Computerization,workplace organization,skilled labour and firm productivity: Evidence for the Swiss business sector

The present study explores empirically the hypothesis that information and communication technologies, new organizational practices and human capital are important determinants of firm efficiency and performance, further that the combined use of these three factors leads to a mutual strengthening of their impact on firm performance. The analytical framework is that of a production function at firm level. The new contribution of this study to the empirical literature is that it is the first empirical study of this type for the Swiss business sector, using a rich data set at firm level for the year 1999 which were collected by means of a postal survey, and giving particular attention to the complementarity issue (several approaches) and to the endogenization of the technology and organization variables.     

江苏省中小企业财务信息化建设评价及提升对策研究

对于大部分中小型企业来说,企业的资金管理问题严重,会计管理人员的整体水平不高,对企业财务数据的分析管理水平较差,导致这些企业的发展缓慢甚至倒退。因此,中小企业的发展在一定程度上有赖于财务信息化程度的提高。本文就江苏省中小企业财务信息化的现状和影响因素进行分析,以江苏省经济发展水平不同的区域苏州、南通、宿迁为例,对财务信息化水平进行比较,利用科学层次分析法进行多因素分析,得出中小企业财务信息化水平的主要影响因素,寻找提高中小企业财务信息化水平的对策。     

Neglected heterogeneity in moment condition models

The central concern of this paper is parameter heterogeneity in models specified by a number of unconditional or conditional moment conditions and thereby the provision of a framework for the development of apposite optimal $m$-tests against its potential presence. We initially consider the unconditional moment restrictions framework. Optimal $m$-tests against moment condition parameter heterogeneity are derived with the relevant Jacobian matrix obtained in terms of the second order own derivatives of the moment indicator in a leading case. GMM and GEL tests of specification based on generalized information matrix equalities appropriate for moment-based models are described and their relation to optimal $m$-tests against moment condition parameter heterogeneity examined. A fundamental and important difference is noted between GMM and GEL constructions. The paper is concluded by a generalization of these tests to the conditional moment context and the provision of a limited set of simulation experiments to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed tests.     

基于信息化的企业财务可视化管理方式选择

本文为解决管理者每天需要接受大量财务信息,难以准确选择最佳财务数据的问题,结合可视化管理思想,利用信息化对企业财务部门如何选择最佳可视化表达方式进行了比较研究,同时论述了不同类型财务数据在哪种可视化表达方式下效果最好。     

新疆组织机构代码信息系统风险预警的探讨

为了保障组织机构代码信息系统在网络环境中安全、稳定、可靠的运行,必须不断提高系统的安全防护技术水平。文章探讨了通过风险预警来加强组织机构代码信息系统的整体安全性。     

The first-order approach when the cost of effort is money

We provide sufficient conditions for the first-order approach in the principal-agent problem when the agent’s utility has the nonseparable form u(y−c(a))$u(y-c\left(a\right))$ where y$y$ is the contractual payoff and c(a)$c\left(a\right)$ is the money cost of effort. We first consider a decision-maker facing prospects which cost c(a)$c\left(a\right)$ and with distributions of returns y$y$ that depend on a$a$. The decision problem is shown to be concave if the primitive of the cdf of returns is jointly convex in a$a$ and y$y$, a condition we call Concavity of the Cumulative Quantile (CCQ) and which is satisfied by many common distributions. Next we apply CCQ to the distribution of outcomes (or their likelihood-ratio transforms) in the principal-agent problem and derive restrictions on the utility function that validate the first-order approach. We also discuss another condition, log-convexity of the distribution, and show that it allows binding limited liability constraints, which CCQ does not.     

Learning curves in collaborative planning,forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR) information systems: An empirical analysis from a mobile phone manufacturer

While Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) information systems have been increasingly deployed to improve supply chain operations in a cross section of industries, the extant literature has largely overlooked the learning effects within organizations, thereby resulting in incomplete assessment of their business value. Using an operational-level panel data for nine product lines over 2.5 years, we empirically examine the learning curves in CPFR between Motorola, a mobile phone manufacturer, and one of its U.S.-based national retail partners. We found that the two key components of CPFR, collaborative forecasting (CF) and collaborative replenishment (CR), exhibit distinct learning curves. Forecast accuracy improves immediately following CPFR implementation but the rate of improvement slows over time, whereas inventory levels increase at first and begin decreasing after a period. Further, we found different learning effects in terms of inventory levels when products are later replaced with new form factors. Product replacements have lower inventory levels than their antecedents, at least for low-end products. We discuss important implications for theory and practice at the interface of information systems and operations management.     

How information systems help create OM capabilities: Consequents and antecedents of operational absorptive capacity

In contemporary business environments, the ability to manage operational knowledge is an important predictor of organizational competitiveness. Organizations invest large sums in various types of information technologies (ITs) to manage operational knowledge. Because of their superior storage, processing and communication capabilities, ITs offer technical platforms to build knowledge management (KM) capabilities. However, merely acquiring ITs are not sufficient, and organizations must structure information system (IS) designs to leverage ITs for building KM capabilities. We study how technical and strategic IS designs enhance operational absorptive capacity (OAC) – the KM capability of an operations management (OM) department. Specifically, we use a capabilities perspective of absorptive capacity to examine potential absorptive capacity (POAC) and realized absorptive capacity (ROAC) capabilities – the two OAC capabilities that create and utilize knowledge, respectively. Our theory proposes that integrated IS capability, – an aspect of technical IS design – is an antecedent of POAC and ROAC capabilities, and business-IT alignment – an aspect of strategic IS design – moderates the relationship between integrated IS capability and ROAC capability. Combining data gleaned from a multi-respondent survey with archival data from COMPUSTAT, we test our hypotheses using a dataset from 153 manufacturing organizations. By proposing that IS design enables an OM department's KM processes, i.e., the POAC and ROAC capabilities, our interdisciplinary theoretical framework opens the “black box” of OAC and contributes to improved understanding of IS and OM synergies. We offer a detailed discussion of our contributions to the literature at the IS-OM interface and implications for practitioners.     

Implications of the EU Information and Consultation Directive and the Regulations in the UK – prospects for the future of employee representation

The EU Directive on informing and consulting employees (I&C Directive) is now established on the employment relations agenda with the provisions coming into force in the UK in April 2005. The I&C Directive potentially has far reaching consequences for the way UK employers inform and consult employees over a wide range of organizational issues, with the potential to transform the UK industrial relations environment. The initiatives contained in the I&C Directive and the subsequent introduction of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations will take place in an employment relations environment in a period of significant change. Pressures of globalization have intensified competition in product and labour markets, emphasizing the need for greater efficiency and productivity. This has led to a greater focus on the link between employee participation practices and business strategy and organizational performance in search of an elusive (or illusory) fit? This paper is a commentary on the origins and rationale of this new legislation in the UK context, drawing on existing knowledge and academic debates in the area. In addition, the paper discusses the potential implications of the I&C Directive and the likely impact of the ICE Regulations on UK representative voice arrangements.     

Information but not consultation: exploring employee involvement in SMEs

Most research on employee involvement (EI) has focused on large or ‘mainstream’ organizations. By adopting those schemes which ‘appear’ to work well in larger organizations, smaller firms assume there will be enhanced employee commitment beyond formal contractual requirements. The main question in this paper is whether EI schemes designed by management will suffice under the 2004 Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations. The paper focuses on SMEs which tend to favour informal and direct EI, and it remains unclear how these methods will be played out under the new regulatory environment. Evidence from four case studies is presented here and it suggests that the ICE Regulations impose new challenges for smaller firms given their tendency to provide information rather than consult with employees. It also appears organizational factors, workplace relations history and the way processes are implemented at enterprise level may be far more important than size itself.