Conceptualizing Professionalism

A bstract The main argument presented here is that economics provides a necessary but not sufficient analysis of professionalism. A sufficient analysis can only be generated by recognizing the sociological significance of professionals, and in particular the institutionalization of a professional ethic. In this way we suggest that economics needs sociology to provide an effective conceptualization of professionalism as a form of organization and as a mode of behavior. Equally, however, sociology needs economics, because while the sociological context provides an explanation of the way power is institutionalized, an economic focus is necessary to maintain a role for individual agency. These arguments are illustrated with a discussion of the historical and institutional complexities of professional organization; we look particularly at nursing and certain routinized areas of legal work and accountancy.     

Transforming the NHS: what chance for the new government?

This paper reviews Labour's record on the NHS since the 1997 general election. The record shows increased financial investment especially since 2002, coupled with a marked centralisation of strategy and management which is proving counter-productive to further modernisation.     

In pursuit of quality - the volume control for fabric goods is getting out of hand

Abstract The paper discusses the application of quality control in determining the make-up of textile goods as a result of the increase in production rates designed to meet the consumer demand for change. The downsizing and reskilling of manufacturing plants, coupled with the outsourcing and use of unskilled labour in the international marketplace, is replacing subjective skills. The impact of management practices associated with Quick Response, Just-in-Time and BS EN ISO 9000 are affecting the response rate of the manufacturer and the retailer to the consumer. In assessing suitability, technology is also progressively taking over in the prediction of the end use of a cloth and thus in the determination of production runs. The extent to which the unseen hand of the FAST and Kawabata systems of measurement are used most effectively is discussed.     

Systematic social observation of police decision-making: the process, logistics, and challenges in a Canadian context

Research on police decision-making and the use of discretion predominantly relies on official records or qualitative interview and participant observation data. Pioneered by Albert J. Reiss, Jr. in the 1960s, systematic social observation is a field research method simultaneously gathering quantitative and qualitative data in a natural setting. Data collection procedures are stipulated in advance reducing bias and allowing for scientific inference, replication, and measurable process outcomes as the observations recorded are independent of the observer. Although three large scale studies have been conducted in the United States to understand police behaviour, this ‘gold standard’ is used infrequently due to methodological challenges in an applied setting. The current research is the first sole observer and non-U.S. study conducted with a Canadian regional police service. Discussion of methodological innovation, challenges, and process are based on the experience of collecting data on 406 police–citizen encounters involving 568 citizens over 637 observational hours. To assist future researchers, the method and data collection using modified instruments as well as the challenges of resources, police cooperation, bias, reactivity, field role, and dynamics of conducting research as a female in an insular, male-dominated setting are explored.     

EXPRESS LANE OR TOLLBOOTH IN THE DESERT? THE SEC'S FRAMEWORK FOR SECURITY ISSUANCE

U.S. companies that need capital may choose between selling securities in the private and public markets. These venues differ in terms of direct issuance costs, the required information disclosed, the liability incurred, and the mechanics of the capital-raising process itself. During the last two decades, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has deregulated private offerings by broadening their investor base and increasing secondary market liquidity. At the same time, SEC policy has bifurcated the offering process in the public market into two distinct segments based largely on company size and seasoning. Large public issuers have seen a gradual deregulation and acceleration of their capitalraising processes. Important changes for issuers include allowing them to incorporate information into registration statements by reference to Exchange Act reports, to use shelf registration to speed up offers, and to place securities offshore with less regulatory uncertainty. Though small issuers enjoy some of the benefits of these changes, deregulation of their offerings has been somewhat less pronounced. In a Commission report and a subsequent concept release, the SEC indicates it may restructure and unify these three disparate strands of capital raising through an innovative schema of registering companies rather than securities.     

Cross-Subsidization,Cost Allocation,and Tacit Coordination

This paper considers the prospect that multiproduct firms facing each other in separate markets might tacitly coordinate their production through strategic common service cost allocations and mutually benefit from such action as a consequence. Our analysis suggests that decentralization cum tacit coordination may be possible in equilibrium, with or without public disclosure of allocation choices. In turn, tacit coordination may contribute to explanations for multiproduct firms' decisions to decentralize. The implications for trade oversight bodies are ambiguous. While tacit coordination results in an anti-competitive distortion toward monopolies, it also induces greater specialization which reduces the diseconomies of scope.     

The Effects of Norms on Investor Reactions to Derivative Use

Prior research indicates that a firm's use of derivatives to manage business risks is viewed favorably by investors. However, these studies do not consider a potentially key factor in this setting—namely, the typical behavior (or norms) regarding derivatives by other firms in the industry or the firm itself. In this paper, we report the results of multiple experiments that test whether norms are influential in affecting investors’ evaluations of firms’ derivatives choices. Our results show that the generally favorable reactions to derivative use actually reverse and become unfavorable when firms’ derivative decisions are inconsistent with industry or firm norms. Somewhat surprisingly, though, we find that industry and firm norms are not viewed similarly by investors. These results expand our understanding of how investors respond to firm's derivative use decisions and demonstrate the role of norms as factors that influence investors’ judgments in financial reporting settings. Our results have implications for firm managers making decisions about derivative use.     

Emotional arousal and entrepreneurial outcomes: Combining qualitative methods to elaborate theory

This qualitative study of innovators in the superyacht industry blends longitudinal content analysis with narrative case vignettes to extend nascent theorizing about the antecedents and consequences associated with the arousal of entrepreneurial emotion. The empirically grounded framework induced through our research offers two key theoretical elaborations. First, it extends the existing set of theorized antecedents by highlighting the overlooked roles played by dramatic performances (staged or improvised) and ambient conditions (project, actor and venue considerations). Second, it calls attention to the consequences of emotional arousal for such entrepreneurial outcomes as generating novel solutions to specific problems encountered during the creation process, developing innovative end products, and fostering a general context for innovation.