Using FTE and RVU performance measures to assess financial viability of academic nurse-managed centers

Financial performance measures are essential to improve the fiscal management of academic nurse-managed centers (ANMCs). Measures are compared among six ANMCs in a consortium and against an external, self-sustainable, profitable ANMC and national data for family practice physicians. Performance measures help identify a center's strengths and weaknesses facilitating the development of strategies aimed at a variety of targets (business practices related to revenue and costs) to improve financial viability. Using a variety of financial performance measures to inform decision making will aid ANMCs in keeping their doors open for business.     

The addictive trait in buying behaviour

Subsequent to two reports in JCP on empirical studies of “compulsive consumption’ (Faber & O'Guinn. 1988a; Valence, d'Astous. & Fortier, 1988) the author presents the conceptual foundations of an ongoing West German study of addictive buying. He argues that it is consistent with psychological knowledge, and will lead to additional insights, to speak of addictive instead of compulsive buying and consumption. Addictive buying, like other addictions, is viewed as an attempt to compensate for a distortion of autonomy incurred in childhood, and reinforced in adolescence and adulthood, as a reaction to key experiences which seem to occur increasingly in contemporary industrial societies.     

How social and human capital influence opportunity recognition and resource mobilization in India's handloom industry

Small-scale firms in rural areas play an extremely important role in the development of any country, and especially in developing countries. To understand entrepreneurs who operate in a low-technology industry, we rely on the network perspective on entrepreneurship. In this paper, we investigate how the social and human capital of entrepreneurs (in this case master weavers in the handloom industry) influence their ability to recognize opportunities and mobilize resources. In addition to examining the direct effects, we also explore the possibilities of social capital mediating between human capital, on the one hand, and opportunity recognition and resource mobilization on the other. This paper adds to existing literature in two ways: firstly, we expand the social capital paradigm by including different cultural settings and links to existing studies regarding small enterprises. Secondly, we provide additional evidence to the ongoing debate as to what constitutes a ‘good network’.     

Nach der Krise: Wirksame Regelungen auf dem Finanzmarkt?

Schon w?hrend der Krise hat auf allen politischen Ebenen eine lebhafte Diskussion über eine bessere Finanzmarktregulierung eingesetzt. Einig war man sich nur in wenigen Bereichen. Und von der Umsetzung etwaiger Reformen ist die Politik noch weit entfernt. Allerdings ist auch fraglich, ob die Ansatzpunkte überhaupt richtig gew?hlt sind.     

Consumer dissatisfaction — Search for causes and alleviation outside the marketplace

This paper is an attempt to provide a theoretical basis for the design of new, more effective, directions for institutions and consumer leaders whose goal is the alleviation of today's widespread dissatisfaction among consumers. In contrast to the common assumption that consumer dissatisfaction is caused by inequalities and imperfections in the marketplace, the author introduces, and defends by use of the framework of E. R. G. theory, the concept that a large portion of the dissatisfaction experienced and expressed by an individual in the area of material consumption reflects his dissatisfaction with need fulfillment at the higher level of interpersonal relationships. The new concept suggests that the most effective route to greater satisfaction among consumers is not likely to be found in increased consumption opportunities through higher incomes and/or better deals in a more perfect marketplace, but in improved satisfaction of relatedness needs.

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Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag versucht, einen neuen Ansatz zur Verringerung der Unzufriedenheit von Verbrauchern theoretisch zu begründen. Im Gegensatz zu der sonst üblichen Annahme, daß Verbraucherunzufriedenheit auf Unzulänglichkeiten von Produkten und Märkten zurückgeht, wird hier die Auffassung vertreten, daß sie weitgehend auf unzureichender Befriedigung von Bedürfnissen nach zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen beruht. Diese Auffassung wird bedürfnistheoretisch (mit der E. R. G.-Theorie) abgeleitet. Sie legt nahe, daß höhere Zufriedenheit von Verbrauchern nicht so sehr durch bessere Marktbedingungen, bessere Produkte oder höhere Einkommen erreicht werden kann, als vielmehr durch verbesserte Möglichkeiten zur Befriedigung von zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen.

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Gerhard W. H. Scherf is an Associate Professor at University of Guelph, Department of Consumer Studies, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2 W1.