Improving schedule reliability based on copulas: An application to five of the most congested US airports

This study, based Newark Liberty International, New York John F. Kennedy, New York LaGuardia, Chicago O’Hare International and San Francisco International in the US, provides a perspective on the predictability of on-time performance evaluation by applying an actuarial and financial method called copula. It is common for the percentage of on-time gate arrivals to be portrayed in daily news as an indicator of schedule reliability. However, the degree of interdependency between gate arrival delays and block delays may provide some indication of schedule reliability.     

Managing retention

To build this process it is necessary to consult customers for preferences, build familiarity and knowledge to build a relationship and conduct business in a customized fashion. The process takes every opportunity to build customer satisfaction with each customer contact. It is an important process to have, since customers today are more demanding, sophisticated, educated and comfortable speaking to the company as an equal (Belk, 2003). Customers have more customized expectations so they want to be reached as individuals (Raymond and Tanner, 1994). Also, a disproportionate search for new business is costly. The cost to cultivate new customers is more than maintaining existing customers (Cathcart, 1990). Other reasons that customer retention is necessary is because many unhappy customers will never buy again from a company that dissatisfied them and they will communicate their displeasure to other people. These dissatisfied customers may not even convey their displeasure but without saying anything just stop doing business with that company, which may keep them unaware for some time that there is any problem (Cathcart, 1990).     

When do B2B brands influence the decision making of organizational buyers? An examination of the relationship between purchase risk and brand sensitivity

The dominant perspective on organizational buying behavior suggests that buyers tend to rely on objective criteria when making product choice decisions and that the potential influence of subjective cues, such as brands, on buyer decision making decreases with increasing risk. An alternative perspective, confirmed in this study by in-depth interviews with various managers, suggests that brands serve as a risk-reduction heuristic, whereby the influence of brands on decision making increases as a function of risk. Building on risk and information processing theories, this research builds on these complementary perspectives to propose that risk and brand sensitivity relate in a U-shaped manner, where brand sensitivity is highest in relatively low- or high-risk situations. The results of scenario- and survey-based field studies—involving 206 and 180 members of buying centers, respectively—suggest that both perspectives have merit and support the proposed nonlinear relationship. Moreover, the findings reveal that the risk-brand sensitivity relationship is moderated by competitive intensity, such that the linear (negative) and quadratic (positive) effects are stronger when competitive intensity is low.     

Semi-quantitative risk assessment method for product management

The workshop presented a semi-quantitative risk assessment technique that can be used to judge the total risk on all undesired consequences/events for a product manufacturing operation. The technique requires an experienced team to judge risk utilizing a numerical rating system that, although arbitrarily chosen, is self consistent and provides a relative assessment of product manufacturing risk. Once calculated, the risk is compared to the product's net income for making risk management and product planning decisions. The workshop included an exercise where all participants could try the technique.     

The (potential) demise of HRM?

This article seeks to provoke that human resource management (HRM), both as an academic field of study and as a form of professional practice, is at risk of impoverishment. The main reasoning for this is because of ideological individualism and marketisation with an attendant neglect on wider organisational, employee, and societal concerns. Following a review of the context of financialised capitalism, three contemporary developments in HRM are used to illustrate the argument: reward strategies, talent management, and high performance work systems. Implications for the practice of HRM and the way the subject area is taught in mainstream business schools are considered.     

Street-level new public governances in integrated services-as-a-system

The paper explores the emergence of street-level public service integration in eight cities, in five countries using a new framework: services-as-a-system to explore new public governances in health and social care integration. Data is analysed from eight cities in six countries (Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, Spain, UK, and USA) gathered in over 100 semi-structured interviews with key agents. We show that whilst culture and context shape the form and processes of governances there are underlying processual drivers of new public governances, in particular where users are involved in the co-design and co-production of integrated services.     

Cuba: The New Frontier of Study Abroad Programs for U.S. Students

The growing reconciliation between the United States and Cuba has created a unique opportunity for U.S. business and hospitality students to observe and experience first-hand an economy in marked transition. Attempting to balance the tenets of socialism with a rapidly growing reliance on capitalism creates a rare learning environment for students. This article presents the plan for a 10-day faculty-led study abroad program to Cuba. The program is divided between the two (arguably) most important destinations in Cuba: the economic and cultural center, Havana, and the tourism powerhouse of Varadero. At each destination, students are engaged in lectures, site visits, research, and cultural experiences.     

Multinationals,labour management and the process of reverse diffusion: A case study

This paper investigates a form of diffusion largely overlooked in the literature, namely reverse diffusion, in which practices flow from the overseas to the domestic plants. It examines the process of this type of diffusion, focussing on the role of the HQ and the way in which plant managers are influenced by management at this level. Evidence is presented from a case study of a British MNC.     

Normativa de empleo,teoría de juegos y representación laboral insuficiente en las economías liberales

Se analiza el impacto de la normativa europea de información y consulta en los niveles de representación de los trabajadores en dos economías liberales (Irlanda y Reino Unido) a partir de tres postulados teóricos y del dilema del prisionero de la teoría de juegos. Sobre la base de datos cualitativos de 16 empresas recabados mediante entrevistas, los autores evalúan los postulados y explican por qué las normas nacionales de transposición son ineficaces para promover la cooperación en beneficio mutuo en economías liberales, aportando así un modelo teórico a las investigaciones previas sobre el tema, fundamentalmente empíricas.