For about two decades, the focus of corporate planning has been more on internal information than external information. If planners used electronic data bases at all, they were…
Abstract
For about two decades, the focus of corporate planning has been more on internal information than external information. If planners used electronic data bases at all, they were housed in company mainframes that basically contained information on the company's own business units, employees, and customers. The relationship between planners and computers had a relatively narrow field of view.
It's not prudent to venture into international markets without learning how to gather local competitive intelligence. But you can start your analysis project without leaving your…
James E. McNulty and Aigbe Akhigbe
Directors help determine the strategic direction of a corporation and are responsible for ensuring the institution has a good system of internal control. Banking institutions…
Abstract
Directors help determine the strategic direction of a corporation and are responsible for ensuring the institution has a good system of internal control. Banking institutions without a strategic direction emphasizing sound lending practices that promote the long-run financial health and viability of the institution will be sued more frequently than peer institutions. Institutions that do not have a good system of internal control will also be sued more frequently. Hence, legal expense is a bank corporate governance measure. We compare the performance of bank legal expense and a widely cited corporate governance index in a regression framework to determine which better predicts bank performance. The regressions indicate legal expense is a much better predictor, hence a better measure of bank corporate governance. Regulators should require legal expense reporting and rank institutions by the ratio of legal expense to assets to help identify institutions with weak governance. Seven case studies illustrate the role of legal expense in corporate governance.
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The Professors of the Imperial College of Science and Technology have addressed to Lord Crewe, the Chairman of the Governors of the College, a memorial urging the necessity of the…
Abstract
The Professors of the Imperial College of Science and Technology have addressed to Lord Crewe, the Chairman of the Governors of the College, a memorial urging the necessity of the encouragement of science and of research. In commenting upon this document the Journal of Chemical Technology observes that “a satisfactory feature of the memorial is the recognition on the part of the signatories that scientific education should be on broad lines.” “We have always contended that an indispensable preliminary to a professional career should be a thoroughly sound general education. Whether or not the study of science is the best kind of study may be a debatable point, but it is certain that exclusive attention to science is thoroughly bad. A man's mind is narrow when he is unable to recognise the importance of things outside his own particular sphere of action, and it is precisely this state of mind that the exclusive study of science tends to produce. It is, therefore, the more necessary, in seeking to secure greater attention to scientific studies in the reform of our educational system, to take care that nothing be done which may curtail the period required for the acquisition of general knowledge. It is far better to delay than to hasten specialisation. A step in the right direction has been made when scientific men themselves state that they do not believe that “an education which includes good teaching of science need be a narrow education,” but we wish that this opinion had been positively rather than negatively expressed. The memorial refers to the “lethargy, misconception, and ignorance” of the public regarding national education. It is pertinent here to remark that when anything goes wrong and no particular individual or individuals can be held to be, or will acknowledge themselves to be, responsible, the “public” is blamed; the public being everybody with the exception of the denunciator and his friends. In the present instance the fault is not, even for the greater part, with the people. They are, naturally enough, interested in education only in so far as it is expressed in terms of school and college accounts and of wage‐earning capacity. Of the bearing that improvement in education and the advancement of physical science has on the welfare of the community the average man knows little and cares less. He has to be educated in the value of education. He is not, and probably never will be, interested in education as an abstract good. What interest he has in it is purely utilitarian. If he sees that the knowledge which he himself does not possess carries with it but doubtful prospects for the future, poor remuneration in the present and a social position little better than his own, he is unlikely to be impressed with the value of education. The fact is that there is a lamentable want of opportunity for the intellectual classes in this country and until this state of things is remedied the public will continue to display—and with every justification — “lethargy, misconception, and ignorance” in respect to national education.
James I.F. Speakman and Lynette Ryals
Salespeople are frequently required to manage a wide range of complex internal relationships. This paper seeks to explore one aspect of the key account manager's internal selling…
Abstract
Purpose
Salespeople are frequently required to manage a wide range of complex internal relationships. This paper seeks to explore one aspect of the key account manager's internal selling role which has not been addressed before, specifically how the key account manager handles multiple incidents of simultaneous conflict while carrying out their internal selling duties.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses the critical incident technique together with an interpretive framework for data coding in order to explore the complex behavioural sequences adopted by key account managers while managing the many incidents of conflict which they frequently encounter within the organisation. Twenty‐nine key account managers from seven participating FMCG, Blue Chip organisations in the UK and USA participated in the research describing 112 incidents of conflict.
Findings
The research provides further insight into the complexity perspective of conflict management, suggesting that conflict episodes do not occur as discrete, isolated, incidents, rather incidents occur simultaneously requiring a combination of behaviours in their management.
Practical implications
The implications for a complex role such as selling are that, while carrying out their internal selling duties, rather than adopting a single managerial style or single combination of styles, key account managers are able to adapt and use a combination of management behaviours which can be modified throughout and across conflict episodes.
Originality/value
In contrast to the majority of research into personal selling, this research takes an interpretive approach through the analysis of transcripts from a series of CIT interviews with key account managers in the field.
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V. Sreekanth, E.G. Kavilal, Sanu Krishna and Nidhun Mohan
This paper aims to highlight how the six sigma methods helped the medical equipment manufacturing company in finding and analysing the root causes that lead to the reduction in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to highlight how the six sigma methods helped the medical equipment manufacturing company in finding and analysing the root causes that lead to the reduction in production rate, rejection rates, quality and other major causes that lead to the reduction in productivity of the blood bags manufacturing unit.
Design/methodology/approach
Given the critical nature of blood bag manufacturing Six Sigma was chosen as the primary methodology for this research since Six Sigma’s data-driven approach provides a structured framework to identify, analyse and rectify inefficiencies in the production processes. This study proposes the Six Sigma DMAIC (D-Define, M-Measure, A-Analyse, I-Improve, C-Control) encompassing rigorous problem definition, precise measurement, thorough analysis, improvement and vigilant control mechanisms for effectively attaining predetermined objectives.
Findings
The paper demonstrates how the Six Sigma principles were executed in a blood bag manufacturing unit. After a detailed and thorough data analysis, it was found that a total of 40 critical-to-quality factors under the five drivers such as Machine, Components, Inspection and Testing, People and Workspace were influential factors affecting the manufacturing of blood bags. From the study, it is identified that the drivers such as inspection and testing, components and machines contribute significantly to increasing productivity.
Research limitations/implications
The paper offers valuable strategic insights into implementing Six Sigma methodologies within the specific context of a blood bag manufacturing unit. The Six Sigma tools and techniques used by the project team to solve issues within the blood bag manufacturing unit can be used for similar healthcare organizations to successfully deploy Six Sigma. The insights from this research might not be directly applicable to other manufacturing facilities or industries but can be used as a guiding reference for researchers and managers.
Originality/value
The current state of scholarly literature indicates a significant absence in the examination of Six Sigma methodologies designed specifically to improve production output in healthcare equipment manufacturing. This paper highlights the application of Six Sigma principles to enhance efficiency in the specific context of blood bag manufacturing.
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Sheng Xu, Mengge Zhang, Bo Xia and Jiangbo Liu
This study aimed to identify driving factors of safety attitudinal ambivalence (AA) and explore their influence. Construction workers' intention to act safely can be instable…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to identify driving factors of safety attitudinal ambivalence (AA) and explore their influence. Construction workers' intention to act safely can be instable under conflicting information from safety management, co-workers and habitual unsafe behaviour. Existing research explained the mechanism of unsafe behaviours as individual decisions but failed to include AA, as the co-existence of both positive and negative attitude.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applied system dynamics to explore factors of construction workers' AA and simulate the process of mitigating the ambivalence for less safety behaviour. Specifically, the group model building approach with eight experts was used to map the causal loop diagram and field questionnaire of 209 construction workers were used to collect empirical data for initiating parameters.
Findings
The group model building identified five direct factors of AA, namely the organisational safety support, important others' safety attitude, emotional arousal, safety production experience and work pressure, with seven feedback paths. The questionnaire survey obtained the initial values of the factors in the SD model, with the average ambivalence at 0.389. The ambivalence between cognitive and affective safety attitude was the highest. Model simulation results indicated that safety experience and work pressure had the most significant effects, and safety experience and positive attitude of co-workers could compensate the pressure from tight schedule and budget.
Originality/value
This study provided a new perspective of the dynamic safety attitude under the co-existence of positive and negative attitude, identified its driving factors and their influencing paths. The group model building approach and field questionnaire surveys were used to provide convincible suggestions for empirical safety management with least and most effective approaches and possible interventions to prevent unsafe behaviour with tight schedule and budget.