Supply chain in the C-suite: the effect of chief supply chain officers on incidence of product recalls

Purpose This study aims to investigate the extent to which the presence of chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) in top management teams (TMTs) helps firms to reduce the incidence of product recalls. Design/methodology/approach The authors identified all recalls for the period 2010–2017 issued by publicly held firms regulated by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. These data were subsequently combined with information on TMT composition from BoardEx and financial performance data from Compustat to create a unique data set. Findings The study identified a significant and negative association between CSCO presence and incidence of product recalls. The evidence also supports the conjecture that this association is stronger in larger firms, indicating that CSCOs are especially effective when operating within more complex supply chains. Practical implications The findings provide important insights into quality management in contemporary supply chains and indicate that assigning specific responsibility for supply chain management to a TMT member improves product reliability. Originality/value These findings contribute to the growing literature on the underlying causes of a product recall by identifying corporate governance antecedents of external quality failures of this kind.

Litigation of civil liability proceedings and its respective indemnification judgments against dental surgeons in the Court of Justice of the state of Paraná

The dental surgeon, which is a health professional, besides the responsibility common to all people as a citizen, also assumes a specific responsibility: to answer for the acts committed in the exercise of the profession. The so-called professional responsibility involves a fourfold framework: criminal, civil, administrative and ethical. With the greater access of the population to justice, it is not uncommon to know of a dental surgeon who is being fired by a patient and civilly responsible. In this sphere, the professional can be condemned due to his conduct during the treatment being classified as: Negligent, Imprudent and Malpractice. Conviction for any of these conducts, or even the combination of more than one of them conducts monetary reimbursement. These are the so-called material, moral and aesthetic indemnities. Objective: Observe how many processes were judged in the Court of Justice of the State of Paraná (TJPR) between 1995 and 2018 and to establish a default value for civil liability actions against dentists. Material and methods: We conducted a search on the TJPR website of all civil liability cases against dental surgeon tried in second instance between 1995 and July 2018 using pre-established keywords and including all judgments in the statistic results. Results: Between 1995 and 2018 there was an increase of 3.420% in the number of shares. The majority of material damages are below 15,000 reais, moral damage 13,000 and aesthetic damage 3,000 reais. The medium indemnified value was 4.142 reais. Conclusion: We observed the high degree of incidence of this type of process and that the highest indemnity was about material injury. However moral injuries got the highest medium value, showing the importance of human care. The dental surgeon, which is a health professional, besides the responsibility common to all people as a citizen, also assumes a specific responsibility: to answer for the acts committed in the exercise of the profession. The so-called professional responsibility involves a fourfold framework: criminal, civil, administrative and ethical. With the greater access of the population to justice, it is not uncommon to know of a dental surgeon who is being fired by a patient and civilly responsible. In this sphere, the professional can be condemned due to his conduct during the treatment being classified as: Negligent, Imprudent and Malpractice. Conviction for any of these conducts, or even the combination of more than one of them conducts monetary reimbursement. These are the so-called material, moral and aesthetic indemnities. Objective: Observe how many processes were judged in the Court of Justice of the State of Paraná (TJPR) between 1995 and 2018 and to establish a default value for civil liability actions against dentists. Material and methods: We conducted a search on the TJPR website of all civil liability cases against dental surgeon tried in second instance between 1995 and July 2018 using pre-established keywords and including all judgments in the statistic results. Results: Between 1995 and 2018 there was an increase of 3.420% in the number of shares. The majority of material damages are below 15,000 reais, moral damage 13,000 and aesthetic damage 3,000 reais. The medium indemnified value was 4.142 reais. Conclusion: We observed the high degree of incidence of this type of process and that the highest indemnity was about material injury. However moral injuries got the highest medium value, showing the importance of human care.

Psychological effects of remote-only communication among reference persons of ICU patients during COVID-19 pandemic

Background During COVID-19 pandemic, visits have been prohibited in most French ICUs. Psychological effects, for reference persons (RPs), of remote-only communication have been assessed. Methods All RPs of patients referred to ICU for COVID-19 were included. HADS, IES-R, and satisfaction were evaluated at admission, discharge/death, and 3 months. At 3 months, a psychologist provided a qualitative description of RPs’ psychological distress. Results Eighty-eight RPs were included. Prevalence of anxiety and depression was 83% and 73% respectively. At 3 months, lower HADS decrease was associated with patient death/continued hospitalization, and/or sleeping disorders in RPs (p < 0.01). Ninety-nine percent RPs felt the patient was safe (9 [7; 10]/10 points, Likert-type scale), confident with caregivers (10 [9; 10]/10 points), and satisfied with information provided (10 [9; 10]/10 points). All RPs stressed the specific-type of “responsibility” associated with being an RP in a remote-only context, leading RPs to develop narrow diffusion strategies (67%) and restrict the array of contacted relatives to a very few and/or only contacting them rarely. 10 RPs (30%) related the situation to a prior traumatic experience. Conclusion RPs experienced psychological distress and reported that being an RP in a remote-only communication context was a specific responsibility and qualified it as an overall negative experience. Trial registration NCT04385121. Registered 12 May 2020. https://clinicaltrials.gov/.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Coexistence in the Daily Practice

The purpose of the present narrative review was to evaluate and discuss the actual available information regarding coronavirus disease 2019 and dental practice, and to share recommendations with the intent to help dentists in providing a safe and healthful workplace during pandemic. A step-by-step workflow is presented including prevention and measures to reduce risk for cross infections before, during, and after the dental treatments. Individualization of different risk-level zones and the establishment of a team-based chain control is also presented. The present manuscript may offer deeper knowledge and discussion regarding recommended procedures aimed to reduce risk for dental health care workers contamination and cross infections. Within these, infection prevention in dental settings, respect of general rules, containment measures, proper use of the personal protective equipments (PPE), and well-organized chain control of all the staff, with definition of risk zones and specific responsibility could be an adjunctive but important step to control the spread of the disease.

Opportunities and Challenges for Meeting the UN 2030 Agenda in the Light of Global Change—A Case Study of Swedish Perspectives

This study explores how geopolitical aspects can affect actors’ sense of agency to achieve the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its ambition to transform the world sustainably by studying the linkages between global change and the 2030 Agenda as described by Swedish change agents. Sweden has a self-declared ambition for leadership in the 2030 Agenda. The world’s high-income countries, including Sweden, have been given a specific responsibility to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The results of this focus group study show that the geopolitical landscape encompasses a multitude of actors and roles whose relationships are filled with tension, creating dichotomies between them. The analysis indicates that Sweden is assessed to be dependent on functioning ecosystems, both locally and globally, as well as causing global environmental change. Two narratives have emerged: (i) the narrative of the 2030 Agenda, referring to deliberate societal transformations that can be controlled and steered, and that have a direction; and (ii) the narrative of geopolitics, indicating perceptions of emergent transformations that appear uncontrollable, drifting aimlessly towards an unknown future. These narratives might influence the understanding of societal transformations, and need to be considered in the facilitation of platforms for deliberative transformations or responses to emerging transformations.

The Wage Gap: No One’s Responsibility, But Everyone’s Problem

Wage inequality in America is ballooning. The issue is receiving significant attention in the public discourse but to what avail? It is an issue that affects the entire economy although the suffering thus far has focused primarily on the lower 90% of wage earners. The long-term impacts, however, may be even more encompassing. Regardless of the potential costs, under the currently understood societal roles of corporate leaders and politicians, the issue of wage inequality is currently no one’s specific responsibility to address, but everyone’s problem. We examine the current wage status of the economic classes, the compensation practices that contribute and potential societal and economic costs if no action is taken. Finally, we consider the roles that potential players currently perform and should consider in the future to strategically address this issue.

Economic Nationalism and Corporate Social Responsibility

This chapter addresses conceptual relationships between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and a set of related phenomena typically labeled as economic nationalism, economic patriotism, economic protectionism, populism, and antiglobalization. The research question addressed is whether this set of related phenomena redefines or at least affects CSR in significant ways that practitioners and scholars should include in the conception of CSR and, if so, how theoretically. Such investigation is affected by two essential circumstances. First, CSR remains a topic of continuing theoretical controversy: specific “responsibility” of any business anywhere is not a resolved matter. Second, economic nationalism and related phenomena—which appear to be rising in importance—are opposed to the economic, political, and social globalization effects following the 1995 founding of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The chapter seeks to refine CSR for varying conditions as shaped by economic nationalism, economic patriotism, economic protectionism, populism, and antiglobalization.

The Pediatric Airway

The practice of procedural sedation involves the use of medications that alter upper airway function and patency because of myoneural suppression of anatomic airway elements. It is the specific responsibility of the sedationist to ensure upper airway patency during conditions induced by pharmaceuticals in which the airway is almost certain to be threatened, if not totally obstructed. Soft tissue collapse during inspiration is modeled by the Starling resistor. Airway protective reflexes may be profoundly disturbed during deep sedation. The sedationist’s knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the upper airway and proficiency in clinical application of airway supportive principles are essential.

An Exploration of Current Approaches to and Facilities for Spiritual Care Provision in the Republic of Ireland

This study aimed to explore current approaches to and facilities for spiritual care provision in the Republic of Ireland. The findings identify that providing spiritual care to patients is a key component of hospital policy. Spiritual support is identified as the responsibility of the whole healthcare team with specific responsibility being attributed to the healthcare chaplain. Most sites provided a sacred space or quiet place for clients, visitors and staff to contemplate.