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An abundance of much publicized TQM failures have tarnished the good name of total quality management. Rob Evans, chief executive at ODI Europe, argues that these are problems with implementation, rather than with TQM itself. Uses Nestlé Chocolate and Confections, ABB Zamech and Hybritech as examples of companies which are capitalizing from taking the TQM track. Concludes that the success of TQM depends on the level of dedication exhibited by senior management.

This chapter focusses on the ethical issues raised by different types of surveillance and the varied ways in which surveillance can be covert. Three case studies are presented which highlight different types of surveillance and different ethical concerns. The first case concerns the use of undercover police to infiltrate political activist groups over a 40-year period in the UK. The second case study examines a joint operation by US and Australian law enforcement agencies: the FBI’s operation Trojan Shield and the AFP’s Operation Ironside. This involved distributing encrypted phone handsets to serious criminal organisations which included a ‘backdoor’ secretly sending encrypted copies of all messages to law enforcement. The third case study analyses the use of emotional artificial intelligence systems in educational digital learning platforms for children where technology companies collect, store and use intrusive personal data in an opaque manner. The authors discuss similarities and differences in the ethical questions raised by these cases, for example, the involvement of the state versus private corporations, the kinds of information gathered and how it is used.

Scrutinizes business process re‐engineering (BPR) programmes and their effect on employees – resistance and inability to change. Suggests BPR is not the technically‐driven exercise many consider it to be; but instead groups together identification of customer needs, use of enabling technologies and staff education to understand the process. This last area, the staff aspect is often neglected. Indicates how to implement BPR in a staff‐friendly manner and provides examples to illustrate.

At its regular meeting on April 25, the OCLC Board of Trustees and OCLC President Rowland C. W. Brown announced that Mr. Brown will relinquish his responsibilities as president and chief executive officer of OCLC during the coming year.

This paper aims to address an important question of what makes companies succeed or not in their attempt to empower employees. As this study answers this question, the arguments suggest that coordination is essential to creation of employee empowerment climate in organizations.

This is conceptual paper rooted in extensive research on both – empowerment (culture, climate and organizational structure) and coordination (formal and informal).

To help managers to be effective in their roles, this study presents four insights to creating empowerment climate. The arguments conclude that coordination provides a vessel for successful realization of empowerment. Specifically, only informal coordination (vs formal) will fully realize empowerment’s benefits. Given that the topic of empowerment is highly germane to managers in today’s context of the increasing number of employees working remotely, this work presents an important and actionable advance for managers.

This study represents original research that has not been published and is not currently under review at any other journal.

Addresses three related, though not entirely congruent, aims. Seeks, first, to initiate moves towards a “normative theory” ‐ a conceptual framework ‐ for the developing of social accounting by organizations. Second, aims inductively to draw out best practice from a range of social accounting experiments, illustrated, in particular, by reference to two short cases from Traidcraft plc and Traidcraft Exchange. Third, draws from the conclusions reached in the exploration of the first two aims and attempts to identify any clear “social accounting standards” or “generally acceptable social accounting principles” which can be used to guide the new and emerging social accounting practice. Presents a number of subtexts which attempt to link back to the accounting literature’s more trenchant critiques of social accounting; to address the tension between academic theorizing and engaging with practice; to synthesize different approaches to social accounting practice; and to respond to the urgency that the recent upsurge in interest in social accounting places on the newly formed Institute of Social and Ethical Accountability. An ambitious paper which means that coverage of issues must be thinner than might typically be expected ‐ exploratory, rather than providing answer, offers a collective view from experience and encourage engagement with the rapidly evolving social accounting agenda.

Referring to the importance of the public health services in this country, Sir Kingsley Wood, M.P., in a recent speech observed that the result of the recent General Election afforded an unprecedented opportunity for the steady development during the next five years, and possibly ten, of the public health services of the country, not by means of stunts, but by science and statecraft. Prevention must be their great watchword. The great triumphs of public health were due in no small degree to the work of the general practitioner. To him came the great host of patients with what were called “trivial ailments,” which, in fact, did so much to incapacitate us as a nation. People little realised, for instance, what the “common cold” cost the State. One of the greatest needs in health matters of the immediate future was research. We were still in the dark as to the causes of measles, of influenza, of rheumatism, and of cancer. We had yet to learn the relationship of certain foods and particular diseases. The Health Ministry was concerned with the important question of pure food. We needed not only cheap food but clean food, which was vital to a healthy and vigorous race. There were two great objects to be achieved. We must continue to improve our food values. It was true that in 1920 out of nearly half a million deaths those of fourteen men and two women were directly attributed to “starvation.” but the evils of malnutrition could not be so narrowly limited. Clean and wholesome food was an effective weapon against disease and premature death. There was, it was gratifying to note, a considerable rise in the standard of national nutrition, and this had been an important and favourable factor in the decline of mortality from tuberculosis. But the consumer must more and more be safeguarded against contaminated, adulterated, and disease‐producing food. Civilisation had urbanised man, it had taken him away from his natural base—the soil—and thus from the prime source of his food supply. It brought him from lone distances, and while giving him a greater abundance it had robbed his food of much of its freshness and vitality. To‐day we often chose our food more by reading advertisements than in trusting to our natural tastes. We loved to see some of our vegetables very green, and accordingly they were canned and coloured for us. Dirty and dusty milk, and careless handling of meat and bread, “doctored” butter, and the boron preserved sausage, the boracised egg, the mixture of sugar, artificial flavouring, and benzoic acid, sometimes called ginger beer, were not the best illustrations of our advance in national health conditions. It was quite possible to imagine a reasonable meal which might contain 20 or even more grains of boric acid besides other preservatives. In these respects Great Britain was behind the standard of many other countries. There was a general movement in various parts of the civilised world in the direction of limiting and controlling the admixture of chemical preservatives and colouring matter with foodstuffs. He was glad to say that it had the support in this country of the great majority of the traders, who were equally anxious to see a pure food supply. The best firms and the shopkeepers of the country strongly desired it. Mr. Neville Chamberlain had the matter well in hand, and already certain regulations were being framed on the basis of the recommendation of an Expert Committee which had recently enquired into the whole subject. These regulations would first be published, in order that persons interested might, if they desired, submit recommendations to the Ministry. Certain of the recommendations of the Committee could not be effected without legislation, but it was proposed to undertake this as soon as pressure on Parliamentary time permitted. The Ministry hoped also to promote a measure consolidating the whole of the law relating to food. He desired to say, in conclusion, that while laws were necessary and regulations were desirable to a large extent, the vital matter of clean food rested with the nation itself. The public had recently been asked by the Ministry to refrain from the common practice of handling meat before purchasing. Fingering meat was, of course, a definitely unhealthy habit. Nobody desired unnecessary regulations, especially Britishers, and they did not want grandmotherly legislation: but in certain elementary matters in connection with our food we must break many old bad habits. Education had done much for improved health and temperance, and he did not doubt it would largely help to achieve the advanre which was so necessary and urgent in connection with attainment of a purer and cleaner food supply.

Our study explores the performance implications of deviations in managers’ perceptions of “cultural distance” – one of the most important concepts in International Business research – when expanding into foreign markets. Despite much research on “cultural distance,” few researchers have paid attention to the effect of deviations in managers’ perceptions of cultural distance on firm performance. This is important since managers formulate strategies for responding to the environment based on their perceptions of the firm’s environment. These perceptions, however, do not always coincide with actual environmental characteristics. Therefore, formulating strategies based on inaccurate data may result in erroneous forecasts, missed opportunities and, ultimately, business failure. We explore this empirically by comparing managers’ perceptions of cultural distance to export markets of Swedish SMEs to cultural distance measures based on secondary data and relate deviations of perceptions to the performance of these SMEs. Our results show that the larger the deviations of managers’ perceptions of cultural differences from “actual differences” as expressed in Hofstede scores on cultural dimensions, the lower the performance expressed in firms’ sales. The implications of the study are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the larger picture of chemsex in a hope to understand how to best work with clients therapeutically. The paper’s aim is to acknowledge not just the risk and “negative” aspects but also what might be gained by men engaging in chems use. How can the chemsex space act as a container for emotions and experiences?

This is a paper based upon cases from within the author’s private practice plus anonymous interviews with men. It comes from a sex positive therapy approach and explores ideas formed within the author's work as a practitioner.

The findings within this paper showed just how complex an issue chemsex is with many layers to it. The author also found that the most important aspect to bear in mind is that this is a very human issue, with aspects many can relate to such as intimacy, self-esteem, desire for connection and dealing with difficult emotions. By seeing what part it plays in the life of men involved then it is possible to can understand how seductive it could be.

This paper takes a more in-depth look at the psychological roots of chemsex and how these play a part. As this field is explored more, this paper aims to look at chemsex from the idea of pleasure, community and connection so that it is possible to provide the support that is best suited.

This chapter considers how to, following David Harvey (1973), produce a genuinely humanizing smart urbanism. It does so through utilizing a future-orientated lens to sketch out the kinds of work required to reimagine, reframe, and remake smart cities. I argue that, on the one hand, there is a need to produce an alternative “future present” that shifts the anticipatory logics of smart cities to that of addressing persistent inequalities, prejudice, and discrimination and is rooted in notions of fairness, equity, ethics, and democracy. On the other hand, there is a need to disrupt the “present future” of neoliberal smart urbanism, moving beyond minimal politics to enact sustained strategic, public-led interventions designed to create more-inclusive smart city initiatives. Both tactics require producing a deeply normative vision for smart cities that is rooted in ideas of citizenship, social justice, the public good, and the right to the city that needs to be developed in conjunction with citizens.