Theories of the Firm and the Relationship between Different Perspectives on the Division of Labour

This paper explores the tension between the organisational learning, market and hierarchies rationales for the firm. It is not clear, from the organisational learning and market-hierarchies literatures, what role exists for the different approaches. The paper suggests that this reflects the fact that each paradigm is premised on a particular notion of the division of labour but, at the same time, does not recognise that the division of labour is multifaceted. The paper suggests one possible approach to reconcile the various rationales for the firm. To do this, the different paradigms are placed in the context of different growth patterns that support different conceptions of the division of labour.     

A socio-technical framework for assessing the viability of carbon capture and storage technology

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is seen as a key technology to tackle climate change. The principal idea of CCS is to remove carbon from the flue gases arising from burning fuels for electricity generation or industrial applications and to store the carbon in geological formations to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. Policy makers in several countries are supportive of the technology, but a number of uncertainties hamper its further development and deployment. The paper makes three related contributions to the literatures on socio-technical systems and technology assessment: 1) It systematically develops an interdisciplinary framework to assess the main uncertainties of CCS innovation. These include technical, economic, financial, political and societal issues. 2) It identifies important linkages between these uncertainties. 3) It develops qualitative and quantitative indicators for assessing these uncertainties. This framework aims to help decision making on CCS by private and public actors and is designed to be applicable to a wider range of low carbon technologies. The paper is based on a systematic review of the social science literature on CCS and on insights from innovation studies, as well as on interviews about assessment of new technologies with experts from a range of organisations and sectors.     

Trends in industrial relations and human resource policies and practices: Australian experiences

This article seeks to chart the main trends which have occurred in Australian industrial relations and human resource (IR/HR) policies and practices, at the macro-level, during the past decade. It also attempts to link changes at the macro-level with those at the micro-level, by drawing on case-study data from nine large organizations in both the private and public sectors. The framework for the case studies is derived from a broader international project initiated by Kochan et al.at MIT (see Kochan, 1991). A set of IR/HR practices were chosen to enable changes in employment relations to be studied in a systematic manner in various industries. Drawing upon these data, our research sought to analyse the dominant patterns in each of the core IR/HR areas, the degree of change which had occurred and the reasons for these changes. This also enabled alternative hypotheses to be tested, as outlined later in this article.     

粮食危机大敌当前 人心恐慌不断升温

食品价格的疯长、愈加富裕的亚洲各国食品需求加大，使农民无法再承受高效的生产任务。简而言之，全世界正在面临一场粮食危机，而在局部地区这种危机已经愈演愈烈。     

Regulatory costs on entrepreneurship and establishment employment size

In this article, we examine how the level of regulation affects the size distribution of businesses. To the extent that regulation functions as a fixed cost, it should lead to larger firm size. However, regulations may also lead to smaller establishments with firms outsourcing regulated activities or staying small to take advantage of state exemptions for small businesses from regulations. We empirically examine the relationship between the size distribution of establishments and the level of regulation using state- and industry-level panel data from 1992 to 2004. Our results suggest that regulation decreases the proportion of zero employee and 1–4 employee establishments. The proportion of establishments in the 5–9 employee range generally increases with the level of regulation. Thus, regulation appears to operate as a fixed cost causing establishments to be larger.     

Perceptions of Quality and Household Water Usage: A Representative Study in Jacksonville,FL

International Advances in Economic Research - When faced with the fear of low-quality tap water, households are motivated to seek out and use alternatives. This study investigated the role of...