Using lateritic gravel as all-in aggregate for concrete production

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (03) ◽  
pp. 305-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Ohene Asiedu
Keyword(s):  
Compressive Strength ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Structural Concrete ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Concrete Production ◽  
Alternative Sources ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Better Than

Purpose The quest to reduce the cost of concrete which is a major construction input has prompted investigations into assessing the suitability of alternative sources of conventional materials. This paper aims to report the compressive strength and workability of lateritic gravel used as all-in aggregate for concrete production. Design/methodology/approach Three prescribed mixes from all-in aggregate concrete were compared with concrete from lateritic gravel. The paper investigated the variation in strength of four different mixes – 100: 0, 90: 10, 80: 20 and 70: 30 – when portions of the lateritic gravel were replaced with pit sand, respectively, using varying water cement ratios to achieve optimal workability. Findings The density and compressive strength of each cube was measured on the 7th and 28th test dates. An increase in slump and compressive strength was observed in the lateritic concrete, as portions of the lateritic gravel were replaced with sand. However, the rate of increase in the compressive strength tended to decrease with increase in part replacement of lateritic gravel with sand indicating that there was a threshold of percentage of sand increase after which the compressive strengths are likely to decrease. This work never reached this threshold, but it is estimated to be about 40 per cent. Research limitations/implications Investigations focused on lateritic gravel sampled from two sites to represent samples from both the forest and savannah belt. Practical/implications Lateritic gravel can be used as all-in aggregate for non-structural concrete. Originality/value The compressive strengths achieved were better than those for the available normal all-in aggregate used.

scholarly journals Better than before: the resilient organization in crisis mode

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Epaminondas Koronis ◽  
Stavros Ponis
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Organizational Characteristics ◽  
Managerial Ability ◽  
Organizational Survival ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Better Than

Purpose The paper aims to adopt a strategic view of organizational survival and argue that preparedness, responsiveness, adaptability and learning abilities constitute organizational drivers of resilience and provide a new direction on crisis management. Design/methodology/approach As a conceptual and literature exploration, the methodological focus is to combine various concepts within a unified model for resilience. Findings The proposed conceptual model highlights the need for strategic reconfigurations toward the construction of a resilience culture and the development of a supporting social capital in organizations. It also portrays organizational survival and sustainability as being dependent on strategic characteristics rather than on the managerial ability to handle situations and manage crisis. Research limitations/implications In this paper, implications, methodological concerns in the study of resilience and further research directions have been presented. Practical implications The paper approaches a new way of thinking about crises and provides a set of cultural and organizational characteristics that would increase resilience and crisis management abilities. Originality/value While organizations are nowadays more than ever affected by disruptions and crises, their inherent ability and strategies to protect their sustainability have been undertheorized. This paper aims at contributing to a growing and fruitful discussion.

The effect of the valence of sponsorship information on consumers’ attitudes toward the sponsor brand

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Dick
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Condition ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Negative Condition ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Practical Recommendations ◽  
Better Than

Purpose To date, research on sponsorship considers the effects of only positive or only negative sponsorship information on consumers’ attitudes toward the sponsor brand. However, in practice, sometimes mixed information (positive and negative) is available that influences consumers’ sponsor evaluations. To mirror the information situation of the real world, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how the valence of sponsorship information (only positive vs mixed vs only negative) and the strength of sponsorship information (weak vs strong) influence the consumers’ attitudes toward the sponsor brand. Design/methodology/approach This research uses an experimental research design (n=210). Data were collected among students of a German university. Findings The results reveal that when the strength of information was weak, attitudes in the mixed information condition were not significantly worse than in the only positive condition and significantly better than in the only negative condition. In addition, when the strength of information was strong, attitudes in the mixed information condition were significantly worse than in the only positive condition and significantly better than in the only negative condition. Practical implications This study offers several practical recommendations regarding the sponsors’ evaluation of their investments and the decision to maintain or exit the sponsorship of a controversial object. Originality/value This study expands the research on the effects of available sponsorship information on consumers’ sponsor evaluation. The present research highlights the effects of different types of sponsorship information on consumers’ attitudes and considers the strength of information as a boundary condition of these effects.

The great divorce: the freeing of markets from communities and from moral constraint

Humanomics ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 186-198
Author(s):  
Kenneth W. Stikkers
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Social Economics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Classical Economics ◽  
Modern Capitalism ◽  
Extended Analysis ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Moral Constraint ◽  
Better Than

Purpose – This paper aims to explain how economics severed itself from the moral constraint of community and from ethics. Design/methodology/approach – The paper utilizes respected economic histories (e.g. Tawney, Polanyi, Heilbroner) and analyzes central theoretical texts of modern capitalism (e.g. Adam Smith). Findings – This paper concludes that the divorce of economics from community and ethics had historical causes, beginning with enclosure, and was then theoretically justified by the classical economics. Practical implications – The paper suggests that, if social economics wish to reconnect economics with ethics, they need first to understand and to contend with, better than they have, the enormity of the historical and theoretical forces that drove the two apart in the first place. Originality/value – While many social economists argue for the need to connect economics with ethics, few if any have offered an extended analysis of their divorce.

The three laws of business combinations: how to create value by remixing assets

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 18-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Gomes-Casseres
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Fundamental Unit ◽  
Business Combinations ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
The Right ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Share Value ◽  
Better Than

Purpose – The author defines and discusses the three laws of business combinations that are essential to a profitable use of resources. Design/methodology/approach – The author shows how applying these laws is necessary for success. Findings – All business combinations must have the potential to create joint value, must be governed to realize this value, and must share value in a way that provides a reward to each party’s investment Practical implications – In remix strategy, the fundamental unit of analysis is the combination of resources that yields value. That combination competes with other combinations. Some combinations will gain advantage over others because they encompass just the right resources; others will gain advantage because they manage their collective resources better than others do. Originality/value – The author’s insight is that instead seeing competition as a battle of firm vs. firm, practitioners need to understand how bundles of resources compete, regardless of whether they are organized as firms.

Corporate investment in social responsibility versus dividends?

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel T.J. Rakotomavo
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Corporate Investment ◽  
Cash Flows ◽  
Cost Of Equity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe paper aims to examine whether corporate investment in social responsibility takes away from expected dividends.Design/methodology/approachThe article builds two hypotheses that are tested empirically through the analysis of 17,670 US firm‐year observations covering the period 1991‐2007. The tests are conducted in both univariate and multivariate settings.FindingsThe evidence supports the hypothesis that mature firms tend to invest more in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Specifically, firms investing highly in CSR tend to be larger, more profitable, and with greater earned (rather than contributed) equity. The evidence also supports the hypothesis that CSR investment does not subtract from dividends. Instead, CSR effort and dividend tend to increase together. Thus, CSR investment tends to be effected by companies who can afford it, and it does not lower value by lowering investors' expected payout.Practical implicationsThese results imply that spending resources on CSR does not lower the cash flows paid out to investors. When combined with the finding that CSR lowers the cost of equity, they also mean that CSR increases the value of a company's stock.Originality/valueThis is the first study that explicitly links CSR to the dividend flow.

Cost-driven motives to relocate manufacturing abroad among small- and medium-sized manufacturers

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Stentoft ◽  
Kent Adsbøll Wickstrøm ◽  
Anders Haug ◽  
Kristian Philipsen
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Industry 4.0 ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of how Industry 4.0 related technologies affect the relocation of manufacturing abroad by small and medium-sized enterprises.Design/methodology/approachThis paper contains an empirical analysis of how Industry 4.0 related technologies affect the cost-driven relocation of manufacturing abroad based on 191 comprehensive and full responses to a questionnaire survey distributed in 2018 among small- and medium-sized Danish manufacturers.FindingsThis paper builds upon data, which reveals that companies' pursuit of cost-focused competitive strategies is positively correlated with relocating manufacturing abroad. However, the data also shows that the more Industry 4.0-ready decision-makers are, the less cost-focused strategy drives manufacturing abroad. Furthermore, perceived barriers to Industry 4.0 related technologies promote the cost-driven relocation of manufacturing abroad whereas perceived drivers decrease this phenomenon.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is based on the answers given by a single respondent from each company and only on Danish respondents.Practical implicationsThe results indicate a need to invest resources to obtain a better knowledge of Industry 4.0 related technologies when used in processes involved in decisions about where to locate manufacturing.Originality/valueThis paper contains new, empirically founded information about how Industry 4.0 related technologies affect the cost-driven relocation of manufacturing abroad from the perspective of small- and medium-sized manufacturers.

The modern Canadian restaurant: food for thought

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 442-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill J. Gregorash
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Food Service ◽  
Academic Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
Food Experience ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Better Than

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the key food experience factors that affect a consumer’s restaurant meal enjoyment. It considers the effects on the dining experience that come from enhancements in today’s restaurants and the advent of the foodie customer. The paper reviews the modern restaurant scene in Canada and how best practices have created non-events despite differentiation attempts among producers of hospitality experiences. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the literature regarding current practices in modern restaurants is reviewed, along with a discussion of the foodie consumer. Analysis draws on the theory that many transactions in hospitality are mundane and few offer meta-hospitality memorable moments. Findings With the expanding range of restaurant choice across Canada – serving better-than-ever food options in green environments in unique servicescapes – it would appear that these are the golden years of the food service industry. Yet the reality could be that consumers are walking away feeling that all gastronomic experiences are equally mundane. Practical implications An examination of the way we approach food service as entertainment and escape is called for. Examining hospitality trends is part of what makes the industry a source of fascination for consumers and researchers. Originality/value The author’s culinary background as a professional chef and his recent academic experience, including his doctoral research in a related topic, enriches the originality of this article.

Prevention is better than cure

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 36-38
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
East India Company ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Set Up ◽  
A Company ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Better Than

Purpose Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings When looking at human history, it is interesting to note that companies are a relatively recent phenomenon. They started appearing mostly in Japan in Medieval times, before growing more widely in the Middle Ages before becoming international with the likes of the East India Company and others that were set up with the agreement of the British Crown. Since their beginning, there has always been a strong theme attached to firms which has likened then to human bodies. People refer to the ‘heart’ of a company or its ‘soul’; firms are described as ‘ailing’ or ‘thriving’; even the word ‘corporation’ comes from the Latin word for body. It seems that in seeking to understand how firms work, we use anthropomorphic language to describe them. Practical implications Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/Value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

An assessment of OECD sustainable portfolios with a multi-criteria approach under uncertainty

Kybernetes ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klender Cortez Alejandro ◽  
Martha del Pilar Rodríguez García
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Fuzzy Regression ◽  
Portfolio Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Hybrid Methodology ◽  
Better Than

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the differences in financial performance portfolios between sustainable and non-sustainable firms through the use of portfolio theory and OptQuest algorithms from 2007 to 2013. Design/methodology/approach The sample consists of 1,078 firms from 15 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. A maximisation weighted ratio is estimated by applying OptQuest algorithms to measure the portfolio performance considering a fuzzy Jensen’s alpha and the percentage of the portfolio’s performance that exceeds the market. Findings The results show a similar financial performance in sustainable portfolios (SP) and non-SP, but considering the uncertainty, the performance in sustainable firms was better than that of non-sustainable ones. Uncertainty was reduced, as it passed the beginning of the crisis from 2008-2009 to 2012-2013. Research limitations/implications The main limitation is the different assessments of sustainability indexes in each of the countries. Practical implications The results help investors assess their decisions in an uncertain economic environment and allocate their investment in not only financial terms but also social character. Social implications Countries with higher financial performances in SP show the efficiency in their legal environmental regulations. On the other hand, the degree of uncertainty is lower in the SP than non-SP, suggesting that sustainable firms in financial crisis could be more responsible in social claims such as good working conditions. Originality/value This study contributes to existing research in two ways. First, the paper studies corporate social responsibility by different continents and countries in an uncertain economic timespan. For this, the legal, cultural and socioeconomic divergences and convergences were explored. Second, the research presented an analysis of the financial performance differences between sustainable and non-SP by applying a hybrid methodology with fuzzy regression and OptQuest algorithms.

Sydney Finkelstein: what makes a “superboss” super?

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 9-15
Author(s):  
Brian Leavy
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Harvard Business Review ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Know How ◽  
Talent Pool ◽  
Or Team ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Better Than

Purpose Strategy and leadership guru, Sydney Finkelstein believes that “regenerating the talent pool is the single most important thing that any leader can do” to help his or her organization to “survive and prosper.” His new book, Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent (Harvard Business Review Press, 2016), studies “those few individuals” in any given industry who “grow human capital better than anyone else.” Design/methodology/approach Strategy & Leadership contributing editor Brian Leavy asks Prof. Finkelstein what can managers learn from these exceptional talent developers that might be more widely emulated? Findings According to Prof. Finkelstein, “The superboss playbook is not about being nice or empathic. It’s about giving proteges the motivation, guidance, wisdom, creative licence, and other elements they need to learn and grow” Practical implications Prof. Finkelstein notes, “While many businesses today focus on getting closer to the customer, superbosses are very much focused on getting closer to their employees or team members.” Originality/value Prof. Finkelstein asserts, “Superbosses have cracked the code on how to make organizations work better by designing a playbook that helps people accomplish more than they ever thought possible in their careers, or their lives. By studying the superbosses and what they do, we now know how genuinely unusual talent comes to populate an organization.?

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