How the ‘customer’ influences the skills of the front‐line worker

Previous research illustrates how managers use the ‘customer’ in the service sector to develop roles and determine requisite skill sets. This article uses the evaluation of a recent workforce modernisation initiative in the NHS to provide insights into the manner in which the patient has played an increasing role in the construction of skills in healthcare. It indicates how public‐funded healthcare in the NHS contains similar tensions and contradictions to service work in consumer capitalism. Although the patient is not in a position of authority, the desire of some workers to address fully the physical and psychological needs of the patient (or embodied customer) leads them to develop skills and roles that management may find hard to resource within current budgets.     

‘Stick to the knitting’ vs. ‘the mysteriously potent charm of diversification’: the Greek evidence

This paper provides evidence on the extent, nature of and factors associated with diversification using a novel set of data, referring to both firms and plants, from the Greek manufacturing sector (1992). The paper brings together a strand of hypotheses formulated, and partially tested, in the relevant literature. More specifically, we investigate the relationship between the degree of diversification and firm/industry characteristics by separately examining the behaviour of multiplant and uniplant firms. Certain patterns emerge which are then compared with those that arose in other studies. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“协同教学”及“教考分离”在传热学教学过程中的可行性分析

传热学课程来源于生活,是一门应用性的专业基础课。以往的教学模式与考核方式单一而枯燥,一些学习基础相对较差的学生上课的积极性相对较弱,学习效果较差。本文对"协同教学"及"教考分离"相结合的课程教育体系在传热学教学过程中的可行性进行了分析,最后指出该模式和制度存在一定的风险,然而它是一种先进的教学理念和主流的教学模式。只要不断地尝试、创新、磨练,一定能发挥其应有的效果。     

“慕课”和“微课”对独立学院师生教学行为影响探析

近年来,"慕课"、"微课"是教育领域最为热门的话题,独立学院是高等教育中的重要而特殊的组成部分,教学是独立学院的核心工作,那么,"慕课"、"微课"将怎么影响独立学院师生的教学行为呢?本文先对"慕课"的概念、特点、制作过程模型和优势,"微课"的概念、特征和开发过程模型,独立学院教学特点进行阐述,进而结合三者分析出"慕课"和"微课"将从教师的"教"和学生的"学"两个角度影响教学行为。     

On the “Lock-In” Effects of Capital Gains Taxation

The most important drawback of a tax on realized capital gains is its “lock-in” effect. This paper uses a simple land development model to examine the distortion that the lock-in effect generates. A surprising result is that the lock-in effect does not arise if the basis for the capital gains tax (usually the price at which the current owner acquired the land) is sufficiently high. Rather than delaying the sale, the owner sells the land as soon as possible even if the land will be developed much later. In this case, the capital gains tax creates no “real” distortion because it does not affect the development time. In particular, if the basis is the price formed under perfect foresight, the lock-in effect never arises.     

The Regulatory Crisis of the 1990s—The Problem…

Immense damage to the economy and the destruction of thousands of businesses are caused by over-regulation. An 'avalanche of regulations' has led to the creation of a 'bureaucratic monster' which is almost out of control. It can be stopped - but only by changing people's psychology.     

A Simple Improvement of the IV‐estimator for the Classical Errors‐in‐Variables Problem

Two measures of an error‐ridden variable make it possible to solve the classical errors‐in‐Variable problem by using one measure as an instrument for the other. It is well known that a second IV‐estimate can be obtained by reversing the roles of the two measures. We explore the optimal linear combination of these two estimates. In a Monte Carlo study, we show that the gain in precision is significant. The proposed estimator also compares well with full information maximum likelihood under normality. We illustrate the method by estimating the capital elasticity in the Norwegian ICT‐industry.     

Bayesian Analysis in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Superscript>1</Superscript>-Norm of the Mixing Proportion Using Discriminant Analysis

We consider the mixing proportion π in a mixture of two independent distributions, and establish the expression of its posterior density, in closed form and in terms of L ¹-norms of various related functions, using a prior beta and the optimal classification rule for the two populations provided by Discriminant analysis. A numerical example fully illustrates the concepts presented.Research partially supported by CRSNG 9249 (Canada). The authors wish to thank the Faculty of Science and the Department of Statistics of UNISA for their generous support that has led to this joint work. Also, thanks to Ms. Jeannette LeBlanc for her excellent technical support, and to an anonymous referee for very helpful comments that have helped to improve the presentation of the paper.     

移动信息技术影响下的“C一代”网络消费行为研究

随着移动信息技术的不断发展、智能手机的更新换代以及4G网络的覆盖,当今消费者的网络消费行为同以往发生了极大变化。本文以移动信息技术的发展为研究前提,以"C一代"消费者为研究对象,通过问卷调查收集"C一代"网络消费行为数据,进一步了解"C一代"对移动信息技术的信任度和依赖度,网络电商以此为借鉴,为"C一代"提供更精准的产品和服务,进一步提高"C一代"消费者的忠诚度,并挖掘具有潜在需求的顾客群体。     

The rise of the ‘network organisation’ and the decline of discretion

This article explores the implications of ‘networked’ and ‘flexible’ organisations for the work and skills of professionals/ Drawing on material from four different case studies, it reviews work that is outsourced (involving IT professionals and housing benefit caseworkers), work that is done by teachers contracted to a temporary employment agency and work organised through an inter‐firm network (chemical production workers). In each case work that was outsourced was managed very differently to that undertaken in‐house, with managerial monitoring replacing and reducing employees' discretion. New staff in these networks had fewer skills when hired and were given access to a narrower range of skills than their predecessors. By contrast, the production staff directly employed on permanent contracts in the inter‐firm network were given (and took) significant amounts of responsibility, with positive results for both their skills and the work processed. Yet, despite the negative impact they have on skills, outsourcing and subcontracting are a far more common means of securing flexibility than organisational collaboration.     

‘Repeat commercializers,’ the ‘habitual entrepreneurs’ of university–industry technology transfer

Among academic faculty, is there a class of ‘repeat commercializers’ who account for a disproportionate share of commercialized technologies arising from university research? In a survey of 172 engineering, mathematics, and science faculty members from a major Canadian university, we found evidence that a class of repeat commercializers does exist. Further, we found that the 12% of the faculty who are repeat commercializers account for 80% of the commercialized innovations. Interviews with repeat commercializers in the same faculties at the same university suggest that repeat commercializers parallel habitual entrepreneurs in that they have the ability to commercialize (i.e. the ability to generate and identify commercializable inventions and the ability to acquire resources for the commercialization of their inventions) and the aspiration to do so (i.e. commercialization-friendly attitudes). Since repeat commercializers account for such a large percentage of commercialization activity, it is important that programs and policies associated with technology transfer address the needs of this subpopulation of the faculty.     

Melbourne: Population density; distance; the relationship

The analysis of two earlier writers is replicated using a data base pertaining to Melbourne, Australia, for the period 1901 to 1976. Several alternative functional forms of the population density functions are tested to determine comparative goodness of fit to the data. Population estimates are obtained and contrasted to actual population figures, and finally density functions incorporating time as an argument are estimated.     

Inference by the <Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis> out of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis> bootstrap in nonparametric frontier models

It is well-known that the naive bootstrap yields inconsistent inference in the context of data envelopment analysis (DEA) or free disposal hull (FDH) estimators in nonparametric frontier models. For inference about efficiency of a single, fixed point, drawing bootstrap pseudo-samples of size m < n provides consistent inference, although coverages are quite sensitive to the choice of subsample size m. We provide a probabilistic framework in which these methods are shown to valid for statistics comprised of functions of DEA or FDH estimators. We examine a simple, data-based rule for selecting m suggested by Politis et al. (Stat Sin 11:1105–1124, 2001), and provide Monte Carlo evidence on the size and power of our tests. Our methods (i) allow for heterogeneity in the inefficiency process, and unlike previous methods, (ii) do not require multivariate kernel smoothing, and (iii) avoid the need for solutions of intermediate linear programs.     

Challenging ‘strategic HRM’ and the relevance of the institutional setting

One of the more fundamental aspects of the ongoing debate about the added value of HRM relates to ‘best’ practice versus ‘best‐fit’. Best practice suggests the universal success of certain HR practices, while best‐fit acknowledges the relevant impact of contextual factors. We argue that differences in embeddedness and in institutional settings between, for example, countries affect the nature of HRM. To understand this phenomenon, we are in need of additional theory. In this article we will use the theory of new institutionalism as a better way to understand the shaping of HR policies and practices in different settings. After a concise review of the latest debates in the area of strategic HRM, in which the resource‐based view is the dominant perspective, we turn to an analysis of HRM in different institutional settings, which suggests the need for additional theory: ie new institutionalism. We offer propositions to explain the impact of different institutional mechanisms, including coercive, normative and mimetic ones, on the shaping of HR policies and practices in organisations. The remainder of the article then focuses on possible implications for practitioners, theoretical implications for future research, and challenges for strategic HRM.