Bryan B. House, Pam L. Johnston and Courtney Worcester
To explain a recent enforcement action by the USA Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whereby the SEC brought its first enforcement action for retaliation against a…
Abstract
Purpose
To explain a recent enforcement action by the USA Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whereby the SEC brought its first enforcement action for retaliation against a whistleblower under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank).
Design/methodology/approach
Explains the SEC’s recent enforcement action under Dodd-Frank, highlighting the efforts that a company undertook with respect to continuing to employ a whistleblower after potentially fraudulent activity was reported and discusses practical problems faced by such companies when trying to simultaneously investigate potential wrong-doing without being seen as retaliating against a whistleblower.
Findings
Through this enforcement action, the SEC has demonstrated a willingness to bring cases to enforce Dodd-Frank’s anti-retaliation provisions even though Dodd-Frank does not expressly grant it such enforcement authority.
Practical implications
Companies must have a strong culture of compliance and a strong policy encouraging whistleblowers to report concerns internally if at all possible. Once the whistleblower has reported to the SEC, a company will need to maintain the status quo with respect to the whistleblower.
Originality/value
Practical guidance from attorneys with experience with the SEC and whistleblower actions.
Details
Keywords
Evans J. Lupenza, Fredy T. Kilima and Neema Penance Kumburu
The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of performance appraisal mechanisms on employee productivity in public hospitals in Mbeya – Tanzania, when mediated by…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of performance appraisal mechanisms on employee productivity in public hospitals in Mbeya – Tanzania, when mediated by working environment and management style.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 338 employees, a cross-sectional design was adopted; questionnaires and interviews were used to collect primary data. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to determine the relationship between the variables, and Sobel’s test was performed to test the mediation effects.
Findings
Astudy found a strong association between performance appraisal mechanisms and employee productivity (p < 0.05). Goal setting significantly enhanced employee productivity (p < 0.05). Performance planning negatively impacted employee productivity, especially when combined with the working environment (p < 0.05). Assessment criteria had a significant positive effect on employee productivity when mediated by working environment and management style (p < 0.001).
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine how a performance appraisal system influences the productivity of public hospital employees in Tanzania. The study further explores the potential mediating effects of the work environment and management style on this relationship. By analysing the interplay between these variables and their impact on productivity, organizations can develop targeted strategies to boost employee performance and achieve superior results.
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Tom Schultheiss, Lorraine Hartline, Jean Mandeberg, Pam Petrich and Sue Stern
The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the…
Abstract
The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.
TO those who have been accustomed to think of Newcastle only as the home of coal and “The Keel Row,” its general aspect will be found disappointingly clean and brisk. Although…
Abstract
TO those who have been accustomed to think of Newcastle only as the home of coal and “The Keel Row,” its general aspect will be found disappointingly clean and brisk. Although there is a lively air of business about the place, yet its crowds of pretty and well‐dressed women, its fine shops, and imposing institutions, all contribute towards removing the wholly‐erroneous impression which most strangers cherish, that Newcastle is the home of dirt and smoke and general unloveliness. Indeed, we know of only one other town of similar size, which has been visited by the L. A. which can be compared to it for the energetic bustle of its streets, keenness of its air, and good looks of its women, and that is Aberdeen, where, if possible, the energy is more energetic, and the air even more keen. We shall not compare the ladies! Leaving the Tyne to trace its unlovely course to the sea, and dealing only with that part of the town which, for one busy week, formed the camp of all kinds of librarians, it maybe stated that the institutions of Newcastle which possess interest for librarians are many and varied. The Lit. and Phil. is one of the principal centres of literary and social activity, and its library, lecture rooms, social departments, and other features make it one of the most influential institutions in the town. Its appearance is impressive, and its well‐ordered and well‐classified shelves appeal to every librarian who has the slightest progressive instinct. It has historic memories over a century old, and in many ways attracts readers and supporters in a manner which no municipal library can as yet pretend to emulate. Perhaps the secret lies in the amount of selectness which such an institution can afford its members, and the feeling that one can mix with other subscribers without any fear of accidentally consorting with a slum‐dweller or ambitious pitman ! With all its merits, and they: are many, the Lit. and Phil. has not yet learned the supreme secret of making a conversazione attractive and bright. But this slight criticism applies to other Newcastle institutions visited by the L. A. No doubt the failures arose from a misunderstanding on the part of the local committee, in assuming too confidently that Librarians could amuse themselves. They cannot. They are the dullest dogs on earth, unless someone takes them in hand and amuses them. But this is all by the way, and may seem a little ungracious, though it is only meant as a guide for the future.
Ben Marriott, Jose Arturo Garza‐Reyes, Horacio Soriano‐Meier and Jiju Antony
Several authors have proposed different approaches to help practitioners deal with the complexity of prioritising improvement projects and initiatives. However, these approaches…
Abstract
Purpose
Several authors have proposed different approaches to help practitioners deal with the complexity of prioritising improvement projects and initiatives. However, these approaches have been developed as “generic” methods which do not consider the specific needs, objectives and capabilities of different industries and organisations. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated methodology that prioritises improvement projects or initiatives based on two key performance objectives, cost and quality, specifically important for low volume‐high integrity product manufacturers.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews some of the most commonly used prioritisation methods and the theory and logic behind the proposed prioritisation methodology. Then, the prioritisation methodology is empirically tested, through a case study, in a world class manufacturing organisation.
Findings
The results obtained from the case study indicate that the integrated methodology proposed in this paper is an effective alternative for low volume‐high integrity products manufacturers to identify, select and justify improvement priorities.
Practical implications
Selection and prioritisation of projects and initiatives are key elements for the successful implementation of improvements. The integrated methodology presented in this paper intends to aid organisations in dealing with the complexity that is normally handled over the selection and prioritisation of feasible improvement projects.
Originality/value
This paper presents a novel methodology that integrates two commonly used approaches in industry, Process Activity Mapping (PAM) and Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), to prioritise improvements. This methodology can help, in particular, organisations embarked in the manufacture of low volume‐high integrity products to take better decisions and align the focus of improvement efforts with their overall performance and strategic objectives.
Details
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Celiac disease is an auto-immune disorder that requires strict lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet. I explore how a celiac diagnosis affects gendered feeding work within…
Abstract
Purpose
Celiac disease is an auto-immune disorder that requires strict lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet. I explore how a celiac diagnosis affects gendered feeding work within families.
Methodology/approach
This chapter is based on a grounded theory analysis of field research with five celiac support groups and 80 in-depth interviews. I interviewed 15 adult men and 56 adult women with celiac, plus nine additional family members.
Findings
Gendered care work norms place the onus of responsibility for gluten-free feeding work on women, multiplying time spent planning, shopping, and preparing meals. Women employ distinct gendered strategies to accommodate the gluten-free diet. Following a strategy of integration, women tailor family meals to meet other diagnosed family members’ dietary needs and the entire family’s taste preferences. However, when women themselves have celiac, they follow a pattern of deferential subordination, not allowing their own dietary needs to alter family meals. Thus, women continue to prepare family meals as a form of care for others, even when their medical needs justify putting themselves first.
Originality/value
Social support is a key determinant of compliance with necessary lifestyle and dietary changes in chronic illness. However, little research explores the gendered dynamics within families accounting for the link between social support and dietary compliance. I show how gendered care work norms benefit husbands and children with celiac, while simultaneously disadvantaging women with celiac.
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TECHNICAL Education, after looming before the British public for half a century, is now with us a recognised factor in our national life. The passing of the Technical Instruction…
Abstract
TECHNICAL Education, after looming before the British public for half a century, is now with us a recognised factor in our national life. The passing of the Technical Instruction Acts of and 1891, and the Local Taxation (Customs and Excise) Act of gave an impetus to the movement, and has produced results of a most gratifying character. Technical schools, or institutions bearing other names in which technical instruction is given, are now considerably more numerous than Public Libraries. According to a return of the National Society for promotion of Technical Education in England (excluding London), 319 technical schools, under municipal and public bodies, have been erected at a cost of £3,186,102—an average of £10,000 per school in round numbers—and of this sum, one quarter of a million has been involved since 1901. In order to obtain an adequate idea of the extent to which technical instruction is given, it is necessary to take into account the higher grade schools and other institutions which are used for this purpose. But if technical schools be numerically stronger than Public Libraries, the former institution is incomplete without the latter. In such isolation, its relative position to the student, is like a conservatory without a garden to the botanist. A Public Library, with carefully selected books of reference, bearing on the subjects taught in the technical school as well as on all the industries carried on in the neighbourhood, is an indispensable condition to the success of the technical school, and I hope County Councils will, in the near future, use their influence to promote the establishment of Public Libraries in every locality where a technical school is considered essential.
The first Wisconsin Ph.D.s who came to MSU with an institutional bent were agricultural economists and included Henry Larzalere (Ph.D. 1938) whose major professor was Asher…
Abstract
The first Wisconsin Ph.D.s who came to MSU with an institutional bent were agricultural economists and included Henry Larzalere (Ph.D. 1938) whose major professor was Asher Hobson. Larzalere recalls the influence of Commons who retired in 1933. Upon graduation, Larzalere worked a short time for Wisconsin Governor Phillip Fox LaFollette who won passage of the nation’s first unemployment compensation act. Commons had earlier helped LaFollette’s father, Robert, to a number of institutional innovations.4 Larzalere continued the Commons’ tradition of contributing to the development of new institutions rather than being content to provide an efficiency apologia for existing private governance structures. He helped Michigan farmers form cooperatives. He taught land economics prior to Barlowe’s arrival in 1948, but primarily taught agricultural marketing. One of his Master’s degree students was Glenn Johnson (see below). Larzalere retired in 1977.
TO many of us it is a matter for regret that we are not able to keep ourselves so closely in touch with library affairs in other parts of the world as we would wish. With American…
Abstract
TO many of us it is a matter for regret that we are not able to keep ourselves so closely in touch with library affairs in other parts of the world as we would wish. With American happenings we are, of course, fairly well acquainted, but Colonial effort has not received the attention which is its due. In many places in the Empire methods are, in certain ways, in advance of ours—in more than one country the legislation has been more enlightened than it was in England until quite recently—and everywhere the experience of keen progressive librarians facing their own particular problems must prove of interest and value to those in the home country. Therefore we believe that by devoting this issue to a discussion of some phases of Colonial librarianship we are but answering the large demand for such information.