John E. Petersen, Vladislav Shunturov, Kathryn Janda, Gavin Platt and Kate Weinberger
In residential buildings, personal choices influence electricity and water consumption. Prior studies indicate that information feedback can stimulate resource conservation…
Abstract
Purpose
In residential buildings, personal choices influence electricity and water consumption. Prior studies indicate that information feedback can stimulate resource conservation. College dormitories provide an excellent venue for controlled study of the effects of feedback. The goal of this study is to assess how different resolutions of socio‐technical feedback, combined with incentives, encourage students to conserve resources.
Design/methodology/approach
An automated data monitoring system was developed that provided dormitory residents with real‐time web‐based feedback on energy and water use in two “high resolution” dormitories. In contrast, utility meters were manually read for 20 “low‐resolution” dormitories, and data were provided to residents once per week. For both groups, resource use was monitored during a baseline period and during a two week “dorm energy competition” during which feedback, education and conservation incentives were provided.
Findings
Overall, the introduction of feedback, education and incentives resulted in a 32 percent reduction in electricity use (amounting to savings of 68,300 kWh, $5,107 and 148,000 lbs of CO−2) but only a 3 percent reduction in water use. Dormitories that received high resolution feedback were more effective at conservation, reducing their electricity consumption by 55 percent compared to 31 percent for low resolution dormitories. In a post‐competition survey, students reported that they would continue conservation practices developed during the competition and that they would view web‐based real‐time data even in the absence of competition.
Practical implications
The results of this research provide evidence that real‐time resource feedback systems, when combined with education and an incentive, interest, motivate and empower college students to reduce resource use in dormitories.
Originality/value
This is the first study to report on the effects of providing college students with real‐time feedback on resource use. The authors of this study are currently engaged in further research to determine: whether reductions in consumption can be sustained over time with and without incentives; the degree to which feedback affect attitude; and the degree to which findings are transferable to apartments and other residential settings.
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THERE IS a very old opening, usually to bad jokes, which goes something like: ‘What do you want first, the good news or the bad news … ?’ Sad to say, this format has appeared in…
Abstract
THERE IS a very old opening, usually to bad jokes, which goes something like: ‘What do you want first, the good news or the bad news … ?’ Sad to say, this format has appeared in the latest circular from the Local Government Staff Commissioners for England (LGSC 19/74). In many ways it is a pity it is not a joke.
Sebahattin Demirkan and Harlan Platt
The purpose of this paper is to investigate, using data on US manufacturing firms, how and when corporate governance affects managers' decisions to use discretionary accruals and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate, using data on US manufacturing firms, how and when corporate governance affects managers' decisions to use discretionary accruals and thereby artificially influence company financial reports.
Design/methodology/approach
Three‐stage least squares is employed to study the relationship between financial status, corporate governance and financial reporting discretion. The sample spans the years 2001‐2003 during a severe downturn in the US stock market. Financial status is measured with the Altman Z‐score.
Findings
A significant difference is found between firms not classified as healthy or failed (i.e. the mid‐range group) and the two extreme categories when examining governance quotient using a well‐known index. A positive relationship is found between discretionary accruals and the governance index. Strong governance appears to reduce the incidence of mid‐range firms engaging in accruals management. The least healthy and the most distressed companies have the weakest relationship with discretionary accruals. By contrast, mid‐range firms are more likely to resort to discretionary accruals.
Practical implications
Non‐executive members of boards of directors are warned to be particularly vigilant about discretionary accruals with firms transitioning between healthy and high‐failure risk.
Originality/value
The relationship between firms' financial health and discretionary accruals reveals an agency problem in credit markets with financially stressed firms. More attention is required on firms whose financial condition is uncertain. Also, it is documented that significant findings of importance to the earnings quality and corporate governance literature by documenting the role of corporate governance on discretionary accruals and financial status.
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A social movement is sweeping the globe in the form of Internet delivered and open access sharing spaces. People are connecting in new ways while personalizing their daily…
Abstract
A social movement is sweeping the globe in the form of Internet delivered and open access sharing spaces. People are connecting in new ways while personalizing their daily experiences with shared websites called Web 2.0 technologies. This chapter looks into the implications of taking these technologies beyond social interactions into the learning experiences of students. With a literature review and case study analysis, the goal of this chapter is to gain a better understanding of what is needed to appropriate quality instructional strategies to the online university course room including social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Second Life®, and wikis. Following a brief history and descriptions of the Web 2.0 sites and functions, the reader is introduced to the design expectations typical of instructional designers (IDs) with definitions and standards from the field's literature. Support is offered from the business and educational literature for incorporating leadership into design practice through vision, strategy, and theory-based decisions. Definitions, benchmarks, and examples of instructional strategies and activities for learner engagement complete the theoretical framework for the chapter. Given the added complexities of advanced technologies, this chapter suggests evaluating social learning through an ID leadership perspective for a more informed recommendation of Web 2.0 online affordances. Following a case analysis of Second Life®, a 3-D virtual world used for learning activities, implications for ID practice are discussed, along with the various benefits and barriers of adopting Web 2.0 technologies. In the conclusion, suggestions are given for future research on the potential for integration of Web 2.0 affordances into online learning designs for rich, engaging learning experiences.
James Campbell Quick, David Mack, Joanne H Gavin, Cary L Cooper and Jonathan D Quick
The occupational stress and well-being literature often focuses on specific causes of stress as health risk factors to be managed, on attributes of work environments that are…
Abstract
The occupational stress and well-being literature often focuses on specific causes of stress as health risk factors to be managed, on attributes of work environments that are stressful and/or risky, or on prevention and intervention strategies for managing these causes of stress as well as individual stress responses at work (Quick & Tetrick, 2003). The occupational stress literature has not focused on how executives and organizations can cause positive stress for people at work. In this chapter, we explore a principle-based framework for executive action to create positive, constructive stress for people at work.
The first major section of the chapter discusses seven contextual factors within which the principle-based framework is nested. The second major section of the chapter develops nine principles for executive action. The third and concluding section of the chapter turns the focus to a set of guidelines for executive action in managing their personal experience of stress.
Suzanne Lavaty and Brian H. Kleiner
Considers the growing diversity in the workplace and the need for managers to be able to manage such a diverse workforce. Cites cultural differences as one important area which…
Abstract
Considers the growing diversity in the workplace and the need for managers to be able to manage such a diverse workforce. Cites cultural differences as one important area which requires attention. Looks at the French culture in particular and compare this with the American culture in areas such as verbal communication, non verbal communication, meetings, reasoning and problem solving techniques, and leadership, status and authority. Concludes that there are significant differences which must be treated with understanding and respect.
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In our March issue, we discussed briefly the reappearance of the deficiency diseases among children in parts of this country; particularly rickets and, as far as our own…
Abstract
In our March issue, we discussed briefly the reappearance of the deficiency diseases among children in parts of this country; particularly rickets and, as far as our own experience goes, mainly among the immigrant peoples. With evidence on every hand of bigger and bonnier babies, school children several pounds heavier and at least two inches taller than the average of a generation ago; stores bulging with foods of every description and the accent always on the health aspect of foods, this news may have been difficult to believe. Now, under the title “Rickets Recurs in British Children”, the May issue of the Practitioner contains a survey of the increasing incidence of rickets among children in the Glasgow area (Arneil, Gavin O., 1964, Pract. 192, 652).
The purpose of this paper is to identify some key issues for the analysis of corporate governance based on the papers within this special issue including the Guest Editor's…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify some key issues for the analysis of corporate governance based on the papers within this special issue including the Guest Editor's perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach
The five papers included in this special issue are summarized and their main contribution to the literature is highlighted.
Findings
The paper collectively deal with the role and impact of corporate boards on the quality of information provided to capital markets.
Practical implications
The theoretical and empirical research included in the special issue advance the understanding of corporate governance which provides impetus for practitioner and policy change.
Originality/value
The normative concepts of best practice need to be validated by empirical testing in the context of firms and their institutional settings. This suite of papers provides evidence of the effectiveness of corporate governance in improving accounting quality.
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Ian Cobbold, Gavin Lawrie and Khalil Issa
This paper describes a project to design and implement a strategic performance management system within Zamil Air Conditioners (ZAC). In 2001 ZAC had developed its first ever…
Abstract
This paper describes a project to design and implement a strategic performance management system within Zamil Air Conditioners (ZAC). In 2001 ZAC had developed its first ever strategic plan using traditional rationalist methods, but with little effect. In 2002, they began a project to introduce a system to help it manage the implementation of its strategy based on an advanced version of the balanced scorecard framework referred to as third‐generation balanced scorecard. This paper describes this project and offers some insights into the application of strategic performance management methods and systems derived from this and prior experiences. This paper examines closely the methodologies employed in the formulation and implementation of strategy and begins by reviewing the literature surrounding the variety of methodologies observed by management authors. The paper then uses this literature to examine the ZAC operating practices prior to the new strategic management system, the choices made during the design process and how the new system changed the organisation. The paper concludes by offering some insights and recommendations about the design process and the physical outputs relating to the balanced scorecard and demonstrating in a practical situation why third‐generation balanced scorecard offers enhanced utility and practicality over previous designs. These benefits and recommendations are drawn from the viewpoints of both the consultants who facilitated the design process and the management team who developed the content of the management system. Although the design process for third‐generation balanced scorecard has been used numerous times in practice, this is the first case study on the specific assessment of the new process.
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B.W. Steyn‐Bruwer and W.D. Hamman
This study investigates overtrading, which is the result of an expansion rate that is too high in relation to a particular business’s structure. It often results in cash flow…
Abstract
This study investigates overtrading, which is the result of an expansion rate that is too high in relation to a particular business’s structure. It often results in cash flow problems. The phenomenon of overtrading is described in a case study on Profurn. In this study, a ratio was developed that can be used to identify companies in an overtrading position. Selected variables were tested by means of the Kruskal Wallis test in order to pinpoint variables that can discriminate successfully between companies that are overtrading and ones that are not. Overtrading occurred in 15.5% of the company years of listed South African companies between September 1989 and December 2005. Of the 35 variables tested, 31 were found to be able to discriminate statistically between company years in which overtrading occurred as opposed to ones in which it did not occur. These variables can therefore be used to profile companies that overtrade.