CSR Business as Usual? The Case of the Tobacco Industry

Tobacco companies have started to position themselves as good corporate citizens. The effort towards CSR engagement in the tobacco industry is not only heavily criticized by anti-tobacco NGOs. Some opponents such as the the World Health Organization have even categorically questioned the possibility of social responsibility in the tobacco industry. The paper will demonstrate that the deep distrust towards tobacco companies is linked to the lethal character of their products and the dubious behavior of their representatives in recent decades. As a result, tobacco companies are not in the CSR business in the strict sense. Key aspects of mainstream CSR theory and practice such as corporate philanthropy, stakeholder collaboration, CSR reporting and self-regulation, are demonstrated to be ineffective or even counterproductive in the tobacco industry. Building upon the terminology used in the leadership literature, the paper proposes to differentiate between transactional and transformational CSR arguing that tobacco companies can only operate on a transactional level. As a consequence, corporate responsibility in the tobacco industry is based upon a much thinner approach to CSR and has to be conceptualized with a focus on transactional integrity across the tobacco supply chai

Toward an Understanding of the Impact of Organizational Climate and Organizational Justice on the Implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

This research examines the relationship between the organizational factors (such as justice and organizational climate) and behaviors regarding the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is emphasized due to its essentiality to ERP success and the symbiotic relationship. There has been much research that has focused on the relationship between justice and business process reengineering, as well as the relationship between BPR and ERP success in separate manners. However, few studies have explored the interrelationships among these constructs. This research helps explain how the organizational climate and organizational justice impacts the likelihood of success of an ERP implementation. While organizational behaviors under involvement are significantly and positively correlated with the success of ERP, justice plays an important mediating role in affecting individual’s attitudes towards organizational changes induced by BPR and ERP implementation

Alpha managers - an advantage or disadvantage for the organization

The role of the manager is crucial to the organization. Managers set goals, develop strategies and define tasks of workers, create environment for the development of people and give meaning to their activities. Professional skills are of vital importance to manager’s success. These very skills are the distinguishing characteristics of alpha managers. The aim of the following paper is to present some of the most established ideas in the field of leadership styles, to compare them with the concept of alpha managers and draw some conclusions important to management

Preparation and Certification of Large-Sized Dried (LSD) Spike – IRMM-1027s

Large-Sized Dried (LSD) spikes are used as a fundamental part of the fissile material control of irradiated nuclear fuel and have been provided on a regular basis to safeguards authorities and industry for more than 10 years. This report describes the preparation and certification of a new batch of LSD spikes. IRMM-1027s is a dried nitrate material in cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB), certified for the mass of uranium and plutonium and the uranium and plutonium isotope amount ratios per unit. The material was produced in compliance with ISO/IEC 17034:2016 and certified in accordance with ISO Guide 35:2006. The certified reference materials uranium metal EC NRM 101, enriched uranium metal NBL CRM 116-A and plutonium metal CETAMA MP2 were used as starting materials to prepare the mother solution. This solution was dispensed into individual units by means of an automated robot system and dried down. A solution of an organic substance, cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) was dried on the spike material as a stabiliser to retain the dried material at the bottom of the vial. In total 950 units were produced. Between-unit homogeneity was quantified and stability during dispatch and storage were assessed in accordance with ISO Guide 35:2006. The certified values for the uranium and plutonium isotope amount ratios were obtained from the gravimetric preparation of the mother solution, taking into account the mass, purity and isotopic composition of the starting materials. The certified values for the mass of plutonium and uranium per unit were established by isotope dilution thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) on randomly selected units. External verification measurements were performed by isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) and thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) on randomly selected units of IRMM-1027s. Uncertainties of the certified values were estimated in compliance with the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) and include uncertainties related to possible inhomogeneity and to characterisation. The main purpose of this material is for use as a spike isotopic reference material to measure the plutonium and uranium amount content of spent nuclear fuel solutions using IDMS. Each unit contains about 55 mg of uranium with a relative mass fraction m(235U)/m(U) of 19.0 % and 1.7 mg of plutonium with a relative mass fraction m(239Pu)/m(Pu) of 97.8 % as dried nitrates in CAB. The whole amount of sample per unit has to be used for analysis.JRC.G.2-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard

Gemcitabine and Docetaxel for Epithelioid Sarcoma: Results from a Retrospective, Multi-Institutional Analysis

Objective: Epithelioid sarcoma (ES) presents unique clinical features in comparison to other sarcoma subtypes. Data regarding the benefits of chemotherapy are very limited. Combination regimens using gemcitabine and docetaxel (Gem/Doce) have proven to be effective, especially in uterine and nonuterine leiomyosarcoma. Yet, there is no available data on the efficacy of Gem/Doce in ES. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the three participating institutions was performed. Twenty-eight patients with an ES diagnosis presented at one of the participating institutions between 1989 and 2012. Of this group, 17 patients received chemotherapy. Results: Patients' median overall survival (OS) after the beginning of palliative chemotherapy was 21 months, and the 1-year OS was 87%. Twelve patients received Gem/Doce with a clinical benefit rate of 83%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 8 months for all patients receiving Gem/Doce. The best response was complete remission in 1 patient and partial remission in 6 patients. All 6 patients receiving Gem/Doce as a first-line treatment showed measurable responses with a median PFS of 9 months. Conclusions: In this retrospective study, Gem/Doce was an effective chemotherapeutic regimen for ES. Prospective studies are needed to better assess the effects of this combination drug therapy