Clare F. Harvey, Peter Smith and Peter Lund
InfoVine is a software prototype which has been developed to enhance corporate memory and corporate consciousness. It has been implemented in the context of paint technology…
Abstract
InfoVine is a software prototype which has been developed to enhance corporate memory and corporate consciousness. It has been implemented in the context of paint technology laboratory notebooks at Courtaulds Coatings Holdings Ltd. However, its possible business and industrial applications are far wider. InfoVine is designed to perform a task whose importance is only just beginning to be recognised: that of replicating the information roles of middle managers, and providing a dynamic record of organisational knowledge. The system collects, stores and makes available information about which personnel have expertise in which technical areas. This paper examines the evaluation process that InfoVine underwent at Courtaulds Coatings Holdings Ltd. The process was considered as an exercise in technology transfer and in promoting the use of the software within the organisation. The evaluation of InfoVine is considered in the light of proven criteria for good technology transfer. The methods used for system evaluation and the results of the evaluation are considered. The work on InfoVine has now moved into an exciting new phase. The closing section of this paper is concerned with new directions for InfoVine. These include abstracting the InfoVine principles to produce a generic system for enhancing corporate memory and corporate consciousness. New contexts for the development of InfoVine are also discussed.
IDEAL methods of Library service; this, in simple translation is the purpose before the Library Association Conference at Manchester this year. The first thing that strikes any…
Abstract
IDEAL methods of Library service; this, in simple translation is the purpose before the Library Association Conference at Manchester this year. The first thing that strikes any observer is the great variety of current library work. There was a day, so recent that fairly young men can remember it, when a Library Association Conference could focus its attention upon such matters as public library charging systems, open access versus the indicator, the annotated versus the title‐a‐line catalogue, the imposition of fines and penalties; in short, on those details of working which are now settled in the main and do not admit of general discussion. All of them, too, it will be observed, are problems of the public library. When those of other libraries came into view in those days they were seen only on the horizon. It was believed that there was no nexus of interest in libraries other than the municipal variety. Each of the others was a law unto itself, and its problems concerned no one else. The provision of books for villages, it is true, was always before the public librarian; he knew the problem. In this journal James Duff Brown wrote frequently concerning it; before the Library Assistants' Association, Mr. Harry Farr, then Deputy Librarian of Cardiff, wrote an admirable plea for its development. Wyndham Hulme once addressed an annual dinner suggesting it as the problem for the younger librarians. Carnegie money made the scheme possible. But contemporaneously with the development of the Rural Library system, which now calls itself the County Library system as an earnest of its ultimate intentions, there has been a coming together of the librarians of research and similar libraries. We have a section for them in the Library Association.
The most significant event for the School has been the announcement of the creation of the National Centre for Management Research and Development. The Centre is due to open in…
Abstract
The most significant event for the School has been the announcement of the creation of the National Centre for Management Research and Development. The Centre is due to open in 1986 and will provide research facilities for up to 20 major projects designed to improve the competitiveness of Canadian business practices.
Mohammed Shahedul Quader, Md. Mostafa Kamal and A.B.M. Enamol Hassan
This paper aims to conduct an in-depth study of any changes that small medium enterprises (SMEs) environmental performance face, in the retailing and manufacturing sector, as well…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to conduct an in-depth study of any changes that small medium enterprises (SMEs) environmental performance face, in the retailing and manufacturing sector, as well as to identify their main drivers. Furthermore, it seeks to investigate SMEs’ perspectives regarding the environmental management systems and more specifically International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 14001 on the one side, whether it is a positive relationship between the implementation of “ISO 14001” by SMEs and their profitability of business on the other.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is a qualitative research, which combines secondary data enriched with daily articles and primary data using in-depth interviews with experts from the SME sectors, which attempts to build a sufficient “theory” by answering the research questions.
Findings
The business world has started to get widely involved with the environmental issues and even if this, in some cases, happened only for marketing purposes, it is difficult now to be changed. The SMEs have started to realise their responsibilities and act accordingly, but there is a long way to cover until their actions will be actually beneficial for the environment. However, the improvement or stability of SMEs’ environmental performance, meaning the implementation of more environmental activities, depends on the impact that those changes will have in every SME, due to the unique idiosyncrasy that each of it consists.
Originality/value
This paper reveals proper method for documenting monetary rewards to entrepreneurship through maintaining environmental issues accurately using information about profitability of SME’s. After maintaining environmental factors, the premia illustrates about the entrepreneurs concentrating not only profitability but also environmental concern.
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Plant relocation (PR) is a major organisational change, ostensiblyfocused only upon geographical transfer, but in fact havingbroad‐spectrum accompanying effects. A conceptual…
Abstract
Plant relocation (PR) is a major organisational change, ostensibly focused only upon geographical transfer, but in fact having broad‐spectrum accompanying effects. A conceptual analysis of PR is presented, supplemented by data from 35 interviews with managers and union leaders of organisations having recently relocated. PR is viewed as a catalytic process of turbulent change, radiating upon organisational structures, social processes, and external environmental systems. The uncertainty and turbulence created by PR are shown to affect management‐worker relations, as well as the interrelationships among employees and the distribution of power within the organisation. The potentials of PR as an opportunity for organisational growth and revitalisation on the one hand, and as a period of crisis and turmoil, on the other, are presented. Some general guidelines are proposed for the effective planning and management of relocation.
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This paper is about the marketing of the next generation of mobile phones. It begins with comments on the state of the telecom industry and draws attention to elements of…
Abstract
This paper is about the marketing of the next generation of mobile phones. It begins with comments on the state of the telecom industry and draws attention to elements of technological and product convergence, highlighting the point that while industry convergence on digital technology is a fact, today’s mobile telephony marketplace is nonetheless characterised by three generations of technology and the latest generation, 3G, embraces three related but competing standards. The paper examines 2G, 2 and a half G and 3G developments around the world and identifies factors relevant to the marketing of 3G, including recognition of geographical and user diversity and the consequent need for marketers to keep these various user perspectives in mind. There is recognition of the financial pressure on telephone operators and of the sometimes emotional and fickle preferences of telephone users. However, customer desire for personalisation, including personalised 3G services, are important features of the marketplace, as will be the availability of simple, secure payment systems.
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Mary J. Meixell and Mario Norbis
The purpose of this paper is to categorize transportation choice research (mode choice and carrier selection) leading to insight on themes in the literature and directions for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to categorize transportation choice research (mode choice and carrier selection) leading to insight on themes in the literature and directions for future research
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed transportation choice research categorization framework is based on a comprehensive literature review of the peer‐reviewed journal papers published over the past 20 years, supplemented with a review of practitioner articles to identify current challenges in the logistics field. The academic papers are analyzed in terms of research purpose/question, methodology, findings, and challenges addressed.
Findings
The review reveals that several important themes are under‐represented in the transportation choice literature: environmental and energy use concerns; security in the supply chain; supply chain integration; international growth; and the role of the internet and emerging information technologies. This review also found that simulation, case study, and interview methodologies are under‐represented, and that normative modeling research is only lightly represented in this research.
Originality/value
The contributions of this research are three‐fold: the development of a classification scheme for transportation choice research, a structured review that provides a guide to earlier research on the subject of transportation choice, and the identification of research issues for future investigation.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify coordination mechanisms for multicultural teams at the fuzzy front-end (FFE) of discontinuous product innovations to maintain their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify coordination mechanisms for multicultural teams at the fuzzy front-end (FFE) of discontinuous product innovations to maintain their creative potential by limiting the negative effects of cultural differences of individual nations.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a case study, the international teamwork at the FFE was analyzed at Bürkert, a German medium-sized firm active in the industrial sector.
Findings
In correlation with the academic literature, the findings suggest that a strong organizational culture oriented toward innovation delivers a common framework for the FFE. Additionally, the case company succeeded in limiting the negative effects of individual nations’ cultures through common professional cultures.
Research limitations/implications
Data were collected from a single case study what limits its generalizability. Moreover, national culture was considered to be overlapping with political boundaries without taking regional differences into account. Future research should focus to overcome these limitations so as to better capture international challenges at this fuzzy phase of the innovation process.
Practical implications
Companies should focus on their corporate culture and use the concept of professional cultures to facilitate not only the international collaboration, but also the communication on a national level between the functional departments at the FFE.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to a better understanding of the FFE in a multicultural innovation team to sustain its innovative potential over time. It proposes a first parsimonious framework to coordinate cultural differences at the FFE.
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Mark Wilson, Albert Bokma, Rob Hall, Peter Smith and Julie Wales
The end of the millennium is a useful time to stop and reflect, to review and maybe to ask some big questions. This paper asks a very big question indeed for the accountancy…
Abstract
The end of the millennium is a useful time to stop and reflect, to review and maybe to ask some big questions. This paper asks a very big question indeed for the accountancy profession ‐ ‘What might corporate reporting look like in the 21st Century ?’ This paper looks at issues surrounding the likely future of corporate reporting in the digital age. The Royal Society of Arts Tomorrow’s Company Inquiry (1995) is used as a possible model of corporate information needs in the next millennia. The implications of the model for corporate accounting and information systems are examined. A move from shareholder reporting, to stakeholder reporting and finally to stakeholder dialogue is envisaged. The model raises a number of problems and the use of digital technology is considered as a partial solution to some of these problems.