The Role of the Narrative in Values-Led Business

Many leaders of values-based organizations already possess the requisite passion for the core values of their respective organizations. The ability to have their organizations perform in a manner consistent with these values is critical to gain the authenticity necessary for their audiences in order to discern the value of what that particular organization offers. The inability to articulate this to all stakeholders — including the marketplace, investors, employees, and competitors — may increase the hazard of mortality for the organization. One characteristic that human beings do not share with any other creature on earth is the ability to relate complex narratives. Narratives in leadership are synonymous with storytelling in organizations. Narratives have a much broader connotation. Narratives are an ancient art form and have the ability to create a connection between the narrator and the audience. If related well, it can create a sense of community, hone a common focus, and provide a stimulus for change. Most organizations need to address a common problem of implementing leadership tools resulting in the best outcomes for decisions. Poor leadership will inevitably increase the likelihood of organizational failure. They need to implement mechanisms that will increase positive outcomes. This paper reviews examples of leadership under impossible odds. It will reveal the necessary foundational material to provide a solid background. Next, it will address the common elements of an effective narrative as well as the importance that authenticity plays in its reception. Lastly, the elements of narrative leadership and the power it can give to those leaders who learn how to use narratives effectively will be addressed. Examples will demonstrate how effective narratives used by leaders of values-based organizations can eliminate obstacles and help their organizations perform audaciously

A Model for Implementing a Successful Sustainability Strategy

The process of implementing sustainability within national and international corporate functions requires senior management commitment and a sustainability team which employs the correct leadership knowledge and skills. Additionally, all stakeholders must fully understand, accept, routinely monitor, and participate in the strategy of sustainability. This core business value must also be clearly articulated throughout the organization

The Values-Based Revolution

The key to creating a successful business is not guaranteed by disingenuously going green especially if that term lacks certain definition. Rather, in addition to adopting principles of environmental stewardship, the values-based leader will discover that in freely espousing and implementing principles in the workplace, consumers with like values will often pay a product and/or service premium to patronize a business demonstrating like mindset. This is the true way of achieving business success

Quantifying the Order of Priorities in Student Choice of Graduate Business Schools: Does Sustainability Matter?

Business schools expend resources to attract more and higher-quality applicants to their institutions, yet our understanding of what criteria resonate with those who want to find the right fit with a business school and its programs is, paradoxically enough, either not clear or dated. There is a dearth of research on what business students value, resulting in missed opportunities to engage existing students so as to translate their interests and aspirations into prospects for program design, delivery, and enrollment. One important and often overlooked criterion, for example, is the desire of business students to learn about sustainability. Thus, while most studies aim to discover and quantify the selection criteria in students’ choice of business schools, this paper builds on the aspect of sustainability. We propose a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methodology that uncovers an array of essential criteria, including sustainability, for schools to consider in future program revision and development efforts. The proposed approach allows schools to be exact with their resource expenditures in areas that are critical to applicants, including those aligned with sustainability, as well as attract larger numbers of more qualified students. Insights from this study show that with the proper approach to understanding business school candidates, it is possible to quantify the order of priorities that students consider when choosing a business school

LANDSLIDE IN NACHTERSTEDT OF GERMANY

On July 18, 2009, an important landslide occurred in Nachterstedt City toward to the artificial Concordia Lake, which was created, in 1994, at the place of an old coal mine, at the edge of the city. The area is located to North-East of Harz, between the cities of Aschersleben and Quedlingburg. An underground coal mine is responsible for this damage which caused the damage of a privet house and a big building. Three people were also died. The mine apparently closed in 1991 whereupon it was converted into a recreation area. The landslide was caused by the increase of the groundwater level, in the coal mine, after a heavy rain, in relation to the water level of the lake

Plasmon Evolution and Charge-Density Wave Suppression in Potassium Intercalated Tantalum Diselenide

We have investigated the influence of potassium intercalation on the formation of the charge-density wave (CDW) instability in 2H-tantalum diselenide by means of Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy and density functional theory. Our observations are consistent with a filling of the conduction band as indicated by a substantial decrease of the plasma frequency in experiment and theory. In addition, elastic scattering clearly points to a destruction of the CDW upon intercalation as can be seen by a vanishing of the corresponding superstructures. This is accompanied by a new superstructure, which can be attributed to the intercalated potassium. Based on the behavior of the c-axis upon intercalation we argue in favor of interlayer-sites for the alkali-metal and that the lattice remains in the 2H-modification

A simple model for the evolution of the dust population in protoplanetary disks

Context: The global size and spatial distribution of dust is an important ingredient in the structure and evolution of protoplanetary disks and in the formation of larger bodies, such as planetesimals. Aims: We aim to derive simple equations that explain the global evolution of the dust surface density profile and the upper limit of the grain size distribution and which can readily be used for further modeling or for interpreting of observational data. Methods: We have developed a simple model that follows the upper end of the dust size distribution and the evolution of the dust surface density profile. This model is calibrated with state-of-the-art simulations of dust evolution, which treat dust growth, fragmentation, and transport in viscously evolving gas disks. Results: We find very good agreement between the full dust-evolution code and the toy model presented in this paper. We derive analytical profiles that describe the dust-to-gas ratios and the dust surface density profiles well in protoplanetary disks, as well as the radial flux by solid material "rain out", which is crucial for triggering any gravity assisted formation of planetesimals. We show that fragmentation is the dominating effect in the inner regions of the disk leading to a dust surface density exponent of -1.5, while the outer regions at later times can become drift-dominated, yielding a dust surface density exponent of -0.75. Our results show that radial drift is not efficient in fragmenting dust grains. This supports the theory that small dust grains are resupplied by fragmentation due to the turbulent state of the disk.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, accepted to A&

A Novel Isolate And Widespread Abundance Of The Candidate Alphaproteobacterial Order (Ellin 329), In Southern Appalachian Peatlands

Peatlands of all latitudes play an integral role in global climate change by serving as a carbon sink and a primary source of atmospheric methane; however, the microbial ecology of mid-latitude peatlands is vastly understudied. Herein, next generation Illumina amplicon sequencing of small subunit rRNA genes was utilized to elucidate the microbial communities in three southern Appalachian peatlands. In contrast to northern peatlands, Proteobacteria dominated over Acidobacteria in all three sites. An average of 11 bacterial phyla was detected at relative abundance values >1%, with three candidate divisions (OP3, WS3 and NC10) represented, indicating high phylogenetic diversity. Physiological traits of isolates within the candidate alphaproteobacterial order, Ellin 329, obtained here and in previous studies indicate that bacteria of this order may be involved in hydrolysis of poly-, di- and monosaccharides. Community analyses indicate that Ellin 329 is the third most abundant order and is most abundant near the surface layers where plant litter decomposition should be primarily occurring. In sum, members of Ellin 329 likely play important roles in organic matter decomposition, in southern Appalachian peatlands and should be investigated further in other peatlands and ecosystem types

Cost-utility analyses in orthopaedic surgery

BACKGROUND: The rising cost of health care has increased the need for the orthopaedic community to understand and apply economic evaluations. We critically reviewed the literature on orthopaedic cost-utility analysis to determine which subspecialty areas are represented, the cost-utility ratios that have been utilized, and the quality of the present literature. METHODS: We searched the English-language medical literature published between 1976 and 2001 for orthopaedic-related cost-utility analyses in which outcomes were reported as cost per quality-adjusted life year. Two trained reviewers independently audited each article to abstract data on the methods and reporting practices used in the study as well as the cost-utility ratios derived by the analysis. RESULTS: Our search yielded thirty-seven studies, in which 116 cost-utility ratios were presented. Eleven of the studies were investigations of treatment strategies in total joint arthroplasty. Study methods varied substantially, with only five studies (14%) including four key criteria recommended by the United States Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine. According to a reader-assigned measure of study quality, cost-utility analyses in orthopaedics were of lower quality than those in other areas of medicine (p = 0.04). While the number of orthopaedic studies has increased in the last decade, the quality did not improve over time and did not differ according to subspecialty area or journal type. For the majority of the interventions that were studied, the cost-utility ratio was below the commonly used threshold of $50,000 per quality-adjusted life year for acceptable cost-effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Because of limitations in methodology, the current body of literature on orthopaedic cost-utility analyses has a limited ability to guide policy, but it can be useful for setting priorities and guiding research. Future research with clear and transparent reporting is needed in all subspecialty areas of orthopaedic practice