Search results

This intraorganizational simulation allows participants to negotiate three aspects of a Carrera (Porsche) marketing/production plan. Participants read background information and assume the role of six vice‐presidents and a president. In their role descriptions they learn of their positions on production volume, body styles, and turbo charger options for the Carrera. Subsequently the participants—with equal number for and against every issue (the president is neutral)—hammer out the product plan for the next year.

Examines the contemporary discourse on environmental sustainability, organizational change and transformational leadership in the larger context of a shift from a dominator to a partnership model of social and ideological organization. Traces the historic tension between these two models, and argues that this tension is coming to a head today because at our level of technological development a dominator model is not sustainable. Analyses some of the key themes in organizational change writings that address environmental sustainability, proposing that there is an implicit subtext in much of this literature relating to conventional gender roles and relations. Suggests that, as this subtext becomes more visible, appropriate changes in policy can be more effectively made.

In recent years, organisations around the world have been seriously affected by a range of economic, political and social upheavals that have gathered momentum in most parts of the globe. The viability of the conventional (pyramidal) organisational structures is being challenged in conjunction with major shifts in the roles of mid and top managers. In many countries, the pace of the above socio‐economic events and uncertainties is happening at an unprecedented pace. Some markets are showing signs of potential gigantic expansions while others (historically prosperous) are on the verge of complete collapse (Dent, 1991). In responding to the socio‐economic challenges of the nineties, organisations (across the board) have resorted to dismantling the conventional pyramidal structure and adopting so‐called “leaner” structures (see Zeffane, 1992). The most common struggle has been to maintain market share in an economic environment increasingly characterised by excess labour supply (Bamber, 1990; Green & Macdonald, 1991). As organisations shifted their strategies from “mass production” to “post‐fordism” (see, for example Kern and Schumann, 1987), there has been a significant tendency to emphasise flexibility of both capital and labour in order to cater for the niche markets which are claimed to be rapidly emerging, world‐wide. This has resulted in massive organisational restructuring world‐wide.

In the past decade there has been a movement towards “employee empowerment”. Employee/management teams have played an integral part in this change. Recently, the idea of the self‐directed work group has emerged, giving groups of employees both the responsibility over a particular area or function of the business, as well as authority to make decisions and implement solutions in that area. Large productivity increases, high morale, and increased employee commitment are some of the benefits of these groups, but all is not positive. Argues that companies wanting to switch to self‐directed work groups must be prepared thoroughly for the changes that will lie ahead. There are a number of areas which, if focused on now, will minimize the difficulties that can result before and after the process of change has begun. They can be categorized into three topics: preparing the organization (including top management attitudes, organizational structure, compensation systems, and employee‐retention strategies), preparing management (including attitudes, skills training, and vocabulary changes), and preparing employees (including attitudes, communication and group skills‐training, and job cross‐training).

This paper aims to explore the role played by food brands within children’s peer groups when they have a meal together.

Sixty-four elementary-aged children participated in one of ten organized snack times (five with unbranded products, five with branded products). Based on a qualitative methodology, data collection methods comprise observations and focus groups with the children.

Children mostly select the products according to their taste preference regardless of the brand name. They make individual decisions and are hardly influenced by their peers. Children use food brands as a common language to designate products, but they do not use them to convey their self-identity and enhance social integration.

This research contributes to a better understanding of the way children use food brands within peer group, and may be helpful when considering the future of children’s food marketing and tackling the issue of childhood obesity.

Whereas prior research has mostly studied the social value allocated by children to durable goods’ brands, such as clothing and electronic items, very few previous studies have focused on food brands.

Purpose – This chapter provides a theoretical and conceptual overview of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It is written as a descriptive document to enhance the understanding of CSR within the context of international business.Design/methodology/approach – This chapter is built based on an extensive literature review.Findings – This chapter contains six subsections. The first subsection looks at the concept of CSR, and it highlights the possible role of CSR in mitigating the negative consequences of globalisation. The second subsection looks at the evolution of CSR since the 1990s. The third section looks at ethics theories. The fourth section looks at political theories to explain CSR. The fifth section looks at the business case for CSR. And finally the sixth section looks at specific CSR initiatives.Practical implications – This chapter provides a response to the necessity for this analysis that arises from the effects of CSR actions in international business.Originality/value of chapter – This chapter provides a summary of the conceptual and theoretical framework of CSR. It could be used as a teaching tool for undergraduate and masters’ courses on either international business or corporate social responsibility.

It has been widely projected in the library literature that a substantial number of librarians will retire in the near future leaving significant gaps in the workforce, especially in library leadership. Many of those concerned with organizational development in libraries have promoted succession planning as an essential tool for addressing this much-anticipated wave of retirements. The purpose of this chapter is to argue that succession planning is the wrong approach for academic libraries. This chapter provides a review of the library literature on succession planning, as well as studies analyzing position announcements in librarianship which provide evidence as to the extent to which academic librarianship has changed in recent years. In a review of the library literature, the author found no sound explanation of why succession planning is an appropriate method for filling anticipated vacancies and no substantive evidence that succession planning programs in libraries are successful. Rather than filling anticipated vacancies with librarians prepared to fill specific positions by means of a succession planning program, the author recommends that academic library leaders should focus on the continual evaluation of current library needs and future library goals, and treat each vacancy as an opportunity to create a new position that will best satisfy the strategic goals of the library. In contrast to the nearly universal support for succession planning found in the library literature, this chapter offers a different point of view.

This article explores the contribution of ethnographic studies to our understanding of multinational corporations, through a literature review and through a case study of BMW Plant Oxford. The study considers that ethnographic studies can provide a more complex view of power relations between managers and workers, and can develop embedded perspectives taking into account the influences from outside the firm on its employees’ actions, developing the image of the firm not as a solitary entity, but as embedded in complex global networks and social discourses.

Are the social domains of kinship and business on balance complementary or contradictory? Do ventures that invest heavily in both – conventionally referred to as “family firms” – bear a net gain or net loss? We are scarcely the first to raise these questions. How then will we try to contribute to an answer? We try this in five ways, all of them based on previous literature. First, we develop the dichotomy of kinship and business by taking seriously the metaphor of yin and yang, merging it with the anthropological constructs of structural domains such as “domestic” and “public.” This metaphor proves to shed light on the relevant literature. Second, we provide a qualitative survey of the costs and benefits of kinship in business. Third, we summarize the empirical work that addresses the performance outcomes from family involvement. Fourth, we consider the practitioner implications of these studies. Finally, we ask if scholars are as yet in a position to answer these questions.