The Survival of National Bargaining in the Electrical Contracting Industry: A Deviant Case?

This article examines what is often seen to be a deviant case in bargaining structure in British industry, namely the electrical contracting industry, where multi-employer national bargaining is often said to have remained strong. The first main part of the paper briefly outlines the wider context of collective bargaining trends in British industry. The development of collective bargaining in electrical contracting is then outlined. The third part investigates recent developments and the degree to which arrangements in the industry have deviated from the rest of the private sector. In the final section, explanations are offered and implications explored.     

Stochastic stable population theory with continuous time. I

Abstract

This paper contains a systematic presentation of time-continuous stable population theory in modern probabilistic dress. The life-time births of an individual are represented by an inhomogeneous Poisson process stopped at death, and an aggregate of such processes on the individual level constitutes the population process. Forward and backward renewal relations are established for the first moments of the main functionals of the process and for their densities. Their asymptotic convergence to a stable form is studied, and the stable age distribution is given some attention. It is a distinguishing feature of the present paper that rigorous proofs are given for results usually set up by intuitive reasoning only.     

The formalisation of work thesis: a critical evaluation

The aim of this paper is to evaluate critically the popular prejudice that economic development is characterised by a natural and inevitable shift of economic activity from the informal to the formal sphere which culminates in full-employment (the formalisation of work thesis). We show not only that this end-state has never been achieved in most advanced economies but that some nations have now moved into a ‘post-formalisation' stage of economic development characterised by informalisation. Drawing upon new empirical evidence from Southampton in the UK, the view that informalisation is due to marginalised populations adopting informal survival strategies out of economic necessity is refuted. Instead, informal work is found to be higher in employed households who conduct such work for mostly non-economic reasons. In consequence, we argue that unless it is accepted that societies are moving into an era of informalisation and policies embraced which recognise this shift, then many will be left excluded not only from employment but also from informal coping strategies.     

How simultaneity in time,contextual influences and constraints affect planning situations,and shape the capacity of participants to plan

During the post-war years from 1945 the Labour Party in Norway obtained a unique possibility to realise its definite vision for a planned development of Norway. The result turned out to be a distinctively Norwegian form of long-term planning that throughout successive socialist and non-socialist governments lasted right up to 2005, when the government at that time let go of the idea of a long-term programme as a conceptual tool for comprehensive governmental planning and control. This article analyses the rise and fall of the Governmental Long-Term Programme in Norway. By developing an institutional approach to the study of governmental planning, implications are drawn with regard to the role that contextual influences, time and constraints should play in contemporary theories of what gives professional experts legitimacy and power to plan in democratic societies.     

Accountants' Attitudes and Environmentally-sensitive Accounting

Accounting for the environment (ICAEW, 1992) is receiving increasing attention. A series of initial interviews, visits and other contacts with a wide range of organisations and accountants on three continents left us with the impression that accountants and accounting do not appear to be involved in corporate responses to the environmental agenda. This paper is an exploration and examination of that impression. A mail questionnaire survey confirmed that accountants have low levels of involvement in their company's environmental activities and, from responses to personal opinion questions, appear to experience a conflict between their awareness of environmental issues and an inability to translate this into action within their corporate life. These attitudes are explored in the paper and would be a sufficient explanation for the absence of environmental accounting in practice.     

Contribution rates to funded pension systems in the new member countries

The paper examines implications of real convergence for fully funded pension systems in the new member countries of the European Union. The process of convergence implies that contribution rates would have to be up to 70% higher in the new member countries in order to achieve the same replacement ratio as in a steady-state economy. This effect is partially due to higher growth rates during the process of real convergence and partially due to lower rates of return. The rates of return will be lower due to nominal convergence.     

Determinants of accounting innovation implementation

Accounting innovations are often not successfully implemented or diffused throughout the organization. This study seeks to explain this phenomenon. One of the major impediments to the successful implementation of accounting innovation is that management accounting systems are generally used to serve the decision control needs of top management while at the same time purportedly supporting the decision management needs of lower level managers. To the extent that the accounting system is used for decision control, innovation creates the potential for wealth effects to occur. This prompts managers, whose wealth will be negatively affected, to resist accounting innovation. We present conditions where it is likely for negative wealth effects to occur. Under these conditions the system will fail to achieve its intended objectives. Our theoretical model examines how decentralization choices influence resistance to accounting innovation. We argue that delegation of decision rights can limit the potential for resistance in two ways—(a) by creating the environment which allows managers to ensure that their subunits are able to adapt to the new signals provided by accounting innovations and (b) by enabling subunit managers to become involved in the design of these systems. Our model also enables us to assess the consequences on organizational outcomes when subunit managers resist accounting innovations. Based on data collected from production managers, our results demonstrate the importance of decentralization choices on the effective implementation of accounting innovations.     

Differences in Psychological Strategies of Failed and Operational Business Owners in the Fiji Islands*

This study investigates the differences between failed and operational businesses from a psychological perspective. The sample included 71 operational and 20 failed business owners from Suva, the capital of Fiji. It was hypothesized that operational business owners more often employ a detailed and long‐term planning strategy, whereas failed business owners more often pursue a reactive strategy, that operational business owners set more specific and more difficult goals, and that they have a higher degree of human capital than failed entrepreneurs. The data were analyzed using discriminant analysis. Results confirmed the hypotheses regarding planning and goal specificity.