Ethical shopping in late Victorian and Edwardian Britain

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Activism ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
Consumer Movement ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Comprehensive Survey ◽  
Christian Social Union ◽  
Ethical Shopping

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the significance and limitations of ethical shopping in Britain in the period between the 1880s and 1914 and, in particular, the use of white lists as a means of encouraging consumers only to buy goods produced in satisfactory working conditions. Design/methodology/approach – A brief survey of earlier examples of ethical shopping provides the context for a discussion of the published prospectus of the “Consumers” League’. Unpublished records of the Christian Social Union (CSU), supplemented by newspaper reports, are used to examine the rationale for white lists, their creation and effectiveness. Findings – The paper demonstrates that, contrary to what has generally been thought, consumers’ leagues originated in Britain not the USA. The CSU was not ineffective but provided an ethical and religious rationale for consumer activism. It was also responsible for the creation of white lists in several towns and cities in Britain and promoted the concept of preferential buying. CSU activity helped shape public opinion, but sustained improvements to working conditions also required effective trade unions and government intervention. Research limitations/implications – Relatively few CSU branch records survive and this precludes a comprehensive survey of its role in ethical shopping. Originality/value – The British consumer movement in this period has been little studied and often dismissed. By making use of archives, particularly CSU branch records, that have generally been ignored, the paper demonstrates that ethical shopping mattered and deserves more attention. It also highlights the importance of setting this in a wider context, particularly trade unionism and co-operation.

The US battle against brand marketing: circa 1930-1980

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross D. Petty
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Movement ◽  
Brand Marketing ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Second World

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the debate about brand marketing that occurred as part of the 1930s consumer movement and continued after the Second World War in academic and regulatory circles. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents an historical account of the anti-brand marketing movement using a qualitative approach. It examines both primary and secondary historical sources as well as legal statutes, regulatory agency actions, judicial cases and newspaper and trade journal stories. Findings In response to the rise of brand marketing in the latter 1800s and early 1900s, the USA experienced an anti-brand marketing movement that lasted half a century. The first stage was public as part of the consumer movement but was overshadowed by the product safety and truth-in-advertising concerns. The consumer movement stalled when the USA entered the Second World War, but brand marketing continued to raise questions during the war as the US government attempted to regulate the provisions of goods during the war. After the war, the public accepted brand marketing. Continuing anti-brand marketing criticism was largely confined to academic writings and regulatory activities. Ultimately, many of the stage-two challenges to brand marketing went nowhere, but a few led to regulations that continue today. Originality/value This paper is the first to recognize a two-stage anti-brand marketing movement in the USA from 1929 to 1980 that has left a small but significant modern-day regulatory legacy.

Impact of Trade Unions on Productivity: A Study of the Indian Chemical Industry

1989 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramjas
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Chemical Industry ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Increase Productivity ◽  
Managerial Response

In this article, Ramjas analyses the extent to which trade unions affect productivity in the Indian context. Based on an analysis of data (1960-1980) from the Indian chemical industry, the author finds that trade unionism brings down productivity. He suggests that the potential of trade unions to increase productivity has not been fully exploited owing to factors such as managerial response to unionism, working conditions, wages of workers, and the socio-political climate in the country.

Trade Unionism: Differences and Similarities - a Comparative View on Europe, USA and Asia

2006 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Strøby Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Different Parts

The article presents an outline of characteristics regarding trade unions in three different parts of the world, focusing on Europe, USA and Asia. The intention is to describe and discuss differences and similarities between trade unionism in these three parts of the world focusing on some selected countries. The conclusion in this article is that it is possible - on a very abstract and generalizing level - to identify some differences in the social and institutional basis of trade unions in Europe, Asia and the USA.

Change, no change or big change? The discontinuous development of trade unions in Nepal

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bojindra Prasad Tulachan
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Paradigm Shifts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Dynamics ◽  
Biological Growth ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
Systematic Development ◽  
S Curve ◽  
Official Records ◽  
Bounce Back

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the systematic development of trade unions in Nepal. To that end, it considers historical political paradigm shifts and institutional dynamics from the beginning of trade unions to today. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts the background of biological growth theories and tests them with the use of qualitative and quantitative data, official records and historical literature. Findings The second juncture of trade unions was vacuum marked by the absence of a legal labor framework. The first stage of trade unionism was prevented from an official take-off as such in terms of unionization and union activities. The major reason for this phenomenon was the complete ban on trade unions placed by the monarchial regime. However, the alliance of trade unions with mother political parties helped them to bounce back in the early 1990s. Thus, the overall biological growth pattern of trade unions in Nepal appears as “discontinuous.” Originality/value The paper argues that the discontinuous development of trade unions appeared without undergoing a complete growth course of ferment, take-off and maturity as in the S-curve pattern. Second, the discontinuity of the trade unions led eventually to its formal existence as an institutionalized IR actor. Third, the trend of trade unionism since the 1980s and 1990s is one of gradual decline in developed, recently developed and developing countries, whereas it is on a sharp incline in Nepal.

Exploratory analysis of the pathway towards operationalizing resilience in transportation infrastructure management

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Mostafavi ◽  
Alex Inman
Keyword(s):  
Transportation Infrastructure ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Infrastructure Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Comprehensive Survey ◽  
Transportation Agencies ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the pathway toward operationalizing resilience in management of transportation infrastructure. Design/methodology/approach – The research approach includes a comprehensive survey of the State Transportation Agencies (STA) in the USA. The information collected from the survey is analyzed using statistical analysis to explore the determinants of operationalizing resilience in transportation infrastructure management. Findings – The results reveal that the current practices of STA need improvement in terms of pre-disaster vulnerability and exposure analysis as well as pre-disaster retrofit and betterment efforts. A pathway toward this end is identified with the major components being: funding availability, integration of efforts across different units, use of risk and vulnerability assessment approaches, and use of resilience indices. Practical/implications – The pathway, along with the other findings, enhances the understanding of the status quo, drivers, and barriers toward operationalizing resilience in transportation infrastructure management. Such an understanding is critical for infrastructure agencies to better adapt and enhance the resilience of their assets in response to various stressors such as the impacts of climate change as well as natural disasters. Originality/value – The study presented in this paper is the first of its kind to identify the pathway toward operationalizing resilience in transportation infrastructure management.

Trade unionism under challenge from offshoring and globalisation

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie Contrepois ◽  
Steve Jefferys
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Economic System ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
The World ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Labour Power

Trade unionism in western Europe is facing the growing challenge of the relocation of work to other parts of the world. This article focuses on the major banking trade unions in France and the UK. It discusses the unions' responses to globalisation in a sector where information technology has exposed firms to intense competitive pressures and has encouraged not just relocation but also business mergers and concentration combined with widespread outsourcing. The authors find that there is often a tension between the day-to-day defence of the workers and broader trade union aspirations to develop alternatives to the arbitrariness of an economic system where labour power is reduced to a commodity to be bought and sold. The article concludes that the dual purposes of union activity, the defence and improvement of workers' immediate working conditions, and the projection of alternative people-friendly forms of social and economic organisation, are being made more difficult by globalisation.

Trade unions as knowledgeable participants in workplace innovation

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 31-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Totterdill ◽  
Rosemary Exton
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Mass Movement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Collaborative Working ◽  
Workplace Innovation

Purpose – This article aims to demonstrate that trade unions possess unique knowledge of how organisations really work and that they are repositories of experience embracing many different situations and stretching over many years. Closing the gap between best practice and common practice needs knowledgeable advocates to actively demonstrate what workplace innovation is and how it benefits organisations and individuals. Design/methodology/approach – This article demonstrates that trade unions possess unique knowledge of how organisations really work and that they are repositories of experience embracing many different situations and stretching over many years. Yet, this experience and understanding is often an underused resource in workplaces. Findings – At the frontline, union representatives can release their members’ tacit knowledge and ideas for improvement and innovation. At strategic level, unions can deliver robust advice and consultancy, securing trust from employees and employers alike. Actively involving unions in dialogue about challenges and opportunities is the key to unlocking this potential. Practical implications – The paper draws upon examples of collaborative working and the role of unions from the USA, Ireland and Norway, while a more detailed analysis of the “Danish Experience” demonstrates how Ideas, high levels of knowledge and strong relationships between unions and employers able to handle both shared and conflicting interests, impacts on trade unions ability to “stimulate, resource and sustain workplace innovation”. Originality/value – The paper concludes with a call to action showing how a mass movement of workplace innovation can be achieved through shared learning case studies and resources and from the creation of the European Workplace Innovation Network Knowledge Bank to help people to share their knowledge and experience.

Dividend policy in India: new survey evidence

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Kent Baker ◽  
Sujata Kapoor
Keyword(s):  
Firm Value ◽  
Dividend Policy ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Earnings ◽  
Managerial Perceptions ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Comprehensive Survey ◽  
The Stability

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to survey managers of dividend-paying firms listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in India to learn their views about the factors influencing dividend policy, dividend issues, and explanations for paying cash dividends and repurchasing shares. The authors compare the results to other dividend surveys based on firms in Indonesia, Canada, and the USA. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use questionnaire to gather primary data from a sample of 500 firms listed on the NSE. Findings – The most important determinants of dividends involve earnings (the stability of earnings as well as the level of current and expected future earnings) and the pattern of past dividends. Comparing the overall rankings of the 21 factors by respondents from Indian firms to those of Indonesian, Canadian, and US firms reveals statistically significant correlations. Respondents also perceive that dividend policy affects firm value. Respondents also view maintaining an uninterrupted record of dividends as important. The most highly supported explanations for paying cash dividends concern signaling, the firm life cycle, and catering. Although none of the theories of repurchasing shares is dominant, respondents provide little support for the agency explanation. Research limitations/implications – Although the tests suggest that the sample does not suffer from non-response bias, the findings should be viewed as suggestive rather than definitive because of the relatively low response rate. Originality/value – The paper presents new evidence about dividend policy of Indian firms. To the knowledge, this is the most comprehensive survey of Indian firms to date that captures managerial perceptions on both cash dividends and share repurchases.

LGBT-specific housing in the USA

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim R. Johnston ◽  
Hilary Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Housing Projects ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Comprehensive Survey ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
Lgbt People ◽  
Available Information ◽  
Housing Options

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline current efforts in the USA to build and create safe and affirming housing for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults. Design/methodology/approach The authors approach this task through a survey of existing publicly available information about LGBT-specific housing projects, as well as literature on methods to make existing housing welcoming to LGBT elders. Findings The authors find that there are a number of LGBT-specific housing options currently available, and many more in the development phase. Additionally, given the large number of LGBT older adults in the USA and the relatively small number of LGBT-specific housing units, the authors also discuss other interventions that can be applied to create safe housing. The practical implication of this research is to provide advocates for LGBT people with a sense of what is happening in the USA, as well as some guidance on how to replicate LGBT affirming housing models in other contexts. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the only and most comprehensive survey of LGBT-specific elder housing in the USA to be published in the academic literature.

Colchones Eldorado: dreaming of innovating

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (8) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Delio I. Castaneda ◽  
Luisa F. Manrique
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Organizational Dynamics ◽  
Case Discussion ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Conditions ◽  
Challenge Testing ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Creativity And Innovation

Subject area Innovation and creativity in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America. Study level/applicability The case is recommended for creativity and innovation subjects, in undergraduate and MBA levels. The case is also suggested for subjects associated with the organizational dynamics on SMEs. Case overview Colchones Eldorado is a Colombian company dedicated to the bedding industry. The company was founded in 1957 by Gumercindo Gómez Caro, a creative man who in 1959 invented a machine to make springs, which allowed the company to grow steadily for several decades. On November 18, 2004, the founder's daughter, Martha Luz Gomez, was appointed as General Manager. On April 2011 it obtained a license from Sealy, the biggest mattress making company in the USA. The license implied a challenge - testing the company's innovative capacities to adapt Sealy mattresses to satisfy consumers in the Colombian market. Expected learning outcomes Students are shown the characteristics of the creative and innovation process in a Latin American SME, and the innovation challenges which are faced. From the reading and the case discussion, the students should be able to: analyse the manifestations of the creative process in an SME; identify examples of the innovation types of an SME; and discuss the organizational conditions to answer the creativity and innovation challenges in an SME. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes.

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