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Article
Publication date: 1 March 1998

Rysia Reynolds and Anne Ablett

It has become generally accepted that “people and not capital add the competitive edge” (The Sunday Times, 17 November 1996). This belief is often put into practice through the…

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Abstract

It has become generally accepted that “people and not capital add the competitive edge” (The Sunday Times, 17 November 1996). This belief is often put into practice through the use of frameworks of organisational learning and the concept of the learning organisation. These are invariably packaged as initiatives which promise competitive advantage through people. Within this context the paper considers the rhetoric associated with the learning organisation and other frameworks of organisational learning. The research confirms the hypothesis that reliance on rhetoric alone can be dangerous and costly and identifies the problems associated with this approach. The paper recommends a solution which is embodied in the Molecular Development Model together with the “Learning” checklist. Together they enable organisations to become more effective in transforming themselves into learning organisations as well as providing a theoretical and conceptual tool useful in the education and development of managers.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 October 2023

Matthew J. Spaniol and Nicholas J. Rowland

Scenarios are cognitive aids for thinking about the future in a sustained and disciplined manner. Because scenarios must be facilitated, scenarios must be considered in the…

Abstract

Scenarios are cognitive aids for thinking about the future in a sustained and disciplined manner. Because scenarios must be facilitated, scenarios must be considered in the context of their practice. In the strategic management literature, there has been a considerable conversation on the practical difference between “hot” and “cold” cognition. Thinking in this conventional literature demonstrates how the facilitators of scenario planning workshops establish and channel the productive cognition of their clients away from hot cognition and toward cold cognition. But how? As a thought experiment, we examine whether the sociological concept of “emotional labor” helps explain the cognition management of clients by facilitators during scenario planning. We end by considering how a deeper practical understanding of emotional labor might help facilitators identify mechanisms and adapt their tools to better manage the cognitive-affective dimensions of scenario planning in practice.

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1931

The report of the Chief Veterinary Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries which records the proceedings taken under the Diseases of Animals Act for the year 1929 has…

Abstract

The report of the Chief Veterinary Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries which records the proceedings taken under the Diseases of Animals Act for the year 1929 has just been issued. It indicates clearly the enormous amount and complexity of the work which devolves on the officers of the Ministry. They may very well say with John Wesley, “ All the world is my parish.” For instance in seven outbreaks of anthrax “ which …. occurred a few years ago,” the cause was found to be infected bone meal used as a manure and imported from an Eastern country (p. 43); another outbreak was traced to beans that had been imported from China (p. 44); again, special measures have been taken, at the instance of His Majesty's Government, by the Governments of Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentine to prevent the introduction of foot‐and‐mouth disease into this country by chilled or frozen meat (p. 46); an outbreak of foot‐and‐mouth disease at Los Angeles, California, led to an embargo being placed on the importation of hay and straw from that State (p. 52); while an outbreak in Southern Sweden led to similar steps being taken (p. 52). It is unnecessary to give further instances, but it is evident that the complexities of modern commerce and the development of rapid means of transport imposes world‐wide duties on the Ministry of a nature that were by no means contemplated when in 1865 the Veterinary Department of the Privy Council—of which the present Ministry is a lineal descendant—was instituted as a result of the outbreak of cattle plague which had ravaged the country. Table I. (p. 94) gives the total number of cattle in Great Britain for the five years 1925–1929 inclusive, each year ending in June. The percentage variation in the number of cattle during that time appears to be four per cent., so that the Ministry is responsible under the Act for about 7¼ millions of cattle, the 1929 return gives 7,190,539. The census and the subsequent co‐ordination of the returns made is in itself a task of no inconsiderable magnitude. In addition to this, however, veterinary skill of a high order is demanded, not only in the interests of a trade whose dimensions are indicated by the figures just given, but in the interests of public health in relation to notifiable cases, under the Act, of bovine tuberculosis. The number of cows and heifers in milk or in calf is given as 3,166,292 or 44 per cent. of the total number of bovine animals. It is of course from these that we derive our supplies of fresh milk, so that on their health our own health to a certain extent depends, and to a greater extent the health of invalids and children to whom milk is a prime necessity. It is therefore scarcely possible to over‐rate the weight of responsibility resting on the Ministry when the relation of its duties to the incidence of bovine tuberculosis is considered. Two important facts, however, demand attention. The first is that the Tuberculosis Order of 1925 was, as the Report points out, neither designed nor expected to eradicate bovine tuberculosis. The disease is widespread, and it is to be feared somewhat firmly established in our herds—an evil legacy from the past. The most that can be done at present is by means of the Order to remove as far as possible the danger to human health from the ingestion of the milk of infected animals and to reduce the number of these animals. Any attempt which might be made to completely eradicate the disease would in our present state of knowledge lead to a serious depletion of our herds throughout the country, and large expenditure in compensation (p. 23). In the second place while the Order of 1925 requires certain forms of the disease to be reported, no steps are at present taken or can be taken to search out the disease. An organisation designed so to do would be costly, as it would in the first place involve “ a considerable extension of periodical veterinary inspection of all dairy cows, coupled with the application of the biological test ” (p. 23). Hence leaving out of consideration our deficient knowledge of the disease, though its effects are horribly evident in our national life, the old conflict of public health versus public pocket is presented to us in an acute form.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1970

Harry C. Bauer

IF SONS DID NOT EXTOL, many a worthy father would sink into oblivion and forever go unsung. As filial biographers, however, sons customarily meet with intimidating scorn and…

Abstract

IF SONS DID NOT EXTOL, many a worthy father would sink into oblivion and forever go unsung. As filial biographers, however, sons customarily meet with intimidating scorn and derision. There is a generally accepted notion that consanguineous biography is fraught more with fealty and filial frailty than with disinterested depiction. The best way to disprove this false assumption is to muster meritorious biographies written by scions and compare them with representative biographies of the ‘blame and blemish’ variety. Sympathetic assessment always stands up stronger than ostensible objectivity, for writers of the ‘warts and all’ kind of biography lose track of virtues and nearly always become engrossed in the imperfections of their victims.

Details

Library Review, vol. 22 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0024-2535

Article
Publication date: 16 November 2018

Louisa G. Gordon, Amy J. Spooner, Natasha Booth, Tai-Rae Downer, Adrienne Hudson, Patsy Yates, Alanna Geary, Christopher O’Donnell and Raymond Chan

Nurse navigators (NNs) coordinate patient care, improve care quality and potentially reduce healthcare resource use. The purpose of this paper is to undertake an evaluation of…

Abstract

Purpose

Nurse navigators (NNs) coordinate patient care, improve care quality and potentially reduce healthcare resource use. The purpose of this paper is to undertake an evaluation of hospitalisation outcomes in a new NN programme in Queensland, Australia.

Design/methodology/approach

A matched case-control study was performed. Patients under the care of the NNs were randomly selected (n=100) and were matched to historical (n=300) and concurrent (n=300) comparison groups. The key outcomes of interest were the number and types of hospitalisations, length of hospital stay and number of intensive care unit days. Generalised linear and two-part models were used to determine significant differences in resources across groups.

Findings

The control and NN groups were well matched on socio-economic characteristics, however, groups differed by major disease type and number/type of comorbidities. NN patients had high healthcare needs with 53 per cent having two comorbidities. In adjusted analyses, compared with the control groups, NN patients showed higher proportions of preventable hospitalisations over 12 months, similar days in intensive care and a smaller proportion had overnight stays in hospital. However, the NN patients had significantly more hospitalisations (mean: 6.0 for NN cases, 3.4 for historical group and 3.2 for concurrent group); and emergency visits.

Research limitations/implications

As many factors will affect hospitalisation rates beyond whether patients receive NN care, further research and longer follow-up is required.

Originality/value

A matched case-control study provides a reasonable but insufficient design to compare the NN and non-NN exposed patient outcomes.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 33 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 September 2014

Georgina Cairns, Richard Purves and Jennifer McKell

The purpose of this paper is to map and identify evidence for effective components of combined school and family alcohol education interventions. The paper describes current…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to map and identify evidence for effective components of combined school and family alcohol education interventions. The paper describes current practice, evaluative evidence of its effects, and highlights specific elements of school and family linked education associated with effective prevention or reduction of alcohol misuse by young people aged 11-18 years.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper takes the form of a systematic review.

Findings

The review found evidence of small positive effects for interventions delivered over short and longer term duration and low and higher levels of direct contact with students and families. Family-based elements that correlated with positive effects were targeting information and skills development, family communications, and stricter parental attitudes to alcohol misuse. School-based components which involved life skills and social norms approaches were associated with reductions in risky behaviours. Weaker evidence indicated that peer-led programmes, external delivery agents and linkages of school-based components to community-level change may strengthen combined school and family intervention programmes.

Research limitations/implications

The heterogeneity of the studies precluded the option to perform meta-analysis.

Practical implications

There is a need for more focused use of planning and evaluation tools, and especially more explicit articulation of behaviours and/or behavioural determinants targeted; the methods that will be employed and the conceptual basis for the programme design could contribute to deeper understanding amongst the intervention community of how and why impact is or is not achieved.

Social implications

Few studies provide information on the concepts, assumptions or change objectives that shape programme design. The potential benefits of combining school and family education interventions warrants further exploration.

Originality/value

The authors believe this is the first review to systematically examine objectives, design and impact of combined school and family alcohol education interventions.

Details

Health Education, vol. 114 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 20 July 2022

Abstract

Details

Clean Language Interviewing
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-331-5

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2008

Gordon Dunsire

The purpose of this article is to review metadata issues identified in recent research carried out in Scotland on services based on metadata aggregation via OAI‐PMH, and to…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to review metadata issues identified in recent research carried out in Scotland on services based on metadata aggregation via OAI‐PMH, and to examine the role of collection‐level description in managing ingest to harvested repositories, subsequent harvesting by secondary aggregators, and the contextualisation of institutional and aggregated repositories in the wider information retrieval environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews the output of several projects involving institutional repositories and collection‐level description in Scotland.

Findings

Collection‐level description is a useful tool for aggregator services, but further work is required to accommodate information about the manipulation of metadata sets. Communities need to consider how best to incorporate structured collection information within the OAI‐PMH for their specific purposes.

Originality/value

The paper shows the importance of recent developments in collection description metadata for implementors of OAI‐PMH services, building on the simple placeholders for such metadata allowed by the protocol.

Details

OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1065-075X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 October 2023

M. Bilal Akbar, Nihar Amoncar, Erik Cateriano-Arévalo and Alison Lawson

Given the lack of understanding of social marketing success in theory and practice, this study aims to investigate how social marketing experts conceptualize success.

Abstract

Purpose

Given the lack of understanding of social marketing success in theory and practice, this study aims to investigate how social marketing experts conceptualize success.

Design/methodology/approach

In this qualitative study, the authors conducted an open-ended online questionnaire with 48 worldwide social marketing experts, most with more than 20 years of experience in the field. The authors analyzed data using topic modeling, a machine-learning method that groups responses/terms into cluster topics based on similarities. Keywords in each topic served to generate themes for discussion.

Findings

While behavior change is mentioned as paramount to conceptualizing success, participants prefer to use more tangible and less complex forms to define/measure success, such as campaign recall uptick. In addition, lack of funding was considered an important factor in measuring success. This study provides a two-stage taxonomy to better understand success in social marketing.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to conceptualize success in social marketing practice.

Details

Journal of Social Marketing, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6763

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 October 2018

Danielle Meyerowitz, Charlene Lew and Göran Svensson

The purpose of this paper is to explore the corporate requirements, benefits and inhibitors of scenario planning in strategic decision-making.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the corporate requirements, benefits and inhibitors of scenario planning in strategic decision-making.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a sample of 15 case studies with executives in the South African context to reveal the perceived corporate requirements, benefits and inhibitors of scenario-planning.

Findings

From the cases, it is evident that industry-, organizational- and leadership-related factors enable or inhibit scenario planning. Requirements, benefits and inhibitors are revealed in strategic decision-making.

Research limitations/implications

Further research to determine supportive tools and technologies for enabling scenario-planning across multiple contexts is needed.

Practical implications

This paper expands insights into the requirements, benefits and inhibitors of scenario-planning in strategic decision-making.

Originality/value

Given the increasing complexity of the business environment, a framework of scenario-thinking is presented and recommend greater emphasis on developing strategic decision-making competence, changed mindsets and organizational agility.

Details

foresight, vol. 20 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6689

Keywords

11 – 20 of 220