A critical eye is cast over some key services provided in a London teaching hospital while the author was undertaking a management development project. The absence of many…
Abstract
A critical eye is cast over some key services provided in a London teaching hospital while the author was undertaking a management development project. The absence of many standards and the provision of some services which could be harmful are noted. The approach of National Health Service management is contrasted with that of the author's previous employer, Marks and Spencer, and some recommendations for action are proposed.
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The author reviews the experience of a 12‐month secondment from a major retail company to a major hospital. Although his initial remit was to create a management development…
Abstract
The author reviews the experience of a 12‐month secondment from a major retail company to a major hospital. Although his initial remit was to create a management development process, he found that the prime need was to improve immediate managerial action. Differences between commercial and hospital values and behaviours are discussed.
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Abraham Hauriasi and Howard Davey
This paper sets out to review research on the compatibility between values underlying western accounting systems and traditional Solomon Islands cultural values. The research…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sets out to review research on the compatibility between values underlying western accounting systems and traditional Solomon Islands cultural values. The research takes a sociological view of accounting to better understand how imported accounting values and practices fit into, and interact with, local traditions.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretive methodology uses in‐depth interviews and participant observation. Both inductive and a priori approaches identify and describe major themes.
Findings
The areas of conflict found between accounting themes and traditional Solomon Island group values relate to: the objectivity and neutrality of accounting; profit and wealth maximisation as the bottom‐line; the separateness of the economic entity; time‐based accounting controls; and the underlying basis of competition for efficiency and effectiveness in western accounting systems.
Research limitations/implications
The challenge is to identify how to adapt accounting and management practices so they fit into existing local cultural values and practices. Solomon Islanders must also determine how some of their cultural values can be adapted to suit contemporary economic circumstances.
Practical implications
The paper recommends that consideration be given to recasting elements of accounting and management practice so that they better reflect the nature of the society/activities being represented – namely, the discharge of accountability; valuing intangible business outcomes; owner‐entity separation; time management; and bounded competition.
Originality/value
The research is one of the few studies on the culture‐accounting relationship in a developing and economically poor part of the Asia‐Pacific region.
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Vignesh Sudhir and Sudhir Velayudhan
There is a renewed interest among economists and policymakers in striking a perfect balance between the market, state, and the community for equitable and sustained development…
Abstract
There is a renewed interest among economists and policymakers in striking a perfect balance between the market, state, and the community for equitable and sustained development. Inclusive development is the need of the hour and healthcare cooperatives provide the perfect means to deliver that. The cooperatives can and should have an important role to play in this scenario. However, there is an important need to provide an enabling environment for the genesis and growth of Healthcare Cooperatives in India and to learn from the best models and practices across the world. The chapter discusses the effectiveness of healthcare cooperatives.
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Opens by exploring the changing relationship between customer value and how it has been traditionally interpreted within the organisation. Business leaders today acknowledge that…
Abstract
Opens by exploring the changing relationship between customer value and how it has been traditionally interpreted within the organisation. Business leaders today acknowledge that the traditional 4Ps approach to brand marketing needs to be transformed in order to realise a broader vision of customer value across the organisation. Argues that it is the business leader who should be leading this transformation, as manager of the organisation's brand and its values, as well as challenging the marketing department to redefine its role as brand custodians. Outlines a framework which enables senior management to develop superior customer value through branding and positioning their organisation and to deliver this value through its business processes. Uses practical examples to illustrate the use of this framework and concludes by considering whether or not the traditional marketing department is acting as a barrier when it comes to positioning and branding their organisation.
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Rachid Zeffane and Geoffrey Mayo
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…
Abstract
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.
Bala Chakravarthy, P.C. Abraham and Michael Sorell
This research study compares the financial success of emerging market companies that have globalized with similar sized EMNC companies that have stayed home.
Abstract
Purpose
This research study compares the financial success of emerging market companies that have globalized with similar sized EMNC companies that have stayed home.
Design/methodology/approach
One target cohort for this study was the short list of emerging market multinationals (EMNCs) that the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) published yearly from 2006 to 2016. 212 EMNCs were divided into three types: 10;1. Global Leaders – 19 from this list 10;2. Persistent Challengers – 78 companies on the BCG list. 10;3. Challengers – 115 companies were on BCG’s lists in various years. 10; Their financial results were compared with a group of 26 “Local Leaders,” emerging market companies that had revenues of over $10 billion but had not appeared even once on BCG’s list of global challengers. 10;
Findings
Local Leaders show superior financial performance when compared to Global Leaders.
Practical implications
Opportunistic moves to globalize without a sound underlying strategy have backfired on many emerging market companies, resulting in lagging financial performance and sometimes huge write-downs.
Originality/value
A carefully done study that indicates that globalization is not the magic bullet that improves the financial performance of an emerging market company.
World War I is the pivot of twentieth century American history because it transformed the United States from a regional into a global power. As the fiftieth anniversary of World…
Abstract
World War I is the pivot of twentieth century American history because it transformed the United States from a regional into a global power. As the fiftieth anniversary of World War II winds down, we remind ourselves of the first “Great War” and its continuing importance to American self‐conception and memory.