Business Commons^™

Review Article Of Dynamic Supply Chain Alignment:A New Business Model For Peak Performance In Enterprise Supply Chains Across All Geographies, Edward Sweeney, Daniel Park

Reviews

No abstract provided.

Focusing On Process And History: Path Dependence, Paul Donnelly

Books/Book Chapters

In recognition of the calls for more processual and historically informed organizational theorizing, this chapter considers the notion of path dependency, an approach which holds that a historical path of choices has the character of a branching process with a self-reinforcing dynamic such that preceding steps in a particular direction induce further movement in the same direction, thereby making the possibility of switching to some other previously credible alternative more difficult. Path dependence seeks to assess how process, sequence and temporality can be best incorporated into explanation, the focus of the researcher being on particular outcomes, temporal sequencing and the …

Introduction: Approaches To Qualitative Research, John Hogan, Paddy Dolan, Paul Donnelly

Books/Book Chapters

Undertaking a dissertation can be a daunting prospect, irrespective of whether a student is an undergraduate or a postgraduate. The idea of having to start with a blank sheet of paper and finish with anything between 15,000 words for an undergraduate dissertation, and 100,000 words of a PhD dissertation, is an arresting thought. But, even these coarse figures fail to capture the true extent of the work involved, as a finished dissertation is usually only a distillation of volumes of work and words that far exceed the finished product ultimately presented. The various chapters present examples for dissertation students in …

Internal Branding And Brand Commitment: A Quantitative Investigation Into Corporate Brand Building In A Retail Store Network, Edmund O'Callaghan

Conference proceedings

The aim of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between the perceived effectiveness of internal branding activities on brand commitment among owner managers within a retail store network of previously independent retailers. Brand commitment was hypothesized as essential for coherent and consistent corporate brand building within this context. Two new scales were developed and tested to measure internal branding and brand commitment. Perceived clarity of vision, core values and brand communications were highly correlated with strong brand commitment, while lack of perceived business supports and adequate reward systems were potential inhibitors. Interalia, findings validate the significance of internal …

Heat Transfer Correlations For Low Approach Evaporative Cooling Systems In Buildings, Ben Costelloe, Donal Finn

Articles

The experimental performance of an open industrial scale cooling tower, utilising small approach temperature differences (1–3 K), for rejection of heat at the low water temperatures (11–20 °C) typical of chilled ceilings and other sensible air–water heat dissipation systems in buildings, is examined. The study was carried out under temperate maritime climatic conditions (3–18 °C wet-bulb temperature range). Initially a theoretical analysis of the process at typical conditions for this climate was conducted, which indicated that a water to air (L/G) mass flow rate ratio of less than 1.0 was required for effective operation. Consequently for these low L/G ratios, …

Towards The Sustainable Supply Chain Of The Future, Edward Sweeney, Daniel Park

Books/Book chapters

A working definition of supply chain management (SCM) – the Four Fundamentals
– was introduced in Chapter 1. This final chapter reflects on this
definition in the light of the detailed issues introduced in each subsequent
chapter. It provides a framework for looking ahead and identifying a
number of key emerging challenges that are likely to play a significant role
in the design and management of the economically, socially and environmentally
sustainable supply chain architectures of the future.

Seaport Management Aspects And Perspectives: An Overview, Amr Arisha, Amr Mahfouz

Conference papers

Ireland occupies the northern part of the western European coast which has a 70,000 Kilometres coasting along two oceans and four seas. These coasts are Europe’s lifeblood and represent the trade routes, climate regulator and source of food, energy and resources. Seaports and shipping are key maritime activities which allow European coast countries to benefit from the rapid growth of international trade. Therefore, port management became the centre of governments’ interest and the focal point of research to improve the efficiency. This research aims to summaries past publications of seaport systems to highlight challenges and reveal relevant research gaps. Having …

Lessons For Nama From Valuation Practices, Thomas Power

Articles

By adopting accounting values and not economic value, auctioneers and valuers contribute to property market inefficiency. The reaction to this global financial and real asset meltdown is for tighter regulation. But the difficulties now being experienced in global asset markets are not new– it’s just that it is much bigger. The common denominator is accounting based valuations.

Nama Versus Nationalization – How To Deal With The Banks’ Toxic Loans?, Thomas Power

Articles

Banks are indispensible to the efficient functioning of the economy. Right now they are unable to carry out their normal functions (e.g. providing lines of credit to individuals and business) because they are underfunded. They are rationing credit because they do not have enough funds. The funds they need to lend to borrowers come from deposits, equity and bonds. During the ‘boom period’ banks did not have enough funds from deposits and had to rely on the inter-bank market to borrow the funds they needed in order to lend. According to the Central Bank ‘net foreign liabilities’ of commercial banks …

An Overview Of Discourse Analytical Approaches To Research, Brendan O'Rourke

Books/Book Chapters

The field of discourse analysis (DA) is vast, varied and contested with traditions ranging from conversational analysis (Sacks, 1995, [1964-1972]), to more Foucauldian inspired approaches (e.g. Kendall & Wickham, 1999), to critical discourse approaches (Van Dijk, 2001; Fairclough, 2003). This diversity means that this overview is necessarily selective. Nonetheless, this introduction should provide a platform from where readers can then further investigate those currents of DA that are of particular interest. In order to locate DA within the range of methodology discussed in this volume, and to argue for the unity of various DA approaches, a short history is outlined. …

Interlinkages Between Equity, Currency, Precious Metals And Oil Markets: An Emphasis On Emerging Markets, Lucia Morales

Other resources

This thesis examines the interlinkages between equity, currency, precious metals and oil markets. The study follows an international approach with a special focus on emerging markets in Europe, Asia and Latin America, but without forgetting the importance of the G-7 that represents the most developed markets. The present research also focuses on the existence of interlinkages between these markets and the currency, oil, and precious metals markets. The author of this thesis considered it appropriate to implement such an analysis due to the fact that the relationships between financial markets, currency markets and the above-mentioned commodities markets have not been …

Supreme Seafoods, Thomas Cooney

Case studies

Fintan Barrett’s four year old daughter would often turn to him while playing and exclaim “what to do, Daddy?” Indeed, this very question of what to do next had frequently swirled around his own head as he considered the options that were now available to him and his business Supreme Seafoods. Some commentators had described the recent economic crisis as ‘a perfect storm’ and that analogy was particularly apt for someone operating in the fish industry. Although Fintan’s family had worked in the fishing industry for many generations, whether out at sea or processing and selling fish on land, the …

Developing Subsidiary Contribution To The Mnc:Subsidiary Entrepreneurship And Strategy Creativity, Pamela Sharkey Scott, P. T. Gibbons Prof, Joseph Coughlan

Conference Papers

Despite its theoretical and managerial significance, subsidiary entrepreneurship and its effects on subsidiary contribution remain underexplored in the literature. We propose that subsidiary entrepreneurship encourages more creative strategic responses to escalating environmental change. We explore the direct and mediating effects of subsidiary entrepreneurship on subsidiary contribution to the MNC, particularly subsidiary strategy creativity. We use structural equation modelling to test our propositions on data generated from surveying the population of Irish subsidiaries of foreign MNCs, and find strong support for our theoretical predictions. The managerial implications of subsidiary entrepreneurship in generating creative strategy, prompting strategic initiatives and improving performance are …

Clarifying The Ambiguities Between The Servicescape And Service Quality: A Field Study, Daire Hooper, Joseph Coughlan, Michael R. Mullen

Conference Papers

Service quality is commonly described as a multi-dimensional concept under which a range of dimensions are subsumed. The number of these dimensions can vary widely with no consensus as to what should be considered as a service quality sub-construct. The American stream of thought has drawn heavily on Parasuraman (1991; 1985; 1988) and his colleagues’ SERVQUAL model which consists of five key dimensions. While replications of the dimensional structure have proven difficult (Babakus and Boller 1992; Cronin and Taylor 1992; Finn and Lamb 1991; Gagliano and Hathcote 1994) the tangibles dimension has appeared repeatedly in service quality studies and almost …

The Role Of Information And Communication Technology In Small Italian Logistics Enterprises, Pietro Evangelista, Edward Sweeney

Articles

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is widely regarded as a key integration enabler in contemporary supply chain configurations. Furthermore, recent years have seen the vertical disintegration of supply chains as increasing numbers of manufacturers and retailers outsource significant parts of their supply chain functionality. In this environment, Third Party Logistics (3PL) providers - the majority of which are small companies - play a pivotal role. This raises important questions about the usage of ICT in this sector. However, there is a paucity of research in the field of small 3PLs with little empirical investigation into the usage of ICT by …

Kenneth George Besson, Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire

Books/Book Chapters

Biography of Ken Besson with information on his father Paul Besson and the Royal Hibernian Hotel, Russell Hotel and Bailey Restaurant which they owned and ran in Dublin.

Managing The Packaging Supply Chain, Edward Sweeney

Practitioner Journals

No abstract provided.

Tracing The Path To 'Tiger Hood': Ireland's Move From Protectionism To Outward-Looking Economic Development, Paul Donnelly

Conference papers

Up to very recently, Ireland was spoken of in very adulatory terms, to the point of being dubbed the ‘Celtic Tiger.’ Taking path dependence as lens, this paper looks at an early sequence of events that shaped the country’s path to ‘tiger hood’, i.e., the policy shift from protectionism to outward-looking economic development. From relatively contingent and unpredictable beginnings has evolved an institutional matrix, with a clear focus on the global, that, ex ante, could not have been predicted when it was first established.

A Comparative Study Of Organisational Commitment Of Bank Employees In Ireland And China, Helen Chen

Conference papers

Organizational commitment is a complicated concept. However it is primarily regarded as an attitudinal construct dealing with the perceived utility of continued participation in the employing organization (Hrebriniak & Alutto, 1972). In a similar vein, it has also been described, according to Buchanan, (1974), as a partisan, affective attachment to the goals and values of an organization, to one’s role in relation to goals and values of an organization, and to the organization for its own sake; or according to Porter et al. (1974), as a strong belief in and acceptance of the organization’s goals and values, a willingness to …

The Winding Stair Dinner Menu, January , 2009, Winding Stair Restaurant

Menus of the 21st Century

The Winding Stair Restaurant is located at 40, Lower Ormond Quay Dublin on the north side of the river Liffey beside the Ha’penny Bridge. The proprietor is Elaine Murphy. The Winding Stair started life as a bookshop and café which was a popular meeting spot in Dublin during the 1970s and 1980s. The café closed in 2005 and in 2006 the current proprietor re-opened it as a restaurant.

“The bookshop, located on the ground floor, was retained as were many of the old bookshelves, photos and memories. The room retains its timeless charm with stripped wood tables and floors, and …

Work-Based Learning Symposium Proceedings 2009, Irene Sheridan, Margaret Linehan

Reports

Prof. Michael Ward Head,

Department of Food Business and Development,

University College Cork

I am honoured to have been invited to chair this morning’s session. My day job is here in UCC where I’m the Professor and Head of the Department of Food Business and Development and the Director of the Centre for Cooperative Studies. I’ve a particular interest in this work-based learning symposium because I, with my colleagues in both the department and the centre, have been involved in Work-Based Learning initiatives of various kinds over the years. So it is a great pleasure to be invited to chair …

Preface To Supply Chain Management And Logistics In A Volatile Global Environment, Edward Sweeney

Books/Book chapters

No abstract provided.

Supply Chain Management And The Value Chain, Edward Sweeney

Practitioner Journals

No abstract provided.

Supply Chain Management In A Recession, Edward Sweeney

Practitioner Journals

No abstract provided.

Lessons For Nama From Valuation Practices, Thomas Power

Other Resources

By adopting accounting values and not economic value, auctioneers and valuers contribute to property market inefficiency. The reaction to this global financial and real asset meltdown is for tighter regulation. But the difficulties now being experienced in global asset markets are not new– it’s just that it is much bigger. The common denominator is accounting based valuations.

Hedging: Scaling And The Investor Horizon, Jim Hanly, John Cotter

Articles

This paper examines the volatility and covariance dynamics of cash and futures contracts that underlie the Optimal Hedge Ratio (OHR) across different hedging time horizons. We examine whether hedge ratios calculated over a short term hedging horizon can be scaled and successfully applied to longer term horizons. We also test the equivalence of scaled hedge ratios with those calculated directly from lower frequency data and compare them in terms of hedging effectiveness. Our findings show that the volatility and covariance dynamics may differ considerably depending on the hedging horizon and this gives rise to significant differences between short term and …

From Corporate Social Responsibility To Corporate Responsible Behaviour: A Futures Approach: Proposing A New Conceptual And Operational Framework To Foster Responsibility Within The Commercial Property Industry, Gillian O'Brien

Doctoral

This research examines corporate responsible behaviour (CRB) and the role of Futures Studies, as both a philosophy and a critical research methodology in fostering a culture of responsibility within the commercial property industry in the UK. More specific objectives are to critically evaluate CRB and its role in business; to explore the potential role, effects and implications of futures in the development of CRB policy and practice; to propose an integrative conceptual and operational framework for guiding the commercial property industry in formulating systematic, executable CRB policies and practices; and to build a set of propositions that may influence the …

Dublin Visitor Survey 2009, Gerard Dunne, Sheila Flanagan

Datasets

Each annual report contains data relating to a survey of 1000 overseas visitors to Dublin which looked at their attitudes, motives, and touristic behaviour. The key objective of the survey was to improve the quality of urban tourism information within a Dublin city context and to provide those engaged in a wide range of tourism activities within Dublin city with the necessary information to make management decisions.

Focusing On Process And History: Path Dependence, Paul Donnelly

Articles

In recognition of the calls for more processual and historically informed organizational theorizing, this chapter considers the notion of path dependency, an approach which holds that a historical path of choices has the character of a branching process with a self-reinforcing dynamic such that preceding steps in a particular direction induce further movement in the same direction, thereby making the possibility of switching to some other previously credible alternative more difficult. Path dependence seeks to assess how process, sequence and temporality can be best incorporated into explanation, the focus of the researcher being on particular outcomes, temporal sequencing and the …

Advertising Connoisseurs: Children's Active Engagement With And Enjoyment Of Television Advertising, Margaret-Anne Lawlor

Articles

The literature pertaining to advertising and children has tended to focus on how advertising affects children at cognitive, attitudinal and behavioural levels. A key element of the debate has been the extent to which children understand advertising as a mode of commercial communication, and the potential associated outcomes such as advertising scepticism and pester power. This paper adopts a different approach by exploring the extent to which television advertising can constitute a resource for a child's own use and enjoyment. As part of an interpretive study of a group of Irish children aged seven to nine years which explores their …