Towards a unified definition of supply chain management:the four fundamentals

A wide range of definitions of supply chain management (SCM) have been developed over the last three decades. The philosophy of SCM is based firmly on a recognition that it is only by working in a more integrated manner that competitive advantage can be maximised. However, for this to become a reality the development of common definitions and understandings between supply chain partners is a critical success factor. The corollary of this is that a lack of definitional consistency and a common understanding is an inhibitor to the successful adoption of SCM thinking in practice. This paper reviews a number of definitions of SCM, as well as discussions and analyses of such definitions. This leads to the central point posited in the paper – the need for a ‘unified definition’. Such a definitional construct, labelled the Four Fundamentals of SCM, is proposed with the core of the paper providing a narrative description of this construct based on a wide range of literature.

Linking risk management to strategic controls:a case study of Tesco plc

Definitions and perceptions of the role and styles of risk management, and performance management/strategic control systems have evolved over time, but it can be argued that risk management is primarily concerned with ensuring the achievement of strategic objectives. This paper shows the extent of overlap between a broad-based view of risk management, namely Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), and the balanced scorecard, which is a widely used strategic control system. A case study of one of the UK's largest retailers, Tesco plc, is used to show how ERM can be introduced as part of an existing strategic control system. The case demonstrates that, despite some differences in lines of communications, the strategic controls and risk controls can be used to achieve a common objective. Adoption of such an integrated approach, however, has implications for the profile of risk and the overall risk culture within an organisation.

Mobile case-based decision support for intelligent patient knowledge management

Hospitals everywhere are integrating health data using electronic health record (EHR) systems, and disparate and multimedia patient data can be input by different caregivers at different locations as encapsulated patient profiles. Healthcare institutions are also using the flexibility and speed of wireless computing to improve quality and reduce costs. We are developing a mobile application that allows doctors to efficiently record and access complete and accurate real-time patient information. The system integrates medical imagery with textual patient profiles as well as expert interactions by healthcare personnel using knowledge management and case-based reasoning techniques. The application can assist other caregivers in searching large repositories of previous patient cases. Patients' symptoms can be input to a portable device and the application can quickly retrieve similar profiles which can be used to support effective diagnoses and prognoses by comparing symptoms, treatments, diagnosis, test results and other patient information. © 2007 Sage Publications.

Management of dry eye in UK pharmacies

Purpose - To investigate the ability of pharmacy staff in the United Kingdom (UK) to diagnose and treat dry eye. Methods - A mystery shopper technique to simulate a patient with presumed dry eye was used in 50 pharmacy practices in major towns and cities across the UK. Pharmacies were unaware of their involvement in the study. With the exception of a predetermined opening statement to initiate the consultation, no further information was volunteered. Questions asked, diagnoses given, management strategy advised and staff type was recorded immediately after the consultation. Results - The mean number of questions was 4.5 (SD 1.7; range 1–10). The most common question was the duration of symptoms (56%) and the least common was whether the patient had a history of headaches (2%). All pharmacy staff gave a diagnosis, but the majority were incorrect (58%), with only 42% correctly identifying dry eye. Treatment was advised by 92% of pharmacy staff, with the remaining 8% advising referral directly to the patient's GP or optometrist. Dry eye treatments involved topical ocular lubrication via eye drops (90%) and lipid based sprays (10%). However, only 10% gave administration advice, 10% gave dosage advice, 9% asked about contact lens wear, and none offered follow up although 15% also advised GP or optometrist referral. Conclusions - There is a need for improved ophthalmological training amongst pharmacists and pharmacy staff and establishment of cross referral relationships between pharmacies and optometry practices.

Performance management in the United States and France:four case studies in the retail and airline industries

The profusion of performance measurement models suggested by Management Accounting literature in the 1990’s is one illustration of the substantial changes in Management Accounting teaching materials since the publication of “Relevance Lost” in 1987. At the same time, in the general context of increasing competition and globalisation it is widely thought that national cultural differences are tending to disappear, meaning that management techniques used in large companies, including performance measurement and management instruments (PMS), tend to be the same, irrespective of the company nationality or location. North American management practice is traditionally described as a contractually based model, mainly focused on financial performance information and measures (FPMs), more shareholder-focused than French companies. Within France, literature historically defined performance as being broadly multidimensional, driven by the idea that there are no universal rules of management and that efficient management takes into account local culture and traditions. As opposed to their North American brethren, French companies are pressured more by the financial institutions that fund them rather than by capital markets. Therefore, they pay greater attention to the long-term because they are not subject to quarterly capital market objectives. Hence, management in France should rely more on long-term qualitative information, less financial, and more multidimensional data to assess performance than their North American counterparts. The objective of this research is to investigate whether large French and US companies’ practices have changed in the way the textbooks have changed with regards to performance measurement and management, or whether cultural differences are still driving differences in performance measurement and management between them. The research findings support the idea that large US and French companies share the same PMS features, influenced by ‘universal’ PM models.

Partnering with governments and other institutions:driving change in diabetes care

The human and material cost of type 2 diabetes is a cause of increasing concern for health professionals, representative organisations and governments worldwide. The scale of morbidity and mortality has led the United Nations to issue a resolution on diabetes, calling for national policies for prevention, treatment and care. There is clearly an urgent need for a concerted response from all interested parties at the community, national and international level to work towards the goals of the resolution and create effective, sustainable treatment models, care systems and prevention strategies. Action requires both a 'bottom-up' approach of public awareness campaigns and pressure from healthcare professionals, coupled with a 'top-down' drive for change, via partnerships with governments, third sector (non-governmental) organisations and other institutions. In this review, we examine how existing collaborative initiatives serve as examples for those seeking to implement change in health policy and practice in the quest to alleviate the health and economic burden of diabetes. Efforts are underway to provide continuous and comprehensive care models for those who already have type 2 diabetes; in some cases, national plans extend to prevention strategies in attempts to improve overall public health. In the spirit of partnership, collaborations with governments that incorporate sustainability, long-term goals and a holistic approach continue to be a driving force for change. It is now critical to maintain this momentum and use the growing body of compelling evidence to educate, inform and deliver a long-term, lasting impact on patient and public health worldwide. © 2007 The Authors.

The unequal segmentation of public preparedness for mass evacuation:a cross-national perspective

This thesis is concerned with understanding how Emergency Management Agencies (EMAs) influence public preparedness for mass evacuation across seven countries. Due to the lack of cross-national research (Tierney et al., 2001), there is a lack of knowledge on EMAs perspectives and approaches to the governance of public preparedness. This thesis seeks to address this gap through cross-national research that explores and contributes towards understanding the governance of public preparedness. The research draws upon the risk communication (Wood et al., 2011; Tierney et al., 2001) social marketing (Marshall et al., 2007; Kotler and Lee, 2008; Ramaprasad, 2005), risk governance (Walker et al., 2010, 2013; Kuhlicke et al., 2011; IRGC, 2005, 2007; Renn et al., 2011; Klinke and Renn, 2012), risk society (Beck, 1992, 1999, 2002) and governmentality (Foucault, 1978, 2003, 2009) literature to explain this governance and how EMAs responsibilize the public for their preparedness. EMAs from seven countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom) explain how they prepare their public for mass evacuation in response to different types of risk. A cross-national (Hantrais, 1999) interpretive research approach, using qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews, documents and observation, was used to collect data. The data analysis process (Miles and Huberman, 1999) identified how the concepts of risk, knowledge and responsibility are critical for theorising how EMAs influence public preparedness for mass evacuation. The key findings grounded in these concepts include: - Theoretically, risk is multi-functional in the governance of public preparedness. It regulates behaviour, enables surveillance and acts as a technique of exclusion. - EMAs knowledge and how this influenced their assessment of risk, together with how they share the responsibility for public preparedness across institutions and the public, are key to the governance of public preparedness for mass evacuation. This resulted in a form of public segmentation common to all countries, whereby the public were prepared unequally.  - EMAs use their prior knowledge and assessments of risk to target public preparedness in response to particular known hazards. However, this strategy places the non-targeted public at greater risk in relation to unknown hazards, such as a man-made disaster. - A cross-national conceptual framework of four distinctive governance practices (exclusionary, informing, involving and influencing) are utilised to influence public preparedness. - The uncertainty associated with particular types of risk limits the application of social marketing as a strategy for influencing the public to take responsibility and can potentially increase the risk to the public.

The employability skills provision within a construction project management degree programme

This study was geared at assessing the employability skills provision within a construction project management degree programme through a questionnaire survey. Students were required to assess their level of ability in relation to the most common skills and competencies most sought after by construction project management graduate employers. The study identified team-working ability as the most sought after skill by the employers investigated followed by verbal communication, written communication and leadership ability. It was found that students were very confident of their ability in 12 of the 14 identified skills and competencies. But ironically, leadership, an important skill sought by employers is one that majority of the students felt most insecure in their ability. The study concludes that the BSc programme equips students with these employability skills and competencies, but more effort is needed to make the leadership development opportunities in the programme more conspicuous. With recommendations on how to achieve this proffered.

Human resource management in emerging markets:an introduction

The shifting of global economic power from mature, established markets to emerging markets (EMs) is a fundamental feature of the new realities in the global political economy. Due to a combination of reasons (such as scarcity of reliable information on management systems of EMs, the growing contribution of human resource management (HRM) towards organisational performance, amongst others), the understanding about the dynamics of management of HRM in the EMs context and the need for proactive efforts by key stakeholders (e.g., multinational and local firms, policy makers and institutions such as trade unions) to develop appropriate HRM practice and policy for EMs has now become more critical than ever. It is more so given the phenomenal significance of the EMs predicted for the future of the global economy. For example, Antoine van Agtmael predicts that: in about 25 years the combined gross national product (GNP) of emergent markets will overtake that of currently mature economies causing a major shift in the centre of gravity of the global economy away from the developed to emerging economies. (van Agtmael 2007: 10–11) Despite the present (late 2013 and early 2014) slowdown in the contribution of EMs towards the global industrial growth (e.g., Das, 2013; Reuters, 2014), EMs are predicted to produce 70 per cent of world GDP growth and a further ten years later, their equity market capitalisation is expected to reach US$ 80 trillion, 1.2 times more than the developed world (see Goldman Sachs, 2010).

Knowledge management in support of enterprise risk management

Risk management and knowledge management have so far been studied almost independently. The evolution of risk management to the holistic view of Enterprise Risk Management requires the destruction of barriers between organizational silos and the exchange and application of knowledge from different risk management areas. However, knowledge management has received little or no attention in risk management. This paper examines possible relationships between knowledge management constructs related to knowledge sharing, and two risk management concepts: perceived quality of risk control and perceived value of enterprise risk management. From a literature review, relationships with eight knowledge management variables covering people, process and technology aspects were hypothesised. A survey was administered to risk management employees in financial institutions. The results showed that the perceived quality of risk control is significantly associated with four knowledge management variables: perceived quality of risk knowledge sharing, perceived quality of communication among people, web channel functionality, and risk management information system functionality. However, the relationships of the knowledge management variables to the perceived value of enterprise risk management are not significant. We conclude that better knowledge management is associated with better risk control, but that more effort needs to be made to break down organizational silos in order to support true Enterprise Risk Management.

The management of posterior vitreous detachment by an optometrist

Acute posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) is the most common cause of retinal detachment. The management of this condition can be variable and often undue reliance is placed upon associated signs and symptoms which can be a poor indicator of pathology. Optometrists undertake a number of extended roles, however involvement in vitreo-retinal sub-specialities appears to be limited. One objective was to directly compare an optometrist and ophthalmologist in the assessment of patients with PVD, for this a high level of agreement was found (95% sensitivity, 99% specificity, 0.94 kappa). A review of 1107 patients diagnosed with acute PVD that were re-evaluated in a PVD clinic a few weeks later was undertaken to determine whether such reviews are necessary. One-fifth of patients were found to have conditions undiagnosed at the initial assessment, overall 4% of patients had retinal breaks when examined in the PVD clinic and a total of 7% required further intervention. The sensitivity of fundus examination with +90D and 3-mirror lenses was 85-88% for detecting retinal breaks and 7-85% for pigment in the anterior vitreous for the presence of retinal breaks. Therefore patients with acute PVD should be examined by indirect ophthalmoscopy with indentation at the onset of PVD and 4-6 weeks later. The treatment of retinal breaks with laser retinopexy is performed by ophthalmologists with a primary success rate 54-85%. In a pioneering development, an optometrist undertaking this role achieved a comparable primary success rate (79%). Mid-vitreous opacities associated with PVD are described, and noted in 100% of eyes with PVD. The recognition of this sign is important in the diagnosis of PVD and retinal breaks. The importance of diagnostic imaging is also demonstrated, however the timing in relation to onset may be vital.

The paradoxes of risk management in the banking sector

This paper uses empirical evidence to examine the operational dynamics and paradoxical nature of risk management systems in the banking sector. It demonstrates how a core paradox of market versus regulatory demands and an accompanying variety of performance, learning and belonging paradoxes underlie evident tensions in the interaction between front and back office staff in banks. Organisational responses to such paradoxes are found to range from passive to proactive, reflecting differing organisational, departmental and individual risk culture(s), and performance management systems. Nonetheless, a common feature of regulatory initiatives designed to secure a more structurally independent risk management function is that they have failed to rectify a critical imbalance of power - with the back office control functions continuing to be dominated by front office trading and investment functions. Ultimately, viewing the 'core' of risk management systems as a series of connected paradoxes rather than a set of assured, robust practices, requires a fundamental switch in emphasis away from a normative, standards-based approach to risk management to one which gives greater recognition to its behavioural dimensions.