Donaldson v United Kingdom: No right for prisoners to wear Easter lilies

In the recent case of Donaldson v United Kingdom the European Court denied a claim from an imprisoned Irish Republican that HMP Maghaberry prison violated Article 102 and Article 143 of the European Convention on Human Rights when it asked him to remove an Easter lily from his clothing. The Easter lily has long been regarded as a symbol commemorating Irish Republican combatants who died during or were executed after the 1916 Easter Rising, a rebellion against the British Government’s rule in Ireland. In this case, the applicant, who is currently serving a 12-year sentence at Roe House, a segregated wing of HMP Maghaberry for Republican prisoners, affixed an Easter lily to his outer clothing on Easter Sunday in March 2008. A prison officer asked him to remove the Easter lily and when he refused he was charged with disobeying a lawful order under the Prison and Young Offenders Centre Rules (Northern Ireland) 1995, which prohibits prisoners from wearing emblems outside their cells. In HMP Maghaberry an exception was made with respect to the wearing of a shamrock on St Patrick’s Day and the wearing of poppies on Remembrance Sunday as these emblems were deemed to be ‘non-political and non-sectarian

Protecting asylum practitioners from emotional strain and secondary trauma: education, support and reform

Legal practitioners in the field of asylum law work daily with traumatised clients and hear traumatic stories. These include, for example, narratives of conflict, persecution, sexual violence, or the death of friends or loved ones. The role is emotionally demanding, and there is a risk that these professionals could be at risk of secondary trauma or burnout. This qualitative research consisted of 10 semi-structured interviews with asylum practitioners in England and the Republic of Ireland. It aimed to evaluate the preparedness of asylum practitioners in performing their roles, assessing training and education provided in secondary trauma, burnout and other emotional impacts involved in working in this role. It also aimed to assess structures of emotional support which are available for practitioners in their workplaces or the sector. A number of key themes emerged from the data – it was evident that practitioners can start and continue their roles without any education on the emotional demands of working in asylum law. While means of emotionally supporting practitioners are present in some workplaces, this cannot be said for all. Participants were also critical of that structures of support exist for other professionals working with asylum claimants, but they do not for them. Based on the findings of this research a series of recommendations will be made which are aimed at better safeguarding and supporting practitioners working in asylum la

The internationalization of craft enterprises

This research focuses on how craft enterprises can internationalize and manage the tension between geographic expansion and maintaining a craft production process. Based on human skills, the process of production of craft enterprises is challenged by internationalization as it calls for the increase and intensification of production. To answer our research question, we adopted a qualitative approach and conducted a case study on Maison Kayser, a successful French bakery. The results show that exporting a production process is a successful strategy for craft enterprises to internationalize and maintain their craft identity. By producing its breads and pastries on site, in all Maison Kayser shops around the world, the enterprise is able to offer high quality products. To keep this quality that only craft production mode can guarantee, Maison Kayser attaches importance to the training of its foreign bakers and share the craft techniques and values with them. Maison Kayser increases quantity without jeopardizing quality by opening many shops with teams of bakers and pastry chefs worldwide. To establish the brand on foreign markets and gain consumers, Maison Kayser has to raise consumers’ awareness about crafts, promoting a traditional and high standard production process based on the renowned French excellent know-how. Maison Kayser success is based on the internationalization strategy to export craft process and tradition supported by Eric Kayser leadership skills.Esta dissertação tem por objetivo compreender como é que empresas artesanais podem proceder à internacionalização gerindo a tensão entre expansão geográfica e manutenção do processo de produção artesanal. Baseado na aptidão humana, o processo de produção das empresas artesanais é desafiado pela internacionalização uma vez que requer um aumento e intensificação de produção. Para responder à nossa questão de investigação, adotamos uma abordagem qualitativa e conduzimos um caso de estudo à Maison Kayser, uma padaria francesa bem-sucedida. Os resultados demonstram que exportar o processo de produção é uma estratégia de internacionalização bem-sucedida para empresas artesanais pois permite a preservação da identidade artesanal. Ao produzirem os seus pães e bolos no próprio local em todas as Maison Kayser, espalhadas pelo mundo, a empresa pode assim oferecer produtos de alta qualidade. De modo a manter esta qualidade que apenas é possível manter-se através da produção artesanal, Maison Kayser dá importância ao treino do seus padeiros estrangeiros e partilha com eles as suas técnicas e valores. Maison Kayser consegue aumentar a quantidade produzida sem pôr em causa a qualidade através do investimento em equipas de chefes pasteleiros e padeiros nas suas lojas do mundo inteiro. Para estabelecer a sua marca em mercados estrangeiros e ganhar consumidores, Maison Kayser tem de aumentar o awareness nos consumidores sobre produtos artesanais, promovendo um processo de produção tradicional com alto nível de rigor baseado no famoso e excelente know-how francês. O sucesso da Maison Kayser é baseado numa estratégia de internacionalização para exportar os processos artesanais tradicionais apoiados pela capacidade de liderança de Eric Kayser

A trusted analyst’s opinion is worth gold for a company’s investors

It weighs more than a respected CEO's word, write Steven Boivie, Scott D. Graffin and Richard Gentr

Born to Take Risk? The Effect of CEO Birth Order on Strategic Risk Taking

The importance of birth order has been the subject of debate for centuries, and has captured the attention of the general public and researchers alike. Despite this interest, scholars have little understanding of the impact birth order has on CEOs and their strategic decisions. With this in mind, we develop theory that explains how CEO birth order may be associated with strategic risk taking. Drawing from evolutionary theory arguments related to birth order,we theorize that CEO birth order is positively associatedwith strategic risk taking; that is, earlier-born CEOswill take less risk than later-born CEOs. As evolutionary theory proposes that birth order effects are driven by sibling rivalry, we also argue that this relationship ismoderated by three factors related to sibling rivalry: age gap between a CEO and the closest born sibling, CEO age, and the presence of a sibling CEO. Our results provide support for our theorizing and suggest that birth order may have important implications for organizations. We believe this study helps advance strategic management research, the broader multidisciplinary “family science” literature, and the much-needed cross-pollination of ideas between the two

Serving on corporate boards plays a vital role in the career success of executives

They're more likely to be promoted as first-time CEOs and to get a raise, even without a promotion, write Steven Boivie, Scott D. Graffin, Abbie G. Oliver and Michael C. Wither