THE DRIVERS OF PRODUCTIVITY

This paper will try to demonstrate that productivity is the basis of all productive systems, which are viewed as transformers of utility and value, since the search for maximum productive efficiency is necessary to reduce production costs and thus produce value. After presenting a coherent frame of reference, we shall examine the drivers of productivity and then move on to discuss the consequences of the continual growth in productivity and the non-economic aspects linked to the gradual improvement in productivit

Capitalistic Firms as Cognitive Intelligent and Explorative Agents. The Beer’s VSM and Mella’s Most Views

In this paper we propose a general model to understand (not merely describe) the operating logic of Business Value-Creating Organizations and, in particular of the capitalistic firm - that is, the business for-profit organization. When viewed as autopoietic and teleological organizations, firms can be interpreted both as viable systems (following Beer’s Viable System Model, or VSM) and as operating systems for efficient transformation (following Mella’s MOEST, or Model of the Organization as an Efficient System of Transformation). Beer believes that organizations must be viewed as viable systems, which, through their structure, which is capable of learning and cognition, can achieve an enduring structural coupling with the environment, continuing in this way to exist for a long time through continually adapting to the environment. Mella asserts that organizations must be conceived of as transformation systems that carry out five parallel transformations: (1) a productive transformation of factors into production; this is a transformation of utility, governed by productivity and by quality; (2) an economic transformation of costs and revenues into operating income; this is a transformation of value, governed by prices and therefore by the market; (3) a financial transformation of risks, which transforms capital into returns and guarantees the maintenance of its financial integrity; (4) an entrepreneurial transformation of information into strategies, which leads to a continual readjustment of the firm's strategic position; (5) a managerial (organizational) transformation of strategies into actions of management control. The MOEST proposes a system of performance indices and measures and highlights the mutual relationships among these indexes. Based on VSM and MOEST, we will try to demonstrate that, just as individuals in a Social System are responsible for their own actions and behavior with respect to the other individuals in the system, Organizations, as vital entities that make up the Social System, must also necessarily be held accountable for the economic and non-economic consequences of their actions. The complex “thinking-action” interaction leads the organization to behave as a cognitive entity, as a vital unitary system, that must be held “socially responsible” for its own actions, as these are produced, in turn, by its own decisions. This results in the necessity and inevitability of CSR.Specifically, the MOEST shows that the action of every BVCO assumes a Corporate Governance that specifies stakeholder objectives and environmental constraints, in this way defining the various levels of CSR. The CSR thus represents a fundamental variable in the strategy of BVCOs, as corporate ethics and reputation is based on this. For this reason we have enlarged the original structure of the Kaplan & Norton’s Balanced Scorecard (BSC) by including in the model of four scorecards a fifth scorecard that measures the firm’s capacity to create well-being for the collectivity and demonstrate the firm’s social utility by indicating its capacity to achieve social and environmental objectives

Harmonizing neuropsychological assessment for mild neurocognitive disorders in Europe

INTRODUCTION Harmonized neuropsychological assessment for neurocognitive disorders, an international priority for valid and reliable diagnostic procedures, has been achieved only in specific countries or research contexts. METHODS To harmonize the assessment of mild cognitive impairment in Europe, a workshop (Geneva, May 2018) convened stakeholders, methodologists, academic, and non-academic clinicians and experts from European, US, and Australian harmonization initiatives. RESULTS With formal presentations and thematic working-groups we defined a standard battery consistent with the U.S. Uniform DataSet, version 3, and homogeneous methodology to obtain consistent normative data across tests and languages. Adaptations consist of including two tests specific to typical Alzheimer's disease and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. The methodology for harmonized normative data includes consensus definition of cognitively normal controls, classification of confounding factors (age, sex, and education), and calculation of minimum sample sizes. DISCUSSION This expert consensus allows harmonizing the diagnosis of neurocognitive disorders across European countries and possibly beyond

CAN CSR INFLUENCE EMPLOYEES SATISFACTION?

The study shows how CSR for employees may represent a special opportunity to influence: employees’ general impression of the company and expectations about how the organization treats its employees. Companies have very important role to affect change in their communities and the environment by adopting CSR initiatives. Though short-term benefits might be few, it is likely that the importance of CSR will increase in years to come as people become more interested in the social and environmental effects of companies There’s a debate over whether CSR initiatives, that are socially responsible or environmentally friendly improves employees’ perceptions of the company. When a company has CSR initiatives, employees are more proud of and committed to the organization. This is because the personal identities are partly tied up in the companies that person works for. If a company is saving the world, reflects positively on employees and makes them feel good about the work they do for the company. The role CSR plays in enhancing a company's reputation among its own employees, subsequently boosting their motivation and engagement, is perhaps underrated, which is particularly problematic for companies that are inconsistent in their approach to implementing CSR initiatives. Studies involving CSR have not fully explored how organizational social performance impacts individual employee behaviors nor examined the attributes of individuals comprising stakeholder groups such as employees. The objectives of this study are to analyze the implementation of CSR programs and its impact on employees. The main underlying proposition is that organization can influence its employee through his or her own ethical and responsible behavior. The work culture built upon this sense of organization’s voluntary contribution toward a wide number of stakeholders could invite and encourage employee to adopt the same voluntary attitude and behavior to their own fellow employees. The role of CSR on employees is becoming more present in the business world, one of the reasons being that successful companies should attract and retain the best work force. By creating a good working environment and developing the internal CSR strategies, companies can stimulate productivity and satisfaction among employees. The research shows a model that clearly indicates that committing to CSR boosts the morale and commitment of workers in a positive way. This framework explains how employees‘ perceptions of CSR trigger attitudes and behavior in the workplace, which affect organizational, social and environmental performance

Corporate social responsibility through stakeholder engagement and entrepreneurial communication processes

The present work, after having built a model for understanding how multinational corporations act and behave both at the national and international level in the fields of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, will then present how large multinational enterprises react to the increasing pressures from stakeholders to report their corporate social responsibility at the global level. This paper will then draw conclusions about how enterprises integrate ethical values and stakeholder engagement in the strategy. The article is divided into two sections: The first entails a critical review of the literature on shareholder and stakeholder management, corporate social responsibility and stakeholder engagement; the second presents a critical analysis of the corporate social responsibility reporting of five big multinational competitors in the challenging business of adhesive tapes

Capitalistic Firms as Cognitive Intelligent and Explorative Agents. The Beer\u2019s VSM and Mella\u2019s Most Views

In this paper we propose a general model to understand (not merely describe) the operating logic of Business Value-Creating Organizations and, in particular of the capitalistic firm - that is, the business for-profit organization. When viewed as autopoietic and teleological organizations, firms can be interpreted both as viable systems (following Beer’s Viable System Model, or VSM) and as operating systems for efficient transformation (following Mella’s MOEST, or Model of the Organization as an Efficient System of Transformation). Beer believes that organizations must be viewed as viable systems, which, through their structure, which is capable of learning and cognition, can achieve an enduring structural coupling with the environment, continuing in this way to exist for a long time through continually adapting to the environment. Mella asserts that organizations must be conceived of as transformation systems that carry out five parallel transformations: (1) a productive transformation of factors into production; this is a transformation of utility, governed by productivity and by quality; (2) an economic transformation of costs and revenues into operating income; this is a transformation of value, governed by prices and therefore by the market; (3) a financial transformation of risks, which transforms capital into returns and guarantees the maintenance of its financial integrity; (4) an entrepreneurial transformation of information into strategies, which leads to a continual readjustment of the firm's strategic position; (5) a managerial (organizational) transformation of strategies into actions of management control. The MOEST proposes a system of performance indices and measures and highlights the mutual relationships among these indexes. Based on VSM and MOEST, we will try to demonstrate that, just as individuals in a Social System are responsible for their own actions and behavior with respect to the other individuals in the system, Organizations, as vital entities that make up the Social System, must also necessarily be held accountable for the economic and non-economic consequences of their actions. The complex “thinking-action” interaction leads the organization to behave as a cognitive entity, as a vital unitary system, that must be held “socially responsible” for its own actions, as these are produced, in turn, by its own decisions. This results in the necessity and inevitability of CSR.Specifically, the MOEST shows that the action of every BVCO assumes a Corporate Governance that specifies stakeholder objectives and environmental constraints, in this way defining the various levels of CSR. The CSR thus represents a fundamental variable in the strategy of BVCOs, as corporate ethics and reputation is based on this. For this reason we have enlarged the original structure of the Kaplan & Norton’s Balanced Scorecard (BSC) by including in the model of four scorecards a fifth scorecard that measures the firm’s capacity to create well-being for the collectivity and demonstrate the firm’s social utility by indicating its capacity to achieve social and environmental objectives

Improving Managers' Intelligence Through Systems Thinking

Purpose \u2013 Accepting the assumption that our intelligence depends on the ability to construct models which may allow us to acquire, update and transmit our knowledge, this paper aims to highlight the role of Systems Thinking in developing the \u201cintelligence\u201d of managers for all types and sizes of organization. Design/methodology/approach \u2013 Four relevant contributions for improving the \u201cintelligence\u201d of managers will be examined: the ability to understand and model dynamic systems, the structure of Control Systems, the rules of the decision-making process and the identification of systems archetypes. Findings \u2013 The paper will show that Systems Thinking, through the logic of Control Systems, offers managers a comprehensive representation of the problem-solving and decision-making processes, teaching them how to distinguish problems from symptoms and to acquire a leverage effect. Additionally, Senge\u2019s system archetypes will be presented and new archetypes will be added to Senge\u2019s list. Practical implications \u2013 The viability of every organization and its effective resilience and survival make it more than ever necessary for managers to adopt Systems Thinking, not only as a technique but also primarily as a discipline for efficient and effective thinking, learning, communication and explanation with regard to the dynamics of the world. Originality/value \u2013 The message of the paper is that by continually applying the rules and language of Systems Thinking, managers develop the capability to continually adapt their models to the dynamics of the world, increase their learning capacity and better gauge their consequent judgments, decisions and behavior, thereby removing the mental impediments to intelligence (inappropriate mental models, defensive routines, judgmental biases, rules, etc.)