Sambhavi Lakshminarayanan, Simon Best and Evelyn Maggio
There is little published information available in the area of youth programs and social entrepreneurship in underrepresented communities. However, there are many idealistic…
Abstract
Theoretical basis
There is little published information available in the area of youth programs and social entrepreneurship in underrepresented communities. However, there are many idealistic entrepreneurs in the community; the case describes the experience of one such individual. Case analysis and the Instructor’s Manual are based on standard theories and techniques in organizational environmental and strategy analysis, as well as information and approaches regarding nonprofit functioning.
Research methodology
This case was prepared from primary sources, based on interviews with the founder. The name of the organization was disguised but the location and the founder’s name were not.
Case overview/synopsis
Growing up in a rough neighborhood, Darnell found refuge in an after-school program, which he credited for several positive values. As an adult, he felt a strong desire to give back to the community he had grown up, and still lived in. Thus, was launched MoveAhead, a fitness-based after-school program similar to the one he had participated in. However, as was common for many social entrepreneurs, Darnell struggled to overcome severe lack of capital and to deal with operational issues. Now, MoveAhead had reached a critical and existentially important point, when a strategic decision had to be made.
Complexity academic level
This is a decision case. It discusses the difficulties faced by a social entrepreneur who had a strong drive and conviction but little capital. The case describes a strategic turning point for one such organization. It can be used in business and management courses at the undergraduate level. It would also be relevant to a course on (social) entrepreneurship. The level and analysis required of students and discussion questions used can be adjusted depending on whether the course is introductory or more advanced, such as strategy.
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Rozenn Perrigot, Andrew Terry and Cary Di Lernia
The relational nature of franchising flowing from the contract between franchisor and franchisee which enshrines a close, continuing relationship raises the issue of good faith…
Abstract
Purpose
The relational nature of franchising flowing from the contract between franchisor and franchisee which enshrines a close, continuing relationship raises the issue of good faith. While there are academic papers analyzing good faith, these do not capture the practical understanding and expression of the concept and the manner and application in which it operates in the real world of franchising. The purpose of this paper is to assess how good faith is defined and understood by franchise practitioners – franchisees, franchisors and their legal advisors.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have adopted a qualitative approach by conducting and analyzing a series of 18 in-depth interviews with franchisees, franchisors and lawyers specializing in franchising.
Findings
The findings show that good faith is particularly important in franchising because of the disparity in the knowledge and power of the parties. They suggest that good faith is not only a legal notion but also a notion that is linked to the personal relationship between the franchisor and its franchisees. It then plays an important role in terms of management of this relationship and of the system as a whole. Moreover, they demonstrate that there is not one single shared understanding of good faith amongst franchising practitioners. Indeed, franchisees, franchisors and specialist franchise lawyers suggested that good faith can refer to transparency, trust, loyalty, fairness and equity amongst the franchisees, fair play, frankness, respect, ethics, kindness, “best efforts” and personalities.
Originality/value
The originality of the research lies in the fact that good faith is examined through the voice of franchising practitioners who explain how they define and understand good faith rather than through a detached academic lens.
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Kieron Sheehy, Rajni Kumrai and Martin Woodhead
The paper aims to explore young people's experiences of having access to personal advisors (PAs), from Connexions, a support and guidance service.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore young people's experiences of having access to personal advisors (PAs), from Connexions, a support and guidance service.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi‐structured interviews were conducted, in two phases, with young people in a large new town. Thematic analysis highlighted significant issues and suggested factors that might differentiate between those in employment, education and training and those not in this position.
Findings
Young people's relationship with their Connexions PA emerged as a significant factor in mediating the extent to which they used the service as a “portal” to opportunities and resources. For some young people faced with complex and challenging circumstances, the relationship with their PA provided a uniquely stable and valued source of support.
Research limitations/implications
Although drawn from a small and focused sample, the results suggests that the large‐scale cuts to the service, currently underway, could have a significant impact on young people in difficult circumstances.
Practical implications
The identity of the Connexions service creates issues of access for potential service users.
Originality/value
The research illustrates the positive impact that PAs can have in the complex and challenging situations which some young people encounter. It highlights the nature of the relationship developed with PA as a key issue in facilitating positive changes in the lives of young people. It also suggest that the categories of not in education, employment and training and education, employment and training are too simplistic as descriptors of the young peoples lives or the work undertaken with them by PAs.
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IT IS AXIOMATIC that journals like WORK STUDY leave politics severely alone. This is but sensible: whichever you praise, you will most certainly offend some of your readers. They…
Abstract
IT IS AXIOMATIC that journals like WORK STUDY leave politics severely alone. This is but sensible: whichever you praise, you will most certainly offend some of your readers. They are a cross‐section of the population and how they think (or vote) is their own business. It is not ours to inquire, nor, most certainly not to condemn.
Anna Grandori and Magdalena Cholakova
This paper builds on a long-lasting research program on the micro-foundations of innovative decision making, founded on a development of a neglected epistemic aspect of Simon's…
Abstract
This paper builds on a long-lasting research program on the micro-foundations of innovative decision making, founded on a development of a neglected epistemic aspect of Simon's work, and on contributions in epistemology, in which heuristics are not procedures that are uncertaintyavoiding, economizing on cognitive and search effort, and problem-space reducing, but procedures that are uncertainty-modeling, investing in research effort, and problem-expanding. The paper offers a summary of the main effective heuristics of that kind so far identified, as applied to real processes of innovative decision making under epistemic uncertainty, such as judging and investing in novel entrepreneurial projects. It argues and shows that, in contrast to the common view, a wide range of those procedures, usually thought to belong to different and rival models, can be fruitfully combined.
Justin T. Piccorelli and Maria Veronica Elias
The purpose of this paper is to argue that philosophic and administrative thought have enframed (Heidegger, 1977) us to unconsciously accept technology in public administration…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to argue that philosophic and administrative thought have enframed (Heidegger, 1977) us to unconsciously accept technology in public administration and the bureaucracy.
Design/methodology/approach
It builds on literature in phenomenology.
Findings
It discusses the implications of this phenomenon for organizational decision-making, management, and governance more broadly.
Practical implications
It questions whether we should utilize video technology in policing, and examine technology as good or bad before implementing it.
Originality/value
Most of the critiques of technology were in the early 1990s. This paper attempts to explain why we implicitly accept technology, links the philosophy of Immanuel Kant to Herbert Simon, and articulates how technology shapes our thinking.
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Since the 1950s, the unifying epistemological perspective in American public administration has been logical positivism, most notably as defined and promoted by Herbert Simon. In…
Abstract
Since the 1950s, the unifying epistemological perspective in American public administration has been logical positivism, most notably as defined and promoted by Herbert Simon. In recent years, logical positivism has been under attack for limiting inappropriately the scope of inquiry within the field, forcing it to ignore important, value‐laden issues critical to government and the public sector. The willingness to address value‐laden issues was at the core of what was to become the field of public administration in the early twentieth‐century. This article examines the philosophical roots of logical positivist movement, its dramatic effects upon public administration, and the subsequent counter attacks on the movement. The article concludes that although logical positivism’s attack on public administration initially weakened the field, as a result practitioners and scholars were eventually to demand increased rigor and higher standards of inquiry for research in the field.