The paper discusses the need for a security policy and how one can be drawn up and implemented. It includes a model Information Security Management Policy.
The papers in this volume look at security from a variety of viewpoints. Behind all the papers is the idea that security is important and that security can and should be improved…
Abstract
The papers in this volume look at security from a variety of viewpoints. Behind all the papers is the idea that security is important and that security can and should be improved. The papers ask some fairly fundamental questions and provide considerable food for thought. In this paper I am looking at the landscape and making an assumption that a change in culture as a result of better understanding of technology will result from increasing familiarity with technology and its limitations.
Ingunn Johanne Ness and Gunn Elisabeth Søreide
– The aim of this article is to investigate the creative knowledge processes which are often invisible in innovation work.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this article is to investigate the creative knowledge processes which are often invisible in innovation work.
Design/methodology/approach
An ethnographic field study was conducted following three multidisciplinary groups; two groups in an Oil and Gas Company, Statoil and one group in a Research Institute. Data collection included observations, field conversations and formal interviews.
Findings
Creative knowledge processes develop over time in six different phases of initial innovation work. The article discusses the characteristics of communication and knowledge work in these phases. It was concluded that the creative processes peak in the three middle phases, and these phases can be seen as a separate “Room of Opportunity”.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to three groups, but the pattern of phases is consistent across all groups studied.
Practical implications
This study shows that knowledge diversity in groups does not automatically lead to creativity and underscore that group members’ ability to learn from each other is crucial for the quality of new ideas. To develop innovative ideas, groups must ensure a knowledge platform and challenge present knowledge by balancing alterity and intersubjectivity in a circular movement.
Originality/value
The findings presented in a model “Room of Opportunity” show that creative knowledge processes develop in phases and peak in a separate room. This is a new way to understand early innovation work, and the model is a contribution to how such invisible processes can be visualized and facilitated.
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Mehmet Fatih Acar, Alev Özer Torgalöz, Enes Eryarsoy and Selim Zaim
This paper aims to clarify the effects of learning culture and trust on supply chain resilience (SCR) and to investigate their role specifically during COVID-19 pandemic to aid…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to clarify the effects of learning culture and trust on supply chain resilience (SCR) and to investigate their role specifically during COVID-19 pandemic to aid decision-makers. For this, a conceptual model proposing relations between variables was developed. The focal point of this research is to investigate the relationship between organizational learning culture (OLC) and SCR, and the mediating effect of supplier trust (ST) in the relationship before and during a pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
This study relies on a unique dataset collected through two separate cross-sectional surveys corresponding to pre- and during-pandemic times that were conducted at the same time. The questionnaire was collected from 245 medium- to senior-level managers, to ensure a thorough understanding about the company’s inner workings and supply chain (SC). To test the proposed research model, the authors processed their data and model using lavaan package in R.
Findings
The findings show that OLC and ST have positive and significant effects on SCR. Furthermore, learning culture also triggers ST. Thus, it is ST that explained, as a mediator, the positive effects of OLC on SCR. All these findings are similar for both before and after the pandemic. A critical finding is about the effect of size (small vs. large) and ownership (local vs. multinational). The analysis suggests that during pandemic multinational companies and larger organizations exhibit higher SCR than their counterparts.
Research limitations/implications
First, responses to the questionnaire were collected from only one country. Cross-cultural comparisons can be made by collecting data from different countries in future research. Second, the data were obtained from companies operating in different sectors, with a majority in manufacturing. It is possible to obtain more specific findings by analyzing responses from a specific industry. Third, results of this study reflect responses of only SC and manufacturing managers, but other departments such as marketing or finance can also complement the findings. Finally, several other organizational variables may be factored in as moderators to enrich the conceptual model.
Practical implications
The authors believe that findings of this research will guide shareholders and managers to develop effective strategies in order to prevent SC disruptions during similar risk/shock scenarios.
Originality/value
Similar to earlier research, this study considers the importance of ST on SCR. But this study differs in analyzing the effects of OLC on SCR directly and in taking the mediating effect of ST into account. The authors test the strengths of these relationships individually before and during COVID-19 pandemic. Under pandemic conditions, the authors present empirical evidence on the effects of organizational learning and ST on SCR. In contrast to previous research on SCR, this study connotes the importance of an organization’s internal dynamic capabilities in developing resilience.
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Samuel E. Bodily and John Faulk
This case builds on the case "Merck & Company: Product KL-798" (UVA-QA-0582) by providing market uncertainties for the drug (drug quality, the presence of a competitor, market…
Abstract
This case builds on the case "Merck & Company: Product KL-798" (UVA-QA-0582) by providing market uncertainties for the drug (drug quality, the presence of a competitor, market growth, and the time to the drug's release). Student and faculty spreadsheets are provided for the calculation of net present values for the scenarios. There is an additional challenge of how to treat the several downstream decisions (using OptQuest, for example) and how to value the license opportunity. A teaching note is also available to registered faculty members.
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F.A. DiazDelaO and S. Adhikari
In the dynamical analysis of engineering systems, running a detailed high‐resolution finite element model can be expensive even for obtaining the dynamic response at few frequency…
Abstract
Purpose
In the dynamical analysis of engineering systems, running a detailed high‐resolution finite element model can be expensive even for obtaining the dynamic response at few frequency points. To address this problem, this paper aims to investigate the possibility of representing the output of an expensive computer code as a Gaussian stochastic process.
Design/methodology/approach
The Gaussian process emulator method is discussed and then applied to both simulated and experimentally measured data from the frequency response of a cantilever plate excited by a harmonic force. The dynamic response over a frequency range is approximated using only a small number of response values, obtained both by running a finite element model at carefully selected frequency points and from experimental measurements. The results are then validated applying some adequacy diagnostics.
Findings
It is shown that the Gaussian process emulator method can be an effective predictive tool for medium and high‐frequency vibration problems, whenever the data are expensive to obtain, either from a computer‐intensive code or a resource‐consuming experiment.
Originality/value
Although Gaussian process emulators have been used in other disciplines, there is no knowledge of it having been implemented for structural dynamic analyses and it has good potential for this area of engineering.
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Janet M. Alger and Steven F. Alger
Ever since Mead, sociology has maintained a deep divide between human and non human animals. In effect, Mead constructed humans as having capacities that he saw lacking in…
Abstract
Ever since Mead, sociology has maintained a deep divide between human and non human animals. In effect, Mead constructed humans as having capacities that he saw lacking in animals. Recent research on animals has challenged the traditional ideas of Mead and others by providing evidence of animal intelligence, adaptability, selfawareness, emotionality, communication and culture. This paper examines the human‐animal relationship as presented in Introductory Sociology Textbooks to see if this new research on animals has allowed us to move beyond Mead. We find outdated information and confused thinking on such topics as the relationship between language and culture, the development of the self in animals, and the role of instinct, socialization and culture in animal behavior. We conclude that, with few exceptions, the main function of the treatment of animals in these texts is to affirm the hard line that sociology has always drawn between humans and other species.
Deo Shao, Cleverence Kombe and Stuti Saxena
Warehouse receipt system (WRS) schemes aim to revitalize the market of cash crops, particularly those of the smallholder farmers. However, the existing government schemes for the…
Abstract
Purpose
Warehouse receipt system (WRS) schemes aim to revitalize the market of cash crops, particularly those of the smallholder farmers. However, the existing government schemes for the smallholder farmers have not been much successful on account of issues related with transparency and trust deficit, thereby limiting farmers' access to credit for their farming activities as channeled via the formal financial institutions. Conceding that blockchain is an emerging technology, this study aims to theoretically posit the potential to optimize WRS in real time to bolster farmers' trust and privacy.
Design/methodology/approach
The research bases itself on the design science research (DSR) approach. Using the DSR approach backed by the literature review and evolutionary prototyping, a blockchain-based WRS has been advanced in the study.
Findings
This study provides a design of a digital WRS, which serves as a proof of concept of blockchain technology (BCT) applications in improving transparency in the WRS in the agricultural sector. The findings from this study present the possibility of leveraging blockchain smart contracts to improve the linkages between the WRS stakeholders to promote trust and transparency that would eventually unlock the potentials of WRS schemes. Furthermore, the findings inform decision-makers and practitioners to prioritize the emerging technologies in revamping the classical WRS.
Research limitations/implications
The study leaves research pointers for implementing BCT in agricultural supply chain and furthering the findings from the present study with an empirical agenda.
Originality/value
Whilst research on the BCT applications across myriad sectors abounds, research on the BCT applications to address societal needs is conspicuously limited. Furthermore, research on the practical implementation of the BCT in real-world scenarios is few and far between. The present study seeks to plug these gaps by underlining the application and utility of blockchain in WRS. The study makes a significant contribution to the theory and practice of the agrarian supply chain management, specifically the WRS, by invoking design knowledge obtained through an iterative design process besides serving as an edifice for the integration of emerging technologies, notably BCT in the agricultural sector.
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