Discusses the philosophy and practice of Richer Sounds plc, a hi‐fi separates company with the highest sales per square foot of any retail outlet in the world, focusing on its…
Abstract
Discusses the philosophy and practice of Richer Sounds plc, a hi‐fi separates company with the highest sales per square foot of any retail outlet in the world, focusing on its motto “provide second‐to‐none service and value‐for‐money for our customers”, and exploring its recognising quality service.
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Julian Best, Christoph H. Glock, Eric H. Grosse, Yacine Rekik and Aris Syntetos
Ensuring high on-shelf availability at low inventory costs remains an important challenge in retailing. Inaccurate inventory records, i.e. discrepancies between the stock records…
Abstract
Purpose
Ensuring high on-shelf availability at low inventory costs remains an important challenge in retailing. Inaccurate inventory records, i.e. discrepancies between the stock records displayed in the inventory system and the stock quantity actually found in the retail store, have been identified as one of the most important drivers of retail stockouts in the past. The purpose of this work is to investigate the causes of positive inventory discrepancies in retailing, i.e. where there is more inventory on-hand than identified by the inventory system.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on input from retailers, the authors develop a simulation model of a retail store that considers various error-prone processes and study in a full factorial test design how the different operational errors may drive inventory discrepancies, paying special attention to the sources of positive inventory record inaccuracies.
Findings
This makes it possible to gain insights into the process parameters retailers need to adjust to avoid inventory records becoming inaccurate. In addition, the authors analyze how positive inventory discrepancies relate to stockouts to further our understanding of the role so-called phantom products may play in a retailing context.
Originality/value
While negative inventory discrepancies (where the stock that is available in the store is less than what the system displays) and their sources (theft, shrinkage, etc.) have been discussed quite frequently in the literature, the causes of positive inventory discrepancies (where the available inventory exceeds the system inventory) have received much less attention.
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Sir Julian Huxley (1887‐1975) was one of those rare scientists who, beyond professional training and contribution in biology, was very much concerned with the future of man and…
Abstract
Sir Julian Huxley (1887‐1975) was one of those rare scientists who, beyond professional training and contribution in biology, was very much concerned with the future of man and humanity. As a social thinker, he strongly believed in eugenics, that science which, in his view, should investigate analytically and practically how to improve the quality of the human race by careful selection of parents. On the other hand, he was aware that practically the attainment of such a goal requires full powers to control social and economic development. He knew that such an attitude may come in conflict with the existing political arrangement in the West but he persisted. As a philosopher he shared a more flexible conception about a better world of tomorrow, leaving room also for the unexpected. He believed that a “New Man” will come from the East, but the judgment of history up to now was not on his side.
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Debbie Pushor, Julian Kitchen and Darlene Ciuffetelli Parker
October 10th, 2010
Diana Milstein, Regina Coeli Machado e Silva and Angeles Clemente
This chapter explores the ethical dilemmas that emerged in situ from an ethnographic study in collaboration with Latin American children and youngsters. It was developed in the…
Abstract
This chapter explores the ethical dilemmas that emerged in situ from an ethnographic study in collaboration with Latin American children and youngsters. It was developed in the challenging conditions of isolation and lockdown, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In such times, a group of eight researchers from different geographical locations in the Americas looked into the ways children reorganise, reconstruct and reinterpret their daily lives in social isolation. The methodological approach, which enabled dialogue and conversation, began through a system of correspondence – in oral, written, recorded, drawn, photographed and audiovisual forms – among Latin American children. The expectations about the viability of this fieldwork modality brought, from the beginning, ethical challenges that required continuous adjustments, agreements, rectifications, adaptations and explicit reflection on such ethical aspects. Here we focus on three challenges that we analyse individually, although in practice they were interconnected. The first one was the dilemma regarding perception and use of time. The second ethical challenge is based on the fact that we recruited the young participants through friendships and kinship networks that each of the eight researchers previously had. The third challenge was connected to the decision to communicate through letters (a markedly confessional, private and intimate epistolary genre) that were both intervened by our ‘special’ position and also taken as ethnographic documents. In our fieldwork, in the specific spatial and temporal situations we worked, we understand the self as emerging from intersubjectivity and knowledge relations as co-created between researcher and researched. Thus, ethical decisions are made during the research process itself and, for us, in situ ethics entails a reciprocal commitment, between children, youth and adults as co-researchers, to adjust themselves to the developments and boundaries of the ethnographic field. This also allowed the participants to manage the adjustments in this specific and situated context that circumscribed everybody, seeking answers in conversations and paying careful attention to the situation.
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This paper aims to present a collaborative action research project conducted at the University of Southampton with the aim to promote curriculum and professional development in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a collaborative action research project conducted at the University of Southampton with the aim to promote curriculum and professional development in education for sustainable development (ESD) and learn from everyday practices of academics.
Design/methodology/approach
An action research approach guided by participatory and emancipatory approaches was used. An interdisciplinary group of five academic staff members from different subject areas (education; archaeology; electronics and computer sciences; biology; and health sciences) was created with the aim to support the group’s critical reflection and action towards embedding ESD in their teaching practice.
Findings
The main outcomes of delivery of sustainability teaching achieved through the project and evidences of the impact of the facilitator role are outlined. The facilitator role has enabled reflection and action, together with the identification of specific needs of academics and the factors influencing their engagement and action.
Originality/value
This research demonstrates the potential of using action research to rethink current practice in embedding ESD and to lead to new practices and actions of communities of practice. The facilitator role and second-order action research can contribute to better decision-making of sustainability as it questions practice, current assumptions and worldviews.
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Santushti Gupta and Divya Aggarwal
This study aims to empirically examine environment, social, and governance (ESG) as an effective strategy to reduce major impediments for a corporation in the form of costs of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to empirically examine environment, social, and governance (ESG) as an effective strategy to reduce major impediments for a corporation in the form of costs of capital (COC) and systematic risk, especially for emerging markets such as India.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 114 Indian firms from eight prominent industries based on Thomson Reuters classification (TRBC) are used in the study. A panel regression with industry-fixed effects is carried out to account for industry heterogeneity. For robustness, the authors also carry out a matched sample analysis.
Findings
The authors observe a negative and significant relationship between ESG performance with COC and systematic risk, respectively. For the pillar-wise analysis, the authors observe that only governance performance is negatively and significantly related to COC whereas the environmental and social performances are negative and insignificant. For ESG pillar level analysis for beta, the authors observe that all pillars are negative and significant, thus making a case for how firms can fine-tune their ESG strategies according to each pillar.
Research limitations/implications
As the ESG concept is still in a very nascent stage, data availability is a definite challenge in India.
Practical implications
As ESG is increasingly becoming relevant for multiple stakeholders, this study aims to provide evidence that can potentially guide the regulators, practitioners, and academicians to address the contemporary needs of these stakeholders, while also doing good for the firm in the traditional sense.
Social implications
The transition to a sustainable economy is a challenge for emerging economies, especially for a country like India where stakeholders are not only varied but also huge in number. With this study's contribution towards an incremental understanding of ESG, Indian regulators and policymakers can bring forward mandates as to ESG compliances that are rewarding for the firms and give them enough impetus towards complying with ESG norms.
Originality/value
The extant literature on ESG majorly discusses the relationship between ESG performance and financial performance. This study addresses the lacuna of the relationship of ESG with COC and beta in the Indian context.
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Emina Duraković, Britta Marion Feigl, Bettina Marion Fischer, Christopher Fleck, Lisa‐Maria Galler, Johannes Heinrich, Karin Kulmer, Birgitta Kurzweil, Markus Scholze, Raphael Stefan Sperl, René Unterköfler, Kurt Remele, Julian Matzenberger and Gilbert Ahamer
The purpose of this paper is to show a practical case of dialogic web‐based learning that has provided a set of questions analysing two complex technological projects in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show a practical case of dialogic web‐based learning that has provided a set of questions analysing two complex technological projects in “southern” countries with effects on multicultural equity.
Design/methodology/approach
Structured online review processes in multicultural and systems science curricula allow for high density of literature‐based reflection and analysis.
Findings
The entirety of the set of over 50 questions developed by the proposed web‐based dialogic procedure represents a starting point for an in‐depth assessment of the effects of deploying “northern” technology in “southern” countries.
Research limitations/implications
The present case study concentrates on energy technology, notably on two hydroelectric plants presently under construction in Ilısu, Turkey, and Belo Monte, Brazil.
Practical implications
The multitude of questions calls for complex technological construction projects that have to undertake sound interdisciplinary in‐depth analysis of technological, environmental, economic, cultural and social consequences in order to secure a necessary level of economic, environmental and social sustainability.
Social implications
Application of widely accepted planning tools such as technology assessment, environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment are useful but have to be complemented by analogous tools at a cultural and social level.
Originality/value
This case study operates through questioning, largely in the Socratic tradition. Questions may trigger a broad discussion process within civil societies – which is the intention of the present text.