Grid–group analysis and tourism: tipping as a cultural behavior

Cultural bias, or grid–group theory, was developed by Mary Douglas in the 1980s to explain individual behavior within a particular society. In this paper, grid–group theory is adapted to show how it may be used in a tourism context. The advantages of this approach are that the same typology can be used for both hosts and guests, not only in general terms, but also for given types of behavior. Grid–group theory shows how the same individual may exhibit different behavioral patterns in different situations. The example used to illustrate this approach is tipping. The literature on tipping provides mixed and conflicting results. By using grid–group theory, it is possible to explain why these mixed results may occur.     

Managers' perceptions of ethical codes: dialectics and dynamics

Codes of ethics and conduct have become common in UK organisations. This paper explores how such codes are understood and responded to by those whom the codes seek to influence. The study is an interpretative one, based on interview material, in which a dialectical pattern is seen in employees' reactions to codes. Initial contradictions are found in codes of ethics (which claim to give employees space in which to exercise their integrity, but simultaneously are seen as impugning employees' moral status) and in codes of conduct (which require a loyal adherence to rules that interferes with wider loyalties). These tensions create perceptions of a two-tier system in organisations in which core employees are subject to codes of ethics that are loosely applied, but non-core staff are subject to codes of conduct that are strictly applied. However, even core staff are aware of a dialectical contradiction in their position. They believe that loyalty to the organisation is the price they pay for being allowed freedom of integrity by their organisations, but that the price they have to pay for showing integrity may be breaking faith with their organisations. This chiasmus of integrity and loyalty represents a difficulty for the project of improving standards of corporate citizenship. The use of this trope and other rhetorical figures to exemplify processes of understanding and interpretation in organisations is discussed.     

From Cause To Effect? A new agenda for urban regeneration in Scotland

Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIPs) are the most recent urban regeneration initiative in Scotland. This measure builds on the experience of previous initiatives, in particular the Urban Partnerships in peripheral public sector housing estates and the Priority Partnership Areas (PPA) initiative. However, SIPs would appear to present an advance on previous policy initiatives in that they aim to focus on the causes of urban decline rather than simply the symptoms of social, economic and physical distress. Nevertheless, it is questionable whether this is sufficient to address the complex processes associated with urban concentrations of social exclusion.     

Positive Law as an Ethic: Illustrations of the Ascent of Positive Law to Ethical Status in the Commercial Sector

This article begins with four situations, the first three of which are common to many businesspeople and persons in the United States today and the fourth, unfortunately, is growing: Setting the minimum level at which workers are paid; going bankrupt to avoid paying for credit card purchases, claiming a questionable deduction in calculating one's federal income tax liability, and violating the law in every state by a major U.S. corporation.These cases support the idea that positive law is the operative ethic for persons in a commercial setting. Reasons advanced for this phenomenon are ethical ambiguity, lack of personal responsibility, increasing technicality of contemporary society, and the fact that the law is now seen as the most that is expected of businesspersons. In arriving at the paper's conclusions, positive law theory is discussed. Data are presented to explain why these illustrations are not mere anecdotal examples but represent broad contemporary occurrences in the U.S.     

Fast Kernel Smoothing of Point Patterns on a Large Network using Two‐dimensional Convolution

We propose a computationally efficient and statistically principled method for kernel smoothing of point pattern data on a linear network. The point locations, and the network itself, are convolved with a two‐dimensional kernel and then combined into an intensity function on the network. This can be computed rapidly using the fast Fourier transform, even on large networks and for large bandwidths, and is robust against errors in network geometry. The estimator is consistent, and its statistical efficiency is only slightly suboptimal. We discuss bias, variance, asymptotics, bandwidth selection, variance estimation, relative risk estimation and adaptive smoothing. The methods are used to analyse spatially varying frequency of traffic accidents in Western Australia and the relative risk of different types of traffic accidents in Medellín, Colombia.     

Is there an association between Vice‐Chancellors’ compensation and external performance measures?

We provide evidence on the pay for performance relation between Australian university Vice Chancellors’ compensation and independent measures of university teaching, research and other performance indicators provided by external ranking bodies. Our results show limited association between university rankings and Vice Chancellors’ compensation, but confirm that Vice Chancellors’ compensation is predominantly driven by size measures based on the different components of revenue. Further, we find that few universities offer performance‐based bonus payments. Our results are robust with respect to a number of sensitivity tests.     

Technological interdependence, labor production functions, and control systems

This study uses Thompson's Organizations in Action (New York: McGraw Hill, 1967) definition of internal interdependence in order to examine the potential link between technology and control. The internal interdependence of a firm implies a functional form of the group labor production function. The labor production function in turn defines the individuals that can affect group performance. This study hypothesizes that the control system should focus on these individuals. As an example of the interdependence-control link, implications for budget-based incentive contracts are analyzed.