1]:(Universities) were never simply the child of an ivory-tower love of knowledge for knowledge's sake. They were always partly fuelled by practical concerns, whether the concerns of private individuals or of those with public responsibility [...] We shouldn't idealize or over-moralize universities. Right from their medieval beginnings, they have served private purposes and practical public purposes as well as the sheer amor scientiae.Biggar (2009) further argues that three of the earliest university faculties - theology, law, and medicine - have always been oriented as much toward developing men of practice as to the pursuit of loftier intellectual ideas. As such, the demands that today's university business schools focus on producing graduates capable of contributing to meaningful economic, social, and environmental development in an unavoidably globalizing world is consistent with the core purpose and long tradition of universities. This demand creates certain globalizing or internationalizing imperatives for business schools and business faculties. We all recognize that the impacts of globalization are felt by the smallest of communities and enterprises. This means that business and management educators must develop the international understanding and capabilities of their students if they are to contribute and compete globally. These are imperatives as much for emerging economy business schools as they are for those in the developed world[2]. However, it is inevitable that business schools in the developing world face different and greater challenges in their efforts to prepare their stakeholders for global engagement. Strapped by resources, lacking in some key skills, and constrained by smaller social networks, these schools do not have it as easy as their developed world counterparts. Yet all is not lost: there are strategies that can be implemented to accelerate their growth toward a global presence. These are the issues this paper addresses.The paper begins with a discussion of the globalization imperative. The literature on business school global strategy development is reviewed and integrated. Strategies for globalizing business programs that have been employed by numerous leading business schools, and endorsed by the international accreditation agencies, are discussed and presented as a set of typologies. This discussion is amplified through an analysis of the exchange relationships among The Financial Times top hundred full-time MBA offering schools - among one another and with institutions outside of the ranked cluster. While the current circumstances of smaller business schools make it unlikely that they can gain the sort of foothold in China or India that INSEAD or Wharton can, a more comprehensive strategic framework for various business school typologies might enable them to meet the global demands of their client markets in emerging economies. The paper concludes with a summary of the key insights and with recommendations for further research.\n2. The globalization imperative: Globalization has been described as the combined phenomena whereby people are more globally connected than ever before through international travel and international communication, where information and financial capital are transmitted almost instantaneously around the globe, and where goods and services produced in one part of the world are ubiquitously available (Porter, 2008). Porter (2008) goes on to say:Globalization describes the political, economic, and cultural atmosphere of today. While some people think of globalization as primarily a synonym for global business, it is much more than that. The same forces that allow businesses to operate as if national borders did not exist also allow social activists, labor organizers, journalists, academics, and many others to work on a global stage.Whatever definition one might use, the phenomena described above are universally recognized as having a profound impact upon how all business is conducted, whether on a seemingly small local basis or as a large multinational corporation.2.1 Implications for academia\n3. Globalization of management education: Business schools are responding to the global education imperative through shifts in their research agendas and through explicit transformation of their academic and professional programs. In spite of popular concerns often expressed about the scope and nature of research conducted within business schools, the importance of scholarship as an essential process that places collegiate business schools in a unique and important position at the intersection of management theory, education, and practice (AACSB International, 2008, p. 8) means that schools are required to ensure that their faculty engage in research that has relevance for international as much as domestic business. Although the top scholarly journals are predominantly of US origin, journals and conferences outside the North America are gaining more participants and international scholars also constitute a greater proportion of the published authors in top journals[3]. Recently, the European Union's seventh framework program for research and technological development includes the opportunity for collaborative international business research[4] by making available some seven billion euros per annum over the 2007-2013 funding period.Schools have tended to internationalize their educational programs by following three, sometimes sequential, trajectories. First, they increase their currently served client (student) segment's understanding of global business practice by changes in the curriculum. Second, they reach out to new international clients (students) to add classroom diversity. Finally, they integrate academic and behavioral aspects of an internationally oriented curriculum, and the diverse experiences of an internationally recruited student body to produce graduates capable of working effectively anywhere in the world. Successfully implementing the third and final part of this track requires that business schools go beyond the academic aspects alone, and address issues of internationalization with respect to pedagogical approaches, classroom interactions, diverse worldviews, language capabilities, and career guidance. A short immersion trip to China with courses taught by international faculty using the traditional internationally dominant textbooks and readings combined with sightseeing trips to the Great Wall must be recognized as having limited real value even when one or two company visits are added to the mix!3.1 An increasingly competitive landscape\n4. Internationalizing typologies: Business schools from developed and developing economies that have made conscious efforts to internationalize have done so using a range of partnership arrangements across the spectrum of scholarship and programming. From a partnership perspective, relationships may be institutionally endorsed or center around individuals. From a programming perspective, internationalization efforts span undergraduate business degrees, professional and academic graduate degrees through to customized and open executive programs. Figure 1 plots the range of possibilities as a topological map.4.1 Partnerships\n5. Who is exchanging with whom?: Exchange agreements remain the dominant and early entry points for business schools that wish to internationalize. Furthermore, Baden-Fuller and Ang's (2001) contention that winners co-associate and that outsiders can achieve reputation enhancement by partnering with winners, presents interesting opportunities for emerging market schools that get ahead of their local competition in building exchange linkages internationally. As early entrants within the growing student exchange environment these schools may be able to link with top-branded established schools seeking international experience opportunities for their own students. The data presented below are examined to confirm or refute this contention.5.1 Data and methodology\n6. Conclusion: The imperative for business schools to educate students and undertake research relevant to a globalized world is undisputed. However, the challenge for many schools remains how to do this with limited resources, both human capital and financial.A considerable amount has been written about the globalization imperative facing business schools with illustrations being presented of what can be considered best practice (Friga et al., 2003; Hawawini, 2005; Atkinson and Edgington, 2007). In spite of this, there remains a lack of information when it comes to the articulation of strategies and implementation challenges facing less endowed business schools that want to globalize. This paper explored various models that have been proposed and looks to contrast and integrate them for the benefit of these less endowed, and often emerging economy, institutions.Several entry points exist for those seeking to begin an internationalization trajectory and some are not as expensive and resource intensive as one might imagine. As illustration, a business school can strongly encourage staff and faculty to attend international conferences, take short trips abroad, and have international sabbaticals. Deans and directors that do not encourage this type of engagement are missing a relatively low cost but highly effective way of starting to build relationships with international schools, and of obtaining international insight that can be brought home. A conscious effort for own faculty to build relationships with faculty in another country as a seed to further personal research and, subsequently, possible institutional engagement is very valuable. Furthermore, although taking one's own students on study trips is worthwhile, consideration must be given to asking destination universities and business schools to assist with, or even manage, the study program and business and societal experiences. This approach helps build and cement institutional relationships, gives students a flavor of what it is like being at a foreign school in a foreign country taught by foreign faculty, and leads to broader learning experiences that do not have to overly rely on \"domestic multinational companies abroad\" as site visit destinations[19].Once a business school has established an entry network in international destinations of interest, opportunities exist for even greater engagement, usually through student exchange and jointly funded research among individual faculty members who have come to know one another. This, second phase of internationalization, offers more than the obvious improvements in globalized education and research - it opens the door for schools to begin planning for international accreditation, accreditation that may be necessary for the third phase of internationalization. This occurs when the business school's reputation and position in its local market make it a sought after partner for deeper and more sustained alliances - alliances that include dual degrees and jointly funded institutional research initiatives. Although the analysis of international exchange programs finds that schools in emerging economies can reach a level of internationalization through exchanges and individual faculty relationships, international accreditation is a crucial next step. These agencies have standards for the achievement and maintenance of accreditation that induce accredited schools to only want to partner with other accredited schools over time. Accreditation requires that schools seeking accreditation demonstrate that they have quality control over non-accredited partners.This paper has discussed the globalization of business schools and the different strategies, issues, and perspectives on how and why they are going global. Different aspects of the globalization of management education are discussed including globalizing the curriculum, globalizing research, and globalized competition. The typology of approaches used by business schools that have achieved a measure of internationalization using either Porter's \"think local, act global\" or Ohmae's \"think global and act local\" approaches (Pitt et al., 1997) presented should be utilized to plot a path forward. How this can be done is demonstrated through 12 partnership illustrations from developed and developing economies across the spectrum of scholarship and programming. The Financial Times top 100 school exchange partnerships confirms that unranked emerging economy schools can \"punch above their weight\" and sign partnerships with a disproportionate number of higher ranked schools in the developed economies because of those schools desires to internationalize their own offerings. An emerging economy location can be an attractive \"hook\" that these universities and business schools should exploit before the opportunity passes.Numerous options and possibilities exist for emerging economy business schools to internationalize that can be viewed from a programming perspective through to a fuller partnership perspective. In many cases, not taking advantage of such opportunities might be more the result of lack of foresight and planning than of resources.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to discuss the globalization of Business Schools and present different strategies, issues and perspectives on how and why business schools are going global. The paper explores various models for globalization, contrasts and integrates them, and then presents an approach to globalization that is within the reach of these smaller and less endowed schools.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper reviews relevant literature and an analysis of exchange programs amongst the world's leading business schools. Different aspects of the globalization of management education are discussed including internationalizing the curriculum, globalizing research agendas, and the impact of globalized competition.\nFindings: - A framework has been developed that can be employed by business schools - especially in emerging economies - to internationalize themselves through their education and research programs. Recommendations are made for how business schools with limited resources can meet the challenge of offering the internationally-oriented education experience increasingly demanded by employers and students alike.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Limitations to this paper result from the use of Financial Times top 100 ranked business schools. Aside from weaknesses inherent the rankings methodology, the choice of these business schools excluded hundreds of high quality business schools around the world - many of which are internationally recognized for quality. Furthermore, the methodology of the scanning of web sites of schools for types of collaboration agreements across borders might not give the full picture of agreements betweens schools.\nOriginality/value: - Although a considerable amount has been written about the globalization imperative facing business schools (with many illustrations of what could be considered best practice), there is a significant lack of information when it comes to the articulation of strategies and implementation challenges facing smaller and less well endowed business schools that want to globalize.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Combining lean tools application in kaizen: a field study on the printing industry
|
[
"Line balancing",
"Printing industry",
"Kaizen",
"Lean tools",
"Field study",
"Standardized layout",
"Standardized work"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The printing industry in China is growing rapidly. In 2010, there were nearly 106,400 printing enterprises with 4.46 million employees in China, and the gross industrial output value reached 92 billion US dollars, ranking third in the world (Research and Markets, 2011). According to Ding, in 2014, the profits in China's printing industry increased 9.3 percent year on year and it was ranked second worldwide. In 2014, the official statistics showed that China's printing industry output exceeded 160 billion US dollars. Along with this growth of industry, competition among printing companies has also intensified. Like most manufacturing industries, improving quality and productivity to gain a competitive advantage has always been a major focus for the printing industry (Lyu, 1996; Xu et al., 2008). To remain competitive, printing companies have to improve their present production process to be efficient and lean in their internal operations.\n2. Field study context: In this paper, the studied field is a printing company based in China. In 2001, it increased its product offerings and became a regional player. Its diverse products include both hard-covered and soft-covered books, educational books, magazines, novelty and pop-up book manufacturing. The huge production scale involves many highly skilled laborers for supporting hand assembly process. The company incurred a loss of approximately 4.3 million US dollars (6.99 percent of sales) in 2009.\n3. Literature review: 3.1 Lean manufacturing\n4. Methodology: To address the research question, an exploratory field study of kaizen events was conducted to understand the implications of applying a combined set of lean tools to the productivity performance of the printing operations. Field studies are often employed to investigate phenomena within real-world settings when the distinction between the phenomena and the overall context is not obvious (Yin, 1994). Field studies may combine both qualitative and quantitative data and assessment methods. While qualitative data collection methods may be impacted by a researcher's perspective or biases, systematic, documented approaches to the data collection process, as well as triangulation, increase the robustness of these methodologies (Patton, 1990). When multiple sources from different data collection methods support the same conclusion, triangulation has occurred (Miles and Huberman, 1994). We collected multiple sources of data throughout the course of our study at the field.\n5. Results and findings: We examined two cases where similar sets of lean tools were applied, namely the handicraft department and the packaging department. Both departments that we have examined are highly labor-intensive operations. The equipment used in these departments is movable. In this section, the findings and insights from our case analyses are discussed.\n6. Discussion: Based on our case findings, productivity can be improved through the use of the earlier suggested lean tools that can improve the use of manpower and equipment by:\n7. Conclusion: The findings from the two case studies offer evidence of the benefits from applying a set of combined lean tools for productivity improvement in kaizen events in the printing industry. On the whole, this study has showed that proper implementation of kaizen can lead to quality improvement, reductions in cycle time and WIP and productivity advancement. The results of this study illustrate the use of specified lean tools such as line balancing, standardized work and standardized layout together in contexts that possess specific characteristics so as to speed up the kaizen implementation process, reduce waste and increase throughput in the process of printing industry. In addition, we formulate a mathematical expression to succinctly represent the implications of the three specific lean tools on productivity.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight the lessons learned from two kaizen events for productivity improvement in a printing company. The paper suggests how to organize lean tools to improve productivity through the use of organized kaizen events in the printing industry to meet defined targets.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper is based on a field study involving participant observations. The relationships among the three specific tools, line balancing, standardized work and standardized layout that are used in a kaizen event of a printing factory, are examined.\nFindings: Application of a mix of lean tools resulted in significant productivity improvements of 10-30 percent in the assembly area of the printing company. Based on the outcomes of the lean tools that are applied in various work areas, the best combinations of lean tools are identified and several key considerations are discussed.\nPractical implications: This paper shows that a combined set of lean tools such as line balancing, standardized work and standardized layout can be applied to improve productivity in the printing operations, which is identifiable with a mix of processes that are both labor intensive and equipment flexible.\nOriginality/value: The paper fills the literature gap on the use of specific lean tools: line balancing, standardized work and standardized layout in the printing industry. The findings from this research can be applied to other assembly systems that are similar to the printing industry.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Developing responsive Resource Sharing services at an Australian regional university: University of Wollongong Library
|
[
"Academic libraries",
"Document delivery",
"Electronic document delivery",
"Document supply",
"Consortia",
"Interlibrary lending"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In 2011, the University of Wollongong (UOW) Library began a two-year project to transform its Resource Sharing services. The results of this transformation were published in 2014. This current paper provides an analysis of the service two years on and notes broader changes within the resource sharing community that have further reshaped the services at the UOW Library.\nUOW and the broader picture in 2015: The UOW is a medium-sized university situated 80 km south of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. UOW has nine campuses in New South Wales, two international campuses in Dubai and Hong Kong and a presence in Malaysia and Singapore. The UOW Library, located at the main campus in Wollongong, serves a community of just over 1,000 academic and professional staff (FTE) and over 31,000 students globally. The Library's Resource Sharing services are delivered centrally from Wollongong.\nLast national copy: At the time of the initial review in 2011, UOW needed an urgent solution to sourcing copies. Difficulties in sourcing some international book titles - particularly older publications - and conference material occasionally meant that UOW client queries could not be filled. Once sourcing arrangements were in place that responded to these issues, UOW could focus on strengthening its supply-side services to other organisations within consortia.\nSuppliers: BONUS+[5] and LADD[3]\nSubito[4]: Since the review, some changes have been made to supplier arrangements used by UOW. During the review, UOW determined that continued use of the Subito service was the most cost-effective and useful means of sourcing conference material for UOW clients. UOW now uses the GetInfo service for this purpose. GetInfo is a document supply service jointly delivered by TIB Hannover, the German National Library of Science and Technology, FIZ Karlsruhe, FIZ Technik and FIZ Chemie (TIB Hannover, 2015). GetInfo is used by the UOW Library for both conference and journal requesting, though due to UOW payment preferences, it is a last resort option. It is particularly useful for conferences that have been published via CD-ROM.\nRapidILL[2]: On completion of a trial of the RapidILL service in 2013, the UOW Library commenced a request and supply membership arrangement with this large North American-based consortium. RapidILL integrates with the Relais system, which facilitates the unmediated submission of all new UOW article requests through to RapidILL. This arrangement has achieved a current fill rate of 89 per cent, slightly less than the RapidILL service average of 96 per cent. UOW's rate of supply to other libraries is high: 2,767 items were supplied to other libraries in 2014; 1,949 of UOW's requests were filled by RapidILL in the same period. Upon joining RapidILL, member libraries submit their print and electronic holdings that they are willing to share. The UOW Library included their electronic holdings for which the publisher license enables sharing via a secure file transfer protocol. As a result of this process, the Library has not experienced copyright restrictions in accessing content in RapidILL.\nArticleReach[6]: ArticleReach is another consortium using the INN-Reach software to enable unmediated requesting. The UOW Library has opened this service to all UOW clients with broad uptake. Table IV shows the number of ArticleReach requests since implementation in 2013; a figure that has decreased slightly each year (15 per cent in the first full year). ArticleReach is a point-of-need service that operates with UOW's 360 Link resolver product, allowing all UOW clients to request an article not held, though pointed to via the discovery service. As an unmediated service, this has been highly effective.\nUnmediated versus mediated: In 2010, 100 per cent of UOW client requests were mediated by UOW staff. As a result of the review of resource sharing services at UOW, by 2013, 76 per cent of requests were unmediated (Daly et al., 2014). At the time of writing, 83 per cent of UOW requests are unmediated (Table V). Mediated services, such as OCLC WorldShare (formerly OCLC WorldCat Resource Sharing), still have a place within the service for sourcing long-tail items, though unmediated options fulfil the majority of queries.\nTaking care of people: Throughout the transformation journey of Resource Sharing services, consideration for the workplace health and safety (WHS) of the Resource Sharing team (eight people) was a priority. Resource sharing activities can entail a range of ergonomic factors, such as the manual intervention required for both online and physical requests. All packing, unpacking and physical resource processing is conducted in a workspace dedicated to these tasks, with around 650 books processed and circulated through the mail system each week. An efficient, ergonomically sound set-up was required to support fast service turnaround, as most outgoing material is handled within 24 hours of receiving a request. Added to this are the extended periods of sitting required for computer-based work.\nConclusion: The 2011-2013 review of UOW Library Resource Sharing services has resulted in a viable and relevant service that is adaptable to the changing needs of UOW clients and institutional directions. The UOW Library has been responsive to trends and issues within the library industry, such as recognition of need to preserve access to last national copies, and has been open to assessing and taking advantage of initiatives that offer great benefit to the broader library industry, such as RapidILL (of which the UOW Library became the first Australian member), to which UOW is providing a strong supplier-side contribution. Unmediated requesting at UOW has increased by 4 per cent in the past year. While overall requesting numbers have decreased slightly, the dominance of unmediated services in assuming the bulk of requests has benefited the Library significantly, allowing the Resource Sharing team to commit resources to other tasks and projects. At the same time, unmediated options may not always be totally effective, and there are times when staff expertise in sourcing accurate and complete metadata is needed to ensure a request is filled. The Library still faces a challenge in the growth of postage costs for loans within consortia such as BONUS+. While several thousand print loans continue to be sent by mail each year, UOW must consider the most cost-effective means of managing this aspect of the service. The UOW Library's attention to the WHS requirements of the Resource Sharing team within the team's processing space demonstrates a holistic commitment to the effectiveness of the service and the well-being of the staff who provide it.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide an update of Resource Sharing services at the University of Wollongong (UOW) Library two years after a complete review was undertaken to provide a financially viable service relevant to the research support needs of University clients. This paper provides an update of the service two years on.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The UOW Library has been attentive to global changes in the resource sharing industry and document supply services. Unmediated resource sharing options are growing and assuming an increasing portion of requests received from clients. UOW's involvement in new services has focused attention on the value of its collection, particularly the last national copy of a publication. By ensuring these unique titles remain in the collection indefinitely, they can be shared with other libraries through resource sharing arrangements. Ensuring staff workplace health and safety during the ongoing transformation in the delivery of services is an important element in the continued viability of resource sharing at UOW.\nFindings: The 2011-2013 review of UOW Library Resource Sharing services has resulted in a viable and relevant service that is adaptable to the changing needs of UOW clients and institutional directions into the near future. Unmediated requesting continues to assume a greater share of the requesting workload, though staff expertise is equally important in supporting this service. A future challenge for the UOW Library is the rising cost of postage for the sharing of loans across institutions.\nOriginality/value: This case study demonstrates how an academic library can transform its resource sharing service for ongoing relevance and cost-effectiveness. Taking a holistic view of the service, in terms of people, costs and services, is important to ensure the overall viability of the service.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Honoring the life and legacy of Michael J. Driver, 1936-2004
|
[
"Careers",
"Leadership",
"Simulation",
"Entrepreneurialism"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: This special issue honors the life and legacy of Michael J. Driver (Michael J. Driver), a renowned scholar whose contributions to research on careers, decision-making, and cognitive styles made an indelible impact on these fields. His often-groundbreaking work, spanning more than 40 years, impacted the lives of those whom he taught, mentored, consulted and collaborated with. Without a doubt, Mike Driver has helped shape the way we think about and research careers and career-related issues. Dr Driver's impact continues to be felt, as can be seen in the pages of this special issue, where we highlight the Driver-inspired research of several former students who later became colleagues.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This special issue honors the life and legacy of Michael J. Driver, a renowned scholar whose contributions to research on careers, decision-making, and cognitive style made an indelible impact on these fields. His often-groundbreaking work spanning more than 40 years impacted the lives of those whom he taught, mentored, consulted and collaborated with. Dr Driver's impact continues to be felt, as can be seen in the pages of this special issue, which highlights the Driver-inspired research of several former students who later became colleagues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Over the last four decades, Mike Driver has helped shape the way we think about and research careers and career-related issues. To illustrate some of this impact, we provide a first broad retrospective of his life and career and then four articles - written by former students and colleagues of his - that build on Mike's work in careers, decision making and cognitive style. Reflecting on this collection allows the reader to take stock of Driver's research that is responsible for shaping some of the careers research that continues now and in the future.\nFindings: - As it would take several special issues to cover the breadth and depth of Mike's scholarly contributions, this collection of five articles is intended to showcase a sampling of Dr Driver's legacy. The articles - representing such fields as leadership, careers, entrepreneurship, and work-family conflict - demonstrate the reach of Driver's work while providing new insights and offering new avenues for research and practice.\nOriginality/value: - These articles are authored by individuals ranging from junior faculty to senior faculty, scholar to practitioner, and colleague to wife. Individually, each article contributes to our understanding of the many fields Driver's work influences. Together, this collection of articles provides important insights that it is hoped encourage even further research that informs career scholarship and its impact on the development of individuals and their careers within and beyond national boundaries.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Post M&A ill-health: Main, moderating and mediating effects of job stressors and perceived organizational support
|
[
"Employee attitudes",
"Organizational change"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are corporate change-related events that continue to be a common phenomenon, despite the numerous negative repercussions reported in literature, manifested as underperformance or poor employee integration (Amiot et al., 2007; Marmenout, 2010). One of these negative consequences is employee stress, which is a critical and unavoidable part of the so-called \"merger syndrome\" (Marks, 1997; Marks and Mirvis, 1985); it is evident in most post-merger combinations and tends to intensify over time (e.g. Schweiger and Denisi, 1991). The reason for this is that M&As are usually not very successful, with failure rates of approximately 70 percent (Lodorfos and Boateng, 2006), and take time (typically five to seven years) to realize (Covin et al., 1997). This leaves the remaining employees (\"survivors\") struggling with unfamiliar corporate operations and management procedures, technological and cultural novelties, such as new software packages, and different work arrangements and job tasks (Appelbaum et al., 2000). As a result of these difficulties, employees exhibit poor identification and/or commitment with the merged organization (Van Dick et al., 2006), have lower productivity and satisfaction and increased absenteeism (Lotz and Donald, 2006). All of these undesirable and dysfunctional behavioral outcomes frequently result in an employee's propensity to leave the merged organization and seek employment elsewhere (Appelbaum et al., 2007).\nTheoretical background: Ill-health is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a poor physical or mental condition. While ill-health is a term usually adopted in a medical context, it has also systematically concerned management and organizational behavioral research (Danna and Griffin, 1999; Ganster and Schaubroeck, 1991; Ganster and Rosen, 2013; Macik-Frey et al., 2007). These reviews meticulously present the findings of over 20 years of research, which point toward one conclusion: employee health is vulnerable to many work-related stressors, the locus of which can be traced to the individual, task or general work level. Below we examine the logic relating job stressors and organizational support to ill-health in post-combination settings, before turning to the interacting and mediating effects.\nMethod: Sample\nResults: Correlations\nDiscussion: Our study aimed to explore the impact of stressors and POS on survivors' ill-health and further explore whether overall stress affects employee commitment to the organization. As hypothesized, all work stressors predicted ill-health, confirming earlier research findings regarding the relationship between stress and health (Faragher et al., 2004; Fox et al., 1993; Kahn and Byosiere, 1992). Post M&A stress triggered by troublesome relationships with colleagues and superiors at work, inability to accommodate personal or family responsibilities and obligations, excessive workload, uncertainty over the stability of current job position due to merger-related restructuring, and a lack of resources and communication in executing job tasks result in survivors' ill-health. Somewhat surprisingly (see also the results of Faragher et al., 2004), pay and benefits and control were adversely related to ill-health. What our results show is that employees that have less control over their job (e.g. less time devoted to decision making and planning) or are deprived of previous financial rewards feel either less pressure or less need to achieve, thus reducing the risk of health-related problems. It seems that high salaries and bonuses are the reward for the employee's investment of time (e.g. through overtime) and effort, thus causing health-related problems (Dembe et al., 2005; Tucker and Rutherford, 2005).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The current financial crisis in Greece has redefined the way organizations operate resulting in a dramatic increase in mergers and acquisitions (M&As). The purpose of this paper is twofold: first to explore, within the M&A context, the main effects of job-related stressors and perceived organizational support (POS) on merger survivors' ill-health and second to examine the indirect links between these and commitment.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Data were obtained from 140 employees of two merged financial institutions in Greece post-combination.\nFindings: The results indicated significant direct relationships between work-related stressors and POS and ill-health. As regards the indirect relationships, only the mediation link between organizational support, ill-health and commitment was supported.\nPractical implications: Implications, limitations and further research issues are discussed in light of the M&A context.\nOriginality/value: The intention is to extend current stress and M&A literature findings (e.g. Cartwright and Cooper, 1993; Cartwright et al., 2007), and further investigate the relationship between stressors and ill-health within a turbulent context, since little is known about the behavioral reactions arising as an outcome of M&As in a Greek setting. Thus, the unique contribution of this study is to examine this relationship in a double crisis context: the organizational crisis following the M&A and the financial crisis currently facing Greece, since the area of M&As in Greece has so far received little scholarly attention (Bellou, 2007, 2008).\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
A qualitative approach to automated motels: a rising issue in South Korea
|
[
"Anonymity",
"Automated motel",
"Room rate",
"Thematic factor"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Since the Dae-Bul hotel was opened in Incheon city in 1889, the history of hotels in Korea has evolved with the opening of the Son-Tak hotel in Seoul, Korea, in 1902, symbolizing the beginning of the modern era (Han, 2002; Kang and Moon, 2012; Lee, 2013a, 2013b). Since then, various types of hotels have proliferated in Korea, such as motels, business or resident hotels, family hotels, condominiums and traditional Korean hotels (Han and Joo, 2005). The term, motel, which is a combination of motor and hotel, may be referred to as a form of accommodation based on the hotel (Lee, 2012). Among the various types of accommodations in Korea, automated motels have received much attention from the media socially and politically in recent years, in that they provide adolescents with accommodations for committing illicit acts. Apart from perceived negative social issues derived from the establishment of automated motels, topics related to them have never been academically discussed in any journals, even in the Korean hospitality and tourism journal.\nLiterature review: The history of hotels and motels that provide a private convenience to guests dates back to 500 B.C. Also, as a critical clue that recorded in the Code of Hammurabi in around 2,000 B.C., the prevalence of accommodations shows in Europe and Asia (Rushmore and Baum, 2002). Together with historical evidence about accommodations, there are a small series of research on service quality or ecotourism with accommodations (Ekinci et al., 2003; Wight, 1997), decisions on accommodations by business travelers (Lockyer, 2002) and boutique accommodations (Mcintosh and Siggs, 2005) that have recently been published. However, literature focused on either motels or automated motels remains scarce. This study, thus, enumerates:\nMethods: The purpose of this study is to understand determinants of visitors to automated motels and, based on this research's findings, to facilitate related quantitative research in the foreseeable future and encourage debate among hospitality scholars and practitioners. As such, rather than using various advanced statistical techniques to support quantitative research, this study endeavored to use data collection and analytical methods suitable for qualitative research. Most studies involving quantitative research identify research reliability and validity through statistical criteria of Cronbach's a and confirmatory factor analysis (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007), while, in qualitative research, there are different methods of evaluating research reliability and validity, because the purpose of this research is to provide an understanding of a social phenomenon except for generalization of study findings (Glesne, 2006). Although there are many paths to guarantee validity and reliability in qualitative research, this study applied methods suggested by most researchers conducting qualitative studies (Creswell, 2013; Glesne, 2006; Lincoln and Guba, 1985). Methods of data collection and analysis are described below.\nFindings: Unlike the approach to qualitative research posited by Alexander et al. (2010) considering themes from focus group interviews as a priori, in this research, repeated terms from the three data collection methods are regarded as more important than just one-time emergent words. To begin with, keywords filtered from memos and transcripts in semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews (FGI) and reviews and replies from online participatory observation are presented (Table II). Among languages listed, terms such as sex, curiosity, entertainment, sensitivity to room rate, booking after internet search for motels, coupon, noise and time extension for rest are found in age groups of 20s, 30s and 40s, while keywords such as impromptu visit, sex, adultery, business trip, insensitivity to room rate and drive-in are found in 50s and 60s age groups. From this finding, the purpose of visiting automated motels that most visitors have in common is for having sex, and that visitors in their 50s and 60s are more likely to visit automated motels for affairs than younger visitors. In semi-structured interviews, interviewees responded that they preferred automated motels instead of typical motels if both motels have the same room rate, for example:\nConclusion and discussion: Conclusions\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Apart from a few negative social effects of automated motels, this study aims to represent the first attempt to examine why consumers visit automated motels in Korea and how they feel about them using a qualitative research method.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To secure the validity of the data, a triangulation method which applied three data collection methods was used. Semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, participatory online observation and template analysis, as data collection methods and an analysis technique were conducted.\nFindings: Findings indicate that the main purposes of visiting these motels are for affairs and other sexual experiences, while there are also other major objectives such as individual privacy and business trips. Key determinants found in the analyses are anonymity, the room rate and more thematic factors.\nResearch limitations/implications: Given the rising issue that there is a rapid growth in the market for automated motels beyond perceived negative images, those in the hospitality industry should devote attention to effective alternatives such as focusing on the inherent purpose of lodging with many other conveniences as well. For future studies, developing an instrument, investigating perspectives of the automated motel providers and comparing with research on automated hotels conducted in European countries are necessary.\nPractical implications: This study provides some of the strengths of automated motels such as the assurance of anonymity during tourists' stay and automated payment method in the parking garage that apply to the Korean middle-scale hotel industry. As the sector of automated motels provides favorable profit for the owners and the Korean hotel industry around Seoul always runs short of hotel provisions, this study implies that the governments and administrations should find a solution to replace the regular lodging group of automated motels with a category of tourist hotels.\nOriginality/value: Although there is unusual popularity and a considerably growing number of automated motels in Korea, scant research has been conducted relative to automated motels. Despite difficulty in debating the current issue of automated motels, this study, as the first pioneering research on automated motels in Korea, endeavored to address this issue and discuss its social and political implications based upon the findings.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Managing cooperation, coordination, and legitimacy: Control of contracted public services
|
[
"Outsourcing",
"Contracting",
"Privatization",
"Inter-organizational management control",
"Public sector services"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Using the market instead of in-house capacities to deliver welfare services to the public has become a rather standard approach for government agencies in many countries (Brown et al., 2006; Fernandez, 2007; Cristofoli et al., 2010). Debating the origins and appropriateness of this practice and trying to explain the choice between in-house production and outsourcing has been a longstanding and high-profile topic in research (Domberger and Jensen, 1997; Nelson, 1997; Boyne, 1998; Hodge, 2000; Brown and Potoski, 2003a, b; Johansson, 2015). While this make-or-buy decision has been in focus in the literature, theory driven studies have paid less attention to what happens after a government agency has contracted for a service in terms of overseeing the implementation of the contract and other intentions (Brown et al., 2006; Cristofoli et al., 2010; Longo and Barbieri, 2013). Since many of the services that are procured via the market are not pure market transactions but rather transactions constituted by a certain degree of specificity, low frequency, and uncertainty, relying only on the \"invisible hand\" as a governance mechanism is not in line with theory (Williamson, 1985). Rather, in this hybrid form of governance (e.g. the outsourcing/contracting of whole services), public sector organizations need to implement \"visible,\" formal, and bureaucratic control mechanisms to ensure that vendors are aligned with the goals and purposes of the mission that they have been assigned for and that they are coordinated with the buying organization (Gulati and Singh, 1998; Dekker, 2004; Caglio and Ditillo, 2008). Otherwise there is a risk that the intended effects (e.g. cost reductions and quality improvements) are not realized. This broadens the analysis from mere ex ante analyses to ex post monitoring and enforcement issues. In theoretical terms, this aspect can be labeled the extended make-or-buy decision that the buying party needs to consider when outsourcing activities (Van der Meer-Koistra and Vosselman, 2000).\nTheory and hypothesis development: Figure 1 shows the framework and model that we develop and test. The left-hand side of the model lists three clusters of factors related to the context of the control situation that affect the intensity and focus of the control system in use. We start by describing the components in the control system and then develop hypotheses about the effect of the control context on the intensity and the focus of the control system.\nMethod: Our data consist of information about context and control of outsourcing relationships in Swedish municipalities. The relationships are contractual and competitive; i.e. they have been established by a competitive tendering process in accordance with the procurement act (Swedish Code of Statues, 2007). To get high validity in the measurement of controls actually in use in the relationship, we chose to collect data from the providing organizations. The buying organization may misreport on this for a number of reasons. Asking the buying organization about the use of controls may lead to over-reporting on the use because of social desirability (being in control is desirable; cf. the discussion about stakeholder pressure) but also because the difference between how the control system is formally designed, which will be reported to us, and how and what parts the control system are actually implemented and used in practice.\nStructural model results: To test our hypotheses we first estimated two structural models: one model with all exogenous (independent) variables on the second-order construct of control intensity and a second model with all exogenous variables on the three individual control types. The results of these estimations are presented in Table IV.\nDiscussion and conclusions: The global trend is that states are becoming increasingly hollow (Milward and Provan, 2000) in the sense that a significant part of welfare services today are not directly delivered by the state (local or central government), but indirectly through contracted third-party organizations. In such a situation, one of the major, and ultimately the only, function that government has is to manage these contracts and relationships so that policy and welfare are effectively implemented. This study contribute by broadening and deepening the analysis of how public sector organizations control suppliers for contracted services and how control variety can be explained. Previous studies have been concerned with factors mainly stemming from potential cooperation hazards and have included rather narrow concepts and measures of what constitutes a control system designed to oversee contract implementation and controlling supplier behavior. Furthermore, this study contribute by arguing that also other factors are of importance and that the control of suppliers includes other and different types of controls than those previously studied. From our empirical findings, a number of expected as well as unexpected results emerged that warrant further discussion and that constitute contributions to research and practice.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to create knowledge about what factors explain the design of control systems for contracted public services.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Questionnaire data analyzed with structural equation models.\nFindings: Legitimacy-seeking is the most important driver in explaining intensity in control of contracted public services. Competition increases the intensity of control which is opposite to standard transaction cost reasoning. Coordination requirements do not affect the design of control systems for contracted public services.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study suffers from limitations in the form of the use of perception and questionnaire data and imposes restrictions on empirical generalization.\nPractical implications: Supplier competition may add control costs rather than lower them. The strong focus on stakeholder alignment may induce more intensive control than necessary for supplier alignment.\nOriginality/value: The authors add important knowledge on the determinants of control system design for contracted public sector services. The authors conceptualize and measure the control system in use in a more compelling manner than previous research.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
State Audit Institution in United Arab Emirates
|
[
"United Arab Emirates",
"Auditing",
"Law",
"Auditing standards",
"Financial reporting",
"Financial control"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nExecutive summary: The State Audit Institution (SAI) (1977) was set up as an independent authority under the Federal Law of November 7, 1976. SAIs are organizations responsible for auditing government revenues and expenditures. Their main aim is the supervision of the public funds handled by the government. They also check the quality and integrity of the financial reports provided by the government. These organizations also provide the necessary information regarding the public finance management. Their roles vary from carrying out the audit and advising the government to detecting fraud.Its responsibilities in terms of its reporting policies are that it is obligatory for SAI to audit and report on the operational activities and the financial statements of all the public enterprises annually. SAI also prepares interim and final audit reports on the accounts and operational activities of the public enterprises. A final audit report is also prepared annually on the accounts and the general performance of these public enterprises and submitted as part of the SAI annual report to the Federal National Council and which also goes to the Federal Supreme Council (FSC), the State President and the Council of Ministers.The SAI has a duty to scrutinize various financial and accounting laws and also the procedures of performing the financial operations for assuring the soundness of the corporations and companies. The SAI also has the powers to detect the financial frauds and negligence and to study the reasons of the defalcation. SAI performs two types of audit. Prior-audit is conducted when it is material and would have a significant impact on the interest of the corporations and the state. Post-audit is carried out at the end of the financial or accounting year and ensures that administrative revenues department have collected the accrued revenues and made the given changes to the other accounts accordingly.\nIntroduction: The SAI has been set up as an independent authority attached to the Federal National Council (Parliament) by Federal Law No. 7 of 1976. According to the constitution of 1971, Federal Law No. 7 was promulgated in 1976 to establish the SAI as a supreme institution. The 1976 law guarantees its independence functionally organically and financially from the executive and authorized it to exercise external audit in the state. The SAI is attached to the Federal National Council in its capacity as the legislature in the UAE. As a result entities such as the ministries and the departments of the Federal Government, the Federal National Council, the public corporations and bodies etc. are subject to the audit control of the SAI.\nMission statement: The SAI shall mainly focus on the safety and legality of organizing funds and the execution of development projects, along with conducting financial audits of public funds, all as provided in this law and its internal regulation.\nObjectives: The key objectives of the SAI include:* providing an insight on governmental spending and public finance management;* carrying out audits in order to improve the performance of the government;* identifying faults and eliminating corruption;* restricting financial malpractice and the abuse of power, which could be practiced by the government;* providing important information to the public regarding governmental actions; and* reforming and improving the government regarding the funds management.\nAuditable bodies: Among the funds of the state and the other authorities that the SAI shall audit are the ministries and departments of the Federal Government, the Federal National Council, the public corporations and bodies, the companies or bodies, in which capital the State or any public artificial person may have a share not less than 25 per cent or for which the State guarantees a minimum limit of profit or offers a financial subsidy, and finally any other body of which audit is charged to the SAI by the FSC, the President of the State or the Cabinet. The SAI can initiate the process of auditing when it receives a request letter from the ruler of one of the Emirates, requesting to audit one of the preceding organizations and departments.\nRoles and functions: The SAI carries out various roles and functions in relevance to the public, legislature and government. They carry out various audits and inspections on the different governmental bodies. These audits can be carried out on request or spontaneously. Auditors working for the SAI have to follow certain rules put together by the institution and are financially responsible for their acts. In addition, they have to make sure that they work in confidentiality while conducting the post- and prior-audit. Moreover, the SAI performs audits on draft agreements or contracts, updating the relevant bodies within seven days as a maximum. They have the right to examine documents important for the audit. Furthermore, the SAI undertakes the function of identifying cases of financial malpractices, negligence and defalcation. To identify these malpractices they plan the method of carrying out financial operations, in order to check if these are being carried out. The plan includes setting processes, going through relevant documents and the final stage includes submitting the case to the Disciplinary Council. The process ends by advising these bodies regarding fund management. They also support government transparency and responsibility along with improving public consciousness. Furthermore, their role includes using observation as a tool to conclude their audits and reporting these to the establishments through the pertinent ministers.The roles of the ministers are included in presenting the statement provided by the auditors after every three months. This statement is used as an evidence of confidentiality regarding the expenditures undertaken. The role of the president of the SAI includes preparing an annual report which is presented before the Federal Nations Council. The annual report includes all the final accounts of the government bodies that have been audited and observed.\nDuties: The SAI had a duty to perform audit on the draft agreement while conducting prior-audit and report it to the concerned authority about the result within seven days as the maximum period from the date of receiving the important papers and relating documents of the draft agreement. It also has a duty to ensure that all the appropriations are allocated in the budget, all the process required before the documentation has been put into practice according to the laws and regulations, to see if it conforms to the financial laws and it should also ensure that it is in the interest of the State artificial persons. For this purpose, the SAI has to study and examine various financial and accounting laws and regulations and even the procedure of performing the financial operations in order to guarantee integrity. Finally, the SAI has to ascertain and evaluate in case of deficiency and imperfectness and suggest means to improve and reform to make the fund management subject to audit and to reach the optimal standard of efficiency and accuracy.When the SAI investigates into the financial frauds discovered either by the SAI or the concerned administration, the SAI president formulates procedures in order to determine if the act has not constituted a financial contravention or if it is proved not committed by the official. It also refers and gives the relevant papers to the concerned administration to inflict a disciplinary penalty by the SAI on the violator within 15 days. The SAI president has to even submit the case to the Disciplinary Council as that is specified in the law in order to settle it in accordance with the rules and procedures in this law and to abide even with the rules and measures of the internal regulation.\nTypes of audit: There are two different types of audit the SAI exercises on the funds of the state and other authorities:(1) Prior (preventive)-audit: Every draft or contract relating to public works, supply, lease and other agreements that establish rights for the state or it includes current obligations or commitments if the amount of the each agreement reaches 500,000 or more as to whichever method of choosing the contract has been used. They cannot divide the agreement of 500,000 or more in order to escape the audit as they require an audit approval by law. So, prior-audit is always conducted before taking a major decision involving a huge amount which is being invested as it would have a tremendous economic consequence which would affect the interest of the public artificial persons and the state.(2) Post-audit: The SAI at the end of either the accounting or financial year has to ensure that the administrative revenues department have collected the accrued revenues for the State and added them to the related accounts. In order to perform it, the SAI shall examine and analyse related documents and accounts to ensure that the dues have reliable calculations, that the amounts collected are the legally accrued and that the financial operations relating to the collection of these accrued amounts have abided to the accounting law and regulations.\nPowers: The SAI has the power to investigate financial frauds, negligence and defalcation and the reasons for their motives. They also have the power to study the aspects of deficiency in legislation and the system of internal control which led to the frauds and propose the means of remedy. The SAI implements the following powers when it performs the post-audit. It guarantees that the expenditures have been sufficiently distributed within the limits allocated in the budget according to the objectives stated in the plan. The SAI makes sure that in all the stages, the expending operation has been accomplished in accordance with the rules, laws and regulations of the budget. Due to this reason, the SAI ensures that the corporations have not over spent and they have followed the rules of the internal regulation. The SAI also ensures that the financial clearance has been carried out according to the accounting and financial laws and regulations of the budget.Furthermore, the SAI has to audit the reconciliation accounts such as trusts and advances so as to ensure integrity in their operations and that their numbers have been entered correctly in the accounts and that they are backed up with legal documents. Moreover, the SAI audits loans taken by the public artificial persons to determine the soundness of the financial conditions in the loan contract. It also makes sure that the original loan plus its interest have been repaid in accordance with the rules. The SAI has the power to audit the investment of the State's funds and corporations so that it would be secure and sound in the fields where such funds have been invested and to ensure the feasibility of the return of the investment. Also, the SAI audit the accounts of warehouses and stores in order to view their entries, books and relating documents to ensure their soundness of the annual inventory operations. For this purpose, the SAI studies the reasons resulting in accumulation and damage of stored materials and recommends appropriate means for safe-keeping and necessary rules for sound planning in order to supply the warehouses and stores.In addition, the SAI has to control the application of development projects as stated in the plan so as to make sure sound utilization of appropriations are assigned in the budget for such projects. Due to this reason, the SAI makes sure that the said projects are implemented within the adopted costs and time limits and the corporations need to explain the reasons of deviation and deficiency. The SAI scrutinizes the final and appropriation accounts of all authorities and even examines the balance sheets, profit and loss accounts and operating and trading accounts of the corporations and companies of the economic sector. For this purpose, the SAI has to identify the exact financial position of the authorities' corporations and to ascertain that their returns are sound and expedient. The SAI also limits the rights and obligations of the State and the corporations and scrutinizes the reports presented by the external auditors to the general assemblies.\nReporting policies: The SAI is required to audit and report on the operational activities and the financial statements of public enterprises annually. Transaction-based audits and systems-based audits are carried out continuously in most cases in major public enterprises. In some cases where there is a special need, auditing can be carried out any time during the year. The SAI prepares interim and final audit reports on the accounts and operational activities of the public enterprises. A final audit report is also prepared annually on the accounts and the general performance of these public enterprises and submitted as part of the SAI annual report to the Federal National Council and which also goes to the FSC, the state president and the council of ministers. The audit reports of the SAI are followed up by the general assembly of each public enterprise, the council of ministers and the Federal National Council.The SAI president prepares an annual report for each of the final accounts of the bodies subject to the SAI audit, in which the observations and aspects of difference occurring between the SAI and the body concerned shall be elaborated. The report shall be submitted to the Federal National Council before the date appointed for approving the final account relating to that report which shall be notified and in the meanwhile, to the FSC, the state's president and the council of ministers (Cabinet). If the report is pertaining to a corporation or a company it shall be notified, to the corporation's board of directors and to the company's general assembly 30 days before convening them to approve the balance sheet and final accounts. All these council and boards can invite the SAI president or the SAI vice-president to attend their meetings in which the SAI's reports shall be debated. He can address the meeting and states his opinion in the debated matters. The SAI president may also submit other reports, within the fiscal year, about matters which he deems to be of great importance requiring urgent perusal of concerned authorities.\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to look at the fundamental properties of the State Audit Institution (SAI) and the legitimacy behind the forming of such an organization.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper provides a descriptive account of the background of the SAI and presents an analytical explanation of the topics covered by the Federal Law No. 7 of 1976.\nFindings: - The description shows the main principles of SAI, within an increased emphasis on how the SAI attempts to fulfil its legal duties and obligations to achieve its objectives. As a result, the SAI plays an important oversight role when it comes to federal and local government operations in the UAE.\nOriginality/value: - The study looks at the advancement of government transparency in the UAE and reveals how the UAE government has become more proactive over the years in informing state laws to promote the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of UAE programs and operations.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Multicriteria model for selecting TQM consultancy and certification services
|
[
"Quality management",
"Certification",
"ISO standards",
"Multicriteria decision"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The globalization of the economy, including the change to global markets, the creation of new trading blocs, and the advent of technology, prompted the growth of competitiveness. Therefore, as markets became increasingly competitive, organizations had to adapt to this new worldwide scenario. New strategies had to be implemented, and the organizational comfort has been replaced by a frantic and daily struggle pursuing a place in a mutual variable market, with increasingly demanding customers. The search for quality through continuous improvement using quality management systems (QMS) is unquestionably the strategy most used by old and new organizations, and certainly the one that offers the most significant results in this new business context. The implementation of a QMS will result in improving the quality of processes and products, due to the meeting of the specifications required for certifications as well as improving the company's image and trust in it in the market place, thereby assisting the organization to achieve its goals. According to Garvin (1988), time, resources, and money must be invested in the search for quality, and its enthusiasts offer several reasons to do so, such as attending to environment issues, safety at work, achieving competitiveness, and improving quality to gain greater profitability. Implementing a QMS requires effort, planning and everyone's involvement, efficient leadership, and the top management commitment (Valmohammadi, 2011; Laohavichien et al., 2011).\n2. The role of the consultancy services and ACB: According to the Brazilian National Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE), the consultancy is classified as an interactive process conducted by an external agent that brings changes for the company, and assumes responsibilities for supporting executives and professionals of the company and its customers in a decision-making process, but it has no control of the situations.\n3. Proposing a decision model: The methodological framework shown Figure 1 provides guidelines on hiring consultancy services, and then an ACB to certificate the QMS:\n4. Criteria: According to Almeida (2013), a consistent family of criteria must comply with many properties, such as being able to represent all aspects (goals) of the problem (exhaustively) with no redundancies.\n5. Choosing a multicriteria method: According to Almeida (2013, p. 20), \"a multicriteria method consists of a methodological formulation or a theory, with a well-defined axiomatic structure that may be used to build a decision model that aims to find the solution to a specific decision problem.\"\n6. Final considerations: The development of this study provided a new insight into the importance for selecting consultancy and certification services in order to implement QMS within organizations.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to establish the need and the importance of adopting a structured model to support the decisions by using a multicriteria focus to guide drawing up a methodological framework. In addition, this study considers the maturity level of the organization, and the importance of continuous improvement after implementing ISO 9001.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study presents a scientific technical foundation of the qualifying and selection criteria of the consultancy and Accredited Certification Body (ACB) by using ISO standards, and the guidance document CB25, which is related to quality. Finally, a numeric application with realistic data is undertaken using the PROMETHEE II method, and the GAIA plan.\nFindings: The development of this study provides a new insight into the importance for selecting consultancy, and certification services in order to implement quality management systems within organizations.\nResearch limitations/implications: The current study is limited to the quality management services. If necessary to apply the same model to other areas, it is necessary looking for documents and regulations of this field. In addition, this model is focussed on a model for small or medium companies, which are still trying to achieve a higher position in the sector, and do not have experts in quality management.\nOriginality/value: The differential of this study is the foundation of the criteria for the proposed model. Other studies choose these criteria without any scientific basis. On the other hand, this study goes over many documents.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Recruitment goes virtual: Use web-based technology intelligently for best results in recruitment
|
[
"Online recruitment",
"Social media tools",
"Feedback",
"Human capital",
"HR management",
"Yahoo",
"Internet",
"Recruitment",
"Social media",
"Human resource management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nSocial networking as a recruitment tool: Recruitment, like every other aspect of business today depends on speed and accuracy. With increasing numbers of qualified applicants chasing a decreasing pool of jobs, HR professionals need to find ways to sort through applications quickly while accurately selecting the best candidates. Increasingly, they are turning to social networking tools to assist in this process. The simplest use of social networking as a recruitment tool is simply for organizations to have an online presence so that potential applicants are aware of available jobs. This is especially important for small to moderate sized firms not among the \"big name\" companies in their field. The major companies such as AT&T, Southwest Airlines, and the Mayo Clinic might be household names to most job seekers, but they have not relied on this to attract applicants. Indeed, major companies like these are already at the forefront of social media recruitment.Social media can be used in a number of ways to facilitate recruitment. Facebook and Twitter can be used to drive traffic towards a career page or blog where information about recruitment drives is frequently updated. LinkedIn remains a popular platform for recruitment with around 90 percent of HR professionals using it as a tool to hire new staff. Smartphones have also altered the way firms recruit and the way in which candidates search for positions. Many people today, particularly young adults, use their phones to go online rather than accessing information via computer. Therefore, firms wishing to attract young applicants, such as recent graduates, need to make their recruitment information accessible to smartphone users.\nThe importance of social media teams: Like any other business use of social media, recruitment strategies need to be well-planned, developed and monitored. A social media team made up of media-savvy individuals who embrace the technology is essential. They understand how users of social media think and what tactics will attract potential candidates to their firms. Strategies such as developing a Facebook community, posting scheduled tweets on Twitter and hosting videos on YouTube can all enhance recruitment.\nThe pros and cons of using software for short-listing candidates: Virtual recruitment doesn't stop with the use of social media. While HR departments might depend on sites like LinkedIn to locate potential candidates, software has now usurped the human element in the arduous task of short-listing applicants. Software can rapidly sift through application forms searching for key attributes or skills. While this is a powerful tool, some HR professionals are concerned that it lacks discrimination. Breslin (2012) reports that recently an employer searching for someone experienced in marketing green olives rejected anyone with similar experience in the black olive trade because their profiles were not an exact match to the key words used in the selection software. Software also lacks the intuitive power to recognize where different skills might be transferable between jobs or industries. However, IT professionals argue that it is not the software that is faulty but rather the way in which it is used. They suggest that a move to electronic candidate selection should be seen as an opportunity to develop new ways of identifying the best applicants. Instead many firms just adapt their old paper forms when setting up short-listing rubrics. For example, if the employer searching for someone experienced in marketing olives had used the search term \"olive trade\" rather than \"green olives\" then candidates with experience in marketing black rather than green olives would not have been eliminated from the interview list.\nApplicants complain about lack of feedback: Another complaint about online application processes is the lack of feedback. Many companies collect numerous online applications and then fail to provide feedback to candidates. This may lead to the loss of applicants that companies wish to interview as candidates may choose not to work for organizations they perceive as having poor people skills. Disgruntled applicants can also spread the word very quickly using social media networks; this may discourage future applicants from seeking positions with such companies. However, there are firms who demonstrate that they understand the value of human capital. Breslin (2012) provides two examples of companies that stand out as models for online recruitment. Sage Software of Irvine California has a transparent screening process, which starts with a short online application and ends with a commitment to complete the candidate screening process within 20 days. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington has similar processes, developed by considering the applicant as a customer. Just as it would not be considered good business practice to keep a customer waiting for feedback, Pacific Northwest feels that job applicants should be afforded the same courtesy and consideration.\nYahoo focuses on recruitment to revive fortunes: Another firm committed to getting recruitment right is Yahoo. The new CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer sees recruitment as the key to revitalize the firm that has lagged behind competitors such as Google and Facebook. Soon after joining Yahoo, Mayer stated that she would oversee recruitment to ensure that the company acquired high level employees who could help realize Mayer's vision to turn the company fortunes around. Mayer demonstrated the advantage of the human touch in selection of a new Executive Vice President of People and Development. She appointed Jaqueline Reses who had not previously held an HR role. Although Reses might not have been a match for the post using a software selection tool, her experience in private equity makes her an ideal candidate to orchestrate Yahoo's new \"aquihire\" strategy. This involves buying new start-up companies to get talented engineers and designers onboard. Mayer has also demonstrated that she values employees by reinstating perks previously scrapped by Yahoo as its profits dropped. Free food is back on the menu along with free smartphones to help familiarize employees with platforms used by their customers.\nConclusion: Internet technology and social media are here to stay. They form part of the way people interact with each other in the modern world and they serve to make the planet a much smaller place than it once was. Businesses have discovered that they need to integrate these communication tools into their business plans and that this must be done with excellent planning, development and monitoring to ensure the best use of the technology. This is as true of HR as any other department in a modern organization. Recruitment and selection must find ways to utilize internet technology and social media intelligently while retaining the human touch that values intuition and adaptability.\nComments: All three articles were well-written and provided valuable information about how HR departments improve recruitment and selection. The viewpoint from HR Focus did not list an author's name. The article explored ways in which social media tools are being used by HR departments and how this can be improved. Breslin's article looked at some of the problems associated with candidate selection software and discussed how rejected candidates can feel quite confused and bitter, particularly when no feedback is offered to them. Rafter's article focused on Yahoo's new CEO and her avowed intent to be closely involved with the recruitment and selection process in order to get the right people on board at Yahoo in order to reverse the company's recent decline.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.\nFindings: - Recruitment has moved online. From advertising vacancies on social media sites to the use of online application forms and candidate selection software, the process of recruitment and selection has changed considerably over the past few years. The use of software programs to weed out suitable applicants is a boon for HR professionals tasked with sorting through numerous application forms for limited positions. While using social media tools makes the task much quicker, it can lack the discriminatory power of human intuition. This might mean that the ideal candidate is the person who has been overlooked. Candidates rejected by software rather than by a human recruiter often feel bitter about the lack of constructive feedback to help them prepare for their next application. However, some firms are getting it right with transparent procedures, simple online application forms and fixed screening periods that include feedback to candidates. Recruitment remains one of the most important tasks for any company. The new CEO of Yahoo demonstrates a commitment to recruitment by calling herself the company's \"chief recruiter\".\nPractical implications: - The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.\nOriginality/value: - The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to digest format.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Discourse as strategic coping resource: managing the interface between "home" and "work"
|
[
"Work identity",
"Change management",
"Teleworking",
"Individual behaviour"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: \"anywhere, anytime\" - \"somewhere, sometime\": Organizational boundaries, both internal and external, have become subject to change and challenge. As a consequence, new organizational patterns and forms emerge, some of which are temporally and spatially \"dispersed\". Unlike bureaucratic organizations, such dispersed organizations are not based on any assumptions that (paid) work is to be conducted at pre-set times and within rigidly structured and closely monitored spaces. Rather, such \"dispersal\" implies a shift in expectation with regard to how, where and when work should be done ( Jackson and van der Wielen, 1998): work activity is seen as liberated from temporal and spatial boundedness. It could be argued that the flexibility associated with the rupturing of this \"boundedness\" will enable agents to work \"anywhere, anytime\" and with \"anyone\" (Kurland and Bailyn, 1999). The use of the prefix \"any\" before adverbial indicators of time, space and agency seems to denote that work activity can be situated into and conducted within a context-free, socio-cultural vacuum. Refuting this assumption, the paper suggests that any up-rooting of work does not propel it into context-free time and space, but necessitates its re-rooting into the concreteness of somewhere, sometime and someone - into culturally defined spaces and times and into existing social networks.In this paper home-based telework is taken as the exemplary case to investigate how dispersed work organization requires such re-rooting to occur within the cultural space of \"home\" and how the whole household (not just the teleworker) has to develop and establish new forms of co-operation, co-ordination and control. In managing the home-work interface, these households have to \"cope with\" the arrival of paid work into a culturally different context, that of \"home\". \"Coping strategies\" enlist and operationalize particular discursive resources, which enable individual agents to find solutions to the co-existence of previously (mostly and at least notionally) kept separate contexts, \"home\" and (paid) \"work\".Positioned into an approach, which understands organizations as ongoing social process performed in language, telework and its consequences for the construction of identities are introduced. It is argued that households need to cope discursively with the arrival of paid work. The method section provides the background to the empirical work as well as the conceptual framework through which coping strategies are analysed in the next sections. The interactive linkages between discursive acts are established and it is explained why discursive acts succeed or fail. In the final section, the main points of the paper are briefly summarised and implications for understanding organizational change are drawn.\nDiscourse and organizational change: In this paper organizations are viewed as an ongoing social process, which is constructed and performed in language (Doolin, 2003; Law, 1994). Language is not a representative tool, but predominantly performative, productive and formative. The centrality of language and language use in the generation and change of all forms of organization is based on the assumption that reality is socially constructed and human beings are engaged in making sense of the continuously constructed social world (Berger and Luckmann, 1966; Oswick et al., 2000). Studies on stories (Boje, 1995; Gabriel, 2000), metaphor (Morgan, 1986; Grant and Oswick, 1996) and narrative (Czarniawska, 1997; Doolin, 2003) have explored in depth the performative language processes via which human actors achieve such sense-giving in the context of contesting and conflicting conditions.In particular, the study and analysis of discourse emerged as one of the primary means of exploring organizational change (Doolin, 2003; Hardy et al., 2000; Heracleous and Barrett, 2001). Discourses are organized system of meaning, which frame and influence the way people understand their realities and act upon them (Burr, 1995). People actively engage with such discourses and in doing so, they dynamically (re)shape and develop them (Hardy et al., 2000) with a view to justify or legitimate particular actions or outcomes (Knights and Murray, 1994). Such discursive activity has to be situated in meaningful context and be recognised as such by other social actors/discourse users in order to become meaningful social action. Consequently, discourse users find themselves in complex and continually shifting networks of relationships as they shape discourse/s and discourse/s shape their actions.This \"shaping\" of discourse is not a neutral, rational process, rather it is informed by relationships of power and control (Grant et al., 1998; Tietze et al., 2003), because not all discourse users have equal access to the material and symbolic resources of discourse/s - some \"warrant voice\" (Potter and Wetherell, 1987) more easily than others (Hardy et al., 2000).It follows from this brief discussion that taking a discursive-processual approach to organizations implies that in order to understand organizational change the bodies of knowledge, the practices and the language used by organizational actors needs to be investigated (Morgan and Sturdy, 2000). In this spirit, this paper follows two lines of investigation. The first one examines how the household copes discursively with the arrival of paid work. The second one examines why some discursive acts \"take\" while others fail or remain precarious at best.\nHome-based teleworking: In recent years teleworking, which literally means working at a distance, has spread and has increasingly become subject to commentary and investigation (Dwelly and Bennion, 2003; Felstead and Jewson, 2000; Tremblay, 2002). It is sometimes viewed - and problematised - as providing opportunity to resolve business problems such as reducing (estate) costs, ensuring motivation and commitment of core staff and delivering overall organizational flexibility, if managed and co-ordinated appropriately (Davenport and Pearlson, 1998; Harris, 2003). Such drives to achieve flexibility are not exclusively driven by management fiat or business imperatives, but individual employees increasingly request flexible work packages in order to better organize and manage the various demands and responsibilities of their overall lives (Bailey and Kurland, 2002). Home-based telework in particular has gained prominence in the vocabulary and practices of management and forms part of the public debate on work/life or work/home balance (Dwelly and Bennion, 2003; Felstead et al., 2002).Some progress has been made in identifying and understanding the spread, depth and patterns of \"working from home\" practices, their incidence and range in relation to local labour markets (Felstead and Jewson, 2000; Felstead et al., 2001; Papalexandris and Kramar, 1999; Phizacklea and Wolkowitz, 1995; Tremblay, 2002), and recent studies have turned to exploring the impact of working from home on processes of gendering (Sullivan and Lewis, 2001), problematising the construction of work and the household (Brocklehurst, 2001; Felstead and Jewson, 2000), the temporal composition of paid and unpaid work (Tietze and Musson, 2002), issues of surveillance (Fairweather, 1999) and infiltration of the household with images and practices of work (Hochschild, 1997). However, empirically informed studies situated directly in the household and thus incorporating the \"[social] other\" (Brocklehurst, 2001) are still few and far between (see Bailey and Kurland (2002), for analysis of status quo of research on telework). In this regard the location of this study in the household adds some insight into the consequences of organizational change from the point of view of a frequently excluded group of \"stakeholders\".Home-based telework and the construction of identity\nMethods: I undertook two studies into the experience of home-based telework. A pilot study (conducted from 1999 to 2000), comprising ten households, was followed by a conceptually and empirically expanded study (from 2000 to 2002) of a further 25 teleworking households. Initially, I was interested in understanding the mere practicalities of home-based telework from the perspective of the individual teleworker and their households. The second study retained this interest, but focused more clearly on the themes discussed in this paper (how do actors cope discursively; why do some discursive acts take while others fail). These studies, then, were meant to be explorative in character rather than representative of wider patterns, trends or instances of home-based telework. The analytic method comprised the interpretation of findings in the light of a particular conceptual framework. It is acknowledged that different approaches and different interpretations are possible, so no claims to represent any universal truths are being made. Nevertheless, the study systematically investigates its areas of interest and offers insights into an emergent form of (work) organization (Yanow, 2000).Teleworkers were visited in their homes. These visits included \"a tour of the house\", an interview with them and the possibility to at least talk to other members of the household. These teleworkers were diverse in industrial, sectoral or functional background, degrees of seniority and career development, but they were all in a long-term employment relationship with one employer and had been (voluntarily) working from home for some time, though for no longer than 16 months, so that the experience of having to deal with its implications were still accessible in their minds. While some teleworked regularly (one and a half to three days a week), others did so more sporadically but for longer periods. All the teleworkers can be described as management professionals, who had a business/management education to degree level and who had established successful careers in the middle layers of their respective organizations. As such they were involved in high discretion work and self-directed in the pursuit and conduct of their activities. Thus, their common denominator was the particular intellectual and emotional dispositions they had to develop as part of the professionalisation and socialisation into \"management\". These acted as internal control devices, which the teleworkers drew on to exercise self-discipline (Seron and Ferris, 1995; Watson and Harris, 1999). Of the teleworkers 13 were male, 12 were female [2]. Their age spanned from 33 to 48 years; 18 were married or cohabited, four in long-term relationships, three were single. 20 had children, while two of the single teleworkers had children from previous relationships. Of those 18 cohabiting/married households, nine had only one breadwinner (there was only one female breadwinner), and the remaining nine were dual career households, with our main contact being defined by the family as the \"breadwinner\".\nConceptual frameworks: Coping strategies are described and analysed by employing the conceptual approach developed by Hardy et al. (2000). They understand discourse/s as producing and being produced by concepts, objects and subject positions - relationships that constitute social reality. Using discourse as a strategic resource means that individuals engage in discursive activity to intervene in these relationships - and thereby change the social world. The contexts of such organizing are seen as sites of struggle for meaning produced by competing groups.Applying their terminology and concepts sheds light on the dynamics and context within which concepts, objects and subject positions were negotiated and changed in the visited households. This framework also provides the possibility to explain why some changes were successful, while others remained failed or remained tentative. Also, their stance on discourse and discursive activity is in line with the theoretical position outlined earlier in the paper. By capturing the voice and position of the whole household, \"dialogical insights\" (Hardy et al., 2000, p. 1244) are provided regarding how discursive activities are performed and why they succeed or fail to connect.The chosen examples are taken from an incident observed during a visit. They are only seemingly mundane. Employing the conceptual framework shows that they constitute and are constitutive of the very (coping) strategies which shape and inform the \"everyday\" of those households.Concepts\nActing and coping discursively: Examples were taken from the research study to illustrate some of the \"practical solutions\" developed by teleworking households. This is followed by discussing these examples in the light of the mutually implicated concept, object and subject position and the changes they affected. The discussion focuses on circuits of activity, performativity and connectivity and addresses why some discursive acts succeed while others fail.Concepts, objects and subject positions\nCommentary and discussion: In this section the above described discursive acts are discussed within the conceptual framework developed by Hardy et al. (2000). A distinction is drawn between regulatory and self-regulatory acts. It is demonstrated why and how their enactment is problematic and precarious.Concepts, objects, subject positions\nConclusion: Taking issue with the notion that work can be conducted \"anywhere, anytime and with anyone\", the article explored the consequences of anchoring paid work activity into the conceptually different world of \"the home\". Based on an understanding of organizations as ongoing social process, an empirical study into the experience of home-based telework was used to shed light on how change was enacted discursively and why some such acts succeeded (or failed) in providing trajectories for meaningful social action. Building on the distinction between acts of regulation (directed toward social others) and acts of self-regulation (directed toward the self), it was shown that the self-regulatory acts were more difficult to establish, because of the continuous suspension of the teleworker between \"home\" and \"work\". Such suspension necessitated the (re)negotiation of interdependent identities before new practices and routines could be established.The \"dispersed\" work organization has indeed burst its traditional boundaries and in doing so loosened existing networks of identities, practices and patterns. Within the context of this study, there are several implications for the \"organizational change\" agenda. First, it has to become more inclusive of a larger variety of \"stakeholders\"; family members, friends and neighbours are directly effected by the arrival of paid work. The study of organizational change also should expand to explore the niches and nooks of places and times outside the formal organizational boundaries. If the management of organizational change has to concern itself with a much more diverse range of stakeholders, practical and ethical questions arise on \"where to draw the boundaries?\" Second, organizational change affects the construction of (professional) identities, which are controlled \"from the inside\". Here, the management of organizational change needs to \"turn away\" from its fascination with big strategy and \"turn inside\" to consider the meaning individuals attach to their work, their homes, their selves. Last, but not least, in focusing on the role of the framing power of discourse, individuals might be enabled to make more informed choices with respect to practices they wish to take up or to reject.To conclude, home-based telework symbolises contemporary dilemmas, caused by and expressive of organizational and social change. At the core of such change are questions of identity and ethical considerations concerning the organization of our life worlds, those of work, those of home and the evolving spaces and times \"in-between\".\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - To provide insight into the consequences of telework from the perspective of the teleworker and the household. The paper discusses the consequences of telework for the formulation of identities.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper is based on empirical work, which comprises home visits to teleworkers and therefore includes observational data and interview data. The data are analysed following a particular framework, which is views discourse as a \"strategic resource\" and draws on the vocabulary of performativity and connectivity to investigate why some \"discursive acts\" take successfully while others fail.\nFindings: - It is shown that teleworkers and their households need to engage in strategies to protect and reconfirm their respective identities. This is achieved through the enactment of regulatory as well as self-regulatory (identity) acts.\nOriginality/value: - The paper is located in the household of teleworkers and therefore, includes this less well researched perspective. The linking of the conceptual framework (strategic resource) with the location of the study in the household in order to investigate the theme \"identity\" is an innovative feature, which shows that (internal) self-regulatory identity acts are equally or even more important than (external) regulatory acts.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Multi-faceted views on a Lean Six Sigma application
|
[
"Six sigma",
"Lean production",
"Lean six sigma",
"Process improvement",
"Case study"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1 Introduction: Lean and Six Sigma are popular contemporary process improvement methodologies intended for companies striving for operational excellence (Arnheiter and Maleyeff, 2005). Both have roots in the industrial revolution started by Henry Ford in the early twentieth century. The ideas that arose at that time were studied, modified and taken to Japan by Toyota gurus Eiji Toyoda and Taiichi Ohno (Dahlgaard and Dahlgaard-Park, 2006). From this starting point, the concepts Six Sigma and Lean have evolved and changed the way that many people view improvement work (Dahlgaard and Dahlgaard-Park, 2006; Byrne et al., 2007). However, even though these concepts have evolved in somewhat different directions, there has been considerable cross-fertilisation and a merger of the two may even create room for more.Such a merger is frequently referred to as Lean Six Sigma or Lean sigma (Antony et al., 2003; Van den Heuvel et al., 2006). Advocates often stress the complementary benefits of combining the pragmatic and value-centred Lean together with the data-driven Six Sigma (Arnheiter and Maleyeff, 2005; Kumar et al., 2008). The more down-to-earth Lean initiatives could be applied to day-to-day problems and the resource-demanding Six Sigma to more complex problems (Magnusson et al., 2003).Most discussion regarding synergies has so far been at a theoretical level. While this is a necessary starting point, it means that less attention has been devoted to the study of the practical implications and actual operational execution. The purpose of this paper is to explore an application of Lean Six Sigma in practical improvement work. The study will focus on differentiated use of Lean Six Sigma on various types of problems as well as on various company levels.The empirical basis for this paper is a study of a production facility of a large Swedish manufacturing company. It is based on nine formal interviews with people holding various positions in the organisation, ranging from shop floor operators to change project leaders to facility management. Over a period of four months, two of the authors spent approximately three days each week on-site. The empirical data are therefore also based on informal interviews, occasional meetings, documentation and observations, all of which helped facilitate access to reliable information and data, as well as verification through triangulation of data.\n2 Lean Six Sigma: A brief overview of some of the central components of Lean Six Sigma's two underlying concepts is provided as a background to discussions. The components have been derived theoretically, which is one of the several possible ways to deconstruct Six Sigma and Lean.Six Sigma can be broken down into seven parts: DMAIC (Hoerl, 2004), Six Sigma toolbox (Magnusson et al., 2003), Six Sigma organisation (Hoerl, 2004; Bergman and Klefsjo, 2003; Magnusson et al., 2003), reduction of variation (Nave, 2002; Naslund, 2008; Bertels, 2008), customer focus (Bergman and Klefsjo, 2003), decisions based on facts (Goh and Xie, 2004) and bottom line focus (Goh, 2002). Similarly, Lean can be said to be based on the four following concepts: Lean tools and techniques - notably value stream mapping (Womack, 2006; Alukal, 2003), the involvement of people (Holbeche, 1997), continuous improvement (Ricondo and Viles, 2005) and removal of waste (Spector, 2006; Alukal, 2003; Naslund, 2008).2.1 Compatibility of Six Sigma and Lean\n3 The company-specific improvement programme: The following is based on an empirical study of a large Swedish company's production facility and their Lean-inspired approach to performing improvement work, which they call the \"company production system\" (CPS) (Figure 1). The stated goal of CPS is to become a leader in terms of efficiency, problem solving, improvement work, introduction of new products and flexible production. This work towards what the company refers to as operational excellence is guided by the principles of continuous improvements, demand flow supply, right from me and standardised work methods, all of which are designed to be in line with the philosophies of customer focus, cooperation and leadership and elimination of waste. These philosophies are, in turn, based on the company's core values.The company describes CPS basically as an application of Lean and the Toyota Production System to this specific company, encompassing appropriate methods and principles. The fact that CPS has been introduced by senior management is seen as one of its strengths because it has generated involvement from the upper echelons. One challenge, however, is to make everyone understand the expected power of the CPS initiative.The lead star of the CPS work is to organise everyone in the company, including long-term consultants and employees, in improvement teams of six to eight people. In parallel to this improvement structure is an organisation consisting of improvement experts, in the form of trained Six Sigma Black Belts and Yellow Belts. These experts spend approximately half of their time on improvement projects.3.1 The Six Sigma and Lean combination\n4 Multi-faceted views on Lean Six Sigma: Together, Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005), Hoerl (2004) and Breyfogle (1999) paint a varied picture of the meaning of Lean Six Sigma. This paper aims to investigate one industrial application of Lean Six Sigma by capturing the company's interpretation of the concept. The diverse macro-picture from the literature is sustained in the study of this application as well. The view and interpretation of Lean Six Sigma is multi-faceted, even within this one company; it means different things depending on the complexity of the improvement project and on individual differences. This generates views that range from applying Lean and Six Sigma in parallel to implementing a fully integrated system. Moreover, the integration of the concepts can take various forms, including the mixing or transferring of tools, ideas and philosophies.The improvement hierarchy in the studied company can be regarded not just as a hierarchy of problem solvers but also as a hierarchy of improvement project complexity. As outlined in Magnusson et al. (2003), this latter hierarchy is described in a Six Sigma framework through the analogy of an improvement tree, in which Six Sigma is applied to complex problems and less resource-intensive tools are applied to less complex problems. The analogy of an improvement tree can be applied to the various views of Lean Six Sigma in the case study. The members of the improvement teams regard CPS, or Lean, as their approach to day-to-day problem solving and as a realistic mindset that is not strictly connected to specific tools. They consider Six Sigma to be more advanced and, in some cases, as non-applicable to day-to-day activities.Despite this, Six Sigma is often felt to be beneficial and the Kaizen workshops can be one way of linking Six Sigma improvement experts to day-to-day improvement work. Another way can be to direct a problem upwards in the improvement hierarchy and initiate a Six Sigma project. In such a situation, an expert team would work on difficult problems but the results would be taken care of in an established improvement structure that is inspired by Lean. This can be illustrated further by comments from the CPS manager, who said that a Lean initiative can counter a decline of Six Sigma results (Figure 2), to which any Six Sigma expert could then argue that the decline should inherently be countered by a thorough execution of the DMAIC control phase. Nonetheless, given that CPS is the method that this company has chosen for its improvement work, a direct connection between Six Sigma and Lean during the control phase seems even more attractive than simply achieving \"perfection\" of the control phase. Simply put, Lean is an integral part of the control phase in this company. This strengthens the connections between the two concepts and facilitates the transfer of Six Sigma project results to daily operations for sustained improvements.Ideas and practical applications of combinations of Lean and Six Sigma vary between different parts, individuals and levels of the organisation. As an example, the black belt foresees full integration of the two concepts while the CPS manager predicts rather more distinct paths. This may seem like contradiction but there does not need to be just one truth; it is more a matter of perspectives. The black belt, the change leader who works hands-on with larger projects, builds on a Six Sigma way of thinking while also freely utilising Lean parts (tools and ideas) thanks to their extensive training and expert knowledge. The CPS manager predicts distinct paths - Six Sigma for larger tasks and Lean for everyday continuous improvements - not because of less training but because of a more over-arching perspective. The participants in the improvement teams in turn operate in a Lean-dominated world that has some Six Sigma influences, the most obvious of which is perhaps the ubiquitous DMAIC.\n5 Discussion: The Lean Six Sigma application, in the form of different packages used in a wide range of projects at various levels, is intriguing. However, it is not feasible to adopt the same approach for incremental micro-projects performed at the lowest level by small improvement teams as for extensive projects performed by highly trained improvement experts. Reasons for this include the different problem-solving tools and expert resources that are needed. For larger improvement projects, therefore, a more complex traditional Six Sigma method may be appropriate. In such cases, the standard DMAIC cycle may provide structure and ensure that each step is performed thoroughly, thereby aiding the success of the project. Lean can contribute to these projects by staking out the direction; that is, indicating where to start, for example through the use of value stream mapping where the process is reviewed in order to find waste.The Lean Six Sigma application studied here does not point towards one well-defined Lean Six Sigma approach; the company does not adopt any particular standardised approach to larger improvement projects. Instead, the company supports the integration at this level by ensuring that their improvement specialists are widely trained in both Lean and Six Sigma, as integration at this level is ultimately up to the individuals. In the improvement teams on the other hand, the dominance of Lean is obvious, although Six Sigma's influence can be seen in the idea of a ubiquitous DMAIC. However, this is not to say that the company does not gain complementary benefits from the two improvement initiatives, as both methodologies definitely exist and thrive within the company boundary. There is also clear interaction between Lean and Six Sigma, particularly as projects are passed back and forth between one and the other. Having studied this application, it is our view that the benefits of Lean and Six Sigma can be achieved without the need for a standardised approach of an integrated Lean Six Sigma concept. The case study company has been able to capitalise on an explicit, conscious and easily understandable approach to process improvements based on both Lean and Six Sigma. This is not to say that the integration of the two systems could not be developed further. The company had not yet exploited the existing substantial knowledge of statistical methods and scientific approach in the improvement teams. One way to push this knowledge down in the organisation could be, for example, to ensure the presence of Six Sigma Yellow Belts in all teams.Arnheiter and Maleyeff (2005) refer to Lean Six Sigma as an integrated entity that exploits the benefits of both Lean and Six Sigma. One rationale for implementing both systems in the case study company was to gain the benefits of continuous improvement, for example by waste elimination, as well as breakthrough improvements through larger improvement projects. At a company level, it can be said, therefore, that integrated use of Lean and Six Sigma does exist, although not always in individual projects. Lean and Six Sigma could be said to provide complementary rather than synergistic benefits. Instead of discussing whether to implement \"Lean Six Sigma\", the company has selected the parts of Lean and Six Sigma that are the most appropriate for their business and adopted them into their production system.\n",
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"content": "Purpose: - As Lean and Six Sigma have become established as influential concepts in the process improvement area, observers, researchers and managers are awaiting the next step, which many feel could take the form of a combination of the two concepts, known as Lean Six Sigma. A considerable amount of literature has been produced regarding the possible benefits of combining Lean and Six Sigma, which has led to greater support for the idea. The purpose of this paper is to explore an application of Lean Six Sigma in practical improvement work.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The empirical study was conducted through interviews, meetings, document analysis and observations over a period of four months.\nFindings: - Based on this paper, it seems unfeasible to apply one standardised approach to improvements in one company. Continuous smaller improvements and larger improvement projects demand different formulas. It seems that using both Lean and Six Sigma in parallel is appropriate but this should be done through clever cross-fertilisation.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This paper shows one possible way of working with one improvement concept in one company. It does not claim to present the only possible way of combining Lean and Six Sigma nor does it suggest universal applicability. Further research on other possible combinations would therefore be valuable.\nPractical implications: - This paper provides an outline of how to structure a combination of Lean and Six Sigma. It can provide valuable insights to managers who wish to structure their improvement processes.\nOriginality/value: - This paper expands the theoretical foundation for combining Lean and Six Sigma by studying and analysing a practical application of the concept. Apart from the paper's value for managers, it can also help researchers understand the compatibility of Lean and Six Sigma.\n",
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Internship for accounting undergraduates: comparative insights from stakeholders
|
[
"Skills",
"Accounting",
"Stakeholders",
"Undergraduate",
"Internship"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The idea of providing practical experience in professional environments for students studying at university, especially in the context of undergraduate accounting students, is generally accepted (Teed and Bhattacharga, 2002; Thorpe-Dulgarian, 2008; Ali et al., 2008). In 1952, the American Accounting Association (AAA) acknowledged the benefit of practical experience incorporated into the academic preparation of accountants (Schmutte, 1986). One method utilised to provide professional practical experience is internship programmes. Internship programmes are interchangeably referred to as \"industrial training\" or \"practical\". Internship programmes provide students with the opportunity to gain professional industry experience while undertaking their university degree. Work-related professional learning experiences provide students with exposure to actual working environments by placing them in organisations outside the university (Furco, 1996). Furthermore, such programmes provide students with both a competitive edge in the marketplace and an opportunity to experience the activities undertaken in their chosen profession. Internship programmes also provide students with the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge gained through formal classroom learning to a structured working environment (Swindle and Bailey, 1984) in a manner that cannot be replicated in a normal classroom setting (Beard, 1998, 2007).\nLiterature review: Internship is a bridge from classroom to workplace (Colloins, 2002). Students see internship as a mean to get a job (Cannon and Arnold, 1998); effectively develop soft skills such as communication teamwork and problem solving (Allen, 1991; Marshall and Mill, 1993) and receive valuable experience and compensation (Hite and Bellizi, 1986). On the other hand, disadvantages of industrial training include operational difficulties such as students feeling isolated and remote from the university (Hall et al., 2000); variable work experiences and conditions (Fraser et al., 2006); and difficulty to re-adjust to academic life or face problem with particular placement (Paisey and Paisey, 2010).\nScope of study: In Malaysia, a review of Bachelor of Accounting programmes at public universities is performed by a Reassessment Committee established by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), with the co-operation of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA). The review is documented in the Halatuju Report, which is a report that documents the assessment on accounting programmes at public universities in Malaysia. To date, two assessment reports have been published and utilised to establish the direction of tertiary accounting education in Malaysia. The Hala Tuju 2 Report (2007) introduced several changes consistent with the requirements of International Education Standards (IES) 1-8 issued by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). One of the changes involved the standardisation of the period of internship to six months with eight credit hours, in line with IES 3. Recently, a Reassessment Committee was established in 2012 to evaluate and further improve the Bachelor of Accounting programmes. The findings from the present study can be utilised as a basis for establishing a mechanism to improve the internship programme for accounting undergraduates in Malaysia.\nResearch methodology: A survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire to determine the perception of the students, the university and the employers in three principal areas: the benefits of internship programmes for students; the development of skills through internship programmes; and the abilities of the students in relation to fulfil course and programme outcomes. Questionnaires were distributed to 160 students who had undertaken internship programmes. A total of 137 questionnaires were collected and processed and 136 questionnaires were deemed usable for further analysis. Consistent with the study by Tindale et al. (2004), another 40 questionnaires were distributed to lecturers at the School of Accounting, whose responses represent the perspective of the university. Another 100 questionnaires were distributed to internship supervisors, whose responses represent the perspective of the employers. The number of questionnaires returned and analysed is 12 (30 per cent) and 24 (24 per cent) for the university and the employers, respectively.\nData analysis: The descriptive analysis of the respondents and their perceptions of the benefits of the internship programmes, the soft skills developed, and the attributes of course and programme outcomes are discussed in the present section. Table III provides further background information regarding the three groups of respondents. The first group of respondents in the present study consists of students from one cohort of the Bachelor of Accounting programme at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) who have completed a six-month internship programme. Most of the students participating in the present study are female, Malay, former matriculation programme students, with cumulative grade point average between 3 and 3.5 points, and have less than one year of work experience. The second group of respondents consists of lecturers at the School of Accounting, whose perceptions represent the university. Most of the respondents are female, Malay, have attained PhD degrees, and have served with the University for more than ten years. Supervisors in the workplace represent the third group of respondents in this study. The respondents in the final group are predominantly female, Chinese, have professional qualifications, and have more than ten years of experience.\nFindings and discussion: Students, universities and employers are stakeholders in internship programmes. Students are expected to benefit from internship programmes through the exposure to a workplace environment, the application of technical skills, and the improvement of soft skills. Gault et al. find that internship programmes also benefit organisations that hire interns. The employers, as industry partners in internship programmes, benefit by having an opportunity to better understand the increased expectations of society in regards to their social responsibility in the area of education. Gault et al. also indicates that internship programmes offer tremendous potential for improving the relationship between the university and the business community. The training of interns forges relationships between universities and employers and may serve as a means to garner future co-operations; new sources of external funding; research collaborations; and other activities.\nConclusion: In summary, the present study provides insights regarding the benefits of internship programmes and skills developed by the students during internship programmes from the perspective of three stakeholder groups: the students, the university and the employers. The knowledge of the resulting benefits and potential skill development attained during internship programmes allows the students to better prepare themselves for internship programme; the university to counsel students and to determine appropriate changes for their internship programmes; and employers to plan for an effective internship programme. This approach is consistent with roles of internship stakeholders as highlighted by Divine et al. (2008) and the feedback loop among the internship stakeholders discussed by Clements and Cord. Practically, the results of this study should also be of interest to the MOHE; accounting regulatory and professional bodies; sponsors; and parents in understanding the importance of internship programmes for accounting graduates.\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: This study utilises an internship framework to justify the need for feedback from all three groups of internship stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to determine the benefits, skills, and outcomes students gained through internships from the perspective of students, university and employers.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A set of structured questionnaires was used to survey the perceptions of students, university and employers of an accounting internship. A total of 172 responses were analysed.\nFindings: Findings show that all three groups of stakeholders perceived that students benefit from the internship programme. They also perceived that an internship provides the students with both the technical and soft skills required in the marketplace. However, the mean score and ranking differ among the students, university and employers.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study was conducted based on feedback on a single accounting programme. Therefore any characteristics inherent in this sample that differ from the overall population of accounting programmes could bias the results and limit its generalisability and any associated inferences. Questionnaire responses should be interpreted with caution as perceptions and self-insights are subjective and may or may not be reflective of reality. This study falls short of putting forward any reasons why results differ from previous studies or why the mean scores of the three stakeholders all differ. Further research may take into consideration a comparison of internship programmes across institutions and disciplines. Future studies can also use the reflection approach and interview to better explain the benefits and skills developed through accounting internship programmes.\nPractical implications: Practically, findings from this study provide feedback to the students, university and employers to continuously improve accounting internship for undergraduate accounting programmes.\nSocial implications: Social implications lie within the research framework that emphasises the student learning experience, university support through theoretical understanding and employer contribution through the practical component.\nOriginality/value: Internships have become part of an accounting curriculum in many universities globally. To date, most studies on internship practices are limited in scope and focus on feedback from a single perspective. This study fills the gap in the literature by conducting a perception-based survey of internship stakeholders: students, university and employers, on benefits and skills acquired through internship.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Knowledge management and social entrepreneurship education: lessons learned from an exploratory two-country study
|
[
"Entrepreneurship",
"Knowledge management",
"Education",
"Pedagogy",
"Social entrepreneurship education"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Gregory J. Dees introduced the concept of social entrepreneurship in 1988. Six years later, Dr Dees is credited with teaching the first class on social entrepreneurship at Harvard University in 1994. As then, interest in social entrepreneurship and the creation of social ventures have experienced remarkable growth (Brock and Kim, 2011; Granados et al., 2017; Pache and Chowdhury, 2012; Tracey and Phillips, 2007). Social entrepreneurship is seen as an important mechanism to dealing with complex social needs in an innovative, efficient and effective manner (Johnson, 2000). Accordingly, there has been notable rise in the number of social ventures, government initiatives related to social entrepreneurship, and more importantly, in the creation and development of social entrepreneurship education (SEE).\nLiterature review: What is social entrepreneurship?\nSocial entrepreneurship education: Universities play an important role in the KM of social entrepreneurship. Besides being knowledge generators, universities can act as knowledge intermediaries by bridging the knowledge between the social sector, the government sector, and the general entrepreneurship domain and increasing collaboration between the different elements of an ecosystem (Ardito et al., 2019). In addition, universities provide societal knowledge by providing students access to knowledge about societal problems and local social communities, as well as playing a role in increasing involvement of individuals from the local community to assist students in their venture creation process (Ardito et al., 2019).\nMethod: We used an exploratory approach to analyze data as reported in the 2014 USA National Survey of Entrepreneurship Education (NSEE) and the 2015 Canadian Study of Entrepreneurship Education (CSEE). From its debut in 1979, the NSEE has become one of the oldest and most-frequently cited sources regarding entrepreneurship education trends within the USA.\nResults: Student enrollment in social entrepreneurship courses\nDiscussion: While the debate over defining who social entrepreneurs are and what they do rages on, it is undeniable that SEE is quickly becoming an integral part of the bouquet of entrepreneurship-related offerings at many higher education institutions. Driven in part by the recognition that social entrepreneurship has the ability to create social value and solve complex issues, along with the growing public consciousness and preferences of the new generation of people entering the workforce about the type of organizations they wish to work for (Hershatter and Epstein, 2010), demand for SEE continues to rise, in both industrialized and developing economies. Our examination of SEE in the USA and Canada highlights the many forward strides made in this field and also identifies areas of opportunity for the field.\nConclusion: Overall, our study aimed to critically assessing the state of SEE in the USA and Canada. Student demand on gaining knowledge on social entrepreneurship activity is large and is expected to continue to grow in the future. While encouragingly more academic institutions are offering courses related to social entrepreneurship, there is still significant room for improvement in terms of the courses that are being offered and the pedagogies being used. To better serve student demand, it is imperative to further develop our understanding of social entrepreneurship and a better understanding of what pedagogies are more effective. As knowledge creators and knowledge disseminators, it is our hope that further collaboration and discussion will help address the challenges of how to teach social entrepreneurship.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Social entrepreneurship courses are among the fastest growing category of course offerings to entrepreneurship students (Brock and Kim, 2011) because both high growth potential- and steady growth-social ventures can create value and help solve social issues effectively and efficiently. As knowledge disseminators, entrepreneurship educators are in prime position to develop the knowledge, skills and abilities of students, which, in turn, increases their intentions to start a social venture and their ability to manage and grow their venture. Students gain an understanding about the role of entrepreneurship in addressing social opportunities, as well as knowledge related to starting, managing and growing social entrepreneurship ventures. This paper is divided into three parts. First, the authors broadly discuss the concept of social entrepreneurship. Second, the authors present an overview of the field of social entrepreneurship education (SEE) and its evolution. Finally, the authors supplement this review with an analytical examination of SEE, in which the authors present results of a cross-country analysis survey of over 200 entrepreneurship education programs in the USA and Canada. This paper aims to present information about: student enrollment in social entrepreneurship courses in comparison to other entrepreneurship courses; the frequency of offering social entrepreneurship courses and programs compared to other entrepreneurship courses and programs; and future trends in SEE. The results revealed a strong demand for social entrepreneurship from students, room for improvement in terms of the supply of course offerings, and a strong belief in the continued growth of social entrepreneurship. The authors conclude with suggestions about the future of SEE.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Analysis of secondary data derived from the oldest and most-frequently cited sources regarding entrepreneurship education in the USA and a novel data set examining entrepreneurship education in Canada. Both data sets were collected using an online self-report survey.\nFindings: Demand for SEE continues to rise in both the USA and Canada. However, course and program offerings have not kept pace. Prominent trends in social entrepreneurship such as cross-campus programs and addressing the evolving demographics of students in higher education institutions need more attention.\nOriginality/value: A cross-cultural study of SEE that provides a high-level view of the state of the field today. In addition, the paper outlines the potential of the field of knowledge management for the future of SEE.\n",
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] |
Advancing real estate decision making: understanding known, unknown and unknowable risks
|
[
"Risk management framework",
"Real estate performance",
"Extreme risk events",
"Real estate risk management"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The word \"risk\" originated from the early Italian risicare which means \"to dare\". In this sense, risk is a choice of actions we dare to take. Since the beginning of recorded history, gambling is the very essence of risk taking that breaks through into the laws of probability. Whereas the modern concept of risk is rooted in the Hindu-Arabic numbering system, the academic study of risk initiated during the Renaissance. Until human discovered established risk boundaries, the future was a mirror of the past. Hence, the radical idea that defines the boundary between the past and the modern is the mastery of risk (Bernstein, 1996).\n2. KuU event framework: The \"knowns and unknowns\" is a famous adage from former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in response to a question raised at the US Department of Defence news briefing on 12 February 2002 about the lack of evidence of the supply of weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups. According to Rumsfeld, there exist three forms of knowledge and non-knowledge associated with risk. It is useful to categorise future risks into three main groups: known (K) risk, the unknown (u) risk and the unknowable (U) risk, and they alternately termed in different ways: known as known-knowns, known-unknowns and unknown-unknowns; white swans, grey swans and black swans, respectively (Casti, 2011; Daase and Kessler, 2007; Diebold et al., 2010; Sikich, 2010). Out of them, black swan is a popular term in risk management made famous by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, which has triplet characteristics: extreme impact, rarity and retrospective predictability. It is instructive to examine each of the KuU categories and match them up with real estate situations.\n3. KuU knowledge as measurement and as theory: The introduction of probability in the definition of risk automatically implies its evaluation, which can be done only with relevant data. The deconstruction of model/data dichotomy into its constituent parts: model/no model and data/no data can be used to analyse risks in various property situations (O'Roarty, 2005). The aforementioned four classes of uncertainties are summarised in Table I along with the possible models/data combination and methodologies appropriate to each category. These elements can then form the backbone of any scientific study of the unknown.\n4. Knowledge transition: With the understanding of KuU risks in their theoretical perspective, Figure 1 illustrates a schematic classification under sub-layers with respect to empirical knowledge by means of the availability of existing literature; methodological knowledge with regard to the quantification by assigning probabilities; impact across the timeline; and, finally, the level of awareness.\n5. KuU risks in real estate: The performance of any property cannot be judged without assessing the risks. The sectoral linkage of commercial real estate characterises its risk profile, dynamic profile of uncertainty, and the composition of K, u and U as unique across the spectrum of asset classes (Bardhan and Edelstein, 2010). However, the pricing of property is based on conventional property valuation techniques as risks are commonly pooled to provide a measurement of value. Thus, property valuation techniques fail to notice K, u and U risks separately (Higgins, 2015).\n6. KuU risk management: Successful risk management requires constant review of the KuU which can promote improved decision making. Decision makers implicitly or explicitly assess K, u and as much of U as possible. Implicit risk assessment based on decision makers' intuition but the field of risk assessment usually is better to be explicit and as logical as possible. They have to act upon their beliefs about all the important variables, not just the hard facts known to them (Bralver and Borge, 2010; Diebold et al., 2010). Figure 4 illustrates decision maker's imperatives towards assessing the risks. The three broad categories of KuU are divided into six distinct types. Decision makers convert them all into assessed risks with identified events and assigned probabilities (Bralver and Borge, 2010).\n7. Conclusions: Real estate practitioners should be aware of the existence and distinction of K, u and U risks, as K risks provide certainty through the available data and are often amenable to statistical treatment (e.g. Year 2000 computer bug), u events are the most common quantifiable situations, but the time and location may be unknown (e.g. earthquakes), whereas the U risks are difficult or impossible to model (e.g. asteroid showers). In addition to the three categories of uncertainty, the fourth category is unknown-knowns, whereby uncertainty is quantifiable but without data available to authenticate or substantiate.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Whilst existing literature on real estate risk management focusses almost exclusively on holistic risk management techniques, documented increases in frequency and magnitude of unforeseen, rare and extreme events can throw up sudden, unexpected shocks that can challenge recognised real estate decision-making strategies. The paper aims to discuss this issue.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To advance real estate decision-making practice in this area, this research paper takes the skilfully conceptualised downside risk framework presented by Diebold et al. (2010), being the known (K), the unknown (u) and the unknowable (U) risk categories, to provide a blueprint for effective real estate decision making in a changing global environment.\nFindings: In recording categories of risk, managing uncertainty can be achieved by an interrelated approach of adaption, robustness and resilience. This is important part of a real estate manager's decision-making toolkit as risk recognition and knowledge of KuU event categories can augment an effective management strategy.\nOriginality/value: The mastery of modern real estate risk management can be better served by understanding and managing extreme downside risk events. Creating a comprehensive risk management framework can enhance comparative real estate performance whereby unprepared competitors fail in a world increasingly affected by large, highly improbable and unpredictable events.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Equity analysis of health system accessibility from perspective of people with disability
|
[
"Primary care",
"Patient perspectives",
"Emerging healthcare delivery structures",
"Quantitative research",
"Health law or regulation",
"Public health regulations"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Equity in healthcare is a desirable state and is considered to be a right of all individuals (Sowney and Barr, 2004) and implies that everyone should have a fair opportunity to access needed healthcare including minority subgroups of a population (Layte and Nolan, 2004; WHO, 2012; Whitehead, 1992). This is particularly important in poor countries where many demand and supply side barriers hamper utilization of needed healthcare (Jacobs et al., 2012). While most people face some problems in accessing health care in resource poor settings, people with disabilities face additional and particular barriers (Eide et al., 2015). Studies have shown that a vast majority of individuals with disability living in low-income and middle-income countries have limited access to healthcare that is influenced by several factors (Davidsson and Sodergard, 2016; Eide et al., 2015; Gudlavalleti, John, Allagh, Sagar, Kamalakannan and Ramachandra, 2014; Moodley and Ross, 2015). The relationship between having a disability and access to healthcare is framed within general context of vulnerability as described by Grabovschi et al. (2013). In their model based on the inverse care law (Hart, 1971), they illustrated a relationship where vulnerability varies inversely with healthcare accessibility and varies directly with health care needs. This illustrates the adverse effect of vulnerability such as disability by negatively influencing accessibility of healthcare and amplifying healthcare need.\nMethodology: This study is a population-based survey conducted in Jigawa state, Nigeria. The study participant included individuals with physical disabilities and matched counterparts without disability recruited using multi-stage sampling method. Sampling started at the state level where five districts were randomly selected representing nine health districts in the state. Two local government areas were randomly selected out of the three local government areas in each district. Each local government was stratified into enumeration areas (EAs) based on the 2006 National Population Census. A total of 24 EAs were selected based on probability-proportional to size. Approximately 25 eligible households from each of 24 EAs were calculated to identify a representative sample of individuals with disabilities, assuming a disability prevalence of 5 percent, statistical power of 90 percent, a significance level of 95 percent and an estimated design effect of 2.5. At the final sampling stage, approximately 25 households were randomly selected from each EA for a total sample of 600 households. A total of 213 disabled respondents as well as an equal control group of 213 non-disabled matched according to age, gender and location. The eligibility criteria for people with physical disabilities in this study were identified based on having any form of physical visible impairments/abnormalities affecting mobility that lasted at least six months and reporting having \"some difficulty\" or \"a lot of difficulty\" or \"unable\" in any activity including walking, climbing stairs, and or taking care of self-based on the (Madans et al., 2011) Washington Group on Disability statistics. Data collection instrument included a structured questionnaire with sections on socioeconomic and living conditions, education, health, employment and access to health care. The perceived health system accessibility and six access dimensions were measured using a five-point Likert scale. The access to healthcare instrument was developed purposely for the study using a method described by Colton and Covert (2007). The instrument was validated using a population-based survey using structural validity, construct validity and known-groups validity tests (Zandam et al., 2017). Each access dimension represents quantitative component of an array of barriers prevalent in the study location identified during instrument development. Indexing with composite means, with a value between 0 and 1 was used to assess the participants' overall level of perceptions in each dimension and general accessibility (0 means low resistance and values more than 0 to 1 represents increasing resistance). Data analysis involved comparison analysis using kh2 for proportions and T-test for means. Multivariate relationships were tested using multiple regressions (forward stepwise) method (derived from the SPSS software version 22) to determine significant association between access dimensions and general perception of accessibility. Variables with 0.05 or less (p0.05) probability were considered significant. Three sets of regression analyses were made. First, all the variables and a variable, 0 for non-disable and 1 for disabled were put in the regression model and run (using enter). This was to find out whether there was a significant difference between the two groups. Second, the disability variable was eliminated from the data set and the stepwise method used to select the significant variables for each group separately. Third, all variables that were significant in either of the groups were put together in another regression model and run. The overall confidence in the multiple regression data for each of the districts was determined by the adjusted coefficient of determination (adjusted R2). The linear relationship assumption between the IVs and the DV was tested using scatterplots and this assumption was met. Assumption of multicollinearity and residuals independence were tested using VIF and tolerance statistics and Durbin-Watson statistic, respectively.\nResults: The descriptive analysis brings out significant differences between the disabled and non-disabled in various factors variables but gender and age, which were matched as seen in Table I. However, the age distribution is skewed toward lower age values, i.e. reflecting the demographic profile of most of the population with a large proportion of individuals within 16-29 years of age. People with disabilities have significantly higher proportion of single (39 percent) at the time of the study and more people living in rural areas (73 percent) compared to non-disabled proportions of singles (27 percent). With respect to other factors, result shows that group with disability have significantly higher proportion of those with no formal education (42 percent) and those not literate (42 percent) compared to those without disability. Employment/unemployment proportion among the study participants appears to be large and a significantly higher proportion of people with disabilities (54.5 percent) are not employed compared to those without disabilities (42.0 percent). Socioeconomic status (SES) was measured by analyzing possessions of 26 different assets in the household. The result shows that 49 percent of those with disability belonged to the poorest group compared to 36 percent of those without disability. Per capita expenditure was calculated for each household and was found to be significantly lower among disabled participants than non-disabled. The results show that 28 percent of respondents with disabilities describe themselves as being in good or rather good health compared to 42 percent of non-disabled respondents (p<0.05).\nDiscussion: Achieving equity in access to healthcare is a component of social determinant of health and is considered as a strategy for achieving health equity (WHO, 2008). This study shows inequitable access: people with disabilities experience poor health system accessibility despite their high healthcare need, compared to people without disabilities. This is consistent with the model proposed by Grabovschi et al. (2013), showing that vulnerabilities such as disability vary inversely with accessibility and quality of healthcare.\nConclusion: People with disabilities were generally found to have a poor access to health care as they experience a number of barriers to needed health care. The result shows that several access dimensions and socioeconomic factors influence overall accessibility between people with disabilities and counterparts without disability. Increasing access to healthcare through equitable health policy and organizational strategies should be a central focus of policy interventions for reducing disparities in access to healthcare among people with disabilities and larger population. The quantitative nature of this study is a limitation, as it cannot capture the complexities and lived experiences of living with a disability especially as it relates processes of healthcare seeking. The study also did not address some important issues related to disability such as differences with regard to nature of disability, its origin, duration and how these may relate with the study. This study also used self-reported measures, which, in itself, has potential limitations, as there was no independent confirmations of what the participants were reporting.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Self-evaluated access and accessibility has been found to be associated with healthcare seeking and quality of life. Studies have shown that, however, a vast majority of individuals with disability living in poor countries have limited access to healthcare influenced by several barriers. The purpose of this paper is to compare the perception of general accessibility of health care services and its association with access barriers and other contextual factors between people with physical disabilities and counterparts without disability.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This study is a cross sectional survey involving 213 individuals with physical disabilities and 213 counterparts without disability sampled using a multi-stage method. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire with sections on socioeconomic and living conditions, education, health, employment and access to health care. Data analysis involved using kh2 for proportions and T-test and multiple regressions (stepwise) method to determine significant factors that influence perception on accessibility.\nFindings: The study finds that people with disabilities fared worse in various socioeconomic factors such as education, employment, income and assets possession. People with disabilities also experience more dimensional barriers and reported poor health system accessibility. The difference in accessibility continued after adjusting for other variables, implying that there are more inherent factors that explain the perception of access for people with disabilities.\nPractical implications: Governments should ensure equitable access to health care delivery for people with disabilities through equitable health policies and services that are responsive to the needs of people with disabilities and promote the creation of enabling environment to enhance participation in health care delivery.\nOriginality/value: The authors confirm that the paper has neither been submitted to peer review, nor is in the process of peer reviewing or accepted for publishing in another journal. The author(s) confirms that the research in this work is original, and that all the data given in the paper are real and authentic. If necessary, the paper can be recalled, and errors corrected. The undersigned authors transfer the copyright for this work to the International Journal of Health Governance. The authors are free of any personal or business association that could represent a conflict of interest regarding the paper submitted, and the authors have respected the research ethics principles.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Challenging the difference between white and brown Agaricus bisporus mushrooms: Science behind consumers choice
|
[
"Quality characteristics",
"Brown A. bisporus",
"Consumers choice",
"White A. bisporus"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Agaricus bisporus is the most produced and the most consumed species of mushroom worldwide (Royse, 2014). It is highly valued for its delicious taste and high amounts of nutrients (Pei et al., 2016). Two varieties are present on the global market: the white button mushroom and Portobello or the brown button mushroom. Although the same species, the demand for the brown variety is in constant growth (Royse, 2014). The US production of Portobello increased 4.6 percent in the last ten years, while the production of the white variety decreased by 3 percent (Royse, 2014). In the USA, the price of Portobello is 15 percent higher than the price of the white variety (US International Trade Commission, 2010). The same reference states that most of the mushrooms are marketed as fresh, covering 85 percent of the mushroom market. On the other hand, mushrooms represent highly perishable goods that are difficult to maintain fresh for more than three to four days at ambient temperature (Oz et al., 2014). Different approaches are applied to prolong shelf life of mushrooms: freezing, cooling, use of ozone, sorbitol, ascorbic acid, edible films and packaging in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) (Singh et al., 2010).\n2. Materials and methods: 2.1 Field research\n3. Results and discussion: 3.1 Field research\n4. Conclusion: The majority of consumers are aware of different quality aspects of mushrooms. They are especially interested in intrinsic cues like the nutritional characteristics and food safety. White button mushroom appears with a higher nutritive value immediately after harvest, while later on essential compounds go through changes which are inevitable due to mushroom's deterioration. The level of essential nutrients varies in a wave-like manner. They even increase in some cases, pointing that age-connected transformations could be beneficial from the nutritional point of view. The brown variety of A. bisporus does not have the advantage over the white from the scientific point of view. Storage in MAP affected nutritional and microbiological characteristics, and the highest degree of changes occurred during the second week. Oxygen was the most effective in antioxidative ability stimulation of both strains, as well as in WEC and WEP accumulation. MAP contributed to the lowering of the total number of mesophilic microorganisms and CO2 has the strongest effect, for both varieties. These results are pointing that MAP represents an effective way not only to prolong shelf life but also to stimulate the nutritional changes that contribute to the maintenance of products quality.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine compositional differences between brown and white varieties of Agaricus bisporus during shelf life and to determine if the growing demand for the brown variety is scientifically justified.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Field research enabled analyzing consumers' perceptions on intrinsic, extrinsic and quality characteristics of mushrooms. A total of 275 consumers participated in the survey. Obtained results were used for comparing white and brown varieties of A. bisporus over a period of 22 days. Mushrooms were packed in air and in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) at 4degC. Samples were analyzed for their nutritional, antioxidative and microbiological characteristics.\nFindings: Two weeks from harvest, white variety showed higher amount of essential nutrients, while during the third week, brown mushrooms were more nutritionally valuable. Brown variety had better antioxidative ability for all 22 days of storage. Aerobic plate count (APC) was as expected for the mushrooms. MAPs significantly lowered APC in both varieties. The number of Enterobacteriaceae was equal for both varieties at the beginning, but later on they developed much faster in the case of brown variety. Field research combined with specific analyses clarified that there are no nutritive or microbiological reasons for the precedence of brown variety over white.\nResearch limitations/implications: Sensory aspect of the quality of mushrooms was not analyzed.\nOriginality/value: Market trend toward brown variety was scientifically challenged.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The complex concept of sustainable of diversity management: ... and why forming policies in this area is far from straightforward
|
[
"Employee attitudes",
"Diversity",
"Involvement"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Fixed Graphic\nSustainable diversity management: Using sustainability reports from some of the biggest listed public organizations in the USA, Germany, Japan and China, Michael Muller-Camen's (Hanappi-Egger et al., 2014) explored the question of whether diversity management was a universal concept, or if differences existed between various organizations in different countries.\nThe example of Africa House: Africa House is a social enterprise that was established to develop and increase trade between the UK and Africa. One of its aims is to provide technical support to establishing and developing business relationships between organizations in the UK and Africa. One aspect of this support is to improve corporate governance.\nThe example of Bright Entertainment Network (BEN) television: Soyode (2014) discussed the rationale behind the setting up of BEN Television and the contribution it makes to sustaining diversity. While recognizing the broad diversity that exists in the UK, the focus of BEN Television is to deliver content to diverse ethnic audiences. It sees itself as a progressive black and family-oriented television station. This leads to one of the biggest challenges it faces; producing and broadcasting programs that do not discriminate against any group or individual. As an organization that focuses on a specific diversity dimension, sustaining a diversity-management policy across numerous dimensions is problematic.\nConclusions: While there is little doubt about the benefits of diversity management, the three presentations demonstrate the immense difficulty of enacting a sustainable diversity-management policy for any organization. Each of the presentations demonstrated the variety of focus that different organizations take, with some organizations focusing on certain dimensions over others (Jose Chiappetta Jabbour et al., 2011).\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Explores the notion of sustainable diversity-management practices.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Summarizes research into the sustainability of diversity management across four countries and provides examples of efforts to maintain high levels of diversity.\nFindings: Looks at the activities of Africa House, an organization that develops business links with Africa, and of Bright Entertainment Network (BEN) Television, which is a television station that caters primarily for ethnic minorities.\nSocial implications: Highlights the complexity of diversity and so the difficulty of legislating in this area.\nOriginality/value: Explains that employees can also stifle attempts to engage in sustainable diversity management policies. A lack of understanding of local laws or language, or through limited social contacts, can prevent full participation by employees.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Pre-departure cultural training: US managers in Mexico
|
[
"Mexico",
"United States of America",
"Consultants",
"Managers",
"Training"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Cushner and Brislin (1996) comment on the variety of problems encountered when interacting with people from other cultures, such as differences in attitude, mannerisms, and behavioural patterns. For foreign nationals operating in another country, these differences can be somewhat daunting. Not only do expatriate executives have to discharge their normal managerial duties, but in so doing, they may well have to supervise a workforce that is culturally quite distant, and which may even harbour a degree of resentment towards them.There are many reasons for differences between people, but such differences tend to manifest themselves most clearly in terms of behavioural patterns (Stonehouse et al., 2000, pp. 344-5; de Borca et al., 2004, pp. 56-101). Behaviour is, by and large, influenced by cultural background and personal experiences; Conway and Swift (2000, p. 1398), for example, suggest that:Culture affects people and the way they live their lives; in many respects it dictates how they live their lives, and it influences many day-to-day decisions that people make.One cause of such differences is the level of psychic (or psychological) distance between the parties concerned (Swift, 1999). Psychic distance refers to the degree/extent of difference that the people of one culture perceive between themselves and the people of another culture. Conway and Swift (2000, p. 1391) suggest that the greater the level of psychic distance, the more time and effort required to develop successful business relationships. They list five important aspects of a cross-cultural business relationship:(1) commitment,(2) trust,(3) customer orientation/empathy(4) experience (satisfaction), and(5) communication.They postulate that a high level of psychic distance can complicate the positive development of these aspects, and consequently, make cross-cultural management more difficult (2000, p. 1393).The view that culture is a key influencer of behaviour is held by many, such as Hofstede (1997), Guirdham (1999), and Harris and Moran (2000), to name but a few. Gilbert and Tsao (2000, p. 45) claim that culture is an important influence on the successful outcomes of business. The way in which managers handle culture-based differences between different parts of an international organisation, has a direct influence on the success (or otherwise) of cross-cultural business interactions.Kale (1991) suggests that, as a culture is a system of shared symbols and experiences, it is the lack of these shared symbols and experiences that makes communication across cultures so difficult. An examination of cultural traits might, therefore, help managers to better understand behaviour (Hovius, 2000, pp. 71-2). A survey undertaken by Ernst & Young, found that a lack of \"... understanding of foreign customers and markets ...\" (knowledge of the local culture), was cited by 38 per cent of respondents as the most important barrier to entering foreign markets (Griffin and Pustay, 2003, p. 588).It is with such problems in mind that companies increasingly send their managers on some form of cultural orientation training, before beginning their duties in a foreign country. There is a wide range of such training programmes available, each based on a variety of different training philosophies. The problem for companies is: \"Which programme to choose?\" Which will be the most effective in view of the task for which the executive has been selected and the culture in which they are to operate? Tarique and Caligiuri (2004, p. 285) argue that:A vital aspect of any CCT [Cross-Cultural Training] program involves determining how training effectively enhances expatriates' cultural knowledge and skills and facilitates expatriates' adjustment to the host country's culture. Cross cultural training effectiveness is reflected by the cognitive, affective, and behavioural changes that occur during the CCT event.In determining the effectiveness of such programmes, there are many variables to be taken into consideration, such as the country of destination, the managerial role to be undertaken, and the background of expatriate managers chosen. This paper seeks to examine the most commonly used forms of cross-cultural training (CCT), and to elicit the views of experienced respondents' as to the relative effectiveness of such programmes. The authors felt that in view of the myriad of variables associated with training methods and culture, the most effective study would be one carried out under specific circumstances. To achieve the required level of specificity, it was decided to examine the CCT programmes undertaken by managers from one particular country, who had experience of living and working in another particular country.The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has dramatically increased commercial interaction between the USA and Mexico. According to Condon (1997), hundreds of thousands of US citizens live and work in Mexico, and the USA-Mexican border is regularly crossed in both directions by more people than any other international border in the world. A decade ago, the Mexican-American community of Los Angeles was put at 500,000 (Roosens, 1995), and Wild et al. (2006, p. 157). commented on the level of US investment in Mexico, particularly in assembly sectors (the maquiladoras) \"... assembling products such as refrigerators, calculators, laptop computers, and mobile phones\" With such a significant number of US managers and Mexicans interacting in a work environment, an appreciation of each others' management practices has become increasingly important for those involved.Despite this, research in the USA has indicated that nearly 40 per cent of US firms send their managers overseas without any form of cultural preparation, and those that did receive training, on average, managed less than one day (WI & NFTC, 1996). A 1997 study revealed that 31 and 27 per cent of male and female employees, respectively, lacked foreign language skills - an essential prerequisite for a manager going to live and work abroad (Dolainski, 1997). As Black et al. (1999, p. 89) point out:With so many individuals and families receiving no training or less training than is necessary, it is no wonder so many global managers' struggle in their overseas assignments.It was against this background, therefore, that the specific expatriate and target countries were chosen - the USA and Mexico, respectively.\nCCT programmes: Gudykunst et al. (1996) suggest that the type of CCT method chosen, should depend on the issues involved: either a learning approach (didactic vs experiential), or one that focuses on the content of the course (culture-general vs culture-specific). Baumgarten (2000) suggests several instructional strategies, which he divides into two broad categories.Field experiences\nThe study: Research objectives\nLimitations of the study: Some respondents felt that the scenarios were somewhat generalised and did not account for regional differences in Mexico, or for the great degree of cultural convergence that is occurring between the USA and Mexico, especially along the border between the two countries. One respondent discussed the example of Monterrey, a town that, in his experience, prides itself on pursuing different business practices from the more traditional Mexican practices that predominate in other regions of the country. In Monterrey, he claims, the emphasis is on US values and attitudes towards issues such as punctuality and efficiency - generally these areas tend to be at variance with common Mexican business cultural practice. The common joke in Monterrey, according to this respondent, is that the US border is creeping south into Mexico.Another respondent, however, uses very similar scenarios in her consulting and training practice. She claimed that the scenarios were both a practical and accurate reflection of reality. It appears, therefore, that the debates regarding generalised national cultures are as evident among business people as they are among academics.\nConclusions: The data showed that meetings with experienced international staff were the most commonly experienced type of training. This is understandable in view of the value of such an exercise, as discussed previously. The second most common type of training was lecture training. T-group training, modelling, and assignments to microcultures had not been experienced by any respondent.Although the low response rate and statistical insignificance of several of the variables made the second research objective more difficult to achieve, it was met in as much as two of the training categories were found to be statistically significant and to have positive coefficients. Behaviour modification methods and field experiences were the methods that had the greatest (positive) influence on helping US managers understand Mexican culture. The supporting data provided through questionnaires confirmed that, in the opinion of those respondents who received training, this training was generally slightly more helpful than not. As noted in the analysis, the respondents' considered behaviour modification methods and field experiences helpful in developing an understanding of Mexican culture. These findings are similar to previously -published research, in that they show that two of the most rigorous, experiential categories have a positive effect on cultural understanding (Tung, 1981).In some cases, however, the primary data collected in this study seems to contradict previous research regarding the effectiveness of pre-departure training (for example, see Black and Mendenhall, 1990). It was found that some of those who had received no training, had higher cultural understanding scores than those who had received training; furthermore, all but two of the training categories examined in the multiple regression model produced negative coefficients. However, as the data that points to training having a low or negative effect on cultural understanding is not statistically significant, it would be dangerous to base assertions on this. It is noteworthy, as well, that the two training categories that did have statistical significance both had a positive effect on cultural understanding.Further analysis of the data would seem, however, to support the idea that training cannot fully develop intercultural understanding for everyone. In other words, there must be factors other than training that influence a US managers understanding of Mexican culture. This is similar to the findings of other researchers in the field of cross-cultural management: Tung (1981), Noe (1986), Rossett and Bickham (1994), Katz and Seifer (1996), Lemper (1998), Porter and Tansky (1999), and Selmer (2001). A possible explanation is that referred to at the start of this article - the level of psychic distance between the cultures of those involved in the interaction. Added to this, is the concept of \"trust\" and the degree of individual motivation to understand Mexican culture. In his study of UK executives who worked in Spain, Swift (2002, p. 19) found \"... a significant correlation between language competence and cultural liking ...\" Whilst such a relationship was not apparent in the current study, it may be that language competence, \"liking\", \"cultural closeness\" or some other factor is of benefit. This would suggest areas for further research.\nRecommendations for US companies: Based on the research findings, the following recommendations are made for companies preparing to send expatriates to take up management appointments in Mexico.* Companies should use meetings with experienced expatriates as a central part of their training programme. The study found that meetings with such people was a very effective way of ensuring the maximum benefit for trainees, as they encourage valuable knowledge-sharing within the company, and are an efficient means by which expatriates can communicate their experiences to the company.* Field experience (field trips), was the second most helpful method of training overall. The authors feel that the value of field experience, despite its obvious resource implications, should be considered as a key element of training for those preparing to work in Mexico.* The USA and Mexico still have very different cultures, despite the undoubted level of cultural convergence. Therefore, the third recommendation is that companies should place greater emphasis on cross-cultural skills for expatriates, both in terms of their initial selection, and their subsequent training. This study provides evidence that even those companies that do provide training, do not adequately focus on building cross-cultural skills. For example, only six of the respondents who received training felt that their training was specifically targeted toward building cultural understanding. It is also worth pointing out that, none of the US managers surveyed had received sensitivity training, even though this is claimed to be the best method to change attitudes and to develop the skills needed for cultural understanding (Carroll et al. 1972).* There is also the issue of the length of time spent in training: 20 of the 29 participants surveyed either had no training, or had less than one week's training. Companies that claim to take the issue seriously must be prepared to devote a correspondingly serious level of resources to the issue.* The results of this study have also shown that training should not stand alone in a manager's pursuit of developing cultural understanding, but that it should form part of a wider cultural appreciation. Companies should look at cultural training not in terms of time-limited, task-specific, discrete chunks, but should seek to develop programmes that aim to educate the whole person - a gestalt approach. However, to adopt such a long-term approach does require high-level financial and political support from within the company. Cultural understanding must be encouraged, valued, and rewarded throughout the company in order to attract managers with such skills and to motivate current employees and managers to further develop their existing skills.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The variety of differences encountered when interacting with people from other cultures can be daunting for foreign nationals operating in another country. Consequently, many companies send their managers on some form of cultural orientation training, before beginning their duties in a foreign country. The problem for companies is: \"Which programme to choose?\" This paper seeks to examine forms of cross-cultural training, and assess the relative effectiveness of each.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Potential participants were identified using a stratified random sample of companies that do business in Mexico. Individuals received a personal e-mail, requesting their participation in the research. Those who agreed to participate completed a questionnaire and cultural understanding survey online.\nFindings: - The data showed that meetings with experienced international staff were the most common type of training. The second was lecture training. Behaviour modification methods and field experiences were the methods that were the greatest help to US managers in understanding Mexican culture. Analysis of the data would seem to support the idea that there must be factors other than training that influence a US managers understanding of Mexican culture. A possible explanation is the level of psychic distance between the cultures of those involved in the interaction.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Some respondents felt that the scenarios were somewhat generalised and did not account for regional differences in Mexico, or for the great degree of cultural convergence that is occurring between the USA and Mexico, especially along the border between the two countries. However, another respondent uses very similar scenarios in her consulting and training practice. It appears, therefore, that the debates regarding generalised national cultures are as evident among business people as they are among academics.\nPractical implications: - Companies should use meetings with experienced expatriates as a central part of their training programme. Field experience, despite its obvious resource implications, should be considered as a key element of training for those preparing to work in Mexico. Companies should place greater emphasis on cross-cultural skills for expatriates, both in terms of their initial selection, and their subsequent training. There is also the issue of the length of time spent in training: 20 of the 29 participants surveyed either had no training, or had less than one week's training. Companies that claim to take the issue seriously must be prepared to devote a correspondingly serious level of resources to the issue.\nOriginality/value: - The paper shows how companies should look at cultural training not in terms of time-limited, task-specific, discrete chunks, but should seek to develop programmes that aim to educate the whole person.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The relationship between organizational culture and quality techniques, and its impact on operational performance
|
[
"Survey",
"Operational performance",
"Quality techniques",
"Structural equation modelling",
"Organizational culture"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Most firms have adopted some form of quality management to improve quality and other indicators of performance. However, quality management initiatives do not always produce the intended results (Harari, 1993; Beer, 2003; Rad, 2006; Asif et al., 2009). Sousa and Voss (2002) suggest that the differences between the results come from the universal approach to quality management, which assumes that the effects of quality management are context-independent. Many authors (Maull et al., 2001; Sousa and Voss, 2002; Beer, 2003; Wu et al., 2011) question this universal approach, and suggest that studying the impact of a firm's internal and external context would be useful to understand different results achieved from quality management initiatives, and possibly lead to the conclusion that there is no single best way of implementing and achieving benefits from quality initiatives (Wu et al., 2011).\n2. Theoretical background and hypotheses: 2.1. Quality management - definitions and elements\n3. Research design: 3.1. Operationalization\n4. Results: 4.1. Reliability and validity\n5. Discussion: 5.1.RQ1: the association between organizational culture and the use of quality techniques\n6. Conclusion: 6.1. Theoretical contribution\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate if a firm's organizational culture affects the set of quality techniques it uses, and if these quality techniques affect the relationship between organizational culture and operational performance.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Based on data collected from 250 firms in Brazil and Denmark, structural equation modeling is used to investigate the relationship between organizational culture and the use of quality techniques, and its impact on operational performance. Four quality technique groups, four cultural profiles adopted from the Competing Values Framework and a set of operational performance indicators are used to operationalize the study.\nFindings: Culture does not appear to be an unequivocal predictor of the use of quality techniques. Furthermore, while most quality technique groups contribute indirectly to the total effect on operational performance in the developmental, group and hierarchical cultures, the performance effects are insignificant for all four groups in the rational culture.\nPractical implications: Managers need to be actively aware of the cultural characteristics of their organization before adopting quality techniques, in order to benefit most from the use of these techniques.\nOriginality/value: Most previous studies address the relationships between culture, quality management and performance at the level of quality practices. This study takes the unitarist-pluralist discussion to the level of quality techniques and extends that discussion to what should be its core, namely, the influence of quality techniques on the performance impact of culture.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
"The way things get done around here..." Exploring spatial biographies, social policy and governance in the North East of England
|
[
"Industrial policy",
"Regional development",
"Social policy",
"Welfare reform"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: In 2015 I was invited to contribute to a local radio roundtable discussion about the impact of the UK Government spending cuts and welfare reforms upon Stockton-on-Tees in the North East of England. The town suffers from high levels of economic and health inequality. Male life expectancy inequality is the highest in England with those in the most deprived areas living on average 17 years less than those in the least deprived parts of town. A prominent member of the Labour controlled council was also appearing as was a senior member of the conservative opposition. During the discussion I was struck by how much these local politicians had in common, and how little attention they paid to the \"party line\". Both came from the local area and broadly agreed on the problems the area faced; they also agreed, as they later told me, how their local priorities often differed to the national agenda. Consequently, it seemed that local government in the area were largely concerned with attempting to adapt national policies to local needs and endeavouring to mitigate any potential negative consequences. In the areas of the UK with devolved government - Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland variation due to local needs is possible. But the English regions lost all of the governmental bodies which were tasked with dealing with regional issues when the Coalition government abolished them in 2010. So for England this is an ongoing and unresolved issue.\nA long way from London: The North East of England is a long way from London both physically and culturally. In many ways, it is different to much of what is now referred to as \"the North\". The North East encompasses Teesside, Wearside, Tyneside, Cleveland, County Durham and Northumberland. Its identity and specific character can be argued to have been forged during the industrial revolution. The North East can make a good claim to being the world's very first industrial region. In the nineteenth century a complex of industries which Byrne (2002) has termed \"carboniferous capitalism\" emerged. The combination of the regions' geology, geography and the emergence of new technologies and techniques in mining, steelmaking, engineering and shipbuilding meant that the North East was truly an industrial powerhouse. The legacy of the region's achievements wealth and industrial might can be argued to be a major strength and also a source of contemporary troubles.\nGovernment and governance in the North East: There is a sense that the North East is as different to London and the South East of England as Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. For many years the region was seen as an ideal candidate for elected regional self-government, largely because of its strong identity and particular economic challenges. However, plans for an elected regional assembly were rejected in 2004 when a referendum into the issue was held. In fact the rejection was so emphatic that it convinced the then Secretary of State for Local Government John Prescott to abandon plans for devolution to the English regions. But throughout the New Labour years the region had had several unelected regional bodies established in the shape of Government Office North East and One North East. This ended when the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition came to power in 2010 the regional bodies across England were speedily closed and abolished in the name of austerity and savings. Five years on regional devolution was being offered to Northern Cities such as Manchester and Sheffield as part of Chancellor George Osbourne's \"Northern Powerhouse\" project, with Greater Manchester effectively serving as a pilot area. Whether the region might benefit from any such initiatives is currently unclear. For example, although many local authorities will welcome the chance keep local business rates, a measure announced by Osbourne in early 2016 however the loss of rate support grant may mean for many that there is net loss. Subsequently matters have been further complicated by Osbourne's departure from the Government in the wake of the EU referendum result. The devolution agenda is still alive but has lost its most powerful backer within government.\n\"Modernisation\": \"Modernisation (meaning investment and technological change in, and the continued prioritisation of, a few industries plus vague promises about diversification) was nevertheless (by and large) accepted because it was accompanied by more or less full employment overmuch (though by no means all) of Teesside. But it was also accepted that there was little else on offer. There were few effective and concrete alternative propositions from Labour and its representatives because most of them had been incorporated into a program inspired by capital's requirements for profitable production. The character of the place continued to be decisively shaped by the requirements of chemicals and steel producers\" (Beynon et al., 1994, p. 72).\n\"Getting things done [...]?\": The North East has been the recipient of many initiatives to combat both economic and social problems. In 2009, County Durham and Darlington Primary Care Trust (PCT)in the North East of England, commissioned a pilot \"health first\" case management service for people in the long-term receipt of ill health related out of work benefits. This pilot programme used telephone and face-to-face case management programmes to identify and address individual health needs (and any other related barriers to employment, such as debt or housing. The scheme was intended to complement mainstream services, with case managers signposting the patients to the NHS, Jobcentre Plus and other health and welfare services. Service users could be referred to these services during their time with the case management service or at exit. Case managers coordinated and facilitated access to appropriated services having assessed the service users' needs with them. The service provider also referred patients to physiotherapy and counselling services which they provided as part of the case management service. Service users were referred into the programme by NHS services; other community services (such as the Community Alcohol Service), their GPs or they could self-refer. The length of engagement with the service varied according to the needs of each service user (six months was average anticipated length of the engagement). Service users were discharged when they were assessed by their case worker to be ready to enter mainstream services such as the then Pathways to Work programme, vocational services or community health services. This would be based upon an assessment that the service user had improved labour market readiness due to either improved health or the successful implementation of improved support arrangements for individuals with chronic conditions.\nConcluding comments: This paper has reflected upon the importance of place in understanding how social policies are interpreted, enforced, applied, and adapted. It has outlined the idea of \"biographies of place\" and argued that social policy needs to appreciate study and understand these if policy is to have any chance of being effective. This paper has also attempted to think about how a particular form of governance which developed in the region based upon an alliance between Labourism and big business around a mutual agenda of \"modernisation\". For several decades this agenda attempted to serve both the aspirations of both groups and address the region's long term economic decline. However it can also be argued that it also hampered the search for long term solutions to the regions issues.\n",
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{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that the application of social policy in the North East of England is often characterised by tension and conflict. The agencies and professionals charged with implementation of Westminster driven policies constantly seek to deploy their knowledge of local conditions in order to make them both practical and palatable.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This paper examines the region via established literature from history, geography, sociology and social policy. The paper gives illustrations via empirical work which has evaluated initiatives to improve the health of long term health-related benefit recipients and to sustain individuals in employment in the region.\nFindings: Central to the paper's argument is the notion of \"biographies of place\". The core of this idea is that places have biographies in the same way as individuals and possess specific identities. These biographies have been shaped by the intersections between environment, history, culture and economic and social policy. The paper identifies the region's economic development, subsequent decline and the alliance of labour politics and industrial employers around a common consensus that sought economic prosperity and social progress via a vision of \"modernisation\" as a key component of this biography.\nOriginality/value: The paper argues that an appreciation of these spatial biographies can result in innovative and more effective social policy interventions with the potential to address issues that affect entire localities.\n",
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Comparisons of media types and congruence in positioning of service brands
|
[
"Advertising",
"Qualitative research",
"Financial services",
"Media",
"Positioning",
"Quantitative methods",
"Brand communication"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this issue.\nIntroduction: The employment of positioning strategies makes imitation by competitors difficult, and represents one of the bases for the development of competitive advantage and profits (Hooley et al., 1998; Trout, 2012). Implicitly, the synchronization of positioning activities is important in harnessing support for the overall contribution of marketing to the organization. Specifically, this affects the credibility of marketing communications budgets, the formation of branding activities, achievement of desired competitive position and successful new product development (de Chernatony and Segal-Horn, 2001; Griffiths-Hemans and Grover, 2006).\nLiterature background: Wind (1982) elaborates on the interface between the concept of positioning and marketing and business strategy, reaching the conclusion that positioning is the reason that a target audience is interested in buying the product. Positioning is the foundation of product development (Griffiths-Hemans and Grover, 2006), marketing and business strategy. One infers that the ultimate intention of brand executives is to achieve congruence (or fit or coherence) in their positioning activities that are in accord with their target audience's perceptions. Moreover, authors believe that the quest for fit and attempts at establishing and maintaining market \"positions\" for offerings reside among the most critical strategic marketing actions performed in modern marketing management (Hooley and Greenley, 2005; Trout, 2012).\nResearch questions: Using the plastic card service brand domain as a study setting, to what extent do media types project positioning strategies of brands? In addition, is there evidence of congruence/fit between managerial decisions, adopted communications and target audience perceptions in positioning of brands? For the purposes of this paper, fit denotes congruence and both are used interchangeably throughout the article. Also, \"consumers\" is used interchangeably with target audience.\nMethodology: Pilot study\nAnalysis and results: We examined the reliability and validity of the adopted scales (measuring consumers' perceptions) and stability of the coding approach (content analysis of communications) prior to the analysis.\nDiscussion and conclusions: This study provides a comparative examination of congruence/fit between managerial decisions, adopted communications and target audience perceptions in the positioning strategies of service brands and the media through which these strategies are communicated. This marketing activity has long been touted as the key to effective positioning of brands (Rigger, 1995; de Chernatony and Segal-Horn, 2003; Hooley et al., 2004; Burton and Easingwood, 2006). The combined results of the analyses are presented in Table VI and demonstrate an overall fit or congruence of approximately 43 per cent (NAC - NPC and AC - PC = 51/120). However, if the not adopted-communicated-perceived (NAC - NPC = 35) cell is excluded, the revised percentage of congruence/fit is 19 per cent (16/85). This is surprisingly low and raises questions regarding the coherency or fit between managerial decisions, communication messages and target audience perceptions. Supporting this particular finding, Myers (2004) warns that the value of any positioning strategy is questionable unless it is congruent or fits with the overall management strategy and the perceptions of the target market. This is taken up by Young et al. (2009), who caution that lack of congruence can interfere with the organization's ability to learn about how it can serve its customers better and the organization's long-term growth and success.\nContributions and managerial implications: This paper makes three key contributions to the marketing literature. First, to the best of our knowledge, this research is the first to attempt a comparative examination of the media types used in projecting service brands' positioning strategies - an important component of brand positioning (Rossiter and Percy, 1997). The three main media types examined, namely, newspaper; television; and billboards, pamphlets, leaflets and brochures are the first set of media to be studied in the positioning of service brands.\nLimitations and future research directions: Similar to most exploratory empirical studies, this paper has limitations including:\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to undertake a comparative examination of the media types used in projecting positioning strategies of service brands, and to establish whether there is evidence of congruence/fit between managerial decisions, adopted communications and target audience perceptions of positioning strategies of the brands. The relative congruence among intended, conveyed and perceived brand positions is an important research task. Also, how to ensure such synergy and minimize incongruence is an important research question both to theory and to practice.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Following extensive review of the literature, triangulation research method (face-to-face long interviews, survey and content analysis) characterized this study.\nFindings: The findings reveal that overall parity between the three media (TV; newspaper; and pamphlets, leaflets, brochures and billboards) is evident in terms of failure to translate managerial decisions into corresponding positioning messages. The findings also show that fit or congruence between managerial decision and communicated message fails to deliver the desired message in 19 per cent of the observations. Further 23 per cent of the adopted strategies are neither present in communications nor perceived by the target audience. Irrespective of a positioning strategy being adopted or not, there is total congruence/fit between messages in newspapers and target audience's perceptions, while the corresponding results for TV and other media are moderate. Moreover, channels for positioning offerings can be multifaceted and they do not strictly have to occur via communications. Only \"brand name\" positioning strategy demonstrates total fit, while \"top of the range\" shows high frequency of failure to translate managerial decisions into appropriate communication messages.\nOriginality/value: This paper offers useful insights into the overall differences between the three media (TV; newspaper; and pamphlets, leaflets, brochures and billboards) in the positioning of service brands. The study is a step forward in the diagnosis of the congruence/fit or coherence in the positioning activities between managers, firm practices and consumers' perceptions. Without this knowledge, executives may encounter difficulties and challenges in their efforts at establishing, maintaining or reframing market \"positions\" for their offerings.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
The effect of corporate governance on earnings management around UK rights issues
|
[
"Corporate governance",
"Earnings",
"Rights issues",
"United Kingdom"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Empirical evidence shows that US firms manage earnings around seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) and investors fail to recognise this. Teoh et al. (1998a), for example, find that firms boost earnings using discretionary current accruals in the run-up to US SEOs and argue that this manipulation and the subsequent accruals reversal explain the evidence of positive pre-SEO and negative post-SEO abnormal stock returns. Recent evidence for the UK suggests that firms have similar incentives to manage earnings around UK open offers and rights issues (Iqbal et al., 2006, 2009). Both US and UK studies report evidence of variation in the aggressiveness of earnings management by SEO firms, with more aggressive earnings management resulting in significantly lower post-SEO returns. The determinants of this cross-sectional variation in earnings management by SEO firms and the constraints on the ability of SEO firms to manage earnings is of interest to investors, regulators, and - because of the resource allocation role of the stock market - to society at large. Because the evidence shows that firms manage earnings around seasoned equity issues and that there is cross-sectional variation in the degree of earnings management, SEOs offer a powerful context in which to examine the effect of corporate governance on earnings management.Raising additional equity (for example, through a rights issue) is an important event in the life of a firm. However, little research exists on the corporate governance mechanisms in place to check opportunistic earnings management around specific corporate events for the UK market. In this study we ask whether corporate governance mechanisms restrict earnings management around UK rights issues. Iqbal et al. (2006) report that UK rights issuers experience pre-issue abnormal stock return and operating performance during the period 1991-1995. They also find that rights issuing firms use discretionary current accruals in the year before the issue to inflate reported earnings, thus misleading investors about their future prospects. They point out that in the case of rights issues, information asymmetry can be present among existing shareholders, who can be broadly categorised into informed and uninformed shareholders. This contrasts with the information asymmetry that exists between managers, acting on behalf of existing shareholders, and outside investors in the case of open market SEOs (Myers and Majluf, 1984). In rights issues, informed shareholders can benefit from an inflated share price, at the expense of uninformed shareholders and investors, by selling both shares and rights. Iqbal et al. (2006) also argue that managerial incentives to increase the size of the firm, access additional free cash flow, increase the probability of a higher rights take up, improve the firm's debt capacity, preserve earnings per share, etc. can also motivate earnings management around rights issues.We examine the relation between discretionary current accruals, the proxy for earnings management, and offering firms' board, ownership, adviser and capital structures to identify which rights issuers are more likely to manage earnings immediately before a rights issue. Potentially, this analysis can inform investors about whether they can place more trust in the earnings disclosures of SEO firms when they have better corporate governance. Related work by Ching et al. (2006) examines the relation between earnings management, corporate governance and the stock performance of rights issues in Hong Kong over the period 1993-1998. Similar to Teoh et al. (1998a), Ching et al. find that SEO firms manage earnings upward in the pre-issue year and that pre-issue discretionary current accruals are significantly negatively related to one-year buy-and-hold abnormal returns. Ching et al. also find that earnings management is higher in SEO firms with larger boards of directors. They also report a positive relation between blockholders and earnings management and insignificant relations for other corporate governance variables.Using a random sample of 100 size-controlled rights issuers, listed on the London Stock Exchange over the period 1991-1995, designed to coincide with the sample period of Iqbal et al. (2006), our results suggest that firms with higher proportions of non-executive directors, smaller debt to equity ratios, or a large blockholder (with more than 10 per cent of share ownership), are less likely to use discretionary current accruals to manage earnings. Our results on institutional and managerial ownership are inconclusive. Our results compare with Peasnell et al. (2005) who report a significant negative relation between income increasing accruals and the proportion of outside directors on the board.The remainder of the paper continues as follows. Section 2 reviews recent studies that examine earnings management in relation to capital, board, management, and adviser structures. Section 3 describes our data and research methodology. Section 4 presents the descriptive and empirical results. Section 5 concludes the paper.\n2. Corporate governance and earnings management: This section reviews recent studies relating various corporate governance mechanisms to earnings management. In particular, we consider how corporate governance affects earnings management through a firm's board structure, ownership structure, adviser structure, and capital structure.2.1 Board structure and earnings management\n3. Data and research methodology: This section explains the data and our research methodology for analysing the roles played by various corporate governance mechanisms in restricting, or promoting earnings management around UK rights issuers.3.1 Data selection\n4. Empirical results: Table III reports the results from regressing post-issue earnings changes on earnings management and control variables. The regressions take the form: Equation 1 where the dependent variable, is the annual change in earnings in year t (t=1, 2) following the rights issue deflated by total assets at the start of the year. The independent variables include the four measures of accruals (discretionary current accruals, DCA-1; discretionary long term accruals, DLTA-1; non-discretionary current accruals, NDCA-1; non-discretionary long-term accruals, NDLTA-1) from the year before the rights issue (year -1) of the issuer i. The other independent variables comprise the ratio of cash flow to total assets (CFTA-1) in the year before the right issue, the rights issue discount (DISC), sales growth (SLGR), and the size (Ln MV) and book-to-market value (Ln BM) of the issuer i (both in logs). Cash flow to total assets controls for possible misspecification of abnormal accruals. Including DISC controls for any relation between the size of the rights issue discount and future earnings performance. Including sales growth controls for the possibility that some rights issuers are high growth firms that may also have large accruals. Including size and book-to-market follows standard practice in the literature. Finally, we include year and industry dummies to control for temporal variation and cross-sectional industry variation in the underlying relation.Table III shows that DCA in the pre-issue year is the only significant variable in predicting earnings changes in the second year following the rights issue. No variables are significant in explaining the earnings change in the year immediately following the right issue. Instead, the significant negative coefficient on DCA-1 suggests that abnormal current accruals reverse with a 12-month lag. The other three accruals variables are insignificant, bearing out existing results that discretionary working capital accruals capture attempts by firms to manage earnings.Table IV reports the results of regressing post-issue returns on earnings management and control variables. The regressions take the form: Equation 2 where the dependent variable, MARtY, is the market-adjusted log return over year t (t=1, 2) following the rights issue and other variables are as in Table III. The FT ALL Share Index return proxies the market return. Table IV shows that DCA-1 is negative and significant over the two post-issue years and helps to predict lower abnormal returns in the second year following the rights issue.Having shown that higher pre-issue year discretionary current accruals predict lower earnings performance and lower return performance post-issue, we now examine the relation between pre-issue year discretionary current accruals and corporate governance. Tables V and VI report the results of regressing DCAi, -1 on the corporate governance variables discussed in Section 3.1 and a set of control variables. We include as control variables:* size (Ln MV) to control for incentives of larger firms to manage earnings to avoid political costs;* a book-to-market variable (Ln BM) to control for differential earnings management incentives between value and growth firms;* sales growth (SLGR) to control for the possibility that firms raising equity finance are high growth firms and high growth firms have higher working capital accruals;* the rights issue discount (DISC), since this may affect incentives to manage earnings[13]:* the ratio of cash flow to total assets (CFTA) in the pre-issue year to control for the possibility of cash flows affecting estimated discretionary current accruals;* issue size (Ln IsSz), since larger issues may increase incentives to manage earnings;* an extreme earnings performance dummy (EEPDum), which takes a value of 1 for the 15 per cent top and bottom firms on earnings over total assets from year -1, to control for extreme earnings performance; and* a set of year and industry dummy variables.Table V reports univariate regression results and Table VI reports these results including the control variables. Tables V and VI show that the ratio of outside directors to inside directors (NED) is negatively related to the degree of earnings management (proxied by discretionary current accruals in year -1). The coefficients on NEDDum and BlkDum show a similar relation, i.e. the presence of more than 50 per cent outside directors on the board and/or a blockholder on the board restricts the firm from reporting inflated earnings around rights issues. Finally, Gear is positively related to pre-issue discretionary current accruals showing that firms with higher levels of debt tend to report inflated earnings. None of the other variables such as CCDum, ManOwn, InstOwn, InstOwn2, AudDum, and DirTot play a significant role in restricting earnings management. In general, these results are consistent with the prior literature.Table VII reports the multivariate regression results. It also shows that the presence of a larger proportion of outside directors (NED or NEDDum) on the board serves to limit discretionary earnings management. This is consistent with Xie et al. (2003). Whether the CEO also chairs the board appears to have no effect on earnings management, which is consistent with Peasnell et al. (2005). Of the ownership structure variables, managerial and institutional ownership are insignificant in the regressions. However, the presence of a large blockholder is significant in reducing earnings management. The auditor dummy variable is negative and insignificant. Peasnell et al. (2005) also find a negative but insignificant relation between abnormal accruals and an auditor dummy for Big-5 auditors using UK data. The table also shows that firms with higher gearing are more likely to engage in earnings management. Finally, none of the other variables are statistically significant.We also run multivariate regressions using discretionary current accruals (DCA) from the issue year (year 0) itself. The independent and control variables are similar to those included in Table VII, except that we include DCAi, -1 as an additional control variable in these regressions. Overall, the results are qualitatively similar to those reported in Table VII and hence not tabulated.\n5. Conclusion: The recent literature on earnings management suggests that firms opportunistically manage earnings upwards and downwards both around specific corporate events (such as SEOs and IPOs) and in general. For example, Iqbal et al. (2006) report that rights issuers, on average, manage earnings through discretionary accruals. We reconfirm in this study that stock market returns are consistent with this form of earnings management misleading investors i.e. rights issuers appear, on average, to be overvalued at the time of the issue and the market only gradually corrects the overvaluation. However, we show that the presence of certain corporate governance characteristics can reduce the degree of earnings management. This serves to reduce the degree of market misvaluation and promotes efficient resource allocation.One of the important mechanisms that can restrict firms from managing earnings is corporate governance. This study examines this critical relationship with reference to various corporate governance mechanisms such as the roles of the board, and of ownership, adviser, and capital structures in controlling firms from managing earnings around UK rights issues. Our sample consists of 100 size controlled UK industrial rights issuers covering the period 1991-1995. We proxy earnings management by discretionary current accruals and find that firms with a majority of non-executive directors, with a large blockholder and with smaller debt to equity ratios are less likely to manage earnings. We find no relation between earnings management and institutional or managerial ownership around rights issues nor do we find that having a Big-6 auditor plays a significant role in constraining firms from using discretionary accruals to manage earnings.These results have important implications for various stakeholders, not only in the UK market but also in other markets of the world where rights issues are still common. For example, investors in rights issuing firms should prefer to invest in firms with a larger proportion of non-executive directors, where there is a large blockholder and/or in firms with low debt ratios. Regulators and policy makers could devise best corporate governance practices for specific corporate events to boost investor confidence. Institutional investors or fund managers should closely scrutinise a firm's financial information before making any event specific investment decisions. Managers of rights issuing firms should disclose that they are following best corporate governance practices alongside new issue information (such as prospectuses) to enhance investor confidence. Finally, future research could consider other important corporate events, including equity issuing methods such as open offers or initial public offerings in the UK and in other developed or emerging markets to review the effects of corporate governance mechanisms on earnings management.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - This paper aims to investigate the relation between corporate governance and earnings management around UK rights issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper examines the effect of board structure, ownership structure, adviser structure, and capital structure on discretionary current accruals - a proxy for earnings management - for a sample of size-controlled rights issuers. Rights issues are chosen as a context in which firms have particular incentives to manage earnings.\nFindings: - The results suggest that firms with higher debt to equity ratios, with lower proportions of non-executive directors, or with no large block owner, are more likely to use discretionary current accruals to manipulate earnings around rights issues.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Similar research can be conducted around other equity issuing methods such as open offers and around other major corporate events such as initial public offerings.\nPractical implications: - The paper's evidence contributes to an understanding of corporate governance and has practical implications for stakeholders. It suggests that investors can rely more on the financial disclosures of firms with lower debt to equity ratios, higher proportions of outside directors, and with a large blockholder. Regulators may propose that firms undertaking corporate events such as equity offerings should follow best corporate governance practices to enhance investor confidence.\nOriginality/value: - This study is the first to investigate the corporate governance mechanisms in place to check opportunistic earnings management around specific corporate events for the UK market.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Moving from conceptual ambiguity to operational clarity: Employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship in higher education
|
[
"Employment",
"Entrepreneurialism",
"Graduates",
"Higher education"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: It has become increasingly evident that the word \"employability\" is often used carelessly and interchangeably with \"enterprise\", which in turn is confused with \"entrepreneurship\". Watts and Hawthorn (1992) acknowledged this confusion between enterprise and entrepreneurship some years ago when they proposed that it was possible to distinguish between: \"business entrepreneurship\" (i.e. encouraging students to set up their own businesses), \"working in enterprises\" (i.e. using enterprise as a noun meaning \"business\"), and \"being enterprising\" (i.e. being innovative, recognising/creating opportunities and taking risks/responding to challenges). The authors suggested that at the time, a certain ambiguity surrounding the terminology may have been quite useful, as it gave higher education institutions the freedom to implement the Enterprise in Higher Education policy in ways that matched their needs. Indeed, this ambiguity was expected to encourage debate in HEIs about the meanings of these terms. The term \"enterprise\" was used for a number of years in HEIs to describe many activities that we now subsume under the term \"employability\". However, since the term \"employability\" has become used more widely in the HE sector, the scope for confusion has become greater and the need for clarity more pressing. This is particularly important in areas relating to the funding of these activities.\nEmployability: We have defined employability as \"having a set of skills, knowledge, understanding and personal attributes that make a person more likely to choose and secure occupations in which they can be satisfied and successful\" (Dacre Pool and Sewell, 2007, p. 280). It has also been conceptualised in our CareerEDGE model illustrated in Figure 1.We have suggested that whilst at university all students need to engage with and be supported to develop the five elements on the lower level of the model and be given opportunities to reflect on and evaluate these experiences in order to reach their full employability potential.\nEnterprise: Enterprise is a widely used term that appears to have a number of different meanings. For some it is all about starting new businesses; for others it is about a certain set of skills, for example \"enterprise skills\", defined by Rae (2007) as \"the skills, knowledge and attributes needed to apply creative ideas and innovations to practical solutions\" (p. 611), which would include skills such as \"initiative, independence, creativity, problem solving, identifying and working on opportunities, leadership, acting resourcefully and responding to challenges\" (p. 611). Enterprise is also used as a noun, which means a business, usually a new business. There is further the adjectival use of the word within \"enterprise parks\", which usually means a collection of businesses. The CareerEDGE model acknowledges that \"enterprise skills\" as defined by Rae (2007) are an important element of graduate employability. We would suggest that these skills sit comfortably within the \"generic skills\" element of the model, as they would be valuable attributes for any student to develop, whether they plan to work within an organisation or become self-employed.\nEntrepreneurship: It is very important to recognise the distinction between \"enterprise skills\" and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs want to engage in establishing new businesses. In order to do this, they need a particular and distinctive set of personal qualities and skills. Not all students and graduates would need to or even want to develop these to the same extent. Being entrepreneurial seems to involve many of the enterprise skills, but also something extra - the ability to generate creative ideas, take risks in implementing them and be motivated to get them off the ground. For some students this would be their passion, and it is quite right that they should be given support and advice to encourage such ventures. However, entrepreneurship is not for everybody. In fact, some employers would not want employees with entrepreneurial flair - they do not want graduates taking risks with their businesses and ultimately their profits. The term \"intrapreneur\" has been applied to describe such individuals, who are recruited into or develop within existing businesses to perform the entrepreneurial role. Intrapreneurship has been defined by Antoncic and Hisrich (2003) as \"entrepreneurship in existing organisations\" (p. 7). But, once again this is a somewhat specialised role, which includes the risk-taking element and according to a number of theorists (see Antoncic and Hisrich, 2003, p. 19) competitive aggressiveness towards rivals, which would be appropriate for some but not all graduates.There is a need for clarity about how these different concepts - employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship - may overlap but are quite distinct in meaning. The reason why this is a critical issue is that different people use the words for different purposes, which results in the words themselves losing meaning. For example, when people talk about \"enterprise\", it is not clear what they mean by the term. Are they talking about creating new businesses or developing sets of skills, or getting a job in a business? They could be talking about any or all of these things - the point being, it is unclear. Most importantly, if enterprise is used synonymously with employability, key aspects of employability development as defined by the CareerEDGE model, such as \"career development learning\" or \"work-related experience\", may be overlooked. We would suggest the following definitions may be helpful to ensure that these terms are used consistently and with clarity.\nOur proposed definitions: Employability - as defined by the CareerEDGE model (see Figure 1) and something that would be essential to all graduates.Generic employability skills (including enterprise skills):*imagination/creativity;*adaptability/flexibility;*willingness to learn;*independent working/autonomy;*working in a team;*ability to manage others;*ability to work under pressure;*good oral communication;*communication in writing for varied purposes/audiences;*numeracy;*attention to detail;*time management;*assumption of responsibility and for making decisions; and*planning, coordinating and organising ability (Pedagogy for Employability Group, 2006, p. 4).We would also include the following two skills, which employers have consistently named as important in graduate recruits:1. ability to use new technologies; and2. commercial awareness.The \"enterprise skills\" suggested by Rae (2007) would also be included here:*initiative;*problem solving;*identifying and working on opportunities;*leadership;*acting resourcefully; and*responding to challenges.Enterprise skills are included within the \"generic skills\" element of the CareerEDGE model of employability.Nabi and Holden (2008) have recently suggested another useful way of viewing the enterprise/entrepreneurship definitions debate. They see graduate enterprise/entrepreneurship as a dimension ranging from broad and generic (relevant to most students) to specialised and specific training (required for business start-up). We would agree with this, but would extend it. Our suggestion is that the enterprise end of this dimension sits comfortably within the employability domain, but that it is when you venture to the other extreme of the continuum, into entrepreneurship territory, that you may be talking about traits and attributes that may not be helpful and could even be detrimental to a graduate's employability.Enterprise - a business.Entrepreneurship - the desire, motivation and skills necessary to start and manage a successful business.Becoming an entrepreneur is not just about having the right set of skills, but requires particular personal characteristics, including risk-taking propensity (Moreland, 2006), which cannot be taught but can be encouraged and supported. It is this \"risk taking\" element that goes beyond what might be desirable graduate attributes for all, to something one might only expect in a small number of graduates, who we would describe as having entrepreneurial flair. This characteristic may be useful for graduates intent on setting up their own businesses, but may not be so for those intending to work in other people's businesses. As Watts and Hawthorn (1992) pointed out some years ago, \"some employers are suspicious of students who show too much 'enterprise' and are more concerned with recruiting people who will 'fit in' and conform to the organisation's culture and mores\" (p. 14). We would suggest that for most employers, a graduate showing \"enterprise skills\" as defined by Rae (2007) would be welcomed and valued, but a graduate intent on \"being entrepreneurial\" within somebody else's business may well not be.\nHow to operationalise these concepts in higher education: Many HEIs are struggling to find ways of delivering the employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship agenda. This is becoming increasingly important, not just because of government pressure on HEIs to demonstrate their avowed commitment to these issues, but also because of the need to respond to the demands of students, parents, employers and other stakeholders.Employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship\n",
"role": "user"
},
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"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the terms \"employability\", \"enterprise\" and \"entrepreneurship\" are currently being used, often interchangeably, within higher education, and to propose how to clarify this issue with the terminology.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The approach taken is to discuss the three terms and some of their current conceptualisations and suggest ways to clarify the terminology. Possible methods of operationalising the three concepts within higher education are also suggested.\nFindings: - Employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship are high on the agendas of many higher education institutions. There is a crucial need for agreement on definitions particularly when strategies are being implemented. It is suggested that currently the terminology is often used carelessly and interchangeably, resulting in confusion for HE staff, students and employers.\nOriginality/value: - The paper offers a clear way of defining the concepts and will be of value to anybody with an interest in employability, enterprise or entrepreneurship within higher education.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Developing qualitative research streams relating to illegal rural enterprise: Reflections on researching qualitatively at the margins of entrepreneurship research
|
[
"Qualitative research",
"Rural entrepreneurship",
"Illegal entrepreneurship"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Writing qualitatively, is a deeply personal act of writing, and indeed authorship, but it is only one small part of Qualitative Inquiry (Denzin and Lincoln, 2003) and qualitative research practice as we know it. However, writing qualitatively is only part of the qualitative research process. Producing a stream of qualitative scholarship necessitates planning and designing a qualitatively grounded research strategy (King et al., 1994; Silverman, 2006; Flick, 2006, 2007) and related publication strategy (Wager, 2010). Indeed, Flick (2008) talks passionately to us about putting \"quality\" into \"qualitative\" research. But how do we assess the quality of our research outputs, both singularly (an individual article), and collectively (as a research stream) in relation to rigour and trustworthiness (Krefting, 1991) not to mention impact? As scholars, we tend to concentrate on technical aspects of the process such as the \"qualitative interview\" (Kvale, 1996) and of the \"doing\" of the research (Angrosino, 2007) instead of the overall structure of the research plan. We often stumble from paper to paper, improvising strategy as we proceed. As qualitatively orientated entrepreneurship scholars we were both raised on the writings of Wolcott (1990) and his excellent advice on writing qualitatively - particularly his timeless gem that not all qualitative studies should be published. Yet the world itself and the qualitative research landscape have moved on considerably since then and we have the internet and the options that it opens up for new forms of publication, dissemination and reaching new audiences via blogs and forums, etc. We take Wolcott's advice seriously particularly in relation to the settings, logistics and mechanics of writing qualitatively. We have dedicated writing spaces and block of time to write and write well.\n2. On method, methodology and reflecting on these: In this section we discuss the development of our collective methodological framework and use (or misuse) of method. We reflect on its continuous development. This is necessary because when embarking on a research stream one can appreciate that ones research strategy and the methodologies underpinning it may be partially flawed because they do not always incorporate a robust methodological framework. Whilst we had an overarching research design or notion of how/what we did we had not drawn out the design and tested it. In our research output our methodology sections are often our weakest point in respect of issues attendant upon its use, analysis and generalisations. Our research always makes sense to us but perhaps not so to others. We have learned to be more precise, more reflexive and more articulate. We now take more care in documenting the actual dynamics of the research process and equally importantly, take greater care in the elaboration of the theoretical insights derived from our experience. Developing robust research and methodological frameworks are important. Indeed one blinded reviewer of this paper remarked - \"There is a marked absence of a theoretical research framework suggesting no robust foundation for research referred to. There are limited details of any original research aim or plan, and no hint of a research design\". We were reminded that \"a holistic-inductive design allows the researcher to be open to whatever emerges from the data\" (Patton, 1982; Dana and Dana, 2005).\n3. Discussion, dialogue and debate: 3.1. Evidencing the practice-based roots of the research\n4. Reflections, reflections, reflections ...: Writing this reflective paper on our conjoined research and publishing strategies has been very, very helpful to us in positioning our research and ourselves in the body of entrepreneurship research. As heterodox entrepreneurship scholars and academics we constantly engage in a strategic assessment of our marketplace(s). This has caused us to question the purpose and value of academic papers, and our very work itself. We have received critical and even vitriolic comments at job interviews with comments such as \"Your research is not empirically robust [...] have you considered adding a quantitative element to it so you can quantify the problem\" and \"We do not see very much entrepreneurship here [...]\". We are frequently criticised as being \"unscientific\". Yet still we feel compelled and driven to continue researching on this path. We are firmly of the belief that our writing passion and the broader research strategy itself are guided by the practical utility of our research to practitioners. We have enjoyed the discussions, debate and engagement with alternative audiences although what impact it will have on our broader academic careers remains to be seen? This paper sets out a valuable contribution from us as experienced researchers and presents our insights and reflections on \"ploughing\" a particularly niche furrow of qualitative research off the beaten entrepreneurship track[13]. We see clear value in this approach in presenting lessons for early career researchers and a point of debate and engagement for other qualitative researchers interested in entrepreneurship and SMEs. In terms of originality, this paper contributes by providing an original employment of qualitative methodology. We believe we have advanced knowledge in this area and have moved existing conceptualisations forward and advanced thinking in relation to existing debates.\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this reflective paper is to discuss and reflect and in the process celebrate the development of a qualitative research stream which continues to interrogate the unusual topic of illegal rural enterprise. The authors discuss how a common interest in rural entrepreneurship and rural criminology led to a very productive and continuing research collaborations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: To discuss, reflect and evaluate several qualitative methodologies arising out of a research stream into illegal rural enterprise.\nFindings: The findings are tentative and subjective in nature but the authors strongly believe that writing qualitatively over a number of related topics and over several published articles legitimises the use of niche qualitative research methods and methodologies. Ultimately it will help develop robust methodologies. The authors agree that just as there is no single, universally applicable theorisation of entrepreneurial behaviours, actions and antics there is no single qualitative methodology that provides constant explanations.\nResearch limitations/implications: This reflective paper being a subjective and emotive rhetorical piece has obvious limitations in that the advice proffered may be strongly disputed by research managers and heads of department trying to build an orthodox research output. Also the understanding of qualitative research may differ from that of other scholars. This is surely cause for celebration! This will help the authors better understand the heterogeneity of entrepreneurship.\nPractical implications: By discussing and celebrating a qualitatively driven research stream rather than discussing individual qualitative publications in isolation this reflection makes a contribution. The professional and institutional pressures to conform to productive mainstream research topics capable of publication in top tier journals poses a danger to the practice of conducting qualitative research which exist at the margins of individual disciplines. It is hoped that this discussion will act as an inspirational beacon to others to pursue research agendas for which they have a passion.\nOriginality/value: This reflective piece identifies and discusses an under researched area of entrepreneurship research namely how to craft and develop a unified qualitative research stream at the margins of entrepreneurship research.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
In-work poverty: reversing a trend through business commitment
|
[
"Greece",
"Human resource management",
"Small firms",
"High performance work practices",
"Business ethics",
"In-work poverty"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The present study examines how human resource (HR) management practices can help tackle in-work poverty and assesses the business case for their adoption. So far, those few businesses who take anti-poverty measures do so on a voluntary basis. More should be done to promote \"good jobs\" as a means of tackling in-work poverty, but there are limits to how far voluntary efforts on the part of employers can succeed.\nEmployee-friendly human resource practices and corporate social responsibility: At a conceptual level, the framework used in this study is based on two main theoretical models, including high performance working practices and corporate social responsibility. Both models stress the importance of a clear and consistent sense of organizational purpose to inspire employees, combined with the use of people management practices that enable and motivate employees to pursue that purpose. Debate on in-work poverty has so far not taken these ideas into account (Shildrick et al, 2012; Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2014).\nThe Greek context: Although Greece has adopted a series of measures during the past seven years to recover from a deep financial recession, wages and productivity remain depressed, while unemployment has increased dramatically. Workers' skills often do not match employer demand, trapping workers in low-skill and low-wage jobs. The long financial crisis, combined with an ineffective social protection system, has caused a surge in poverty, especially among families with children, the young and the unemployed (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2018). Greece has one of the highest proportions of the working poor in the EU, at 14.1 per cent (data as of 2016) (European Commission, 2017).\nMethods: The study adopted a qualitative research orientation to conduct an in-depth exploration of the strategies that have been adopted so far by low-paying small firm owners in Greece to reduce in-work poverty. The study focussed solely on small firms as they are more likely to attract low-wage employees compared to larger establishments owing to the severe financial constraints they face. Such enterprises are less likely to increase the salary levels of their staff, so other practices may be used to combat in-work poverty. We adopted the European Commission's (2015) definition of small firms: enterprises employing more than 10 and fewer than 50 employees.\nFindings: The first question during the empirical work concerned the term \"working poor\", the extent of in-work poverty in the selected firms and their specific business strategy. The author asked the participants to indicate whether they are familiar with the term. The vast majority of employers and employees were very familiar with the term. As for the extent of in-work poverty in each of the participant firms (the working poor are defined as those who live in a household whose equivalent disposable income is below 60 per cent of a country's median household income), it reached 30 per cent of the total workforce in most organizations (23 out of 30). Regarding the overall business strategy adopted by the firms in the sample, all owners reported that they have adopted a cost-cutting business strategy.\nConclusion: We argue that a narrow focus by policymakers on both direct and indirect governmental measures (e.g. an increase in minimum wage, childcare, housing support) to reduce in work-poverty could be problematic as there are employer programmes that can also have a direct and indirect impact on employee income (e.g. bonuses, travel allowance, food vouchers and training). These alternative interventions can be useful when thinking about how in-work poverty can best be addressed.\n",
"role": "user"
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"content": "Purpose: This study aims to explore whether employer action may contribute towards reducing in-work poverty. Essentially, the study examines the extent to which small firm owners accept as being among their core responsibilities the support of the working poor both from an ethical and financial perspective. It further explores the impact of employee-friendly policies to support the working poor on the organizational performance of small enterprises.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was adopted consisting of 60 responses from 30 small firm owners and 30 employees. More specifically, the study draws on the empirical data collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with the firm owners of 30 low-paying enterprises operating in Greece and 30 employees working in those firms.\nFindings: The findings reveal that employer measures to reduce in-work poverty such as systematic training, travel allowance, provision of free meals and retail vouchers, bonus schemes and other indirect financial rewards do enhance overall employee well-being, which, in turn, makes employees more engaged with their work and motivate them to \"go the extra mile\" for their employer. As a result, organizations appear to enjoy several benefits including less absenteeism and staff turnover, reduced errors in production and increased productivity.\nPractical implications: The present analysis argues that a narrow focus by policymakers on both direct and indirect governmental measures (e.g. an increase of the minimum wage, childcare and housing support) to reduce in work-poverty could be problematic as there are employer instruments that could also have a direct and indirect impact on employee income that could be useful when thinking about how in-work poverty can best be addressed. The empirical work showed that the above-mentioned measures have the potential to bring various organizational benefits including increased staff loyalty, less absenteeism, improved customer service and increased productivity. Such findings indicate that there is a strong business case for employers to combat in-work poverty and provide \"better\" jobs to individuals.\nOriginality/value: The emphasis of research around in-work poverty has been placed predominantly on welfare state measures to support the working poor, whereas the contribution of employers has been ignored. The present study fills this knowledge gap by leading to a better understanding of whether there is a business case for employers to fight in-work poverty.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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You Shall (Not) Fear: The effects of emotional stimuli in social media campaigns and moral disengagement on apparel consumers' behavioral engagement
|
[
"Ethical consumption",
"Moral disengagement",
"Animal cruelty",
"Negative arousal"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Recently, ethical consumption has emerged as a mainstream social movement (Humphery and Jordan, 2018; Papaoikonomou et al., 2016), and firms have responded to this emerging consumer culture by competitively publicizing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Meanwhile, nonprofit organizations have attempted to raise awareness of unethical business practices through diverse social media platforms, putting firms under great pressure to incorporate sustainability in their operations. Under these circumstances, fashion brands have been a major target of criticism from nonprofit organizations for their anti-sustainable practices, such as environmental (Caniato et al., 2012) and labor issues (Phau et al., 2015) in their supply chain management. For instance, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), a nonprofit organization supporting animal rights, has protested against Gucci's use of animal skins and furs in their shoes for more than 20 years (Theodosi and Feitelberg, 2017). In response to severe criticism regarding animal cruelty, which had spread rapidly through social media, in 2017 Gucci finally announced that the brand would stop using animal products in its collections (Williams, 2017).\nTheoretical development: The effects of negative emotional images in nonprofit communication\nMethod: Stimuli development\nResults: Manipulation checks and covariates\nDiscussion: The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of various degrees of negative emotional images in a nonprofit organization's ethical consumption campaigns on viewers' behavioral engagement. The findings of this study revealed that increased levels of a perceived threatening condition in the nonprofit organization's Facebook campaigns increased viewers' negative arousal, which, in turn, increased their intention to support the campaign. As expected, participants' negative arousal was found to mediate the effect of the threatening condition depicted in the presented images on supportive behavior. Our finding is consistent with previous studies' claims that negative emotional stimuli elevate viewers' awareness of the presented sustainability issue and sympathy for the object, which, in turns, elicits viewers' supportive behavior, such as volunteering and donating (Albouy, 2017; Chung and Lee, 2017).\nTheoretical implications: The findings of this study contribute to the literature by advancing the current understanding of the role of emotional visuals in ethical consumption campaigns. While the findings of this study bear a close resemblance to previous studies' findings that negative emotional stimuli influence consumers' willingness to support the organization and its claims (Albouy, 2017; Chung and Lee, 2017; Iyer et al., 2014; Powell et al., 2015), this study questions the effectiveness of horrific images in nonprofit campaigns in encouraging consumers to make an effort to consume ethically. According to the theory of self-regulation, individuals' action readiness caused by emotional responses depends on their level of self-efficacy in executing the coping response (Bagozzi, 1992). The evidence from this study suggests that scholars need to scrutinize various internal and external forces that underlie the effects of nonprofit campaigns that employ negative emotional stimuli on consumers' ethical consumption behavior.\nManagerial implications: The findings of this study provide considerable managerial implications. Although the scope of the research was limited to a nonprofit organization's social media campaigns, the findings can offer practical implications for both nonprofit organizations and the fashion industry to develop strategic social media campaigns to promote consumers' ethical consumptions. For instance, the present research confirmed the effectiveness of negative emotional stimuli in the case of animal cruelty in encouraging consumers to engage in supportive behavior for a nonprofit organization and its campaign. However, a close examination of the results suggests that when consumers' moral disengagement is activated, their intention to support the campaign might mitigate the effect of fear appeals. In addition, the evidence from this study points to the idea that consumers' justification for their unethical consumption is grounded on their blame attribution to external agencies, such as developmental realism and government dependency. This finding suggests that nonprofit organizations and fashion firms need to develop deliberate content that highlights the importance of consumers' roles in preventing and/or stopping undesirable outcomes.\nLimitations and future study: This study clearly has some limitations. The most important limitation lies in the study sample. We recruited a convenience sample of college students, which might limit investigations of other potentially important factors in consumers' sustainable behavior. For example, previous studies indicated that ethical consumption decisions are related to diverse demographic factors, such as age (Hines and Ames, 2000), gender (Costa Pinto et al., 2014) and income (Barnett et al., 2005). The current study was unable to investigate these factors due to the homogeneity of our college student sample. In addition, the present study has only investigated the effect of visual stimuli on consumers' behavioral engagement. As Geise and Baden (2015) claimed, a challenge of visual information processing is to generate coherent meaning as intended by the sender, due to its complex and unstructured nature. Therefore, although the importance of visual content has risen in social media communication, the interplay of visual and textual information is considered important to make a communicator's intention clear. We believe that our work could be a starting point to corroborate the joint effect of visual stimuli and textual information in ethical consumption campaigns on consumer engagement intention, and we encourage future study to examine how different text messages interact with negative emotional stimuli to influence diverse behavioral outcomes.\n",
"role": "user"
},
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"content": "Purpose: In the age of transparency, nonprofit organizations have attempted to raise awareness of unethical business practices through diverse social media platforms, putting firms under great pressure to incorporate sustainability in their operations. Focusing on the issue of animal cruelty which is a relatively under-investigated topic in the fashion industry, the purpose of this paper is to examine how different levels of animal cruelty depicted in nonprofit organizations' ethical consumption campaigns influence viewers' negative emotions and lead to their supportive behavior and ethical consumption intention.\nDesign/methodology/approach: In the main study, undergraduate students (n=82) from a big public University in the USA were recruited in exchange for extra credit and randomly assigned to one of the three experimental conditions of animal cruelty in a single-factor, three-level, between-subjects experimental design: non-threatening condition (n=26), low-threatening condition (n=27) and high-threatening condition (n=29).\nFindings: The results indicated that the levels of negative emotional arousal are positively related to levels of perceived animal cruelty in social media campaigns. In addition, negative emotional arousal mediates the effect of perceived animal cruelty on the intention of supportive behavior, but no mediation effect on ethical consumption intention was found. Additionally, the findings of this study revealed that the indirect effect of perceived animal cruelty on supportive behavior intention is moderated by participants' moral justification such as the reality of economic development and government dependency.\nOriginality/value: The findings of this study contribute to the literature by advancing the current understanding of the role of negative emotional images in ethical consumption campaigns in the context of animal cruelty in the fashion industry.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Politicising the sustaining of water supply in Ireland - the role of accounting concepts
|
[
"Actor-network theory",
"Accounting concepts",
"Calculative spaces",
"Non-calculative spaces",
"Sustainable water"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Water is essential to the sustaining of human life. It is \"a crucial constituent of any society, including cases of excess, as in flooding, or drought, as in deserts; and cases of infrastructure, as in canals and cases of expertise, as in hydro-imperialism or US geopolitics\" (Bijker, 2012, p. 625). Hence, every country needs to provide its citizens with a sustainable water supply[1]. This typically involves major infrastructure and a delivery system that requires substantial economic resources over time. In theory, it should not matter how a specific government chooses to operationalise their funding. However, in practice if an indirect approach - through general taxation - is taken, there is a possibility of governments utilising these resources elsewhere for political gain. As we will see below, this was the situation in the Republic of Ireland (hereafter Ireland) that provided the motivation for outside agencies to force the Irish Government to instigate a direct resourcing model. This direct model operationalised domestic water billing and ultimately required the establishment of a national water utility. This paper investigates how and why accounting concepts were mobilised - and the effects they have - in this process. As will be outlined later, this process has been fraught with issues as exemplified in the following:Charging householders for water will be a political hot potato but given the high cost of producing treated water, a government desperately trying to balance its books can rule nothing out(Hickey, 2009).\nLiterature review: There is increasing academic interest in water use and management (Barnes and Alatout, 2012) focussing on issues of quality, quantity, use, sustainable resource management, company and industry management (Kurland and Zell, 2010). This is not surprising given that fresh water is essential for the sustaining of human life but globally providing a sustainable supply is becoming problematic (Gladwin et al., 1995; Rockstrom et al., 2009; Whiteman et al., 2013; IPCC, 2014; WWF, 2014). Developed countries that seemingly have plentiful supplies of fresh water, such as Ireland, still have great challenges in ensuring a sustainable supply of water is provided to their citizens (Padowski and Gorelick, 2014).\nTheoretical approach: In this research, we utilise concepts from ANT (Latour, 1986, 1987, 2005; Callon, 1986; Law, 1986) to scope out boundaries to analyse and understand the events surrounding the implementation of domestic water billing, which also entailed the formation of Irish Water. Specifically, we utilise the notion of calculative spaces and their \"otherness\" to non-calculative spaces (Callon and Law, 2005). In doing so, we respond to the call to utilise the broader writings of ANT (Justesen and Mouritsen, 2011). This in essence means that we mobilise ANT's focus on the performativity of non-human actors (Latour, 1986, 2005). As will be seen below, calculation is impossible without the involvement of non-human actors (Callon and Law, 2005, p. 719). We, therefore, consider the effects that these non-human actors have on the actions taken by other actors and the ways and means that actors construct and assemble them to assist with the gaining of their goals; in effect enabling control at a distance (Law, 1986; Robson, 1992). These non-human actors, as will be seen in the case below, may act in a way that has unexpected and unintended consequences (Callon, 1986) as the fate of these assemblages are always in the hands of others (Latour, 1991). Hence, any given outcome is never guaranteed but rather as a result of many negotiations, intrigues, acts and even treason. Further, the gaining of a desired outcome will quickly make its history forgotten (Callon, 1986). Thus, understanding the history of a specific thing, through examining how and why something has become over time, is as important as understanding what the thing is. We focus our research efforts on the how and why of the implementation of domestic water billing in Ireland. In particular, we focus on the mobilisation of non-human actors, specifically accounting concepts, within the many negotiations, intrigues, acts of treason, and various other events as they unfold over time.\nMethod: In this study, we undertake a method similar to that utilised by Jones and Dugdale (2002) in their investigation of the rise of ABC. We follow key actors across time and space as they assemble networks of actors around them in their efforts to implement domestic water billing. We focus on the controversies that arise and the use of non-human actors - particularly the notion of \"cost\" - that are enroled in their efforts to move their programmes of action forward. An overview of these events, including some historical background is presented in the section below. To reveal the story of how domestic water billing was introduced, we draw on secondary data. While primary research data are generally preferable for any research project, the story below reveals how domestic water billing has been a contentious and politicised issue in Ireland over the years. We therefore recognised that access to primary data sources during the timeframe of our analysis would not be forthcoming and instead utilised the rich secondary data available. We have utilised publically available documents such as Water Services Acts and other local government legislation, programmes for government, regulator publications, media reports and parliamentary records. All such material has been obtained through the primary website of publication as per Table I. We should note that the period of analysis for this paper ends with the passing of the Water Services Act 2014, which was effective from 28 December, 2014. This Act included the charges to be paid by Irish households until 31 December, 2018.\nThe Irish Water story: From 1 October 2014, domestic water consumers in Ireland have to pay for water, initially on a flat rate basis. Longer term (see below), this will most likely be on a volumetric basis. To explore how this came about, we now outline the history of domestic water issues in Ireland. First, we summarise the situation pre-2010, which included previous failed attempts to charge domestic users, in effect the failure to create a calculative space. Second, we detail the period from 2010 to the introduction of water charges, first on 1 October 2014, with some modifications in late 2014. This period includes the formation of a new utility, Irish Water, which provides a centre of calculation that enables the creation of a calculative space. This is achieved through the assistance of the \"otherness\" of non-calculative space.\nDiscussion: As we utilise an ANT approach, thereby avoiding a distinction between \"description\" and \"explanation\" (Briers and Chua, 2001; Latour, 1991), in this section we provide some reflective comments. Specifically we return to reflecting upon the contribution of Callon and Muniesa (2005, p. 1245) to whether calculations are \"hegemonic\" as they are \"the only possibility for action\". The first subtlety that they add was in relation to there being a number of differing ways that calculations can be performed. Earlier, we problematised if it should matter whether or not water utilities are resourced through direct or indirect methods. We noted that in theory either model is adequate, but in practice if an indirect method is utilised, it is problematic due to the ability to subvert resourcing to other areas where more visible political gains can be made. After all, it has been argued that water is inherently political (Bakker, 2012). This was demonstrated in the section above in that the provision of water within Ireland suffered in terms of quality of supply through a lack of investment in infrastructure. We outlined how a government came to power in 1977 through the promise, which was delivered in 1978, to abolish domestic rates (which included an element of water charge). This was followed by two decades of water resourcing being a political hot potato. That is, for two decades various attempts to instil a direct resourcing method that aimed to address the shortcomings of the indirect method were undermined through politicians using the issue to gain their own \"ends\". Most importantly, with the dominance of the indirect model, there was a reliance on finding alternative sources for the funding for water services. Two relevant issues arise from this situation. The first is that the resources devoted to the provision of water from these alternative indirect sources were only sufficient to maintain the service levels already in place. This resulted in many issues - such as quality, infrastructure deterioration, and reliability - that threatened the ongoing ability to provide a sustainable water service. The second was that the indirect model became reliant on the sustaining of the alternative sources, such as placing a levy on the building industry. This worked well while the building industry continued to grow. However, with the beginning of the economic recession of 2007/2008 these alternative sources began to disappear. For instance, as the building industry contracted during the recession, the revenue the government received from the levy significantly decreased, meaning that the resourcing of water services also came under pressure.\nConcluding remarks: In this paper we have aimed to investigate how and why accounting concepts have been mobilised in the implementation of domestic water billing in Ireland and the effects they have in this process. We specifically track the efforts of successive Irish Governments to construct a calculative space and how this eventually resulted in the forming of a centre of calculation, Irish Water. Further, we have overviewed how the Irish Government utilised a strategy of proliferation - the assembling of many actors including the Troika, crumbling infrastructure, meters, MOU, new legislation, media releases, speeches, etc. - in attempts at the creation of a non-calculative space to \"other\" the calculative space they were constructing. The aim of this non-calculative space was to inhibit the ability for counter-actors to calculate. They utilised a strategy they thought would limit the possibility of counter-actors with anti-programmes to create counter-calculations that in the past had limited the ability of previous governments to implement domestic water billing. In effect, this is an example of what Callon and Law (2005, p. 731) note:And though we have not sought to show this here qualculation [calculation in its broadest sense] depends, reciprocally, on the absent presence of noncalculation; places and processes where matters are not summed up; places and processes where actions happen without the benefit of qualculation. Qualculation always discovers its limits.\n",
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},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how the Irish Government mobilised accounting concepts to assist in implementing domestic water billing. While such is commonplace in other jurisdictions and is generally accepted as necessary to sustain a water supply, previous attempts were unsuccessful and a political hot potato.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors use an actor-network theory inspired approach. Specifically, the concepts of calculative spaces and their \"otherness\" to non-calculative spaces are used to analyse how accounting concepts were mobilised and the effects they had in the introduction of domestic water billing. The authors utilise publically available documents such as legislation, programmes for government, regulator publications, media reports and parliamentary records in the analysis over the period from 1983 to late 2014.\nFindings: The analysis highlights how the implementation of domestic water billing involved the assembling of many divergent actors including the mobilisation of accounting concepts. Specifically the concept of \"cost\" became a contested entity. The government mobilised it in a conventional way to represent the resourcing of the water supply. Countering this, domestic water users associated \"cost\" with a direct impact on their own resources and lives. Thus, an entity usually associated with the economic realm was embroiled in political processes, with much of what they were supposed to represent becoming invisible. Thus the authors observed accounting concepts being mobilised to support the gaining of a specific political ends, the implementation of domestic billing, rather than as part of the means to implement a sustainable water supply within Ireland.\nResearch limitations/implications: This research has some limitations, one being the authors draw on secondary data. However, the research does provide a detailed base from which to continue to study a new water utility over time.\nOriginality/value: This study demonstrates the complications that can occur when accounting concepts are associated with gaining of a political ends rather than as a means in the process of trying to achieve a sustainable water supply. Further, the process saw the creation of a new utility, which is a rare occurrence in the developed world, and a water utility even more so; this study demonstrates the role accounting concepts can have in this creation.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Innovation performance of Italian manufacturing firms: The effect of internal and external knowledge sources
|
[
"Innovation performance",
"Bayesian structural equation modelling",
"Italian manufacture industry",
"Knowledge sources"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The Italian industry's production fell around one quarter after the 2008 crisis, whose impacts were especially felt in the manufacturing industry (Lucchese et al., 2016). Innovation is one of the main solutions for sustained growth (Christensen and Raynor, 2003) and, as Lucchese et al. (2016) evidenced, there is an important gap between Italian firms' R&D and their innovation results that is not being successfully filled by the country's industrial and innovation policies. However, the responsibility for filling this gap does not lie only with government, as most innovations occur inside firms (Fagerberg et al., 2006, p. 28). This implies that the firms' decisions about how to deal with the innovation process are decisive to improve their innovative success.\nLiterature review and hypotheses: The research on innovation in organizations has shown that several dimensions influence innovation outcomes. Ahuja et al. (2008) identified four dimensions that influence the innovation efforts and outputs: industry structure, firm's characteristics, intraorganization attributes, and institutional influence. R&D strategy is also one of the dimensions of the firm's characteristics since it defines the sources from where the firm will acquire knowledge to generate innovation. Therefore, the choice of R&D sources, internal and external, is central to a firm's IP, just as IP is central to a firm's financial performance.\nResearch methodology: Data source and sample\nResults and analysis: Table I presents some characteristics of the sample. They are presented for the full sample and separated for the high-tech and low-tech groups. As can be seen in Table I, most of the firms that executed innovation activities from 2008 to 2010 introduced at least one innovation (865 firms, or 96.3 percent), whereas 3.7 percent (33 firms) failed in introducing at least one innovation in the period. 95.7 percent of the low-tech firms and 97.2 percent of the high-tech firms had succeeded in the introduction of at least one innovation. From the firms that introduced an innovation, there is an equilibrium in the introduction of product and process innovation (722 or 83.5 percent of the firms introduced innovation from the first type and 718 or 83 percent, from the second type). Low-tech firms introduced more process innovation than product innovation (422 or 78.9 percent vs 400 or 74.8 percent). With the high-tech firms the opposite occurs, with 322 firms (88.7 percent) having introduced product innovation and 296 (81.5 percent), process innovation. Another characteristic highlighted in the table is the firms' turnover level. 38.7 percent of the firms (348 firms) are SMEs, considering a turnover criterion, that had an annual turnover of less than 50 million euros. The low-tech and high-tech firms have a very different distribution in this characteristic, with the former comprising 54.0 percent of SMEs (289 firms) and the latter comprising only 16.3 percent (59 firms).\nConclusion: This paper empirically explored the effects of internal and external sources of KS on the IP of Italian high-tech and low-tech manufacturing firms. Our sample of 898 Italian manufacturing firms of the CIS database, which devoted themselves to innovative activities during the period of 2008-2010 (535 low-tech firms and 363 high-tech firms), allowed us to reach some interesting conclusions. Product innovation is more important for high-tech firms than low-tech firms. This fact is revealed by the difference of turnover from new launched products (20.53 percent from high-tech vs 14.78 percent from low-tech). Although this can be a result of less success in the introduction of product innovation by the low-techs, most probably this evidence may have been provoked by differences in the innovation strategy of the firms, with low-tech firms privileging process innovation and high-tech firms privileging product innovation.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explain how internal and external sources of knowledge influence the innovation performance (IP) in Italian manufacturing firms and how different these relationships are for low-technology (LT) and high-technology (HT) firms.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study proposed a model relating external knowledge, internal knowledge and IP that was tested using Bayesian structural equation modeling with a sample of Italian manufacturing firms of Community Innovation Survey 2010. It was run separately for high-tech firms (including HT and medium-HT aggregations of manufacturing industries of NACE Rev. 2) and low-tech firms (including LT and medium-LT aggregations).\nFindings: The results showed a difference between high-tech and low-tech manufacturing firms in Italy. The investments to leverage internal knowledge sources are important for high-techs and not significant for low-techs. On the other hand, the level of external KS improves significantly the IP of low-techs and has a negative effect for high-techs. The level of absorptive capacity is central to improve the positive effect of the external knowledge on the IP for all firms, but it is still underdeveloped.\nOriginality/value: The effects of 2008 economic crisis hit the Italian manufacturing industry specifically hard and are still felt. Innovation is a solution for firms' growth and Italy is considered a below-average innovator country in Europe. The study could identify important gaps in Italian manufacturing firms that hinder their innovative performance improvement.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Emerging adulthood, sharing utilities and intention to use sharing services
|
[
"Utility",
"Sharing economy",
"Emerging adulthood",
"Access-based consumption",
"Social applications"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Academic researchers have begun the arduous task of understanding the relatively recent consumer trend of using versus owning products in a phenomenon referred to as, among other terms, a sharing economy, collaborative consumption, commercial sharing and access-based consumption (Jaakkola et al., 2015; Pera et al., 2016). Examples of sharing consumption include Zipcar and Uber, car-sharing; Airbnb, lodging rentals; Spotify, music-sharing; and Rent the Runway, clothing-sharing. As examples, according to the respective websites, Zipcar allows members to rent a car for 1 h to 7 days through an online app (www.zipcar.com); Uber users indicate a need for a ride through an online app, then wait to be picked up (www.Uber.com); and Rent the Runway offers designer clothing for rent through a monthly subscription or for specific clothing items (www.renttherunway.com). Various types of sharing systems have developed and proliferated in many industries, including the automotive, taxi, lodging, music and clothing and accessories industries, and is estimated to grow from $15bn in 2013 to $335bn in 2025 (Neumann, 2015).\nTheoretical and research background and hypotheses: The theory of access-based consumption\nMethod: Data collection and sample\nDiscussion: The goals of this study were to test Lamberton and Rose's (2012) commercial sharing utility model of the effects of various utilities on ABC use and, more importantly, to extend the model by examining the roles of EA and of online apps that make cost-sharing among friends more convenient. Thus, this study makes four significant contributions to the sharing economy literature by:\nManagerial implications: The findings from our study have several important implications for sharing services managers, mostly with regard to shareaids. For one, shareaids offer an opportunity for sharing companies to gain a competitive advantage and to possibly charge a premium price for sharing services for several reasons. Shareaids provide users with greater convenience utility by facilitating the purchase process among peers. In addition, as shareaids facilitate sharing among consumers, shareaid users will likely encourage others who share services to also use the shareaid app; thus, shareaids encourage users to recruit other users to the app.\nLimitations and future research: The generalizability of this study is limited by a number of factors, including its use of a relatively homogenous student sample, its survey methodology and other flaws normally associated with survey research including study measures and so on. While these study limitations affect the generalizability of results, the limitations also create opportunities for future research by using different methodologies such as experiments in the field or laboratory and the use of different measures. Because sharing services are used by consumers of differing demographic characteristics, future studies could also test for differences in ABC use based on differing sample characteristics such as non-EAs; nonstudents: consumers of different age groups, such as those under 18 years or over 50; and based on various income and education levels. Ethnicity and ethnic cross-over effects (Oyedele and Hernandez, 2017) in sharing services could also be examined in future studies. Ethnic cross-over occurs \"when a product that reflects the cultural experience of an ethnic minority group gains significant penetration among consumers outside the referent ethnic group\" (Grier et al., 2006, p. 36). In light of the globalization of sharing services, investigations of differences in sharing services by business model type across cultures are also needed.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This study aims to test Lamberton and Rose's (2012) commercial sharing utility model of access-based consumption use in three different contexts: car-sharing, room-sharing and household goods purchases. More importantly, this research extends the model by examining the effects of emerging adulthood as a life-stage on perceived value of social applications that facilitate and promote transaction utility, called shareaids.\nDesign/methodology/approach: A questionnaire designed to evaluate the effects of emerging adulthood and sharing utilities on intention to use sharing services was developed and administered to 345 respondents at a Midwestern US university. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling.\nFindings: Results indicate that flexibility utility had the strongest direct impact on intention to use sharing consumption while also having indirect effects in all contexts examined. The emerging adulthood life-stage was found to affect transaction utility and shareaids as predicted, and shareaids positively influenced consumers' perception of the social utility value of access-based consumption.\nResearch limitations/implications: The generalizability of this study is limited by its use of a student sample. Also, the study suffers from inherent limitations linked to self-reported survey research.\nPractical implications: Sharing services that have a strong social component could use shareaids to gain a competitive advantage. Examples of shareaid application include split bills for multiple payments to split fares among friends and social media transaction tools. Shareaid applications can enhance consumers' perception of social value and the overall shareability value of the sharing service.\nOriginality/value: This is the first known study to test the effects of emerging adulthood as a life-stage on perceived value of social applications that facilitate and promote transaction utility, called shareaids.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Corporate social responsibility from a "stakeholder view" perspective: CSR implementation by a Swiss mobile telecommunication provider
|
[
"Corporate social responsibility",
"Telecommunications",
"Switzerland",
"Case studies"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the following, we will focus on the micro-level of the thematic framework of this year's EABIS colloquium. Thereby we will introduce how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is implemented and managed at Orange[1] Communications AG in Switzerland (hereinafter OCH), one of the three largest mobile communications providers in Switzerland. OCH belongs to the firms we analyzed in our current research project \"Good Practices Stakeholder View\"[2] that is partly funded by EABIS. In a first part (1.1) we will show what CSR means for OCH and how it is managed and implemented.After this presentation, we will introduce the basics of the stakeholder view framework as it has been proposed by Post et al. (2002) including its criteria for identifying strategic stakeholders and its emphasis on wealth creation by increasing benefits and reducing risks for all involved stakeholders (1.2). Based on this framework, we claim not for an abstract social responsibility but for a corporate stakeholder responsibility that considers all stakeholders that (voluntarily or involuntarily) contribute to firm's wealth creation process. This stakeholder thinking and emphasis on wealth creation is in line with Edward Freeman's ideas presented at last year's EABIS conference in Gent (see Freeman, 2004).In the paper's second part, we will examine in section 2.1 - based on an analysis of OCH-documents - how the CSR implementation processes of OCH does match the recommendations of the stakeholder view framework. And finally (2.2), we will discuss the findings of applying the stakeholder view framework on the CSR implementation of OCH and draw implications for that company and management practice in general.1.1. Corporate social responsibility of OCH\n2. Application of the stakeholder view framework on OCH: 2.1. CSR of OCH from a stakeholder perspective\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this research is to show how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is actually implemented and managed in business practice by a mobile communications provider in Switzerland. Based on this presentation the paper aims to analyze whether this implementation in the firm is consistent or not, to the responsibilities derived from the stakeholder view framework as it has been proposed by Post et al. (2002).\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The goal of this investigation is twofold. From a theoretical perspective, the paper aims to find out if the stakeholder view framework is a suitable tool to assess a firm's practical efforts in the area of CSR. And from a practitioners perspective, the application of the stakeholder view framework may help in identifying \"blind spots\" whereby closing them could increase the firm's effectiveness concerning the implementation of their specific corporate responsibility.\nFindings: - Because of the empirical findings it is concluded that the application of the stakeholder responsibility framework yields interesting insights into how corporate responsibilities are managed from a stakeholder perspective.\nOriginality/value: - The paper ends by suggesting several recommendations for the further CSR implementation of the company analyzed and for business practice in general.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Fit preferences of female consumers in the USA
|
[
"Fashion design",
"Consumer behaviour",
"Clothing",
"Women",
"United States of America"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Numerous studies (Kurt Salmon Associates, 2000; Goldsberry et al., 1996; LaBat and DeLong, 1990; Shim and Bickle, 1994) indicate that fit in women's ready-to-wear (RTW) is problem for both the individual and the apparel industry. Though fit is an issue of primary importance, few studies exist in the public domain that examine fit from a consumer's perspective. LaBat and DeLong (1990) used body cathexis to explore satisfaction with fit. Bickle et al. (1995) explored satisfaction with the fit of women's jeans.Other researchers used expert evaluation and analysis of anthropometric data to understand issues surrounding consumer acceptance of fit. Ashdown and DeLong (1995) studied perception of apparel ease with a test set of computer-generated pants. Numerous studies have used computer-generated or custom-drafted patterns fit to individuals for fit evaluation by experts (Terry, 1968; Brackelsberg et al., 1986; Shen and Huck, 1993). Salusso-Deonier et al. (1985/1986) identified the importance of using an index of body form to develop a sizing system. However, there is little work addressing issues which may impact fit as expressed by consumers of women's apparel.With the refinement of body scanning, groups of women can be identified by body measurements. But beyond measurements, there is the individual issue of how women prefer garments to fit. Once women's fit preferences are identified they can be tracked and understood for target markets. Understanding fit preferences of individuals could lead to better sizing strategies for target markets. Combining fit preferences of consumers with their body shape profiles is a potential way to understand sizing development and increase fit satisfaction across consumer groups. Though researchers have studied satisfaction/dissatisfaction with fit, little research has been done concerning consumer preferences for fit of apparel in relation to body shape and body cathexis, and fit problems identified by consumers.Purpose of study\nReview of literature: Conceptual framework\nMethodology: Sampling and data collection\nResults and discussion: Demographic profile\nSummary and discussion: Fit of apparel is a major problem for women in the USA for a number of reasons:* sizing distributions are based on an out-dated set of body measurements;* size is not associated with a set of measurements readily available to the consumer;* most sizing is based on an hourglass or early pear-shaped figure; and* garment measurements within a size category are not consistent within or across manufacturers.Close to 50 percent of women in this study reported experiencing fit problems with RTW. Alexander (2003) and Kurt Salmon Associates (2000) also found that approximately 50 percent of the women in their studies could not find appropriately fitted apparel in the marketplace.When apparel did not fit women in this study, the fit problems were not associated with just one body area. Over two-thirds of the sample reported more than one body location where they experienced fit problems. And fit problems in one area, i.e. hip, were significantly related to fit problems in other areas like the thigh. The average number of fit problems was four. Fit appears to be a very complex issue which is not a matter of just increasing or decreasing the length or width of existing patterns.Changing demographics in the USA may also contribute to the issue of poor fit in RTW. The sample for this study (1,026 females) was balanced to US Bureau of the Census (1990) data in terms of Caucasian and Black ethnic groups with 84.3 percent and 8.9 percent. Hispanics were under-represented with only 2.3 percent in the sample, while recent indications are that Hispanics comprised 12 percent of the population in 2000 (Therrien and Ramirez, 2000). A more heterogeneous population with differing body sizes and shapes may also contribute to problems with fit.A greater difference than ethnicity may be based on changes in the measurements of women between the 1940s data for the current ASTM was gathered and current body measurements. The Center for Disease Control (2005) confirms that the US population is getting larger. The prevalence of obesity doubled between the NHANES II (1976-80) and NHANES 1999-2000 surveys. Though anthropologists and demographers study the effect of weight gain on women, little of that information has been applied to developing sizing that fits the current measurments for women in the USA. The sizing and grading system currently used in apparel product development begins with measurements based on one size and body shape. Garments are then graded up or down based on increments that maintain the shape of the garment as measurements increase/decrease. In this study the hourglass, pear and rectangular shapes were found in each of the age groupings. The hourglass figure was found slightly more often in the younger group of women. As women age, their is a tendency to gain weight and body shape is likely to change to a pear or rectangular shape to reflect this weight gain (Croney, 1971). In this study, garment tightness at several body locations (bust, waist, hip, thigh, upper arm and back width) was identified as a primary fit problem. There is a need to better understand body measurements in relation to body shape and the impact of weight gain in the USA on the fit of apparel.This study also examined preferences for fit of various types of garments (jackets, skirts, blouses, pants, jeans) based on line drawings of each garment category. Fit preferences tended to be consistent across all garment categories. Respondents who chose a fitted jacket were likely to select that same fit preference for other garment styles. Though a semi-fitted preference was the most common choice for fit preference for garment styles, the other half of the respondents were divided in their preference for either a fitted or loosely fitted garment. Fit is important to these consumers. Of those selecting a fitted preference, jackets, jeans, and pants were the most likely to be selected as fitted garments. Analysis indicated that significant relationships existed for body shape and fit preference in relation to body cathexis. Inverted triangular and hourglass body shapes were significantly different from rectangular and pear shaped bodies having higher body cathexis scores and preferring a greater number of fitted garment styles.Fit is a construct that is difficult to study because it may be defined differently by each individual. And multiple factors may contribute to an individual's preference for one degree of fit in a garment over a differing degree of fit in another style of garment. This study began to explore fit preference relative to body shape and body cathexis. Significant relationships were found that could help begin the process of understanding the psychological and physiological nuances of fit. This is a critical concept as emerging technology moves toward the use of body scan data to segment and customize pattern development. Beyond body measurements, product developers need to better understand the impact of components like body shape and body cathexis on personal fit preference in order to exactly fit target consumers and improve product sell-through. Storing and tracking body shape and size information in conjunction with fit preference over time would allow manufacturers to remain more up to date and knowledgeable regarding their target consumers' wants and needs as related to fit preferences.\nLimitations and recommendations: This study was conducted with a convenience sample of women ages 19-55. Additional samples should be examined and compared and contrasted for differences between ethnic populations. This would enable researchers to more closely investigate body shapes and body cathexis of consumers in different ethnic populations. The study should also be adapted to examine the fit preferences of men.In addition, this methodology involved a self-report of several variables. Items such as body measurements and body shape were subjective. Answers could be inaccurate because of respondents' lack of knowledge of their measurements or their desire to represent a more ideal figure for themselves. Using a verification of these elements by an additional means would help validate the results. Today's technology includes body scanning, which would enable researchers to have a more objective measurement of body shape and dimensions. Future research using body scans in conjunction with the questionnaire would verify body shapes and strengthen the relationship of body shape to garment preferences and feelings about the body.Though this was a large data set by some standards, some cells were too small to test for significance. Due to the fact that an inverted triangular shaped silhouette was so uncommon, some cells were unable to provide sufficient data for analysis. However, since this body shape reflected significantly different information in analysis, it would be beneficial for researchers to pursue further research incorporating more respondents with this body shape for comparisons and analysis.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The paper seeks to investigate fit preferences of female consumers in the USA based on the relationship between their fit preferences, body cathexis, fit problems, and personal profiles.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Female subjects (n=1,026) between the ages of 19 and 54 were asked to respond to a questionnaire that was mailed to subjects. The questionnaire was used to evaluate consumer fit preferences for individual garment categories (jackets, pants, skirts, blouses, and jeans) relative to respondents' personal profiles, body shape, and body cathexis. Terminology, fit issues, and elements of fit expressed as important to female consumers as identified in an initial focus group which was part of a larger study associated with this research were considered in development of the questionnaire.\nFindings: - Eighty percent of the sample reported two or more areas of the body where fit problems occurred. One-third of the respondents altered up to 25 percent of RTW. Semi-fitted preferences for clothing were reported most often. A significant relationship was found between women who scored high on the body cathexis scale and those who desired more fitted clothing. Body shapes were fairly evenly distributed among all age categories, except for the 19-35 year old respondents who were more likely to have an hourglass silhouette.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This methodology involved a self-report of several variables. Items such as body measurements and body shape were subjective. Answers could be inaccurate because of respondents' lack of knowledge of their measurements or their desire to represent a more ideal figure for themselves. Using 3D body scanning to verify body measurements and body shape could provide more accurate results.\nPractical implications: - The issue of the fit in apparel is critical for both industry and academia. Academia has traditionally examined fit based on expert analysis and is just beginning to investigate the importance of fit from the consumer's viewpoint. In the product development area, industry needs to be able to go beyond just body measurements to incorporate fit preferences based on categorical profiles of consumer groups.\nOriginality/value: - As a construct, fit is difficult to study. This paper identifies variables, constructs a stimulus and investigates women's preferences for fit in various garment categories.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Identifying high potentials early: case study
|
[
"Leadership development",
"Leadership potential",
"High-potential employee",
"Leadership talent"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Shortage of leadership talent is one of the greatest concerns for organizations today (e.g. Cappelli and Keller, 2017). To address the growing leadership gap, most companies implemented \"high-potential employee\" (HIPO) programs (Silzer and Church, 2010), intended to identify the most promising leadership candidates among their employees and develop them into effective leaders (Church and Rotolo, 2013; Collings and Mellahi, 2009; Silzer et al., 2016). Companies deem such initiatives their top strategic priority (Corporate Leadership Council, 2005, 2011; PWC, 2012) and regard HIPOs as an important source of competitive advantage and sustainability (Bush et al., 2016; Casio and Boudreau, 2016; Mellahi and Collings, 2010; McDonnell, 2011).\nMethod: This case study is focused on a new grad program implemented by a Canadian division of a large multinational manufacturer and distributor of food products. We do not elaborate on this thin description of the organization to ensure anonymity and refer to it simply as the company. We only add that the company has substantial experience with identifying and developing leaders through its well-established \"high potential\" employee program for its managerial employees.\nDiscussion: This study describes a unique initiative by one company to recruit fourth-year university students, whom it considers most promising in terms of leadership potential, and fast-track them into leadership roles. New Grads are designated \"high potentials\" and \"future leaders\" prior to onboarding, quickly rotated through frontline positions as part of their training, provided with support and mentorship and then moved into management roles.\nImplications: Our research suggests three considerations for practice. First, it takes time to develop and refine an early-stage leadership program. Not all practices used in traditional HIPO programs are directly transferable. An early-stage leadership program must be constantly monitored and augmented. However, if such programs are properly developed, they can represent a great opportunity to enhance leadership capacity.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Driven by a shortage of leadership capacity, companies are seeking to identify leadership talent earlier. Some companies are introducing programs to identify leadership potential among university students and then hire \"high potentials\" directly into management designate roles. The purpose of this paper is to explore one such early-stage leadership development program. Currently, little information is available about these initiatives.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Case study based on interviews with 18 managers and director of HR and archival employee records.\nFindings: This case study provides a detailed description of an early-stage leadership identification and development program. This program has been developed to identify leadership talent among senior university students prior to hiring and onboarding, provide support, training and development and fast-track them into leadership positions. The study provides insight into the challenges and effectiveness of an early-stage leadership program and offers some practical implications.\nOriginality/value: To the author's knowledge, this is the first study to document a leadership development program that identifies \"high potentials\" among university students for the purpose of developing them into company leaders.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Effects of addition of Kappaphycus alvarezii on physicochemical properties and lipid oxidation of mechanically deboned chicken meat (MDCM) sausages
|
[
"Lipid oxidation",
"Mechanically deboned chicken meat",
"Physicochemical properties",
"Sausage",
"Seaweed"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Meat and meat products are a major component of food in developed countries as it is a source of protein, minerals and vitamins (Jimenez-Colmenero et al., 2001). Major changes in socioeconomic conditions are driving an increasing interest in instant/fast food products such as fried chicken, burgers and pizzas (Murray and Lopez, 1996). Unfortunately, these food products are almost universally inferior food choices as they are high in undesirable nutrients such as fats, sugar, salt, cholesterols and solid fats, but lack complex carbohydrates (Lopez-Vargas et al., 2014). In recent years, the demand for healthier meat products has increased (Thornton, 2010). One of the most important strategies is to design foods with a reduced concentration of certain unhealthy compounds (fat and sodium) and to increase the presence of healthy compounds (Arihara, 2006; Fernandez-Gines et al., 2004).\n2. Materials and methods: 2.1 Chemicals\n3. Results and discussion: 3.1 Texture profile analysis\n4. Conclusion: The addition of KA improved the texture properties of MDCM sausages in terms of hardness, cohesiveness and chewiness (p<0.05). No significant differences were observed in adhesiveness and springiness (p>0.05). Moreover, the addition of KA increased the WHC of MDCM sausages (p<0.05) and reduced water loss (p<0.05). Furthermore, the addition of KA reduced lipid oxidation (p<0.05). As a conclusion, the addition of KA can potentially enhance the quality of MDCM sausages by improving certain physicochemical properties and lowering the lipid oxidation.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine both the physicochemical properties and lipid oxidation of sausages made from mechanically deboned chicken meat (MDCM) and the edible seaweed, Kappaphycus alvarezii (KA).\nDesign/methodology/approach: Four different sausage formulations were produced with different formulations containing 0(KA0), 2 (KA2), 4 (KA4) and 6 per cent (KA6) of KA.\nFindings: Results have shown that the addition of KA increased the hardness and chewiness parameters, water holding capacity, redness (a*-value) and the pH value of the MDCM sausages (p<0.05). The adhesiveness, cohesiveness and springiness of all formulations showed no significant differences (p>0.05). The addition of KA reduced the cooking loss of MDCM sausages (p<0.05). However, the addition of KA made the sausages darker (lower L*-value) (p<0.05). Furthermore, the addition of KA aided in the reduction of lipid oxidation in the MDCM sausages when they were refrigerated at a temperature of 4degC for 12 days. The MDCM sausages that contained KA had lower two-thiobarbituric acid test values compared to the control sample (p<0.05) during the 12 days of storage at 4degC.\nOriginality/value: The addition of KA seaweed can potentially produce better quality MDCM sausages in terms of physicochemical properties and reduce the rate of lipid oxidation.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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Coverage of organic agriculture in North American newspapers: Media: linking food safety, the environment, human health and organic agriculture
|
[
"Organic foods",
"Agriculture",
"Safety",
"Newspapers",
"Information media"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: A visit to a North American grocery store or farmers' market reveals an increasing presence of organic food products. Organic foods are generally defined as those grown, raised, and processed without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and without the use of growth hormones and genetic engineering (GE). What differentiates these products from their conventional counterparts, and whether organics are superior in providing health and environmental benefits, are important questions to consumers.\nMethodology: Media sample\nResults: A total of 618 stories reporting on or referencing organic food and organic agriculture was collected from the five media outlets over the six-year time period. The AP accounted for the majority (43.9 percent) of stories used in analysis. Einsiedel (1992) determined in her analysis of 2,303 Canadian newspaper stories that nearly 60 percent originated from American news wire services. The Globe (18.4 percent), Post (18.6 percent), and Times (16.0 percent) provided similar numbers of stories while the Record contributed the fewest stories (3.1 percent).Timing\nDiscussion: This study of media articles supports previous research that suggested public awareness of environmental topics has helped draw attention to issues concerning food production and organic agriculture in particular. It was determined that organic agriculture was often portrayed in the media as an alternative to allegedly unsafe and environmentally damaging modern agriculture practices - organic was defined by what it is not, rather than what it is. The National Post, for instance, published an article in 2002 about a report by Environmental Defence Canada, which had interpreted food safety data from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and found that many products such as maple syrup and eggs did not meet safety standards. The article stated that, \"to avoid health problems, Mary McGrath, the group's director of research, suggested consumers consider purchasing organic or ecologically grown produce\" (Sokoloff, 2002). Such unsubstantiated comments have become endemic in media coverage of all things organic.The stories examined in this analysis frequently suggested organic production was void of many of the challenges faced by large-scale, modern agriculture, including pesticide residue, mad cow disease, and GE. For example, a New York Times report on a Consumer Reports analysis of pesticide levels in domestic US produce spurred debate on the safety of pesticide residues: \"In addition to choosing foods with lower levels of toxicity, pesticide exposure can be reduced by peeling produce and by buying organically grown fruits and vegetables\" (Burros, 1999).Of the themes health, safety, and environment, food safety was the least important in the discussion of organic agriculture in the media. In media stories, the theme of food safety and organic food was counted only 48 times compared to 78 times for health and 62 times for environment. This lower level of reporting could be explained by the fact that health and environment have historically been larger drivers in the organic food industry. The finding that 50 percent of food safety-themed statements in news articles was positive with respect to organic agriculture, while 81 percent of health-themed statements and 90 percent of environment-themed statements were positive towards organic food, indicates an uncritical press. USDA has repeatedly stated that the organic standard is a verification of production methods and not a food safety claim:National standards for organic food will be released soon, and they will make clear that such products are not safer or more nutritious than conventional products, agriculture secretary Dan Glickman says (Brasher, 2000).\nComparison of media results to published research: Like many Canadians - to judge by the booming growth of the organic food industry - I am increasingly suspicious of regular food (Pearson, 2002).This quote, as it appeared in The National Post, illustrates a consumer fear of food, which is one of the main drivers propelling the organic and natural food industry. The question of whether or not this fear of food is substantiated by scientific research remains to be answered. This section will draw attention to the similarities and differences between media reporting and the body of scientific agricultural research on organic production, safety, nutrition, and environmental impact.Health and nutrition\nConclusions: Of the representative North American media outlets studied, stories that painted a positive picture of organic agriculture comprised more than one-third of all the stories analyzed. With mass media being more important than research journals for informing the general public on such scientific issues (Einsiedel, 1992; Marks et al., 2003), this result suggests that the positive reporting of organic production may have influenced consumer purchases, helping to account for the fast expansion of the organic food market. It may also be the case, albeit to a lesser extent, that this positive reporting is also influenced by consumer behaviour in this industry: the more people buy organic products, the more attention the mass media focus on the topic. The second greatest number of stories focussed on \"organic culture,\" including the opening of new organic grocery stores or the introduction of organic products into existing supermarkets. These stories were more likely than those that discussed farming methods to place a positive spin on the topic of organic agriculture, possibly due to the concentration of urban readers who are disconnected from farming life. In either case, more effort is required of news reporters to use published research and provide a less biased account of the organic industry. Based on the results of this study, media reporting on the subject is projected to continue increasing.This research has also shown that the scientific literature includes studies that highlight both benefits and drawbacks of organic food and agriculture. However, the coverage of health, safety, and environmental issues is not equal. To date, there has been a greater attention on the risks associated with pesticide residues than with microbial contamination. With pathogenic E. coli and other pathogens linked to an estimated 11-13 million cases of foodborne illnesses in Canada each year (Majowicz et al., 2004) and increasing numbers of those being associated with fresh produce, this attention is likely to continue shifting away from pesticides. More research is needed in the areas of manure and compost use to increase awareness of the risk of microbial contamination from these resources and help both organic and conventional producers grow fruits and vegetables safely.Coverage of these food topics in both the media and scientific literature is helping the public, researchers, and policy makers to ask questions about how their food is grown. Fewer divisions between the ideologies of organic and conventional production may help focus research efforts on finding the best practices that benefit all of agriculture. It would also stimulate more meaningful discussions at the consumer level about overall healthfulness, safety, and environmental implications of food selections rather than continued debate about pesticide residues and vitamin content of organic and non-organic products. Further research on these issues could include surveying newspaper readers in Canada for their interpretation of news articles concerning organic food and agriculture, and how such articles influence food choices at the grocery store or farm market.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The project explored the ways in which the topics of organic food and agriculture are discussed in representative North American media outlets in reference to food safety, environmental concerns, and human health.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Articles from five newspapers were collected and coded using the content analysis technique and analyzed for topic, tone, and theme.\nFindings: - For a six-year time period, 618 articles on organic food and organic agriculture are analyzed and the prominent topics are found to be genetic engineering, pesticides, and organic farming. Articles with a neutral tone with respect to organic agriculture and food accounted for 41.4 percent of the articles, while positively toned articles garnered 36.9 percent. The themes human health, food safety, and environmental concerns were discussed with positive reference to organic food and agriculture in 81, 50, and 90 percent, respectively, of comments pulled from the articles.\nPractical implications: - Analysis of these articles over time, between media outlets and by topic allows for understanding of media reporting on the subject and provides insight into the way the public is influenced by news coverage of organic food and agriculture.\nOriginality/value: - Research that analyzes media coverage for how it portrays the topic of organic food and organic agriculture with respect to health, food safety, and environmental concern, and concludes that articles about organic production in the selected time period are seldom negative.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Managerial workarounds in three European DRG systems
|
[
"Germany",
"Italy",
"England",
"DRG",
"Diagnostic related group",
"Managerial workaround"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: Many attempts to increase healthcare providers' efficiency and contain the growth of costs have included a policy of paying healthcare providers through a Diagnostic Related Group (DRG) system. In practice that has involved managerial workarounds at the payer-provider interface. Unlike clinical and IT workarounds, managerial workarounds at organisational and inter-organisational level have seldom been analysed. This paper's original contribution is to extend the concept of workaround for application to managerial activities. It exposes some implications for health policy, including the transformation of health systems by means of DRG payment systems. First we abstract the generic characteristics, antecedents and consequences attributed to workarounds at work-process level. Next we infer what the corresponding characteristics, antecedents and consequences would be, for managerial activity. We then apply that conceptualisation empirically to analyse data about DRG payment systems for hospitals in England, Germany and Italy. The policy rationales and consequences of these three DRG systems are more widely reported than the managerial workarounds which help them operate, so we also add that analysis to the empirical literature. In light of our empirical findings, we refine and adjust our initial conceptualisation of managerial workarounds. We conclude that research into health system transformation, policy conflicts and implementation deficits can be made more nuanced and diagnostic by adding the concept of the 'managerial workaround' to the analytic and diagnostic repertoire.\n1. Background: 1.1 The prototype: work-process workarounds\n2. Research questions: Using data about three DRG systems we therefore consider:To what extent is the concept of 'managerial workaround' capable of empirical application, particularly to inter-organisational relationships between payers and providers?Insofar as it is applicable:What are the characteristics of such managerial workarounds?What antecedents or circumstances motivate them?What does the concept of 'managerial workaround' imply for health policy analysis, hence policy formulation?\n3. Methods: 3.1 Research design\n4. Findings: Space limitations compel us mostly to narrate rather than quote the informants' data. Fuller details, including many quotations from interview audio-recordings, are however in the research report available from the authors. 4.1 System settings and policy problems\n5. Discussion: Across the three countries, essentially the same managerial workarounds of the DRG system emerged. They had no statutory basis, but were enacted collectively and by explicit negotiation. Insofar as payer-provider negotiations are inherent to a DRG system, the aforementioned workarounds might be regarded as an example of managers extending an official inter-organisational structure and informational resources for additional uses, that is, system planning and cost control. They exploited and stretched managerial discretion. The DRG workarounds did not much alter or supplement what organisational-level or inter-organisational monitoring data the managers received, but payer managers did make additional, non-standard uses of boundary objects (contracts, spreadsheets, etc.) and so widened the possible range of managerial responses to those data. In England and Germany, these and other workarounds were used to develop and support emerging inter-provider care networks for providing integrated care. However, these managerial workarounds did not have all the characteristics that our initial conceptualisation predicted. They added rather than removed warning systems and activity over-rides and increased rather than reduced managerial work. They did not involve alternative diagnostic typologies, nor fudging or re-negotiating diagnostic codes. Neither insufficient resources or time for managerial work, nor its over-complexity, motivated the workarounds reported earlier. Neither did any threat to managers' occupational interests. Given a policy mandate for cost control, the workarounds attenuated what payers foresaw (and sometimes experienced) as perverse consequences of the DRG system, in the absence of official organisational structures or systems for controlling or mitigating these consequences.These findings have various limitations and caveats. We report DRG workarounds only for three European systems. However, DRG system modifications similar to those we investigated have been reported (or rather, mentioned briefly) in studies of Austria, Greece (Polyzos et al., 2013), Ireland, Portugal, Spain (Catalonia), Sweden, Poland (Kowalska, 2007) and parts of the United States (Cutler and Ghosh, 2012). Other writers report the 'bundling' of patient episodes, meaning the workaround described earlier which 'bundles' together the payments for the multiple patients in the same DRG group. Others, especially in the United States but also, for example, in the Netherlands (Bakker et al., 2012), use the term 'bundle' differently to mean combining all the different DRG payments for one individual patient who receives multiple treatments, perhaps from multiple providers, similar to the NHS 'year of care' model described earlier. Although we focused on hospitals, DRG-like systems are increasingly being applied to non-hospital services. In many countries DRGs coexist with non-DRG or pre-DRG systems (Cots et al., 2011). If workarounds emerge from particular local health system settings, our findings may also reflect a specific stage in DRG-system development, perhaps one that will pass. We have reported how payers managed DRGs at inter-organisational level and in light of broad health policy aims, rather than more technical DRG development such as a new ICD, groupers, provider cost accounting systems, ways of converting DRG tariffs into money prices or modelling methods. Neither have we considered how hospital competition may affect DRG workarounds. We selected payers whose DRG systems were well-developed in terms of their managerial systems, extent and intensity of DRG use. If this selection did bias our findings (which is not obvious), the bias would be towards reporting the most extensive and elaborate managerial workarounds in each DRG system. Healthcare is not the only sector that incubates managerial workarounds (Ledeneva, 2009). Synthesising our findings with those from elsewhere would refine the conceptualisations proposed earlier.\n6. Conclusion: managerial workarounds as diagnostic - and remedial?: Nevertheless, this study adds several things to existing knowledge. One is additional evidence about the internal workings of DRG systems in three health systems, in particular a workaround which is often noticed but seldom deeply examined. So far as we are aware, no other study develops the concept of a 'managerial workaround', tests it empirically or explains how managerial workarounds occur. In motivation, means and consequences, managerial workarounds differ from most forms of policy-practice gap reported in the implementation literature. Managers' motivation was not to make the DRG system do something other than policymakers intended, as happens when non-managers 'capture' a policy or when policy goal displacement (Abramson, 2009) occurs. Neither did the present workarounds arise from managers failing to understand how to enact the DRG policy, nor from policy ambiguity or mis-specification, for DRG systems are clearly specified and highly formalised. Rather the opposite: those making the workarounds intended to achieve policymakers' aims more fully and despite (in this case) some of the incentives arising from the commodified character of DRGs. Their motivation was not primarily symbolic (e.g. external image management, increasing managerial power over clinicians) as institutionalist theory might suggest but concrete and practical (in this case, cost control, case mix and referral planning). It was remedy not resistance.As means to realise these intentions, the managerial workarounds reported here, like work-process workarounds generally, go beyond passive non-implementation, shortcuts (Lalley and Malloch, 2010) or just exercising discretion within the structures that a given policy creates. They extended the structures that DRG policy introduced. Because these extensions were formalised, impersonal and stable, they were capable of becoming normalised (May and Finch, 2009), over time, as permanent inter-organisational structures. These developments were indeed emergent, but from conflicts between policy goals (stimulating hospital activity versus cost control) not conflicts between interest groups or conflicting implementation structures for a single policy. Consequently the managerial workarounds 'decoupled' organisations' actual work processes only in a specific, restricted way from those organisations' formal structures and external image presentation (Covaleski et al., 1993). Managers' work practices were only decoupled from DRGs' policy-defeating consequences, not from the normative foundations of the DRG system. Hence, the managerial workarounds described here should not necessarily be dismissed (as policy-practice gaps often are) as implementation failures. Rather, they were implementation repairs.Our findings suggest that a widespread managerial workaround may therefore be a response to policy incoherence. The workarounds that we report appear to be symptomatic of design problems with DRGs, and therefore DRG systems, at a basic level. What motivated the DRG workarounds was the practical incompatibility of two policy objectives. One was DRGs' market conformity. DRGs were designed as a commodified payment system (payment per episode of care) to incentivise providers to increase activity (and on some definitions, 'efficiency'). The other objective was system-wide cost control. To remove that underlying incompatibility would require policy shifts, but the managerial workarounds themselves may suggest what shifts. The workarounds described earlier produced provider contracts that retained the informational strengths of DRGs, made providers' expected incomes and case mix transparent and uniformly defined across providers, while also defining the payers' care costs prospectively and constituting a means of cost control for both payers and providers. The managerial workaround converted DRG payments into a specific kind of flexible, weakly incentivised global ('block') contract system, a hybrid system for assembling flexible global budgets from estimates of patient-level activity and DRG payments.Health policy researchers who discover pervasive, non-trivial managerial workarounds might therefore consider them a prompt to investigate further whether that discovery is symptomatic, in turn, of inconsistent policy objectives, or of a conflict between those objectives and the organisational structures intended to realise them, but also whether the workarounds themselves may contain solutions to these problems.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Attempts to transform health systems have in many countries involved starting to pay healthcare providers through a DRG system, but that has involved managerial workarounds. Managerial workarounds have seldom been analysed. This paper does so by extending and modifying existing knowledge of the causes and character of clinical and IT workarounds, to produce a conceptualisation of the managerial workaround. It further develops and revises this conceptualisation by comparing the practical management, at both provider and purchaser levels, of hospital DRG payment systems in England, Germany and Italy.\nDesign/methodology/approach: We make a qualitative test of our initial assumptions about the antecedents, character and consequences of managerial workarounds by comparing them with a systematic comparison of case studies of the DRG hospital payment systems in England, Germany and Italy. The data collection through key informant interviews (N = 154), analysis of policy documents (N = 111) and an action learning set, began in 2010-12, with additional data collection from key informants and administrative documents continuing in 2018-19 to supplement and update our findings.\nFindings: Managers in all three countries developed very similar workarounds to contain healthcare costs to payers. To weaken DRG incentives to increase hospital activity, managers agreed to lower DRG payments for episodes of care above an agreed case-load 'ceiling' and reduced payments by less than the full DRG amounts when activity fell below an agreed 'floor' volume.\nResearch limitations/implications: Empirically this study is limited to three OECD health systems, but since our findings come from both Bismarckian (social-insurance) and Beveridge (tax-financed) systems, they are likely to be more widely applicable. In many countries, DRGs coexist with non-DRG or pre-DRG systems, so these findings may also reflect a specific, perhaps transient, stage in DRG-system development. Probably there are also other kinds of managerial workaround, yet to be researched. Doing so would doubtlessly refine and nuance the conceptualisation of the 'managerial workaround' still further.\nPractical implications: In the case of DRGs, the managerial workarounds were instances of 'constructive deviance' which enabled payers to reduce the adverse financial consequences, for them, arising from DRG incentives. The understanding of apparent failures or part-failures to transform a health system can be made more nuanced, balanced and diagnostic by using the concept of the 'managerial workaround'.\nSocial implications: Managerial workarounds also appear outside the health sector, so the present analysis of managerial workarounds may also have application to understanding attempts to transform such sectors as education, social care and environmental protection.\nOriginality/value: So far as we are aware, no other study presents and tests the concept of a 'managerial workaround'. Pervasive, non-trivial managerial workarounds may be symptoms of mismatched policy objectives, or that existing health system structures cannot realise current policy objectives; but the workarounds themselves may also contain solutions to these problems.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
As good as new - valuing fashion brands in the online second-hand markets
|
[
"Fashion marketing",
"Customer value",
"Perceived value",
"Online marketing",
"Second-hand"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Second-hand markets represent an interesting and growing arena for consumers to buy and sell brands. Online fashion sales in particular have gained ground in recent years, in terms of both business-to-consumers (BtoC) and consumers-to-consumers (CtoC). The latter is evidenced by the growth in the number of, for example, Facebook flea markets, which have thousands of members in Finland alone. This paper focuses on the little researched area of second-hand markets from the viewpoint of the perceived value of brands. Even though the main interest of brand managers lies in what happens in BtoC markets, it should be borne in mind that customers are not always buying products for themselves, but instead may be considering future uses of the product and its resale value. Quality and durability are among the key criteria for many people when buying clothes, even if they do not have any further interest in the cycle of consumption. Therefore, consumers are ever more interested in hearing and reading about the brand experiences and opinions of their fellow consumers. This makes it worthwhile for a brand manager to listen to what consumers think of the quality of brands that they have used and how they evaluate the resale value of such goods.\nLiterature review: Value creation is a widely discussed topic in the marketing literature (Holbrook, 1999; Desarbo et al., 2001; Gale, 1994; Ravald and Gronroos, 1996; Nilson, 1992; Yang and Peterson, 2004). Perceived value can be regarded as the \"consumer's overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perceptions of what is received and what is given\" (Zeithaml, 1988, p. 14). Thus, the consumer plays a pivotal role in the creation of value. In essence, a brand can only make a value offering to consumers, but cannot decide to what extent the value of the brand is realized subjectively by the consumers (Merz et al., 2009). The value for a consumer can emerge prior to purchase, at the moment of purchase, in actual use of the product and after its use (Sanchez-Fernandez et al., 2006).\nMethodology: Data for this study were collected from several Facebook forums established for flea markets in Finland. The Finnish context may be limited in terms of making generalizations, but it offers an interesting view on a marketplace in which frugality has been traditionally considered a virtue (Huttunen and Autio, 2010). In general, the purchasing power of Finnish consumers is relatively high, and the retail market is well developed; consumers are not limited to low-priced options, but have the freedom to choose from different alternatives in the market. Second-hand markets are growing in Finland, which is also evident when looking at the steady increase in the number of new members within a one-year period in each of the flea markets analyzed in this study (Table I). Besides physical flea markets and vintage shops, online flea markets are booming. To reach larger audiences, even vintage shops (BtoC) are extending their sales online. In the CtoC market, more internet platforms are available for selling and buying online; examples include the auction site huuto.net and online flea market tori.fi. Diverse auction and online flea market platforms also exist internationally, such as Ebay, which is also used in Finland. On these diverse online platforms, you can buy and sell if you create a profile on that specific internet site. In this study, we chose to concentrate on flea market groups created on Facebook. Mutual trust is a common feature of these flea market groups; one has to be accepted into the group and sell and buy via one's own Facebook profile (including name and picture). This procedure is built on the premise that buyers and sellers participate in the transactions in earnest. Each flea market group also has administrator(s) who ensure(s) that everyone follows the rules. Administrators are consumers (also sellers and buyers in the group) who have a passion and personal interest toward these fashion goods and brands. They are volunteers and do not get any benefits or income from serving as administrators.\nFindings: Content analysis of the online flea markets yielded six antecedents of the perceived value. These highlight that the perceived value is negotiated diversely in the context of online flea markets for fashion goods. Perceived quality, price, design, brand availability, origin and authenticity will be discussed next in detail.\nDiscussion and conclusions: This study was set to shed light on how consumers determine the perceived value of fashion brands in online flea markets. First, it was concluded in the literature review that the perceived value is a multifaceted construct, which is relative in nature because of its subjectivity and context-dependency. The CtoC second-hand context has its peculiarities in comparison with the traditional retail setting for fashion brands. Yet, it appears as versatile when it comes to different antecedents of the consumer-perceived value. In the online second-hand sales of fashion, we suggest that consumers perceive and determine the value of fashion brands through six antecedents: quality, price, design, brand availability, origin and authenticity. Especially, the call for authentic goods on sale and the pre-used condition of fashion goods are to be taken into account to understand the rationale behind the antecedents of the customer-perceived value in this study's context.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Brand management and marketing have focused on brand-new goods, thus largely neglecting the emergence of markets for used products. This study sheds light on how consumers determine the perceived value of fashion brands in online flea markets. In addition, this study aims to illustrate how fashion brands are perceived when sold second-hand in Facebook flea markets.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Empirical data, consisting of internet discussions, were collected for this study from seven Facebook flea market forums between Fall 2014 and Fall 2015. The discussions were analyzed by means of qualitative content analysis.\nFindings: In the context of flea markets, the perceived value is negotiated and evaluated through six antecedents: perceived quality, price, design, origin, authenticity and brand availability. Not surprisingly, price and quality appear as focal aspects when determining the value of a used brand in second-hand markets. However, the aspects of availability, origin and design complicate the considerations of the perceived value and can distinguish between different flea markets for fashion brands. In online second-hand markets for fashion brands, the passing of time appears to be an important factor grounding the consumers' considerations of the perceived value.\nOriginality/value: This study brings forward novel viewpoints to brand marketing by discussing the formation of the consumer-perceived value in the growing field of online second-hand sales of fashion brands.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Managerial framework for bank advertising
|
[
"Financial services",
"Advertising",
"Bank",
"FCB grid",
"Informational and emotional appeal",
"Pollay’s appeal"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The financial service industry spends a significant amount of money on advertising; in 2016, US banks spent $17.1bn on advertising and marketing (EMI, 2017). The effectiveness of advertisement - using the right appeal - is more important than ever. It is generally accepted that effective advertising combines a rational appeal with an emotional value (Belch and Belch, 2003); however, how customers process the information depends on several variables. People are more interested in informational appeals when the likelihood of elaboration is high because the central route of information processing needs thoughtful consideration. People are more attracted by emotional appeals when the likelihood of elaboration is low because they want to simplify the information process using a peripheral route. The most important variable that affects the likelihood of message-elaboration could be the personal relevance/involvement of the message (Petty and Cacioppo, 1986). Besides the messages, financial service ads used to disclosed a substantial amount of information regarding the products. However, a number of cognitive limitations can lead to the inability of the consumers to process complex information, specific for the financial service decisions. For example, the financial service consumer may rely only on a subset of product-information, and often on a single attribute in purchasing decisions. Furthermore, customers can face short-term memory overload due to complex information processing. In addition, there are frequently occurring biased perceptions and evaluations of the risk level or the time value of the money in the decision process (Estelami, 2009). In these circumstances, it is quite challenging for the advertisers to formulate appropriate messages for the financial service customer.\nLiterature review: Service advertising\nData and methodology: Content analysis is a widely used method to reveal advertising strategy patterns; it provides a structured technique to explore the message and creative strategy of advertisements. Among the advertising tools, the content analysis of printed ads from newspapers and magazines is especially widely used in advertising research (Albers-Milles and Gelb, 1996; Albers-Miller and Stafford, 1999a, b; Cheong et al., 2010; Pineda et al., 2015; Mogaji et al., 2018) due to the existence of printed newspaper archives, in order to provide accurate longitudinal data.\nResults and discussion: The content analysis of the 1,514 ads revealed the use of 2,534 appeals. This means that, on average, each ad contained 1.67 appeals. The study shows that the following ten appeals are specific to bank advertising, each representing at least 3 percent from the total appeals used: \"affiliation,\" \"cheap,\" \"convenient,\" \"distinctive,\" \"effective,\" \"enjoyment,\" \"nurturance,\" \"productivity,\" \"safety\" and \"wisdom.\" The first ten appeals represent 86 percent of the total appeals used. In the sample, a total of 12 informational and 18 transformational appeals were identified from Pollay's list of 42 (Table IV).\nConclusions and managerial implications: This research identified special appeals for financial services with a different level of involvement and for corporate branding in order to increase the effectiveness of bank advertisements. The study is based on content analysis of advertisements belonging to 40 banks from Romania and 22 banks from Hungary published in national magazines between 2006 and 2014. The study tested the match between banks' practices and the theory grounded in the FCB grid advertisement planning. The results offer new theoretical contributions in advertising research and clear managerial guidelines in planning bank advertisements.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to create a managerial framework for selecting the most effective bank advertisement appeal for different financial services. Financial services were classified based on the FCB grid: high/low involvement and think/feel decision.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The data were collected from 62 banks with content analysis based on 1,514 unique print advertisements, published between 2006 and 2014 in national newspapers in Romania and Hungary. The ads were coded, based on Pollay's appeals, and then a cluster analysis was performed to identify appeal and financial service clusters.\nFindings: The results revealed ten bank-specific appeals which can be used for advertising four different banking services categories. All type of savings and loans for B2B are advertised with quality appeals (safety, productivity); current account and card, personal/home loans are advertised with financial value appeals (convenient, cheap); corporate branding with emotional appeals (affiliation, distinctive, enjoyment); and services with mixed appeals.\nResearch limitations/implications: The study could be extended for different target market, creative strategy, other media and more countries.\nPractical implications: The paper provides guidelines on how the FCB grid could be extended for bank services to recommend specific appeals for each category.\nOriginality/value: The financial service literature proposes guidelines regarding bank advertisements. However, the recommended advertisement appeals were not linked to different bank services. This paper creates a comprehensive managerial framework in order to match the bank's specific appeals with different bank services.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The social and technological origins of the information society: An analysis of the crisis of control in England, 1830-1900
|
[
"History",
"Railways",
"Bureaucracy",
"Standardization"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nThe theory of the control revolution: In his book The Control Revolution: Technological and Economic Origins of the Information Society, James Beniger (1986) proposed the argument that the American industrial revolution brought about a crisis of control due to the unprecedented rapidity of production and transportation across the country and around the world. Beniger makes a strong case that this new technology was operating in a society which did not have the structure to support it. Consequently, this brought about innovations in economic, technological, and processing control. These innovations, he argues, were the basis for microprocessors, computers and digital technologies with which the USA, and most of the developed world, is now living as we enter the twenty-first century.Beniger's theory has not, however, ever been critically applied to parts of the world other than the USA. Warner (2000) has referred to the concept, but also concluded that it was nineteenth century America, as opposed to any other nation, that was dominant in the development of dissemination and speed of new types of information and technology. This paper argues that this premise is also particularly valid with regard to England, and attempts to see if it can be translated into a general theory for the origins of the global information society, or whether it is indeed unique to the USA.The view of many in the information science field is that the so-called \"information revolution\" is a relatively new development of the last 50 years or so (Bell, 1973; Haywood, 1995; Oppenheim, 1996; Castells, 2000). By restricting the field and history of the discipline in this way, much of the potential to understand this field of study has been impeded. Recent thought such as Warner (2000) supports this argument, although his work focuses more on technology itself rather than the social context it was operating within. This research hopes to demonstrate that information science should not be restricted to the years after the computer and development of such technologies, but that the origins of the \"information society\" as we know it in 2005 can be traced back to the societal, structural and organisational implications of the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century.\nThe wider context: While historical interpretations of the industrial revolution and contemporary analysis on the information age abound, they are two largely distinct and separate research areas[1]. This work takes up where most historical interpretations of the industrial revolution end, and before most analysis of the digital era begin. That is, it will not examine the causes of change in the early 1800s, nor will it examine the actual discovery of the new technology. It is concerned with the periods after the first innovations, and the impact they had in terms of being controlled and harnessed by the existing structures. The theory of a control revolution, and the associated social, political, economic and technological variables, means that due to the constraints of time some generalisations have been necessary. Just as \"information\" is a hugely discussed topic within information science, the actual dates of the English industrial revolution are the subject of much historical debate[2]. However, since neither the origins of the industrial revolution, nor the concept of an \"information society\", are in themselves the subject of this paper, both phrases will be used as general umbrella terms[3]. In the context of this work, the term \"industrial revolution\" covers the introduction and application of the railway, the telegraph, and the telephone. These technologies were introduced in the period 1830-1900[4]. This work concentrates on two areas believed to be of particular significance. These are:1. the railways, and2. the rise of bureaucracy.It is also worth pointing out that although this work suggests links between the nineteenth century and the structural origins of the information society, it does not mean to adopt the argument that this was an inevitable progression[5]. Webster (1995, pp. 6-29) discusses how a technological definition of society (specifically an information society) is the most commonly accepted: where emphasis is on breakthroughs in processing, storage and transmission or communication of information, leading to social upheaval. If this view is to be adopted, then the same argument could be applied to the industrial revolution. This paper is not examining the theory that the technology of the industrial revolution per se caused the social and structural changes within England. Rather, it will explore the idea that they were intertwined, and that any crisis which did occur was brought about by unprecedented technological developments, encouraging a flurry of innovations to cope and control these new forces, and it was these which determined the changes in the organisational structure and communication networks of the early twentieth century.\nRailway technology: The scale of change being brought about by the arrival and widespread use of the internet, e-mail, and other digital technologies has been widely discussed in popular literature as well as within academic circles. These technologies are undoubtedly revolutionising our way of life. Yet, it is still difficult for citizens of the twenty-first century to imagine the scale of change brought about by industrialisation in the 1800s. The urban giant of Victorian London was a leap away from the relatively small settlement that it was during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. In 1801 when the first census was taken, the population of central London was 1.1 million, making it the largest city in the world. By 1901, it had risen to 4.5 million (Mitchell and Dean, 1962, p. 20, table 7A)[6]. Prior to industrialisation, the river Thames was the main source of traffic in London. Communication and transportation across the country were measured by how fast it was possible to walk, travel on horseback, or the speed of the wind in a boat's sails. In 1750 it took ten to 12 days to make the 413 mile journey to Edinburgh from London; 100 years later it took only 17.5 hours (Hobsbawm, diagram 16). Today one could make the journey in 4.5 hours. The magnitude of the speed revolution was unprecedented.Between 1830 and 1850 around 6,000 miles of railway opened in Britain, and by 1850 over PS240 million had been privately invested in rail (Hobsbawm, 1969, pp. 88-109). In 1841 the most common occupation for males in Britain, after the traditional area of agriculture, was building and construction, followed by transport and communication. This dominance remained constant until the end of the century[7]. When Hueffer wrote at the turn of the century that transport technology was \"the modern spirit expressing itself in terms not of man, but of forces\" he seemed to voice contemporary opinion (Hueffer, 1905, p. 40). One may make a strong case in favour of the argument that there was a crisis of control involving the railways and transportation technology in the nineteenth century. In fact, there were two:1. a crisis in terms of communication; and2. a crisis of organisation.Crisis of communication\nDevelopment of bureaucracy: It has been asserted that the crisis of control on the railways forced new systems of communication, and information processing to be adopted. However, the railways themselves triggered an unintentional crisis in English commerce, as people and goods were mobile in a way never before experienced. Weber (1904) puts forward the idea that prior to the nineteenth century, commerce was dependent upon religious and family loyalties, which had to be overcome before \"modern\" rationalisation and a capitalist economy could develop. This much has also been asserted by the work of Hoffman (1949), Hobsbawm (1962, 1969), Ashton (1968), Perkin (1969), and Floud and Johnson (2004). The railways, and the developments brought about by their control revolution, had a major impact on the social and economic structures of England. The transportation of goods and workers became easier, faster and cheaper. Communication through the use of the telegraph and telephone allowed businesses to expand geographically and trade with areas that had hitherto been unreachable. The fluidity and movement made possible by these technologies revolutionised the way commerce could operate.Prior to industrialisation, the government had poor central control of peripheries, large dependence on local elites to maintain order, and limited public policy. Before the nineteenth century, the government had really only been responsible for tax, the law, the army and foreign policy. It was not until industrialisation, and the social issues it brought with it, that the government was forced to provide some sort of centralised control, and welfare state (although traditionally England has never looked to the government in the same way as many European states have, relying more on private investment and entrepreneurs). Prior to 1800, the government had always been subordinate to the monarch, and the nineteenth century saw a switch of roles with the monarch in a more ceremonial role, and parliament wielding the real political power (Richards, 1991; Anderson, 1983). These are huge topics in themselves, but the important point is that the period between 1830 and 1900 saw a profound expansion in government power and responsibility[18]. It is this growth which has caught the attention of academics such as Giddens (1985) and Dandeker (1990), and which shall be discussed in more detail later.According to census returns, in 1841 public administration accounted for only 0.79 per cent of the labour force (the two largest sectors were building and construction with 7.4 per cent, and agriculture with 28 per cent). By 1911, the figure had increased to 2.1 per cent (Mitchell and Dean, 1962, p. 60, Table 1.B). At the outset, one may expect the later figure to be substantially higher than it is, in order to account for the growth of bureaucracy during the nineteenth century. However, on reflection the low figure is not so surprising. If the 1841 census showed a small labour force in public administration, could it not be exactly because there was no effective system of public administration, or bureaucracy? This would tie in with the theory of a crisis of control through the very absence of rational administration. The 1911 statistic, although showing a relatively small increase, could signify two things:1. the fact that the crisis was not entirely over by the end of the century and the real growth in bureaucracy came in the twentieth century; or2. the possibility that the introduction of new techniques, processes and rationalisation meant that fewer people could organise the same amount of information.With this in mind, the following sections examine the two most significant areas of bureaucratic and administrational development, and focus on the crises of control faced by commerce and government.Crisis of commerce\nConcluding thoughts: The purpose of this research was to assess the validity of Beniger's control revolution theory when applied to England, and to see if it would be a legitimate general theory for the origins of the information society. Although this work has necessarily been selective in its coverage, it does establish that several crises of control occurred in England during the nineteenth century, and that the methods introduced to manage and organise the new technologies do form part of the structural, although not technological, origins of the information society. The \"control revolution\" may indeed be applied to countries other than America, although as this research has suggested, the speed and scope of methods of control may vary depending on the context in which industrialisation took place. Consequently, the control revolution may not be as applicable in some other parts of the world as it is in the UK or the USA.It should be evident that there was no single \"crisis\", but rather an interrelated series of factors that formed the basic infrastructures, networks and social and commercial structures that supported the development of the IT revolution during the twentieth century. National communication infrastructures, and the beginnings of rapid global communication for the first time; the development of information as an increasingly important commodity in business; the augmented role and power of the state; and the gradual trend towards bureaucratic, efficient organisation, are all just as vital to the information society in the twenty-first century, as they were during the control revolution of the 1800s. In introducing this research, it was acknowledged that many information scientists view the information society as a development of the last 50 years (Bell, 1973; Haywood, 1995; Oppenheim, 1996; Castells, 2000). This work has taken a step towards demonstrating that this is not the case, and that the origins of the information society in England can be traced back to the societal, structural and organisational implications of the control revolution of the nineteenth century, although there is clearly much more work that needs to be done on this substantial topic.The control revolution and the information society\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the theory of a control revolution in nineteenth century England, and its social and technological implications for the information society. It takes up where most historical interpretations of the industrial revolution end, and before most analyses of the digital era begin. The work focuses on three distinct types of technological advance - in transportation, in communication, and in the processing of information - without adopting a technologically deterministic argument.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Historical analysis, based on both primary and secondary sources.\nFindings: - The article first considers the introduction of the railways, and makes a case in that there were two crises of control involving railway technology in the nineteenth century: a crisis of communication, and a crisis of organisation. It goes on to assess the growth of bureaucracy and organisation in commerce. The expansion of government surveillance power towards the end of the nineteenth century is also discussed.\nResearch limitations/implications: - This paper is broad in its scope and therefore some necessary omissions and limitations have been made. Many of the terms used throughout have entire literatures on their meanings, but it is not the intention of this paper to engage further with these debates, and it is acknowledged that within this limited discussion there is room for some ambiguity surrounding terms. Such concepts have been defined as far as possible within the article. The impact of warfare and military organisation are key themes, and while extremely relevant, deserve fuller discussion elsewhere. Also, while there would have undoubtedly been effects upon the British Empire from English industrialisation and the resulting crises of control, it has not been possible to discuss the implications of differing socio-economic and political conditions within the Empire in this paper. The increasing sophistication of other professions such as finance and accounting in this period have not been considered, although again, this is an area which deserves individual study[1].\nOriginality/value: - The research takes a step towards demonstrating that the origins of the information society can be traced back to the structural and organisational implications of the control revolution of the nineteenth century. The methods of control created the basic communication infrastructures still used in 2005, and set the precedent for government intervention and social surveillance. It concludes by discussing the potential crises of control within the information society.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Evaluation of research methods to study domestic food preparation
|
[
"Reliability",
"Validity",
"Consistency in behaviour",
"Food preparation",
"Observation (through cameras)",
"Self-reporting questionnaire"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Acceptability of prepared food depends mainly on the sensory, safety and health attributes (Costell et al., 2010). These attributes are, to a large extent, determined by the final preparation practices applied to the food by the consumer. Therefore, the domestic preparation practices determine the final quality of the food. Several research methods are available to gather information on consumers' food preparation practices like (self-reporting) questionnaires, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and (in-)direct observations (Redmond and Griffith, 2003a). However, prior to data collection, a research method should be tested for its reliability and validity, in order to decrease the disparity in the information obtained using different research methods (Kendall et al., 2004; Worsfold, 1997). Reliability is the extent to which a research method produces the same results upon repeated administration, and validity is the extent to which a research method actually measures what it is supposed to measure (Bowling, 2009; Talmage and Rasher, 1981). Redmond and Griffith (2003a) summarised types of reliability and validity tests for research methods commonly used to gather information on consumer meat handling practices. Besides reliability and validity of the method, data should be gathered from a large sample to generalise the findings to the population level (Kuipers et al., 2013; Osborne and Costello, 2004). Despite these concerns, research methods are hardly ever compared prior to data collection to use the most reliable, valid and practical method appropriate for a given consumer research.\nMethodology: Research design and rationale\nResults and discussion: Consistency in participant's behaviour on different observation days: Studies 1 and 2\nConclusion: The quality of any research depends in the first instance on the quality of the research method used to obtain data. Thus, there is a need for a reliable and valid research method for obtaining meaningful findings from a research, although the researcher has a key role to play in handling the data. Research on consistency in behaviour over time and across situations to identify a reliable and valid research method to assess vegetable preparation practices is rather new and hardly explored. Since vegetable preparation practices are assumed to be mainly determined by habits, sensory preferences and/or convenience, a large variation in domestic vegetable preparation practices is expected and confirmed in this study. It is evident from this research that either observations in-home, observations through cameras in a MK, or administering a self-reporting questionnaire are reliable and valid research methods for gathering information on vegetable preparation practices among households of families with children. When comparing the three methods on efficiency and practical considerations, the self-reporting questionnaire has large advantages over the other two methods. Self-reporting questionnaires can be used to reach a larger number of participants in a shorter time and are relatively inexpensive compared to observations. In addition, self-reports can capture a wide variation in vegetable preparation practices from different groups of consumers and a well-designed self-reporting questionnaire seems to be the recommended and most practical method. A self-reporting questionnaire for a relatively simple task like vegetable cooking practices, as illustrated in this study, can be used for many other types of foods to identify variations in (critical) preparation practices that can influence the health and sensory properties of prepared foods. For this, the behaviour variables and research questions to be focused on, will be different and the questionnaires should thus be checked again for reliability, validity and practicality before administration.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Domestic preparation practices influence the sensory properties and nutritional composition of food products. Information on the variability in actual domestic preparation practices is needed to assess the influence of applied conditions on the sensory and nutritional quality of food. The collection of such information requires a reliable, valid and practical research method. The paper aims to discuss these issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: Direct in-home observations, observations in a model-kitchen using cameras, and a self-reporting questionnaire were evaluated for reliability and validity, to study domestic food preparation practices by consumers. Broccoli preparation practices by Dutch consumers were checked by these three methods in this research paper.\nFindings: All three research methods were found to be test-retest, inter-observer, parallel-form reliable; and face, content and concurrent valid. However, the self-reporting questionnaire is the most practical research method that can be administered on a large number of respondents in a short time to capture the wide variations in preparation practices.\nOriginality/value: Consumers can be assisted on domestic food preparation practices that reach their sensory preferences (e.g. texture, colour) as well as have health benefits on consumption.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Relationships between ethical climate, justice perceptions, and LMX
|
[
"Leadership",
"Leader‐member exchange",
"Ethical climate",
"Organizational justice",
"Interactional justice",
"Ethics"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The perception of trust is at the center of the organization-employee relationship. In an employment climate saturated with unrelenting news of unethical business behaviors, creating a positive image of a company is crucial to enhancing applicant evaluations and positive judgments of employment opportunities (Allen et al., 2007; Bell et al., 2004). In addition, more and more people are insisting on a positive quality of life at work, which has become an essential component of employment branding (Sturges and Guest, 2004). And as organizations seek to become employers of choice it is imperative that they develop a brand known for quality of work life. Although the notion of quality of work life encompasses many variables, having a healthy emotional and ethically sound climate is a key aspect of what people desire in an employer (Sturges and Guest, 2004). Furthermore, there is a strong argument that positive ethical climate may promote employee engagement and enhance employee-manager relationships (Ghoshal et al., 1999). Over the years numerous factors which affect employer-manager relationships have been examined and some of these factors are directly relevant to ethical climate of organizations. However, issues related to the quality of the leader-subordinate relationships have often appeared as critical factors (Bauer and Green, 1996; Liden et al., 1993; Yukl and Fu, 1999). Specifically, because ethical climate embodies norms and patterns of typical interaction we note that leader-subordinate dyads may be critical areas where ethical climate may impact important organizational outcomes. We note that conceptual connections between leadership constructs and aspects organizational justice have recently been noted by numerous researchers (Brown et al., 2005; Scandura, 1999). And some have suggested that there is a particularly high-conceptual overlap between interactional justice and LMX (Wayne et al., 2002).In accord with the overall importance of relationship quality perceptions in management systems, our study examined two variables that affect these factors: perceived organizational justice and ethical climate perceptions. While justice has been an area of active research in the management literature (Cropanzano et al., 2002; Folger and Cropanzano, 1998), ethical climate is a relatively understudied variable, with the work of Paolillo and Vitell (2002), Trevino (1986), and Victor and Cullen (1988) being noteworthy exceptions. Here ethical climate is considered to be an interpersonal atmosphere within the organization that affects the individual's emotional-psychological state. A positive ethical climate is likely to generate feelings of trust in the organization, as well as perceptions of autonomy and organizational support that cause employees to perceive their psychological well-being as positive (Victor and Cullen, 1988). Within this framework, we consider leader-member exchange (LMX) to be particularly important because LMX theory addresses several dynamic factors on which relationships are formed. These factors, such as perceived trust and reliability, can cause members to act in certain ways (Bauer and Green, 1996). In this paper we report on a study designed to test the relationships between ethical climate and three types of justice perceptions in an Israeli telecommunications organization. We were particularly interested in understanding which justice perceptions had the strongest relationship to LMX and in determining if ethical climate had a significant relationship with LMX. The findings of this paper answer these questions and provide a foundation for future research, where we suggest ethical climate should be investigated as a key moderator of the effects of interactional justice perceptions on LMX.Ethical climate\nMethod: Participants\nResults: First, we explored descriptive statistics and associations between key variables. These results are presented in Table I. The results indicate moderate levels of intercorrelation between the three types of justice components, which range from 0.32 to 0.50. In addition, LMX was related significantly to distributive and interactional justice, although the correlation between interactional justice and LMX (r=0.57, p<0.01) was nearly three times the magnitude of the correlations between distributive justice and LMX (r=0.20, p< 0.05). We also observed that ethical climate was related to LMX (r=0.19, p<0.05). However, ethical climate was only related significantly to one of the three justice perceptions, which was procedural justice (r=-0.23, p<0.05). We note that this negative relationship between ethical climate and procedural justice was unexpected because descriptions of positive ethical situations are often characterized by the presence just decision making, as in the scenario descriptions provided by Shkedi and Harel (2004). Together these findings provided support for H1, H2, and H4.To further investigate the connections between justice and ethical climate as antecedents to LMX, we conducted regression analyses with LMX as the dependent variable. The results are displayed in Table II where all predictor variables were entered in one step. The examination of findings in Table II leads to the conclusion that both interactional justice (b=0.62, p<0.01) and ethical climate (b=0.22, p<0.01) are significant predictors of LMX. We note that here the coefficient for interactional justice, the adjusted R2, explains approximately 38 percent of the variance in LMX. These results, respectively, offer further support for H2 and H4.\nDiscussion: As expected the three individual types of justice were interrelated at levels from 0.32 to 0.50, which suggests that these are separate but related constructs. Furthermore, we found that ethical climate had only one significant relationship with the three types of justice perceptions. This was the relationship between procedural justice and ethical climate was significant at (r=-0.23, p<0.05). When treating LMX as an outcome variable, we expected a high relationship to interactional justice. This is because the development of LMX implies a psychological state of trust that can enhance the intention of both supervisors and employees to exchange effort toward organizational goals. In fact, this is what we observed in Table II, which suggests that there is an important connection between interactional justice perceptions and LMX. This is consistent with abundant research on LMX (Uhl-Bien and Graen, 1998). Because LMX is founded on the nature of the exchange relationship between leaders and subordinates it makes sense that interactional justice perceptions were significantly associated with LMX. Furthermore, the findings that distributive and procedural justice were not related to LMX suggests that these constructs are more closely tied to perceptions of the organization, which is again consistent with previous research (Folger and Cropanzano, 1998). The fact that interactional justice emerged as the strongest justice perception related to LMX was a key finding from this study.A second key finding is that ethical climate perceptions also emerged as significantly related to LMX. Table II displays that ethical climate perceptions offered a modest but significant contribution to regressing LMX on justice perceptions. Both of these findings together suggest that there may be particular elements within interactional justice, LMX, and ethical climate that are closely related. Indeed, it may be that perceptions of interactional justice form a core foundation for the sense making of ethical climate perceptions, which is consistent with the caring climate subtype of ethical climate (Victor and Cullen, 1988). Here we note that interactional justice and ethical climate perceptions displayed a moderate but significant relationship of (r=0.19, p<0.05), which suggests that although there may be common elements these are still separate constructs. A final important (and unexpected) finding is that ethical climate displayed a significant negative relationship with procedural justice perceptions at (r=-0.23, p<0.05).Theoretical implications\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of ethical climate and organizational justice perceptions on the quality of manager-employee relationships via leader-member exchange (LMX). It also aims to explore differences between distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactional justice perceptions as related to LMX. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relative strength of connections between ethical climate, these three types of justice perceptions, and LMX.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The research was conducted via survey administration of questionnaires. The sample consisted of 105 working adults in an Israeli telecommunications company.\nFindings: - It was found that there was a significant positive relationship between perceived interactional justice and levels of LMX. No significant relationships were present between LMX and the other types of justice perceptions. Furthermore, it was discovered that there was a significant positive relationship between ethical climate and LMX. As an important, unexpected finding the study discovered a significant negative relationship between ethical climate and procedural justice.\nOriginality/value: - This is one of the few studies to examine the effects of justice perceptions together with ethical climate perceptions on LMX. As such, these findings offer guidance in the development and implementation of further studies to examine the linkages between these constructs. In particular, it suggests that these findings provide a framework for examining the potential moderating role of ethical climate in the relationship between interactional justice perceptions and LMX.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Motivating teachers' commitment to change through transformational school leadership in Chinese urban upper secondary schools
|
[
"China",
"Teachers’ commitment to change",
"Transformational school leadership",
"Urban upper secondary school"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Reform in high schools is a pervasive in the West, and it is the same in the Chinese context (Leithwood et al., 1999; Liu, 2013). Compared with other sectors of education, the significance of the role of upper secondary schools in helping students enter society is well recognized (Carnoy et al., 2003; Liu, 2013), in particular in the Chinese context (Liu, 2013).\nLiterature review and theoretical framework: Leadership plays an important role in the school change process (Achua and Lussier, 2013; Fullan, 2007). Transformational leadership arouses organizational members' commitment to a new vision and inspires a new way of thinking (Huang et al., 2014), which is essential for a successful organizational change. Leaders and subordinates help each other to enhance their morality and motivation which are essential elements of transformational leadership (Burns, 1978). Most transformational school leadership studies in Western cultures have confirmed that changing school conditions and motivating teachers significantly mediates the relationship between transformational school leadership and student achievement (Blase and Blase, 2000; Blase, 1993; Mulford, 1994; Robinson, 2007; Robinson et al., 2009).\nTransformational leadership: Modern leadership research started in the 1940s and 1950s. Initially, traits of leaders were the research focus. Later on, leadership situations and behaviors drew attention from researchers as well, followed by contingent leadership research. Since problems in various theories of leadership arising from this research could not be resolved, transformational leadership research emerged to take leadership research into new stages.\nLeadership perception: Leadership is a socially constructed process, which means people's perception of leadership is influenced by social factors. The assumption that leadership involves the ability to influence is the core theoretical precondition for most leadership perception research (Jantzi and Leithwood, 1996). Lord and Maher (1993) and Greenfield (1995) have all agreed that consent to be led is crucial to realizing the influence of leadership. Greenfield (1995) stated that the most important basis for the exercise of normative influence lies in qualities that others attach to a leader; that is, a leader can influence others by relying on personal qualities only to the extent that others consent to be influenced on that basis. Levinson believes that the critical idea here is leadership-as-consent (cited in Greenfield, 1995, p. 75). Greenfield (1995) further said: \"Consent is temporary, it must be earned, and it can be both given to and taken away from leaders by others. Influence through the exercise of personal qualities is leadership-by-consent\" (p. 75).\nTeachers' commitment to change: Leithwood et al. (1993a, b) first described the concept of teachers' commitment to change and believes that it is closely connected with building up organizational capacity in the school change process. Based on the motivation theories of Ford (1992) and Bandura (1986), Leithwood et al. (1999) posited that teachers' commitment to change is a core element in the school change process. In the motivation theory of Bandura (1986), triadic interaction between personal behavior, cognitive and other personal factors, and environmental events affects human functioning; this is the foundation for Leithwood et al. (1993a, b) concept.\nMethod: Instrument\nFindings: The findings are presented according to the research questions in this study.\nSummary: This study explored two questions:\nDiscussion: This section first gives an analysis of the effect of transformational school leadership on teachers' commitment to change both as a whole concept and divided into four individual variables. The section concludes with a discussion of the significance of this research and the implication of the findings for future research and leadership practices in Chinese and similar cultural contexts.\nImplications: This study mainly focussed on an exploration of the relationship between transformational leadership and teachers' commitment to change, while examining the effects of organizational and teachers' factors on teachers' perceptions of transformational leadership practices.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of transformational school leadership on teachers' commitment to change and the effects of organizational and teachers' factors on teachers' perception of transformational school leadership in the Chinese urban upper secondary school context.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The paper mainly uses quantitative methods to explore the relationships between different constructs. The author asks: to what extent can transformational school leadership practices in the urban upper secondary schools of a particular Chinese city explain the variation in teachers' commitment to change during curriculum reform? What are the effects of organizational and teachers' factors on teachers' perceptions of transformational school leadership?\nFindings: The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the effect of transformational school leadership was moderate when transformational school leadership and teachers' commitment to change were treated as single variables. Four dimensions of transformational leadership practice together explained the moderate effects on four dimensions of teachers' commitment to change, among which the effect of managing the instructional program was the most prominent. The results of multiple regression analysis also revealed that variables like culture, strategy, environment, and teachers' age had significant relationships with teachers' perceptions of transformational school leadership. Culture, environment, strategy, structure, and teachers' factors such as age and grade taught had moderate effects on different dimensions of teachers' perceptions of transformational school leadership.\nOriginality/value: This study is one of the first to explore the effects of transformational school leadership on teachers' commitment to change in the Chinese urban upper secondary school context. The findings contribute to educational management in China and similar contexts, and this study advances knowledge and furthers the understandings of the transferability of theories to different contexts.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Civil servant identity at the crossroads: new challenges for public administrations
|
[
"Work identity",
"Ethics",
"Civil service",
"Canada",
"Switzerland",
"Public sector organizations"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Public sector employees are currently confronted with new professional challenges arising from the introduction of new principles and tools inspired by the shift to new public management (NPM). Even though the NPM dynamic includes several different models, many principles are shared by the various countries that have undertaken administrative reforms, particularly among the member states of the OECD. The guiding philosophy of these managerial changes is largely inspired by economic considerations. In fact, a market logic is gradually being introduced into the operation and regulation of administrative services or units (de Visscher and Varone, 2004). Designed in response to criticism about the alleged and sometimes proven ineffectiveness and inefficiency of public organizations, the principles and tools of NPM attempt to breathe a new \"business-mindset\" into the field of public administration, based in part on economic theories of organization. New values that have arisen in the wake of the shift constitute the criteria by which today's civil servants are assessed: productivity, efficiency, risk-taking and initiative, ability to work to objectives, independence and accountability.This new orientation means civil servants are confronted with conflicting values that may lead to paradoxes calling into question the professional identity of public employees and even their capacity for ethical and critical deliberation. In the long run, the focus on individual and group performance and the related new professional values that make up the new \"results-oriented ethics\" may lead civil servants to make decisions and act in a self-interested and opportunistic way, in complete opposition to traditional Weberian public ethics values. But more importantly, these values may lead to decisions that gradually erode the fundamental purpose of public action in the eyes of the public - that is, defence of the public interest.To reduce what may be considered a possible perverse effect of NPM, two minimum conditions for implementation appear to be in order. First, the existence and key importance of \"invisible authorities\" - including conventions and moral standards - must be recognized as an essential condition for organizational effectiveness (Arrow, 1974). Second, the optimum balance between regulation and self-regulation must be sought. In this we are limited by the interdependencies of responsibility and authority and the possibilities of substituting one for the other (Arrow, 1974).In our comparison of Switzerland and Canada, our first focus is the way the two countries implemented administrative reforms in order to achieve greater organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Next, we examine the new professional values that emerged following the introduction of NPM principles and tools. We identify a few new ethical problems that Swiss and Canadian civil servants have encountered and look at ways in which the two countries have tried to respond to these new problems, pointing out shortcomings as the occasion arises. Finally, we suggest a number of possible solutions for reconciling \"results-oriented ethics\" with traditional public ethics to help today's public employees find their way out of their current impasse. Our goal is to assert the need to re-establish the behavioural identity of civil servants on the basis of values that allow them to critically and ethically deliberate on their actions and decisions in order to ensure they are upholding the general interests of the public good.\nCanadian and Swiss reforms and their main features: The reforms in Canada\nNew values, identity and results-oriented ethics: First of all, we must remember that effectiveness, in the Weberian model, is measured in terms of the successful application of shared values and fair treatment of citizens and the promotion and defence of the public good is what counts. Second, in this dynamic, the individual is the transfer agent of the ethics of public interest. The individual's behaviours and decisions are the production process for the public good and they lead to results. The fact that these processes are framed by regulation - codification - usually means that results can be foreseen and suitability can be determined in advance. Third, NPM seems to suggest that we must re-orient this agent to ensure better results. The new required values, which will lead to a renewal of the public sector, tend to constitute, often informally and implicitly, a new public ethics that we could call \"results-oriented ethics.\" In other words, these so-called \"professional\" values play an important role today in judging the suitability of civil servants' behaviour. The results, however, are rarely defined in terms of public interest as a common goal. Civil servants are called upon to judge the suitability of their actions based on new work standards, especially since the principles and tools of NPM favour the development of a greater allegiance of civil servants to the organizations they belong to. Since, civil servants are evaluated increasingly on individual performance and they are likely to be rewarded or penalized by their organization, their dependency on their unit or administrative service is considerably increased.But can we really speak of results-oriented ethics without stating what these expected results are? The unspoken truth is that everyone knows that state intervention is required under certain conditions and that these conditions dictate a unique behavioural ethic. While it is not necessarily wrong to believe certain activities undertaken by the public sector could be turned over to the private sector, it is more dangerous to assume that the values of the private sector can be wholly transposed to the public sector, since each sector has a different concept of effectiveness. Since, ethics is wholly rooted in the conscience and in critical dialogue, the traditional ethical values of the Weberian administrative model are less and less able to support and regulate individual and group behaviours because the defining feature of the traditional \"public ethic\" is its procedural and regulatory nature. The goal of this ethic is to provide rules and standards that are able to regulate administrative work and provide a certain fairness of treatment, an impartiality in the management of files, etc. In the \"results-oriented ethics\" that is characteristic of the shift toward NPM, results take precedence over the administrative standards that defend the public interest. It is a matter of seeking to preserve the role of the public employee as an agent of the defence and perpetuation of democracy and the public interest.Through their work and identity, the public sector worker has a specific and different role from the private sector worker. We do not believe that the public employee is more or less this or that than the private sector employee: both are first and foremost human beings. They will first both pursue their personal interest. But the role of the public employee requires a specific identity to properly accomplish its duty that is related to the public interest. And this raises a crucial question: in the upheaval that is leading inexorably to a \"management\" culture, how can we maintain our progress and ensure the longevity of the state through its principal agent? Without determining the extent of the issues related to NPM as a method of operation, we want to raise a series of questions concerning the possibility of handing citizens the role of protecting the common interest through the identity of state employees. This leads us back to the fundamental question of the regulation/self-regulation balance.\nRegulation and self-regulation: required investments and desirable balances: In light of our research, public administrations do not seem to have paid enough attention to several outcomes of their transformations. The ethics solutions proposed by the Swiss Confederation relate mainly to establishing externally imposed codes of behaviour. The HRM guidelines and code of behaviour set out an \"un-accountability\" vision, with bureaucrats relieved of the ethical deliberation that should be part of their respective administrative actions. The goal is to standardize behaviour, rather than help the players develop their capacity for ethical deliberation. In other words, while the reforms are oriented toward individual accountability, flexibility, performance, organizational effectiveness and efficiency, the ethics process appears to have remained the same, rather than evolving with the reforms and the emerging ethical problems. Furthermore, Confederation employees seem to be faced with a difficult and perhaps insurmountable dilemma: meeting the external ethical demands while developing the managerial values expected of them by their administrative unit - performance, personal initiative, flexibility, effectiveness and efficiency. The managerial values espoused by the administrative units can by no means be confused with moral values.On the Canadian side, it is not clear whether the values and ethics as defined in the tools developed to date are anchored in a legitimate framework that can serve to structure and interpret the behaviour of civil servants. Actually, the legitimacy seems to come from a hybrid source - constitutional conventions, shared governance principles and NPM. This state of affairs creates structural difficulties for behaviours and their interpretation. Values cannot be easily relayed if the public agents are not able to determine where they come from and subsequently adapt to them. There does not seem to have been sufficient effort to promote the transmission of values and, more specifically, to socialize the idea of the public good. Civil servants and politicians come from an increasingly diverse pool. In a more flexible and individualist management framework, this means extensive training and socialization mechanisms are required. Furthermore, since the roots of the ethics management framework are not very clear and since their sources of legitimacy are somewhat hazy, it is all the more important to establish a permanent dialogue on the meaning and interpretation of behaviour. Finally, the sheer number of values promoted creates tension and conflicts of interpretation. It seems to us that this could detract attention that should be focused on the idea of the public good (Caron and Giauque, 2006). Two questions must be asked at this juncture. First, how much de-codification is feasible and desirable, and second, what are the minimum conditions for ensuring ethical public service?NPM calls for initiative, entrepreneurship and similar personal values to promote greater productivity and improved results. To succeed, it is proposed that we rethink the administrative codification with the goal of eliminating it or at least \"lightening\" it. We know that the Weberian model calls for complex codification in order to guarantee a given level of ethical behaviour. Establishing, maintaining, developing and applying this codification, however, is generally an expensive undertaking. These costs are known as book costs or rigidities - \"red tape.\" But these codifications have, through the human agent, allowed shared values to be preserved and to a certain extent guaranteed the promotion of the public interest such as the fair treatment of citizens. On the other hand, NPM promotes minimal or no codification whenever possible. At the same time, NPM is rooted in the achievement of results that are not necessarily presented in terms of the public good but in terms of individual performance, except in the case of the measurement of satisfaction of users or quality of services rendered.The question raised by the transition from a complex codification model to a simple codification model is shown in Figure 1. For an effective given level of application of shared values and ethical behaviour: the simpler the codification, the greater the investment required in training to ensure self-regulation on the part of civil servants and the lower the costs related to codification (see curve A). The more complex the codification, the greater the investment required to ensure the development, maintenance and application of the codes and the lower the costs of training (see curve B). What, therefore, is the optimal level of administrative codification that would minimize required investments while ensuring sufficient maintenance of the civil servant identity to preserve the effectiveness of the system, that is defend the public interest? Figure 1 shows that the optimum combination for an effective given level of shared values and ethical behaviour occurs at point N. At this point costs are minimized and there is a balance between codification and self-regulation.The model suggests three consequences. First, if we agree that the effectiveness of a public system can be measured in part on the basis of the promotion of and respect for the public good, ethical behaviour and shared values are necessities and the only possible transfer agent is the human being in the person of the civil servant. Second, the importance of moral values and \"invisible authorities\" in the organization and its operations are a condition for effectiveness that requires socialization efforts and therefore investment in the training of individuals. Third, promoters of NPM must base their transformations on a balance between a minimum of codification and a minimum of training. As we saw earlier, these issues, and especially training, are almost entirely absent from the reforms under examination.\nConclusion: Contrary to popular belief, it seems that public administrations cannot content themselves with simple deregulation or over-deregulation. The model presented clearly shows that a balance must be defined to ensure an effective level of shared values and ethical behaviour. It is the responsibility of public administrations to create conditions conducive to the establishment of reforms that will respect the responsibilities invested in them in the public interest. As Durand (free translation) points out:[...] The future of humanity [...] depends on ethics, that is, on humans' capacity to act responsibly in order to contribute to the promotion of people and the construction of a community [...].We must recognize the role of the civil servant as the transfer agent for the public interest in government decisions and acknowledge the need to invest heavily in training in light of the progressive elimination of administrative codification. This is needed to replace the role previously played by codes, rules and all internal regulations prescribing the conduct of public servants in most situation and guaranteeing equity of treatment for citizens. We suggest that these training investments should be made in the framework of a tripartite approach: civil servants, organizational mandate and community/society. Public administrations must work to clarify the organizational missions and values that collectively support them. They must introduce the professional values - in the sense of identity - embraced by civil servants as well as the fundamental values of the community or society - to create agreement on what the general public interest really is. If public administrations are to support governments in ensuring social cohesion through delivery of relevant public policies, public servants must be mindful of the public good and the public interest as defined in the objectives of their respective government. The function of tight regulation in ensuring consistent behaviour of public servants is key to this role and must be present either through traditional internal regulation - bureaucracy - or more investments in training to socialize public servants to expected non bureaucratically regulated behaviours.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - To compare and contrast the changes introduced in Canada and Switzerland as a result of public management reforms and explore the ethical challenges they entail.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This is a case study of two countries based in part on secondary sources but also on observations made by the authors.\nFindings: - The strategies used in each country are different reflecting their distinct political institutions. But there is a commonality, namely the emergence of new ethical problems related to the changes under way. Each country has tackled these new ethical challenges in similar ways. Individual and group behaviour of both Canadian and Swiss civil servants is regulated through \"external controls\" (codes of ethics, rules of conduct), but also by means of the socialization of new professional values (quality of customer service, flexibility, innovation, creativity, efficiency and effectiveness). These external controls and new values are insufficient, however, to allow civil servants to develop their own capacity for ethical deliberation, an essential condition for enhancing ethical behaviour in modern public administrations.\nResearch limitations/implications: - The findings are not based on a systematic comparative study and can only therefore be interpreted as indicative.\nOriginality/value: - The writers offer an interesting model relating to methods of behaviour regulation in an ethical public service and the need to ensure that the public good and the public interest remain at the core of public servants identity.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Inpatient flow management: a systematic review
|
[
"Hospital",
"Inpatient units",
"Patient flow management",
"System-wide"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Hospital managers are currently striving to balance supply and demand (Hall et al., 2006). In an ideal world, hospitals always have unlimited supplies, specialized facilities, equipment and staff available to all patients upon request. Units, however, operate under capacity constraints and patient demand can fluctuate. Consequently, most hospitals suffer from an ongoing mismatch between supply and demand (Litvak, 2005), which can lead to problems, including inevitable delays in overcrowded emergency units, unit managers struggling with chronic nurse staffing shortages or surpluses, units that are over- or under-utilized and eventual staff dissatisfaction (Green, 2004; Litvak, 2005). These problems require a better match between supply and demand. Recent research shows that supply - demand mismatches are often a flow problem (Haraden and Resar, 2004; Litvak, 2005). When several patient flows compete for access to shared resources, failure to manage these flows results in one or more flow disruptions. To ensure that all patients have timely care they need without extra costs, patient flows need to be managed properly (Haraden and Resar, 2004; Hall et al., 2006). Efficient patient flow management has become a critical issue for hospital managers (Litvak, 2005).\nSearch strategy: We used the keyword search strategy in the PubMed and Web of Science (Core Collection) literature databases. Numerous search cycles were conducted by narrowing the keyword focus in the later cycles. The initial search, using \"patient flow,\" provided general results relating to application in hospitals. The search was refined using \"inpatient units,\" \"wards,\" \"hospitalization,\" \"delays\" and \"overcrowding\" within the search results. Once all full-text articles were collected, our selection strategy had two stages. Stage 1 screened the articles related to any patient flow management for inpatient settings. Stage 2 was used to narrow the articles selected in Stage 1 according to their interventions and impact on hospital patient flow. Stage 2 articles were then investigated regarding their study design and quality. Stage 1 was performed by the main reviewer and two other reviewers independently. The main reviewer selected articles from PubMed and Web of Science databases, and the two other reviewers were assigned to either PubMed or Web of Science. The Stage 1 selection strategy for PubMed and Web of Science was based on the inclusion criteria shown in Table I.\nContent analysis: Content analysis was divided into two parts: patient flow management studies (Stage 1) and interventions in patient flow management studies (Stage 2).\nResults: Search strategy\nDiscussion and recommendations: What is known about studies on patient flow management in inpatient units?\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: In hospitals, several patient flows compete for access to shared resources. Failure to manage these flows result in one or more disruptions within a hospital system. To ensure continuous care delivery, solving flow problems must not be limited to one unit, but should be extended to other departments - a prerequisite for solving flow problems in the entire hospital. Since most current studies focus solely on overcrowding in emergency units, additional insights are needed on system-wide patient flow management. The purpose of this paper is to look at the information available in system-wide patient flow management studies, which were also systematically evaluated to demonstrate which interventions improve inpatient flow.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The authors searched PubMed and Web of Science (Core Collection) literature databases and collected full-text articles using two selection and classification stages. Stage 1 was used to screen articles relating to patient flow management for inpatient settings with typical characteristics. Stage 2 was used to classify the articles selected in Stage 1 according to the interventions and their impact on patient flow within a hospital system.\nFindings: In Stage 1, 107 studies were selected. Although a growing trend was observed, there were fewer studies on patient flow management in inpatient than studies in emergency settings. In Stage 2, 61 intervention studies were classified. The authors found that most interventions were about creating and adding supply resources. Since many hospital managers these days cannot easily add capacity owing to cost and resource constraints, using existing capacity efficiently is important - unfortunately not addressed in many studies. Furthermore, arrival variability was the factor most frequently mentioned as affecting flow. Of all interventions addressed in this review, the most prominent for advancing patient access to inpatient units was employing a specialized individual or team to maintain patient flow and bed placement across hospital units.\nOriginality/value: This study provides the first patient flow management systematic overview within an inpatient setting context.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Assessing emergency management training and exercises
|
[
"Emergency management",
"Emergency measures",
"Training",
"Assessment",
"Monitoring and evaluation local government",
"Local government",
"United States of America",
"New Zealand",
"Canada"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Natural, technological, and terrorist disasters occur within the sphere of responsibility of one or more local governments (Perry, 2003). In New Zealand, Canada, and USA, emergency management capacity is built from the grass roots level upwards (Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA), 2008; JIBC, 2002; MCDEM, 2007), thus local governments have principal responsibility for disaster mitigation and preparedness (FEMA, 2008). Consequently, responsibility for managing hazards when they do occur is most often in the hands of local officials (Waugh and Streib, 2006). The quality of the response and recovery efforts is thus directly linked to the knowledge and skills possessed by staff working at disaster sites (Schaafstal et al., 2001) and their ability to put them into practice in a range of hazard events. A key issue is how the requisite knowledge and skills, as well as people's ability to use them, are acquired. While training and exercising are vital tools in this context in all high-risk professions, the fact that disasters are infrequent makes training and exercising especially important in emergency management.Planning is the fundamental backbone of developing a coherent training programme that can be conveyed to those who will be called upon to respond to disaster (Paton and Jackson, 2002; Perry and Peterson, 1999). Ensuring that training provides a return on investment for communities, responders, and organisations makes including an evaluation component in the planning process essential (Wilson, 2000). Developing a cost-effective training programme calls for particular attention to be paid to the design and conduct of training programmes. The infrequent nature of hazard events creates problems for the training needs analyses that would normally underpin this process and results in needs having to be estimated based on anticipated demands derived from what organisations will have to do to develop competent responders (Paton et al., 1999).For example, in New Zealand, city, district, and regional councils are required under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 (CDEM Act) to be able to coordinate multi-agency planning and activities in preparation for responding to the impacts of any possible hazard. For most organisations this includes being able to open and operate emergency operations centres (EOC) that function as the command and communication headquarters for planning and decision making (Perry, 1995). EOCs thus act as over-arching organisations that coordinate information from more specialized EOCs and operational groups (e.g. fire and police departments) and use this to direct and coordinate the overall response to the disaster (Perry, 1995). From analyses of these requirements it is possible to develop understanding of the skills and competencies training must develop. It is also important to consider who is to be trained. Personnel in a local governmental EOC are typically at the forefront of response management in disasters. For this reason local government organisations were selected for this research.Emergency management activities are undertaken in unique and challenging circumstances (e.g. responding to novel events characterised by multi-agency involvement). Anticipating these circumstances provides the foundation for identifying the competencies, systems, and procedures required to coordinate and manage response (Drabek and McEntire, 2003; Perry, 1995; Thomas et al., 2004). It is not just operational issues that need to be considered. The opening and commencement of EOC activities is central to training exercises (Sinclair, 2011). It is therefore important that local government organisations and personnel operating within the EOC understand the assessment methodologies available for evaluating and monitoring exercises and which can serve to provide input into future training needs analyses (Paton et al., 1999). This paper presents a review of the literature surrounding emergency management training and assessment materials to identify resources available and critically evaluates the practical utility of this information as a basis for EOC training through the conduct of a survey of 48 local government organisations located across North America and within New Zealand.An investigative review of emergency management training, exercises and assessment materials and guidelines\nMethodology: A questionnaire-based survey was used to collect data about each organisation's EOC activation in real emergencies and in training and simulations, as well as their general understanding of decision making used during the operation of an EOC.An extensive literature review, and advice from experts in the field, guided the development of questions.North American systems have been influencing New Zealand's emergency management over the past decade at least. Therefore, in addition to a study of EOCs and training in New Zealand, various similar governmental organisations across North America were approached and asked to participate in this study. The participants selected were from New Zealand and North America, (British Columbia in Canada; and California, Colorado, and Washington State in the USA). All those who answered the questionnaire were either the emergency manager of the organisation or the emergency management advisor. They were instructed at the beginning of the questionnaire to answer the questions from the perspective of the organisation they worked for.A total of 48 online completed questionnaires were received out of 96 organisations contacted, giving a rate of return of 50 per cent. This is a good rate of return for a survey and increases the generalisability of the findings, at least in relation to emergency managers in the countries surveyed. Table I lists the different types of organisations that responded to the study. In all, 36 North American government organisations were asked to participate in the study. Of these, 12 returned the questionnaire. Attempts were made to contact all regional, district, and city councils in New Zealand, via telephone calls. Of the 61 New Zealand councils successfully contacted, 36 completed the questionnaire, 17 agreed to participate but did not complete the questionnaire, 11 could not be contacted, while seven New Zealand local councils, particularly in the more isolated areas, indicated that all of their emergency management communication and information was performed through another level of government. A combination of closed and open-ended questions was used in the questionnaire resulting in analysis both qualitatively and quantitatively. For the free text open-ended responses thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006; Ryan and Bernard, 2000) was used to find patterns of meaning by using basic coding procedures.Results\nDiscussion: Often included in the reviewed available assessment tools were suggestions for the use of exercises as a way of testing response plans (MCDEM, 2010). However, without the ability to accurately gauge the effectiveness of an exercise its usefulness as a means of testing of plans and capabilities is unfounded. The assessment of training and exercises needs to establish with some certainty that these objectives have been achieved.Information and guidelines supplied by national emergency management bodies such as MCDEM (2006, 2009) and FEMA (2010) emphasize the importance of a complete training cycle which includes comprehensively assessing all training or exercises. This is the objective of the assessment centre approach (Paton and Jackson, 2002). EOC evaluation could progress this level of evaluation by including more complex, real-time exercises that could emulate responses in real emergencies. Results presented in this paper suggest emergency managers are not taking full advantage of the few assessment resources that are available. Additionally, findings from this paper advocate for further research to provide an objective basis for new and innovative methods for assessing exercises.From the review of available materials and guidelines, it is evident that little information exists specifically for the assessment of training in emergency management and even less for exercises based around EOC activation. While guidelines such as those provided by MCDEM (2009) and Fagel's (2010) text represent helpful tools for emergency managers, academic research regarding the cost effectiveness of these guidelines for exercises in local government EOCs remain sparse and inconclusive. One implication of this is a need for the development of more rigorous research into emergency management training assessment methodology.In addition, despite the existence of these resources there is a growing realisation that nearly all currently accepted disaster preparedness practices are based largely upon anecdote, and are lacking systematic study or objective validation (Thomas et al., 2004). Others (e.g. Schaafstal et al., 2001) draw attention to the lack of valid, reliable, and automated team performance measurement tools and the inability to assess and diagnose training effectiveness, with such problems being linked to the quality of the training and organisational needs analyses conducted and a failure to consider how organisational culture and practices influence outcomes (Paton et al., 2009). The results of the present study revealed that each individual organisation's training and assessment programme was unique to that organisation, suggesting that processes are developed in ad hoc ways and are not making effective use of the relevant literature and ideas. In some cases not only had the monitoring and evaluation aspect of training been overlooked, but those that were using assessment methods were operating in blind faith that they were giving an accurate assessment of training. Therefore it is largely unknown how effective the training efforts of these local government organisations actually are.Several implications flow from the analyses and review presented here. The ad hoc approach to the development of training design and evaluation by individual organisations has no guarantee of eliciting effective training programmes that can improve future response capability. There are many benefits to a comprehensive training and exercising programme, including the development of shared mental models across team members of what a response will involve (Endsley, 1994), and an increased understanding of each others' knowledge, skills, roles, anticipated behaviour, and needs (Flin, 1996; Paton and Jackson, 2002). However, for organisations to maximise these benefits, they need to develop more sophisticated and evidence-based approaches to training needs analysis, design, and evaluation. This needs to become multi-level, encompassing person, team, organisational, and multi-organisation levels. Given the complexity of disaster response environments and the competencies and systems required, local government training should be based on correspondingly comprehensive techniques such as assessment centres to provide holistic training and evaluation. While more expensive, the benefits in terms of developing capabilities for unknown events more than offset the costs and even more so in terms of lives saved and losses reduced in the event of an actual disaster. The costs could also be offset by developing a national resource that individual governments could use.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to investigate how training or exercises are assessed in local government emergency management organisations.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - An investigative review of the resources available to emergency managers across North America and within New Zealand, for the evaluation and monitoring of emergency management training and exercises was conducted. This was then compared with results from a questionnaire based survey of 48 local government organisations in Canada, USA, and New Zealand. A combination of closed and open ended questions was used, enabling qualitative and quantitative analysis.\nFindings: - Each organisation's training program, and their assessment of this training is unique. The monitoring and evaluation aspect of training has been overlooked in some organisations. In addition, those that are using assessment methods are operating in blind faith that these methods are giving an accurate assessment of their training. This study demonstrates that it is largely unknown how effective the training efforts of local government organisations are.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Further study inspired by this paper will provide a clearer picture of the evaluation of and monitoring of emergency management training programs. These results highlight that organisations need to move away from an ad hoc approach to training design and evaluation, towards a more sophisticated and evidence-based approach to training needs analysis, design, and evaluation if they are to maximise the benefits of this training.\nOriginality/value: - This study is the first investigation to the authors' knowledge into the current use of diverse emergency management training for a range of local government emergency offices, and how this training impacts the functioning of the organisation's emergency operations centre during a crisis.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The recycling business for sustainability in Taiwan
|
[
"Recycling",
"Waste",
"Taiwan"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: As all the countries in the rest of the world, Taiwan has experienced a challenging situation that there is a social need for extraction of recyclables from ever increasing solid wastes (Lee et al., 2000; Shih, 2001; Fan et al., 2005; Lu et al., 2006b). To better solve this emerging issue, the legislations and the management frameworks in Taiwan have undergone a series of pioneering changes in order to achieve the overall goal of environmental sustainability. For an effective recycling management, government action is likely needed, thus Taiwan's experience provides an opportunity to study the evolution and business impact for a recycling management system (Fan et al., 2005).The current recycling management system, Waste Recycling Fund (WRF) organized by Taiwan's Environment Protection Agency (TEPA), was established in 1997. Several policy instruments implemented are constantly congruent with the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR), which shifts either financial or physical responsibility upstream to the manufacturers and is widely adopted as a method of integrating sustainable development principle into environmental management (Walls, 2003; Widmer et al., 2005; Nnorom and Osibanjo, 2008). Taiwan government therefore mandates that the manufacturers take financial responsibility for the recycling and treatment of used products. WRF, on the other hand, takes the administrative responsibility over a nationwide platform for extracting regulated recyclable resources from end-of-line (EoL) products (Tsai et al., 2007).WRF has so far been considered successful in the effective collection of regulated EoL products primarily due to a faithful regulatory framework, comprehensive scope of collection points, as well as nationwide acceptance (Lu et al., 2006a). While the volume of retired products has grown swiftly, recycling has become a growing business that is attractive not only for medium and small entrepreneurs but also for individuals because the valuable resources extracted from the waste can be sold and traded among prospective actors, naming consumers, collectors, processors, second-hand dealers. Moreover, overwhelming needs for recycled materials plays an essential role in flourishing recycling market. TEPA (2005) indicated that owing to the soaring prices for recycled materials, many entrepreneurs or recycling firms are planning to scale up their production for larger volume, better efficiency and higher quality in material extraction. In response to increasing concerns over building a zero-waste society, advanced legislations and policies are being developed in Taiwan to industrialize the entire recycling business and create a market opportunity for secondary components/materials.Taiwan's recycling system represents a collective producer responsibility which all producers jointly share the costs of managing all their waste products, thus collecting, transporting, and recycling scraps could be economically implemented by such a collective EPR system. However, collective responsibility provides consumers with incentives to return their used equipments but no incentives for manufacturers to design for recycling (Nnorom and Osibanjo, 2008). In reality, the recycling fees submitted to WRF from manufacturers are fixed and not adjustable with the degree of recyclability of products. It is clearly to see that Taiwan's existing recycling mechanism does not design such a compliance measure to prevent free riders, those who are not interested in design for environment (DfE).TEPA is also facing a major challenge in terms of promoting less waste and more reuse (TEPA, 2008a). As financing of the collection and recycling companies rely on governmental subsidies instead of on revenues generated from recycled components and materials, for recycling firms and producers, no strong economic incentives in the existing recycling mechanism are particularly provided for design changes. However, the higher recycling rates of used products, the lower handling costs, and the higher value added. Optimizing the value added is recommended to support securing economic efficiency and sustainability (Widmer et al., 2005), thus green product design, of course, has a real impact on adding value in the recycling activities, revealing economic and environmental benefits. Given on multiple benefits from the high level of recyclability, there is a clear need for government to redesign the recycling management system, contributing to make recycling industry become a profitable business and satisfying the growing demand for recyclable materials.Based on the observations above, the question is that if the rate of the recycling fee is not fixed but dynamic depending on the degree of products' recyclability, the new recycling fee policy would push the existing system towards the individual producer responsibility and then effectively promote design improvements. That is, in order to overcome this shortcoming caused by collective producer responsibility approach, the research objective is to present evidences that an alternative policy of dynamic rate of recycling fee, proposed by this paper, provides economic incentives for responsible industries to design for reuse/recycling and for companies to join the recovery industry. Meanwhile, the government-controlled WRF still successfully puts the take-back program in place for effective collection of used products.The rest of this paper is organized as follows: after this Introduction, The next section describes the current status of recycling business in Taiwan. Some brief descriptions of our proposed recycling management system are presented in the third section. The results and comparisons between the flat rate and dynamic rate are discussed in the fourth section, and while the last section concludes this study and provides some managerial suggestions.\nRecycling business in Taiwan: In Taiwan, based on the concept of EPR, legislations and take-back programs for recovery resources had come in enforcement in 1988. In response of the increasingly attentions to environmental improvements, the recycling infrastructure, which governs ten categories of recycling including waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), has evolved in order to achieve sustainability. The development of legislations, policies, and systems on collection, recycling and disposal of recovery resources are indications of major changes for recycling management in Taiwan.Evolution of recycling system in Taiwan\nImprovement for sustainability: Problem recognition\nResults and discussion: Our modified recycling system proposes that the recycling fee is dynamically adjusted subject to the level of DfE engagement, and the purpose of this policy alternative attributes to provide a financial incentive for design changes and industrial scaling-up. For recycling and treatment plants, processing these designate recyclable products can result in higher economic profits of the secondary components/materials. WRF, in turn, decreases the rate of a recycling fee next period, which contributes to the lower production costs of producers. That is, the higher recyclability of a given product is, and the more financial rewards directly come to the manufacturer of that product. Consequently, based on the cost-effective consideration, the DfE concern is able to embed to the core of manufacturers.The model is initialized with a replicated configuration of Taiwan. To explore the impacts of the proposed policy on product design changes, simulation results are generated for further discussions. First, we consider the interaction between profits of manufacturers and the level of DfE engagement, shown as Figure 5, describing an accumulative positive relationship between these two elements over a 40-year period. If the new policy allows the costs and benefits of the design changes are borne by the same producers, the results show that higher profit margin of a manufacturer is viable. The reason is that the overall generation of value, which amounts to the reductions on recycling fees, contributes higher profit margins. As the net profits of the individual producer increase, the cost-effective consideration will lead the producers to design for recyclable, suggesting that our proposed policy provides the strong potential to spur DfE.From an environmental cost-saving standpoint, a variable recycling fee policy is to be recommended as DfE is the focus of manufacturing policy. The more engagement of DfE a given product, the lower negative impacts on environment and recycling management system that particular product. The individual producer therefore benefits from lower costs of recycling fees. In other words, our proposed policy provides a cost-effective option for manufacturers to deal with the obstacles of environmental pollutions and thus encourage environmental sound design.We consider the selling prices for processed secondary component/materials. As shown in Figure 6, the recyclability of designate product eventually affects the quality and, in turn, trend of the prices of recycled components/materials dismantled from every category of used products. Compared to the current policy, the variable recycling fee policy is viable with higher margins of the secondary components. Therefore, the considerable amount of additional value will certainly be of interest to the smelting industries as it provides more revenues to the recycling and treatment plants. Based on Figure 6, material efficient products create advantages in quality and prices of recycled components and material, providing financial incentives not only for existing processors to gain extra profits, but also for other companies to be of interest to the recycling business.The results in Figures 5 and 6 show that focused on the economic benefits caused by secondary materials in higher qualities, our proposed DfE reward system directly offers a profitable opportunity for treatment companies and indirectly provides increasing profits for that particular manufacturer. In addition, the greatest monetary value of the product recycling is created by energy/material efficient technologies/products, thus given on increasing value added, greater attention has been paid to the developments of business and market regarding to recycling and treatment facilities, second-hand products and recycled resources. Overall, the benefits in proposing a dynamic recycling fee policy have been identified by economic, environmental, and social aspects.\nConclusion: In response of growing attentions on sustainability and waste reduction, many countries in the world have developed a number of interrelated legislations, in terms of economic, administrative, and informative instruments. Taiwan's recycling system, both management and business mechanism, has been experienced significant changes to achieve better resource recovery practices.This paper draws attention of European business and research. Having been operational for a decade, Taiwan's recycling system provides a good opportunity to study the evolution of management as it demonstrates an implementation experience for various environmental policies. Moreover, an examination of Taiwan's recycling system finds that it generates economic and social benefits, providing a good example of setting up an efficient national paradigm.Regardless of the progressive success for the current system in Taiwan, a flat rate recycling fee scheme possesses limited inspiration to promote the concept of DfE. In order to improve the economic-based incentive for spurring DfE, we propose a dynamic recycling fee policy to increase the level of DfE engagement. This policy is proved to lead to changes for entrepreneurs and manufacturers toward to environmentally friendly products design and financial benefits for flourishing the recycling industry.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to examine the recycling business in Taiwan as well as its impacts on the collection, environment, economy, and society, providing a good example of setting up an efficient national paradigm.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - This paper proposes an alternative policy of dynamic rate of recycling fee as Taiwan's current recycling system is not beneficial to spurring design for environment (DfE).\nFindings: - The paper demonstrates that this improvement will indeed result in changes for entrepreneurs and manufacturers toward green design and financial benefits for flourishing the recycling industry.\nOriginality/value: - Regardless of the progressive success for the current system in Taiwan, a flat rate recycling fee scheme possesses limited inspiration to promote the concept of DfE. In addition to existing literature, the proposed dynamic recycling fee policy demonstrates the increased level of DfE engagement.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Of locals and insiders: A "localized" humanitarian response to the 2017 mudslide in Mocoa, Colombia?
|
[
"Development",
"Conflict",
"Colombia",
"Humanitarian aid",
"Disaster response",
"Localization",
"Peacebuilding",
"Conflict disaster nexus"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: In the early morning of April 1, 2017, the city of Mocoa, Colombia, suffered a massive mudslide when torrential rains led three smaller rivers to burst their banks, releasing a giant flow of water, mud and rocks that destroyed half the city. Soon after, Mocoa was \"flooded\" again, but this time by the large diversity of Colombian and international humanitarian entities that came to provide disaster relief in addition to the already present local and international actors. All major actors heavily criticized how the disaster was handled, also attributing mishaps to the context in which the disaster occurred. Mocoa is located in Putumayo, one of the poorest departments in Colombia and has been strongly marked by the Colombian civil conflict. The disaster occurred at a time of transition, four months after the historic peace agreement (Acuerdo de Paz) that formally ended over forty years of civil conflict on November 24, 2016. Against this backdrop, we argue that the disaster has reshuffled the cards for both state and international actors. It provided the Colombian state with an opportunity to prove its capacities and legitimacy toward its rural \"peripheral\" citizens, and the international actors with a chance to reaffirm the need for their continued presence after the peace accord. The disaster response, therefore, offers an exemplary case of what the United Nations (UN) termed the \"triple nexus\" (UN General Assembly, 2016a), showcasing the entanglement of humanitarian aid with intentions of development and peacebuilding.\n2. Qualifying and interrogating \"the local\": The localization process intends to give greater (financial) recognition and visibility to the long present efforts and achievements of local actors. It is embedded within a broader paradigm shift which has been called for, and has to a lesser extent occurred, within international humanitarian circles (Barnett, 2011, p. 164; Spiegel, 2017; Hilhorst, 2018). A shift toward what Hilhorst (2018) labels \"resilience humanitarianism,\" extends the moral obligation of humanitarian actors to a broader mandate that blurs the boundaries with development and poverty alleviation, and combines humanitarianism, development and peacebuilding under a triple nexus.\n3. Methodology: This case study is part of the \"When disasters meet conflict\" research project[1]. The paper builds on qualitative interviews with key humanitarian actors, conducted by the first author between September and December 2017 in Bogota. By that time, many actors involved in the Mocoa response had retreated to their national headquarters. A ten-day field visit to Mocoa allowed for direct insight of the context and interaction with community members and Mocoa-based NGOs (Mocoa NGOs). Data collection focused on perceived relationships, legitimacies, challenges and opportunities during the disaster response, as well as broader post-Acuerdo de Paz dynamics. These themes were partly derived from our literature review and further adjusted as exchanges with our research participants progressed.\n4. Situating the research: the triple nexus in Colombia: For half a century, Colombia has been amidst a conflict between government and several guerilla groups. Violence and human rights abuses have been an inseparable part of the conflict, occurring both within and outside of the context of combat. Resultantly, much of the population has been forcibly displaced and suffers high levels of poverty and social vulnerability (Wisner and Gaillard, 2012).\n5. Findings: This section first describes the competing legitimacy claims between the state and non-state response blocs and links these to the response processes and outcomes as experienced by the actors. Second, it juxtaposes actors' self-perceived legitimacies with local perceptions of trust and legitimacy. Third, an institutional \"insider\" map is plotted following local perceptions of trust and legitimacy, which yields suggestions as to how a locally led response in Mocoa could have been achieved.\n6. Conclusion: This study set out to contribute to a deeper understanding of why and how humanitarian response should be \"localized,\" particularly in conflict-affected settings. It focused on the immediate humanitarian response, leaving out the recovery and reconstruction phase. Additional research on the latter would be very relevant as it likely uncovers a different constellation of local, national and international actors, policies and power relations.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: Through the case of the response to the 2017 Mocoa mudslide, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to a deeper understanding of why and how humanitarian response should be locally led, particularly in more complex contexts such as those affected by conflict.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study draws on qualitative data collected during a four-month period in 2017, with a focus on the immediate April 2017 emergency phase which presented the largest diversity of local, national and international actors.\nFindings: The study has found that competing legitimacy claims between the state and non-state response blocs led to tensions and confrontations between disaster response actors and consequently a problematic response process and outcome. The institutional map that was plotted based on locally perceived actor legitimacies indicates a local state-led response would have better served the broader goals of humanitarian support, development and peacebuilding.\nPractical implications: These findings have significant implications for the understanding of how the locally led response should be understood. Better alignment with local needs and feasibilities requires a differential outlook on what is to be understood as \"local.\" This study puts forward the insider/outsider lens as a tool to identify the actors who possess local trust and legitimacy and are thus best suited to bridge the elements of the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding triple nexus.\nOriginality/value: This study gives a voice to state actors, which was largely absent in previous studies.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Inclusive global education: implications for social justice
|
[
"Education",
"Social justice",
"Social inclusion",
"Teachers"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n__NO_TITLE__: It is the gaps between me and those who think differently than I - which is to say everyone, and not simply those segregated by differences in generation, sex, nationality, sect, and even race - [that] define the real boundaries of the self (Danto, 1984, p. 347).\nWhy have global education and inclusive education not intersected?: We believe that, although the two fields are complementary and have much to offer one another, the distance between global education and inclusive education stems from the historical context of the two fields, which parallels a divergence in the theoretical framework between them. We begin this section with definitions of global education and inclusive education and then discuss each of their unique historical contexts. We end this section with a discussion of the theoretical lens that may explain the differences and point to some commonalities.Definition of global education\nNeed for the intersection of global education and inclusive education: For education leadership personnel, the major benefit of an intersection between global education and inclusive education is that the two fields can inform one another in their mutual goal to teach respect for the \"other\", thus transcending the politics of universalism and the politics of difference. As noted above, whereas global educators traditionally focus on learning to understand and come to respect the cultural, social, and political \"other\", the traditional focus of special educators is to empower students to gain self-respect. Global educators and special educators can combine their knowledge of both fields. Together, global inclusive educators can forge pedagogical content knowledge that bridges the gap between affirming one's own identity and maintaining unity with the whole, and exemplify a robust notion of social justice. In our hope to transcend the divide between diversity and unity, we join with philosopher Charles Taylor (1994), inclusive educator Alfredo Artiles (Artiles et al., 2006), multicultural educator James Banks (Banks et al., 2005), and global educator Merry Merryfield (Merryfield and Wilson, 2005), all of whom identify a similar divide in their respective fields, and articulate their hopes for a way through this divide, both in theory and in practice.Intersection between the two fields\nDefinition of social justice - multiple views of social justice in the global education and inclusive education discourses: Social justice is defined according to a variety of perspectives in the global education and inclusive education discourses. In global education, James Banks (2003, 2004, 2005) has put teaching for social justice at the forefront of the goals of global education. Banks articulates social justice in terms of citizenship education. In Democracy and Diversity: Principals and Concepts for Educating Citizens in a Global Age, Banks et al. (2005) identify four fundamental principles that they think should be the lynchpins of citizenship education programs. These principles are the following:* unity and diversity;* global interconnectedness;* human rights; and* experience and participation.The first three principles address the suggested foci of citizenship education programs, while the last principle is an acknowledgement that for programs to be effective, students should be encouraged to put their knowledge into action. An essential key to reaching these principles, argues Banks (2004), is the attainment of the knowledge, skills and attitudes of social justice. Gaudelli (2003) discusses social justice in terms of civic action, one of the six themes he identifies as the major threads in the development of global education. According to Gaudelli (2003), for Case (1993) and Merryfield (2001), the emphasis in social justice is on facilitating \"action that changes the perception of the individual\" (p. 23), rather than on advocating activism per se, which can be construed as indoctrination. In his categorization of social justice as civic action, and his discussion of civic action as both reflection and action, Gaudelli views social justice like Banks, as encompassing knowledge, skills, and attitudes.In the field of inclusive education, Lipsky and Gartner (1996) justified the notions of transforming special education based on ideals of social justice given the long history of exclusion from access to the general education curriculum. Dyson (1999) critically evaluated the discourses of inclusion, categorizing the discourses as justification (reasons for an inclusive educational system) and implementation (ways to carry out an inclusive model). The justification discourse is based on a rights and ethics discourse, where the dual educational system is critiqued as a barrier to systemic changes, especially systemic change that makes education responsive to an increasingly diverse society and privileges professional groups who resist inclusion efforts (e.g. Artiles et al., 2004). In contrast, the efficacy discourse critiques segregated special education models on the grounds of its failure to promote student learning (e.g. Johnson, 2004). Similarly, the implementation discourse is built on the political discourse - it argues that political actions must address inequitable conditions (e.g. Howe, 1996), and on a pragmatic discourse which focuses on the classroom practices that provide effective instruction (e.g. Skrtic, 1991; Ainscow, 1994; Udvari-Solner, 1995; Vaughn and Schumm, 1995; Villa and Thousand, 2005).Artiles et al. (2006) argue that neither the justification nor the pragmatic discourse is really helpful towards transforming schooling. The disparate and often contradictory perspectives on social justice can be framed as based on individualistic views (where special education exists to assist individuals compensate for their unique characteristics which then disadvantages them in schools by segregation, labeling, etc.). Although some would argue that labeling is a way to access services for those with disabilities, the most common criticism of the individualistic view is that goals and structures of traditional education are not replaced (e.g. assessments, discipline regulations) and thus perpetuate inequities. In contrast, the communitarian view of social justice focuses on creating learning communities based on care and responsibility which can be problematic given the limitations of community-based governance (e.g. inequities across communities can be perpetuated).Although we appreciate criticism of individualistic and communitarian views of social justice posited by Artiles et al. (2006), we do not agree with the stance taken by Christensen (1996). Christensen argues that one group has to lose for the other group to gain rights: \"transformation of the social identity of one group [e.g. the dis-abled, the culturally different racial minority] will not occur if the social identity of the other group [e.g. the abled, the cultureless European American] remains intact\" (p. 76). Instead, we see a parallel between Artiles's communitarian view of social justice and Taylor's politics of dignity, and Artiles's individualistic view of social justice and Taylor's politics of difference. We believe, as Taylor does, that one can go beyond the tension between the politics of dignity and the politics of difference by accepting the \"other\" on his or her own terms. Just as Taylor (1994) contends that one can transcend the tension between the politics of difference and the politics of dignity by accepting the other on his or her own terms, we think that, in a similar way, one can transcend the difference between the communitarian and the individualistic views of social justice. Taylor (1994, p. 72) calls this acceptance \"the presumption of equal worth\" and argues that we only need a sense of our own limited part in the whole human story to accept this presumption. We argue that the presumption of equal worth can take us past the divide between individualistic and communitarian views of social justice as well.More concretely, we believe that a conscious and deliberate collaboration between inclusive educators and global educators can put into action the transcendence mentioned by Artiles, Taylor, Banks, and others. Since one of the primary aims of both fields is to facilitate the teaching and learning of respect for oneself and the other, it is our hope that by working together, a bridge can be built to a place where recognition for the community is based on respect of each individual who resides within it.\nPromoting inclusive global education for teacher education and education leadership personnel: Transcending individualistic and communitarian perspectives can lead naturally to ways of thinking and teaching about inclusive global education. Cochran-Smith (1999) has \"steadfastly insisted that there are no recipes, no best practices, no models of teaching that work across differences\" (p. 114). She has, however, argued that \"ongoing inquiry within communities is one of the most promising strategies for preservice teachers learning to teach for social justice\" (p. 115).We suggest that a teacher may be the only person who can show a student how to interact with people who are different - different across race, ethnicity, linguistic competence, or intellectual ability. In addition, any person in an education leadership capacity (e.g. a assistant principal in charge of discipline) can show a student the face of social justice or the face of injustice. Thus it is important for education leadership personnel to support their teachers' creation, invention, and field testing of strategies that promote inclusive global education.Landorf et al. (2007) suggest pedagogical strategies that provide opportunities for students and leadership personnel to experience and gain respect for the \"other\". The common element among the strategies is their reliance on problematizing - a procedure that positions the individual to hold seemingly opposite points of view at the same time, thus leading to an appreciation of multiple perspectives. To bridge the gap between global education and inclusive education, we suggest using these strategies in both global education and inclusive education classrooms. We encourage education leadership personnel together with in-service and pre-service teachers to explicitly address the tensions caused by differences that exist in their schools and communities, and create situations in which two seemingly opposite points of view can be held at the same time. The common thread for the strategies is to create larger and larger circles of awareness where people are capable of interacting positively with others who are different.Problematizing as pedagogy\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The overarching purpose of this paper is to empower K-12 educators, colleagues in teacher education programs, and educational leadership personnel to address social justice issues within communities where divergent perspectives abound.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The authors use a discursive method to uncover the historical and theoretical differences between global education and inclusive education, identify the ways in which the two fields are complementary, and propose strategies for education leadership personnel that build on the commonalities and best practices of both fields.\nFindings: - The authors argue that the two fields have essential elements that can and should inform each other. They term this intersection \"inclusive global education\". They integrate the concepts from global education and inclusive education to define inclusive global education as a pedagogical and curricular stance, a way to honor the diverse cultural, linguistic, physical, mental, and cognitive complexities of all people, and a process that puts problematization of social justice issues at the center of leadership and teaching/learning activities.\nPractical implications: - Whereas global educators traditionally focus on learning to understand and come to respect the cultural, social, and political \"other\", the traditional focus of special educators is to empower students to gain self-respect. The authors argue that the first step involves a discourse that allows people with equally compelling but different views to learn to problematize issues of social justice. Once this first step is taken, inclusive global educators can come to agreements within diverse communities as to how to address local or global social justice issues. The authors further argue that global educators and special educators combine their knowledge of both fields. Together, global inclusive educators can forge pedagogical content knowledge that bridges the gap between affirming one's own identity and maintaining unity with the whole, and exemplifies a robust notion of social justice.\nOriginality/value: - The authors believe this is the first attempt to integrate the conceptual and theoretical assumptions of two divergent knowledge bases (global education and inclusive education).\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Understanding structures and practices of meaning-making in industrial networks
|
[
"Networks",
"Business-to-Business marketing",
"Social semiotics",
"Atmosemiosphere",
"Structurational discourse"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: The relationship \"atmosphere\" is a key concept in business-to-business marketing and specifically in the interaction approach to industrial marketing (Ford and Hakansson, 2006; Cantu et al., 2013; Ford and Hakansson, 2013). Atmosphere tends to comprise the more nebulous features of interaction and communication in the business-to-business (B2B) environment. Following Hedaa and Tornroos (2007), we believe that there is room to develop the \"atmosphere\" concept further by exploring the network as a key metaphor in the introduction of the idea of the \"atmosemiosphere\" - what we define as the semiotic environment where the interrelation of parts in an organized whole, i.e. between structures and behaviours, is brokered through discourse. Table I provides an outline comparison between atmospheric and atmosemiospheric conceptions.\n2. Social semiotics: Social semiotics is a branch of the field of semiotics which tries to explain meaning-making as a social practice by exploring the implications of the fact that the \"codes\" of language and communication are formed by social processes (Thibault, 1991; Van Leeuwen, 2005). In other words, signs are not causal determinants of meaning but resources from which meaning is made. Social semiotics tries to account for the variability of semiotic practices by illustrating how individual creativity, changing historical circumstances and new social identities and projects can all change patterns of usage and design (Hodge and Kress, 1988). From a social semiotic perspective, rather than being fixed into unchanging \"codes\", signs are considered to be resources which people use and adapt (or \"design\") to make meaning. It is, thus, the study of the social interaction of meaning-making, and of the power of human processes of signification and interpretation (known as semiosis) in shaping individuals and societies whether visual, verbal or aural in nature (Thibault, 1991). Different systems for meaning-making, or possible \"channels\" (e.g. speech, writing and images), are known as semiotic modes. Semiotic modes can include visual, verbal, written, gestural and musical resources for communication. They also include various multimodal ensembles of any of these modes (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2001). Social semiotics include the study of how people design and interpret meanings, the study of texts and the study of how semiotic systems are shaped by social interests and ideologies, and how they are adapted as society changes (Hodge, 1988; Kress, 2009).\n3. Network environments: We propose the \"atmosemiosphere\" as an appropriate construction of the environment and do so through a structurational view of discourse because it better enables us, as researchers of business interaction, to uncover the features of discourse that tend to be unconscious or tacit. This approach can provide access to actors' practical consciousness - what they \"know\" but cannot express explicitly except through their discursive actions. This is because from a discourse structurational perspective, actors within the atmosemiosphere engage in purposive communication action that can achieve manifest outcomes, that reflect socially constructed reality and which has the potential to change entrenched social structures (Heracleous and Hendry, 2000). What this view of the environment embraces, is that the notions of time and context are very important and it takes us in a direction away from attempting to generate grand theories of business interaction that transcend context.\n4. Symbolic and metaphorical aspects of organizational discourse: There has been ongoing and growing interest in the study of metaphor within organizational research (Cornelissen et al., 2008) and, since the late 1970s, a great deal of attention has been paid to the symbolic and metaphorical aspects of organizational discourse and the role that language plays in mediating shared understanding in the development and ongoing maintenance of organizational structures (Heracleous and Hendry, 2000). The premise of this paper is that this can and should be extended outside any focal organization to the context of inter-organizational interaction in networks. Environments and behaviours, from this perspective, are structurated through the mediation of discourse. Environmental aspects are enacted in behaviour and the principal medium of this structuration process is discourse. Using Giddens' (1984) structuration as a principal theoretical resource means that \"discourse is viewed as a duality of communicative actions and structural properties, recursively linked through the modality of actors' interpretive schemes\" (Heracleous and Hendry, 2000, p. 1,251) so that the subject can be seen as both constrained and enabled by structures differently in different contexts. Being both enabling and constraining, these structural features of discourse are used in particular contexts for actors' opinions, ideas or argumentations to be seen as legitimate and worthy of attention. Discursive structural features can be used as a resource for effective argumentation characterized by a \"seeming\" probability, i.e. what actors in a social context view to be the true and not necessarily what is true. Here \"practical consciousness\" becomes the key modality to understand because it translates structures and action in both directions. Schemas/scripts are the most readily accessible manifestation of practical consciousness and they operate in contexts reflecting the heterogeneity of both structures and actions.\n5. The role of myths and metaphors in meaning-making: From a social semiotic viewpoint, sense-making involves intersubjective creations of reality through ongoing interaction with others which construct and communicate meaning \"and of the essential role of language in enabling us to reflexively describe the social world around us, for instance, through telling stories about some aspect of it\" (Fuller and Lewis, 2002, p. 320). We adopt nominalist assumptions that, in interaction, people largely \"see what they believe\" and that through the meanings/beliefs they create, emerge the realities that they intersubjectively project. As a result, we propose that an important focus of research is to explain how \"discourse\" affects intersubjective sense-making through myth-making, how meanings arise, how beliefs come to be formed and who benefits most from them.\n6. Key elements of atmosemiospheres: Atmosemiospheres are an understanding of the atmosphere environments of networks when taking into account the importance of rather paradoxical semiotic exchanges and complex communicative interactions between structures of meanings and their enactments. In the atmosemiosphere, nothing is ever fully structured or fully processsual, and it contains both homogenous meanings and heterogeneous contextual meaning. The atmosemiosphere - a semiotics environment of panrelational signs or semiosphere - is heterogeneous and signs operate in this environment differently in different contexts. Therefore, signs cannot be regarded as universal or decontextual, homogenous or stable. We propose three notions that are key discursive enablers in the constitution of atmosemiosheres, namely, intertextuality, tropes and narratives.\n7. Implications for industrial marketing research: 7.1 Industrial marketing discourse and research implications\n8. Conclusions: In this paper, we have examined discursive webs and how interconnected modern myths influence what is believed within groups and how these holographic, projected images affect ideological formations and how members use them to \"see what they believe\". We have explored the complex \"atmosemiospheres\" of industrial marketing research and its concomitant language games. The discursive webs on which these games are played are formed of narratives, plots and stories and metaphors and other tropes. We have argued that research cultures create and maintain meanings through web-like connotations and intertextual indirectness, which tie together the new, unknown and unexpected with the familiar fictions and myths of established received wisdoms. Our argument, therefore, is a \"business networks as discursive constructions\" (Leclercq-Vandelannoitte, 2011) approach in that discursive nets, webs of narratives and stories and labyrinths of tropes are just as important in constituting networks as more tangible aspects of networks of actor relationships and patterns of other activities and resources.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: This paper aims to propose an approach for exploring industrial marketing network environments through a social semiotic lens.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This conceptual paper introduces social semiotic perspectives to the study of business/industrial network interaction.\nFindings: This paper describes how structures of meaning derived from a cultural history of signification and interpretive processes of meaning in action are co-determined in social semiosis. The meaning of environments using this social semiotic approach is emphasised, leading us to explore the idea of the \"atmosemiosphere\" - the most highly complex business network level, in illustrating how meaning is made through structuration between structures of meaning and their enactments in interactions between actors within living business networks.\nPractical Implications: Figurative language plays an important role in the structuration of meaning. This facilitates establishing plots and, therefore, in the actors' capability to tell a story, which starts with knowing what kind of story can be told. By implication, the effective networker must be a consummate moving \"picture maker\" and, to do so, she must have competence in narrative, emplotment, myth-making, storytelling and figuration in more than one discursive repertoire.\nOriginality/value: In using a structurational discourse perspective informed by social semiotics, our original contribution is a \"business networks as discursive constructions\" approach, in that discursive nets, webs of narratives and stories and labyrinths of tropes are considered just as important in constituting networks as networks of actor relationships and patterns of other activities and resources.\n",
"role": "assistant"
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] |
Is honest feedback always a good idea? And why is there concern about bullying?
|
[
"Feedback",
"Managers",
"Bullying"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The rhetoric of good management tends to suggest that giving feedback to people to help them with their learning is a good thing. Managers are exhorted to be honest with people and to help their direct reports to get a realistic sense of their performance and any development needs. There is also the notion that this kind of feedback is best done as soon as possible after an event - rather than waiting for an annual performance review or appraisal meeting.Clearly there are cultural differences here and it is well known that in certain countries it is unwise to be too direct with people. This is especially where the notion of a person losing face through negative feedback is seen as unacceptable. However, under the influence of globalization, practices that have been common in North America and Western Europe appear to be spreading across large organizations, and especially multinational corporations. Therefore some of the downsides of honest, open feedback may spread.Managers are especially encouraged to address poor performance and to push their direct reports to improve. This may occur through the identification of weaknesses that a person is exhorted to address through development. In this piece I want to focus on just one issue related to feedback and that is where an individual may not be performing well, but challenges this feedback on the grounds that it is \"bullying\".\nBullying: I am aware that alongside the pressure to address poor performance there has been a growth in allegations of bullying against managers, especially in the public sector in the UK, where there has been a climate that has encouraged staff to complain about their managers and, possibly, take legal action against them.I abhor unwarranted bullying where a manager picks on a person for no good reason and may use racist, sexist or homophobic language to put a person down. Real bullying is clearly unacceptable and managers who pick on individuals in order to belittle them should not be managers. However, experience in public sector organizations in the UK (and in a few private sector companies) suggests that individuals who are challenged about poor performance are then alleging bullying against their manager, when the manager has not been bullying at all.Many managers in these organizations have decided not to give any negative feedback to poor performers because they fear allegations of harassment and bullying. Organizations with grievance procedures that encourage complaints against managers are finding that managers would rather help a poor performer to find another job (even to the extent of supporting a promotion) in order to move them on, rather than risk a grievance being brought against them.Clearly there was reluctance among some managers to provide honest feedback long before complaints against managers were given any support. However there appears to be a growing malaise around giving any kind of negative feedback, even by good managers who, in the past, have tried to be honest and straightforward with their staff.\nCoaching: One context that can put managers at risk is in coaching. Managers are encouraged to hold confidential one-to-one coaching sessions with individuals. In such a context the manager may draw attention to development needs and may suggest ways that the person could learn to improve. However, where an individual becomes aware of major development needs, they may feel that they need to take action to avoid any notion that their career may be in jeopardy. Given the confidential nature of the discussion, if it comes to a dispute then it is the manager's word against their direct report, if allegations are made against the manager.One route for managers has been to put things in writing in order to be clear about development needs. However, other managers have feared that a written document might open them up to challenge and therefore have wanted to keep discussions on a purely oral basis. Other organizations have used 360 degree feedback to identify performance issues and have hoped that this would give better grounds for encouraging poor performers to accept the views of others. Then again, 360 degree feedback can be undermined if people are not honest in their ratings.\nOrganization culture: A problem for a manager who wants to operate ethically and who cares about poor performance is that the culture of some organizations provides an ideal context for complaints against managers. Weak top management and strong union officials can be one basis for creating this climate. Note that I am not criticizing the presence of unions in organizations. Where a union supports learning activities and union officials take a positive position on assisting individuals with real grievances, then that can be valuable. However recently I have come across union officials who create problems in order to further their careers - and they have no regard for the impact of unwarranted grievances on an organization. They encourage staff to complain about harassment and bullying so that they can have cases with which to attack management and make a name for themselves.In the latter circumstances, it can be difficult for managers to withstand the pressures on them. Acting with courage to address poor performance can be quite a trial. Yet, one has to ask if managers should not act with integrity in situations where members of the public are put at risk. I have seen social services managers avoid tackling poor performance and children's lives have been put at risk as a result. Indeed in the UK there have been a number of official inquiries into the deaths of children that have found that poor performance was not addressed by managers - and the latter have been publicly criticized for this. Yet, I also know that in many of these organizations there is a strong union culture and one where managers have feared to give honest feedback to staff.It's also the case that HR departments in these organizations have often wanted a quiet life and have been prepared, for instance, to pay money to complainants to buy them off. Unfortunately, this strategy gets around and can encourage more people to make spurious complaints.\nFeedback and learning: I want to reiterate here that I am against real bullying and, indeed, inept feedback. I also recognize that some managers give feedback about poor performance without providing development support for the individual. They somehow imagine that just telling the person to improve will result in change in behavior when we know that this may not happen. Managers do need to link feedback about performance to notions of how to address the performance issues through learning new ways of working. However, learning new behaviors can feel threatening to some people and they may resist such learning. This can be where things get tricky.I have always advocated that people be given a chance to learn to address performance issues before being judged via a performance review or appraisal. Individuals need to know honestly, what they need to learn - and the chance to learn it - before their manager makes judgments that may affect pay and rewards and career prospects. However there are still people who will resist learning and try to avoid the discomfort of changing their behavior. This is where such individuals can search for evidence, no matter how spurious, that they are being bullied and therefore cannot be challenged by their manager.While it's nice for trainers and developers to have optimistic expectations that everyone in an organization wants to learn and change, some people resist the tough learning that can go with fundamental behavior change. They may have become highly skilled at avoiding this more challenging learning. Here is where we get back to the tricky issues for managers in challenging such individuals.\nConclusion: There are no easy answers. Except that I do believe that managers do need to earn their extra pay and rewards by doing the right thing. If that means that they face action against them maybe they need to have the courage to face that. The alternative is to give succor to those who resist learning and change, who get away with poor performance, who model a way of working to other staff (\"if X can avoid performing well then so can I\") and who may eventually even threaten the existence of the organization.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The purpose of this paper was to expose the problems associated with honest feedback, especially when it is seen as negative\nDesign/methodology/approach: - The paper is based on work done in a variety of organizations as well as published sources.\nFindings: - The paper finds that managers can find themselves the subject of allegations of bullying etc. if they provide negative feedback in a context where managers are undermined either by senior management or by the legal system.\nPractical implications: - The paper has real practical implications for leaders/managers and learning and development professionals, as it is unique in exposing a real problem that is glossed over in much management writing.\nOriginality/value: - The paper will be of value to managers and learning specialists as it raises important issues about the need to tread carefully if they are working in a culture, which provides opportunities for people to make unwarranted allegations against managers.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A new life: conversion of vacant office buildings into housing
|
[
"Office buildings",
"Housing",
"The Netherlands"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Problem\nVacancy: Market\nBuilding stock: Conversion to decrease the office supply\nWhich buildings are suitable for conversion?: Market\nBrakes, triggers and risks: Brakes\nCases: Introduction\nReflection and conclusion: Most examples of converted buildings are examples of successful architecture; buildings which become monuments. These buildings will be reused, whether they are functionally efficient or not. Converting nondescript and unarticulated buildings makes sense from the point of view of sustainability, both ecologically and in an urban regeneration context. These projects will only be interesting to developers if they are economically feasible.In our case studies we have looked at buildings that were kept because of economical and social feasibility. In these projects there are strong connections between target group, location and the conversion costs. The former KPN building in central Groningen is interesting for student housing because of its location. The project was feasible because the price was reasonable, the facade did not have to be altered and the fire escapes were satisfactory. In the Eindhoven case, the facade had to be completely renewed because of severe technical problems. The building was completely stripped; the only parts to be reused were the concrete skeleton and the staircases. The construction even had to be reinforced. The conversion could only be made feasible if it was developed as high-end apartments. The location added force to this conclusion.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - The vacancy of office buildings leads to financial problems for the owners and social problems for the community, e.g. vandalism, dereliction and deterioration. A solution may be found through the conversion of vacant office buildings into housing. Vacancy-threatened buildings are often part of the mediocre part of the building stock. Does conversion make sense in this case? What are the opportunities, threats and risks? What are the critical success factors? The purpose of this paper is to discuss financial, functional, structural, technical and aesthetic issues.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - Through previous research at the Delft University of Technology, tools are developed to decide the potential for the conversion of buildings. This paper discusses the risks and chances, and brakes and triggers of transformation projects, based on case studies. These case studies are performed through interviews with professionals involved in the transformation process and through analyses of architectural drawings of the before and after situations. For each project two interviews were held, with the architect and the developer or client. The interviews focussed on the process of the transformation projects.\nFindings: - The conversion of nondescript and unarticulated buildings makes sense from the point of view of sustainability, both ecologically and in an urban regeneration context. These projects will only be interesting for developers of commercial real estate if they can be made economically feasible. Social housing associations also have additional social goals. Through a longer investment perspective these associations can wait for property increases through long-term externalities as result of upgrading of the area. In buildings that are kept because of economical or social feasibility there are strong connections between the target group, the location and the conversion costs.\nPractical implications: - The tools developed have proved to be useful for quick scans of the potential for building conversion. This paper is a first step in trying to depict a more detailed view of the risks and chances of building conversions. Knowledge of the risks and chances of conversion is required to make decisions concerning transformation projects.\nOriginality/value: - The paper develops knowledge about transformation projects and decision support tools for the conversion of buildings, based on empirical studies.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
A hedonic model for effective web marketing: an empirical examination
|
[
"Internet",
"Consumer behaviour",
"User interfaces"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: The last decade has seen breathtaking changes in the ways business is conducted. The key driving force is globalisation, which is facilitated by the rapid development of the internet and mobile technologies. The impact of the internet on business practices is manifold. Value creation is increasingly based on the creative and innovative use of information and communications technologies.The internet has three major functions:1. as a means of communication, for example, through e-mail, mailing lists, ICQ and the like;2. as a means of obtaining information, such as online databases, electronic libraries, search engines, the world wide web; and3. as content itself.It is widely recognised that we have entered into what is known as the information age. Information technology (IT) has impacted upon three key areas: the compression of time, overcoming geography and the restructuring of relationships. For many businesses, these ideas have meant increasing the use of new marketing and advertising techniques for the global market (Koh and Tam, 2005; Humphreys et al., 2005; Lin et al., 2005; Rahman, 2004; Scornavacca et al., 2004). The internet world is focusing on using the web for various applications including marketing and advertising (Newman et al., 2004). What makes a viewer attracted to a web page and then interact with the page is an area of much research. However, the focus of this research was on a specific area of web page interface design as exemplified via a real-life promotion campaign conducted recently for a mobile communications conference, the Asia Pacific Mobile Communications Symposium.A great deal of advertising is \"designed\" to move people up the final steps toward purchase. Jones (1995) concludes that \"advertising is capable of a sharp immediate effect on sales: in direct contradiction to Ehrenberg's doctrine that advertising's short-term effect is solely to increase brand awareness\".Thus it is argued that a strategy for marketing information on the web should be based on its \"design capability\" to attract people to stay and participate. Typical user response process is related to the mental state of an individual's awareness level. The response process itself is believed to be influenced by the effect of sensational stimulation. It is hypothesised in this study that visually distinct design and different design features will have influence upon online advertising effects. Visual features in combination with animated design effects will be tested for their influence on user response.\nResearch objective: The objective of this study was to examine the effects of some web page design factors on raising the response to information/product being promoted on a web page. This objective was pursued by studying the effect of visual design stimuli in raising response to information/product being promoted on the web.This research makes several contributions to the body of knowledge on internet advertising to further the understanding of electronic-advertising and consumer behaviour. The findings from the study will be of interest to researchers, advertisers, managers and web designers who wish to design an effective web page. This research paper also reports on innovative experimental design methodology in collecting data by using the latest internet technology. Contributions made by this research study include:* Providing an experimental approach to using a web-based environment to test research hypotheses.* Reporting the effectiveness of visual enhancement variable combinations for web interface design with selected features: graphics, colours, text and animated images.* Reporting the experimental stage of a real case study about the non-commercial organisation, the Asia Pacific Mobile Conference, organised by the HK Institute of Engineers.* Introducing a new experimental design methodology for internet-based marketing research.* Introducing tools previously not known to traditional marketing researchers. These tools include automatic e-mail capture JavaScript, web access log analysis, Yates factorial design and analysis.This research approach aims to contribute to the literature on web graphic design effectiveness for online advertising. Most traditional advertising research (Miller, 1990; Ruth, 1991; Mundorf et al., 1993; Malaviya et al., 1996; James and Alman 1996; Sengupta et al., 1997; McDaniel, 1998); or even recent internet advertising research (Newman et al., 2004) are more often than not studies commonly conducted in simulated or \"laboratory\" conditions, very often recruiting students as their subjects. However, this study (as part of a series of Internet Special Project Group (ISPG)[1] projects) deploys a systematically factorial design methodology on a real promotional campaign, the Asia Pacific Mobile Conference, to investigate and examine the effectiveness of various visual effects on web visitors' responses.\nHow advertising works: Vakratsa and Ambler (1999) (henceforth referred to as V&A) conducted an extensive literature review of over 250 journals and books to establish a framework for studying how advertising affects consumers and how it works. They formulated their studies based on Figure 1.The starting point is advertising as an input for the consumer. Message content, scheduling and frequency are elements of this input box and constitute the advertising strategy that triggers a consumer's response. This first part of the model treats the human mind as a \"Black Box\". It considers only input and behaviour changes, not the thinking, feeling and experience memory effects.The second layer of the model is the filter layer. Individuals who are exposed to an advertisement may simply read on, click on, back-off, skip or act on the advertisement. But these decisions are mediated by factors such as motivation and the ability to process information and attitudes towards the advertisement. The third layer refers to the intermediate type of response underlining the fact that consciously or unconsciously, advertising must have some mental effect (e.g. awareness, memory, attitude) toward the brand before it can affect behaviour. Cognition, the learning and thinking dimension of a person's response, and affect, the feeling and attitudinal component, together with an individual's past experiences constitute the elements of the layer of advertising effect. These elements are concerned with changes in consumer behaviour such as choosing a product, clicking on a web link, etc.In a sense, consumer-oriented network navigation must focus user attention on human-computer interaction, narrowing the focus of awareness so that irrelevant perceptions and thoughts are filtered out. Individuals must perceive a balance between their experiences and the challenges of the interaction. The key consequences of the sequence experience for consumers are increased from learning, exploratory and participatory behaviours, positive subjective experiences, and a perceived sense of the entirety on the interactions.Web marketing is a new form of \"non-intrusive\" advertising, in which the customer actively chooses to visit and interact with the company's marketing communication efforts. Recent efforts involve the merging of information and images in innovative ways. Measures of the duration of time spent at a web site, depth of search through the site, navigation patterns through the site, and repeat visits to the site are crucial outcome measures for evaluating the effectiveness of such a site.Hedonic perspective\nEffectiveness: In this research, web page design is effective if it leads the user to respond immediately. The user will further click on the promotion pages if attracted by such pages. The deeper into a page the user accesses, it will be deemed that the more effective is the page.\nDefine the experimental hedonic design: It is defined by this research study that hedonic design is moving animate graphics or text that attract users' attention. The independent variable is the type of web design. The experimental group is the hedonic design web page that will combine with the animated images, while the control group is formed by the usual and same text and graphics combination without animated images.The variables in this experimental study are colour, text, and graphics, with or without animated images. As such there are eight web page designs that incorporate various combinations of these variables.\nA model of web interface promotion: As revealed in the previous literature review, three RWI attributes were identified as dependent variables for this research. The major aim of this study is to identify the relative effects of these three different features of RWI - namely animated colour background, animated graphics and animated text - on their advertising promotion effectiveness as measured by the number of accesses to various web pages.The following paragraph outlines the variables, including a definition of each of them. It also shows how they, and their combinations, relate to the dependent variables. Mathematically, one can express the model of the experiment as:Hypotheses, dependent variable and independent variables\nResults and findings: The findings are presented in the following sections:* response rate;* treatment web page access statistics; and* analysis of the completely randomised 2x2x2 experiments including testings of main and interaction effects of the three hedonic salience variables.How many responses?\nConclusions: With respect to the aims of the research to investigate the selected visual features and to see the ability to appeal to users' responses and retain their attention using the hedonic stimulation model, the results reveal that there are three main effects and two two-variable interactions which are found to be significant at a 0.1 level.The three main effects are animated colour, animated text and animated graphics. The two two-variable interactions found to be significant are \"Animated Text and Animated Colour\" and \"Animated Colour and Animated Graphics\".In respect to our HSWIDM. No three variables of the hedonic salience interact simultaneously. In operational terms, the major finding regarding the key aim of this research is that all three hedonic salience variables have a main effect and lead to a hedonic valance. These are exemplified by the top three accesses (43, 37 and 36, respectively) of the APMobCom web page from the interface page with single hedonic salience variable. As such the three variables can be used in web page design independently.Contributions\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: - To identify the relative effects of three features of response toward web interface (RWI) on their advertising promotion effectiveness as measured by the number of accesses to various web pages.\nDesign/methodology/approach: - A factorial design experiment was conducted on the internet to empirically test the hedonic stimulation web interface model developed by the authors.\nFindings: - The results reveal that there are three main effects and two two-variable interactions which are found to be significant. In respect to our hedonic stimulation web interface design model (HSWIDM). No three variables of the hedonic salience interact simultaneously.\nResearch limitations/implications: - Among the potential limitations of this research is the main effect of colour in the design of the experiment. The other potential limitation is related to the broad assumption of subjects selected.\nPractical implications: - In operational terms, the major finding regarding the key aim of this research is that all three hedonic salience variables have a main effect and lead to a hedonic valance.\nOriginality/value: - The research adds to the body of literature and knowledge focusing on quantitative internet research and analysis of data using a practical factorial design and analysis method as exemplified in the use of Yates' forward analysis of factorial experiment.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
Entrepreneurial success of cottage-based women entrepreneurs in Oman
|
[
"Gender",
"Rural"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\n1. Introduction: Ongoing social and political societal changes in developing economies have significantly improved access to higher education, employment, political empowerment and economic independence for women but there are still significant barriers to women (Schindehutte et al., 2003; Ghouse et al., 2017; Lourenco et al., 2014). Although gender equality in the areas of education and workplace continues to improve and nuanced understanding of how gender influences entrepreneurial action also expands (Smith, 2014), their traditional roles remains relatively unchanged (Winn, 2004). Many women prefer to establish their own business after childbirth instead of returning to paid employment, believing that self-employment will provide a better balance between work and family. Thus, women choose entrepreneurial platforms with varying bundles of expectations despite their prior limited entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial exposure. This is particularly true in developing economies, such as Oman where traditional gender divisions of labor are still strong. Winn (2004, p. 151) considers many of these women's expectations unrealistic. Clearly, women entrepreneurs play an important role in the development of small business enterprises in so-called transition economies. Several studies in both developing countries like Oman (Ghouse et al., 2017), Iran (Hosseini and McElwee, 2011), Uganda (Lourenco et al., 2014), India, Pakistan (Muhammed et al., 2017) and the Middle East (Mathew, 2010), and in developed economies (DeRosa and McElwee, 2015; DeRosa et al., 2019) show that women's entrepreneurship can become an essential driver of economic growth. Fergany suggests that private sector growth, particularly in the small business sector, where women contribute to growth substantially, could benefit social and economic problems in Arab countries. Influenced by growing trends, the number of Arab women entrepreneurs is growing providing increasing career prospects for women to initiate, shape and manage their own businesses (Tails, 2015; Dechant and Lamky, 2005). There has been little research on the problems experienced by Arab women entrepreneurs as most research on women entrepreneurship is in western or developed economy contexts (Al-Dajani and Marlow, 2013; Marlow and McAdam, 2015). This gap in the literature and extant research is then the research problematic.\n2. Female entrepreneurship: engagement, motivations and expectations: 2.1 Entrepreneurial engagement\n3. Findings: The results of the quantitative survey are tabulated and discussed as below.\n4. EFA and CFA: The findings of the current study are depicted in Table VII.\n5. Hypotheses: H1. There are no significant differences between company types for women entrepreneurs in terms of recognition of business problems dimensions (rejected).\n6. Test of hypothesis: To test the hypotheses we used independent samples t-test in case the demographic variable consists of two categories (gender and qualification), and one-way ANOVA in case the demographic variable consists of more than two categories (universities and age).\n7. Qualitative case studies[1]: Ten of the original respondents were interviewed of which six case studies are presented in the boxes below. These cases are included to enrich the rather stark findings of the quantitative element. From the narratives a number of key themes emerge. These are shown as bullet points after each case.\n8. Conclusion: This research is to explore the experiences of the entrepreneurial journey of Omani women who have set up their own home-based business ventures, consider their needs when engaged with the process, reflecting their entrepreneurial motivations and the outcomes through entrepreneurship on the basis of their experiences. The limited literature on Omani women entrepreneurs reflected has not examined the particular issues facing, in particular rural women entrepreneurs.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate various problems experienced by cottage-based women entrepreneurs to launch and develop their ventures in Oman and to focus on women going beyond their traditional family roles for various reasons to establish themselves in Omani society.\nDesign/methodology/approach: The study applies a mixed research approach using a quantitative survey of 142 cottage-based Omani women entrepreneurs and qualitative face-to-face interviews with ten women entrepreneurs, presented as six short case studies. The intensity of the business-related problems is determined through the exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis is used to confirm the model by determining the goodness of fit between hypothesized model and sample data.\nFindings: Access to government for current business needs, access to specialized suppliers for staying ahead of the competition and high cost of raw materials were the problems mentioned as being important, while marketing-oriented problems were of least concern.\nResearch limitations/implications: This study was undertaken in one region of Oman only and thus poses problems when extrapolating the findings to other areas.\nPractical implications: The study suggests how policymakers can support women entrepreneurs to diversify and start new ventures while simultaneously contributing to the socio-economic development of Oman.\nOriginality/value: Research on cottage entrepreneurship in the context of an Arab country is scarce and the study provides an overview of the obstacles and support required for the development of women entrepreneurship in Oman.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
The moderating influence of national culture on female and male entrepreneurs' social network size and new venture growth
|
[
"Culture",
"Networks",
"Entrepreneurship",
"Gender stereotypes",
"Gender differences",
"New ventures",
"Gender norms",
"Relational orientation",
"Gender egalitarianism"
] |
[
{
"content": "Summarize the following paper into structured abstract.\n\nIntroduction: Over 400m entrepreneurs are estimated to operate ventures in the world today (Asian Entrepreneur, 2019), with approximately 37 percent of ventures owned by female entrepreneurs (Entrepreneur, 2019)[1]. Despite cultural and institutional differences across countries, this entrepreneurial activity is spread fairly evenly throughout the world (Shane, 2010). Entrepreneurs create significant societal benefits as their ventures grow through hiring more employees (Kuschel et al., 2017), delivering innovative, quality-of-life improvements (Morris and Lewis, 1991) and more efficiently and effectively allocating society's resources (Baumol and Blinder, 2008). The growth of female entrepreneurship is particularly important in providing families an option to diversify income streams (Webb et al., 2015), enabling societies to benefit from drawing upon a broader set of valuable assets (Madsen and Scribner, 2017).\nConceptual background and hypotheses: Venture success is influenced by myriad factors, including characteristics of individual entrepreneurs (i.e. their knowledge, the resources and support they garner from their networks, etc.) and their environments (i.e. cultural settings, formal institutions, industry conditions, etc.) (e.g. Shane and Venkataraman, 2000; Shore et al., 2009). Herein, we explain how female vs male entrepreneurs' networks and cultural settings influence their ventures' growth.\nMethod: National cultural contexts\nResults: Table I presents the descriptive statistics of all the study variables for the total sample and for each of the four countries. In total, 25 percent of the ventures were in high technology industries, 46 percent were in trade and services and the remaining 29 percent were in other industries. The average firm size for the total sample is 36 full-time employees (SD=61.5). The mean firm size of the Chinese and Russian samples is larger than that of the French and American samples. This is explained by the following two factors. First, both the Chinese and Russian governments encourage new ventures to employ more workers to help reduce unemployment, providing subsidies, tax releases and other benefits for new firms employing more workers (Batjargal, 2010). Second, the average labor cost in China and Russia is far lower than that of France and the USA, and therefore, it is, in general, much cheaper to employ workers in China and Russia. The average age of entrepreneurs was 39 years (SD=8.5). The mean network size was 5.7 contacts (SD=2.5). The average revenue growth was 36 percent (SD=61). Table II presents the Pearson's correlations of all the study variables.\nDiscussion: Entrepreneurship is a major component of economic activity around the world, and entrepreneurs deliver significant societal benefits as they grow their ventures. Female entrepreneurs represent an increasing proportion of this activity, and not surprisingly, scholars have sought to understand what influences the difference between female and male entrepreneurs' venture activities and outcomes. More recently, scholars have started to investigate the importance of the culture in which entrepreneurs are embedded; specifically, how culture facilitates or constrains activities by shaping expectations of entrepreneurs' interactions with others. Our study sought to build on this burgeoning literature, bridging culture and gender research to provide a deeper understanding of how female vs male entrepreneurs embedded within different national cultures can leverage their networks to achieve venture growth.\nConclusion: Given that new venture creation and growth are important for the economic development in both emerging and developed economies, the present study contributes to both theory and practice in the field of international entrepreneurship through a better understanding of how entrepreneurs' social networks influence the success of new ventures and eventually affects national economic growth. While the gender effect appears to be pervasive across cultures, the effects of social networks are more pronounced in high relational and low gender-egalitarian cultures. This work has important implications for future research on the joint effects of contextual factors (culture), personal characteristics (gender) and social network attributes (size) in the financial growth of new entrepreneurial ventures.\n",
"role": "user"
},
{
"content": "Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to disentangle individual-level gender differences and norm-based gender roles and stereotypes to provide a finer-grained understanding of why female and male entrepreneurs experience different growth returns from their social networks across different national cultures.\nDesign/methodology/approach: This research uses a survey of 637 (278 female and 359 male) entrepreneurs across four nations varying on relational culture (importance of social relationships) and gender egalitarianism (importance of gender equality or neutrality in social and economic roles).\nFindings: The authors find evidence that male entrepreneurs in high relational cultures benefit the most in terms of growth in revenues from larger network size while women in low relational cultures benefit the least. In cultures with low gender egalitarianism, male entrepreneurs benefit more from their larger social networks than did the female entrepreneurs.\nPractical implications: The study presents implications for female entrepreneurs' behaviors to gain more benefits from their social networks, especially in cultural contexts where relationships are important or where there is equality in gender roles. In these contexts, they may need to develop other strategies and rely less on social networks to grow their ventures.\nSocial implications: This research suggests that female entrepreneurs still are disadvantaged in some societies. National policy may focus on developing more opportunities and providing more support to women entrepreneurs as a valuable contributor to economic growth of the nations.\nOriginality/value: The authors disentangle the effects of gender differences, norm-based gender stereotypes and networks on entrepreneurial outcomes.\n",
"role": "assistant"
}
] |
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