Exchange or Covenant? The Nature of the Member-Union Relationship

Drawing on a study of members of the U.K. National Union of Teachers, this article considers the extent to which economic exchange, social exchange, and covenantal considerations underpin union members' willingness to continue membership and to participate actively in their union through union citizenship behaviors (UCB). Findings suggest that the more activist forms of UCB were motivated primarily by a perceived covenantal relationship with the union. In contrast, exchange, particularly social exchange, motivations played more of a role in motivating less demanding \"rank and file\" UCB and intent to quit the union. Union instrumentality appeared to be a necessary but insufficient condition for union viability, having an indirect effect on UCB and intent to quit the union and also moderating the effects of pro-union attitudes. Implications for union strategy are considered.     

Strategic restructuring

Never before has there been so much organizational restructuring, in spite of consistently mixed results. This article argues that the reason organizational restructuring so often fails to increase productivity and profit is that it is not guided by business strategy. While most managers agree that structure should follow strategy, few have a process for moving from strategy to restructuring at the business level where most restructuring occurs. A number of businesses, however, have based restructuring decisions on a clear and well-understood strategy. This article describes what is common to the processes these businesses have followed. Human resource managers, whose role and competence should include the alignment of change processes with business needs, have often abdicated responsibility for ensuring that restructuring efforts are strategic and are competently implemented. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Adaptation of the Attitude Behavioural Scale section of a PATT instrument for the Omani context

International Journal of Technology and Design Education - This study is about the adaptation of the Attitude Behavioural Scale (ABS) section of a Pupils’ Attitudes Towards Technology (PATT)...     

Wind turbines and coastal recreation demand

We examine the impact of coastal wind turbines on local coastal tourism and recreation for residents of the northeastern coastal counties in North Carolina. A combination of telephone and web survey data are used to assess the impact of coastal wind farms on trip behavior and site choice. Most of the respondents to our telephone survey claim to support offshore wind energy development, and independent survey data suggest that the observed levels of support may be indicative of the broader population in this region. Overall, we find very little impact of coastal wind turbines on aggregate recreational visitation; loss in annual consumer surplus associated with wide spread wind development in the coastal zone is insignificant at $17 (or about 1.5% of annual consumer surplus). Results suggest that NC local coastal tourists are averse to wind farms in the near-shore zone; average compensating variation for wind farms one mile from the shore is estimated at $55 per household. On average, we find no evidence of aversion to wind farms 4 miles out in the ocean, or for wind farms located in coastal estuaries. For all wind farm scenarios, we find evidence of preference heterogeneity—some respondents find this appealing while others find it aversive.     

Political Transition in DRC: How Did Kinshasa Households Fare?*

Abstract: Officially announced on 24 April 1990, the political transition in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) would eventually culminate in presidential elections. By comparing the results of two household surveys, conducted in 1986 and 2004 respectively, we are able to trace the economic reflection of this process in the standard of living of the Kinois (the inhabitants of Congo's capital, Kinshasa). Although the exercise is fraught with methodological problems, it nevertheless generates some salient outcomes. First and foremost, the available evidence unanimously points to a slight increase in the general standard of living, thereby contradicting the official macro‐data. Further, given an increase in inequality, it is well possible that the period of transition was experienced increasingly unequally by different population groups. Third, one of the most significant changes observed is that Kinshasa has become more closely connected with world (food) markets. Meanwhile, the level of education of the principal income earner remains one of the main predictors of the level of household consumption, even in a thoroughly informalized economy.