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1 – 10 of 28The intention of this chapter is to evaluate the likelihood that the Critical Management Division (CMS) of the Academy of Management can accomplish anything beyond helping to…
Abstract
Purpose
The intention of this chapter is to evaluate the likelihood that the Critical Management Division (CMS) of the Academy of Management can accomplish anything beyond helping to promote the careers of its members.
Approach
This chapter examines the likelihood of getting anything done from a personalized historical approach, as the author was a witness to many of the events covered in the chapter. It also compares the experience of the CMS Division with that of critical management as an academic specialty in other nations.
Findings
After examining the evolution of the social role of the US-based Academy of Management along with the origins of the CMS Division, the author concludes that the division’s emergence was tolerated precisely because it was so unlikely to accomplish anything that might challenge the institutional privileges of academic management, let alone seriously threaten the hegemony of American-led global capitalism.
Practical implications
The chapter intends to discourage critical scholars from wasting their time and energy trying to make CMS into something it is not structurally capable of being, and instead focus on building organizations outside of the academy that might stand a chance of promoting the goals of critical management.
Originality
While several histories and critiques of UK-based critical management have been published, this chapter may be the first critical history of CMS.
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The purpose of this paper is to elucidate and explain the origins and transformation of the study of corporate social responsibility (CSR) over its half‐century history.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to elucidate and explain the origins and transformation of the study of corporate social responsibility (CSR) over its half‐century history.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is a historical study in two parts. The first and larger part examines the CSR literature of the 1950s from both an intellectual and social perspective. It not only analyzes the content of these writings, but it also places them and their authors in a political and economic context. The second part explains why so many of the themes and approaches of this first generation have been abandoned by more recent CSR scholars by pointing to decisive changes in the American social and political environment.
Findings
Early CSR research was a product of the cataclysmic events that the scholars in this field experienced personally and professionally, most importantly the labor conflicts of the 1930s and the uneasy labor peace that subsequently followed. By contrast, the more modern approach that emphasizes the ethics of executive decision making became the dominant paradigm in the 1980s when institutional support for a macro perspective disappeared.
Practical implications
The first generation of scholars were concerned with issues of economic fairness and the independence of governments from interest group pressures. With these issues currently reasserting themselves on a global level, modern scholars could learn a great deal from studying the insights and practical experience of these neglected thinkers.
Originality/value
This is both the first in‐depth study of the content and origins of early CSR scholarship and an explanation of its limited influence.
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This paper reconsiders the criticisms of the most influential theory of the rise of the large corporations, and to see how these criticisms can be met without entirely abandoning…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reconsiders the criticisms of the most influential theory of the rise of the large corporations, and to see how these criticisms can be met without entirely abandoning the basic elements of the theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This problem is approached by first analyzing the weaknesses inherent in Chandler's theory as presented in The Visible Hand, and then by reworking elements of the theory by relying on data generated by other historical accounts.
Findings
The author found that the theory could be salvaged by reordering the evolution of managerial practices based on a variety of historical studies, many not considered by Chandler, but even some of his own earlier work. Given these changes in historical order, vital managerial reforms can be placed sufficiently early that organizational techniques existed to solve the problems and exploit the opportunities that Chandler identifies as creating the pressures necessary to generate the large industrial corporation, thus responding to one class of criticism. My approach can also incorporate other factors that critics see as missing in Chandler's account.
Originality/value
What is new in this paper is that it reconciles Chandler's analysis with those of his critics by re‐examining and correcting some of his assumptions. The result is a theory of corporate evolution that is less global but more realistic. Economic and business historians as well as sociologists of organizations will find this reassessment valuable.
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Maggie Foley, Richard Cebula, Chulhee Jun and Robert Boylan
– This study aims to analyze withdrawn shareholder proposals to gain insight into the role of shareholder proposals in the governance of public corporations.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyze withdrawn shareholder proposals to gain insight into the role of shareholder proposals in the governance of public corporations.
Design/methodology/approach
A cursory look at the data suggests that unions are the most likely group to withdraw proposals. The authors focus on the behavior of unions and find that unions often resubmit a shareholder proposal which had garnered significant support in the previous year, only to withdraw the proposal in the second year.
Findings
The contention is that the proposals were withdrawn in Year 2 because the issue was settled in a manner agreeable to the union. Furthermore, this research suggests that unions are more likely to withdraw proposals when the prior years’ appeal is higher, when firms have a record of poor performance, lower insider ownership or relatively independent boards. This phenomenon suggests that unions submit and withdraw shareholder proposals strategically. The authors contend that unions use shareholder proposals and the withdrawal of proposals to improve conditions for union workers at the expense of shareholder value.
Practical implications
This study suggests that unions submit and withdraw shareholder proposals strategically. The authors contend that unions use shareholder proposals and the withdrawal of proposals to improve conditions for union workers at the expense of shareholder value.
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Shagun Bansal and Anjani Kumar Singh
Microfinance is seen as the tool for poverty elimination. It provides loan to that particular section of the society which is not included in the mainstream financial system. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Microfinance is seen as the tool for poverty elimination. It provides loan to that particular section of the society which is not included in the mainstream financial system. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of Microfinance on the lifestyle of women. The study is undertaken to address the question whether the Microfinance actually reach to the root of poverty and improve the standard of living for women who are considered to be the poorest of poor. This paper also aims to acquire the deeper understanding of the entrepreneurial skills which may or may not be inculcated with the help of Microfinance.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on empirical data. The data were collected through structured questionnaire and purposive sampling was used. The respondents were the women beneficiaries of the Microfinance Institutions in the National Capital Region. Total of 117 women were personally interviewed to obtain the response for the questionnaire.
Findings
Microfinance helped to develop entrepreneurial skills among the women as acquiring loan helped them start their own microenterprise and support themselves and their family. Microfinance enhanced the participation of women in the household decision-making. As a result, after obtaining Microfinance, women were found to be more socially developed and empowered. Also, the gender gap seemed to have narrowed as a result of Microfinance.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of the study are limited to the National Capital Region.
Practical implications
Microfinance will be beneficial for women and lead to their empowerment when they have control over the usage of the loan. Microfinance institutions play an important role in facilitating women to become self-reliant. With the help of this paper, one can understand the role of Microfinance in uplifting the marginalized section of the society.
Originality/value
The research work is authentic and original as per the understanding. This paper gives an insight into how Microfinance can not only eliminate poverty but also help women develop the entrepreneurial skills. The paper explores into the issue of how gender inequality can be addressed through Microfinance.
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The reduction in public services since 2008 has undoubtedly affected some groups, such as disabled people, more than others. Many of these cuts, ostensibly imposed in response to…
Abstract
The reduction in public services since 2008 has undoubtedly affected some groups, such as disabled people, more than others. Many of these cuts, ostensibly imposed in response to recession, bear similarities to measures previously tried and tested on disabled asylum seekers. I argue that the perception of national crisis was used by government as a smokescreen to expand the population affected by such policies, thereby asserting a predetermined neoliberal agenda of public expenditure cuts.
The inequality of this situation is compounded by the entitlements granted to people deemed exceptionally worthy. The Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme for Syrian nationals includes disability among the eligibility criteria, offering considerably greater entitlements than available to asylum seekers. If the response to certain people is markedly different to that offered to others, then negative consequences can be anticipated, as from any other example of inequality. Furthermore, this scheme promotes a significant shift in migrant entitlement. The UK government has no legal obligation towards this group; therefore, those people who are selected are recipients of gifts rather than people claiming their rights. I explore the nature and implications of such differences in entitlement, arguing that inequality in all its manifestations must be challenged to reduce deprivation and to avoid negative consequences for the wider population.
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