Business Commons^™

It Takes More Than House Calls: Organizing To Win With A Comprehensive Union-Building Strategy, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Tom Juravich

Kate Bronfenbrenner

[Excerpt] Until recently, some national and local union leaders still argued that labor should circle the wagons and take care of existing members rather than spend scarce resources on organizing nonunion workers. Today those voices have largely been silenced by the hard numbers of labor's dramatic decline. As expressed in the platform of the new AFL-CIO leadership slate, the American labor movement must "organize at an unprecedented pace and scale." The question unions face today is no longer whether to make organizing a priority but how that can best be achieved.

Final Report : The Effects Of Plant Closing Or Threat Of Plant Closing On The Right Of Workers To Organize, Kate Bronfenbrenner

Kate Bronfenbrenner

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Strategic And Coordinated Bargaining Campaigns In The 1990s: The Steelworkers’ Experience, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Tom Juravich

Kate Bronfenbrenner

"With the refocusing of attention of the labor movement on organizing, an increasing number of scholars have been directing their research toward the nature and practice of current union organizing efforts. These scholars have begun updating a literature that had grown sorely out of touch with the organizing experience of America’s unions and have provided the foundation for a more sophisticated understanding of the organizing process. While we applaud this resurgence in organizing research, there has not been a comparable resurgence in research on collective bargaining…"

Worker Turnover And Part-Time Employment At Ups, Kate Bronfenbrenner

Kate Bronfenbrenner

Over the last ten years we have seen a dramatic increase in the utilization of part-time workers by the United Parcel Service (UPS). This increase has been coupled with a stunningly high turnover rate of 150 percent among these workers. This study documents the deteriorating work environment for part-time workers at UPS and finds that a lack of full-time opportunities, a pervasive pattern of management mistreatment, and an alarmingly high injury rate are the primary determinants of the high turnover rate.

Alleviating Global Poverty Through Profitable Partnerships: Moral Imagination & Economic Well-Being, Laura Hartman, P. Werhane, D. Moberg, S. Kelley

Laura Hartman

While at least one out of six in the global human population cannot meet the basic demands of survival and they have little ability to buy goods and services, this situation also presents potential new markets for multinational enterprises seeking long-term sustainability. If economic growth is a continuing and positive goal for the planet and for global companies, then, as markets in developed economies become saturated, these new markets provide fresh opportunities to satisfy this objective.

Community Partnerships: Creating Tangible Benefits From Community Engagement, David Cooke Dr

David Cooke

A deeper understanding of the complimentary skills sets of corporations and the not-for-profit sector reveals that they have much to offer each other and that returns on investmnent for corporations and a greater flow of funds to charitable organisations can be achieved through the study of effective partnerships.

Book Review 18 Make Room For Happiness By Steven Melemis, William C. Mcpeck

William C. McPeck

This is my review of Make Room for Happiness: 12 Ways to Improve Your Life By Letting Go of Tension. Better Health, Self-Esteem and Relationships by Steven Melemis, published by Modern Therapies in 2008.

Quashing The Financial Firestorm, Aaron S. Edlin

Aaron Edlin

Start the financial rescue with containment, establish unlimited deposit insurance and continuous access to funds, then move to a well thought-out plan to quash the financial flames.

Why Don't They Learn?, Cynthia D. Fisher

Cynthia D. Fisher

Extract: Highhouse (2008) suggests that managers’ ‘‘stubborn’’ preferences for suboptimal selection practices are based on two beliefs: (1) that selection decisions can be near 100% correct and (2) that the expertise and intuition needed to make perfect decisions are developed by experience. I will suggest mechanisms by which these beliefs persist in the face of what should be contradictory feedback.

Industrialization Strategy And Industrial Relations Policy In Malaysia, Sarosh C. Kuruvilla

Sarosh Kuruvilla

[Excerpt] In this chapter, a different view is taken of the relationship between industrialization strategies and industrial relations policy and practice. I argue that it is not the logic of industrialism or the levels of industrialization per se but the choice of an industrialization strategy and the shifts between such strategies that influence changes in industrial relations policies.

Linkages Between Industrialization Strategies And Industrial Relations/Human Resource Policies: Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, And India, Sarosh Kuruvilla

Sarosh Kuruvilla

The case studies of Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and India presented in this paper support the author's contention that a country's industrialization strategy for economic development profoundly influences its industrial relations (IR) and human resources (HR) policy goals. The author finds that import substitution industrialization was associated with IR/HR policy goals of pluralism and stability, while a low-cost export-oriented industrialization strategy was associated with IR/HR policy goals of cost containment and union suppression. In countries that moved from a low-cost export-oriented strategy to a higher value added export-oriented strategy, the focus of IR/HR policy goals shifted from cost containment to …

Determinants Of Undergraduate Level Business School Choice In The Uk: The Role Of Research Reputation, Ibrahim Sirkeci, Richard Mannix

Ibrahim Sirkeci

This study investigates the role of research reputation in student choice of business school in the UK. Within the growing student demand globally along with increasing competition it is important to understand the value the service receivers (i.e. students) attach to the research reputation which often is a key determinant in university rankings. A review of the literature in this area revealed that little had been done on defining what was meant by research reputation and the specific role that this had on student choices in business schools. This gap in the literature formed the rationale for this study. We …

Distinguishing Owner Compensation From Profit In Closely Held Companies: In Search Of A Responsibility Premium, Michael Sack Elmaleh

Michael Sack Elmaleh

The application of the income method of valuation requires that owner compensation be distinguished from free cash flow. The “proper” parsing of compensation and free cash flow can be the largest point of contention in contested valuation disputes. The preferred method of parsing is the substitution method which says that the proper allocation should be based on the wage that would have to be paid to a non owner employee. In this article I argue that owner employees carry additional responsibilities that are not normally borne by non owner employees. These additional responsibilities require that a premium be paid the …

Islamic Finance Unit Takes Bank Beyond Michigan Roots, Karen Hunt Ahmed

Karen Hunt Ahmed

No abstract provided.

Book Review 12 Happy For No Reason: 7 Steps To Being Happy From The Inside Out By Marci Shimoff, William C. Mcpeck

William C. McPeck

This is my personal review of Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out by Marci Shimoff and published by Free Press in 2008.

Pre-Test Assessment, Thomas D. Berry

Thomas D Berry

Corporate Creep: An Institutional View Of Consultancies In A Non-Profit Organisation, H. J. Irvine

Helen Irvine

Professional consultants play a role in mobilising the “creep” of corporate practices from the for-profit sector, through the public sector and into the nonprofit sector. As well as legitimising these practices, consultancies illustrate the power of professional groups to institute change across sectors. In spite of this, the proliferation of consultancies is under-researched, particularly in the increasingly sophisticated nonprofit sector. In one year, one religious/charitable organisation (RCO) commissioned no fewer than five consultancies. This study provides insights about the process by which the consultancies were commissioned, conducted and adopted as RCO grappled with the applicability of corporate practices and its …

Mimetic Marketing In Environmental Volunteering Organisations, Sara Dolnicar, H. J. Irvine, K. Lazarevski, Melanie J. Randle

Helen Irvine

The last decade has seen increased competition amongst voluntary organisations. This has resulted in a number of changes to the nonprofit sector, such as increased levels of scrutiny and accountability. Voluntary organisations compete not only for limited numbers of volunteers but also for limited grant funding made available at local, state and federal government levels. Increased competition has placed pressure on organisations to take a more commercial approach to the management of their organisations and to adopt what have been previously considered ‘for profit’ business practices such as marketing. This empirical study uses neo-institutional theory to investigate the marketing of …

The Globalization Of Accounting Standards: The Case Of The United Arab Emirates, H. J. Irvine, N. Lucas

Helen Irvine

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are a manifestation of globalization, with financial reports prepared under IFRS presenting an image consistent with that of multinational corporations and developed countries. Developing countries and emerging economies, in pursuing the global economic benefits offered by the adoption of IFRS, face challenges in adapting their regulatory infrastructure and culture to western-oriented accounting standards. Based on data gathered primarily from archival sources, this paper suggests that the UAE, in embracing globalization and adopting IFRS, will need to develop appropriate regulatory systems to overcome cultural issues relating to secrecy and fraud.

Taking A Closer Look: The Why And How Of New Accounting Practices In An Australian Religious/Charitable Organisation, H. J. Irvine

Helen Irvine

Neo-institutional sociology proposes that organisations in a particular field behave in essentially the same way. In taking for granted the prevalence of institutionalised activities, such as accounting, however, it offers little in the way of penetrating insights into how, and to what extent, those activities are actually introduced and embedded into individual organisations. Changes in the nonprofit environment in Australia in recent years have catapulted organisations in that sector into a new corporate mode of operation, providing a unique opportunity not only to observe the introduction of new accounting practices, but also to critique the usefulness of neo-institutionalism as a …

The Corporate Connection: Financial Reporting In A Large Religious/Charitable Organization In Australia, H. J. Irvine

Helen Irvine

Nonprofit organizations operate in an increasingly corporatised, competitive environment. More and more, as institutions with charitable agenda, they need to promote an image that will enhance their ability to attract the funding they require in order to continue their operations. Competition for donations is becoming more intense and society is increasing its expectations about the level of accountability desirable from such organizations. One means by which nonprofit organizations can address this issue of accountability, and present themselves to the public as financially sound and worthy of receiving donations, is through their annual financial statements. As accounting practices have changed over …

Powerful Friends: The Institutionalisation Of Corporate Accounting Practices In An Australian Religious/Charitable Organisation, H. J. Irvine

Helen Irvine

The profile of accounting in the nonprofit sector has been raised substantially in recent years, due to profound changes in the institutional environment in which organizations in that sector operate. One of the factors that has resulted in the adoption of corporate-style financial management techniques, including accounting, in the nonprofit sector, has been the need for such organizations to achieve financial legitimacy. This can be achieved by means of their accounting practices, as they demonstrate a level of financial accountability that proves them to be legitimate recipients of funds from the public, from governments, and increasingly from the corporate sector. …

Design As Research: Emergent Complex Activity, Helen M. Hasan

Helen Hasan

There is current interest in design science as a research method in the field of Information Systems. This paper explores this proposition by incorporating established theories into the design research process. These include a view of information systems as essentially socio-technical, notions of tool mediation and expansive learning from Activity Theory and the concept of emergence from Complexity Theory where good design outcomes come from non-deterministic and organic processes. A case of innovative collaborative systems development illustrates how this view of design science may be of value.

The Challenges Of Introducing Off-The-Shelf Systems Into Complex Work Organisations, Helen M. Hasan, Wannapa Suratmethakul

Helen Hasan

This paper describes research into problems commonly experienced when implementing an off-the-shelf information system into the complex work-practices of an organisation. Encountering such an occurrence, the authors employed a grounded theory approach to study the case though the collection, analysis and interpretation of a variety of data. The case concerned the troubled introduction, into a large educational institution, of a complex class timetabling system that was already well established in another similar organisations. Unanticipated problems encountered by various stakeholders in the system during and following the implementation of the system are documented and classified into three categories: knowledge issues, system …

Sna As An Attractor In Emergent Networks Of Research Groups, Helen M. Hasan, Hamid Pousti

Helen Hasan

While many progressive enterprises are becoming more network-centric, many research-oriented organisations retain a traditional hierarchy with an ego-centric culture. Paradoxically, network-centrism is associated with technology, innovation and creativity, the hallmarks of cutting-edge research. Using concepts of emergence from complexity theory, this study takes a developmental, action research approach to the application of social network analysis in legitimising a network of research groups in a traditionally managed institution. The results indicate that an emergent network is as valid an organisational structure as an imposed hierarchy for research management. The study also demonstrates the use of social network analysis and similar technological …

An Activity-Based Model Of Collective Knowledge, Helen M. Hasan

Helen Hasan

In the challenges faced by organisations in the area of knowledge management, there is clearly a role for information and communications technologies in supporting the exploitation of business knowledge. This paper proposes a model of knowledge processes, based on the concept of "activity", i.e. what people do, as determined by the cultural-historical activity theory. The evolutionary development of an implementation of the model in currently available technology is described, together with the results of an evaluation of its suitability and effectiveness. This work is substantiating both the practicability of the implementation and the usefulness of the structure for the extraction …

Lessons From Go*Team Simulations On Shared Situation Awareness, Helen M. Hasan, L. Warne, H. Mitchard

Helen Hasan

The ancient game of Go is traditionally played by two opposing players (black and white) who take turns laying stones on a board of up to 19x19 squares. The stones can be laid so they eventually encircle stones of the opposing colour, thereby capturing territory and stones. Go has been the inspiration for Go*Team which has been developed as a web-based application for two or more teams; each team with a number of players. Go*Team emulates some of the issues that a Network Centric (NC) environment might bring and consequently allows investigation of issues such as situation awareness. It is …

The Co-Evolution Of An Accessible But Secure Virtual Space For Collaborative Activities, Kate Crawford, Helen M. Hasan

Helen Hasan

This paper describes, analyses and interprets a research and development process taking place over several years concerning the evolution of a socio-technical system. By ‘socio-technical system’ we mean a dynamic system that is socio-culturally situated and involves both human activity and technical elements. The system design, that is the focus of this research, brings together the human and technical dynamics of the intricate and highly engaging processes of effective collaboration. In particular, an investigation of the various integrated elements of the socio-technical system has provide us with the insight and confidence to build a virtual environment that actually supports innovative …

Social And Commercial Sustainability Of Regional Web-Based Communities, A. Connery, Helen M. Hasan

Helen Hasan

New information and communications technologies have disrupted many traditional forms of community but enabled the emergence of new ones. This paper examines pertinent characteristics of communities, before describing three case studies of commercially operated web-based communities. The research demonstrates the social and commercial value of the concept of community.

Using Olap And Multidimensional Data For Decision Making, Helen M. Hasan, P. Hyland

Helen Hasan

Managers see information as a critical resource and require systems that let them exploit it for competitive advantage. One way to better use organizational information is via online analytical processing and multidimensional databases (MDDBs). OLAP and MDDBs present summarized information from company databases. They use multidimensional structures that let managers slice and dice views of company performance data and drill down into trouble spots. For over a decade, proponents have touted these tools as the ultimate executive information system, but most of the hype comes from product vendors themselves. Based on our experience with several OLAP tools, we have developed …