Market structures, strategy and innovation in services A study applied to the tourism sector

The objectives of this paper are twofold – first we discuss innovation in the service sector, especially in tourism. Secondly, we apply the diagnostic test of the integrated model of innovation (Sarkar 2005, 2007) to present the results of an empirical study applied to tourism in a small open economy. The study applies multivariate analysis using a data set consisting of survey responses from 158 Portuguese firms. The study uses an archetype and the market outcome resulting from the innovation strategies pursued to compare similarities and differences according to the geographical localizations of the firms in order to identify innovative patterns in tourism firms. The study identifies the linkage between service, market structures and innovation strategies considering geographical agglomeration of firms in a small economy. The identification of different innovation trajectories and positions in the model could justify different public politics to incentivise and promote innovation in tourism firms.Market structures; Strategy; Innovation.

Model strategy for village development in the Czech Republic

The model strategies discussed in this article represent different ways of possible village development in the Czech Republic. We used typologies of strategies from business strategic management for their definition. Twenty municipalities, where structured interviews were carried out with their mayors, were chosen randomly from among 100 villages where a questionnaire survey was conducted in 2012 (Faltová Leitmanová, et al., 2012). Based on the qualitative analysis of the structured interview summaries, eight model strategies were ascertained. These include integration strategy, service differentiation, spending cuts, usage of municipal property, stabilization of village population, business support, fundraising, and identification of the inhabitants with the village (village pride). The most commonly applied model strategy is integration, followed by village population stabilization

Sosialisasi Strategi Packaging dan Branding untuk Meningkatkan Daya Saing Produk

The purpose of this activity is to promote the socialization of packaging and branding strategies to increase the competitiveness of UMKM products. The activity partner is the UMKM Forum of Mega Mendung District, Bogor Regency. The problem partners is the lack of product competitiveness in the market, related to the use of product packaging that is not yet innovative and contemporary and still lacks member knowledge about packaging strategies and building good product brand identification. The activities are carried out in three stages. The first stage is a survey of service locations and conducting interviews with partners; the second stage is identifying partner problems and socialization needs; and the third stage is implementing activities. This community service activity was held on Saturday, August 7th, 2021. The method of implementing the activity is through material socialization on packaging and branding strategies, questions and answers, discussions, and video playback through the Zoom application. From the evaluation before and after socialization, it can be seen that there is an increase in participants' understanding of the importance of packaging and branding strategies in increasing product competitiveness

Corporate Communication in European Financial Institutions

In 1988 the Rotterdam School of Management and Fairfield University conducted jointly a survey in twenty-one banks and twenty insurance companies in Europe and the U.S. The purpose was to examine corporate communication practices in comparable service industries on two continents. Central questions were: How is corporate communication organized; how are resources allocated; what strategies are used; what values are reflected in different communication activities such as advertising, public relations, communication relations, and employee communication; how are messages shaped for diverse audiences and customer groups; and how much importance is attached to corporate identification symbols. This article reports on the European results of that survey. The complete report is published in van Riel & Nedela, Profiles in Corporate Communication in Financial Institutions, Eburon, Delft, 1989. Dr. van Riel is director of the Corporate Communication Centre, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Symptoms versus problems (SVP) in household high speed broadband (HSBB): regaining momentum for Unifi, Malaysia

Problem identification is a talent and skill set required in all leaders. The objective of this study is to reveal an improved research method by integrating mixed-method research combined with problem identification method (using symptoms versus problems (SVP) framework) for telco service providers. The SVP framework discovers the primary causes to the decrease in revenue growth rates. Malaysia’s household broadband penetration rate grew from 15.2% (2007) to 67.1% (2013). Meanwhile, the growth rate for Unifi, offered by Telekom Malaysia (TM), decreased from 104% (2012) to 30% (2013). Why? There are eight causes, specifically; not prioritizing 4G LTE license; obligating social services to rural areas; providing 20-30 Mbps wireless broadband packages by the competitors; offering less competitive price; not covering all zones; offering less favorable service contracts; offering limited packages; and receiving customer complaints. The sequential methodology process began with semi-structured interviews, analysis of unpublished company data, customer survey on 164 respondents and field observation which were all summarized into a root-cause analysis tool called symptoms versus problems framework (SVP). The SVP indicates TM acquired Packed One to overcome HSBB issues; revamp its strategies to product content offering instead of head-on price war; establishing bureaucracy busting team, competitors busting teams on product innovation; collaborating with local broadcasting companies; and developing talent. Interestingly, this study discovers another framework on critical success factors for telco service providers through development of “House of Pillars for Rapid Growth” of TM in Malaysia

A Survey of Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers on Training and Knowledge of State Anti-Bullying Laws and Policies Related to Students With Disabilities

Bullying is a serious problem on its own but emerging research suggests that bullying may present differently in students with disabilities and affect them more severely than previously thought. The purpose of this study was to explore the multi-layered issue of bullying involving students with disabilities, examine the programs and legislation developed around this issue, and determine the training and knowledge teachers and teacher candidates have regarding the problem. An exploratory survey was completed by 105 teachers and teacher candidates in northeast Tennessee. Descriptive statistics and T-tests revealed that in-service teachers were more knowledgeable in identification of bullying and the components of Tennessee’s anti-bullying law than pre-service teachers. Additionally, this study found that elementary teachers answered more general bullying knowledge questions correctly than upper grade teachers. The limited utilization of evidence-based bullying prevention and intervention programs and strategies was also noted. Implications for teacher training programs will be discussed

Housing Deficit Attenuation Through Market-Oriented Polycentric Management: Evidence from Nigeria

With a household renumeration of 39 million, 2.6% annual population growth rate, the over 17 million housing deficit in Nigeria is colossal, and remarkably unsustainable. Public housing providers in Nigeria have approached the scourge through a plethora of economic, financial and social strategies that have been proclaimed ineffective from various empirical standpoints. This paper investigates the market-oriented polycentricity of housing deficit attenuation in Nigeria. Survey method was employed on a sample frame of 384 public housing providers. Data was collected using a Market Orientation and Service Performance modelled questionnaire. Hypotheses testing employed Wilcoxon Signed Rank-Test and Spearman Rank Order Correlation. Results indicate that public housing delivery in Nigeria has not followed a market-oriented polycentric approach. The study recommended a consideration of this in the delivery of public housing, while advocating for the development of a Stakeholder Identification Framework for sustainable public housing delivery. Keywords: Housing deficit, Housing delivery, Polycentric management, Market orientation, Stakeholder identification, Demography management DOI: 10.7176/DCS/10-3-05 Publication date:March 31st 2020

Effective healthcare teams require effective team members: defining teamwork competencies

BACKGROUND: Although effective teamwork has been consistently identified as a requirement for enhanced clinical outcomes in the provision of healthcare, there is limited knowledge of what makes health professionals effective team members, and even less information on how to develop skills for teamwork. This study identified critical teamwork competencies for health service managers. METHODS: Members of a state branch of the professional association of Australian health service managers participated in a teamwork survey. RESULTS: The 37% response rate enabled identification of a management teamwork competency set comprising leadership, knowledge of organizational goals and strategies and organizational commitment, respect for others, commitment to working collaboratively and to achieving a quality outcome. CONCLUSION: Although not part of the research question the data suggested that the competencies for effective teamwork are perceived to be different for management and clinical teams, and there are differences in the perceptions of effective teamwork competencies between male and female health service managers. This study adds to the growing evidence that the focus on individual skill development and individual accountability and achievement that results from existing models of health professional training, and which is continually reinforced by human resource management practices within healthcare systems, is not consistent with the competencies required for effective teamwork

State Case Studies of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Systems: Strategies for Change

Profiles efforts to develop mental health identification and intervention systems for children up to age 5 in Colorado, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Examines hurdles, reform potentials, and lessons learned, including the role of partnerships

Identification of poor households for premium exemptions in Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme: empirical analysis of three strategies

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of three alternative strategies to identify poor households: means testing (MT), proxy means testing (PMT) and participatory wealth ranking (PWR) in urban, rural and semi-urban settings in Ghana. The primary motivation was to inform implementation of the National Health Insurance policy of premium exemptions for the poorest households. METHODS: Survey of 145-147 households per setting to collect data on consumption expenditure to estimate MT measures and of household assets to estimate PMT measures. We organized focus group discussions to derive PWR measures. We compared errors of inclusion and exclusion of PMT and PWR relative to MT, the latter being considered the gold standard measure to identify poor households. RESULTS: Compared to MT, the errors of exclusion and inclusion of PMT ranged between 0.46-0.63 and 0.21-0.36, respectively, and of PWR between 0.03-0.73 and 0.17-0.60, respectively, depending on the setting. CONCLUSION: Proxy means testing and PWR have considerable errors of exclusion and inclusion in comparison with MT. PWR is a subjective measure of poverty and has appeal because it reflects community's perceptions on poverty. However, as its definition of the poor varies across settings, its acceptability as a uniform strategy to identify the poor in Ghana may be questionable. PMT and MT are potential strategies to identify the poor, and their relative societal attractiveness should be judged in a broader economic analysis. This study also holds relevance to other programmes that require identification of the poor in low-income countries