How do managerial techniques evolve over time? The distortion of “facilitation” in healthcare service improvement

When applied to solving real-world problems in the public sector, managerial techniques are likely to evolve over time in response to the context of their implementation. The temporal dynamics of this evolution and its underlying processes, however, remain under-researched. To address this gap, we present a qualitative longitudinal case study of a UK-based knowledge mobilization programme utilizing “facilitation” as a service improvement approach. We describe the processes underpinning the distortion of facilitation over time and argue that an uncritical and uncontrolled adaptation of managerial techniques may mask the unsustainable nature of the resulting improvement outcomes captured by conventional performance measurement.     

Supplier qualification for high-value goods and services in Nigeria: a comparison of qualified and non-qualified suppliers

This study set out to understand the capabilities of suppliers of high-value products and services in Nigeria. Supplier capability data were collected from almost 500 potential suppliers across 28 product categories. The findings indicate that only a small minority of potential suppliers achieved the required levels of performance and that very few companies have suitable operational capabilities or corporate citizenship behaviour. Furthermore, significant differences were found between service suppliers and product suppliers with regard to performance. The findings suggest that the majority of suppliers of products and services in Nigeria need to improve their operational capabilities and corporate citizenship behaviours, or else risk losing their ability to compete in a changing market place with new barriers to entry.     

铁路建设项目环境影响评价专家系统建立方法

通过介绍国内外铁路建设项目环境影响评价的软件情况,提出在我国建立铁路建设项目环境影响评价的专家系统,同时论述了系统建立的方法步骤:铁路建设项目典型环境影响类比数据库的研究;铁路建设项目典型环境影响强度及范围的研究;国外建设项目环境影响评价预测模式软件分析;铁路建设项目环境评价预测模式结构设计与功能研究。     

区域金融生态系统基本性状模型研究

金融生态环境概念是我国金融学术界的首创。金融生态环境作为一个全新的理论范畴,其区域空间属性还是一个探索性的初创领域。本文以科学发展观作为指导原则,通过采用状态空间系统分析方法,把区域生态系统的基本特征表达为一个集合即开放性、闭路循环性、根植性和可持续性;并通过采用结构分析方法,揭示了上述基本特征范畴的因果关系路径和测量方程。相对于以往文献的描述性方法而言,本文从提出概念假说到推导立论均体现了一种逻辑论证的科学方法,从而保证了所得出命题及其结论的准确性和可行性。     

基于模糊评价法的小微文化企业孵化集聚环境研究——以上海为例

研究构建了10个因子指标、若干解释指标构成的评价体系。利用模糊评价法,以上海百余家小微文化企业为对象,考察研究企业孵化集聚环境。结果显示,宏观层面,上海的优势体现在规范高效的政府管理、国家战略支撑下的有利政策等方面,市场、人才、金融环境等原本应有的城市优势,却可能受到国有、外资企业的挤压,反被放大为小微企业的弱势。微观层面,小微文化企业孵化集聚生态尚未建立。     

A New Approach to Measuring a Multidimensional Productivity Index: An Application for 60 Selected Countries

This study aims to develop a productivity index which takes into account the multidimensional characteristics of productivities. Our multidimensional productivity index (MPI) not only measures individual productivities of economic resources but also evaluate productivity enhancing general capacities of economy. Individual productivity indices such as labor productivity are limited because they do not consider the factors, such as the globalization of economies and the market and institutional variables, that could have profound impacts on productivity. The multidimensional Productivity Index (MPI) is measured for 60 countries including 23 OECD countries and 10 Asian countries. Our methodology employs the concept of technical efficiency that allows us to measure the extent to which institutional and market factors contribute to the economic performance. Our findings indicate that standard productivity measures such as labor productivity may overestimate the overall productivity differences across the economies.     

Attitude toward business environment of auditing,corporate governance and balance between auditing and marketing

The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitude of Iranian auditors toward balance between auditing and marketing with respect to two important components of audit process such as business environment of auditing and corporate governance. The analysis is based on survey data from 257 respondents. To achieve the research aims, we specified four hypotheses based on social theories. The results of this study show that the auditors having positive attitude toward marketing and those who consider it as significant are able, to a large extent, balance spent time for inherent auditing tasks and marketing activities. In addition, the results show that an increase by a unit for the attitude toward business environment results in 0.489 unit increase in attitude toward balance of time spent on marketing and auditing activities, of which 0.396 is direct impact and 0.093 is indirect impact.     

A tool for analysing the interdependence of indoor environmental quality and reported symptoms of the hospitals’ personnel

The working environment and the working conditions can influence the well-being of hospital employees and consequently their performance at work. The present questionnaire-based study (737 valid questionnaires) developed and evaluated a quantitative structural equation model (SEM) that examines the interdependence between the indoor environmental quality (IEQ), the working conditions, the atopic constituents and the reported health complains of employees in three Greek hospitals. The results of the SEM reveal that IEQ could partially explain the employees’ symptoms in the hospitals. The working conditions proved to be a key factor in the relationship between IEQ and symptoms. Multi-group analysis has shown that this interdependence is affected by the building characteristics, by the gender, the smoking habits and the specialty of each participant, but not by their age.     

A GPS data-based analysis of built environment influences on bicyclist route preferences

This study examines the effects of built environment features, including factors of land use and road network, on bicyclists' route preferences using the data from the city of Seattle. The bicycle routes are identified using a GPS dataset collected from a smartphone application named “CycleTracks.” The route choice set is generated using the labeling route approach, and the cost functions of route alternatives are based on principal component analyses. Then, two mixed logit models, focusing on random parameters and alternative-specific coefficients, respectively, are estimated to examine bicyclists' route choice. The major findings of this study are as follows: (1) the bicycle route choice involves the joint consideration of convenience, safety, and leisure; (2) most bicyclists prefer to cycle on shorter, flat, and well-planned bicycle facilities with slow road traffic; (3) some bicyclists prefer routes surrounded by mixed land use; (4) some bicyclists favor routes which are planted with street trees or installed with street lights; and (5) some bicyclists prefer routes along with city features. This analysis provides valuable insights into how well-planned land use and road network can facilitate efficient, safe, and enjoyable bicycling.     

家族企业究竟是促进创新还是阻碍创新?——争论与整合

在学术界一直存在一个争论:家族涉入是促进了企业创新还是阻碍了企业创新?厘清上述争论的产生原因和影响因素,有助于解释家族企业创新研究的争论和拓展家族企业创新研究的视野。本文对近年来相关文献进行了系统地梳理,归纳出家族企业创新三个领域的研究成果:家族企业创新投入、家族企业创新产出、家族企业创新的影响因素(内部家族因素和外部环境因素),分析家族企业创新争论产生的原因,并针对现有研究存在的不足,对未来的研究提出展望。本文提出通过构建权变理论整合家族企业创新争论的研究方向,有助于丰富家族企业创新的理论研究。