Observational skills: eye-openers for innovation

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Gilmore
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Operating Environment ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Observational Skills ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Observational tools offer the means to introduce new techniques into an organization, to skill individuals in new and different ways of seeing innovation possibilities. Design/methodology/approach The Six Looking Glasses method is a tool designed to improve observational skills, using a distinct set of “lenses.” The tool offers a set of perspectives for making insights about the operating environment, which employed repeatedly can enhance observational skills. Findings A key lesson to be learned from these three pivotal points in Starbucks’ history is: recognize that observation is the fountainhead from which any and all innovation takes place. Practical implications Much talk of innovation, with too little skilled observation, usually remains just talk.”” Originality/value All strategy and leadership depends on seeing the world as it truly is and imagining its most opportune possibilities and its serious risks. To innovate in this operating environment – its broader culture, its immediate business circumstances and those within its own company – requires the very best observational skills. The Six Looking Glasses provide a good start toward fulfilling that need.

When learning goes wrong

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 33-35
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Constant Factor ◽  
Operating Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Consistent Basis ◽  
Positive Results ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint 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 For many decades, organizations around the world have bought into the assumption that learning provides the key to success. Firms armed with relevant knowledge are best positioned to secure and maintain a competitive advantage. Or so we were led to believe. More recent research has cast significant doubt on such claims. Learning has considerable value. That much is obvious. Being equipped with the requisite knowledge can place companies in positions where errors fall and profits rise. It is not impossible for learning to generate positive results on a consistent basis. Many firms boast people who have acquired a thorough understanding of its operating environment. And having such knowledge makes organizations believe they can make confident predictions about the future. Today’s world rarely stands still though. Indeed, it might even be argued that change is the only constant factor. Practical implications The paper 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.

How Phillips saw the light

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 29-31
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Business World ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Freak Show ◽  
The World ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
The One ◽  
Practical Implications

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 The problem with developing a reputation of being something of an oracle in the business world is that all of a sudden, everyone expects you to pull off the trick of interpreting the future on a daily basis. Like a freak show circus act or one-hit wonder pop singer, people expect you to perform when they see you, and they expect you to perform the thing that made you famous, even if it is the one thing in the world you don’t want to do. And when you fail to deliver on these heightened expectations, you are dismissed as a one trick pony, however good that trick is in the first place. 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.

How to do business in Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 36-38
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business People ◽  
The World ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Specific Culture ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint 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 It is said that Latin America is one of the hardest places in which to do business, and within Latin America as well as considering the differing challenges that Argentina or Columbia may present, Brazil is perhaps the most difficult place to go to in order to develop trade and commercial agreements. In addition to the different language as compared to the rest of the region, there is a very specific culture and life view that will be wholly alien to many business people, whether they are from developed or developing countries around the world. Practical implications The paper 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.

The fierce urgency to create safe spaces for the heart in relation to sustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Livingstone
Keyword(s):  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Safe Spaces ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
The World ◽  
Moral Superiority ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Made In

Purpose The paper aims to rediscover the subtle heart and discuss its importance in relation to conversations regarding sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Based on the imaginal approach of the author’s doctoral research, this paper is informed by the discourse of transpersonal psychology, attempting to open a space through which it becomes possible to perceive the heart differently. Findings This paper discusses the idea that knowledge as generated through the heart has been rendered subservient to knowledge generated through the mind/brain through a dominant/medical narrative (Bound Alberti, 2012). This means that the heart’s wisdom and the heart’s benevolent qualities cannot gain traction at the level at which decisions are made in society. Research limitations/implications While the heart is not unproblematic, and can carry notions of moral superiority, this paper is written as an appeal to create safe enough spaces to bring the heart back into conversation at the level of political discourse. Practical implications This paper suggests that it is the approach of the heart, the qualities and characteristics that the heart embodies, and the different way of being in the world that the heart makes possible, which could play an important role in guiding us towards a more sustainable world. When taken seriously, the heart offers a way of engaging with, and thinking about, ideas of relationship, wholeness and interconnection – all of which have been identified as important by numerous scholars in relation to engaging with global challenges (de Witt, 2016). Social implications This paper suggests that it is the approach of the heart and the different way of being in the world that the heart makes possible, which could play an important role in guiding humanity towards a more sustainable world. Originality/value Since the late 1900s, scholars have been calling for creative thinking in relation to engaging with the myriad of issues facing our planet, and this paper is written as a response to that call – creating a platform for the heart to speak and making a case for its importance in conversations relating to sustainability.

The big bath of demonetization in India: strike on black money for corporate governance

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 594-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Goel
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Corporate World ◽  
The World ◽  
Future Improvement ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
The Government ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to focus on the concept of abolition of black money and the demonetization movement started in India for cleaning black money and its impact on corporate world and Indian economy. It discusses the corporate governance effect of the demonetization scheme and various policy measures taken by the government to unearth and curb the black money in the country. It also states the challenges in its process of implementation and implications for future. Design/methodology/approach It appraises and reviews the concept of demonetization and its process in India since its implementation on November 8, 2016. Findings The biggest positive effects of this move were eradication of stocked and staked up money, cleansing of the financial system and improving governance in India. But its implementation had mix outcomes with its own challenges for future improvement. Practical implications The lessons drawn from the experience are expected to pave way for the countries at large. Originality/value It is an original paper on demonetization in India, and it is hoped that the lessons learnt thereof will pave the way for the world at large.

Polish perceptions on changing the world with sustainable entrepreneurship

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 19-21
Keyword(s):  
Value Creation ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Model Design ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Coffee Waste ◽  
The World ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint 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 This research paper highlights how circular economy business models focus on the regenerative value creation inherent in reusing resources and waste. Circular startup transformations see founders moving out of sustainability-focused mindsets and into taking specific action to construct innovative circular business models. The purpose-led founders combined environmental and economic goals to produce scalable engines capable of inspiring and educating customers and larger companies on the beauty of reusing waste. Solving universal problems at their business model design stage allowed the Polish startups – for example, EcoBean who make renewable energy coffee briquettes from coffee waste – to offer value to international customers. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists 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.

Logistics in the raw

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 28-30
Keyword(s):  
Business Education ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Postgraduate Education ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Post War ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint 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 papers in context. Findings Since it became part of the fabric of postgraduate education in the post-war period, the Masters of Business Education has gone through innumerable challenges and changes to become what it is today, which is one of the most popular – and expensive – ways for graduates to further their education. Seeing growth that the organizations who sponsor its students could only dream about, the garlanded qualification is offered around the world in hundreds of different guises, and those three letters find themselves after the names of the great and good of business and political life. 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.

Nikhilesh Dholakia: critical path, perils and unending quest

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 376-390
Author(s):  
Nikhilesh Dholakia
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Critical Path ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Theories ◽  
The World ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Autobiographical Narrative

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to trace the personal and intellectual evolution of the author via an autobiographic approach. Design/methodology/approach Personal, reflective, interpretive, historical narrative. Findings For the author, the writing of this paper opened new and reflective windows on personal and intellectual evolution, and similar effects may happen with some of the readers. Research limitations/implications Some of the critical directions suggested herein could possibly inspire innovative critical marketing work. Practical implications There may be some insights on how to blend observations of the world at large with critical theories gleaned from the literature. Social implications The paper offers reflections of the unequal, unjust state of the world, and this could inspire others to seek innovative ameliorative pathways. Originality/value As an autobiographical narrative, this paper – by definition – is original and unique.

Hopes and fears

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-29
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Business Organizations ◽  
Operating Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
The One ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint 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 – To say it is tough for business organizations today would be a massive understatement. Thanks largely to globalization and technological developments, the operating environment has arguably become more competitive than ever before. Firms thus need to constantly evolve in order to meet the array of new challenges which regularly face them. For those unable to adapt, survival and prosperity may ultimately be elusive. Change has invariably proved to be something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can signal opportunity and prompt excitement and anticipation. But many others see change in terms of threat. Practical implications – The paper 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.

Markets need morality: perspectives from Islam, Christianity, and China

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-86
Author(s):  
Jonathan Edward Leightner
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
Ethical Theories ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The World ◽  
Islam And Christianity ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to argue that markets need a foundation of morality to promote the long-run success of an economy. Design/methodology/approach Three types of ethical theories are discussed and compared with what the sacred scriptures of Islam and Christianity say and with what economic theory says. Examples from China are provided. Findings Markets need morality. Research limitations/implications There are more religions in the world than just Islam and Christianity; however, space limitations force me to only consider those two religions. Furthermore, there are more countries in the world than just China. However, space limitations force me to only pull examples from China. Practical implications Economists should recognize that markets need morality, and they should start teaching that to their students. Social implications If markets are built on a foundation of ethics, then society prospers. In the absence of that foundation, societies falter. When a government, business and religious institutions see each other as complementary forces, then ethics can evolve. Originality/value The author knows of no other studies that explain the three types of ethical theories, compares those theories to what the sacred scriptures of Islam and Christianity say and to what economic theory says, and then uses examples from China to illustrate the need for morality.

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