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Wheelchair users face great difficulty in transferring themselves from one surface to another, for example from wheelchair to a toilet commode. In such cases, mostly a caregiver’s assistance may be required, but it affects one’s dignity. The purpose of this paper is to develop a robotic self-transfer device, which is aimed at offering privacy and independence to people with lower limb disabilities in performing daily activities.

The device, attached to a powered wheelchair, is useful in transferring a user from a wheelchair to a toilet commode or any other surface following simple and natural transfer procedure without the need of any caregiver. The user can achieve transfer by operating joysticks. The device employs two linear actuators and a motor to accomplish the transfer. Trials were carried out to test the performance of the device by involving potential beneficiaries.

The device could successfully transfer the participants from a wheelchair to a chair with less effort in less than a minute. The results of the trials show that the participants felt comfortable in using the device. It was also found that the device is superior to other existing transfer systems in terms of comfort and operation.

The existing self-transfer systems are alternative solutions that serve the purpose of mobility coupled with self-transfer. Instead of developing an alternative mobility solution, this paper proposes a novel design of a self-transfer device that can be used as an attachment to wheelchair.

This research study aims to investigate supplier integration's (SI) impact on supply-side resilience (SSR) while considering the intervening role of supplier sustainability and supplier flexibility (SF).

Grounded in the dynamic capabilities view (DCV), the study posits that integration of the focal firm with firm's suppliers leads to sustainability on the supplier's side, which makes the firms more flexible to work with during disruptive circumstances, resulting in resilience on the supply side. The hypotheses are tested on the data of 181 manufacturing firm supply chain managers from a developing country.

The research findings confirmed the hypothesized model suggesting that SI positively impacts SSR. The results also confirm the existence of sequential mediation of supplier sustainability and SF between the SI–SSR relationship.

The results of this study show that SI is the primary capability for organizations seeking SSR. Furthermore, the supply-side capabilities, to be effective, are developed in a specific order.

This research advances the body of knowledge by identifying the underlying mechanisms through which SI augments SSR.

Leadership, human resource management, crisis management, change management and communication.

Executive education; postgraduate; undergraduate.

This case study describes the collapse of Satyam, a leading IT industry service provider from India. Satyam went into a crisis mode after revelation of financial fraud by its Chairman. This resulted in a crisis not just for the company, its clients and employees – but it also had the potential to shake up the entire Indian IT industry the world over, by shattering investor and client confidence in the Indian IT sector. The case provides the students with an inside view of the unfolding of events at Satyam and the people challenges that emerge in a crisis scenario. The case outlines reactions from the industry, government, clients and employees as they tried to make sense of a very chaotic situation, and its multi-level ramifications both within India and outside. The case ends with Thallapalli Hari, the Global Head of Marketing and Communication and ex-head of HR, trying to visualise and prioritise a course of action to propose to other members of the leadership team.

The key aim of this case is to provide a backdrop to the crisis, and also help students put themselves in the role of an HR crisis manager as well as portray the decision making and communication challenges that emerge in chaotic situations. The importance of an immediate and yet strategic response is emphasised and the case is a great starting point to have a discussion on the competencies and skills required in HR to lead under unusual circumstances. This case allows participants to get an in-depth understanding of the collapse of Satyam. The case also illustrates principles of leadership, change management and communication, in particular:

• Leadership: The Satyam story is an HR and leadership crisis nightmare come true. What should an HR leader do when you wake up to find your company with a ruined reputation, minimal financial capital, 53,000 employees on the payroll and more than 500 clients with pending deliverables worldwide. Where do you begin? The case illustrates a situation where immediate action is required to stop the tailspin into which the company was heading.

• Change management: The situation demanded that change be managed from a chaotic system to a stable system. The big issue though remains as to how one can get a system into a state of stability when everything is changing at the same time. Most change management plans have some stable variables, however in the case of Satyam there were multiple changes taking place simultaneously. A combination of change in leadership, client relationships, employee trust and confidence, market reactions together make for a perfect storm. Dealing with even one of these changes is a challenge for a company. In the case of Satyam, its entire existence was at stake.

• Communication: The demands for communicating effectively in a crisis situation are different than communicating under stable systems. The choice of medium, the speed of response, the content all need careful monitoring. Whereas most companies have teams that separately deal with internal and external communication, Satyam provides a unique situation where managing both effectively at the same time was critical to the future of the firm. The stakes for effective communication are much higher under the circumstances. This case can be used in organizational behaviour, human resources and corporate communications modules being taught to under-graduates, post-graduates and for executive education.

Leadership: The Satyam story is an HR and leadership crisis nightmare come true. What should an HR leader do when you wake up to find your company with a ruined reputation, minimal financial capital, 53,000 employees on the payroll and more than 500 clients with pending deliverables worldwide. Where do you begin? The case illustrates a situation where immediate action is required to stop the tailspin into which the company was heading.

Change management: The situation demanded that change be managed from a chaotic system to a stable system. The big issue though remains as to how one can get a system into a state of stability when everything is changing at the same time. Most change management plans have some stable variables, however in the case of Satyam there were multiple changes taking place simultaneously. A combination of change in leadership, client relationships, employee trust and confidence, market reactions together make for a perfect storm. Dealing with even one of these changes is a challenge for a company. In the case of Satyam, its entire existence was at stake.

Communication: The demands for communicating effectively in a crisis situation are different than communicating under stable systems. The choice of medium, the speed of response, the content all need careful monitoring. Whereas most companies have teams that separately deal with internal and external communication, Satyam provides a unique situation where managing both effectively at the same time was critical to the future of the firm. The stakes for effective communication are much higher under the circumstances. This case can be used in organizational behaviour, human resources and corporate communications modules being taught to under-graduates, post-graduates and for executive education.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Scholarly studies have criticized transformational leadership (TFL) for its lack of conceptual clarity and inadequate operationalization. This study endeavors to do a detailed examination of the dimensions of the construct to address the lack of conceptual clarity. Further, with respect to concerns regarding operationalization, the study does an exploratory evaluation of reconceptualized TFL's relationship with psychological empowerment, a construct through which TFL mostly has its beneficial outcomes.

Respondents (n = 335) from an Indian information technology (IT) services organization report on their psychological empowerment and the transformational behaviors of their supervisors using temporally separated (15 days) online questionnaires.

As expected, the dimensions of transformational leadership are not equally salient in influencing psychological empowerment; however, they explain variance in all dimensions of psychological empowerment. Visioning relates to meaning and impact; inspirational communication relates to all dimensions of empowerment; personal recognition relates to impact and competence; finally, intellectual stimulation relates to self-determination. Contrary to expectations, however, data did not support the relationship of intellectual stimulation and supportive leadership on competence.

Data collected from a single organization limit the claims of generalizability, and the use of a cross-sectional design prevents claims of causality. Given the significant variation in relational properties of individual dimensions, scholars can use dimensions of TFL, and therefore theorizing with these is possible.

This paper provides additional support for the unpacking of TFL, by hypothesizing and demonstrating the dimensional relationships between TFL and psychological empowerment.

This study aims to investigate the effects of firm characteristics and crisis characteristics on remedies offered to consumers by firms in the event of a product recall crisis.

Published data on 868 product recalls in the US toy industry from 1988 to 2011 have been used to investigate the effects of firm experience in product recalls, type of firm (company versus intermediary) and product recall severity in predicting remedies offered to consumers in the event of a product recall.

The findings show that firm recall experience, firm type and recall severity are negatively associated with recall remedies offered. Specifically, firms offer lower remedies if they have higher recall experience, if they are upstream firms in the supply chain (farther from consumers) and if the recall is more severe.

This study focuses on the toy industry and does not consider product complexity, firm reputation and the role of external regulatory agencies in the prediction of remedies offered by firms. Future research may extend this study to include the above factors.

Offering a high remedy to consumers of a recalled product may be a responsible decision by a firm, but it may also attract shareholder wrath. The study has implications for managing multiple goals in product recall crisis management.

Studies focused on issues of interest to consumers during a recall crisis, such as swift recalls and appropriate remedies, are limited. This study contributes to the understanding of the antecedents of recall remedies.

In the field of management, leadership plays a significant role in affecting the motivation, commitment and predisposition of the workforce in that it provides focus, meaning and inspiration to those who work for a company. As architects of an organization, managers need to project themselves as role models that embody and convey to their workforce desirable attitudes, Values, and beliefs, in actions as well as in words.

Purpose – In business environment, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly an important issue for every stakeholder. Organizations are being reputable through CSR activities. The aim of this chapter is to examine the relationship between CSR and corporate reputation, and determine the role of CSR activities in corporate reputation building process.Design/methodology/approach – An extensive literature research is conducted in order to develop the theoretical framework that supports the positive role of CSR activities on corporate reputation.Findings – As CSR activities affect the consequences that have a positive impact on corporate reputation, findings show that CSR enables firms to improve reputation with a broad range of stakeholders including employees (internal customers), customers (external customers), suppliers, competitors, bankers, and investors.Research limitations/Implications – However this research is a theoretical study, for further studies an empirical research model may be developed for investigating the relationship between CSR and corporate reputation. These dimensions should be measured and the hypothesis about the positive relationship between CSR and corporate reputation may be statistically tested.Practical implications – This theoretical study may be useful for the board of directors and managers since they should become aware of the importance of one of the growing areas of corporate reputation and CSR. They are also increasingly being encouraged to engage CSR activities into their organization's vision, identity, brand, and reputation. Based on societal expectations of stakeholders, organizations should develop and improve their CSR programs and reflect these developments to their reputation mechanisms.Originality/Value of the paper – This study is valuable to understand the corporate reputation practices that enhance and demonstrate the value of reputable organizations. It is also attractive to compare other dimensions of corporate reputation such as emotional appeal, workplace environment, and corporate reputation with CSR.

Spotlights India and that by 2045 it may become a more populous country than China. Deplores the lack of social and economic development in India and looks at the reasons for these. Tries to explain why the population has shot up from 1971 and two‐thirds of the growth in India has taken place since then. Uses tables to aid in explanation of birth rates, literacy and literacy among females particularly. Concludes that the economic development and urbanization is to be commended but not the only key factor regarding fertility rates of single states.