Lorenzo Massa, Federica Farneti and Beatrice Scappini
– The aim of this study is to shed light on the mechanisms involved in, and consequences of, developing a sustainability report in a small to medium enterprise.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to shed light on the mechanisms involved in, and consequences of, developing a sustainability report in a small to medium enterprise.
Design/methodology/approach
Action research is used to provide insights into the initial stages of the development of the sustainability report and its consequences. “Mike” is an Italian small organisation with a sustainability orientation selling products and services about wellness and health. It decided to develop a sustainability report in 2013.
Findings
The authors find that the organisation’s initial aim to report on its sustainability later extended beyond disclosure to using the information to enhance its sustainable development approach and awareness, consider long-term planning, support strategy-making based on the sustainable development concept and establish and enhance its reputation.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited to the analysis of only one small Italian organisation and as such cannot claim generalisability of its findings.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that the sustainability initiative of this organisation, while originally focussed on reporting, evolved into strategy and planning. Managers in similar organisations may learn from this experience to focus on strategy-making and social and environmental value creation.
Originality/value
The study examines sustainability reporting in the previously overlooked area of small and medium enterprises.
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Working as a consultant in the field of team development, I frequently find myself at odds with people who have different perceptions about the nature of the work. This confusion…
Abstract
Working as a consultant in the field of team development, I frequently find myself at odds with people who have different perceptions about the nature of the work. This confusion was actually expressed in print when in 1980, following the publication of my article on team problem diagnosis, another consultant wrote of his “simpler” method. This turned out to be the “LIFO” system. Again, similar misunderstanding arose in 1982, within a large client organisation in the public sector. The client had undergone major reorganisation, and it had been decided to create an internal consultancy role, a central function of which was to be team development. I was engaged to train those appointed to the role, with emphasis on the skills required by internal consultants. It came as some surprise therefore to be told during a seminar with some of the organisation's directors, that “team building” had recently been conducted in the area concerned. I had not yet trained the internal consultants. It emerged of course that their “team building” and my “team development” were entirely different processes. Impatient to “get things moving”, the organisation had initiated a programme of “team‐building” activity based on packaged exercises, mainly concerned with the analysis of management style.
AT LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY we made a film to celebrate the Library Association centenary, and the cost was less than a tenth of what most people understandably predicted. We…
Abstract
AT LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY we made a film to celebrate the Library Association centenary, and the cost was less than a tenth of what most people understandably predicted. We managed by confining ourselves to simple equipment and uncomplicated locations, and by exploiting the willing services of the university's modest and overworked Audio Visual Aids Unit (whose salaries and overheads were not in our budget). We had remarkable cooperation from librarians, teachers, administrators, students and members of the public in our East Midlands area. Now whether the results match the occasion and the subject is not for us to say, but you are cheerfully invited to test for yourselves by hiring or buying the film for your own institution or group at the rates quoted at the end of this paper.
Frank Franzak, Mike Little and Dennis Pitta
This paper seeks to describe an innovative practice that has implications for new product developers.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to describe an innovative practice that has implications for new product developers.
Design/methodology/approach
The case study describes an approach to new product development for a product that satisfies a need, which is fraught with social stigma. Childhood obesity is growing to epidemic proportions in the USA. The problem is the result of a confluence of factors, including a more sedentary lifestyle and pressures on parents to work and spend less time interacting with their children. For its victims, the problem seems intractable.
Findings
The case demonstrates the need for a comprehensive and systematic approach to product development that provides a workable solution that a target segment will embrace. The product described required careful market segmentation beyond the basic economic analysis of who could afford it. The main issue was to portray the benefits in a way that the target audience would accept.
Research limitations/implications
As in all case studies, the specific conditions found in one organization may not be found more generally in others. Readers are cautioned that the conclusion drawn in the case may have limited applicability.
Practical implications
The case depicts an innovative application of a behaviour modification device to a public health problem. Other organizations may find the technique of value in their own efforts.
Originality/value
The case describes a successful application of a medical device to address the childhood obesity problem. The work necessary to ensure that the PARS product was effective represents a new area of investigation in new product development.
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Sarah Whitehouse and Verity Jones
This chapter is about primary and secondary school teachers of history in England, and how they negotiate policy in order to teach sensitive and controversial issues which feature…
Abstract
This chapter is about primary and secondary school teachers of history in England, and how they negotiate policy in order to teach sensitive and controversial issues which feature as part of the history curriculum. We present research conducted in two phases that used a bounded case study (Stake, 1995) as a methodological approach. In Phase One, two focus group interviews were undertaken; in Phase Two, six unstructured individual interviews were conducted. Participants were teachers of history in England from Key Stage 1–5 (children aged 4–18 years).
Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data which were informed by reflections on positionality and being a socially conscious researcher (Pillow, 2010). Three key policies were explored as part of this research: the National Curriculum (DfE, 2013), the Teachers' Standards (DfE, 2012) and the Prevent Duty (DfE, 2015). Research findings demonstrate how the context of the school is fundamental in how teachers enact policy in relation to their practice, particularly in light of political changes in society. Self-surveillance was identified as a key strategy, adopted in the teaching of sensitive and controversial issues. We frame this context around Kitson and McCully's (2005) theoretical continuum which indicates that there is a reluctance by some teachers to engage with the teaching of sensitive and controversial issues due to concerns with policy enactment.
The findings of this research illustrate that policy impacts on teachers in numerous ways. Policy was demonstrated to be ambiguous for teachers, and recommendations are made relating to policy and the need for clearer guidance for teachers to support them with their practice.
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This paper aims to present the combination of enterprise risk management (ERM) and value-based management as especially suitable methods for companies with a shareholder value…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the combination of enterprise risk management (ERM) and value-based management as especially suitable methods for companies with a shareholder value imperative. Among its major benefits, these methods make the contribution of risk management for business decisions more effective.
Design/methodology/approach
Any possible inconsistencies between ERM, generating value because of imperfect capital markets and the CAPM to calculate cost of capital, which assumes perfect markets, must be avoided. Therefore, it is imperative that valuation methods used are based on risk analysis, and thus do not require perfect capital markets.
Findings
Value-based risk management requires the impact of changes in risk on enterprise value to be calculated and the aggregation of opportunities and risks related to planning to calculate total risk (using Monte Carlo simulation) and valuation techniques that reflect the effects changes in risk, on probability of default, cost of capital and enterprise value (and do not assume perfect capital markets). It is recommended that all relevant risks should be quantified and described using adequate probability distributions derived from the best information.
Practical implications
This approach can help to improve the use of risk analysis in decision-making by improving existing risk-management systems.
Originality/value
This extension of ERM is outlined to provide risk-adequate evaluation methods for business decisions, using Monte Carlo simulation and recently developed methods for risk–fair valuation with incomplete replication in combination with the probability of default. It is shown that quantification of all risk using available information should be accepted for the linking of risk analysis and business decisions.
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This paper aims to provide an overview of the strategies and techniques being used and developed for the fabrication of nanoscale devices.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide an overview of the strategies and techniques being used and developed for the fabrication of nanoscale devices.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper discusses various nanofabrication technologies and strategies and highlights their merits and limitations. It concludes with a consideration of longer‐term possibilities.
Findings
It is shown that top‐down nanofabrication frequently uses lithographic and other techniques derived from the microtechnology industry but recent research appears to have identified a limit to its capabilities. Bottom‐up nanofabrication is less well‐developed but techniques such as molecular mechanosynthesis may offer unique capabilities in the longer‐term.
Originality/value
The paper provides a timely review of the rapidly developing field of nanofabrication technology.