28,680 research outputs found
Success factors for managing purchasing groups: an empirical survey
In this article, we identify success factors for managing small and intensive purchasing groups by comparing successful and unsuccessful Dutch purchasing groups in a large-scale survey. Transaction costs economics and social exchange theory are used as theoretical frameworks for our broad empirical investigation. We found that the success factors studied that are related to interorganizational trust, the formality of the group, and uniformity of the group members are not success factors for managing purchasing groups. For our data set, the most important success factors are no enforced participation, sufficient total contribution of efforts, all members contribute knowledge, all members rarely change representatives, fair allocation of savings, and communication. We discuss the academic and practical implications of the success factors found
Inter Organizational Relationships Performance in Third Party Logistics: conceptual framework and case study
Supplier relationship management is an important challenge for shippers in logistics outsourcing. This paper attempts to understand the factors which affect inter organizational relationships performance in third party logistics and proposes a conceptual framework specifically for inter organizational relationship performance in third party logistics. We also draw a set of propositions from published research and exploratory inter-views with practitioners to explain inter organizational relationships performance in third party logistic net-works. Five main dimensions of inter organizational relationships are identified which affect performance in third party logistics: commitment, supplier adaptation, conflict resolution, partner fit and communication. In order to assess the validity of our conceptual model we include a case study in this paper. The case study is based on Shell Chemicals Europe and their portfolio of seventeen third party logistic service suppliers
Factors influencing micro and small enterprisesâ access to finance since the adoption of multi-currency system in Zimbabwe.
Access to financial services is key to Micro and Small Enterprisesâ (MSEs) operation and growth in Zimbabwe. A survey was done in a small town (Bindura), medium size city (Kadoma) and the city of Harare (large city) to determine major factors influencing MSEsâ access to finance since the adoption of the multi-currency system in Zimbabwe. A pilot study was done in the city of Gweru to 10 MSEsâ. Structured questionnaires were administered to MSEs that have been operating for at least one year as well as registered with the respective town councils and a total of 115 responses were obtained in all the 3 urban areas. The model used was the Binary Logistic model. The best model selected was based on the Omnibus Tests of model coefficients, the Chi-Square tests, the Cox and Snell R-Sqaure and the Nagelkerke R-Squared values. The importance of each factor was determined using the Wald statistic value. The results showed that formality, value of assets, business sector, operating period, financial performance and size are all important factors in determining access to finance.MSEs; Finance; Multi-Currency; Logistic Regression
A discourse analysis of e-mail messages in a Malaysian Business Community
The study attempts to investigate recurrent grammatical features and functions of electronic mail discourse in a selected business community, comprising executives in a Malaysian public limited company. It also examines whether the electronic mail system has influenced language forms in the executives' e-mail discourse. Differences between language in the e-mail discourse and language in conventional business writing are explored too. The corpus comprises 102 electronic mail messages from the executives' routine communication in work contexts. The study examines grammatical features, communicative functions and discourse features of the messages. Findings reveal a predominance of main clauses in imperative and declarative moods, and subordinate clauses denoting purpose and reason, reflecting that e-mail communication of the community is used more for requesting and informing, and less for enquiring. Other discourse features like opening salutation, opening statement, closing statement and closing salutation are also found in the e-mail messages although they are not compulsory for such a communication. It is hoped that the language features and functions, and other discourse features identified in the e-mail communication of the business community would contribute towards pedagogy and course design for English for Business Communication, as well as for e-mail communication at the workplace
Computational Sociolinguistics: A Survey
Language is a social phenomenon and variation is inherent to its social
nature. Recently, there has been a surge of interest within the computational
linguistics (CL) community in the social dimension of language. In this article
we present a survey of the emerging field of "Computational Sociolinguistics"
that reflects this increased interest. We aim to provide a comprehensive
overview of CL research on sociolinguistic themes, featuring topics such as the
relation between language and social identity, language use in social
interaction and multilingual communication. Moreover, we demonstrate the
potential for synergy between the research communities involved, by showing how
the large-scale data-driven methods that are widely used in CL can complement
existing sociolinguistic studies, and how sociolinguistics can inform and
challenge the methods and assumptions employed in CL studies. We hope to convey
the possible benefits of a closer collaboration between the two communities and
conclude with a discussion of open challenges.Comment: To appear in Computational Linguistics. Accepted for publication:
18th February, 201
Governing Low Profile Issues: A Frame Analysis of Drug Addiction in a Local Setting
Frame analysis was developed by Erving Goffman as a sociological concept, used for understanding how individual actors relate themselves to the world, creating coherent frames out of individual social experiences. We apply frame analysis in the emergent field of sociology of governance, using the example of low profile public issue of drug addiction in a specific local social and political context of a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to understand the roles of governance actors and their social interactions in the attribution of meaning. We focus on mental organization of governance experiences related to drug addiction and the strategic involvement of different governance actors which use given frames. We discuss the importance of frame coherence and ways in which it can be achieved for the low profile issues.Frame Analysis, Sociology of Governance, Low Profile Issues, Frame Coherence
Formality and informality in the summative assessment of motor vehicle apprentices: a case study
This article explores the interaction of formal and informal attributes of competenceâbased assessment. Specifically, it presents evidence from a small qualitative case study of summative assessment practices for competenceâbased qualifications within apprenticeships in the motor industry in England. The data are analysed through applying an adaptation of a framework for exploring the interplay of formality and informality in learning. This analysis reveals informal mentoring as a significant element which influences not only the process of assessment, but also its outcomes. We offer different possible interpretations of the data and their analysis, and conclude that, whichever interpretation is adopted, there appears to be a need for greater capacityâbuilding for assessors at a local level. This could acknowledge a more holistic role for assessors; recognise the importance of assessorsâ informal practices in the formal retention and achievement of apprentices; and enhance awareness of inequalities that may be reinforced by both informal and formal attributes of assessment practices
Performance appraisal systems in private Universities in Nigeria: A Study of Crawford University, Igbesa- Nigeria
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of performance appraisal system at private
universities in Nigeria. The focus of the study was on the administrative staff of Crawford University.
The study evaluated the purpose of performance appraisal in private universities and identifies relevant
factors for achieving an effective performance appraisal. A cross- sectional survey was selected for this
study because it was easy to undertake compared to longitudinal survey and the results from the same
can be inferred to the larger population. The study population was for all the administrative staff of
Crawford University. The whole populations of staff were selected as respondents. A structured
questionnaire was used to collect the data for analysis. The analysis of collected data was done by the
help of SPSS and presented using descriptive statistics, frequency tables and percentages. The
findings from the study have established that performance appraisal system is the only tangible metric
way by which an organization can know the level of performance of its diverse members of staff. The
effectiveness of performance appraisal systems in private universities are only based on training the
members of staff involved in the rating/ appraising process and are multi- rating systems. Conclusively
because the performance appraisal systems used in private universities are not effective and that they
exist just as a matter of formalities, the private universities cannot measure members of staff
performance, hence making it difficult to achieve the intended human resource management objective
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