New Evidence on Initial Transition from Career Job to Retirement in Japan

The interval in time between leaving a career job and exit from the labor force is especially long for Japanese employees. We examine determinants of post‐career work arrangements from two perspectives: work status and the route to a second job. We show that these determinants differ between male and female workers and that the customary function of career employers to place their workers in a second job has declined since the middle of the 1990s.     

Flexible Wage Contracts,Temporary Jobs,and Firm Performance: Evidence From Italian Firms

This study focuses on the effects of decentralized wage schemes and temporary forms of employment on firm performance. The effect of monetary incentives on workers' effort and firm performance is a central topic in economics. According to the principal‐agent paradigm, firms (the principal) have to link employees' remuneration schemes to any verifiable indicator of performance to avoid opportunistic behavior. The empirical evidence shows that financial incentives have the potential to exert strong effects on indicators of firm performance, such as productivity and worker absenteeism, although the degree of effectiveness of such schemes varies significantly according to the institutional/economic context in which firms operate. From both a theoretical and empirical point of view, the prediction on the effects of temporary types of employment on effort and productivity is less neat. In light of these considerations, this study uses a sample of Italian firms to provide further empirical evidence on whether and to what extent performance‐related pay schemes and contract flexibility affect workers' effort (in terms of absenteeism) and, in turn, firm productivity. These effects are analyzed for different types of workers (white collar vs. blue collar), working in workplaces characterized by a different degree of uncertainty and risk and in firms operating in different economic and institutional settings. Our results show that wage flexibility has a significant effect on effort and then on firm's productivity and that white‐collar workers are more responsive to monetary incentives than blue‐collar workers. Moreover, the presence of a large share of temporary contracts, implying a lower dismissal probability for permanent workers and a deterioration of the working environment, appears to reduce workers' motivation and effort.     

Career Concerns,Inaction and Market Inefficiency: Evidence From Utility Regulation

We study how incentive conflicts known as ‘career concerns’ can generate inefficiencies not only within firms but also in market outcomes. Career concerns may lead agents to avoid actions that, while value‐increasing in expectation, could potentially be associated with a bad outcome. We apply this theory to natural gas procurement by regulated public utilities and show that career concerns may lead to a reduction in surplus‐increasing market transactions during periods when the benefits of trade are likely to be greatest. We show that data from natural gas markets are consistent with this prediction and difficult to explain using alternative theories.     

Career paths, technological obsolescence and skill formation: R&D staff in Britain and Japan

This paper examines how scientists and engineers working in industrial R&D cope with the pressures of business and technological change and develop their careers. The data is drawn from a survey of nearly 1000 R&D staff working in large industrial corporations in Britain and Japan. Cross national comparisons are used to explore similarities and differences in coping strategies and in the human resource management challenges for companies. Particular attention is given to the problems of potential mismatch between RBD staff career orientations and available career opportunities.     

Jobs Lost, Jobs Regained: An Analysis of Black/White Differences in Job Displacement in the 1980s

Over the period 1982–1991, black men were considerably more likely to experience job displacement than were white men, and following displacement, the likelihood of reemployment was substantially lower for black men. Using data from the 1984–1992 Displaced Worker Surveys, we find that black men experienced rates of job displacement that were 30 percent higher, and reemployment rates that were 30 percent lower than the corresponding rates for white men. We find that racial differences in education levels and occupational distributions explain part of these racial gaps in job displacement and reemployment, whereas racial differences in industry distributions worked to narrow these gaps.     

从创业到创新从竞争到竞合——东营供电公司建设竞合共赢文化实践

企业不同的环境和形态,决定了企业文化具有鲜明的个性特征。真正实用的企业文化,必须符合企业实际,能够体现并引导企业发展趋势。山东省东营供电公司自1990年成立以来,在激烈的市场竞争中顽强生存下来,迅速崛起于黄河三角洲这块充满生机与活力的土地上,并荣获全国企业文化实践创新奖,根本原因就在于坚持从创业到创新,从竞争到竞合,逐步形成了独具特色的竞合共赢文化。东营供电公司的竞合共赢文化,是指企业在市场竞争条件下,坚持以人为本,在竞争和发展的过程中,实现与竞争伙伴合作共赢,与服务对象合作共赢,与员工发展共赢,与社会和谐共赢。市…     

Flexible Contract Workers in Inferior Jobs: Reappraising the Evidence

There is concern that the increase in flexible employment contracts witnessed in many OECD economies is evidence of a growth in low‐pay, low‐quality jobs. In practice, it is difficult to evaluate the ‘quality’ of flexible jobs. Previous research has primarily investigated objective measures of job quality such as wages and training or subjective measures such as job satisfaction. We jointly evaluate these elements of flexible employment contracts using a job quality index. Analysis of this index demonstrates that flexible jobs are of a lower quality. Differences in the subjective and objective assessment of factors like pay and hours are evident.     

由"金装"走向内敛

如果把服饰形象也看作是一种投资的话，如今的私营企业主可以说经历了三个阶段。当然．这也可以被看作是他们从注重物质到注重精神的一种过渡．而从审美的角度呢．我想甚至可以称之为从共性到个性的升华了……不难看出，这里有客观的原因．更有主观的驿动，但无论如何．我们应当承认．人们越来越意识到：服饰可以传达信息．它是一种比语言更古老和更世界性地建立彼此沟通的方式。     

From sponsorship to partnership in academy-industry relations

One practical result of the advent of the knowledge society has been an increased reliance on academic-industry partnerships as important sources for the creation of economic value. This paper argues that this renewed emphasis on knowledge has led to a shift in the nature of the relations between the academy and industry from sponsorship to partnership and the formation of new research institutions that allow researchers and practitioners to engage in continuous rather than problem based dialogue. These developments are illustrated by providing a case study based on the experience of one research team with its industrial partners. The paper presents results pertaining to some of the issues and challenges raised by continuous dialogue in partnerships, and emphasises the creative yet demanding implications of close collaboration between the two communities.     

Whither Solidarity? Transitions in Swedish Public-Sector Pay Policy

As part of a drive for efficiency and decentralization in government operations, Sweden is implementing a new system of pay administration in the public sector that is marked by a clear movement away from centralized wage negotiation and fixed salary increases towards more flexible and individualized pay rates. Despite rhetoric about performance and efficiency, the changes appear to be focused mainly on expanding wage differentials among occupational groups and offering market premiums to recruit and retain valued employees. Although the new pay system has not been integrated into a general management approach, it offers considerable challenge to the norms and values of solidarity that have traditionally been held so strongly in Sweden.     

How Network Strategies and Institutional Transitions Evolve in Asia

This article contributes to the literature on network strategies and institutional transitions in emerging economies in Asia by identifying a realistic, intermediate phase between the early and late phases of institutional transitions suggested by Peng (2003). Focusing on the intermediate phase, we advance two arguments based on network strength and network content. First, in terms of network strength, we leverage earlier insights that networks can be classified as strong ties and weak ties. Consequently, we suggest that as institutional transitions unfold, strong-tie-based networks, instead of being phased out, are being transformed into weak-ties-based networks. Second, from a network content standpoint, we argue that the various scale and scope of institutional transitions shape the content of different networks which focus on business-to-government (B2G) ties and business-to-business (B2B) relationships. Our propositions delineate how different transitions of political and legal institutions affect the evolution of B2G and B2B networks. Overall, we suggest that networks not only differ in strength but also in content, and that their evolution is driven by the impact of different dimensions of institutional transitions governing B2G and B2B relationships. Mike W. Peng (Ph.D., University of Washington) is a professor of global strategy at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he holds the university's first ever Provost's Distinguished Research Professorship. He was formerly an associate professor at the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. He is the author of nearly 40 scholarly articles and three books, including, most recently, Global Strategy (2006). He has served on the editorial boards of AMJ, AMR, JIBS, and SMJ, and acted as a guest editor for JIBS and JMS. He is the first elected officer of the Global Strategy Interest Group at the Strategic Management Society. This is his fifth contribution to APJM. Jessie Qi Zhou is a Ph.D. candidate in international business at the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. Her research interest includes strategy in emerging economies, network strategy, and organizational learning. Her main theoretical interest is institutional theory, with a focus on how institutional distance affects MNE strategies. The comparative analysis of firms' strategic choices across countries in response to different institutional environments is also of particular interest to her. Her work has been presented at the Academy of Management and Academy of International Business conferences.     

Worker Control as a Facilitator in the Match between Education and Jobs

This article examines the relationship between worker control and subjective underemployment among workers who have more education than is needed for entry into their jobs (credential underemployment). Results indicate that social and technical controls are related to a greater sense of education–job matching. Workers who have credential underemployment are less likely to report subjective underemployment (underutilization and lack of fit between education and job) if they have higher levels of workplace control. This article contains implications for job design and the role of employers and managers in fostering the utilization of their workforces.     

Early Retirement and Bridge Employment Intentions Among Older Workers in Singapore

This paper examined the relevance of 14 demographic, cognitive, and affective factors in individuals' intentions to voluntarily retire early and to secure bridge employment after retirement. Results based on a sample of 361 respondents aged between 40 and 59 suggested that marital status, perceived negative age-health relationship, gender psychological readiness for retirement, and family orientation were related to early retirement intentions. Work centrality, perceived organisational attitude towards older employees, and psychological readiness for early retirement were related to bridge employment intentions. Implications for research were discussed.     

From ‘Entering into a Firm’ to ‘Entering into a Profession’: An Anthropological Approach to Changing Personhood in Japan

Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, the article uses discourse analysis to examine the social dynamics involved in the construction of personhood in Japan. While the gap between powerful discourse and lived reality is a well‐documented phenomenon, there is little systematic empirical research on how to integrate individual and social levels of analysis in this process. By contrasting discourse from above and from below, the article illuminates power asymmetry and the resulting tension between discursive freedom and social exclusion among disadvantaged groups.     

印度取消对华玩具歧视性禁令

印度商工部外贸总局6月16日发布第113号公告，决定对所有进口玩具实施统一标准，从而结束了长达近5个月针对中国玩具的歧视性进口禁令。自即日起至2010年1月23日，只允许具有如下两种检验合格证书的玩具进口至印度市场：     

From lead compound to product

The process of turning a promising chemical compound into a safe and effective drug is both expensive and risky. Effective strategic planning is vital to ensure that investment in staff and equipment is used productively and that an acceptable output of products can be maintained. But methods of planning in common use do not deal satisfactorily with the uncertainties. This paper sets out an analysis of the process and describes the use of a simple model to establish a strategic plan. The model allows the output, resource efficiency and robustness of a plan to be examined. Important conclusions about the relative distribution of resources between different activities are drawn and the effects of possible changes in regulatory requirements are explored.     

从穿孔卡片到PC再到iPods

30年来,分销业发生了翻天覆地的变化有一句谚语说道:总有一些事情不会改变。然而,电子分销业几十年来却发生了翻天覆地的变化,即使是同样的概念,其应用范围、复杂程度和理解方法都与以往大不相同,以“货架共享”为例,20 世纪50年代和60年代,由于竞争激     

加强标准化工作为我国从包装大国走向包装强国提供技术包装

众所周知，包装对保护商品、美化商品、宣传商品以及对商品的储运、销售、使用都起着重要的作用。对大多数产品而言，没有包装，就不成其商品。但我国的包装技术、包装水平、包装标准化等方面与一些技术先进国家相比还有一定的差显巨。 另外，由于包装本身不属于某一具体商品，而又是商品不可缺少的一部分这一特殊性，常常被大做文章，成为一些国家设置贸易技术壁垒的借口或手段。如何利用包装标准化这个武器有效地保护我国有关企业的利益、冲破贸易技术壁垒，是摆在我们面前非常紧迫的课题。[编者按]