Daniel Parker, Michael Taylor, Julio Romero Johnson and Keith Robert Thomas
The purpose of this paper is to analyse data from routine quality control samples of beer over a ten year period to provide comparisons with a previous study in 2006 and apply…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse data from routine quality control samples of beer over a ten year period to provide comparisons with a previous study in 2006 and apply interpretations to the contemporary beer market.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from laboratory analysis of 1,469 beers submitted for due diligence quality assurance from commercial microbreweries were analysed. Additional commercial samples were taken for analysis of sour beers and cask conditioned beers as examples of niche product areas.
Findings
Style characteristics were summarized as a reference for industry evaluation and as a basis for comparisons. Differences were noted between the characteristics found and those of a similar study in 2006. Average alcohol by volume increased by 1.2 per cent, bitterness levels increased by 6.1 per cent while colour decreased by 22 per cent. These differences suggest that standard UK beers are undergoing change. A study of sour beers indicated specific features in this recently popular style and confirmed the use of a different microbiology. Analysis of cask ales indicated some variability in quality suggesting the need for greater quality control.
Research limitations/implications
The comparison with the previous study has limitations as the samples were not individually comparable but were from major established microbreweries and so representative of the industry. The work analysed UK beers only but will act as a base line for comparison to other markets. Moreover, the data may be relevant to other forms of market analysis seeking to identify factors associated to consumer preferences.
Practical implications
The data presented have relevance to breweries looking to develop their portfolios and product descriptions, to the drinking public and to regulatory bodies in providing a benchmark for comparisons and for assisting in defining the recently promoted term “craft beer”.
Social implications
The findings are relevant to beverage development and consumer education of alcoholic beverages by allowing discrimination between styles with different characteristics affecting consumer choice and when assessing styles for industrial, legislative and health research. Beers today appear to be more varied than in past decades but show lower colour and higher bitterness characteristics. As these features particularly relate to ingredients they may have implications in their contributions to diet and health.
Originality/value
The work has value in replicating the previous study to illustrate changes and trends. It presents novel data on recently popular sour beers and assesses traditional cask beer with implications for product quality.
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Saul J. Berman, Peter J. Korsten and Anthony Marshall
Digital reinvention helps organizations create unique, compelling experiences for their customers, partners, employees and other stakeholders.
Abstract
Purpose
Digital reinvention helps organizations create unique, compelling experiences for their customers, partners, employees and other stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
Digital reinvention combines the capabilities of multiple technologies, including cloud, cognitive, mobile and the Internet of Things (IoT) to rethink customer and partner relationships from a perspective of fundamental customer need, use or aspiration.
Findings
The most successful digitally reinvented businesses establish a platform of engagement for their customers, with the business acting as enabler, conduit and partner
Practical implications
For successful digital reinvention, organizations need to pursue a new strategic focus, build new expertise and establish new ways of working.
Originality/value
The article offers a blueprint for digital reinvention that involves rethinking customer and partner relationships from a perspective of fundamental customer need, use or aspiration.
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Daniel Osgood, Daniel Cohen, Doug Parker and David Zilberman
One of the most important, least-known documents of the American Revolution was a 25-page pamphlet published in Amsterdam early in 1787: An Explanatory Message Concerning the Funds…
Abstract
One of the most important, least-known documents of the American Revolution was a 25-page pamphlet published in Amsterdam early in 1787: An Explanatory Message Concerning the Funds by Pieter Stadnitski.1 Within a year of its publication Peter Stadnitski's Message quite literally revolutionized American sovereign finance. My paper will summarize in detail the report's content and analyze its arguments in light of Dutch archival materials including deeds, newspaper reports, and letters, as well as congressional records from American sources. It will describe what Dutch investors knew (and did not know) of the state of American public finance and American political landscape, and the Dutch financial community's view of the American future. Its essential argument is that thanks initially to Stadnitski's persuasive case and ultimately to the success of the trusts he pioneered, Dutch investment specialists came to see the American republic as a safe haven at a time that Dutch Republic's own future seemed increasingly perilous. If their dream of achieving a new Golden Age through trade and investment with the new nation ultimately proved illusory, the effects of Dutch capital in creating financial stability for the United States government and igniting the first peacetime economic expansion in American history were revolutionary indeed.
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This paper aims to explore how varsity football athletes and coaches negotiate meanings when faced with the unmet expectations of a new head coach brought into lead a turnaround…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how varsity football athletes and coaches negotiate meanings when faced with the unmet expectations of a new head coach brought into lead a turnaround process. It also aims to pay particular attention to the role of history in this meaning making process.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on semi‐structured interviews with players and coaches at two points in time. To preserve the richness of their experiences and illuminate the historical aspects of change, it focuses on the stories of three players and one supporting coach.
Findings
Numerous symbols of change emerge that have multiple and contradictory meanings. The meanings around success and failure are renegotiated over time as individuals struggle with the unmet expectations of change. Moreover, individuals are unable to shed the failures of the past and move forward.
Practical implications
Change is a complex and messy process of managing multiple meanings. Understanding change entails more than a snapshot picture of an organization. New leaders have no control over the past, yet they need to be aware of how individuals experienced the past in order to increase the likelihood of success in the present.
Originality/value
Success and failure are experienced as an ongoing process as athletes and coaches experience, reflect on and interact with others. In illuminating the role of history in how change is experienced in the present, the paper demonstrates that the past can serve as both an immobilizing force, as well as a comparative point enabling individuals to rationalize their emotions.
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Describes an award‐winning four‐day induction course at UK kitchen retailer Magnet.
Abstract
Purpose
Describes an award‐winning four‐day induction course at UK kitchen retailer Magnet.
Design/methodology/approach
Explains the reasons for the course, how it was developed, the form it takes, and the results it is achieving.
Findings
Details the blended‐learning techniques used in the program, including workshops led by senior directors, instruction in the firm's information‐technology systems, a branch visit and factory tour. Demonstrates that new recruits emerge from the course with a good insight into the business, a keenness to start work and confidence about selling the company's products. Claims that more staff than expected are passing the end‐of‐workshop test, with only 3 percent scoring below the pass rate and 18 percent passing with full marks.
Practical implications
Reveals that the areas covered in the four days used to take up to four weeks to teach before the induction started.
Social implications
Highlights how a proper induction course can help to inspire people and develop their self‐confidence.
Originality/value
Explains that, despite the recession, the induction retains the full support and financial backing of the board, while field‐based directors continue to commit to their presentation slots despite other business pressures.
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Howard H. Lo and Yung‐Tse Hung
The treatment performance of two‐stage secondary treatmentconsisting of a trickling filter followed by activated sludge processfor treatment of combined municipal and industrial…
Abstract
The treatment performance of two‐stage secondary treatment consisting of a trickling filter followed by activated sludge process for treatment of combined municipal and industrial wastewater is determined. The municipal wastewater treatment plant is located in Solon, Ohio, where the treatment units include grit tanks, primary clarifiers, trickling filters, aeration tanks, secondary clarifiers, tertiary filters and chlorine contact tanks. The treatment performance data for a 12‐month period in 1989 was evaluated. The average total plant flow was 2.82 MGD (millions gallons per day) which consisted of 2.19 MGD industrial wastewater and 0.63 MGD domestic wastewater. Raw wastewater was of a high strength mainly due to the contribution from industrial sources. After different degrees of treatment the values of total suspended solids (TSS) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) met US Environmental Protection Agency standards. This plant has good treatment performance with 99 per cent BOD and 98 per cent TSS removal efficiencies.