Using replication research for just-in-time purchasing construct development

Using replication research, the validity of the just-in-time purchasing (JITP) construct is established. Although empirical researchers have examined JITP over the last two decades, a consistent set of valid, reliable factors has not been used. The lack of valid construct is a barrier to hypotheses testing and meta-analyses on JITP. This study confirmed the validity of six JITP factors: top management commitment, employee relations, training, supplier quality management, transportation, and quantities delivered using two different data sets and testing the first- and second-order structure of the JITP construct. Content validity, reliability, unidimensionality, convergent validity, discriminant validity, criterion-related validity, and an invariant factorial structure of the JITP construct were empirically established.     

Marketing versus public relations in selling nuclear power

All too often, the terminology and practices of public relations are used when marketing is what is really needed. This misapplication appears most often when a concept, an idea, or an intangible product is involved. Webster defines public relations as: relations with the general public through publicity; those functions of a corporation, organization, branch of military service, etc., concerned with informing the public of its activities, policies, etc., and attempting to create favorable public opinion.This definition implies a general, ongoing effort to supply information supporting the image of an organization. There is, however, a considerable difference between this kind of activity and the specific, overt process of marketing. This difference has been particularly apparent in attempts of public utilities to “sell” nuclear power plants. Utilities, of course, are monopoly suppliers and, as such, must seek a favorable image in the community. Thus, when public opposition to nuclear power plants mounted, many utilities responded with stepped-up public relations programs; the method they knew best. This article examines the experience of several utilities in locating nuclear plants and suggests how marketing techniques might be used in selling this intangible product.     

Screening life insurance applicants with hemoglobin A1c: a pilot study of cost-benefit

Hemogloblin A1c (HgbA1c) values are superior to those of random serum glucose, serum fructosamine, and urine glucose as a means of detecting carbohydrate intolerance. Further, HgbA1c values have been shown to correlate with mortality in a continuous fashion beginning at levels between 5.0% and 6.0%. Unfortunately, the expense of HgbA1c testing is considerably higher than that of routine serum chemistry testing. Diabetes is an increasingly common disorder clearly associated with mortality. Also, the current demographic trends towards increasing age and increasing prevalence of obesity underscore the value to underwriters of identifying carbohydrate intolerance.     

Is creative accounting dead?

Because it has been seen as a short‐sighted way for local authorities to escape from the Government's expenditure controls, creative accounting now has a bad reputation. However, creativity will be needed in accounting, as in every other aspect of management, if local authorities are to stand a chance of facing up to the challenges of the 1990s.     

Persistence of Regional Wage Differences in China

Regional wage differences in China appear to be persistent and even to have grown over the past two decades. We study potential explanations for this phenomenon. After adjusting for the difference in the cost of living across provinces, we find that some of the cross‐province differences in real wages could be related to the quality of labour, industry composition and geographic location of provinces. These factors, taken together, explain approximately half of the cross‐province real wage variation. Interestingly, we find that interprovincial government transfers have not offset regional wage differences during the time period we consider. We also demonstrate that interprovincial migration, while driven in part by levels and changes in wage differences across provinces, did not help offset these differences. These results are consistent with findings in the literature that cross‐province labour mobility in China is still limited.