Sound Practices Research Articles

Pengaruh Faktor Eksternal Terhadap Strategi Pemasaran Pada Mcdonald’s

Consumer interest in McDonald's, which is operated as a franchise, remains high in Indonesia and elsewhere. McDonald's is one of the franchises that has expanded the most both in Indonesia and internationally. The term "strategy" is used to describe the ways through which a corporation works to fulfill its purpose and vision over a certain period of time. Analyzing the company's external elements is essential before developing a marketing plan. The organization has to analyze its external environment in order to recognize threats and seize opportunities. The goal of this study is to determine whether external influences have an impact on McDonald's business strategy. The research approach used here is a case study based on a SWOT analysis. This information is derived from other sources. Meanwhile, qualitative research is being undertaken. Many data sources are used in this method to investigate a topic from several angles. Materials like magazines, newspapers, periodicals, and articles. In a situation when the firm's strengths are 1.45 and its shortcomings are 0.50, the company is doing really well. In light of the 2.12 opportunities and 1.8 risks present. The study's findings suggest that the fast food restaurant in question has sound management practices and can compete well in an industry where many similar enterprises can be found.

Investigating the Impact of Psychological Contract Violation on Survivors’ Turnover Intention under the Downsizing Context: A Moderated Mediation Mechanism

In the light of social exchange theory, our study aimed to explore the impact of psychological contract violation on survivors’ turnover intention, specifically in a downsizing context. We put forth a moderated mediation model to uncover the mediating role of organizational commitment, as well as the boundary conditions of organizational support and emotional susceptibility as a moderating mechanism. To test our hypotheses, we surveyed 202 out of 271 layoff survivors belonging to the stores of an established manufacturing and retail footwear business in the southwest region of China. The study found a positive relationship between psychological contract violation and the survivors’ turnover intention. In addition, organizational commitment has been identified as a powerful mediator between psychological contract violation and turnover intention. This study, however, only explores how organizational support significantly moderates the mediating effect of organizational commitment in regard to psychological contract violation and turnover intention. This study helps organizational practitioners to ensure sound management practices for employees, in order to get rid of adverse consequences evinced through individuals’ negative emotions.

Exploring Ethical Issues with Using Wearable Technology in K-12 Classrooms: A Review of the Literature

Smartwatches and other miniaturized wearable devices are continuously evolving and are being used to capture and analyze the body data of young students. The body data being captured includes physical location and body movement, heart rate, stress and arousal, as well as academic emotions. With this information teachers are incorporating student-generated body data into creative learning activities to make learning student-centred and more engaging. However, there are unique challenges for teachers. These challenges are premised on applying sound pedagogical practices when implementing wearables and being informed about ethical considerations when using the personal data generated from student bodies. Our systematic review combines the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach with a thematic narrative analysis to review 29 articles from 2003 to 2019. Our findings include three major thematic sections dealing with ethical issues when using wearable technologies in K-12 education. The ethical issues we discuss are awareness of unintended outcomes, ethics of data ownership, and the risk of statistical solutionist management of student bodies.

Nanoparticle Mediated Plant Tolerance to Heavy Metal Stress: What We Know?

Nanoparticles (NPs) are playing an important role in addressing various environmental constraints by giving ingenious and successful resolutions. Heavy metal (HM) stress has gained significant importance in the last few years because of its speedy incorporation into agricultural sectors. Due to exclusive physiochemical properties, NPs can be effectively applied for stress mitigation strategies. NPs are highly effective over bulk scale parts owing to the control of the enhanced surface area and the possibility for specific properties to enhance nutrient uptake. In the present review, we explore the use of NPs as an environmentally sound practice to enhance plant growth when exposed to abiotic stress, particularly HM stress. Furthermore, we display an extensive summary of recent progress concerning the role of NPs in HM stress tolerance. This review paper will also be useful for comprehending phytoremediation of contaminated soils and indicates the prospective research required for the cooperative submission of NPs in the soil for sustainable agriculture.

Organizational and Technical Security Considerations for Laboratory Cloud Computing.

Clinical and anatomical pathology services are increasingly utilizing cloud information technology (IT) solutions to meet growing requirements for storage, computation, and other IT services. Cloud IT solutions are often considered on the promise of low cost of entry, durability and reliability, scalability, and features that are typically out of reach for small- or mid-sized IT organizations. However, use of cloud-based IT infrastructure also brings additional security and privacy risks to organizations, as unfamiliarity, public networks, and complex feature sets contribute to an increased surface area for attacks. In this best-practices guide, we aim to help both managers and IT professionals in healthcare environments understand the requirements and risks when using cloud-based IT infrastructure within the laboratory environment. We will describe how technical, operational, and organizational best practices that can help mitigate security, privacy, and other risks associated with the use of could infrastructure; furthermore, we identify how these best practices fit into healthcare regulatory frameworks.Among organizational best practices, we identify the need for specific hiring requirements, relationships with parent IT groups, mechanisms for reviewing and auditing security practices, and sound practices for onboarding and offboarding employees. Then, we highlight selected specific operational security, account security, and auditing/logging best practices. Finally, we describe how individual cloud technologies have specific resource-level security features. We emphasize that laboratory directors, managers, and IT professionals must ensure that the fundamental organizational and process-based requirements are addressed first, to establish the groundwork for technical security solutions and successful implementation of cloud infrastructure.

Sustainability of transport and logistics companies: an empirical evidence from a developing country

PurposeTransport and logistics companies (TLCs) are vital to the world's economies but they account for one-third of the world's CO2 emissions which damage the environment, economy and society. For managers and policymakers to help improve the environmental performance of TLCs, using dynamic capability (DC) theory as the lens, a theoretical model was developed to show how environmental performance affects the TLCs' support requirements and economic and social outcomes. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned theoretical model.Design/methodology/approachAll registered TLCs operating in the Philippines were sent an invitation and survey questionnaire, and 218 responded with complete and useable answers. From the collected data, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) served to evaluate the study's scale and model accuracies. Comprehensive CFA marker technique helped detect and correct for common method bias (CMB). Covariance-based structural equation modeling using AMOS 26 was implemented to test the model and hypotheses.FindingsUsing data from 218 participating TLCs operating in the Philippines, this study found that good environmental performance advances TLCs' economic and social performances, as well as their support infrastructure requirements. However, further financial support assistance from the government and non-government development organizations that can help save the environment are not required by eco performing firms.Research limitations/implicationsThis research has provided some theoretical contributions to the knowledge on the greening TLCs. It uses the DC theory as the lens to understand how environmental performance relates to economic and social performance of TLCs and how it affects their demand for eco-enabling mechanisms and support infrastructure if they are to remain competitive, socially responsible and eco-friendly. By providing an epistemology on environmental performance and how it affects the support requirements, and economic and social outcomes of TLCs, it offers the literature and industry a tool/framework to better understand the dynamics of eco-performing TLCs operating in a developing country.Practical implicationsThe results of this study, together with the extant operations management principles, can be used by TLC managers, policymakers and other stakeholders in crafting strategies, mechanisms and support systems that can help TLCs maintain sustainability for future generations.Social implicationsThe environmentally sound practices of TLCs such as waste and emission reductions improve the health and welfare of people in and around where they operate. Health is wealth for the populace because healthy people are more productive, have more time and energy to work and are less likely to pay hefty medical expenses. Hence, realization of environmental performance by TLCs does not only do justice to the environment but also the quality of life of people.Originality/valueResearch on the sustainability of TLCs in developing countries especially in Southeast Asia is sparse. The literature has shown how various support systems affect the “greening” of firms, but what is not yet explored, is understanding how environmental performance affects the support requirements of TLCs so that their eco-endeavors are sustained and meaningful. As well, knowledge on how the environmental performance of TLCs affects their economic and social outcomes are under-investigated. This paper aims to fill these gaps in research by examining the sustainability of TLCs operating in the Philippines.

Critical success factors for effective internal auditing: A caseof the office of auditor general

The primary goal of this research was to look at the key success elements for effective internal auditing. Internal auditing is the foundation of an organization’s internal control system. Although internal auditing in the public sector has problems, there are success criteria for efficient internal auditing. The investigation focused primarily on the case at the Office of the Auditor General, which audits all of Namibia’s public sector offices. The relevant data for the researcher surveys was obtained from the office’s management team and internal auditors using Google Forms. The study examined empirical literature to establish the important success elements for the Office of Auditor General’s effective internal auditing function. The study’s findings were used to identify and categorize the variables, which were then used to create models. The results of the data analysis were provided in frequency tables and charts. The study’s findings demonstrate that effective internal auditing requires management support and sound management practice, appropriate well-trained and competent internal audit personnel, a functioning board of directors, internal policies, and control. Among the identified criteria, however, managerial support and excellent management practice play a critical role. To improve the efficacy of internal auditing, the research advised that the Office of the Auditor General support internal auditing positions by facilitating internal auditing work and recruiting more trained and qualified internal auditors.

Effect of marketing strategy on organizational efficacy via managerial accounting

A marketing strategy has been used by enterprises to achieve the best possible organizational efficacy. In the current research, contingency theory, the theory of resource dependency and experiential learning theory are applied to establish the research model. Marketing strategy has been regarded as one of the determinants of managerial accounting; whereas the adopting of managerial accounting in business can lead to improved organizational efficacy. Therefore, the linkage between marketing strategy and organizational efficacy can be mediated by managerial accounting. The objective of the present research article is to explore the influence of marketing strategy on organizational efficacy, considering the mediating effect of managerial accounting in the research model, which has been previously ignored. The research data were collected from 352 publicly listed enterprises on the main Vietnamese Stock Exchanges, represented by executives involved in marketing and managerial accounting. Vietnam was selected as a study case for research, because it is one of the most rapidly developing countries in Southeast Asia; accordingly, enterprises operating there as a developing economy are supposed to exploy as many sound managerial practices as possible to be able to struggle squarely with the competitors in developed nations. The AMOS analytical technique was applied to test the causal linkages,whereas the mediating procedures were employed to investigate the mediation of managerial accounting in the casual relation from marketing strategy to organizational efficacy. The empirical findings indicate that the elements of product, price, promotion and place of marketing strategy impose statistical influences on organizational efficacy and also on the adoption of managerial accounting in business. Importantly, managerial accounting is found to be a mediator in the relationship between marketing strategy and organizational efficacy. This work has implications for how executives make better decisions about planning marketing strategies in business, which should match the managerial accounting applied in business. Consequently, they could achieve the best possible organizational efficacy. The current research contributes to the existing study of marketing and managerial accounting by supporting a link between marketing strategy and organizational efficacy, which is mediated by managerial accounting in Vietnam.

Measuring the financial performance of insurance companies during the financial crisis

Assessing the financial performance of insurance firms during periods of global economic difficulty has been a topic of great importance to the insurance industry. Interest in sound finance practices peaked in the years following the recession of 2008. Yet, there has been relatively little analysis of the UAE insurance industry and its performance during the financial crisis.The aim of this study is to measure the financial performance of three insurance companies operating in United Arab Emirates during the financial years 2006 to 2009, with the specific goal being to measure the impact of the financial crisis on performance. The analysis examines company performance on key performance indicators such as profitability, liquidity, capital structure and market performance indicators over the years 2006 to 2009. The findings show generally high levels of instability for profitability indicators. Regarding both liquidity and capital structure indicators, the firms in question experienced lower levels of variability and instability across the board. Performance on the earnings per share measure experienced a higher level of volatility, in contrast to the market value per share indicator which remained relatively stable throughout the period in question. Furthermore, profitability levels showed a systemic & notable decline in the crisis year 2008.

Spatial association of bamboos with trees in a commercial tree plantation forest in Myanmar

Abstract Bamboos are mainly distributed in subtropical to tropical areas. Bamboos provide numerous ecosystem services, while the expansion of bamboo gives negative impacts on forest ecosystems. Despite big impacts of bamboos on a forest ecosystem, ecological characteristics of bamboo remain poorly understood. The spatial distributional patterns of three bamboo species, Cephalostachyum pergracile, Bambusa polymorpha, and Dinochloa maclellandii, were studied in a commercial tree plantation of native deciduous tree species in the Bago Mountains, Myanmar. A point process analysis revealed a clumped distribution for each bamboo species. The distributional overlapping of the species was analysed for every pair of two species. The distribution of C. pergracile was little overlapped with those of D. maclellandii and B. polymorpha. Cephalostachyum pergracile was significantly more abundant on gently sloping ridges, whereas D. maclellandii was more abundant on a steeply sloping site. Bambusa polymorpha did not show these patterns with topography. The exclusive distribution of C. pergracile and D. maclellandii may be, at least partly, explained by the opposite topographic preferences of the species. Cephalostachyum pergracile tended to be found far from large trees that cast shade, although B. polymorpha tended to be found with large trees, suggesting that B. polymorpha may be more shade tolerant than C. pergracile. The difference in shade tolerance may contribute to the exclusive distribution of the species. The habitat preference information obtained in this study will contribute to sound bamboo management practices in Myanmar and enable bamboo population sizes to be increased through creation of favourable habitats in forests.

Introduction to the special issue on mobility, climate change, and economic inequality

Introduction to the special issue on mobility, climate change, and economic inequality

Causal mediation analysis: From simple to more robust strategies for estimation of marginal natural (in)direct effects.

This paper aims to provide practitioners of causal mediation analysis with a better understanding of estimation options. We take as inputs two familiar strategies (weighting and model-based prediction) and a simple way of combining them (weighted models), and show how a range of estimators can be generated, with different modeling requirements and robustness properties. The primary goal is to help build intuitive appreciation for robust estimation that is conducive to sound practice. We do this by visualizing the target estimand and the estimation strategies. A second goal is to provide a "menu" of estimators that practitioners can choose from for the estimation of marginal natural (in)direct effects. The estimators generated from this exercise include some that coincide or are similar to existing estimators and others that have not previously appeared in the literature. We note several different ways to estimate the weights for cross-world weighting based on three expressions of the weighting function, including one that is novel; and show how to check the resulting covariate and mediator balance. We use a random continuous weights bootstrap to obtain confidence intervals, and also derive general asymptotic variance formulas for the estimators. The estimators are illustrated using data from an adolescent alcohol use prevention study. R-code is provided.

Military Court Trials of Civilians in Pakistan

The call to try civilians in military courts in 2022 reignited the debate surrounding the legitimacy of quasi-judicial tribunals, and their exercise of jurisdiction over civilians. Regarding trials of civilians in military tribunals, there have been many judgments and academic discourses. There are diverging views either endorsing or condemning this sui generis practice. The higher courts have not decided the matter conclusively. Pakistan does not subscribe to the idea of the direct effect of international treaties. Yet, like any other dualist state, many rights guaranteed in such treaties have been incorporated into its constitution. There is a stark contrast, however, between the case law interpretation of these rights and their international corresponding equivalents in the transnational regimes. The international mechanisms for the protection of rights still pose many questions on the legitimacy of civilians being tried in military courts. More confusion arises with the proliferation of contemporary idea of sustainable justice, which seems divergent and somewhat in contravention of such Pakistani state practices. This qualitative research paper juxtaposes the traditional constitutional interpretations with contestations in relevant international instruments and explores the possibility of harmonization. It lays out a futuristic proposal to predict a direction for proposed future amendments. The same would be done with the increasingly important idea of sustainable justice which directly relates to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16. Moreover, as indispensable themes, the paper explores the following: whether the trial of civilians in military courts is a constitutionally sound practice. Does trying civilians in military courts infringe upon Pakistan’s international obligations? And is the expediency behind these specialized courts still prevalent in the country?

DOMINANT PRACTICES AND GUIDE FOR CREATING EFFECTIVE SURVEY SCALES IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

The data is useless if the measure is not reliable and valid. The current paper is an attempt to bridge the gap of developmental issues regarding theory and practice of valid scales. The researches on the scale development practices found very few sound practices among management sciences practitioners and researchers engaged in new scale development (Razzaq & Aftab, 2015; Hinkin, 1995). Similarly, Fornaciari, Sherlock, Ritchie, & Lund (2005) reported in their analysis of methodologies and practices of scale development from 1994- 2004 that only 6% studied conducted confirmatory factor analysis for scale development and only 3% mentioned descriminant validity. One of the main reasons is that developing valid and accurate scales is an ardent and lengthy process, therefore, in general researchers tend to develop measures without going through the rigorous procedure of scale development (Schmitt, 1991). The trend of developing scale is escalated but the lack of rigorous procedure to develop and validate the scale remains a grey area (Razzaq, 2017). A step wise guide is proposed integrating main theories from Domain of the content to evaluating the items (Item correlations, Cronbach Alpha, EFA (PCA) reconfirmed by CFA for new scales and establishing content, Construct and Criterion validity. Keywords: Scale Development, Validity Analysis, Questtionnaire Development.

A Study of Human Resource Management Practices in Cement Industry

When employees come to work place, they come with not only technical skills, knowledge etc. but also with their personal feelings, perception, desires, motives, attitudes, values etc. Therefore, employee management in an organization does mean management of not only technical skills but also other factors of the human resources commonly known as human resource practices. Managing human resources is very challenging as compared with managing technology or capital and for its effective strength management, organization requires effective human resource management system. It should be backed up by sound human resource practices. For any organization, increase in productivity, increase in employee performance, reduced employee turnover are the result of an effective human resource practices. This research is carried out to find how the organization performance is influenced by set of efficient HRM practices.

HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICE TYPES BEING FOLLOWED IN INDIAN ENTREPRENEURIAL ORGANIZATIONS WITH FOCUS ON SUCCESSION PLANNING PROCESS

The primary aim of this study has been to examine the Human Resource (HR) Practice types which are being followed in various Indian Entrepreneurial Organizations with special focus on succession planning process. HR Practices provide a common understanding and order within the system. It is also a very important part of an organizations business strategy since people are working for an organization and creating a great enterprise heavily relies on how well and fairly, they are being treated. Additionally, organisations require a plan for creating, disseminating, and enforcing a set of rules and regulations that are compliant with the law and represent the proper conduct of their employees. Sound HR Practices also support the vision, mission and business strategy of an Organization. At the operational level of HR function, it helps HR Professionals to deliver in an objective way. This paper provides insights, as to the status of types of HR Practices being followed in Indian Entrepreneurial Organizations. It would help organizations to improve their HR practices. This paper also tests the relevance of influence of organization types on HR practices especially Succession Planning.

Designing Sounds Means Designing Relationships

In this article we propose the perspective of relationship as a conceptual approach to the discipline of sound design. Based on literature reviews and case studies, we state that making sound design means designing relationships, even before sounds, and we propose to include this expression in the current definitions of the sound design discipline. Moreover, we observe that sound design practices can be inscribed in more than one relational perspective, thus widening the scope of sound design possibilities. This multi-perspective view of sound as the barycentre of a relationship system becomes a useful analysis and design tool: it allows sound designers to investigate the complex problems of contemporary projects, aiming toward fruitful and unexpected design directions.

Soil Nematodes as a Means of Conservation of Soil Predatory Mites for Biocontrol

Numerous lab and field studies have reported the potential of soil predatory mites for the biological control of plant-parasitic nematodes and arthropods pests. Most of these studies have utilized biocontrol agents in augmentative releases, essentially controlling the pest with the released predators. While this may be a valid approach, we hypothesize that conservation of soil mite predators with available, suitable, and accessible free-living nematodes as prey, will provide better agricultural ecosystem performance and long-range sustainability. In this manuscript, we review the relevant studies on soil predatory mite–nematode interactions and highlight their potential for conservation biological control of soil-borne pests. Additionally, we emphasize the importance of implementing environmentally sound soil management practices for the sustainability and conservation of functional soil food webs.

Encouraging Sustainability and Innovation: Green Banking Practices Growing in Indonesia

This article examines developing green banking practices in Indonesia, intending to encourage sustainability and innovation in the banking sector. Green banking is an approach that integrates environmental and social factors in banking operations to reduce negative impacts on the environment and increase contribution to sustainable development. The method used is a library with a descriptive approach. The findings in this study indicate that green banking or environmentally friendly banking has a significant role in creating a clean and sustainable banking environment. By adopting green banking principles, banks can better manage environmental risks, increase environmentally friendly financing portfolios, and implement sustainable business practices. In addition to direct benefits such as reducing credit risk and improving asset quality, green banking can also potentially increase corporate value and bank reputation in the eyes of the public and investors. To encourage the implementation of green banking, banks in Indonesia need to comply with relevant regulations and continue to promote environmentally sound practices. Thus, green banking and green banking can become a potent symbol of ecological awareness worldwide.

Revisiting “Citizenship Under Fire“

This short essay relates the impact of war on democratic and civic education to similar impacts generated by persistent polarization and extremism. Some misguided responses to both are discussed, especially those that entrench nationalistic sentiments and undermine democratic attitudes, as well as responses focused on singling out some identity groups as suspect. A normative case is made for addressing conspiracism and polarization through an intentional effort to build a civic community committed to sound epistemic practices.