Why won't managers co-operate? Innovation and productivity in engineering

Drawing from her experience of participant-observation in an electrical engineering factory Caroline White contributes to the debate on Britain's continuing industrial problems. She concludes that the fundamental opposition of capital and labour in the capitalistproduction process explains the failure to tap the workers' reservoir of both commitment and creativity.     

To what extent are public savings offset by private savings in the OECD?

The substitutability of private and public savings has implications for the effectiveness of fiscal policy. Using annual data for the period 1970–2004, this study re-examines long-run relationships between OECD private and public savings rates. However, unlike previous work, panel data unit root and cointegration tests are employed. The results confirm substitutability where strong Ricardian Equivalence is rejected for the entire OECD panel. There is support for weak Ricardian Equivalence with less than perfect substitutability. Indeed, it is argued that existing studies most likely overstate the extent of long-run substitutability particularly with regard to EU countries. I am very grateful for the helpful comments provided by the Editor and an anonymous referee. Any remaining errors are my own.     

When excessive cost savings measurement drowns the objectives

This paper presents the dynamics and complexity of implementing a cost savings measurement system in purchasing. It focuses on the technical and strategic aspects of the evolution of such a system in a renowned organisation. Few articles dealing with cost savings in purchasing use an empirical approach. Therefore, this research sheds light on significant issues, often neglected in the literature. Contributions to managers include lessons about the importance of overcoming the complexity of measurements, and recognising that it is easier to begin by measuring hard savings, followed by soft savings when the system is running well. Contributions to the scientific literature include the opportunity to follow the progression of a cost savings measurement system within an organisation, and a discussion about the limitations of such systems.     

英国房市为何与经济背道而驰？

英国失业率的迅速升高和信贷持续紧缩并未令楼市跌入低谷，反而渐从疲态中走出，缘由何在？楼市会由出人意料进而演变成反弹吗？     

I didn't tell,and I won't tell: dynamic response error in the SIPP

Using state administrative records matched to the 1984 Survey of Income and Program Participation, we examine intertemporal relationships in response errors. False negative errors in reporting food stamps are highly correlated across interviews for the same household. Hypotheses that the error process can be explained by learning behaviour are not supported. Bivariate probit of response error in two periods reveals that responses to covariates are stable over time and the latent error terms are positively correlated. These findings support the hypothesis that respondents have a latent tendency to cooperate (or not cooperate) with surveys. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浅析邮政储蓄客户资源管理

客户不仅是邮政储蓄的利润之源,也是发展之基。加强客户资源管理,不仅是竞争形势所迫,而且是生存发展所需。因此客户资源管理是客户经济时代下邮政储蓄发展的核心理念,认真研究邮政储蓄客户管理现状,并找出问题所在,针对问题制定切实可行的策略,培育并提升邮储客户忠诚度,对于提高邮储的市场竞争力是至关重要的。     

An examination of the causal relationship between savings and growth in the third world

Past studies reveal a correlation between savings and GDP growth in the Third World. Those studies hypothesize that higher rates of savings cause higher growth rates of real GDP. This paper explores an alternative hypothesis: that higher growth rates of GDP cause increased savings. Higher growth rates of income boost the rate of savings and attract more foreign savings. The difference between these two hypotheses is the direction of causality. This study investigates the direction of causality using the Engle-Granger error-correction model or the Granger causality test, whichever is appropriate. The findings support the latter hypothesis in more cases.     

An evaluation of the productive efficiency of savings and loans

A nonparametric linear programming approach is adopted to measure the productive efficiency of thrift financial institutions. The methodology is applied to a sample of California thrifts in 1989, yielding high mean efficiency scores. High efficiency scores correspond to high levels of operating efficiency. Estimation of a truncated regression model indicates that the major determinants of thrift efficiency are organization form, management style, risk, and firm size. Applying the methodology to a subset of thrifts from 1986 which had failed by 1989 shows technical inefficiency to be a significant indicator of a high probability of failure.     

组织愿景导航基业长青

本文回顾了理论界对一个组织或企业基业长青的探索过程 ,论述愿景与基业长青的关系 ,提出构建一个组织构建愿景的方法体系 ,内容包括“三个主题”、“四方面构架”和“五步骤操作”等。     

罗孚汽车为何衰落?英国最后的贵族

为何罗孚品牌依然光鲜,而企业却要重组。罗孚汽车集团(MGRoverGroupLtd．,RVR．YY),这一象征着尊贵与荣耀的百年企业,不得不面临一个严酷的现实,进入破产管理程序。而来自中国的两家汽车集团,上汽和南汽,竞相将成为罗孚的白衣骑士,拯救罗孚的工人失业问题。北京时间7月23日,负责英国罗孚汽车公司破产托管事务的普华永道会计师事务所宣布,南京汽车集团击败上海汽车集团,成功中标英国百年汽车企业。在这一收购悬案结束之际,我们能从罗孚失败的教训中得到什么呢?     

浅谈电涌保护器的应用

文章简要介绍了SPD基础知识,阐述了低压配电系统中SPD的选用及安装、维护等注意事项。     

The effects of geographic expansion on the productivity of Spanish savings banks

This article analyzes the effects of geographic expansion on the productivity of Spanish savings banks. The study uses data from 1992 to 2004, the period when most savings banks expanded geographically. We consider an alternative approach to most multi-stage studies, which uses nonparametric methods both to measure productivity growth and to analyze its relationship with branch office expansion. Specifically, we use nonparametric regression techniques and their natural complement, conditional density estimation. Results indicate that savings banks that expand geographically outside their natural markets achieve greater productivity gains. However, there are some firms for which this result is more moderate. In contrast, lower increases in productivity are found in savings banks that expand on a nationwide basis, or that confine their territorial expansions to their traditional markets.     

Potential savings from the adoption of nurse practitioner technology in the Canadian health care system.

An investigation is reported of the potential for reducing aggregate medical costs by the introduction of nurse practitioners into the Canadian health care system to an extent consistent with demonstrated safety and effectiveness. A cost model is developed for this purpose and estimates of its parameters are provided. The cost model is coupled with a demographic projection model and potential cost reductions are simulated over the period 1980-2050, under alternative assumptions. Results suggest that savings could have been in the range 10-15% in 1980 for medical services as a whole, and 16-24% for ambulatory services. The estimated savings percentages are quite insensitive to projected changes in the age structure of the Canadian population.     

Economies of scale and scope in French banking and savings institutions

In this study, we analyze the costs incurred by French commercial banks and savings institutions. One of the main distinctions between these two types of financial entities concerns management costs, which are higher for commercial bank demand deposits than for the savings institutions' tax-free livret A passbook accounts. Taking this differential into consideration by constructing separate models based on different principles, we find that the average overall and operating costs of the savings institutions are half those of commercial banks. As regards operating costs, small savings institutions enjoy a significant cost advantage over small commercial banks, but this cost advantage is smaller when one compares the performance of large savings institutions to the large banks. The results of our econometric estimates suggest a possible explanation, as we find increasing returns to scale for the banks and diminishing returns for the savings institutions. The value of the returns-to-scope parameter at the mean point appears to indicate a complementarity between certain pairs of outputs. Therefore, ouptut diversification appears to have a positive impact on cost levels for both savings institutions and commercial banks; while institution size, measured by the total assets, has a different impact in these two industries.     

浅析建筑物防雷措施中浪涌保护器的设计

针对如何正确选择浪涌保护器,提高建筑物防雷水平,文章概述了浪涌保护器的有关知识,阐述了浪涌保护器设计和选择的步骤。     

为什么需要物流咨询

近几年,物流业发展速度很快,同时,物流行业和企业的发展面临的问题也很多,主要原因是物流设施建设中,能够为其提供多方位服务的专业力量十分缺乏.全盘借助国外研究和设计力量的结果,往往是因为其咨询设计不切合国情与实际状况而失效,这样的事例不在少数.物流企业的规划设计就更是如此.所以,本土的研究和设计力量更加适合承担物流咨询方面的工作.