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Article
Publication date: 22 February 2008

Fred Houwen

The purpose of this paper is to describe how The European Court of Justice's (ECJ) recent judgment in Asnef‐Equifax v. Ausbanc has clarified the circumstances in which financial…

293

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe how The European Court of Justice's (ECJ) recent judgment in Asnef‐Equifax v. Ausbanc has clarified the circumstances in which financial institutions may exchange information regarding the solvency and creditworthiness of their clients without falling foul of competition law.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper outlines the background to the case, the judgment and provides a comment.

Findings

The judgment shows that in case of any doubt there is no substitute for a rigorous analysis of the affected market in light of the case law and general guidance from the Commission and national competition authorities, before engaging in any potentially controversial activity such as information exchange.

Originality/value

The paper provides insight into how financial institutions may exchange credit information without breaching competition law in the context of the ECJ judgment.

Details

Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1358-1988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 July 2007

Fred Houwen

The study sets out to report and comment, from a competition law perspective, on communication between competitors.

808

Abstract

Purpose

The study sets out to report and comment, from a competition law perspective, on communication between competitors.

Design/methodology/approach

The study outlines the facts and presents an opinion.

Findings

The study finds that communications between competitors can give rise to serious competition risks. Such risks can be managed by putting in place a compliance programme. Such a programme should make employees aware of topics to avoid and topics that are safe to discuss.

Originality/value

The study shows how employees need to be aware of when an issue falls within a grey area of potentially problematic issues, so that they may seek advice where required. In competition law, prevention is better than cure.

Details

Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1358-1988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 January 2012

Steven Cavaleri, Joseph Firestone and Fred Reed

The purpose of this paper is to present a process for managing project problem‐solving patterns. It focuses on shifting the emphasis of project teams toward a more collaborative…

4663

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a process for managing project problem‐solving patterns. It focuses on shifting the emphasis of project teams toward a more collaborative and knowledge‐based style of dealing with challenges to project performance. The methods proposed in this paper encourage project managers to integrate processes for becoming more agile by tapping into lesson learned and knowledge gained to create higher quality solutions to problems.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for recognizing problem‐solving patterns and transforming problem solving from an individual passive event to a more open, agile active, systemic process. Several actual case examples are provided to illustrate applications.

Findings

The paper examines how taking a more open approach to problem solving in projects leads to better solutions. The proposed method and lessons from actual cases offer support to these proposals.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed models in this paper originate from the conclusions and observations drawn by the authors over many years of experience. However, they are not the product of a systematic research effort. This paper is intended to provide a new lens for project managers to view projects. It does not purport to declare findings of any research or analyze any sort of research.

Practical implications

The conceptual framework provided in this paper is a practical one derived from the practices used in leading companies. The paper provides practical guidelines to aid project managers in recognizing and managing problem‐solving patterns to create better solutions to problems.

Social implications

Modern society is plagued by the effects of ineffective problem‐solving initiatives in business, government, and not‐for‐profit organizations. Flawed proposed solutions exact a toll on organizations, their members, and the constituents they serve. This paper proposes a way of improving the quality of problem‐solving processes that may benefit a broad scale of people.

Originality/value

The concept of a problem‐solving pattern and a typology of problem‐solving patterns presented in this paper, provide project managers with a new way of conceiving of how problem solving can be used to improve project performance and adaptability.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2008

Steven Cavaleri and Fred Reed

The paper seeks to establish a critical role for leaders in guiding projects to higher levels of effectiveness. This role centers on using the thinking capacities associated with…

4107

Abstract

Purpose

The paper seeks to establish a critical role for leaders in guiding projects to higher levels of effectiveness. This role centers on using the thinking capacities associated with systems thinking, knowledge processing, action learning, and pragmatism. It is also to design systems to imbue these capacities into the operation of project teams.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a case study, action‐research observations, and conceptual models. Actual case studies including a medium‐sized US manufacturer and a large shipyard.

Findings

This paper includes a section that presents research findings that suggest efforts by managers to improve profits actually reduced profit in the longer term due to erroneous learning and low‐quality knowledge.

Research limitations/implications

The research presented does not focus specifically on project teams, but rather on the interplay between project teams and the larger organizations of which they are part.

Practical implications

In certain industries, the performance track record of project teams for operating according to schedule and within budget is dismal. Such failures have been wrongly attributed to bad staffing, poor decision making, internal politics, or external forces. This paper proposes that the more common reasons for such failures are erroneous learning caused by misperceptions of dynamic feedback, low‐quality knowledge, imbalances among system elements, and failure to account for dynamics and time delays. An approach called project management system pragmatics is proposed for use by leaders as a way to improve the effectiveness of project teams.

Originality/value

This is the first approach to project management/leadership that offers practical ways for leaders to conceive of how to deal with the ambiguities posed by the dynamics of the complex systems many project teams operate within.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2008

Derek H.T. Walker

The purpose of this paper is to outline the philosophy of the journal and present a summary of its content and how the various papers link to the journal's philosophy.

1165

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to outline the philosophy of the journal and present a summary of its content and how the various papers link to the journal's philosophy.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a limited literature review to establish the journal's philosophy and linked description of the issue's content.

Findings

This helps readers to understand the scope scale and expectations of reviewers with respect to papers to be submitted and also helps readers understand what kind of papers to expect in this and future issues.

Originality/value

As the first issue, this editorial establishes the themes to be expected and it outlines several innovations in the journal's format.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 20 January 2012

Derek H.T. Walker

629

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1981

Derek L. Bosworth and Peter J. Dawkins

The post‐war period has been characterised by a persistent and substantial expansion in the employment of women. At the same time, women have become increasingly protected in…

Abstract

The post‐war period has been characterised by a persistent and substantial expansion in the employment of women. At the same time, women have become increasingly protected in employment by a legislative framework that includes the Equal Pay Act (1970), the Social Security and Pensions Act (1975) and the Sex Discrimination Act (1975). Nevertheless, a number of vestiges of discrimination under the law still remain, such as the special treatment of women with regard to the length and timing of their paid employment. Despite the attempts to remove discrimination by legislation, there remains a considerable groundswell of opinion that there are still substantial differences in the treatment of women vis‐a‐vis men in employment. One continuing concern is the tendency of the organisation of tasks to polarise into men‐only and women‐only jobs. As a result, it has been argued that the situation approximates to a dual labour market, with women being funnelled into the secondary labour market. Complex, interacting forces are at play that make the estimation of statistical models of the existing distribution of employment by sex (from which evidence of sex discrimination might be sought) extremely difficult. A potentially more rewarding approach is to examine those jobs that employers believe to be of the men‐only or women‐only types. Questions of this type were included in a recent survey of employers across all sectors of employment in British industry. While the formulation of such questions and the interpretation of the results are associated with important problems, nevertheless, the survey provides a useful impression of the size and nature of the barriers faced by women in their search for employment opportunities and the manner in which these barriers may be broken down.

Details

Equal Opportunities International, vol. 1 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0261-0159

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2007

Richard O. Jones

The research paper examines the commercial evolution of retail tenants within the UK factory outlet sector. The research aims to identify the key characteristics of…

1652

Abstract

Purpose

The research paper examines the commercial evolution of retail tenants within the UK factory outlet sector. The research aims to identify the key characteristics of commercialisation and the resulting strategic positions occupied by tenants.

Design/methodology/approach

The paucity of research surrounding the research objectives necessitated exploratory research based on 32 in‐depth interviews conducted with factory outlet tenants, managers and owners.

Findings

The research presents four tenant segments used to analyse commercial evolution. Although many tenants are initially pushed into the channel to solve a physical stock problem they invariably increase their level of commercialisation as they apply the experience curve, economies of scale and opportunism. Ultimately, the key to commercialisation lies in the ability of a factory outlet tenant to make adjustments to their retail business model, through sales productivities and improved cost ratios. The single biggest adjustment lies in the potential of made for outlet merchandise which secures both product continuity and enhanced margin.

Originality/value

The research provides a conceptual framework for evaluating the relevance of current factory outlet leasing and performance management programmes. Practical application of the framework will require a correlation to be established between the stages of commercialisation and actual sales performance across a wider sample of tenants. The finding provide possible stepping stones to further research within the sector, not least the evolutionary pattern of factory outlet tenants across Europe. The findings provoke many questions related to the role of outlets within a tenant's overall multi‐channel distribution strategy. The sophistication of certain tenants' outlet business models and the high level of integration across channel of distribution suggest factory outlet centres are becoming increasingly accepted as part of mainstream growth strategies.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 35 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1997

Geoffrey P. Lantos

The case is presented by a senior marketing major (Tim), who did a business internship in the new products area of a fictitious consumer package goods firm. The case is presented…

828

Abstract

The case is presented by a senior marketing major (Tim), who did a business internship in the new products area of a fictitious consumer package goods firm. The case is presented as a journal Tim kept while interning. It is based on the author’s own journal, kept while working as a business professor intern in a firm similar to that in the case. Although names have been disguised, most of the activities, practices and problems described in the case are based on the author’s internship experience. Tim is simultaneously involved in two major new product projects. First is the early exploratory research done for new vegetable‐based food products. Second is a snack product which is ready to be moved from a controlled store test to test markets. Tim is also involved in other activities: a new business committee meeting, an industry forum, and a strategic plans presentation meeting. Tim works fairly closely with the new products manager, people in other areas of the firm such as marketing research and research and development, as well as with the firm’s ad agency. The case also describes informational interviews Tim conducted with various functional managers in the company involved with new products, and it gives students a feel for all of the nitty gritty implementation details involved in new product work.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 6 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 April 2013

Fred Luthans, Ivana Milosevic, Beth A. Bechky, Edgar H. Schein, Susan Wright, John Van Maanen and Davydd J. Greenwood

This collection of commentaries on the reprinted 1987 article by Nancy C. Morey and Fred Luthans, “Anthropology: the forgotten behavioral science in management history”, aims to…

Abstract

Purpose

This collection of commentaries on the reprinted 1987 article by Nancy C. Morey and Fred Luthans, “Anthropology: the forgotten behavioral science in management history”, aims to reflect on the treatment of the history of anthropological work in organizational studies presented in the original article.

Design/methodology/approach

The essays are invited and peer‐reviewed contributions from scholars in organizational studies and anthropology.

Findings

The scholars invited to comment on the original article have seen its value, and their contributions ground its content in contemporary issues and debates.

Originality/value

The original article was deemed “original” for its time (1987), anticipating as it did considerable reclamation of ethnographic methods in organizational studies in the decades that followed it. It was also deemed of value for our times and, in particular, for readers of this journal, as an historical document, but also as one view of the unsung role of anthropology in management and organizational studies.

Details

Journal of Organizational Ethnography, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6749

Keywords

1 – 10 of 132