Search results

Online Personal Academic Librarian (OPAL) is an Open University research project looking at the development of a fully automated 24/7 online system designed to respond to routine and repeat enquiries from Open University distance learners. Looks at the desk and field research conducted to date, and is divided into five sections. First, the reason and need for such an automated question‐answer service are considered. Then examines the current digital reference climate, and a range of possible solutions and technologies is described, including the use of real‐time technologies such as chat and Web contact software, and also the use of fully automated online conversational robots. Then looks at enquirer behaviour and enquiry patterns, drawing on data collected through field research and a data analysis of user e‐mail enquiries. Further research has also revealed the importance of the user’s context and the need for user profiling in delivering an appropriate response to the user, and this is briefly discussed. Concludes with a description of the OPAL prototype to date, and looks ahead to some possible future directions.

This article describes the development and application of a Web‐based teaching & learning package, Liberation, by Learning Resources at University College Northampton. Rather than discuss the technical aspects of the programme it concentrates on the practical issues around creating and using such a product.

There is a stream of literature which implies that for supermarkets, as organisations that operate with low staff‐customer interaction, within a price competitive environment and are dependent on high economies of scale, the return on investment in a relationship marketing (RM) approach does not justify the expense. The purpose of this paper is to explore how supermarkets select and implement RM strategies and seek value from that investment.

In‐depth, semi‐structured interviews were undertaken with senior marketing managers in German and UK supermarkets. The interview themes were drawn from the RM literature. Loyalty frameworks provided guidelines for the data analysis.

The results suggest that definitions of RM have historically been too narrow due to research having been focussed on the sectors with a high‐service element and undertaken at a time when customer data collection and analysis were more expensive than currently. In addition to those already identified in the literature, further factors into which retailers could invest to build an RM strategy are suggested.

The marketing perspective of only seven supermarkets was examined. Future researchers should undertake a more exhaustive approach in order to fully establish how the management of RM in one sector differs from that in another.

A “retail RM mix” framework was developed and guidelines for the cost‐effective management of RM are provided.

This is the first study to examine supermarkets' perspectives on RM approaches, by seeking responses from the retailers rather than the customers.

The Board of Agriculture has received from the Principal of the Somerset House Laboratory a report on the examination of samples of milk taken by an inspector in connection with an inquiry into methods of sampling milk.

This study aims to compare the content of the codes of ethics of the top 50 corporations in the UK and Australia.

The code of each of the 50 top companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and the 50 top companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange based on market capitalization was read against an updated version of a previous code content classification system.

This research provides valuable insights into the similarities and differences that exist between the expected ethical standards in corporations based in two historically linked and culturally related countries: corporate approaches that are worthy of comment.

This paper does provide a sound basis for further investigation and cross-country comparisons of corporate codes of ethics.

The instrument used for classifying code content gives an insight into the top companies operating in the UK and Australia and what they consider important to cover within a code of ethics.

In light of increasing societal expectations of corporate ethical standards, this research study offers improved understanding of/insight into the development of codes of ethics as a means to guide organizational behaviours/conduct.

This study proposes a contemporary instrument for the analysis of codes of ethics that has built upon the work of others over the past 30 years.

The purpose of this research is to determine the commitment to business ethics in UK corporations. This study reports on the responses of those organizations that participated in the survey and possessed a code of ethics.

An unsolicited questionnaire was sent to the top 500 private sector organizations by market capitalization in the UK. A total of 92 companies responded, of which 56 possessed a code of ethics.

The empirical findings indicate that the processes involved in developing business ethics commitment have begun to be recognized and acted upon at an organizational level. The supporting measures of business ethics commitment appear to be under‐utilized by many of these UK organizations. This suggests that many organizations have not so far developed a strong organizational commitment to embedding their codes of ethics into organizational practices.

While the responses provided a rich picture of organizational actions, further research exploring internal culture and attitudes would add to an understanding of organizational commitment.

It is found that in order to influence practice, it is not enough to have the artefacts of an ethical culture, such as codes, without ensuring that all employees are assisted in understanding what is required of them.

Despite a history of business ethics research, there are a limited number of studies seeking to understand UK companies' commitment to ethical codes. The paper provides guidance on steps that organizations can take to develop a higher level of commitment.