Das Feuer kleiner Gruppen: Analyse der Entwicklungslogik und -dynamik eines Beratungsprozesses

The spark of small groups: An analysis of the developmental logic and dynamics of a consultancy process In the recent past large group interventions have gained increased attention in the systemic consulting literature. In contrast to this tendency, this paper focuses on the significance and effectiveness of small group interventions in business consultancy.Based on a qualitative analysis of a consultancy process, the effectiveness of small group change processes is documented here: Unlike large groups, small groups not only are far more likely to succeed in developing structures which differ from the existing organizational structures, they moreover are much more likely to develop a strong identity which helps them generate the power necessary for change. Especially in conflict situations and in situations where the pressures that are being put on an organization are increasing, small groups are more likely to maintain their identity, another crucial prerequisite for the initiation of a change process.The paper shows that consultancy systems, which differ in structure from the customer organization, are apt to serve as incubators for the development of strong groups within an organization. These small groups are able to push for organizational changes using conflicts process.     

Führung aus neuer Perspektive

New perspectives on leadership. Reflecting and constructing realities in the surplus reality of psychodramaThe authors show how the psychodramatic concept of surplus reality can be used as a frame of reference for action-oriented, experiential interventions in leadership coaching. The concept is shown to have four different facets: surplus reality as a term for (1) the intangible dimensions of reality, (2) the non-verbal dimensions of reality, (3) the action space of psychodrama, (4) human imagination. The use of mental imagery and metaphors is shown to be a realization of the surplus reality principle. Case studies and practical hints for leadership coaches illustrate how surplus reality can be used to open up new ways of learning.     

Bargaining for Success: Examining the Relationship Between Teacher Unions and Student Achievement

While many previous studies have identified a positive relationship between teachers unions and student achievement on standardized tests, little research to date has explored the channels through which unions might actually affect achievement. Utilizing multilevel random intercept models, we examine the effects of two categories of items commonly negotiated in teacher contracts—“industrial union” items and “professional union” items—on individual student math scores. Further, we assess the ability of these two clusters of variables to explain the positive union effect found in previous research. The results confirm that teachers unions are positively associated with student achievement and suggest that the industrial model explains moderately more of the union effect than the professional model; however, only the combination of both models is capable of reducing the union effect to nonsignificance. These findings are also confirmed in a supplemental analysis utilizing instrumental variables to account for the possibility of endogeneity. Finally, a decomposition of the union effect suggests that teachers unions are most beneficial to middle‐ and high‐achieving students. We conclude that through industrial and professional bargaining, teachers are able to secure higher salaries, credentialing, and greater autonomy which lead to improved student achievement.     

Identifying design criteria for urban system ‘last-mile’ solutions – a multi-stakeholder perspective

Abstract

This study presents a novel approach to design and evaluate ‘last-mile’ solutions – encompassing the social and economic perspectives of key stakeholders. While urban system initiatives have been implemented in practice, theoretical gaps remain at the operational design level. A theoretical framework is developed, based on design criteria identified from a critical synthesis of supply chain and operations management literature, and ‘operationalised’ using an in-depth case study demonstrating implementation of a Consumer Choice Portal-Package Consolidation Centre solution, within a densely populated urban geography. Findings suggest that there is a need to re-define the role of institutional actors beyond that of the traditional governance task, to one of being able to facilitate performance outcomes. Similarly, industrial efficiency dimensions need to be reorientated to include consumer participation, social considerations and multi-stakeholder service outcomes. Finally, implications for operations theory and practising managers in city logistics are highlighted, with suggested directions for future research.     

How Parenting Style Affects False Belief Understanding

This study investigated whether mothers facilitate false belief understanding, and if so, what strategies are particularly relevant. The mothers of 64 3- and 4-year-olds were given questionnaires eliciting information about mother's education, mother's occupation, number of younger and older siblings, the time the child spends with mother, and about how mothers deal with five disciplinary situations with their child. Three variables were positively correlated with belief understanding: age, number of older siblings, and number of times mothers said they would respond to the disciplinary situations by asking the child to reflect on the victim's feelings (How Feel responses). These three variables had an independent effect on belief understanding because each was significant after accounting for the influence due to the other two variables. In contrast, there was no significant positive relation between belief understanding and mothers who engaged their child in general discussion and exploration of the disciplinary issues, or who simply reprimanded the child without discussing the situation. The effects for number of older siblings and How Feel responses remained even after the influence due to the child's age, verbal mental age, time spent with the mother, and number of younger siblings was accounted for. The results are consistent with recent research showing that parent-child relations may be important for theory of mind understanding. More importantly, they provide insight into a specific strategy by which parents may help children learn about mental states.     

On the Global Convergence of Stochastic Fictitious Play

We establish global convergence results for stochastic fictitious play for four classes of games: games with an interior ESS, zero sum games, potential games, and supermodular games. We do so by appealing to techniques from stochastic approximation theory, which relate the limit behavior of a stochastic process to the limit behavior of a differential equation defined by the expected motion of the process. The key result in our analysis of supermodular games is that the relevant differential equation defines a strongly monotone dynamical system. Our analyses of the other cases combine Lyapunov function arguments with a discrete choice theory result: that the choice probabilities generated by any additive random utility model can be derived from a deterministic model based on payoff perturbations that depend nonlinearly on the vector of choice probabilities.     

Equilibrium unemployment and the duration of unemployment benefits

This paper uses microdata to evaluate the impact on the steady-state unemployment rate of an increase in maximum benefit duration. We evaluate a policy change in Austria that extended maximum benefit duration and use this policy change to estimate the causal impact of benefit duration on labor market flows. We find that the policy change leads to a significant increase in the steady-state unemployment rate and, surprisingly, most of this increase is due to an increase in the inflow into rather than the outflow from unemployment.     

Nekrolog

NACHRICHTEN UND MITTEILUNGEN

Nekrolog     

Zur ?Pr?ferenzabh?ngigkeit“ von Unternehmenswerten bei pers?nlicher Besteuerung

Large parts of firm valuation literature are concerned with the calculation of the so-called ??value of debt tax shields??, i.e., the market value surplus of partly debt-financed firms over operationally identical unlevered firms. In this article, I focus on those papers which employ simple duplication techniques according to Modigliani and Miller (1958). Given asymmetric tax treatment of investments and credits, this procedure is not convincing: Since the results of computations lack uniqueness, the value of levered firms is attributed to be a matter of preferences. In contrast, I try a more profound consideration of market conditions. The results are as follows: The mentioned valuation concept is not compatible with asymmetric taxation, therefore inconsistent outcomes are possible. At most, pricing bounds can be fixed. Proper market-driven valuation by super-replication is more complex, but independent of risk preferences.