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The purpose of this paper is to explore the objectives and overall approach of a faith-based homeless outreach campaign. It aims to stimulate wider discussion about how civil society can play a role in achieving participatory parity for the homeless.

Using a case study approach, this viewpoint paper then connects practical considerations to extant literature on community inclusion.

This particular homeless outreach campaign generated a tremendous amount of volunteerism – perhaps unparalleled relative to any other recent campaign driven by civil society. Yet it aimed only to funnel the homeless into the private social sector. Furthermore, most of the homeless people engaged on the streets did not complete the rehabilitation programs.

Campaigns such as this may need to adopt discursive habits in order to recognize the social distances that must be bridged between the housed and the homeless. With greater reflexivity, volunteers can use their interactions with the homeless to develop empathy, compassion, and understanding. Volunteers may then feel inspired to leverage their personal resources to address community perceptions of homelessness, or to advocate for systematic changes.

This paper suggests recasting the goals of homeless campaigns to include the development of social bridges between the housed and the homeless, which can guide advocacy efforts.

Sam Walton opened his first Wal‐Mart discount store in 1962. Today, Wal‐Mart is not only the world’s largest corporation but also the world’s most admired company, according to a 2003 Fortune magazine poll. Wal‐Mart is competitive and successful because it has been doing many things right. This article helps shed light on the rise of Wal‐Mart and the roots of its competitiveness. Business practitioners aspiring to succeed can learn a great deal from studying the Wal‐Mart way of doing business.

The purpose of this case study is to describe the Costa Rican coffee roaster and retail company Grupo Britt and provides sufficient information for readers to discuss the company's growth options in the US and Latin American markets. It has been prepared to facilitate discussion and learning about appropriate growth strategies and the building, positioning and branding of companies from emerging economies within the internationalization processes.

The case study is based on primary research conducted in conjunction with the company, including interviews with senior management and an ample review of documents. Secondary research was also conducted into the relevant environmental, industry and competitor trends and characteristics.

The case presents the ways in which Grupo Britt has been successful in developing a new business model based on the concept of a “sense of place.” This translates as meaning that the company generates products and services that highlight the particular characteristics of the place(s) in which it operates.

This is a complex, in‐depth case study suitable for use with advanced MBA students and practitioners. Depending on the aims of the instructor, different aspects of the case can be highlighted and it can be used in a course or module focussing on strategies for growth or internationalization, international business or marketing, or brand management

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the underlying reasons for the recent slow‐down in the rate of sales growth for the world's largest retailer, its implications for the economic valuation of this enterprise, and its future as a cohesive organization.

Wal‐Mart's comparative or same store sales growth over the last five years are contrasted with two of its key rivals Target and Costco, and the source and momentum of its core US growth record are examined over the last decade.

The results of the investigation indicate that Wal‐Mart has entered a new phase in its evolution as an enterprise, and the future rates of its growth will be limited to 3‐4 percent per annum in comp, and 10‐12 percent in total sales, excluding any acquisitions. This “new normal” is in part due to the extreme market share of Wal‐Mart in many of its trading areas, and the changing competitive landscape that was in no small part “created” in reaction to Wal‐Mart's own market power.

The analysis and its conclusions are of interest to retailing students and scholars who have been following the Wal‐Mart enterprise throughout the years, as well as retailing and merchandising analysts who have been struggling to define a new valuation model for the world's largest retail company. The paper is also of interest to retail market strategist as it illustrates that there are potential and natural limits to growth in all competitive arenas, and sources of new growth will always have to be sought in new product‐market spaces.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology utilization in manufacturing firms on manufacturing efficiency and effectiveness.

Using systems theory as a basis, a RFID utilization and outcome(s) performance model was developed from the literature. Data from a sample of 155 manufacturers were collected and the model was assessed using a structural equation methodology.

Findings indicate that utilization of RFID technology leads to improved manufacturing efficiency and manufacturing effectiveness. Improvements in efficiency lead directly to improved organizational performance, and improvements in effectiveness lead directly to improved supply chain performance.

Data were collected during the growth stage of RFID technology adoption and were only collected from firms in the manufacturing sector. Results should be interpreted with these limitations in mind.

The implementation of RFID technology can result in improved manufacturing efficiency and effectiveness. Practitioners considering adoption of the technology should fully account for these potential efficiency and effectiveness related benefits when determining the justification for adoption of this technology.

The paper describes one of the first empirically‐based studies investigating the impact of RFID technology implementation on supply chain and organizational performance in manufacturing organizations.

Life studies are a rich source for further research on the role of the Afro‐American woman in society. They are especially useful to gain a better understanding of the Afro‐American experience and to show the joys, sorrows, needs, and ideals of the Afro‐American woman as she struggles from day to day.

Although the bright lights of the big city have not entirely lost their glitter, many companies are finding that rural living can be good for business.

Looking beyond and “beneath” the short‐term effects of the 1990‐1991 recession, the general trends taking place in American retailing as it enters the third year of the 1990s are reviewed. These include: the effects of demographic changes, the significance of retailing in the economy, specialisation, “value” retailing, merchandise “scrambling”, the increasing segmentation of retail “offers”, the decline of the American department store, the “hangover” from the 1980s “space race”, the continued decentralisation of retail floorspace, the impacts of LBO debt problems, a return to “basics”, store “localising”, the “internationalisation” of American retailing, and the contributions of information technology. In conclusion, a brief prognosis is given for the remainder of the 1990s.