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This case study presents the challenges and opportunities faced by a Russian-based firm in terms of expansion to neighboring emerging markets. The case reviews the efforts of a large Russian-based business-to-business firm, which is the leader in the field of fire production gear and equipment, both in manufacturing and sales, and has recently expanded their operations into the neighboring country of Belarus.

The case examines the initial decision to expand to Belarus and what types of risks were assessed prior to entry. Included in the case is a review of the background of the company under consideration, including their history in Russia and how the company addressed the managerial problem of: Why should the company decide to penetrate a foreign market?

The study documents and highlights those variables and critical decisions that needed to be made prior to entry, and which items proved to be the most straightforward; those that resulted in the greatest challenge; and those that were highly unexpected.

The case demonstrates that the form of penetration strategy selected by a firm operating in this region must balance the breadth of stakeholder interests. The two theoretical frameworks; international expansion strategy; stakeholder balance strategy illustrate how a firm can benefit from the proper integration of these theories within the existing resources of the firm. Additionally, the case provides a potential prescription in terms of how to best select a future country for expansion.

By analyzing a firm that has successfully operated in Russia, and has expanded internationally to another emerging market, Belarus, contributes to the limited existing literature that has applied international strategic theories to actual international practice.

Amid the COVID-19 world pandemic, there are few organizations that have proven to be recession proof. A Dubai-based company has managed to resist its second recession after the 2008 market downturn, with no lay-offs, cash flow problems, and over 80% customer satisfaction. NAFFCO, a world leader in manufacturing fire safety and security solutions, is the organization that beat the odds. The aim of this case study is to identify the drivers of success that contributed to the continuous growth of the organization, despite turbulences in the market condition. Six drivers were identified: (1) Situational Leadership Style, (2) Innovation through Kaizen, (3) Quality Focus, (4) Research and Development Philosophy with Knowledge Spillover Integration, (5) Esprit de corps, and finally (6) Corporate Citizenship. These drivers were cross-examined with respect to academic literature and an analysis of the deviations and commonalities have been presented. Based on the cross examination of different strategic drivers, suitable areas of future studies have been indicated to understand the magnitude of their effects including NAFFCO’s Oath!

This study proposes targeted modernization of the Department of Defense (DoD's) Joint Forces Ammunition Logistics information system by implementing the optimized innovative information technology open architecture design and integrating Radio Frequency Identification Device data technologies and real-time optimization and control mechanisms as the critical technology components of the solution. The innovative information technology, which pursues the focused logistics, will be deployed in 36 months at the estimated cost of $568 million in constant dollars. We estimate that the Systems, Applications, Products (SAP)-based enterprise integration solution that the Army currently pursues will cost another $1.5 billion through the year 2014; however, it is unlikely to deliver the intended technical capabilities.

Almost every year the nation was shocked by the fire incident at school and hostel. The Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (2020) recorded 216 fires that have occurred at the private Islamic religious schools from 2015 until 2019, where several fires have killed many students, such as accidents in 1985, 1998, 2013, 2014 and 2017. As a result, the public began questioning the level of awareness among the school administrators. Addressing these issues, a survey has been conducted on the private Islamic religious schools that had experienced fire incidents in order to identify the awareness level among the administrators and students and to investigate whether aspects of compliance with fire safety procedures are enhanced. Four groups of respondents were selected, in which the Department of Fire and Rescue acts as a focus group. The other three groups are the victims who have faced the fire itself in their respective schools. The findings highlighted that the awareness level among victims towards the fire prevention practices is very low. Evidence has revealed there is no periodic supervision towards fire safety equipment, and only 35% comply with the standard procedure. Experts suggest sustainable school building should introduce to meet the criteria in performance-based fire management solutions. This reflects the fact that building continuity and fire safety can be complementary, not contradictory, if the two disciplines engage in meaningful dialogue at the beginning of the design process.

This chapter describes the approach to sustainable rail passenger rolling stock in terms of interior passive safety requirements within the European market. It is intended to give the background and logistical approach for the future introduction of a standard as an aid for the design and validation of the interiors of passenger rail vehicles. Also discussed is the acceptance of the proposed European-based standard into the regulatory system of the technical specifications for interoperability. Methodologies for design assessment and validation will be discussed. This chapter is intended to encourage an acceptance of the standard for interior passive safety as a realistic and cost-effective method of improving rail vehicle safety in terms of the passenger interfaces with the rail stock interior.

Over the past few years, the electronic media, as represented by the internet version of print media and independent blogs of journalists, has become a major player in the coverage of incidents related to violence against women. While this has brought forward issues of violence and specifically rape prominently into the public sphere, the media portrayal of women has often been as victims or victims who are somehow responsible for the violence against them. Such portrayal has been repeatedly challenged by feminists. Using data from 572 national and international English media reports for a six-month period (from December 2012 to April 2013) the coverage of the protests about the 2012 case of gang rape and eventual death of Jyoti Singh Pandey in India’s capital city, New Delhi, is examined in this chapter. Drawing from past research, three main frames are discerned in the portrayal of women in the reports: mainstreaming gender, endangered woman, and the ungendered woman. Media portrayals of these three frames by three broadly categorized actors most prominently covered by the media reports are analyzed: activists, state representatives or political actors, and ordinary citizens. The findings suggest that while some reports allude to women’s agency and rights particularly when they cover feminist activists, women’s agency is marginalized in the debates around safety and protection for women when other actors (such as state representatives or political actors, and ordinary citizens) are considered. Indian women’s rights have been reduced to passive messages negating the broader politics of the contemporary women’s movement.

Forests too thick with fuels that are too continuously spread to resist fire are common throughout the west. After a century or more of actively working to suppress fire across the landscape, we now recognize that fire is a part of our forests, shrublands, and range, and that it will come whether we wish it or not. At last, managers must realize forests cannot be fire-proofed (DellaSala, Williams, Williams, & Franklin, 2004). We must work with fire rather than against it.