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1 – 10 of 32Concurrent engineering was heralded as the new panacea formanufacturing in the 1990s. The complexity of implementing the processthrough an organization has proved to be a major…
Abstract
Concurrent engineering was heralded as the new panacea for manufacturing in the 1990s. The complexity of implementing the process through an organization has proved to be a major obstacle in achieving anticipated results: implementing it is a painful process in which a complete top to bottom understanding of an organization′s processes is needed. There are few organizations who understand their own dynamics. For concurrent engineering to be successful, cross‐functional design teams, along with their associated data, must be brought together. PDM assists in implementing a concurrent engineering strategy successfully because a PDM system provides the mechanism to capture and enforce a specific product development process consistently according to the way a company does business. Global companies which have already invested in PDM technology include: Xerox, Texas Instruments, Groupe Schneider, Honeywell, and General Electric.
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The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act…
Abstract
The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act (which has been amended by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975) provides:
Steven Gascoigne and Noel Whiteside
Using the example of a project dedicated to labour market re‐activation in major shipyards in Sweden (Gothenburg) in the late 1970s, the purpose of this paper is to examine how…
Abstract
Purpose
Using the example of a project dedicated to labour market re‐activation in major shipyards in Sweden (Gothenburg) in the late 1970s, the purpose of this paper is to examine how integrated employment policies may be achieved using more deliberative public action than that offered by New Public Management (NPM).
Design/methodology/approach
Based on original archival research and interviews with ex‐participants, the research reconstructs how this project was designed and operated; its analysis is based on a capability perspective.
Findings
The paper analyses the problems encountered by projects promoting labour market integration and personal capabilities in the context of a productivity drive in a contracting industry that requires the retention of the most productive workers to stave off industrial collapse. It argues that deliberative democracy offers the more effective means for co‐ordinating integrated employment policies than governance strategies associated with NPM.
Practical implications
This paper offers an example highly pertinent to the labour market conditions currently facing European economies in the current financial crisis.
Originality/value
The paper offers original insights into the operation of the Swedish social model in practice, in a context of industrial crisis. Many scholars have analysed this model of labour market management from a national perspective: far fewer have addressed its practical limitations.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify the place of kleptocracy and foreign corruption within the broader framework of financial crime. This facilitates understanding the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the place of kleptocracy and foreign corruption within the broader framework of financial crime. This facilitates understanding the importance of kleptocracy and foreign corruption as social problems. Two other aims are to better understand the most problematic components of a kleptocratic network and the most effective combatants of that network. A subsequent goal is to offer solutions from a broad range of interventions, including policy, technology, education, research and collaborative efforts.
Design/methodology/approach
Theoretical economic concepts are used to analyze the importance of kleptocracy and foreign corruption. A small in-depth survey of 15 experts is conducted to identify the most problematic components of kleptocratic networks and the most effective combatants of those networks. The proposed solutions are based on a combination of argumentation, econometric developments, application of trends in related fields and material from in-depth surveys.
Findings
This paper identifies kleptocracy and foreign corruption as one of the most, if not the most, devastating financial crime according to its impact on the total marginal utility of wealth. Experts identify foreign kleptocrats or corrupt foreign government officials as the most problematic entities in kleptocratic networks and the most effective combatant is identified as the US Department of Justice. By adding up fines and asset forfeiture related to corruption, penalties are found to be a small fraction of the problem in terms of monetary magnitude.
Research limitations/implications
The paper does not attempt to make causal claims because of the nature of the paper’s purpose and methodology.
Practical implications
The paper offers suggestions and methods for academic researchers who may wish to pursue a research agenda that is empirical and forensic with the aim of combatting kleptocracy and foreign corruption. The paper describes how information on kleptocracy and foreign corruption can be implemented into business and economics curriculum.
Social implications
Kleptocracy and foreign corruption are important problems, and creative solutions are desperately needed.
Originality/value
The paper shows how understanding and combatting kleptocracy and foreign corruption can be considered an interdisciplinary activity, touching on fields including technology, economics, business, ethics, education, law, policy, statistics and research methods.
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Lucien Ellington and M. A. McCoy
The objective of this essay is to assist secondary school world history teachers in helping students develop an understanding basic economic concepts through learning about two…
Abstract
The objective of this essay is to assist secondary school world history teachers in helping students develop an understanding basic economic concepts through learning about two successful pre-industrialized economies: The Florentine Republic and Tokugawa Japan. We includes a short introduction about the importance of integrating economic concepts in history instruction; narratives suitable for teachers and many high school students on the economies of the Republic of Florence and Tokugawa Japan; and an annotated list of pedagogical resources suitable for more extensive study of both societies.
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This paper extends the nature and relevance of exploring the historical roots of social and environmental accounting by investigating an account that recorded and made visible…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper extends the nature and relevance of exploring the historical roots of social and environmental accounting by investigating an account that recorded and made visible pollution in 17th century London. John Evelyn's Fumifugium (1661) is characterised as an external social account that bears resemblance to contemporary external accounting particularly given its problematising intentionality.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretive content analysis of the text draws out the themes and features of social accounting. Emancipatory accounting theory is the theoretical lens through which Evelyn's social account is interpreted, applying a microhistory research approach. We interpret Fumifugium as a social account with reference to the context of the reporting accountant.
Findings
In this early example of a stakeholder “giving an account” rather than an “account rendered” by an entity, Evelyn problematises industrial pollution and its impacts with the stated intention of changing industrial practices. We find that Fumifugium was used in challenging, resisting and seeking to solve an environmental problem by highlighting the adverse consequences to those in power and rendering new solutions thinkable.
Originality/value
This is the first research paper to extend investigations of the historical roots of social and environmental accounting into the 17th century. It also extends research investigating alternative forms of account by focusing on a report produced by an interested party and includes a novel use of the emancipatory accounting theoretical lens to investigate this historic report. Fumifugium challenged the lack of accountability of businesses in ways similar to present-day campaigns to address the overwhelming challenge of climate change.
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IN order to be able to discriminate with certainty between butter and such margarine as is sold in England, it is necessary to carry out two or three elaborate and delicate…
Abstract
IN order to be able to discriminate with certainty between butter and such margarine as is sold in England, it is necessary to carry out two or three elaborate and delicate chemical processes. But there has always been a craving by the public for some simple method of determining the genuineness of butter by means of which the necessary trouble could be dispensed with. It has been suggested that such easy detection would be possible if all margarine bought and sold in England were to be manufactured with some distinctive colouring added—light‐blue, for instance—or were to contain a small amount of phenolphthalein, so that the addition of a drop of a solution of caustic potash to a suspected sample would cause it to become pink if it were margarine, while nothing would occur if it were genuine butter. These methods, which have been put forward seriously, will be found on consideration to be unnecessary, and, indeed, absurd.
Examines the situation in the UK in some detail with regard to three aspects of the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights of the European Union. Looks at the aims, together with an…
Abstract
Examines the situation in the UK in some detail with regard to three aspects of the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights of the European Union. Looks at the aims, together with an analysis and appraisal. Considers, first, information and consultation rights with regards to the transfer of undertakings and redundancies, followd by the right to collective action and, lastly, protection in the event of unjustifiable dismissal. Presents case law throughout as examples. Concludes that the UK has attempted to prevent social and economic rights for workers from being included in the final charter despite fierce opposition. Compares this view together with the UK suspicion of Europe against the views of the other member states.
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Joshua Buch, Kenneth L. Rhoda and James Talaga
Regulators in the UK and the USA recognize the need to assist borrowers that face a huge number of mortgage products with a multitude of fee combinations offered by a large number…
Abstract
Regulators in the UK and the USA recognize the need to assist borrowers that face a huge number of mortgage products with a multitude of fee combinations offered by a large number of lenders. For over 25 years they attempted to make the mortgage selection process more borrower‐friendly but, for many reasons, the efficacy of the chosen comparison tool, the Annual Percentage Rate (APR), is questionable. Because many consumers are either unwilling or unable to make price comparisons between mortgages based on the APR, we suggest replacing the APR with a new measure called the Annual Effective Rate (AER). The AER is based on the actual length of time the borrower expects to maintain the loan and the assumption that all up‐front loan costs are financed. In addition, we suggest that this comparison rate only be presented for true fixed‐rate loans and that all up‐front cost categories that are used in computing the AER be standardized.
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January: Special couriers are des‐patched from the Central Office of Information with the Folio edition of the Works of George Orwell. Book Marketing Council special promotion for…
Abstract
January: Special couriers are des‐patched from the Central Office of Information with the Folio edition of the Works of George Orwell. Book Marketing Council special promotion for National Book Sale is 101 answers to 1001 questions (Guinless Superlatives). Management buy‐out of British National Bibliography is followed by an agreed takeover of The Standard Book Numbering Agency Ltd. Avon County equips mobile libraries with CB radio. Aslib Marketing Group buys European rights in new personal computer for information managers, the Avocado. In a draughty ceremony at Walton Corner, Maurice Line is given the freedom of Thorp Arch Industrial Estate, and invested with a Gannex raincoat. Task Force to consider LA insignia merchandising operation meets at offices of Touche Ross. Unusual weather conditions at Heathrow delay departure of Royal Party for Trinidad and Tobago.