The role of leadership and cultural contingencies in total quality management in Central America

The role of leadership and cultural contingencies in total quality management in Central Americ

Should Kiva pay interest to lenders

The case covers Kiva, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity working in the microfinance industry. Through it, people lend money to the working poor of the Third World. Lenders select businesses from the website. They then receive periodic updates and can reclaim the paid back loans, donate the money, or lend the paid principal again. The dilemma faced by Kiva\u27s leadership team is whether or not to pay lender’s interest

Wellness Lessons From Transportation Companies, Research Report WP 11-01

The purpose of this report is to describe wellness programs and offer two suggestions for improving how they are delivered to commercial drivers and operators. It is not a large sample empirical study from which generalizations can be made. Rather, the Mineta Transportation Institute commissioned brief case studies of transportation companies to show what several organizations have done. Stress, nicotine use, sleep apnea, obesity and lack of information are significant barriers to wellness in commercial drivers/operators. Many wellness programs ask the individual driver/operator to lose weight; exercise more; and monitor blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol and other such indicators of health. However, little is done to change the environment or adopt structural interventions such as forbidding nicotine use, as is possible in 20 states. Other structural interventions include those possible at the levels of the company and community, including access to healthy food rather than the junk food drivers often can find on the road. At the societal level, more public transit that gets people walking and out of their cars, cities designed for people to walk and cycle in rather than drive from work to a sprawling suburb, and encouraging food manufacturers to make healthy food (rather than a toxic mix of sodium, fat and sugar to boost one’s craving for a particular food) are just a few measures that could improve the health and well being of the public. The Union Pacific Corporation (rail transportation), and Con-way Freight (trucking) are included because they were willing to share information and are large publicly traded companies. The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is included because other transit authorities recommended it to the authors, as it has a long history in wellness as part of local government and it too chose to participate. Two issues are discussed: the first is the importance of using the mitigation of erectile dysfunction in the promotion of wellness programs to commercial drivers/operators and the second issue is to urge employers to consider banning tobacco use, both on and off the job, where legal

Promoting Bicycle Commuter Safety, Research Report 11-08

We present an overview of the risks associated with cycling to emphasize the need for safety. We focus on the application of frameworks from social psychology to education, one of the 5 Es—engineering, education, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation. We use the structure of the 5 Es to organize information with particular attention to engineering and education in the literature review. Engineering is essential because the infrastructure is vital to protecting cyclists. Education is emphasized since the central focus of the report is safety

Poverty and the multiple stakeholder challenge for global leaders

The article presents a case study in which business leaders deal with challenging problems related to poverty, involving multiple stakeholders. This emphasizes the importance of training prospective global leaders to manage stakeholder relationships and engage in stakeholder dialogue. The authors highlight the stakeholder role played by nongovernmental organizations and include a simulation that develops stakeholder dialogue skills. They identify practical lessons and assumptions underlying business education that are not shared by all stakeholders in the context of poverty

San Jose State University based incubators: Loosely coupled elements in Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial system

The San Jose Redevelopment Agency (RDA) fostered and continues to nurture incubators. In partnership with the RDA, San Jose State University (SJSU), through its Foundation, operates four fairly autonomous loosely coupled university based incubators (UBIs). Their primary mission is to develop start-ups. They also provide excellent learning opportunities for students. What they have not done is commercialize university or faculty intellectual property. The incubator directors are experienced business people who have the business acumen to nurture start-ups successfully, which they have done. The RDA, SJSU, the UBIs, and the incubator directors are all part of the entrepreneurial system that characterizes Silicon Valley