Management Frames Research Articles

BREMi—A New Tool for the Evaluation of UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Management Effectiveness: Case-study in the Arab Man and Biosphere (ArabMAB) Regional Network

Scholars and practitioners have been striving to develop straightforward and effective tools to measure protected area management effectiveness (PAME). UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BR), with their unique functional and zonation schemes are monitored according to their compulsory 10-year Periodic Review (PR), which is useful for UNESCO’s evaluation purposes but lacks comprehensiveness and utility for adaptive management. Based on existing PAME methodologies, we develop and propose the first quantitative tool for the evaluation of BR management effectiveness, that would enhance and complement the currently used qualitative PR report, and serve the rapid evaluation needed for BR managers to monitor, evaluate, and adapt their management approach to achieve the three functions of BRs. The tool consists of 65 indicators, embodied within the 6 elements of the World Commission on Protected Areas Framework. We then tested this tool, named Biosphere Reserve Effectiveness of Management index (BREMi) to evaluate management effectiveness across the Arab Man and the Biosphere Reserve network involving 17 BRs spanning 8 countries of the Middle East and North Africa. BREMi scores ranged from 4.43 to 8.65 (on a scale between 0 and 10), with a mean of 6.31 ± 1.040. All indicators were considered valuable measures of progress by our respondents, as well as by independent experts. We discuss our findings in light of available literature concerning the Arab region and through the conceptual frames of adaptive management and resilience. Finally, we discuss where the BREMi tool would be most useful for BR management authorities in the iterative process of evaluation and adaptive management.

Labor conflict within foreign, domestic, and Chinese-owned manufacturing firms in Ethiopia

Research has documented labor conflict within foreign-owned, and especially Chinese-owned, manufacturing firms in sub-Saharan economies. Yet, systematic comparisons of foreign versus domestic firms are rare, and it remains unclear whether labor conflict is a phenomenon that affects emerging industries or is specific to foreign firms. Drawing on a large firm survey in Ethiopia, we show that foreign firms hire similarly educated and experienced workers. They also offer comparable salaries, benefits, and hours than domestic firms, after controlling for firm size and age. Nevertheless, they experience more complaints, strikes, and protests, with Chinese-owned firms reporting particularly high rates of labor conflict. To scrutinize these findings, we conduct case studies of labor management in six domestic and eight foreign-owned firms around Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We observe antagonistic labor relations in five foreign-owned firms, four of which are Chinese-owned. In these firms, managers perceive employees as using labor laws to take advantage of them, whereas employees see labor laws as a basis for harmonious labor relations. In the remaining firms, managers frame their firm policies as consistent with employee perceptions of labor laws. We conjecture that the visibility of formal labor institutions leads employees to interpret disagreements as intentional disrespect, rather than ignorance. Our findings suggest that misaligned perceptions about the role of local labor institutions may be an important driver of conflict in foreign-owned firms.

Integrasi Model Kesuksesan Adopsi E-Commerce Berbasis Technological Frames of References (TFR) – Knowledge Management (KM)

This study aims to examine several variables supporting the implementation of e-Commerce websites as digital platforms in supporting the business activities of SMEs. Several previous studies have found several variables/factors that support the implementation of e-Commerce with each perspective raised, so that in this study the variables/factors raised are the extraction of all factors from various perspectives and are expected to accommodate different points of view and previous research. Factor extraction is carried out using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method using the SPSS 22 Version tool to identify variables/factors from various and various needs, several factors that have components will be extracted and viewed in one category so as to minimize ambiguity factors as e-Commerce Enablers. In this study, data were collected through interviews and online dissemination to Clothing Line Business Actors and staff using digital platform users as many as 75 respondents and obtained some supporting data related to the use of digital platforms in the application of e-Commerce in daily business. Based on the extraction results obtained 5 main drivers that become e-Commerce Enabler based on several models of e-Commerce implementation based on Technological Frames of References (TFR) and Knowledge Management, namely: Organizational Trigger (OT), Environmental Trigger (ET), Individual Intention (II) , Knowledge Aspect and Capability (KAC), and Technology Infrastructure (IT) with each factor with components extracted so as to minimize ambiguity and still accommodate various needs and perspectives.Keywords : Specification Design, Information System, Integrated Document, Rational Unified Process, MASS Cargo

Capital Market Reactions to Managerial Framing of Emerging Strategic Issues

Emerging strategic issues in firms’ environment, such as trends toward sustainability or digitalization, may threaten organizational survival and require strategic responses. The recent literature shows that a critical challenge in times of emerging issues is to convince external stakeholders, such as investors, of the need for strategic change. Thus far, however, we know little about how managers should frame emerging strategic issues vis-à-vis external stakeholders, such as analysts or investors, to achieve positive resonance and garner support for their strategies. To address this shortcoming, in this paper, we investigate how the managerial framing of environmental sustainability as an important emerging issue shapes capital market responses. We find that while a higher frequency of mentioning environmental sustainability is connected with a more negative capital market response, a positive tone is linked with a positive one. Contrary to expectations, we find that a positive tone is particularly effective in driving positive capital market responses for firms with low performance in terms of environmental sustainability. Moreover, we show that more uncertain language positively moderates the relationship between a positive tone and capital market responses when managers frame the issue of environmental sustainability. Overall, by showing how managers can elicit positive capital market responses to emerging strategic issues through framing, our study makes significant contributions to the literature on strategic change, framing, and corporate sustainability.

The City as a Personal Assistant

Conversational agents are increasingly becoming digital partners in our everyday computational experiences. Although rich and fresh in content, they are oblivious to users' locality beyond geospatial weather and traffic conditions. We introduce Lingo, a hyper-local conversational agent embedded deeply into the urban infrastructure that provides rich, purposeful, detailed, and in some cases, playful information relevant to a neighbourhood. Drawing lessons from a mixed-method contextual study (online survey, n = 1992 and semi-structured interviews, n = 21), we identify requirements for such a hyper-local conversational agent and a sample set of questions serving urban neighbourhoods of Belgium. Our agent design is manifested into a two-part system. First, a multi-modal reasoning engine serves as a hyper-local information source using automated machine-learning models operating on camera, microphone, and environmental sensor data. Second, a smart conversational speaker and a smartphone application serve as hyper-local information access points. Finally, we introduce a covert communication mechanism over Wi-Fi management frames that bridges the two parts of our Lingo system and enables the privacy-preserving proxemic interactions. We describe the design, implementation, and technical assessment of Lingo together with usability (n = 20) and real-world deployment (n = 5) studies. We reflect on information quality, accessibility benefits, and interaction dynamics and demonstrate the efficacy of Lingo in offering hyper-local information at the finest granularity in urban neighbourhoods while reducing access time up to a factor of 25.

Job Satisfaction in Public Health Care Sector, Measures Scales and Theoretical Background

Public Health care organizations are the most important social systems in which human resources are the wealth and central factor. This study is a literature review on job satisfaction in the public health care sector, giving tools to prevent with measures scales and information's in theoretical background. Evidence of job satisfaction in the public health care sector is encountered by Greek and Global public health organizations and services. Limited literature in connection and contribution of occupational health and safety with Job Satisfaction in the frame of policy and management. Public health care professionals and Administration managers in the healthcare services need to understand the benefits of adopting effective Job satisfaction. The aim of this research was to identify also analyze the knowledge of job satisfaction in the Public Health Care Sector, Measures Scales necessary to identify and knowledge objective to positively affect Public health professionals’ job satisfaction and therefore health care sector quality services. Information’s and knowledge produced an understanding of the mechanisms that increase job satisfaction and contribute to the improvement of psychosocial risks, and well-being to take appropriate measures and scales to create a Healthy and Hygiene working environment. Affects direct in health economics as well as organizational productivity, and quality of performance. A systematic review was conducted for the last two-year in Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Scientific Journals. There are very few papers published based on the very contemporary title considered for the article, classified as eligible according to the previously established criteria.

Recycled (Bio)Plastics and (Bio)Plastic Composites: A Trade Opportunity in a Green Future.

Today’s world is at the point where almost everyone realizes the usefulness of going green. Due to so-called global warming, there is an urgent need to find solutions to help the Earth and move towards a green future. Many worldwide events are focusing on the global technologies in plastics, bioplastic production, the recycling industry, and waste management where the goal is to turn plastic waste into a trade opportunity among the industrialists and manufacturers. The present work aims to review the recycling process via analyzing the recycling of thermoplastic, thermoset polymers, biopolymers, and their complex composite systems, such as fiber-reinforced polymers and nanocomposites. Moreover, it will be highlighted how the frame of the waste management, increasing the materials specificity, cleanliness, and a low level of collected material contamination will increase the potential recycling of plastics and bioplastics-based materials. At the same time, to have a real and approachable trade opportunity in recycling, it needs to implement an integrated single market for secondary raw materials.

The Role of Volunteers and Citizen Scientists in Addressing Declining Water Quality in Irish River Catchments

Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) frames water management in Ireland to account for the complex hydrological, biophysical, and environmental interactions along with the political, socio-economic and cultural influences inherent in the management of river catchments. Despite a range of European Union (EU) Directives, national laws, policies, and incentives, the quality of water and biological diversity in Irish rivers is declining. In response, there has been an increased effort to involve local communities in ICM through a bottom-up, nature-based citizen science approach to activate local cooperation and environmental stewardship. This paper assembles 157 examples of citizen science water-based projects (48 in Ireland as of 2021) to appraise the position of community-led water monitoring in ICM. Notable differences found between the Irish and international programmes found a greater emphasis on habitat internationally, while a taxonomy focus was evident in Ireland despite a lower number of skilled volunteer activity-based citizen science projects. The continuing decline in water quality in Ireland, even with appropriate regulations, commendable governance changes, and expansion of citizen science, suggests more work is necessary before there will be successful ICM and improvements to river water quality.

Sanitation is the greatest concern in outdoor cat management but ecological message frames promote biodiversity conservation in Japan

SummaryMessage framing contributes to an increase in public support for invasive species management. However, little is known about people’s preferences for the multiple objectives of management within different contexts relating to the challenges and benefits of invasive species management. We examine Japanese citizens’ preferences for the goals of free-roaming unowned cat (Felis catus) management in three contextual frames by applying experimentally controlled information and the best–worst scaling technique. Our results indicate that the ecological frame highlighting the ecological impacts of free-roaming unowned cats on native ecosystems significantly increases Japanese citizens’ concern about cat predation, although the frame did not change the preference ranking of goals. There are differences in the effects of message framing depending on cat ownership. The best–worst scaling technique shows that Japanese citizens prefer to maintain a sanitary environment, followed by the prevention of zoonotic diseases. Although the ranking of sanitary environmental management does not depend on cat ownership, the ranking of the other goals differs depending on cat ownership. The findings highlight the importance of strategic message framing and its prioritization in encouraging public support for invasive species management.

Acquisitions as programs: The role of sensemaking and sensegiving

The intersection of program management and acquisition research remains undeveloped. Within both research domains there is limited recognition of how senior and project managers frame change and influence the meaning construction of others in complex and ambiguous situations. We investigate how sensemaking and sensegiving alternate within an acquisition program during ten Indian acquisitions. Our resulting model highlights how sensemaking and sensegiving interface and blend across different projects (e.g., functional or task-based) to build shared meaning and maintain business continuity. Viewing acquisitions as programs, consisting of interrelated projects, disentangles how senior managers create shared meaning. Additional implications for research and management practice are identified.

Information Organization Activities in the Knowledge Management Setting

This study examines information organization activities in the knowledge management setting. The investigation commences with the long-drawn debate on the concept of Knowledge Management and the literature that has hitherto reviewed it. Furthermore, the study delves into how conventional bibliographic information retrieval techniques and expert search systems have heretofore been applied in the organization and retrieval of digital resources and if they can be employed in the Knowledge management setting. It is contended that though the procedures, tools, and techniques are effectual and productive, they cannot be utilizedina knowledge Intensive environment. Accordingly, the study puts forth a generic knowledge management frame work that can be applied in a knowledge management setting. In addition, it proposes novel research gaps in the context of information organization.

Beyond Colloquial Use: A Concept Analysis of Family Care Management in A Chronic-Conditions Context.

Family care management is a colloquial concept that is widely applied to health and social care worldwide. Despite that the concept has been in use in a variety of contexts for decades, a substantial number of scientific papers apply it with seemingly little consistency. In this study, we therefore report a concept analysis of family care management within a chronic-conditions context from the nursing perspective. A review of recent nursing and health-related literature covering the years 2000-2020 was performed on the concepts of family care, family nursing, family management, and care management. Nineteen studies were extracted for this analysis. Utilizing the Walker and Avant concept-analysis strategy, we defined attributes and analyzed the antecedents and their consequences. The concept is defined from the perspective of health professionals. Five key attributes of family care management were identified: supervising situations, providing guidance, creating partnerships, a philosophical foundation, and a management style. Antecedents to the conductance of family care management included chronic health status, demographic and socioeconomic factors, and shortage of resources. The outcome of family care management was then described with respect to both positive and negative aspects. Family care management is a highly abstract concept. We described two sub-concepts in need of clarification, including dynamic management behavior and a static management frame. Without a clear understanding of family care management, the concept is at risk of being relegated to a vague colloquial expression. Developing a theory of family care management might position the concept in a theoretical context, and could provide health providers with a point of reference for meaningful family care management strategies within their practices.

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MANAGEMENT MEASURES UNDERTAKEN TO MITIGATE THE IMPACT OF RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES ON VEGETATION, SOIL, WATER AND WILD GAME

Purpose: Hiking, climbing and walking have the potential to disturb wildlife and affect soil in a number of ways including trampling, littering, changing animal habitat or degrading soil through use of undesignated trail and trailside management. The aim of the study is to analyze the effectiveness of the management measures undertaken to mitigate the impact of recreational activities on vegetation, soil, water and wild game.
 Methodology: The descriptive survey research design was used. Out of the three hundred and twenty nine (329) questionnaires administered, two hundred and sixty three 263(79.9%) responded to the questionnaires by completely filling and returning them. Descriptive statistics that included frequencies and percentages were used to organize and summarize the data. Tables and bar charts were drawn to present the collected data.
 Findings: Proactive planning, change design of facilities and improved maintenance were the most used methods of limiting recreation impact. This is attributed to the check in and checkout procedures, hardening of recreation sites, use of already established trails, designed and established water points. Managing tourism in a sustainable way requires both a long-term perspective and careful consideration of ways in which tourist activities and environment interrelate.
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: There is need for the ministry of tourism to develop a systematic approach to address environmental conservation threat of recreation activities and come up with management frame works of monitoring visitors’ impact in national parks.

Smart building demolition and waste management frame with image-to-BIM

Increasing urbanization has resulted in a large number of building demolition, generating massive volumes of construction and demolition waste (CDW) in many countries. However, adjustments and deterioration to existing structures are poorly documented, yielding a data gap before the demolition work. Additionally, the entire demolition process relies heavily on on-site operations, pre-demolition audit and efficient construction and demolition waste management (CDWM). To improve the efficiency and informatization of building demolition and CDWM, this article proposes a smart framework based on Image-to-BIM technique. Within this frame, a combined UAV and handheld camera system is presented to collect interior and exterior images of to-be-demolished buildings automatically and completely, in which camera motion path planning is accomplished by considering the target region. The proposed algorithm could detect the line features in the image-based reconstruction model and extracts geometric data to get the required BIM model. Additional frame components dedicated to demolition planning and waste management enable schedule optimizing, safety assessment, CDW quantity take-off, and economic estimation using the data from the BIM model. The application of the framework in a masonry structure showcases how the integrated system improves the information flow during building deconstruction and CDWM, realizing a potentially smart deconstruction activity.

The impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on peer to peer accommodation businesses: The case of Airbnb

Aim/purpose – This study aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on peer-to-peer accommodation (P2PA), investigate the potential factors related to or- ganizational resilience based on resilience resources and consumer threat response frameworks, and revisit the tourism disaster management framework. Design/methodology/approach – The operational Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were analyzed in relation to host professionalism (organizational resilience) and property exposure to social contact (consumer threat response) for 23,334 properties available via the Airbnb platform. A regression model was proposed to estimate the impact of government policies on P2PA business performance. Findings – The revenue, the occupancy rate, and the number of active properties decreased by –59.1%, –41.3%, and –20.4%, respectively. Professional hosts and proper- ties offering less social contact showed lower declines in revenue and occupancy rate and their proportion in properties that survived 12 months after the pandemic breakout was higher. The consecutive waves of COVID-19 infections created a need to include a repetitive exchange of emergency and intermediate stages before the recovery stage could be started. Research implications/limitations – For P2PA hosts, this study could serve as a useful contribution to shaping their tactics given the COVID-19 pandemic continuation or simi- lar disaster to happen in the future. For governments or local authorities, this study should contribute to a better understanding of the impacts of various types of restrictions on accommodation segment performance. The limitation of this research is that it refers to big cities, extending it to rural destinations might reveal valuable insights. Additional- ly, it would be interesting to compare P2PA performance with other segments of the hospitality sector (e.g., hotels). Originality/value/contribution – This study contributes to the knowledge of tourism disaster management, organizational resilience, and consumer threat response frame- works. It reveals potential factors related to property resilience in the face of disease- -related disasters and proposes a revised framework for tourism disaster management. Keywords: peer-to-peer accommodation, Airbnb, revenue, tourism disaster manage- ment, COVID-19 pandemic. JEL Classification: M10, M39, L11, L25, D22.

Demystifying corporate inertia towards transition to circular economy: A management frame of reference

We examine corporate inertia towards circularity transition using organisational case studies, observations, and qualitative interviews with business executives. The study explores how the values and beliefs of business leaders and managers promote or inhibit internal and external stakeholder engagement to enable transition to circular business models. We focus on four large UK food companies, conducting interviews with 11 senior managers. Rather than a lack of awareness of the circular economy (CE), the results demonstrate that business leaders are not persuaded by the short-to medium-term business case for a CE. There is misalignment between values and beliefs of business executives and the circularity values and goals of their organisations. The misaligned values and beliefs inhibit relevant stakeholder engagement for transitions to a CE with responsibility shifted to civil society and public institutions. Management commitment to circularity transitions are at best a sophisticated form of circularity greenwashing. The study further suggests a general lack of collective disposition to foster collaborations with sectoral and supply chain partners to engender circularity transitions due to the absence of any standard systems for CE performance indicators. Circularity education and training play a positive mediatory role in changing negative assumptions, including the promotion of managers' engagement with other relevant stakeholders to build synergies and strategies for CE systems. The findings contribute to understanding the dynamics of corporate inertia regarding transitions to CE and highlight the relevance of aligning the personal values and beliefs of top management with organisational, sectoral, and supply chain partners’ values and goals.

Effect of Traditional Knowledge System in Sustainable Development and Management of Natural Resources in Meru Community

This paper aimed at studying the effect of traditional knowledge system in sustainable development and management of natural resources in Meru community. The study was guided by the following questions: What is the role of indigenous system in the protection and conservation of natural resources in Meru community? What is the role of integrated environmental management frame work in the sustainable development and management of natural resources in Meru community? What is the relationship between participatory decision making, policy maker’s implementation and natural resources users in Meru community? The research was conducted in Meru and Tharaka Nithi Counties and through purposeful sampling had two case studies from each county in Meru community. Data was collected using guided interviews and semi structured questions. The data was collected through a focus group discussion, documents and audio-visual materials. The study reviewed the literature to understand the effect of traditional knowledge system in sustainable development and management of natural resources in Meru community. Theoretical insights and empirical findings from the studies suggest that despite the generalized worldwide trend of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) erosion, substantial pockets of TEK persist in both developing and developed countries. The findings also reinforce previous hypotheses pointing at the importance of TEK systems as reservoirs of experiential knowledge that can provide important insights for the design of adaptation and mitigation strategies to cope with global environmental change in the management of natural resources. Recognition of endogenous management of Indigenous knowledge becomes an enhancing solution to the seemingly mega challenges of community development. Indigenous knowledge is a more secure foundation for sustainable solutions to challenges in developmental issues in communities and in Africa. Advanced technology in Indigenous knowledge (IK) usage and preservation empowers users to improve on pre-existing solutions to a problem, achieve a goal, and most of all improve on the standards of living. Keywords: Traditional knowledge System, development and management, Natural Resources, Meru community

Assessing forest governance innovations in Europe: Needs, challenges and ways forward for sustainable forest ecosystem service provision

This Special Issue provides insights into conceptual approaches, methodological procedures and practice findings for the development and assessment of governance innovations for the sustainable provision of forest ecosystem services (FES) in Europe. We depart from the observation that the sustainable and balanced provision of FES requires novel policy, management and business approaches that need to overcome challenges in order to emerge, develop and flourish. These challenges are rooted in the diversity of forest ecosystems and institutional contexts, a lack of system understanding, of innovation dynamics, the public good character of many FES, and a production-oriented reference frame for forest management. We use a set of good governance innovation practices in form of new actor alliances and payment schemes as a basis for assessment and learning how to promote different kinds or bundles of FES. The contributing authors of the SI combine several methodological approaches to understand the working conditions of such innovations, including integrated mapping, stakeholder and governance analysis, and a forward-looking scenario approach for innovation assessment. Applying multi-methods and multi-actor approaches fruitfully orchestrated a constructive debate among stakeholders on the chances and challenges of governance innovations in Europe, to allow for their uptake in forest policy, business and practice.

Organizational Context and Healthcare Reforms: What Effect on the Professional Distress of Canadian Social Workers and Social Service Provision?

This study examined the lived experience of Canadian clinical social workers in light of the organizational context in which they work. The literature indicates an alarming rise of occupational psychological distress in social workers, which aligns with the rise of the neoliberal ideology within the Canadian healthcare sector. While we know that organizational constraints and structural reforms affect social worker’s workplace well-being, it remains unclear how these changes are represented by front-line practitioners and how they affect the provision of social services in healthcare settings. To deepen our understanding of this issue, we conducted a thematic analysis of thirty semi-directed interviews with social workers currently practicing in three Canadian cities (Ottawa, Moncton and Winnipeg). Discussions of daily work life, responsibilities, autonomy and subjective understandings of the social worker’s role revealed which organizational constraints were the most significant in everyday practice and how they relate to their professional identity and mandate. Provincial healthcare reforms were generally found to have negative effects on clinical social workers, whose struggles for recognition were impaired by the fundamentally neoliberal ideologies behind the large-scale restructuring of service provision, themselves at odds with the humanistic principles of social work. Our findings further suggest that structural changes under the New Public Management frame could be detrimental to both the quality of services provided by clinical social workers and their well-being. Overall, this investigation highlights the importance of organizational improvements in the workplace through systemic changes that would concurrently target managerial expectations, resources allocation, autonomy, work-life balance and respect for professional values.

Crisis management made visible: A case study of a school fire.

The aim of this study was to examine how a more inclusive framing of a crisis directs the actors' understanding of a situation and identifies unrecognized actors in the crisis management process. Crises include various extreme situations and require appropriate management frameworks to be effectively managed. The research is based on interviews with personnel who responded to a school fire and focuses on their interpretations and actions during the incident. The results indicated that the informants framed the crisis as a school fire. Consequently, the incident commander and principal became the core actors. However, an unrecognized management frame was identified, representing teachers who, in response to the crisis, upheld and normalized educational functions. As the frame representing teachers did not fit the established discourse on crisis management, it was not recognized by others involved, hence ignoring the contributions of significant role-players in the operational and pedagogical management of the crisis.