Towards an ethical dimension of decision making in organizations

There is a growing need to increase our understanding of ethical decision making in U.S. based organizations. The authors examine the complexity of creating uniform ethical standards even when the meaning of ethical behavior is being debated. The nature of these controversies are considered, and three important dimensions for ethical decision making are discussed: leaders with integrity and a strong sense of social responsibility, organization cultures that foster dialogue and dissent, and organizations that are willing to reflect on and learn from their actions. Leaders with integrity demonstrate consistency between vision and action that promotes trust, regularly concern themselves with developing moral standards, and are proactive agents of change in an increasingly complex world. Organizational cultures that support dialogue suspend judgments and increase their capacity to think together towards new levels of understanding. Ethical concepts evolve in these organizational cultures, and actions are informed and responsible. Organizations that reflect on their actions engage in double loop learning so that the time taken to reflect on the past and present leads to a more judicious and ethical future. In essence, the authors point to organizational guidelines for ethical decision making that lead to an increase in members' capacity to think and act ethically. Jonathan Z. Gottlieb is a consultant to organizations and a Ph.D. Candidate in Organizational Psychology. His interests include organization redesign, leadership and team development, ethics, and role definition for organization development practitioners. Jyotsna Sanzgiri is Dean of Organizational Psychology Programs at the California School of Professional Psychology — Alameda. She received her Ph.D. in business Administration and her M.B.A. Her interests include organizational theory and core values across cultures, and the historical underpinnings of organization development and behavior.     

Experience in using a guide vane design with a “floating” lower bearing

Conclusion The use of the floating bearing of the vanes in the lower ring of the gate apparatus makes it possible to reduce the cycle and labor expenditures of manufacture at the plant and on assembly of the gate apparatus with a substantial improvement of the quality of assembly.Translated from Gidrotekhnicheskoe Stroitel'stvo, No. 4, pp. 45–47, April, 1984.     

The deep waters of land reform: land,water and conservation area claims in Limpopo Province,Olifants Basin,South Africa

Through investigating the reactions of commercial farmers to land and water reforms in the Trichardtsdal-Ofcolaco area, Limpopo Province, Olifants Basin, South Africa, from 1997 to 2006, it is shown that water claims are key to land redistribution processes, and that commercial farmers make strategic use of arguments for nature conservation and ecological stewardship to defend their claims to water. Given these observations, caution is warranted with respect to the implementation of land and water reforms as separate policy packages; it may be more effective to design water and conservation policies as an integral part of land reform programmes.     

Economic Benefits of Reservoirs in the Irrigated Agriculture

Abstract

In the Jordan Valley of Jordan, the demand for water and ability to control its location, timing, quality, and quantity are becoming critical. The competition for water between the urban and agricultural sectors is increasing. There is a general trend in Jordan to reduce water allocated for agricultural use. Increasing the price of irrigation water or restricting the planted areas of water consuming crops, such as bananas, has been implemented during the recent growing season. The main objective of this paper is to highlight the impact of optimal allocation of irrigation water by building storage capacity on the economy of Jordan Valley. A linear programming technique is used, and the main results show that for proper management of water storage capacity, the suggested cropping pattern would generate $88.2 million, whereas the actual cropping pattern generated $74.4 million. The optimal water demand schedule is distributed according to the needs of the planted crops, and water demand has been allocated in an efficient way. In addition, appropriate management of storage capacity has solved the problem of water scarcity during the summer months, when peak production takes place. Storage-transfer system between locations played a significant role in reallocating irrigation water through the storage system. This compensates to a high degree in keeping the agricultural production more stable in physical and monetary units.     

Nanofiltration process of glyphosate simulated wastewater

Nanofiltration separation of glyphosate simulated wastewater was investigated using a DK membrane. The effects of operating parameters and the addition of impurities on membrane performance were studied in detail. It was found that at 20 °C, with a glyphosate concentration of 500 mg/L and pH of 2.96, the glyphosate retention rate and the membrane permeate flux increased slightly with increasing transmembrane pressure. With an increase in operating temperature, the permeate flux increased linearly while the retention rate decreased. The permeate flux and glyphosate retention rate decreased with increasing feed concentration. Within the pH range of 3-5, the glyphosate retention rate decreases with increasing pH and reaches a minimum at the isoelectric point of the membrane, while the permeate flux reaches a maximum level at this point. In the pH range of 5-11, with the increases of pH, the glyphosate retention rate increases and the permeate flux decreases. Glyphosate retention decreases slightly with increasing NaCl and phosphite concentrations. This can be explained in terms of the shielding phenomenon.     

Enhanced P, N and C removal from domestic wastewater using constructed wetland employing construction solid waste (CSW) as main substrate

Construction solid waste (CSW), an inescapable by-product of the construction and demolition process, was used as main substrate in a four-stage vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland system to improve phosphorus P removal from domestic wastewater. A 'tidal flow' operation was also employed in the treatment system. Under a hydraulic loading rate (HLR) of 0.76 m3/m2 d for 1st and 3rd stage and HLR of 0.04 m3/m2 d for 2nd and 4th stage of the constructed wetland system respectively and tidal flow operation strategy, average removal efficiencies of 99.4% for P, 95.4% for ammoniacal-nitrogen, 56.5% for total nitrogen and 84.5% for total chemical oxygen demand were achieved during the operation period. The CSW-based constructed wetland system presents excellent P removal performance. The adoption of tidal flow strategy creates the aerobic/anoxic condition intermittently in the treatment system. This can achieve better oxygen transfer and hence lead to more complete nitrification and organic matter removal and enhanced denitrification. Overall, the CSW-based tidal flow constructed wetland system holds great promise for enabling high rate removal of P, ammoniacal-nitrogen and organic matter from domestic wastewater, and transforms CSW from a waste into a useful material.     

Enhanced removal of chemical oxygen demand, nitrogen and phosphorus using the ameliorative anoxic/anaerobic/oxic process and micro-electrolysis

Synthetic wastewater was treated using a novel system integrating the reversed anoxic/anaerobic/oxic (RAAO) process, a micro-electrolysis (ME) bed and complex biological media. The system showed superior chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) removal rates. Performance of the system was optimised by considering the influences of three major controlling factors, namely, hydraulic retention time (HRT), organic loading rate (OLR) and mixed liquor recirculation (MLR). TP removal efficiencies were 69, 87, 87 and 83% under the HRTs of 4, 8, 12 and 16 h. In contrast, HRT had negligible effects on the COD and TN removal efficiencies. COD, TN and TP removal efficiencies from synthetic wastewater were 95, 63 and 87%, respectively, at an OLR of 1.9 g/(L·d). The concentrations of COD, TN and TP in the effluent were less than 50, 15 and 1 mg/L, respectively, at the controlled MLR range of 75-100%. In this system, organics, TN and TP were primarily removed from anoxic tank regardless of the operational conditions.     

Participatory and decentralized water resources management: challenges and perspectives for the North Paraíba River Basin committee - Brazil

The Brazilian Water Resources Policy (Law 9433/1997) establishes participatory and decentralized management, involving civil society, water users and governmental bodies, with the basin committees as the basis of this process. Fifteen years after its implementation, it is possible to perceive accomplishments, but, at the same time, there are some difficulties in regards to the operation of the basin committees in the country. Considering the North Paraíba River Basin - which is completely included in the State of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil, and presents great social and economic importance for the state - this article analyzes the process of formation, installation and functioning of its Basin Committee (CBH-PB), focusing on its composition, the reasons for the mobilization and demobilization of its members, the intra-relations between segments, and the inter-relations between the CBH-PB and other entities of the State Water Management System (the Water Executive Agency and the State Water Resources Council). The level of decentralization and the quality of participatory management (as it is being performed at the CBH-PB) are discussed and guidelines are suggested in order to allow greater effectiveness to the committee.     

The impact of tax holidays on earnings management: An empirical study of corporate reporting behavior in a developing-economy framework

This study investigates whether foreign investment enterprises (FIEs) in China alter their corporate reporting behavior in response to a known schedule of tax-rate increases. The context of this investigation is a tax-incentive scheme that allows firms to pay taxes at a reduced rate for a limited period of time, and then at a higher rate when this period expires. If managers attempt to maximize firm value by minimizing tax costs, then the spread of tax rates in the periods surrounding the rate change may provide a substantial incentive for them to accelerate revenue and defer expenses. Consistent with this hypothesis, the empirical results indicate that firms report significantly higher discretionary current accruals for the years before tax-rate increases. The evidence, which indicates that firms manage earnings upward to take advantage of lower tax rates that are available in certain years, has important implications for tax policymakers.