The German Octopus: The British Metal Corporation and the Next War, 1914-1939

After World War I, the nonferrous metals trade played a criticalrole in Britain's preparations for a future European war. Yetit has attracted little attention. The British Metal Corporation(BMC) was formed at the end of the Great War as a state-sponsoredcorporation to conduct the development of the nonferrous metalsindustry on behalf of the British state. This article uses thepapers of the BMC to explore the politics of a strategicallyvital trade, the functioning of the British state's institutionalmemory, and the role of business in appeasement and rearmament.It concludes that the state-sponsored corporation was, on balance,an effective strategic instrument. Although politics, trade,and strategy proved difficult to reconcile with one another,the pursuit of profit did not dictate business attitudes towardNazi Germany in the 1930s.     

The analysis of technological activity using abstracting services

Many organizations are at the present time faced with two problems. First, what are the events that are likely to have important implications for their activities in future time periods? Second, what new areas should they consider entering and how can they make quick appraisal of the potential in such areas? There are no easy answers to either of these questions but a number of methods have been proposed which have been found to be of assistance. This paper outlines an approach based on the use of abstracting services which can provide useful information quickly and inexpensively.     

Best Value and the Control of Local Government: Challenges and Contradictions

This article offers some understanding of the early experience of implementing Best Value in the local authority sector. Implementation is dependent on how local government understands the concept; what local government is able to deliver; and what central government is prepared to accept. For the case study authority described in this article, Best Value is understood to depend on three deliverable 'cornerstones', embedded in a context that emphasises accountability, seeks to develop 'learning' and pursues change in organizational culture, emphasising the tenets of 'business excellence'. The authors conclude that Best Value represents an unusual cocktail of top-down concept and bottom-up realization, providing a new twist in the control of the local government sector.     

Book Reviews

Book Reviewed:
Knut Holt, Market Oriented Product Innovation
Barrie G. Dale, Managing Quality
Henry Chesborough, Open Innovation     

Playing the defence card: Local authority responses to the 1992 regional policy consultation paper

After two decades or more of hope, the jubilation over the relaxing of the “cold war” is tempered in those localities dependent in some way on the defence industries. In June 1992, the UK government produced a consultation paper on the topic of regional industrial policy and this provided an opportunity for defence-related local authorities to “flag up” their problems. The review event offers a common reference activity around which to compare the occurrence and the nature of local reactions. This article investigates the responses from a large sample of these local authorities, exploring the arguments put forward, the representations made, and the strategies deployed. It also tries to account for the various attitudes and reports on the outcome of the review process. Amongst an array of interesting findings, the analysis reveals a range of response strategies by local authorities and a variety of attitudes to policy support.     

Measuring Real Capital Input in OECD Agriculture

This paper provides a farm sector comparison of levels of capital input for 17 OECD countries. The estimates of capital input are derived by representing capital stock as a weighted sum of past investments. The weights correspond to the relative efficiencies of capital goods of different ages, so that the weighted components of capital stock have the same efficiency. We convert estimates of capital stock into estimates of capital services by means of capital rental prices. Comparisons of levels of capital input among countries require data on relative prices of capital input. We obtain relative price levels for capital input among countries via relative investment goods prices, taking into account the flow of capital input per unit of capital stock in each country.
Cet article se propose de comparer le niveau du capital dans Vagriculture de 17pays de l'OCDE. Les estimations du niveau de capital sont déduites en calculant un stock de capital comme une somme pondérée des investissements passés. Les poids utilisés correspondent a Vefficacite relative des biens capitaux à différents âges, de telle sorte que les différentes composantes du stock du capital ait la même efficacité. Le stock de capital est déduit une estimation des services de capital en utilisant un taux de rentabilité. Cette comparaison des niveaux de capital entre pays nécessite des données sur les prix relatifs du capital. Ces prix dépendent des prix relatifs des biens capitaux mais aussi des flux de service générés dans chaque pays par une unité de capital.     

Secured Creditor Recovery Rates from Management Buy‐outs in Distress

Buy‐out literature suggests that secured creditors will recoup substantial proportions of the funds they extend to finance the initial buy‐out. This paper uses a unique dataset of 42 failed MBOs to examine the extent of credit recovery by secured lenders under UK insolvency procedures and the factors that influence the extent of this recovery. On average, secured creditors recover 62 per cent of the amount owed. The percentage of secured credit recovered is increased where the distressed buy‐out is sold as a going concern and where the principal reason for failure concerns managerial factors. The presence of a going concern qualification in the audit report and the size of the buy‐out reduce the recovery rate by secured creditors.     

The Carbon Neutral Public Sector

Abstract

This paper argues for research into the effectiveness of government strategies for a ‘carbon neutral public sector’. We review initiatives in three OECD countries: New Zealand, Australia and the UK. In all jurisdictions, government agencies have consistently stressed ‘leading by example’ as a rationale for adoption. ‘Direct mandate’ by the Prime Minister (NZ); ‘organic development’ from wider central government sustainability initiatives (UK); and a more ‘laissez faire’ approach by Australian Federal and State Governments, were identified as the general pathways leading to implementation. Our assessment indicates: a lack of understanding of the implementation process for carbon neutrality; a need to identify and critically examine the ‘offset threshold’ at which mitigation efforts cease and offsetting is adopted; an absence of any evaluation of the ‘leading by example’ rationale; a lack of inter-country comparisons; a gap in understanding the relationship with economic and social aspects of sustainability; and a need to evaluate the utility of core government departments as the focus of carbon accounting. We urge colleagues to consider research in this area with a view to contributing to the interdisciplinary solutions which we believe are required.     

Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process in house selection

The house selection process involves an assessment by the buyer of a myriad of qualitative and quantitative factors before negotiating a purchase. The complex interplay among these factors along with the limitations of humans to systematically consider the complex information set, create the potential to induce serious inconsistencies in decisions. This paper presents a formal judgmental model of the house selection process using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The model will allow the buyer to consistently evaluate property attributes. We also present a simple extension of the model to help the prospective buyer arrive at an attribute weighted price that can be used for comparative rankings.