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Since the early 2000s, emerging markets have become the heart of global supply chains hosting a large volume of industrial productions. The second article looked into the barriers to attaining sustainability in supply chain of the Bangladeshi pharmaceutical sector and developed a hierarchical structure of those barriers using interpretive structural modeling and MICMAC analysis. The eleventh article explored a new way to assess suppliers' suitability by considering pseudo-resilience factors to achieve SSC in the post-COVID-19 era using an analytical hierarchy process and R. It also provided a case study of three smartphone processor suppliers (Jessin et al., 2023).
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Examining best practices in using the functional service provider model for clinical operations, pharmacovigilance, regulatory, and other areas The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that there's a lot more flexibility in clinical trial systems than what was realized in the past. Some of these and other aspects leading to the rise of FSP outsourcing in drug development has been shared by other experts as well.3 Key functions and sub-functional areas within clinical development that have been outsourced as part of FSP model include: * Clinical monitoring (CM) * Clinical data management (CDM) * Biostatistics, statistical programming (BS&P), data standards, conversions (e.g., CDISC) * Medical writing (MW) * Pharmacovigilance/drug safety (PV) * Regulatory affairs (RA) Based on our experience in advising clients and providing FSP/CRO services over the past 20 years, we have seen the creative bundling of some of these functions as part of the extended FSP partnership model. * Combination of CDM, BS&P, and data conversions * Extension of the CDM, BS&P, and MW into a "clinical data services' package * Combination of clinical monitoring, CDM, BS&P, and medical monitoring into a "centralized monitoring team" (potential future services) * Combination of PV and regulatory activities due to regional synergies and submission/compliance requirements (potential future services) To ensure that the FSP model is strategic and provide the sustainable mode of partnership, we have shared some of the best practices ahead (and summarized in Figure 1 above) that can be leveraged and further customized as needed by sponsors: 1.Functional sourcing strategy: Sponsors must include specific criteria as part of their evaluation of service providers for the FSP sourcing plan (some of these are also typically done during a full-service CRO outsourcing process): Size and geography focus of provider that needs to be aligned with the strategic plans of the sponsor (e.g., where they plan to conduct trials to meet their regulatory needs or the size of stud ies). Team strength, capacity, and experience with both FTE and unit/deliverables-based pricing models of delivery. * Commitment to deliver year-over-year productivity gains using automation, digital/AI/ML technologies, and other approaches. * Partnership approach to play a critical role in initiating, driving/participating in innovation, and transformation initiatives of the sponsor. * Past client and employee turnover (attrition) that should be on par or below benchmark for the same function and similar type of service. * Executive commitment to participate actively in joint-governance discussions that ensures proactive monitoring and tracking of the program milestones and drive mitigatory actions, should milestones not be delivered on time, quality, and cost. 4.RFI/RFP process, joint solution development, and rigorous scoring of proposals and solutions:
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Strong collaboration critical as trial development advances Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, biotech and emerging biopharma companies were increasingly turning to contract research organizations (CROs) to contain costs and secure therapeutic and clinical trial expertise to help meet their individual objectives. Therapeutic and clinical trial expertiseWith exploratory drug development often focused on multiple indications, a CRO with depth of tic expertise optimize clinical delivery enhancing quality and reducing timelines. Furthermore, years of therapeutic expertise and interaction with investigational sites ensure site engagement with heightened interest and attention to the target patient population.
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Many nations have suffered the catastrophe of COVID-19, and one of the first countries affected by the pandemic was Iran; all industries and individuals have been adversely affected by the pandemic. Health care systems and patients' conditions, in particular, were disrupted due to canceling elective surgery. To put it more sharply, a delay in performing elective surgery may potentially impact patients' survival and the quality of their lives. To cope with the new situation, in the first stage, the Clean Hospital strategy was proposed in order to minimize the effects of this pandemic on elective surgical services. The mentioned strategy is a try to provide a solution and resume elective surgeries in the pandemic period. In the second stage, panel discussion, Delphi method, and the best-worst method (BWM) were employed to prioritize the factors that inhibit Coronavirus transmission. The proposed strategy and the results of this study could be used by policymakers and health departments to resume elective surgeries and control the infection to maintain a hospital or a section of it clear. The overall result of the study showed that the most important Covid-19 prevention factors in Clean Hospitals were personal protection (w = 0.212), screening checklist (w = 0.182), and check body temperature (w = 0.126), respectively (C1 > C2 > C3). According to the financial, time, and human resource limitations, first, resources were allocated to higher priority criteria, and in order of priority, all items (C1, C2, ., C9) were used in the Clean hospital strategy.
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The tourism and hospitality sectors all over the world have been somewhat decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are still many hotels operating today despite the calamity. Given the complexity and unpredictability of the hotel industry environment, this study enhanced the Crafting Strategy (CS) notion by adding the experimenting dimension and provides empirical support for the enhanced CS capability to predict hotel resilience, which are the novelties of this study. This study explained the relationship between CS, planned resilience (PR), reactive resilience (RR), and resilience outcomes (RO). A mixed methods analysis was used to analyze data from 150 hotel senior managers in Bali Island, the hardest hit tourist destination in Indonesia. The result revealed that experimenting is indeed a strong contributor to CS. Furthermore, CS shows a positive and significant impact to PR and RR. PR also has a strong influence on RR and the relationship between PR and RO (recoverability, adaptation, and innovation) is mediated by RR. Positive impacts of recoverability and adaptation on financial performance were also shown. In conclusion, hotels need to build and strengthen both their PR, and RR as they are equally important for the RO that is crucial for sustainability.
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Globalization, technological innovations, and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have promoted disruptive changes in buying and selling negotiation models through e-communication. As a result, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been forced to adapt to online channels. Considering market relevance, this article describes the survey results with 11 SMEs regarding their adherence to digital media. Moreover, a case study of a selected company demonstrated barriers and propulsions to digital adequacy. The aim was to promote SMEs' competitiveness through technology transfer, focusing on e-communication and strategic digital planning. The results show that the insertion of technology through digital media depends on the knowledge of the tools used in this medium. Therefore, despite being ready to use, SMEs have not yet fully leveraged digital media. Organizational barriers, such as lack of time for those responsible, lack of training and knowledge, and strategic planning, were observed. However, environmental factors such as competitive pressure and innovation-related policies are positive for insertion. Thus, there is room for companies to invest in digital strategic planning focused on improving sales, customer relations, and competitiveness. © 2022 IEEE.
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On September 2-4, 2021, the Eastern Economic Forum "New Opportunities of the Far East in a changing World" was held in Vladivostok. Within the framework of the forum, on September 2, 2021, a session "Partnership against a pandemic: anti-crisis strategies in medicine" was held. In the presented material, the problems and tasks of healthcare in the Russian Federation in the context of a pandemic of a new coronavirus infection are discussed.Copyright © 2021 Moscow State University of Psychology and Education. All right reserved.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is the most disastrous health event of the twenty-first century with significant impacts on the economy, institutions, organizations and people's well-being and lifestyle. Risk perception is a knowledge process that manifests itself in risk behavior and reflects people's experiences, beliefs and social influences. The management of risk perception is essential in contributing to people's protective behaviors in the presence of health risks. In Cuba, one of its significant effects is reflected in the psychology of individuals, despite policies to mitigate its consequences. Minimizing COVID-19 transmission requires the application of effective policies that contribute with adequate perceptions, depending on the risk factors. The goal of this research is to develop a system of actions that can contribute to the transition of a favorable scenario for the management of risk perception regarding COVID-19 in Cuba according to the new normality and through the use of a scenario planning methodology. The findings allow characterizing the current scenario and proposing actions and indicators in order to achieve the most favorable scenario for risk perception management related to COVID-19 from a geographic perspective. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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Customer satisfaction is one of the important factors affecting organizational performance. There are five dimensions to investigate customer satisfaction which are tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Chengdu ReadKing Advertising Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd. was selected as an example to analyze the situation of the five dimensions of customer satisfaction. The purpose of the study is to analyze the customer satisfaction and evaluate the current situation of customer service in 2021. The sample size is randomly 100 customers from Chengdu ReadKing Advertising Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd. A mixed research method combining quantitative and qualitative research was adopted. The descriptive analysis and Multiple Linear Regression were applied with the interview as the quantitative and the qualitative analyses. The result shows that assurance, responsiveness, and empathy are the significant variables which influenced the customer satisfaction. The strongest influence toward the satisfaction is assurance following by responsiveness and empathy respectively.
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Talent Management plays a crucial role to support the business continuity and empower the most important asset for the company - its people. The role that Talent Management has played was highlighted in different aspects across the organization, starting from developing competent HR team and HR department structure that can influence company culture by taking an active approach in this regard. The journey started by working with the executives and stakeholders across the business to evaluate the current company culture, assess potential gaps or opportunities, and create a strategic plan to align the organization's culture with its values and goals. Moreover, a deliberate building of core and supplementary HR systems serving the business strategy while respecting culture readiness has taken place. This started off with developing leadership development programs, conducting a competency management system for better training and skills development, relying on assessment tools in recruitment and using these tools in the on-boarding, knowledge sharing approach, creating a performance management culture and working on continuous development and improvement. The Leadership Development Program was achieved on 3 phases: Assessment phase, Development phase and re-assessment phase. One of the main objectives that we tried to focus on while implementing the leadership development program was to find employees who are potential leaders and nurture them early enough. In addition, it was crucial to identify a Leadership Competency Profile to have a clear, compelling vision of how the skills we were building in the leadership development program connect to the leadership road map in the company. In addition, and in the light of Covid-19 and the absence of Employee Training in 2020, the HR department came out with an initiative to carry out internal knowledge sharing workshops across the company. These workshops aimed at increasing employees' awareness with the different functions across the company in addition to increasing the level of engagement, communication, and presentation skills for employees. There is always a need to measure where we are and the progress done so far to know where we want to be and adjust the process accordingly. Therefore throughout all of these processes and programs, different feedback surveys were conducted to take necessary action plans. This helped in getting all employees onboard with us. Ultimately the alignment that was made between the Talent Management and the overall company's business strategy resulted in the company's ability to maintain a competitive advantage. A huge progress was made but the process continues to sustain this role. Copyright © 2023, Society of Petroleum Engineers.
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This perspective is a qualitative meta-analysis study using a critical interpretive synthesis that narrates three future and equally plausible scenarios of social and economic development in the State of Kuwait over the next 15 years. The first scenario follows what we call the ‘Sustainable Growth' model as defined by the United Nations Development Goals and the Kuwait Vision 2035 presented by the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. As a polar opposite, the next scenario is what we call the ‘Mismanaged Resourced-Based Autocracy' model, a negative reflection of the worst-case scenario. The third scenario is in between these two, and we call it the ‘Equality of Outcome Between Societal Groups' model. So as not to lay blame for past actions or point fingers, which could prove counterproductive to a consensus-building process for needed actions, we chose to use the pasts of other countries for future projections for the State of Kuwait. Our search through recent socio-economic pasts revealed that Singapore was the best fit for the first scenario, Venezuela for the second, and Lebanon for the third. All these countries became fully independent at approximately the same time as the State of Kuwait and share many other similarities. The three future projections were used as input variables to the outcome, which was a bottom-up and top-down consensus-making process regarding utilitarian action for Kuwait to be used by Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Think-Tanks, Development Agencies, the government and the parliament.
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The tourism industry experienced a positive increase after COVID-19 and is the largest segment in the foreign exchange contribution in developing countries, especially in Vietnam, where China has begun reopening its borders and lifted the pandemic limitation on foreign travel. This research proposes a hybrid algorithm, combined convolution neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM), to accurately predict the tourism demand in Vietnam and some provinces. The number of new COVID-19 cases worldwide and in Vietnam is considered a promising feature in predicting algorithms, which is novel in this research. The Pearson matrix, which evaluates the correlation between selected features and target variables, is computed to select the most appropriate input parameters. The architecture of the hybrid CNN–LSTM is optimized by utilizing hyperparameter fine-tuning, which improves the prediction accuracy and efficiency of the proposed algorithm. Moreover, the proposed CNN–LSTM outperformed other traditional approaches, including the backpropagation neural network (BPNN), CNN, recurrent neural network (RNN), gated recurrent unit (GRU), and LSTM algorithms, by deploying the K-fold cross-validation methodology. The developed algorithm could be utilized as the baseline strategy for resource planning, which could efficiently maximize and deeply utilize the available resource in Vietnam.
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PurposeThis paper aims to investigate Supply Chain (SC) Performance Measurement Systems (PMSs) (SCPMSs) that are suitable and applicable to evaluate SC performance during unexpected events such as global pandemics. Furthermore, the contribution of Industry 4.0 Disruptive Technologies (IDTs) to implement SCPMSs during such Black Swan events is investigated in this study.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology is based upon a novel qualitative and quantitative mixed-method. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was initially employed to identify two complete lists of SCPMSs and IDTs. Then, a novel Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Hesitant-Fuzzy (IVIHF)-Delphi method was firstly developed in this paper to screen the extracted SCPMSs. Afterward, the Propriety, Economic, Acceptable, Resource, Legal (PEARL) indicator of the Hanlon method was innovatively applied to prioritize the identified IDTs for each finalized SCPMS.FindingsTwo high-score SCPMSs including the SC operations reference (SCOR) model and sustainable SCPMS were recommended to improve measuring the performance of the pharmaceutical SC of emerging economies such as Iran in which the societal, biological and economic issues were undeniable, particularly during unexpected events. Employing nine IDTs such as simulation, big data analytics, cloud technologies, etc., would facilitate implementing sustainable SCPMS from distinct perspectives.Originality/valueThis is one of the first papers to provide in-depth insights into determining the priority of contribution of IDTs in applying different SCPMSs during global pandemics. Proposing a novel multi-layer mixed-methodology involving SLR, IVIHF-Delphi, and the PEARL indicator of the Hanlon method is another originality offered by this paper.
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According to the World Health Organization, a pandemic occurs when a newly discovered disease spreads rapidly across the globe. The capacity of states to respond to pandemics is determined by various factors, including the availability of resources, the level of development, scientific and technological advancements, and the quality of governance that allows for the effective implementation of policies with equitable outcomes. Along with lessons to be learned from the experience of New Zealand as one of the most competent managers of COVID-19, other studies have focused on predictors for receiving vaccines, government intervention strategies for preventing and controlling the virus through systems thinking, resilient leadership and life skills, support to women entrepreneurs, the role of policy actors in implementing social distancing, and co-creation of COVID-19 responses. Gauld noted the strain on the health system and advocated for financial help to ensure compliance with COVID-19 criteria to decrease negative repercussions on the public and business.
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Brazil's construction sector is of great importance to the recovery of the GDP, negatively impacted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This study presents two innovations that help transform this picture. One linked to the style of construction and architecture, the "open concept", and the other, a management philosophy that has conquered space in several organizations in the construction industry, Lean Construction. The objective of this work is to present and analyze a stage of a residential remodeling, managed through Lean Construction, using tools to support decision making and consequently process optimization. The methodology used consists of a case study, dealing with the analysis and decisions of a critical stage of the remodeling planning of the property, involving the demolition of three pillars, to make the open concept feasible. The change of scenery during the project encouraged the development of new actions that would allow the achievement of the objectives without jeopardizing the remodeling schedule, bringing security to the clients. The positive results achieved corroborate the importance of applying Lean Construction, its principles and tools for contributions in the planning and development of projects in the civil construction sector.
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The outbreak of COVID-19 confronted the international community with critical health, social, and economic challenges. Travel and tourism were among the hardest affected sectors. In 2020 and 2021 new travel trends emerged, emphasizing local destinations, short distances, and consequently, lower-carbon transportation (proximity tourism). Post-pandemic recovery represents an opportunity to bounce back better by rethinking the sector's economic model for the sake of sustainability and innovation. This paper disseminates the research that led to the structuring of guidelines for a breakthrough and inclusive municipal-level action plan for the promotion of sustainable tourism, as part of the Tourism Friendly Cities project. An operational methodology is discussed here, whereby key stakeholder participation, conceptualized through a sextuple helix model, is the foundation of the planning process. A small-scale action and a qualitative assessment tool of the participatory process are also illustrated. The proposed methodology corroborates the vast positive effects deriving from stakeholder participation in terms of trust, ownership, planning quality, innovativeness and sustainability of interventions. In applying the methodology, although the digital framework was evaluated positively in terms of the number of participants that could be involved, data collection, and confidentiality of activities, the evaluation shows that hybrid modes of participation are more desirable.
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Objective. To describe the landscape of well-being content inclusion across schools and colleges of pharmacy in the United States and Canada through identification of content implementation, incorporation, and assessment. Methods. A cross-sectional survey was distributed to all accredited schools and colleges of pharmacy in the United States (n=143) and Canada (n=10). Survey questions included curricular and cocurricular timing, frequency, assessment strategies, and support for well-being initiatives, using a framework of eight dimensions (pillars) of wellness to categorize content. Results. Descriptive data analyses were applied to 99 completed surveys (65%), 89 (62%) in the United States and 10 (100%) in Canada. Well-being content was most prevalent within the cocurricular realm and incorporated into didactic and elective more than experiential curricula. The most content came from intellectual, emotional, and physical pillars, and the least content came from financial, spiritual, and environmental pillars. Less than 50% of schools and colleges of pharmacy include well-being within their strategic plans or core values. Funding is primarily at the level of the university (59%) or the school or college of pharmacy (59%). Almost half of respondents reported inclusion of some assessment, with a need for more training, expertise, and standardization. Conclusion. Survey results revealed a wide range of implementation and assessment of well-being programs across the United States and Canada. These results provide a reference point for the state of well-being programs that can serve as a call to action and research across the Academy.
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Following lockdowns in 2020 owing to Covid‐19, schools needed to find a way to ensure the education of their pupils. In order to do this, they engaged in digital learning, to varying extents. Innovations emanated from all school staff including, for example, teachers, leaders and teaching assistants. Some were already innovating in this area and brought forward and implemented digital strategies, while others engaged with digital learning for the first time. While research is emerging about the effects of the pandemic restrictions on pupils and staff in relation to key issues such as mental health and educational attainment, very little is known about the impact on school leaders' strategic planning processes. To address this gap, this paper draws on a UK Research and Innovation funded study adopting a strategy as learning approach to report on 50 qualitative interviews with school leaders to examine digital strategy in English secondary schools, before, during and after July 2021, when restrictions were lifted in England. It draws on strategy as learning literature to evaluate if schools have changed their strategic planning for digital learning, as a direct response to having learned and innovated during the pandemic. The paper concludes that there is evidence that digital innovations during the pandemic have changed the ways in which leaders think about their digital strategy, thus supporting a strategy as learning approach. However it also concludes that although there is ample evidence that the pandemic has changed the way many schools view digital learning, for some schools, there remain persistent barriers to digital integration and planning. These emanate both from material and cultural considerations, as well as leader vision and belief in digital learning.
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The modern business environment in which the world economy operates brings increasing unpredictability, which makes it difficult to plan and implement business continuity management. Recent examples are the emergence and spread of the corona virus and the war in Ukraine. Market-oriented economies are characterized by a reduction in the life cycle of companies and competition in saturated industrial sectors. Integration processes, takeovers and mergers, represent one of the ways of implementing development strategies of organizations and most often take place in waves and in crisis periods due to economic shocks and the influence of internal and external factors on the organization. Mentioned strategy is used by companies in order to acquire the necessary capital and resources in an effort to establish their position on the market more quickly and efficiently and to carry out activities of greater volume and income for the purpose of survival and faster progress. Due to the trends of M&A and the growing inconsistency and uncertainty in business, the aim of this paper is to highlight the consequences that M&A brings when it comes to managing the business continuity of a "newly integrated" organization. The impact on employees, business processes and general functioning and management of business continuity during and especially after integration will be observed. In order to fulfill the objective of the paper, the empirical part of the paper uses the Delphi method, in which the source of data is based on statistical collection and then the interpretation of the answers to the set questionnaire from a number of experts in the field of business continuity management, the banking sector, auditing and several business units that have recently passed M&A activities in order to consolidate attitudes about the consequences that integration processes bring for business continuity management and the organization as a whole. The paper will analyze the consequences of mergers and acquisitions for the management of business continuity, identify its advantages and disadvantages, and present recommendations for future such processes in the concluding remarks.
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This article discusses how emerging types of crises provide opportunities for strategic planning as a form of intra-crisis response. The article supplements existing literature and approaches to strategic planning that conventionally emphasize its value in relatively more stable conditions or mostly as a platform for pre-crisis preparedness. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. IMPACT: As an intensive, long-term oriented and deliberative process, strategic planning is generally viewed as an essential practice in the public sector, yet mostly in relatively stable or non-crisis contexts. However, emerging crisis types (such as ‘creeping crises') come with a novel mixture of features that disrupt conventional norms of public administration, crisis governance and policy-making. Drawing on the theories of creeping crises, strategic planning and empirical observations, the author explains how such crises create windows of opportunity for intra-crisis strategic planning. In such crisis conditions, practitioners should dedicate sufficient time to undertake intra-crisis strategic planning to drive crisis policy-making and crisis governance, rather than engaging in ad hoc and stopgap crisis responses. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.