Linking performance-related pay to a Business School's mission and objectives

This paper first analyses the Performance Related Pay (PRP) schemes developed from 1992/3 to 2002/3 in a large Business School in England and then the School’s mission and strategic objectives in that period. The PRP schemes changed to include more specific performance indicators and these were increasingly linked to the objectives. The School’s resources allocated to PRP increased from £44,000 in 1992/93 to £355,000 in 2002/3 and from 1.08% in 1995/96 to 2.37% of the School’s income in 2002/3. As well as examining the changing strategic objectives and PRP schemes, the paper charts the development of the School’s reputation and resources and the role which staff motivation via PRP played at different stages. The paper concludes that the PRP scheme was at its most effective when it was clearly linked with the School’s strategic objectives, but that the relationship between objectives and motivation may be more complex than apparent from this study. Although the PRP scheme under consideration also applies to academic related staff, this paper concentrates on the effect on academic staff.

Post-Bretton Woods evidence on PPP under different exchange rate regimes

This article investigates the behaviour of exchange rates across different regimes for a post-Bretton Woods period. The exchange rate regime classification is based on the classification of Frankel et al. (2004) who condensed the 10 categories of exchange rate regimes reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) into three categories. Panel unitroot tests and panel cointegration are used to examine the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) hypothesis. The latter test is used to check for both the weak and strong forms of PPP. The panel unit-root tests show no evidence of PPP and suggest there is no difference in the behaviour of exchange rates across different regimes. However, failure to detect PPP across any of the regimes could be due to structural breaks. This assumption is reinforced by the results of cointegration tests, which suggest that there exists at least a weak form of PPP for the different regimes. The evidence for strong PPP decreases as the exchange rate regime moves away from a flexible exchange rate regime.

Kinetic study on thermal decomposition of woods in oxidative environment

The purpose of this work is to gain knowledge on kinetics of biomass decomposition under oxidative atmospheres, mainly examining effect of heating rate on different biomass species. Two sets of experiments are carried out: the first set of experiments is thermal decomposition of four different wood particles, namely aspens, birch, oak and pine under an oxidative atmosphere and analysis with TGA; and the second set is to use large size samples of wood under different heat fluxes in a purpose-built furnace, where the temperature distribution, mass loss and ignition characteristics are recorded and analyzed by a data post-processing system. The experimental data is then used to develop a two-step reactions kinetic scheme with low and high temperature regions while the activation energy for the reactions of the species under different heating rates is calculated. It is found that the activation energy of the second stage reaction for the species with similar constituent fractions tends to converge to a similar value under the high heating rate.

Research on rework strategies for reconfigurable manufacturing system considering mission reliability

Rework strategies that involve different checking points as well as rework times can be applied into reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) with certain constraints, and effective rework strategy can significantly improve the mission reliability of manufacturing process. The mission reliability of process is a measurement of production ability of RMS, which serves as an integrated performance indicator of the production process under specified technical constraints, including time, cost and quality. To quantitatively characterize the mission reliability and basic reliability of RMS under different rework strategies, rework model of RMS was established based on the method of Logistic regression. Firstly, the functional relationship between capability and work load of manufacturing process was studied through statistically analyzing a large number of historical data obtained in actual machining processes. Secondly, the output, mission reliability and unit cost in different rework paths were calculated and taken as the decision variables based on different input quantities and the rework model mentioned above. Thirdly, optimal rework strategies for different input quantities were determined by calculating the weighted decision values and analyzing advantages and disadvantages of each rework strategy. At last, case application were demonstrated to prove the efficiency of the proposed method.

The mission and culture of the corporation

The economic crisis has brought a new situation also for the Hungarian economic policy, as neoliberalism as the main trend in economic thought is no longer valid. This phenomenon cannot be reduced to be a mere macroeconomic course shift, as an entire economic philosophy and approach has lost its relevance. One consequence of this is the need for a thorough revision of the theory and practice of business management, along with the re-evaluation of the notion and position of the corporation. Our study aims to contribute to this theoretical reformation, presenting that social values derived from psychological and sociological findings such as human motivational theories or trust are fundamental elements of the 21st century corporate model. To point to this, we use the ideological correspondences, while proving that our national research on corporate theory and even rather its application are far behind the 21st century requirements and lack even the Western view of the 20th century.

“I had a different way of governing”: The evangelical presidential style of Jimmy Carter and his mission for Middle East peace

President Jimmy Carter once said, "I had a different way of governing." In attempting to explain what he meant by this, Carter has been variously described as a political amateur, a trustee, a non-political politician, an "active-positive" president, and a forerunner of the 1990s' New Democrats. It is argued here, however, that mere secular descriptions and categories such as these do not adequately capture the essence of Carter's brand of politics and his understanding of the presidency. Rejecting Richard Neustadt's prescriptions for effective presidential leadership, Carter thought political bargaining and compromise were "dirty" and "sinful." He deemed the ways of Washington as "evil," and considered many, if not most, career politicians immoral. While he fully supported the institutional separation of church and state, politics for Carter was about "doing right," telling the truth, and making the United States and the world "a better demonstration of what Christ is." Like two earlier Democrats, William Jennings Bryan and Woodrow Wilson, Carter understood politics as an alternative form of Christian ministry and service. In this regard, Carter was a presidential exception. Carter's evangelical faith gave his politics meaning, skill, vision, and a framework for communication. Using Fred Greenstein's categories of presidential leadership, Carter's faith provided him with "emotional intelligence", too. However, Carter's evangelical style provoked many of his contemporaries, including many of his fellow Democrats. To his critics at home and abroad, Carter was often accused of being arrogant, stubborn, naive, and ultimately a political failure. But as evinced by his indispensable role in negotiating peace between Israel and Egypt, his leadership style also provided him some remarkable achievements. The research here is based on a thorough examination of President Carter's many writings, his public papers, interviews, and opinion pieces. Written accounts from former Carter administration officials and from Israeli and Egyptian participants at Camp David are also used. This project is largely descriptive, qualitative in approach, but quantitative data are used when appropriate and as supplements.

Vision Statement, Mission Statement, and Guiding Principles

Draft of the Medical Library's Vision and Mission Statements, and Guiding Principles.