Employer opposition and union avoidance in the UK

This paper presents empirical evidence about the shape and pattern of non–union employer strategies to remain union free. The data are collected from seven case studies across different industrial sectors and organisational sizes in Britain. Following a brief critique of typologies of union avoidance, the evidence suggests the ‘configuration’ of anti–union approaches involves an uneven and at times contradictory interaction of context–specific variables. Three mutually inclusive factors that influence employer behaviour are identified: structural, ideological and cultural dimensions. It is argued that these represent a deeper understanding of employer hostility towards unions than existing employment relationship classifications. The utility of non–union typologies and the prospects for union mobilisation are considered in the light of these findings.     

Ringing the changes? Union recognition and organisation in call centres in the UK finance sector

The massive rise in UK call centre employment in recent years has been closely related to developments in the finance sector. This paper analyses these developments in order to contextualise the organisational experiences of unions in the sector. Recruitment activity in both hostile and compliant employer environments, and findings from the first national survey of call centre employees’ attitudes towards trade unionism, are discussed, and the prospects for union recruitment and organisation are assessed.     

Intangible capital in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry

We investigate whether measures of intangible capital based on advertising and R&D can explain variation in Tobin's Q ratio for the pharmaceutical and chemical industry. The study is motivated by prior literature studying this relation in other industries, recent literature investigating intangible capital in this industry, and the larger controversy about whether stock valuations have been high due to irrational investors or large investment in intangible capital. We find that our measures of intangible capital are statistically significant determinants of Q and explain 20% of the variation in our sample. When age and industry are incorporated into the model our explanatory power reaches 25%.     

Variations in strike activity within UK manufacturing industry

Stephen Creigh and Peter Makeham seek to explain inter-industry variations in both stoppage frequency and stoppage incidence at a highly disaggregated level. They develop and then test a simple model which relates strike activity to the conditions under which bargaining takes place and to bargaining structures.     

Generic substitution in the UK pharmaceutical industry: A markovian analysis

This paper examines the impact of competition on product market shares in the UK pharmaceutical industry. The topic is of particular interest since, although it is well known that such products are already subject to competition by innovation and by price (Cooper, 1966, Ch. 3; Reekie, 1978), the possible introduction in the UK of generic substitution (Greenfield, 1982, p. 24), could further increase competitive pressures. Our aim is to apply Markov probabilistic analysis to existing market data. This will enable us (after Adelman, 1958) to analyse the structure which the industry will ‘eventually reach if certain current trends were to continue’ (Adelman, p. 893). In particular, we apply the technique to sub-samples of the data, to infer how the competitive process influences the industry's configuration when generic competition is present. The outcome can be used as a conservative indicator of the impact on the industry if generic substitution was to be adopted in the National Health Service (NHS). The plan of the paper is as follows. In the first section a brief resumt of the debate which has surrounded generic substitution proposals is presented. The second section details the data and sample used in our empirical work. The third section applies Markov chain analysis to that data and reports our results. The final section summarizes our conclusions and discusses some of the problems and limitations of our results.     

UK consumer attitudes concerning environmental issues impacting the agrifood industry

Consumer concern for the environment has been on the increase in recent years. This concern has created many opportunities, as well as threats, for all businesses but particularly for those involved in the agrifood industry. These concerns can and do change considerably in a short space of time so it is essential that consumer surveys are conducted on a frequent basis to monitor these changes. This paper presents the findings of one such survey based on the findings of a consumer attitude study concerning environmental issues relating to the agrifood industry. The data is subjected to a cluster analysis in order to segment the respondents and make the findings more meaningful. The paper concludes that there are four groups of consumers (the ‘angries’; the ‘not‐quite‐so‐angries’, the ‘anxious‐but‐amiables’ and the ‘Panglossians’) and that while a number of subjects constitute issues for consumers the one that unites most consumers, and which will probably have the greatest impact on the environment, is genetic modification. Consumer resistance to genetic modification is found to be high and it is suggested that as a result farmers will continue to employ traditional farming practices in the future. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.     

Contingent work in the UK and Sweden: evidence from the construction industry

This article explores the use of contingent forms of employment in two diverse country contexts—the UK and Sweden—and investigates the influence of changing regulatory and economic conditions over a period that covers the current economic downturn. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data for the construction sector, the article addresses three questions. How do employers balance their flexibility preferences in the context of regulatory constraints? How has the global recession influenced employer behaviour? And to what extent can the Swedish experience be explained by convergence on other country models? While the UK employment model encourages employers to externalise the risk of unpredictable market conditions through the use of contingent contracts, the more supportive welfare regime in Sweden underpins a resilient preference of employers for open‐ended employment contracts. Ongoing changes in labour market regulation pose challenges to the strongly regulated Swedish model, yet we find only a shared direction of travel with the UK rather than convergence in the use of contingent employment.     

Environmental regulation and innovation driving ecological design in the UK automotive industry

The theory of ecological modernization asserts that economic and environmental goals can be integrated within a framework of industrial modernity. Its central tenet is that environmental regulation can stimulate the application of ‘clean’ technologies or techniques. Ecological modernization also contends that environmental regulation can offer business benefits from innovation through improved product design and economic performance. The EU End of Life Vehicles Directive (ELVD) reflects many of these principles, as it compels all car manufacturers to ‘take back’ and dismantle vehicles at the end of their useful lives and to remove the hazardous substances from the production process. Each component will then be either reused or recycled. The legislation forces designers to introduce ‘clean design’ and ‘design for disassembly’ practices. In light of this, we examine the impact of the directive on UK automotive component manufacturers. We find limited evidence that the EU ELVD Directive has driven product innovation beyond short‐term, incremental technological trajectories. We therefore conclude that a more radical approach, in line with the ‘dematerialization’ thesis by Dobers and Wolff (1999), is needed to generate more radical, ecological design solutions within the UK automotive industry. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

化学工业用无密封泵的选择

文章通过介绍化工用泵的密封技术,分析有无密封泵的利弊,提出使用无密封泵的要求,从而使其能够更好地满足工业生产的需要。     

高效电动机在化工生产中的应用

文章以江西海利贵溪公司7000t/a高纯度甲萘威原药生产装置为例,对高效电动机的应用进行技术经济分析,说明高效电动机在化工生产中应用的重要意义。     

Corporate greening and changing regulatory regimes: the UK water industry

This article looks at the relationship between economic regulation, environmental regulation, company strategy and the environment in the UK water and sewerage industry. The regulatory field in this industry, following privatization in 1989, is highly complex and interdependent. The paper presents three case studies of company interpretation of and response to changes in this regulatory field, focusing particularly on the third review by the economic regulator, in 1999, which involved a reduction of the prices companies were allowed to charge their customers. This had significant but complex repercussions for environmental strategy and management in the companies, with different impacts on mandatory and non‐mandatory activities. It also showed in relief the opportunities for building coalitions between companies and the environmental regulator, both in general terms and revolving around specific, local environmental issues and schemes. Companies' strategic direction was also found to have an impact on their response to the regulatory review. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

The regulation of the UK pharmaceutical industry: A cost-benefit analysis

Regulation is not costless. It can have adverse effects on innovation, on the time required to develop a new product and on an industry's competitiveness. This article estimates the costs of regulating the UK pharmaceutical industry and whether the results are worthwhile.     

Impact of EU exit on our UK industry forecasts

• We have lowered our forecast for UK economic growth following the vote to leave the EU on 23 June. GDP growth is now forecast at 1.1% in 2017 and 1.4% in 2018, and the medium‐term outlook has also been nudged down. We have also lowered our forecast for all of the main industrial sectors, with the biggest reductions in the long‐term forecasts for construction and manufacturing, although the weak pound could provide some short‐term boost to the latter.
• Our baseline forecast assumes that the government triggers Article 50 by the end of this year and that the UK leaves the EU by end‐2018. We assume that the government draws a red line under the freedom of movement and thus loses access to the single market. Trade relations revert to WTO rules.
• A number of factors determine the relative impact on each sector. First, in the short term, heightened uncertainty will hit business confidence, causing firms to delay capital spending. Second, less favourable trade relations with the EU could see export‐oriented sectors migrate production away from the UK. Finally, restrictions on migration will reduce the potential size of the labour force.
• Consequently, investment‐oriented sectors such as construction and machinery have seen some of the largest downgrades. Moreover, transport equipment is heavily exported to Europe, so increased trade barriers could see some production move out of the UK. Meanwhile, labour shortages could weaken growth prospects in labour‐dependent sectors. In addition, the vote has created uncertainties around the long‐term viability of London as Europe's major financial centre.
• The outlook for more consumer‐focused sectors is less downbeat, although an uptick in inflation may erode household purchasing power in the near‐term, and the multipliers from lower economic activity are likely to permanently reduce household incomes in the long term relative to our last baseline

     

化纤行业中异形喷丝板的合理设计

文章对异形喷丝板的性能特点等方面进行了分析,通过分析比较,提出了异形喷丝板新的合理化设计方法及理念。     

Topping up or watering down? Sustainable development in the privatized UK water industry

Increasingly in the UK regulators and industries are taking on duties towards sustainable development. Governance procedures, which include regulation, are evolving to accommodate this in a manner that is reflexive of existing institutional structures. Governance provides an organizing framework for ordered rule and collective action, not reliant on coercive sanction. It is characterized by a web of actors from across government, industry and civil society with both intentions and outcomes being negotiated and reinterpreted. With respect to sustainable development this can be seen at work within the regulation of the water sector. This paper, based on a series of interviews situated from within the water industry, investigates whether the formal regulation of the industry helps or hinders the adoption and implementation of sustainable practices. The regulatory structure encourages an approach that mediates relationships through the redefinition of sustainability in econocentric terms, thus losing the richness of the concept. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.