Going green: prospects for SME's to attain ISO 14001 and the challenges they face in the process

This research aimed to identify any common factors that have enabled and/or motivated SMEs to successfully implement ISO 14001 whilst the majority have not. It also identified what challenges and barriers SMEs face in doing so and how some have overcome these. The existing literature suggests that the majority of SMEs perceive their environmental impacts to be proportional to their size; have a poor understanding of environmental issues; have a poor awareness of environmental regulations; do that have the necessary expertise or leadership to address environmental issues and that SMEs with an environmental management system such as ISO 14001 are very much the minority. The main factors that influenced whether an SME had implemented ISO 14001 were: competitive advantage, regulatory compliance, supply chain pressures, leadership, expertise, resources and external support. This research used qualitative analysis of interviews with managers and directors from 8 SMEs with ISO 14001 and 4 without. All of the SMEs were based in the West Midlands or Staffordshire. Interviews were also conducted with 3 organisations offering support to businesses on environmental issues and with 1 large business who was engaging their suppliers (which included SMEs within this sample) on environmental issues. The research found that there were four main factors that enabled or motivated the SMEs to implement ISO 14001, these were: leadership, supply chain pressures, external support and SMEs' history and experience of accredited management systems. The main challenges that these business had to overcome and that prevented the other SMEs from achieving ISO 14001 were: achieving regulatory compliance, perceived financial cost, lack of perceived competitive advantage, access to relevant and affordable support and for those SMEs without ISO 14001 there was very little perceived external pressure or need for them to do so.

La politique linguistique et l'avenir du Francais au Mexique:etude du cas de l'universite de Veracruz

In a linguistic context where it seems the entire world is only interested in learning English, it is worth considering the idea of whether French still has a place in Mexico. In spite of the predominance of English, there is nevertheless a feeling that French remains alive in Mexico, and indeed in certain areas has retained its strength and appeal. This hypothesis was to put to the test by exploring the current linguistic environment prevalent in the state of Veracruz. An investigation in the form of questionnaires and interviews of all those connected to the teaching of French (including students, teachers and employees and directors of language schools) shows that the desire of the Mexican government of promoting English for everyone is not necessarily consistent with the desire and expectations of the general populace. This in turn suggest the need of adopting a policy that enables us not only to take into consideration what people seem to be telling us regarding the learning of foreign learning but also of what they are not telling us. If the teaching and learning of French as a foreign language remains strong in Veracruz, it is explained much more by the long and friendly relationship that people in the state have had with French people (and their culture) than it is by any instrumental needs of learning their language. This is seen in the fact that students here consistently describe their motivation for learning French from an emotional or affective standpoint rather than from professional one. It seems that the ties between the Mexican and French people remain solid. Another interesting characteristic of students of French in Veracruz is the positive attitude they seem to have regarding languages in general, which in turn enables them to take further advantage of the benefits made available from globalization. In reality, there exists no rivalry between French and English and therefore it is unnecessary to adopt measures that would address such struggle. It is however a matter of great urgency that authorities in the arenas of politics and academia take a closer look at the policies they design regarding the study of foreign languages in general, and that they consider, specifically, a wholly alternative to the one language model of teaching and learning of foreign language – in this case English-, a model that for all intents and purposes has failed. In the midst of a globalized world, and during this current period of increased linguistic activity, the aforementioned assertions serve not only to support my initial hypothesis, but also to help shake off the dust of some out-dated belief systems and lay down the framework for a new, better informed and well thought-out policy of foreign languages planning.

Quality control of pharmaceutical ingredients:developing a caking test for industry

Objectives - Powdered and granulated particulate materials make up most of the ingredients of pharmaceuticals and are often at risk of undergoing unwanted agglomeration, or caking, during transport or storage. This is particularly acute when bulk powders are exposed to extreme swings in temperature and relative humidity, which is now common as drugs are produced and administered in increasingly hostile climates and are stored for longer periods of time prior to use. This study explores the possibility of using a uniaxial unconfined compression test to compare the strength of caked agglomerates exposed to different temperatures and relative humidities. This is part of a longer-term study to construct a protocol to predict the caking tendency of a new bulk material from individual particle properties. The main challenge is to develop techniques that provide repeatable results yet are presented simply enough to be useful to a wide range of industries. Methods - Powdered sucrose, a major pharmaceutical ingredient, was poured into a split die and exposed to high and low relative humidity cycles at room temperature. The typical ranges were 20–30% for the lower value and 70–80% for the higher value. The outer die casing was then removed and the resultant agglomerate was subjected to an unconfined compression test using a plunger fitted to a Zwick compression tester. The force against displacement was logged so that the dynamics of failure as well as the failure load of the sample could be recorded. The experimental matrix included varying the number of cycles, the amount between the maximum and minimum relative humidity, the height and diameters of the samples, the number of cycles and the particle size. Results - Trends showed that the tensile strength of the agglomerates increased with the number of cycles and also with the more extreme swings in relative humidity. This agrees with previous work on alternative methods of measuring the tensile strength of sugar agglomerates formed from humidity cycling (Leaper et al 2003). Conclusions - The results show that at the very least the uniaxial tester is a good comparative tester to examine the caking tendency of powdered materials, with a simple arrangement and operation that are compatible with the requirements of industry. However, further work is required to continue to optimize the height/ diameter ratio during tests.

The board of directors, executives and risk knowledge management

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and Knowledge Management (KM) both encompass top-down and bottom-up approaches developing and embedding risk knowledge concepts and processes in strategy, policies, risk appetite definition, the decision-making process and business processes. The capacity to transfer risk knowledge affects all stakeholders and understanding of the risk knowledge about the enterprise's value is a key requirement in order to identify protection strategies for business sustainability. There are various factors that affect this capacity for transferring and understanding. Previous work has established that there is a difference between the influence of KM variables on Risk Control and on the perceived value of ERM. Communication among groups appears as a significant variable in improving Risk Control but only as a weak factor in improving the perceived value of ERM. However, the ERM mandate requires for its implementation a clear understanding, of risk management (RM) policies, actions and results, and the use of the integral view of RM as a governance and compliance program to support the value driven management of the organization. Furthermore, ERM implementation demands better capabilities for unification of the criteria of risk analysis, alignment of policies and protection guidelines across the organization. These capabilities can be affected by risk knowledge sharing between the RM group and the Board of Directors and other executives in the organization. This research presents an exploratory analysis of risk knowledge transfer variables used in risk management practice. A survey to risk management executives from 65 firms in various industries was undertaken and 108 answers were analyzed. Potential relationships among the variables are investigated using descriptive statistics and multivariate statistical models. The level of understanding of risk management policies and reports by the board is related to the quality of the flow of communication in the firm and perceived level of integration of the risk policy in the business processes.

Looking for redemption in a globalised North:representations of the Arctic in Judith Hermann’s Short Stories Kaltblau (Cold –Blue) and Die Liebe zu Ari Oskarsson (Love for Ari Oskarsson)

This paper explores the literary representation of Iceland and Norway in two short stories by contemporary German writer Judith Hermann. It analyses both the depiction of these countries as part of the globalised western world and the redemptive power they are tentatively ascribed by the author. Continuing a long German tradition of looking at Scandinavia from an almost colonial perspective, Hermann on the one hand presents these northern countries as a mere extension of central Europe, largely devoid of distinguishing national characteristics. At the same time she makes reference to the topos of the north as a vast and empty space and highlights both the specific arctic nature of the environment and the effect it has on her urban characters, who find themselves on a search for meaning and orientation in a postmodern fragmented world. Despite Hermann's overall sceptical attitude towards her characters' quest for happiness, these northern locations ultimately appear as potential places of self-realisation and enlightenment.

Corporate governance and the central factors influencing the roles of public and private sector board directors in the United Kingdom

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Pathways to leadership:board independence, diversity, and the emerging pipeline in the US for women directors

In the wake of this decade's corporate scandals, crimes and excesses, improving the effectiveness of corporate governance in the United States has become a priority. An important influence on a board's effectiveness at monitoring is its members’ degree of independence from senior management. While the current definition of independence revolves around the absence of familial and economic connections between a firm and its directors, research suggests that this standard may be inadequate in ensuring independent oversight. Rather, diversity along racial, gender and other dimensions has been proposed as a potentially more effective standard for board independence. This is especially welcome news for women, who currently comprise 51 per cent of the US managerial workforce but only 14.8 per cent of the directors on boards of large, publicly traded US corporations. Some explain the current dearth of women board members by claiming that there are no qualified women available for board service and/or that women are not interested in board service. However, there is more anecdotal rather than empirical evidence on the issue. Surveying women at a women's leadership conference in Boston, this research investigates the extent to which women are currently involved in some type of board service and the extent to which women aspire to future board service. We find that women are currently more active in governance activities than prior research on corporate boards suggests and that they aspire to play a continued and expanded role in governance activities.

Board gender diversity in UK firms – recent trends and performance eEffects

This paper provides an overview of the position of women directors in UK firms. Based on data for all UK firms with more than three directors, this data provides a comprehensive picture of the position of women in UK business leadership and contributes to our understanding of progress towards achieving greater gender balance in the boardroom. Five key points emerge. •Female directors account for around 1:4 directors in UK firms but only around 1:10 businesses in the UK are female controlled. •Only 1:226 larger firms in this category have a majority of female directors. •The overall proportion of female directors in the UK has grown in recent years but slowly. At the rate of progress achieved over the 2003-2005 period, it will be the year 2225 before gender balance in company directorships is achieved in the UK. •There are a significant and interesting group of 12, 600 sisterhood companies in the UK – those wholly owned and led by women. Although they are predominantly services, these do firms exist in all business sectors with a focus on smaller companies. These firms represent an interesting potential focus for future research. •Our analysis of board gender diversity and business growth suggests that there is a business cost to gender balance in terms of foregone growth.

Board composition, ownership structure and dividend policies in an emerging market: further evidence from CASE 50

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine dividend policies in an emerging capital market, in a country undergoing a transitional period. Design/methodology/approach – Using pooled cross-sectional observations from the top 50 listed Egyptian firms between 2003 and 2005, this study examines the effect of board of directors’ composition and ownership structure on dividend policies in Egypt. Findings – It is found that there is a significant positive association between institutional ownership and firm performance, and both dividend decision and payout ratio. The results confirm that firms with a higher return on equity and a higher institutional ownership distribute higher levels of dividend. No significant association was found between board composition and dividend decisions or ratios. Originality/value – This study provides additional evidence of the applicability of the signalling model in the emerging market of Egypt. It was found that despite the high institutional ownership and the closely held nature of the firms, which imply lower agency costs, the payment of higher dividend was considered necessary to attract capital during this transitional period.

The impact of board independence and ownership structure on the timeliness of corporate internet reporting of Irish-listed companies

Purpose – This study seeks to provide valuable new insight into the timeliness of corporate internet reporting (TCIR) by a sample of Irish-listed companies. Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply an updated version of Abdelsalam et al. TCIR index to assess the timeliness of corporate internet reporting. The index encompasses 13 criteria that are used to measure the TCIR for a sample of Irish-listed companies. In addition, the authors assess the timeliness of posting companies’ annual and interim reports to their web sites. Furthermore, the study examines the influence of board independence and ownership structure on the TCIR behaviour. Board composition is measured by the percentage of independent directors, chairman’s dual role and average tenure of directors. Ownership structure is represented by managerial ownership and blockholder ownership. Findings – It is found that Irish-listed companies, on average, satisfy only 46 per cent of the timeliness criteria assessed by the timeliness index. After controlling for size, audit fees and firm performance, evidence that TCIR is positively associated with board of director’s independence and chief executive officer (CEO) ownership is provided. Furthermore, it is found that large companies are faster in posting their annual reports to their web sites. The findings suggest that board composition and ownership structure influence a firm’s TCIR behaviour, presumably in response to the information asymmetry between management and investors and the resulting agency costs. Practical implications – The findings highlight the need for improvement in TCIR by Irish-listed companies in many areas, especially in regard to the regular updates of information provided on their web sites. Originality/value – This study represents one of the first comprehensive examinations of the important dimension of the TCIR in Irish-listed companies.