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Control charts and process capability calculations remain fundamental techniques for statistical process control. However, it has long been realized that the accuracy of these calculations can be significantly affected when sampling from a non‐Gaussian population. Many quality practitioners are conscious of these problems but are not aware of the effects such problems might have on the integrity of their results. Considers non‐normality with respect to the use of traditional control charts and process capability calculations, so that users may be aware of the errors that are involved when sampling from a non‐Gaussian population. Use is made of the Johnson system of distributions as a simulation technique to investigate the effects of non‐normality of control charts and process control calculations. An alternative technique is suggested for process capability calculations which alleviates the problems of non‐normality while retaining computational efficiency.

Though we have recently witnessed the “exponential production of digital data to measure, analyze, and predict educational performance” (Salajan & Jules, this volume), there has not been sufficient attention given to the quantitative methods that are used to process and transform this data in order to arrive at findings related to “what works”. This chapter addresses this gap by discussing a range of constraints that affect the main methods used for this purpose, with these methods being known as “impact evaluation.” Specifically, this chapter addresses its purpose, first, by making explicit the methodological assumptions, technical weaknesses, and practical shortcomings of the two main forms of impact evaluation—regression analysis and randomized controlled trials. Although the idea of Big Data and the ability to process it is receiving more attention, the underlying point here is that these new initiatives and advances in data collection are still dependent on methods that have serious limitations. To that end, not only do proponents of Big Data avoid or downplay discussion of the methodological pitfalls of impact evaluation, they also fail to acknowledge the political and organizational dynamics that affect the collection of data. To the extent that such methods will increasingly be used to guide public policy around the globe, it is essential that stakeholders inside and outside education systems are informed about their weaknesses—methodologically and in terms of their inability to take the politics out of policymaking. While the promises of Big Data are seductive, they have not replaced the human element of decision making.

This special “Anbar Abstracts” issue of Work Study is split into six sections covering abstracts under the following headings: Operational research and statistics; Project management, method study and work measurement; Business process re‐engineering; Design of work; Performance, productivity and motivation; Stock control and supply chain management.

This paper aims to examine the effects on firms' outcomes of a new government regulation on the private security industry that aimed to enhance the selection and training processes for armed-private security officers.

By using human capital theory and using a data set built from various public sources, this study analyzes the effects of a new regulation implemented in 2013–2014 in Brazil mandating psychological assessments for hiring private security armed officers. Firm-level data and a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) identification strategy are used to investigate the effects on turnover and human capital outcomes.

The study identifies substantial changes resulting from the new government regulation in private security firms. While it has led to increased turnover rates, the regulation has also facilitated firms in enhancing the human capital composition of their workforce by enabling the recruitment of more experienced personnel.

This research informs to current debates on the effects of policy interventions on firm's outcomes by showing how regulations aimed to improve the configuration of human capital can generate win-win situations for both firms and citizens, despite the short-term trade-offs between higher turnover rates and improved human capital outcomes.

Refining selection and training processes can enhance the workforce in private security firms by replacing less capable professionals with more experienced ones. Insights from this study offer guidance to policymakers and industry practitioners in shaping effective business and public policies.

This study underscores the role of training and psychological assessments in enhancing the composition of human capital in the private security industry.

By highlighting the role of policy interventions in establishing barriers to unskilled workers engaging in hazardous activities, this study contributes to the burgeoning literature in strategic management on the interaction between policy interventions and firm outcomes.

Presents an approach to determine the optimum control limits of the x‐bar chart for skewed process distributions. The approach takes both the control limits of the x‐bar chart and the specification limits of x into consideration, and relates the out‐of‐control status directly with the nonconforming products. The proposed approach may be applied to industries to reduce the average number of scrap products, without increasing the type I error in statistical process control (SPC).

This paper aims to present the Difference-in-Differences (DiD) method in an accessible language to a broad research audience from a variety of management-related fields.

The paper describes the DiD method, starting with an intuitive explanation, goes through the main assumptions and the regression specification and covers the use of several robustness methods. Recurrent examples from the literature are used to illustrate the different concepts.

By providing an overview of the method, the authors cover the main issues involved when conducting DiD studies, including the fundamentals as well as some recent developments.

The paper can hopefully be of value to a broad range of management scholars interested in applying impact evaluation methods.

Although the impact of human capital on productivity has long been discussed in prior studies, empirical evidence for African firms remains limited. The existing few studies have focussed on one type of human capital in isolation and failed to explore the distinct role of different types of human capital on productivity. The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which various typologies of human capital – schooling, on-the-job training (OJT) and slack time –, both in isolation and as a combination, contribute to the productivity of African firms.

To this end, a cross-sectional firm-level data set from 13 African countries was used. To unravel the casual relationship, propensity score matching (PSM) and multinomial endogenous switching treatment regression (MESTR) techniques were employed.

Results indicate that all typologies of human capital – schooling, slack time and OJT – have a significant and positive impact on firms' productivity. The findings of the study further point out that the highest payoff, in terms of increased productivity, is achieved when various typologies of human capital are used in combination, rather than in isolation, in the production process.

The policy implications are that productivity of African firms can be improved by increasing the general level of schooling; encouraging firm-sponsored OJT; and giving employees time to develop new ideas.

The present study provides important insights into the distinct role of different types of human capital on productivity. In addition, it provides empirical evidence for a region where empirical evidence is scant.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) to support qualitative evaluation of corruption prevention initiatives, especially those focusing on behavioral changes. To achieve this objective, this paper applies the principles of qualitative inquiries to establish a foundation for developing effective means for evaluating behavior-oriented corruption prevention initiatives in Indonesia.

Through exploratory study, this paper assesses current corruption prevention evaluation practice in the Indonesian public sector to highlight major deficiencies thereof primarily through examination of publicly available documents on anti-corruption practice in Indonesia. Furthermore, this paper also discusses how qualitative methods using CAQDAS may strengthen the existing anti-corruption regime by aiding decision-makers to better evaluate the success or failure of their corruption prevention initiatives in particular those aiming for behavioral changes. To illustrate how a qualitative data analysis application can support anti-corruption evaluators, NVivo will be used as a reference from which multiple analytical tools will be discussed to highlight their potential for qualitative qualitative analysis analysis in corruption prevention evaluation.

The author establishes that the existing quantitative measures of evaluation are insufficient in generating a comprehensive picture of the success or failure of the existing anti-corruption initiatives in Indonesia. Evidences suggest that the existing quantitative measures appear to be unable to cope with the growing complexity of various corruption problems in the country in particular to those related to organizational culture and behavior. Despite the numerous behavior-oriented initiatives to reduce the risk of corruption in the Indonesia public sector, it is still unclear if such initiatives actually have made a difference in preventing corruption, as many of their elements cannot be measured quantitatively. Therefore, the author believe that deeper insights into corruption problems can be obtained through proper qualitative assessments in which evaluators play the role as the primary analytical instrument. To enhance evaluators’ capability in obtaining and analyzing qualitative data, the author proposes the use of CAQDAS and the evaluation of corruption prevention initiatives. With a special reference to NVivo, the author argues that using CAQDAS will enable evaluators to conduct qualitative analysis more efficiently to identify patterns within the data, as it offers various tools to look deeper into context, diversity, nuance and process so as to gain deeper understanding of the meaning of human action and how it may affect the risk of corruption within organizations.

This study is self-funded and is relying primarily on documentary analysis in assessing the existing corruption prevention evaluation measures in Indonesia. Future studies may benefit from in-depth interviews with anti-corruption evaluators in particular from the country’s anti-corruption agency.

This paper contributes to the development of corruption prevention strategy by proposing a framework for systematically performing qualitative evaluation on behavior-oriented corruption prevention initiatives.

This paper highlights the importance of qualitative measures in evaluating behavior-oriented corruption prevention initiatives in the Indonesian public sector.

This paper examines the effect of restrictions on executive pay and high CEOs’ compensation on bank performance following the “2008 UK bank rescue policy”.

Using the difference-in-difference estimation technique we assess the relationship between executive compensation and financial performance of rescued banks relative to non-rescued banks over the period 1999–2019.

Our main finding indicates that the relationship between executive compensation and financial performance declines in rescued banks relative to non-rescued banks. Further, we document that performance continues to deteriorate in rescued banks relative to non-rescued banks. Our results are robust to different estimation techniques.

This study contributes to the literature that examines the efficacy of government bailouts during the 2008 crisis. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is among the first to examine the long-term implications of bank rescue and pay restrictions on executive compensation and performance post–rescue.