A Logic Framework of Normative-based Contract Management

We explore of the feasibility of the computationally oriented institutional agency framework proposed by Governatori and Rotolo testing it against an industrial strength scenario. In particular we show how to encode in defeasible logic the dispute resolution policy described in Article 67 of FIDIC.

Developing community-based watershed management in Greater Sao Paulo: the case of Santo Andre

This paper describes how watershed protection is being combined with settlement upgrading and land-use management within an area that serves as one of Greater Sao Paulo's main sources of fresh water. This is being undertaken in the municipality of San to Andre. Unlike previous watershed protection measures, which proved ineffective, it recognizes the need to combine the protection of water-sheds with the improvement of conditions in existing settlements and guiding, rather than prohibiting, further settlement. The paper describes how, the community-based watershed management involves the inhabitants of illegal settlements and other stakeholders in an adaptive planning framework that first seeks consensus on what is to be planned before developing the plan, its implementation and its operation, maintenance and monitoring.

A randomized control trial of nursing-based case management for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

This study assessed the impact of a randomized trial of nursing-based case management for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, their caregivers, and nursing and medical staff. Sixty-six patients were matched by FEV1 on admission to hospital, and randomized into an intervention or control group. Intervention group patients reported significantly less anxiety at 1 month postdischarge; however, this effect was not sustained. There was little difference between groups in terms of unplanned readmissions, depression, symptoms, support, and subjective well being. Interviews with patients and caregivers found that the case management improved access to resources and staff-patient communication. Interviews with nursing and medical staff found that case management improved communication between staff and enhanced patient care.

Outsourcing and inter-intra supply chain dynamics: Strategic management issues

This article analyzes the outsourcing of information technology services, using an action inquiry methodology. Research spanned the disengagement and beginning of IT service functions transferred from work groups in the parent company to outsource teams. Results identified the importance of addressing strategic issues and inter/intra relationships between parent company team members and their outsource-counterparts. Conclusions indicate that behavioral issues such as psychological contracts within inter/intra work groups, power and trust are highly significant managerial issues in the success or failure of an outsourcing strategy.

A Research Agenda for Strategic Management Research in Developing Countries

This paper explores the extent to which it is possible to address issues pertaining to developing countries with significant socio-cultural and political interventions. Examples from the Sri Lankan tea plantations are used to illustrate the necessity to understand the context from actors’ perspectives using rigorous case study research, before making prescriptive recommendations. Current problems faced by the Sri Lankan tea industry are identified as not merely micro-institutional or managerial. We argue that their roots lie in reproduction of social struggles at the level of production. We propose a research agenda, in the doctrine of critical theory, for exploring the formation and implementation of business strategies in developing countries, using the tea plantation sector as a case. Our primary attempt here is to conceptualize strategic management in the context of political economy and to identify central issues to be addressed. Accordingly, we argue that researching historical dynamics of strategic management facilitates understanding and interpreting the articulation of modes of production in a given social formation. We further argue that a highly context specific research agenda is required to fully comprehend idiosyncratic characteristics of Sri Lankan strategy structures and organizational forms. Then, it is proposed that explaining the role of social formation in shaping and reshaping strategy relations should be at the centre of the research due to the social significance attached to ‘strategy’. Finally, methodological and epistemological necessities arising from the nature of strategy relationships are discussed.

Strategic maintenance management

The approach to maintenance management has changed over the last one hundred years. Over the last few years, the Reliability Engineering and Risk Management Group (RERMG) at the University of Queensland has developed an approach called the strategic maintenance management (SMM) approach. The paper outlines the approach and contrasts it with the current approaches. It then discusses the industry-university partnership in the implementation of this approach and the current activities at the University of Queensland to assist industry in the implementation of the SMM approach.

Managing knowledge in tourism planning: How to assess your capability

This paper explores the theme of strategic planning in a State Tourism Organization (STO) from a knowledge management perspective. It highlights the value of knowledge in strategy making and the importance of an organisation's knowledge management agenda in facilitating a strategic planning process. In particular, it considers the capability of an STO to implement knowledge management as the key to a successful strategic planning exercise. In order to develop greater insight into the factors that impact on planning competence, the key aim of this paper is to develop a framework on which the capability of a STO to implement a knowledge-based agenda in strategic planning can be assessed. Research on knowledge management in the field of tourism is limited and there is little practical account of the application of knowledge management principles in tourism planning. Further, there is no apparent tool or instrument that allows for the assessment of an STO's capability to implement knowledge management in planning initiatives. Based on a literature review, a three-point framework of assessment is developed. The three elements of the framework are identified as: 1. Integration of knowledge management objectives with strategic imperatives; 2. A planning approach that balances top-down (outcome focused) with bottom-up (process focused) planning processes; and 3. Organisational capacity, including leadership, people and culture, process, technology, content and continuous improvement. The framework is tested through application to a practical case study - a planning initiative undertaken by a leading tourism STO in Australia. The results demonstrate that the framework is a useful means to evaluate organisational capability in knowledge-led strategic planning exercises and would be of practical value as a point of reference for future knowledge- based strategic planning projects. Copyright © by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.