Service Competitiveness – An Anglo-US Study

This article reports on the latest in a series of international comparisons of management practices and performance outcomes of industries in various countries. Here, it is the service industries in the UK and the US which come under the microscope. Among the companies surveyed, there were more world-class performers in the US than the UK, but also more low performers. The concluding part of the article is diagnostic – the authors also suggest measures which could improve performance.     

Performance Measurement in Government Service Provision: The Case of Police Services in New South Wales

The NSW Government is implementing a financial framework which is designed to encourage government service providers to become more efficient and effective. NSW Treasury is using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to measure the efficiency of major government service providers, such as police, courts and hospitals. This paper outlines the progress in implementing the new financial framework and illustrates the way NSW Treasury will use DEA to help improve the efficiency of government service providers by describing an analysis of the NSW Police Service. The results suggest that NSW police patrols (local police districts) could, on average, reduce input usage by 13.5 percent through better management, and by 6 percent if the patrols could be restructured to achieve the optimal scale. Results also indicate that differences in operating environments, such as location and socioeconomic factors, do not have a significant influence upon the efficiency of police patrols.     

A customised approach to determining the geomorphic effectiveness of small flood events in a regulated river

The construction of dams significantly alters flow and sediment regimes with subsequent deleterious effects on the morphological and ecological character of rivers. Effective experimental floods can ameliorate the downstream geomorphic impacts of dams. The traditional view is that large floods are required to perform effective geomorphic work, and the geomorphic outcomes of small floods are often overlooked. Many river restoration frameworks do not consider small floods. Yet, there is evidence that the hydrological characteristics that ameliorate specific geomorphic impacts in a river are unique to each river, and a customised approach to setting the right mix of floods (including small experimental floods) is needed. In this study, we modify an existing flood effectiveness model developed for large floods, for determining the geomorphic effectiveness of small floods in a highly regulated Australian river. Two flood classes were added to the model (medium peak stream power and moderate total energy expenditure), and the flood power characteristics were rescaled to reflect the relative difference in the magnitude of the small floods and the magnitude of the geomorphic work performed. Using a step‐wise approach, this customised model determined the geomorphic effectiveness of small floods. The best flood for ameliorating the geomorphic impacts of flow regulation had medium to long duration (10 to 51 days), high peak unit stream power (77 to 123 Wm^?2) and moderate to large total energy expenditure (78,600 to 342,320 × 10³ J). This approach to determining flood effectiveness for small floods is applicable to other geomorphically impacted river channels downstream of dams and can be used to inform experimental flood releases for geomorphic outcomes.     

Teams, Firms and the Evolution of Profit Seeking Behavior

Even as advances in information theory over the last quarter century have cast increasing doubt on the proposition that firms successfully maximize profits, the objective of profit maximization continues to be an axiomatic feature of the neoclassical theory of the firm. This paper attempts to improve our understanding firms by treating the objective function as an open question. Specifically, an ontogenetic thought experiment is undertaken to address the question of what differentiates production teams from firms by asking why team members would sell their control rights to a principal, thereby transforming the team into a firm. What results is an account of the emergence of the objective of profit seeking. Profit seeking emerges endogenously as a more fit alternative than the objective of value maximization, which is less capable of coping with uncertainty through purposive adaptation.     

Ontogenetic changes in pharyngeal morphology correlate with a diet shift from arthropods to dreissenid mussels in round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus)

The potential of predators to regulate populations of dreissenid mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) has been addressed since early in the dreissenid invasion of North America. Round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) larger than approximately 60 mm have been shown to prey extensively on dreissenids, whereas smaller round gobies feed mainly on aquatic insects and crustaceans. We propose that ontogenetic changes in pharyngeal morphology may contribute to this diet shift in round gobies. Pharyngeals of 69 round gobies ranging from 31 to 164 mm total length were investigated using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Areas of lower pharyngeals and pharyngobranchial 2 increased allometrically with fish length. Pharyngeals of round gobies smaller than 50 mm contained narrow (< 0.1 mm diameter) papilliform teeth that are consistent with eating soft-bodied prey. By the time round gobies reached approximately 80 mm in length, pharyngeals contained larger diameter (0.3-0.5 mm) molariform teeth typical of those found in molluscivorous fish. Pharyngeal teeth of the largest round gobies also showed considerable wear. Although changes in pharyngeal morphology may contribute to the previously described diet shift in round gobies as they age, genetic and environmental factors both likely influence pharyngeal remodeling and therefore merit further investigation.     

Temporal shifts in the biodiversity of nearshore small fishes in Lake Simcoe

Nearshore small fish species represent a large proportion of fish biodiversity in Lake Simcoe, a large inland lake in southern Ontario, Canada. Over the past 30 years, Lake Simcoe has experienced several changes to its aquatic habitat, benthic invertebrate communities and predatory fish populations. This study compared samples of the nearshore small fish community in three geographic areas of Lake Simcoe. Fish community data were grouped into two time periods: a contemporary period (2007–2009) and a historical period (1982–1995). The fish community was compared across time periods for each area to assess if observed ecological changes had an impact on the small fish community. Species richness significantly declined between time periods in two areas (Cook's Bay and the southeast shoreline), the number of individuals captured declined between time periods in one area of the lake (Kempenfelt Bay) and Simpson's diversity index declined between time periods in one area of the lake (southeast shoreline). There were no significant differences in the Shannon–Weiner evenness index between time periods in any of the study areas. Additional analyses of intra- and inter-annual variation in fish sampling results generally supported the findings that shifts in the fish community occurred between time periods. Overall, this study suggests that the nearshore small fish biodiversity of Lake Simcoe has shifted over time but these shifts are not clearly related to recent increases in water clarity, macrophyte growth and nearshore benthic invertebrate densities.     

On the Relationship between Japanese Manufacturing Firms and their Domestic Subsidiaries

Much past research on ownership policy has dealt with foreign subsidiaries. In this paper, we study the ownership relationship between Japanese firms and their publicly-traded domestic subsidiaries. Using a transaction cost framework, we find that benefiting from high subsidiary profitability is not the sole motivation behind parent firms' decisions regarding equity control of their subsidiaries. Our results indicate that different policies are adopted by Japanese firms with respect to domestic and foreign subsidiaries.     

Analysis of Consumer Preferences for Quality and Safety Attributes in Artisanal Fruit Juices in Kenya

This study used choice experiment survey data from a random sample of 374 respondents to analyze consumer preferences for quality and safety attributes of artisanal fruit juices in Kenya. Results show that consumers had a positive and significant preference for single fruit juices compared to fruit mixtures, private rather than public inspection of the juices, traceability of fruit origin, and vendor’s health. Additives such as colorants, flavors, and preservatives were not preferred. Consumers were willing to pay premiums of up to 200% for artisanal juices that contain single fruits, lack additives, and are inspected by private agencies. These insights should be incorporated in ensuring that artisanal fruit juice designs comply with food quality and safety requirements. Further, there is a need to license and regulate the artisanal juice preparation and handling and to provide training to the handlers on safety and quality requirements.