Partial wage indexation with real shocks

This note analyzes wage indexation from a macroeconomic viewpoint. Its purpose is to examine when wage indexation should be partial in the presence of real shocks, and it shows how the conditions for this to be the case depend on the aggregate production function, the income velocity of money, and the labor supply.     

Resident attitudes to tourism in North Wales

This article investigates residents' attitudes to tourism in North Wales, using factor analysis. The most important concerns are found to be a negative social impact, economic input, stereo-typing of visitors, purchasing of second homes by foreigners, cultural exchange, and the ecological impact of tourism. Lifelong residents and Welsh language speakers tend to be more sensitive to the impact of tourism on their culture and residents in high density tourist areas tend to appreciate the benefits and importance of tourism more than those who have less contact with tourists.     

Cultural change--empowerment at Sweetheart Cup Company, Inc., Bakery Division

Sweetheart Cup Company always has been associated with fun products--fast food containers, straws, ballpark drink glasses, and maybe the most fun of all--ice cream cones! But making these products of pleasantry at times has not been as festive as it would seem. Sweetheart Cup Company has had its ups and downs in terms of many of the typical manufacturing measurements, but in 1994--under the direction of newly appointed Chief Operating Officer Bill McLaughlin--Sweetheart Cup Company embarked on a new mission. This time everyone would be involved, from headquarters staff in Owings Mills to the fourth-floor oven area workers in the Dallas bakery. The new process goal, "Business Excellence," as we called it, was really an implementation of Class A ERP/MRP II.     

In Support of Public or Private Interests? An Examination of Sanctions Imposed Under the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) monitors the misconduct of its members using the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (CPC). To accomplish this task, the AICPA relies on various stakeholders to report known violations of its CPC. We examine the full population of sanctions imposed by the AICPA on its members under its CPC from 2008–2013 to identify recent trends in the misconduct of accounting professionals. While we find that multiple stakeholders identify and report violations, we also find that the most common types of violations remain consistent with those reported in the 1990s. Further, we develop a taxonomy based on prior accounting literature to determine whether the AICPA CPC is being enforced to defend the public interest and/or the private interests of the accounting profession. In contrast to prior studies, our results suggest that as the accounting profession emerges from a recession and period of intense public scrutiny, the AICPA CPC is largely being enforced to defend the public interest. This public interest focus was most pronounced during the recessionary years of 2008–2010, as evident from misconduct reported by parties such as the Internal Revenue Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and state boards of accountancy. Although key stakeholders have recently focused on reporting misconduct that threatens the public interest, we believe there are still areas in need of improvement, especially around the level of detail provided in the AICPA’s sanction records. We propose some possible solutions to improve public transparency.     

The role of intellectual property rights in seed technology transfer through trade: evidence from U.S. field crop seed exports

A panel of 134 countries over the period 1985–2010 is used to evaluate the effect of intellectual property rights (IPRs) on field crop seed imports from the United States. Based on estimating a gravity equation using the Heckman selection and Poisson fixed‐effects panel econometric methods, the results indicate that membership of countries in both the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants and the Trade‐Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement of the World Trade Organization have a positive and statistically significant effect on their imports of U.S. field crop seeds. These results, however, are also sensitive to both income level of importing countries and better enforcement of IPRs by those countries.     

The Spirituality of Innovation: Learning from Stories

Sooner or later, most established companies face a mid-life crisis. Just like many people, these companies somehow lose the drive, the excitement, and the enthusiasm of their youth. Rather than continue to push the envelope, these companies focus on their core competencies and try to maintain order through a proliferation of policies and procedures. On the other hand, some companies (and some people) manage to sustain their innovative, entrepreneurial spirit. A handful of mature companies somehow maintain an environment in which employees continually generate added value for customers and the company alike. How do they do it? How do these mature companies continue to foster invention and innovation? Recognizing that stagnation and decline are not faits accomplis for all companies, Karen Anne Zien and a cross-functional team conducted in-depth interviews at several highly innovative firms. The interviewees provided insight into the culture, the characteristics, and the principles that set these companies apart from the competition. Perhaps the greatest insight comes from the stories these people tell. These war stories—the corporate myths and legends—provide a simple means for communicating and reinforcing the shared values that distinguish these companies. For example, a manager's recollection of Hewlett-Packard's effort to develop a pen plotter (and in particular, Bill Hewlett's role in this development) demonstrates that innovation is a companywide activity that requires the active, ongoing involvement of leaders at the highest levels of the organization. Senior people in these innovative companies foster a sense of community and common purpose and thus create an environment that encourages employees to explore new ideas and, if necessary, break the old rules. Through both formal and informal means, these companies also encourage frequent interaction between technical and marketing people. Corporate leaders energize these mature, but still innovative, companies, by providing context and communicating a dynamic vision. Storytelling offers a particularly evocative medium for articulating this vision. Rather than bore newcomers with hoary tales of the good old days, however, the most effective leaders continually reshape these stories to offer fresh insights, uncover new challenges, and reinforce the notion that every employee can and should contribute their full potential.     

Employer Association Responses to the Effects of Bargaining Decentralization in Australia and Italy: Seeking Explanations from Organizational Theory

The literature has neglected to analyse employer associations as organizations facing potential environmental threats to their financial sustainability. We examine associations' responses to collective bargaining decentralization, a major, contemporary threat. Using a qualitative, comparative case approach, we examine eight associations — four each in Australia and Italy — to develop a model of response types. Stronger decentralization effects increase associations' exposure to new and heightened competition, which in turn produces stronger association responses. These include prioritizing commercial over associational objectives. We analyse responses using strategic choice and resource dependence theories, finding that associations use both. However, the decision how to combine them reflects environmental conditions as well as choices linking organizational purpose and financial sustainability.     

The new investment theory and aggregate dynamics

This paper develops a dynamic general-equilibrium model of capital adjustments under monopolistic competition. Investments are partially irreversible. The model includes microfoundations for consumption decisions and capital-adjustment strategies. The effects of the model parameters on the optimal capital-adjustment strategy are determined analytically. A major result is that the aggregate net investment is proportional to the difference between the desired and previous aggregate capital. The speed of adjustment decreases with the cost of reversibility, is invariant to the shares of labor and capital, and increases with the level of macroeconomic uncertainty. However, the latter effect is not quantitatively important.