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This paper aims to present Aquinas' psychological theory of action as a useful guide for understanding decision making in management.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present Aquinas' psychological theory of action as a useful guide for understanding decision making in management.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual reconstruction of Aquinas' views on the structure of the moral act is shown to apply to the process of decision making in management.
Findings
Grounded in a rich rational psychology, Aquinas' theory of action allows for prescription that harmonizes instrumental rationality, the will, and personal morality. It captures contemporary approaches well and provides better explanations of management success and failure than do models of rational choice. Since the exercise of practical reason can be learned, the model is optimistic about the possibility of management development.
Research limitations/implications
The paper stops at the conceptual level. The interplay between reason and will, or between deliberative and prescriptive stages in decision making, opens up a field of empirical research in management.
Originality/value
Aquinas' virtue ethics has been applied to management, but this is the first suggestion to draw on his theory of action. If fully developed, it promises a radical alternative to models based on functional reasoning and utilitarian values.
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Joachim C.F. Ehrenthal and Wolfgang Stölzle
The purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of the causes for stockouts in retailing.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to increase our understanding of the causes for stockouts in retailing.
Design/methodology/approach
Mixed methods study, using instore observations, interviews with key informants in consumer goods and retailing, and a field study of stockouts and their causes in multiple wholesale stores over two years.
Findings
The results indicate that the causes for stockouts are specific to retailer, store, category and item. Improvements to store operations and the coordination of store delivery and shelf replenishment are most effective in reducing stockouts. Manual audits of stockouts and their causes benefit instore execution and provide the level of detail necessary for management to prioritize areas of improvement.
Research limitations/implications
Future research may investigate the operational and cost impact of incorporating demand seasonality in shelf replenishment that may lead to an improved coordination of replenishment and demand cycles.
Practical implications
A procedure is proposed to help store managers reduce stockouts well below the global average of 8.3 percent.
Originality/value
The paper extends the literature by providing a comprehensive set of itemized causes of retail stockouts and reflects implications for sales‐data driven research. It adds to the emergent research that applies service‐dominant logic to retail stockout research.
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Mike Peters and Klaus Weiermair
The article deals with factors that act as an incentive to internationalisation of the hotels in the small‐to‐medium‐sized enterprises (SME) category in the traditional tourism…
Abstract
The article deals with factors that act as an incentive to internationalisation of the hotels in the small‐to‐medium‐sized enterprises (SME) category in the traditional tourism countries, and also discusses the obstacles to internationalisation. The “OLI” approach according to Dunning (ownership advantages, location‐specific advantages, advantages of internalisation) is tested against the results of a survey of hotelkeepers in the Alpine countries, particularly Austria. It is not just the size of the enterprise that acts as a limit on the extent of internationalisation of SMEs. Other factors that determine the attitude taken towards internationalisation include market intelligence, financing problems, the degree of entrepreneurial spirit, and the specific nature of tourism services.
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A new event held in October 1990 in Nuremberg, Germany, designated Opto7, was intended to combine seven different aspects of the application of electro‐optics, with conferences on…
Abstract
A new event held in October 1990 in Nuremberg, Germany, designated Opto7, was intended to combine seven different aspects of the application of electro‐optics, with conferences on each topic with an exhibition embracing them all. At the exhibition, three items of technology stood out (considered from the sensing aspect).
Patrick Schueffel, Wolfgang Amann and Emilio Herbolzheimer†
The purpose of this paper is to investigate key contingencies affecting the internationalization of young ventures, and to shed light on early internationalization's implications…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate key contingencies affecting the internationalization of young ventures, and to shed light on early internationalization's implications for organizational survival and growth.
Design/methodology/approach
A previously suggested conceptual framework is tested based on a quantitative study of UK firms before explorative analysis takes the analysis further.
Findings
Contrary to the model suggested by Sapienza et al. that internationalization is of increasing importance at young ventures' founding stage, no such indications were found in this study. Further statistical tests revealed interesting insights into the relationship between other organizational factors and a young firm's survival and growth prospects.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical results suggest that internationalization is a largely overrated theoretical factor as far as young ventures' short‐term survival and performance are concerned. As internationalization paths differ contingent upon country of origin and other factors, further empirical tests are needed beyond the UK sample.
Originality/value
Empirical tests of previously suggested conceptual frameworks are needed to advance the body of knowledge on successful internationalization. Next to this initial test, further exploratory analysis suggests a refined framework.
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Wolfgang Hafla, André Buchau, Wolfgang M. Rucker, Andreas Weinläder and Antoni Bardakcioglu
To show for magnetostatic problems, how the numerically expensive post‐processing with the integral equation method (IEM) can be accelerated with the fast multipole method (FMM…
Abstract
Purpose
To show for magnetostatic problems, how the numerically expensive post‐processing with the integral equation method (IEM) can be accelerated with the fast multipole method (FMM) and how this approach can be used to generate post‐processing data that allow for drawing streamlines.
Design/methodology/approach
In general, post‐processing with the IEM requires computation of the induced field due to solution variables, the field of permanent magnets and of free currents. For each of the three parts an approach to apply the FMM. With these approaches, large numbers of evaluation points can be used which are needed when streamlines are to be drawn. It is shown that this requires specially tailored meshes.
Findings
Post‐processing time can be largely reduced by applying the FMM. Additional memory requirements are acceptable even for high numbers of evaluation points. In order to obtain streamline breaks at material discontinuities, flat volume elements can be used.
Research limitations/implications
The presented application of the FMM is applicable only to static problems.
Practical implications
Application of the FMM during post‐processing allows for a large number of evaluation points which are often required to visualize electromagnetic fields. This approach in combination with specially tailored meshes allows for drawing of streamlines.
Originality/value
The FMM is used not only to solve the field problem, but also for post‐processing which requires using the FMM to compute induced magnetic fields as well as the field due to permanent magnets and free currents. This leads to a speedup which allows for a large number of evaluation points which can be used, e.g. for high‐precision drawing of streamlines.
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Wolfgang Jenewein and Felicitas Morhart
The purpose of this paper is to outline a set of principles which enable companies and managers to effectively handle people as a resource and allow them to turn teams into high…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline a set of principles which enable companies and managers to effectively handle people as a resource and allow them to turn teams into high performance teams.
Design/methodology/approach
The Alinghi sailing team's approach to establishing and managing a high performance team was explored by means of an ethnographic case study. The development, organization and leadership principles of the team were subjected to intense scrutiny. This was done by interviewing the key players in the different areas (sailing crew, design team and management) at different stages, by observation of the group at work and video analyses. To substantiate the findings from interviews and observations, workshops with team members and experts were organized.
Findings
The Swiss Alinghi sailing team was the undisputed winner of the famous America's Cup in 2003 and managed to defend it successfully in July 2007 – against strong competition. The principles implemented by team founder Ernesto Bertarelli also offer a valuable model for managers.
Originality/value
The study is a useful tool for companies and managers who wish to create and manage high performance teams.
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