Cost Accounting and Performance Measurement in a Just-in-Time Production Environment

There are normative statements in the literature, backed up by case observations and anecdotal evidence, which indicate that manufacturing companies operating just-in-time (JIT) production management systems should also change their cost accounting systems and place greater reliance on non-financial performance indicators. This study provides empirical evidence suggesting that JIT manufacturing companies which have made some degree of modification to their costing system demonstrate higher performance than JIT companies which have not made changes. The results also suggest that greater use of non-financial performance indicators is associated with higher performance irrespective of the production management system adopted.     

Coauthorship and publication efficiency

This study extends a recent paper by Jean Louis Heck and Peter A. Zaleski [1991] on trends in economics journal publication from 1969–89. The primary purpose of the work is to analyze the impact on article production of an observed dramatically increasing tendency toward coauthorship among scholars in economics. A simple model is tested with total (per capita) articles as a function of time, American Economic Association (AEA) membership, and articles coauthored per year. Results suggest that the increasing trend toward coauthorship enhances productivity in total and per-capita article production. The authors would like to thank Gary Shelley, Janet K. Smith, Peter Zaleski, and an anonymous referee for comments on previous versions of this paper.     

Predictors of glycemic control and diabetes-related costs among type 2 diabetes patients initiating therapy with liraglutide in the United States

Objective:

Liraglutide has been shown to significantly improve glycemic control and reduce body weight while minimizing the risk of hypoglycemia in adult patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). This study aimed to identify characteristics that predict clinical and economic outcomes associated with liraglutide therapy in clinical practice in the US.

Methods:

Using the Truven Health MarketScan Laboratory Database, glycemic control (A1C <7%) and diabetes-related costs were evaluated in T2D patients initiating liraglutide between January 1, 2010 and June 30, 2012. Patients were required to have ≥1 post-index claim for liraglutide and A1C values at baseline and 6 months follow-up. All valid values of baseline A1C were included. Patients previously treated with GLP-1 receptor agonist(s) or insulin, or with evidence of type 1 diabetes, pregnancy, or gestational diabetes during the study period were excluded. Multivariable regression models were used to identify predictors of glycemic control and diabetes-related costs.

Results:

Of 417 patients newly treated with liraglutide, 54.0% achieved glycemic control (A1C <7%) during follow-up. Factors associated with increased odds of glycemic control during follow-up were: being female, POS/EPO health plan type, baseline A1C, early liraglutide initiation (0–1 prior oral anti diabetics [OADs] vs ≥2), adherence to liraglutide (defined as the proportion of days covered [PDC]), and diabetic retinopathy. Being female, earlier liraglutide initiation (0–1 prior OADs), and higher patient share of liraglutide costs were associated with significantly lower diabetes-related costs during follow-up. Factors associated with significantly higher post-index diabetes-related costs were: higher baseline A1C, baseline use of sulfonylureas, and diabetic retinopathy.

Conclusions:

Within this commercially-insured population of T2D patients treated with liraglutide, gender, baseline A1C, early liraglutide initiation (0–1 prior OADs), diabetic retinopathy, better adherence, and patient share of liraglutide costs were associated with increased odds of achieving glycemic control and the odds of having higher or lower diabetes-related costs.     

Commonalities in the Reasons for Switching Advertising Agencies: Corroboratory Evidence from New Zealand

Our replication study in New Zealand of failed advertising agency-client relationships provides findings to support previous UK and US research that a common set of reasons appears to exist, both between countries and over time, to explain why breakups occur. Advertisers responsible for over half of advertising account switches in New Zealand between 1993 and 1994 gave identical rankings to their counterparts in the UK and USA on the general factors explaining breakups, and also similar ratings on the relative importance of the thirty-five detailed variables associated with failure.     

More on the Cost of Being Other Than White and Male:

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the estimated yearly earnings of white, black, and Hispanic males and white, black, and Hispanic females in order to determine two things: Whether white male earnings continue to exceed those of reference groups, and how the cost of being female (the gender effect) compares with the cost of being nonwhite (black or Hispanic). We find that white males earnings are still greater than those of other groups, but when earnings are adjusted for market related differences, most of the differentials for black and Hispanic (Mexican-American, Puerto-Rican) males disappear. Even after adjustment, however, a considerable portion of females earnings differentials remain unexplained. Gender effects are considerably larger than race or ethnic effects.     

A method for identifying the most influential articles in an academic discipline

This paper develops a methodology, based on citation counts, for classifying journal articles as highly-cited, pre-classic, classic and super-classic. In order to establish the benchmark measures necessary for such classification, a citation analysis was done of all main articles produced in the American Economic Review from 1965 through 1985. Using the established benchmarks, 127 articles published during the review period met the minimum criteria for at least highly-cited status. In addition, a subset of 17 articles were designated as either classic or super-classic. An additional 11 articles were on a yearly citation pace to become classics and were classified as pre-classic. A few of the characteristics of these papers are noted. Evidence from other studies is presented to support the methodology developed here.The authors are grateful to Tim Perri, Fred Wallace and David Laband for helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.     

Socio-emotional and operational demands on service employees

Enacting appropriate behaviors often requires service employees to suppress genuine emotions and/or express other emotions, genuine or contrived. Managing emotions to act in a socially appropriate manner constitutes a form of labor: emotional labor. If labor demands exceed the resources of the employee, burnout arises, with negative consequences for overall psychological well-being and job performance. Similarly, task related activities engender role stress, which can also lead to burnout. Both task related role demands and socio-emotional demands are likely to be omnipresent in interpersonal interactions in service settings. Accordingly, this study sets out to investigate the simultaneous impact of these job demands on burnout in front line service professionals. Based on survey data collected from allied health service workers, the study findings strongly suggest that both socio-emotional demands and task related role demands are significant determinants of workplace stress and that their simultaneous effects on employee burnout can be large.     

James Buchanan's contributions to social and economic thought: Citation counts,self-assessment,and peer review

This paper demonstrates James Buchanan's impact on socio-economic thought through citation analysis of his published works, a discussion of Buchanan's own views of what his work means and is, and summary discussions of the assessments of other scholars. Thus the central themes of his work are illuminated as well. These themes include a deep distrust of government interference in the economy and in the personal lives of members of the polity, and his absolute conviction that collective decisionmaking should take place only within the framework of a contractual agreement, the fundamental principles of which have been derived through near unanimity.