Search results

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the knowledge needs of a small, volunteer‐based Non‐Profit Organization (NPO) and present recommendations for implementation of KM solutions.

The methodology used in this paper is the knowledge audit. Data collection methods include semi‐structured interviews, documentary photography, and a review of content on the NPO's website.

The paper recommends a combination of web 2.0 technology and low‐tech solutions to meet the KM needs of the volunteer‐based organization within the constraints of its limited resources. Based on the observation that dedicated and reliable volunteers are critical to this organization's success, the paper proposes that the KM solution address personal knowledge needs related to volunteer motivation factors as a strategy for improving volunteer recruitment and retention.

The study examined a small group of volunteers engaged in a specialized form of knowledge‐sharing work. Future research could test this paper's conclusions in larger and more diverse volunteer‐based NPOs.

The paper extends KM research into the realm of volunteer‐based NPOs and adopts elements from Motivation‐Hygiene theory as well as specific volunteer motivation factors as additional criteria for a KM solution.

In the most recent edition of Children and Books, Susan Steinfirst points to a dilemma in children's literature, a conflict implied in the very name of the discipline. On one hand children's literature is the field of the child specialist, educator and psychologist; on the other, children's literature is the province of the English scholar and literary historian. As a dual discipline shared by both the social scientist and humanist, children's literature has always been subject to two divergent sets of research methods and goals. The purpose of this bibliography is to provide the librarian with selected tools for meeting the needs of both approaches.

The value of allowing children to experience frequently the sheer pleasure of good children's literature has long been acknowledged. For at least the past twenty‐five years, educational researchers and faculty members in schools of education and library science have advocated the use of children's literature in the elementary school curriculum.

The case was created via an interview of the protagonist.

The case describes the dilemma a young leader, Captain Bryson, faces after a few months in his new organization. Amid a routine meeting, two of CPT Bryson’s direct reports get into a verbal (and nearly physical) altercation over a relatively benign issue. CPT Bryson must decide how to handle the conflict at that moment. Further, the organization is resource constrained, so the personnel will be working in the same organization for at least the next six months. Therefore, CPT Bryson must try to diagnose the types and sources of conflict so that he can decide on how to manage the conflict in both the short and long terms.

This case is designed for use in undergraduate and graduate level courses on leadership and management. The case is useful for teaching lessons (or electives) on conflict management, developmental communication (counseling), emotional intelligence and power and influence.

The study examines influence of behavioural economic theories of add-on goods and contingent charges on the regulation of two touchstone markets in the UK. These markets, the payment protection insurance (PPI) market and the market for overdrafts can both be characterised as add-on goods, have displayed excessive levels of profitability and been the focus of continuing and substantial public mis-trust. Despite these similarities, the regulatory treatment of these two markets has been very different. The purpose of this paper is to explore the context of these cases and examine why these differences in regulatory reporting have developed.

The research questions are examined through a detailed review of the regulatory reporting in the UK PPI and overdraft market. This review of over 20 regulatory reports, numerous enforcement actions, associated legal proceedings and related international evidence is employed to determine commonalities and differences in the regulatory actions proposed, motives adopted and success of these regulatory processes.

It is reported the dynamic and fragmented regulatory structure, multiple policy agendas and a successful legal intervention have all influenced how these financial services markets have been regulated and behavioural economic concepts applied. In particular aspects of overdraft markets remain challenging to address as it is still possible to exclude competition within aftermarkets. The regulatory intervention into PPI markets by contrast addressed concerns raised by add-on good theory and amended the form of distribution underlying this market more directly and successfully.

There have been numerous excellent reviews of behavioural economics and finance published on a diversity of topics. Despite such a wide coverage, a relatively under-researched aspect of this literature remains the application of these relatively new theoretical insights within markets and how these have influenced regulatory practice. This review of regulatory reporting addresses this gap in the literature through considering two of the most problematic financial services markets of the last decade in the UK.

I begin by examining some ways in which organisations have attempted to improve their recruitment and selection procedures to minimise bias and unfair discrimination, and focus on the assessment centre as a potentially useful technique in this respect, especially for managerial selection. I go on to examine the assessment centre in more detail, including its origins, construction and uses, before discussing the strong evidence for its validity as a selection and assessment procedure. I then describe some recent British innovations in assessment centre design and practice, especially in its use for management and organisation development purposes, before discussing some of my own recent research, in collaboration with Ivan Robertson and Usha Rout, on participants' attitudes towards the use of assessment centres for selection and development purposes, including gender differences in attitudes.

Self-regulatory organizations (SROs) can be found in education, healthcare, and other not-for-profit sectors as well as in the accounting, financial, and legal professions. DeMarzo et al. (2005) show theoretically that SROs can create monopoly market power for their affiliated agents, but that governmental oversight, even if less efficient than oversight by the SRO, can largely offset such market power. We provide an experimental test of this conjecture. For carefully rationalized parameterizations and implementation details, we find that the predictions of DeMarzo et al. (2005) are borne out.

Little is known about the effects of education on the practice of PR. This chapter aims at demonstrating the differences between economics-educated practitioners and communication-educated practitioners. Based on a quantitative survey among 790 practitioners working in non-profits in Austria, the research presented here sheds light on the influences of education on thinking and acting by practitioners in communication practice. Although public relations are not a protected profession, education has become an on-going topic in public relations literature and practice. Furthermore, education for public relations increasingly takes place in various environments. Courses available range from one-day seminars at community colleges to PR-specific studies. Furthermore, public relations are not only a topic in communications-related studies, but also in economics and humanities. The results highlight the differences in practice in relation to the education.