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1 – 10 of 136Russell Walker and Joanna Wilson
In March 2000 a fire broke out at the Royal Philips Electronics plant, damaging its supply of semiconductor chips. Nokia Corporation and Ericsson LM relied on these chips…
Abstract
In March 2000 a fire broke out at the Royal Philips Electronics plant, damaging its supply of semiconductor chips. Nokia Corporation and Ericsson LM relied on these chips to produce their cell phones; together they received 40 percent of the plant's chip production. Both companies were about to release new cell phone designs that required the chips. At Nokia, word of the setback spread quickly up the chain of command. Nokia's team, which had a crisis plan in place, sprang into action. With an aggressive, multipronged strategy, Nokia avoided any cell phone production loss. In contrast, the low-level technician who received the information at Ericsson did not notify his supervisors about the fire until early April and had to scramble to locate new sources for the chips. This search delayed production and proved a fatal blow to Ericsson's independent production of mobile phones. Nokia's handling of its supply chain disruption provides a dramatic example of how a company's strategic risk management can alleviate financial disaster and lay the groundwork for success in the future. Perturbations in supply chain management are inevitable, and grow harder and harder to assess as the marketplace becomes more globalized.
Students will learn the following concepts:
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In March 2007 C. James Prieur, CEO of insurance provider Conseco, was faced with a crisis. The front page of the New York Times featured a story on the grieving family of…
Abstract
In March 2007 C. James Prieur, CEO of insurance provider Conseco, was faced with a crisis. The front page of the New York Times featured a story on the grieving family of an elderly woman who had faithfully paid for her Conseco long-term care (LTC) policy, only to find that it would not pay her claims. Her family had to pay for her care (until her recent death), which unfortunately resulted in the loss of the family business. The family was now very publicly pursuing litigation. For a company that depended on thousands of employees, investors, and independent agents who sold the insurance plans, this reputational risk was a serious threat. On top of this immediate crisis, all signs in the industry were pointing to the fact that the LTC business itself was not viable, yet over the years Conseco had acquired a number of LTC insurance providers. Students are asked to analyze not only what Prieur’s priorities should be in addressing the immediate crisis but also the risks inherent in the LTC industry and how this might affect Conseco’s success as a business moving forward
After reading and analyzing the case, students will be able to:
Analyze the risks in the long-term care insurance industry
Distinguish the various types of risk that caused a company’s crisis and recognize the potential for contagion
Brainstorm how the risks faced by Conseco could have been avoided or better contained
Recommend the first steps C. James Prieur and the Conseco leadership team should take to rectify the New York Times article crisis
Analyze the risks in the long-term care insurance industry
Distinguish the various types of risk that caused a company’s crisis and recognize the potential for contagion
Brainstorm how the risks faced by Conseco could have been avoided or better contained
Recommend the first steps C. James Prieur and the Conseco leadership team should take to rectify the New York Times article crisis
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Denise M. Wilson, Lauren Summers and Joanna Wright
This study investigated how behavioral and emotional forms of engagement are associated with faculty support and student-faculty interactions among engineering students.
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated how behavioral and emotional forms of engagement are associated with faculty support and student-faculty interactions among engineering students.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative research methods were used to analyze survey data from 781 undergraduates in seven large undergraduate engineering courses. Linear hierarchical regression models were used to evaluate the relationships between demographics (gender, race/ethnicity, family education, US status and transfer status) and student engagement and between faculty behaviors and engagement.
Findings
Faculty support was consistently, significantly and positively linked to all forms of student engagement, while student-faculty interactions were significantly and positively linked to effort and positive emotional engagement and negatively linked to attention and (an absence of) negative emotional engagement. Gender, race/ethnicity, international student status and transfer status significantly predicted at least one form of engagement.
Research limitations/implications
Although this was a single institution study and cross-sectional, the findings suggest that faculty support and student-faculty interactions, while important for engagement, have different effects on different types of students. Faculty and teacher professional development efforts should raise awareness of these differences in order to enhance diversity and inclusion in engineering courses and curricula at all levels.
Originality/value
The analysis of behavioral and emotional forms of engagement represents more of a motivational lens on engagement in contrast to the traditional focus on time-on-task or time spent in fruitful educational practices, as is the norm with much of the engagement literature in higher education.
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Steyn LJ, Hutton LJ, Millet LJ and Joanna Gray
The factual background to this House of Lords decision lies in the 1991 collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) Banking Group. The Appellants…
Abstract
The factual background to this House of Lords decision lies in the 1991 collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) Banking Group. The Appellants (who were the Appellants in the House of Lords) were depositors who had lost monies in the collapse of BCCI. BCCI itself was named as a Plaintiff since it was an assignee of the claims of Plaintiff depositors. The Plaintiffs (who were the Appellants in this appeal and are hereafter referred to as such) made a very large number of allegations against the Bank of England (the Bank) with regard to its exercise of its powers and discretions under the statutory scheme of Banking Supervision contained in the Banking Acts of 1979 and 1987. These allegations related to (inter alia) the Bank's decision to grant a full licence to BCCI in 1980, its failure subsequently to revoke that licence and various other acts and omissions in its supervisory role up to BCCI's collapse in 1991.
Patricia B.M. Brennan, Joanna Burkhardt, Susan McMullen and Marla Wallace
The experience of a multi‐site higher education library consortium in purchasing electronic journals and databases is described. The criteria and guidelines developed to…
Abstract
The experience of a multi‐site higher education library consortium in purchasing electronic journals and databases is described. The criteria and guidelines developed to assist in the decision‐making process for the purchase of multidisciplinary electronic products and services can be of value to other libraries whether in a single or consortial environment. Factors such as database features, coverage, search features, and delivery options were considered.
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Joanna Fountain and Charles Lamb
The primary aim of this research is to identify the wine consumption behaviour of Generation Y in New Zealand to explore whether differences exist in the wine behaviour of…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary aim of this research is to identify the wine consumption behaviour of Generation Y in New Zealand to explore whether differences exist in the wine behaviour of Gen Y in comparison to Generation X and to seek possible explanations for these differences, in terms of cohort, age and period.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative survey was conducted with a random sample of residents of Christchurch, New Zealand in 1998 and again in 2008. Three forms of analysis were undertaken: time lag (comparing Gen Y, aged 18‐29 in 2008 with Gen X, aged 20‐29 in 1998), cross‐sectional (comparing Gen Y in 2008 with Gen X, aged 30‐39 in 2008) and longitudinal (comparing Gen X in 1998 and 2008).
Findings
In relation of wine consumption, there is no difference in the proportion of Gen X and Gen Y in New Zealand consuming wine as young adults, which is remarkably similar to the proportion of wine drinkers in the population as a whole. In terms of the evidence reported elsewhere that Generation Y are consuming more wine, and at a younger age, than their Gen X counterparts, this research supports this contention; New Zealand Gen Y are drinking wine more frequently, and in more everyday contexts than their older counterparts were at a similar age, although they are less likely to consume wine on special occasions.
Research limitations/implications
The research focuses on a relatively small sample within a specific urban New Zealand setting and further application to the country as a whole may be useful. Qualitative research, perhaps using a recall methodology to explore previous consumption behaviour, would help to provide more explanation for the findings.
Originality/value
This is the first research project to explore the wine behaviour of Gen Y in a New Zealand context. This research has used a random and representative sample and has been able to analyse cross‐sectional, longitudinal and time‐lag data for Gen Y and Gen X; an approach that has not previously been used in generational research on wine consumption behaviour and which provides insights not available using one method alone.
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The purpose of this paper is to look at a recent Financial Services Authority (FSA) challenge in the Court of Appeal to finding of Financial Services and Markets Tribunal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to look at a recent Financial Services Authority (FSA) challenge in the Court of Appeal to finding of Financial Services and Markets Tribunal on question of whether solicitors' firm had contravened financial promotion regime (FSA v. Fox Hayes: Court of Appeal (civil division): Lord Justice Longmore, Lord Justice Wilson, Lord Justice Lawrence Collins).
Design/methodology/approach
Examines the FSA's various grounds for appeal and what was an appropriate level of penalty.
Findings
Provides the court of appeal's decisions on point of law in relation to three issues.
Originality/value
This paper will be of interest to regulated firms who fear the consequences of regulatory liability for breaches of FSA rules.
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Joanna Krasodomska, Jan Michalak and Katarzyna Świetla
This paper aims to explore accountants’ views on mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting. It focuses on three main factors underpinning their…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore accountants’ views on mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting. It focuses on three main factors underpinning their understanding and attitude towards non-financial disclosures: general understanding of the concept, gender and work experience.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses social identity theory as the theoretical framework. The findings are based on a survey conducted among 73 accountants in 2018. The questionnaire consisted of 86 questions divided into 9 main areas. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to determine if there are any significant differences between the accountants’ attitudes towards non-financial disclosures.
Findings
Study results suggest that the general knowledge of CSR reporting among accounting specialists is insufficient. The attitude towards mandatory CSR disclosures significantly differs between accountants who participated in training related to non-financial reporting and those who did not. Contrary to expectations, there were no significant differences in responses either between female and male accountants or between accountants at the beginning of their career path (with experience shorter than five years) and the more experienced ones. The paper contributes to social theory studies as it refers to the problem of the influence of professional associations, governments and big accounting firms on the transformation of accountants’ social identity. It also discusses the relations between the characteristics influencing personal identity and social identity of accountants in shaping their attitude towards mandatory non-financial disclosures.
Practical implications
The findings could be of interest to the higher education and professional certification institutions which should consider bringing accounting curricula more closely to the realities of the current business environment.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the body of literature mainly because it investigates a diversified sample of accountants in a relatively unexplored institutional setting. It may also serve as a starting point for research that more broadly explores accountants’ engagement in non-financial disclosures on CSR.
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Service work is often differentiated from manufacturing by the interactive labor workers perform as they come into direct contact with customers. Service organizations are…
Abstract
Service work is often differentiated from manufacturing by the interactive labor workers perform as they come into direct contact with customers. Service organizations are particularly interested in regulating these interactions because they are a key opportunity for developing quality customer service, customer retention, and ultimately generation of sales revenue. An important stream of sociological literature focuses on managerial attempts to exert control over interactions through various techniques including routinization, standardization, and surveillance. Scripting is a common method of directing workers’ behavior, yet studies show that workers are extremely reluctant to administer scripts, judging them to be inappropriate to particular interactions or because they undermine their own sense of self. This paper examines a panoptic method of regulating service workers, embodied in undercover corporate agents who patrol employee’s adherence to scripts. How do workers required to recite scripts for customers respond to undercover control? What does it reveal about the nature of interactive labor? In-depth interviews with interactive workers in a range of retail contexts reveal that they mobilize their own interactional competence to challenge the effects of the panoptic, as they utilize strategies to identify and adapt to these “mystery shoppers,” all the while maintaining their cover. The paper shows the limits on control of interactive workers, as they maintain their own socialized sense of civility and preserve a limited realm of autonomy in their work.
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Joanna Crossman and Sarbari Bordia
The purpose of this paper is to present a framework based on lessons learnt from a recently completed project aimed at developing intercultural online communication…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a framework based on lessons learnt from a recently completed project aimed at developing intercultural online communication competencies in business students.
Design/methodology/approach
The project entailed collaboration between students and staff in business communication courses from an Australian and European university. The project was designed as a response to calls within the literature to equip business graduates with intercultural expertise for global online collaboration.
Findings
Based on theoretical perspectives, staff experience and data based on student evaluations of the project, a framework has been constructed based on the issues that emerged. The issues include: institutional support, project and course goal alignment, interpersonal and intercultural relationship management and technological capabilities.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is limited to the experiences and responses from the Australian university. Future research should aim to collect data from both organizations involved in the collaboration.
Practical implications
The framework has been constructed to assist business educators in creating collaborative international projects in the future.
Originality/value
Research in international education suggests the need to create collaborative projects that provide students with real life opportunities in intercultural collaboration. However, little guidance exists for academics in terms of creating and coordinating such activities. The current paper provides a framework towards the development of such pedagogic activities.
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