Rizwana Shaheen Hussain, Kirti Ruikar, Marcus P. Enoch, Nigel Brien and David Gartside
Diminishing local government budgets and the need to reduce highway works activities necessitate cost effective and efficient processes. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Diminishing local government budgets and the need to reduce highway works activities necessitate cost effective and efficient processes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate streamlining road works administrative processes to enhance coordinated working at Derby City Council.
Design/methodology/approach
Case study research of a local authority was undertaken using business process mapping. Specifically, Swimlane analysis enabled re-engineering of business processes from design stage, to works permit issuance. Process improvement recommendations were validated by nine industry experts through a focus group and semi-structured interviews. A logic map was developed for transferability to other councils, identifying key attributes for a successful administrative road works management process.
Findings
Research revealed inherent silo working and processes built around fragmented IT systems creating process inefficiency. Validation found numerous practices and management styles were culturally embedded and common across councils. Peer reviewed recommendations are made to improve working practices, including improving IT systems, removing process bottlenecks, and training staff.
Research limitations/implications
Whilst road works management policy is generally under-researched, its strategic and negative impacts are widely acknowledged. This study highlights the day-to-day operational problems which are interconnected to the strategic impact, bridging an important gap in knowledge, as well as adding to business process re-engineering literature.
Originality/value
The research adds to a limited body of road works management policy research, and also presents a high-level logic map for councils to adopt as appropriate.
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Fidella Tiew, Kirsten Holmes and Nigel de Bussy
The purpose of this paper is to examine external event stakeholders’ strategic actions to advance their interests in tourism events, based on their resource relationships with the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine external event stakeholders’ strategic actions to advance their interests in tourism events, based on their resource relationships with the event. It takes the novel approach of examining stakeholder influence strategies from the external stakeholder perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a qualitative case study research design, with five government-owned tourism events in Sarawak, involving primary data from 37 interviews with external stakeholders.
Findings
The stakeholders perceived that they were not overly dependent on the events studied due to their short duration. Two types of resource relationships were found: event-dependent stakeholders and event non-dependent stakeholders. Stakeholders were found to be deploying various influence strategies, which were largely subtle, positive and collaborative in nature, regardless of whether they were event-dependent or event non-dependent stakeholders.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are limited to the context examined in this study. Going forward, stronger public–private partnerships and formalised resource relationships are needed to ensure continuity of resource supplies and greater event innovation.
Originality/value
The study adds to the knowledge of how event external stakeholders exert their influence in accordance with their interests and resource dependency relationship with government-owned tourism events in the context of Sarawak, Borneo.
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One of the several claims that Seligman makes for Rooke is that he should be accorded priority in the discovery of the correct, that is Ricardian, doctrine of rent:there seems…
Abstract
One of the several claims that Seligman makes for Rooke is that he should be accorded priority in the discovery of the correct, that is Ricardian, doctrine of rent:there seems little doubt that the doctrine of rent was developed practically simultaneously by Malthus, West, Torrens and Rooke in 1814, but so far as the priority of actual publication is concerned, the above list should be reversed. And in the interests of historical accuracy, Rooke and Torrens must hereafter be accorded the position which they deserve. (Seligman, 1903, p. 512)1
Elie Halévy essentially expressed the view recorded by James Mill in his anonymously written ‘On the Nature, Measures, and Causes of Value’7 that the first chapter of the Critical…
Abstract
Elie Halévy essentially expressed the view recorded by James Mill in his anonymously written ‘On the Nature, Measures, and Causes of Value’7 that the first chapter of the Critical Dissertation relating to the nature of value ‘contains not an assertion, who which, as far as ideas politico-economical are concerned, Mr. Ricardo would not have assented; it contains, not indeed, as far as such ideas are concerned, an assertion which is not implied in the propositions which Mr. Ricardo has put forth. It is a criticism on some of Mr. Ricardo's forms of expression…’ ([J. Mill], 1826a, p. 157). The justification for the Ricardian reaction is clear enough, as I shall now show.8
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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– This paper charts the development and practice of disability psychotherapy for the author and for services.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper charts the development and practice of disability psychotherapy for the author and for services.
Design/methodology/approach
A personal account relating events to the development of thinking and practice.
Findings
The author suggests that a paradigm shift has occurred over the 30 years to a position of “doing with” as opposed to “doing to”.
Originality/value
This has not previously been put forward as a way of understanding present day services.
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Tracy Harkison, Nigel Hemmington and Kenneth F. Hyde
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the luxury accommodation experience is created by investigating the perceptions of the three main participant groups – managers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the luxury accommodation experience is created by investigating the perceptions of the three main participant groups – managers, employees and guests – using case studies from New Zealand.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretivist case-study methodology was used. Eighty-one participants were interviewed (27 managers, 27 employees and 27 guests) from six luxury properties. Thematic analysis was conducted to inform the results.
Findings
The key themes identified in creating the luxury accommodation experience are: setting the stage; the ethos of the property; performances of the actors; and co-creation between the participants. Using the themes identified, a conceptual model of the creation of the luxury accommodation experience has been formulated.
Practical implications
The conceptual model can be used to assist managers to deliver a more positive and memorable experience of their properties. Strategies to enhance the luxury accommodation experience include: training; standards of procedure; staff incentives; and the use of effective communication tools.
Originality/value
This study identified the three alternative perspectives of managers, employees and guests regarding how the luxury accommodation experience is created. The luxury accommodation sector contributes to the economies of a number of nations and therefore it is important to highlight how it can be maintained and improved.
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Nigel Craig and James Sommerville
This paper aims to present the findings from research that sought to evaluate the construction industry's approach to information management at the project level and to review the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the findings from research that sought to evaluate the construction industry's approach to information management at the project level and to review the operation of an information management systems (IMS) on selected projects.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from three IMS used on three separate construction projects were extracted over a four‐year period as the life of the construction stage of each project came to an end. Three distinct databases of the IMS were analysed and document statistics were extracted to demonstrate the level of activity within the construction project, and between members of the construction team, using a simple counting technique for each document type.
Findings
The paper finds that major construction projects generate, process and store considerable quantities of real‐time information prior to, during, and post on‐site construction. The construction activities are shrouded in information and management of the construction project requires appropriate systems which facilitate bi‐directional data input, information processing, dissemination and functional access. Historically, the onus of storing, disseminating and managing project information has fallen to each of the individual project team members of the many organisations involved within the project. Hardware advances, coupled with improved electronic and paper‐based IMS facilitate synergistic standardised filing and information control, which reduces the reliance on each individual or organisation to undertake the task of storing and controlling information. An IMS also has the capability to engage with performance management and reporting systems which aid not only management of the project, but also management of the organisation.
Practical implications
Case reviews show that in today's complex construction environment the use of an appropriate IMS has the potential to bring about team syntegrity and engender increased collaboration and integration among project members. The findings from completed projects exemplify a number of benefits to be accrued from adoption of an IMS and the resultant change in operating culture. Crucially, however, the pitfalls of such IMS systems are also identified.
Originality/value
The findings provide new knowledge about the management of information from construction projects.
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Julian Matzenberger, Nigel Hargreaves, Debadayita Raha and Priyan Dias
The purpose of this paper is to outline different notions of the term resilience used in scientific disciplines and consequently explore how the concept can be applied to energy…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline different notions of the term resilience used in scientific disciplines and consequently explore how the concept can be applied to energy systems. The concept of resilience has emerged recently in scientific discourse. The major questions to be addressed are: Which definitions and underlying concepts of resilience are used in the scientific literature? How can resilience be defined with respect to energy systems and which underlying principles can be identified?
Design/methodology/approach
Building on this understanding, characteristics of the resilience concept used in various contexts are described and a methodology for selection of an indicator set for an energy resilience assessment is presented. The methodology for a resilience assessment outlined in this paper requires definition and clustering of a set of indicators describing a resilient system. It contributes to understanding system properties and supports the theory of how to improve system resilience.
Findings
It is argued that resilience can be defined as a function of vulnerability and adaptability, therefore increasing adaptability or reducing vulnerability can cause higher system resilience. Further attributes, determinants and properties of resilient systems to guide indicator selection and classification are suggested.
Originality/value
Definitions of resilience, vulnerability and adaptability are very much interlinked. A novel framework is proposed to foster the understanding of the interlinkage between these three terms and to cluster indicators to assess energy system resilience.