Estratégias de empresas para a base da pirâmide: estudo de casos múltiplos de grandes empresasnas comunidades pacificadas do Rio de Janeiro

A ausência do Estado nas comunidades de baixa renda do Rio de Janeiro afastou as empresas por décadas, visto que encontravam um ambiente hostil para desenvolver negócios. No entanto, recentemente, estas vêm passando por uma reorganização social e econômica apoiada na política pública de pacificação que visa reduzir a desordem social e atrair o interesse das empresas para as classes C, D e E, descritas na literatura por Prahalad (2004) como de base da pirÂmide (BOP). Neste artigo os autores contribuem para esta literatura ampliando e aprofundando o conhecimento sobre as estratégias de empresas para a BOP, tendo como objetivo analisar as estratégias que as grandes empresas vêm utilizando para atuar nestes mercados. O método de estudo de casos múltiplos foi utilizado com cinco grandes empresas: Light, L’Oréal, Banco do Brasil, Banco Santander e Sebrae, e a análise de conteúdo prescrita por Bardin (2008), com auxílio do software Atlas Ti 7.0, serviu para aprofundar a análise. Os resultados mostram que as empresas vêm disponibilizando novos produtos e serviços, orientação financeira, inclusão bancária, formalização do consumo e dos empreendedores locais, vem adaptando seus modelos de negócios e contribuindo para a integração destes territórios à sociedade formalmente estabelecida. No entanto, observa-se que as empresas que têm atuado de forma mais generosa tem alcançado melhores resultados e que as iniciativas se encontram em estágio inicial, carecendo de maior criatividade, coragem e independência das ações do Estado.The state absence in low-income communities in Rio de Janeiro drove away companies for decades, as they encountered a hostile environment for developing business. However, in recent years, the communities have been undergoing a social and economic reorganization supported by the pacification public policy that aims to reduce social disorder and attract private investment focused on classes C, D and E, described in the literature by Prahalad (2004) as the bottom of the pyramid. In this article, the authors contribute to this literature by broadening and deepening the knowledge about the companies’ strategies for the BOP, intending to analyze the strategies that large companies have been using to operate in these markets. The method was the multiple case studies covering five large companies: Light, L’Oréal, Banco do Brasil, Banco Santander and Sebrae, and the content analysis prescribed by Bardin (2008) guided the analysis using the software Atlas Ti 7.0. The results show that companies are offering new products and services, financial advice, banking services, access to microcredit, development and formalization of consumption and local entrepreneurs, and have been adapting their business models, contributing to the integration of these areas to the rest of the city formally established. However, it is observed that companies that have operated more generously have achieved better results and that initiatives are at an early stage of maturity, lacking more creativity, courage and independence of the state actions

Missiles as Artifacts: The Creation of the Air Force Space and Missile Museum

On November 18, 1963, Major General Leighton I. Davis, commander of the Air Force Missile Test Center (AFMTC), ordered his director of administrative services to form a committee of officers for the purpose of providing guidance and assistance in the establishment of an Air Force Space Museum to be located at Cape Canaveral. 1 Davis named General Harry Sands the committee\u27s chairman, Major Robert White, who headed the AFMTC\u27s Community Relations Office, was chosen to serve as the project manager for the proposed space museums. Seven years elapsed before the Air Force Space and Missile Museum received its official dedication. The space museum\u27s inventory of missiles, nose cones, capsules, launch equipment, and exhibits were dedicated to preserving teh memory of the pioneers of rocketry and space whose work and vision raised men\u27s eyes from the Earth to the stars.

Sustainability implications of transformation pathways for the bioeconomy

Countries around the world are devising and implementing bioeconomy strategies to initiate transformation towards sustainable futures. Modern concepts of bioeconomy extend beyond bio-based energy provision and include: (1) the substitution of fossil resource-based inputs to various productive sectors, such as the chemical industry and the construction sector, (2) more efficient, including new and cascading uses of biomass, and (3) a low bulk, but high-value biologisation of processes in agro-food, pharmaceutical, and recycling industries. Outcomes of past attempts at engineering transformation, however, proved to be context-dependent and contingent on appropriate governance measures. In this paper we theoretically motivate and apply a system-level theory of change framework that identifies central mechanisms and four distinct pathways, through which bio-based transformation can generate positive or negative outcomes in multiple domains of the Sustainable Development Goals. Based on emblematic examples from three bio-based sectors, we apply the framework illustrating how case-specific mixes of transformation pathways emerge and translate into outcomes. We find that the observed mixes of transformation pathways evoke distinct mechanisms that link bioeconomic change to sustainability gains and losses. Based on this insight we derive four key lessons that can help to inform the design of strategies to enable and regulate sustainable bioeconomies

COVID-19 challenges to sustainable food production and consumption: Future lessons for food systems in eastern and southern Africa from a gender lens

Despite fears that sub-Sahara Africa would be severely impacted by COVID-19, the implications of the pandemic on sustainable production and consumption have not been studied in detail. Notwithstanding, implications vary depending on country, region, and strictness of coronavirus containment measures. Thus, the impact of COVID-19 on food and nutritional security was expected to be dire in sub-Saharan Africa because of its enormous reliance on global food systems. This article explored the implications of COVID-19 on sustainable production and consumption by focusing on common beans, vegetables, fish, and fruits produced and consumed in rural, peri-urban and urban areas. Two surveys were conducted to collect quantitative data from 619 producers in rural areas and 307 consumers from peri-urban and urban areas of ten Eastern and Southern African countries. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and chi-square test for independence were used to analyse the data. The results show that the pandemic disrupted bean production and consumption across the two sub-regions. However, Southern African farmers and consumers were disproportionately more affected. While farmers in Eastern Africa reported input market challenges, those in Southern Africa identified challenges related to marketing farm produce. We also report that home gardening in urban and peri-urban areas enhanced urban food systems’ resilience to the impacts of the pandemic on food security. The study argues that short food supply chains can sustain rural and urban livelihood against adverse effects of the pandemics and contribute towards sustainable production and consumption. Therefore, local input and food distribution models and inclusive institutional and legal support for urban agriculture are crucial drivers for reducing food and nutritional insecurity, poverty, and gender inequality. They are also critical to supporting sustainable production and consumption

Internet financial reporting, infrastructures and corporate governance: An international analysis

AbstractUsing a panel of 44 developed and developing countries, this paper analyzes the macro-environmental determinants of Internet financial reporting (IFR) within the context of corporate governance models, and thus, addresses the question of which governance model's disclosure demands are more associated with IFR. Both physical and institutional infrastructures are shown to be important determinants of a country's adoption of IFR. Along with the corporate governance structure, these infrastructures combine with IFR to enhance transparency and market efficiency, both major goals of financial reporting and disclosure. These findings point to requisite environmental infrastructures governments must provide or foster for firms within their confines to effectively adopt IFR and thus, reap the attendant benefits of disclosure. They also contribute to the debate on harmonization of international financial reporting by showing that requisite environmental infrastructures are a precondition for the success of any reporting system

“Choose nature. Buy less.” Exploring sufficiency-oriented marketing and consumption practices in the outdoor industry

The outdoor industry is highly exposed to the impacts of climate change and resource scarcity since its business models generally rely on an intact ecosystem. Companies in the outdoor apparel and gear industry actively implement sustainability strategies based on efficiency, consistency, and more recently also sufficiency. Sufficiency aims at an absolute reduction of consumption levels and entails strategies such as decreasing purchases, modal shifts, product longevity, and sharing practices. Outdoor companies increasingly use marketing to advocate sufficiency-oriented consumption. This exploratory study investigates outdoor companies’ sufficiency-promoting marketing strategies and activities. The study includes primary and secondary data of six outdoor companies. The analysis focuses on the companies’ sustainability visions, their marketing objectives and channels, and their marketing mixes. Following a social practice theory approach, we found evidence that our case companies supported all forms of sufficiency-oriented consumption practices with a strong focus on product longevity. Another central finding of our study is the emphasis placed on product and promotion policies to foster sufficiency-oriented consumption practices. Solely relying on these strategies will not suffice, however, to change unsustainable consumption practices. Achieving that change requires at least two further steps. First, companies will have to find an answer to the conflict between promoting sufficiency-oriented practices and economic growth. Second, the companies should start understanding consumption as a social practice, which would open new opportunities to create and steer their communities of practices. By changing elements or links of practices and attracting new members to their communities, companies in the outdoor industry can be drivers towards more sufficiency-oriented consumption practices. Further research should assess the impact of sufficiency-promoting marketing on consumer practices to estimate its potential for sustainable change.BMBF, 01UU1607B, Zwischen Rebound-Risiken und Suffizienz-Chancen: Herausforderungen der Entkopplung von Umweltverbrauch und Wirtschaftswachstum am Beispiel der Digitalisierung von Dienstleistungen - Teilprojekt 2: Wirtschaftspolitik & Konsu

Prospectus for the Session 1911-1912 (PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A LARGE FILE WHICH IS SLOW TO DOWNLOAD)

Courses and timetables for the College of Technology, Bolton Street, Dublin 1

Characterisation and environmental value proposition of reuse models for fast-moving consumer goods: reusable packaging and products

Problem: Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) are products that are purchased and consumed frequently to satisfy continuous consumer demand. In a linear economy, FMCGs are typically offered as single-use and disposable products. Limitations in product design, insufficient collection systems, and inefficient recovery processes prevent high recycling rates. As a result, FMCGs often end up in landfill or the environment, contributing to waste accumulation, and pollution. Whilst recycling is the most common waste prevention strategy practiced by the industry, the process is limited to addressing only the final stage of the product life cycle, omitting the overproduction and consumption of materials typical of FMCGs. Instead, reuse is a strategy that is capable of extending the value of resources by slowing material flows. Novel reuse models that require the consumer to interact with durable primary packaging and products are emerging in the FMCG industry. However, the constituent elements and operation principles of such reuse models are not fully understood. The aim of this research is to develop a comprehensive characterisation of reuse models and to evaluate their potential to deliver environmental value. Method: Ninety-two reuse offerings were selected and analysed to identify their reuse system elements. The analysis led to the identification of a framework including five reuse models, which were also evaluated to establish their capability to deliver environmental value when compared to conventional single-use and disposable FMCGs. Results: Currently in the FMCG sector, reusable products are mostly durable packaging, such as bottles and containers for beverages, foods, personal and home care goods, and are infrequently durable products, such as personal and baby care goods, including razors and nappies. Three reuse models involve exclusive reuse, a behaviour by which a reusable product is used and kept by a single user throughout the product lifetime. In exclusive reuse models, users are provided with either a reusable product (model 1), a reusable product with preparation for reuse infrastructure (model 2), or access to preparation for reuse infrastructure (model 3). Two reuse models involve sequential reuse, a behaviour by which a reusable product is used by multiple users throughout the product lifetime and returned after each use to a provider. In sequential reuse models, users are provided with either a reusable product with preparation for reuse infrastructure and provider-operated recovery services (model 4), or a reusable product and provider-operated services for recovery and preparation for reuse (model 5). Whilst the five reuse models can operate standalone, some offerings were found to embed a multi-model approach. Both exclusive and sequential reuse models are capable of delivering environmental value by reducing the use of natural resources and retaining their value in the economy. In particular, sequential reuse models were found to have a greater capability to increase the share of recyclable resources by offering access to infrastructure for the closure of material loops. Conclusions: Consumers can currently access five reuse models and choose between exclusive and sequential reuse behaviours. When adopted in conjunction with recycling, reuse models can enable a more efficient consumption of FMCGs. Providing the infrastructure necessary to enable reuse and recycling is key to the successful and sustainable deployment of the reuse models

Involuntary job loss and outplacement: an exploratory study of related attitudes, perceptions and reactions

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Arts (Industrial Psychology) Johannesburg 1995The present research investigates the experience of involuntary job loss in a sample of white-collar workers. In addition, their perceptions of', and attitudes towards a preventive intervention, namely, outplacement, is explored. A review of the current literature on job loss and secondary formal interventions is discussed, which provides the basis for the present study. Findings support previous research, in addition to raising certain issues and providing suggestions which result in an expansion of present knowledge with regard to Outplacement.MT201