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1 – 10 of 73Stacey Frank Kanihan, Kathleen A. Hansen, Sara Blair, Marta Shore and Jun Myers
The purpose of this paper is to examine formal and informal types of power, and identify the characteristics of corporate communications managers who are in the dominant coalition.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine formal and informal types of power, and identify the characteristics of corporate communications managers who are in the dominant coalition.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports on results of a survey sent to a representative sample of S&P 500 corporate communications managers and CEOs in the USA Data about industry sector, company size, annual revenue and profitability were collected for the responding companies and a random sample of 100 non‐responding companies. The responding companies (n=161) did not significantly differ from the non‐responding companies
Findings
The paper finds that four attributes of informal power differentiate communications managers who are in the dominant coalition from those who are not: reciprocal trust, strategic business decision‐making, social inclusion and communication expertise.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should explore whether any of the 37 percent of communications managers in the dominant coalition at these top companies come from backgrounds significantly different from those of the executive elite.
Practical implications
The paper supports the organizational theory of the importance of informal power as a prerequisite to be in the dominant coalition – particularly friendship and “being included.” Communications managers who are in the dominant coalition are in a better position to institute ethical and excellent (symmetrical) communication practices. The findings of this study have implications for the likely success (or lack thereof) of managers with diverse backgrounds of being included in the dominant coalition.
Originality/value
The paper provides quantitative, generalizable results based on a representative sample where many previous studies have relied on qualitative data alone.
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The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and…
Abstract
The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.
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Beauvais R. Anderson, Joe Anderson and Susan K. Williams
The discussion questions relating to the case focus students’ attention on breaking away from the intuitive/emotional “boom mentality” driving their business decision and ask them…
Abstract
Theoretical basis
The discussion questions relating to the case focus students’ attention on breaking away from the intuitive/emotional “boom mentality” driving their business decision and ask them to focus more on analytical decision criteria to support their “go” or “no-go” decisions.
Research methodology
The authors interviewed one of the partners of Burned-N-Turned several times and read the partners’ brief business plan for the food trailer.
Case overview/synopsis
Partners are wrapped up in the “boom mentality” in the Bakken oil fields in 2011 and jump into their decision to open a food trailer restaurant to serve the oil field workers and others. But have they omitted important considerations for their business decision?
Complexity academic level
The study is appropriate for undergrad strategic management courses. The authors have tested the compact case in three sections of capstone senior-level strategic management courses.
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The current study was guided by narrative and feminist inquiry and focuses on the procreative consciousness and the construction of a procreative identity in 14 unmarried…
Abstract
The current study was guided by narrative and feminist inquiry and focuses on the procreative consciousness and the construction of a procreative identity in 14 unmarried, child-free graduate students. Analysis of respondent and narrative interviews revealed five themes in the narrative data, which were used to hypothesize how men and women form their procreative identities, how their stories have been altered through time, and how they think others view their procreative decisions. Findings support five different pathways to the informant’s current procreative consciousness. Informants also perceived an existing traditional stereotype toward the childfree lifestyle.
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Using a general model of corruption that explains and accounts for corruption across professions and institutions, this chapter will examine how certain practices in the media…
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Using a general model of corruption that explains and accounts for corruption across professions and institutions, this chapter will examine how certain practices in the media, especially in areas where journalism, advertising and public relations regularly intersect and converge, can be construed as instances of corruption. It will be argued that such corruption, as in the case of cash-for-comment scandals, advertorials, infomercials, and infotainment, as well as public relations media releases disseminated misleadingly as journalistic opinion, is regular, ubiquitous, and systematic.
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Scott Thorne and Gordon C. Bruner
The purpose is to examine the behaviors of consumers engaged in fan activity and determine if there are attitudinal and behavioral characteristics common across the differing fan…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to examine the behaviors of consumers engaged in fan activity and determine if there are attitudinal and behavioral characteristics common across the differing fan subcultures.
Design/methodology/approach
The characteristics affecting fan behavior are examined through the literature and a series of structured interviews with fans which are then evaluated for the presence or lack of the sought for characteristics of fanaticism.
Findings
The research indicates that there are certain common characteristics to be found in fans interested in different topics and that these characteristics influence the behaviors of those involved in fan behavior.
Research limitations/implications
Given the prevalence of fan influences in popular and consumptive culture, opportunity exists for research beyond the exploratory work done here including larger interview populations from a greater number of fan subcultures.
Practical implications
Marketing professionals may use the identified characteristics as a guide in marketing popular culture to those markets best attuned to accept and embrace it.
Originality/value
This paper provides exploratory research in an area of popular culture that has previously been examined as categories of fans, rather than as an inclusive subculture of fanaticism.
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The paper aims to understand and assess architecture students' experiences of online teaching during the initial lockdown caused by the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to understand and assess architecture students' experiences of online teaching during the initial lockdown caused by the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic between March–June 2020. The exploratory study was conducted across two architectural engineering departments of two separate campuses of the same not-for-profit, non-governmental higher education institution in Cairo, Egypt, focusing on two course streams within their architectural curriculum; design-studio-based courses (DC) and technology courses (TC).
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-methods approach was used, where a questionnaire-based survey was developed to gather qualitative and quantitative data based on perceptions of a sample of 245 students. The survey quantitatively queried five dimensions related to students' learning experiences and qualitatively sought to evaluate both the positive experiences and challenges the students experienced.
Findings
Findings outline that students' experiences were neutral but veered toward the positive end of the scale. Three factors appear to have affected students' learning experiences; students' reliance on educational technologies, the stage of architectural education students were enrolled in when they went into lockdown, and finally, quality and timing of feedback received. While challenges were faced during transition to the digital realm, these may have compelled students to take ownership of the students' own knowledge construction.
Originality/value
Results provide a nuanced understanding of how students dealt with this critical transformation in architectural pedagogy at a unique moment in history, highlighting merits that could have an everlasting impact on design education during and after times of pandemic.
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The first of a series of articles explaining the objectives,methods and progress of the Strathclyde University Food Project –a British food industry initiative which has as its…
Abstract
The first of a series of articles explaining the objectives, methods and progress of the Strathclyde University Food Project – a British food industry initiative which has as its objective the reduction of the British food trade gap through programmes of action research. Explains the background to the Project, its structure and the way in which it is managed. Discusses general issues of British food industry competitiveness which have been brought into focus through the activities of the Project in different sectors.
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