Just Tell Me The Rules! Or When Did The Rules Change?

Anne is an experienced direct marketer. Just promoted to CEO, Anne proves to be naïve in managing The ABC Catalog Company, despite her twenty years of experience with the company. She prefers to set simple, straightforward rules for her direct reports to follow. Her management philosophy has been influenced by advice from her mentor and by her personal experiences working with her direct reports when they were her colleagues. According to Anne “The big picture is for her (and perhaps her newly-appointed and trusted CFO, Jeff) to worry about.” Anne feels that many of her direct reports are incapable or unwilling to deal with the inevitable trade-offs that senior management must make, especially as new trends emerge. Yet she is unwilling to undergo a major management shake-up. Anne’s management approach backfires as the industry faces limits to growth and the company’s long-standing business model is tested. As management bonuses plummet and the parent company starts to meddle by bringing in consultants, the Merchandising SVP, Brad, sees his best career opportunity. He is frustrated with the diminished role Anne has allotted him and the perception that his nemesis, Jeff, is the heir apparent. That is supposed to be Brad’s destiny. His ego cannot take the slight. Brad takes the ultimate gamble, bringing his self-serving scenario of what ails The ABC Catalog Company to the parent company’s attention

International Academic Symposium of Social Science 2022

This conference proceedings gathers work and research presented at the International Academic Symposium of Social Science 2022 (IASSC2022) held on July 3, 2022, in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia. The conference was jointly organized by the Faculty of Information Management of Universiti Teknologi MARA Kelantan Branch, Malaysia; University of Malaya, Malaysia; Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta, Indonesia; Universitas Ngudi Waluyo, Indonesia; Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges, Philippines; and UCSI University, Malaysia. Featuring experienced keynote speakers from Malaysia, Australia, and England, this proceeding provides an opportunity for researchers, postgraduate students, and industry practitioners to gain knowledge and understanding of advanced topics concerning digital transformations in the perspective of the social sciences and information systems, focusing on issues, challenges, impacts, and theoretical foundations. This conference proceedings will assist in shaping the future of the academy and industry by compiling state-of-the-art works and future trends in the digital transformation of the social sciences and the field of information systems. It is also considered an interactive platform that enables academicians, practitioners and students from various institutions and industries to collaborate

User experience of academic lecturing staff in the use of a learning management system tool : a case study at an open distance learning institution in South Africa

The teaching model in Open Distance Learning is moving towards fully integrated information and communication technology applications, therefore, academic lecturers need to have a strong comfort level with the use of technology tools. The academic lecturers are qualified and experienced subject matter experts but this does not translate to having the necessary technical competencies to do online teaching. They consequently could experience feelings of incompetency to facilitate courseware on a technology platform. The study identified the factors that influence the user experience when using a Learning Management System (LMS) in an academic institution. The research design comprises a convergent, parallel design mixed-method case study. A literature review was conducted to abstract the factors that influence the user experience into a conceptual framework. An expert review was conducted to validate the conceptual framework and then a questionnaire-driven survey was performed. The quantitative analysis of the survey results revealed that eight of the nine factors proposed in the conceptual framework do have an influence on the perceived user experience of the academic when using the LMS. The qualitative analysis revealed that all nine of the identified factors do have an influence on the perceived user experience of the academic when using the LMS. The contribution of this study is to present a conceptual framework of the factors that influence the user experience of the academic when using an LMS to improve our understanding of the experience of the academic and the practical challenges involved for academics that have to facilitate learning in an online environment The findings should be of interest to developers of LMSs and to institutions in support and training of academics that have to use the LMS.School of ComputingM. Sc. (Computing

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ROMANIA

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main opportunities and limitations of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The survey was defined with the aim to involve the highest possible number of relevant CSR topics and give the issue a more wholesome perspective. It provides a basis for further comprehension and deeper analyses of specific CSR areas. The conditions determining the success of CSR in Romania have been defined in the paper on the basis of the previously cumulative knowledge as well as the results of various researches. This paper provides knowledge which may be useful in the programs promoting CSR.Corporate social responsibility, Supportive policies, Romania

A conceptual model of packaging design for E-commerce.

Packaging is a "salesman" which is used as a marketing tool to assist product sales and deliver product information and attract consumers in conventional marketplaces. It also gives producers a voice in the retail environment. Since the introduction of E-commerce in the 1990's, these functions of packaging have not yet been reproduced in the virtual environment for products sold online. This research explores the meaning by which "online packaging" can be designed and implemented. Many researchers have identified that consumers find it difficult to buy online, due to poor product presentation and insufficient product information. They can easily obtain these functional advantages from physical packaging. Thus, the aim of this research is to explore a design guideline of online packaging for designers to better apply packaging thinking for products sold online. This research starts with practical work which contains five tentative studies and a final "laboratory online shop" providing a continuing process of development and evaluation of the research questions and engaging design principles. Rapid ethnographic methods were employed for the data collection. The data analysis and the practical design of online packaging were informed by the theory of Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). The result of the "laboratory online shop" is mainly consistent with the ELM's prediction and the research has resulted in design guidelines for online packaging, providing a framework for designers of online packaging. The guidelines integrate packaging thinking, the rapid ethnographic approaches and applications of the ELM theory, offering an opportunity for designers to apply the functions of packaging to products sold online. The approach helps designers to collect relevant background information before they design and evaluate developing designs. The guidelines influence designers to have a dual consideration of messages for consumers informed by the ELM's concept of "involvement" during the development of online packaging. Finally, a successful design of online packaging will not only depend on the designers, but retailers and manufacturers will also need to establish the infrastructure of an online shop, so that designers can apply online packaging to eCommerce

Introduction to the Volume on Digital Media, Youth, and Credibility

This chapter argues that understanding credibility is particularly complex -- and consequential -- in the digital media environment, especially for youth audiences, who have both advantages and disadvantages due to their relationship with contemporary technologies and their life experience. The chapter explains what is, and what is not, new about credibility in the context of digital media and discusses the major thrusts of current credibility concerns for scholars, educators, and youth