Mandatory and binding arbitration: Effects on employee attitudes and recruiting results

This paper reports the results of two studies undertaken in the same Fortune 500 company as it adopted an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program. Study 1 assessed employees' perceptions of fairness, trust, and turnover intentions regarding ADR options. Compared with other options for ADR, a program consisting of mandatory mediation followed by mandatory and binding arbitration (MMBA) resulted in significantly lower levels of procedural fairness perception, organizational trust, and intentions to stay with the firm. Contrary to previous research, no significant effects were found related to respondents' demographic characteristics and their reactions to ADR program characteristics. In Study 2, job‐applicant flow data were evaluated and compared by corporate region to determine the effects of an MMBA program installed in one region. Results revealed no significant effects related to the MMBA program on the organization's ability to recruit and ultimately fill key positions. As in Study 1, no significant effects were found in Study 2 for the demographic characteristics of applicant race/ethnicity, gender, or age on applicant recruitment decisions. Although Study 2 results indicated job candidates are unaffected by the existence of an MMBA program, given Study 1's results, practitioners should be cautious about implementing such a program for current employees. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

中国"以电子政务拉动信息产业发展"政策的再评估

电子政务是中国信息化战略的重中之重,但其实际发展与预期间存在着明显差距。本文以中国“以电子政务拉动信息产业发展”政策为研究重点,把这一政策放在中国信息化历史中加以考察,分析中国信息化新阶段ICT市场的新变化和新挑战,针对电子政务实践与预期间的差距,对该政策提出我们的看法。     

Twenty years of Hong Kong and Macao under Chinese rule: being absorbed under ‘one country,two systems’

This paper examines the implementation of ‘one country, two systems’ (1C2S) in the two former Western colonies, Hong Kong and Macao, as a policy innovation in managing inter-governmental relations of a large, diverse country like China. 1C2S embodies internal tensions because the Hong Kong and Chinese governments have multiple and often incompatible goals. After 20 years, these two special administrative regions (SARs) of China are gradually being absorbed.     

The Nature of Business Planning Undertaken by General Practitioner Fundholding Practices in the North West Region

This article focuses on a central feature of the former Conservative Government's approach to the National Health Service (NHS), the introduction of General Practitioner Fundholding. It examines the nature of business planning undertaken by fundholding practices in the North West Region by looking at the participation of various stakeholders in the business planning process, the business planning techniques adopted and the extent to which fundholding practices set and monitor their objectives.     

Spatial Modeling in Technology Adoption Decisions: The Case of Shuttle Train Elevators

This article empirically models a strategic game of technology adoption of shuttle train grain elevators with information on location of the firm and its competitors. A spatial econometric model illustrates the role of spatial interdependence of rivals' decisions as well as agronomic and competitive variables on discrete adoption decisions. The analysis assesses equilibria conditions that characterize technology adoption, in this case of shuttle train adoption, and the results provide an explanation of shuttle train adoption decisions in the grain handling industry in which spatial competition is critical.     

Value of Household and Farm Work: Evidence from Alberta Farm Family Data

Estimates of the economic value of unpaid household and farm work of Alberta farm women and men are calculated using two common market alternative cost methods. Time use data for 1984 collected by Doherty and Keating (1985) from 414 Alberta grain farm families as well as Statistics Canada wage data are used. The average annual value of unpaid farm work ranges from $20,647.35 to $29,088.24 for men and from $5,017.54 to $6,604.19 for women. Conversely, unpaid household work performed by women has an average annual value of $17,460.98 to $34,617.66, while the value of men's unpaid household work ranges from $1,943.02 to $3,962.54 annually. When the values of farm and household production and the income generated by off-farm work are accounted for, there is little difference between mend's and womend's total contributions to the economic well-being of the farm family. These estimates illustrate the importance of family membersd' unpaid work to the economic well-being of the family. They also suggest that there is little basis for the historic inequity of legal and other social systems that neglect the economic value of womend's contributions to family welfare. On estime la valeur du travail domestique et agricole non rémunéré des agricultrices et des agriculteurs de l'Alberta au moyen de deux autres méthodes de calcul des coûts, dd'usage courant sur le marché. On se sert pour cela des données de 1984 sur le temps recueillies par Keating and Doherty (1985) auprès de 414 producteurs de céréales de l'Alberta et des données sur les salaires de Statistique Canada. La valeur annuelle moyenne du travail agricole non rémunéré varie de 20 647,35 $ à 29 088,24 $ pour les hommes et de 5 017,54 $ à 6 604,19 $ pour les femmes. Parallèlement, le travail domestique non rémunéré effectuÉ par les femmes vaut de 17 460,98 $ à 34 617,66 $ en moyenne par année, tandis que pour les hommes il varie entre 1 943,02 $ et 3 962,54 $. Lorsqud'on additionne la valeur de la production agricole et domestique et le revenu générÉ par le travail non agricole, on constate qud'il y a peu dd'écart entre la contribution totale de l'homme et celle de la femme au bien-être économique de la famille rurale. Ces estimations prouvent 1d'importance du travail non rémunéré des membres de la famille pour la situation économique de cette derniÈre. Elles suggèrent également qud'il nd'existe pas de véritable fondement à l'injustice historique introduite par les systèmes juridiques et sociaux qui négligent la valeur de la contribution des femmes au bien-être économique de la famille.