A “critical case” approach is used to examinewhether the recruitment practices and proceduresadvocated by social scientists within the personnelfield are realised in practice. The…
Abstract
A “critical case” approach is used to examine whether the recruitment practices and procedures advocated by social scientists within the personnel field are realised in practice. The “critical case” selected is the graduate recruitment known as the “milkround”, where “scientific techniques” in theory stand the best chance of being used. In practice a major discrepancy between theory and practice was found, which is explained in terms of the preoccupation with material and symbolic security that conditions the actions of personnel managers in competitively co‐ordinated employment establishments.
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Robert R. Harmon, Haluk Demirkan and David Raffo
This paper aims to explore the strategic dimensions and drivers of sustainable IT and roadmaps its likely development as a disruptive innovative force over the next decade as it…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the strategic dimensions and drivers of sustainable IT and roadmaps its likely development as a disruptive innovative force over the next decade as it moves beyond the datacenter and throughout the IT organization, the firm, markets, and society at large. Its purpose is to provide a comprehensive view of the emerging industry to inform sustainable IT strategy development and stimulate future research.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a qualitative three‐phase process to develop the technology roadmap for the sustainable IT industry. The phases are domain analysis, which features a comprehensive literature review and expert panel depth interviews; roadmap development, which involved two technology roadmapping brainstorming sessions; and follow‐up activity, to confirm roadmap session results with the expert panel.
Findings
The paper defines the emerging field of sustainable IT and its green IT and sustainable IT services dimensions. It identifies market segments, products and services, technologies, compliance and reporting requirements, organizational changes, and value migration and roadmaps a likely future landscape for the development of sustainable IT strategy.
Practical implications
Developing a sustainable IT strategy is a major issue for most organizations. Managers and researchers can use the results of this study to better understand the dimensions of sustainable IT and its likely future growth paths. Researchers will find the comprehensive approach to the topic useful for planning future technological innovations and determining their disruptive potential. Managers can use the results to benchmark their current situation and develop strategies for the next generation of sustainable IT service solutions.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to apply technology roadmapping to the emerging sustainable IT industry. It provides a strategic planning perspective of the future of the industry as it migrates from green‐IT strategies for reducing the costs and energy use of computing to sustainable IT services that hold the potential for transforming complex environmental and social responsibility problems into business opportunities.
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Debasisha Mishra and Biswajit Mahanty
The purpose of this paper is to find good values of onsite-offshore team strength; number of hours of communication between business users and onsite team and between onsite and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to find good values of onsite-offshore team strength; number of hours of communication between business users and onsite team and between onsite and offshore team so as to reduce project cost and improve schedule in a global software development (GSD) environment for software development project.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs system dynamics simulation approach to study software project characteristics in both co-located and distributed development environments. The authors consulted 14 experts from Indian software outsourcing industry during our model construction and validation.
Findings
The study results show that there is a drop in overall team productivity in outsourcing environment by considering the offshore options. But the project cost can be reduced by employing the offshore team for coding and testing work only with minimal training for imparting business knowledge. The research results show that there is a potential to save project cost by being flexible in project schedule.
Research limitations/implications
The implication of the study is that the project management team should be careful not to keep high percentage of manpower at offshore location in distributed software environment. A large offshore team can increase project cost and schedule due to higher training overhead, lower productivity and higher error proneness. In GSD, the management effort should be to keep requirement analysis and design work at onsite location and involves the offshore team in coding and testing work.
Practical implications
The software project manager can use the model results to divide the software team between onsite and offshore location during various phases of software development in distributed environment.
Originality/value
The study is novel as there is little attempt at finding the team distribution between onsite and offshore location in GSD environment.
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Richard Hanage, Jonathan M Scott and Mark A.P. Davies
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how digital creative graduates develop new businesses on graduating from university, and how their creative, business and personal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how digital creative graduates develop new businesses on graduating from university, and how their creative, business and personal lives interact until their nascent ventures fail financially.
Design/methodology/approach
Seven digital creative nascent graduate entrepreneurs were followed for up to five years. Although independently assessed as having promise of business success, they were young and lacked business experience. They were followed through six-monthly semi-structured interviews which investigated their business, creative and personal development. The interviews were transcribed and key statements manually coded and extracted for analysis to identify issues, tipping points and outcomes.
Findings
The primary contribution is the finding that, despite a promising beginning and very generous start-up support, all seven nascent ventures failed financially and most were closed down in favour of employment, particularly when personal issues such as parenthood sharpened the need for stable levels of income. The graduates demonstrated weaknesses in their commercial skills, especially selling (human capital) and insufficient utilization of networks (social capital) so that in the mainly mature low entry-barrier markets they were entering they were at a disadvantage from the outset. The research has also demonstrated the value of a real-time longitudinal qualitative approach to investigating businesses from business start-up to eventual exit.
Practical implications
The insights gained have practical implications for start-up and survival support for creative graduate businesses, as well as raising issues about the effectiveness of postgraduate entrepreneurship education and cultural policy relating to this economically important sub-sector.
Originality/value
The longitudinal approach has brought new insights and indicates several areas where more research would be valuable, especially in dealing with the consequences of unsuccessful nascent business ventures.
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Explores how entrepreneurial capability and identity are learned in the creative and media industries. This sector is of growing social and economic importance, and the majority…
Abstract
Explores how entrepreneurial capability and identity are learned in the creative and media industries. This sector is of growing social and economic importance, and the majority of its employment and commercial activity takes place within small businesses. However, entrepreneurship in the creative industries and the related development of entrepreneurial skills are not well understood, and “mainstream” approaches cannot be assumed to be effective, therefore the development of a learning model is potentially valuable. Proposes a conceptual framework of entrepreneurial learning in the creative and media sector, based on a social learning perspective. This highlights the processes of entrepreneurial learning and identity formation, and features a triadic model with three major themes. Proposes a group of related sub‐themes and provides a set of reflective questions to assist in practical application of the model by educationalists, students and emerging entrepreneurs. Outlines the potential applications of the model in education and entrepreneurship development within and beyond the creative industries.
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Creative industries, such as the designer fashion industry (DFI), are among the toughest in which to establish sustainable business ventures. While studies have examined how…
Abstract
Creative industries, such as the designer fashion industry (DFI), are among the toughest in which to establish sustainable business ventures. While studies have examined how networks and social capital contribute to independent DFI start-ups and why such businesses fail, these studies have been largely restricted to well-established entrepreneurial spaces like London, which differ in structure and size compared to emerging DFI entrepreneurial spaces in small economies like New Zealand. This chapter addresses this gap in the creative enterprise literature by presenting findings from an examination of 12 New Zealand fashion designers’ accounts of their responses to start-up challenges. The analysis, which paid particular attention to the relationship between social capital and reported strategic practice, revealed that the designers’ challenge profiles and strategic responses were linked to very ‘biographical’ personal networks and their personal enterprise orientations. While those designers with well-established networks started the most resilient businesses, the analysis revealed that even these designers were not necessarily particularly strategic when tapping into the social capital embedded in their networks. Overall, the findings provide further confirmation of the importance of social capital and network management during start-up. Most significantly, they demonstrate why designers need to be forward looking and employ a strategic approach to developing and accessing social capital and when making business decisions. Those who did so were more likely to have viable ventures than those who accessed social capital in order to react to unanticipated challenges.
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Miscarriage is the most common adverse pregnancy outcome, with an estimated one in four pregnancies ending in loss. Despite its prevalence, and significant effects, early…
Abstract
Miscarriage is the most common adverse pregnancy outcome, with an estimated one in four pregnancies ending in loss. Despite its prevalence, and significant effects, early pregnancy loss is commonly unacknowledged by organizations, and the intersect of miscarriage experiences while navigating work remains sparsely researched. Available literature, and preliminary research from my Ph.D., reveal stark findings, notably that women commonly conceal miscarriage at work, and when they do disclose, they often experience inconsistent support, or none at all. Minimization, and even discriminatory practice, are commonly witnessed (including inappropriate absence reporting, formal warnings, jeopardization of promotional opportunities, and redundancy). Effective support is often due to empathetic line managers, who sometimes have first-hand experience. Partners are commonly assigned to the “supporter role”, resulting in insufficient leave and support. The absence of formal initiatives, including policy and training, exacerbate the issue. Workplaces that fail to address miscarriage likely face reduced engagement and productivity, and increased absenteeism, presenteeism, and staff turnover. Key recommendations are presented, emphasizing the need for organizations to (i) implement a pregnancy loss policy; (ii) train managers, HR, and colleagues; (iii) provide specialist support; and (iv) tackle pro-natal cultures. Avenues for future research are explored, notably the need to adopt an intersectional lens, and to obtain management/HR and partner perspectives.