National governments under the discipline of global forces

Globalisation, in particular the increasing multinationalisation of businesses, has forced government suppliers into direct (in the form of parallel governments) or indirect (in the form of free trade) competition. However, the growth of supranational organisations such as the EU threatens the power of exit which is so vital to competition: overlapping government functions create waste and encourage further the growth of centralisation.     

GLOBALISATION AND AN EMERGING GLOBAL MIDDLE CLASS

Globalisation has expanded the size of the global middle class. This expansion will change consumption patterns and shift the balance of spending power to middle-income economies. Rapid growth rates of the middle class in China and India have played a decisive role in creating the middle-income bulge. By 2030 the global middle class has been projected to grow to two billion. It is of note that a large middle class was also created during the first era of globalisation.     

Books

Book review in this article
Not Just for the Money: an Economic Theory of Personal Motivation Bruno S. Frey
What Money Can't Buy Susan E. Mayer
An Uncertain Legacy: Essays on the Pursuit of Liberty Edward B. MacLean (ed.)
The Origins of Virtue Matt Ridley
Japan and the Globalisation of European Integration Thomas Bourke     

LIBROS

Book reviewed in this issue: Globalisation and labour rights: The conflict between core labour rights and international economic law . Por Christine KAUFMANN. The politics of labor reform in Latin America. Between flexibility and rights . Por Maria Lorena COOK.     

FREE TRADE, 'PAUPER LABOUR' AND PROSPERITY: A REPLY TO PROFESSOR MISHAN

In an Economic Viewpoint published in the September 2005 edition of Economic Affairs, ‘Can Globalisation Depress Living Standards in the West?’, Professor E. J. Mishan argued that globalisation may reduce living standards in the West by decreasing the labour–capital ratio in developed countries as firms move production to countries where labour is cheaper and/or migrants to the West from the developing world bid down wage rates. In a reply to Professor Mishan's article, Dr John Meadowcroft argues that this view of globalisation is far too pessimistic and explains why free trade, not protection, will secure the prosperity of developed and developing economies. In a final comment, Professor Mishan responds to this critique of his analysis.     

Innovation of IT metasystems by means of event-driven paradigm using QDMS

Globalisation of world economy brings new and more complex demands to business systems. In order to respond to these trends, business systems apply new paradigms that are inevitable reflecting on management metasystems – quality assurance (QA), as well as on information technology (IT) metasystems. Small and medium enterprises (in particular in food industry) do not have possibilities to access external resources to the extent that could provide adequate keeping up with these trends. That raises the question how to enhance synergetic effect of interaction between existing QA and IT metasystems in order to overcome resource gap and achieve set goals by internal resources. The focus of this article is to propose a methodology for utilisation of potential of quality assurance document management system (QDMS) as prototypical platform for initiating, developing, testing and improving new functionalities that are required by IT as support for buiness system management. In that way QDMS plays a role of catalyst that not only accelerates but could also enhance selectivity of the reactions of QA and IT metasystems and direct them on finding new functionalities based on event-driven paradigm. The article tries to show the process of modelling, development and implementation of a possible approach to this problem through conceptual survey and practical solution in the food industry.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed: Human Resource Management. Perspectives for the New Era, Colin Fisher Social and Economic Transformation in East Central Europe: Institutions, Property Relations and Social Interests, Roderick Martin Trade Unions at the Crossroads, Guy Vernon Employment Relations and National Culture: Continuity and Change in the Age of Globalisation, Boyd Black     

The role of outsourcing in driving global carbon emissions

Globalisation has narrowed the gap between producers and consumers of goods and services. The linkages between international trade and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions have started to be recognised, yet the extent of outsourcing of emissions across nations is unknown. Filling this gap in knowledge is critical for designing effective policy mechanisms for assigning responsibility for reductions in emissions. Here we present a structural decomposition analysis of global trends in outsourcing of emissions from 1990 to 2010 for 186 individual countries. To this end, we disaggregate total CO₂ emissions for each country into contributions from the domestic economy and international trade. This allows us to unveil outsourcing trends for all nations confirming a world-wide shifting of emissions-intensive production across borders. We categorise nations into “outsourcers” – countries that outsource carbon-intensive production to so-called contractor nations. Our detailed assessment of the commodity content of global outsourcing flows reveals interesting insights about the trade of carbon-intensive commodities.     

Assessing people-driven factors for circular economy practices in small and medium-sized enterprise supply chains: Business strategies and environmental perspectives

Globalisation and technological advancements have increased the pressure on small businesses to increase their productivity and to gain competitive advantages. That pressure has been placed on the resources available, resulting in increased environmental degradation as a result of the traditional linear model of make-use-dispose. Circular economy (CE) practices offer the opportunity for sustainable production based on the reuse-remanufacture and recycling of resources for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to increase their sustainability, resulting in enhanced performance levels in terms of business strategies and environmental perspectives. But in academic literature, the role of people-driven factors (PDFs) in the adoption of CE practices in the supply chains (SCs) of SMEs is limited. Therefore, to fill this literature gap, this research looks at analysing PDFs for the implementation of CE in the SMEs in developing countries in two phases. PDFs are identified from an extensive literature review; a DEMATEL technique is then employed to understand the significant influence of each factor in the adoption of CE practices in SCs by dividing them into cause–effect groups. The findings show that PDFs such as training and knowledge sharing, employee participation, leadership and management plus strategic alignment are considered to be the most important significant factors in the adoption. The findings of this study will help industrial managers to understand the significance of the role of PDFs for enhancing business strategies; these findings can reduce the negative environmental impact in the adoption of CE practices in the SCs of SMEs.     

Sustainable Development of Maritime Operations in Ports

Globalisation has heralded burgeoning ship movements and maritime operations in ports alongside increased international concerns regarding potential environmental impacts. In particular, smaller ports require accessible tools to manage them. A framework to facilitate environmental management applies business process principles to identify relevant inputs, processes and outputs. A case study of Falmouth Harbour Commissioners compares functional units and flows that define input–output processes for anchoring and bunkering operations. Strategic‐level processes affect present and future operations while tactical service processes guarantee service level and quality through their integrity. Operational processes occur at the output level. An accessible generic framework supports planning of more sustainable maritime operations, facilitates mitigation of potential risks and encourages authorities to engage with sustainability agendas and manage development proposals proactively. Ongoing interlocution with business strategists will refocus port managers on educational and commercial missions and increase stakeholder engagement. Simplification and optimisation phases of business process re‐engineering remain untapped by business strategists. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed: Michael Sorkin and Sharon Zukin (eds) After the World Trade Center. Rethinking New York City Deepak Narang Sawhney (ed.) Unmasking L.A.: third worlds and the city Francesco lo Piccolo and Huw Thomas (eds) Knights and castles — minorities and urban regeneration Peter Roberts and Hugh Sykes (eds) Urban regeneration: a handbook Leslie M. Harris In the shadow of slavery: African Americans in New York City, 1626–1863 John Doling and Janet Ford (eds) Globalisation and home ownership: experiences in eight member states of the European Union William J. Mitchell ME++, the cyborg self and the networked city Bob Jessop The future of the capitalist state     

Book Reviews

Grint, Keith (Ed.). Leadership: Classical, Contemporary and Critical Approaches Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997 (Terry Austrin).
Thomas, Howard, O'Neal, Don and Ghertman, Michel (Eds). Strategy, Structure and Style . Chichester: John Wiley, 1997 (Paula Jarzabkowski).
Crawshaw, Robert (Ed.). The European Business Environment: France . UK: International Thomson Publishing, 1997 (Vivienne Shaw).
Júnsson, Sten (Ed.). Accounting for Improvement . UK: Pergamon, 1997 (Hilary Bates).
Archibugi, Daniele and Michie, Jonathan (Eds). Technology, Globalisation and Economic Performance . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 303, hb, ISBN 0-521-55392-X, pb, ISBN 0-521-55642-2 (Ram Mudambi).
Reeves, Nigel and Kelly-Holmes, Helen (Eds). The European Business Environment: Germany . UK: International Thomson Publishing, 1997 (Vivienne Shaw).
Bogel, G., Edwards, V. and Wax, M. (Eds). Hungary Since Communism: The Transformation of Business . UK: Macmillan, 1997 (Rumy Husan).     

Book reviews

Books reviewed: The Employment Relationship: Examining Psychological and Contextual Perspectives
J. A. M. Coyle‐Shapiro, L. M. Shore, S. M. Taylor and L. E. Tetrick (eds)
Oxford University Press, 2004, 377 pp., £55.00
Reviewed by Melanie Simms
University of Kent International and Comparative Employment Relations: Globalisation and the Developed Market Economies
Greg J. Bamber, Russell D. Lansbury and Nick Wailes (eds)
Sage Publications, 2004 (4th edn), 472 pp., £75.00 (hardback), £24.99 (paperback)
Reviewed by Sarah Pass
Cardiff University Multinational Companies and Global Human Resource Strategies
William N. Cooke (ed.)
Quorum, 2003, 433 pp., £48.50
Reviewed by Trevor Colling
University of Warwick     

A column generation-based approach to solve the preference scheduling problem for nurses with downgrading

The demand for nurses in virtually all western countries has been outpacing the supply for more than a decade. The situation is now at the point where the rules for good practice are being stretched to the limit and patient care is in jeopardy. The purpose of this paper is to present several ideas for maximizing the use of the available staff and to quantify the resultant benefits. Two approaches are investigated for substituting nurses with higher level skills for those with lower level skills when there is sufficient idle time to do so. Idle time is usually due to scheduling constraints and contractual agreements that prevent a hospital from arbitrarily assigning nurses to shifts over the week.When the substitution is skill-related, as it is here, it is often called downgrading. The models that we develop are for preference scheduling, which means that individual preferences are taken into account when constructing monthly rosters. There are several reasons for doing this in today's environment, the most important is the need to boost staff morale and increase retention. The problem is modeled as an integer program and solved with a column generation technique that relies on intelligent heuristics for identifying good candidate schedules. The computations show that high quality solutions, as measured by the reduction in the need for non-unit nurses as well as the degree to which preferences are satisfied, can usually be obtained in a matter of minutes.     

Beyond the Global City Concept and the Myth of ‘Command and Control’

The article argues that the lack of convincing empirical evidence for the global economy as being subject to ‘command and control’ results from that contention being a neo‐Marxist myth. First, imagining the global economy as being subject to ‘highly concentrated command’ through the function of some major cities as ‘strategic sites’ for the production of ‘command and control’ is traced back through several neo‐Marxist authors to narrate its genesis, and to argue that the lack of evidence for that proposition is a consequence of those antecedents envisioning capitalism as a totalizing structure, thus making the assumption that it is subject to control and coordination from a distance. Second, Taylor's interlocking world city network model is forensically examined to explain that it is fallacious because it is a structuralism that, bedevilled by a sorites paradox, contains the further problem of containing no credible evidence for the existence of ‘command centres’. Finally, the article moves beyond neo‐Marxism's key concepts by juxtaposing their assumptions with ethnographic results from social studies of finance, a manoeuvre which forges an understanding of cities as socio‐technical assemblages and eventful multiplicities, beyond, inter alia, the baseless assumption that the global economy is subject to ‘command and control’.     

Transdisciplinary Research in Sustainable Operations – An Application to Closed‐Loop Supply Chains

This contribution provides implications for academic research and practitioners, as it identifies the lack, necessity and major benefits of transdisciplinary research and the collaboration of academics and industry in order to fulfill the goals of a sustainable supply chain. Closed‐loop supply chain management is a major contributor to implementing sustainable operations. An essential prerequisite for successful realization is the expertise and cooperation of representatives from engineering, management and natural sciences as well as practice. We identify a need for transdisciplinary collaboration within two steps. First, a literature review points out that various research disciplines as well as practice mostly operate in isolation. Second, we develop a framework that highlights the benefits of collaboration between these research areas. This paper provides an overview to better understand current trends in this complex field, which is a rich area for research that is still in its infancy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

The importance of trust in software engineers' assessment and choice of information sources

Engineers such as systems developers get most of their information from colleagues and internal reports. In the literature on engineers' information-seeking practices the generally agreed-upon explanation of this preference for close-by, internal information sources is that engineers follow a principle of least effort by choosing their information sources on the basis of ease of access rather than quality of contents. This study argues that engineers' preference for internal sources such as their colleagues is just as much a preference for sources with a known or easily determinable trustworthiness as it is a preference for information that is easily accessible. Trust is of central importance because quality is a perceived property and, thus, assessing the quality of an information source is essentially a matter of establishing to what extent one is willing to place trust in it. This can be done with greater ease and precision for familiar sources. A field study of the meetings in a software design project shows that in discussing and selecting information sources the software engineers devote significantly more attention to quality-related factors than to cost-related factors. It is also normal conversational practice at the meetings to accompany the mentioning of information sources that may be unknown to some project participants by information that puts them in context. Systems for managing knowledge and sharing expertise must recognise these rich means of forming a perception of the credibility of individual pieces of information.     

All for one and one for all: Encouraging ecosystem citizenship behaviour to strengthen employer branding

This research investigates how employer branding can be strengthened by taking a business ecosystem approach that encourages and leverages indirect social exchanges, such as the behaviour of paying it forward. This work is founded on extant literature and exploratory interviews with individuals from firms seeking to strengthen their employer brand by interdependently operating in a business ecosystem. A model is developed that proposes how indirect social exchanges can occur in an ecosystem, and what types of outcomes it can lead to for the individuals, firms and the ecosystem as a whole. As far as can be ascertained, this is the first study that combines these perspectives. The work suggests that there is value for firms in taking an ecosystem-focused approach to employer branding. The findings highlight that indirect or generalized social exchanges can provide value for individual firms when they form a group of interdependent collaborators rather than simply being competitors. Further, this work adds to the literature related to employee and partner extra-role behaviour by proposing the perspective of an Ecosystem Citizenship Behaviour. Ecosystem Citizenship Behaviour is an extra-role behaviour that occurs in the business ecosystem and as such can be beneficial for joint employer branding initiatives of participating firms.     

A survey technique for estimating the proportion and sensitivity in a dichotomous finite population

In this paper, a simple survey technique to measure the sensitivity of survey issues is presented. It can be applied to estimate the population proportion as well as the probability that a respondent truthfully states that he or she bears a sensitive character when experienced in a direct response survey. An unbiased estimator of mean square error for direct response survey is obtainable so as to be able to judge the effect on the accuracy in estimation. It is also found that the proposed technique is more efficient than some traditional techniques. A simple extension for polychotomous situations can be developed as well.     

Move Your Research From The Ivy Tower To The Board Room: A Primer On Action Research For Academics,Consultants, And Business Executives

Today there is a large divide between the vast majority of management research that is conducted and the opportunities for doing work that is useful for both research and practice. Action research offers a great opportunity to bridge the divide, with benefits for all involved. For academic researchers, action research can increase access to important research sites that otherwise would remain off‐limits, while simultaneously increasing the relevance and scope of the research issues addressed. For researchers and practitioners who work in organizations, and for external consultants, action research offers a way to scientifically evaluate important organizational issues using scientific methods. These methods provide a type of external validity and support for actions that otherwise could be dismissed as representing a biased internal agenda. Moreover, internal researchers who engage in action research enable the sharing of insights that can benefit practitioners in other organizations as well as the research community. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.