Business Commons^™

The Impact Of Small Business On The Environment, Janice Redmond, Elizabeth Walker, Calvin Wang, Mike Simpson, Craig Parker

Janice Redmond Dr

Small businesses are' estimated to contribute a significant proportion of global pollution, yet there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. The main aim of this research was to conduct an exploratory analysis of small business's environmental impact in terms of waste, water and energy.

A Multilevel Analysis Of Problem-Based Learning Design Characteristics, Kimberly S. Scott

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

The increasing use of experience-centered approaches like problem-based learning (PBL) by learning and development practitioners and management educators has raised interest in how to design, implement and evaluate PBL in that field. Of particular interest is how to evaluate the relative impact of design characteristics that exist at the individual and team levels of analysis. This study proposes and tests a multilevel model of PBL design characteristics. Participant perceptions of PBL design characteristics are used to examine PBL reactions and perceived learning outcomes. Findings affirm the importance of problem design characteristics and effective team facilitation, while raising new questions about …

April 2014, Inland Empire Business Journal

Inland Empire Business Journal

News and Features

Protecting Your “A” Factor: 16 Accountability

Killers to Avoid Most of us are guilty of small

behaviors that crack our accountability façade and

hurt us, both personally and professionally, far more

than we realize. Julie Miller and Brian Bedford

examines what can happen when businesses, teams,

families, and individuals shirk accountability. . . . . . . . 3

Five Ways to Use Your Brain to Build a Better

Business Michael Vaughan shows us why business

owners and managers should use their brains to

understand what employees need psychologically

in order to excel and perform, and gives …

The Story As A Cultural Transmitter: Applications For Business Education, Carol Blaszczynski, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

Stories assist in transmitting cultural wisdom, including wisdom about the business community. The role of stories in various contexts such as education (including international management), management, and marketing, as well as the job search is explained. The article concludes by presenting instructional activities for business education that develop cultural competence through stories.

Towards An Organizational Model Of Occupational Health And Safety Management: A Review Of The Literature, Michael Zanko, Scott Burrows

Michael Zanko

The enormous, tragic and largely unnoticed problem of workplace injuries and deaths continues to beset countries around the globe. Tripartite regulatory approaches to address the issues involved often place primary responsibility on employers’ management of health and safety (OHS) at the workplace. This paper seeks to ascertain how OHS management at the organizational level has been treated in the research literature. A review of thirteen leading management journals from 1994 to 2005 was conspicuous by the absence of interest in OHS management as the subject or field of study. An examination of six leading HRM journals over the same timeframe …

Missing In Action: Research On Occupational Health And Safety Management In Organizations, Michael Zanko

Michael Zanko

The enormous problem of workplace injuries and deaths continues to beset countries. Reflexive OHS regulation often places primary responsibility on employers’ management of OHS in organizations. This paper seeks to ascertain how OHS management at the organizational level has been treated in the research literature. A review of leading journals (13 in management, 6 in HRM) from 1994 to 2005 showed OHS management to be largely missing as the subject or field of study. Naturally, the OHS literature was more fruitful: 5 main categories were identified. However, there was little in the way nuanced explanation of OHS management at the …

The Association Between Strategic Cost Management And Enterprise Risk Management: A Critical Literature Review, Mohamed Elsayed, Ananda Wickramasinghe, Marwa Razik

Ananda Wickramasinghe

Reviewing literature and application of strategic cost management (SCM) and enterprise risk management (ERM) are critical and significant for corporate management to facilitate top management to employ appropriate SCM and ERM processes and systems especially in occurrence of constant and regular business turn around, crises and turbulence in recent time in world of business. This paper revisits and reviews the association between strategic cost management and enterprise risk management. Based on this review, the following propositions were developed; firm, which adopted SCM, is more likely to adopt ERM approach, there is a positive relationship between audit type and the association …

Linking The Principles Of Supply Chain Management To Aid And Development: A Case Study - Waters Of Ayole', Mark Edwards, Lee Styger

Lee Styger

The current protocols used in humanitarian aid management date back to the 1970's. Since the introduction of these protocols, there is little evidence to suggest that a paradigm improvement in overall efficiency has occurred in humanitarian aid compared for example, to industrial process improvements within the same time frame. Fundamentally, humanitarian aid is an end-to-end process demonstrating similar aspects to any other business organisation (for profit or not). This raises the possibility that the use of supply chain theories, including the Supply Chain Operating Reference (SCOR), are relevant and can play a part in developing initiatives to improve the end-to-end …

Role Of Supply Chain Mapping In Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Lee Styger, Nelson Perera, Pradeepa Jayaratne

Lee Styger

Sustainability as a concept has created enormous pressure on supply chain management. During the last few decades companies from all sectors of industry have not only needed to deliver quality products right on time, but they now also have to comply with environmental, economical, ethical and the social pressures placed on the business. To improve supply chain performance, managers should know exactly what is happening along their supply chain. It is therefore argued that supply chain mapping will deliver insights into the complexity of a supply network and should be the first step in any business if performance or overall …

Management: A Focus On Leaders, Annie Mckee, Travis Kemp, Gordon Spence

Gordon B Spence

A new view of the four functions of Management: through the lens of leadership The pace and scope of change in the world and organisations during the past 10 years is unprecedented. In this environment, staying ahead of the curve and preparing for success in work, management and leadership is challenging.

Amidst the financial crises, catastrophic disasters, and business scandals frequently making headlines, Annie McKee and the Australian authors of this new text Management: a Focus on Leaders, believe there is a unique opportunity to re-focus the way students are prepared for their future in business.

Show future managers how …

Loyalty Programs: An Examination Of The Best Practices In Selected Luxury Chain Hotels, Julie Poincenot

Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration

Loyalty programs enable companies to reward their return customers. In the hotel industry, a loyalty program is a useful and beneficial tool to improve their customer service and entice their guests to stay with them on return visits. The purpose of this study was to conduct a best practices study on loyalty programs in luxury hotel chains. The researcher used a best practices matrix to examine the loyalty programs of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Omni Hotels and Resorts, and Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants. The study found that companies should benchmark their programs by aligning their benefits with companies similar to …

March 2014, Inland Empire Business Journal

Inland Empire Business Journal

News and Features

The Way You Do Anything Is the Way You Do

Everything (and Nine More “Tough Love” Truths

for Business Owners) Suzanne Evans says that you,

and you alone, are the source of your success or failure.

She gives us 10 inconvenient but ironclad truths that

all business owners should take to heart. . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Will Your Social Security Check Be in the Mail

Come 2015? Economist Allen W. Smith says there is

no trust fund, and a number of elected officials,

including former President George W. Bush, …

Divided Loyalties? The New Public Management Of Community Legal Centres, Mark Rix

Mark Rix

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Research Management In Australian Commerce And Business Faculties: The View From Within, Mark Rix, David Aylward, Rob Macgregor, John Glynn

Mark Rix

No abstract provided.

Role Of Supply Chain Mapping In Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Lee Styger, Nelson Perera, Pradeepa Jayaratne

Nelson Perera

Sustainability as a concept has created enormous pressure on supply chain management. During the last few decades companies from all sectors of industry have not only needed to deliver quality products right on time, but they now also have to comply with environmental, economical, ethical and the social pressures placed on the business. To improve supply chain performance, managers should know exactly what is happening along their supply chain. It is therefore argued that supply chain mapping will deliver insights into the complexity of a supply network and should be the first step in any business if performance or overall …

Waste Management And Energy Recovery: A Significant Business Issue, James Peter Murphy

Conference papers

Waste Management and energy recovery has become a significant business issue for hospitality establishments in recent years. Hospitality establishments have to be more concerned about waste in their businesses and be able to adopt systems to reduce, reuse and recover waste. This challenge is the result of a variety of factors, most notably the charges involved in waste removal and cost of every businesses energy needs. Costs have grown dramatically, landfill capacity has become increasingly scarce and expensive. Stringent legislation has been introduced around the world to ensure optimum waste management and energy recovery practices in hospitality businesses. Opportunities have …

Impact Of Corporate Social Responsibility On Otc Medicines Consumers, Vasja Roblek

Vasja Roblek

In the article is presented the case of trust-based marketing of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. The relationship between the hypotheses was tested by means of structural equation modelling. The results of the first model show that the predictor variable (consumer satisfaction with safety and information) has a significant effect on the mediator variable (consumer trust). The results of the second model show that the consumer trust also has a significant effect on virtual brand loyalty (dependent variable). Model 3 was developed by including consumer perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and consumer trust as independent predictor variables and virtual brand loyalty …

The Dark Side Of Leadership: Dealing With A Narcissistic Boss, Thomas W. Camm

Mining Engineering

Some of the defining characteristics of narcissists include a grandiose sense of self-importance, preoccupation with success and power, a sense of infallibility, and a supreme confidence in their ability and intelligence. Ironically, many of these characteristics are rewarded in business organizations, which may explain why there seems to be so many narcissists in management positions. Assuming we will be dealing with narcissists throughout our career, it makes sense for us to understand what makes them tick, and more importantly what we can do to work with them in a constructive manner.

Maine Sea Grant Annual Report 2014, Maine Sea Grant

Maine Sea Grant Publications

Globally, seaweeds represent an $8 billion industry, which presents several opportunities to fishermen and sea farmers in Maine’s coastal environment, especially given the continued restrictions in several major state and federal fisheries. With support from her partners and other Marine Extension Team (MET) members, Sarah Redmond is leading the effort to bring local sea vegetables to market through research, education, and outreach. New nursery cultivation techniques for native species are under development with Sea Grant support, and funding from the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center provided for transfer of seaweed cultivation technology to industry. In 2014, Sea Grant provided approximately 5,600 …

January 2014, Inland Empire Business Journal

Inland Empire Business Journal

News and Features

Four Critical Actions Leaders Can Take Now

to Build a Culture of Accountability in 2014 Julie

Miller and Brian Bedford offers a proven process

for installing an accountability-based culture, a

platform for success in business and in everyday

life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Are You Penny-Pinching Yourself Out of Business?

Sean C. Castrina outlines five expenses a business

should never ever skimp on. …

Follow Me! Followership, Leadership And The Multigenerational Workforce, Ronald M. Johnson

HCBE Theses and Dissertations

This research was designed to develop an understanding of today's multigenerational workforce with respect to a preferred styles or characteristics of followership and leadership. Specifically this research sought to determine if there was a relationship between an individual's generational cohort and the preferred styles of leadership and followership, as measured by implicit theories of leadership and followership. Therefore, this study draws upon generational theory (Mannheim, 1952), implicit theories of leadership (Epitropaki & Martin, 2004) and implicit theories of followership (Sy, 2010). The changes in the composition of the US workforce which have occurred, and which will continue to occur in …

A Review Of Business Communication Under The Leadership Function, Clive Muir

Faculty Publications

An effective way to perpetuate an academic discipline is to identify and to define its intellectual and historical roots, then to set such roots in the foundation textbooks and courses of the discipline. In that regard, Business Communication still struggles to establish its roots when compared to other disciplines in business schools, particularly Management. For this study, we undertook an extensive review of significant scholarly works on Business Communication as a discipline. We discovered there are prevalent themes in the broader context of rhetoric, technology, culture, dissemination, and impression; and this was confirmed by our examining the tables of contents …

Generational Cohort Differences In Types Of Organizational Commitment Among Nurses In Alabama, April Lavette Jones

Presidential Alumni Research Dissemination Award

In hospitals in the United States, the ratio of nurses to patients is declining, resulting in an increase in work demands for nurses. Consequently, organizations face challenges with nurses' organizational commitment. Studies have revealed generational differences, as determined by birth year, in employee levels of organizational commitment in a number of organizational settings. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the impact of generational cohorts on the organizational commitment of nurses. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental, cross-sectional design was to address whether generational cohorts of nurses differed in their levels of organizational commitment, and to investigate whether …

Institutional Theory And Human Resource Management, Ali Najeeb

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

The study of institutions traverses the academic fields of economics, sociology, political science and organisational theory. The common denominator for institutionalism in various disciplines appears to be that of, 'institutions matter' (Kaufman 2011). An underlying assumption in the study of institutions is that organisations are deeply embedded in the wider institutional context (Powell 1988; DiMaggio & Powell 1991). Thus, "organisational practices are either a direct reflection of, or response to, rules and structures built into their larger environment" (Paauwe & Boselie 2003, p. 59).This institutional environment is the source of legitimisation, rewards or incentives for, as well as constraints or …

Attribution Theory: Untangling The Relationship Between Management And Workers, Irit Alony

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Attribution theory deals with how and why people form an opinion about the reasons for an event or observation (Winkler 2010). This theory is based on the idea that perception is the foundation of human understanding, sensemaking, and behaviour. This theory claims that people develop explanations for the behaviours of others, similarly to how scientists try to understand the world. The theory asserts that people's opinions are formed based on how they perceive the behaviour and the reality surrounding it. This explanation, the attribution, is based on how the observing person perceives a cause for the actor's behaviour.

Ethics-In-Practice In Collaborative Management Research, Richard Badham, Michael Zanko

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Reflections on ethics-in-practice and the informal, implicit, situational and political nature of ethical action as a social process stand in marked contrast to the restrictive focus of ethical formalism in the process of applying explicit and formal rules to adjudicate on matters of moral concern (Bauman 2003). Such reflections incorporate and address the inevitable 'practice gap' between what rules prescribe and situations demand (Taylor 1993). The call for greater transparency and reflexivity on this social process advocates cultivating increased sensitivity towards and honesty about such ethical activities (Bell & Bryman; Bell & Wray-Bliss 2009). One way of enhancing such an …

Human Resource Management In Multinational Companies, Anne Cox

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Globalisation has provoked some interesting speculation on the part of enthusiasts about a 'globalised economy' in which distinct national economies are subsumed into region-states and companies follow the same set of 'best practices', adopt a convergent model of organisation that leads to a process of homogenisation in their behaviour and a deterioration of national management models (Rowley & Benson 2002; Bartlett & Goshal 1989). On the other hand, nationalists point out that, for the time being, the world economy is still fundamentally characterised by exchanges between relatively distinct national economies, in which many outcomes, such as the competitive performance of …

A Survey Of Cost And Management Accounting Practices In Sri Lanka, Anura De Zoysa, Shyam Bhati, Menik De Zoysa

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Significant changes occurred in business environment in the last two decades have resulted business organisations to change their cost and management accounting practices to provide more relevant information for managers facing the challenges created by the changes in the business environment. A large number of prior studies have attempted to capture these changes in cost management accounting practices of business organisations in various countries. However, vast majority of these studies have been limited to examine such practices in developed countries, leaving a vacuum in the academic literature in relation to studies on emerging markets. This paper presents an initial analysis …

The Perceived Impact Of The Agile Development And Project Management Method Scrum On Information Systems And Software Development Productivity, Karlheinz Kautz, Thomas Heide Johansen, Andreas Uldahl

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This research contributes to the body of knowledge in information systems development (ISD) with an empirical investigation in form of a case study that demonstrates the positive impact of the agile development and project management method Scrum on information systems and software development productivity and it provides a useful operationalization of the concept through seven identified indicators for productivity. Despite the fact that the case unit had challenges with the use of Scrum, the indicators identified the areas where the company had managed to exploit the potential of Scrum and its practices with regard to increasing productivity. The research results …

The Impact Of Ict, Workplace Relationships And Management Styles On The Quality Of Work Life: Insights From The Call Centre Front Line, Zeenobiyah Nadiyah Hannif, Anne Cox, Shamika Fernando

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Using a case study approach, this paper investigates how workplace relationships, management styles and information and communication technologies (ICT) shape and influence the quality of work life (QWL) in two Australian call centres: Govtcall and Marketplus. In many ways, call centres epitomise the shift towards technology-based work, with ICT defining and dictating both the work process and the management of performance. While call centres now represent a critical element of the business cycle of many organisations, the use of ICT in the work process has led to the emergence of various job quality issues. This paper argues that workplace relationships …