Making tax and social security decisions: lean and deskilling in the UK Civil Service

Lean working has had a significant impact on the work skills of civil servants. This study examines the impact of lean specifically focusing on ‘decision‐makers’, those civil servants engaged in deciding tax and social security claims. Using qualitative data from trade union members and stewards in two major government departments, this study found significant evidence of deskilling often in the face of dealing with potentially complex legal and factual issues. Using Mashaw's framework of administrative justice, the article argues that management's use of lean was evidence of an accelerated shift to a managerial model of administering tax and benefits where the administrative processes of decision‐making become paramount at the expense of the quality of the decisions made.     

强化油田矿区服务质量监督机制的对策研究

针对油田矿区服务质量监督制度、方法、措施存在的滞后状况,以现代化先进服务理念为指导,加大服务质量监督力度为对策,通过改进服务监督方法,转变服务作风,提高了矿区整体服务水平的针对性、科学性和实效性。     

Accounting change and value creation in public services—Do relational archetypes make a difference in improving public service performance?

Evidence points out that the outcome of accounting change in local governments is not simply a matter of ‘corporate’ resource investments and change management activities to accounting system replacement. This paper examines the link between such corporate-level interventions and the patterns of value creation at street-level. It emphasizes a resource- and capability-driven approach to explore processes and consequences of an ‘embedded agency’-effect assigned to the street-level rationale of public service improvement. Considering a logic chain of cause-and-effect sequences, the data analysis provides evidence that corporate and street-level interventions are unique dimensions to signify the multiple patterns of accounting change in local governments. The supplementary effect of cross-functional relationships is also distinguished, considering the relational archetype as a mechanism to explain the emerging outcome state. Recognizing the distinction and the sequential effects of relational archetypes induces a refined typology of accounting change according to its processes and outcomes in local governments. The analysis is based on a comparative case study design to explore accrual accounting introduction in six German municipalities.     

Atributos relevantes de calidad en el servicio y su influencia hacia la lealtad de marca en la industria aseguradora de automóviles en México

The objective of this study is to identify key quality service attributes in the automobile insurance business and determine their influence on brand loyalty. In this study distinction is made between the service during the hiring of the service and the service provided after an accident. In a preliminary exploratory inquiry quality service attributes were identified with the application of in-depth interviews. In an empirical study, hypothesis related to a direct relationship between the attributes and several measures of brand loyalty are contrasted. A sample of n = 210 of automobile insurance clients was conformed. Five regression models were developed for the data analysis, one for each loyalty measure. These analyses allowed a specific detection of significant attributes for each case. Though it is concluded that attributes related to the service after the accident have a higher degree of influence on the customer loyalty, it is found that a particular attribute during hiring (reputation of the insurance company) also has an important role.     

Overcoming localization of knowledge — the role of professional service firms

The literature on organizational learning asserts that external learning is often limited geographically and technologically. We scrutinize to what extent organizations acquire external knowledge by accessing external knowledge repositories. We argue that professional service firms (PSFs) grant access to nonlocalized knowledge repositories and thereby not only facilitate external learning but also help to overcome localization. Focusing on patent law firms, we test our predictions using a unique dataset of 544,820 pairs of European patent applications. Analyzing patterns of knowledge flows captured in patent citations, we find that accessing a PSF's repository facilitates the acquisition of external knowledge. As the effect is more pronounced for knowledge that is distant to a focal organization, we conclude that having access to a knowledge repository compensates for localization disadvantages. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non-compensation-related consultant service and CEO compensation

This study examines how consultants’ non-compensation-related consulting service (NCS) affects the contractual usefulness of accounting and stock information in executive compensation, as reflected in pay-performance sensitivity. The hypothesis is based on anecdotal evidence suggesting that consultants’ provision of NCS is likely to adversely affect the quality of CEO compensation plans. We investigate whether the consultants providing NCS are involved in potential conflicts of interest. The results show that CEO pay is higher in companies where consultants provide NCS and have a higher NCS fee ratio. The pay-performance sensitivity in CEO compensation decreases when consultants engage in NCS. The overall results are consistent with NCS representing a conflict of interest and compromising the quality of compensation committees.     

大力发展服务外包优化外贸出口结构

我国粗放型的外贸增长方式难以为继,必须实现根本性转变,实现外贸出口结构的优化,承接服务外包是促进其转变的重要途径和举措.全球新一轮以服务业为主导的国际产业转移为优化外贸出口结构转变提供了契机.我们应抓住这一机遇,加快服务外包发展,调整外贸产业结构,从而实现质量型的外贸增长方式.     

加快发展现代服务业推进新型工业化进程

以现代服务业的内涵及发展趋势为论述基点,在阐述现代服务业与新型工业化之间的"耦合"现象的基础上,比较深入地分析了新型工业化过程中现代服务业存在的突出问题,主要表现在现代服务业发展滞后、服务支撑体系不完善、体制性政策性约束等方面.进而,对加快发展现代服务业,推进我国新型工业化进程的有效措施进行了初步探讨.