bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Business process modelling for a central securities depository
Authors: Romero‐Hernández Omar , de Lascurain Morhan Miguel , Muñoz Negrón David , Romero Hernández Sergio , Muñoz Medina David G. , Palacios Brun Arturo A. , Oneto Suberbie Manuel A. , Detta Silveira Jose E. 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate a business process modelling approach based on: the incorporation of the best practices in the industry; higher reliability standards for operation; real‐time settlement; improved security; and transparency in the process and information handling.Design/methodology/approachThis novel process modelling considers three major phases. First, devising a new operating model covering the following main aspects: core services, secondary services, support services, common processes for all services and, system interaction with the national and international financial markets. Second, modelling of the redesigned business processes. Third, construction of a new system.FindingsSignificant improvements in the five attributes mentioned above were achieved by incorporating a straight‐through continuous processing model with a single entry and exit channel, a new account structure, an intelligent pre‐settlement process, and by stressing transparency in every process (system log).Research limitations/implicationsThe illustrated methodology represents close to 10,000 work‐hours of research and consultancy at the Mexican central securities depository –CSD (INDEVAL). Although, arithmetic results are case specific, insight knowledge can be easily adapted on other CSD worldwide.Practical implicationsInternational standards as well as the best international practices were incorporated in the new system. Hence, the operation of INDEVAL will be in the leading edge of financial systems.Originality/valueThe present contribution illustrates a comprehensive re‐design of a complex business environment. One of the most innovative proposals for this new model was the new pre‐settlement module which optimizes the settlement process. Moreover, the incorporation of a straight‐through continuous processing model for a securities depository provides a transparent and efficient operation for a CSD.
Work system design to improve the economic performance of the firm
Authors: Maxwell James R. 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to look at job design, motivation and teamwork. As the market gets more competitive, companies must change their plan of attack on almost a daily basis. They need to answer the question: what is the best way to do business? As employers look at job design they will find that it is not the only factor that indicates how productive employees are in the workplace. Motivation also determines how much energy employees will expend, as well as what tasks will be accomplished, and in what amount of time it will be completed.Design/methodology/approachIncreasing productivity among employees is the key to a successful work group and firm. This paper will look at job design, motivation in the workplace and teamwork as they continue to be the major factors that determine the amount of work an individual does within a firm. Job design includes three main categories: job enlargement, job rotation, and job enrichment. The job characteristics model, a more recent approach to job design, includes five core job characteristics that include skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and job feedback.FindingsThe paper presents plenty of evidence that organizations are increasingly relying on teams to handle work once taken on by one person. Self‐managed teams are given the authority to make decisions that were once reserved for managers. Cross‐functional teams are used to improve coordination among different departments involved in carrying out a joint project. Many organizations are implementing these teams successfully into their structure. The result is that they are finding them to be more productive and prosperous than the work of single individuals.Practical implicationsWork teams such as self‐directed teams and cross‐functional teams are becoming increasingly popular among firms in today's work environment. Teams can work together in a dynamic business world to gain an edge over the competition.Originality/valueOverall, job design, motivation, and teamwork tie together and create a work environment that can either help or hurt an organization. If a proper plan is implemented, then the firm should be more productively successful.
The plague of plagiarism in an online world
Authors: Gorman G.E. 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe paper aims to focus on a long standing, but increasingly problematic, occurrence in academic writing and publishing – plagiarism.Design/methodology/approachThis is an opinion piece based on the current situation in academic publishing, particularly in the online environment.FindingsPlagiarism has been common among generations of students in secondary and tertiary education and the situation has not improved. Many tertiary institutions almost never make a forceful response to cases of plagiarism for fear of litigation. “Litigation‐creep” has spread, with universities regularly adopting avoidance measures rather than tackling the issue head‐on.Originality/valueThe paper offers the view that it is now an opportune time for all involved in research and writing, editing and publishing to look seriously at the issue of plagiarism, and to create clearly and fully articulated protocols regarding the nature, context and penalty for plagiarism.
Key usability factors of service‐oriented web sites for students: an empirical study
Authors: Nathan Robert J. , Yeow Paul H.P. , Murugesan San 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to report on a web usability study and to identify and prioritise key web interface usability factors (WIUFs) for web sites of 36 student‐related online services categorised into three groups: personal services, purchase services and study‐related web sites.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, involving 400 student internet users (SIUs), 12,310 data points were collected and analysed using a multiple linear regression test. Seven WIUFs were tested: use of colour and font (UCF), use of graphics and multimedia (UGM), clarity of goals in web site (CGW), trustworthiness of web site (TOW), interactivity of web site (IOW), ease of web navigation (EWN), and download speed of web site (DSOW).FindingsThe study results reveal that every online service category has a different set of crucial WIUFs. SIUs' web usability preferences were compared with those of general internet users.Research limitations/implicationsThe participants were all Malaysians; therefore, generalising the findings to all SIUs will require a confirmatory study with SIUs from other parts of the world.Practical implicationsWeb developers can use the results to design usable web sites for specific online service categories.Originality/valueThe research offers a simpler alternative to measure web usability and to determine which WIUFs are crucial for a specific online service category with consideration of the users' role. This study overcomes some weaknesses of previous studies, i.e. small sample size, no consideration of product‐task relationship, no specific customer group and cumbersome procedures.
Hyperlink analysis of the visibility of Canadian library and information science school web sites
Authors: Yi Kwan , Jin Tao 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to probe the external visibility of the web sites of all seven ALA‐accredited Canadian library and information science (LIS) schools. The number of inlinks to the schools' web sites is used as an indicator of the visibility of all or some portions of the LIS web sites.Design/methodology/approachInlinks pointing to the LIS school web sites were collected using the AlltheWeb search engine. The LIS school web pages pointed to by inlinks were manually analysed to discover visible topics and contents.FindingsFour content clusters were identified by which to group the content of all the inlinked LIS school web pages. These clusters were LIS, research, home page and resources. The most visible cluster was the LIS cluster and the least visible was the research cluster. The most visible topics were student projects/activities, LIS‐related resources and course‐related information, in that order. The home page of each LIS school's web site was shown to be the single web page with the most visibility.Originality/valueThis was a comparative webometric study, which collected and analysed inlinks for seven Canadian LIS school web sites at two different times, 3 years apart (2003 and 2006). In the study, the ranking of visible clusters, topics and web pages from the LIS web sites were identified.
Knowledge access, creation and transfer in e‐government portals
Authors: Hoe‐Lian Goh Dion , Yeow‐Kuan Chua Alton , Luyt Brendan , Sian Lee Chei 
Published: June 2008

PurposeKnowledge management (KM) is an important consideration in e‐government portals to ensure that knowledge flows efficiently between governments, individuals and organisations. A crucial aspect of e‐government portals that has not been addressed adequately is the extent to which KM mechanisms have been implemented. Specifically, the authors argue that appropriate KM mechanisms are necessary to support the access, creation and transfer of knowledge between these portals and their users. The paper aims to propose an evaluation model for this purpose by first defining the main KM mechanisms and then burrowing deeper into their constituent dimensions.Design/methodology/approachAn evaluation model known as knowledge access, creation and transfer (K‐ACT) is presented which identifies three KM mechanisms for portals: knowledge access, creation and transfer. Each mechanism is characterised by a set of dimensions and sub‐dimensions representing the tools and features for supporting that mechanism. The model was derived from an analysis of the literature and validated by two independent reviewers who were trained in information science, were familiar with the objectives of the project and understood the concepts underlying KM implementation in portals. Using this model, a checklist was developed and applied to 60 e‐government portals in the Asian and North American regions to investigate the extent to which these KM mechanisms have been implemented.FindingsThe findings indicate that, on average, e‐government portals featured only about 36 per cent of the KM mechanisms described in the model. Furthermore, no significant differences in the implementation of the KM mechanisms were found between the two regions' portals. The evaluation also offered potential areas for improvement based on the K‐ACT model.Originality/valueThe present work has developed an evaluation model known as K‐ACT which can be used to assess KM implementation gaps in e‐government portals. This model can also be generalised to other types of portals. The evaluation also provides insights into the state of KM processes in the portals of the Asian and North American regions.
Deconstructing blogs
Authors: Wilde Erik 
Published: June 2008

PurposeA growing amount of information available on the web can be classified as contextual information, putting already existing information into a new context rather than creating isolated new information resources. Blogs are a typical and popular example of this category. By looking at blogs from a more context‐oriented view, it is possible to deconstruct them into structures which are more contextual than just focused on the content, facilitating flexible reuse of these structures: that is the aim of this paper.Design/methodology/approachThe paper looks at the underlying structures of blogs and blog posts, representing them as multi‐ended links. This alternative representation of blogs and blog posts allows us to represent them as reusable information structures. This paper presents blogs as a popular content type, but the approach of restructuring Web 2.0 content can be extended to other classes of information, as long as they can be regarded as being mainly contextual.FindingsBy deconstructing blogs and blog posts into their essential properties, it can be shown how there is a simple and universal representation for blogs. This representation allows the reuse of blog information across specific blog or blogging platforms, and can even go beyond blogs by representing other web content which provides context.Originality/valueThis paper presents a novel approach for mapping a popular web content type to a simple and universal representation. The value of such a unified representation lies in exposing the structural similarities among blogs and blog posts, and making them available for reuse.
Internet reporting in microfinance institutions
Authors: Gutiérrez‐Nieto Begoña , Fuertes‐Callén Yolanda , Serrano‐Cinca Carlos 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to present research on how and why microfinance institutions (MFIs) disclose financial and social information on the internet. Legitimacy theory provides the theoretical framework.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical study analysed factors influencing MFIs to publish financial and social information on the internet. The model was tested using regression analysis. The sample consisted of publicly available data from the web sites of 273 MFIs.FindingsThe study found that MFIs' internet presence overall is scarce and that greater levels of disclosure are needed. It was found that large MFIs with a high degree of public exposure on the internet disclose greater amounts of information on their web sites than smaller MFIs with a low degree of public exposure. It was also found that for‐profit MFIs disclose more financial information on their web sites, while non‐profit non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) reveal more social information.Practical implicationsMFIs should be proud to tell the world what they are doing. MFI managers need to remember that transparency increases funds from donors. Donors are mostly based in developed countries, so the internet plays a key role in disclosure and attracting potential donors. Thus, managers of MFIs are encouraged to increase disclosure levels – especially on the internet.Originality/valueAcademic research into the factors that influence MFIs' internet disclosure is still scarce. This is an important area of study because full disclosure offers enormous benefits. Since MFIs have a social mission, they are legitimated in the eyes of their donors by disclosing social information. Since they are also financial institutions, they have to show that they use the funds they receive efficiently.
Leadership learning: key to organizational transformation
Authors: Varney Sharon 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to explore how strategic HR professionals might create the conditions for leadership learning to play a key role in supporting organizational transformation.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on research into learning in complex organizations, the paper applies six different lenses to consider what made a real leadership development program successful as an enabler of change.FindingsIt highlights some of the apparently small things that made a huge difference to the impact of the leadership learning investment and includes practical advice for HR professionals on how to apply this thinking to their own leadership development programs.Practical implicationsIt introduces a simple model that can be used to consider some of the complex contextual dynamics of leadership learning and other forms of organizational learning.Originality/valueStrategic HR practitioners are encouraged to consider their own leadership learning initiatives in terms of a broader range of influences that have an impact in complex organizations.
View from the top: executive perceptions of the value of learning
Authors: Anderson Valerie 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThis paper aims to outline important lessons for HR professionals who seek to ensure that investment in learning delivers strategic value to the organization.Design/methodology/approachMaking use of data from semi‐structured interviews, the paper explores the extent to which perceptions of the strategic value of learning held by senior HR professionals are aligned with those of senior operational managers.FindingsThe data indicate what executives expect learning to deliver at an organizational level, the challenges of aligning learning to strategic priorities and the ways in which HR professionals are measuring and reporting on the value of learning. A trend away from “return on investment” approaches to “return on expectation” assessments of the value of learning is identified.Research limitations/implicationsIn addition to the views of senior managers, further research into the value expectations of line managers and other stakeholder groups is now required.Practical implicationsThe article highlights the importance of identifying and communicating the alignment of learning strategy with organizational priorities, the need for proactive dialogue between HR professionals and senior decision makers to develop management trust in the learning value contribution and the development of a balanced range of value measures and assessments that are significant for the organization in its specific context.Originality/valueTraditional measures of training effectiveness have focused on the functional interests of learners and trainers. This research shifts attention to expectations at a strategic level and the consequences of this for measuring and reporting on the value of learning.
Leadership succession: an approach to filling the pipeline
Authors: Brant James , Dooley Rebecca , Iman Stephen 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThis paper seeks to summarize the development of a systematic approach to assessing executive potential by studying a major medical device manufacturer that aimed at substantially increasing its pipeline of candidates for top executive positions through programs designed to identify and assess high potential leaders.Design/methodology/approachThe study illustrates a range of issues pertinent to developing integrated approaches to succession planning, including identification of criteria suitable to the culture of the organization and its strategic challenges, sound assessment of candidates and integration of program efforts with development needs of high potential managers. The approach developed in the case provided consistent criteria for assessing leadership potential in a global corporation and relied on methods derived from assessment centers.FindingsEvents of the case led to the development of systematic and integrated processes promoting succession planning and executive development. The program has been well received by high potential managers and seems to have yielded benefits in retention of top executive talent.Research limitations/implicationsSince program development, 64 percent of candidates nominated with high degrees of confidence have been promoted and 70 percent have experienced either functional or cross‐business‐unit moves – compared with a 20 percent promotion rate and a 38 percent attrition rate for individuals not participating in the process.Originality/valueThe paper discusses the events that led to the development of systematic and integrated processes promoting succession planning and executive development.
Driving high performance in the talent‐powered organization
Authors: Cheese Peter 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to discuss the importance of talent management to strategic success, to identify the challenges in building talent power and to explore how to overcome those challenges. It summarizes some of the thinking from the book, The Talent Powered OrganizationDesign/methodology/approachThe paper starts by setting the context around today's major HR issues and the importance of talent management. Talent is now the key to strategic success, but is conversely getting harder to find and easier to lose. In tackling these issues, every organization must deal with a world of change and variability. The paper drills down into how to embed and sustain talent power. It explains the importance of understanding and measuring how talent contributes to an organization's performance and goes on to examine the other capabilities and processes required to ensure that talent is not just retained, but is also actively multiplied.FindingsThe paper asserts that an organization needs to put in place key processes in order to retain and actively multiply talent. They include: maintaining visible leadership that is focused on talent; encouraging and rewarding line managers for nurturing talent; and modernizing HR and training to identify, develop and deploy talent to the best effect.Practical implicationsThe theory is backed up by examples from different parts of the world that demonstrate practical solutions to tackling specific challenges to building a talent‐powered organization, including: Valero Energy; Yahoo!; Campbell's Soup; Unilever; and SKM.Originality/valueThe paper discusses the importance of talent management to strategic success, in order to identify the challenges in building talent power and to explore how to overcome those challenges.
HM Prison Service: business partnering inside
Authors: Constance Simon 
Published: June 2008

PurposeHM Prison Service has over 48,000 staff and an annual payroll in excess of £1.4 billion. The aim of this article is to examine how this “people business” has radically overhauled its HR processes, placing HR in a strategic position where it can contribute to business growth.Design/methodology/approachA new Oracle HR system, regional HR shared services teams and a national shared service center provide the foundations to create a new HR operating model transforming HR support to area managers and governing governors in 130+ locations across England and Wales. In one of the largest recruitment campaigns ever for HR business partners (HRBPs), over 120 HRBPs and 14 area HR and OD manager roles were created.FindingsManagers' eyes are opening to what can be achieved with a proactive business outcome‐focused approach to HR. By moving HRBPs into a position where they can begin to deliver real outcomes, senior managers have seen tangible examples of what is possible.Originality/valueThe paper examines how this “people business” has radically overhauled its HR processes.
Coaching shouldn't be non‐directive – or even directive: really responding to needs
Authors: Cunningham Ian 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an antidote to the supposed divide between directive and non‐directive coaching.Design/methodology/approachThe article is based on work done in a variety of organizations as well as published sources. The paper quotes published work as well as personal experience.FindingsThere is an alternative to the directive/non‐directive debate. Coaches need to be clear about the person they are working with and the problems they face before offering or pointing to solutions to these problems.Practical implicationsThe article has real practical implications for leaders/managers, coaches and learning and development professionals. The model discussed within it provides a secure basis on which coaches can offer a real service to clients.Originality/valueThe article will be of value to managers and learning specialists/coaches as it raises important issues about the need to take a realistic view about coaching practice.