Business & Economics
The fiscal management of foreign aid in sub-Saharan Africa
Foreign aid is managed by governments whose countries are in need. Their decisions on how that money is managed greatly affect countries’ subsequent economic performance. Loujaina Abdelwahed, Assistant Professor in Economics at The Cooper Union, argues that whether aid is received permanently or temporarily is an overlooked determinant of how a recipient country’s fiscal performance reacts. She focuses her research […]
How mini refineries create business opportunities in developing economies
Petroleum refineries are a huge source of transportation fuels, lubricants, and the starting blocks for chemical synthesis. Even as alternative renewable sources for energy start to replace some demand for petroleum, it is unlikely our dependence on petroleum products and petroleum as a chemical feedstock will be broken any time soon. Dr Himmat Singh, former Chief Scientist at the CSIR–Indian […]
Why aren’t more human resource leaders champions of diversity?
Significant global groundswells of social activism over the last few years have highlighted the issue of diversity. There is now increasing pressure on organisations to address diversity, especially among leadership. Within such organisations, managing this process usually falls within the ambit of the human resource leader, so their sensitivity to issues of culture and diversity is key. Dr Lauren Turner […]
Multiresolution forecasting for commercial processes
Dr Michael Thrun and colleagues Tino Gehlert and Quirin Stier investigated data-driven forecasting techniques for commercially relevant processes, using statistical and machine learning models to investigate future uncertainties in supply chains or call centre management. They found that the new methods, using a so-called wavelet approach – which is able to take varying seasonality into account – performed well compared […]
Managing digital talent: A 21st-century challenge
With an increasing level of market activity transitioning online, and organisational processes increasingly predicated upon ‘black box’ wizardry, the people who understand these things have a special place in the competitive armoury of modern business. These people increasingly require sensitive and intelligent management which recognises the singularity of their skillset. In their new book Digital Talent Management (2021), Dr Sorin […]
Leading a board: What makes an effective chair?
Being the chair of a board is a great responsibility and a great challenge which requires something of a balancing act. On the one hand, the chair is arguably the most important person inside the company. On the other hand, board chairs have no instruments of organisational power, such as unilateral decision-making authority, investment budgets, or a pyramid of subordinates. […]
Towards more equitable money creation
Money creation should be governed with an eye on ethics, but its current path follows an unfair formula that entrenches injustice. Philosopher and economist Professor Peter Dietsch of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, points out a number of biases in the current monetary system. He suggests a normative framework for assessing what a more equitable money creation system […]
A canvas for a digital ecosphere
Digital Hub Denmark attracts digital talents, investors, and customers to Denmark. Digital Hub Denmark Professor, Claus A Foss Rosenstand, from Aalborg University, is helping organisations achieve exponential growth by leveraging digital disruptive technologies. While still in its early stages, this action research programme has produced a canvas to support digital ecosystems made up of digital tech-businesses in areas that are […]
Gene-environment interplay: A revolution for social science research?
Dr Hans van Kippersluis (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Dr Stephanie von Hinke (Bristol University; Erasmus University Rotterdam), and Dr Pietro Biroli (University of Bologna), argue that recent developments in genetic studies and data availability make a great addition to social science and economics research. They argue that the analysis of gene–environment interplay can help test economic theories, uncover economic or behavioural […]
Corporate sustainability: Benefits and drawbacks in the implementation of green business initiatives
As the public becomes increasingly cognisant of its effect on the environment, companies are progressively looking for green initiatives to implement and improve their corporate sustainability strategies. Dr Roberto Sarmiento at the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí, and his team, examined potential trade-offs that could occur during the implementation of a green initiative at an SME in Mexico. The […]