Rescuing a telecom giant from the jaws of bankruptcy: a case study and an interview with Sir Richard Lapthorne, chairman of Cable & Wireless

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate key strategic decisions involved in turning around a large multinational operating in a dynamic market. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on analysis of archival documents and a semi-structured interview with the chairman of the company credited with its rescue. Findings – Turnaround is complex and involves both planned and emergent strategies. The progress is non-linear requiring adjustment and change in direction of travel. Top management credibility and vision is critical to success. Rescue is only possible if the company has a strong cash generative business among its businesses. The speed of decision making, decisiveness and the ability to implement strategy are among the key ingredients of success. Originality/value – Turnaround is an under-researched area in strategy. This paper contributes to a better understanding in this important area and bridges the gap between theory and practice. It provides a practical view and demonstrates how a leading executive with significant expertise and successful turnaround track record deals with inherent dilemmas of turnaround

Distribution of lipids in the grain of wheat (cv Hereward) determined by lipidomic analysis of milling and pearling fractions

Lipidomic analyses of milling and pearling fractions from wheat grain were carried out to determine differences in composition which could relate to the spatial distribution of lipids in the grain. Free fatty acids and triacylglycerols were major components in all fractions, but the relative contents of polar lipids varied, particularly lysophosphatidyl choline and digalactosyldiglyceride, which were enriched in flour fractions. By contrast, minor phospholipids were enriched in bran and offal fractions. The most abundant fatty acids in the analysed acyl lipids were C16:0 and C18:2 and their combinations, including C36:4 and C34:2. Phospholipids and galactolipids have been reported to have beneficial properties for bread making, while free fatty acids and triacylglycerols are considered detrimental. The subtle differences in the compositions of fractions determined in the present study could therefore underpin the production of flour fractions with optimised compositions for different end uses.

Finality revived: powers and intentionality

Proponents of physical intentionality argue that the classic hallmarks of intentionality highlighted by Brentano are also found in purely physical powers. Critics worry that this idea is metaphysically obscure at best, and at worst leads to panpsychism or animism. I examine the debate in detail, finding both confusion and illumination in the physical intentionalist thesis. Analysing a number of the canonical features of intentionality, I show that they all point to one overarching phenomenon of which both the mental and the physical are kinds, namely finality. This is the finality of ‘final causes’, the long-discarded idea of universal action for an end to which recent proponents of physical intentionality are in fact pointing whether or not they realise it. I explain finality in terms of the concept of specific indifference, arguing that in the case of the mental, specific indifference is realised by the process of abstraction, which has no correlate in the case of physical powers. This analysis, I conclude, reveals both the strength and weakness of rational creatures such as us, as well as demystifying (albeit only partly) the way in which powers work.

Treason, felony and Lollardy: a common petition in the hand of Richard Osbarn, Clerk of the Chamber of the Guildhall 1400–c. 1437

This article examines a common petition presented in the English parliament of 1425 requesting that those imprisoned for long periods for the crimes of treason, felony and Lollardy might be brought to trial. On the basis of palaeographical and orthographical evidence, this petition is demonstrated to be written by Richard Osbarn, clerk of the chamber of the London Guildhall between 1400 and 1437. The implications of this discovery throw new light on the way petitions were formulated, suggesting that the scribes of petitions played a greater role than previously thought, and in some cases identified with the complaint itself.