Understanding racial literacy through acts of (un)masking: Latinx teachers in a new Latinx diaspora community

As Latinx teachers are recruited to work in U.S. schools, a continued agenda to understand their experiences is warranted. This multiple case study considers the storytelling of six Latinx teachers in a new Latinx diaspora community. It documents both their racial literacy (the ability to resolve racially stressful issues) and their experiences with (un)masking (literal and figurative ways to cover or embrace racial markers). This study reveals the tensions that arise when Latinx teachers attempt to define their identity in social spaces where their languages, bodies, and names, among other markers, are racialized when read by others. Implications for teacher education include a call to include storytelling as a pedagogical tool to develop Latinx teachers’ racial literacy skills. By experiencing storytelling in their own schooling, Latinx teachers are more likely to model such racial literacy skills in their schooling communities; thereby, empowering a generation of students to enact more humanizing behaviors.     

High value manufacturing (HVM) in the UK: case studies and focus group insights

This paper studies the internal mechanisms that allow organisations to become high value manufacturing (HVM). Using a qualitative methodology, three UK manufacturing companies formed in-depth case studies with semi-structured interviews, observations and historical data. The HVM value matrix of Martinez and co-workers is used to categorise each organisation’s value proposition. Wider benchmarking of the three organisations was carried out against a focus group with an additional seven manufacturing organisations. Thus, data from 10 manufacturing organisations are included in this research. The cases follow the ‘customer intimacy’ HVM discipline. The business processes supporting these value propositions were identified. Interestingly, each organisation’s desired value proposition differs from their current one. ‘Technological integrators’ predominantly rely on new product development (NPD) and Strategy processes, whereas ‘Socialisors’ rely predominantly on Strategy and Customer Relationship processes. Companies can use the findings to better understand their current HVM value proposition and, where necessary, plan their transition to a future desired HVM value proposition.     

Validation of the Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) in the Korean corporate context

Lack of a valid instrument to measure learning transfer predictors has been the major obstacle hindering Human Resource Development (HRD) professionals from moving forward. This problem is one of the lingering HRD issues in South Korea, in which human resources have been strategically emphasized as a critical asset due to the scarcity of natural resources. To address this issue, this study aims at testing the validity and reliability of the data collected with the Korean Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) Version 4. A sample of 753 managers from 16 Korean industries was divided into two subsamples for exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Reliability and the effect of common method variance on the factor structure were examined, with the results suggesting that the LTSI is valid for use in the Korean industry.     

Effects of Firm-specific and Country-specific Advantages on Relative Acquisition Size in Service Sector Cross-Border Acquisitions: An Empirical Examination

Using a sample of 348 service sector cross-border acquisitions by U.S. firms in 44 countries during 1990–2006, our study seeks to identify factors that influence relative acquisition size (acquisition transaction value as a percentage of acquiring firm's asset value). Our findings indicate that firm-specific advantages (FSAs) in the form of available financial slack and target industry knowledge were positively associated with relative acquisition size. However, contrary to expectations, we observed a negative relationship between cross-border acquisition experience and relative acquisition size. In addition, our results suggest that country-specific advantages (CSAs) associated with higher market potential, lower political risk, and greater cultural similarity contributed to increased relative acquisition size in service industry cross-border acquisitions. Finally, our analysis reveals that the relationship between available financial slack and relative acquisition size is contingent on cultural similarity with the relationship being more pronounced when cultural similarity is high.     

Data‐Driven Supply Chain Orientation and Financial Performance: The Moderating Effect of Innovation‐Focused Complementary Assets

Drawing on the complementary assets framework, this study explores the moderating effect of innovation‐focused complementary assets (CA‐I) on the relationship between a data‐driven supply chain orientation (DDSCO) and firm financial performance. To test the moderating effect, survey data gathered from 329 manufacturing firms in China were analysed using a moderated regression analysis. The results indicate that DDSCO has a significant positive effect on financial performance, and that capabilities for product and process innovation function as complementary assets moderating the DDSCO–performance relationship. The findings suggest that innovation‐focused complementary assets are performance differentiators when paired with a DDSCO and explain why some firms obtain financial benefits from the development of a DDSCO while others do not. Specifically, competitive advantage from a DDSCO may not be realized unless CA‐I and potentially other complementary assets are harnessed, thus providing useful practical guidance to managers. Hence, the study provides empirical support for the complementary assets framework.     

SOME COMMENTS ON “A SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE ON MATERIALS REQUIREMENTS PLANNING”*

We believe there are some serious deficiencies in the Morecroft article on MRP problems which appeared in a recent issue of this journal. The article, at the most, shows that MRP, inappropriately imposed on an existing production system, can result in undesirable system performance. This does not represent a new or startling conclusion. Four problem areas in the article are discussed, and suggested alternative approaches are offered.     

A DECISION THEORY EXAMPLE IN FOOTBALL

In the 1967 Harvard-Cornell football game, Harvard was ahead 14–0 late in the game when Cornell scored two touchdowns. On both occasions, Cornell tried and failed on the two-point conversion attempt and lost the game 14–12. Postgame arguments were divided on the merits of Cornell's strategy. For this frequently occurring scenario in college football, we derive a maximum expected utility decision rule for the decision of kicking versus running/passing based on the relative utility of a win, a tie, or a loss and the probabilities of success with a kick as opposed to a run/pass.     

AN ANALYSIS OF CAPACITY PLANNING PROCEDURES FOR A MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS PLANNING SYSTEM*

This paper is concerned with planning work-center capacity levels in manufacturing firms that employ a material requirements planning (MRP) system. It presents four procedures for developing work-center capacity plans designed to insure the production of components and assemblies as specified by the MRP plan and the master production schedule (MPS). These procedures (capacity planning using overall factors, capacity bills, resource profiles, and capacity requirements planning) are compared using simulation analysis. The results indicate that the performance of a procedure when measured against the MPS depends on the operating conditions of the manufacturing system. The results also indicate that the choice of a particular procedure often represents a compromise among the benefits of improved MPS performance, the costs of preparing and processing data, and the premium expenses required for more frequent adjustments in work-center capacity levels.     

A ONE-PERIOD STOCHASTIC INVENTORY PROBLEM WITH A LUMP-SUM PENALTY COST

This paper presents an inventory problem related to the one-period stochastic inventory (or “newsboy”) problem. In this problem, the firm has to decide how much product to order to meet a random one-period demand. The version of the problem presented is novel in two respects. First, demand is explicitly permitted to be negative, and second, the penalty (or shortage) cost is assumed to be independent of the magnitude of the shortage. This situation is shown to change the form of the cost function and to complicate the determination of optimal policies. The form of the optimal policy is developed, and two example problems are presented in some detail.     

MARKET PENETRATION AND LOCATIONAL CONFLICT IN FRANCHISE SYSTEMS*

This paper addresses the questions of market penetration and locational conflict in a franchise system of distribution. The models developed provide a means to evaluate alternative scenarios and the effects of various franchise policies. It is shown that the market penetration and location goals of the members of a franchise system coincide only under a very limited set of circumstances.