Subcontracting in banking: some evidence from Britain and France

The oversimplified analysis of subcontracting in terms of the relations between small and large firms needs to be abandoned in favour of a broader societal approach. Drawing on empirical evidence from Britain and France it is argued that such an approach can identify a wider range of political, social and economic factors affecting the decision to subcontract.     

Arbitration Decisions in Subcontracting Disputes

This study examines factors underlying arbitrators' decisions in disputes involving subcontracting. A framework devised by Dash (1963) is used to code arbitration decisions according to the issues arbitrators raised in reaching their conclusions. In addition, external factors such as geographical location, background of the arbitrator, industry, and when the decision occurred are evaluated. The results of logit analyses indicate that Dash's framework explains much of the variance in the arbitrators' decisions. External factors are unrelated to the decisions.     

沙特阿美工程项目分包策划分析

阐述大型沙特阿美国际EPC项目分包管理的特点,分析沙特阿美项目管理要求和标准对项目分包的影响及注意事项,提出通过做好分包策划、转置合同策划、属地化指标策划、施工组织策划和税务策划等手段来解决这些问题.     

Subcontracting and Labour Standards: Reassessing the Potential of International Framework Agreements

Attempts to regulate labour standards in multinational companies face clear difficulties, not least because companies themselves may not have the executive power to enforce terms throughout complex and fragmented subcontracting structures. In the case of international framework agreements (IFAs), this might suggest a fundamental weakness. Taking our example from the South African construction industry, this article presents an IFA in the context of both employer and union strategy. We demonstrate that a two‐track approach exists: highly interventionist approach to quality‐critical issues compared with labour‐related issues. On this basis, we suggest that, far from being over‐hyped, IFAs have yet to be taken seriously enough.     

建筑施工劳务分包机制研究

现阶段与施工劳务相关的问题如施工质量、安全、劳务权益保护等还普遍存在,施工劳务需要得到有效地管理和规范。施工劳务分包是组织施工劳务的主要方式。在确定施工劳务分包机制时必须考虑两个核心问题即施工劳务组织和施工劳务交易。施工劳务组织应该禁止采用零散用工的方式,施工企业直接雇佣的所有劳务应该由施工企业负责管理并对他们的作业承担直接责任。成建制的劳务企业和施工企业之间的交易应该在有形劳务分包市场上进行,具体交易形式应该以交易合同备案制为主。     

Crossing East-West boundaries: Knowledge sharing in intercultural business networks

Strategic business nets are becoming increasingly important in the arena of global competition. This article examines the influence of ethnic culture on knowledge sharing in different types of intercultural business nets. Knowledge sharing is essential for the functioning of business networks as it influences the cooperation and outcomes that firms are able to achieve. Our basic assumption is that the nature of the cultures involved and the type of network both influence the knowledge-sharing barriers. This is investigated on the basis of two conceptual frameworks. The first is a framework identifying different types of strategic nets and the requirements they impose for knowledge sharing. Subsequently, a culture-classification scheme based on the individualism-collectivism and the vertical-horizontal dimensions is derived. The strategic net and cultural types are then combined in an intercultural business-net framework, and the opportunities for and barriers to knowledge sharing are analysed using examples representing Asian-European and Asian-North American joint ventures and networks.     

Bridging inter- and intra-firm boundaries: management of supplier involvement in automobile product development

Outsourcing has become an important strategy for many firms. Yet, firms need to compete with their competitors who also outsource and may share the same suppliers. This article explores how a firm could outperform others in managing the division of labor with a supplier in product development. Drawing on the empirical data collected from the Japanese auto industry, this paper shows that an automaker needs capabilities to coordinate various activities both externally with a supplier and internally within its own organization, in order to gain better component development performance. Overall, the results imply that outsourcing does not work effectively without extensive internal effort. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

现行工程监理存在的问题及对策

我国工程建设监理自 1988年开始试点 ,迄今已走过了十多年的历程。实践表明 ,建设监理制的实行 ,对控制工程投资、缩短建设工期、提高工程质量起到了举足轻重的作用。但由于建立及实施建设监理制还处于初级阶段 ,因而在实行过程中难免存在一些有待解决的问题。本文就监理工作中存在的较普遍的问题进行了认真思考 ,并提出了相应对策 ,旨在促进建设监理的规范化管理 ,提高监理成效。现行监理中存在的问题1　业主行为不规范 ,缺乏对监理单位的正确认识业主与监理单位之间是委托与被委托、授权与被授权的关系。双方本着自愿的原则进行合作。但在…     

工程招投标潜在问题分析及对策

招投标作为社会主义建筑市场经济的一种管理方式和施工企业间的一种竞争形式．给建筑市场带来了活力，也使参与这块建筑市场施工和欲参与这块建筑市场施工的各施工企业面临着巨大的压力和挑战。     

Malaysian Reverse Investments: Trends and Strategies

Available data indicate that Malaysian investments abroad (MIA) rose significantly in the 1990s. Singapore, Hong Kong and the U.S. are the major recipients of MIA. In order to understand why Malaysian companies invest abroad, as well as their business strategies, seven companies were interviewed. Finding new markets was cited as the main reason for locating overseas. Unlike most mature multinational corporations from developed countries, most MIA takes the form of standalone affiliates. Moreover, most respondents decentralize their decision making regarding the management of these subsidiaries. While Malaysian companies do plan to expand their overseas investments, they advise new entrants to form strategic alliances with other companies, be cautious, patient, and sensitive to the hosts' cultures in executing their ventures.     

The supplier's side of outsourcing: Taking over activities and blurring organizational boundaries

Since most of the literature on outsourcing focuses only to the buying (outsourcing) company, this paper aims to highlight the supplier's side from a relational perspective. The paper stresses the importance of business relationships between suppliers of outsourced activities and their customers. The paper's purpose is specified in two research questions: (1) how is value created within outsourcing and (2) how does the supplier interact with the outsourcing company? Our method relies on an in-depth qualitative case study of Logoplaste, a Portuguese packaging company which supplies large consumer goods manufacturers through complex outsourcing activities. Our analysis identifies three key dimensions of outsourcing relationships: (1) value co-creation via inter-firm coordination (as opposed to unilateral externalization of activities); (2) mutual dependence between supplier and customer due to the supplier's taking over activities; and (3) the blurring of organizational boundaries because of mutual dependence. These dimensions manifest themselves, even though in different degrees, after the initiation of any outsourcing relationship: these variables are new to the literature on outsourcing, which focuses on the ex ante dimensions that influence the customer's pre-relational choices such as “make or buy” and relationship type.     

Recombinant innovation and the boundaries of the firm

Recombinant innovation, the combination of existing ideas, is important for technological progress; we want to understand how important market frictions are in stifling the transmission of ideas from one firm to another. Although the theoretical literature emphasizes the importance of these frictions, direct empirical evidence on them is limited. We use comprehensive data on patent applications from the European Patent Office and a multiple spells duration model to provide estimates that suggest that they are substantial. It is around 30% more costly to successfully discover and utilize new ideas created in another firm than in your own. This compares to the increased costs of accessing new ideas across national borders of around 7%, and across technologies of around 20%. These result point towards substantial imperfections in the market for technology.     

Strategies and Performance in the Thrift Industry: 1979–1987

From the late seventies until 1989, the regulatory environment of the thrift industry was changed from one that permitted little managerial discretion to one in which managers were allowed to choose from a wide variety of lending and borrowing activities. In this article, cluster analysis is used to separate thrifts into strategic groups based on the extent to which they utilized their new powers. Differences among the groups and the relationship between group membership and performance is tested over the period 1979–1987 using analysis of variance.     

规范监理程序,避免施工和监理的随意性

针对施工单位和监理人员存在的随意性的工作方式,从十一个方面尝试解决的办法。