Cultural Commentary: The American Arts and Crafts Movement (c. 1880-1920)

In the last quarter of the nineteenth century there developed in. Europe and America a new style in the decorative arts known as the Arts and Crafts movement. It rejected the excesses, pretense and formality of Victorian style homes and furnishings. It also found fault with mass-produced objects in which the design and application of machine-made furnishings showed little regard for function, sturdy construction, pleasing proportions, the natural beauty of materials or the skills of hand-craftsmanship

Local creative industries may be more global than we think:A study of tenants based at Baltic Creative, Liverpool

LOCAL CREATIVE INDUSTRIES MAY BE MORE GLOBAL THAN WE THINK explores the extent of international trade amongst a group of UK-based, micro-enterprises and SMEs (small-and-medium sized enterprises) classed as “creative industries.” The UK government’s 2018 Industrial Strategy: Creative Industries Sector Deal aims to increase UK creative industry exports by 50 per cent within 5 years, arguing there is a “great deal of untapped potential in the sector.” It also identifies small company size as a particular challenge to creative industry exports. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) maintains that in 2016 only 18 per cent of creative industries businesses engaged in international trade (DCMS, 2018a). Our research challenges these assumptions. At least one creative industries hub is already deeply entwined in global trade. In Liverpool’s creative and digital hub Baltic Creative, 69 per cent of tenants export. Furthermore, these exporters are highly dependent on their overseas income. Over one-third of exporters earn more than 50 per cent of their annual income from exports. Our research also finds that company size had not acted a deterrent to international trade. Rather company owners report concerns about access to global markets after Brexit, which had already resulted in significant financial losses for some. Our study reveals that even the smallest micro-enterprises are exporting not by way of strained or concerted efforts, but simply because they are operating in an open, digital, global environment where international trade is integral to their business

Book Reviews

Book Reviews of: John H. Dryfhout, The Works of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (University Press of New England) Alan Dershowitz, The Best Defense (Random House, 1982) John LeCarré, The Little Drummer Girl (Alfred A. Knopf

Strategic and Scenario Planning in Ranching: Managing Risk in Dynamic Times

ContentSteps Toward Success Stage 1: Charting the Course: Creating the Vision Step 1: Assess current situation and inventory of ranch resources Step 2: Conduct SWOT analysis Step 3: Establish a vision for the ranch business Stage 2: Determining Strategies to Achieve the Ranch’s Vision Step 4: GAP analysis Step 5: Alternative strategies to close the gap Stage 3: Scenario Planning for the Ranch Step 6: Describe multiple scenarios Step 7: Select and evaluate the most-probable Scenarios Stage 4: Merging Strategies and Scenario Planning Step 8: Determine strategies with the highest likelihood of success Stage 5: Putting the Plan Into Action and Measuring Success Step 9: Implementation of the strategic plan Step 10: Monitor performance with the Balanced Scorecard Conclusionase for Strategic Planning: Consider ethanol’s impact Appendi

Using the Balanced Scorecard for Ranch Planning and Management:Setting Strategy and Measuring Performance

The key to business success—whether operating a ranch or a Fortune 500 company—lies in management and planning. It’s the ability to have foresight, to carefully evaluate and choose appropriate new concepts and technologies, and to implement a well thought- out plan that complements all aspects of the business. The highly-respected former CEO and chairman of General Electric Jack Welch put it this way: Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion. How does that description apply to you? Are you a visionary business leader for your ranch enterprise? Or can you become one? This manual introduces the “Balanced Scorecard” developed by Dr. Robert Kaplan of the Harvard Business School and Dr. David Norton. The duo authored the book The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy Into Action, and the scorecard format has been used by thousands of global companies and small businesses since the early 1990s when it was initially developed. While this concept may be relatively new to the ranching community, adopters of this approach to management include corporate icons like General Electric, DuPont, Ford Motor Company, IBM, and Walt Disney World. Using the scorecard, a manager can clearly see the things that need to be measured to “balance” different competing parts of the ranch. For example, rather than analyze financial records alone—which are only capable of telling of past events—this approach also takes into account things such as customer relationships, ranch processes, and investment in family members and employees’ learning and growth— all of which can have an impact on future business success. Central to the effectiveness of the Balanced Scorecard is viewing the business (your ranch) from these perspectives and then developing strategies and evaluating outcomes relative to each of those perspectives. By doing so, you can build a stronger base for your future sustainability. To that end, this manual offers a step-by step guide for the ranching industry to adopt the Balanced Scorecard and move toward managing for ranch business success