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The paper aims to develop an evaluation model of the customer satisfaction index (CSI) in an R&D organization. A conceptual framework on customer satisfaction with a probabilistic approach has been attempted based on customer requirements and expectations in compliance with the clauses of ISO 9001:2008.

A survey through a well‐designed customer feedback data sheet has been used as an effective tool for the measurement of CSI. The questionnaire was framed on the basis of the requirements of a quality management system with advice to the customer for allotting grade points on a given scale to the quality parameters. The research model has been analyzed based on a fault‐tree approach and the probability of failure of each quality parameter has been assigned on the basis of grade point average. Data analysis for the estimation of the probability of failure at a customer satisfaction level (CSL) was carried out based on the probability of failure of each quality element graded by the customers. The data were also tested through statistical inference of whether customer‐to‐customer satisfaction level differs or not.

As a result of case study analysis, 88 percent of customers are fully satisfied. This gives significant information to the management process as well as providing a guiding tool for future improvements. The analysis was carried out based on a framed questionnaire graded by the customer and the result reveals that there is no significant difference between customer satisfaction levels.

This model can be used by any organization, irrespective of the number of customers participating, as well as the number of quality parameters being assigned in the customer feedback analysis.

A literature review found that there are various approaches for evaluating a CSI. The paper describes how a newly‐applied conceptual model based on the failure of CSL in the form of a fault‐tree approach was designed and how the probability of failure of each element/parameters was assigned on the basis of a grade point average to evaluate the CSI, as well as the variation in satisfaction levels between customers being analyzed.

This paper aims to conceptualize ahimsa at the workplace as an alternate coping response to negative workplace behaviours. The response strategy aims to impede conflict escalation and transform a hostile situation into a collaborative one.

The conceptualization of the indigenous construct bases upon Bhawuk's methodological suggestion on building psychological models from the scriptures (Bhawuk, 2010, 2017, 2019). The construct ahimsa explicates by synthesizing the micro-world (Bhagawad Gita, BG and Patanjali Yoga Sutras, PYS) and through the lifeworld of Gandhiji.

The conceptual analysis illustrates the efficacy of ahimsa as an alternate response to negative workplace behaviours. The definition delineates its three core characteristics, i.e. conscious non-violent action, self-empowerment and rehumanizing the perpetrator. Besides, it proposes to enhance metacognition, creativity and individual learning at the workplace.

The conceptual paper gives a new direction to management researchers on coping and responding to stress.

The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the short form of personal optimism and self-efficacy optimism-extended (POSO-E) among Indian teachers.

Two studies were conducted to adjudge the reliability and validity of the scale. In the first study, the sample of 510 respondents was randomly divided into subsamples. The first subsample was subjected to the Exploratory Factor Analysis which yielded a two-factor solution explaining 71.02% of the variance. This model was subjected to the Confirmatory Factor Analysis using a second subsample. Acceptable model fit indices suggested factorial validity of the two-dimensional POSO-E among Indian teachers. In the second study, acceptable Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability estimates (greater than 0.70) indicated the scale's reliability. Also, as expected, personal optimism, self-efficacy optimism and overall optimism reported a positive correlation with spiritual well-being and a negative association with distress. It confirmed the criterion validity of the POSO-E among Indian teachers.

The results showed appreciable psychometric properties of the POSO-E in the context of Indian teachers. The study offered a valid and reliable scale to measure teachers' optimism levels. It is poised to generate renewed interest among scholars to emphasize teachers' positive and optimist thinking. The findings also reported a positive association between teachers' optimism and spiritual well-being. It suggests that spiritual practices and interventions could be used to develop an optimistic academic workforce.

The study is one of the pioneer studies that evaluated the reliability and validity of the POSO-E among Indian teachers.

Purpose: The study aims to explore the wider acceptance of blockchain technology and growing faith in this technology among all business domains to mitigate the chances of fraud in various sectors.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The authors focus on studies conducted during 2015–2022 using keywords such as blockchain, fraud detection and financial domain for Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The SLR approach entails two databases, namely, Scopus and IEEE Xplore, to seek relevant articles covering the effectiveness of blockchain technology in controlling financial fraud.

Findings: The findings of the research explored different types of business domains using blockchains in detecting fraud. They examined their effectiveness in other sectors such as insurance, banks, online transactions, real estate, credit card usage, etc.

Practical Implications: The results of this research highlight (1) the real-life applications of blockchain technology to secure the gateway for online transactions; (2) people from diverse backgrounds with different business objectives can strongly rely on blockchains to prevent fraud.

Originality/Value: The SLR conducted in this study assists in the identification of future avenues with practical implications, making researchers aware of the work so far carried out for checking the effectiveness of blockchain; however, it does not ignore the possibility of zero to less effectiveness in some businesses which is yet to be explored.

A “state-driven” approach suggests that colonists use census categories to rule. However, a “society-driven” approach suggests that this state-driven perspective confers too much power upon states. A third approach views census-taking and official categorization as a product of state–society interaction that depends upon: (a) the population's lay categories, (b) information intellectuals' ability to take up and transform these lay categories, and (c) the balance of power between social and state actors. We evaluate the above positions by analyzing official records, key texts, travelogues, and statistical memoirs from three key periods in India: Indus Valley civilization through classical Gupta rule (ca. 3300 BCE–700 CE), the “medieval” period (ca. 700–1700 CE), and East India Company (EIC) rule (1757–1857 CE), using historical narrative. We show that information gathering early in the first period was society driven; however, over time, a strong interactive pattern emerged. Scribes (information intellectuals) increased their social status and power (thus, shifting the balance of power) by drawing on caste categories (lay categories) and incorporating them into official information gathering. This intensification of interactive information gathering allowed the Mughals, the EIC, and finally British direct rule officials to collect large quantities of information. Our evidence thus suggests that the intensification of state–society interactions over time laid the groundwork for the success of the direct rule British censuses. It also suggests that any transformative effect of these censuses lay in this interactive pattern, not in the strength of the British colonial state.

The aim of this paper is to develop a theory of organizational forgetting in the context of local governments from the paradigmatic lens of existing research orchestrated in management literature. The paper empirically explores how and why local governments forget and discusses the role of local politics in promoting memory loss in organizations.

The authors do an ethnographic study in a Village Panchayat, the lowest tier of the local government in rural India, in West Bengal, a state in eastern India. Data are collected through participant observation and informal interviews.

The paper argues that the existing framework on modes of organizational forgetting developed in the management literature is not sufficient in understanding the types of knowledge loss that occur in local governments. It shows that as a consequence of “memory decay” and “failure to capture,” local governments involuntary lose past knowledge and critical sources of expertise. The study also acknowledges the role of politics in deliberately endorsing organizational forgetting in local governments to eliminate failure and ethical lapses of elected representatives.

By exploring the phenomenon of organizational forgetting in local governments in the context of grassroots politics, this paper contributes to the ongoing discussion of organizational forgetting in a hitherto understudied area of how, and under what circumstances, public organizations such as local governments undergo forgetting, unlearning or loss of knowledge.

This study aims to investigate the historical antecedent of baranda practice, marketing strategies of Onibaranda, as well as the benefits and challenges associated with baranda practice.

Using exploratory research design, primary data were collected from 27 interviewees in two purposively selected markets in Ibadan. Responses were audio-taped, transcribed, proofread, categorized into themes and, finally, content analyzed to decrypt the underlying thought patterns and processes.

The findings showed that the origin of the age-long practice of baranda was unknown. It was also discovered that Onibaranda used various, dynamic and situational marketing strategies to carve a niche for themselves, in response to the demand of the markets in which they operate. Lastly, the results showed that while some stakeholders see Onibaranda as useful and necessary marketing agents that uniquely connect sellers and buyers, others outline the ignoble role that Onibaranda play in their bid to create valuable exchanges between sellers and buyers.

Knowledge of this study is germane to informal market stakeholders both in Yorubaland and across the globe.

Unless baranda practice is properly regulated, various ills associated with it might discredit the numerous benefits inherent in the practice. Concerted effort by all market stakeholders is, therefore, highly imperative so as to provide rules and regulations that will guide and check the excess practices of Onibaranda in the study locations, as this will enhance customer satisfaction, sellers’ profits and smooth continued operation of Onibaranda.

This empirical study represents the first attempt to examine the structure and praxis of Onibaranda in Ibadan.

The dominant paradigms of the world today are reductionist and linear and have led us towards crises in the environment, economics, health and more. Cybernetics is one alternative paradigm, which moves beyond reductionist thought. The paper aims to investigate cybernetics and how it might move from a paradigm to a way of living. A cybernetic worldview enables us to see ourselves as partners in dynamic co-creative processes reaching beyond dualities. To live by such a life requires courage. This paper concentrates on how cybernetics principles may be applied on an individual basis to provide a more holistic way of coping with the challenges of everyday life in the early twenty-first century. The author sees how he can live a balanced life, cope with uncertainty, live with courage, move beyond dualities and develop a breadth of knowledge to help us navigate the events of the lives.

This paper provides a brief outline of some cybernetic principles and how they might be transferred to a cybernetic lifestyle. The focus is on how the author might integrate cybernetic principles into the individual life on a day-to-day basis.

Breadth of knowledge, moving beyond dualities, the observer, living with courage, uncertainty and living a balanced life are discussed from a cybernetic viewpoint.

It gives cyberneticians cause to consider their lives and how cybernetic principles help them in everyday life.

The more cyberneticians exhibit cybernetics principles in their life, the more it will be noticed by those around them.

The approach of this paper is about cybernetics as an individual lifestyle rather than a more generalised examination of the role of cybernetics.

This paper examines the current state of blockchain governance research. The study’s findings also propose a conceptual framework for the use of blockchain in governance and global governance and provide a global look at how public and private sectors alike are implementing new technologies.

The study is qualitative as well as quantitative in nature. The authors used Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) to gather data for the study. Furthermore, a bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer visualization tool and R Studio was carried out to attain the research objectives.

Many scholars and practitioners from around the world are interested in the topic, according to the analysis. This is a multidisciplinary study, so researchers have looked at how the blockchain can be used to govern countries, public utilities and global facilities, including corporations. There are numerous examples of how technology has been used in global governance, and the authors found that governments, as well as corporations around the world, have implemented technology in a variety of areas that affect the public and other stakeholders.

This study makes numerous contributions. In the first place, it presents the complex concept of blockchain in an easier to understand way. The numerous governmental and commercial initiatives that have made use of blockchain are also highlighted. As a result, the use of technology in corporate and social governance will continue to grow. Finally, the research will inform the academic community on the current state of the topic and potential future directions.

As a result of this research, academics and scholars can better understand the potential of blockchain in various governance models, ranging from developed to developing economies. The general public, as well as organizations, will benefit from the decentralized nature of the blockchain in a variety of ways related to their day-to-day governance. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is a first kind of research on blockchain in governance using PRISMA and bibliometrics tools.