Search results

Focuses on the approach to interpreting earnings equality found in the writings of a variety of economists and in particular, technological change and its effects on the demand skill resulting in earning inequality. Argues that the evidence in favour of the technological effect is weak and presents some alternatives for further consideration.

Apprenticeships in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, which operate under the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP), now account for about 20 percent of all registered apprentices in the USA. The purpose of this paper is to draw on interviews and focus groups to examine the strengths and limitations of USMAP, develops implications of the study for policy, and presents ideas for demonstration projects to learn how best to improve USMAP.

The primary method involved background research on USMAP and USMAP occupations, interviews with key staff members involved with USMAP operations, and 11 focus groups at two Navy and two Marine Corps bases with USMAP apprentices, USMAP completers, and USMAP supervisors.

The study contributes by answering key questions about USMAP. Positives include the potential to upgrade skills, document occupational competencies, and smooth the transition to civilian employment. The study shows that service members have a weak understanding of the rationale for participating and for completing their apprenticeships. Logistical problems often result in incomplete documentation. Counselors lack knowledge about how to make USMAP completers attractive to employers. Finally, USMAP does little to engage employers in insuring the occupational standards are adequate for civilian jobs and in hiring those completing apprenticeships. The study draws policy implications and presents an agenda for research.

The military should provide additional financial support to help the program connect participants with civilian jobs, including a website where employers could search for candidates and communicate with veterans.

This study is the first to examine the operations and implementation of the USMAP.

The ideal of greater equality has been an important part of America's self‐image. From the time of the U.S. revolution, when equality was a component in our battle cry for freedom, various political movements have held the ideal of greater equality as central to their programs. More than mere political rhetoric, reducing inequality has been the goal of a broad array of public measures. Yet despite all efforts, wealth and income distribution have changed relatively little in U.S. history.

Job advertisements are important means of communicating role expectations for management accountants to the labor market. They provide information about which roles are sought and expected. However, which roles are communicated in job advertisements is unknown so far.

With a text-mining approach on a large sample of 889 job ads, the authors extract information on roles, type of firm and hierarchical position of the management accountant sought.

The results indicate an apparent mix of different role types with a strong focus on a classic watchdog role. However, the business partner role is more often sought for leadership positions or in family businesses and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME).

The main limitation is the lack of an agreed-upon measurement instrument for roles in job offers. The study results imply that corporate practice is not as theory-driven as is postulated and communicated in the management accounting community. This indicates the existence of a research-practice gap and tensions between different actors in the management accounting field.

The results challenge the current role discussion of professional organizations for management accountants as business partners.

The authors contribute the first study, which explicitly analyzes the communication of roles in job offers for management accountants. It indicates a discrepancy between scholarly discussion on roles and management accountants' work from an employer's perspective.

The dramatic increase in the fraction of all Afro‐American families headed by single women accounts for approximately two‐fifths of the Afro‐Euro family income gap. Examines the empirical objections to the conclusion that family structure is a major factor behind ethnic inequality and found to be largely without merit. Also critically examines the more normative and more important objection that the family structure argument undercuts the struggle to achieve economic justice for Afro‐Americans. Argues that an emphasis on family structure does not absolve society of responsibility for inequality, nor does it imply that government activism is futile. The family structure argument recasts but does not negate the struggle for economic justice for Afro‐Americans.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the application of key performance indicators (KPIs) on shop floor level in German small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The paper focuses on the examination of perception differences between shop floor employees and managers with regard to collection, calculation and consolidation of KPIs as well as visualization and motivational aspects.

To examine the hypothesis on differing perceptions regarding KPIs, 27 qualitative interviews with shop floor employees and production managers within 6 SMEs from the German machinery and equipment industry were conducted on basis of a semi-structured guideline.

The findings show that shop floor employees self-assess a lack of relevant knowledge when it comes to understanding KPIs. Moreover, the results show that shop floor employees perceive the visualization of shop floor KPIs as insufficient and non-motivational. This goes along with the finding that managers are aware of the lacking benefit of KPIs resulting from the rather negative perception of shop floor employees. The interviewed managers recognize a strong potential for improvement of their KPI systems.

The interview results confirm the need to design a performance management system on the shop floor that considers and aligns both management and operations, is directed to the shop floor level, considers explicitly the perspective of employees and integrates motivational elements.