bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Realization problem for positive 2D hybrid systems
Authors: Kaczorek Tadeusz
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The paper aims to formulate and solve the realization problem for 2D positive multi‐input multi‐output linear hybrid systems.

Design/methodology/approach

A procedure is proposed for finding a positive 2D realization of a given proper transfer matrix.

Findings

Sufficient conditions for the existence of a positive 2D realization of a given proper transfer matrix are established.

Originality/value

A method for computation of a positive 2D realization of a given proper transfer matrix is proposed.
The challenges of tracking and protecting data
Authors: Rudall B.H. , Mann C.J.H.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to review current research and developments with particular reference to some of the challenges of tracking and protecting data when innovative methods of capture and processing are used. Some ethical issues are considered.

Design/methodology/approach

A general review and survey of selected research and development topics.

Findings

Illustrates the multi‐ and trans‐disciplinary natures of studies in cybernetics, systems and management science with a view to further research and development activity.

Practical implications

The choice of reviews provides the awareness of current trends in these areas, of research and application.

Originality/value

The reviews are selected from global database and give a studied assessment of current research and development initiatives.
Descriptive definitions of potential and actual infinities
Authors: Zhu Wujia , Lin Yi , Gong Ningsheng , Du Guoping
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The paper's purpose is to analyze the concepts of potential and actual infinities.

Design/methodology/approach

The exploration and research on potential and actual infinities generally touch on many disciplines, such as philosophy, logic, computer science, mathematics, etc. From the angle of a brief history, recall and development, the authors analyze the concepts of potential and actual infinities on one starting point and two locations to cut in.

Findings

Clarify the difference and connection of these two infinities on the level of mathematics and introduce the symbolized, descriptive definitions for potential and actual infinities.

Originality/value

It is the first time that the difference between the concepts of potential and actual infinities are clarified, which leads to the discovery of the fourth crisis in the foundations of mathematics.
Promoting Success: Mentoring Students with Disabilities Using New Technologies in Higher Education
Authors: Khalil Mounir A.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to investigate the traditional mentoring practices of mentors and protégés.

Design/methodology/approach

As a matter of fact students with disabilities, as a group, have the lowest participation in postsecondary education programs and the highest unemployment rates. Effective mentoring programs can change these outcomes. These students need knowledgeable mentors who are familiar with technology and disabilities to help them in their fields of education. Access to technology and emphasis on using the technologies for mentors will be discussed.

Findings

Traditional in‐person mentoring is problematic because of transportation problems with appointment or location. In addition, mentors can help their protégés explore career options, set academic and career goals develop social and professional contacts, identify resources, and strengthen interpersonal skills. Using technology between mentors and protégés makes it easy to exchange information at anytime from anywhere.

Practical implications

The paper discusses in detail two widely used e‐mentoring programs. The first program is DO‐IT, a program which is sponsored by the University of Washington and the second program is MentorNet, which deals with mentoring and increasing diversity in the engineering and science fields.

Originality/value

As one writer stated: “mentoring is a win‐win situation”. This article describes the need for intervention, mentoring and retention of students with disabilities in Higher Education.
Marketing services more effectively with neuromarketing research: a look into the future
Authors: Fugate Douglas L.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to alert services marketers that a new methodology exists for researching many of the components of the consumer decision making process.

Design/methodology/approach

This methodology involves the use of real‐time measurements of neural (brain) activity associated with the presentation of various marketing stimuli. Instead of relying on traditional inferential associations to explain consumer behavior, this approach provides direct correlational associations.

Findings

The ability to examine what specific brain function or functions are activated during various stages of the consumer's decision‐making process should help service marketers improve their efficiency and effectiveness. While neuromarketing has applications to all forms of product marketing, it is of particular interest to services marketers because of the intangible nature of services; thus making conventional research more difficult and speculative.

Research limitations/implications

Information for this paper was gathered from a variety of literature resources because the use of neural imaging has been used in many different physical and social sciences such as medicine, economics, political science, marketing, and psychology. While a few specific examples of using neuromarketing for the marketing of services exist, most are proprietary. This limits the generalizability of this paper currently but hopefully does not diminish interest in an area of research that has great potential for helping to answer many difficult questions.

Originality/value

Services marketers are encouraged to follow the technique as it evolves from medical procedure to marketing procedure.
An examination of consumer price cue usage in US discount formats
Authors: Moore Marguerite , Carpenter Jason M.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

As retailers in the discount sector proliferate into US retail markets their presence poses competitive challenges for all types of formats that vie for the same target consumer. Practitioners and academics traditionally characterize the discount consumer as one who seeks low‐cost goods and broad assortments. Yet, as US discounters have begun to differentiate their retail offerings, consumers appear to be responding to these initiatives, suggesting that they may seek value beyond low price in this context. The purpose of this paper is to identify the price cues used by consumers in the discount environment, segment these consumers based on their price cue usage, and describe the price segments in terms of store choice and demographics.

Design/methodology/approach

A telephone survey was used to gather a nation‐wide sample of US discount format shoppers (n=354). Confirmatory factor analysis is used to evaluate the price cue measures and K‐means cluster analysis is used to identify unique price cue segments. χ2, analysis of variance and descriptive statistics are used to describe the price cue segments.

Findings

Four shopper segments are identified with distinct operations of the price cue, suggesting that discount shoppers seek more than low price in the discount environment. Differences in segments in terms of store choice, income and age emerge from the data.

Originality/value

The study provides understanding of the manner in which consumers perceive and act upon price, beyond low‐price and value, in the discount sector. The results suggest that popular wisdom regarding price and the US discount shopper is oversimplified, which may portend even greater opportunity for discounters and threat to their intra‐type competitors.
Tourism in Niagara: identifying challenges and finding solutions
Authors: Jayawardena Chandana
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a relevant backdrop for the Worldwide Hospitality snd Tourism Themes (WHATT) theme issue on tourism challenges and solution in the Niagara region, and to present the key points discussed during the 2007 WHATT roundtable discussion in the Niagara region, Canada.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach of this paper is more a narrative one. It also draws data from a series of web sites to analyse the past and present performance of tourism.

Findings

This paper provides a historic perspective of the Niagara region and presented in the context of tourism in the world, Americas, Canada, and Ontario. Then it travels back to explain the origins of WHATT and its scholarly journey over the years. In capturing the essence of the 2007 WHATT roundtable discussion in Niagara, the paper provides a strong foundation for the other nine articles, which follow in this WHATT theme issue.

Originality/value

In a world of theories, this paper provides fresh perspectives on many relevant ideas by using original expert views. Readers who are interested in the Niagara region would benefit from this paper.
SARS: lessons in strategic planning for hoteliers and destination marketers
Authors: Johnson Tew Paula , Lu Zhen , Tolomiczenko George , Gellatly Joanne
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the impact that the 2003 SARS epidemic had on tourism and summarize the lessons that were learned from this crisis. To offer both practical and strategic tips for hoteliers and destination marketers in the Niagara region should a similar crisis affect this region.

Design/methodology/approach

Findings were derived from the analysis of both secondary and primary data. The popular press and academic journals as well as reports, briefs, and presentations were analyzed. A questionnaire was designed to investigate the impact of SARS, management during the crisis, recovery strategies, and formal planning.

Findings

Provides information on how industry dealt with a major, extended crisis. Recognizes the importance of an integrated strategy for dealing with a crisis.

Research limitations/implications

The paper concentrates on the effects of an epidemic in two large North American cities. The strategic and practical tips may not be suitable in other jurisdictions.

Practical implications

This paper provides information on how the tourism industry can prepare itself for a crisis or disaster and describes how all stakeholders must work together to better deal with the effects of a crisis.

Originality/value

This paper summarizes the effects that SARS had on the tourism industry and offers practical and strategic tips for preparing for and managing crises.
The phases and paradoxes of educational quality assurance
Authors: Tee Ng Pak
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight three important insights into educational quality assurance, using Singapore as a case study. It is useful to policy makers and practitioners to understand the phases and paradoxes in their educational quality assurance journey so that they may recognise and manage better the complex dynamics of quality assurance in education.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper utilises a phase model to analyse the development of quality assurance and the challenges and paradoxes involved. This phase model is a framework of analysis of the quality assurance dynamics of primary and secondary education in Singapore with the following phases: standardisation; local accountability; and diversity and innovation

Findings

The paper finds that: quality assurance develops in phases, each with its own characteristics and challenges; quality assurance changes the nature of education; quality assurance is a paradoxical journey.

Practical implications

The Singapore case study serves as a mirror to other developing countries in recognising and managing the delicate dynamics of quality assurance.

Originality/value

The paper illustrates the phase model of educational quality assurance in Singapore and the analysis of the delicate balancing act between conformity and diversity, and between standards and innovation.
International and product diversification
Authors: Callaway Stephen K.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to investigate how e‐commerce may influence international and product diversification.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study elaborates the importance of resource‐based and resource dependence theory to illustrate how internal and external resources may enable firms to diversify. Prior studies on resource‐based theory, resource dependence theory, international diversification, product diversification, and IT capabilities have been presented to show gaps in the literature and identify avenues for future research.

Findings

This paper has established a theoretical perspective on the importance of external resources or infrastructure, as well as firm‐specific capabilities, on encouraging product and international diversification. A model has been developed and propositions given.

Research limitations/implications

Future studies on this topic will need to empirically test the model given in this paper, in order to manage all of the interconnected variables and mediators developed in this study.

Practical implications

Utilization of the internet may provide a means for firms to offer “one‐stop shopping” for customers, and may even encourage firms to diversify internationally. Furthermore, important firm‐specific IT capabilities of financial services firms may be extended geographically and by product line, and combined with utilization of the internet, may improve firm performance.

Originality/value

This study compares and contrasts the role of internal and external resources, and assesses whether they will demonstrate a greater effect upon international or product diversification.
Entrepreneurial learning in the context of portfolio entrepreneurship
Authors: Huovinen Jari , Tihula Sanna
Published: May 2008

Purpose

Previous research has predominantly focused on the meaning of prior entrepreneurial experience in the context of habitual entrepreneurship. To date, however, little is known about how previous experience affects the way in which several firms can be managed simultaneously. The purpose of this study is to examine entrepreneurial learning in the context of portfolio entrepreneurship and clarify how it is possible to manage several firms at the same time.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory study using a case method was conducted (Eisenhardt; Yin) by focusing on one portfolio entrepreneur. In this study, the case can be considered as unusual thus being suitable for a single‐case study. Data were collected through interviews and the entrepreneur also provided the researchers with a written description of the development and present situation of his entrepreneurial career.

Findings

This study proposes that failures may develop entrepreneurial knowledge as well as founding experiences. Development of entrepreneurial knowledge is viewed as leading to new ways of organizing and managing start‐up firms. Learning through previous experiences has strengthened entrepreneurial knowledge and contributed to the formation of the management team (MT). Without cooperation, delegation and sharing responsibilities, successful portfolio entrepreneurship would not have been realized. However, the results suggest that learning from failure is dependent on the entrepreneur's personal background.

Originality/value

This study seeks to bring new insight to portfolio entrepreneurship by concentrating on the entrepreneurial career of a well‐known Finnish entrepreneur by following the framework of Politis. In this case, a MT in each firm enabled effective control and management of the current firm portfolio. The study shows that in addition to the entrepreneurial team, the management teams can also have a significant role in the context of portfolio entrepreneurship although they have largely been ignored.
Wire bonding using insulated wire and new challenges in wire bonding
Authors: Zhong Z.W.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This paper attempts to review recent advances in wire bonding using insulated wire and new challenges in wire bonding for advanced microelectronics packaging.

Design/methodology/approach

Dozens of journal articles, conference articles and patents published or issued in 2004‐2007 are reviewed.

Findings

The advantages and problems/challenges related to wire bonding using insulated wire are briefly analysed, and several solutions to the problems and recent findings/developments related to wire bonding using insulated wire are discussed.

Research limitations/implications

Because of page limitation of the paper, only brief review is conducted. Further reading is needed for more details.

Originality/value

This paper attempts to provide introduction to recent developments and the trends in wire bonding using insulated wire. With the references provided, readers may explore more deeply by reading the original articles and patent documents.
Portraits of five hedge fund fraud cases
Authors: Muhtaseb Majed R. , Chun “Sylvia” Yang Chun
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is two fold: educate investors about hedge fund managers' activities prior to the fraud recognition by the authorities and to help investors and other stakeholders in the hedge fund industry identify red flags before fraud is actually committed.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper investigates fraud committed by the Bayou Funds, Beacon Hill Asset Management, Lancer Management Group (LMG), Lipper & Company and Maricopa investment fund. The fraud activities took place during 2000 and 2005.

Findings

The five cases alone cost the hedge fund investors more than $1.5 billion. Investors may have had a good opportunity for avoiding the irrecoverable costs of the fraud had they carefully vetted the backgrounds of the hedge fund managers and/or continuously monitored the funds activities, especially during turbulent market environments.

Originality/value

This is the first research paper to identify and extensively investigate fraud committed by hedge funds. In spite of the size of the hedge fund industry and relatively substantial level and inevitably recurring fraud, academic journals are to yet address this issue. The paper is of great value to hedge funds and their individual and institutional investors, asset managers, financial advisers and regulators.
Perspectives of communication in the Australian public sector
Authors: Glenny Leanne
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to seek an understanding of the role of government communication in Australia by examining perspectives on the extent to which public servant communicators persuade or engage the Australian public.

Design/methodology/approach

Themes from the public relations literature into the role and function of public relations are used in a qualitative analysis of key government documents and in‐depth interviews conducted with public servants, political staffers, journalists and interest group representatives.

Findings

This research found a diversity of views regarding the role communication does and should play within government. Participants without formal experience or education in communication generally viewed the function as one of persuasion and dissemination of information whereas the more experienced argued for more of an engagement with the public. A lack of detailed knowledge and/or use of public relations principles appears to be limiting the understanding of the role and purpose of government communication in Australia.

Research limitations/implications

The research is conducted in an Australian context only and uses a qualitative approach that should not be generalised without further research.

Practical implications

Continued cynicism about the role of public relations in government does little to improve the quality of communication between a government and its public. This paper provides an opportunity for reflection on the purpose of government communication and the role of the public servant.

Originality/value

Previous studies in this area have generally focused on political communication in the sense of partisan or party‐political messages of government. This paper explores the concept from a bureaucratic perspective.
A business model for IPTV service: a dynamic framework
Authors: Bouwman Harry , Zhengjia Meng , van der Duin Patrick , Limonard Sander
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a possible business model for telecom operators for entering the IPTV (digital television) market.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach takes the form of a case study, literature search and interviews.

Findings

The IPTV business model always has to adjust to the change of external factors and uncertainties in the exploration and the exploitation phase. The four scenarios presented in this paper explicitly address the demand, regulatory and competition‐related uncertainties. The scenarios represent the different future possibilities in terms of regulatory environment, industry structure and consumer attitudes towards (IP)TV service. By choosing the right business model, telecom operators can sustain the market competition and deliver customer value and economic benefits. In the light of limited resources, when balancing the requirement of IPTV business model design, telecom operators have to focus on the critical design issues in each of the scenarios.

Research limitations/implications

This is a one‐case study, so no cross‐analysis with other cases was possible.

Practical implications

The research does not stop when the critical design issues have been analysed, but takes them a step further to shed light on the viability of the business model in an exploration phase. This is done by integrating the business model framework analysis with scenario analysis. Scenario analysis indicates various future possibilities and provides a platform for analyzing the decisions regarding critical design issues that have to be made in an uncertain future environment. The competing views on future developments are helpful in reducing the future uncertainties with regard to viability and feasibility of business models for IPTV.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies that looks into the relationships between business models and scenarios. Also, the application on IPTV is quite novel.
An overview of web mining in societal benefit areas
Authors: Lappas Georgios
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The focus of this paper is a survey of web‐mining research related to areas of societal benefit. The article aims to focus particularly on web mining which may benefit societal areas by extracting new knowledge, providing support for decision making and empowering the effective management of societal issues.

Design/methodology/approach

E‐commerce and e‐business are two fields that have been empowered by web mining, having many applications for increasing online sales and doing intelligent business. Have areas of social interest also been empowered by web mining applications? What are the current ongoing research and trends in e‐services fields such as e‐learning, e‐government, e‐politics and e‐democracy? What other areas of social interest can benefit from web mining? This work will try to provide the answers by reviewing the literature for the applications and methods applied to the above fields.

Findings

There is a growing interest in applications of web mining that are of social interest. This reveals that one of the current trends of web mining is toward the connection between intelligent web services and societal benefit applications, which denotes the need for interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers from various fields.

Originality/value

On the one hand, this work presents to the web‐mining community an overview of research opportunities in societal benefit areas. On the other hand, it presents to web researchers from various disciplines an approach for improving their web studies by considering web mining as a powerful research tool.
A service‐oriented architecture for building services integration
Authors: Malatras Apostolos , Asgari Abolghasem (Hamid) , Baugé Timothy , Irons Mark
Published: May 2008

Purpose

Traditional administration of building services regards them as having confined scope, operating in isolation or tightly coupled and providing minimal support for overall coordination and holistic management hindering the provisioning of advanced services. This approach inherently bears weaknesses related to complex services management, results in increased costs, and formulates rigid architectural design that restricts flexibility and extensibility. Taking into consideration this set of drawbacks, the purpose of this paper is to propose exploiting a service‐oriented architecture that will allow for dynamic, coordinated and distributed building services management.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents the design of an enterprise‐based networking architecture for building services and systems and specifies its functional components.

Findings

The proposed architecture is compliant with established practices in the building automation field and focuses on catering for a wide spectrum of building and enterprise level services. A specific deployment use‐case scenario and its related implementation issues is considered, so as to promote interoperability and adoption of open standards and principles for the system level performance evaluation of the proposed architecture is also examined.

Research limitations/implications

Literature review is not exhaustive and evaluation of the proposed architecture should be performed in a more systematic manner.

Practical implications

Adoption of a service‐oriented view as far as facilities management is concerned.

Originality/value

This paper identifies through a thorough literature review the research problems in the area of building services integration and proposes an approach to enable successful integration. The novelty of this work is based on the application of the state‐of‐the‐art in enterprise networking for integration of building management and IT‐based services.
Capturing patients' views on communication with anaesthetists: the CARE Measure
Authors: Mercer S.W. , Hatch D.J. , Murray A. , Murphy D.J. , Eva K.W.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the relevance and reliability of the ten‐item Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) Measure as a tool for measuring patients' views of anaesthetists during preoperative assessment consultations.

Design/methodology/approach

Self‐completed patient questionnaire containing the ten‐item CARE Measure. Consecutive adult patients were asked to complete the ten‐item CARE questionnaire immediately after their pre‐operative assessment consultation with the anaesthetist and return it to a designated local co‐ordinator. Reliability co‐efficient of the overall measure, and relevance of each item to patients' concerns were measured.

Findings

Using the Measure, 31 consultant anaesthetists were assessed by 1,582 patients (559 male, 952 female). The total number of “not applicable” responses was 1,086, (6.8 per cent of the total number of possible “not applicable” responses). The overall number of missing values was 0.6 per cent. The measure effectively discriminated between doctors (reliability co‐efficient of the average score per doctor provided by 40 patients was above 0.8) and had high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha, 0.93).

Originality/value

The present study presents evidence of a tool which may have utility in anaesthetics and other settings.
An audit of acute coronary syndrome assessment (TIMI scoring) and treatment
Authors: Coughlin Stephanie , Milligan Frank
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of an audit undertaken on the use of the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) scoring system, and adherence to agreed treatment protocols, in the triage of patients with cardiac chest pain.

Design/methodology/approach

A retrospective review of case notes. Sixty eight patients were audited on the use of TIMI score and 64 of these were further audited on the management commenced in the emergency department.

Findings

Only nine of the 68 patients with cardiac chest pain had a TIMI score documented. Of the 64 patients, 31 analysed for treatment commenced were managed correctly, 33 patients (n=64) were either under or over treated.

Practical implications

Adherence to clinical guidelines should be subject to audit review to assess impact on patient outcomes. Over‐treatment included administration of unnecessary anticoagulants raising patient safety and cost issues. Under‐treatment left patients vulnerable to further cardiac events.

Originality/value

This paper demonstrates the value of utilising audit data in quantifying adherence to clinical guidelines, thereby improving patient outcomes.
Challenges facing biodiversity in the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Tourenq Christophe , Launay Frédéric
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to show that the Arabian Peninsula, and the United Arab Emirates in particular, has not been spared by the trends of biodiversity loss observed on the world scale. The authors aim to present a rapid review of the challenges facing the biodiversity in the UAE and the solutions that this young country proposes to counteract the erosion of its biodiversity.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors gathered and compiled published and unpublished information from governmental and non‐governmental sources.

Findings

Despite being regarded as a vast desertic and unfertile area with one of the lowest human populations in the world, the UAE hosts a unique and remarkably adapted fauna and flora. Adding to natural causes (drought), the main threats facing biodiversity identified were: coastal development and urbanisation, as well as over‐exploitation of natural resources (fishing, hunting, grazing and water extraction) that are linked with the tremendous population increase and changes in lifestyle. Traditional systems of resource management in the UAE have been abandoned. Over the last few decades, the UAE has lost most of its big fauna and is witnessing the remaining Arabian leopard, Mountain Gazelle, Arabian Tahr, Arabian Sailfish, groupers and shark populations at the brink of extinction.

Originality/value

The paper proposes the inclusion of environmental issues in the development planning (with proper environment impact assessments), the involvement of local communities in the decision making and the improvement of federal and international trans‐boundaries collaborations. Highlights that an urgent step would be the implementation of integrated costal management zoning to stop the current extent of coastal development that contributes through physical alteration of habitats to the disappearance of key resources and habitats.
Knowledge‐based manufacturing enterprises: evidence from a case study
Authors: Salmador Sánchez María P. , Ángeles Palacios M.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study how managers in manufacturing firms approach the challenge of knowledge management in their organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology is an in‐depth case study. The empirical data were collected from an international oil and gas manufacturing company operating in more than 30 countries and leader in Spain and Argentina. The purest form of a longitudinal field study, daily participant observation, was feasible as one of the authors is an executive at the firm studied.

Findings

Based on the field investigation, the paper presents the process followed to build a knowledge vision in the company, the first stages of the initiative, the development of new projects, and the lessons learned resulting in the creation of a knowledge management unit, a working model, a strategy, and a set of different projects that were on the basis of the competitive advantage of the organization.

Research limitations/implications

The perspective proposed in this research should be viewed with some caution, because of the methodological limitations of the present study as the paper drew on detailed descriptions of one organization. The extent to which the local explanation presented develops into a more general framework depends on how well it, or its descendants, explains the “phenomena” in future work.

Practical implications

Analyzing knowledge management initiatives in manufacturing companies becomes of major interest as it is relevant to further explore how this initiative can help optimize production processes and integrate operational requirements with enterprise‐level decision‐making processes as well as it adding value to customers in the industry at various stages of the value chain such as exploration, in‐bound logistics, technological operations and out‐bound logistics.

Originality/value

The paper is practical in nature and reports on the managerial applications and experiential implications of the matter of study. The research shows the main findings and discusses the main implications as well as future lines of research.
Muddled, massaging, manœuvring or manipulated?
Authors: Radnor Zoe
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This conceptual paper seeks to consider the impact of performance measurement and reporting based around performance indicators and targets within the public sector and to identify that the response to indicators and targets is often gaming which happens at organisational level. It then goes on to present a definition and typology of organisational gaming.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws from a range of documents both government and academic to identify both the process of, and the types of, organisational gaming.

Findings

The paper finds that organisational gaming occurs at both different levels (low and high) and extent (internal and external). It builds on this by presenting a framework (2 × 2 matrix) which presents types of organisational gaming which range in their degree of impact and consequence.

Research limitations/implications

The concepts within this paper focus around public services on which the framework is built. This may – but it is doubtful – have limitations when considering the ideas within private sector organisations. Another limitation could be levelled at the 2 × 2 typology in that it may be difficult to place a gaming phenomenon into one “box” alone.

Originality/value

The value in the paper and the framework is that a distinction between measurement and reporting is drawn together with identification of a different gaming phenomenon. This, the paper argues, is important to understand, if organisations are to avoid some of the more “dangerous” or high impact consequences of gaming.
I hired you, you're perfect … now stay! (The top ten list for retaining top talent)
Authors: Morgan Howard J.
Published: May 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to provide practical leadership advice for motivating and retaining valued employees.

Design/methodology/approach

Provides a viewpoint based on the author's line management and executive coaching experience, which provides practical guidance to help identify, motivate and lead top employees to create a high performance culture.

Findings

Provides ten suggestions for effectively motivating and retaining talent based on anecdotal accounts. Recognizes current organizational pitfalls within corporations and offers key learning's from coaching engagements.

Research limitations/implications

Not intended as a comprehensive leadership/academic tome but as a practical employee retention guide for leaders.

Practical implications

A useful source, which provides leaders with suggestions for creating a corporate culture which motivates employees to be top performers who want to work for the company.

Originality/value

Provides a viewpoint based on the author's line management and executive coaching experience.
Migration in a model of occupational choice
Authors: Roy Chowdhury Sahana
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical explanation for the empirical observation that the relative migration of unskilled (skilled) labor tends to occur from developing economies that are relatively unequal (equal).

Design/methodology/approach

Wealth inequality is related with migration incentives of skilled and unskilled labor in a model of occupational choice using a two‐period overlapping generations framework.

Findings

It is shown that high inequality creates a disincentive to migrate for skilled labor. Too much equality however creates a disincentive to migrate for unskilled labor. Thus, a highly unequal (equal) economy sustains unskilled (skilled) labor migration only.

Originality/value

Relative to the existing theoretical literature on migration, the distinguishing feature of this model is that it has entrepreneurship as an alternative occupational choice. This implies that the incentive to migrate is not affected solely by wage differentials across countries. It is shown that in a highly unequal developing economy there is no skilled migration – despite the gap between the skilled wage of the source economy and that of the foreign economy – in equilibrium.
A robust normative evaluation of India's performance in allocating risks of death
Authors: Gravel Nicolas , Mukhopadhyay Abhiroop , Tarroux Benoît
Published: May 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a robust normative evaluation of the recent evolution of Indians' exposures to health‐related risks.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper compares empirically the distributions of individuals' risks of death in India on the basis of new ethically robust criteria in 1995 and 2002. Probabilities of death are assigned individuals as an estimated probit function of several explanatory variables, including the individual's district of residence. The criteria used ranks distributions of individual risks in the same way as would all Von Neumann–Morgenstern (VNM) social planners who respect, in the usual Pareto sense – individuals VNM preferences over individual risks of death. Two criteria are considered in turn. The first criterion assumes that individuals' VNM utilities are increasing in money and value more a unit of money received in the bad state than one received in the good one. The second criterion makes the extra assumption that individuals are risk averse and have VNM utility functions that are more concave in the bad state than in the good one.

Findings

It is found that there is unanimity among all VNM social planners who respect individual VNM preference for considering that the distribution of risks of death in India was better in 2002 than in 1995. This is at least so if individuals can be assumed to prefer more money to less, to be risk averse, and to be more risk averse in the bad state than in the good one.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of the empirical research of the paper is that it concerns only one kind of risk. Future research would apply the tools of this paper to other kinds of risks like risks of crime or risks of unemployment.

Practical implications

A practical implication of the paper is to illustrate the usefulness of robust dominance methodology to evaluate the outcome of various policies.

Originality/value

The novelty of the paper is to be one of the first to apply empirically new dominance criteria that are specifically designed to compare distributions of risks between individuals. It is certainly the first paper to apply the tool to appraise the distribution of risks of death in India.
Work and Methods Study in COAL MINING
Authors: Daniell E.J.
Published: May 2008

THE coal mining industry of this country is not an easy subject for standardisation as the nature of the geological conditions prevailing govern the working techniques adopted in the particular area, colliery, or even in the seam producing the coal. The majority of the work must perforce be carried out underground in surroundings which are very different from those of the factory floor, and this must be borne in mind when the possible use of production efficiency methods is under consideration.
Work Study and Design in Hospitals
Authors: Torrie P.J.
Published: May 2008

I wish to make three points at the start of this talk. Firstly the views expressed are generally my own and are not necessarily those held by hospital authorities. Secondly, I have assumed that I am talking to an international work study audience and not a hospital audience. Thirdly, work study has been introduced extensively to the hospital field only within the last three years and the achieved contribution to the planning of new hospitals is still quite limited. This short talk is therefore a review of the progress and problems encountered in applying the normal techniques of work study to design work in a new field of considerable complexity rather than an elaborate exposition of new techniques.
A Battle Lost
Authors: Downie Angus
Published: May 2008

After a year long battle against superior forces Arthur Scargill who did not admit to defeat, marshalled his men and with banners flying and bands playing led his miners back to their places of work and claimed to have gained the greatest victory ever by the working class.
COMPETING IN THE AN ERA OF DEFLATION, TECHNOLOGY CREATION AND MARKET EXPANSION
Authors: Raymond H. Alan
Published: May 2008

The Chinese sage of war, Sun Tze, emphasized knowledge of the context of battle as one of the primary factors for success. The context as he saw it was made up of knowledge of oneself, of the opposition, of the battlefield, and most importantly of “calculations,” that is interpretations as to what exactly such data meant. Over the past twenty‐five years in which US competitiveness has become a major subject of discussion and research much analysis has been performed on who the opposition was, less on who we are, even less on what the context was, and even less on what the context meant.
COMPETING WITH LARGE MULTINATIONALS: SELECTING POTENTIAL FOREIGN MARKETS
Authors: Russow Lloyd C.
Published: May 2008

Many small‐ and medium‐sized firms lack the resources to conduct adequate foreign market research. Inexperienced managers often do not know where to begin. Once the decision has been made to investigate foreign opportunities, the new‐to‐international manager is faced with more than 200 alternative potential markets. Internationally experienced firms have a shorter list of alternatives because they are already operating in some of these markets, yet the number of possible alternatives is likely to exceed 100 countries. It is not feasible to fully assess all these alternatives. A more practical approach is to begin by screening these alternatives in order to identify a small number of potential markets. Subsequent to screening, potential markets should be subjected to an in‐depth analysis of cultural, legal, local cost, intermediary availability, and other vital environmental conditions.
PRODUCT MODIFICATION MANAGEMENT
Authors: Barbee Cliff , Eckles Robert W.
Published: May 2008

It is generally accepted that a product life cycle is typically a continuum from introduction to termination of a product. The term product could include either a product or service. The earliest applications of the product life cycle concept were in fashion merchandising but it has gained acceptance in almost all areas of product management.
SHARPENING THE COMPETITIVE EDGE: HOW UK PUBLIC POLICY CAN AFFECT COMPANY PERFORMANCE ON THE WORLD STAGE
Authors: Dunning John H. , Holmes Jeremy
Published: May 2008

International industrial competitiveness is probably the single most important — and most discussed — question related to Britain's economic prosperity throughout the 1990s and into the next century.
THE INTEGRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS INTO CORPORATE STRATEGY
Authors: Coeck Chris
Published: May 2008

Environmental problems, such as soil, air, and water pollution, have resulted in an overwhelming reaction. Public awareness of these problems has caused the creation and introduction of a government policy toward the natural environment. On the other hand, industry has conceived of and applied more environmentally friendly techniques, production methods, and procedures.
ADAPTING TO CHANGE IS THE ISSUE, NOT
Authors: Enen Jack
Published: May 2008

The battle lines are drawn. NAFTA opponents with one liners are appealing to emotions, while supporters are talking jobs. The Congress will soon cast a vote on an issue that will impact our nations economic health and that of our neighbors, and the future prosperity of our descendants. NAFTA may be the most important legislation before the Congress this century. For this reason, we must all try to understand how technology has changed the world, our nation, our communities, and our families before permitting politicians to make hasty judgments on such a vital economic issue. We must evaluate NAFTA, not from entrancing remarks like a giant sucking sound or its characterization as just a bad bill, but in the context that NAFTA may be the vehicle in this new age of information that provides a foundation for our economic future. There are always problems and concerns with change. Let us not be quick to reject NAFTA due to vote getting, reassuring rhetoric that ignores the value of the contribution of continued Mexican trade to our national treasure.
BOOK REVIEW
Authors: Sultan Paul E.
Published: May 2008

Combs and Moorhead are to be commended for that fine blend of philosophy and practicalities in assembling a highly useful handbook for those seeking competitive intelligence. They meld issues regarding the significance of improved knowledge with an inventory of source materials and data bases most likely to be helpful in this search. There is no stuffy pretense or technical jargon here. They write clearly, with modesty, and with remarkably generous praise for some eighteen current competing volumes.
JAPAN'S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR: A COMPETITIVE ARENA FOR U.S. FIRMS?
Authors: Culp Rhonda P. , McIntyre John R.
Published: May 2008

The information technology industries (computer software, telecommunications, data processing services, and information services) are among America's strongest service industries. These are industries in which Japanese policy makers and businesses are striving to gain competitive advantages (Congress of the United States, 1987), as Japanese information technology firms have not been considered very competitive in the international marketplace (Enderwick, 1990; Porter, 1990).
THE FUTURE OF COMMODITY DRIVEN SOCIETIES IN THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMY
Authors: Ali Abbas J. , Chaubey  , Camp Robert C.
Published: May 2008

This paper addresses issues related to future of CDSs in a changing global market environment, discusses the nature of CDSs economies, and provides three scenarios relative to the role of CDSs in the global marketplace. Specific recommendations are provided to assist CDSs in realizing a strategic position on the global stage.
FACING COMPETITIVENESS IN GLOBAL AUTO: THE CHALLENGE TO THAI AUTO PARTS MAKERS
Authors: Whitty Michael D.
Published: May 2008

A shift to worldwide production of automobiles and auto parts has enhanced the opportunities for developing countries to manufacture and assemble parts, as well as the opportunities for U.S. companies to sell more automobiles in developing countries. Likewise, the intensity of worldwide competition has heightened pressure to reduce costs, affecting all segments of the U.S. auto industry. Suppliers have been forced to cut costs by balancing just‐in‐time delivery with global sourcing.
THE CHINESE STATE ENTERPRISE: OPERATING IN A NON‐MARKET ECONOMY
Authors: Lombardo Gary A.
Published: May 2008

The exogenous factors influencing state enterprise managerial decision making in the People's Republic of China are identified. These environmental forces are categorized as governmental and sociocultural in nature. Governmental influences are the centralized management of the economy, the dual command structure found in the Chinese state enterprises, state enterprise financing, product quality, and state enterprise production quotas. Sociocultural influences are morality, deference to authority, risk avoidance, long term view, community versus individual orientation and the legal system.