Ram A. Cnaan, Ganesh Bhat, Lucas C.P.M. Meijs and Femida Handy
This article aims to examine the history, mechanisms, interconnectedness and effectiveness of the jasmine-growing enterprise in coastal Karnataka. This article investigates the…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to examine the history, mechanisms, interconnectedness and effectiveness of the jasmine-growing enterprise in coastal Karnataka. This article investigates the formation and ongoing successful operation of a community enterprise that is locally originated and administered. The case of the jasmine flower growers in coastal Karnataka is a case of small-scale growers who for 75 years have operated a long-standing local community-based enterprise. Using trust, repeated interactions and efficient mechanisms of pricing and distribution, this enterprise has prevented poverty among its participants for three generations.
Design/methodology/approach
This article provides a descriptive analysis of the enterprise as well as results from an empirical study of 700 growers. The article used cluster analysis of local villages to represent the 7,000 participating households.
Findings
Studying local growers who are the producers of the flowers and who are living off of it, this article found a high level of satisfaction and trust towards those running the enterprise. For many people in the region, this ongoing enterprise is the difference between poverty and hunger and living well.
Research limitations/implications
The article is based on one local community that is lucky to have a desired resource (one type of jasmine flower) coveted by many users.
Practical implications
Combined, this article provides an account of a unique and successful sustainable enterprise, initiated and run at the grassroots level, which serves as a model for future economic development. In addition, it lists the features that are most relevant for the ongoing success of the enterprise and suggests how a new social and economic development project can learn from this enterprise.
Originality/value
This is an amazing enterprise that was not studied before and can be a role model for many adaptations.
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The main focus of this paper is upon the use of computers and other elements of Information Technology (IT) in the daily practice of social work, specifically in relation to the…
Abstract
The main focus of this paper is upon the use of computers and other elements of Information Technology (IT) in the daily practice of social work, specifically in relation to the impact which it has upon the service user and the social workers and upon the outcome of service delivery. But it is also necessary to stray into other territories; notably management uses of computing in social work agencies, and to the more abstract area of the relationship between service‐users, social work and society.
Charitable Choice Policy, the heart of President Bush’s Faith‐Based Initiative, is the direct government funding of religious organizations for the purpose of carrying out…
Abstract
Charitable Choice Policy, the heart of President Bush’s Faith‐Based Initiative, is the direct government funding of religious organizations for the purpose of carrying out government programs. The Bush presidential administration has called for the application of Charitable Choice Policy to all kinds of social services. Advocates for child‐abuse victims contend that the Bush Charitable Choice Policy would further dismantle essential social services provided to abused children. Others have argued Charitable Choice Policy is unconstitutional because it crosses the boundary separating church and state. Rather than drastically altering the US social‐policy landscape, this paper demonstrates that the Bush Charitable Choice Policy already is in place for childabuse services across many of the fifty states. One reason this phenomenon is ignored is due to the reliance on the public‐private dichotomy for studying social policies and services. This paper contends that relying on the public‐private dichotomy leads researchers to overlook important configurations of actors and institutions that provide services to abused children. It offers an alternate framework to the public‐private dichotomy useful for the analysis of social policy in general and, in particular, Charitable Choice Policy affecting services to abused children. Employing a new methodological approach, fuzzy‐sets analysis, demonstrates the degree to which social services for abused children match ideal types. It suggests relationships between religious organizations and governments are essential to the provision of services to abused children in the United States. Given the direction in which the Bush Charitable Choice Policy will push social‐policy programs, scholars should ask whether abused children will be placed in circumstances that other social groups will not and why.
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Richard L. Wood and Mark R. Warren
Questions whether, in the USA, faith‐based communities can have an important effect on politics. Contends that other areas, where there are poorer communities, are more likely to…
Abstract
Questions whether, in the USA, faith‐based communities can have an important effect on politics. Contends that other areas, where there are poorer communities, are more likely to be influenced politically in civil society although does not preclude other income sectors from being similarly affected just that deprived areas are more likely to listen to faith‐based organizers.
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Louisi Francis Moura, Edson Pinheiro de Lima, Fernando Deschamps, Eileen Van Aken, Sergio E. Gouvea da Costa, Fernanda Tavares Treinta and José Marcelo Almeida Prado Cestari
In the performance measurement and management research field, the applicability of performance measurement systems (PMS) in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and public…
Abstract
Purpose
In the performance measurement and management research field, the applicability of performance measurement systems (PMS) in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and public administration has been considered a challenge. The diversity of these organizations makes it difficult to define proper terminology and organizational characteristics. PMS evolution has not yet been able to capture all performance dimensions of a public administration and, especially for NPO considering its dynamic and multiple goals. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework that identifies and classifies the factors that influence the design of PMSs in NPOs and public administration.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was developed through a systematic literature review (SLR). A set of 29 papers were intensely studied, and the results provide a multi-disciplinary and holistic set of factors.
Findings
A set of ten factors that influence the design of PMSs in NPO and public administration were found. They were categorized into three groups: factor related to purpose, stakeholders and management.
Originality/value
The study synthesized the literature and provided a conceptual framework of the factors that influence the design of PMSs in NPO and public administration. No individual paper collected in the SLR shows a similar organization of the factors as the present paper. The set of factors indicates the importance of this study for NPO and public administration, and how complex a PMS in an NPO and public administration can become. The conceptual model presented can further assist practitioners in developing design process observing the role that the identified factors play.
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Madeleine Power, Neil Small, Bob Doherty, Barbara Stewart-Knox and Kate E. Pickett
This paper uses data from a city with a multi-ethnic, multi-faith population to better understand faith-based food aid. The paper aims to understand what constitutes faith-based…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper uses data from a city with a multi-ethnic, multi-faith population to better understand faith-based food aid. The paper aims to understand what constitutes faith-based responses to food insecurity, compare the prevalence and nature of faith-based food aid across different religions and explore how community food aid meets the needs of a multi-ethnic, multi-faith population.
Design/methodology/approach
The study involved two phases of primary research. In Phase 1, desk-based research and dialogue with stakeholders in local food security programmes were used to identify faith-based responses to food insecurity. Phase 2 consisted of 18 semi-structured interviews involving faith-based and secular charitable food aid organizations.
Findings
The paper illustrates the internal heterogeneity of faith-based food aid. Faith-based food aid is highly prevalent and the vast majority is Christian. Doctrine is a key motivation among Christian organizations for their provision of food. The fact that the clients at faith-based, particularly Christian, food aid did not reflect the local religious demographic is a cause for concern in light of the entry-barriers identified. This concern is heightened by the co-option of faith-based organizations by the state as part of the “Big Society” agenda.
Originality/value
This is the first academic study in the UK to look at the faith-based arrangements of Christian and Muslim food aid providers, to set out what it means to provide faith-based food aid in the UK and to explore how faith-based food aid interacts with people of other religions and no religion.
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The purpose of this paper is to understand the evolutionary influences on corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature at a global level and propose the future studies…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the evolutionary influences on corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature at a global level and propose the future studies required to enhance the CSR literature.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper combines the methodologies of narrative review and historical analysis. Drawing on the archival information, this paper synthesises data from multiple sources to bring out an enhanced understanding of the external influences on the development of CSR literature.
Findings
The findings suggest that the CSR literature in the previous decades has been influenced by several management domains like strategic management, marketing management and organisational behaviour. The future research is likely to be more influenced by the perspectives of national business system, politico-legal context and practical considerations related to implementation.
Practical implications
This review paper presents a case for studying the practical aspects of CSR implementation and the changing nature of the external context of CSR.
Originality/value
The paper offers unique value by combining different review methodologies and abstraction at a global level. This paper is a significant addition to better understand the impact of business events on the progress of CSR and the external influence on CSR literature.