EDITORIAL

Volume 17, Issue 3, 2022

1. Vision and Mission Statements

-Allan Sensicle

Mission and vision statements are related, and sometimes merged into one, but the mission and vision have slightly different slants. The mission statement is more about facts, with some values incorporated, describing what the company does and why it does it, briefly. It needs to be short and to the point, not weighed down with details. The vision statement is more difficult as it is meant to inspire customers and motivate employees, with more emphasis on values, which should not be vague but genuine core values. Facts should be covered in the mission statement and need not be repeated. The vision statement often presents lofty ambitions which the company expects to achieve. It is more difficult than the mission statement because it aims not just to give information but to inspire. It should not be so ambitious as to be impossibly virtuous, but it should include key values and take into account the concerns of the stakeholders. Yet is should be brief, ideally a single sentence. Not all mission and vision statements sound genuine, or even reasonable. This paper gives some examples with comments from the author about how far the statements succeed or fail.

 

2. Guest Speakers: A Win-Win Outcome for Business Management Education?

- Kay Emblen-Perry

Voluntary work is an arrangement where people work without pay to help others. Charity shops, for example, rely on volunteers. Charity shops are an all-round benefit - for the charity behind it, for customers who find bargains, for a more eco approach than the throw-away society, and for the volunteers themselves. They can gain friendship and the sense of purpose that comes from what they do at the shop and the benefit it gives to the charity. There are opportunities for volunteers elsewhere too, and this paper looks at volunteer speakers at universities. This is another all-round benefit. It extends the university curriculum and provides a new perspective for the students. The volunteers have a new audience who are studying related fields. This gives an interchange of ideas and views based both on the latest theories and the voice of experience. It is often said that teaching is an excellent way of learning, as the teacher has to arrange material in a way to make it easy to understand, and that often clarifies thinking. Helping others helps the helper too. It’s solid win-win for all.

 

3. E-Learning

-Saskia Koeglmeier

E-learning is based on technology developed in the last forty years. This is very new in the history of learning, which dates back to the Ancient Greek philosophers and their students, and no doubt long before. The principles of learning remain the same. Learners are presented with new material to assimilate and build into their knowledge base. Theories about the best way to learn have developed alongside this, with certain basic principles. Learning needs repetition, and inevitably there are errors. To avoid the errors becoming embedded, they need to be corrected as soon as possible. People learn better if they can ask questions and get answers, and have constant opportunities for practice. This is all possible with one-to-one or small group teaching, an interactive process. Face-to-face teaching has advantages, but is not possible on the scale demanded in today’s world. Technology has made it possible to simulate many of the benefits, with the addition that it can be carried out anytime, anywhere, in brief spurts or long sessions, and the learner can take more control. It is expensive to set up, but after that, a cheap and effective way to reach large numbers. As with any type of training, it needs to be adapted to suit current needs, and monitored to ensure it remains fit for purpose, but it is a strong way forward for training and development.

 

4. Socioemotional Wealth, Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business Performance in Family-Based Malaysian SMES – A Literature Review

- Lee Hooi Jing

No business can run without funds, and profit is essential to maintain the business. Not-for-profit organisations still have this principle, though the profit is diverted to the purpose of the organisation rather than the salaries of those in charge. People running a commercial business need to ensure there is profit to keep the business going. At its best, business provides something for customers along with an income for owners and employees, and there is gain all round. At its worst, profit becomes a taskmaster that has everyone frazzled with overwork and corners are cut to increase profit at the expense of quality of the goods or services and quality of life all round. This paper looks at a different viewpoint, where socioemotional wealth is an important type of wealth. Profit is still essential, but needs to be intertwined with emotional needs. Unhappy people are less likely to produce good work than those who are contented. Bad relationships block progress. This paper looks specifically at family-based businesses. Families are more likely to start from a basis that emotional factors matter, but purely commercial businesses can also gain if they factor in socioemotional wealth as well as profit.

 

5. The Integration of Sustainability and Shared Value in the Business Model: Evidence from Multi-Sectoral Cases

- Shebaz Ali Kapadia & Vessela Warren

Fifty years ago, sustainability was widely believed to be a hobby horse of a few cranks who were unrealistic about business. That is reversing, so that ignoring sustainability is now considered irresponsible. Are we taking it seriously enough? There is still a strong emphasis on profit as the measure of success. While profit may be the enabler of a business to continue, if it comes with destruction of the environment it will ultimately bring catastrophic failure. The rise of corporate social responsibility shows that climate change is being taken seriously. There are companies that build in preservation of resources so that planetary crisis need not happen. The steps may be small, such as reducing packaging, sourcing local raw materials and choosing suppliers that follow ethical and ecological codes. With the societal change of attitude, sustainable practice is also becoming important for reputation, which will impact profit as well. This paper reports on case studies of companies that are practising good ecological principles, in cosmetics, food and energy.

 

 

6. New Roles of Audit Committees

- Alice Chin

Banking didn't start out with money. In Ancient Mesopotamia, farmers borrowed seeds, to be repaid after harvest when seeds would be plentiful. It was a neat way of enabling prosperity, at least in food supply. In theory, this still happens metaphorically – banks lend money, it is put to good use, and as a result can be repaid when the results mature. But it needs supervision to ensure mistakes are seen and corrected, and sadly, to detect malpractice born of greed. Audit committees are set up to counteract both, but the global financial crisis has made it clear that these committees had considerable room for improvement. Shockwaves brought a worldwide response to improve corporate governance with new codes of practice and policies designed to hold boards of directors responsible for corporate management actions. The role of audit committees is to evaluate and report the quality of financial management. They should find and alleviate weaknesses, and they seem to have some success. Dechow et al (201) found that firms without audit committees were more likely to be found in need of improvement. Audit committees monitor the firm and check procedures, which makes it likely that errors or misconduct will become visible sooner. and be corrected before they bring disaster.