The role of technology in the creation and capture of value

We use Adam Smith's pin factory to examine how people and things interact in the process of value creation. We introduce the concept of the market efficient unit of interaction to help us understand how technology connects to the processes of value creation and capture. Finally, we draw these strands together into a model which shows how changes in technology impact the market efficient unit of interaction, and how this in turn affects the distribution of exchange value.     

The development and evaluation of an andragogic training programme for small business retailers

One of the greatest challenges facing South Africa after apartheid is job creation and the development of people's skills. Small business, and retailing in particular, with its relatively low entry requirements, can help to meet this challenge. However, small business retailing suffers from a high failure rate.

It was felt that small business retailers would be more likely to succeed if they received proper training. A small business training model was therefore developed and implemented and the results were evaluated from several perspectives. This indicated that if small business retailers are effectively trained their knowledge and skills will improve and their businesses will be more likely to survive and grow. The article describes the model, the systematic approach to the training, the methods of evaluation and the lessons to be learnt from the exercise.     

Alcoholic beverage legislation: Harmonizing EEC laws

This article outlines the range of non-tariff obstacles to intra-EEC trade in alcoholic beverages. It describes the response of EEC institutions vizàviz harmonization of laws and European Court jurisprudence. The implications of the now famous ‘Cassis de Dijon’ court ruling are discussed and the paper concludes with tentative suggestions on the direction of future EEC efforts to create a common market for alcoholic beverages.     

‘Sustainable transport choices’ in consumer shopping: a review of the UK evidence

In the UK, as elsewhere in Europe, government policy aims to reduce the use of private cars for consumer shopping trips. One major instrument of policy aims to ensure that new retail development is located in places accessible by all transport modes. This paper reviews the effectiveness of this and other such policies through analysis of survey evidence relating to routine shopping behaviour in the UK. It appears that these policies are likely to have little impact upon shopping travel, given the advantages to the consumer of private car use. However, demographic trends and increasing use of the Internet for food shopping are likely to stabilize or even reduce the use of private cars in the future.     

Debugging the system: the impact of dispersion on the identity of software team members

This paper looks at the impact of dispersion of groups of software workers on team and organizational identification. The paper examines at two case studies of software organizations operating in Scotland. One case study is drawn from a software division of a large national telecommunications company, the other from a medium-sized indigenous software firm. Within each organization we examined groups of employees based within and outwith their employing organizations. Our results were broadly consistent with established work within other sectors in finding that the team largely replaced the organization as a focus for identification. However, we also found that there was no difference in the salience of organizational identification between dispersed employees and those based within their employing organization. For many employees the focus on the team as opposed to the organization was a way of reducing subjective uncertainty within a changing corporate environment. Finally, we established that it is team identification rather than organizational identification for software workers that is a greater determinant of affective outcomes such as job satisfaction. The results of this study impact upon contemporary theories of HRM, which promote the design of work systems in order to engender commitment to, and identification with, the organization.     

Managing supply chain risk and disruption from IT security incidents

Supply chain practices often put companies and their supply chains at risk. One of the most serious risks is disruptions. While many types of disruptions have been considered, little attention has been given to disruptions caused by information technology (IT) security incidents. Partner cooperation can assist in preventing or mitigating damage from IT security breaches in supply chains, where breaches can disrupt production, cause loss of essential data, and compromise confidential information. We develop a generalizable mathematical model that quantifies IT security risk in the supply chain. We then show how to find solutions for optimal risk reduction under several definitions of optimality: minimizing upstream risk, minimizing downstream risk, and minimizing global (supply chain) risk. We show how to develop curves for each of the above scenarios that indicate when extra funds should be spent on security, which security controls should be implemented, and when subsidies among partners are beneficial.     

Telecommunications, an instrument of radical change for both the 20th and 21st centuries

This paper compares and contrasts how entrepreneurial disruptions, firm innovations, foreign market expansion and government restraint interact during three distinct periods to create and dramatically expand one service—telecommunications. Because this service has the ability to help business overcome the frictions of time, it has become both an enabling and lead technology in the dramatic economic growth. Telecommunications was instrumental in ushering in the formation of the third Kondratieff long Wave upswing at the beginning of the 20th century and appears to be important in jumpstarting the emerging information economy in the fifth Kondratieff Wave at the end of the 20th century.     

GORDON BROWN COUNTS DEAD CHILDREN: THE TRUE IMPACT OF INHERITANCE TAX

In the Budget and the supporting documents Gordon Brown and the Treasury reported that only 6% of estates pay Inheritance Tax and that the tax is a fair and targeted system. This article shows that for several reasons the tax affects far more than 6% of the community, is iniquitous and poorly targeted.