Responses to industrial closure

From a high point in the early seventies resistance to plant closure, especially in the form of the occupation, progressively declined throughout the rest of the decade. This article attempts to explain this trend in terms of changing socioeconomic contexts and management strategies.     

Who's right for an international assignment?

Picking the wrong candidate for an international assignment can be costly for both the individual and his or her company. So more and more companies are turning to testing techniques like the Overseas Assignment Inventory that allows a company to compare a candidate against a profile of success based on a study of thousands of international managers.     

Functioning and reforms of small claims tribunals in New Zealand

This article examines some of the pending changes to the jurisdiction and functioning of Small Claims Tribunals in New Zealand. The Disputes Tribunals Act 1988 repeals the Small Claims Tribunals Act 1976. The new Disputes Tribunals will exercise a wider jurisdiction, both in monetary terms and with respect to the nature of cases which can be heard, than did the Small Claims Tribunals. In particular, the Disputes Tribunals will have wider powers in certain areas of tort. The author also examines certain procedural reforms, and the significance and possible consequences of these.

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Zusammenfassung In Neuseeland gibt seit etwa 12 Jahren spezielle Gerichte für kleinere Streitfälle. Eine vom Justizministerium durchgeführte Evaluationsstudie stärkte die Auffassung, diese Gerichte unter bestimmten rechtlichen und Verfahrensgesichtspunkten zu reformieren.Das 1976 verabschiedete Gesetz über Gerichte für kleinere Streitfälle wurde 1988 durch das Gesetz für Rechtsstreitigkeiten ersetzt. Dieses Gesetz führte zu einer Ausweitung insofern, als die Streitwertgrenze von 1,000 $ auf 3,000 $ angehoben wurde. Bei Einigkeit beider Parteien kann der Streitwert sogar bis 5,000 $ gehen. Bisher konnten die Gerichte nur zivilrechtliche Streitigkeiten entscheiden, andere Rechtswidrigkeiten waren beschränkt auf Schäden durch fahrlässigen Umgang mit Kraftfahrzeugen. Durch die neue Gesetzgebung wird der Rechtssprechungsspielraum beachtlich erweitert. Diese Ausweitung der gerichtlichen Kompetenzen erschien notwendig, um einder breiteren Öffentlichkeit Zugang zu solchen Schlichtungsverfahren zu eröffnen — eine angesichts der ständig steigenden Kosten der Rechtssprechung sinnvolle Forderung. Außerdem hat das neue Gesetz neue Verfahrensregelungen eingeführt. Beispielsweise sind die Gerichte nunmehr verpflichtet, ihre Urteilssprüche zu begründen. Außerdem sind die Klagemöglichkeiten näher definiert.Der Beitrag analysiert die möglichen Auswirkungen dieser Änderungen auf die Funktionsweise der Gerichte.

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Cynthia Hawes is Lecturer in Law, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 1, New Zealand, and Small Claims Tribunal Referee in Christchurch.Much of the text of this article was given as a paper at the annual conference of the Australasian Universities Law Schools Association, at the University of Sydney, August, 1988.     

On-duty and Off-duty: Employee Right to Privacy and Employer’s Right to Control in the Private Sector

The changing legal landscape of the right of the employer to control and monitor employee behavior is examined. Two distinct areas are defined: behavioral monitoring and behavioral restrictions. Relevant statutory laws and the developing common law are discussed. We also examine potential employee reactions to such policies by evaluating the reactions of graduate students to six employer policies including weight restrictions, grooming requirements, use of GPS locators, drug testing, ban on off-duty smoking, and email and internet monitoring. Students responded to these policies by determining the reasonable interest of the employer in the behaviors being monitored or controlled and the manner in which policies were implemented. Their comments suggest that employees may accept some level of monitoring or behavioral restrictions if the employer can make a convincing social account of the need for a policy. Additionally, the policy must be clearly communicated and properly implemented. However, restrictions on off-duty behavior were typically poorly received with the exception of illegal drug use.     

The Sensitivity of the General Price Level to Changes in the Price of Crude Oil

There are many direct and indirect effects of changing crude oil prices on the inflation rate, so it is not surprising that there are different views about the resulting effects on the general price level and also on other aspects of the general economy. This study, estimates the direct and indirect effects of oil price changes on the economy-wide rate of inflation, which then has effects on spending and producing decisions. However, in this forum, we do not try to estimate the full indirect effects on the level of economic activity, such as effects on real GDP. JEL Classification E310, E370     

Does Order Flow Commonality Extend Across Trade Sizes and Securities?

We examine commonality in order imbalances across different types of securities and find that the extent of commonality is greater than previously documented. Order imbalances in portfolios of small stocks, large stocks, and closed-end funds have explanatory power for other portfolio returns even in the presence of own order flow. Our analysis of order flow composition reveals commonality in small and medium trades, but not in large trades, across portfolios. The activity from small-size trades is systemic, but not generally associated with returns on other securities. Order imbalances from larger size trades provide more information relevant to stock prices.     

Diversification strategy and systematic risk

This paper addresses the relationship between diversification strategy and systematic risk (beta). Beta values are examined for six diversification categories, and it is found that betas for unrelated diversifiers are significantly higher than those of other firms. Possible contributions to this difference, including market power, capital structure, and capital intensity are explored.