Context: Unmet need for family planning in the developing world, as measured through surveys, is high. But it is important to determine whether there is a significant level of dormant demand for actual contraceptive services waiting to be satisfied, especially in a country such as Pakistan, where efforts to promote family planning have been disappointing. Methods: Records from six household contraceptive distribution projects in Pakistan are used to determine contraceptive prevalence over 13-22-month periods. An independent professional team conducted an external evaluation, interviewing project supervisors, fieldworkers and clients. Results: Contraceptive use increased dramatically in all six projects, from an average of 12% to 39% in less than two years. The external evaluation team found the contraceptive prevalence measurements to be generally accurate, but identified additional improvements in access and quality that might further increase contraceptive use. Conclusions: Increased use of contraceptives that result from improvements in service delivery confirm that a substantial unmet need exists. The evidence suggests that even greater improvements in access to and quality of services will further increase contraceptive use.
The purpose of this article is to challenge organizational scholars, management educators, and business leaders to consider more deeply the impact of global business activities on local ecosystems. Drawing on the management, sustainability, and entomology literature, we illustrate the complex relationship between global business and biodiversity loss through the lens of the commercial bumble bee trade. Global firms in this trade rear and supply bees for greenhouse crop pollination. We build on a well-known global strategy framework used in management education by adding a sustainability dimension, and offering propositions for the relationship between global business strategy and the strength of environmental sustainability. We conclude that a locally responsive, place-sensitive business strategy supports the strongest degree of environmental sustainability, and addresses the invisible compromises to ecosystem health that may result from the efforts of global firms to provide otherwise beneficial products and services.
IntroductionE merging economies have received growing attention in the international business literature due to the opportunities they offer in the areas of trade, technology transfer, and investment. Relatively less has been written on the risks associated with investment in emerging economies despite the acknowledgment that traditional risks such as labor strife re-main challenges for international business (McTernan, 2005;Moran, 1998;Poole-Robb & Bailey, 2002;Wells, 1998). As production continues to internationalize and manufacturing businesses move labor-intensive production to emerging economies (Athukorala, 2007), it behooves international managers to understand the economic, social, and political factors that shape the industrial relations climate in which management and labor interact.
125As manufacturing businesses increasingly move labor-intensive production to emerging economies, it is important for international managers to understand the sociopolitical factors that shape the climate in which management and labor interact. We present a conceptual "weather map" of industrial relations climates and use indices to plot the climates of 33 emerging, 11 transition, and 21 developed economies. As hypothesized, emerging economies, compared with transition and developed economies, are characterized by a relatively adversarial industrial relations climate and a high incidence of industrial action. Implications for international managers and future research directions are discussed.
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