SoM Working and Occasional Papers

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Open Access
The Business of Business is...? Unpicking the Corporate Responsibility Debate.
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2007) Marsden, Chris; Grayson, David
Companies must be part of any lasting solution to many of the pressing environmental and social problems facing the world. All companies do good things and bad things, often at the same time. The essence of the debate over Corporate Responsibility 1 (CR) is whether governance of the good and bad things companies do should be left to market forces and state regulation or whether companies should deliberately set out to do good things beyond the minimum required to achieve their financial goals.
Open Access
Contextual Intelligence in Programme and Project Management: A preliminary framework for configuring resources to meet strategic objectives
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2009-04) Maylor, Harvey; Murray-Webster, Ruth; Geraldi, Joana; Lupson, Jonathan; Giudici, Alessandro
The purpose of this paper is twofold. Firstly it explores a key development from Operations Management, (Hayes and Wheelwright, 1985) and tests whether it provides insights into the practices of Programme and Project Management (PPM). Through an empirical study, it is found to provide a number of important insights, including that, in general, PPM is limited to a ‘stage two’ performance aspiration on the Hayes & Wheelwright four-point scale for competitive manufacturing, with a prevailing focus on conformance to standards. The resulting question is, ‘how does an organisation develop its PPM capability beyond stage two? Achieving stage three and beyond requires that resources are configured, not to conform to a standard, but to meet the strategic needs as defined by the organisation and any end ‘customers’ for the work. Secondly, the paper considers the research question, ‘what elements of an organisation designed for programme and project-based working can be configured to meet particular strategic requirements?’ It describes the investigation of this question in a field study of 11 cases to determine the nature of the elements of configurability, and hence to generate key decision areas for PPM. The results of this study provide a preliminary framework for determining what would constitute stage 3 - effectiveness in programme and project-based operations (PPOs). The paper concludes that the theoretical insights from Operations Management used in this paper offer a future direction for research on PPOs and sets out a research agenda.
Open Access
The contrast effect in a competency based situational interview
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2004) Mills, Timothy
The recruitment interview is used ubiquitously by organisations in the UK as part of the recruitment and selection process. Despite improvements over the years, the method is still prone to error and it is important for organisations to take what steps they can to reduce error in selection decisions. One source of error identified and accepted as a cause of bias within the interview is that of contrast effect. This effect causes assessors to base their judgements of candidates partly on a comparison to earlier performances of other candidates. This has the effect of giving inflated scores to interviewees when others are poor and lower scores when others are good. The presence of this effect is assumed due to various studies carried out within the experimental paradigm without any quantitative evidence collected from real world settings. This study collected data on 694 interviews carried out to recruit cabin crew for a major UK based airline. The data set provided 230 interview pairs for analysis. Correlational analyses showed that the prior performance of one candidate could significantly affect the selection outcome decision of a subsequent candidate. Binary Logistic Regression revealed the scores given to the subsequent candidate mediated this relationship. The implications for practice are discussed. These include improved rater training, the implications of interview timetabling, and rotation of assessor teams.
Open Access
Corporate responsibility and the media
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2009-07) Grayson, David
This paper discusses how CR is covered in the media and the media’s own corporate responsibilities, covering both traditional and new media.
Open Access
Corporate responsibility and the recession: learning from responsible businesses
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2009-10) Barnor, Abiola
Research done by several prestigious organisations shows that businesses’ desire to be corporately responsible has not fared too badly in this recession, despite widespread job cuts, shrinking budgets and reprioritisation among corporate, third and governmental sectors. This is the first global recession in which the concept of corporate responsibility (CR) is part of standard business language, and 2009 has seen growth in global understanding of the effect of bad governance on corporate systems and economies, and acceptance and action on climate change and resource scarcity. The increase in the delivery of truly sustainable business and the lack of written evidence of CR behaviour in past recessions suggests that the effect of the current recession on CR is worth investigating. Equally as important are the potential changes likely to occur following this recession. These changes may be either external and market driven or internal and strategy driven. The post-recession period will be characterised by lessons from recession times informing new ways of doing business and strengthening current business models that have been systematically delivering value over the last few years (e.g. social and environmental enterprises). We need to start thinking about what this means for them in the long term. We need to know where emphasis and focus has shifted and why, and how businesses view these shifts in relation to their longer term planning. We need to share best practice among each other, to inform our actions for the future and to encourage a competitive approach to increasing standards of being a sustainable business. This occasional paper is based on a research project in the summer of 2009 by the author as part of her MSc studies, combined with the experience and knowledge of the Doughty Centre and the kind insight and assistance of experts in the discipline of CR, as reviewers. The purpose is to contribute to the existing knowledge on CR behaviour as well as generate new and topical advice for CR practitioners. The research findings presented in this paper are generated from academic research using three separate data collection methods: interviews in summer 2009 with nine responsible companies based in the UK defined as ‘responsible businesses’ by inclusion in the BITC CR Index; desk research from a literature search; and a survey conducted on-line among CR practitioners in the UK from businesses generally, across a range of 24 organisations. The paper is divided into two key sections: research findings from the specific pool of resources used in this research and our subsequent observations; and recommendations to readers using the observations from the research as well as the knowledge and experience of the authors and reviewers who contributed to the paper.
Open Access
Corporate responsibility champions network: A 'how to' guide
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2009-02)
This guide aims to show the what, why, and how of a CR champion and related networks. CR champions are emerging as a powerful tool available for embedding CR philosophy into an organisation, proving critical in the process of embedding CR.They play a strategic role, committed to causing change and to continuing the work in the long-term.A CR champion network takes time and effort to build but the use of champions, as one within a number of tactics to embed CR, has several clear advantages: by working directly with staff on initiatives champions can engage staff and become themselves more committed; champions connect divisions and regions, thus finding and propagating best CR practices and ideas; and they allow for a credible two-way interface between global and local in international companies.
Open Access
Creating Resilient Supply Chains: A Practical Guide
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2003)
The events of the last few years from the fuel crisis to foot and mouth disease to SARS, have highlighted the vulnerability of many supply chains. Quite apart from the external challenges to supply chain continuity are those possible sources of risk that are internal to the supply chain. A number of concurrent trends have contributed to the fragility that some observers believe now characterises many supply chains. These trends include the rapid growth in global sourcing and offshore manufacturing; the continued move to reduce the supplier base; industry consolidation and the centralisation of distribution facilities to name just a few. Following from the earlier report prepared for the DETR in 2002, Supply Chain Vulnerability, this report builds upon that work to identify the opportunities for the creation of more resilient supply chains. As the research progressed, it became clear that there is still a lack of understanding of where an individual organisation might sit in the wider supply network. Few companies seemed to have real visibility beyond their first tier suppliers or downstream beyond their immediate customers. This work, undertaken by the Cranfield Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Cranfield University and funded by the Department for Transport, is empirically based and draws on insights from a number of ‘critical’ industrial sectors including food retailing, oil and petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, packaging, electronics, transport services and the distribution of automotive spares. It also includes input from private and public sector organisations involved in the provision of health care and in defence. In particular it focuses on the development of a managerial agenda for the identification and management of supply chain risk, with recommendations to improve the resilience of supply chains. During the research we were concerned that the outputs, including this Executive Report, would address the needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and provide relevant and practical tools to assist them to manage their supply chain risks.
Open Access
"Dirty little secret" or "Untidy quilt"? A critique of the strategic process literature
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2005) Laljani, Narendra
This literature critique forms the starting point of a research project on the development of strategic capability within the context of the realities of the strategic process. We begin by addressing the definitions of strategic process and exploring its importance. We then examine the evolution of the domain, a selection of archetypes of the strategic process, as well as some “sense-making“ devices. The role of the strategist is discussed, and we also ask if strategy-making capability is an individual or organisational characteristic. In conclusion, we examine the implications for management practice, the strengths and weaknesses of the domain, and possibilities for further research.
Open Access
Embedding Corporate Responsibility in the MBA Curriculum.
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2008-09) Marsden, Chris
The teaching of the role of Business in Society, Business and Sustainability, or Corporate (Social) Responsibility (C{S}R) as it is popularly known, in MBA programmes is still in its early stages. Where it happens it is most commonly found in an elective with, until recently, less than half the student cohort opting for it. There are a few compulsory modules, like the one the author teaches for the International Management School of the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (ENPC) in Paris and other venues. There are also a few specialist Masters programmes, for instance at Bath and Nottingham Universities.
Open Access
The Female FTSE Board Report 2010: Opening up the Appointment Process
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2010-12) Vinnicombe, Susan; Sealy, Ruth; Graham, Jacey; Doldor, Elena
2010 saw another year of barely perceptible change in the representation of women in leadership positions of UK PLC’s top 100 companies. The incremental increases include three additional women on FTSE 100 boards taking the total to 116; one additional female executive director (ED); four more companies with women on their boards; and two more companies with more than one woman on the board, returning to 2008 levels. Overall, the percentage of women on FTSE 100 boards is 12.5%, showing a three year plateau. The number of companies with no female directors has decreased to 21 and the number of companies with more than one woman on the board has returned to the 2008 figure of 39. Only 13% of new appointments went to women.
Open Access
The Governance of Corporate Responsibility: A ‘How to’ Guide
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2010-03) Spitzeck, Heiko
Imagine a Financial Times reporter asking you critical questions on corporate responsibility (CR) issues of your organisation’s strategy and your governance arrangements for this strategy. How comfortable would you feel being a board member of a CR leader or a laggard? Corporate governance for CR can make a significant difference! This is especially true as CR has become part and parcel of good business and risk management and therefore, should be managed as such.This guide aims to explain how to integrate CR and sustainability issues within the governance framework of an organisation, providing some answers from CR leaders as well as outlining some potential pitfalls. Our recommendations have been compiled from a wide array of reports and academic research (listed in the reference section).
Open Access
A guide to useful CR/sustainability ‘How to embed CR’ guides
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2009-10)
The guides reviewed provide advice or insight specifically into the discipline of CR – not general advice on business skills such as budgeting or line management. After collating the guides we wanted to include, we realised categorisation was needed to aid you when searching for a particular topic. Therefore, we use 11 themes for implementing and embedding CR: each one is a critical success factor for implementing CR but is also a stand-alone grouping of related activities: 1. Building CR into business purpose and strategy 2. Tone from the top 3. Governance and board oversight 4. Management processes 5. CR strategy incorporated into each business unit 6. Everybody’s business 7. Energising the value chain 8. Sustainability knowledge management 9. Trusted stewardship: effective communication and stakeholder engagement 10. Sustainability networks 11. The specialist CR/sustainability function
Open Access
Measuring business value and sustainability performance
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2009-05) Ferguson, David
The integration of corporate sustainability within operations remains an important and fundamental challenge for business. This paper first consolidates and then builds upon the EABIS-supported activities of Cranfield School of Management with business practitioners. It focuses on the performance and evaluation criteria relating to determining corporate responsibility (CR) value. The paper begins by categorising components of CR in terms of decision-making levels and business case requirements. It then describes a methodology for establishing CR issues with the prioritisation of stakeholders before linking this relationship onto business benefits and shareholder value drivers. Using illustrated models and worked examples, sections within the paper provide further practical advice and guidance for developing and populating elements within the framework. Additional sections then complement the application of the CR Value-chain framework, with a chapter on performance measurement that explores the key performance measure characteristics required to underpin the performance element of the framework. The final chapter describes decision-making support tools, such as financial appraisals and risk evaluations, which also underpin the shareholder value approach and should be integrated within this corporate sustainability value management framework. A key purpose of this approach is to support the integration of sustainability performance management processes and systems within business practice. It explores methods for making more explicit the issues surrounding CR and financial value. It also provides useful approaches for helping businesses select, measure and evaluate performance for internal CR strategies, policies and processes. Some analytical methods are considered for identifying the costs and benefits from sustainability-related issues, projects and new ventures, including discussions with regard to harmonising existing business functions. This paper serves to provide an early prototype for future approaches towards integrated sustainability performance management systems.
Open Access
New forms of international working
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2000) Petrovic, Jelena; Harris, Hilary; Brewster, Chris
The new forms of international working have emerged as a result of companies trying to answer the challenges coupled with the expatriate assignments. The alternative forms of the traditional assignment include shortterm, international commuter and frequent flyer assignments. As the number of international assignments continues to increase, and companies are increasingly adopting more flexible approaches to international assignments, it could be assumed that long-term assignments may now form only a small part of the total international workforce. This report represents summary of findings of the survey, and provides the background for the second stage of the research project. The second stage will consist of in-depth case studies in some of the participating companies, looking at the impact of these new developments from both the management and individual's perspective.
Open Access
The Non-Adoption of Best/Accepted/Promising Practices in Projects: Towards a Theory of Complicity
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2009-04) Maylor, Harvey; Brady, Tim; Thomas, Janice
This paper describes an observed phenomenon: The non-adoption of beneficial practices in a project-based organization and the subsequent adoption of some basic project management techniques which are then heralded as best-practice. We examine two theories to explain this phenomenon, rational choice theory and institutional theory. Neither of these, however, explains satisfactorily what we observed. The phenomenon occurred in a project-based organization that was contracted to design, develop, and produce a major piece of military hardware. In the early years of the project, the project team performed very poorly, and their effort was marked by delivering prototypes that continually slipped behind schedule by many years, overruns that also involved accompanying cost escalation. It was only when an external auditor intervened that the team’s performance was properly identified and the whole basis for the project renegotiated. This renegotiation involved creating new requirements for managing the project. The team’s performance subsequently improved slightly, but eventually, again, stagnated. The organization did not identify or implement further practices to improve the team’s performance. While the organization exerted considerable effort to promote itself as performing best practices, the team’s actual performance continually failed to meet expectations. This paper constructs a theory of complicity so as to explain the phenomenon described above. The complicity occurred between the organization and its major customer and between multiple levels within the organization. We turn to insights from organizational learning research (specifically, the use of defensive routines) to shed light on the phenomenon. The theory proposes that practices and processes will remain within the defensive routines of the organization where such complicity exists. The level and rate of improvement of project performance by organizations has been a concern for some time. This paper contributes to the discussion of this concern and provides some illumination of one of causes hindering the team’s performance, namely, that there is considerable complicity in project-based organizations. Comparing this project with another case where many best/accepted/promising practices have been adopted has yielded numerous major insights. Complicity, as we describe here, was totally absent in the comparator case; the organization was making significant progress in developing practices. However, we found that complicity was temporarily suspended when the minor changes were implemented in the case organization and evident in the periods of no improvement. Further investigation into the conditions for the removal of complicity provided evidence of complicity being removed by coherent policy deployment, knowledge management and performance management. This paper supports the use and utility of phenomenon-based research in the development of the discipline of project management.
Open Access
Non-Financial Performance Metrics for Corporate Responsibility Reporting Revised.
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2008) Arnold, Malcolm F.
Rapidly growing interest in Corporate Responsibility (CR) has led to a large increase in firms reporting their CR activities and the inevitable comparisons of performance that follow. Along with growth in CR performance reporting has been an increase in standards and benchmarking, and the financial community has shown interest in whether there is any evidence of association between CR performance and Corporate Financial performance. This paper summarises academic and practitioner literature relating to the use of non-financial metrics for the monitoring and recording of corporate social and environmental responsibility performance. Significant themes are reviewed and current standards are identified, along with benchmarking initiatives. The paper also includes some literature related to CR leaders, who have pioneered CR activities in major corporations, identifying their philosophies to ensure chosen CR programmes deliver value to multiple stakeholders as well as shareholders. The paper concludes that, in spite of the considerable amount of literature defining CR standards, benchmarking initiatives and academic studies of CR performance, there are still several gaps in our knowledge. These gaps include how the CR information is used by stakeholders and investors, how CR agendas impact on corporate value and risk, and the basis of how competing CR projects may best be evaluated through appraisal techniques and criteria, and subsequent progress monitoring. Answers to these missing or incomplete strands will have a significant influence on the future development of non-financial CR metrics. 1
Open Access
Public sector innovation : The role of commercial partnerships
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2010-10) Baxter, David; Schoeman, Magnus; Goffin, Keith; Micheli, Pietro
The global economic situation is putting increasing pressure on public sector funding and so innovation is now being recognised as an essential mechanism for maintaining the quality and scope of services whilst reducing costs. This report describes new research into a specific type of public sector innovation – commercialisation: partnerships between the public sector and commercial organisations which enable new or enhanced services to be developed. A crucial aspect of such partnerships is that they can lead to the development of new services which create new value. This enables financial and other benefits for both the public sector and commercial partners. The research conducted for this report consisted of a survey of civil servants’ views on commercialisation and two case studies of successful innovation—the Public Sector Broadband Aggregation (PSBA) in Wales and the Met Office Healthy Outlook ® service. The survey enabled barriers to commercialisation to be identified, such as lack of guidance and support, lack of clarity in the remit of the public sector, and inadequate awareness of the opportunities. The two case studies enabled the key characteristics of commercialisation to be determined, particularly the need to start early discussions with potential commercial partners, to gain board level sponsorship for projects, and to ensure that the value of the innovation is shared. Contrasting the results of our research to the way innovation is managed in the private sector, allows us to make four main recommendations on maximising the value of commercial partnerships: - The focus of public sector innovation must go beyond service efficiency, and the exploitation of internally generated ideas. To gain the maximum value from public sector assets, suitable discussions need to be held with potential commercial partners. - Discussions with the commercial sector have the potential to create innovative ideas for new services. The public sector will need to become adept at conducting early stage discussions with commercial organisations, if it is to gain the maximum value from public assets. Suitable partners need to be identified, where the capabilities of the commercial sector complement the unique expertise and assets of the public sector. Making such partnerships work will require trust on both sides and sharing of the value generated from the innovation developed. - Managers in the public sector urgently require more guidance and support on how to apply the concept of commercialisation and achieve the benefits. - Public sector innovation is very different from innovation in the commercial sector. Therefore, although there are some points to be learned from the commercial sector, appropriate tools need to be developed for the public sector and these need to be disseminated to civil servants.
Open Access
Stakeholder engagement: A road map to meaningful engagement
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2009-07) Jeffery, Neil
This guide seeks to identify, explore and elaborate the essential elements of meaningful relations and the concomitant internal environment in an organisation that most enhances its ability to obtain value from NGO and community stakeholder relationships.
Open Access
A study of the role, contribution and performance of Australian directors
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2008-04) Kakabadse, Andrew P.; Kakabadse, Nada K.; Pumphrey, David; Myers, Andrew
There is general consensus that Chairmen are trustworthy individuals of integrity. The openness and mutual respect in their relationships with CEOs and MDs is ranked highly by all Board members and their commitment to organisational goals is valued. Nevertheless, there is a perception, particularly among Deputy Chairmen, that Chairmen seek insufficient feedback on their own performance. Similarly, Deputy Chairmen see Chairmen as being illdisciplined, suggesting that there is room for improvement around the area of internal governance.
Open Access
A study of the role, contribution and performance of UK board directors
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2008-04) Kakabadse, Andrew P.; Kakabadse, Nada K.; Myers, Andrew
The quality, integrity, skill and wisdom of UK Board Chairmen is seen to be unimpeachable. However, a comprehensive survey of all FTSE 350 Directors raises question marks over the effectiveness of their contributions to Board performance, effective organisational governance and shareholder accountability. These three concerns offer real opportunities for improved performance.