Christian A. Rudolf and Stefan Spinler
Large-scale projects are the typical delivery model in the engineering and construction industry, with their very own characteristics. Even though well established, only 1 in…
Abstract
Purpose
Large-scale projects are the typical delivery model in the engineering and construction industry, with their very own characteristics. Even though well established, only 1 in 1,000 large-scale projects is successful (Flyvbjerg, 2011). A lack of effective supply chain risk management (SCRM) has repeatedly been identified as one of the main causes. While the SCRM body of knowledge seems increasingly well established, a lack of effective methods meeting the specific requirements of large-scale projects can be observed.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a structured and prioritized view on the supply chain risk portfolio in this sector: first, the authors identified and categorized the key supply chain risks in the recent literature. Next, the authors surveyed large-scale project managers across multiple industries, mainly coming from the domains of supply chain management and project management. Finally, the authors provide a contextualized risk taxonomy for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects.
Findings
The identified risk portfolio deviates from generic projects significantly and shows a very high inherent risk exposure of large-scale projects. In particular, behavioral risks are identified as crucial. Additionally, a bias to considerably underestimate risks at project beginning is found.
Originality/value
The contextualized SCRM taxonomy offers a systematic and structured view on the key supply chain risks in EPC large-scale projects. The identified risks are considerably different in their characteristics compared to generic projects or classical SCRM approaches. The authors thus provide a new perspective on SCRM in this specific setting and complement traditional risk and project risk management techniques.
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Lanjing Wang and Pratibha Rani
In recent years, a number of researchers have attempted to make an integration of sustainability with supply chain risk management. These studies have led to valued insights into…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, a number of researchers have attempted to make an integration of sustainability with supply chain risk management. These studies have led to valued insights into this issue, though there is still a lack of knowledge about the mechanisms by which sustainability-related issues are materialized as risks in the supply chain management.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper aims to provide a comprehensive framework to evaluate the sustainability risk in the supply chain management mechanism. To do so, a novel approach using the double normalization-based multiple aggregation (DNMA) approach under the intuitionistic fuzzy (IF) environment is extended to identify, rank and evaluate the sustainability risk factors in supply chain management.
Findings
To provide comprehensive sustainability risk factors, this study has conducted a survey using interview and literature review. In this regard, this study identified 36 sustainability risk factors in supply chain management of the manufacturing firms in five different groups of risk, including sustainable operational risk factors, economic risk factors, environmental risk factors, social risk factors, and sustainable distribution and recycling risk factors. The results of this paper found that the poor planning and scheduling was the important sustainability risk in supply chain management of the manufacturing firms, followed by the environmental accidents, production capacity risk, product design risk and exploitative hiring policies. In addition, the results of the study found that the extended approach was effective and efficient in evaluating the sustainability risk factors in supply chain management of the manufacturing firms.
Originality/value
Three aggregation methods based on the normalization techniques are discussed. A DNMA method is proposed under intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs). To propose a broad procedure for identifying and classifying sustainability risk factors (ESFs) in supply chain management. To rank the sustainability risk factor, the authors utilize a procedure for evaluating the significance degree of the sustainability risk factor in supply chain management.
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Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely…
Abstract
Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.
Thomas William Nielsen and Julia Smith
How Steiner brought to bear the role of the imagination in reconciling ideological polarities on its function in an educational setting cannot be fully understood without…
Abstract
How Steiner brought to bear the role of the imagination in reconciling ideological polarities on its function in an educational setting cannot be fully understood without examining the outlook on life from whence it sprang ‐ nor without touching upon historical developments in Western education and the extraordinary life and background of Rudolf Steiner himself. This paper uses historical, biographical and autobiographical commentary to develop an interpretation of the origin of Steiner’s notion of imaginative teaching.
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A large gathering of the Press saw No. 3 in Shell's ‘Industrial Notebook’ series of films, A History of the Oil Engine last month and acclaimed it as one of the most interesting…
Abstract
A large gathering of the Press saw No. 3 in Shell's ‘Industrial Notebook’ series of films, A History of the Oil Engine last month and acclaimed it as one of the most interesting films ever produced for anyone with some slight knowledge of or interest in oil engines. This is a documentary film of importance to recorded history because many of the ‘shots’ have never been seen by the general public before, having lain in archives and museums only. The history is traced from an original sketch of Christian Huygen's gun‐powder engine in the 17th century, through 1861 when Otto first conceived the idea of building a new kind of engine, and James Robson, Ackroyd Stuart, Rudolf Diesel, James McKechnie and others right book ‘An outline history of the oil engine and its lubrication’, and whether one sees the film or not, the book is a ‘must’ for every student of engineering, and for everyone with any interest in oil engines. Many of the stills from the film are reproduced here, the older ones without retouching, and there are reproductions of drawings from old patent specifications of two and four‐stroke gas engines of the 1870/1880 period. In fact wo found that after the film had whetted our appetites and shown us how little we really knew about the early history of the oil engine, this book has enabled us to follow up with confirmation of facts, figures and dates.
The purpose of this article is expository in the main; critical to a lesser degree. It will attempt to show how Karl Marx, enraged by the imperfections and inhumanity of the…
Abstract
The purpose of this article is expository in the main; critical to a lesser degree. It will attempt to show how Karl Marx, enraged by the imperfections and inhumanity of the capitalist society, “fought” for its supersession by the communist society on which he dwelt so fondly, that society which would emerge from the womb of a dying capitalism. It asks such questions as these: Is it possible to create the truly human society envisaged by Marx? Is perfection of man and society a mere will‐o'‐the‐wisp? A brief analysis, therefore, of the imperfections of capitalism is undertaken for the purpose of revealing the evils which Marx sought to eliminate by revolution of the most violent sort. In this sense, the nature of man under capitalism is analysed. Marx found the breed wanting, in a word, dehumanised. An attempt is, therefore, made to discuss the new man of Marxism, man's own creation, and the traits of that new man, one freed at last from the alienating effects of private property, division of labour, money, and religion. Another question that springs to mind is this: how does Marx propose to transcend alienation?
This work concerns William Norman Illingworth [1902–1980]. Disillusioned with teaching in conventional schools and inspired by Rudolf Steiner [1861–1925] he founded Sangreal…
Abstract
Purpose
This work concerns William Norman Illingworth [1902–1980]. Disillusioned with teaching in conventional schools and inspired by Rudolf Steiner [1861–1925] he founded Sangreal School, in 1947, and operated this until the early 1970s. Sangreal was what I describe as a “conservative alternative school”, employing methods and pursuing goals not found in most British schools of the period but, unlike avowedly progressive establishments, guided by socially conservative principles. The purposes of the work are both to rescue his/Sangreal’s story from obscurity and to encourage research to establish if other such schools have existed and, if so, to describe and analyse them in an effort to give the category conservative alternative school the recognition it properly deserves.
Design/methodology/approach
The method is a combination of life history/biography and case study of a specific school.
Findings
The story is interesting in its own terms and points to the existence of a hitherto unnoticed category in history of education.
Research limitations/implications
This work may lead to the proper recognition of a neglected category.
Originality/value
This work deals with a school hitherto unknown to most people and may lead to the recognition of a new category.
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Christian Boris Brunner, Sebastian Ullrich, Patrik Jungen and Franz-Rudolf Esch
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of symbolic product information (symbolic product design) on consumers’ perceived brand evaluations. In an experimental…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of symbolic product information (symbolic product design) on consumers’ perceived brand evaluations. In an experimental setting, the authors consider as key factors the congruence between symbolic product design and product category, the level of product involvement as well as brand strength.
Design/methodology/approach
In an experiment of 490 participants, consumers are confronted to different symbolic product designs connotations. Based on the cognitive process model “SARA” (selective activation, reconstruction and anchoring), the authors examined how symbolic product design associations are used as heuristics in the working memory when making brand judgement.
Findings
The results show that product design associations are used in consumers’ information processing as anchor for brand evaluations. This effect is stronger if symbolic design associations are incongruent to the product category because of consumers’ deeper elaboration process. Furthermore, the impact of symbolic product design is higher for weak compared to strong brands.
Research limitations/implications
This research supports the cognitive process model “SARA” being an appropriate foundation explaining the effects of symbolic product design. Further research should extend this experiment, using a field study in a more realistic setting and/or a choice situation between different alternative product designs at the point of sale. Furthermore, the consumers’ elaboration process should be manipulated differently, e.g. in a mental load condition.
Practical implications
Symbolic product design is important to enhance brand association networks in the consumers’ mind, particularly if the brand is weak. Marketers should use incongruent symbolic product information to differentiate from competitors who use “stereotype” product designs.
Originality/value
Research about product design in the marketing discipline is still limited. The authors analyse the impact of symbolic product design on brand evaluations in an experimental setting of 490 respondents in four product categories. The findings support that consumers use product design as heuristics to evaluate brands.