Executive Information Systems: Recent Developments and Research Imperatives

SUMMARY The reluctance of top managers to use computers themselves has become almost legendary, although there are good reasons for their apparent preference for traditional information sources and access routes. Isolated cases have shown how computer-based executive support systems can be used by top managers when great care is taken by the system developers over data presentation and the user interface. Now, the advent of high quality commercial software means that Executive Information Systems (EIS) may become far more widespread. This paper describes the principal features of the new EIS from the executive users' point of view and indicates those characteristics which appear to be most conducive to success. Research directions which will identify the extent and impact of EIS software on top management are identified.     

Recent Developments of Pension Schemes in Germany: Present and Future Tasks in Conflict

The article provides an overview of the structure of pension protection in Germany. Recent changes in statutory pension insurance (the “1992 Pension Reform”), as well as changes concerning retirement ages and the present discussion on early retirement are considered. The article also provides an analysis of occupational pension schemes and of their different types and coverage. The problem concerning the long-term development of the pension system in Germany is discussed.     

Regression–Discontinuity Analysis: A Survey of Recent Developments in Economics

Abstract. This paper provides a discussion of recent developments related to the applicability of the regression discontinuity design in economics. It reviews econometric issues, such as identification and estimation methods, as well as a number of sensitivity and validity tests of importance in empirical application.     

Industrial Relations and Trade Union Effects on Innovation in Germany

ABSTRACT: This paper provides a thoretical and empirical evaluation of unions’effects on innovative activity, focussing on institutional details and country-specific factors. We represent results of an econometric investigation for Germany using data at the industry and establishment level. In contrast to US studies, no statistically significant negative influence of unions on innovative activity shows up from industry-level data. Establishment-level data, however, indicate that the presence of a works council is positive for R & D if union density is not “too high”. This is in line with the more cooperative nature of industrial relations in Germany.     

A Long Cycle in Industrial Relations,or: Regulation Theory and Political Economy

ABSTRACT: The main purpose of this paper is to test the Regulation Theory (la Théorie de la Régulation) ‘ on a subject — the long cycle of rigidity/flexibility in labour markets and industrial relations we have experienced between the late sixties and now — that should be one of the central concerns of such a theory, being linked to one of its basic concepts: the Rapport Salarial. Does the theory of regulation help us (more than rival theoretical frameworks do) in explaining why we underwent a rigidity/flexibility cycle? And in explaining why this cycle took such different forms in different countries? In order to achieve this purpose, the author first distinguishes several meanings, or dimensions, or rigidity/flexibility (money and real wage, numerical, functional, intensive, dualistic, geographical) and goes to some length in analysing why comparisons in this field between national industrial relations systems and labour market arrangements are rather difficult to perform. Having done that, the author argues that regulation theory is of little help in understanding our diachronic question — why we went through a flexibility cycle — because such a theory does not make any strong bet on the causes of change in the institutional arrangements of labour markets and industrial relations. On the synchronic question — why the forms of the cycle have been so different cross-nationally — the conclusion is that Regulation Theory can be useful as a focusing device, as an ideal-type, but that a lot of nationally-specific materials have to be added in order to obtain adequate answers. The paper ends up with a methodological discussion on the statute of regulation theory. It is argued that it is neither theory nor history: it is a series of ideal-types of system-integration, connected by ex-post, historical linkages.     

Recent Developments in Dynamic Pricing Research: Multiple Products,Competition, and Limited Demand Information

Dynamic pricing enables a firm to increase revenue by better matching supply with demand, responding to shifting demand patterns, and achieving customer segmentation. In the last 20 years, numerous success stories of dynamic pricing applications have motivated a rapidly growing research interest in a variety of dynamic pricing problems in the academic literature. A large class of problems that arise in various revenue management applications involve selling a given amount of inventory over a finite time horizon without inventory replenishment. In this study, we identify most recent trends in dynamic pricing research involving such problems. We review existing research on three new classes of problems that have attracted a rapidly growing interest in the last several years, namely, problems with multiple products, problems with competition, and problems with limited demand information. We also identify a number of possible directions for future research.     

Towards New Public Management in Greek Public Organizations: Leadership vs. Management,and the Path to Implementation

In the beginning of the 21st century, when the notion of constant transformation is so frequently invoked, organizational change in the public sector is gaining increased attention. Responding to regulatory, economic, competitive and technological shifts, the challenge of reorganization is universal for all public organizations. This paper aims to explore the shift from Traditional to New Public Management (NPM), as well as the driving forces (such as the information economy, the need for better public performance, the opening of global markets, greater knowledge intensity etc.) that lead to the formulation of transformational programs to Greece. A presentation of a transformational program called Politeia, will be provided, analysed and compared to previous efforts. Finally, we address the important role of leadership and management in Greek public organizations that want successful to implement any change effort successfully.     

The Government and Statutory Bodies in Hong Kong: Centralization and Autonomy

Over the past decade in Hong Kong, the relationship and accountability of statutory bodies to core government, to the legislature, and to the broader public have been the subject of continuing and, as yet, unresolved debate. Faced with scandals and other serious problems in a number of the major statutory bodies, and in the context of its own problems of lack of political support and legitimacy, the Tung administration tended to reduce the autonomy of the statutory bodies by increasing central control and integrating their functions with those of core government. Legislators have seen the problems of statutory bodies from a rather different perspective, arguing that they result from a lack of accountability and transparency. The government’s eventual concession to the need for reform has resulted, since 2003, in a review of the principles governing the work of all advisory and statutory bodies and of specific statutory bodies which have experienced serious problems. This article examines the principles contained in the review and assesses whether they are likely to lead to increased autonomy and improvements in governance standards.     

The Effects of Changes in Participation and Group Size of Gainsharing Success

The recent diversity in the types of productivity gainsharing programs has led to the question of whether such programs are affected by moderators such as employee participation and group size. The present research reviews the literature on gainsharing and describes a study which examined productivity changes for 179 direct production employees in the six departments of a unionized manufacturing plant where gainsharing was implemented. The longitudinal time series analysis of the first twenty-nine months of the gainsharing program utilized trend analysis and hierarchical regression analysis to assess productivity changes as the program was changed from a group plan to a plantwide plan. Changes in productivity also were examined when the plan was changed from nonparticipative to participative. The results suggest that employee participation in decision making is a significant factor in productivity improvement but group size does not play a critical role in successful gainsharing programs.     

From Labour Shortage to Unemployment: Soviet Workers' Attitudes about Possible Changes in Labour Relations

Abstract. After seventy years of centralised economy, the ex-Soviet Union is now experiencing the problem of developing a market economy. The monopoly of the means of production had generated guaranteed employment. an elevated number of vacant positions and scarce territorial and occupational mobility. At the same time, there were low salaries and a series of guaranteed basic services. The translation to a market economy can generate the fear of losing certain guarantees. The author analyses these problems, referring principally to field research conducted among industrial workers.     

Financial Reforms of Statutory Bodies in Singapore: Control and Autonomy in a Centralized State

This article explores the major financial reforms of both government-funded and self-funded statutory bodies in Singapore over the last 7 years. The reforms have been based on two models of administrative reform: the business enterprise model and the bureaucratic efficiency model. In accordance with the business enterprise model, changes have been made to place statutory bodies on a more commercial footing, requiring them to adopt the financial and management practices found in business enterprises and, in doing so, to become more financially self-reliant. The autonomy expected to flow from these reforms has been circumscribed by the retention of key decision-making responsibilities and veto powers at the center of government. The reforms thus indicate ambivalence in the thinking of political and administrative leaders in relation to the management of statutory bodies, allowing them greater freedom as business-like enterprises, but still subjecting them to centrally imposed restrictions and directives.     

高技术虚拟产业集群成员企业合作竞争与知识创新的关系研究

分析了竞争合作对高技术虚拟产业集群成员企业SECI知识创新过程的影响,并结合知识网络节点演化规律分析了竞争与合作活动共同对成员企业知识创新的作用;从价值网角度探讨了知识创新对高技术虚拟产业集群成员企业合作竞争活动的影响;结合案例研究了高技术虚拟产业集群成员企业合作竞争与知识创新相互作用的正反馈关系。     

Statutory Bodies, Land Use Planning and Conservation in Singapore: Issues and Challenges for Governability

This article discusses the dynamics of state–society interactions with regard to land use planning policy and its effect on nature conservation where ministries and statutory boards represent the government and environmental NGOs embody civil society. It examines the role of three statutory boards in the campaign against the de-gazetting of the Lower Peirce Reservoir Catchment Area (1990–1992), and considers the impact of the issue on future relationships between the government, the statutory boards and the NGOs. Although the campaign did not appear to diminish the integration of the statutory boards with their parent ministries, the common ground that they shared with environmental NGOs was often at variance with the positions taken by the ministries. The tensions between integration and autonomy and between accountability and independence, and the ways in which they were resolved, have important implications for the role which statutory bodies can play and, more widely, for Singapore's system of governance.     

中国上市公司CEO继任特征与公司业绩变化关系的实证研究

选择总资产主营业务利润率、总资产营业利润率、总资产净利润率作为评价公司业绩的指标,以CEO非常规变更、CEO外部继任、CEO是否受控股股东控制、CEO变更公告的时间以及继任CEO的年龄刻画CEO的继任特征,采用OLS与Logist回归方法,实证检验了3个指标在CEO变更期间的变化与CEO继任特征的相关性.研究表明,CEO变更期间的业绩变化与外部继任显著正相关,变更当年的业绩变化与CEO下半年变更显著负相关,公司业绩变化与控股股东对CEO控制倾向正相关,CEO的非常规变更并未带来上市公司业绩的显著提高.     

竞争压力、战略变化、企业绩效间的结构关系——我国转型经济背景下的研究

从构建竞争压力、战略变化和企业绩效间的独立假设入手,基于来自全国10省市重要工业行业样本企业的数据,运用结构方程模型对3要素间结构关系进行了验证,主要结论包括:①相对竞争压力等产业环境因素而言,宏观经济因素在我国企业战略变化过程中发挥着更重要的作用,而企业内部要素正成为我国企业战略变化的重要约束条件;②战略变化对企业绩效具有重要影响,经济转型的深刻性和普遍性使得各行业企业依据环境需要进行战略调整对企业的生存和发展具有重要意义;③竞争压力同战略变化一起成为决定企业最终绩效的重要变量,它不但对绩效有直接影响,还会通过战略变化对其产生间接影响。     

Current Directions in Risk Research: New Developments in Psychology and Sociology

This article reviews the main approaches to risk in psychology and sociology and considers recent developments. It shows that research continues from a wide range of perspectives. Some developments in psychological thinking have recently acknowledged the importance of the cultural framing of risk perceptions and responses and the positive power of emotions to manage uncertainties, while some streams of work in sociology have moved toward more individualist approaches. These converging processes open opportunities for cross-fertilization and for using insights from both disciplines in the development of research.     

Emigration and Immigration in Italy: Recent Trends

ABSTRACT: During the eighties Italy has evolved into being a receiver of immigration. However, the existence of large Italian communities abroad, and the persistence of exit migratory flows (although amply compensated by re-entry flows) show that the connotation of Italy as a country of emigration still persists. This paper points out the differing composition of present immigration flows to Italy compared to those of Italian migratory flows towards the more industrially advanced European countries over the past decades. The labour forces that constitute these present day immigration flows often possess medium to high educational qualifications, and are more frequently absorbed into the tertiary and agricultural markets, rather than the industrial sector. These immigrants rarely have regular, unionized occupations, and satisfy a demand for precarious, unstable labour which is in expansion in Italy, as in other countries. Furthermore, these immigration flows are directed not only towards those regions with high employment rates, but also to those with high unemployment rates. Thus, the implications are that the character of present day emigration can only be clearly understood by taking into account the highly segmented aspect of the labour market.