The maturation of the science of media selection

The historical development of models in the field of media scheduling is traced. The models are identified as to which have dominated certain stages of development over the last twenty five years. A general discussion is also provided of the less sophisticated models of the preceding period. Overall, the evolution is described in terms of the development of a science to maturity. This paper was invited and has not been subject to our blind review process.     

The nature and extent of the market for soybeans and soybean products

Summary This paper addresses the question of whether soybeans, soybean meal, and soybean oil produced in the United States and exported were part of a single, world geographic market during the decade of the 1980s. An answer to this question is sought using an approach to defining a geographic market based on the notion of instantaneous causality. The empirical results, based on prices for soybeans, soybean meal, and soybean oil for three spatially diffuse locations, suggest that there was but a single identifiable world market for these commodities over the period of study.The authors are with the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington D.C. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the views of other U.S. Department of Agriculture staff members. Senior authorship is not assigned. The authors would like to thank an anonymous referee for helpful suggestions.     

Constitutional choice for the control of water pollution

Before passage of the Clean Water Act, water pollution was controlled by the common law of nuisance and the law of water rights. Had the common law not been superseded, it might have provided more ecologically sound pollution control than has occurred under the command-and-control statutory regime. The Clean Water Act imposes mechanical definitions and is subject to political interference. In contrast, the principle of the common law lies in its evolutionary and competitive nature, which is consistent with the market process. Meiners thanks the Political Economy Research Center of Bozeman, Montana for support during his visit in 1992. We thank Terry Anderson, Robert Natelson, Jane Shaw and Richard Stroup for helpful comments. We owe a large intellectual debt to Bob Staaf, who made us think about the relationship between competitive markets and the common law.     

Integrating quality management practices with knowledge creation processes

Several quality thought leaders have considered the role of knowledge in quality management practices. For example, Deming proposed The Deming System of Profound Knowledge™ that dealt explicitly with knowledge. However, various authors in the quality field diverge considerably when contemplating knowledge. We propose an integrated view of quality and knowledge using Nonaka's theory of knowledge creation. This integrated view helps illuminate how quality practices can lead to knowledge creation and retention. The knowledge perspective also provides insight into what it means to effectively deploy quality management practices. Previous empirical research noted the importance of effective deployment, but provided little insight into what effective deployment means. This research argues that quality management practices create knowledge, which leads to organizational performance. Taking a knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm provides a deeper understanding of why some organizations are more successful at deploying quality management practices than others.     

Factors underlying the inclination to donate to particular types of charity

Two hundred and fifty members of the general public were interviewed in central London and asked to assume that they had been given a certain sum of money, all of which they had to donate to a single good cause. The interviewees were presented with the names of three organisations in different fields (cancer care, animal welfare and human rights) and asked to make a selection. Respondents were then questioned about their personal values, inclinations and other characteristics potentially relevant to the choice. It emerged that personal values and inclinations exerted powerful influences on selections. Moreover, the possession of certain personal values and inclinations correlated significantly with specific organisational values that the respondents most admired. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications     

Performance Impact of the Elimination of Direct Labor Variance Reporting: A Field Study

Using a field study approach, we examine two competing perspectives on direct labor variance reporting: some argue that direct labor variance reporting is costly and cumbersome, and should be eliminated; whereas others contend that without direct labor variance information, managers will not be able to monitor workers effectively, causing workers to shirk and worker productivity to decline. Specifically, we investigate the productivity and quality impacts of eliminating direct labor variance reporting with panel data containing 36 months of data from seven experimental plants that eliminated direct labor variance reporting and 11 control plants that did not. The experimental plants experienced a significant decline in labor productivity compared to the control plants. Also, the experimental plants showed an improvement in product quality, indicating that workers reallocate their efforts to other tasks as a result of the change in the information set available to evaluate them.     

Uniform accounting system for state-owned enterprises: The case of Taiwan

This article describes the uniform accounting system adopted by government enterprises in Taiwan. Several key elements of the system including the uniform chart of accounts, uniform accounting procedures, and external financial reports are discussed. Some unique accounting practices and special accounts used in the system are also described. The system is compared with the French and Norwegian uniform accounting systems. Similarities and differences among these systems are highlighted. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Taiwanese accounting system.The authors are respectively Associate Professor of Accounting at the University of Calgary and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Industrial Management, National Taiwan Institute of Technology. They are grateful to Professors Herbert L. Jensen and Haim Falk for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.