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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the need for the creation of a professional body whose membership would be essential for those wishing to hold a licence for the retailing of alcohol in the UK.

The Home Office and similar sources are employed to establish the problems of alcohol abuse. Trade information is utilised to consider the attitude of various stakeholders to this issue. Ethical texts examine expected responses from the sector. From these authoritative sources a solution has been proposed.

The results led to the proposal that the establishment of a compulsory professional body be considered.

There is a lack of empirical research to investigate the proposal. This would be necessary to progress the idea.

The proposal for a professional body whose membership would be compulsory for a licence‐holder would be the subject of a major policy debate.

This embryonic proposal is original and would be of interest to all stakeholders.

Some food allergies are described briefly. The proprietors/managers of a variety of establishments serving food in a small town and its surrounding area were interviewed to discover their knowledge of food allergies and how readily they could feed such sufferers. The results showed that the more exclusive establishment had the greatest knowledge of allergies, and seemed capable of providing suitable meals. Other outlets gave serious cause for concern. The proprietors recognised a need for greater education, and potential providers are suggested.

For much of the twentieth century, British breweries made profits from producing beer and selling it to the public houses, and then, because they owned the public houses as well, made further profits by selling to the consumer. The government investigated this perceived monopoly, and required changes, as a result of which, in the 1990s, the brewers and the pub owners tended to separate, so that many pub owning companies did not brew, but had to rely upon profits derived from sales to the general public. This led to a far greater emphasis on customer satisfaction and so public houses have tried to attract particular sections of the market. At the same time, the public were becoming more specific in their desire for leisure entertainment. As a result, the nature of the public house changed. Some traditional houses may still exist, but in addition there are many others designed for different groups of people. This study tries to identify the main features of some of the pubs that are currently popular.

The purpose of this study is to conceptualise how the occupational identity and culture of chefs is constructed and maintained through both work and social interaction.

The study follows a qualitative interpretivist approach; in total, 54 unstructured, in-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with Michelin-starred chefs in Great Britain and Ireland.

Drawing upon the fieldwork, fresh insights into the social structures and processes which underpin the creation and maintenance of the occupational identity and culture of chefs are revealed in the chefs’ own words.

This study generates empirical data that inform contemporary debates about the role of work in identity formation with particular emphasis on the induction–socialisation process. In addition, the findings of this study suggest that identity and culture are interrelated in the sense that the cultural components of an occupational culture operate to reinforce a sense of identity among its occupational members.

The findings suggest that Michelin-starred chefs have a strong occupational identity and culture. Strict rules and discipline are often used in kitchen brigades as a means of monitoring quality and maintaining the high standards of performance. The occupational socialisation of new members is a long and painful process that very often exceeds the limits of banter, and it is analogous to the military induction. The phenomenon of bullying and violence in commercial kitchens is identified as an unacceptable behaviour that needs to be eliminated. This can be achieved with changes in the education and training of the young chefs and the strict enforcement of the anti-bullying policies.

The understanding of chefs’ occupational identity and culture is critical for successful hospitality operations; nevertheless, this is an under-researched area. This study is unique in terms of scale and depth; it is expected to provide useful insights in both theoretical and practical perspective, regarding the formation of chefs’ identity and culture in organisational settings.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how sustainability reporting is shaped by the global influences and particular national context where businesses operate.

The paper uses both content analysis of published sustainability information and semi-structured interviews with corporate managers to explore how sustainability reporting is used to address unique social and environmental challenges in a developing country – Sri Lanka. The use of integrative social contracts theory in investigating sustainability reporting offers novel insights into understanding the drivers for sustainability reporting practices in this particular country.

The findings reveal that managers’ perceptions about usefulness of sustainability reporting, local contextual challenges and global norms influence the extent to which companies engage in sustainability reporting and the nature of sustainability information reported. In particular, Sri Lankan company managers strive to undertake sustainability projects that are beneficial not only to their companies but also to the development of the country. However, while company managers in Sri Lanka are keen to undertake sustainability reporting, they face different tensions/expectations between global expectations and local contextual factors when undertaking sustainability projects and reporting. This is also showcased in what is ultimately reported in company annual reports, where some aspects of sustainability, e.g. social, tend to focus more on addressing local concerns whereas other disclosures are on issues that may be relevant across many contexts.

Important insights for government and other regulatory authorities can be drawn from the findings of this study. By capitalising on the strong sense of moral duty felt by company managers, policymakers can involve the business sector more to mitigate the social and environmental issues prevalent in Sri Lanka. The findings can also be used by other developing countries to enable pathways to engage with the corporate sector to contribute to national development agendas through their sustainability initiatives and projects.

While the usual understanding of developing country’s company managers is that they try to follow global trends, in Sri Lanka, this research shows how managers are trying to align their responsibilities at a national level with global principles regarding sustainability reporting. Therefore, this paper highlights how both hypernorms and microsocial rules can interact to define how company managers undertake sustainability reporting in a developing country.

The purpose of this paper is to examine voluntary risk disclosures within annual reports in four key South‐East Asian countries' (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia) manufacturing listed companies over the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) 2007‐2009 financial years.

Longitudinal and cross‐country analyses test the veracity of agency theory to predict the level of firms' risk disclosures. A comprehensive risk disclosure index (RDI) checklist is created with key predictor variables (country, company size, managerial ownership and board independence) tested to explain the dissemination of CSR information over time.

The findings show that the communication of risk data stays relatively consistent (26‐29 per cent across the three GFC “crisis” years). This is arguably a low level of communication from a social responsibility corporate lens. Multiple regression analysis provides evidence that country, size and board independence are positively significantly associated and leverage is negatively significantly associated with the extent of voluntary risk disclosure. Interestingly, Indonesia, the least developed country with arguably the highest business risk factors, consistently has statistically lower levels of risk disclosure compared with their three neighbours.

The sample frame is selected from the stock exchange population of manufacturing companies in key South‐East Asian countries. However, for complete generalization the findings should be tested in other countries and other industries.

The study findings are useful for firm self‐evaluation and benchmarking of risk communication by other corporations across countries.

The study shows relatively low levels of risk disclosure over the GFC crisis time period. Communication of these items are influenced by key firm characteristics and economic drivers. Arguably, higher risk disclosure leads to better understanding of a company's social responsibility stance.

This is a critically important time span to investigate risk disclosures as it encompasses those years most directly impacted by the global financial crisis (GFC).

The purpose of this paper is to explore the key political factors behind the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and attempt to address some of the major tensions in the democratic governance of the police.

Using a literature review, the paper examines the changing face of police accountability in England and Wales over the last 50 years.

Three critical insights emerge from this analysis. First, the politicization of the police began in the 1980s – well before the introduction of PCCs – and was in fact one of the key antecedents behind the introduction of PCCs. Second, the paper finds that the simultaneous growth of managerialist practices further enabled politicians to interfere with policing in ways which eventually laid the foundation for PCCs. Lastly, the investigation illustrates how the policy architecture then drew inspiration from models of police governance from the USA, which chimed well with a new generation of Conservatives intent on police reform.

The paper offers a unique policy history which helps to better understand the political rationale behind PCCs and helps to clarify the underlying trajectory of the policy.