SHORT‐TERM E‐PROCUREMENT STRATEGIES VERSUS LONG‐TERM CONTRACTS

In this paper we compare the following procurement strategies based on their expected costs: strategic partnership, which is based on a long‐term relationship with a single supplier; online search, which is a short‐term strategy; and a combined strategy, which is some combination of the first two strategies. In addition, we determine for the online search and combined strategy the optimal number of suppliers to contact for a price quote, and analyze how it depends on the various cost and demand parameters. The main contribution of this paper is that it does not assume a single procurement strategy, but rather compares three alternatives.     

MOTIVATING STUDENTS IN THE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT CLASS: CHALLENGES FOR THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY

Motivating students to learn and apply operations management concepts is an important aspect of the learning process in an operations management class. While an emphasis on techniques and pedagogical technology has some motivational benefits, this paper proposes an emphasis on student/teacher interaction and a deeper understanding of complex situations. To support this approach, publishers should provide the materials to effectively use the new classroom technologies and the tools to support a wide variety of teaching styles. In addition, publishers should provide creative cross-functional simulations so that students can understand the role of operations management in the context of the firm. Finally, rich decision-making environments are needed to put the students in more realistic situations.     

Does Ownership Form Matter for Corporate Social Responsibility? A Longitudinal Comparison of Environmental Performance between Public,Private, and Joint‐venture Firms

This study examines whether a firm's ownership form has any influence on its social performance. Conventional wisdom suggests that public (publicly traded) corporations are more susceptible to corruption and socially irresponsible behavior than privately owned corporations because of the intense short‐term profit maximization pressure from shareholders and the lack of sufficient monitoring mechanisms. This study introduces an alternate perspective in thinking about the relationship between ownership form and corporate social responsibility. This study reasons that public corporations are more likely to become socially responsible because of their greater exposure to external influence and greater dependence on external actors with diverse interests. Using a panel data on the pollution management practices of 118 industrial facilities over a 13‐year period, this study shows that public corporations were indeed subject to greater external pressure to reduce pollution, and the pressure led to consistently stronger environmental performance.     

‘Keeping families and children in mind’: an evaluation of a web‐based workforce resource

This study outlines pilot evaluation data of the web‐based training resource ‘Keeping Families and Children in Mind’, designed for clinicians who work with families where a parent has a mental illness. The resource was developed from scoping existing workforce packages and in consultation with consumers, carers, researchers and mental‐health clinicians. Preliminary evaluation data were collected from an urban and a rural site in Australia via focus group interviews and pre‐ and post‐training questionnaires to ascertain the experiences of those who participated in the training. Additionally, training facilitators were invited to maintain journals in order to identify planning and implementation issues when using the resource. Post‐training, participants emphasized the need to work collaboratively with others, as well as the importance of acknowledging and working with the family members of consumers, especially children. Also, participants reported positive changes in knowledge, skill and confidence when working with families affected by parental mental illness. Facilitators highlighted technology issues and the need to work interactively with participants when using the resource. Recommendations regarding policy and future research conclude this paper.     

A Vertical World: The Eastern Alps and Modern Mountaineering

New sporting practices of modernity were products of complex dynamics of cultural remaking. Most accounts of the emergence of alpinism describe the new activity as part of modernization. As ways of seeing mountains changed, so did ways of moving in them. This involved a sharp break with the British gentlemanly preference for climbing without technical assistance. Modernists and alpinists found a new common ground in the Ostalpen of Tirol, a place commonly represented as one of the most traditional and Catholic locations in central Europe. In mountaineering, we may imagine a similar turn to that of artistic modernists. This article explores how the region pulled together two apparently oppositional cultural forces. In this process, there is no simple grand narrative of modernization that creates an international sporting culture of the mountains: on the one hand, in popular culture, the Ostalpen and the Dolomites in particular represented premodern forms of religiosity, from Orientalist aesthetics to the most conservative styles of Catholicism; on the other hand, the region served as a proving ground for the most technologically advanced and self-consciously modern forms of alpinism.     

Product universality and design for supply chain management

We describe our experience of developing models in which the principles of design for supply chain management (DFCM) have been implemented for new product development at Hewlett-Packard Company (HP). This experience arises from the development of a new product that is scheduled to be released in 1995. A key design decision faced by the product development team was whether to use a universal module or regionally dedicated modules to satisfy global market requirements. We describe a wide range of factors—including manufacturing and logistics costs—that could be used to support the design decision; these factors associated with product and process design contribute to tolal supply chain costs. We review the analytical model used to evaluate the cost and service implications of the two design alternatives. Finally, we discuss qualitative considerations that might influence the eventual decisions as well as the lessons learned from this real world experience.     

Temporary Work,Underemployment and Workplace Accommodations: Relationship to Well‐being for Workers with Disabilities

This study examines whether employment status and workplace accommodations are associated with perceived well‐being among workers with disabilities. Data from the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey conducted by Statistics Canada were used to test the relationship between employment status, receipt of workplace accommodations and well‐being. Findings indicated that fully utilized permanent employees showed greater life satisfaction and less perceived disability‐related discrimination than either temporary workers or permanent workers who were underemployed. These findings support the theory that inadequate employment is associated with deleterious effects on employee well‐being due to inferior need fulfilment and reduced social status. Workplace accommodations were associated with higher levels of well‐being for all workers with disabilities and helped to mitigate the negative effects of temporary status and underemployment. These findings supported the theoretical extension of main effect and buffering models of workplace stress to the prediction of perceived workplace discrimination.     

院校协作式校本课程开发与教师专业化——以香港小学常识科科学探究课为例

上世纪90年代以来,香港一直致力于教学改善.教学改善以学生的发展为终极目标,这对教师工作的专业化提出了更高的要求.教师唯有主动地在教育实践中产生一定的有创新意义的活动,才能更好地把握教育变革的脉搏.伙伴合作式校本课程开发的主旨在于通过大学研究员与教师合作,双方共同经历思考一行动一反思的过程,以促进教师专业自主性的方式优化教学.