Designing a competency-based human resources organization

New organizing factors are emerging as human resources professionals seek performance breakthroughs, with process and competency emerging as key factors in determining how the HR function is organized. While the process focus rides the wave of interest in total quality management and reengineering, a growing number of organizations see competence as the key to enduring performance and to making HR most effective. This article combines experience from the authors' work with some emerging possibilities to describe a competency-based approach for designing a high performing HR organization. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Measurement of total factor productivity growth and biases in technological change in Western Australian agriculture

This study investigates productivity growth in broad-acre agriculture in Western Australia. Tornqvist indices of three output groups (crops, sheep products and other) and five input groups (livestock, materials and services, labour, capital and land) are constructed and discussed. Indices of total output and total inputs are also derived and used to form an index of total factor productivity, that is observed to grow at an average annual rage of 2·7%. The input and output indices are also used in the estimation of output supply and input demand equations, derived from a flexible profit function. The Generalized McFadden functional form is used, because it is possible to impose global curvature upon it without loss of flexibility. Asymptotic chi-square tests reject the hypotheses of Hicks-neutral technical change in inputs and in outputs. Technical change is observed to be ‘materials and services’ saving relative to the other input groups, and also appears to favour wool and sheepmeat production relative to the other output groups.     

The differential impact on stockholder wealth of various antitakeover provisions

This paper examines the relationship between the passage of six types of corporate antitakeover provisions (supermajority, classified boards, fair-price, reduction in cumulative voting, anti-greenmail and poison pills) and stockholder wealth. Our event study from a sample of 381 firms that adopted 486 antitakeover provisions in the 1984 to 1988 period indicates a strongly negative effect on stockholder wealth, supporting the management entrenchment view of the antitakeover provisions. Moreover, the empirical results of this paper indicate that the market reacts equally negatively to both non-operating provisions that require stockholder approval and to operating provisions that do not require stockholder approval. However, separate analyses of the antitakeover provisions provide some support for the argument that stockholders discriminate between individual provisions.     

Applications of amine gelling agents in fire technology

A novel gelatin system for use in oil spills at sea provides rapid immobilization of liquids upon demand.     

The economic potential of precision nitrogen application with wheat based on plant sensing

Plant-based precision nitrogen fertilizer application technologies have been developed as a way to predict and precisely meet nitrogen needs. Equipment necessary for precision application of nitrogen, based on sensing of growing wheat plants in late winter, is available commercially, but adoption has been slow. This article determines the expected profit from using a plant-sensing system to determine winter wheat nitrogen requirements. We find that plant-sensing systems have the potential to be more profitable than traditional nonprecise systems, but the existing system simulated was roughly breakeven with a traditional system.     

Whither the Twain Shall Meet

Susan Strange, States and Markets: an Introduction to International Political Economy (London: Pinter, 1988) 263 pp., hardcover £22.00, paperback £8.95.