Business Management Perspective Research Articles

The Impact of Islamic Values on Interpersonal Relationship Conflict Management in Egyptian Business Organizations “an Applied Study”

Purpose– the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of a number of Islamic values on interpersonal relationship conflict management in Egyptian Pharmaceutical Organizations, and to provide useful frameworks for diagnosing and managing conflict. Methods– using a survey instrument, this paper gathered data from 597 managers representing all managerial levels of pharmaceutical industrial organizations operating in Alexandria, Egypt. Data were analysed using Correlation analysis, frequency distribution along with regression techniques that were used to test the frameworks that were introduced: The diagnostic framework for investigating the reasons and consequences of interpersonal conflict and the Management framework investigating the impact of the selected Islamic Values on the processes of conflict management including conflict prevention, resolution, and exploitation. Findings– The reasons of conflict as represented by 2 major basic drives: Animalism (Materialism) drives and Angelism (Egoism) drives; both showed high levels of agreement among respondents. The proportions of agreement/high effect for Animalism drives (sub-factors) were ranked as follows: Materialism 84.9%, stupidity 57.8%, while Sexual Harassment was only 30.3%. Whereas the Angelism drives were ranked as follows: Superiority 87.1%, Prestige 84.3%, Position 81.6%, Eternity 80.6% and Domination 73.5%. The proportions of agreement/high effect for Lionism “Predatory Bullying” behaviours (sub- factors) as manifestations/consequences of conflict were ranked as follows: Gossip 77.4%, Driving Wedges Between People 76.7%, Backbiting 75.7%, Lying 72.2%, False Promise 71.9%, False Testimony 69.7%, Stealing 55.6%, Cursing 52.8%, Beating 41.5% and Sexual Harassment 34.0%. Proportions of agreement/high effect for Satanism “Emotional Anger” manifestations (sub-factors) as consequences of conflict were ranked as follows: Jealousy 81.6%, Envy 77.7%, Arrogance was 77.1%, Malice 76.5% and Rancor 71.5%. The overall results supported our hypotheses denoting the impact of the selected Islamic values on conflict management. Furthermore the results supported that the investigated reasons of interpersonal Conflict namely Animalism “Materialism” and Angelism “Egoism” have a significant impact on the investigated conflict consequences namely Lionism and Satanism that consequently affects productivity. Practical implications– Based on findings specific implications related to work environment, were identified strengthening Islamic perspective of business management, and enhancing conflict management

Green Management in High-Tech Industry: A Case Study of Sony Group

The purpose of this study is to explore and under purpose of green management, including both from the perspective of business management and the practitioners, the perspective of business management is the triple-bottom-line which consists of the environmental benefits, positive economics effect, and healthy societal images. The triple bottom line captures an expanded spectrum of values and criteria for measuring organizational (and societal) success: economic, ecological and social. Based on the perspective of the practitioners, this study will address two questions: First, what is the Environmental Positioning: Branding for green management? Secondly, what are some of the concerns (Environmental impact, the Economics, the Society)? Furthermore, this study discusses the case study of corporate company that has implemented green management practices. The analysis and understanding and the purpose of green management have been explored through the case study of Sony. As such, a detailed analysis of green management in high-tech industry has been covered.

The logic of the gift and the bonding value: a new perspective for business management

PurposeThis paper aims to conceptualize business relationships so as to include in these dimensions of both gift and gratuity, to develop the concept of “bonding value”, and to offer some ideas for the use of this within firms.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyses the concept of “bonding value”, distinguishing it from the concepts of “exchange value” and “use value” that are normally used in business, and attempts to investigate its practical implications.FindingsThe paper shows how evaluating both the relationships within the organization and between firm and stakeholders in terms of “bonding value” can have effects on the economic, organizational and social aspects of a firm's activities.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is a starting point of a possible conceptual path that should be directed toward the theoretical and practical use of “bonding value” in business. It is necessary to support the theoretical considerations with future empirical investigation showing the possibility of practical applications of the concept analysed.Practical implicationsThe main implication for business management is the possibility to propose “bonding value” and “gift logic” as new parameters in assessing whether or not a firm has achieved its institutional purposes.Originality/valueIn the past, “bonding value” has been studied mainly from a philosophical and sociological point of view. In this article we try to begin to address this issue specifically from a perspective of business management.

Framing ambush marketing as a legal issue: An Olympic perspective

This paper examines the emerging trend of host countries using legislation to protect the Olympic brand and control ambush marketing. More specifically, it will discuss Canada's Olympic and Paralympic Marks Act in depth. Issues related to framing ambush marketing as a legal issue as opposed to a business issue are examined. The consequences of placing ambush marketing in a legal context are considered from a legal and a business management perspective.

An Institutional Approach To Operations Management In Internet Based Production Concepts

An important change in the socio-economic environment of industrial firms is the increasing diffusion of Internet Technologies in production processes. Applications of Internet Technologies may be directly implemented on the shop floor, e.g. in networking dislocated assembly lines, as well as in assisting management processes, e.g. in production planning and control. This leads to a strong approximation of the traditional production and operation systems and the Internet Technologies. While traditional production concepts, such as Lean Production, World Class Manufacturing and Agile Manufacturing, inevitably disregard this development, new production concepts arise that fundamentally consider the application of Internet Technologies on the shop floor. However, from a business management perspective, industrial firms have to accomplish new operating requirements deriving from this technological change. This paper provides a discussion of the consequences of Internet Technologies on operations management, as well as of production concepts based on Internet Technologies from an institutional point of view.

The Capacity of Locally Bound Tourism Firms to Respond to Climate Variability and Long-Term Change: Qualitative Case Studies on Organizational Learning in the Austrian Winter Tourism Sector

The growing knowledge on business options in the Alpine winter tourism sector to respond to the impacts of climate change is not matched by a sufficient understanding of the required capacity of business organizations to consider, plan and implement these options. The business management perspective of organizational learning allows us to look under the surface of a business organization in order to understand the driving and inhibiting processes that constitute the capacity of tourism firms to effectively respond to climate change. Based on qualitative interviews with organizational managers in the Austrian Alpine winter tourism sector, 20 organizational case studies provide reconstructions of subjective viewpoints on climate variability and long-term trends. Quality of climate information management and integrating local climate experiences with external evidence—particularly from the mass media—have been found to be important processes which drive the motivation to respond. Active experimentation with alternative tourism products and consideration of climate change-independent co-benefits of response measures lowers the barrier to adapt business strategies to climate change. Given the strong economic interdependence of locally bound Alpine tourism businesses, the development of a joint climate information management, led by stronger local players such as cable car operators, are conceived as starting points to build up the overall local capacity of response.

The potential of management networks in the innovation and competitiveness of rural tourism: a case study on the Valle del Jerte (Spain)

Since the 1980s, rural tourism has witnessed a significant and generalised growth among the European Union members. However, from the perspective of business management, rural tourism suffers from several obstacles that complicates its competitiveness as a tourism product. By focusing on the Valle del Jerte (Extremadura, Spain) case study, this study analyses a rural tourism business network, from the social network analysis perspective, to critically discuss its potential as a structure that enhances competitiveness and innovation. The results demonstrate that these networking structures contribute towards the creation of a cohesive destination, whereby the sharing of resources enables innovative local responses to the global market challenges.

Users and information technology: analysis of task information fit model

The objective of information technologies is multifold including many ranging from collection to presenting vital information for decision makers. It is more valuable to design systems that suits better the information requirements of the business than a tightly integrated one. This paper combines task and information characteristics at conceptual level from business management perspective. We propose a task information fit (TIF) model, which addresses the user acceptance of information systems by means of information quality provided. The model is applied and validated on a case study, which demonstrated the effect of power users on product development and user acceptance in correlation with TIF model.

Entrepreneurial re-starters in Japan

We examine the determinants of economic performance for re-starters in Japan. Empirical results show that re-starters who recognise the 'stigma of failure' in business society and who 'utilise their business failure experiences for the personnel training and the employment of a talented person' have good performance. The timing and method of closing prior business is an important factor for the success of re-starters. Re-starters should have a long-term business management perspective at the time of re-startup. However, aged people who have not accumulated any related business experience should not be re-starters.

From Environmental Accountability to Corporate Social Responsibility? Reflections on the CSR Boom in Japan from the Perspective of Business Management and Civil Society Groups

The paper discusses how corporate social responsibility in Japan has grown from environmental concerns to encompass broader social responsibilities. Special consideration is given to how CSR has emerged, been accepted and implemented in large corporations in today's Japan. Based on the example of environmental stakeholder groups, the paper discusses the expectations that society has regarding corporations and elaborates the role of interplay between environmental civil society groups and corporations within the corporate responsibility debate. The current trend towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) is assessed after reconstructing the development of environmental accountability of corporations and public awareness of it. In particular, the characteristics of CSR as a business and risk management tool concerning the relationship to external stakeholders are highlighted. The article is closed with an analysis of the increased attention towards the concept of CSR in context of the development of eco-collaborations as an example of changing business and stakeholder interaction patterns. It becomes clear that the situation generates chances for environmental groups to realize their own projects with the support of the companies and increase their chances of bringing forth their interests as stakeholders of the companies. The new CSR boom opens up new ways for the companies to manage emerging risks as well as to improve their reputation.

Managing the aging workforce:: Status quo and implications for the advancement of theory and practice

This paper synthesizes and translates secondary and empirical research findings on the aging workforce for the non-specialist reader, adopting a business management perspective that has to date been neglected. We chose two different approaches to review the status quo of this particular topic: First, a literature review of the Financial Times Top 40 publications, and second, a number of selected case examples that we based on our own empirical research, thereby shedding light onto the issue of aging workforce management from a practical and experiential perspective. As a result, the paper presents findings on and conclusions about the most important future implications of the aging workforce for management.

Development of eMed: A Comprehensive, Modular Curriculum-Management System

In 2001 the University of New South Wales Faculty of Medicine embarked on designing a curriculum-management system to support the development and delivery of its new, fully integrated, outcome-based, six-year undergraduate medicine program. The Web-enabled curriculum-management system it developed is known as eMed, and it comprises a suite of integrated tools used for managing graduate outcomes, content, activities, and assessment in the new program. The six main tools are a curriculum map, timetable, student portfolio, peer feedback tool, assessment tracking, and results tools. The eMed functions were determined by organizational and curricular needs, and a business management perspective guided its development. The eMed project was developed by a multidisciplinary team, and its successful development was achieved mostly by methodically identifying the scope of each tool and the business processes it supports. Evaluation results indicated a high level of user acceptance and approval. The eMed system is a simple yet effective educational technology system that allows users to evaluate and improve the curriculum in real time. As a second-generation curriculum-management system, eMed is much more than an educational administration system; it is a knowledge network system used by staff and students to transform data and information into knowledge and action. The integration of learning and assessment activities data in the one system gives a depth of curriculum information that is unusual and that allows for data-based decision making. Technologically, eMed helps to keep the medicine program up to date. Organizationally, it strengthens the school's data-driven decision-making process and knowledge network culture.

Can corporate social responsibility resolve the sanitation question in developing Asian countries?

The existing state of sanitation in developing Asian countries fails to deliver a level of service that is adequate for meeting the human right to a standard of living consistent with dignity and health, or for sustaining the capacity for future generations to have access to clean water resources and healthy ecosystems. We argue that translating the current neo-centralised technologies and institutional arrangements mainstreamed by industrialised countries would not resolve the problem in the context of developing countries. Instead it is necessary to ‘leap frog’ to the emerging technological and institutional arrangements that are responsive to current needs and contexts and to potential risks. The sustainability focus and often decentralised technologies of this emergent stage in sanitation present many opportunities for new actors to enter the urban sanitation industry. At the same time, there are many barriers to entry, particularly from the perspective of conventional business management focused on increasing shareholder value. We propose that perspectives from the corporate social responsibility discourse have the potential to provide both the ‘pull’ for seizing the business opportunity for profit while serving social needs, and the ‘push’ to overcome the barriers in order to serve a wider social purpose for corporations. The wealth of nations, at least as reported in ubiquitous GDP terms, has greatly increased through the activities of corporations driven by a profit motive; but the increased poverty, injustice and ecosystem degradation that have resulted from economic activity suggest that corporations perhaps ought to have regard for broader concerns beyond shareholder value. We explore how the alternative relational view of a corporation, as a metaphorical person within society who adopts a moral code consistent with both Buddhist economics and Adam Smith's philosophy, may facilitate profitable corporations that provide better economic, ecological and social outcomes in serving the need for sustainable sanitation services in developing Asian countries.

Corporate real estate management in Singapore: A business management perspective

Abstract Corporate real estate management (CREM) practices in Asia have been a relatively under‐researched area compared with those from Europe and North America. This paper represents an attempt to enhance the current knowledge of CREM in Asia. Part I of this study provides a snapshot of CREM practices among Singapore multi‐national companies (MNCs) and listed firms. Ninety‐seven firms were surveyed on three main business management perspectives: corporate real estate planning, corporate real estate organizational structure and corporate real estate performance. The study found that in general, corporate real estate (CRE) is under‐managed among MNCs and listed firms in Singapore. Creating awareness of the importance and relevance of good CREM practices is therefore the most pertinent task. Part II of this paper focuses specifically on CRE performance. A data‐driven analytical technique is adopted to study the direct and indirect effects of performance factors on corporate real estate. The results indicat...

CORPORATE REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT IN SINGAPORE: A BUSINESS MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE

Corporate real estate management (CREM) practices in Asia have been a relatively under‐researched area compared with those from Europe and North America. This paper represents an attempt to enhance the current knowledge of CREM in Asia. Part I of this study provides a snapshot of CREM practices among Singapore multi‐national companies (MNCs) and listed firms. Ninety‐seven firms were surveyed on three main business management perspectives: corporate real estate planning, corporate real estate organizational structure and corporate real estate performance. The study found that in general, corporate real estate (CRE) is under‐managed among MNCs and listed firms in Singapore. Creating awareness of the importance and relevance of good CREM practices is therefore the most pertinent task. Part II of this paper focuses specifically on CRE performance. A data‐driven analytical technique is adopted to study the direct and indirect effects of performance factors on corporate real estate. The results indicate that only corporate real estate planning and the existence of a real estate unit have a direct impact on corporate real estate performance. This finding is both theoretically expected and important. The results reinforces current literature postulations on the importance of strategic planning as the key skills that corporate real estate managers need to be equipped with to meet the challenges ahead.

The Management of Computer Systems in Small Business: a preliminary analysis of the issues of importance to managers

Research investigating the relative importance of issues facing organisations in their management of Information Systems (IS) has grown rapidly since the early 1980s. However, this research has largely focused on large businesses, with little comparable data collected in the context of small businesses. This paper reports preliminary results from a pilot project investigating the relative importance of various IS concerns from the perspective of small business managers in the Albury-Wodonga region. Initial results confirm the operational focus of small business managers despite evidence of some concern with more strategic issues. In light of the preliminary nature of these findings, the paper concludes by identifying areas for further research.

Monitoring reproducibility of single analysis, single platform CD4 cell counts in a high volume, low resource laboratory setting using sequential bead count rates

Monitoring reproducibility of single analysis, single platform CD4 cell counts in a high volume, low resource laboratory setting using sequential bead count rates

Analysis of E-commerce and information technology applications in hotels: Business travelers' perceptions

Numerous research studies have been conducted that are related to e-commerce and information technology (IT) applications in the hospitality industry with regard to business operation, profit, output, and management perspective. The focus of this study is to examine current e-commerce and IT applications in the hospitality industry and to identify the business travelers' perceptions in order to improve customer service. One of the problems in the hospitality industry is that customers want advanced e-commerce and IT applications, but restaurants and hotels are not necessarily implementing them. This study discusses the typical problems and obstacles of implementing e-commerce and IT applications in hospitality, using the lodging e-commerce and IT applications to satisfy customers, and developing the lodging e-commerce and IT applications as a corporate competitive advantage. Moreover, this study investigated a variety of e-commerce and IT applications related to customer service, satisfaction, and retention as well as e-commerce and IT applications as a distribution channel for receiving travelers' information and accommodation booking. This study provides valuable implications for hospitality practitioners about customer perceptions relative to e-commerce and IT applications.

Viewing systems from a business management perspective: The ISO/IEC 15288 standard

The scope of systems engineering as a discipline and profession is changing. Though the classical focus has been on technical systems, there is a pressing need to also apply a systems engineering a...

Viewing systems from a business management perspective: The ISO/IEC 15288 standard

AbstractThe scope of systems engineering as a discipline and profession is changing. Though the classical focus has been on technical systems, there is a pressing need to also apply a systems engineering approach to nontechnical systems. In addition, there is an increasing emphasis placed upon the management dimension of systems engineering and its impact on business and trade. To meet these new directions, an instrument is needed which can guide enterprises in dealing with the life cycle of all types of systems. This article presents factors related to ISO/IEC 15288's contribution as a guiding instrument for leading the engineering and management of systems in these new directions. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 7: 229–242, 2004