Public service restructuring in the UK: the case of the English National Health Service

This article overviews welfare state retrenchment in the UK under the Conservative‐led coalition government that formed in May 2010 and has centred its response to economic crisis on rapid public deficit reduction through public expenditure austerity targeted increasingly on the welfare benefits budget. It locates the coalition's reforms of public services and public sector employment relations in the long trajectory of public sector restructuring in the UK: the policies of New Right governments in the 1980s and New Labour from 1997 to 2010 that installed marketisation and privatisation in a permutation of forms, intensifying challenges for trade union organising. Focusing on the English NHS, the article identifies the respects in which the coalition's reforms continue and depart from New Labour's.     

开放型经济转型中所有制结构的变迁与主体选择——基于江苏的截面数据

在后危机时期,江苏开放型经济的发展面临转型的要求。基于一般均衡的分析,政府在实施产业结构调整、"走出去"战略、开拓国内市场和发挥不同所有制经济作用过程中,既要考虑企业主体的生产效率,也要考虑其对社会福利水平的变化,从而对不同所有制经济作用进行一种排序,以便更好地发挥产权结构变迁对经济增长的贡献。     

Dependent Development: the Subcontracting Networks In the Tiger Economies

The ‘dependency development’ approach attributes the phenomenal economic growth of Hong Kong and Taiwan to their structural linkage with the advanced industrialised countries through trade. Foreign buyers and sourcing agents of the multinationals subcontract to the Hong Kong and Taiwanese manufacturers for low-cost and flexible production of labour-intensive consumer products. Such a dependency relationship is, however, successfully managed by the manufacturers in the two economies of the operation of a very similar subcontracting system in major industries. This paper examines the nature of the subcontracting system, the reasons for subcontracting, the operating dynamics, the sustaining mechanisms and the inherent structural problems of the subcontracting network. With the industrial restructuring process taking place in Hong Kong and Taiwan, there are changes to the subcontracting system which have significant implications for the welfare of the workers.     

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN CONSUMER CREDIT AND DEFAULT LITERATURE

This survey discusses recent contributions to the quantitative literature on unsecured consumer debt and default, and some ongoing challenges for the literature. Key topics include the sources of the rise in personal bankruptcies, the importance of asymmetric information and the effects of developments in information technologies on consumer credit markets, delinquency and informal bankruptcy, debt collection and restructuring of distressed debt, the cyclical behavior of consumer debt and default, and the insurance role of household debt. Implications for welfare analysis and policy design are discussed. Several theoretical contributions and approaches to modeling the consumer credit markets are also highlighted.     

转型期城市竞争力提升与城市空间重构

城市空间重构是目前我国城市发展处于快速转型期中所出现的普遍现象,它既表现为自发的空间重组,更表现为应对竞争日益激烈的发展环境而采取的种种主动策略.在中国转型时期,城市竞争力与城市空间重构已经构成一对内在关系密切的理论与实践命题,城市空间重构已经成为提升竞争力的有效手段之一.本文在此命题基础上提出了基于空间重构提升城市竞争力的策略.     

Economic restructuring and state intervention in Holdenist suburbia: understanding urban poverty in Australia

From the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s a particular conjuncture of capital-state relations formed in Australia, leading to the development of a distinctive urban form —‘Holdenist suburbia’: built by government; of a large scale and uniform appearance; constructed of poor quality, cheap materials; home to relatively high percentages of public renters; comprised of predominantly working-class families; adjacent to manufacturing employment; and stigmatized. An examination of one such Holdenist suburban estate in 1966 and 1991 illustrates how certain aspects of economic restructuring and state intervention have forged such spaces as sites of urban poverty. With the broad aim of connecting Australian urban studies to ongoing international debates about the nature of contemporary urban poverty, it is noted that distinctive characteristics of Australian urban and welfare state development render the application of concepts derived from different cultural settings problematic. This paper makes two points. First, a ‘finer-combed’ interpretation of Australian postwar suburban development is required to delineate the role of the state in shaping a particular urban form during this period — the Holdenist suburban form. Second, this delineation is particularly important to understanding contemporary urban poverty in Australia, for the social provisions of state policy have, in contradictory fashion, both prevented the full development of outcast ghettos (Marcuse, 1996) and, in conjunction with the processes of economic restructuring, forged sites of urban poverty.     

Privatization,Financialization and State Restructuring in Eastern Germany: The case of Am südpark

Using a mix of survey data, results from a study on local planning politics and fieldwork, this article discusses the interplay of planning and welfare policies with global financial markets in the ‘making’ of social segregation in Halle‐Neustadt, a borough in the German city of Halle (Saale). Here, different developments come together. First, Halle‐Neustadt has experienced two waves of privatization, leading to a complete change of ownership structures, marked by the rise of financial investors. Second, welfare cuts have put increasing pressure on welfare recipients to live in the cheapest housing available. This has led to the emergence of a ‘Hartz IV business model’ based on low, but state‐subsidized, rents. Third, new planning policies have led to a massive drop in house prices, thus facilitating the use of ‘leverage’ strategies for financial investors. We expand on an already developed debate, providing new insights about relations between planning, state restructuring and financialization in a German context. We demonstrate that a broad array of changes in national regulatory settings, policy change in different sectors and local particularities can all be crucial in enabling financialization. We conclude that research should place greater emphasis on the state in providing explanations and take differences in context more seriously.     

《企业会计准则—债务重组》修订前后的差异分析

2006年2月15日财政部颁布了新的会计准则体系,其准则中债务重组部分与2001年修订的存在较大差异,文章就其内容从债务重组的定义、债务重组的方式、债务重组的计量模式以及债务重组的会计处理等4个方面进行新旧债务重组的差异比较分析。     

Europe 1992 revisited: Assessing the Net Benefit for the UK

Calendar time has passed the 31.12.1992 deadline for completion of the EC internal market and although a voluminous body of literature has accumulated over recent years, the predictive assessment of the economic consequences of the Single European Market cannot be considered as a settled issue. The widely quoted estimates of the welfare gains from ‘Europe 1992’ suggested in the Cecchini Report of the European Commission have failed to find the unanimous approval of the economics profession. The controversial academic discourse concerning the validity of these estimates has at least shown the need for further research in this direction. Moreover, in the face of the envisaged establishment of the Single European Area, which extends the internal market regime to the EFTA group, as well as in view of the imminent EC membership applications by several Community neighbours, the refinement of the tools for the analysis of further European integration retains a high ranking on the research agenda for future years. As a contribution to the ongoing exploration of the economics of the Single Market, this article summarises the main results of a recently concluded London Business School research project to quantify the net gains from completing the EC internal market for the UK. The analytical approach adopted for the purpose is an applied computable general equilibrium (CGE) model which incorporates recent advances in international trade theory by allowing for the presence of imperfect competition, intra-industry product differentiation and economies of scale. The approach overcomes various shortcomings of previous evaluations of regional integration programmes. The quantitative results suggest in particular that the UK is a net winner of the Single Market programme, yet the aggregate welfare gain remains well below 0.5 per cent of benchmark GDP. The analysis furthermore indicates that the long-tern industrial restructuring processes induced by the programme are likely to be far more moderate than is widely believed.     

成长期企业重组战略的抉择——特变电工

本案例主要对特变电工股份有限公司的重组战略进行案例研究，通过对其快速发展中关键的几次重组中，重组方式和对象的选择决策，重组过程中的风险监控、以及重组后的整合和管理过程进行分析，发掘重组战略中对特变电工股份有限公司财务绩效和竞争力提高产生显著影响的关键因素，探索企业在成长期如何把握自身优势和发展机遇，充分利用优质资源实施...     

Measuring the impact of restructuring and country-specific factors on the efficiency of post-crisis East Asian banking systems: Integrating DEA with SFA

This paper investigates the relationship between post-crisis bank restructuring, country-specific conditions and bank efficiency in Asian countries from 1997 to 2001 using an approach that integrates data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier analysis. We focus on restructuring measures related to bank ownership. The results indicate that although domestic mergers produce more efficient banks, overall, restructuring does not lead to more efficient banking systems. Banking system inefficiencies are mostly attributed to country-specific conditions, particularly, high interest rates, concentrated markets and economic development.     

电信企业转型中的组织与人力资源机制创新研究

电信企业转型是一个从市场转型到服务与技术转型再到企业管理转型的多种内容并存、全方位、相互交叉的过程,而管理转型中的一个关键问题是组织与人力资源机制创新问题。通过对当前电信企业转型中组织与人力资源机制创新的必然性和基本内涵的阐述,研究了电信企业组织人力资源机制创新的主要措施,即以市场化导向创新组织架构、以岗位和职务通道分类管理创新用人机制、以多渠道吸纳新兴业务人才创新用工机制和以市场与客户价值为导向创新分配机制。     

Restructuring as a reaction to growing pressure on trade unionism: the case of the Austrian ÖGB

After charting the specific problems that the Austrian Trade Union Confederation (ÖGB) faces, this article describes the ÖGB's predominant strategy in reaction to growing pressure: structural adjustments. They focus on external restructuring, especially mergers, and union administration. The article analyses the motivations for restructuring and assesses whether transformative restructuring can be observed.     

Reshaping Community Mental Health Services in a Restructured State: New Zealand 1984-97

The concept of the hollow state has been proposed as a general framework for public sector restructuring, with New Zealand seen as a leader in reforming social and welfare services, including mental health. This article reports on documentary and interview research into the provision of community-based mental health services in terms of hollow state characteristics: privatization, decentralization and flexibilization. The evidence suggests that privatization occurred only at the margins, that decentralization led to significant regional differences in contractual arrangements and services and that flexibilization brought mixed blessings to the agencies involved. Consistent with findings from elsewhere related to hollow state mechanisms, performance assessment and accountability became more difficult. It is concluded that such frameworks are not appropriate for sectors such as mental health where there is high uncertainty and vulnerable service recipients. Recent policy changes suggest a retreat from privatization and flexibilization, and the emergence of a new balance between centralized and decentralized decision making.     

新形势下河南产业结构优化升级模式创新研究——基于国内价值链重构的视角

面临国际金融危机与经济转型的双重压力,国内价值链处于重新构建阶段,近期珠三角地区通过产业升级提升在国内价值链重构中的位置,对河南这样的内陆省份加快产业结构调整具有借鉴意义,在新形势下河南需要选择适合省情的产业结构优化升级的新模式,由产业间升级模式向产业内升级模式转变,由"俘获式"向"自主式"产业升级模式转变,在未来的区域产业竞争中占据有利地位。     

From patchwork to theory development: mapping and advancing research about business portfolio restructuring

While research on corporate or business portfolio restructuring has become an independent part of corporate restructuring research, the respective scholarly literature is in need of a systematic review that identifies the substantiated state of knowledge and reveals future research opportunities in this field of strategic management. The objective of our study is to fill this gap. Combining several literature retrieval methods 73 studies are identified and analyzed. As a result, current shortcomings in theory-building and empirical portfolio restructuring research are highlighted applying a framework that distinguishes between antecedents, processes, and outcomes of portfolio restructuring activities. The contribution of this paper goes beyond listing past achievements and disregarded issues as it proposes several directions for future research. Specifically, there is an urgent need for studying restructuring processes and the corresponding development or use of appropriate research methods.     

Economic austerity and healthcare restructuring: correlates and consequences of nursing job insecurity

The healthcare system underwent considerable restructuring and downsizing in the early to mid-1990s in several countries as governments cut costs to reduce their budget deficits. Studies of the effects of these efforts on nursing staff and hospital functioning in various countries generally reported negative impacts. Healthcare restructuring and hospital downsizing is again being implemented in North America in 2009/2010 as governments struggle to reduce their deficits at a time of worldwide economic recession. The present study examines the relationship of hospital restructuring initiatives in and their link with increased threats to job security with a variety of individual and hospital outcomes in a sample of nursing staff working in hospitals undergoing significant restructuring and downsizing. Data were collected from 289 nursing staff working in California hospitals. Nurses reported a relatively large number of restructuring and downsizing initiatives. Restructuring initiatives and threats to job security accounted for a greater increment in explained variance on every outcome measure than did personal demographic factors and work situation characteristics. Threats to job security were generally associated with negative work attitudes and satisfactions, levels of psychological well-being and perceptions of hospital functioning. Some suggestions for more successful approaches to cost reductions are offered.     

Maintaining Leadership Legitimacy in the Transition to New Organizational Forms

Numerous new organizational forms have been proposed for ensuring the continuous strategic renewal of a firm. In essence, these forms are distinguished by: (1) their emphasis on bottom-up entrepreneurship, and (2) their reliance on a co-operative network that allows these entrepreneurial units to share their competencies with one another. One of the key behaviours required for the success of such an organization is employee empowerment. We argue in this paper that the legitimacy of corporate leadership during the restructuring of a traditional bureaucratic organization is crucial to its eventual transformation to one of the new organizational forms. The current wisdom of a two-stage transformation process, where an authoritarian restructuring precedes the more participative revitalization, is thus challenged. The transformation may get stalled after the restructuring stage because of top management’s inability to empower the firm’s employees at will, having lost their trust during restructuring     

我国福利企业发展面临的困境及对策研究

福利企业在解决残疾人就业过程中发挥了重要作用,但是在市场经济和经济结构调整的新环境下,福利企业发展面临安置残疾职工成本不断提高,兴办福利企业准入条件过高等诸多问题。要改善福利企业发展面临的困境,我们需从培育福利企业发展的良好外部环境,加强政府主体责任,提升自身的市场竞争能力等方面做出努力。     

Business portfolio restructuring,prior diversification posture and investor reactions

This study examined firm performance in market reaction to two types of business portfolio restructuring announcements: refocusing and repositioning. We predicted that market performance effects for these two types of strategic restructurers would be moderated by prior diversification posture. The theory behind these expectations was built on a general premise that restructuring strategy would be more favorably viewed by the market as performance enhancing when it offered greater potential for organizational transformation. Results showed strong support for our conclusion that prior diversification posture poses a significant contingency factor in restructuring firms' strategic choices. Further, the market tended to respond more favorably with this sample to repositioning restructuring choices. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.