This paper is set against a background of research which evidences the gender segregation by industry, occupation and function, of women in employment, and within which there has…
Abstract
This paper is set against a background of research which evidences the gender segregation by industry, occupation and function, of women in employment, and within which there has been a major focus on the comparatively small number of women in management positions. The new research on which the paper is based highlights and examines the phenomenon of a much greater proportion of women managers than is the norm, many of whom started part‐time and in jobs for which no formal qualifications are required. It seeks to discover how the barriers to women’s career progression have been removed or overcome in this instance. Three aspects of company policy are examined on the basis of questionnaire and interview data, and other factors are also considered. This research targets the pub retailing industry, an industry which has received little attention elsewhere, and analyses the data from a regional perspective across the Scotland/England divide.
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Chris Gore, Chris Bond and Valerie Steven
Draws on contrasting epistemological stances with regard to quality enhancement in the context of higher education and develops the work of Schon (1987), Fish (1992) and Bond…
Abstract
Draws on contrasting epistemological stances with regard to quality enhancement in the context of higher education and develops the work of Schon (1987), Fish (1992) and Bond (1996, 1998) concerning the technical‐rational view of professionalism and the more generous notion of professional‐artistry. Identifies how these ideas can be useful in the analysis and design of processes for organisational self‐assessment and is based on participatory action research being conducted in a UK university preparing for a major Government quality review in the year 2000. Two cases are presented, each based on the key assumptions and foundations which underpin one of the two contrasting paradigms. Concludes by exploring the key issues of conjunction and disjunction between the two paradigms of organisational self‐assessment, and proposes a framework within which the two approaches can co‐exist.
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Valerie McIlvaine, Steven Dahlquist and Kevin Lehnert
Climate change and carbon emissions are top of mind in all facets of society. This study aims to investigate what the world’s top brands are saying about carbon emissions and…
Abstract
Purpose
Climate change and carbon emissions are top of mind in all facets of society. This study aims to investigate what the world’s top brands are saying about carbon emissions and greenhouse gases (GHG). Through this inquiry, the authors hope to better understand what brands are saying, doing and if their actions are clear. Furthermore, the authors seek to uncover practices that may deter or enhance a brand’s effectiveness in communicating its current and future initiatives.
Design/methodology/approach
Each of the world’s top 50 brands’ (Forbes, 2020 Rankings) websites were assessed using a content analysis methodology. Key constructs and themes were identified first through a broad assessment, leading to a set of parameters (content items) that were used to assess each brand’s website. The results were then summarized.
Findings
Almost all of the world’s Top 50 brands attempt to articulate their current accomplishments and goals relative to carbon emissions and GHG. Generally, carbon falls under a broader discussion of their sustainability initiatives and objectives. While extensive, information on carbon emissions possesses a variety of terms for measures and initiatives, goal setting and actions. Stakeholders may find the information to be ambiguous and of limited use.
Originality/value
There are few, if any, assessments of how major brands communicate their current and future carbon emissions initiatives. The study uncovers tendencies and provides managers with practices that may enhance the effectiveness of their brand’s carbon emissions communications.
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Valerie I. Sessa, Jillian Ploskonka, Elphys L. Alvarez, Steven Dourdis, Christopher Dixon and Jennifer D. Bragger
The purpose of our research was to use Day, Harrison, and Halpin’s, (2009) theory of leadership development as a premise to investigate how students’ constructive development is…
Abstract
The purpose of our research was to use Day, Harrison, and Halpin’s, (2009) theory of leadership development as a premise to investigate how students’ constructive development is related to their leader identity development and understanding of leadership. Baxter Magolda’s Model of Epistemological Reflection (MER, 1988, 2001) was used to understand constructive development, Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, & Osteen’s Leadership Identity Development (2005) to determine leader identity, and Drath’s principles of leadership (2001) to determine understanding of leadership. Fifty junior and senior college student leaders filled out the MER and participated in an interview about their leadership experiences. Interviews were coded according to the above constructs of leader identity development and leadership understanding. Although there was a relationship between leader identity development and understanding of leadership, no relationship was found between these two constructs and constructive development. Findings suggest that most of the student leaders still depend on others to help them construct reality. Furthermore, many believe that because they are in a leadership role, they are leaders while others are not.
Exploring the “How?” and “Why?” of children’s agency through the employment of strategies to listen and to participate within parent interviews, this chapter addresses various…
Abstract
Exploring the “How?” and “Why?” of children’s agency through the employment of strategies to listen and to participate within parent interviews, this chapter addresses various “agency routes” children used in the effort to contribute their voices to adult conversations. The generational relationship between children and parents is tempered by children’s ownership claims to shared spaces within the home, which allowed them the room to defy parents’ directives to “Go Away!” Children utilized three different tactics of defiance (overt, quiet, and covert) in the attempt to listen and be heard, and in the process were motivated to participate in five distinct ways, which included: (1) informative, (2) corrective, (3) instructive, (4) investigative, and (5) expressive participation. Concluding with a call to recognize children’s voices as more than merely “background noise” when transcribing interviews, I encourage researchers in childhood studies to potentially revisit data collected in the effort to further theorize children’s agency as situated within generationality, contributing to a recontextualized framework of analysis.
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Personal interview.
Abstract
Research methodology
Personal interview.
Case overview/synopsis
In an interview with Dr Mary Foster, Mr Steven Rogers, Finance Instructor at the Harvard Business School (HBS), discussed his views on diversity, inclusion and the value of teaching cases which feature black protagonists. Mr Rogers estimates that fewer than 1 percent of HBS’ 10,000 or so teaching cases feature a black executive as protagonist, or central decision-making figure, despite US Census estimates that about 9 percent of US companies are now black-owned. Mr Rogers decided to address this imbalance; he has lead the development of 24 business cases featuring African-American business people over the last two years.
Complexity academic level
This article can be used to any undergraduate or graduate course where you would like to discuss diversity and inclusion.
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Steven Tello, Scott Latham and Valerie Kijewski
This paper aims to examine the degree to which individual technology transfer officers' heuristics and biases, as well as peer technology transfer institutions' practices…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the degree to which individual technology transfer officers' heuristics and biases, as well as peer technology transfer institutions' practices, influence the technology commercialization decision‐making process.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative method was used to gather data from technology transfer officers (TTO) regarding how they make commercialization decisions. Responses were examined in the context of rational choice theory and institutional theory in an attempt to discern whether common decision‐making practices are shared among officers from different institutions.
Findings
The subjects shared relatively few common organizational and professional decision‐making practices. The sample was relatively evenly divided by TTO with an individual heuristic bias and those with a rational approach to decision making. Individual heuristics influenced all subjects to varying degrees.
Research limitations/implications
The TTO plays a central role in the technology commercialization process yet the paper found little evidence that professional practice and standards were integrated into decision‐making processes. Further research examining why this is the case, and examining if there is a relationship to outcome success, is warranted.
Practical implications
Managers need to better understand and monitor how decisions are made within individual offices. Technology transfer directors should conduct a process audit to determine the extent decision‐making processes are internally or externally defined, and then implement best practice where appropriate.
Originality/value
Very few studies examine how TTO make commercialization decisions, and fewer examine this phenomenon in the context of both a rational choice and institutional theory framework.
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It's not enough to simply acquire alternative and small‐press materials. They must also be made easily accessible to library users by means of accurate, intelligible, and thorough…
Benny Barak, Anil Mathur, Yong Zhang, Keun Lee and Emmanuel Erondu
Field survey studies undertaken in Nigeria, Korea, China and India explored the way inner‐age satisfaction is experienced in those culturally diverse societies. Chronologically 20…
Abstract
Field survey studies undertaken in Nigeria, Korea, China and India explored the way inner‐age satisfaction is experienced in those culturally diverse societies. Chronologically 20 to 59 year old respondents’ inner‐age satisfaction was gauged as the average difference between feel, look, do, and interest cognitive (self‐perceived) and desired (ideal) inner‐age dimensions. Analyses of covariance (with chronological age factored out) across the four nations showed Nigeria to differ significantly in terms of inner‐age satisfaction from each Asian population, contrary to the Asian societies where no differences were found across samples (except between Korea and India where inner‐age satisfaction differed at a p .05). High levels of satisfaction with inner‐age (coming about when cognitive and desired ages are equal) commonly transpired: 31.4 per cent of Indian, 36.9 per cent of Nigerian, 44.3 per cent of Chinese, and 44.9 per cent of Korean respondents. Age dissatisfaction in an elder direction (ideal age older than self‐perceived age) was atypical and happened most often among Nigerian (23.4 per cent) and least among Korean subjects (10.7 per cent). In contrast, wishing for a younger innerage was a commonplace phenomenon in India (50.6 per cent of the sample), as well as in China where it occurred the least (36.6 per cent). The study’s findings imply the universal nature of the way human beings (irrespective of culture) perceive and feel about inner‐age, as well as the potential of an inner‐age satisfaction psychographic as a relevant consumer behavior segmentation trait for marketing planners of age‐sensitive products and services who seek to standardize their global branding and distribution.