Shorting ethos?: Aristotelian ethos in the context of corporate reputation, persuasion and shared values

Corporate ethics is a complex field of study that focuses on the sources and role of moral expectations among modern corporate stakeholders. While there has been significant theoretical development and adoption by practitioners on the topic over the past thirty years in the field, ethical scandals persist, almost at unprecedented levels. The pressure to meet short term shareholder financial targets, the lack of consistency and clarity of moral expectations among stakeholders, the corporation as an imperfect social environment, all contribute to the status quo where corporate ethics can be a familiar but elusive goal. At the same time, there have been fundamental changes in the flow of information recently. Information now flows as speeds and volumes unimaginable thirty years ago. More importantly, it now flows through very decentralized patterns such as social media which have changed the ability of corporations to manage their reputation and brand. This paper focuses on one concept within the broader field of ethics, virtue, in an attempt to better understand the role that it currently plays, but also could play, in business ethics by studying its application in persuasion. Chapter I provides an overview of the concept of ethos which can be roughly translated as moral character, and positions it in the context of the modern corporation. Corporate moral character is evidenced through the decisions a company makes via its decision-makers and actors, which often have an impact on the various stakeholders including customers, clients, the government etc. Chapter II traces the relationship between virtuous conduct and corporation reputation management. It proposes that virtue, through its role in ethos can be intrinsically beneficial to a corporation and a competitive advantage in the marketplace in terms of corporate reputation, which is increasingly viewed as a valuable asset. According to Aristotle, Ethos has three components; virtue, practical wisdom and goodwill towards others (Arist. Rhet I.2,1356a). Ethos is a critical element to persuasion along with pathos (use of emotion) and logos (use of logic); speakers that embrace all three in a message will be more persuasive. Corporations routinely rely on persuasion to be effective and successful, from advertising to sales, to employee relationships. Chapter III then proposes corporate virtue as a form of Shared Value (SV), a theory proposed by Porter and Kramer (2011). While Shared Value has received critical acclaim over the years as an economic theory effectively and efficiently promoting the interests of the broader society at the same time as the interests of the modern corporation, the theory has been challenged more recently for its lack of clear definition and ability to be implemented properly. This chapter argues that corporate virtue meets the qualifications of Shared Value, and should be promoted within corporations in view of its influence on persuasion, positively benefitting the company, and the positive effects that virtue has on corporate stakeholders like society, employees, government etc. Chapter IV explores the concept of persuasion at a higher level, particularly as it can be related to organizational communications and organizational rhetoric. Persuasion is a concept that has likely existed as long as there has been communication.. The study of persuasion can be traced back to ancient Greece where Aristotle put structure to the process as a means of creating an educated citizen, an element critical to emerging democracies. The chapter is framed around the notion that persuasion as a means of attitude change can be developed in a more instrumental manner characterized by one way communication such as traditional marketing and public relations efforts. The chapter proposes that persuasion can also be developed in a more deliberative manner, which is supported in the etymological root persuadere, emphasizing a more ethical discourse including two way communication and more equal bargaining position. It then looks at how persuasion is developed in the organizational context today, including advances in the social sciences to better understand the mechanisms of persuasion including the Elaboration Likelihood Model, inoculation theory model and expectancy value theory, suggesting that persuasion in a deliberative manner is underdeveloped in organizational rhetoric. Lastly, Chapter V describes the advent and implications of corporate reputation risk through the case study of Goldman Sachs in 2008. Reputation risk develops when actual corporate behaviour deviates from the reputation that the corporation has among its stakeholders in regards to any particular trait. To the degree there is a difference between a corporation’s reputation or how it is perceived in regards to a particular topic such as product quality, timeliness, altruism, truthfulness, and its actual behaviour, then reputational risk may develop to the degree that its reputation, an increasingly valuable asset to companies today, may be devalued. To the degree that ethical or virtuous conduct is a component of a corporate brand, which is critical particularly in service industries such as banking, any lack of consistency with actual conduct could have significant financial implications. Collectively these chapters demonstrate how virtue and its role in persuasion serves as a common denominator in business ethics, and a valuable vehicle to promote ethical conduct in a complicated social environment called capitalism

Managing projects for change: Contextualised project management

This paper will detail three projects which focussed on enhancing online learning at a large Australian distance education University within a School of Business,School of Health and School of Education. Each project had special funding and took quite distinctive project management approaches, which reflect the desire to embed innovation and ownership at the instructor and student interface. By responding to the stakeholder requirements these three projects provide insight into a) how integrated professional development serves to enable change in practice; b) why leadership at both junior and senior levels of the organisation is an important driver to support instructor engagement for real change; c) what role external private contractors can play; and, d) how instructors were integrated through the varied project management approaches. The integrating theme of the paper is instructor engagement for real change. Each project will be detailed as mini-cases and key lessons drawn out that describe and explain the challenges, opportunities and scope of varied project management approaches to suit the distinct four contexts. This paper builds on and brings together considerable investigation into how we can support and enhance dissemination of a variety of project-based models that respond to contextual needs and issues. The multiple school case study methodology serves to provide an approach that is both robust and cognisant of current trends in increased university investment through shortterm project funding. The final recommendations will highlight how different approaches to project management are both desirable and essential for successfully embedding change of instructor practices for enhancing student learning in distance education modes

Evaluation of pollutant removal efficiency of a bioretention basin and implications for stormwater management in tropical cities

Non-point source pollution is a prevalent problem throughout the world. Bioretention basins have been deployed worldwide to treat stormwater runoff and alleviate eutrophication in downstream water resources. However, basin performance in the tropics is poorly understood. Given the distinctly different rainfall-runoff characteristics of tropical climates, whether basins that are built according to temperate design guidelines are effective is questionable. There have been no field studies based on continuous, high-resolution, long-term monitoring in the tropics. In this study, 96 storms were monitored in the first bioretention basin in Singapore. Of these, flow measurements were made during 80 events and samples were collected and analyzed for 15 water quality parameters (including nitrogen and phosphorus species, total suspended solids, and chemical oxygen demand) during six events. The mean removal rates were 25%, 46%, and 53% for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total suspended solids respectively. Results show that a lack of storage capacity and resulting high overflow reduce pollutant removal efficiency for high-rainfall-depth events. The transition from efficient to non-efficient removal occurs at a rainfall depth between 10 and 30 mm. Low EMC (event mean concentration) and weak first flush as a result of frequent and intense rainfall in the tropics also contribute to low removal rate. The results suggest a need to revise bioretention basin design guidelines for the tropics to be based on WQV or WQD (water quality volume or depth) instead of ARI (average recurrence interval). A larger basin volume (WQD between 10 to 30 mm) is recommended.Singapore. National Research Foundation (Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology. Center for Environmental Sensing and Modeling

Dirichlet boundary conditions for arbitrary-shaped boundaries in stellarator-like magnetic fields for the Flux-Coordinate Independent method

We present a technique for handling Dirichlet boundary conditions with the Flux Coordinate Independent (FCI) parallel derivative operator with arbitrary-shaped material geometry in general 3D magnetic fields. The FCI method constructs a finite difference scheme for ∇∥ by following field lines between planes and interpolating within planes. Doing so removes the need for field-aligned coordinate systems that suffer from singularities in the metric tensor at null points in the magnetic field (or equivalently, when q→∞). One cost of this method is that as the field lines are not on the mesh, they may leave the domain at any point between neighbouring planes, complicating the application of boundary conditions. The Leg Value Fill (LVF) boundary condition scheme presented here involves an extrapolation/interpolation of the boundary value onto the field line end point. The usual finite difference scheme can then be used unmodified. We implement the LVF scheme in BOUT++ and use the Method of Manufactured Solutions to verify the implementation in a rectangular domain, and show that the error scaling of the finite difference scheme isn't modified. The use of LVF for arbitrary wall geometry is outlined. We also demonstrate the feasibility of using the FCI approach in non-axisymmetric configurations for a simple diffusion model in a "straight stellarator" magnetic field. A Gaussian blob diffuses along the field lines, tracing out flux surfaces. Dirichlet boundary conditions impose a last closed flux surface (LCFS) that confines the density. Including a poloidal limiter moves the LCFS to a smaller radius. The expected scaling of the numerical perpendicular diffusion, which is a consequence of the FCI method, in stellarator-like geometry is recovered. A novel technique for increasing the parallel resolution during post-processing is also described

Assessment of an innovative soil aerator on soil physical disturbance and reducing runoff on compacted grassland

Poor grassland management practices increases compaction and reduces infiltration leading to increasing risk of poaching and runoff generation. On-site impacts of grassland compaction include the loss of topsoil structure which also reduces soil ecosystem functioning. In addition, ongoing diffuse water pollution from compacted grassland limits the ability of the UK’s authorities to meet EU water quality guidelines such as the Water Framework Directive and address flood risks in areas of extensive grassland management (e.g. Boscastle, 2004). This study investigates the effects of an innovative ground-driven rotary soil aerator at alleviating soil compaction and reducing overland flow (designed by Mr. Roger Clay, Herefordshire). The magnitude of soil disturbance from slotting was assessed at the Cranfield University Soil Dynamics Test Centre soil-bin. Draught and vertical force requirements and tillage efficiency were also determined for varying depth and horizontal and vertical angle combinations using an Extended Octagonal-Ring Transducer (EORT). The effect of various slotting treatments on runoff was then investigated on a steep compacted permanent pasture in Herefordshire using erosion plots and simulated rainfall. From the soil-bin assessment, soil disturbance was most efficient (lowest specific draught) at 100 mm depth, a vertical angle of 18° and with increasing horizontal angle (0° to 10°). The draught requirement for a single bladed disc at 18° vertical ranged from 0.88 to 1.24 kN (90-126 kg force) and a maximum vertical force or ballast requirement of 257 kg force per bladed disc. Slotting treatments reduced runoff by 75% as compared with the non-slotted control.Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPSRC)Land Managemen

Towards nonaxisymmetry; initial results using the Flux Coordinate Independent method in BOUT++

Fluid simulation of stellarator edge transport is difficult due to the complexities of mesh generation; the stochastic edge and strong nonaxisymmetry inhibit the use of field aligned coordinate systems. The recent implementation of the Flux Coordinate Independent method for calculating parallel derivatives in BOUT++ has allowed for more complex geometries. Here we present initial results of nonaxisymmetric diffusion modelling as a step towards stellarator turbulence modelling. We then present initial (non-turbulent) transport modelling using the FCI method and compare the results with analytical calculations. The prospects for future stellarator transport and turbulence modelling are discussed

Neighborhood Conditions and Resources in Mid-Childhood and Dampness and Pests at Home in Adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: To examine prospectively associations of neighborhood opportunity with the presence of dampness or pests in the home environment during early adolescence. STUDY DESIGN: We geocoded residential addresses from 831 children (mean age 7.9 years, 2007-2011) in the Project Viva cohort. We linked each address with census tract-level Child Opportunity Index scores, which capture neighborhood conditions and resources influencing child heath including educational, health, environmental, and socioeconomic factors. Our primary outcome was presence of dampness or pests in the home in early adolescence (mean age 13.2 years, 2013-2016). Secondary outcomes included current asthma and lung function testing results. Mixed-effects regression models estimated longitudinal associations of Child Opportunity Index scores with outcomes, adjusting for individual and family sociodemographics. RESULTS: Children residing in neighborhoods with greater overall opportunity were less likely to live in homes with dampness or pests approximately 5 years later (aOR 0.85 per 20-unit increase in Child Opportunity Index percentile rank, 95% CI 0.73-0.998). We observed no significant associations in adjusted models of overall neighborhood opportunity with current asthma or lung function. Lower school poverty or single-parent households and greater access to healthy food or economic resource index were associated with lower odds of a home environment with dampness or pests. CONCLUSIONS: More favorable neighborhood conditions in mid-childhood were associated with lower likelihood of living in a home with dampness or pests in the early adolescence

Data representation synthesis

We consider the problem of specifying combinations of data structures with complex sharing in a manner that is both declarative and results in provably correct code. In our approach, abstract data types are specified using relational algebra and functional dependencies. We describe a language of decompositions that permit the user to specify different concrete representations for relations, and show that operations on concrete representations soundly implement their relational specification. It is easy to incorporate data representations synthesized by our compiler into existing systems, leading to code that is simpler, correct by construction, and comparable in performance to the code it replaces