A cross cultural comparison of the contents of codes of ethics: USA, Canada and Australia

This paper examines the contents of the codes of ethics of 83 of the top 500 companies operating in the private sector in Australia in an attempt to discover whether there are national characteristics that differentiate the codes used by companies operating in Australia from codes used by companies operating in the American and Canadian systems. The studies that were used as a comparison were Mathews (1987) for the United States of America and Lefebvre and Singh (1992) for Canada. The major conclusion is that, whilst Australian codes do have some characteristics that differentiate them from the other two groups, it appears that companies in all three cultures are driven by the same motives to develop codes.

Embedded markets, communities, and the invisible hand of social norms

The authors'ethnographic work on social norms is intended to unravel the noninstrumental core of embedded markets. In offering a theory of “the invisible hand of social norms,” the authors show that consumer and seller behavior have expressive, moral, and emotional underpinnings that cannot be understood without a broader conceptualization of human motives and actions. This ethnography provides a rich understanding of the role of community and the behavioral dimensions of markets, which in turn helps deconstruct the current axiomatic treatment of transaction-centric markets and to reconstruct the market as a socially embedded institution in which community ties are formed and sustained.

Status, caste, and market in a changing Indian village

When social and economic conditions change dramatically, status hierarchies in place for hundreds of years can crumble as marketization destabilizes once rigid boundaries. This study examines such changes in symbolic power through an ethnographic study of a village in North India. Marketization and accompanying privatization do not create an independent sphere where only money matters, but due to a mix of new socioeconomic motives, they produce new social obligations, contests, and solidarities. These findings call into question the emphasis in consumer research on top-down class emulation as an essential characteristic of status hierarchies. This study offers insights into sharing as a means of enacting and reshaping symbolic power within a status hierarchy. A new order based on markets and consumption is disrupting the old order based on caste. As the old moral order dissolves, so do the old status hierarchies, obligations, dispositions, and norms of sharing that held the village together for centuries. In the microcosm of these gains and losses, we may see something of the broader social and economic changes taking place throughout India and other industrializing countries.

Co-ingestion of energy drinks with alcohol and other substances among a sample of people who regularly use ecstasy

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Despite the potential harms of mixing unregulated drugs with energy drinks (ED), research to date has primarily been focused on EDs co-ingested with alcohol. Consequently, the aim of the present study was to explore the rate of use, harms and correlates of EDs co-ingested with alcohol and other drugs among a sample of people who regularly use illicit stimulant drugs. DESIGN AND METHODS: In 2010, 693 Australians who regularly used ecstasy completed a 1-h interview about their past six-month ED and drug use. RESULTS: Three-quarters of the sample (77%) had recently consumed EDs with other substances, primarily alcohol (70%) and ecstasy (57%). People who consumed ED with alcohol versus those who had consumed ED with ecstasy and with alcohol (only 8% reported only consuming ED with ecstasy) had similar profiles in regards to demographics, drug use, mental health and drug-related problems. Primary motives for consuming ED with alcohol included increased alertness (59%), the taste (25%), to party for longer (23%) and to combat fatigue (16%). One-half (52%) and one-quarter (27%) of participants who consumed EDs with alcohol and with ecstasy respectively had recently experienced adverse outcomes post-consumption, primarily headaches (24% and 11%) and heart palpitations (21% and 14%). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Co-ingestion of EDs with licit and illicit drugs is common among people who regularly use ecstasy and related drugs. Adverse outcomes of co-ingestion suggest that targeted education regarding negative interactive drug effects is crucial for harm reduction. [Peacock A, Sindicich N, Dunn M, Whittaker E, Sutherland R, Entwistle G, Burns L, Bruno R. Co-Ingestion of Energy Drinks with Alcohol and Other Substances among a Sample of People Who Regularly Use Ecstasy. Drug Alcohol Rev 2015].

A model of pilgrimage tourism: process, interface, people and sequence

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the elements of the main process of pilgrimage tourism (PT), occurring between pilgrims, hikers and tourists along a trail towards a holy site. PT is defined as a process consisting of three sub-processes over time and across contexts: pre-process, main process and post-process. Design/methodology/approach – Explores the core reasons for PT through active participation and observation. Findings – This study reveals different layers, levels, views, approaches and perspectives involved in people-based processes. The study attempts to conceptualize the elements involved between people committed and dedicated to PT. Research limitations/implications – The introduced model of PT stresses the processes and interfaces involved over time and across contexts between people, with the same or different sequences. There is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous research that explores and describes the processes and interaction between pilgrims, hikers and tourists. Practical implications – The ultimate experience at an individual level differs, depending upon the outcome of the PT-elements of the model of PT (i.e. processes, interfaces, people and sequences). Social implications – From a social science perspective, the research examines the motives of different traveller types and looks at their different perspectives of being involved with the same physical activity of travel. The study emphasises that we can be involved in the same physical activity, but embrace it with different levels of personal and emotional engagement. Originality/value – A conceptualized model of PT containing four elements (process, interface, people and sequence) – all of which offer a foundation for structuring and assessing empirical research, and provide additional insights and knowledge into the dynamics and complexity involved specifically in a people-based process consisting of interfaces and sequences when travelling.

Green marketing strategies

This chapter presents the fundamentals of “green” marketing by drawing on traditional marketing theory as well as researchfocused on green marketing context. It discusses five critical areas in green marketing. The first critical area stems from green marketingtheory and practice that examines the logic for reducing the environmental impact of value creation and exchange. The second criticalarea highlights green marketing strategy that focuses on achieving organizational goals in ways that can reduce or eliminate negativeimpacts on the natural environment. The third critical area examines the green marketing mix that accounts for green products, greendistribution, green pricing, and green promotion. By using traditional marketing concepts, the chapter identifies how the entiremarketing mix elements should consistently provide a complete green product offering. Green products and processes need to beresearched, designed, and manufactured to include environmentally safe ingredients and components. Products need to be strategicallypriced to reflect their green values, distributed in the green chain channels and displayed effectively to highlight their status, and accuratelycommunicated to consumers and stakeholders. The fourth critical area illustrates governance and control. It shows how theholistic transformation toward greening the organization requires organizational culture change to gain support within and outside thefirm to ensure environmental issues are appropriately considered. These can be assessed by using existing management mechanisms,such as environmental management systems and/or triple bottom line management, which ensure best practice and continuousimprovements to occur. Lastly, the chapter discusses the future of green marketing and the direction that businesses need to take if theyseek to be sustainable.

A preliminary survey of factors affecting software testers

Most software testing research has focused on the development of systematic, standardised, and automated testing methodologies and tools. The abilities and expertise needed to apply such techniques and tools - such as personality traits, education, and experience - have attracted a comparatively small amount of research attention. However, the limited research in the area to date provides some indication that the human traits of software testers are important for effective testing. This paper presents the opinions of software testers themselves, collected through an online survey, on the importance of a variety of factors that influence effective testing, including testing-specific training, experience, skills, and human qualities like dedication and general intelligence. The survey responses strongly suggest that while testing tools and training are important, human factors were similarly considered highly important. Domain knowledge, experience, intelligence, and dedication, amongst other traits, were considered crucial for a software tester to be effective. As such, while systematic methodologies are important, the individual most clearly does matter in software testing. The results of our research have implications for education, recruitment, training and management of software testers.

Rethinking creativity: three case studies of the social processes of creativity

Creativity and innovation are often seen as being important in terms of organisations, not only dealing with large amounts of change, but also being able to flourish in uncertain times. Yet, despite large amounts of creativity research, it continues to be a contested subject and fragmented field which leaves researchers without clear direction. Thus the approach to studying creativity needs to be rethought in order to develop new insights into the phenomenon. This research contributes to the debate on creativity by developing concepts around how creativity unfolds within a specific social context. It does this by approaching the study of creativity from a critical perspective and conducting a series of case studies into creativity in organisations. This research finds that, while the production of an artefact is a prerequisite, creativity is not an enduring feature of a given artefact. Rather, creativity exists when an artefact is labelled creative within a particular social system. In addition, as part of the interpretive research process, aspects of identity work emerged. Exploration of creativity as part of the process of identity work provides novel insight into creativity and a conceptual map which may be utilized as part of ongoing research into creativity. This research makes a significant contribution to the understanding of creativity by unpacking the processes of creativity, in three diverse organisational settings, and showing how creativity may be conceptualised as a contextually bound, socially constructed label which is underpinned by identity related motives.

Antecipação do movimento do preço da commodity aço em contratos a preço firme no mercado de engenharia industrial no Brasil

Nesta Tese foram apresentadas algumas alternativas de antecipação do preço futuro do aço a partir do emprego de modelos econométricos. Estes modelos foram definidos em função da análise do comportamento, no longo prazo, entre as séries de preços do aço no Brasil vis-à-vis seus respectivos preços no exterior. A verificação deste comportamento de longo prazo foi realizada através do teste de cointegração. A partir da constatação da não cointegração dessas séries, foram definidos dois modelos, cujas previsões, para diversos períodos, foram aqui apresentadas. Foi feita uma análise comparativa, onde foram identificados o melhor modelo e para quais temporalidades de previsão são melhor empregados. Como foi aqui comprovado, o aço é um insumo primordial nos empreendimentos industriais. Considerando que, atualmente, os preços são demandados de forma firme, ou seja, sem possibilidade de alteração, faz-se necessária a identificação de mecanismos de antecipação dos movimentos futuros desta commodity, de modo que se possa considerá-los na definição do preço ofertado, reduzindo assim perdas por suas flutuações inesperadas.

Isomorfismo e cerimonialismo em gestão empresarial: pesquisa empírica sobre a difusão de certificações ISO-9000 no Brasil

Esta pesquisa analisa a difusão das certificações ISO-9000 no Brasil sob o prisma da teoria neo-institucional e de referências sobre modismos gerenciais nas organizações. A premissa é de que muitas dessas decisões de certificação - que se tornou muito popular nas empresas brasileiras desde 1990 - só podem ser entendidas plenamente à luz de sua natureza modal e institucionalizada, e que muitas desses processos podem refletir adoções cerimoniais (isto é "para inglês ver"). Através de questionários aplicados em empresas que buscaram a certificação ISO no Brasil, o estudo procura entender melhor fatores ligados à tomada de decisão sobre a adoção, à estratégia de implantação, aos resultados percebidos e aos mecanismos de justificação dos programas.

Competitividade de indústrias e a certificação ambiental

A conformidade com padrões de certificação ambiental, especialmente da série ISO 14000 (em formulação), deverá trazer impactos de diversos tipos sobre a competitividade das empresas industriais. Este projeto visa analisar tais impactos através de indicadores de desempenho, como custo de produção, penetração de mercado, alteração de processos e de produtos, entre outros. O projeto objetiva também analisar os ganhos de competitividade que podem ser obtidos por empresas industriais que se anteciparem às normas, adotando um sistema próprio de gestão ambiental.

Explorando o potencial de uso do 'made in...' no Brasil

Este relatório, sob as óticas de Estratégia Empresarial e de Marketing, apresenta os conceitos essenciais de certificação de origem. Foram relatadas as experiências de certificação emblemática da champagne (França) e das carnes ovinas da Patagônia (Argentina). O estudo foi conduzido por meio de um estudo exploratório junto a 20 profissionais de restaurantes e estabelecimentos similares, em São Paulo, no final do ano de 1999. Os resultados permitiram concluir que, embora apresente relativa escassez de estudos associados à certificação de origem, o Brasil possui vários produtos e serviços com potencial para desenvolvimento de trabalhos dessa natureza.

A educação à distância e suas implicações no ensino superior

This research was as principal interest to verify the motives the prominence of crescent outstanding of distance education in brazilian higher education. To make real the study were used the bibliographical and field researches. The bibliographical informations permitted to conclude that the total success of distance education in Brazil strikes against two obstacles: the digital exclusion and illiteracy. These, in turn, have created another problem called today digital illiteracy. Although there are those limitations, by the data about distance education in the country, it is patent that this modality of education is gaining more and more space in brazilian educational process. It has to detach that the greatest concentration of distance courses accredited in Brazil occurs in higher education. Today, distance courses at this level in the country are authorized in sequential, graduation, specialization, master and doctorate areas. The field research led to confirm practically all suppositions about the increase of distance education in higher education, proposed in anticipation. The flexibility that makes possible the transmission of knowledge at any place and time and the new technologies, chiefly the Internet, were the factors that more impelled the increase of distance education in brazilian higher teaching. Meanwhile, the quality improving of the courses was the less significative in respect to the growth of distance education it the higher level in Brazil. But, this fact does not signify that the distance higher courses have not quality. On the contrary, the courses are ministered by professionals of confirmed competence. What can still legitimize the presence of quality in distance higher teaching is its exponential growth in the country. Moreover, the importance attributed to the pedagogical project well planned in distance higher courses demonstrates the interest by excellence in the distance learning. Certainly, when a pedagogical project is well delineated, at any level of distance teaching, the trend of quality is perfect itself.

A prática da mentoria no desenvolvimento de pessoas nas organizações

This study aimed to answer the question: what justifies the practice of mentoring and how it relates to the learning of technical abilities and interpersonal? To answer this question, we use literature research, and the field, through the implementation of an open questionnaire. The literature search allowed us to identify the mentoring as a process in which the mentor invests their time providing a technical support and personnel, acting as adviser of mentored, and this process leads to the development of people. Moreover, starting from the assumption that mentoring can be identified as a process to support individual learning. The results of the field research pointed the positive influence that process for people in organizations. Given the advantages pointed out by respondents of the questionnaire, identified the motives for this practice. Moreover, the respondents affirmed that the mentoring can be considered a resource of learning of technical abilities and interpersonal.

O Sistema de Comunicação Digital (SICODI) como instrumento para efetivação do teletrabalho na fiscalização a cargo do Tribunal de Contas do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

The acts of public administration personnel are of great importance and various laws have been passed in attempt to limit the related expenses. The management of Public administration personnel is based on the principle of efficiency. The TCE/RJ (State of Rio de Janeiro/Audit Court) digital communication system is expected through telework to facilitate its auditing duties in compliance with the terms of the Federal and State constitutions. The TCE/RJ, the superior judicial body of auditing, has done more than just reduce costs and use flextime; it applies telework as an instrument to optimize public service through SICODI digital certification to maximize the resources applied to this constitutional act with greater efficiency for effective auditing. The focus of the first part of this study is to evaluate the tasks of positions that forward the TCE/RJ objectives and the profile characteristics of employees of the inspection area on personnel performance beginning with defined concepts and purposes. Questionnaires for auditors and technicians of the area were approved for this specific purpose to analyze the duties of positions and employee profiles. The second part of this study evaluates the TCE/RJ digital communication system according to theoretical reference and ISO/IEC Standard No. 9126-1, observing three dimensions: the content, usability and functionality. The results obtained, with the use of qualitative methods complemented by quantitative analysis, were positive for the implementation of telework in the inspection of personnel performance in relation to the analysts and technicians involved in this type of auditing as well as in relation to the TCE/RJ digital communication system.