Like the hero of the 1946 Capra movie It's a Wonderful Life, Norman Denzin has been a builder of his local community. While much attention has been paid to his intellectual…
Abstract
Like the hero of the 1946 Capra movie It's a Wonderful Life, Norman Denzin has been a builder of his local community. While much attention has been paid to his intellectual contributions on methods and in several substantive areas, possibly his greatest accomplishments have been in the area of building and fostering a robust, international, multidisciplinary qualitative research community. This chapter explores some of these contributions, focusing on Denzin's leadership in creating the Handbook of Qualitative Research, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and eight different journals or book series for which he serves as editor or coeditor. Through these channels, he has fostered the work of younger scholars, of marginalized groups, and of qualitative communities throughout the world, and supported innovative directions in qualitative theory and practice.
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Kenneth E. Aupperle and Steven M. Dunphy
Chester Barnard and Frank Capra are twin US icons from the late 1930s. Both share thoughts, hopes and expectations regarding civilization and civility, man and humanity, rights…
Abstract
Chester Barnard and Frank Capra are twin US icons from the late 1930s. Both share thoughts, hopes and expectations regarding civilization and civility, man and humanity, rights and righteousness, morals and moral integrity. With Barnard, our intent is to identify his unique contributions regarding ethics and social responsibility. Barnard takes a strong stance on moral leadership and argues that effective leadership requires both “technical” and “responsible” skills. In looking at Frank Capra’s contributions, it is possible through his early work as a film director to see his concern for others and his belief that civilization can overcome its dark side. In It’s a Wonderful Life, Capra provides us with the ultimate citizen and moral leader in the form of George Bailey. In Barnardian terms, Bailey and Capra help all of us to discover that we too can make a positive difference.
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This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/eb054501. When citing the article, please…
Abstract
This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/eb054501. When citing the article, please cite: Ken Toombs, George Bailey, (1995), “How to redesign your organization to match customer needs”, Planning Review, Vol. 23 Iss: 2, pp. 20 - 24.
To apply the theories of project management to the transformation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from the colonial‐style army of 1914 into the victorious…
Abstract
Purpose
To apply the theories of project management to the transformation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from the colonial‐style army of 1914 into the victorious continental‐style armies of 1918.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach examines ten elements in the transformation. They range from the resources required to the necessary governmental changes. Emphasis is given to analysing the application of the new technologies, the political and social changes needed for eventual success, and the learning achieved.
Findings
Transforming the BEF was not to be an easy process. Obviously, the German nation, allies and armies did all they could to thwart this transformation. The “total war” waged is the ultimate form of “competition”. Thus, difficult lessons of strategic management, people (both men and women) management, and resources utilisation had to be learned. Through the many innovations, the experience curve was climbed to achieve mastery over the German field army.
Originality/value
To turn the BEF from a force of 120,000 at the battle of Mons to nearly 2 million at the Armistice on the western front was a remarkable achievement. Despite the strains imposed by German military prowess, the many elements were combined successfully. Although applying warfare principles to company management has become popular in the past decade, this paper avoids coming to simplistic conclusions. Rather it presents the transformation as a case study and suggests linkages to modern project management practices though leaving it to the reader to consider how these might be best applied.
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According to Harvard historian Crane Brinton, “…a cynical democracy, a democracy whose citizens profess in this world one set of beliefs and live another, is wholly impossible. No…
Abstract
According to Harvard historian Crane Brinton, “…a cynical democracy, a democracy whose citizens profess in this world one set of beliefs and live another, is wholly impossible. No such society can long endure anywhere. The tension between the ideal and the real may be resolved in many ways in a healthy society; but it can never be taken as non-existent” (Brinton, 1950, p. 249).
A few innovative companies are using sophisticated measurements of customer‐perceived value—such as conjoint analysis—to redesign segments of their organizations.
Aging is the most important social-demographic issue worldwide, supported by the initiatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) in its global strategy and action plan for…
Abstract
Purpose
Aging is the most important social-demographic issue worldwide, supported by the initiatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) in its global strategy and action plan for aging and health (Rudnicka et al., 2020). The average age of business owners in most industrialized countries is on the rise. In the United States, fifty-one percent of small private businesses are owned by someone age fifty-plus (SBA Office of Advocacy, 2018).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors shed light on small business owners, who age in place. The authors suggest that their importance as long-term actors in entrepreneurial ecosystems nor the issue of “Main Street churn” have not been meaningfully explored. Understanding the risks they face offers an opportunity for academics and practitioners to provide insights for business owners, the next generation of the acquirer and advisors. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has elevated the status of many of these businesses from invisible (and perhaps taken for granted) to “essential” and amplified the co-dependence of business and the local economy.
Findings
The anticipated “silver tsunami” caused by the retirements of Main Street business owners is not a national and homogeneous wave. Rather, each wave will land on beaches locally. Small business owners age in place, and their importance as long-term actors in entrepreneurial ecosystems nor the issue of “Main Street churn” have not been meaningfully explored. They become embedded in their community and possibly stuck there in retirement.
Originality/value
The embeddedness of these owners – who likely have social connections, community identification and feelings of responsibility to the community directly impacts the places that they care deeply about – is often unquestioned. However, their retirements call for increased visibility within entrepreneurial ecosystems and translations of scholarly work from several kinds of literature into policy and practice.
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Kenneth E. Aupperle and Michael Camarata
Through the use of an international business example where contract negotiations are involved, the authors illustrate how legal, perceptual, and cultural differences influence the…
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Through the use of an international business example where contract negotiations are involved, the authors illustrate how legal, perceptual, and cultural differences influence the ethical and moral reality confronting global business leaders. Absolutism and situational ethics are scrutinized within a case context to demonstrate how opposing views of ethical and moral reality can arise, particularly in a situation involving bribery. An extensive and intensive debate occurs between a purchasing VP of a large Korean company and the sales director of a small, entrepreneurial firm from the heartland of USA. Personal and cultural values are counterpoised through these two corporate agents in order to challenge the absolutist position of “right and wrong or black and white.”
This study presents “cybercivism” as the one extra‐role IT behavior that, seeking an opposite direction to cyberloafing, tries to capture the organizational citizenship behavior…
Abstract
This study presents “cybercivism” as the one extra‐role IT behavior that, seeking an opposite direction to cyberloafing, tries to capture the organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) that employees show through Internet use. Just as prior research offers empirical evidence that work attitude is an OCB antecedent, the model tested suggests that employees’ positive attitudes toward several work elements could also explain cybercivism. These work elements include attitudes toward their coworkers, supervisors, organizational leaders in general, their own tasks, clients, and toward themselves (self‐esteem). Data were collected from 154 of the 758 (20.32 per cent) nonteaching employees of a Spanish public university. Structural equation modeling results show that the attitudes toward the clients, the supervisor, and self‐esteem, effectively promote cybercivism. Other analyzed attitudes did not reveal significance. Implications of the results for the prediction and monitoring of cybercivism are discussed, and future research directions are offered.