Michael D. Naughton, Frances Hardiman and Emma Mansbridge
– The purpose of the current original research is to determine the effect that the current period of economic recession has had on maintenance practices in Ireland.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the current original research is to determine the effect that the current period of economic recession has had on maintenance practices in Ireland.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey, which was aimed exclusively at senior maintenance management level, was designed to assess the impact that this period of recession and subsequent austerity has had across three chosen indicators-technical, personal and economical-from a maintenance perspective.
Findings
It was determined that maintenance practices in Ireland, irrespective of the origin of the organisation, were not immune from budget reductions and reductions in the levels of maintenance personnel. The survey suggests that retrenchment was the option of choice for organisations with 19 per cent increasing maintenance intervals and 11 per cent reporting a decrease in machine availability as a result. An analysis was also undertaken to accept or reject the hypothesis that the maintenance practices of indigenous Irish organisations have been more adversely affected than those of their non-indigenous Irish-based counterparts. The hypothesis was accepted.
Research limitations/implications
Although the analysis is based upon simple descriptive statistics-it provides invaluable information to maintenance policy decision makers.
Originality/value
The work is entirely original. Any work from other authors is duly referenced.
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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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User involvement and co-production are imperative to the design, delivery and evaluation of service provision. This chapter provides a brief introduction to these concepts as they…
Abstract
User involvement and co-production are imperative to the design, delivery and evaluation of service provision. This chapter provides a brief introduction to these concepts as they relate to mental health, addiction and dual diagnosis. This occurs through an exploration of models of user involvement, particularly, Arnstein’s ladder of participation and MHERs engagement continuum. This is followed by exploring the benefits of user involvement at both a micro and macro level. Co-production – as the highest form of participation is also introduced followed by how these concepts are noted within policy. These concepts are imperative to the creation of a recovery-orientated service that meets the needs of the whole person and their supporters.
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Michael McCann and Michael Hewitt
There is strong evidence that year-long work placements make students more employable and produces better academic performance. Despite this, UK participation rates remain…
Abstract
Purpose
There is strong evidence that year-long work placements make students more employable and produces better academic performance. Despite this, UK participation rates remain stubbornly low. The authors examine the influence of academic performance on students' willingness and ability to complete work placements.
Design/methodology/approach
This study’s novel conceptual framework distinguishes students by their intentions regarding work placements indicated at enrolment as well as whether they completed a work placement. The authors use a sample of 226 business and economics students, employing propensity score weighted multiple regression to analyse the influence of academic performance.
Findings
The results indicate that academic performance has a significant influence on the decision to include a work placement option at enrolment. For those students who do pursue work placements, first-year academic performance had a significantly positive impact on their ability to secure a placement job. Finally, completion of a work placement was beneficial to final year academic performance.
Practical implications
Work placements are beneficial. Since low academic performance deters students from pursuing such opportunities, universities may need to communicate the benefits better to encourage greater interest. Further, universities need to realistically manage the expectations of students with low academic performance who want to do work placements and provide targeted support during the application process. Furthermore, alternatives to work placements should be provided.
Originality/value
This research adds to the literature investigating the influence of academic performance through academic self-concept on students' investment decisions to include a work placement in their degree study and in students' ability to secure a work placement.
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Entrepreneurs and their ventures are often portrayed as unambiguously positive forces in society. Specifically, high technology and equity-funded startups are heralded for their…
Abstract
Entrepreneurs and their ventures are often portrayed as unambiguously positive forces in society. Specifically, high technology and equity-funded startups are heralded for their innovative products and services that are believed to alter the economic, social, and even political fabric of life in advantageous ways. This paper draws on established theory on the causes of misconduct in and by organizations to elaborate the factors that can give rise to misconduct in entrepreneurial ventures, illustrating our arguments with case material on both widely known and less well-known instances of entrepreneurial misconduct. In venturing into the dark side of entrepreneurship, we hope to contribute to theory on entrepreneurship and organizational misconduct, augment entrepreneurship pedagogy, and offer ideas and examples that can enhance entrepreneurs’ awareness of their susceptibility to wrongdoing.
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T. Dean Maines and Michael Naughton
Business education should be seen as a form of professional education which assists the student to acquire the virtue of practical wisdom. This article seeks to discuss the issues.
Abstract
Purpose
Business education should be seen as a form of professional education which assists the student to acquire the virtue of practical wisdom. This article seeks to discuss the issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A middle level thinking (MLT) approach is taken to engage business education and practice that seeks to fashion explicit and vibrant ties between broad ethical principles and the concrete decisions, policies, and processes which shape how an organization operates.
Findings
The financial crisis of 2008 and past business scandals are symptoms of a broader cultural crisis. Universities and their business schools have contributed to this cultural crisis by providing students with an overly compartmentalized and specialized form of education. Business education must be re‐envisioned as professional education which prepares students to engage in a form of middle level thinking (MLT). For this kind of thinking to become sustainable within a university context, it must draw upon the university's own cultural mission; otherwise, it will be susceptible to the economic and specialized pressures which bear upon these institutions.
Practical implications
The article describes a practical process called the self assessment and improvement process which helps to catalyze MLT. It also examines this method's application within the authors' own business school, which is situated within a Catholic university.
Social implications
By fostering MLT, business schools will promote the development of professionals who have the capacity to connect broad moral principles to concrete moral judgments and actions, thereby leading to specific practices which enable organizations to better contribute to the common good.
Originality/value
The article shows that acquisition of practical wisdom can be promoted within business schools through practical approaches which help to foster MLT.
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The past few years have seen a swelling of interest in explicitly Christian approaches to business ethics. The time is ripe, it would seem, to map the diversity of approaches…
Abstract
The past few years have seen a swelling of interest in explicitly Christian approaches to business ethics. The time is ripe, it would seem, to map the diversity of approaches within what I term “Christian business ethics.”1 Here I will frame the diversity of approaches as answers to the distinctive kind of question which religiously minded ethicists have brought to the terrain of business. I will not use theological or religious terms or categories, since such language is not likely to be of interest to philosophers and social scientists. Drawing up this map has been rendered easier by the fact that Christian business ethicists themselves have used a language which is readily accessible to listeners outside their traditions.