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Article
Publication date: 10 July 2007

Duncan Shaw, Matthew Hall, John S. Edwards and Brad Baker

Many managers would like to take a strategic approach to preparing the organisation to avoid impending crisis but instead find themselves fire‐fighting to mitigate its impact…

7501

Abstract

Purpose

Many managers would like to take a strategic approach to preparing the organisation to avoid impending crisis but instead find themselves fire‐fighting to mitigate its impact. This paper seeks to examine an organisation which made major strategic changes in order to respond to the full effect of a crisis which would be realised over a two to three year period. At the root of these changes was a strategic approach to managing knowledge. The paper's purpose is to reflect on managers' views of the impact this strategy had on preparing for the crisis and explore what happened in the organisation during and after the crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines a case‐study of a financial services organisation which faced the crisis of its impending dissolution. The paper draws upon observations of change management workshops, as well as interviews with organisational members of a change management task force.

Findings

The response to the crisis was to recognise the importance of the people and their knowledge to the organisation, and to build a strategy which improved business processes and communication flow across the divisions, as well as managing the departure of knowledge workers from an organisation in the process of being dissolved.

Practical implications

The paper demonstrates the importance of building a knowledge management strategy during times of crisis, and draws out important lessons for organisations facing organisational change.

Originality/value

The paper represents a unique opportunity to learn from an organisation adopting a strategic approach to managing its knowledge during a time of crisis.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

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Article
Publication date: 1 June 1941

DAMAGE to libraries has assumed dimensions which make it unlikely that any private beneficence alone will be able to effect restoration. Nor is it probable that we have reached…

20

Abstract

DAMAGE to libraries has assumed dimensions which make it unlikely that any private beneficence alone will be able to effect restoration. Nor is it probable that we have reached anything like the end of the destruction. Libraries are in the nature of things in great centres of population which are main targets of the enemy and they suffer accordingly. There is every hope that after the war the most determined effort will be made to repair every form of loss, and the libraries must be kept well to the fore by those who have charge of them; but the effort, in which we certainly hope such benevolent institutions as the Carnegie and similar trusts will assist, must be a universal one. It will also be considered a state obligation, we hope, based partly upon the State Insurance Scheme. In connexion with this, some librarians have had difficulty in persuading their authorities to insure books for anything like the money it would cost to replace them; it is curious that public men appear to think that books cost little or nothing! A reflection of this from the other side was the remark of a District Valuer on a claim for damage which certainly could not replace the lost books, that it was “excessive.” Cover should certainly be adequate.

Details

New Library World, vol. 43 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

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Article
Publication date: 8 July 2019

Mouhamed El Bachire Thiam, Jonathan Liu and John Aston

The purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of the challenges the banking industry continues to face from an ethics standpoint more than a decade after the credit…

442

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of the challenges the banking industry continues to face from an ethics standpoint more than a decade after the credit crisis. Since 2007, there has been renewed interest in the way professional ethics is integrated within the banking culture. With a public that has become more sensitive towards ethical and corporate governance failures, the banking industry has been at the receiving end of strong ethical criticism. Yet, in spite of the regulatory response to the crisis, ethics is still a major issue in an industry where the corporate governance systems implemented by companies have failed to control employee behaviours, even in institutions branding themselves as ethical banks.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper studies factors inside and around institutions in the banking industry that impact the moral anomie in bankers’ professional environment. This paper applies an ordinary least square regression analysis, preceded by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, to test the hypothesised relations between anomie and the factors proposed.

Findings

The results show that long-term orientation, strategic aggressiveness and competitive intensity do have an influence on anomie. These results are compared to previous research applied in non-financial industries and prompt the strengthening of corporate governance systems in financial companies with aggressive corporate cultures.

Originality/value

The paper therefore introduces the factors that lead bankers to ignore the morals they gained from society and provide a better understanding of the reasons behind the deviant behaviours that caused the crisis a decade ago. It represents a crucial first step for future policymaking that fills an important gap in the financial regulation literature. Indeed, the lack of understanding of the factors dictating behaviours in the industry meant that regulatory changes in the past decade have mostly focussed on technical aspects of the problem (e.g. new capital structure requirements) and produced few answers to address the ethical challenges.

Details

Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1358-1988

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Article
Publication date: 7 February 2014

Stuart Cooper, Carole Parkes and John Blewitt

Neo-institutional theory suggests that organisations change occurs when institutional contradictions, caused by exogenous and endogenous dynamics, increase over time to the point…

2371

Abstract

Purpose

Neo-institutional theory suggests that organisations change occurs when institutional contradictions, caused by exogenous and endogenous dynamics, increase over time to the point where change can no longer be resisted. Human praxis will result, but only when sufficiently powerful interests are motivated to act. This paper aims to examine the role that the accreditation of business schools can play in increasing institutional contradictions and hence fostering organisational change towards stakeholder engagement and engagement with social responsibility and sustainability issues. Numerous accreditations are promulgated within the higher education and business school contexts and a number of these relate to, or have aspects that relate to, ethics, social responsibility and sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper first analyses the take up of accreditations across UK business schools and then uses a case study to illustrate and explore stakeholder engagement and changes related to ethics, social responsibility and sustainability linked to accreditation processes.

Findings

Accreditations are found to be an increasingly common interest for UK business schools. Further, a number of these accreditations have evolved to incorporate issues related to ethics, social responsibility and sustainability that may cause institutional contradictions and may, therefore, have the potential to foster organisational change. Accreditation alone, however, is not sufficient and the authors find that sufficiently powerful interests need to be motivated to act and enable human praxis to affect change.

Research limitations/implications

This paper draws on previous research that considers the role of accreditation in fostering change that has also been carried out in healthcare organisations, public and professional bodies. Its findings stem from an individual case study and as such further research is required to explore whether these findings can be extended and apply more generally in business schools and universities in different contexts.

Practical implications

This paper concludes by recommending that the newly established UK & Ireland Chapter of PRME encourages and supports signatory schools to further embed ethics, social responsibility and sustainability into all aspects of university life in the UK. This also provides an opportunity to engage with the accrediting bodies in order to further support the inclusion of stakeholder engagement and issues related to this agenda in their processes.

Originality/value

This paper contributes by introducing accreditation as an institutional pressure that may lead indirectly to organisational change and supports this with new evidence from an illustrative case study. Further, it draws on the role of institutional contradictions and human praxis that engender organisational change.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

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Article
Publication date: 13 November 2017

Meliha Handzic, John S. Edwards, Sandra Moffett, Alexeis Garcia-Perez, Aino Kianto and Ettore Bolisani

The purpose of this paper is to discuss key aspects of knowledge management (KM) education in response to challenges posed by the necessity to improve KM as a discipline and an…

907

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss key aspects of knowledge management (KM) education in response to challenges posed by the necessity to improve KM as a discipline and an established professional field.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a systematic review of the current literature. This review was used as input in a recent panel held at the 2016 International Conference on Knowledge Management (ICKM). The paper brings together current literature with thought-provoking panelists’ presentations and subsequent debates with the audience.

Findings

KM education from the “why, what, who, where and when” perspectives were first addressed and analyzed, and the end result was a reflection on “how” to approach KM education in the future.

Research limitations/implications

This paper effectively underlines that, KM being a relatively new phenomenon, there is no clear consensus about roles that KM employees should play in an organization, what KM competencies and skills are needed, and where and when these should be obtained. Broad guidelines on how to approach KM education in the future may serve as a basis for further research.

Practical implications

The study provides suggestions on how to place KM in adult education.

Originality/value

The paper tackles the research questions through an innovative combination of a systematic literature review and a panel discussion on the topic of KM and education. Overall, the paper provides a fresh view of the state of the art of knowledge and research on the topic and also shows the common vision of a group of KM researchers and educators.

Details

VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, vol. 47 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5891

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Article
Publication date: 14 September 2012

Ian A. Combe, John M. Rudd, Peter S.H. Leeflang and Gordon E. Greenley

Current conceptualisations of strategic flexibility and its antecedents are theory‐driven, which has resulted in a lack of consensus. To summarise this domain the paper aims to…

8660

Abstract

Purpose

Current conceptualisations of strategic flexibility and its antecedents are theory‐driven, which has resulted in a lack of consensus. To summarise this domain the paper aims to develop and present an a priori conceptual model of the antecedents and outcomes of strategic flexibility. Discussion and insights into the conceptual model, and the relationships specified, are made through a novel qualitative empirical approach. The implications for further research and a framework for further theoretical development are presented.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory qualitative research design is used applying multiple data collection techniques in a branch network of a large regional retailer in the UK. The development of strategic options and the complex relationship to strategic flexibility is investigated.

Findings

The number and type of strategic options developed by managers impact on the degree of strategic flexibility and also on the ability of the firm to achieve competitive differentiation. Additionally, the type of strategic option implemented by managers is dependent on the competitive situation faced at a local level. Evidence of managers' limited perception of competition was identified based on their spatial embeddedness.

Research limitations/implications

A single, in‐depth case study was used. The data gathered is rich and appropriate for the exploratory approach adopted here. However, generalisability of the findings is limited.

Practical implications

Strategic flexibility is rooted in the ability of front‐line mangers to develop and implement strategic options; this in turn facilitates competitive differentiation.

Originality/value

The research presented is unique in this domain on two accounts. First, theory is developed by presenting an a priori conceptual model, and testing through in‐depth qualitative data gathering. Second, insights into strategic flexibility are presented through an examination of managerial cognition, resources and strategic option generation using cognitive mapping and laddering technique.

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Article
Publication date: 1 July 2004

Paul M. Collier, John S. Edwards and Duncan Shaw

This paper describes the organizational processes of knowledge acquisition, sharing, retention and utilisation as it affected the internal and external communication of knowledge…

2608

Abstract

This paper describes the organizational processes of knowledge acquisition, sharing, retention and utilisation as it affected the internal and external communication of knowledge about performance in an English police force. The research was gathered in three workshops for internal personnel, external stakeholders and chief officers, using Journey Making, a computer‐assisted method of developing shared understanding. The research concluded that there are multiple audiences for the communication of knowledge about police performance, impeded by the requirement to publish performance data. However, the intelligence‐led policing model could lead to a more focused means of communication with various stakeholder groups. Although technology investment was a preferred means of communicating knowledge about performance, without addressing cultural barriers, an investment in technology may not yield the appropriate changes in behaviour. Consequently, technology needs to be integrated with working practices in order to reduce organizational reliance on informal methods of communication.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 53 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 1 August 2004

Gordon Greenley, Graham Hooley and John Saunders

There has been concern in the literature about the adequacy of the traditional model of marketing planning, which focuses on what decisions should be made and not on how to make…

12344

Abstract

There has been concern in the literature about the adequacy of the traditional model of marketing planning, which focuses on what decisions should be made and not on how to make them. The aim of this article is a new conceptualisation that proposes key management processes about how marketing planning decisions are made in a dynamic context. The motives for this conceptualisation are to contribute to understanding by advancing the traditional model of marketing planning, to stimulate academic and practitioner debate about how marketing planning decisions are made, and to initiate new directions in marketing planning research. Two new competing models of marketing planning are developed, which address key management processes about how marketing planning decisions are made in a dynamic context, and research directions are proposed.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 38 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 24 October 2008

708

Abstract

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 19 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

John Saunders and Nick Lee

To introduce the contents of this special issue on research in marketing and comment on the development of the discipline in UK universities.

3753

Abstract

Purpose

To introduce the contents of this special issue on research in marketing and comment on the development of the discipline in UK universities.

Design/methodology/approach

Relates each paper to a taxonomy of academic research and comments on their content. Examines major trends in higher education and relates them to the fortunes of marketing educators.

Findings

There are reasons to be cheerful about academic marketing in the UK: there are clearly opportunities to publish in the world's leading academic journals, increased funding for the discipline, the acceptability of a wide range of methodologies and the increasing influence of marketing. Less encouraging is the naïve and destructive competition between universities and the consequent destruction of academic development.

Research limitations/implications

This is a UK perspective that depends on limited knowledge of other than a few other countries.

Practical implications

There are good reasons to be positive about an academic career in marketing, but also a desperate need to tackle the naïve strategies of universities and to intervene to mend the gaps in the development of academic marketers.

Originality/value

Gives an insight in to the range of research in marketing, and an insight into the opportunities and pitfalls of a career in academic marketing research.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 39 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

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