Call for papers on Green Management

Management Decision is calling for papers for their Special Issue on "Why green management matters" Edited by: Professor David Lamond & Dr Rocky Dwyer

Background
Following the 2007 special issue "Alleviating poverty through trade", and the 2008 "Questions we ask about ethics in a global marketplace", this is the third in an ongoing series of special issues of Management Decision devoted to matters of ethics, sustainability and corporate social responsibility and woven in with the organising theme of the Academy of Management. In 2009, the theme is Green Management Matters.

The special issue will be edited by Rocky Dwyer and David Lamond and will appear under the title of "Why green management matters". It is scheduled for Volume 47, Issue 7 and will appear in August 2009 in CD format, as well as its usual hard copy version, to coincide with the Academy of Management Conference in Chicago.

Whether dealing with waste management or investment management, today's decision makers are confronted with the "green" in those decisions - sustainability, carbon footprints, industrial ecosystems, greenhouse gasses, and energy efficiency are some of the elements which are increasingly the "stuff" of those decisions, the criteria by which decisions are judged to be more or less sound.

This issue seeks to make a contribution to the debate about the "green" consistent with its title "Why green management matters". Papers are welcomed that explore green management and the principles which underpin this approach.

Questions such as "Can I just get by through paying someone else to have a smaller carbon footprint?", "Should business be my brother's (green) keeper?", and "Isn't my responsibility to the shareholders?" needs answers. Conceptual papers, as well as qualitative and quantitative research papers, are welcomed, as they add to the knowledge base about corporate social responsibility and ethics in relation to green management matters.

Papers
Submission of the full paper is required by 1 February 2009 for consideration for the special issue. Papers submitted will be subject to a minimum double-blind peer review process to ensure that this special issue maintains the excellent reputation and record of Management Decision.

For style guidelines please visit the Management Decision web site.

Submissions to Management Decision are made using ScholarOne's Manuscript Central http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/md.

Full instructions are on the author guidelines site. As a guide, articles should be between 3,000 and 6,000 words in length.

A title of not more than 12 words should be provided.

Please e-mail any queries to:
Professor David Lamond PhD E-mail: david.lamond@ntu.ac.uk
Dr Rocky Dwyer PhDE-mail: Dwyer.RJ@forces.gc.ca

ScienceDirect's Hottest articles July - September 2008

Every 3 months ScienceDirect distributes a list of the Top 25 Hottest articles published with in a specific subject area.

Here is the newest list available for Business, Management & Accounting for the time period: July - September 2008:

1. Market efficiency, long-term returns, and behavioral finance • ArticleJournal of Financial Economics, Volume 49, Issue 3, Pages 283-306Fama, E.F.Cited by Scopus (405)

2. Issues in Supply Chain Management - Don't Automate, Obliterate • ArticleIndustrial Marketing Management, Volume 29, Issue 1, Pages 65-83Lambert, D.M.; Cooper, M.C.Cited by Scopus (210)

3. Innovation behavior in the hotel industry • ArticleOmega, Volume 37, Issue 2, Pages 380-394Orfila-Sintes, F.; Mattsson, J.

4. Investor protection and corporate governance • ArticleJournal of Financial Economics, Volume 58, Issue 1-2, Pages 3-27La Porta, R.; Lopez-de-Silanes, F.; Shleifer, A.; Vishny, R.Cited by Scopus (334)

5. Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature • ArticleJournal of Accounting and Economics, Volume 31, Issue 1-3, Pages 405-440Healy, P.M.; Palepu, K.G.Cited by Scopus (195)

6. Corporate governance and firm performance • ArticleJournal of Corporate Finance, Volume 14, Issue 3, Pages 257-273Bhagat, S.; Bolton, B.Cited by Scopus (1)

7. Information distortion in a supply chain and its mitigation using soft computing approach • ArticleOmega, Volume 37, Issue 2, Pages 282-299Balan, S.; Vrat, P.; Kumar, P.

8. The evolving theory of quality management: The role of Six Sigma • ArticleJournal of Operations Management, Volume 26, Issue 5, Pages 630-650Zu, X.; Fredendall, L.D.; Douglas, T.J.

9. A grounded theory research approach to building and testing TQM theory in operations management • ArticleOmega, Volume 36, Issue 5, Pages 825-837McAdam, R.; Leonard, D.; Henderson, J.; Hazlett, S.A.

10. Terrorism and its impact on economic growth and technological innovation • ArticleTechnological Forecasting and Social Change, Volume 74, Issue 2, Pages 129-138Koh, W.T.H.

11. Earnings management and earnings quality • ArticleJournal of Accounting and Economics, Volume 45, Issue 2-3, Pages 350-357Lo, K.

12. Project management: cost, time and quality, two best guesses and a phenomenon, its time to accept other success criteria • ArticleInternational Journal of Project Management, Volume 17, Issue 6, Pages 337-342Atkinson, R.Cited by Scopus (73)

13. The theory and practice of corporate finance: evidence from the field • ArticleJournal of Financial Economics, Volume 60, Issue 2-3, Pages 187-243Graham, J.R.; Harvey, C.R.Cited by Scopus (229)

14. The impact of employee satisfaction on quality and profitability in high-contact service industries • ArticleJournal of Operations Management, Volume 26, Issue 5, Pages 651-668Yee, R.W.Y.; Yeung, A.C.L.; Cheng, T.C.E.

15. Back to the Future: The Broadening Accounting Trajectory • ArticleBritish Accounting Review, The, Volume 33, Issue 4, Pages 421-453Parker, L.D.Cited by Scopus (8)

16. Moving or doing? Knowledge flow, problem solving, and change in industrial networks • ArticleJournal of Business Research, Volume 60, Issue 1, Pages 32-40Andersson, U.; Holm, D.B.; Johanson, M.Cited by Scopus (3)

17. Six Sigma: Definition and underlying theory • ArticleJournal of Operations Management, Volume 26, Issue 4, Pages 536-554Schroeder, R.G.; Linderman, K.; Liedtke, C.; Choo, A.S.Cited by Scopus (2)

18. The application of menu engineering and design in Asian restaurants • ArticleInternational Journal of Hospitality Management, Volume 24, Issue 1, Pages 91-106Kwong, L.Y.L.Cited by Scopus (1)

19. The business case for corporate social responsibility: A company-level measurement approach for CSR • ArticleEuropean Management Journal, Volume 26, Issue 4, Pages 247-261Weber, M.

20. Examining the structural relationships of destination image, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty: An integrated approach • ArticleTourism Management, Volume 29, Issue 4, Pages 624-636Chi, C.G.-Q.; Qu, H.Cited by Scopus (1)

21. Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet-The state of eTourism research • ArticleTourism Management, Volume 29, Issue 4, Pages 609-623Buhalis, D.; Law, R.

22. Who makes acquisitions? CEO overconfidence and the market's reaction • ArticleJournal of Financial Economics, Volume 89, Issue 1, Pages 20-43Malmendier, U.; Tate, G.Cited by Scopus (2)

23. Partners in coffeeshops, canals and commerce: Marketing the city of Amsterdam • ArticleCities, Volume 24, Issue 1, Pages 16-25Kavaratzis, M.; Ashworth, G.J.Cited by Scopus (2)
24. Creating brand identity: a study of evaluation of new brand names • ArticleJournal of Business Research, Volume 58, Issue 11, Pages 1506-1515Kohli, C.S.; Harich, K.R.; Leuthesser, L.Cited by Scopus (3)

25. Executive information systems development in an emerging economy • ArticleDecision Support Systems, Volume 42, Issue 4, Pages 2078-2084Arnott, D.; Jirachiefpattana, W.; O\'Donnell, P.Cited by Scopus (1)

University news from Africa

SOUTH AFRICA: The politics of higher education
Karen MacGregor
Power changed hands within South Africa's ruling African National Congress a year ago, and national elections are looming. What the new ruling elite will mean for higher education is unsure, but the hot political issues this year look set to include teacher education and student fees, says Dr Cheryl de la Rey, chief executive officer of the statutory advisory Council on Higher Education.

ZIMBABWE: Brain drain project suffers brain drain
Clemence Manyukwe
A Unesco-sponsored initiative to stem the academic brain drain in five African countries faces collapse in Zimbabwe - as a result of the flight of lecturers. An end of year report by the vice-chancellor's office at Chinhoyi University of Technology said academic staff trained in grid computing as part of the initiative had left the institution for safer - pastures.

ZAMBIA: Government audits two universities
Clemence Manyukwe
Audits are underway at two of Zambia's largest higher education institutions, on the orders of the government, Higher Education Minister Professor Geoffrey Lungangwa told parliament late last year. This followed an attack on the government from parliamentarians over examination paper leakages and political interference at institutions of higher learning.

EQYPT: Law tightens government control
Ashraf Khaled
A new civil universities law approved late last year by the Shura Council, the Egyptian parliament's upper house, is set to tighten the government's grip on higher education. The law provides for the creation of 17 new non-profit universities and makes the Ministry of Higher Education responsible for appointing half the institutions' boards of directors. The other half will be left up to the universities' founders and investors to select.

NIGERIA: Renovations suspended at teaching hospitals
Tunde Fatunde
Crucial renovations at 12 academic hospitals in Nigeria by two Austrian medical engineering firms, under contracts worth US$291 million, have ground to a halt following an alleged plan by "over-zealous" officials in the Ministry of Health to re-award the contracts to other firms. The companies have gone to court claiming breach of contract. Lecturers and students at medical colleges affiliated with the hospitals are concerned and President Musa Yar 'Adua has been called on to intervene.

TUNISIA: Arab world adult education conference
A three-day conference on adult education and building a knowledge society in the Arab world opened on Monday in Gammarth, Tunisia. Titled "Investing in adult learning: Building knowledge and learning societies in the Arab region", it is one of five preparatory regional conferences for Unesco's Sixth International Conference on Adult Education, Confintea VI, which will take place in May in Belém, Brazil.

University News from the West

ISRAEL-PALESTINE: Operation 'Cast Lead' shuts universities

Helena Flusfeder

Universities in Israel and Gaza have been caught up in the savage conflict now raging in the Palestinian territory. All five universities in Gaza have been shut down while two were closed in southern Israel. "The academic situation in Gaza is collapsing. People's main preoccupation is to get food and stay alive. They feel that everywhere in Gaza is not safe," said one Palestinian professor.

FRANCE: Universities begin move to autonomy

Jane Marshall

Nearly a quarter of France's 80-plus universities assumed new powers of autonomy on 1 January under the government's Universities' Freedoms and Responsibilities law. The legislation gives the universities control over their budgets, staff recruitment and salaries, and other areas that were previously the responsibility of the state. All universities must adopt the reform by 2012, though academics and students continue to express their opposition.

RUSSIA: Rector calls for sweeping reforms

Nick Holdsworth

The rector of Moscow's Higher School of Economics - one of Russia's top universities - has called for a massive shake up in the country's system of higher education. Yaroslav Kuzminov, (shown here at a conference on the right of Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin), says unrestricted growth of university-level institutions in recent years has left Russia's higher education system a mess with wide disparities in standards of teaching and qualifications.

AUSTRALIA: Upheaval across university sector

Geoff Maslen

A plan to reshape Australia's higher education system, deregulate universities, vastly increase their enrolments, provide students with vouchers to study at the university of their choice and extend government funding to a bigger group of providers are among 46 wide-ranging recommendations being considered by the federal government.

UK: Research activity "world leading"

Diane Spencer

Cambridge University came top of the league again in the latest research assessment exercise carried out by England's higher education funding council, Hefce. The 2008 results, published just before Christmas, will be the last of their kind as the next process will be undertaken with a different method. After reviewing research conducted by 52,400 staff submitted by 159 universities and colleges, Hefce concluded that 54 % of UK research activity came into the top two grades of "world leading" or "internationally excellent".

INDIA-AUSTRALIA: Joint venture research academy

The first joint institution for research and research training in areas of mutual importance to India and Australia has been established between the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, or IITB, and Monash University in Melbourne. The new institution was officially opened at the end of November and is a centre of research excellence in clean energy, water, biotechnology, mineral exploration and computer simulation.

Practise what you preach

A lack of quantitative analysis and a tendency to avoid policy-based research has left the study of higher education in the UK in the doldrums

The wizards of Oz

The 'Melbourne model' has prompted universities worldwide to consider broadening undergraduate degrees. But the template does not win over everyone

Academics fear PhD quality is slipping

Staff say that pressures to get more students through quickly are harming standards

'Doing Diversity in Higher Education

'Editor of new collection of essays discusses the role of professors in welcoming and educating students of all types.

The Impact of a Ban on Affirmative Action

New study projects a 35 percent drop in minority enrollments at the most competitive four-year colleges and universities -- but little gain for white students

For-Profit University Begins A Large Media Campaign steven bellAn online educator is presenting itself to potential students as “a different kind of university.” The school is Kaplan University. A campaign for Kaplan University, which began last week, carries the theme “A different school of thought” and suggests that learning online is a way to develop talent that could otherwise go to waste. The campaign is the first national, multimedia effort for Kaplan University. The campaign arrives as the popularity of distance learning for adults, through online universities and colleges, continues to grow. Read more

Webinar: Thinking About the Future

Thinking About the Future: Planning for Uncertain Times
Brought to you by SCIP, Hosted by The Iowa Chapter

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 1:00PM (EDT) - 12:00 PM (CST)
Program Description
We're living in a time of immense disruptive change -- rapidly sinking housing markets, credit crises, massive layoffs, bankruptcies and dramatic changes in business models. How can your organization have the strategic foresight to weather uncertain times? What forecasting techniques and futures thinking capabilities will help get you through the tough times? What is your organization's preferred future? Do you have the tools to get there?

Dr. Peter Bishop, professor in futures studies at the University of Houston and founding member of the Association of Professional Futurists, will provide an overview of strategic foresight in organizations and describe the tools that professional futurists use to prepare for the future. Learn the difference between traditional forecasting and studies of the future.

"Learning faster than your competitors is the only sustainable competitive advantage in an environment of rapid innovation and change,” said Arie de Geus, former Director of Corporate Planning for Royal Dutch Shell Group. Peter Bishop will introduce you to future thinking techniques that will help you prepare for this environment of rapid change.

Register now!

Registration Fees
SCIP Iowa Region Member: $50.00
SCIP Member: $95.00
Non-Member: $195.00
Student: $25.00 (Non-SCIP Students please contact Dionedra Dorsey (ddorsey@scip.org) for details.

You, or members of your organization, can attend from anywhere in the world. All you need is a personal computer (PC) with a standard internet connection and a telephone. Each registration is for one PC link only and is not transferable to other individuals.

Time zone confusion? Access the world clock for your time zone here to the webinar descriptions that do not include it.

*A site is one computer used to view the Webinar Registration payments for the webinar must be received no later than 12 PM EDT or 11:00 AM CST the day of the event in order to receive log-in information.

Webinar login instructions will be emailed to you prior to the event.

Please note: Registration cutoff will be at 12PM Eastern, 11:00AM CST Wednesday, March 4, 2009.

Contact Information
Belinda Nelson, Iowa Chapter Chair, email: BelindaSNelson@mchsi.com, or (515) 266-3919 or
Robyn Reals, SCIP Education Manager, email, rreals@scip.org 703.739.0696 x107

Major exporters pledge ongoing credit support for developing country imports

Image: woodsy

Thirty-six exporting countries, including 29 OECD countries plus Brazil, Estonia, India, Israel, Romania, Russia and Slovenia, issued a statement pledging continued export-credit support for international trade deals in line with a call by G20 leaders for emerging and developing economies to retain access to financing for imports in the present financial crisis.

The countries are:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, European Community, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.

Impact of the economic crisis on employment in the OECD countries

The OECD area economy has entered recession and labour market conditions are rapidly deteriorating in many countries, according to the latest issue of the OECD Economic Outlook (No. 84, November 2008).

OECD projections indicate that the average unemployment rate in the OECD area may reach 6.3% in the last quarter of 2008, from 5.5% a year earlier. The unemployment rate is projected to increase further in the next 18 months and peak at 7.3% in the second quarter of 2010.

Overall, these projections suggest an increase in the number of unemployed persons in the OECD area from 34 million in 2008 to 42.1 million in 2010 – the most rapid rise in OECD unemployment since the early 1990s.

Read more

Employment and Labour Force growth in OECD countries

(click on the images to enlarge)

Unemployment in OECD countries

Consumer Trends to watch out for in 2009

With the new year, comes all the analysts' predictions as well - TrendWatching.com (an independent and opinionated consumer trends firm) recently released their list of Consumer Trends to keep an eye on:

The report is divided into 6 sections:

• Nichetributes - are attributes / features / additions to existing products, making them more practical for specific user groups, while at the same time signaling to those users that the brand 'gets it’, that it cares, and in some cases even pays tribute to their lifestyle
• Luxyoury - In 2009 YOU define what is luxury. So in the next 12 months, instead of worrying about missing out on the next big thing in luxury, focus on defining it. Declare that the end is nigh for anything that’s getting a little too affordable, too accessible, or just too well-known. Then introduce something very different (if not the opposite), appealing to the in-crowds ready to jump ship anyway.
• Feedback 3.0 - FEEDBACK 3.0 (which is building as we speak) will be all about companies joining the conversation, if only to get their side of the story in front of the mass audience that now scans reviews. Expect smart companies to be increasingly able (and to increasingly demand) to post their apologies and solutions, preferably directly alongside reviews from unhappy customers. Expect the same for candid rebuttals by companies who feel (and can prove) that a particular review is unfair or inaccurate, and want to share their side of the story.
• Econcierges - are firms and services dedicated to helping households go green in any possible way. And while any advice that reduces a household's (harmful) consumption is beneficial enough, the fact that such advice leads to savings makes this a very 2009 development. In the coming 12 months, count on cash-strapped consumers to embrace sustainability with a vengeance, but first and foremost for monetary reasons. Next? How about helping consumers to make money by being green, by for example letting them generate and sell excess power to the 'grid'?
• MapMania - As the Googles, Nokias (who expect half of their handsets to be GPS enabled by 2010-2012), MapQuests, Navteqs, Openstreetmap.orgs, Apples and TomToms of this world continue to build the necessary infrastructure, devices and apps, any consumer-focused brand would be stupid not to be partnering or experimenting with map-based services. Why? Geography is about everything that is (literally) close to consumers, and it's a universally familiar method of organizing, finding and tracking relevant information on objects, events and people. And now that superior geographical information is accessible on-the-go, from in-car navigation to iPhones, the sky is the limit.
• Happy Ending - 2009 is an excellent year for those businesses keen on showing consumers that they really care. At the same time, this is a great moment to innovate: shrinking budgets and diminishing revenues from existing offerings normally bring out the best and most creative in business professionals.
  But the most important side effect of more austere times is probably that consumers start questioning what truly makes them happy, which more often than not steers them towards the realization that happiness ain’t (just) about traditional consumption.
  

Download the report here.

Back to Basics

I’d like to say welcome back, but since most of you started before me, I’ll just say that I hope you had a wonderful rest during the festive season and that 2009 will bring less stress!

Image: danzo08

With the classes almost upon us, I’d like to give you some information on the training sessions I provide as well as a refresher on the Library services on offer:

Training

I provide training to all postgraduate students, both on individually and in groups.

· Individual training is done by appointment only – please give my details to all your postgraduate students

· Training is usually for an hour and a half and please send your new student assistants for training – it will improve their service to you tremendously

A few pointers to keep in mind when scheduling a group/class library session:

· I am more than happy to give a presentation/demo or hands-on training during class time. The library has a training venue with 14 computers that can accommodate about 28 students. If your class is bigger, I am happy to do training in the Labs as well.

If the class is an evening class the follow will come into play:

o I do only one evening training session per week

o Please let me know a week in advance so that I can book our training room and prepare the manuals

o The library training/session must be in the first hour (i.e. starting at 17:30 or 18:00 at the latest) and will be for an hour

Keep in mind that I am responsible for the training of 8 departments’ postgraduate students as well as 1st year training during January - March – so please let me know well in advance if you want me to train your class.

Library Services

In a nutshell I offer:

Training – for yourself, your student assistants and your postgraduate students

Alerting – be the first to know if a specific journal or article on your research topic has been published, or keep up to date with the publications of a specific author

Access to other universities – gain free access to all resources of other South African universities

Publishing – I can assist you in finding an accredited publication for your article, or a co-author or conference you can present at

Money - Want to know how much money you have left to buy books or databases with? Need help in weeding out old material? Just ask

Referencing – The university subscribes to RefWorks, a software package that automates the referencing and citation functions, please ask if you’d like me to show you how it works

Current Awareness – remember to check this blog regularly for updates on library services as well as relevant information for your subject area

My office is located on the 1st floor of the Library (by the Reference section) and you are more than welcome to come by for help or assistance.