School of Management (SoM)

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Open Access
The 2002 Female FTSE Report: Women Directors moving Forward
(2002-11-01T00:00:00Z) Singh, Val; Vinnicombe, Susan
FTSE 100 COMPANIES THE GOOD NEWS: After two years of slippage, there is evidence that companies are again taking advantage of the diversity and talent that women directors can bring to their boards, by appointing new women. 61 companies now have women directors, up from 57 companies in 2001, but still not yet reaching the post-election “mini-boom” year 1999 when 64 companies had female directors. It is good to see that more companies have women executive directors, who now hold 3% of all executive board seats. In fact, women executive director numbers have increased by 50% since last year, up from 10 to 15. THE BAD NEWS: 88 of the UK’s top 100 companies still have no women executive directors. Chairmen and CEOs must take more responsibility for recruitment and development of their corporate talent pool to include women and diverse groups, to improve decision- making and bring variety and new voices into the boardroom. Indirectly, women directors act as powerful role models to younger, more junior female man
Open Access
The Blind Leading the Blind: Why the information technology investment appraisal process is too often ineffective in the UK today
(School of Management, 2003-03)
One of the most profitable areas of investment for any commercial or public sector organisation ought to be the area of information technology. Unfortunately, this is by no means always the case. In practice, there has for some time been a serious concern, and even considerable anecdotal evidence, that a substantial proportion of IT projects in the UK are poorly-planned and executed, and that the investment on these projects is therefore wholly or partially wasted. With little or no significant return, the investments are often profitless and even disastrous. They are frequently undertaken by ‘organisationally blind’ individuals leading their business without due regard for IT investment. Typically, even the most senior managers do not know how and why the organisation in question should invest in IT. In short, there has been a fear that much IT investment in the UK is, unfortunately, a question of ‘the blind leading the blind’. Cranfield School of Management set out to investigate the quality of the IT investment decision process inside organisations. This report contains the findings of the investigation.
Open Access
The business case for being a responsible business
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2011-03) Exter, Nadine; Cunha, Sara; Turner, Charlotte
Open Access
Business-Led Corporate Responsibility Coalitions: Learning from the example of Business in the Community.
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2007) Grayson, David
Business in the Community (BITC) in the UK is the largest and one of the oldest business-led coalitions dedicated to corporate responsibility. This paper, written by one of the organisation’s former Managing-Directors and a longstanding staff member for more than twenty years, documents the evolution of BITC from a group dedicated to regenerating local economies through charitable contributions, to one concerned with integrating sustainability into its members’ core business strategies. BITC has helped to institutionalise and mainstream the practice of corporate responsibility. The author documents the organisation’s accomplishments as well as missed opportunities. The story offers lessons for the potential of business-led coalitions in galvanizing change and building the civil economy.
Open Access
Carbon Brainprint Case Study: improved delivery vehicle logistics
(2011-07-31T00:00:00Z) Parsons, David J.; Chatterton, Julia C.; Bernon, Mike; Palmer, Andrew
Road transport accounts for about 20% of the total GHG emissions of the UK, and HGVs andLGVs are responsible for about one-third of these. The total direct GHG emissions from HGVsand LGVs in 2008 were about 40 Mt CO2e. Dr Andrew Palmer, a Cranfield University visiting fellow and former PhD student contributed tothe transport recommendations for the food distribution industry following publication of TheFood Industry Sustainability Strategy. These recommendations were taken up by IGD as part ofthe Efficient Consumer Response (ECR - UK) initiative and implemented with 40 leading UKbrands. They reported that this initiative had taken off 124 million road miles (equivalent to 60million litres of diesel fuel) from UK roads over three years (2007-2009) and 163 million roadmiles up to 2010, with a target of 200 million road miles by the end of 2011. The quoted reduction in vehicle use up to 2010 is equivalent to 250 kt CO2e, but this cannot allbe attributed to Cranfield University's carbon brainprint, because Dr Palmer was only one of theauthors of the report and he was not an employee of the university at the time. We estimate theattributable brainprint to be 56 kt CO2e with a 95% confidence range of 32-87. Assuming that this is maintained until 2020, and assuming a 1%/year increase in efficiency independent of thiswork, which will reduce the future brainprint, gives an estimate of 187 kt CO2e (102-295) for theperiod 2007-2020.
Open Access
Citation Counts: Are They Good Predictors of RAE Scores? A bibliometric analysis of RAE 2001
(2008-01-01T00:00:00Z) Surya, Mahdi; D'Este, Pablo; Neely, Andrew
The question of how best to assess research performance is clearly of great concern. In December 2007, HEFCE launched a national consultation on the future of Research Assessment, proposing that a Research Excellence Framework replaces the current Research Assessment Exercise. Fundamentally the Research Excellence Framework involves a shift to metrics. Views on the effectiveness of metrics for assessing research are mixed, so in this report we seek empirically to explore the question of whether metrics based on citation counts are strongly correlated with peer review assessments of research quality. We use data from RAE2001, covering all Departments and all Universities in the UK.
Open Access
Collaborative Commitments.
(Community Links, 2008) Grayson, David
It is easy to become demoralised and paralysed by the scale and number of seemingly intractable problems we face in the UK and globally. Rather, we should treat those problems as the spur to innovation. As Albert Einstein once said, “we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Challenging times demand new approaches – but also provide a sense of possibility. That is the philosophy of the Council on Social Action (CoSA). One of CoSA’s ideas is the concept of ‘collaborative commitments’.
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 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
Creating sustainable businesses through social intrapreneurism
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2013-04) Grayson, David; Spitzeck, Heiko; Alt, Elisa; McLaren, Melody
Open Access
Data crunch report: The impact of bad data on profits and customer service in the UK grocery industry
(GS1 UK and Cranfield University School of Management, 2009-10) GS1 UK; IBM; The Institute of Grocery Distribution; Cranfield School of Management, (KTP project); Value Chain Vision
The UK retail industry is behind the curve in addressing the challenge of poor product supply chain data. The size of the quality problem is a lot worse than expected, with data shown to be inconsistent in over 80% of instances. It is estimated that this will cost the industry at least £700m over the next 5 years, and a further £300m in lost revenues. Looking forward, consumers are demanding better product information and labelling for nutrition, health and lifestyle. Planned European legislation is also demanding that the industry provides further information related to packaging and the environment. In this future world manual work arounds and pragmatic fixes employed currently by retailers are no longer sustainable. The time has arrived for the UK grocery industry to address the data quality issue head on, and reap the considerable benefits.
Open Access
Developing businesses through developing individuals
(1997-04-30T00:00:00Z) Butcher, David; Harvey, Penny; Atkinson, Sally
Open Access
Developing Supply Chain Strategy: Balancing Shareholder and Customer Value - A Management Guide
(Cranfield University, 2007-01) Harrison, Alan; Godsell, Janet; Skipworth, Heather; Wong, Chee Yew; Julien, Denyse; Achimugu, Nemile
Open Access
Diversity management: Practices, strategy and measurement
(Cranfield School of Management, 2002) Singh, Val; Vinnicombe, Susan; Schiuma, Gianni; Kennerley, Mike; Neely, Andrew
Open Access
Engaging employees in corporate responsibility
(Cranfield University School of Management, 2011-06) Exter, Nadine
Open Access
Engaging Tomorrows's Global Humanitarian Leaders Today
(2010-10-14) Dickmann, Michael; Emmens, Ben; Parry, Emma; Williamson, Christine
This research, generously funded by ELRHA, gives insight to one of the key challenges facing humanitarian organisations today: leadership. Without doubt, effective leadership in the humanitarian context is critical, and while we each have a responsibility to model leadership behaviours, the role of our leaders requires special consideration.Working in partnership, People In Aid and Cranfield University, School of Management have asked important questions about the needs and motivations of tomorrow’s humanitarian leaders and the challenges they face. This report presents a clear picture of how humanitarian leaders can be engaged more effectively.
Open Access
The Female FTSE Board Report 2009: Norway and Spain join our census to benchmark corporate boards
(2009-01-01T00:00:00Z) Sealy, Ruth; Vinnicombe, Susan; Doldor, Elena
2009 marks our eleventh annual report with a small incremental increase in the percentage of women on boards. Overall, there are 12.2% women directors on the FTSE 100 boards. There is a discouraging decline in the number of companies with female executive directors to 15 (from 16). Also disappointing is a decline in the number of boards with multiple women directors to 37 (from 39). In addition there is a decline in the overall number of companies with women on boards, and once again one in four companies have exclusively male boards.
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 Female FTSE Board Report 2012: Milestone or Millstone?
(2012-03-13T00:00:00Z) Sealy, Ruth; Vinnicombe, Susan
2012 has seen a step change in the number of women appointed onto FTSE 100 companies following the publication of the Davies Report in February 2011. The number of women holding 163 FTSE 100 board seats is 141, an increase of 25 on the 2010 figures. There are now 20 female executive directorships and 143 female non‐executive directorships. Overall the percentage of board directors who are female is 15, an uplift of 2½ on what was a three year plateau. The number of companies with no women on the board has dropped to 11 and the number of companies with more than one woman on the board has increased to