Territorial Food Product Perceptions in Greece and Spain

Abstract

Market orientation is the evolutionary focus of EU food policy initiatives. In the context of this study, an example of this ethos is the legislative support framework for territorial food products. Whilst quantitative studies exist which examine the perceptual determinants of such products, exploratory research exposing the importance of symbolic connotations is largely the preserve of the qualitative literature. This paper seeks to generalise these tentative qualitative findings, whilst extending the dearth of quantitativeliterature by focusing in more detail on segment profiles, employing both an improved multivariate treatment and ‘pooled data’ from two Mediterranean countries to examine the significance of ‘citizenship’ on product perception.     

The practical view of employee rights

Advocates of employee rights, relying upon moral and legal perspectives, have used moral appeals and the threat of legal sanctions to persuade managers to act responsibly. Drawing on a behavioral perspective and analyzing interviews and literature about employee complaints, this paper develops the practical view. This view emphasizes employees' perceptions of their rights, as represented by eight broad categories of asserted rights, and the subtle costs that employees can impose when their standards of proper treatment are violated. While important differences between the behavioral, legal, and moral perspectives are identified, a general standards-setting framework is presented that indicates the complementarity of the three perspectives and the advantages of a multidisciplinary combination.     

Socio‐demographic variables,recreational resource use,and attitudes toward development in Camrose,Alberta

The paper examines relationships between socio‐demographic variables, recreational behavior, and attitudes toward development of a natural recreational resource among a city‐wide sample of residents of the city of Camrose, Alberta. Three aspects of recreation behavior, namely participation in recreation in general, participation in selected activities, and use of the resource were found to be associated with four socio‐demographic variables. The relationship with age was the strongest and most consistent, but income, education, and family size were also important. None of the aspects of recreation behavior was related to sex and marital status, nor was it possible to use any of the variables as predictors of the frequency of recreational activity. Respondents additionally differed with regard to the perceived importance of future decisions about the resource, and it was found that variations in preferences for future activities and proposals were consistent with these perceptions and with current use patterns. The findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical contribution to research on socio‐demographic variables arid recreation behavior, notably with reference to opportunity theory, and with reference to their role in choosing strategies of recreational management.     

A Case Study to Determine the Impact of Offering Selective Menus on Customer Satisfaction in a Health-Care Foodservice Operation

Abstract

In an effort to improve patients' satisfaction with healthcare foodservice, many hospitals are implementing a selective menu program. The purpose of this study was to identify the impact of a selective menu program on customer satisfaction in a health-care foodservice setting in Korea. The results of this study indicate that patients' perceptions of food and service dimensions are significant predictors of overall satisfaction with hospital foodservices. Patients who opted for a selective menu program at high levels of frequency showed more satisfaction with the selective menu program than those in the low-user group. “Food variety,” “taste,” and “offering nutritional information about menu items” are the key drivers of overall satisfaction.     

Hotel management style: a study of employee perceptions and preferences

This study investigates employee perceptions of, and preferences for, management practices within a five-star, medium-sized hotel. In particular, the study examines the hypothesis that hotel managers have become more consultative. Using longitudinal data over a 4-yr period, the study examines the perceptions of staff of the management practices and styles in the changing environment of one hotel. The findings suggest that, while staff prefer a decisive style of management, supervisors and department heads were perceived as being autocratic. In fact, in the 4 yr over which the data had been collected, the style of management had become less consultative and more autocratic. Implications for management are discussed, as are recommendations for future research.     

Factors influencing adoption of conservation tillage in Australian cropping regions*

The purpose of this research is to improve understanding of conservation tillage adoption decisions by identifying key biophysical and socio‐economic factors influencing no‐till adoption by grain growers across four Australian cropping regions. The study is based on interviews with 384 grain growers using a questionnaire aimed at eliciting perceptions relating to a range of possible long‐ and short‐term agronomic interactions associated with the relative economic advantage of shifting to a no‐tillage cropping system. Together with other farm and farmer‐specific variables, a dichotomous logistic regression analysis was used to identify opportunities for research and extension to facilitate more rapid adoption decisions. The broader systems approach to considering conservation tillage adoption identified important determinants of adoption not associated with soil conservation and erosion prevention benefits. Most growers recognised the erosion‐reducing benefits of no‐till but it was not an important factor in explaining whether a grower was an adopter or non‐adopter. Perceptions associated with shorter‐term crop production benefits under no‐till, such as the relative effectiveness of pre‐emergent herbicides and the ability to sow crops earlier on less rainfall were influential. Employment of a consultant and increased attendance of cropping extension activities were strongly associated with no‐till adoption, confirming the information and learning‐intensive nature of adopting no‐till cropping systems.     

Financial statements in less developed countries： What do preparers demand？

This study reports on an empirical investigation of the characteristics, attitudes, and beliefs of preparers of external financial reports in a less developed country. The basic research instrument consisted of a questionnaire in two parts： the first addressing attitudes of professional accountants toward annual financial reports generally; the second, more specifically measuring the importance of the information items to preparers. Our results suggest that the independent auditor is the most influential group in decision-making processes. As in many developed countries, the auditor＇s report and the regulatory framework are considered to have a major influence on financial reporting practices. Preparers believe that a lack of knowledge of external users＇ needs and lack of reporting standards and accepted accounting principles are the main concerns with corporate financial reports in Iran. The results showed that the balance sheet, auditors＇ report, and income statement in that order are the three most important parts of the annual reports.     

Stress perceptions and leadership orientation of Malaysians： Exploring their similarities and differences with Americans

To explore the management orientation of employees in Malaysia and the United States, this paper focuses on comparing the leadership and stress perception of respondents in these two different countries. It appears that Malaysians and Americans have a significantly higher score on the relationship-orientation than task-orientation. Similarly, the female respondents in Malaysia had a significantly higher score on the relationship orientation. Finally, the responses of these 216 Malaysian respondents were compared with the 87 Americans, demonstrating significantly higher scores for respondents from the U.S. on both orientations. For management and practical application, suggestions and implications for future studies are presented.     

A Survey of Managers’ Perceptions of Corporate Ethics and Social Responsibility and Actions that may Affect Companies’ Success

This exploratory study examines how managers and professionals regard the ethical and social responsibility reputations of 60 well-known Australian and International companies, and how this in turn influences their attitudes and behaviour towards these organisations. More than 350 MBA, other postgraduate business students, and participants in Australian Institute of Management (Western Australia) management education programmes were surveyed to evaluate how ethical and socially responsible they believed the 60 organisations to be. The survey sought to determine what these participants considered ‘ethical’ and ‘socially responsible’ behaviour in organisations to be. The survey also examined how the participants’ beliefs influenced their attitudes and intended behaviours towards these organisations. The results of this survey indicate that many managers and professionals have clear views about the ethical and social responsibility reputations of companies. This affects their attitudes towards these organisations which in turn has an impact on their intended behaviour towards them. These findings support the view in other research studies that well-educated managers and professionals are, to some extent, taking into account the ethical and social responsibility reputations of companies when deciding whether to work for them, use their services or buy shares in their companies.     

The Moderating Effect of Impression Management on the Organizational Politics–Performance Relationship

This study investigates the complexities in the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and performance ratings by examining the moderating effect of impression management on that relationship. Expectancy theory was employed to better understand the moderating effect. We proposed that two kinds of impression management tactics occurred: supervisor-focused and job-focused, respectively. It was hypothesized that increased exercise of impression management would mitigate the negative effects of perceptions of organizational politics and performance ratings. Data were collected from 290 full-time employees of ten state-owned enterprises in Taiwan. Hierarchical moderated regression analysis of data revealed that the job-focused tactics exerted a significant moderating effect on the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and performance ratings. When perceptions of organizational politics are low, employees who engage in high levels of job-focused impression management tactics are more likely to gain better ratings than those who employ low-level tactics.