bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ICT Applications in Arab Education Sector
Authors: Fattah Hadia Abboud Abdul , Albadri Fayez
Published: July 2012

Although technology adoption in education is generally viewed positively by educators, the shift in technology adoption by educational organizations, from simple class-resources and learning aids to a much more complex and sophisticated information systems, represent a major challenge to cope with, especially to many educational organizations in the Arab region, while the role and impact of culture on the outcomes is yet to be verified. Thus, this chapter examines the role and impact of local culture on the adoption and utilization of new information systems and technologies to enhance core educational functions and enterprise support functions within Arab educational organizations.
ICT in Arab Education
Authors: Fatma Saba
Published: July 2012

Developing countries are facing many challenges today, such as globalization and the information and communication technologies revolution, as governments and societies are coping with change. Technology adoption in the classroom setting, as well as in other formats of education across the world in the past several years, has resulted in the realization that the benefits accrued from these technologies are not mainly related to getting access to new technology, but to integrating technology in the holistic framework of curriculum, teacher competencies, institutional readiness, and long term financing. Arab governments have rapidly established a great number of schools and universities in recent years. Most programs focus largely on the technology itself, placing very little emphasis on the practical implications of the use of ICTs to meet broad educational objectives. Also, amidst the emerging digital divide, it is important to note the prevailing gaps between countries within the Arab world. There are marked variances between countries in their efforts to adopt ICT tools and grow their networked economies. The chapter focuses on knowledge society and education and ICT challenges faced by Arab countries.
Arab Youth and the Internet
Authors: Al Disi Zakieh Ali , Albadri Fayez
Published: July 2012

This study investigates the levels and patterns of use of the Internet among secondary school students in Al Ain City, United Arab Emirates, and attempts to assess the levels of parental supervision at home. The prime aim of the study is to determine how widespread the Internet use is among UAE secondary students, and to examine the activities that the students adopt the Internet for. In conclusion, the study explores possible effects that the Internet use may have on the students’ social relations and other activities. A survey was designed and adapted to support the investigation, and a questionnaire was distributed to 100 secondary school students (50 boys and 50 girls) in six secondary schools in Al Ain city. The investigation findings revealed that the majority of the respondents use the Internet for communication and leisure rather than for educational purposes, while some respondents affirmed improved general knowledge and academic performances as a result of using the Internet. Whilst acknowledging the Internet potential positive impact on students’ educational performance, the study recommends that the use of the Internet should be monitored and guided by school authorities and parents, so as to prevent the misuse of this facility and to direct it towards teaching and learning improvement.
E-Learning Status and Quality in Context of Arab Universities
Authors: Matar Nasim
Published: July 2012

This chapter discusses the status and quality of e-learning in Arab Universities located in the Middle East. The first objective of the study was to provide an analytical overview of the use of e-learning and the quality of electronic courses and learning objects in these universities to fill the gap in the literature in this particular topic regarding the Middle East region, and also to draw into different solutions and recommendations in order to make a successful match that could result in a better adoption and serving of the e-learning technology. The study was based on two different approaches that included a survey to navigate the official websites of universities in the region plus a survey into e-learning courses to obtain the current stand of e-learning quality in the region. The results of each approach have been analyzed, and the outcomes and recommendations were presented to be used for future adoption and other related studies.
Wiki-Based Training for the Development EFL Prospective Teachers in Egypt
Authors: Khodary Manal Mohammed
Published: July 2012

This chapter provides a description of how wikis can be used to develop the writing performance of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) prospective teachers. Wiki has gained popularity as a frequent topic of discussion at the field of education. It has been used to provide a collaborative environment which encourages its users to engage effectively in the writing process and to develop their writing performance. This chapter involves an introduction to the importance of developing writing performance among prospective EFL teachers and a description of how new technologies based on the Internet have given new approaches for designing courses in writing. This chapter also provides background information including: the definition of wiki, characteristics of wiki, educational uses of wikis, historical development of wikis and previous studies related to the application of wikis in classrooms. Moreover, this chapter provides an illustration of the author’s experience with using wikis to develop prospective EFL teachers’ writing performance. It concludes with recommendations on effective use of wikis for educational purposes.
Teaching Enterprise Information Systems in the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Jewels Tony
Published: July 2012

Although the notion of an enterprise information system (EIS) has been around now for several decades, there appears still to be a general lack of understanding within various sections of higher education over the true nature of these systems and subsequently how they should be presented to students. Although the topic itself is currently a hot one, with potential employers around the globe eagerly seeking new graduates versed in various aspects of EIS, this apparent lack of understanding has the potential to translate into courses or curricula that may not provide the most appropriate graduate skill sets. This chapter discusses how one university in the United Arab Emirates is addressing this issue by providing a curriculum and courses that set out to develop local graduates that will be highly valued by organisations seeking to extract full value from their own EIS’s.
Challenges to ES Success
Authors: Zakaria Nor Hidayati , Sedera Darshana
Published: July 2012

Recent literature on Enterprise System (ES) implementation projects highlights the importance of Knowledge Integration (KI) for implementation success. The fundamental characteristics of ES—integration of modules, business process view, and aspects of information transparency—necessitate that all frequent end-users share a reasonable amount of common knowledge and integrate their knowledge to yield new knowledge. Unfortunately, the importance of KI is often overlooked and little about the role of KI in ES success is known. In this chapter, the authors study the KI impact on ES success that is relevant to the ES post-implementation in support of organizations’ returns on their ES investments. They adopt the ES post-implementation segment of ES utilization to explore whether the KI approach is causally linked to ES success. The research model was tested in a multi-industry sample in Malaysia from which data was gathered from managerial and operational employees spread across six large organizations. Consistent with the explanation by knowledge-based theory, the results show that KI was valid and significantly related to the outcome of ES that relates to an organization’s performance, which the authors refer to as ES success. The KI positive impact on the success of ES drives one to highlight the importance of ontological KI in the complexity of the ES environment. The authors believe that focusing on an ontology through the KI perspective can make significant contributions to current ES problems.
Managing Lessons Learned
Authors: Badr Kamal Badr Abdalla , Ahmad Mohammad Nazir
Published: July 2012

An organization’s knowledge is built on the experience of its human resources, such as individual competencies, group working experiences, problem-solving abilities, and the lessons learned, which these resources use during the execution of tasks or processes. This organizational knowledge is stored in individual minds, or implicitly encoded in organizational processes, services, and systems. In the context of knowledge intensive organizations or learning organizations, besides labor, capital, and land, this experience-based knowledge has been recognized as an important productivity factor. For example, Lessons Learned (LL) are crucial to the learning organization’s continued success. LL were originally conceived as guidelines, tips, or checklists of what went right or wrong in a particular event or organizational business process. A Lessons Learned System (LLS) is a type of knowledge management system that serves the purpose of capturing, storing, disseminating, and sharing an organization’s verified LL, but Lessons Learned Systems have not been well studied and researched. Based on the literature review, the authors develop an evaluation framework for understanding LLS research. The framework identifies six dimension areas of emphasis in LLS research: LL process, LL representation, LL content, LL architecture, organization type, and type of processes. This chapter introduces the evaluation framework and concludes with a discussion of emerging issues, new research directions, and the practical implications of LLS research.
A Study of Ontology Construction
Authors: Abdullah Norris Syed , Sadiq Shazia , Indulska Marta
Published: July 2012

Ontology has been recognized, and prominently used, as tool to facilitate shared understanding (and knowledge sharing) in a particular domain. Ensuring that such an ontology is relevant to a particular domain, however, remains a challenging task to the ontology developer. Motivated by the lack of consistent holistic guidelines to assist development of ontologies that are industry-relevant, the goal of this chapter is to present such an approach. The presented approach is based on the synthesis of existing approaches and varied sources of academic and industry input. The approach follows a typical ontology development cycle and consists of incremental steps that need to be taken to assure industry-relevance of the ontology. To provide a thorough discussion of the approach, the authors utilize a previously completed ontology development project that followed the developed approach. The project was specifically aimed at developing an industry-relevant ontology for the compliance management domain and was based on three main inputs, namely, scholarly articles, industry expert/practitioner input and industry reports. Their experience indicates that the use of the ontology development approach promotes an ontology that is closely aligned with the needs of industry.
What is a Capability Platform Approach to Integrated Operations?
Authors: Henderson John , Hepsø Vidar , Mydland Øyvind
Published: July 2012

The concept of a capability platform can be used to argue how firms engage networked relationships to embed learning/performance into distinctive practices rather than focusing only on technology. In fact the capability language allows us to unpack the role of technology by emphasizing its interaction with people, process, and governance issues. The authors address the importance of a capability approach for Integrated Operations and how it can improve understanding of how people, process, technology, and governance issues are connected and managed to create scalable and sustainable practices. The chapter describes the development of capabilities as something that is happening within an ecology. Using ecology as a metaphor acknowledges that there is a limit to how far it is possible to go to understand organizations and the development of capabilities in the oil and gas industry as traditional hierarchies and stable markets. The new challenge that has emerged with integrated operations is the need for virtual, increasingly global, and network based models of work. The authors couple the ecology approach with a capability platform approach.
How Integrated Operations has Influenced Offshore Leadership Practice
Authors: Skarholt Kari , Hansson Lisbeth , Lamvik Gunnar M.
Published: July 2012

This chapter discusses how Integrated Operations (IO) has affected new ways of working and addresses leadership practice in particular. It investigates both the positive and negative effects of IO in terms of virtual leadership teams and local leadership offshore, and how this may affect safety on board. IO contributes to the onshore organization being more actively involved in problem-solving and decision-making in offshore operations compared to earlier. This way, it has become easier to reach a shared situational awareness concerning planning and prioritizing of operations on board. However, the authors find that the integration of sea and land has not been successful in achieving increased hands-on leadership offshore. To explore this issue, they discuss findings from different research projects studying IO and changes in work practices onshore and offshore at different installations/assets in a Norwegian oil and gas company.
Connecting Worlds through Self-Synchronization and Boundary Spanning
Authors: Filstad Cathrine , Hepsø Vidar , Skarholt Kari
Published: July 2012

This chapter investigates knowledge sharing in collaborative work. Through two empirical studies of personnel working offshore and onshore in an oil company, the authors address the role of self-synchronization and boundary spanning as practices for improving collaboration in integrated operations. They focus on the following enabling capabilities for collaborative work: management, knowledge sharing, trust, shared situational awareness, transparency, and information and communication technology. This chapter is more concerned with the people, process, and governance aspects of a capability development process for integrated operations. The authors are especially interested in how self-synchronization and boundary-spanning practices emerge in a dynamic relationship with the identified enabling capabilities. Self-synchronization and boundary-spanning practices influence the enabling capabilities and vice versa. In the end the improved practices and the enabling capabilities are so intermingled that it becomes difficult to describe causal relations and effects.
Managing Team Leadership Challenges in Integrated Operations
Authors: Larsen Sjur
Published: July 2012

This chapter gives an empirically based account of leadership of teamwork in Integrated Operations settings, or “IO teamwork” as it is termed here. First, a brief presentation of the characteristics of IO teamwork and its leadership is provided. Then follows an overview of relevant theoretical perspectives to the study of team leadership in IO settings. Next, central challenges regarding leadership of IO teamwork are discussed, and empirical examples of how leaders of IO teams go about managing these challenges are provided. Finally, directions for future research in this area are given.
Implementing Integrated Planning
Authors: Ramstad Lone S. , Halvorsen Kristin , Holte Even A.
Published: July 2012

Transferring the IO principles to the planning domain has led to the development of the concept of Integrated Planning (IPL). The concept represents a holistic perspective on planning, emphasizing the interplay between planning horizons, between organizational units, and among cross-organizational partners. Based on findings from three case studies, the purpose of this chapter is to present how three companies in the oil & gas industry has approached integrated planning, illustrating some of the challenges they have experienced in the planning domain. With the findings as a starting point, the authors identified three enabling factors that need a particular focus when implementing IPL: ICT tools, roles & processes, and arenas for plan coordination. In addition, the authors argue that in order to succeed in implementing integrated planning practices, as well as continuously improving these, human and organizational capabilities need to be cultivated, and focus here on four salient features of an integrated planning practice: competence, commitment, collaboration, and continuous learning.
IO, Coagency, Intractability, and Resilience
Authors: Hollnagel Erik
Published: July 2012

Technological developments continuously create opportunities that are eagerly adopted by industries with a seemingly insatiable need for innovation. This has established a forceful circulus vitiosus that has resulted in exceedingly complicated socio-technical systems. The introduction of Integrated Operations in drilling and off-shore operations is one, but not the only, example of that. This development poses a challenge for how to deal with risk and safety issues. Where existing safety assessment methods focus on descriptions of component capabilities, complicated socio-technical systems must be described in terms of relations or even functional couplings. In order to design, analyse, and manage such systems, it must be acknowledged that performance adjustments are a resource rather than a threat. Safety can no longer be achieved just by preventing that something goes wrong, but must instead try to ensure that everything goes right. Resilience engineering provides the conceptual and practical means to support and accomplish that change.
IO Concepts as Contributing Factors to Major Accidents and Enablers for Resilience-Based Major Accident Prevention
Authors: Albrechtsen Eirik , Weltzien Audun
Published: July 2012

On the one hand, inadequacy of IO-concepts can, in combination with other factors, contribute to major accidents. On the other, work processes and technology within an IO-context contribute to prevent major accidents. This chapter shows how IO concepts can enable a resilience-based approach to major accident prevention by employing a case study of an onshore drilling center. Interviews indicate that drilling and well operations justify a resilience approach, as these operations are complex and dynamic. The case study shows how an onshore drilling support center facilitate adaptation to current and future situations at the sharp-end by providing decision-making support for the sharp-end by its ability to monitor what is going on, anticipate future developments, and look into past events and data. By use of the case study resilient capabilities and their required resources are identified. To ensure that inherent organizational resilience is managed and maintained adequately, there is a need to: 1) identify and refine inherent resilient capabilities and resources; and 2) develop methods and tools to manage resilience.
The Adoption Process of Payment Cards
Authors: Alexandrova-Kabadjova Biliana , Pascacio Sara G. Castellanos , García-Almanza Alma L.
Published: July 2012

The authors investigate the payment adoption rate under consumers’ and merchants’ awareness of network externalities, given two levels of interchange fees in a multi-agent card market. For the purpose of their research, in multiple instantiations of the model (scenarios) the investigated effects are analyzed over the complete process of adoption, until the market’s saturation point is achieved. Then, for each scenario, a comparison is made between two different levels of interchange fees and different degrees of consumers’ and merchants’ awareness. To this end, the authors model explicitly the interactions between consumers and merchants at the point of sale. They allow card issuers to charge consumers with fixed fees and provide net benefits from card usage, whereas acquirers can charge fixed and transactional fees to merchants.
Preparing Simulations in Large Value Payment Systems using Historical Data
Authors: Heijmans Ronald , Heuver Richard
Published: July 2012

Simulations in large value payment systems have become a common tool for stress scenario analyses, often using historical data. The reason for simulating is that disruptions in payment systems are not very common. Simulation of realistic scenarios requires adequate preparation. As part of the preparation, it is essential 1) to have a thorough understanding of the structure of the investigated market, 2) to potentially remove certain types of transactions, such as funding-related transactions (interbank loans), and 3) to understand how banks react to a shock. The financial crisis starting in the summer of 2007 caused several stressful events worldwide and provided insight into how banks behaved during these events.
Simulation Approaches to Risk, Efficiency, and Liquidity Usage in Payment Systems
Authors: Laine Tatu , Korpinen Kasperi , Hellqvist Matti
Published: July 2012

Payment systems constitute a critical aspect of modern economic infrastructure; yet understanding the payment system mechanisms remains elusive in the face of rapidly evolving financial markets and intricate institutional linkages. Computer simulations of payment systems have proven useful in determining optimal balances of risk, efficiency, and liquidity usage. Constructs such as gridlock-resolution algorithms and liquidity-saving mechanisms are now routinely applied in such areas as optimization of liquidity and payment delay, but can also be used to assess potential impacts of changes in policy or system setups. In addition, simulations can be extended to incorporate behavioral elements of participants by modeling their behavior with Agent-Based Modeling (ABM). The 2008 global financial crisis has increased interest in simulations to identify and quantify risk, particularly where new channels of contagion and complex interlinkages of markets and payment systems are involved. Payment system simulations offer central bank authorities broad possibilities to improve their risk monitoring and should be incorporated as a standard part of financial stability analysis.
What Matters in Determining Capital Surcharge for Systemically Important Financial Institutions?
Authors: Gauthier Céline , Gravelle Toni , Liu Xuezhi , Souissi Moez
Published: July 2012

One way of internalising the externalities each individual bank imposes on the rest of the financial system is to impose capital surcharges (KS) on them in line with their systemic importance. Given the complexity of the financial system and the resulting difficulties in measuring systemic importance, it is sometimes argued to simply apply higher KS to larger banks, abstracting from other factors like interconnectedness. In this chapter, the authors consider different network structures of the banking system that are characterized by two different centrality measures. Their main finding is that size alone is not always a good proxy for systemic importance and must be supplemented with detailed information on interbank exposures. A relatively small bank playing an outsized role in the interbank market might be more systemic, and thus garner a higher capital surcharge, than a less connected bank of somewhat larger size. Alternatively, if the centrality of banks in an interbank network is positively correlated with their size, then proxies of a bank’s systemic importance largely based on size are sufficient indicators.
Agent-Based Modeling of the El Farol Bar Problem
Authors: Chen Shu-Heng , Gostoli Umberto
Published: July 2012

In this chapter, the authors study the self-coordination problem as demonstrated by the well-known El Farol problem (Arthur, 1994), which has become what is known as the minority game in the econophysics community. While the El Farol problem or the minority game has been studied for almost two decades, existing studies are mostly only concerned with efficiency. The equality issue, however, has been largely neglected. In this chapter, the authors build an agent-based model to study both efficiency and equality and ask whether a decentralized society can ever possibly self-coordinate a result with the highest efficiency while also maintaining the highest degree of equality. The agent-based model shows the possibility of achieving this social optimum. The two key determinants to make this happen are social preferences and social networks. Hence, not only do institutions (networks) matter, but individual characteristics (preferences) also matter. The latter part are open to human-subject experiments for further examination.
Simulation Analysis as a Way to Assess the Performance of Important Unit Root and Change in Persistence Tests
Authors: Fernández Raúl O. , Vera-Valdés J. Eduardo
Published: July 2012

This chapter shows a way to, using simulation analysis, assess the performance of some of the most popular unit root and change in persistence tests. The authors do this by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The findings suggest that these tests show a lower than expected performance when dealing with some of the processes commonly believed to be found in the economic and financial data. The output signals that extreme care should be taken when trying to support a theory using real data. As the results show, a blind practitioner could get misleading implications almost surely. As an empirical exercise, the authors show that the considered test finds evidence of a unit root process in the US house price index. Nonetheless, as the simulation analysis shows, extreme caution should be taken when analyzing these results.
A process evaluation of a supervisory development programme
Authors: Buys Jasper , Louw Johann
Published: July 2012

Orientation: An important evaluation function is to assess the adequacy of the programme process, including the extent to which the appropriate people participate in its activities.Research purpose: The study aimed to provide information about coverage, service delivery, organisational resources, and medium-term outcomes for a supervisory development programme (SDP) in the hospitality industry.Motivation for the study: The primary motivation was to assist programme staff to understand their programme and also to generate information that the programme staff could use to reflect on the programme’s performance and future direction.Research design, approach and method: A mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods was employed, namely: a literature review; personal interviews; and internal programme documentation, such as e-mail correspondence, financial statements, attendance registers, and personnel records. Personal interviews were conducted with two stakeholders, namely the programme manager and programme administrator. The programme data of 69 participants in the SDP were utilised for the evaluation.Main findings: The evaluation’s main finding concluded that the ‘implemented programme’ was not congruent with the ‘planned programme’.Practical/managerial implications: It is recommended that programme activities and theory should be re-evaluated, as the programme is used mainly as a training programme for new appointees, rather than a management development programme to create a pool of potential supervisors. Programme uptake and output should also be closely aligned. The length of time that people in the pool of potential supervisors had to wait before they were appointed should also be reduced.Contribution/value-add: By explicating the basic programme theory and studying programme implementation, this evaluation serves as a starting point for future evaluations of the SDP.
A formative evaluation of a pay-for-performance system
Authors: Joseph Lindsey , Emmett Kate , Louw-Potgieter Joha
Published: July 2012

Orientation: Pay-for-performance (PFP) systems emerged during the 1980s as performance improvement tools. However, research findings have shown contradictory evidence as to whether these systems motivate employees to improve their performance. Research purpose: The main aim of this evaluation was to assess whether a PFP system, which a South African university introduced for administrative employees, improved their performance. A secondary aim was to examine whether the university implemented the system as it intended to.Motivation for the evaluation: The motivation for this evaluation was to add to the social science literature on the effectiveness of PFP systems. There are many contradictions in the literature and further exploration of whether these systems deliver their intended outcomes seemed overdue.Research design, approach and method: The evaluators used a descriptive design. They administered a customised questionnaire, to which 391 university staff members responded. Of these, 129 were line managers and 262 were administrative staff.Main findings: The administrative staff, whose working lives the PFP system affected, thought that it did not improve their performance. Both line managers and administrative staff indicated that the pay aspect of the system did not differentiate between poor and excellent performance.Practical/managerial implications: The evaluators made practical recommendations for improving the implementation of the system.Contribution/value-add: This evaluation contributed to the social science literature on the effectiveness of PFP systems by showing that poor implementation rather than poor design often lies at the root of a system that does not deliver its intended outcomes.
Electrocardiographic and Electrophysiologic Insights into Atrioventricular Nodal Re-entry Tachycardia: Diagnostic Update
Authors: Kossaify Antoine , Zeeny Maya
Published: July 2012

Atrioventricular nodal re-entry tachycardia is a common supraventricular arrhythmia. The rate of recurrence is relatively high, and accordingly ablative therapy became the first-line suggested therapy. In this review, we highlight the electrocardiographic clues to the diagnosis of atrioventricular nodal re-entry tachycardia, also we present the electrophysiological data and maneuvers that enable the ruling out of other supraventricular tachycardias and ensure an accurate and specific diagnosis of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia.
Earning the Right to Brand
Authors: Court David , Freeling Anthony , George Mike
Published: July 2012

There have been changes in scenarios in which firms compete - consumers are more and more sophisticated, media and distribution channels have multiplied – thus requiring companies to develop their marketing strategies differently. From a global perspective, for instance, creating, managing, and defending a brand is no longer exclusive role of manufacturers. Every player of the supply chain could have one. The concept of brand has not exhausted its ability to attract new customers. On the contrary, brand strategy is still a marketing corner stone. Everyone who aspires to gain part of the value generated from the distribution channel will always need brands, will need to know how to build them and will continue to do it in order to develop a relationship with the customer.
The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
Authors: Ries Al , Ries Laura
Published: July 2012

The power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope. When you put your brand name on several products, indeed, the line extension allows an increase in sales in the short term, but it undermines brand name in the mind of the consumer in the long term. A brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer. Once a word is precisely associated with a brand, it is almost impossible for a competitor to create some stronger associations. There are no barriers to global branding. A brand should know no borders.
Market-Orientation and Corporate Performance
Authors: Lambin Jean-Jacques , Chumpitaz Rubén
Published: July 2012

Market-orientation is generally referred to the basic orientation that governs the relationship of a firm with its market and, more particularly, with its customers. Now, in many firms, MO is treated like the marketing concept. This traditional view of MO has two main drawbacks: first of all it overlooks market actors other than customer (i.e. distributors, competitors and prescribers). Then, this functional perspective leads to confine the concept of MO to the activities generally conducted by the marketing function, underestimating the value creation potential of other functions. This confusion about the scope of the MO concept is in part explained by the lack of clarity on the definition of the marketing concept which, especially in American literature, is treated as operational marketing: the 4 Ps. By converse, the concept of MO has three dimensions and that a distinction should be made between the MO as a management philosophy (culture), as a tool of strategic thinking (analysis) and as a commercial activity of the company (action).
The Firm as a Viable System
Authors: Golinelli Gaetano M. , Gatti Mauro
Published: July 2012

The viable system logic is widely considered a reference point for all the entrepreneurial organizations. The viable organizations have to struggle for existence, a statement particularly valid, if we consider changes (adjustments, transformations, reorganizations) of logic and physical assets (logic and physical structure) as also specific configurations developed in time. As a consequence, a viable system can be defined as follows: it is a system that survives, remains united and entire; it is omeostatically equilibrated internally and externally; it contains mechanisms and opportunities to grow, learn, develop and adapt becoming more efficient in a proper context.
Ouverture de ‘Market-Space Management’
Authors: Brondoni Silvio M.
Published: July 2012

In global markets, corporations compete according to the new rules of market-space competition, that is within competition boundaries in which space is not a known, stable element in the decision-making process. It is, instead, a competitive factor, shaped and modified by the actions and the reactions of corporations and governments. Global networks operating in enlarged competition spaces (thus exploiting the value of intangible assets such as brand equity, information systems and corporate culture) have market information at their disposal which is often sufficiently extensive and sophisticated to put them in a position to compete with governments in establishing the guidelines for local development. The over-supply condition that characterizes the richest markets today pushes companies into a neo-liberalism spiral. Over-supply conditions, moreover, often induce short-term results to be given too much importance, with a focus on the resources invested and the elimination of costs related to local social development.
Strategic Marketing Revisited after September 11
Authors: Lambin Jean-Jacques
Published: July 2012

Within the globalised economy, strategic marketing remains the best mechanism to adjust demand to supply, but it also triggers a virtuous circle of economic and social development, reinforced today by the social, cultural and technological changes observed in the market. These evolutions in the interconnected global economy create grounds for optimism in that they are contributing to a more democratic and transparent market economy, based on new values. In this new environment, national and supranational authorities have a key role to play: to monitor and to control the initiatives taken to meet emerging needs in order to reconcile market efficiency with the imperatives of a social vision.
Global Markets and Market-Space Competition
Authors: Brondoni Silvio M.
Published: July 2012

Globalisation imposes transition in the spatial competition relationships, specifically the abandonment of a competition domain coinciding with specific physical or administrative contexts (a product category, a country, a region, a geographical area, etc.). Competition in global markets shapes a multi-dimensional space so that a given geographical context can imply the simultaneous presence of very different competitors. Competition practices are further revolutionized, as they must take into account: saturated markets, and time-based competition. Global markets with over-supply determine a new approach to competition, with a complete overturning of the hierarchy between customer satisfaction and manufacturing: goods are manufactured only when the level and amount of  satisfaction required by customers is known.
The Challenges of Economic Globalisation: Business, Competition and Society
Authors: de Woot Philippe
Published: July 2012

The opening of markets, deregulation, and privatisation create a constantly expanding economic and financial environment. These developments contribute to an economy’s globalisation, leaving the field open to enterprising and innovative players: companies and financial intermediaries. What is new about the globalisation phenomenon is that it partly escapes from nation-state control and legislation. The pace of technical-economic change speeds up under the influence of global competition. The world has entered into a race where speed is imposed by business dynamism and competitive games. This rhythm is often faster than that of political, civil and institutional society.
Corporate Culture and Geopolitics
Authors: de Leersnyder Jean-Marc
Published: July 2012

Geopolitics represents a privileged field for leading public players (the States themselves, government bodies, international organisations) and other bodies from the non-profit sector (NGOs). In the modern world, business has become one of the biggest contributors to geopolitics. Corporate strategy is developed within what is now a reconfigured space. This reconfiguration is the result of three factors: the geopolitical situation, globalisation and the behaviour and conduct of international corporations themselves. The commercial sphere is not separate to the political one. Geopolitics is the result of the games played out by all the leading players on the international scene. On this stage, neither states nor businesses can expect to play alone.
Ethics and Corporate Responsibility in International Relations
Authors: Caselli Clara
Published: July 2012

The ethics of international relations must not be limited to airing principles on the nature of international trade. It must engage all the multifarious manifestations of the globalization process, therein identifying innovative means to handle relations in addition to devising an overall development strategy for Third World countries (including all the aspects related to reforms, production innovations, technology transfer and the re-conversion of sectors). Fair relations on a worldwide basis will generate connections between different value production systems, and draw them into a global network where material and intangible/cultural elements merge in order to produce a flow of international relations. The content of these relations will not be merely economic but will favor people and cultures meeting.
Corporate Governance and Global Responsibility
Authors: Salvioni Daniela M.
Published: July 2012

The application of proper governance principles demands a clear focus on sustainable growth as the basis for risk minimization in order to ensure long-term company success. In other words, a company’s effectiveness implies the assumption of a global responsibility concept based on strict compliance with the law, the creation of constructive relationships with all of society and respect for the environment. Of course, this does not mean losing sight of the importance of creating value and adequately compensating risk capital providers. Instead, it means emphasizing the interdependence of corporate image, results (whether financial or otherwise), operating transparency and the obtaining of broad approval and resources.
Global Retailers and Corporate Responsibility
Authors: Pepe Cosetta
Published: July 2012

Consumers and companies are paying more attention to responsible behaviour. What is more, the percentage of consumers who state they are ready to abandon a brand for environmental reasons has grown. Companies also perceive the value of responsibility to the environment and society. Even in areas where these issues have become commonplace (primarily in the Anglo-American world), consumers tend to support the problem much more in their statements than in their actual purchasing behaviour. Where retail companies are concerned, the acceptance of responsibility to the environment and to society is reflected in a number of motivations. First of all, the possibility of distinguishing themselves from the competition, which is the element most perceived by both mainstream and specialist companies. This is true in the food sector above all and in fields where the risk of accidents is greatest. Another motivation may be the fact that they could be eligible for ethical investment funds, particularly in the USA.
Social Responsibility in Supply Chain. The Coop Italia Case
Authors: Tassinari Vincenzo
Published: July 2012

An objective weak point in the globalization process is the traditional system of States: once we had the scheme ‘one State-one market’, today it is ‘more Statesone market’. Today, large-scale retailers, and industrial companies in general, cannot ignore the impacts generated by their activity, whether direct or indirect. The ‘new way of thinking’ they can adopt is an internal change that must always respond to market and business logics, but that can and must interact with the other actors of society for the most complex processes. In this context, Coop stands as a point of reference for Italy ‘Country system’, both for the historical role of service of Consumer Cooperation and the economic role on the national market.
Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Development
Authors: Ricotti Paolo
Published: July 2012

Corporate responsibility marks a historical turnaround in corporate culture because it attributes to it a role in which many costs externalised by the company to society and to the planet, but in fact produced directly or indirectly by it. A correct cultural approach and greater familiarity, particularly with the issues of manufacturing processes and products that have no impact on the environment, can make companies truly responsible and conscious of their role. Corporate Responsibility differs from Corporate Social Responsibility. The former represents the corporate ‘system’ (capital, human resources, suppliers, processes, products, communication, customers, etc.), while the latter refers to the ‘system’ of stakeholders (the community, institutions, associations, etc.).
Corporate Responsibility and Corporate Governance in Europe
Authors: Bisio Luca
Published: July 2012

The policies adopted by multinationals have generated some rather harsh criticism due to the insensitivity shown with regard to the environment, food safety and social marginalisation. This is due to the fact that excess supply conditions, which now characterize the richer markets, have forced companies into a ‘neo-liberalism’ spiral. The strong dynamism exhibited by corporations in taking advantage of the opportunities offered by globalisation, contrast with the inadequacy of institutions (and, in particular, of Nation-States). Basically, it becomes more and more difficult for Nation-States to build bridges between the global system and local socioeconomic systems.
Corporate Responsibility in Scarcity Economy. The Olivetti Case
Authors: Arrigo Elisa
Published: July 2012

Corporate responsibility tends to take different forms in relation to the different competitive conditions in which a company operates. The purpose of the paper is to analyse corporate responsibility in scarcity economy, with demand largely exceeding supply. In this situation, corporate responsibility, in the main, seeks profitability as the primary goal. The Olivetti case is analyzed to show how the conditions of company wellbeing simply reflect corporate social responsibility, where company growth is directly associated with the development of relations within the local environment as well as social relations.
Global Markets, Leadership and Public Governance
Authors: Rebora Gianfranco
Published: July 2012

The entrepreneurship is a crucial factor, especially in a global competitiveness context. Thus, the companies are not likely to share their strategic, organizational and managerial models, quite the opposite, they commit to produce something unique and inimitable which constitute a winning model’s framework. Being unique and, consequently, kindle emotions and generate positive energy that involve personnel, clients, suppliers has surely a leadership connotation. Naturally, it is possible to find this kind of companies not only in the European context, but also in U.S and Asian emerging markets. Thus, it is necessary for managers to consider cultural, industrial, social and markets diversity, abandoning any kind of uniformity or standardization claim. The managers have to reflect and listen, otherwise it is impossible to take advantage from diversity nor to increase the value of uniqueness.
Territorial Governance and Area Image
Authors: Bellini Nicola
Published: July 2012

The image of a region or a city is an emerging topic in most debates about economic development strategies at the local and national level. Local and national policies of innovation which form an essential part of modern policies of local development are less and less an expression of government and increasingly an exercise of governance. The concept that allows best to describe and understand the practical meaning and implications of governance is ‘policy network’. The establishment, selection and retention of relationships with other actors within policy-networks constitutes the essence of policy-making.
Relations between Local Authorities and Public Utilities Companies
Authors: Gnecchi Flavio
Published: July 2012

The development of public utilities (supply) has led to a change in needs, thereby influencing the functions that the local public administration is asked to perform. Globalisation has caused profound socio-political changes (just think of the formation of the European Union, the introduction of the single currency, the fall of some regimes) and has strongly influenced national and local goals. The development of the socio-political context and the development of new technologies have changed the meaning of public service, and local authorities (i.e. elected administrations) have been able to benefit from this discretional power, demonstrating their sensitivity to the matter as well as their vision.
Ouverture de ‘Sport Management and Global Markets’
Authors: Brondoni Silvio M. , Cherubini Sergio
Published: July 2012

Sport has always been a means of development, systematically reducing ethnic, social, and cultural differences among peoples, offering a vision of community and of shared ethical values that preceded economic and market globalisation by many centuries. European sports business models are very different from US models. In general, European sport still operates with partial and limited business models, with horizons nowhere near the opportunities and restrictions offered by globalisation, and with management skills that concentrate mainly on the match. Effective evolution of sport depends mainly on the organisations that manage it, and specifically on the core competences needed to operate in a modern, multibusiness sector such as sport in global markets.