Jeffrey Y. Kim and John L. King
High-technology production requires both increasing specialization in expert teams, and increasing cross-functional cooperation across team boundaries. These objectives can be in…
Abstract
High-technology production requires both increasing specialization in expert teams, and increasing cross-functional cooperation across team boundaries. These objectives can be in conflict. This chapter examines the social processes by which expert teams cooperate, despite the heterogeneous views and opinions arising from their specializations. The focus is on the dynamics of cooperation among expert teams of engineers responsible for trouble management in production of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a class of integrated circuit semiconductor devices. Trouble management is the handling of routine problems that defy simple classification and solution due to their origins at the margins of scientific and engineering knowledge. Three DRAM engineering teams are studied: design, process, and process integration. The findings suggest that the crucial challenge in achieving cooperation among these teams rests not in strategies for collecting and classifying relevant problem/solution information. Rather, it is in the management of a political process of “problematization” that assigns “problem spaces” to “solution spaces” corresponding to the biases of each team. This process is triggered by the rise of “boundary instances” of trouble that require action across team boundaries. Resolution depends on successful use of “boundary objects” to articulate the work of problem solving among the teams.
Jeffrey Kim and John King
In this paper we investigate the exploratory nature of knowledge creation and sharing practice in high‐technology industry. Traditional approaches in knowledge management focus on…
Abstract
In this paper we investigate the exploratory nature of knowledge creation and sharing practice in high‐technology industry. Traditional approaches in knowledge management focus on the storage and retrieval of knowledge, but they do not address the tacit dimension of knowledge process. Using data gathered at three semiconductor manufacturers in Japan and Korea, we examine the social processes by which expert teams cooperate across team boundaries despite differing points of view resulting from increasing team specialization. Three engineering teams are studied: design, process, and process integration. They are responsible for trouble management in the production of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a class of integrated circuit semiconductor devices. Trouble management is the handling of problems that require exploratory, yet routine problem‐solving practice. The findings suggest that the crucial challenge in achieving effective control of the knowledge management process rests not in strategies for collecting and classifying relevant problem/solution information. Rather, it is in the management of “problematization”, a political process involving the articulation behaviors of different teams of engineers.
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José Ramón Cardona and María Dolores Sánchez-Fernández
The seasonality in the behavior of travelers is something that goes back to the origin of the trips themselves. This seasonality is due to multiple factors, some easy to…
Abstract
The seasonality in the behavior of travelers is something that goes back to the origin of the trips themselves. This seasonality is due to multiple factors, some easy to counteract and others difficult to solve. But, regardless of the causes, it is a phenomenon that generates significant negative impacts on society and the environment in which the phenomenon of tourist seasonality occurs. All tourist destinations have seasonality, but in some cases, it is very high and in others it has a minimal incidence. The objective of this chapter is to ponder the impacts and consequences of seasonality in regions with a strong tourism development, allowing to put into context the aspects of society impacted by this phenomenon and the positive implications that the reduction of seasonality would have. For this, an analysis of a theoretical model with two regions in opposite situations is carried out, raising the possible effects of a high seasonality. The cases of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands are also reviewed, as real examples of the regional typologies taken into consideration in the theoretical model. This seeks to ponder the problems attributable to seasonality. As a final reflection, the enormous typology of negative impacts generated and the need to continue analyzing the seasonality and its impacts are emphasized.
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Elizabeth A. M. Searing, Daniel Tinkelman and
In 2009 and 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) adopted new accounting standards for nonprofit mergers and acquisitions. The new accounting standards are an…
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In 2009 and 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) adopted new accounting standards for nonprofit mergers and acquisitions. The new accounting standards are an example of the constitutive role accounting can play in how people think about economic events, since the FASB defined a new concept (the “inherent contribution”) and required valuation of intangible assets that were often previously unrecognized.
The FASB’s stated goals included minimizing “pooling” accounting and maximizing transparency regarding fair value information, acquired identifiable intangible assets, and the relation between consideration paid and the fair values of identifiable assets acquired. The FASB expected many combinations would involve little or no consideration. It also expressed concern that some organizations would undervalue assets acquired, especially intangible assets.
For a sample of 2012–2017 nonprofit hospital combinations, we find general agreement with the FASB’s expectations. Almost all combinations were accounted for as acquisitions, not mergers, even though there was frequently no consideration paid. More acquirers recorded “inherent contributions” than goodwill, because the net fair value of the acquired hospital’s identifiable assets exceeded the consideration paid. Acquirers ascribed value to assets, such as intangible assets, that would have gone unreported under the prior accounting rules, although lower levels of intangible assets were recognized in nonprofit business combinations, relative to total non-goodwill assets acquired, than in public companies’ acquisitions.
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This paper examines the potential relationship between the history of American generations and the development of American management thought. The paper reviews the recently…
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This paper examines the potential relationship between the history of American generations and the development of American management thought. The paper reviews the recently developed generational theory of American history, along with the generational concept itself. Then, the leading thinkers in the history of the management discipline are classified according to their generational membership. The potential theoretical and research implications of the interplay of managerial and historical generations are then discussed.
Yu Kyoum Kim, Robert Smith and Jeffrey D James
This paper proposes a framework that focuses on instilling feelings of gratitude within consumers. Participant sports events are often funded largely by sponsorship revenues, and…
Abstract
This paper proposes a framework that focuses on instilling feelings of gratitude within consumers. Participant sports events are often funded largely by sponsorship revenues, and their consumer base is considered to represent an identifiably unique market. These conditions are argued to be favourable for integrating a gratitude framework. A model is presented that depicts gratitude as a mediating mechanism within a reciprocal relationship between the sponsor and the consumers. It includes purchase intentions as the behavioural outcome of gratitude. The findings suggest that incorporating feelings of gratitude may prove to be advantageous for potential sponsors within the participant sports industry.