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The emergence of coworker support has become a hot topic of debate in academic circles because it has an impact on job satisfaction, performance improvement, and reduces employee desire to resign. This research uses systematic literature review with the aim of providing an overview of the development of the topic through the latest data and providing suggestions for future research development. The literature taken over the last ten years since 2013 was processed using the Watase UAKE application to obtain article extraction in the form of article information, the theory underlying the article, to future research opportunities. The results show that 2022 is the year with the most relevant articles, the International Journal of Hospitality Management as the most cited or cited journal, and China as the country with the most publications. Of the 27 articles extracted, resource conservation theory is the theory most widely used as a basis for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employees are very important to any organization. Their expedient contribution towards the organizations' success is significant. Hence, training these important assets effectively becomes necessary to enhance their performance especially in the banking industry. The Nigerian banking industry faces a number of challenges in relation to employee development such as inability to spend budgetary provision for training when there is lull in business and poor management support of training. This study thus investigated the effects of management support of training on employee performance in Nigerian banking industry. The survey research design was used. The population of the study comprised of 121,445 employees of the 22commercial banks in the Nigerian banking industry from which a sample of 399 employees were selected using stratified sampling technique and 365 representing 92% per cent were retrieved. A questionnaire titled "Training on employee performance Questionnaire (T-EPQ)" was used to collect data. Data elicited were analysed using frequencies, percentages and regression analysis at 0.05 significant levels. The findings revealed that management support of training significantly affect employee performance (P (.000)-.05). The study concluded that training in the Nigerian Banking Industry affects employee performance. This study therefore recommends that employees should be trained adequately to meet their needs, values and expectations, most importantly to enhance employees performance. More so, management of banks should ensure maximum support of training to facilitate qualitative service delivery. Finally, CBN should adopt and implement policies enforcing management of Nigerian banking industry to ensure adequate training budget that will facilitate qualitative training programmes as innovative for improving employee performance in today's dynamic banking environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is to show the benefits of the internalization of quality standards. Based on interviews in the tourism industry and a quantitative study, the results show that internalization of quality standards has positive effects on performance. The commitment to implement quality standard requirements may lead tourism organizations to improve management systems because they apply the quality requirement in a more advanced way. This means that companies that believe in quality philosophy and apply it in their daily practices can improve their results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In multi-product, multi-component periodic review assemble-to-order systems, the component allocation policy has substantial impact on performance. In this paper, the impact of two classes of non-first-come-first-served allocation rules (non-FCFS) are evaluated; i.e., the last-come-first-served-within-one-period, and the product-based-priority-within-time-windows approach. The demand fulfillment rates for these rules are expressed analytically, which are then used to formulate base stock level optimization problems as chance-constrained programs. Moreover, three mathematical programs are used as benchmarks to test the non-FCFS rules. They maximize both the average cycle service level and the aggregate fill-rate, and separately minimize the operational cost per period under the FCFS rule. We show that these simple non-FCFS rules can significantly improve service measures and often outperform the benchmarks, though operational costs increase moderately. Importantly, the value of these rules is greatest when the customer service is used as a point of differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This theoretical essay proposes to present the conceptual and methodological elements that compose a scientific work to clarify the steps to build the research that can present methodological limiting, evidenced by authors that approach about scientific practices. The ideas are confronted and there are discussed methodological vices on academic works. To understand the essence of the elaboration of a scientific research is needed to attempt that the process of building knowledge, on methodological terms or idea analyses, is directly linked to the work of the researcher, each time less arrested to the moorings of patterns previously established. The craft of the researcher is handmade and should be built daily, because just the practice can avoid the methodological vices on the construction of scientific research. Is considered that the epistemological debate on administration sciences should not be closed because one way of develop the scientific thought is to questioning the precepts, basis, and even the excellence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the role of corporate governance and ethics (CG and E) on continuing professional education (CPE) programs of management accountants. With the rise of financial scandals and steep decline in major stock exchanges, organizations opted to integrate CG and E on CPE programs. It notes that CG and E offer best practices and risk management to accountants. An analysis of CG and E programs worldwide suggest that corporate governance and ethics be further promoted and included in continuing education programs for management accountants.

The article focuses on the effectiveness of using Monte Carlo simulation for the capital budgeting project of a company. While many tools that are useful in determining the scope and possible success of a project, it notes that Monte Carlo provides understanding and risk analysis to managers by mapping all possible outcomes of a project. It notes that the method also allows managers to determine risks and uncertainties of discounted cash flow (DCF). It mentions that the method overcomes the limitations of sensitivity and scenario analyses through examination of effects of all combinations of variables and their realizations.

The article discusses a study which determines the effectiveness of using balanced scorecard (BSC) in retail trade. The researchers examined the behaviors of managers towards BSC as well as their perceptions toward its usefulness. The study indicates that higher level managers perceive greater improvement in individual, store and company performance while unit level managers are on functionality in areas such as accuracy and reliability. It notes that BSC has multiple and strategic linked measures that would improve business performance by allowing organizations to evaluate their performance and improve employee and manager satisfaction, production efficiency and customer satisfaction.

This article pursues two aims: to identify problems and dangers related to the operational use of internal performance measurement systems of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) type and to provide some guidance on how performance measurement systems may be designed to overcome these problems. The analysis uses and extends Nørreklit's (2000) critique of the BSC by applying the concepts developed therein to contemporary research on the BSC and to the development of practice in performance measurement. The analysis is of relevance for many companies in the Asia-Pacific area as an increasing numbers of them are implementing the BSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is one of the activities that has an economic impact in the development of Cuban nation. Travel agencies constitute an essential element in that tourism development. However, there is not any model to measure enterprise excellence with the application of tools related to Management of Technology and Innovation (GTI), which avoids an adequate coordination and search of innovation actions that contribute to a better management for achieving enterprise excellence. This is a scientific problem to be solved. Therefore, the general objective of this research is to develop a model which allows to measure enterprise excellence in travel agencies (EAV). This is pointed as a scientific novelty, because so far, any other previous paper about the topic has been presented. To fulfil the objectives already proposed, methods and tools were used such as the method of Kendall's coefficient, Fuller Triangle, Onate Ramos' methodology for the selection of experts, as well as the owns of the topic that is being developed. As a main result, a system of indicators were obtained to determine the excellence in travel agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi-business company is a complex entity. Evaluating corporate performance of such an organisation is even more challenging. Corporate performance is inherently multidimensional in nature, is viewed from various perspectives, and has to satisfy multiple objectives. It is multi-dimensional in the sense of being a function of many variables that drive firm performance; multi-perspectival, from various stakeholders' standpoints; and multi-objectives are to be optimised. So there is no single corporate performanceevaluation tool that can be prescribed as a stand-alone gauge; however, a unified and holistic corporate performance management system can be developed from multiple tools. This paper attempts to bring together a variety of performance management tools that have evolved and developed in theory, and have been tested and applied in practice. In developing this convergence, first a set of criteria that answers the multi-dimensional, multi-perspectival, and multi-objective requirements of a firm's performance will be identified and weighted. Second, management tools that have been used either singly or in combination by multi-business companies are reviewed and ranked against the chosen criteria. Finally, an integrated model or framework that brings together and unifies the elements of these ranked performance management tools is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their research the authors studied the lean management's effect has on competitiveness with a corporate level. To do this, a framework has been developing, which combines the organizational abilities establishing routines and practices resulting from their performance and competitiveness. Corporate case studies to show that a) the impact of the introduction of lean production, how to change the organization's capabilities, and b) what factors are improving the competitiveness of the companies behind the slim. Their results point out that the lean management companies primarily in the functionality and variable ability positive effects on business performance is not necessarily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of networks between firms, and other forms of interorganizational relationship, have attracted the attention of researchers. Based on the logic of interorganizational relationships, this study identifies the motives and outcomes of suppliers and "anchor" firms that participated in a training project. Through an exploratory case study with qualitative approach developed in the automotive metal mechanical industry, it was possible to identify efficiency and legitimacy as the main motives, and performance and knowledge as outcomes. Moreover, a sharing of experiences was considered the main collective outcome, and restrictions on information as the main barrier, in the relations formed by the participating firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective management of human resources is a significant challenge faced by most organizations. In this paper, we look at two problems that arise in large, globally distributed organizations: staffing projects with the required subject matter experts and connecting subject matter experts to other employees who can benefit from their expertise. Several approaches based on automated skill matching have been suggested in the past to solve these problems. However, we argue that social relationships play an important role in both of these functions, and better matches can be obtained by combining skill matching with rich social interaction data. We describe two systems that exploit social networking data to solve these problems and report the results of real life experiments performed using these systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has become clear that firm performance has important implications for employees and organizations as confirmed by past researchers. This study examines human resource practices and the impact of incentives on manufacturing companies in the Malaysia context. Three types of human resource practices namely, performance appraisal, training, and information technology have been chosen as the focus of this research with the presence of incentives as moderator on organizational performance. This is imperative in order to ensure the successful management of employees and also to improve productivity and achievements of an organization. The research uses a sample of eighty-five firms in Sarawak, Malaysia, voluntarily participated in this study. The results have indicated that the two components of human resource (HR) practices namely, training and information technology have direct impact on organizational performance. It was found that incentive is positively related to organizational performance but did not moderate the relationship between both HR practices and organizational performance. Implications of the findings, potential limitations of the study, and directions for future research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to outline a framework, whereby academic and small to medium sized enterprise owner-managers can interact and learn more from each other in an environment of mutual collaboration. This paper outlines a methodology, which identifies a set of critical performance measures, common to SMEs, and thus allows the marketing function to be put in context within the overall organisational priorities. Decision-making scenarios, it can be argued are the only practical means by which one can influence or achieve a performance measure target. The outlined methodology also identifies the decision scenarios, which are significant to each of these critical performance measures and their relative impact on marketing performance measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores some of the similarities and differences between two approaches to the study of work that use moving images. The first approach, most notably practised by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, 'dissected' the movement of workers' bodies in the pursuit of efficiency. The second approach has emerged in the last few decades from ethnomethodology and conversation analysis. The article notes how shared technologies for data collection and shared interests in work practice belie more fundamental differences in analytic orientation. The article uses this comparison to highlight the potential contributions that the more recent corpus of studies can make to our understanding of work; an understanding that prioritizes the methodic practices in and through which members of society accomplish, experience and constitute work and organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the experiment which investigates several facts including the satisfied and dissatisfied individuals with training that was provided to them, the hours of training provided and comparison skills of the individual employee which is required for performing their jobs. It mentions that these findings are observed by the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. It discusses that due to the effect of employees skills gap evidence, the clarifications to the Great Britain's low rate of productivity growth.

In this paper, we study the minimization of variance of cycle times in a dynamic single machine system where jobs arrive continuously over time. Numerous production systems give rise to single machine models, and a multiple-machine environment where the performance of a bottleneck machine determines the performance of the entire system reduces to a single machine problem []. Minimizing cycle time variance helps in safe predictions of the completion of job production and thus in providing the same quality of service to the customers. This allows an improved ability to meet the due dates reliably, and thus the greater coordination with further downstream operations on the jobs, as highly preferred in semiconductor manufacturing. Scheduling the bottleneck process to minimize the time of presence of the jobs in process minimizes the deterioration of cycle time-related performance measures. Low values of cycle time-related measures are also preferred for low risk of wafer contamination associated with it during processing. New scheduling rules are developed to minimize both the cycle time variance and the maximum cycle time for single machine system, wherein the machine/process is always utilized to the maximum extent and in the extreme case is heavily loaded with jobs for processing. The performance of the proposed rules is compared with the rules available in the literature and the results are presented for the objectives of minimizing cycle time variance and maximum cycle time at higher levels of machine utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the definition of entrepreneurship and everyday observation, entrepreneurs are perceived as more risk prone than other people. However, laboratory studies do not provide conclusive support for this claim. In our study, three groups of students served as subjects. One group of students did not express any intention of starting up their own business in the near future. The second group consisted of students who had participated in a special course designed for future entrepreneurs. The third group consisted of students or alumni who became entrepreneurs before graduating. In accordance with Knight's claim, we found that actual entrepreneurs revealed the highest, and students who did not express an intention of starting their own business the lowest, level of self-confidence of all groups participating in the experiment. On the other hand, in well-defined risky situations we did not confirm a hypothesis that would-be entrepreneurs or actual entrepreneurs were more risk prone than students with no intention of starting a business. Yet, in naturalistic-business risky situations we found more risky choices among entrepreneurs than among non-entrepreneurs. Conformément à la définition même de l'esprit d'entreprise et à l'observation quotidienne, les entrepreneurs sont perçus comme étant plus enclins que les autres personnes à prendre des risques. Seulement, les recherches expérimentales ne confirment pas de façon définitive cette conception. Notre étude a porté sur trois groupes d'étudiants. L'un des groupes n'avait aucunement l'intention de créer une entreprise dans un avenir prévisible. Le deuxième groupe était composé d'étudiants qui suivaient un cours spécialement destiné aux futurs entrepreneurs. Le troisième groupe rassemblait des étudiants ou d'anciens étudiants qui devinrent entrepreneurs avant d'être diplômés. En accord avec les propositions de Knight, on a constaté que les entrepreneurs étaient ceux qui avaient la plus forte confiance en eux-mêmes et les jeunes qui n'éprouvaient aucune vocation d'entrepreneur la plus faible. D'autre part, face à des situations de risque bien précises, il fut impossible de corroborer l'hypothèse que les aspirants entrepreneurs ou les chefs d'entreprise étaient plus portés sur le risque que les étudiants n'ayant aucunement l'intention de fonder une entreprise. Toutefois, devant des décisions risquées dans des situations concrètes industrielles ou commerciales, on a observé plus de choix aventureux chez les entrepreneurs que chez ceux qui ne l'étaient pas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents analysis concerning the impact of health problems on the work performance and productivity of an individual. It explores the specific method to attribute the work performance and productivity effect of illness and treatment. It cites a study that tackles the cause of musculoskeletal disorders and physical impairments through the use of available health data. In addition, employees' health-related limitations in work performance and productivity due to health problems are provided.

Abstract: The aim of this article is to define the major elements of the institutional design process for the Russian rocket and space industry, a process which must take account of the changed economic conditions in the country and provide for the industry''s integration into the wider national economy. The article does this by demonstrating the features that need to be understood, highlighting the problems that need to be resolved, and arguing that an institutional design process will have to be based on compromise and accommodation of all the different actors involved. The article deals with a number of particular problems challenging the managers and methodologists of the Russian national space programme of today. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Introduction: As part of a quality assurance in the anaesthesia department, this study was designed to enhance the rate of neuromuscular blockade monitoring for patients receiving muscle relaxant during anaesthesia. Methods: After approval of our local ethical committee, we assessed 200computerized anaesthesia records in which neuromuscular relaxants were used. The following data were collected: demographic characteristics, durations of anaesthesia and surgery, use of neuromuscular monitoring, reversal agents and the quality of neuromuscular monitoring. The results were discussed with all anaesthesia providers of the department and an internal guideline was elaborated with the endpoint that all patients having muscle relaxants should have quantitative neuromuscular monitoring. Six months later, another assessment of 200 consecutive records collected the same data to check the efficiency of the elaborated guideline. Results: The monitoring rate was of 67% at the first assessment and increased to 94% (p <0.05). The reversal rate was at 48% in the first assessment and was stable at the second assessment (50%). The rate of patients not monitored and not reversed decreased from 5 to 2% (p <0.05). Discussion: This study shows that as part of a quality assurance program systematic quantitative monitoring of neuromuscular blockade can be significantly increased. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The rise of sustainability as a concept in business forces companies to navigate a complex arena of standards and codes. The active and controversial debate regarding 'what the Equator Principles mean' for global finance and the projects it funds will undoubtedly continue. In the meantime, they represent an important shift in social and environmental impact assessment (SEIA) by serving as guidance for process-driven project development. This represents a substantial change from SEIA in which the ultimate and end goal was to obtain a permit. The integrated approach of the new Equator Principles, especially requirements for transparency, consultation and feedback mechanisms, provide borrowers with the management guidance needed to convince financers of their due diligence in impact assessment and beyond. This paper looks at the application of the Equator Principles, and the IFC Performance Standards that underpin them, as tools that can be deployed at any level of project development, including existing facilities that may have never completed an SEIA. It assesses elements of monitoring and the 'art' of reporting to show how impact assessment practitioners can use the Equator Principles to create concrete indicators that will help to integrate impact assessment results to meet the challenges of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the predominant features of each of the four identified dimensions of a Management Control System [MCS] as well as draws an analysis of their inter-relationships. These dimensions are defined in the context of an integrated model that is developed from two relevant theoretical models: a model of an MCS proposed by Ferreira and Otley (2006); and a model for assessing the success of an information system suggested by DeLone and McLean (1992). The proposed integrated model takes two dimensions from the first model ('design and use') and two dimensions from the second model ('user satisfaction' and 'individual impact'). To assess the proposed model, a pilot study is conducted by analysing the results of a questionnaire survey directed to three large Brazilian financial institutions. The results demonstrate that a traditional MCS design continues to predominate, and that MCSs are used mainly for diagnostic use. User satisfaction is enhanced by an adequate MCS structure, and positive individual impact is enhanced when the use of the MCS increases productivity. Moreover, the results don't suggest a presence of a pattern of relationships in which a certain technique or a certain information characteristic will invariably lead to higher satisfaction level and higher individual impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is a systematical approach on remuneration and on its management in the domain of the human resources management, trying to identify the main variables with decisive influence in setting the minimal and maximal limits of remuneration, competences and the managerial art of administrating the remuneration system in the context of continuous law changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  Multidisciplinary optimization (MDO) is a growing field in engineering, with various applications in aerospace, aeronautics, car industry, etc. However, the presence of multiple disciplines leads to specific issues, which prevent MDO to be fully integrated in industrial design methodology. In practice, the key issues in MDO lie in the management of the interconnections between disciplines, along with the high number of simulations required to find a feasible multidisciplinary (optimal) solution. Therefore, in this paper, a novel approach is proposed, combining proper orthogonal decomposition to decrease the amount of data exchanged between disciplines, with surrogate models based on moving least squares to reduce disciplines. This method is applied to an original 2D wing demonstrator involving two disciplines (fluid and structure). The numerical results obtained for an optimization task show its benefits in diminishing both the interfaces between disciplines and the overall computational time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The finding of factors affecting career selection and the roles in career selection has been always interested by the researchers. In the literature, these factors have been considered generally as environment, job expectation, job conditions and expectations related to gain and benefit-cost. In this study, perceptions of business administration students in the fourth class have been examined for the factors which affect the career selection. In addition, the differences in the perceptions have been analyzed in terms of the characteristics of students. The research was done under the data which come from the survey on 765 students in 10 different universities. In the study, it has been found that the factors related to benefit-cost, career expectation and gain are more prominent in the perception of career selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total quality management (TQM) is a management philosophy that is widespread among many organizations all over the world. Accordingly, the practical implications of TQM on firms' performance are receiving an increasing attention from both practitioners and researchers. This paper presents an empirical study which examines the relationships between the implementation of TQM and both the firms' cultural predisposition to innovate and the actual innovation effort undertaken from an administrative and technical perspective. The innovation effort is measured in terms of the intensity and newness of the innovations adopted; and the innovative culture, together with the quality practices, is also considered as an antecedent of the former. The research resorts to the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model to conceptualise TQM in an attempt to provide empirical evidences referred to the main European standard. The findings indicate that TQM shows a strong predictive power against the innovative culture as well as a determinant role in the stimuli of both administrative and technical innovation. Therefore, the major implication of this study is that TQM is an appropriate resource to enhance organizational performance, particularly innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research, based on four in-depth case studies, probes an overlooked unit of analysis in innovation management literature, namely, management action and cognition, and offers a new qualitative contribution into resource allocation approaches that support radical innovation. The interpretivist approach revealed that a management team's resource and path dependencies and prevailing mental models underpin resource allocation routines, which prevent managers from pursuing radical innovations. Of particular interest were the innovations that disrupt and re-shape the existing terms of economic engagement in established industries. It was found that managers with restrictive mental models will adopt up to five disruptive innovation rejection strategies: rewarding incrementalism; ignoring the positive aspects of disruptive innovations; focusing on historical perceptions of success; creating perceptions of success with high effort; and holding beliefs in the face of disconfirming information. Initial longitudinal data suggests that rejection strategies can be overcome with holistic portfolio approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The progress in mixing of two liquids with two way solubility is visualised by means of two-colour laser induced fluorescence (LIF). The mixing process is divided into two steps. In the first step, the so-called macromixing, the fluid elements of a multicomponent system are dispersed and deformed due to viscous friction. During the second step, the micromixing, local concentration differences are reduced due to diffusion transport on molecular scale. Both transport phenomena can be simultaneously measured by injecting a mixture of an inert and a reacting dye. The performance of mixing is recalculated from the local measurements of the concentration fields and visualised by the local degree of deviation. The mass transport on the microscopic scale varies because of the locally diverse dissipation of energy. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are used for the calculation of the source terms of local energy dissipation. The experimental results correlate the progress of mixing to the local energy dissipation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the key change concepts and examines several key elements of an effective Management of Change (MOC) process in the U.S. It relates that MOC is a concept that is critical to process safety and could likely prevent incidents in many other industries. It states that many industries would benefit from establishing polices to manage deviations from normal operations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines management of change in its process safety management (PSM) standard, which requires employee to establish and implement written procedures to manage changes to process chemicals, equipment and procedures, and changes to facilities that affect a covered process.

This work intends to identify the determinants of competitivity in cooperatives. The results obtained from a sample of 49 cooperative managers and representatives from the cooperative movement point out that the joint effect of the orientation towards the customer and the participation of the members in the performance is the main determinant of the competitivity. This finding highlights the importance of relational capacity as the key capacity which managers of these firms should have got. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Management by Competencies is the new paradigm, which from the Management of Human Resources, allows orienting the enterprise management towards the new exchanges demanded by the surroundings. This article shows the experiences of investigations developed in Cuban Companies of the sector of the telecommunications. In it you will find the necessary technology to define the competencies fit to the characteristics of the culture of each organization, as well as the results of his practical application. These tools constitute the elements that all organization needs to take the first and more important step in the implementation of the GpC: the definition of competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the ranking of higher education institutions (HEIs) has become more and more popular, there are increasing concerns about the quality of such ranking. In response to such legitimate expectations, in May 2006, the International Ranking Expert Group (IREG) developed and endorsed a guideline document - the Berlin Principles on Ranking of Higher Education Institutions (hereafter called the Berlin Principles), which consist of sixteen descriptive and prescriptive principles for ranking covering four aspects: the purpose and goal of ranking; the design and weighting of indicators; the collection and processing of data; and the presentation of ranking results. The purpose of this paper is to examine selected HEIs rankings according to the Berlin Principles as well as to propose concrete 'Fourteen Criteria' which, if followed, could enhance the quality of ranking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Classification' and 'ranking' are tools for comparing colleges and universities, albeit for different purposes. Although 'classification' focuses on identifying similarities rather than ordering institutions, it is closely intertwined with 'ranking', whether directly through its content, structure, and procedures, or indirectly through the ways it is used and understood by the wider community of users (e.g., researchers, policymakers, institutional leaders, etc.). For this reason, many of the standards, protocols, and best practices established for ranking systems apply as well to the case of classification. This paper examines the interplay between 'classification' and 'ranking' in some detail, and applies the Berlin Principles on Ranking of Higher Education Institutions which were adopted in May 2006 to the case of classification, focusing on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While evaluators have considered accountability pressures and examined the consequences of performance measurement for organizations, they have paid less attention to the accountability relationship in which their work is used. Drawing on theoretical literature and empirical data, this article shows how these accountability relationships drive the use of evaluative frameworks, like performance measurement, and shape the consequences for the organizations involved. The article argues that in settings permeated by accountability concerns, evaluators need to understand these accountability relationships that so significantly shape their work, especially if they hope to improve accountability systems or create the space for evaluation to serve other important purposes. This article provides evaluators with a set of questions and points of analysis that they can use to examine accountability relationships and expand what is possible for evaluation in settings where accountability is the dominant concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been advocated that information available from a performance measurement system (PMS) is an invaluable source of knowledge for contracting organizations. As such, it has been suggested that performance improvement can be achieved if contracting organizations can capitalize on the learning opportunities accorded from feedback derived from a PMS. Literature on learning also suggests that organizations display three types of learning: (1) single loop, double loop and Deutero. This paper reports a study that aims to (1) empirically test the positive effect derived performance feedback on performance; and (2) identify the extent to which the learning types have significant impact on performance improvement. Data on performance, performance feedback available, and responses were collected through a questionnaire survey. Pearson correlation and multiple moderated regression were used to accomplish research objectives (1) and (2), respectively, as mentioned. The findings suggested that there is a significant correlation between performance improvement and feedback from a PMS. It was found that all three forms of organizational learning can contribute to performance improvement and are not mutually exclusive. Nonetheless, double-loop learning practices that addresses the root causes of underperformance were found to be more versatile in facilitating improvement in efficiency and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the result of the study which assesses the relationship between work lost rate (WLR) and absenteeism among employees in the workplace. The study has evaluated the hourly payroll data of 4,000 employees from three aluminum production plants and compared the measures utilized by the facilities in identifying absenteeism. It reveals that unpaid hours and absent days were related with WLR. In addition, it states that WLR should be included in the payroll data which plays essential role in measuring absenteeism.

We consider the problem of speed scaling to conserve energy in a multiprocessor setting where there are precedence constraints between tasks, and where the performance measure is the makespan. That is, we consider an energy bounded version of the classic problem Pm | prec | C max . We extend the standard 3-field notation and denote this problem as Sm | prec, energy | C max . We show that, without loss of generality, one need only consider constant power schedules. We then show how to reduce this problem to the problem Qm | prec | C max to obtain a poly-log( m)-approximation algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mastering continuous change has become an important issue for an increasing number of organisations. However, the management of innovative performance is hindered by the lack of measures that could enable the reliable assessment and effective development of organisational capabilities for continuous renewal, learning and innovation. The objective of this paper is to describe the development of a survey instrument, the Organisational Renewal Capability Inventory, for measuring organisational renewal capability, and to assess its validity and reliability. This paper contributes to the literature on innovation by providing a systematic technique for collecting, analysing and interpreting data about organisational capability for continuous renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative improvement is a purposeful inter-company interactive process that focuses on continuous incremental innovation aimed at enhancing the partnership's overall performance. Considering that in such an environment the capability to learn jointly and individually is crucial, this paper takes a learning perspective on collaborative improvement and addresses the question: How do organisational learning and collaboration interplay and affect improvement performance? Based on an analysis of three dyads of the same Extended Manufacturing Enterprise, this paper concludes that a robust learning environment (willing and able to learn) creates operational, relational and learning outcomes - a self-reinforcing process. A weak learning environment (some willingness but limited ability to learn) creates operational outcomes but is sensitive to 'accidents' and thus at risk of actually producing negative relational and learning outcomes. A 'blocked learning' environment (no willingness to learn) may create good operational outcomes, but will not produce learning and relational outcomes. Consequently, it is doubtful if such situations are sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's business environment poses a significant challenge to many firms, namely to continuously innovate, combining operational excellence with both steady-state and discontinuous innovation. At a closer look, it can also be seen that a number of leading firms today seem to be able to handle the resulting situation quite well, revealing good operational and innovation performance over time. At the same time, the bulk of management theory still approaches this problem with a trade-off perspective, implying that these aspects of business are analysed separately, and that efficiency and innovation have to be regarded as mutually excluding things to strive for - suggesting that firms can be good in one of the two abilities but not in both simultaneously. This points to a gap in existing research that scholars need to fill. Building on management literature about paradoxes and dualities, and using some examples from practice, this contribution stresses the 'practicability' of the duality perspective for Continuous Innovation research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excellence in business is often characterized by such traits as perseverance and determination. On the other hand, the act of quitting generally has a negative connotation and is considered evidence of a lack of character or determination. In this unique perspective, business leaders are encouraged to be quitters, that is, to quit performing activities that detract from or hinder their success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilized Porter's (1980) framework to empirically investigate the interactive effects between competitive strategy and industry maturity on firm performance. In particular, our study tests whether industry maturity exerts a negative influence on firm performance regardless of competitive strategy type (universalist hypothesis), or whether industry maturity exerts a different influence on firm performance according to the type of competitive strategy (contingent hypothesis). From a sample of 403 small and medium- sized enterprises, results of empirical examination show that industry maturity has a negative effect on economic performance for any type of competitive strategy. This result is consistent with the universalistic approach. At the same time, from a comparative point of view the intensity of this effect is different depending on the strategy, which supports the contingency approach. Both peculiarities present a miscellaneous scenario, which has been named «hybrid contingency». [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses data from a sample of 156 Spanish firms to study the antecedents of outsourcing and the concurrent impact (and interrelationship) of outsourcing and other workplace flexibility dimensions on firm performance. Structural equation modelling tests the research hypotheses for each category of outsourcing activities: low-, medium- and high-strategic outsourcing. The results of the study indicate that the antecedents and impact of outsourcing are different according to the strategic importance of outsourcing activities. The article discusses the managerial implications of the results for firms considering outsourcing and flexibility decisions, and suggest that outsourcing could reinforce the impact of internal workplace flexibility on firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the adoption of the policy governance model for effective regional health administration in the U.S. The research describes the policy governance model as an effective alternative in evaluating the functional performance of medical boards and personnel in providing healthcare services or customer service. The implementation of the policy governance model in large academic medical center help enhance not only the knowledge of the healthcare administrator and personnel but also improve the services of the business. The study proves that policy governance is one of the most effective model for the administration of Regional Hospital.

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to use psychological contracts theory to explore performance management practices in Mexico paying particular attention to the impact of national culture, social and structural factors. Design/methodology/approach - The paper examines the content of psychological contracts from the viewpoint of both parties in the employment relationship managers and employees in the context of performance appraisals. It conducted focus groups and interviews at these two organizational levels in three different organizations. Findings - Findings are organized around three themes: performance appraisal systems, the promises (fulfilled and unfulfilled) and the sources of terms and conditions as the content of psychological contracts for managing and participating in performance evaluation systems. For each theme the paper presents and contrasts the viewpoints of managers and employees. Practical implications - Because of the sensitive cultural nature of performance appraisals, the findings help managers implement this process by explaining the underlying psychological contracts in Mexico. Specifically, employees experience the socio-emofional behaviors that accompany performance evaluation and engage in the process at different levels of commitment. Both managers and employees respond according to their needs and what they perceive to be the company's reward. Originality/value - Performance appraisal has received little attention from studies of psychological contracts, though it is a key practice in which work promises and rewards related to performance are made. In this study, the paper brings these two research streams together and apply it to a culturally unique setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]