Longitudinal measurement in organisational transformation: a case of a Dutch Flex Company

This paper will present the analysis of data over 3 years (1998, 1999, and 2000) on the satisfaction of flex workers in the context of a flex company’s service excellence programme, as an example of the use of measurements in relation to the change process. The important issues related to the specific data of the flex workers’ satisfaction surveys are: (a) the relationships between perceived satisfaction of flex workers and possible behavioural consequences, like making complaints and making use of other flex companies; (b) the stability of factor constructs over time that identify the major dimensions of satisfaction of flex workers; and (c) the satisfaction dynamics over time.     

Anonymous voting and minimal manipulability

We compare the manipulability of different choice rules by considering the number of manipulable profiles. We establish the minimal number of such profiles for tops-only, anonymous, and surjective choice rules, and show that this number is attained by unanimity rules with status quo.     

Equilibrium points in an urban retail model and their connection with dynamical systems

In this paper the application of results of dynamical system theory to urban retail models will be discussed. First of all attention is paid to the equilibria of these models; their existence and uniqueness as well as their stability. Next the results are aggravated to the situation of a two zonal system. Finally some economic consequences of parameter changes are described.     

Pricing default swaps: Empirical evidence

In this paper we compare market prices of credit default swaps with model prices. We show that a simple reduced form model outperforms directly comparing bonds' credit spreads to default swap premiums. We find that the model yields unbiased premium estimates for default swaps on investment grade issuers, but only if we use swap or repo rates as proxy for default-free interest rates. This indicates that the government curve is no longer seen as the reference default-free curve. We also show that the model is relatively insensitive to the value of the assumed recovery rate.     

An empirical study into the influence of customer satisfaction on customer revenues

It is broadly expected that customer satisfaction (CS) influences customer revenues (CR), but there is little evidence for the corresponding hypothesis. If CS influences CR, there must be a relation between CS at time t?=?0 and CR at time t?>?0. We developed a statistical model representing this relation, which we tested in a longitudinal study using person-level data (N?=?1682) from a Dutch retail bank. We found that CS had a positive effect on CR with 1-year and 2-year time lags. These results support the hypothesis that CS influences CR.     

On the location of public bads: strategy-proofness under two-dimensional single-dipped preferences

In a model with finitely many agents who have single-dipped Euclidean preferences on a polytope in the Euclidean plane, a rule assigns to each profile of reported dips a point of the polytope. A point $x$ of the polytope is called single-best if there is a point $y$ of the polytope such that $x$ is the unique point of the polytope at maximal distance from $y$ . It is proved that if the polytope does not have either exactly two single-best points or exactly four single-best points which form the vertices of a rectangle, then any Pareto optimal and strategy-proof rule is dictatorial. If the polytope has exactly two single-best points, then there are non-dictatorial strategy-proof and Pareto optimal rules, which can be described by committee voting (simple games) between the two single-best points. This also holds if there are exactly four single-best points which form the vertices of a rectangle, but in that case, we limit ourselves to describing an example of such a rule. The framework under consideration models situations where public bads such as garbage dumping grounds or nuclear plants have to be located within a confined region.     

Why "good jobs" are good for retailers

Too many retail managers believe that they must offer bad jobs to keep prices low. As a result, almost one-fifth of American workers suffer low wages, poor benefits, constantly changing schedules, and few opportunitie for advancement. The author's research reveals, however, that the presumed trade-off between investment in employees and low prices is false. To meet short-term performance targets, many retailers cut labor. The unmotivated and poorly trained employees who remain often cannot keep up with their tasks in a complex operating environment. The result is a vicious cycle, in which lower sales and profits tempt managers to cut even more employees. Retailers such as QuikTrip, Mercadona, Trader Joe's, and Costco instead create a virtuous cycle of investment in employees, stellar operational execution, higher sales and profits, and larger labor budgets. They also make work more efficient and fulfilling for employees, improve customer service, and boost sales and profits through four practices: simplify operations by offering fewer products and promotions, train employees to perform multiple tasks, eliminate waste in everything but staffing, and let employees make some decisions.