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1 – 6 of 6Meredith Downes and Gail S. Russ
The purpose of this paper is to examine the demise of Enron, one of the most curious aspects of which was that on the surface it appeared to be thriving, giving no one any cause…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the demise of Enron, one of the most curious aspects of which was that on the surface it appeared to be thriving, giving no one any cause to question the company's governance structures.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a detailed analysis of the composition of Enron's board of directors, demonstrating how directly observable traits are not the sole determinants of effective corporate governance.
Findings
The paper finds that collectively, the board's qualifications are less overt, and even more elusive are the ethics and morals that drive the governance process.
Originality/value
This case illustrates how ethics and morals are necessary, but that none is sufficient, to deter poor governance, and also underscores the far‐reaching impact of Enron's moral deficiencies.
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A. Bhuvaneskumar, V.J. Sivakumar and Nancyprabha Pushparaj
The present study aims to determine and benchmark the performance of socially responsible companies (SRCs) in India based on the financial, value-added and combined performance…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to determine and benchmark the performance of socially responsible companies (SRCs) in India based on the financial, value-added and combined performance indicators by addressing the climate change problems at the grass-root level.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study has used the traditional financial, value-added and combined performance indicators to evaluate and rank the performance of 14 SRCs under the Bombay stock exchange (BSE)-Greenex sustainability index. The technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) algorithms calculate performance scores and assign weights to the indicators from 2015 to 2019. Further, the Altman Z-score methodology has been applied to understand the SRCs propensity toward bankruptcy behavior. The parametric t-test is also performed on the outcomes of TOPSIS scores under different categories of indicators to check the statistical significance.
Findings
The performance scores of the TOPSIS algorithm indicate that the financial indicators of SRCs govern the firm performance significantly over the value-added indicators (VAIs). Further, parametric t-test results validate the outcomes of the performance scores by exhibiting that there is no significant difference between the traditional financial and VAIs at a 5% significance level. However, a few SRCs overall performance rankings have improved significantly after including VAIs. Moreover, the Altman Z-score results also reveal that most of the SRCs evaluated in the study are stable, showcasing consistent performance and absent from bankruptcy behavior.
Practical implications
The study has practical implications as follows: (1) to facilitate a clear understanding of investors and portfolio managers in selecting appropriate companies under socially responsible investing (SRI); (2) to provide portfolio diversification insights for domestic and international investors besides advocating the necessity of investing in better performing sustainable companies to safeguard their investments against the future uncertainty and (3) the study results would benefit the regulatory bodies to frame appropriate sustainability policy interventions at the organization level.
Originality/value
In the context of ambiguous inferences on the performance of SRI, no prior study has been conducted to assess the performance of SRCs in the Indian version of sustainability index BSE-Greenex.
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Paula Görgen Radici Fraga, Maurício Moreira e Silva Bernardes, Julio Carlos de Souza van der Linden, Darli Rodrigues Vieira and Milena Chang Chain
This study aimed to discuss issues related to the process for validating a performance management system for design (PMSD) in three product development companies.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to discuss issues related to the process for validating a performance management system for design (PMSD) in three product development companies.
Design/methodology/approach
The use of multifunctional groups becomes important because it favors viewing the organization as a whole, thereby reducing existing gaps between segments of the company. To support this study, focus group research was used.
Findings
Viewing design as a resource that contributes to increased competitiveness offers companies benefits, such as improved performance measurement. This measurement is based on indicators and, to be useful, an indicator system should stimulate the company's interest. In addition, the present study made it possible to conclude that the validation process is essential in preimplementation stages because validation allows the PMSD to be adapted to bring it closer to the reality of companies, thus increasing the chances of success during the implementation stage.
Originality/value
Validation of the metrics from the perspective of senior management enabled critical analyses of the applicability of the PMSD, as well as its suitability and approximation to the reality of businesses, by selecting the most relevant data.
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