Employment law and The European Community: review article

Book reviewed in this article: Business Transfers and Employee Rights John McMullen Butterworths Harmonization and Hazard: Regulating Workplace Health and Safety in the European Community Robert Baldwin and Terence Daintith (Eds.) EC Social Policy and 1992: Laws, Cases and Materials Union of Parts: Labor Politics in Postwar Germany Kathleen A. Thelen The Power to Manage? Employers and Industrial Relations in Comparative Historical Context S. Tolliday and J. Zeitlin (Eds.) Trouble on Board: The Plight of International Seafarers Paul K. Chapman (Introduction by Clifford B. Donn) Markets, Firms and the Management of Labour in Modern Britain . Howard Gospel Hard Cheese: A Study of Hotel and Catering Employment in Scotland Ian R. Macaulay and Roy C. Wood Working Miracles: Experiences of Jobs and Childcare Usha Brown and Louise Tait Scottish     

The scope, motivation and dynamic of Guest Engineering

The exchange of technical personnel between organizational actors in a supply network has become known as Guest Engineering (GE). Despite increasing popularity as an inter‐organisational arrangement (especially in the automotive sector) it has generated relatively little academic research and therefore this paper seeks to extend our understanding of GE by exploring how its scope is determined, what motivates the participants and how the relationships evolve. The paper draws on extant GE, supply networks and Resource‐Based View (RBV) literature to derive research propositions that are used to analyse empirical work carried out with four automotive suppliers and four automotive OEMs. A number of preliminary conclusions are drawn. At a micro‐project level, the criticality of the individual 'playing the GE role' is highlighted, as are related concerns that collaborative team structures often fail to address broader social/cultural characteristics. At a macro‐project level, the study argues that difficulties and mistrust will often characterise integrated and competitively successful GE relationships. Finally, at a strategic level, GE needs to be understood as a process of resource transfer and transformation, and therefore the management of interdependency and power asymmetry are core considerations in effective adoption. The paper concludes with recommendations for further critical and practical work.     

Cash Marketing Styles and Performance Persistence

Much agricultural economics research has been dedicated to determining the best time for producers to sell their commodities. Unlike this past research, we look at how producers actually sell commodities. The extent to which producers display an active or mechanical marketing style is measured using individual farmer sales. The activeness of a producer's marketing strategy is measured by how much the timing of their strategy varies from year to year. Results show no relationship between activeness and net prices received. Furthermore, the results show no evidence of performance persistence by individual producers.     

Shades of Gray: An empirical examination of Gray's model of culture and income measurement practices using 20-F data

Gray (1988) developed a theory linking accounting values and systems to Hofstede’s (1980) cultural dimensions. To date, no studies have used actual reported data to test the Gray model. This study addresses this shortcoming by using data from the SEC Form 20-F to test proposed relationships between Gray's (1988) accounting value of conservatism (in income measurement practices) and Hofstede's (1980) cultural values. It also tests three other non-cultural environmental variables (tax rates, relative size of capital markets, and influence of the European Union) proposed by Gray (1988) and Salter and Niswander (1995) as modifiers to cultural effects. The results of this study suggest that, as theorized by Gray (1988), the cultural variable individualism is significantly and positively related to differences in income measurement practices between countries. This study also finds that a country's membership in the EU and corporate tax rate is related to income measurement practice differences. However, unlike previous studies, this study does not find that the source of equity is related to income measurement practices.     

Technology Education and Developing Countries

This article considers the problem of introducing technology education as a school subject in development countries. Should the subject draw inspiration from everyday circumstances in these countries, or should it leapfrog to the space age? Answers depend upon circumstance. Alternative scenarios for how technology can be introduced in these settings are set forth. They include technology as reconstituted industrial arts, and technology across the curriculum.     

Who Cares about Skills? The Impact and Limits of Statutory Regulation on Qualifications and Skills in Social Care

This article examines the impact of statutory regulation on qualifications and skills in the social care sector in the UK. It draws on various sources and a set of case studies, first carried out in 2003 and replicated in 2008. The analysis shows that the advent of the statutory regime has had a positive effect on the volume of training and qualifications in the sector. However, few organizations have combined training with a broader set of human resource management practices of the kind required for the establishment of a high‐performance work system. This constitutes one of the continuing limits to further skill development. Changes in the regulatory regime risk losing benefits that have been gained.     

A theory of delegated search for the best alternative

Searching for the best worker, a reliable supply alternative, or the most profitable investment is frequently delegated to an agent. This article develops a theory of delegated search. We show that the principal’s ability to delegate depends on the agent’s luck, her initial resources, and the contract that governs her search. With moral hazard, the optimal contract is characterized by performance deadlines with bonuses for early completion. If performance cannot be specified, the optimal search is implemented by an option‐to‐buy contract for the principal. If performance is partially specified, the optimal contract is a standard pay‐for‐performance arrangement.