The authors conclude that mortality has decreased in massively burned children to the extent that nearly all patients should be considered as candidates for survival, regardless of age, burn size, presence of inhalation injury, delay in resuscitation, or laboratory values on initial presentation. During the course of hospitalization, the development of sepsis and multiorgan failure is a harbinger of poor outcome, but the authors have encountered futile cases only rarely. The authors found that those patients who are most apt to die are the very young, those with limited donor sites, those who have inhalation injury, those with delays in resuscitation, and those with burn-associated sepsis or multiorgan failure.

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During the last three decades, technological innovations in cargo handling equipment have made it possible to automate operational processes in container terminals. Despite the increasing trend in terminal automation, little work has been done to develop theoretical guidelines for evaluating the benefits of this industrial practice. We assess terminal automation by focusing on whether strategic content and process structure are aligned. In this study, we explore the reasons that these results are mixed in the context of service automation. Have market competitiveness and operational performance been enhanced by automation in seaports? We focus on two key strategic elements and their proper alignment to produce the best performance for a port. The first element is the overall business strategy and strategic content adopted by the port. In this study, we look at Porter's (Competitive strategy, Free Press, New York, 1980) generic strategic classification of low cost, differentiation, or focus strategies. The second element is the process structure of the port, which may have been impacted by technological innovation. Using the framework of contingency theory, we explore the interface of strategic content and process structure and how this interface impacts the service process automation. A multiple case study is conducted on a sample of 20 container terminals, selected from the list The original version of this article was revised: the author name Qingcheng Zeng was misspelt and the authors sequence was incorrect. We come up with three important findings. First, a port's strategic market position determines the choice of overall business strategy. If a port is strategically positioned as an international gate, then it should adopt an overall cost-leadership strategy, whereas a transshipment terminal should adopt an overall differentiation strategy. Second, we find that the process structure adopted is associated with the level of automation, and a differentiation strategy is dependent on the level of flexibility, speed, and reliability. Higher market uncertainty requires higher flexibility, while lower market uncertainty requires greater speed and reliability. Third, the level of process automation depends on throughput volume and stability. Closer relationships with maritime supply-chain partners help increase throughput volume and reduce throughput uncertainty.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to address corporate governance structures. Effective corporate governance can lead to managerial excellence but managerial ethical excellence does not always exist without effective corporate governance. Embedded in both effective corporate governance and managerial excellence is the ''rightness of decisions'' or the ethical decision making process. This paper analyzes this key process in the case of the failure of Swissair.Design/methodology/approach -The authors examine the key corporate governance structure through an explanatory case analysis of Swissair. They look at the structure by applying institutional theory rather than agency theory. It is hypothesized that corporate governance structures must comply with the norms generated by various stakeholders as well as economic incentives. No one set of norms may dominate the compliance; otherwise a corporation loses legitimacy and resources. It is contended that this lack of compliance of all stakeholder norms led to the failure of Swissair. Findings -The authors examined the strategies for governance in Swissair leading up to its failure. Critical examination of the various elements of effective corporate governance results in a model presented here for assimilating appropriate norms of behavior into the corporate decision-making process. They purport that adoption of the model by corporations will improve decision making leading to improved survival and performance.Originality/value -The case analysis provides for the development of a model of corporate governance which includes consideration of all facets of society, its stakeholders and the norms the stakeholders generate. It is contended that companies must consider ethical, social and political norms of behavior in corporate governance structures as well as economic concerns.

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Considerable research has been conducted to analyze the effects of elements such as information technology, efficiency, and innovation on the performance of a company (Bhatt & Grover, 2005;Bowonder et al, 2010;Ogrean et al, 2009;Piccoli & Ives, 2005). However, company success is dependent on effective communication particularly in a multicultural and competitive global environment yet the types of effective communication that impact competitiveness have not been well explored. Although companies are aware of the importance of communication, far less attention is paid to promoting the use of effective communication within and outside the organization as compared to other factors. The Macondo oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico provides a topical case study of how global companies can suffer performance losses due to ineffective communication. Traditional views of organizational competitive advantage have failed to directly address the importance of communication as a differentiator. This paper addresses the importance of effective communication in building and maintaining performance success (Tucker et al 1996) and explores three key types of effective communication in maintaining success through competitive advantage. These three types include the right combination of "soft" and "hard" information gathering, superior interpersonal communication and the appropriate use of information and communication technologies. We use the Macondo case study as a venue to test the successes and failures of communication on performance We find where there is a lack of effective communication an organization's global competitive ability is severely impaired. Further, we address how communication impacts the other elements that contribute to competitive advantage such as efficiency, responsive public Achieving competitive advantage through effective communication in a global environment 51 relations and innovation. We use the findings to present strategies and recommendations to help an organization use effective communication to achieve superior customer satisfaction, encourage innovation, motivate employees, and respond to crises more effectively.

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