Literaturbesprechungen

Literaturbesprechungen

Literaturbesprechungen     

The Reform of the Local Social Services In Israel: 1984 Compared to 1977

In 1977, there was a nationwide reform of the Local Departments of Social Services (LDSS) in Israel. This article reports on the findings of two independent and complementary studies which sought to evaluate the consequences of this comprehensive planned change. To determine what changes if any, occurred from 1977 to 1984, the first seven years following the reform, the article presents seven major foci of change. Each reflects an objective set forth by those who planned the change at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Preceding the report of these changes are a review of the historical background of the reform and a summary of the components of this planned change. This article focuses on the changes identified in these studies and concludes with a discussion of policy and organizational implications.     

Mitarbeitergespräche als Beitrag zur Krisenbewältigung Ein Praxisbericht

Staff appraisal interviews as a support of coping with a crisis. A case study The implementation of personnel development by launching a pilot project with staff appraisal interviews was part of a change-management process in a non-profit-organisation. This should be a way of supporting employees during this process. Those employees who took part in this project evaluated this management instrument positively. After that this instrument has been introduced for the whole organisation.     

Knowledge attributes and the choice of knowledge transfer mechanism in networks: the case of franchising

In this paper we develop a knowledge-based view on the choice of knowledge transfer mechanisms in franchising that integrates results from the information richness theory. Starting from the information richness theory we argue that tacitness of system knowledge, operationalized by codifiability, teachability and complexity, determines the information richness of the knowledge transfer mechanisms of franchising firms. We examine the following hypotheses: (1) If the franchisor’s knowledge is characterized by a high degree of codifiability and teachability and a low degree of complexity, knowledge transfer mechanisms with a lower degree of information richness are used; (2) If the franchisor’s knowledge is characterized by a high degree of complexity and a low degree of codifiability and teachability, knowledge transfer mechanisms with a higher degree of information richness are used. We test these hypotheses by using data from 52 franchising firms in the Austrian franchise sector. The data provide support for the hypotheses.     

Supplier code of conduct–state-of-the-art and customisation in the electronics industry

In the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR), one efficient way to improve the ethical behaviour of a company is the implementation of a code of conduct. When focused on suppliers, this code is referred to as the supplier code of conduct (SCoC). Specific, application-oriented research on SCoCs is rare. The main goals of the present article are to define the state-of-the-art in SCoCs and to show how this review can be used in industrial practice when defining a company-specific SCoC. This article uses the electronics industry as an example. The state-of-the-art review of the content of the SCoCs is structured in five main categories of issues: labour standards, health and safety, environment, ethics and compliance. The practical relevance of this review is demonstrated by applying it in the development of a customised SCoC for a company as a part of the company's corporate risk management activities. This review uses the content analysis of SCoCs based on the website disclosures of the Forbes Fortune 2000 (Technology Hardware & Equipment) companies; which yielded 24 SCoCs. The application was done in an action research framework with a partner company, and the results were verified with the help of a focus group consisting of 10 companies.     

Ross' measure of risk aversion and portfolio selection

This article shows that if Ross' definition of riskier is replaced by a more traditional definition, such as a mean-preserving spread or second-degree stochastic dominance, then the application of Ross's stronger measure of risk aversion to the portfolio problem may no longer produce the desired result. It is also shown that the stronger measure may not perform satisfactorily when applied to exponential utility functions.The authors are grateful to John Pratt for his helpful comments.