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The purpose of this paper is to examine how managers in Nepalese business organizations and non‐profit non‐government organizations understand and practice strategic management and to what extent such understanding and practices differ from those in western countries.

In‐depth case studies of eight business organizations and non‐government organizations (NGOs) were prepared based on multiple data collection such as interviews and review of reports and the cases were analyzed to identify several themes for discussion of similarities and differences in the views and practices of strategic management.

Managers in Nepal have developed some shared understanding of key aspects of strategic management and practice some important aspects of strategic management; much remains to be done in order for them to develop a clear strategic focus so that they could develop their abilities to compete with global players and to create competitive advantages.

This study suggested several avenues for future research for more systematic and data‐driven studies on the roles of international exposure on managers, international partners, national culture and other macro environmental conditions on strategic management practices in Nepal and South Asia.

The research findings are useful for managers of business organizations and non‐government organizations to develop their strategies for superior performance in South Asian countries characterized by volatile business environment and resource constraints.

NGOs which work for social development need to improve their strategic management practices with more rigorous and resilient strategic implementation in Nepal.

This research is unique in the context of Nepal and will be useful in similar contexts. The findings contribute to understanding the strategic management practices in a unique culture.

Social Entrepreneurship/management of non-profit organizations (and non-government organizations).

Undergraduate/MBA/Executive MBA.

PUKAR is a niche non-government organization (NGO) working on a unique concept of “Right to Research”. It has several themes aimed at democratizing research and broadening access to knowledge among the disenfranchised or the weakly institutionalized groups. The resulting output is disseminated through media such as lectures, Web site, books and newsletters, thus initiating local, national and global debates about future of these groups. PUKAR conceptualizes all projects around this philosophy, which are supported by few specialized funding organizations. Funding organizations, on the other hand, are trying to support many causes aimed at improving the quality of life of citizens of various countries. Thus, PUKAR's growth is constrained by limited funds. Nevertheless, PUKAR has been able to create transformation in the lives of youth who carry out these projects. PUKAR, therefore, faces a continuous challenge of conceptualizing proposals that are meaningful and impactful for the society and to stay true to its core philosophy.

The expected learning outcomes include: to understand the nature of challenges (both strategic and operational) faced by a niche NGO; to analyze how the strategy of an NGO evolves with time; to analyze the impediments of growth for a niche NGO; and to analyze the strategic options for growth and sustenance of an NGO.

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This research develops a set of specific modern slavery disclosure principles for organisations. It critically evaluates seven legislative Acts from five different countries and 16 guidelines and directives from international organisations. By undertaking an in-depth content analysis, the research derives an index comprising nine principles and 49 disclosure items to promote best-practice disclosure in tackling modern slavery. We promote nine active principles for organisations to implement and disclose: recognising modern slavery practices, identifying risks, publishing a modern slavery risk prevention policy, proactive in assessing and addressing risks, assessing efficacy of actions, garnering internal and external oversight, externally communicating modern slavery risk mitigation, implementing a suppliers' assessment and code of conduct to ensure transparency and specifying consequences for non-compliance. The research is motivated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8, which focusses on economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work. The research findings will assist practitioners seeking to discover and disclose evidence of modern slavery practices and their mitigation to minimise and encourage the elimination of this unethical and illegal practice in domestic and global supply chains and operations.

Management training is constantly seen as an effective way of providing small‐medium size enterprises with the management expertise they require in order to develop and grow. The SME sector in Canada plays a prominent and essential role in the growth and expansion of the domestic economy through its contribution to the domestic output and job creation. However, this sector suffers from a considerably high failure rate that is largely attributed to the lack of management skills and planning, which can potentially be improved by providing training and education in different business areas. This paper assesses the entrepreneurship education and training efforts in Canada and identifies the common challenges that face this process.

The aim of this paper is to examine how internal communication of reform objectives to health workforces and stakeholders has influenced the implementation of Ghana's health sector decentralisation at district level.

Data collection involved in‐depth interviews with district public health officials, private health providers, local government officials and health‐related non‐government organisations which had been working in the district for at least two years.

The study's findings showed that communication (the sharing of information) about reform objectives were centralised among the top hierarchy of the District Health Management Teams; and the process of transferring reform information to district health workforces and stakeholders was through a top‐downward approach. This vertical style of communication resulted in limited information getting through to district health workforces tasked with the implementation. This impacted negatively on reform implementation.

The paper reveals that there is a connection between the level of comprehension of the objectives for decentralisation reform both by the health workforce and stakeholders, particularly the expected new roles they are supposed to play. A lack of effective transfer of information affects commitment and ownership of the decentralisation reform at district level; contributing significantly to the poor implementation of the reform programme.

This study seeks to explore the existential meaningfulness of HR managers' work. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of four existential attributes that are death, responsibility, alienation and meaningfulness, on the work of HR managers. The study also asserts that the work of HR managers has an existential dimension to it. It also argues that HR managers have human qualities. They react to human predicament and need emotional identification with their work and organization.

The study is based on the responses of HR managers developed on the basis of an interview guide specifically designed for this purpose. The data have been collected through extensive and in-depth field interactions with HR managers working in diverse organizations. The research approach taken here is to focus on the discrete moments of role performance of HR managers that represent microcosms of the larger complexity. Those moments are windows into the multiplicity of factors that are constantly relevant to person-role dynamics. Focusing on specific moments of work role performance of HR managers is like using the zoom lens of a camera: a distant stationary image is brought close and revealed as a series of innumerable leaps of engagement and falls of disengagement.

The study brings out the emotional and human dilemmas of HR managers working in public and private sector organizations. While discussing and linking Kahn's model with Sartrean thoughts can provide unique perspective within the strategic human resource management especially in Pakistani organizations which was missing not only in Kahn's model but also in management literature.

The study makes a fresh inquiry into the nature of HRM and the existential realities experienced by the HR managers at work place. The study is unique because of its extensive field interactions based on a well-designed interview guide hitherto unapplied in the organization studies.

After a technocratic period predominating in mobility literature and practice, the rhetoric of participation has been incorporated as a vital condition for the sustainable mobility agenda and, more recently, for achieving transport and mobility justice. Considering the social significance of mobility beyond simple movement and participation as a term that can accommodate a wide range of motivations and implications, this chapter explores the complex interplay of participation and mobility in the global south context. To this end, this study adopts the spaces for participation framework to investigate the multiple roles of participation in urban mobility. With a focus on the Brazilian context, this chapter uncovers the nature, dynamics, and reach of invited and claimed spaces for participation in mobility planning. Using Rio de Janeiro as the case study site, the chapter examines the invited spaces for participation enabled by the city's mobility plan and analyses whether marginalised populations engage with and/or create further spaces for participation. This was achieved through document analysis, online photo-elicitation interviews with residents of Favela Santa Marta as well as semi-structured interviews with municipal government professionals and representatives of non-government organisations involved in the development of Rio's mobility plan. The chapter discusses the interconnectedness or lack of, within invited and claimed spaces for participation and the multiplicity of meanings attributed to participation and mobility by different actors. The chapter closes with a reflection on what this means for participatory mobility planning in Brazil but which may apply to similar regions in the global south.

This British Academy/Leverhulme-funded research (Grant number: SG170394) investigated the experiences and impact of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and torture on South Sudanese refugees’ health and rights and the responses of health and justice services in Northern Uganda.

It involved thematic analysis of the narratives of 20 men and 41 women refugees’ survivors of SGBV and torture; this included their experiences in South Sudan, their journeys to Uganda and experiences in refugee settlements. In total, 37 key stakeholders including health and justice providers, police, non-government and government organisations were also interviewed regarding their experiences of providing services to refugees.

All refugees had survived human rights abuses carried out in South Sudan, on route to Uganda and within Uganda. Incidents of violence, SGBV, torture and other human rights abuses declined significantly for men in Uganda, but women reported SGBV incidents. The research demonstrates linkages between the physical, psychological, social/cultural and justice/human rights impact on women and men refugees, which amplified the impact of their experiences. There was limited screening, physical and psychological health and support services; including livelihoods and education. Refugees remained concerned about violence and SGBV in the refugee settlements. While they all knew of the reporting system for such incidents, they questioned the effectiveness of the process. For this reason, women opted for family reconciliation rather than reporting domestic violence or SGBV to the authorities. Men found it hard to report incidences due to high levels of stigma and shame.

Refugees largely fled South Sudan to escape human rights abuses including, persecution, SGBV and torture. Their experiences resulted in physical, psychological, social-cultural and justice effects that received limited responses by health and justice services. An integrated approach to meeting refugees’ needs is required.

The authors make recommendations for integrated gender sensitive service provision for refugees including more systematic screening, assessment and treatment of SGBV and torture physical and emotional injuries combined with implementation of livelihoods and social enterprises.

The research demonstrates that stigma and shame, particularly for male refugee survivors of SGBV and torture, impacts on ability to report these incidents and seek treatment. Increasing gender sensitivity of services to these issues, alongside provision of medical treatment for injuries, alongside improved informal justice processes, may assist to counteract shame and increase disclosure.

There is currently a lack of empirical investigation of this subject area, therefore this research makes a contribution to the subject of understanding refugees’ experiences of SGBV and torture, as well as their perceptions of service provision and response. This subject is strategically important due to the pressing need to develop integrated, gendered and culturally sensitive services that listen to the voices and draw on the expertise of refugees themselves while using their skills to inform improvements in service responses and policy.

Bangladesh is one of the most disaster‐prone countries in the world. Natural disasters adversely affect the country's economy and deter its development. Thus preparedness for the disasters, along with effective prevention and mitigation measures, is imperative for sustainable development of the country. The purpose of this paper is to examine the present state of disaster preparedness in the country with special attention to the more frequent and damaging disasters – flood and cyclone.

A detailed study of the effects of natural disasters, disaster prevention and mitigation measures, and institutional setting for disaster preparedness was undertaken.

Plans and programs have been formulated to manage natural disasters. In a “Cyclone Preparedness Program”, trained volunteers facilitate emergency response and proper use of the multi‐purpose shelters. Within an institutional framework for disaster management, several Non‐Government Organizations (NGOs) work for disaster preparedness alongside the government organizations. Their formal and nonformal education programs on disaster preparedness have a common objective of promoting resilient and sustainable communities.

Planning and design of structural interventions for prevention and mitigation of natural disasters should be done more carefully to avoid adverse impacts on the environment. A participatory approach is essential in this process. Education and awareness‐building programs need wider and easier access to the people.

The paper concludes that the institutional arrangement for cyclone preparedness and response is unique and efficient, and that participation of NGOs in the preparedness program contributes significantly toward sustainable development. These lessons will be important for development planning in other sectors.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of agility in the context of supply chains of humanitarian aid (HA) organizations, particularly non‐government organizations (NGOs). This responds to the increasing pressure on NGOs to use their resources more strategically if they are to gain donor trust and long‐term commitment.

A literature‐based approach that extends the commercial supply chain concept of agility to NGOs is combined with the first exploratory semi‐structured interviews of these concepts with five NGO supply chain directors.

The commercial concept of agility when responding to disaster relief holds strong potential for increasing efficiency and effectiveness, but this application is restrained by the absence of supporting information technology (IT) and the relegation of supply chain management (SCM) to the “back office” by NGOs. This has potential implications for NGOs and other HA agencies.

This paper represents an exploratory study, and an extended pool of interviewees would reinforce the qualitative findings. Planned future research will address this issue.

Practical guidance on how NGOs can proactively manage their organization's ability to respond with agility in a highly pressured environment is provided.

This paper is the first to offer practical guidance to managers of NGOs on strategies available to improve their organization's flexibility and agility, based on theoretical concepts and initial exploratory data. In addition, evidence of how commercial tools apply in a different arena may prompt commercial managers to be more innovative in utilizing and customizing supply chain principles to their particular context of operation.