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1 – 10 of over 1000Jodyanne Kirkwood, Kirsty Dwyer and Sara Walton
This paper aims to examine the experiences of an ecopreneurial venture that was operating before, during and after the 2010-2011 series of earthquakes in Christchurch, New…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the experiences of an ecopreneurial venture that was operating before, during and after the 2010-2011 series of earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand. The aim is to elucidate on the tension existing between an ecopreneur’s personal green values/ethics and his need to be resilient and do what was necessary to ensure his business’s survival, which was operating before, during and after an extreme event – the 2010-2011 series of earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Design/methodology/approach
The data are gathered from a longitudinal case study of Just Organic Ltd (an organic fruit and vegetable delivery service) over a five-year period which covers time before and after the earthquakes. Data were gathered via two in-depth face-to-face interviews with the ecopreneur, along with a number of email and telephone follow-ups.
Findings
Findings indicate that an extreme event such as an earthquake will inhibit the green values of an ecopreneur as the ecopreneur works to ensure business survival. To continue to operate successfully, the ecopreneur developed a resilient and hardy nature and adapted operational processes to run in a more entrepreneurial fashion. It would seem that holding firmly to green values irrespective of a changed business environment is detrimental to business viability and survivability. The ecopreneur bounced forward, rather than bouncing back from the disaster.
Research limitations/implications
The implications for research, policy makers and ecopreneurs and entrepreneurs in general are discussed. There are lessons to be learned from the experiences of the ecopreneur who is operating Just Organic Limited.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the few that has examined the impact the Christchurch earthquakes had on an existing eco-business. The longitudinal data enable a unique insight into the operational aspects of an eco-business before and after a series of earthquakes.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide an interview with Julian Duxfield, Regional Human Resources Director for G4S, the world's leading international security solutions group…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an interview with Julian Duxfield, Regional Human Resources Director for G4S, the world's leading international security solutions group, which specializes in outsourced business processes in sectors where security and safety risks are considered a strategic threat.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent interviewer.
Findings
The paper reveals that Julian brings with him an extensive knowledge of G4S, having previously worked for G4S Cash Solutions as its HR Director for the past three years. Julian has had a wide ranging career in human resources (HR) spanning both the public and private sectors having been the HR Director for the Department of Transport and Carlsberg UK, as well as carrying out a number of HR management roles at Unilever plc.
Practical implications
The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.
Originality/value
Having worked within both the public and private sector, Julian is able to offer valuable insight into the role of HR within different types of organizations and highlights how a strong brand can influence employee engagement. He also discusses some of the key challenges facing HR professionals today, and offers advice on measuring the well being of your staff.
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Sir Julian Huxley (1887‐1975) was one of those rare scientists who, beyond professional training and contribution in biology, was very much concerned with the future of man and…
Abstract
Sir Julian Huxley (1887‐1975) was one of those rare scientists who, beyond professional training and contribution in biology, was very much concerned with the future of man and humanity. As a social thinker, he strongly believed in eugenics, that science which, in his view, should investigate analytically and practically how to improve the quality of the human race by careful selection of parents. On the other hand, he was aware that practically the attainment of such a goal requires full powers to control social and economic development. He knew that such an attitude may come in conflict with the existing political arrangement in the West but he persisted. As a philosopher he shared a more flexible conception about a better world of tomorrow, leaving room also for the unexpected. He believed that a “New Man” will come from the East, but the judgment of history up to now was not on his side.
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Anne McCrudden, Tom Wilson and Robin Johnson
The pat ten years have seen sweeping changes in the way that housing‐related support services are being delivered across Britain. We are only now beginning to take stock of a wide…
Abstract
The pat ten years have seen sweeping changes in the way that housing‐related support services are being delivered across Britain. We are only now beginning to take stock of a wide range of exciting and innovative projects, and the potential role of these models in promoting social inclusion and in the modernisation of community mental health services.A series of articles in the next three issues of A Life in the Day will be exploring a number of emerging themes, illustrated through the examples of innovative services that demonstrate what can be achieved when working from a housing support base. The series begins with an article by Tom Wilson and Anne McCrudden on the work of Julian Housing Trust, a mental health charity that provides a wide range of housing support services across Norwich and Norfolk.Julian Housing has blended recovery principles with a strengths model to develop a clear and coherent philosophy that underpins all their work. Their success demonstrates the close affinity between the person‐centred principles of the Supporting People programme and contemporary thinking about social inclusion in community mental health practice.Robin Johnson National Social Inclusion Programme
Discusses the philosophy and practice of Richer Sounds plc, a hi‐fi separates company with the highest sales per square foot of any retail outlet in the world, focusing on its…
Abstract
Discusses the philosophy and practice of Richer Sounds plc, a hi‐fi separates company with the highest sales per square foot of any retail outlet in the world, focusing on its motto “provide second‐to‐none service and value‐for‐money for our customers”, and exploring its recognising quality service.
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Ida Schrøder, Emilia Cederberg and Amalie M. Hauge
This paper investigates how different and sometimes conflicting approaches to performance evaluations are hybridized in the day-to-day activities of a disciplined hybrid…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates how different and sometimes conflicting approaches to performance evaluations are hybridized in the day-to-day activities of a disciplined hybrid organization–i.e. a public child protection agency at the intersection between the market and the public sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a one-year ethnography of how employees achieve to qualify their work as “good work” in situations with several and sometimes conflicting ideals of what “good work” is. Fieldwork material was collected by following casework activities across organizational boundaries. By combining accounting literature on hybridization with literature on practices of valuation, the paper develops a novel theoretical framework which allows for analyses of the various practices of valuation, when and where they clash and how they persist over time in everyday work.
Findings
Throughout the study, four distinct registers of valuation were identified: feeling, theorizing, formalizing and costing. To denote the meticulous efforts of pursuing good work in all four registers of valuation, the authors propose the notion of sequencing. Sequencing is an ongoing process of moving conflicting registers away from each other and bringing them back together again. Correspondingly, at the operational level of a hybrid organization, temporary compartmentalization is a means of avoiding clashes, and in doing so, making it possible for different and sometimes conflicting ways of achieving good results to continuously hybridize and persist together.
Research limitations/implications
The single-case approach allows for analytical depth, but limits the findings to theoretical, rather than empirical, generalizability. The framework the authors propose, however, is well-suited for mobilization and potential elaboration in further empirical contexts.
Originality/value
The paper provides a novel theoretical framework as well as rich empirical material from the highly political field of child protection work, which has seldomly been studied within accounting research.
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David Carless and Kitrina Douglas
This article reports an experimental golf programme initiated for people with severe and enduring mental health problems partly to promote physical activity and partly as a…
Abstract
This article reports an experimental golf programme initiated for people with severe and enduring mental health problems partly to promote physical activity and partly as a socially inclusive activity. The programme was organised for a small, pilot group and evaluated using qualitative case study data collected during the programme. The success of the programme was indicated by the high attendance rates of participants, their voiced enthusiasm for the sessions and for the social interaction after the games, and the fact that many members of the first group continue to play and new members have joined the group, even though sessions are no longer being organised and paid for.
Every pound in your pocket is printed on Portals' paper. And with the Bank of England holding a 32% stake, this £35m specialist paper‐to‐water treatment group is shielded from…
Abstract
Every pound in your pocket is printed on Portals' paper. And with the Bank of England holding a 32% stake, this £35m specialist paper‐to‐water treatment group is shielded from takeover bids. ‘This enables us to make better decisions,’ says executive deputy chairman and old Etonian, Julian Sheffield. ‘We don't have to make short‐term decisions to maximise short‐term results.’ Report by Ken Gooding.
Ann Ley, Jane Coleman and Julian Vayne
This article is about North Devon's Adult Learning Forum Pilot Project, which offered a range of interesting and unusual cultural activities to people recovering from mental…
Abstract
This article is about North Devon's Adult Learning Forum Pilot Project, which offered a range of interesting and unusual cultural activities to people recovering from mental distress. The Project arose from an innovative partnership between local cultural and leisure agencies and the mental health trust.
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Craig C. Julian and Zafar U. Ahmed
This article aims to analyze factors impacting international entrepreneurship in Malaysia.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to analyze factors impacting international entrepreneurship in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were conducted with 71 firms, both in the manufacturing sector and the service sector, across the 12 states of Malaysia.
Findings
The interviews revealed the reasons these firms internationalised, key success factors, and the barriers to internationalisation including export market attractiveness, government policy, foreign practices being incompatible with domestic business and adapting to foreign market needs.
Research limitations/implications
Due to a lack of resources, firms from West Malaysia were not contacted. West Malaysian firms may well possess characteristics concerning the barriers to internationalisation that are unique to their region.
Practical implications
This article provides insight into the perceptions and decision‐making processes of Malaysian entrepreneurs with regard to the barriers to internationalisation, thereby making a contribution to international business knowledge in a relatively unknown region of the world.
Originality/value
The study findings and interviews showed that in order to encourage and to be successful in international business, government policy must play an active role in promoting, assisting and helping Malaysian firms in terms of financing, training, technology and the offer of lucrative tax concessions so that the domestic firms would be encouraged to engage in international business.
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