bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integrated evaluation of regeneration plans
Authors: Lichfield Dalia
Published: July 2024

This is the third in a sequence of three papers by Dalia Lichfield on the challenge of integrated planning for urban regeneration. Having discussed the issue of compartmentalised planning for urban regeneration and the importance of integrated planning and collaborative implementation, the author introduced Dynamic Planning, a method of integrated planning. At the heart of it is the involvement of both ‘active’ and ‘recipient’ stakeholders in gaining a holistic understanding of those processes of urban and regional change that, through interaction between various factors, cause current or future problems, and considering which of the root causes could be modified or eliminated. This third paper is concerned with the way in which regeneration plans should be assessed and evaluated prior to approval and implementation (‘ex ante evaluation’). It opens with a discussion of the purpose of evaluation and the dilemmas involved. If planning aims to maximise net benefits to the public, it ought to ensure that it is truly feasible, to compare future processes of change under scenarios of acceptance and of rejection of the plan, and it has to evaluate the outcome — in the context of diverse value systems. The paper briefly reviews the systemic and practical difficulties of formal evaluation, which lead to a compartmentalised view of particular components of plans. Formal evaluation of planning proposals suffers also from the presence of diverse types of ‘impact assessment’ required by government, using diverse approaches and terminologies, which are difficult to integrate in their current form. By contrast, evaluation based on understanding an anticipated process of change with its chains of diverse effects and likely impacts on people would be more integrative and meaningful. If this mindset affected the many interim decisions during preparation of a plan, a better plan would emerge in the first place. The paper then introduces Community Impact Analysis and Evaluation — a rigorous, integrated and transparent method, displaying results that can be easily grasped by lay people. Devised by the late Prof. Nathaniel Lichfield, it incorporates monetised, otherwise quantified, and unquantified impacts within a framework whose common denominator is not money, but people experiencing benefit or disadvantage as a result of the plan, and the intensity of their experience.
Advancing purchasing organisations and processes : Current research discussions and their business impact
Authors: Quitt Anna , Lederer Matthias , Groher Erich
Published: July 2024

Trends such as newly available data, higher degrees of supplier involvement, new work and digital technologies require transformative action in purchasing organisations and processes to further establish purchasing as an integrated business partner. Currently, Chief Purchasing Officers (CPOs) and supply managers face opportunities as well as challenges that have been unknown so far — at least to such an extent. They are often uncertain about the potentially disruptive impact of these developments on their daily business and require support also from the scientific community. Therefore, this paper consolidates current scientific discussions on purchasing trends and provides a first indication on how they support current problem sets of the purchasing practice. Do the two perspectives match or differ? Does the scholarly debate also cover current practical problems? The topics identified include traditionally established ones, such as new product involvement of suppliers and green supply management, as well as initial publications on customer-centricity and creative methods; however, there is an evident gap. Comprehensive answers and concrete solutions to questions around the impact of digitisation on purchasing are not yet provided by the scholarly debate, but the discussion of current trends becomes noticeable. Therefore, the scope of research should be further widened in order to generate applicable and relevant knowledge, thereby achieving business impact.
Understanding the funding cost differences between global systemically important banks (GSIBs) and non-G-SIBs in the USA
Authors: Araten Michel , Turner Christopher
Published: July 2024

This paper seeks to determine the sources and the extent of funding cost differences between global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) and non-G-SIBs in the USA. It builds on earlier studies that have asserted that G-SIBs have had lower funding costs, which has been attributed to an assumed too-big-to-fail status. Most of the previous studies, however, failed to control for macro-economic factors and firm-specific credit risk and ignored funding costs at the bank holding company level. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the various sources of funding for a variety of US bank holding companies through the recent full credit cycle, 2002–2011, controlling for firm-specific credit and macro-economic factors. It also introduces an analysis of systemic risk and determines the extent to which this might mask the funding costs benefits. An evaluation is made of the impact on funding costs of explicit support built into some issuers' credit ratings. It was found that there are moderate cost advantages associated with G-SIB status with regard to domestic deposits and smaller cost advantages with respect to credit spreads on senior, unsecured debt. Overall, the impact on funding costs taking into account all funding sources over the full credit cycle is a reduction of 9 basis points (bps). Considering just the interest-bearing funding sources to which one might attribute government support, the weighted average cost of funds associated with G-SIB status is about 18 bps lower than for non-G-SIBs. When evaluating the impact of firm size on credit default swap (CDS) spreads in other industries, it was found that there are significant spread advantages for larger firms in most industries.
A Scottish perspective on interwar shopfronts
Authors: Lennie Lindsay
Published: July 2024

The interwar period was a time of rapid change. Despite the economic and political difficulties of the time, shopfronts were transformed from the traditional styles established in the Victorian period to sleek, shiny Art Deco frontages. Shopkeepers, inspired by brave architects and enthusiastic shopfitters, embraced the re-fronting of their premises in bronze, Vitrolite and terrazzo. These materials, now 90 years old, were not, however, designed to last. A lack of available materials, high cost of repair and a poor understanding of their significance means that these shopfronts are highly vulnerable to loss and inappropriate alteration. This paper explores the historic context, materials and issues with their conservation and repair.
The war over virtual money is real
Authors: Birch David G.W.
Published: July 2024

The technologies that have been used to create new kinds of payment systems — cryptography and mobile phones, biometrics and blockchains — can also be used to create new kinds of money. While commercial banks could use these new technologies to manage wholly digital versions of existing fiat currencies, the low cost and widespread availability of those technologies mean that organisations other than nation states can also think about creating digital currencies. This paper builds on a previous paper that explored who these organisations might be (the ‘5Cs framework’) and investigated their motivations, to look at two specific and contrasting proposals that move these discussions from theoretical to actual policy concerns. These examples are taken from the private sector (Facebook’s Libra) and the public sector (the People’s Bank of China digital currency). The paper argues that the competition between these digital currencies is about hegemony not hash rates, and that shifts in the tectonic plates of economic power ultimately result in earthquakes that change the landscape of political power.
Visions and developments for buildings in the digital age
Authors: Wilhelm Stephan
Published: July 2024

The expansion of broadband networks, new radio technologies and ever more powerful end devices are the innovation drivers behind new digital applications. A further development is taking place in the building sector which will convert the building development process into a comprehensive, seamless digital and collaborative workflow. BIM describes this method, creating a digital prototype of a building — a twin — as an ideal result. This digital twin incorporates all the different technical disciplines in a digital planning result, forming a visual basis for ongoing decision and assessment processes. However, the digital building model does not only play a major role during the construction process. Particularly in the subsequent usage phase, it serves as a basis for operator processes concerning planning, execution and continuous improvement. Several examples, from both the construction and usage phase, illustrate current developments and applications. The building of tomorrow will respond to changing usage requirements, as well as to digitisation possibilities, and adapt accordingly. Four general theories, as well as examples of pilot projects and an outlook, underline and demonstrate this development roadmap.
Best practices in product development: A case study of remote deposit capture
Authors: Mccarty Daniel J.
Published: July 2024

The rapid evolution of image technology has brought with it the birth — and dynamic growth — of remote deposit capture (RDC) services. As financial institutions continue to explore new means for converting paper cheques into various electronic forms for processing, RDC has been one of the most successful payment products introduced in the last 30 years. Whether in markets where paper cheques have readily given way to electronic payment methods, or where paper cheque usage is much more abundant, RDC fills a need. This paper profiles the experience of Comerica Bank, which saw the opportunity represented by RDC in the marketplace. Because of the awareness of the opportunity, the bank saw the need to place the development of its solution on a fast but thorough track. It explored the use of its formal project methodology, detailed planning and communication plans as well as risk management. As with all new development, the bank challenged its development standards and tested the recommendations extensively. This dedicated approach to detail and process led to the successful introduction of this product. The paper documents a significant number of important observations throughout this journey, presents a brief history of RDC and shows how the marketplace is embracing it. Most important, however, is the sharing of best practices and lessons learned by this organisation as it developed its RDC solution.
Social media: The e-mail slayer?
Authors: Randolph Thai , Eno Daniel
Published: July 2024

With social media activity at an all-time high and new
social platforms emerging constantly, many marketers may be
questioning the viability of e-mail as a marketing channel, the
value of their proprietary database, and the level of investment
they should be making in e-mail versus social channels. This
comment puts the two channels in the ring to see which packs a more
powerful punch. The winner takes the title and a purse from your
marketing and technology budget.
Mobile analytics: Essential for business maturation in the digital marketing era
Authors: Pun Ray
Published: July 2024

Companies are developing and launching mobile experiences to engage with a high-growth segment of consumers that use both smartphones and tablets. Even though the technology exists to measure these experiences, business leaders are not effectively prioritising investments in mobile analytics. To quantify user engagement and monetisation across platforms, devices and browsers, marketers should deploy analytics technology for both mobile apps and mobile websites. This paper explains the importance of mobile analytics, the differences between mobile and web analytics, and shares best practices from leading companies that are focused on mobile marketing.
Exploring the use of shock advertising by for-profit and nonprofit organisations in China
Authors: Yan Shuo , Chapa Sindy
Published: July 2024

This paper investigates the use of shock advertising by both for-profit and nonprofit organisations in China. Specifically, the study assesses the effectiveness of shock advertising in terms of attitude toward the advertisement (Aad), attitude toward the brand (Ab), and behavioural intention. The results indicate that Chinese consumers held more positive Ab when shock advertising was used by a nonprofit organisation rather than by a for-profit organisation, but their Ab was more positive toward non-shock ads by both of the organizations. In addition, shock advertising used by a nonprofit organisation elicited higher behavioural intention than other types of advertising/organisation combinations. No difference was found in Aad when shock advertising was used by for-profit or nonprofit organisations.
Pseudonymisation under the General Data Protection Regulation: A win-win approach?
Authors: Malekian Hajar
Published: July 2024

Under the European data protection regime, the pseudonymisation of personal data represents a prudent method of protection of personal data which tends to reduce the risk of compromising the rights of data subjects. The reduced level of the risk via this method (pseudonymisation) has resulted in a less strict regime of data protection regarding these data in Europe. Moreover, under most legal regimes beyond Europe, including the USA, pseudonymised data are not considered as personal data. Of course this does not necessarily mean that such data are not protected under these regimes. This paper will examine the legal nature of pseudonymisation through the definition and the principles related to processing of personal data in order to show if and to what extent there is a less strict regime regarding pseudonymised data. This regime could lead to a win-win approach in respect to both data controllers/processors and data subjects’ rights and interests.
The agency selection process: More than just a numbers game
Authors: Albarda Maarten L.
Published: July 2024

Media agency pitches can be challenging, disruptive and time-consuming for marketers. They often struggle with how to organise the media agency pitch in such a way that the considerable budgets end in safe and qualified hands. This paper outlines an approach and structure to ensure the media pitch decision is based on more than just who offers the lowest media buying cost. Included are questions to ask and a summary framework for decision making.
Improving medical device safety and performance: From passive reporting to active surveillance and beyond
Authors: Underdahl Louise , Nelson Francine
Published: July 2024

Medical device use is expanding with the emergence of sophisticated applications to gather, store, process and communicate patient-centric data. Diversity, fast-paced technological advances and complex interfaces between users and technology complicate challenges associated with promoting medical device safety. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to evaluate strategies for improving medical device safety and performance through collaborative evidence generation and innovative analytics. Developing public–private partnerships and the infrastructure for active surveillance, evidence generation and data analytics requires engaged and enlightened institutional leadership who share a common vision and values. Integration of interprofessional initiatives may remediate the silo mentality pandemic in the healthcare community, harness the digital revolution for surveillance and promote improvements in medical device safety and performance.
Bridging the brand volume/ brand value measurement divide: Towards a multidimensional understanding of brand strength
Authors: Godman Trevor , Pitcher James
Published: July 2024

With inflation rising and wages shrinking in real terms, many consumers are forced to consider every penny they spend. To generate profitable revenue in this environment, it is more important than ever for marketers to understand not just the proportion of consumers to whom their brand appeals but also the extent to which those consumers view the brand as worth paying for. Armed with this vital part of the puzzle, meaningful strategic and tactical action plans can be devised to realise that all-important profit margin. The perceptions that drive brand choice are distinctly different from the drivers of brand premium, yet many marketers are still relying on brand trackers and measurement techniques that focus exclusively on a brand’s ability to generate sales volume through legacy measures of consideration and preference. GfK’s Brand Architect provides new metrics and insight for brand strength and performance, volume and value. It does this in three ways: by providing better predictors of volume through the use of realistic brand choice simulations; by capturing the value/premium equation of a brand; and by evaluating the propensity to brand switch by observing how consumers behave across multiple brand choice situations. The approach, in which lies embedded behavioural science and conjoint analysis, has been validated during our own extensive studies. In this paper, we explain the framework and use real brands to show how the technique can be used for effective brand management. We have provided a summary of the validation work we have carried out to show that this approach is rooted in commercial reality. It cannot only provide a highly strategic framework for brand management, but it also offers deeper insights into brand repertoires and richer diagnostics on how to drive volume, value or both according to the brand’s objectives.
The recipe for success in creating frictionless customer journeys
Authors: Burton Stephanie
Published: July 2024

Customers now demand seamless experiences across all points of contact. To deliver on this expectation, organisations need a reliable marketing architecture for accurate omnichannel customer journey analysis. This allows them to identify and eliminate friction points that hinder customer satisfaction. However, disparate channels of data often utilise different customer identifiers, creating a challenge in unifying data for comprehensive analysis. By focusing on a strong customer identity strategy and leveraging technological advancements to seamlessly combine data at the individual level, organisations gain an advantage in crafting consistent and frictionless customer experiences. This approach follows a specific recipe, with key steps to identify and remove friction points. Professionals involved in creating or measuring omnichannel experiences will find valuable insights and practical tips within this paper, along with learnings from renowned customer-centric companies like Uber, Netflix and Amazon. Delivering consistently exceptional customer experiences allows companies to command premium prices, build long-term brand loyalty and solidify their reputation as truly customer-focused organisations.
Brand archetypes in resource-constrained MBA programmes: A powerful strategic brand management tool
Authors: Forbus Robert , Page Robert
Published: July 2024

MBA programmes at many resource-constrained institutions in the USA face increasing pressures from changing demographics, declining applications and enrollments, and diminishing prestige of graduate business degrees. Now more than ever these institutions need branding strategies to differentiate themselves from competitors. Meanwhile, consumer-goods firms have long used archetypes to differentiate their brands, as have research-intensive institutions of higher education. This paper argues that archetypes are at least as useful for strategic brand management at resource-constrained MBA programmes as they have been for consumer-goods firms. Further, the paper discusses the appropriate archetypes that higher-education marketers might employ to differentiate their MBA programmes’ brands.
Vulnerability assessments for public and private facilities
Authors: Kemp Roger L.
Published: July 2024

From a homeland security perspective, office, storage and manufacturing buildings are not typically the subject of manmade disasters such as terrorist attacks. Such attacks would typically be limited to critical locations such as key government buildings, so-called ‘symbols of democracy’, transportation centres, nuclear power plants, and locations where ‘products of war’ are manufactured. Nonetheless, standards are emerging for property owners and building managers to assess their sites and facilities’ risk level/vulnerability to a possible terrorist attack. This paper sets forth nine categories of risk assessment on a six-point scale, and a five-level vulnerability rating based on the cumulative score resulting from this rating process.
Transport, land use and economics
Authors: Buchanan Paul
Published: July 2024

Traditionally, transport schemes are valued on their user benefits, the most prominent of these being time savings. Increasing speed is always seen as being a good thing. This paper explains that transport schemes can result in unforeseen consequences; people often use the speed improvements as an opportunity to move further away, whereas increased density should be encouraged, as it is more efficient and generates economic benefits. It goes on to examine the relationship between transport and land use, explaining why this matters, and concludes that it is important for transport appraisals to have some way of including the land-use response.
Understanding and resolving conflict to create cultures of well-being in diverse teams
Authors: Buzanowska Marzena , Rensel Mary
Published: July 2024

The 2022 American Hospital Association (AHA) Study, published by the Task Force on Workforce, reported that 75–93 per cent of healthcare workers reported stress, anxiety, frustration, exhaustion and burnout.1 The AHA Task Force recommendations included an immediate focus on creating a culture of well-being and an ongoing focus on leadership development. Team well-being is a broadly defined term related to team happiness and success. Various teamwork and leadership interventions are used to achieve team well-being, and this has been a high priority for organisations in the last few years as the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in massive rates of burnout and exodus from healthcare. We specifically focus here on diverse teams and the effect of negative conflict resolution on team well-being, specifically through its damaging effect on the formation of a culture of safety and belonging. Belonging and safety are created through subtle cues and messages as well as through the outcomes of threshold moments, such as a conflict. Belonging is particularly important for diverse teams because it is not automatically assumed by team members in the way that homogeneous teams do more easily. Studies have shown that diverse teams are more prone to conflict and that the process of conflict resolution can lead to either an increase in team belonging and connection (and well-being) or further distancing, which is then linked to burnout, disengagement and exodus from the workplace. Therefore, how conflict is managed in diverse teams is of crucial importance for team leaders in order to achieve team belonging and well-being.
Improving your workplace — and bottom line — through intelligent (and dynamic) space management
Authors: Kruklinski Michael
Published: July 2024

Siemens AG is a global technology company that has been operating for more than 165 years. The company is active worldwide, with a special focus in the areas of electrification, automation and digitalisation. Over the past five years, Siemens has renovated and built new work environments based on a smart office concept called New Way of Working (NewWow). The new workspaces have been successful among the 72,000 employees who use them, who now have access to dynamic space in a working culture of collaboration and trust. Looking ahead, intelligent space management is paramount to the continued success of NewWow. By identifying appropriate metrics to monitor use of space, while also accounting for employee needs, Siemens will continue to keep its workspaces productive and cost effective. Siemens uses the latest technology to carefully monitor its dynamic portfolio, while also investing in effective change management strategies to ensure the buildings’ occupants are contributing to its efficiency.
The future of the financial workplace: Banks, workplace and property in a changing world
Authors: Austin Neil
Published: July 2024

The global financial crisis has been a wake-up call for the banking industry, which has faced increased costs and regulation coupled with reduced profit margins. This situation has resulted in cutbacks in people and property, and many workplaces have not evolved relative to other sectors such as technology, media and telecommunications (TMT). Consequently, banks are in danger of missing out on new opportunities associated with changes in consumer demand, the continuing technology revolution, evolving worker requirements and the so-called ‘war for talent’. This paper identifies five key forces impacting the banking sector, assesses what these mean for the future of banking and the workplace, and makes recommendations as to how banks should respond. The paper references a recent DTZ and Unwork report that leveraged 100 interviews with senior figures in the world's largest retail and commercial banks. The paper provides insights that corporate real estate executives, in banks and other sectors, could use to inform workplace strategy and business planning.
Quantifying pedestrian retrofit measures of car-oriented settlements: The case of Pardis new town phase 11
Authors: Matzka Corinna , Reiter Michael , Rasaizadi Arash , Samavati Sahar , Sherafat Elahe , Sofric Renata , Seyyed Valiloo Mir Hojat , Laa Barbara , Brezina Tadej
Published: July 2024

Car-oriented settlements have a negative impact on human beings and the environment. In many places, planners already try to densify such areas and retrofit infrastructure for pedestrians. While such measures are generally accepted for the improvement of liveability, it is still difficult to evaluate their impact. This paper aims to quantify proposed retrofit interventions for pedestrians in the new town of Pardis, Iran. Interventions are: introducing pedestrian zones, relocating parking spaces, traffic calming, removing barriers and decentralising facilities. Two different methods are used: 1) walking distances in combination with detour factors; and 2) space syntax. The results show that these methods are effective to quantify improvement for pedestrian retrofit measures. Even simple interventions such as removing fences have a measurable positive impact.
Consumer news preferences for mobile applications
Authors: Fine Monica B. , Clark Melissa N.
Published: July 2024

The use of mobile technology has increased dramatically in recent years. Marketers are looking to capitalise on this new form of technology by providing consumers with the information they desire on their mobile devices. This study answers the question of what influences a consumer’s attitude to receiving news through mobile applications. User characteristics, such as willingness to conform and attitude toward technology, combined with mobile application characteristics, such as usability and alert provision, are considered for their impact on the dependent variable. The study analyses the results of an online survey, using regression. The results suggest that attitude toward technology is the most important factor contributing to a consumer’s attitude to receiving news through mobile applications.
Chief Information Security Officer best practices for 2018: Proactive cyber security
Authors: Rosiek Travis
Published: July 2024

Cyber adversaries are adapting to the enterprise rush to include new features, add cloud and cut costs faster than IT teams are able to secure them. This cyber security paradox creates an opportunity whereby cybercriminals and adversaries only need to be right or ’lucky‘ once in an attack, while cyber defenders must be ’right‘ every time. Yet, despite the high priority of security in nearly every industry, breaches continue to make headline news. Despite effective solutions to mitigate or eliminate those threats, IT and security teams are fighting a losing battle, as the need for new features is often prioritised over the requirement for security. This paper examines these cracks in the organisational struggle for security and their root causes, and offers a practical perspective on how to achieve better defence through training, balancing processes and leveraging the right technologies to decrease attack vectors and build a proactive security process that is better prepared for current and new threats.
Giving Day: Conducting a symphony or herding cats?
Authors: Ayrea William , Smilde John
Published: July 2024

A key irony that is uncovered is that beneath the surface of giving day fundraising frenzy is a strong and well-planned marketing infrastructure, and a gift processing operation that typically appears very structured on the surface needs to embrace the fun of the day and the ‘big picture’ effect its work has. This paper will provide a window to the George Mason University Giving Day strategy that resulted in a record giving effort for 2021. The overall theme of the paper is that, while giving day may appear to be a free-wheeling day of school spirit, a successful effort is based on good strategy, rigorous planning and executed on a solid framework. Key areas of focus include communication plans, website, events and workflows. Elements of success that are covered include investment in creating a culture of philanthropy, identifying and motivating networks, innovation and developing compelling messaging. Tactical topics such as: appeal codes, e-mail marketing tools and progress indicators are also covered. It also emphasises that a strong operational partnership with gift processing is needed to ensure that donors who were motivated to give are not only thanked in a timely manner but also that the data is used to feed the overall fundraising operation management process. Illustrations included provide visual identity branding examples, a visual of the Giving Day toolkit used to empower various divisions of the university in their efforts, a timeline of action for e-mail campaigns along with key data points for monitoring success, and a visual used by the gifts processing team to emphasise the big picture and effect in moves management areas such as: identification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship and alumni network development.
Bridging brands and borders: Trends and tactics to connect global brands with Asian consumers
Authors: Briggs Craig
Published: July 2024

There is a challenge facing global brands as they move across borders seeking new customers in new markets — how much must a global brand change in order to connect with a local culture? Must a global brand re-invent itself in order to succeed across borders? How much is too much, and how much is not enough? While marketers would like to have a handy formula to quantify what degree of change is required for their brands to succeed abroad — to define empirically how much a brand should change to fit local customer needs — there is no precise formula. However, global brands that attempt to reinvent their brands, drastically changing their global brand properties, do so at great risk. For global brands, in many different categories, there is an inherent power and advantage in their ‘international-ness’ when travelling across borders. Yet, equally, global brands that enter new markets without seeking some degree of customisation to meet local market needs, also do so at great risk. Many global brands coming to Asia have leveraged their international brand natures, and allowed for some degree of customisation. Ultimately, global brands moving across borders should consider customisation, but not outright localisation, for success.
Preparing for AnaCredit: A timely start is crucial
Authors: Broersen Paul , Koppen Ronald
Published: July 2024

After many years of discussion the regulation on AnaCredit has arrived. As of reporting date 30th of September, 2018, credit institutions are required to periodically report 88 attributes and seven identifiers for all customers being legal entities with a balance above €25,000. A number of main challenges on internal organisation, data management and data set completeness should be properly addressed, together with the country specific circumstances that may exist. As AnaCredit will be a recurring reporting process banks are strongly advised to choose a structural reporting solution in order to ensure the requirements can be regularly fulfilled.
Successful introduction of new payment methods through ‘co-opetition’
Authors: Gonggrijp Stefan , Geerling Max , Mallekoote Piet
Published: July 2024

Payment services constitute a two-sided market of payers (eg consumers) and payees (eg merchants). A new payment method needs to reach critical mass on both sides to become successful, which is not without difficulty. This paper analyses how this chicken-and-egg problem can be overcome through a combination of cooperation and competition between banks and other players involved in the payment chain. The emergence of e-payments provides insight into critical success factors and suggestions for successful introduction of new payment methods.
Post-event reviews: Using a quantitative approach for analysing incident response to demonstrate the value of business continuity programmes and increase planning efficiency
Authors: Vaidyanathan Karthik
Published: July 2024

Business continuity management is often thought of as a proactive planning process for minimising impact from large-scale incidents and disasters. While this is true, and it is critical to plan for the worst, consistently validating plan effectiveness against smaller disruptions can enable an organisation to gain key insights about its business continuity readiness, drive programme improvements, reduce costs and provide an opportunity to quantitatively demonstrate the value of the programme to management. This paper describes a post mortem framework which is used as a continuous improvement mechanism for tracking, reviewing and learning from real-world events at Microsoft Customer Service & Support. This approach was developed and adopted because conducting regular business continuity exercises proved difficult and expensive in a complex and distributed operations environment with high availability requirements. Using a quantitative approach to measure response to incidents, and categorising outcomes based on such responses, enables business continuity teams to provide data-driven insights to leadership, change perceptions of incident root cause, and instil a higher level of confidence towards disaster response readiness and incident management. The scope of the framework discussed here is specific to reviewing and driving improvements from operational incidents. However, the concept can be extended to learning and evolving readiness plans for other types of incidents.
Payment innovation: Simply getting consumers to spend more than they can afford?
Authors: Delnevo Ron
Published: July 2024

This paper focuses on how the movement from cash to card use can be demonstrated to have persuaded many consumers to spend more than they earn and more than they can afford.
Tenants’ alterations made to UK office property in the age of net zero carbon and of minimised waste: The end of the ‘single-use fit-out’?
Authors: Rowling Jon
Published: July 2024

This paper is an opinion piece relating to current practice and precedents associated with tenant alterations, which hopes to progress the debate about the energy efficiency of commercial office property. The law and practice associated with the dilapidations process at the end of a tenant’s office lease is inherently wasteful. The legal precedents take no account of construction waste and appear to encourage landlords to waste physical resources rather than cherish them. The design of modern offices also encourages removal and replacement rather than reuse. The received wisdom during the letting of office premises is that open-plan offices, with previous tenants’ fit-out entirely removed, are preferable. This adds to the amount of construction waste generated. Potential tenants are often not given the opportunity to consider reusing a previous tenant’s fit-out and therefore they repeat the installation of a new office fit-out, where a previous one has recently been removed. If this wasteful process is to be addressed, legal precedents associated with the measures of loss and associated with landlord’s consent to tenant’s fit-out proposals would need to develop, or regulation would need to be introduced, or, most likely, the demands of the market need to discourage ‘single-use fit-outs’.
Resolving the disconnect between risk appetites, tolerances, exposures and monitoring measurements
Authors: Getz Liezl De Villiers
Published: July 2024

The asset management industry’s approach to risk management is continually evolving. A concentrated focus has been invested to develop risk appetite statements (RAS) and internal capital adequacy assessment process (ICAAP) reports. Guidance documentation and surveys often state that there are disconnects between the RAS, ICAAP, other risk processes and decision-making activities across firms. Resolving these disconnects enhances the integrated business profile reports submitted to committees, which ultimately drives how senior management decides to allocate resources. Not resolving these disconnects hinders a firm’s ability to grow and meeting strategic objectives. Risk management consists of multiple estimates — whether day-to-day or once-in-a-lifetime risk exposure assessments — and, as with all estimates, there are multiple ways to obtain a reasonable result based on relevant data and assumptions, but not without a certain level of subjectivity. It is therefore important to note that this paper provides one possible solution for resolving disconnects in risk processes, but its success is dependent on robust governance and proper business planning. The risk processes referred to in this paper relate to the risks facing the asset management business and not the risks contractually borne by its clients.
The subprime fiasco: Derivatives and ratings
Authors: Whalen Christopher
Published: July 2024

The easy-money policies of the Federal Reserve Board (the Fed) in the early part of the decade did fuel the mortgage bubble. More important in structural terms, however, was the advocacy by the Fed and other US bank regulators of over-the-counter derivatives dealing by the major US banks. Without the wonders of structured finance, there would have been no ‘demand pull’ surge for mortgage paper starting in the 2003 period, when buy-side investors began to clamour — no, scream — for higher risk-adjusted returns.
Knowing the levers to pull to measure and optimise digital marketing performance
Authors: Lo Russo Emma
Published: July 2024

Digital marketing is now pre-eminent across brand building, business development, marketing and selling. Today's digital natives are researching, engaging and buying online, in business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C), across every vertical market. This creates new opportunities for marketers. But to maximise the returns on their efforts and investment, they need to understand and optimise the performance of their digital marketing programmes in the face of fierce competition for the eyes and attention of customers and prospects, and for the best possible position in search returns. This effort starts with knowing where customers and prospects are to be found, in the sense of understanding whether a cohort of names are real prospects or simply people being targeted by marketing programmes. This may seem a statement of the obvious, but work with clients and research indicate that it is less common than might at first be expected. There are also new challenges in being accountable for the results. Chief executive officers (CEOs), chief marketing officers (CMOs) and boards now understand that the data are there to be analysed at each level of investment across content, campaigns and targeting. They expect more from the budgets they spend on their marketing, and they expect everyone involved, not just a favoured few, to know what is going on. Marketers and business owners know they need to make sense of millions of pieces of data and do so without undue expense or delay. This can maximise the value of the data they have to hand. And to achieve this means they need to know which levers to pull in time to make a difference. This paper discusses techniques and approaches to measuring the performance of digital marketing programmes across multiple channels, addresses the dilemma of ever-increasing complexity and ever-increasing expectations, and presents possible solutions to the challenges around the accountability increasingly placed on marketers to prove their worth. It addresses the challenge of data biases and distinguishes between data — the raw material of digital marketing — and insights — what make the data useful. Case studies show how organisations use real-time data to test and experiment and to understand which levers to pull.
Unlocking the full potential of social listening platforms through prescriptive-based intelligence
Authors: Mcguirk Mike
Published: July 2024

Today’s business leaders are demanding access to information that will help them make more informed decisions. The widespread shift to customer-centric business practices, which require a much deeper understanding of consumer needs, emotions, and behaviours, is a primary driver of this heightened thirst for more data. This data obsession has triggered an unprecedented level of innovation in marketing technology. Particularly, innovation in platforms that can ingest and analyse new sources of consumer data. Social listening platforms are an important contributor to this new data collection and analytics ecosystem. This paper explores the adoption of social listening platforms and social analytics practices and details the distinct and highly valuable benefits these solutions can provide marketers and customer experience management executives.
The challenge of assessing and shaping bank conduct, ethics and culture: Insights from the social sciences
Authors: Connell Matthew
Published: July 2024

Organisational culture is a notoriously difficult subject for financial institutions. This paper examines how approaches from a variety of different disciplines can be used to assess and shape an institution’s culture. It goes on to look at one approach — the Theory of the Convention — in detail. This model is based on the observation that individuals coordinate with each other by invoking different standards of behaviour. These standards are based on shared expectations about how people should behave when carrying out roles such as family member, citizen, celebrity, technical expert or merchant. We learn about these expectations through experience, and invoke them through familiar symbols and conventions. Often it is unclear which set of expectations should be adhered to, and this ambiguity leads to rival cultures and subcultures. This paper applies the concepts contained in the Theory of the Convention to the case of the LIBOR rate manipulation scandal, to show how it is possible to break a process down to the constituent standards used by individuals to plot their actions and predict the actions of others. It goes on to identify which of those standards contribute to sustaining a healthy organisation, and the measures that can be taken to reinforce positive elements and address negative elements in an organisation’s culture.
How to establish an effective safety awareness programme at airports
Authors: Bircher Daniel , Boesiger Mathias
Published: July 2024

This paper answers the question of how a successful and effective airport safety awareness programme can be established. Based on open International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements, Zurich Airport has conducted detailed stakeholder interviews and established a balanced approach including different types of awareness products. The awareness programme is based on the following pillars: a basic theoretical model describing how safety-conscious attitudes can be turned into sustainable safe behaviour; a broad evaluation of user requirements; and a concept defining topics, target audience, products as well as timing of safety awareness activities. The paper lists some practical examples used at Zurich Airport and proposes indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of safety awareness campaigns. The paper is based on the Zurich Airport safety awareness concept established in November 2008.
Shortening the settlement cycle: Why Europe should not wait too long to introduce T + 1
Authors: Thomadakis Apostolos
Published: July 2024

The amount of time required for the settlement of securities is a long-running issue for European capital markets. Twenty years ago, the Giovannini Group looked at the large number of securities settlement systems that existed in Europe (and still do). In 2014, based on the Group's proposals for improving the settlement cycle, the EU moved from T + 3 (trade date plus three business days) to T + 2 (trade date plus two business days), with the US following a few years later in 2017. The US is now ready to shorten its settlement cycle further to T + 1 by March 2024. Although there are benefits from such a move (eg capital and liquidity efficiencies, lower margin requirements, risk reduction, increase scale and speed of processing, lower costs, investor protection), there are also challenges (eg cross-border transactions, securities lending market, operational challenges). This paper discusses what Europe would do. Will it follow the US or not? And if yes, when? Before answering these questions, the EU should: i) address the significant problems caused by the diversity and fragmentation of the EU's capital markets and market infrastructures, ii) collect views from all different stakeholders (eg central securities depositories, buy and sell side, regulators, central counterparty clearing houses and other types of market infrastructure) and iii) conduct a feasibility study on a move from T + 2 to T + 1. Given that such an endeavour will take time, the EU should kick off the discussion immediately.
Managing non-financial risks: A new focus area for executive and non-executive board members
Authors: Kaiser Thomas
Published: July 2024

Non-financial risks have led to severe losses over the past decades, which demonstrates the need for banks to re-evaluate their risk management frameworks. This paper discusses key features of non-financial risks — contrasted with more familiar financial risks — and the level of preparedness of banks to effectively deal with them. Suggested approaches to deal with non-financial risks from a governance, methodology and process perspective are discussed.