The new normal: lessons learned from SARS for corporations operating in emerging markets

Covid-19 pandemic: Challenges and ways forward for the Indian microfinance institutions

To contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the mandated social distancing and restricted market activities have adversely affected the employment and earnings of the poor who are considered the targeted beneficiaries of the Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). The MFI operation and more specifically fresh lending are under serious threat as the mode of operations primarily involve physical interaction while distributing credits at the clients' doorsteps, conducting periodic group meetings and carrying out regular collections. This short article attempts to analyze the various challenges that MFIs may encounter in their current and future operations due to the ongoing pandemic. It discusses how the government initiated coping mechanisms may help MFIs overcome or minimize the pandemic challenges. At the same time, MFIs' efforts towards continued services are expected to create a win-win situation.

Covid-19 Pandemic: Early Implications for North European Manufacturing and Logistics

From early 2020 onwards, the world has been going through an unprecedented wave of lockdowns, shutdowns, and preventive measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is evident that these have been harmful for tourism, passenger transport, and the service sector in general. However, less is known regarding the implications for manufacturing and logistics, which is the purpose of this research. We concentrate on reporting survey findings from Northern Europe, and mostly from Finland. Based on trade accounts, it is evident that Covid-19 has had significant impacts on Finnish import and export. However, in survey responses, companies report that they have mostly been able to serve customers in a good fashion, and the pandemic has increased transportation costs only moderately. Inventories might experience an increase due to the virus, however, in the longer term they will likely remain at the earlier levels (or slightly increase). Companies are mostly afraid of the effects of the second wave of the epidemic, and are also already thinking about the long-term issues with transportation modes used together with supply chain dependencies. For example, the Chinese and, in part, Russian, markets are increasingly being served by railways during the current decade. For some companies (especially small and medium-sized ones) and foreign trade markets, however, the epidemic era has been very harmful. Therefore, as a conclusion we argue that the pandemic is causing rather asymmetrical impacts on manufacturing and logistics.

The stress (of an) epidemic

We examined the consequences of being exposed to an outbreak of the Norwalk virus at a small university. Data from 422 undergraduates supported a model in which the experience of symptoms and perceptions of the university's response to the outbreak predicted fear of future contamination. In turn, fear predicted strain and enhanced hygiene practices. Results are consistent with a model of disease outbreak as a traumatic stressor, and implications for organizations dealing with disease outbreaks are discussed.