Management consultancy’s role in delivering lasting [triple bottom line] benefits

Abstract

Management consultants have become ubiquitous in helping improve organizational performance. This paper presents an investigation of the impact of their interventions on organizational sustainability and growth through the performance improvement work carried out for and with their clients. The paper presents the findings of a questionnaire survey of 440 respondents from 206 countries; 197 of respondents were Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and 243 from large organizations. There is a particular focus on knowledge transfer in terms of urgency and impact of the work with regard to the extent to which consulting interventions in SMEs, as well as large multinational corporations, embed long-term sustainability practices.     

Understanding the emergence of redistributed manufacturing: an ambidexterity perspective

Abstract

This paper extends operations strategy theory on efficiency and flexibility trade-offs to the emergent phenomenon of redistributed manufacturing (RDM). The study adopts a multiple-case design including five small and five large pharmaceutical firms. We propose that organizations can gain the efficiency benefits of centralized manufacturing and the flexibility advantages of RDM by building an ambidexterity capability. To build such a capability, large firms can structurally partition their manufacturing and supply management functions, with one sub-unit managing centralized production and the other RDM. Smaller enterprises can build an ambidexterity capability by creating the right organizational context, where multi-skilled workers switch between efficient and flexible tasks. This paper contributes to theory by explaining the emergence of RDM using an organizational ambidexterity lens, laying the groundwork for new theory development in the field. We provide managers with a practical example of how to build an ambidexterity capability to realize flexibility and efficiency advantages.     

Bayesian robustness for multiparameter problems

Bayesian robustness is studied for ε-contamination classes of prior distributions. Nonparametric classes of contsminations such as the class of all unimodal spherically symmetric densities are considered here. Posterior φ-divergence and its curvature are used to measure the sensitivity of priors on the resulting posterior densities. Examples are provided to illustrate our results.     

对推进贵阳市建设循环经济型生态城市的思考

贵阳市政府作出将贵阳市建成全国首个循环经济生态城市的重大决定,把贵阳市带入一个崭新的发展阶段。贵阳市建设循环经济型生态城市既有优势也有劣势,而政府的积极倡导和扶助,相应法律、法规的建立,投资政策和项目的选择等都是应予关注的问题。     

Optimal estimation of a finite population mean under generalized random permutation models

Employing certain generalized random permutation models and a general class of linear estimators of a finite population mean, it is shown that many of the conventional estimators are “optimal” in the sense of minimum average mean square error. Simple proofs are provided by using a well-known theorem on UMV estimation. The results also cover certain simple response error situations.     

The Impact of the Therapist's Curiosity on the Treatment Process of Children and Adolescents

Therapists bring their own initiative, interest, and wonder—their professional curiosity—into treatment sessions. Some children and adolescents pull away in reaction to this curiosity, bristling or withdrawing, if only for a moment. This can happen abruptly, even in response to the first hello, but most often it occurs subtly, over the course of treatment. These children and adolescents may be replaying the ruptures in relationships they experienced when they have expressed their own initiative and curiosity to important others in their lives. Therapists need to utilize opportunities to understand the dynamics, explore where the original ruptures may have occurred, and bring the experience into therapeutic focus. Case vignettes illustrate these dynamics.     

以设计为主线、三维为核心的工程图学教学改革--现代工程设计图形学(MEDG)教学研究与实践

工程设计现在已发展到全数字化阶段,能使设计、制造一体化过程得以实现的核心是三维几何模型,二维投影图已不是这一过程所必需的文件.因此,在总结和继承原教改成功经验的基础上,我们对传统的工程图学课程进行改革,突出"三维"和"设计"两个重点,形成了现代工程设计图形学(MEDG)课程体系.     

3DMAX软件的虚拟现实技术的应用

本文介绍了虚拟现实技术的相关概念与3DMAX软件的简介,探讨在实践设计表现中运用3DMAX软件制作虚拟现实场景的方法和步骤。     

Does trust increase willingness to pay higher taxes to help the needy?

The article studies the causal effect of trust on the willingness to pay higher taxes to help the needy in a sample of 29 countries of Eastern and Southern Europe, and the former Soviet Union and Mongolia. It is hypothesized that interpersonal trust leads to a greater willingness to pay taxes to help the needy since (i) trust increases the likelihood of helping strangers; (ii) trust fosters solidarity and cooperation when working to solve common problems in society; and (iii) trust reduces suspicion with respect to the perceived misuse of redistributed money. Three key findings are that the more people trust each other, the more they are ready to support the welfare state; the effect of trust on welfare state support holds even in a contextual environment characterized by rather lower levels of trust and relatively underdeveloped systems of redistribution; and higher individual‐level trust fosters tax morale and helps deter tax evasion.     

3G“杀手级”业务的产生和培育

3G时代的到来无疑为电信市场的发展带来了机遇和挑战，到底怎样的电信业务能在新时代中脱颖而出，成为业内人士心驰神往的“杀手级”业务，的确是个耐人寻味的问题。在对“杀手级”业务所应具备的基本条件作探讨的同时，对“杀手级”业务的培育策略进行了分析，认为“杀手级”业务本不存在，它的形成是市场多方因素共同努力的结果。