Creativity, the corporate curriculum and the future: a case study

This paper explores the proposition that the successful companies of the future will be those that find the means to help their employees to think and act creatively. Based on a case study of British managers’ perceptions of creativity and how it can be nurtured in a large US-based manufacturing company, the study shows that prevailing models of creativity in the organization are inadequate. Firstly, the structure of management in the organization and many features of the culture and corporate curriculum of the company, inhibit creative thinking and action. It is not the intention of the company to do this. The company has developed many methods of problem-solving and team-working intended to release the creative energy of employees. The organizational culture of the company is not, however, as supportive of creative endeavour as it needs to be. Secondly, the models of creativity in the minds of managers and supervisors reflect a wider cultural misunderstanding of the phenomenon. Creativity is perceived in highly individual terms. It is thought of as something which expresses itself fully in non-work areas and it is not seen as a process that can be facilitated through new ways of working and thinking within the organization. To have a successful future, this company, like many others, must change the ways in which its managers perceive the creative potential of their employees.     

志存高远的合作

三家合作伙伴为了追求摩尔定律,其紧密合作甚至延伸到了晶圆生产底层,但同时其间也仍存在着为争夺代工客户而进行的竞争.     

Embedded ties and the acquisition of competitive capabilities

We build on previous research that explores the external acquisition of competitive capabilities through the embedded ties that firms form in networks and alliances. While information sharing and trust have been theorized to be key features of the interorganizational ties that facilitate the acquisition of competitive capabilities, we argue that these mechanisms provide an incomplete explanation because they do not fully address the partially tacit nature of the knowledge that underlies competitive capabilities. Joint problem‐solving arrangements play a prominent role in capability acquisition by promoting the transfer of complex and difficult‐to‐codify knowledge. Drawing on a set of case studies and a survey of 234 job shop manufacturers we find support for the role of joint problem solving with suppliers in facilitating the acquisition of competitive capabilities. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Collective Investment Schemes: The Role Of The Trustee

There has been a lack of analysis of the justification for trustees in collective investment schemes, although a study of the topic is pertinent because of the prominent position occupied by trustees in certain schemes. One possible justification, considered in this paper, is the existence of a collective action problem. Four types of schemes are examined: debentures, public unit trusts, life-insurance firms and superannuation funds. While each of these schemes can exhibit a considerable collective action problem, only the first three typically involve a trustee. We conclude that even where a collective action problem exists, there is not necessarily the need for a trustee. There may be more efficient solutions to the problem.     

Economic determinants of the labor force withdrawal of Registered Nurses

This study examines two outflows that affect the labor supply of Registered Nurses (RNs), nurses leaving the profession to pursue a non-nursing occupation and employed nurses withdrawing from the labor force. Using pooled CPS data for 1980–90, a probit model is specified to estimate economic influences on the labor-force-withdrawal decisions of RNs. Evaluating the estimated probit function for different sets of RN characteristics yields different probability estimates of labor-force withdrawal. The results suggest that, although relatively few RNs leave the nursing profession to seek non-nursing occupations, a significant number withdraw, at least temporarily, from the labor force. The wage rate, other family income, presence of children, and full-time/part-time work status have a significant influence on the withdrawal decision.     

A Note on Technology Transfer by a Monopoly

This paper studies the incentive for a monopoly to license its technology. It shows that a patent–holding monopoly may be willing to license its proprietary technology to a potential competitor when such a technology transfer has a market–expanding effect.     

Efficiency Performance and Dominance in Influential Subsets: An Evaluation using Fuzzy Clustering and Pair-wise Dominance

The identification of influential subsets in efficiency studies is an ongoing research concern. Seaver et al. (1999) have demonstrated the value of using a fuzzy clustering strategy to identify influential subsets without knowing which production plans are outliers a priori. From a fuzzy clustering perspective, dominance is assessed in terms of the degree of belonging of a production plan in an influential subset. From a production point of view, dominance is assessed in terms of pair-wise comparisons. These concepts of dominance within influential subsets are illustrated using the preprint insertion data set (Girod, 1996).     

Market Efficiency and Returns to Simple Technical Trading Rules: Further Evidence from U.S., U.K., Asian and Chinese Stock Markets

Tian, Wan and Guo (2002) explored the predictability and profitability of technical trading rules in markets with different efficiency levels; namely, the U.S. and China. In the case of the U.S. they found rules to have no predictability after 1975, whereas their results give support to technical trading rules having both predictability and profitability for the Chinese markets across the 1990's. The purpose of this paper is to extend the analysis of Tian et al. in two ways. First, to see if the conclusions extend to other markets – namely, the U.K., Hong Kong and Japan. Second, in the case of China, to examine whether the predictability and profitability of technical trading rules changed across the 1990's. On the basis of daily data Tian et al's results for the U.S. market are supported by the results for a number of the main developed markets where the technical trading rules had predictive ability during the 1970's that disappeared by the 1990's. Furthermore, the results suggest that while technical trading rules had short term predictive ability and profitability in the Chinese stock markets during the 1990's, this lessened as the decade progressed. JEL Classification: G14, G15     

5个不朽的法则

最先出现的摩尔定律又衍生出半导体工业的其他几个基本法则 Brian Halla,美国国家半导体公司首席执行官第一次听说摩尔定律是在1975年,那一年EB刚刚创刊,当时他还是英特尔公司的一名年轻工程师;Aart De Geus,Synopsys公司首席执行官于1979年的一次技术研讨会上首次听说摩尔定律,当时他还在读研究生;T.J.Rodgers,赛普拉斯半导体公司首席执行官也是1979年才首次从戈登·摩尔那里听说摩尔定律.