Practical Advice For Management Research Articles

Trust in Cloud Computing

Trust is an important facilitator for successful business relationships and an important technology adoption determinant. However, thus far trust has received little attention in the context of cloud computing, resulting in a lack of understanding of the dimensions of trust in cloud services and trust-building antecedents. Although the literature provides various conceptual models of trust for contexts related to cloud computing that may serve as a reference, in particular trust in IT outsourcing providers and trust in IT artifacts, idiosyncrasies of trust in cloud computing require a novel conceptual model of trust. First, a cloud service has a dual nature of being an IT artifact and a service provided by an organization. Second, cloud services are offered in impersonal cloud marketplaces and build upon a nested network of cloud services within the cloud ecosystem. In this article, we first analyze the concept of trust in cloud contexts. Next, we develop a conceptual model that describes trust in cloud services. The conceptual model incorporates the duality of trust in a cloud provider organization and trust in an IT artifact, as well as trust types for the impersonal environment and the cloud computing ecosystem. Using the conceptual model as a lens we then review 43 empirical studies on trust in IT outsourcing and trust in IT artifacts that were identified by a structured literature search. The resulting conceptual model provides a conceptual typology of constructs for trust in cloud services, defines trust-building antecedents, and develops 19 propositions describing the relationships between trust constructs and between trust constructs and trust-building antecedents. The conceptual model contributes to research by creating grounds for future theory-building on trust in cloud contexts, integrating two previously disjoint strands in the trust literature, and identifying knowledge gaps. Based on the conceptual model, we furthermore provide practical advice for managers from service providers, platform providers, customers, and institutional authorities.

Corporate Blogging and Job Performance: Effects of Work-related and Nonwork-related Participation

Corporate blogs are expected to facilitate communication, knowledge sharing, and collaborative innovation within organizations. However, empirical evidence has yet to be found illustrating whether and how such applications have affected job performance. Drawing upon social network theory, we postulate a conceptual model suggesting that employees’ online social relationships accumulated through work- and nonwork-related blog participation will engender different effects on job performance. The model is empirically tested using digital trace and archival data collected from two in-practice systems of a large telecommunications company. The results reveal that, in the work-related blog network, the structural and cognitive dimensions of social relationships positively affect job performance, whereas the relational dimension shows a negative influence. Meanwhile, participation in nonwork-related blog network benefits job performance for employees with a high level of performance in the previous time period, but is detrimental for other employees. The findings uncover the influencing mechanism of corporate blogging on job performance and offer practical advice for managers to better exploit the value of intraorganizational social media.

The relationship between hotel employees’ cross-cultural competency and team performance in multi-national hotel companies

In this study, the authors explored the benefits of understanding employee cross-cultural competency and strengthening team performance, which are essential for improving the organizational effectiveness of multi-national hotel companies as they expand globally. Data were collected from six multi-national hotel companies in Thailand. A total of 738 valid questionnaires were obtained and analyzed using structural equation modeling to test the proposed relationships, in which cross-cultural competency was developed as determinant of multi-cultural team performance. The results indicate that cross-cultural competency had a positive, direct effect on team performance. The authors provide significant cross-cultural theoretical and practical management advice for stakeholders in the hospitality industry. In addition, the authors establish the foundation for future studies into cross-cultural competency and multi-cultural team performance in the context of Thai multi-national hotels.

The challenges facing corporate universities in dealing with open innovation

Purpose – This paper aims to illustrate the quick rise in the popularity of corporate universities since the 1990s. Because knowledge management is becoming imperative to the survival and growth of firms in most industries, better management of corporate universities is becoming more and more critical. The purpose of this paper is to analyze three objectives: Why invest in corporate universities? Which model to adopt? and What are the key challenges facing corporate universities in dealing with the adoption of an open innovation approach? Design/methodology/approach – The article provides a general review of corporate universities dealing with open innovation by using a creative synthesis. Findings – This paper analyzes the challenges involved in the development of corporate universities and examines how they can deal with open innovation. While few corporate universities have a real strategic role, several initiatives have failed or have been seriously compromised. To create competitive advantages through a corporate university, upper management must dedicate significant resources and have a plan for building the corporate curriculum in order to deal with innovation management. Research limitations/implications – Due to the lack of scientific articles on the topic, most of the published articles made by practitioners was used. Further studies are needed to test the recommendations and models. Practical implications – This paper identifies some development models and growth avenues for corporate universities. It helps provide an understanding of the challenges associated with open innovation as well as their limits. Originality/value – It is among the first papers to link the development of corporate universities with the open innovation approach. It also provides practical advice for managers and academics.

Retzius space haematoma with retroperitoneal dissection after spontaneous vaginal delivery: an unusual presentation of ruptured paravesical plexus managed by bilateral internal iliac artery ligation

Abstract Introduction Abdomino-pelvic hematomas during pregnancy, labor or postpartum are severe and rare hemorrhagic complication that result from rupture in the pelvic vessels. Principles of surgical management of pelvic hematomas and postpartum hemorrhage are well known and documented and are of high clinical interest. Aim We report a rare case of hematoma following vaginal delivery. Case study A patient with a Retzius space hematoma after vaginal delivery presented with hemodynamic instability and abdominal distension with suprapubic bulge in the postpartum period. Ultrasound examination showed a heterogeneous mass between bladder and uterus suspicious of hematoma with another retroperitoneal one associated with right hydronephrosis. Results Exploratory laparotomy was performed that revealed a hematoma in the Retzius’ space with infiltration of the wall of the bladder with extension to the paracolpos space and the right broad ligament to the retroperitoneal space. The bleeding source was suspected to be the blood vessels in the wall of the bladder that were hemostatically sutured. Bilateral uterine artery ligation with bilateral internal iliac artery ligation were done to control hematoma and atony and vertical vertical compression sutures were done for uterine atony. The hemorrhage was found to be secondary to rupture in the paravesical venous vessels. Discussion Hematoma in the Retzius’ space is a rare complication. It needs urgent diagnoses and management. Few cases were reported in the literature. The condition may pose diagnostic problems, as pelvic bones let only a limited examination, but requires an undelayed handling. This was illustrated by determining a complete extent of the hematoma only intraoperative. The authors made an accurate diagnosis and applied a necessary treatment in an urgent situation. The technique of the vessel ligation was a demanding, but optimal solution. Conclusions This article focuses attention at an uncommon obstetrical situation and delivers actual and practical advice for management.

Deriving optimal fishing effort for managing Australia's Moreton Bay multispecies trawl fishery with aggregated effort data

Abstract Deriving an estimate of optimal fishing effort or even an approximate estimate is very valuable for managing fisheries with multiple target species. The most challenging task associated with this is allocating effort to individual species when only the total effort is recorded. Spatial information on the distribution of each species within a fishery can be used to justify the allocations, but often such information is not available. To determine the long-term overall effort required to achieve maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and maximum economic yield (MEY), we consider three methods for allocating effort: (i) optimal allocation, which optimally allocates effort among target species; (ii) fixed proportions, which chooses proportions based on past catch data; and (iii) economic allocation, which splits effort based on the expected catch value of each species. Determining the overall fishing effort required to achieve these management objectives is a maximizing problem subject to constraints due to economic and social considerations. We illustrated the approaches using a case study of the Moreton Bay Prawn Trawl Fishery in Queensland (Australia). The results were consistent across the three methods. Importantly, our analysis demonstrated the optimal total effort was very sensitive to daily fishing costs—the effort ranged from 9500–11 500 to 6000–7000, 4000 and 2500 boat-days, using daily cost estimates of $0, $500, $750, and $950, respectively. The zero daily cost corresponds to the MSY, while a daily cost of $750 most closely represents the actual present fishing cost. Given the recent debate on which costs should be factored into the analyses for deriving MEY, our findings highlight the importance of including an appropriate cost function for practical management advice. The approaches developed here could be applied to other multispecies fisheries where only aggregated fishing effort data are recorded, as the literature on this type of modelling is sparse.

Management of Complex Fisheries: Lessons Learned from a Simulation Model

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how fisheries economics management issues or problems can be analyzed by using a complex model based on conventional bioeconomic theory. Complex simulation models contain a number of details that make them suitable for practical management advice, including taking into account the response of the fishermen to implemented management measures. To demonstrate the use of complex management models this paper assesses a number of second best management schemes against a first rank optimum (FRO), an ideal individual transferable quotas (ITQ) system. This is defined as the management scheme which produces the highest net present value over a 25 year period. The assessed management schemes (scenarios) are composed by several measures as used in the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union for the cod fishery in the Baltic Sea. The scenarios are total allowable catches in combination with entry restrictions, and maximum number of days at sea in combination with entry restrictions. These two scenarios are assessed under assumptions of no cooperative behavior and cooperative behavior, and compliance and noncompliance with various management restrictions. Apart from showing the magnitude of the resource rent, the impact on fleet structure and the adjustment paths is shown. The result is that the resource rent gained from these second best management schemes is lower than FRO, the ideal ITQ system, but may in practice not be so different.

Well-being and work: towards a balanced agenda

Book synopsis: Work and well-being is one of the fastest growing areas of concern to business, public sector and government. This book looks at the causes of stress in the modern work-place, and offers practical advice for managers on how to combat stress in their employees, and put in place strategies for developing a healthy workplace.

Brand Valuation in Business Practice – Part 2

This article presents the research design and results of a recent empirical study on brand valuation practice in Europe. Moreover, concise recommendations and practical advice for managers and tax authorities considering monetary brand valuation are provided, together with a summary of main study findings. Part 1 of this article, providing an introduction to the topic (section 1.) and critical literature review (section 2.), was published in the previous issue of the International Transfer Pricing Journal.

Adopting and assimilating new non-pharmaceutical technologies into health care: A systematic review

To explore what is known about organizational processes that determine whether (and the extent and rate at which) new non-pharmaceutical technologies are adopted and assimilated into routine health care. Electronic searching of four databases, hand searching of six journals and electronic citation tracking searches of three key research papers. A narrative synthesis was conducted. Ninety-nine empirical studies and seven narrative overviews informed the findings. The majority (62%) of the studies took a deterministic approach (mainly using cross-sectional mailed questionnaires) and typically studied the impact of organizational variables - such as organizational size - on the rate of adoption of technological innovations. The remaining studies were process-based using a single- or multi-case study approach. The organizational processes that determine whether and how technological innovations are adopted and assimilated into routine health care practice are dependent upon the specific innovation concerned, the different actors involved at various points in time, and the particular organizational context in which decisions are made. It is important to see 'adoption' and 'assimilation' as part of an ongoing process rather than discrete events, and as a process that comprises both 'formal' organizational and 'informal' decisions by individual users (the latter often shaped by discussions with their peers and colleagues). Further process-based studies are needed to provide a clearer evidence base for recommendations on how to facilitate the adoption and assimilation of beneficial new technologies. Three theoretical perspectives could form the basis of such studies and produce practical advice for managers and practitioners.

Sleep and headache.

There is a strong interaction between sleep and headache. Sleep and headache disorders overlap epidemiologically, and share elements of anatomy and physiology. Perhaps as a result, their treatment is often mutually interdependent. Despite this, headache and sleep disorders tend to be treated separately, by different subspecialties of neurology. The headache disorders and their relationship to sleep, the commonalities of headache and sleep pathophysiology, and headache disorders that are particularly susceptible to sleep modulation (and vice versa) are reviewed. Practical management advice for sleep-modulated headaches is provided.

Practical advice on clinical decision making during neoadjuvant chemotherapy for primary breast cancer

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is a useful approach in the treatment of many breast cancers. One of the main advantages of NACT is the possibility of breast conservation surgery in patients who would otherwise require a mastectomy. Most literature on NACT focuses on the effectiveness of different chemotherapy regimen and subsequent mastectomy rates. There is little guidance in the literature on aspects of individual patient management and decision making during NACT. This paper considers practical management advice where NACT is considered and adopted.

Key Intellectual Property Issues In Nanotechnology

Great attention has been paid in recent years to the importance of intellectual property to successful R&D and commercialization of technology. The issues raised have included the appropriate role and expense of IP in the R&D and commercialization environments, the impact of intellectual property on companies' freedom to use technology in new products and the role of intellectual property in extracting maximum value from R&D by providing alternative commercialization paths including licensing, business spin offs, joint ventures and packaging the innovative business for sale to another party. Nowhere has this interest been keener than in the rapidly expanding and commercially unpredictable area of nanomaterials. This paper will provide a basic understanding of the key intellectual property issues most important to nano-materials, including practical advice for managers and R&D personnel on efficiently creating intellectual property processes and policies appropriate to companies in the nano-materials business.

Developments in Practice XXII: Expertise Location and Management: Hope or Hype?

The idea that KM can help people in large, often widely geographically dispersed organizations find out who has subject matter expertise or who knows how and where to get at important know-how is intrinsically appealing to knowledge managers. After all, helping people access the knowledge they need is fundamentally what KM is all about. Early approaches to expertise location and management (ELM) typically built skills repositories, but these have not been successful in accomplishing these objectives. As a result, expertise location and management is now on the steep downward slope of the KM "hype cycle" in most organizations. This paper explores the question of whether ELM is an idea that is evolving and maturing and which will ultimately deliver on its promised value, or whether organizations should simply give up on the idea as being not worth the effort. To explore this issue in more detail and to better understand how organizations are conceptualizing and implementing this specific KM initiative, the authors convened a focus group of practicing KM managers from a variety of organizations. This paper first situates the topic of expertise location -- where it fits in with other KM issues and also how our understanding of this topic has evolved over time. It next describes some of the benefits and challenges of ELM. Following this, it explores several different approaches to these types of initiatives. From these, we derive a number of principles for effective ELM implementations. Finally, we present some practical advice for managers who are considering using ELM in their organizations. The paper concludes that ELM has the potential to be a "killer app" for KM, but only if it can be focused and designed effectively to appropriately integrate technology with human facilitation.

Creating and using objectives for ecological risk assessment and management

This paper provides guidance for ecological risk assessors and managers about how to structure objectives for these efforts. It first outlines why objectives are crucial for ecological risk assessment and management. Then, it draws on the writing within applied decision analysis to outline a process for structuring objectives for ecological risk-management efforts involving one or several decision-makers. The characteristics of a good set of objectives are outlined, and the various uses for a set of objectives within ecological risk-management efforts are summarized. The paper concludes with practical advice for managers and facilitators charged with developing objectives to guide these complex processes.

The market driven organization: understanding, attracting, and keeping valuable customers

Market Driven Strategy is a buzzword that many business people use without grasping its full meaning. This text offers practical advice for managers who want to better communicate with their customers, perform miles ahead of their competitors, and continually be responsive to both.

A guide to intellectual property rights in Southeast Asia and China

G lobalization of the world’s economy has opened new, international markets to North American businesses. The “Asian Tigers”-China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailandare particularly attractive. This is because their booming economies have seen growth rates of up to 10.2 percent, compared with Canada’s 2.2 percent and the United States’ 2 percent, in 1995. These Asian countries, however, have the world’s worst records for copyright piracy and other intellectual property rights (IPR) infringements. North American trade to these developing countries has changed substantially in terms of export product categories. Developing countries have grown more aware of the importance of high-tech imports to their national economic development and have begun to import high-tech goods and services such as communication systems, information technology, and other electronic products. In 1980, 68 percent of total U.S. exports and 49 percent of Canada’s total exports were in machinery and transport equipment and other manufactures. By 1994, however, these figures had increased to 83 percent for the United States and 67 percent for Canada. Among the manufacturing exports, a substantial amount is attributed to high-tech products. For instance, the priority sectors for exports to developing countries identified by Canadian External Affairs and International Trade include a huge variety-from agricultural and food products to biotech and pharmaceuticals, from oil and gas equipment to transportation systems. Weak IPR legislation and the absence of enforcement in Southeast Asia present a major risk for some of these businesses. Unfortunately, there is little published material on IPR protection with practical advice for managers. Most is in the form of legal texts, which are tedious for the non-expert to use. We have endeavored to fill the gap by providing useful information directed at small and medium-sized North American businesses entering new niche markets. Our guide summarizes current laws and enforcement practices in Southeast Asia and China, and provides tips on how best to try to protect intellectual property. One caveat before proceeding: This guide is intended as a planning tool for developing strategies and determining the initial feasibility of entering the Southeast Asian market. Specific legal advice should be obtained before finalizing your plans.

ISO 9000 work instruction ‐ subject: fun

Presents an ISO 9000 standard work instruction for “fun”. Describes activities to maximize the likelihood of creation of a fun work environment. Suggests that fun is a critical factor of employee productivity. Mixes humorous observations with practical advice for management, employees, human resources, and other groups. Reveals that content was aggregated by careful observation of the best and worst in business environments. Concludes that fun and quality improvement are mutually reinforcing.

Comparing quality assurance methods and the resulting design strategies: Experiences from complex designs

Design quality assurance methods are compared in terms of cost and error detection efficiency using statistical data from several complex designs (Complexity>100.00 gates). A suitable strategy for error detection as a function of system complexity is identified, and the resulting design flow is described. The statistical control of the design process as a feedback loop to achieve error prevention is demonstrated. Using data from complex projects practical advice for managers is given.

Living with the characterologically, altered brain injured patient: Lezak, M. D. VA Hosp., Portland, Ore., U.S.A. J. Clin. Psychiatry 39(7), 592–598, 1978

Characterological defects secondary to brain injury tend to disrupt normal family interaction patterns and create adjustment problems for the patient's close family members. Social and psychological ties, expectations, and vulnerabilities make caretaking spouses and dependent children particularly susceptible to emotional stresses. Unrealistic expectations often compound these problems. Almost all family members experience some depression. Counseling family members can improve the quality of their adjustment and their care of the patient. Counseling goals include helping the family readjust expectations, providing practical management advice, and alerting family members to their own needs. Specific recommendations for dealing with common family problems are offered.