Do organizational climate and competitive strategy moderate the relationship between human resource management and productivity?

This study examined whether the effectiveness of human resource management (HRM) practices is contingent on organizational climate and competitive strategy. The concepts of internal and external fit suggest that the positive relationship between HRM and subsequent productivity will be stronger for firms with a positive organizational climate and for firms using differentiation strategies. Resource allocation theories of motivation, on the other hand, predict that the relationship between HRM and productivity will be stronger for firms with a poor climate because employees working in these firms should have the greatest amount of spare capacity. The results supported the resource allocation argument. © 2005 Southern Management Association. All rights reserved.

The individual and society in the GDR under Honecker : orthodoxy, dissidence and internal debate.

The thesis offers a comparative interdisciplinary approach to the examination of the intellectual debates about the relationship between individual and society in the GDR under Honecker. It shows that there was not only a continuum of debate between the academic disciplines, but also from the radical critics of the GDR leadership such as Robert Havemann, Rudolf Bahro and Stefan Heym through the social scientists, literary critics and legal theorists working in the academic institutions to theorists close to the GDR leadership. It also shows that the official line and policy of the ruling party itself on the question of the individual and society was not static over the period, but changed in response to internal and external pressures. Over the period 1971 - 1989 greater emphasis was placed by many intellectuals on the individual, his needs and interests. It was increasingly recognised that conflicts could exist between the individual and society in GDR socialism. Whereas the radical critics argued that these conflicts were due to features of GDR society, such as the hierarchical system of labour functions and bureaucracy, and extrapolated from this a general conflict between the political leadership and population, orthodox critics argued that conflicts existed between a specific individual and society and were largely due to external and historical factors. The internal critics also pointed to the social phenomena which were detrimental to the individual's development in the GDR, but they put forward less radical solutions. With the exception of a few radical young writers, all theorists studied in this thesis gave precedence to social interests over individual interests and so did not advocate a return to `individualistic' positions. The continuity of sometimes quite controversial discussions in the GDR academic journals and the flexibility of the official line and policy suggests that it is inappropriate to refer to GDR society under Honecker simply as totalitarian, although it did have some totalitarian features. What the thesis demonstrates is the existence of `Teiloffentlichkeiten' in which critical discussion is conducted even as the official, orthodox line is given out for public consumption in the high-circulation media.

The source, cost and prevention of central venous catheter-related infection

Central venous catheters have become an integral part of patient management however they are associated with many complications including infection. Despite efforts being made to reduce the incidence of such infect ions the problem continues to increase and has resource implications for the Health Service. Studies relating to the source of microorganisms causing CVC-associated infection, the cost of such infections and the efficacy of an antimicrobial catheter have been undertaken. Thirty patients who required a CVC as part of their medical management and underwent cardiac surgery had the distal tips of their catheters sampled whilst in situ. Sampling took place within 1 h of catheter placement. Bacteria were isolated from 16% of the catheter distal tips sampled in situ. The guidewires used to insert the devices were also contaminated (50%). When CVC were inserted via a protective sheath, avoiding contact with the skin. the incidence of microbial contamination was reduced. These findings suggest that despite rigorous skin disinfection and strict aseptic technique, viable microorganisms are impacted onto the distal tip of CVC during the insertion procedure. Needleless intravascular access devices have been introduced in order to reduce the incidence of need1estick injury. However, it was unclear whether such connectors would act as a portal of entry for microorganisms to CVC. The efficacy of these devices was investigated. Within the controlled laboratory environment it was demonstrated that needleless devices, when challenged with microorganisms, did not allow the passage of microbes when flu id was injected. This therefore suggested that the devices should not increase the risk of catheter colonisation. When used in clinical practice however microbial contamination of the needleless connectors was 55 % in comparison to the routinely used luer connectors (23%). The cost of infections associated with CVC was determined. Twenty patients catheterised with a CVC designed for long term use who were admitted to hospital with a presumptive diagnosis of catheter-related infection were studied. The treatment given specifically for this infection was costed. The mean cost of such an infection was £ 1781.81. Throughout the UK this may amount to £1.565.906 per annum. The cost of infections associated with CVC designed for short term use was estimated to be between 5 and 7 million pounds per annum in the UK. In an attempt to reduce both the incidence and cost of catheter- related infection antimicrobial CVC have been developed. The efficacy of a novel polyurethane CVC impregnated on both the internal and external catheter surface with the quaternary ammonium compound benzalkonium chloride was investigated. Eighty eight patients received an antimicrobial catheter and 78 patients a conventional polyurethane CVC. The anti-microbial CVC resulted in a reduction in microbial colonisation of the external and internal polymer surfaces as compared to the control device. The observed reduction in microbial colonisation with the anti-microbial CVC may decrease the likelihood of subsequent infection offering a useful approach to the prevention of catheter-related infections.

Spatial contrast sensitivity and external noise: applications to optical and neural modulation transfer functions

The thesis will show how to equalise the effect of quantal noise across spatial frequencies by keeping the retinal flux (If-2) constant. In addition, quantal noise is used to study the effect of grating area and spatial frequency on contrast sensitivity resulting in the extension of the new contrast detection model describing the human contrast detection system as a simple image processor. According to the model the human contrast detection system comprises low-pass filtering due to ocular optics, addition of light dependent noise at the event of quantal absorption, high-pass filtering due to the neural visual pathways, addition of internal neural noise, after which detection takes place by a local matched filter, whose sampling efficiency decreases as grating area is increased. Furthermore, this work will demonstrate how to extract both the optical and neural modulation transfer functions of the human eye. The neural transfer function is found to be proportional to spatial frequency up to the local cut-off frequency at eccentricities of 0 - 37 deg across the visual field. The optical transfer function of the human eye is proposed to be more affected by the Stiles-Crawford -effect than generally assumed in the literature. Similarly, this work questions the prevailing ideas about the factors limiting peripheral vision by showing that peripheral optical acts as a low-pass filter in normal viewing conditions, and therefore the effect of peripheral optics is worse than generally assumed.

Self-regulation of health and safety in a Local Authority with particular reference to safety representatives, supervisors and safety committees

The Report of the Robens Committee (1972), the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations (1977) provide the framework within which this study of certain aspects of health and safety is carried out. The philosophy of self-regulation is considered and its development is set within an historical and an industrial relations perspective. The research uses a case study approach to examine the effectiveness of self-regulation in health and safety in a public sector organisation. Within this approach, methodological triangulation employs the techniques of interviews, questionnaires, observation and documentary analysis. The work is based in four departments of a Scottish Local Authority and particular attention is given to three of the main 'agents' of self-regulation - safety representatives, supervisors and safety committees and their interactions, strategies and effectiveness. A behavioural approach is taken in considering the attitudes, values, motives and interactions of safety representatives and management. Major internal and external factors, which interact and which influence the effectiveness of joint self-regulation of health and safety, are identified. It is emphasised that an organisation cannot be studied without consideration of the context within which it operates both locally and in the wider environment. One of these factors, organisational structure, is described as bureaucratic and the model of a Representative Bureaucracy described by Gouldner (1954) is compared with findings from the present study. An attempt is made to ascertain how closely the Local Authority fits Gouldner's model. This research contributes both to knowledge and to theory in the subject area by providing an in-depth study of self-regulation in a public sector organisation, which when compared with such studies as those of Beaumont (1980, 1981, 1982) highlights some of the differences between the public and private sectors. Both empirical data and hypothetical models are used to provide description and explanation of the operation of the health and safety system in the Local Authority. As data were collected during a dynamic period in economic, political and social terms, the research discusses some of the effects of the current economic recession upon safety organisation.

Strategies for public engagement on environmental matters:you can lead a horse to water, but can you make it drink?

With no tangible evidence of widespread public engagement in the UK on matters relating to the environment, this article assesses the benefits of adopting the principles of key theoretical models on learning (e.g., Kolb's Experiential Model) in environmental campaigns. In addition, in order to facilitate the transition from environmental knowledge/awareness, to the adoption of proenvironmental behavior, the article reviews some of the key internal and external drivers to achieving sustained behavioral change.

Dynamic complementarities in innovation strategies

Using a panel of Irish manufacturing plants over the period 1991-2008 we test for dynamic complementarities in the joint use of internal R&D and external knowledge sources. We find little evidence, either from considering successive cross-sectional waves of comparable surveys, or in terms of the strategy switch choices of specific plants, that there has been a systematic move towards the joint use of internal and external knowledge in innovation. We then test formally for the presence of complementarities in the joint use of internal R&D and external innovation linkages. In static terms we find no evidence of complementarity, but in dynamic terms find evidence that strategy switches by individual plants towards a more 'open' strategy are accompanied by increased innovation outputs.

The relationship between internationalisation and innovation:internationalisation strategies, foreign firms', patenting behaviour and FDI spillovers

This thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of the relationships between internationalisation and innovation. Based on large comprehensive firm level data from China, this thesis comprises of three empirical chapters examining internationalisation from different aspects. Specifically, the first empirical work studies how firms internationalise. It links the choice of firms’ internationalisation strategies with firm characteristics. Additionally, it re-examines the stepwise internationalisation theory by distinguishing different foreign direct investment (FDI) motives. It proposes two pecking orders of firm performance in internationalisation strategies. The second empirical study investigates what kind of innovation activities internationalised firms do. It analyses the factors that drive foreign firms to patent in an emerging host country context. It stresses the importance of the intellectual property rights protection aspect of business environment at regional level in promoting patents, the role of industry dependence on external finance in shaping foreign firms’ patenting behaviour, as well as links foreign firms’ patent production with FDI motivation. The third empirical research examines the effect of internationalisation by examining the links between inward FDI and domestic innovation in a host country. It specifically examines technology spillovers from inward FDI through the direct lens of innovation (captured by grant patents), instead of adopting the indirect productivity approach widely employed by the literature. Distinguishing different types of innovation, it provides direct evidence of heterogeneous innovation spillovers from FDI.

Novel evaluation procedure for internal and extraction efficiency of high-power blue LEDs

Internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of a high-brightness blue LED has been evaluated from the external quantum efficiency measured as a function of current at room temperature. Processing the data with a novel evaluation procedure based on the ABC-model, we have determined separately IQE of the LED structure and light extraction efficiency (LEE) of UX:3 chip. Full text Nowadays, understanding of LED efficiency behavior at high currents is quite critical to find ways for further improve­ment of III-nitride LED performance [1]. External quantum ef­ficiency ηe (EQE) provides integral information on the recom­bination and photon emission processes in LEDs. Meanwhile EQE is the product of IQE ηi and LEE ηext at negligible car­rier leakage from the active region. Separate determination of IQE and LEE would be much more helpful, providing correla­tion between these parameters and specific epi-structure and chip design. In this paper, we extend the approach of [2,3] to the whole range of the current/optical power variation, provid­ing an express tool for separate evaluation of IQE and LEE. We studied an InGaN-based LED fabricated by Osram OS. LED structure grown by MOCVD on sapphire substrate was processed as UX:3 chip and mounted into the Golden Dragon package without molding. EQE was measured with Labsphere CDS-600 spectrometer. Plotting EQE versus output power P and finding the power Pm corresponding to EQE maximum ηm enables comparing the measurements with the analytical rela­tionships ηi = Q/(Q+p1/2+p-1/2) ,p = P/Pm , and Q = B/(AC) 1/2 where A, Band C are recombination constants [4]. As a result, maximum IQE value equal to QI(Q+2) can be found from the ratio ηm/ηe plotted as a function of p1/2 +p1-1/2 (see Fig.la) and then LEE calculated as ηext = ηm (Q+2)/Q . Experimental EQE as a function of normalized optical power p is shown in Fig. 1 b along with the analytical approximation based on the ABC­model. The approximation fits perfectly the measurements in the range of the optical power (or operating current) variation by eight orders of magnitude. In conclusion, new express method for separate evaluation of IQE and LEE of III-nitride LEDs is suggested and applied to characterization of a high-brightness blue LED. With this method, we obtained LEE from the free chip surface to the air as 69.8% and IQE as 85.7% at the maximum and 65.2% at the operation current 350 rnA. [I] G. Verzellesi, D. Saguatti, M. Meneghini, F. Bertazzi, M. Goano, G. Meneghesso, and E. Zanoni, "Efficiency droop in InGaN/GaN blue light-emitting diodes: Physical mechanisms and remedies," 1. AppL Phys., vol. 114, no. 7, pp. 071101, Aug., 2013. [2] C. van Opdorp and G. W. 't Hooft, "Method for determining effective non radiative lifetime and leakage losses in double-heterostructure las­ers," 1. AppL Phys., vol. 52, no. 6, pp. 3827-3839, Feb., 1981. [3] M. Meneghini, N. Trivellin, G. Meneghesso, E. Zanoni, U. Zehnder, and B. Hahn, "A combined electro-optical method for the determination of the recombination parameters in InGaN-based light-emitting diodes," 1. AppL Phys., vol. 106, no. II, pp. 114508, Dec., 2009. [4] Qi Dai, Qifeng Shan, ling Wang, S. Chhajed, laehee Cho, E. F. Schubert, M. H. Crawford, D. D. Koleske, Min-Ho Kim, and Yongjo Park, "Carrier recombination mechanisms and efficiency droop in GalnN/GaN light-emitting diodes," App/. Phys. Leu., vol. 97, no. 13, pp. 133507, Sept., 2010. © 2014 IEEE.

Firms’ innovation objectives and knowledge acquisition strategies:a comparative analysis

External partnerships play an important role in firms’ acquisition of the knowledge inputs to innovation. Such partnerships may be interactive – involving exploration and mutual learning by both parties – or non-interactive – involving exploitative activity and learning by only one party. Examples of non-interactive partnerships are copying or imitation. Here, we consider how firms’ innovation objectives influence their choice of interactive and/or non-interactive connections. We conduct a comparative analysis for the economies of Spain and the UK, which have contrasting innovation eco-systems and regulation burdens.

Strategic Management of Resources for International Business Operations in Small Consulting Firms - People, Processes and Tools in Managing International operations

Research on strategic management of resources for small consulting firms which are international or planning to operate internationally is scarce or not existing at all. It is however important to start generating the theories that will support managers in their decision making and planning. This thesis investigates how do small management consulting firms manage their internal and external resources while operating in international markets. Throughout the study, aspects related to internal and external resources management as well as management strategies in these firms have been examined in relations to firm’s internationalisation activities. A qualitative analysis was carried out whereby four small consulting firms in Export Management Consulting, Integration Services Consulting-, Software Development Consulting- and Business Solutions Consulting companies were interviewed. In order to generate the holistic understanding of the study, the thesis writer selected Value Enhanced Collaborative Working (VECW) model as an analysis framework. The model focuses on people, processes and tools as key elements that small consulting firms consider when thinking about managing their international operations. The findings of the thesis reveal that, internal and external resources in the interviewed consulting firms are viewed similarly, but managed differently depending on the nature and size of the firm. Firm’s management strategies concentrate on the adequate utilisation of the employees' motivation and experiences, effective stakeholders' management, various administrative evaluation processes and tools, the ability to realise useful networks, constant improvement through employee trainings, employees and customers’ feedbacks as well as enhanced freedom in order to support employees’ creativity. Further research to examine functional administrative tools and tools that small consulting firms could use to assess their resource capabilities when planning to become international would benefit the smaller businesses in terms of resources management and certainty in planning.

A rehabilitation intervention to promote physical recovery following intensive care: a detailed description of construct development, rationale and content together with proposed taxonomy to capture processes in a randomised controlled trial.

Background: increasing numbers of patients are surviving critical illness, but survival may be associated with a constellation of physical and psychological sequelae that can cause on going disability and reduced health-related quality of life. Limited evidence currently exists to guide the optimum structure, timing, and content of rehabilitation programmes. There is a need to both develop and evaluate interventions to support and expedite recovery during the post-ICU discharge period. This paper describes the construct development for a complex rehabilitation intervention intended to promote physical recovery following critical illness. The intervention is currently being evaluated in a randomised trial (ISRCTN09412438; funder Chief Scientists Office, Scotland). Methods: the intervention was developed using the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for developing complex healthcare interventions. We ensured representation from a wide variety of stakeholders including content experts from multiple specialties, methodologists, and patient representation. The intervention construct was initially based on literature review, local observational and audit work, qualitative studies with ICU survivors, and brainstorming activities. Iterative refinement was aided by the publication of a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline (No. 83), publicly available patient stories (Healthtalkonline), a stakeholder event in collaboration with the James Lind Alliance, and local piloting. Modelling and further work involved a feasibility trial and development of a novel generic rehabilitation assistant (GRA) role. Several rounds of external peer review during successive funding applications also contributed to development. Results: the final construct for the complex intervention involved a dedicated GRA trained to pre-defined competencies across multiple rehabilitation domains (physiotherapy, dietetics, occupational therapy, and speech/language therapy), with specific training in post-critical illness issues. The intervention was from ICU discharge to 3 months post-discharge, including inpatient and post-hospital discharge elements. Clear strategies to provide information to patients/families were included. A detailed taxonomy was developed to define and describe the processes undertaken, and capture them during the trial. The detailed process measure description, together with a range of patient, health service, and economic outcomes were successfully mapped on to the modified CONSORT recommendations for reporting non-pharmacologic trial interventions. Conclusions: the MRC complex intervention framework was an effective guide to developing a novel post-ICU rehabilitation intervention. Combining a clearly defined new healthcare role with a detailed taxonomy of process and activity enabled the intervention to be clearly described for the purpose of trial delivery and reporting. These data will be useful when interpreting the results of the randomised trial, will increase internal and external trial validity, and help others implement the intervention if the intervention proves clinically and cost effective.

A kinetic energy budget and internal instabilities in the Fine Resolution Antarctic Model

An energy analysis of the Fine Resolution Antarctic Model (FRAM) reveals the instability processes in the model. The main source of time-mean kinetic energy is the wind stress and the main sink is transfer to mean potential energy. The wind forcing thus helps maintain the density structure. Transient motions result from internal instabilities of the Bow rather than seasonal variations of the forcing. Baroclinic instability is found to be an important mechanism in FRAM. The highest values of available potential energy are found in the western boundary regions as well as in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) region. All subregions with predominantly zonal flow are found to be baroclinically unstable. The observed deficit of eddy kinetic energy in FRAM occurs as a result of the high lateral friction, which decreases the growth rates of the most unstable waves. This high friction is required for the numerical stability of the model and can only be made smaller by using a finer horizontal resolution. A grid spacing of at least 10-15 km would be required to resolve the most unstable waves in the southern part of the domain. Barotropic instability is also found to be important for the total domain balance. The inverse transfer (that is, transfer from eddy to mean kinetic energy) does not occur anywhere, except in very localized tight jets in the ACC. The open boundary condition at the northern edge of the model domain does not represent a significant source or sink of eddy variability. However, a large exchange between internal and external mode energies is found to occur. It is still unclear how these boundary conditions affect the dynamics of adjacent regions.

EVIDENCE OF VALIDITY OF THE LSB-50: CROSS-VALIDATION, FACTORIAL INVARIANCE AND EXTERNAL CRITERION ANALYSIS

The aim of this paper was to obtain evidence of the validity of the LSB-50 (de Rivera & Abuín, 2012), a screening measure of psychopathology, in Argentinean adolescents. The sample consisted of 1002 individuals (49.7% male; 50.3% female) between 12 and 18 years-old (M = 14.98; SD = 1.99). A cross-validation study and factorial invariance studies were performed in samples divided by sex and age to test if a seven-factor structure that corresponds to seven clinical scales (Hypersensitivity, Obsessive-Compulsive, Anxiety, Hostility, Somatization, Depression, and Sleep disturbance) was adequate for the LSB-50. The seven-factor structure proved to be suitable for all the subsamples. Next, the fit of the seven-factor structure was studied simultaneously? in the aforementioned subsamples through hierarchical models that imposed different constrains of equivalency?. Results indicated the invariance of the seven clinical dimensions of the LSB-50. Ordinal alphas showed good internal consistency for all the scales. Finally, the correlations with a diagnostic measure of psychopathology (PAI-A) indicated moderate convergence. It is concluded that the analyses performed provide robust evidence of construct validity for the LSB-50

Internal market orientation and market/oriented behaviours

Purpose – The purpose of this empirical paper is to investigate internal marketing from a behavioural perspective. The impact of internal marketing behaviours, operationalised as an internal market orientation (IMO), on employees' marketing and other in/role behaviours (IRB) were examined. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data measuring IMO, market orientation and a range of constructs relevant to the nomological network in which they are embedded were collected from the UK retail managers. These were tested to establish their psychometric properties and the conceptual model was analysed using structural equations modelling, employing a partial least squares methodology. Findings – IMO has positive consequences for employees' market/oriented and other IRB. These, in turn, influence marketing success. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides empirical support for the long/held assumption that internal and external marketing are related and that organisations should balance their external focus with some attention to employees. Future research could measure the attitudes and behaviours of managers, employees and customers directly and explore the relationships between them. Practical implications – Firm must ensure that they do not put the needs of their employees second to those of managers and shareholders; managers must develop their listening skills and organisations must become more responsive to the needs of their employees. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the scarce body of empirical support for the role of internal marketing in services organisations. For researchers, this paper legitimises the study of internal marketing as a route to external market success; for managers, the study provides quantifiable evidence that focusing on employees' wants and needs impacts their behaviours towards the market. © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited