– This paper is an analysis of user demographics in the Borrow Direct resource sharing service. The paper looks to determine who uses the service and to what extent.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is an analysis of user demographics in the Borrow Direct resource sharing service. The paper looks to determine who uses the service and to what extent.
Design/methodology/approach
Five years of user data was culled from the system and analysed by user status and number of transactions.
Findings
Borrow Direct is a core service for supporting graduate level research across the twelve partner institutions.
Originality/value
This analysis indicates that resource sharing remains a vital resource, particularly for graduate level research, even at top-tier academic libraries.
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This paper has been timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the publication of In Search of Excellence. Observing this anniversary, the paper aims to offer a critical…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper has been timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the publication of In Search of Excellence. Observing this anniversary, the paper aims to offer a critical review of the works of Tom Peters – a man vaunted as the guru of management. Reviewers have observed that Tom Peters' narratives of business build and depend upon organizational stories to achieve their effects. Recognising that tales of the organization play an important role in sensemaking and sensegiving endeavours, this paper reviews Peters' organizational storytelling in the light of critical academic reflection in this arena.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyses the eight key works on management produced by Tom Peters between 1982 and 2003 from a storytelling perspective. Building upon Yiannis Gabriel's account of the essence of the poetic tale, the paper compiles a catalogue of Tom Peters' storywork.
Findings
On the strength of the cataloguing exercise, the paper charts a decline in this guru's storytelling; the predominance of certain story types; Peters' transmutation from narrator for, to hero of, the business world.
Originality/value
While acknowledging the need for further research and analysis, the paper suggests that the quantitative and qualitative changes evident in Peters' storywork catalogue suggest that this guru's connection to the world of business has become increasingly remote and unproductive. Accordingly, this review questions Peters' status as an organizational storyteller/organizational “sensegiver”, and so, questions his future prospects as a guru.
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When Jim Collins and Jerry Porras were researching the early history of some of America's greatest corporations for their book Built to Last, they kept coming across a common…
Abstract
Findings
When Jim Collins and Jerry Porras were researching the early history of some of America's greatest corporations for their book Built to Last, they kept coming across a common denominator: Peter Drucker.
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Susan White and Protiti Dastidar
In a typical strategy course, growth strategies like mergers and acquisitions (corporate strategy) are introduced in the second half of the course. To analyze the case, students…
Abstract
Theoretical Basis
In a typical strategy course, growth strategies like mergers and acquisitions (corporate strategy) are introduced in the second half of the course. To analyze the case, students will use strategies such as Porter’s five forces and resource-based view and will discuss why firms pursue mergers as a growth strategy, along with sources of synergies and risks in mergers. Finance theory used includes analyzing a given discounted cash flow analysis and perform a comparable multiples analysis to find the value of a merger target.
Research Methodology
The industry and financial information in the case comes from publicly available sources, including company 10K reports, business press reports and publicly available industry reports. The information about Lockheed Martin’s strategy comes from interviews with Peter Clyne, former vice president for Lockheed Martin’s IS&GS division. He then held the same position for Leidos Holding Corp., after the IS&GS division was divested and incorporated into Leidos.
Case overview/synopsis
This case is an interdisciplinary case containing aspects of strategy and finance. Lockheed Martin made a strategic move in 2016, to divest its Information Systems & Global Strategies Division (IS&GS), which engaged in government consulting, primarily in the defense and aerospace industries. Lockheed wanted to reassess its decision to divest consulting, given the high growth rates expected in this business, particularly in cybersecurity consulting. On the other hand, if Lockheed decided to maintain its hardware focus, it wanted to expand its offerings. In addition to a strategy analysis, two possible target firms can be analyzed: Fortinet and Maxar.
Complexity Academic Level
This case raises a broad set of issues related to the evaluation of M&A transactions across two different industries and corporate strategy, as it relates to strategic fit of the potential targets and LM’s current capabilities. It is appropriate for the core course in strategy at the MBA or senior undergraduate level. It can also be assigned to specialized courses in Mergers and Acquisitions. It is not appropriate for a lower level strategy or finance course, as it requires students to have prior knowledge of basic finance valuation techniques.
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Via philosophy of science, the paper seeks to identify the role of trial and error in business and other managed activities, including economic development.
Abstract
Purpose
Via philosophy of science, the paper seeks to identify the role of trial and error in business and other managed activities, including economic development.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing first on Karl Popper's view of trial and error as essential to the evolution of all life, including all human activity, the paper asks what we mean by science, and how distinctive is the scientific mode of enquiry. It goes on to look at, in particular, the treatment of trial and error, and of evolution, in two best‐selling management books of the last 25 years, and at the relevance of this treatment to some recent discussions of economic development.
Findings
Popper's distinction between science and various types of non‐science is not as clear‐cut as is sometimes portrayed. Moreover, there are significant variants to Popper's view of scientific method. But accepting Popper's view of the centrality of trial and error for problem solving the paper finds significant echoes in some management thinking. Related questions occur, also, in some recent discussions of economic development.
Practical implications
The paper argues that trial and error is a well‐established approach in business and other managed activities, and that there is potential to learn from many examples of success and disappointment.
Originality/value
The paper questions whether some views of science, and of the demarcation between science and non‐science, are as clear‐cut as is sometimes assumed. It argues against claimed novelty in some recent discussion of evolutionary process in business and elsewhere.
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Joseph W. Glauber, Keith J. Collins and Peter J. Barry
Since 1980, the principal form of crop loss assistance in the United States has been provided through the Federal Crop Insurance Program. The Federal Crop Insurance Act of 1980…
Abstract
Since 1980, the principal form of crop loss assistance in the United States has been provided through the Federal Crop Insurance Program. The Federal Crop Insurance Act of 1980 was intended to replace disaster programs with a subsidized insurance program that farmers could depend on in the event of crop losses. Crop insurance was seen as preferable to disaster assistance because it was less costly and hence could be provided to more producers, was less likely to encourage moral hazard, and less likely to encourage producers to plant crops on marginal lands. Despite substantial growth in the program, the crop insurance program has failed to replace other disaster programs as the sole form of assistance. Over the past 20 years, producers received an estimated $15 billion in supplemental disaster payments in addition to $22 billion in crop insurance indemnities.
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Parker of, Melford Stevenson J. and J. Willis
May 1, 1969 Redundancy — Calculation of payment — Continuity of employment — National trade union agreement providing for employment by any electricity board to be treated as…
Abstract
May 1, 1969 Redundancy — Calculation of payment — Continuity of employment — National trade union agreement providing for employment by any electricity board to be treated as continuous — Employee transferred from one area board to another — Subsequent return to employment of first board — Whether continuity of employment broken — Whether analogy with “associated company” applicable — “Absent from work” — “Regarded as contriving in the employment…” — Companies Act, 1948 (11 & 12 Geo. 6, c. 38), s.154 — Contracts of Employment Act, 1963 (11 & 12 Eliz.2, c.49), Sch.1 paras. 5(1) (c), 10,10A — Redundancy Payments Act, 1965 (c.62), s.48(4) (5).
Daniel Salinas and David P. Baker
Recent developments in neuroscience have generated great expectations in the education world globally. However, building a bridge between brain science and education has been…
Abstract
Recent developments in neuroscience have generated great expectations in the education world globally. However, building a bridge between brain science and education has been hard. Educational researchers and practitioners more often than not hold unrealistic images of neuroscience, some naively positive and others blindly negative. Neuroscientist looking at how the brain reacts and changes during mental tasks involving reading or mathematics usually discuss education as some constant and undifferentiated “social environment” of the brain, either assuming it to be a “black box” or evoking an image of perfect schooling and full access to it. In this review, we claim that a more productive and realistic relationship between neuroscience and the comparative study of education can be thought about in terms of the hypothesis that formal education is having a significant role in the cognitive and neurological development of human populations around the world. We review research that supports this hypothesis and implications for future studies.
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Scott Glick, Caroline Clevenger and Peter Watson
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the complexities of grant writing to fund sustainable upgrades to historical properties. Highlighted are the complexities of melding…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the complexities of grant writing to fund sustainable upgrades to historical properties. Highlighted are the complexities of melding grant solicitations, identifying potential partners, defining project scope, securing matching funds, identifying institutional barriers, and the importance of collecting actual building performance data.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study was used to document the process of funding energy efficiency upgrades at a national historic landmark.
Findings
Grant writers need to look for non‐traditional partners and funding sources. Historic preservation and energy efficiency can be achieved while meeting the Secretary of the Interior's Standards on Sustainability. The importance of funding to conduct field research is discussed relating to the development of measurable outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
The ability to conduct long‐term field‐based research is dependent on funding. Policy and funding decisions in the future would be enhanced by applied research with measurable outcomes.
Practical implications
Grant sponsors need to broaden the scope of historical preservation grants to include energy improvement research. Capacity building in the area of field‐based measurement will ensure that grant funds meet stated expectations while increasing historic building performance.
Social implications
Sustainability is the focus of legislation, building performance tools, and is economically important. This research would help shift the perception that old buildings cannot perform efficiently once classified as historic.
Originality/value
This paper provides information to preservationists, builders, homeowners, grant sponsors, and policy makers in the form of a multifaceted approach to using grant monies to improve the outcomes of monies spent on historical preservation.