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The Ghanaian banking industry has over the last 20 years witnessed tremendous growth to the extent that rural banks are now expanding their activities into urban centres. Hitherto, rural banks operated in rural and peri-urban areas in Ghana, but nowadays, there is an upsurge of rural banks activities in the urban centres of Ghana; and, they operate from rented premises, most of which are existing buildings in the urban areas. To meet the banking demands and the urban banking competitions such as the introduction of new technologies and regulations, the rural banks endeavour to expand (refurbish) the old/existing buildings with inherent adaptation and retrofitting challenges. Even though, adaptation and retrofit projects may not be popular in Ghana at large scales, this paper through combined methodology of constructive dialogue, case studies and condition survey approaches presents rural banks projects in Ghana as case studies of refurbishment and maintenance to “unearth” and resonate some key challenges of managing adaptation and retrofits in Ghana for future effective projects management solutions during their conception and execution. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Through combined methodology of constructive dialogue, case studies and condition survey approaches this paper presents rural banks projects in Ghana as case studies of refurbishment and maintenance to “unearth” and resonate some key challenges of adaptation and retrofit projects.

The condition survey revealed unprecedented infrastructural drive by rural banks throughout Ghana and their desire to penetrate the urban areas as well. However, this drive unfortunately as it appeared, is not informed and carried out within the confines and dictates of existing legislations in Ghana. Again, it was found that adaptations and retrofitting will improve and integrate the rural banks in the urban economy through prudent project management practices.

Availability of local researches and literature on adaptations and retrofitting as project management practices in Ghana.

Retrofitting and adaptation projects in Ghana is crucial for project management practices on low-impact building as Ghana faces energy challenges.

This research brings to bear realistic programme to build capacity of personnel to strategically integrate the rural banks into the central banking system of Ghana as well as project management practices through better and effective monitoring for social, ethical and equity impacts of their project managers.

Apparently, adaptation and retrofit projects are not be popular in Ghana at large scales and this is the first time an academic paper of a kind has been written to guide and manage future adaptation and retrofit projects during their conception and execution as well as project management practices in general.

Global investors demand, regulators require, and companies disclose their sustainability performance information, and scholars have started to conduct research on sustainability performance, reporting and assurance. The goal of firm value creation can be achieved when management considers the interests of all stakeholders and integrates all five economic, governance, social, ethical, and environmental (EGSEE) dimensions of sustainability performance into managerial strategies, actions and reporting. This paper provides a synthesis of research on sustainability and presents a theoretical framework consisting of theories and standards relevant to all five EGSEE dimensions of sustainability performance and risks and their integration into corporate culture, business models and reporting in creating stakeholder value.

COVID-19 hits every country’s health-care system and economy. There is a trend toward using automation technology in response to the COVID-19 crisis not only in developed countries but also in those with lower levels of technology development. However, current studies mainly focus on the world level, and only a few ones report deployments at the country level. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of automation solutions in Vietnam with locally available materials mainly in the first wave from January to July 2020.

The authors collected COVID-related automation solutions during the first wave of COVID-19 in Vietnam from January to July 2020 through a search process. The analysis and insights of a panel consisting of various disciplines (i.e. academia, health care, government, entrepreneur and media) aim at providing a clear picture of how and to what extent these solutions have been deployed.

The authors found seven groups of solutions from low to high research and development (R&D) levels deployed across the country with various funding sources. Low R&D solutions were widely spread owing to simplicity and affordability. High R&D solutions were mainly deployed in big cities. Most of the solutions were deployed during the first phases when international supply chains were limited with a significant contribution of the media. Higher R&D solutions have opportunities to be deployed in the reopening phase. However, challenges can be listed as limited interdisciplinary research teams, market demand, the local supporting industry, end-user validation and social-ethical issues.

To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first study analyzing the use of automation technology in response to COVID-19 in Vietnam and also in a country in Southeast Asia. Lessons learned from these current deployments are useful for future emerging infectious diseases. The reality of Vietnam’s automation solutions in response to COVID-19 might be a reference for other developing countries with similar social-economic circumstances and contributes to the global picture of how different countries adopt technology to combat COVID-19.

Both the theory and practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are foundational to the field of Business & Society (B&S). However, efforts to define and operationalize this construct have been undermined by definitional discord arising from the disparate sense-making assumptions and methods of competing North American and European research traditions. Scholars wedded to the North American research tradition have striven mightily to uncover “objective” evidence in support of the instrumental proposition that IF corporate executives were to invest more resources to enhance social and environmental performance, THEN the firm’s burnished brand image, reputation, and perceived legitimacy would elevate the firm’s long-term financial performance as well. However, the inconclusive statistical record has failed to move many corporate decision makers beyond the minimal social and environmental investments needed to create the impression of compliance with societal expectations. The proliferation of corporate scandals and the pattern of settling legal disputes without admitting guilt are also troubling. The muted impact of B&S research based on proving the instrumental proposition has prompted a new generation of European B&S scholars to explore the sense-making potential of the European research tradition, which seeks meaning and normative validity within a pluralist crucible of community discourse. This contested communicative space is filled with paradoxical tensions and contending stakeholder voices and narratives. With respect to CSR, this discursive sense-making process is animated by an aspiration toward constructing shared meanings that can guide a search for more collaborative approaches to addressing systemic challenges via stakeholder engagement and experiments in multisector collaborative problem-solving. Rather than try to scientifically “prove” a fact-based pre-existing condition, this approach embraces “an emergent and mediated form of strategic ambiguity” to keep open the possibility of “fulfilling often conflicting instrumental and social/ethical imperatives at the same time” (Guthey & Morsing, 2014, p. 556). This discourse-based search for shared meanings in support of a convergence of economic, social, and environmental values frames CSR as an aspirational cocreative process rather than as a pyramid of normative assertions loosely grounded on a search for validation in efforts to find correlations (or causation) within an assortment of “objective” facts. The discursive approach to constructing CSR also highlights the relevance of the emergence of institutional innovations that enable network interactions to address shared systemic problems. Ultimately, CSR may be expressed as a form of network governance seeking to assure the sustainable outcome of system health and vitality across micro-, meso-, and meta-levels of thought and action.

The issue of the genetic manipulation of plants, animals and microbes is addressed within the context of food production. Genetic manipulation is defined within the wider area of biotechnology and some of the main benefits of its use are summarised; safety and risk are examined and some of the socioeconomic problems it can create are discussed. It is concluded that the technique can offer great potential benefits in terms of increased quantity and improved quality of food, but it raises social/ethical concerns which can be summed up by asking: Is it safe? Is it fair? Is it natural?

The main aim of this research was to review which FTSE 350 companies were responding to social, ethical and environmental business‐critical global issues such as climate change, governance and technology. If they were, did this response result in innovation and transformation? The 14 issues were identified by a range of business practitioners and experts through a visioning exercise.

Independent data analysis of the companies, excluding around 50 investment trusts, by SERM Rating Agency provided a sector review of how companies were innovating or transforming their business as a response to the 14 issues. This review identified 40 companies as being most active in demonstrating their response. Of these 40, further analysis identified ten companies that showed signs of innovation or transformation.

The identified ten companies demonstrated evidence of pilot business transformation (or incremental innovation towards transformation) as a direct result of responding to the issues. For example, a mining company's HIV treatment program for its workers in South Africa. Most approaches were characterized by a wide‐ranging series of incremental changes, with no convincing examples yet existing of transformation implemented across the entirety of the company's operations. Hints of this radical direction, however, are evident from the vision statements of several organizations.

The research methodology is dependent on publicly available evidence. However, the implication of the research findings is that the 14 issues identified can be viewed as opportunities rather than obligations. Realizing the opportunity relies on integrating the issues in the core strategy of the organization.

This paper provides insight for business strategists and practitioners into potential new ways of working by companies. It illuminates an emerging source of innovation and ultimately business transformation driven by the growing significance of world issues to implementing corporate strategy and delivering sustainable profit.

The value of this paper is in the insight it provides on how companies are finding a source of innovation through responding to global issues.

A new triage method, MBCE (Medical Bio Social Ethics), is presented with social justice, bio, and medical ethics for critical resource distribution during a pandemic. Ethical triage is a complex and challenging process that requires careful consideration of medical, social, cultural, and ethical factors to guide the decision-making process and ensure fair and transparent allocation of resources. When assigning priorities to patients, a clinician would evaluate each patient’s medical condition, age, comorbidities, and prognosis, as well as their cultural and social background and ethical factors.

A statistical analysis shows no interactions among the ethical triage factors. It implies the ethical components have no moderation effect; hence, each is independent. The result also points out that medical and bioethics may have an affinity for interactions. In such cases, there seem to be some ethical factors related to bio and medical ethics that are correlated. Therefore, the triage team should be careful in evaluating patient cases. The algorithm is explained with case histories of the selected patient. A group of triage nurses and general medical practitioners assists with the triage.

The MBCE triage algorithm aims to allocate scarce resources fairly and equitably. Another ethical principle in this triage algorithm is the principle of utility. In a pandemic, the principle of utility may require prioritizing patients with a higher likelihood of survival or requiring less medical care. The research presents a sensitivity analysis of a patient’s triage score to show the algorithm’s robustness. A weighted score of ethical factors combined with an assessment of triage factors combines multiple objectives to assign a fair triage score. These distinctive features of the algorithm are reasonably easy to implement and a new direction for the unbiased triage principle.

The idea is to make decisions about distributing and using scarce medical resources. Triage algorithms raise ethical issues, such as discrimination and justice, guiding medical ethics in treating patients with terminal diseases or comorbidity. One of the main ethical principles in triage algorithms is the principle of distributive justice.

The higher education after the pandemic has put the entire university education system to test, bringing to light the need to build a genuinely sustainable academic system composed of administrative, pedagogical, and governance processes with a social and environmental scope and oriented to the training of resilient professionals, with the ability to manage a sustainable future. Seen from a management perspective, the actors of this system have begun to work focusing on rebuilding the postpandemic world into a sustainable planet for the continuity of humanity. Regarding students, the most affected individuals by the health crisis, UNESCO indicates that the impact of the temporary cessation of on-site activities has affected them in various dimensions in terms of student stability, bringing with it more significant evidence of crises due to social, emotional, cultural, and familiar problems, among others. In that sense, the change of means of interaction in student environments represents a negative turning point in the future of professionals who are now receiving education. This allows us to reflect on the high risks involved in achieving the acquisition of not only technical and specific skills and competencies of the professional specialties but also social, ethical, and citizenship skills that take much greater relevance, especially in this context.