Simulation of a blood-inventory-bank system in a hospital

A blood-bank inventory system has been analysed viewing it as an inventory-hank system where the demand forecasting forms a part of the inventory model. A simulation model incorporating the “desired-beginning-inventory-level” policy has been used for the analysis of system-performance. Optimal inventory policy-guidelines have been suggested for a hospital blood-bank using blood shortage and blood out-dating as the two important components of the measure of effectiveness. Numerical results have been given.     

On Bayesian estimation of seemingly unrelated regressions when some observations are missing

In this paper we have considered the problem of estimating the parameters of two seemingly unrelated regression equations when the number of available observations on all the variables in the first equation exceeds the number of available observations on all the variables in the second equation. We have shown how, within the Bayesian framework, extra observations on all the variables in the first equation can be readily and formally utilized in obtaining the exact or an approximate posterior distributions of all the coefficients including those in the second equation.     

An examination of residential mobility through the use of the log-linear model: Part II. Empirical illustrations

The theory proposed in ‘An Examination of Residential Mobility Through The Use of The Log- Linear Model, Part I’, Regional Science and Urban Economics (1978) Vol. 8, No. 2, is illustrated by analysing data obtained on moving households in an urban area.     

JOB SATISFACTION AND LABOUR TURNOVER AMONGST WOMEN WORKERS

Two hundred and ninety female shop floor workers and sixty-five female shop floor ex-workers of a large electrical/electronic engineering company were given a multiple choice questionnaire and unstructured interview. Thirty per cent of the total sample expressed general dissatisfaction with their job. An analysis of their responses indicated the over-riding importance of the work itself as a determinant of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. An analysis of reasons for leaving the company indicated that ‘voluntary’ labour turnover resulted mainly from dissatisfaction with the work. No evidence was gained to support Herzberg's principle of duality, although the practical implications from the study are very similar to those evident in the motivation/hygiene theory.     

Southeast Asian capitalism: History,institutions, states,and firms

This paper examines the structures of capitalism in Southeast Asia. Following the lead of Gordon Redding and others, it argues that parallel to varieties of capitalism elsewhere, there are distinctive features to the Southeast Asian business system, but that institutions play a relatively large role compared to firm specific resources or industry structures. Historically, with the exception of Thailand all the countries in the region are former colonies. All including Thailand share a distinctive style of nationalism, and partly as a result of this, all are governed by states that claim to be strong and lay wide claims but whose capacities are low. Typical features of the region, particularly the roles of large business groups and the Chinese minority, also can be interpreted as a result of this history. One of the outcomes of the analysis is an extension of the varieties of capitalism approach along the dimensions of state capacity and state direction, and of the approach to the internationalizing firm along the dimensions of dynamic capacity and control of subsidiaries. A further outcome is a questioning of the traditional picture of indigenous Southeast Asian business people as lacking in entrepreneurial skills, or more broadly of Southeast Asian nations as lacking in entrepreneurial values. Rather, the past history of these countries has resulted in a set of structures that militate against successful entrepreneurial activity.

The Incidence of Accounting-based Covenants in UK Public Debt Contracts: An Empirical Analysis

Accounting-based covenants are of particular interest to accounting researchers in view of their potential to influence management's accounting policy choices and their attitudes to new accounting standards. This exploratory paper provides evidence on the incidence of accounting-based covenants in 108 UK public debt contracts for the period 1987-1990. Thirty percent of the agreements contain such covenants, the majority of which are affirmative gearing covenants. Focusing on the institutional differences between the UK and the US, the paper examines relationships between the presence of accounting-based covenants and (a) characteristics of the issuing firm, and (b) other control mechanisms included in the debt agreement. UK firms raising public debt are of good credit quality and UK insolvency procedures afford unambiguous protection to secured creditors. As a result, accounting-based covenants are associated with long-term unsecured debt and with firms having high values for assets-in-place but, in contrast with US findings, are unrelated to gearing. Convertibility appears to reduce the need for accounting-based covenants, especially when the debt is also subordinated. The relationship between accounting- based covenants and security depends on the nature of the security (fixed or floating). Longer term non-convertible debt agreements are, therefore, particularly likely to contain covenants that could influence management's accounting behaviour. This paper provides a starting point for further research into these issues.     

IR journal and conference literature from the 1960s to the 1990s: What can HR learn from it? Where is it headed?

The industrial relations (IR) literature has changed notably from the early 1960s until the late 1990s. Yet it has retained an externalist flavor — a sense that the key variables determining outcomes are often outside the control of firm-level actors. However, the kind of externalism found in the modern IR literature differs notably from that of the past. Externalism today is seen as labor market and personal variables — often in an econometric formulation — rather than grand social forces. Generally, the IR literature has moved toward sophisticated empiricism and toward a labor economics paradigm. To the extent that the older grand themes remain, they are more likely to be found in IR books rather than in academic journals. Human resource (HR) academics and practitioners can nonetheless benefit from the IR approach, even though the tyranny of tenure review has made journal articles in IR less readable. The IR literature emphasizes that labor–market forces, sometimes stemming from product and financial markets, matter to HR outcomes. And it regards conflict more as a source of information rather than just a cause of lost productivity.