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Article
Publication date: 9 February 2015

Amy Klemm Verbos and Maria T. Humphries

The Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) are a United Nations led initiative that includes a mandate to engage with voices generally marginalized in business…

Abstract

Purpose

The Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) are a United Nations led initiative that includes a mandate to engage with voices generally marginalized in business classrooms. The voices of Indigenous peoples are among such marginalized voices. Inclusion of indigenous worldviews offer opportunities to enhance the capacity of the PRME to contribute to more just and sustainable management and development of humanity. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

PRME Principle One inspires opportunities to integrate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP) and through this confluence, contribute to manifesting the espoused aspirations of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) – i.e. the transformation of poverty and environmental degradation toward universal human and environmental thriving.

Findings

Greater attention to relational ethics through critical pedagogy encourages reflection on the paradoxes of the market logic that permeates management education. The outcome in practice of this logic appears to result in ever increasing disparity. Its unfettered trajectory risks both people and planet. An indigenous call to respect all life, including that of the planet, brings the principles of universal inclusiveness to light in a compelling way.

Originality/value

This essay is unique in its call to construe together the PRME, UNGC, Business Reference Guide (BRG), and the DRIP to progress aspirations of inclusiveness and sustainability; and contribute indigenous worldviews for their intrinsic value in critical reflection on the damage caused by the market logic endemic to management education.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 September 2022

Judith Amudjie, Kofi Agyekum, Emmanuel Adinyira, Samuel Amos-Abanyie and Victoria Maame Afriyie Kumah

This study examines the level of awareness and practice of the principles of circular economy (CE) among built environment (BE) professionals in Ghana.

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the level of awareness and practice of the principles of circular economy (CE) among built environment (BE) professionals in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire survey was used to solicit the views of 162 BE professionals working in construction, consulting and developer firms on the issue under investigation. Data were analysed through descriptive and inferential analysis.

Findings

The findings revealed that the BE professionals possessed moderate awareness of the six CE principles (i.e. repair, recycle, reuse, renewable energy usage, reduce and redesign) examined. The findings further revealed that only two out of the six principles (i.e. repair and reuse) received some moderate level of practice among the professionals.

Practical implications

Practically, the findings would be relevant to government, policymakers, researchers and other construction professionals. For the government and policymakers, these findings would inform them on the laws and policies to enact to increase awareness and practice of CE principles. For researchers, these findings will assist in exploring gaps for further studies. For the construction professionals, the findings would inform them of the need to step up measures to practice the various principles of CE in their firms adequately.

Originality/value

This study provides insights into an under-investigated topic in the construction industry worldwide. It offers new and additional insights into the current state-of-the-art practice of CE principles among BE professionals.

Details

Built Environment Project and Asset Management, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-124X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 September 2011

Jose M. Alcaraz, Magdalena Wiktoria Marcinkowska and Eappen Thiruvattal

With more than 332 signatories, the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) is probably the most solid initiative to inspire and champion responsible…

Abstract

Purpose

With more than 332 signatories, the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) is probably the most solid initiative to inspire and champion responsible business education globally. The purpose of this paper is to examine the activities undertaken by the first intake of signatories – universities and business schools – with regard to each of the six principles (offering a systematic analysis and “distilled” categorization of those initiatives). It also aims to evaluate the difficulties and tensions that may be entailed in integrating PRME in both the strategic intent and daily operations of educational institutions, and how to overcome some of these. Finally, it aims to offer a critical reflection on the “non‐compliance and non regulatory/measurement” nature of PRME (the initiative assumes that signatories act on the basis of principled pragmatism), offering suggestions for improving the reporting mechanism on which the whole initiative is based.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors analyze the first 100 “Sharing Information on Progress” (SIP) reports uploaded to the PRME web site. These reports are the main mechanism established by the PRME Secretariat to build learning and accountability and allow signatories to communicate their progress. Elements from grounded theory and other qualitative analytical approaches were used to allow themes to emerge from within the (often messy and irregular) data from the reports. Graphical representations are also used.

Findings

Activities undertaken by PRME signatories are portrayed for each of the six principles: principle 1 on purpose (capabilities of students); principle 2 on values (incorporated in curriculum and academic activities); principle 3 on learning approaches; principle 4 on research (with sustainable, social, environmental and economic value); principle 5 on partnership (interaction with business managers); and principle 6 on dialogue (among key stakeholders). Tensions regarding ideology, integration and implementation are also identified, as well as possible weaknesses, e.g. on integrity, quality and reporting policies, in the current “SIP” framework.

Originality/value

This paper is the first scholarly work depicting comprehensively the activities of PRME signatories worldwide.

Details

Journal of Global Responsibility, vol. 2 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2041-2568

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2017

Joanna Trafialek and Wojciech Kolanowski

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of the functioning of HACCP principles in certified and non-certified food businesses.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of the functioning of HACCP principles in certified and non-certified food businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected by audits made in 40 food businesses of various food industry sectors. All food businesses were located in Poland where the HACCP system is obligatory. Half of the evaluated businesses implemented one or more private voluntary certified standards. The audit form contained 134 detailed questions covering 12 steps and seven principles of HACCP implementation and functioning. The obtained results were analyzed using a t-test, Spearman’s test, and cluster analysis.

Findings

The overall assessment of the HACCP principles in certified food businesses was higher than in non-certified ones. However, the functioning of HACCP principles in practice was assessed much lower than the system implementation in all business groups, despite certification and the type of food industry. In each of the food industry sectors both implementation and functioning of HACCP principles were evaluated higher in certified than in non-certified food businesses. Further research is needed to explain why, despite certification, the functioning of the mandatory HACCP principles is often incomplete and what factors affect the correct operation, as well as if these are sufficient to ensure food safety.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of this research is a small sample of only 40 food businesses of various food industry sectors located in Poland. Due to the small sample, the research should be considered as the preliminary or scoping study. Although the method applied in the study allowed rapid evaluation of implementation and functioning of HACCP principles in food businesses, more work and analyses should be done for its reliability and validity.

Practical implications

The obtained results gave a lot of practical information, e.g.: first, the overall assessment of the HACCP principles in the certified food businesses is higher than that in the non-certified ones; second, the functioning of the HACCP principles in practice is weaker than the system implementation despite certification; third, in some cases the passing certification schemes do not result in a company having excellent food safety practices; and fourth, the applied method allows rapid evaluation of implementation and functioning of HACCP principles. However, more work and analyses should be done for its reliability and validity.

Social implications

It is believed that certification strengthens HACCP functioning in food businesses. However, the study has shown that functioning of HACCP principles in practice was assessed much lower than the system implementation in all business groups, despite certification and the type of food industry. This indicate that even in certified food businesses HACCP functioning is often incomplete, which may have an impact on food safety.

Originality/value

The paper presents additional and detailed data on the functioning of HACCP principles in certified and non-certified food business. Despite certification and the type of food industry sector, the functioning of HACCP principles in practice was assessed much lower than the system implementation in all business groups. The method applied in this study allowed rapid evaluation of implementation and functioning of HACCP principles in food businesses. However, more work and analyses should be done for its reliability and validity.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 119 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2009

William E. Shafer

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the effects of the ethical climate in Chinese certified public accounting (CPA) firms on auditors' perceptions of…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the effects of the ethical climate in Chinese certified public accounting (CPA) firms on auditors' perceptions of organizational‐professional conflict (OPC) and affective organizational commitment (OC). We also test for differences in the perceived ethical climates of local and international CPA firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on a survey of 167 professional auditors (seniors and managers) employed by local and international CPA firms operating in the People's Republic of China.

Findings

Certain dimensions of the perceived ethical climate are significantly related to OPC, and to affective OC. As anticipated, there was also a strong negative relationship between OPC and OC. There was no clear pattern of differences in the perceived ethical climates in local and international CPA firms. Impression management was highly correlated with OPC, OC, and three of four ethical climate dimensions, suggesting that Chinese auditors bias their reports of these variables in a socially desirable fashion.

Originality/value

To our knowledge, this is the first study to address the relationship between ethical climate and OPC, and the first to examine OPC and OC among auditors in Mainland China. The findings support our contention that the perceived ethical climate is a key determinant of OPC, suggesting that future research on OPC should place more emphasis on organizational characteristics. In addition, the apparent tendency of auditors to bias their reports of OPC, OC, and ethical climate stresses the importance of controlling for social desirability response bias in surveys of professional accountants.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 22 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 September 2012

Adèle Thomas

The overall objective of the study was to track, over a two‐year period, the reported incidences of corporate governance transgressions at five strategic South African state‐owned…

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Abstract

Purpose

The overall objective of the study was to track, over a two‐year period, the reported incidences of corporate governance transgressions at five strategic South African state‐owned enterprises (SOEs).

Design/methodology/approach

Transgressions for each SOE were documented against the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development's framework of best practice in governance for SOEs by reviewing annual reports and newspaper article citations over a two‐year period.

Findings

While political intervention in the operational running of each SOE is apparent, government appears not to have fulfilled its oversight role of ensuring the sound governance of SOEs according to best practices. While the SOEs appear to comply with external governance demands, compliance to internal, self‐regulated governance appears to be lacking.

Research limitations/implications

The use of annual reports and media reports to document governance practices are open to subjectivity. The broader extrapolation of findings based on five SOEs must be undertaken with caution.

Practical implications

The present study alerts government to potential areas of corporate governance practices at South African SOEs that warrant attention. As South Africa has recently joined the BRICS bloc of developing countries, the findings from the present study could afford a starting point for future comparative study among this group of countries, which appears to evidence similar challenges with regard to governance within their SOEs.

Originality/value

The present study begins to elevate the debate on corporate governance at South African SOEs from public rhetoric to a deeper understanding of the nature of the major problems that warrant attention. Although limited in scope, the study contributes to the scarce academic literature on public sector corporate governance in Africa in general, and in the South African SOE sector in particular.

Article
Publication date: 7 February 2014

Stuart Cooper, Carole Parkes and John Blewitt

Neo-institutional theory suggests that organisations change occurs when institutional contradictions, caused by exogenous and endogenous dynamics, increase over time to the point…

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Abstract

Purpose

Neo-institutional theory suggests that organisations change occurs when institutional contradictions, caused by exogenous and endogenous dynamics, increase over time to the point where change can no longer be resisted. Human praxis will result, but only when sufficiently powerful interests are motivated to act. This paper aims to examine the role that the accreditation of business schools can play in increasing institutional contradictions and hence fostering organisational change towards stakeholder engagement and engagement with social responsibility and sustainability issues. Numerous accreditations are promulgated within the higher education and business school contexts and a number of these relate to, or have aspects that relate to, ethics, social responsibility and sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper first analyses the take up of accreditations across UK business schools and then uses a case study to illustrate and explore stakeholder engagement and changes related to ethics, social responsibility and sustainability linked to accreditation processes.

Findings

Accreditations are found to be an increasingly common interest for UK business schools. Further, a number of these accreditations have evolved to incorporate issues related to ethics, social responsibility and sustainability that may cause institutional contradictions and may, therefore, have the potential to foster organisational change. Accreditation alone, however, is not sufficient and the authors find that sufficiently powerful interests need to be motivated to act and enable human praxis to affect change.

Research limitations/implications

This paper draws on previous research that considers the role of accreditation in fostering change that has also been carried out in healthcare organisations, public and professional bodies. Its findings stem from an individual case study and as such further research is required to explore whether these findings can be extended and apply more generally in business schools and universities in different contexts.

Practical implications

This paper concludes by recommending that the newly established UK & Ireland Chapter of PRME encourages and supports signatory schools to further embed ethics, social responsibility and sustainability into all aspects of university life in the UK. This also provides an opportunity to engage with the accrediting bodies in order to further support the inclusion of stakeholder engagement and issues related to this agenda in their processes.

Originality/value

This paper contributes by introducing accreditation as an institutional pressure that may lead indirectly to organisational change and supports this with new evidence from an illustrative case study. Further, it draws on the role of institutional contradictions and human praxis that engender organisational change.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2003

John K.S. Chong and Jaesun Park

Evaluates the classical theoretical framework of planning and its relevancy in an international context. Additionally, it integrates Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions into…

2530

Abstract

Evaluates the classical theoretical framework of planning and its relevancy in an international context. Additionally, it integrates Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions into the discussion to provide an exploratory analysis of how national culture characteristics may impact cross‐cultural acceptance and application of classical planning principles.

Details

Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-7606

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2006

Markus Wille

Seeks to answer the question: have the reasons for using flex‐rigid circuit boards changed through the years?

Abstract

Purpose

Seeks to answer the question: have the reasons for using flex‐rigid circuit boards changed through the years?

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents the development of flex‐rigid circuit board construction techniques from the first applications to the current status of a modern interconnection system. The paper discusses that it was the military and avionic industry that in the past required an interconnection technique that was reliable under environmental stress but compact and lightweight. Today it is the automotive and communication industry that is driving the development of printed circuit board technology.

Findings

Finds that wiring and interconnection must be cheap, reliable, light in weight, and must fit into very small housings. The demand for complex interconnection solutions like the flex‐rigid circuit technique is rising with the increased level of integration of more functions into electronic devices. The reasons for using flex‐rigid circuitries are nearly still the same as in the beginning.

Originality/value

Shows how the flex‐rigid circuit board technology has developed during the last 30 years.

Details

Circuit World, vol. 32 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0305-6120

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 1997

William D. Guns and Liisa Välikangas

This paper adopts a way of looking at knowledge work that is inherently personal and more intimate: How we know depends on who we are. SRI’s Values and Lifestyles™ research offers…

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Abstract

This paper adopts a way of looking at knowledge work that is inherently personal and more intimate: How we know depends on who we are. SRI’s Values and Lifestyles™ research offers empirical findings that help shape the knowledge profiles of different people. The knowledge profiles can be used to create, communicate and package knowledge more effectively. Such an approach to knowledge also helps us understand how the subjectivity of knowledge may greatly contribute to value creation in knowledge work.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 1 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

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