Water stewardship and corporate sustainability: a case study of reputation management in the food and drinks industry

The aim of this paper is to provide an exploratory review of the extent to which some of the leading companies in the food and drinks industry are publicly addressing water stewardship as part of their corporate sustainability strategies. The paper begins with an introductory outline of the growing importance of water stewardship and a brief discussion of corporate sustainability. The paper draws its empirical material from the most recent information on water stewardship posted by the leading companies in the food and drinks industry's corporate websites. The findings reveal that the vast majority of the selected companies address a number of elements concerning water stewardship as part of their more general approach to corporate sustainability. However, corporate commitments to water stewardship can be interpreted as being driven as much by business imperatives as by any specific concerns for environmental sustainability or a genuine desire to maintain the viability and integrity of natural ecosystems. More critically, the authors suggest that the selected companies' commitments to water stewardship are framed within existing business models focused on technological improvements in eco‐efficiency and continuing economic growth. The paper provides an accessible review of the water stewardship issues being pursued by the leading players in the food and drinks industry, and as such, it will interest academics, students, political commentators and business managers interested in water stewardship and corporate sustainability. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Some issues concerning women in senior management: a case study from Ghana

This article considers issues concerning women's managerial careers in the Ghanaian Civil Service, which have emerged from an analysis of data collected in Accra as part of a Government of Ghana project supported by the United Kingdom Department for International Development. This examined the position and status of Women in Public Life in Ghana and was known as the WIPL project. Within this project, information was collected from women civil servants, and it is this which is presented here. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of downsizing on the corporate reputation for social performance

This paper investigates the impact of downsizing on a firm's reputation for corporate social performance (RCSP). Drawing on the downsizing, corporate reputation and social responsibility literatures, a number of hypotheses concerning the impact of downsizing, and particularly the types of downsizing, on a firm's reputation for corporate social performance are developed and empirically tested. The main findings of this study are that, while downsizing seems to have a negative impact on the firm's RCSP, when one takes into account the kind of managerial action that led to downsizing (layoffs and/or divestitures), this impact differs between the two stakeholder groups, industry executives and financial analysts, which were investigated. This study also found that a high financial performance prior to downsizing led to a greater negative impact on the firm's RCSP. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications     

Exploring the relationship between performance management and program impact: A case study of the job training partnership act

Programs that involve multiple levels of government may suffer from a principal‐agent problem: Lower levels of government may wish to pursue different objectives than the higher level of government that provides funding. One strategy for dealing with this problem is to establish a performance management system where units operating the program are accountable for meeting performance standards and are rewarded or sanctioned depending on how well they perform. Title II‐A of the Job Training Partnership Act provides training for economically disadvantaged adults and has operated under a performance management system since 1983 when the program was established. The federal government's goal for the program is to maximize impact on the employment and earnings of participants, but because control groups are not available for the 640 local programs, proxy measures of performance must be used. In this paper, data from an experiment in 16 sites are used to determine how closely measured performance corresponds to program impact. It is concluded that there is only a weak correspondence between the two measures and that the Department of Labor should avoid making significant rewards or sanctions based on the current performance management system. © 2000 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

The impact of human resource practices on employee engagement in the airline industry

The impact of recruitment and training on employees increases psychological state, commitment, and employee attachment to the organization. Several researchers have continuously, for several decades, investigated the effect of recruitment and selection and the robust impact on employees; nevertheless, the effect of human resources practices on both the employees' satisfaction and retention as parameters of the organization performance cannot be overemphasized. Drawing from Social Exchange Theory (SET), the study identifies the significance of human resource practices (selecting and recruitment, training, and development) on employees. 277 questionnaires were collected from six private airline employees in Jordan. The hypotheses, validity, and reliability were tested through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings indicate that proper selecting and recruitment and training have a significant impact on organization. Also, Employee Engagement (EE) plays a mediating role on model variables. The study further indicates that employee engagement partially mediates the relationship between variables. Cross‐sectional data collection was employed; therefore, generalizing the findings should be done with caution. This study is of importance to human resources managers and policymakers to understand the significant impact of HR practices, attracting effective and efficient employees.     

Planning democracy in Africa: A comparative perspective on Nigeria and Ghana

Ghana and Nigeria are in the midst of government-initiated democratization programs. This paper compares the different settings, reasons, strategies, procedures, and implementation of democratization efforts in these two countries. While Nigeria's comprehensive approach to democratic planning has enabled elite continuity, it has neither assured regime stability nor enhanced state capacities. In contrast, Ghana's plan for democratic transformation, pursued in a piecemeal fashion, has resulted in regime stability and some state consolidation, but not in democratization. In both countries, there is little doubt that the unintended consequences of each approach may prove more significant than the direct results of successful policy implementation. Thus, even if the specific design for democracy may fail, the democratic project in these West African states may nevertheless be progressing.     

Public Sector Change,Organisational Culture and Financial Information: A Study of Local Government

Local government has undergone substantial change in Victoria, but the reforms have not necessarily resulted in improved financial management practices. This article examines the organisational culture of a sample of local governments, the critical events which have impacted on them, and their use of accounting, budgetary and financial (ABF) information. We find that despite the change process, organisational culture is not focused on competitive practices, although compulsory competitive tendering remains the most influential event. Consistent with the aims of reform, the quality and use of ABF information has improved over the last decade. This article will be of interest to those in government wishing to implement change programs aimed at increasing financial resource use efficiency.     

Influence of eco-product innovation and firm reputation on corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage: A mediation-moderation analysis

Eco-product innovation is a response to environmental legislation and social responsibility movements. Established agricultural manufacturers must figure out how to use green ideas and reputation to compete for business excellence. This study adopted a knowledge-based approach to examine corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage. This study also examined how eco-product innovation and reputation affect firms' competitive advantage. The proposed model was tested on 427 Nigerian agro-allied manufacturers using causal pathways and structural equation modeling. Business competition is directly and indirectly affected by corporate social responsibility, eco-product innovations, and firm reputation. Additionally, eco-product innovation partially mediated the nexus between corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage, while reputation moderated the influence of eco-product innovation. The findings suggest that manufacturers pursuing green initiatives should strive to participate in an eco-friendly competition and deal with policy pressures in order to meet environmental standards. Overall, this study adds the environment and business competition to the idea of innovation.     

Parental schooling choice: A case study of minnesota

Public support of nonpublic elementary and secondary education has become one of the most controversial issues in American educational policy, with tuition tax credits and deductions subjects of ongoing debate at both the state and federal level. This article presents the results of one of the first empirical investigations of how a tax subsidy for tuition costs actually influences parents' school choices using data from Minnesota, the first state to have a tuition subsidy pass judicial review at all levels. It should be uyseful to policy makers, researchers, adn practitioners who are concerned with how parents make schooling decisions on behalf of their children, and how tax subsidies for educational expenses might affect those choices.     

Employee engagement and task performance in state‐owned enterprises in developing countries: The case study of the power sector in Ghana

A growing number of studies prove a relationship between employee engagement (EE) and performance. Unfortunately, almost all originate in the developed world; the few that look at developing countries, including their public sectors, have focused more on the civil service and agencies, and neglect state‐owned enterprises (SOEs), despite their importance for delivery of public services. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of EE on task performance in SOEs in developing countries, with particular reference to Ghana. We purposively selected SOEs in the power sector and quantitatively surveyed their employees. We employed regression analysis to examine the link between EE and employee task performance. Our study, like those before it, shows that EE has a positive and significant effect on employee task performance. Our findings further suggest that for SOEs to achieve their targets with employees' performance, appropriate strategies should be adopted to ensure that employees are highly engaged.     

The impact of sunset review: A study of real estate licensing

This paper focuses on the impact that state sunset review has had on the real estate occupation's ability to restrict entry through the imposition of licensing requirements. The results presented indicate that the 1983 rejection rate for real estate brokers and salespersons was lower in states undergoing sunset review of real estate than in those states not undergoing such a review. Sunset appears to have the power to effect changes in the licensing behavior of the occupation considered in this analysis.     

Organisational Continuity and Electoral Endurance: The Communist Party of Cyprus

Many scholars have identified stateless nationalist and regionalist parties (SNRPs) as ardent supporters of Europe. This support has been explained as a result of positive developments in supranational integration that convinced these actors that Europe could facilitate the achievement of their territorial demands. Other work, however, leads to an expectation that SNRPs that mobilise within island regions that are geographically distant from the European centre of power (Brussels) will adopt more Eurosceptic positions. This article aims to test these competing hypotheses about the positioning of SNRPs on Europe. It does so by examining the attitudes of SNRPs in two island regions in the Mediterranean: Corsica and Sardinia. The findings suggest that SNRPs in both places cannot be adequately categorised as either Europhile or Eurosceptic. The article examines the role of several context- and actor-specific factors in shaping the complex positioning of island nationalists in Corsica and Sardinia on the issue of Europe.     

Brownfield redevelopment and affordable housing: A case study of New Jersey

Abstract

A total of 779 New Jersey residents were surveyed to determine the number of people who during the next five years would be willing to move to housing built on brownfield sites that have been remediated to the extent that they pose no plausible brownfield‐related health risk to residents.

Fourteen percent of the respondents said they would be willing to move to and live in housing built on cleaned‐up brownfields. These respondents were disproportionately relatively poor and young and resided in apartments and cities, especially cities where the city government was actively promoting brownfields. These respondents also did not like their current neighborhoods, did not feel threatened by the idea of living on a cleaned‐up brownfield site, and trusted experts to advise them on the health risks involved.     

Regulation and voluntarism: A case study of governance in the making

In this article I analyze a multi‐stakeholder process of environmental regulation. By grounding the article in the literature on regulatory capitalism and governance, I follow the career of a specific legislative process: the enactment of Israel's Deposit Law on Beverage Containers, which aims to delegate the responsibility for recycling to industry. I show that one crucial result of this process was the creation of a non‐profit entity licensed to act as a compliance mechanism. This new entity enabled industry to distance itself from the responsibility of recycling, and thereby frustrated the original objective of the legislation, which was to implement the principle of “extended producer responsibility.” Furthermore, this entity, owned by commercial companies and yet acting as an environmentally friendly organization, allowed industry to promote an anti‐regulatory agenda via a “civic voice.” The study moves methodologically from considering governance as an institutional structure to analyzing the process of “governancing,” through which authoritative capacities and legal responsibilities are distributed among state and non‐state actors. Two key findings are that this process and its outcome (i) are premised on an ideology of civic voluntarism, which ultimately delegates environmental responsibilities to citizens; and (ii) facilitate an anti‐regulatory climate that serves commercial interests.     

Incentives,challenges, and dilemmas of TANF: A case study

This paper compares the incentives inherent in TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), the U.S. welfare system in place after the 1996 reforms, with those of TANF's predecessor, AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), using the experience in one state, Wisconsin, as an example. Is the new program successful in avoiding the “poverty trap” of the old welfare system, in which the marginal tax rates imposed on earnings and benefits were so high that they discouraged work effort outside a narrow earnings range? As women receiving assistance begin working more hours and earning more, income‐conditioned benefits (Food Stamps, EITC, Medicaid, and subsidies for child care) are reduced and withdrawn, in effect constituting a “tax” on earnings. Under TANF, there is more support for these families, at least in Wisconsin, and so economic well‐being should be higher for most women with earning in this range than it was under AFDC. But marginal tax rates under TANF remain high, and in some income ranges they are higher than under AFDC. Once in the work force, former TANF recipients have earnings over the long run that expose them to very high marginal tax rates, which decrease the benefits of working harder and make it very difficult to gain full eonomic independence. Evidence from other sources suggest that most low‐skilled women have earnings in the same range and so are likely to face similar reductions in benefits such as child care subsidies or the EITC as their earnings increase, even if they are not receiving welfare‐related benefits. © 2002 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Managing the fight against corruption: A case study

Corruption is one of the foremost problems facing policy-makers and managers in developing countries, but it is a remarkably difficult one to study. This case study—an actual episode that has been disguised to preserve confidentiality—provides a vehicle for illustrating both the application of analytical tools to corruption and the importance of practical issues of implementation and politics. The case suggests that anti-corruption policies should carefully assess (1) the relative severity of various kinds of illicit activities, including who gains and loses; (2) the relative susceptibility of the various activities to feasible changes in policies and procedures; and (3) the strategic importance of politics, in the narrow sense of bureaucratic politics as well as the wider political realities.     

Spatial voting in non-partisan cities: A case study

In spatial voting theory, voters choose the candidate whose policy preferences are most like their own. This requires that (a) voters and candidates have policy preferences that can be meaningfully summarized in terms of low-dimensional “ideal points” on a left-right scale; (b) voters are able to discern, either directly or through relevant cues, the ideal points of the candidates who are running for office; and (c) voters incorporate this information into the choices they make at the ballot box. Perhaps more than in any other elections, it is not clear that any of these requirements are met in non-partisan municipal elections: policy preferences may not be ideologically structured, information may be inadequate, and voters may choose candidates for reasons other than ideology. This makes non-partisan municipal elections an especially hard test for spatial voting theory. Using novel data from both municipal candidates and eligible voters in a major non-partisan municipal election in Canada, we show that municipal policy attitudes are ideologically structured and that these municipal policy ideal points are strongly related to mayoral and council vote choice. Thus, despite the institutional and informational obstacles, spatial voting can play an important role in non-partisan municipal elections.     

Flying high: A case study of Japanese industrial policy

Japan's policies with respect to industry promotion consist of much more than picking winners and subsidizing them to ensure their success. The highly flexible and adaptive character of Japan's policies is illustrated by the country's efforts to enter the world aerospace industry, an industry in which Japan is handicapped by the absence of a substantial domestic market. To meet the challenge, Japan has concentrated its efforts on altering the very structure of the world market in which it hopes to compete. Japan has participated systematically in international consortia, hoping to use such consortia as a conduit for acquiring access for foreign technology and foreign markets.