Bilateral Donors' Efforts to Assess and Manage UN Agencies' Effectiveness: Seeking a Balance between Paris Principles and Domestic Accountability

Since the turn of the century, results orientation and performance measurement have become buzzwords in development aid. Bilateral donors are increasingly concerned about the effectiveness of core‐funded UN specialised agencies, funds and programmes, through which they channel a substantial part of their funds. While the logic for increased monitoring is clear, it is less evident how to assess this information for purposes of accountability, performance‐based funding and governance. This article describes the general evolution in this area and discusses two major initiatives to harmonise and align bilateral assessments, using case‐study material from three bilateral donors (Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK) with clearly diverging performance‐management cultures, and exploring the extent to which they rely upon joint and aligned initiatives.     

人力资源管理与企业战略、绩效关系研究的演进——基于企业环境的变化

高度动态化的环境作为当前企业面临的最大问题,导致不可预测性的增强。这将直接影响战略的制定和执行。因此,这一环境下的企业如何保持战略实施有效性和竞争优势可持续性成为企业发展道路上的关键。而在战略与绩效的关系中,人力资源作为企业关键的战略性资源是企业运作的基础,其管理起了非常重要的作用。本文通过对已有文献的详细梳理,概括出两类研究类型:战略和人力资源的匹配;人力资源的配置管理与实现绩效的关系。柔性化思想的提出,使人力资源研究有了新的方向。在环境变动这一前提下,人力资源柔性化的管理区别于传统意义上的管理。本文以动态环境的背景,围绕人力资源、战略、绩效三者的关系提炼出整合的演进框架,以更好地指导未来人力资源相关的研究。     

A simple algorithm for calculating values for folded normal distribution

Folded normal distribution originates from the modulus of normal distribution. In the present article, we have formulated the cumulative distribution function (cdf) of a folded normal distribution in terms of standard normal cdf and the parameters of the mother normal distribution. Although cdf values of folded normal distribution were earlier tabulated in the literature, we have shown that those values are valid for very particular situations. We have also provided a simple approach to obtain values of the parameters of the mother normal distribution from those of the folded normal distribution. These results find ample application in practice, for example, in obtaining the so-called upper and lower α-points of folded normal distribution, which, in turn, is useful in testing of the hypothesis relating to folded normal distribution and in designing process capability control chart of some process capability indices. A thorough study has been made to compare the performance of the newly developed theory to the existing ones. Some simulated as well as real-life examples have been discussed to supplement the theory developed in this article. Codes (generated by R software) for the theory developed in this article are also presented for the ease of application.     

Estimating ordered quantiles of two exponential populations with a common minimum guarantee time

The problem of estimating ordered quantiles of two exponential populations is considered, assuming equality of location parameters (minimum guarantee times), using the quadratic loss function. Under order restrictions, we propose new estimators which are the isotonized version of the MLEs, call it, restricted MLE. A sufficient condition for improving equivariant estimators is derived under order restrictions on the quantiles. Consequently, estimators improving upon the old estimators have been derived. A detailed numerical study has been done to evaluate the performance of proposed estimators using the Monte-Carlo simulation method and recommendations have been made for the use of the estimators.     

Complementary person-supervisor fit: An investigation of supplies-values (S-V) fit,leader-member exchange (LMX) and work outcomes

By applying the supplies-values (S-V) fit approach from the complementary person-environment (P-E) fit literature to the leader-employee perspective, and drawing upon social exchange theory, we examine how fulfillment of different work values is related to Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and work outcomes. First, polynomial regression analyses combined with response surface analysis of data collected at two time points (N = 316) showed that LMX (Time 2) was higher the more the leader fulfills the employee's work values (Time 1). Second, LMX (Time 2) was higher when leader supplies (Time 1) and employee work values (Time 1) were both high than when both were low. Third, analyses of data from a sub-sample of matched leader-employee dyads (N = 140), showed that LMX (Time 2) played a mediating role on the relation between S-V fit (Time 1) and work outcomes (Time 2). Specifically, we found eight out of 10 relationships between S-V fit (Time 1) and leader-rated task performance and OCB (Time 2) to be fully mediated by LMX (Time 2). LMX (Time 2) partially mediated the relation between S-V fit (Time 1) and job satisfaction (Time 2) as only two out of five relationships were fully mediated.     

幼儿园表演区游戏开展中存在的问题及解决对策——以某幼儿园大班表演区游戏《小熊请客》为例

现如今大多数幼儿园将表演游戏融入区域活动中，作为表演区游戏开展活动之一，这一转变，在实践层面上有许多值得研究的问题。文章通过对某幼儿园大班表演区游戏的观察研究发现，表演区游戏在开展中存在场所设置不合理、材料投放单一高控、游戏参与积极性低等问题。为此提出相应的解决对策：游戏前准备适宜的场地、丰富的内容、多样的材料；游戏中细心观察，适时引导，指导过程中注意重游戏轻表演；游戏后共同分享交流，解决游戏中出现的问题，以此更好地发挥表演区游戏的实际效用。     

Impact of an Overt Response System on Staff Performance and Maintenance of Computer-Based Instruction

Interactive Computer Based Instruction (CBI) systems involve teaching strategies to facilitate greater response opportunities during training in an effort to improve learner performance. The current study investigated the effect of online staff training videos with and without overt response requirements on posttest and maintenance test scores across six block-randomized instructional modules for four employees of a university located in the southeastern region of the United States. The overt response consisted of multiple-choice questions administered throughout select teaching modules using an alternating treatment design. Findings suggest that learning occurred as a result of the CBI training; however, the effectiveness of the overt response system varied across individuals, with no discernible differentiation between learning gains associated with response requirements. Other areas of research for expanding the efficacy of CBI and overt response systems are highlighted.     

Measuring operational excellence: an operational excellence profitability (OEP) approach

The pursuit of operational excellence in the manufacturing industry is at rise but its measurement still lacks of appropriate indicators to determine its financial benefits. The ambiguity is due to the impact arisen from manufacturing fluctuations such as price and cost, production mix and direct and indirect parameters variations. Manufacturing fluctuations distort the cost benefit of operational excellence. This paper, therefore, proposes the OEP (Operational Excellence Profitability) indicators to isolate the impact of manufacturing fluctuation and distinctly identify the payback of operational excellence strategies and initiatives through cost benefits of achieving higher efficiency and yield. The paper presents the conceptual and mathematical development of the proposed OEP indicators and the formulas used for their calculation. Hypothetical and industrial-based investigations and applications of the OEP indicators are conducted for their validation. The results obtained from the hypothetical exercise and industrial case suggest that OEP indicators can provide an effective cost-benefit analysis of operational excellence. This would contribute in providing manufacturing organizations with more complete information regarding the performance of their processes, which will allow their directors and managers to take better decisions related to the management and improvement of their processes.     

风险投资对中国新三板挂牌企业绩效的影响

风险投资是推动“大众创业、万众创新”的新型金融工具和重要资本力量，对产业结构调整和经济转型具有重要作用。风险投资通过提供企业战略咨询、关键商业网络资源、人力资源管理以及监控活动等多方面支持影响被投资企业绩效。选取2010—2018年新三板844家获得风险投资和9 415家未获得风险投资的企业，通过风险投资机构的年龄、历史IPO数量以及累计退出金额衡量投资经验，检验风险投资机构的投资经验对新三板挂牌企业绩效的影响，并利用工具变量通过二阶段最小二乘法（2SLS）解决了模型的内生性问题。实证结果表明，风险投资对企业财务绩效和成长能力均呈现显著正向影响，且风险投资机构成立年份越久，在投资经验方面越丰富，对企业绩效正向影响越显著，同时，风险投资退出业绩越好，行业内对其能力的评价越高，越有利于为企业提供附加资源支持，从而提升企业业绩。     

全面抗战时期大后方大学教师和学生生活水平结构研究

全面抗战时期，受战时通货膨胀影响，大后方大学教师和学生群体的生活水平迅速下降，但与真正意义上的"赤贫阶层"尚有距离，决定大学教师和学生生活水平的关键要素相比战前已发生变化。战前大学教师的生活水平结构与教师职级、教育水平紧密相关，而战时大后方大学教师的生活水平结构则受到薪金、兼职、家庭负担等多方面因素的共同制约。战前大学生的主体是社会中间阶层出身的子弟，校园内的生活水平结构呈"橄榄型"，战时大后方大学校园内的生活水平结构则截然二分为富裕和清贫学生两部分，清贫学生成为学生群体中的主体。全面抗战时期大后方大学教师和学生生活水平结构的变化，既有战时客观因素的制约，也受到国民政府相应教育政策的影响。