High performance work systems and workplace partnership: a case study of aerospace workers

This article provides case study analysis of the impact of high performance work practices and workplace partnership on skilled workers in the UK's aerospace industry. In contrast to assumptions that such practices increase empowerment and participation we find evidence of a democratic deficit in workplace decision-making and deterioration in the quality of working life.     

Xilinx:在创新中前行

在过去的五年里,总部位于美国加利福尼亚San Jose Xilinx占价值达30亿美元的可编程逻辑器件(PLD)产品市场份额已经从30％窜升到50％,但是,Xilinx想要的更多。     

The German model of employee relations on trial: negotiated and unilaterally imposed change in multi‐national companies

This article investigates the effects of negotiated and unilaterally imposed change on employee relations in the German subsidiaries of a Finnish and a German multi‐national company (MNC). We look at how the strategies affect the sustainability of the current German model of employee relations and highlight some of the disadvantages of this model for global MNCs.     

Enlargement and the labour market: perception,theory and fact

Favourable labour market outcomes are essential for economic and social cohesion within the newly enlarged European Union. However, Eurobarometer evidence indicates that many in the 10 incoming countries are not convinced that membership will deliver such a result. Also, there is no unambiguous theoretical framework that suggests otherwise. A more optimistic scenario can be obtained by reference to the experiences of earlier low‐income Community entrants during their first years of membership, although long‐term convergence has remained elusive.     

Decisions,Actions, and Performance: Do Novice,Serial, and Portfolio Entrepreneurs Differ?*

A conceptual framework is extended to take into account differences between inexperienced novice entrepreneurs (that is, individuals with no prior private business ownership experience) and experienced serial and portfolio entrepreneurs. Some policymakers and practitioners are considering whether resources could be more effectively utilized if they were targeted toward serial and portfolio entrepreneurs, rather than in the form of additional initiatives to increase the pool of “pure” nascent entrepreneurs and novice entrepreneurs. To inform this policy debate, similarities and differences between novice, serial, and portfolio entrepreneurs are highlighted with regard to their decisions, actions, performance, and aspirations. We detected that portfolio entrepreneurs were more likely to express dimensions of entrepreneurial behavior. A case for targeted support tailored to the aspirations and needs of novice, serial, and portfolio entrepreneurs is presented.     

A fast method for analysing and improving complex software processes

This paper presents a simple, fast method (or management tool) for the analysis and improvement of software-intensive complex products and systems (CoPS) called software analysis-software improvement (SA-SI). The tool relies on outside intervention, rapid data collection and structured in-company workshops. The distinctive feature of the method is that it focuses on the 'soft', human side of the software development process and examines and compares formal (or rational) processes ('what should be') with real, actual practices ('what is'), in order to identify problems, their causes and strategies for improvement. The tool complements existing formal approaches by delivering a 'bottom up', grass roots, practitioner view of real processes in action. The purpose of SA-SI is to help overcome the severe problems of measuring, analysing and improving performance in large scale, complex software projects. An illustrative case example (Company X) is used to show how the tool is applied and how it confronts the problem of actual/real processes differing from ideal/formal processes. It also shows how SA-SI is used to identify process 'hot spots'(severe problems), analyse their causes and identify solutions. The paper provides guidance on typical problems encountered in running SA-SI and how to overcome them. It also shows how the tool has been modified and extended to deal with other complex domains and innovation management issues. Although SA-SI cannot be a substitute for a change programme, it can play a useful part in complementing ongoing improvement activities. From a research perspective, the method helps link up studies from the organisational development and software fields and assists in 'closing the loop' between innovation research and business practice.     

Behind M&;As in China and the United States: Networks,learning, and institutions

Few scholars would dispute the argument that mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are different in China and the United States, but we know little about how they differ. This article reports one of the first studies that systematically compares and contrasts how M&As differ in these two countries. While prior research on M&As tends to emphasize economic and financial explanations while treating firms as atomistic actors severed from their institutional and network relations, we develop a new theoretical framework based on relational, behavioral, and institutional perspectives. We not only consider firms as learning actors embedded in network relations, but also compare and contrast their M&A patterns between China and the United States, two distinctive institutional contexts. We find that both a firm’s structural hole position and its learning orientation (exploration/exploitation) in alliances have direct and joint impacts on subsequent M&As. Further, such impacts differ across the two countries, due to their institutional disparities.     

Profitability analysis in UK organizations: An exploratory study

Recent research into management accounting practices suggests that companies are now placing considerable emphasis on profitability analysis and consider it to be one of the most important management accounting practices. There is however little recent empirical research relating to the content and role of profitability analysis in companies. This paper will address this omission and report the findings derived from a survey of UK companies relating to information that is contained in profitability reporting, generated for managing the existing mix of a firm's activities. In particular, it focuses on the nature, content and role of profitability analysis carrying out some exploratory analysis and testing various propositions to explain the divergence in observed practices.A distinctive feature of the research is that, unlike some previous research, rather than focusing on the information that is accumulated within the costing system it focuses primarily on the information that is extracted from it for different purposes. Not surprisingly we find that different information is extracted for profitability analysis than for pricing purposes. The research findings also indicate that firms use a hierarchy of profit measures within the periodic profitability analysis statements and that profitability analysis is used mainly for attention-directing purposes for signalling the need for more detailed studies. For profitability analysis, the findings suggest that, in terms of what is considered the most important attention-directing measure, the use of some form of full costs based on arbitrary allocations is not as widespread as that suggested by previous studies. Evidence is also presented to suggest that the level of cost system complexity influences the observed practices.     

Strategies for best practice in research and technology institutes: an overview of a benchmarking exercise

Many technology institutes have been criticised for their dislocation from, or lack of relevance to, industry. This paper provides an overview of a major benchmaking study which analyzed in depth the most successful technology institutes from eight nations (four in Europe and four in East Asia). Institutes selected for study met a criterion which included a combination of dynamism, relevance to industry, contribution to the national science and technology infrastructure, independent fund-raising capability, innovative organizational structures, and effective management. The paper examines the activities engaged in by the eight institutes, the principal challenges they face, and identifies the main success factors underlying their achievements. The paper attempts to illustrate practical, best practice strategies by showing how leading technology institutes have successfully contributed to their national system of innovation. To this end, success factors have been categorized into those factors which are under the direct control of the institutes (internal), which are outside of their influence (external), and those which can be affected to a lesser or greater extent.