bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Managing AMI in a Just‐In‐Time Environment in the UK and Japan
Authors: Currie Wendy L. , Seddon Jonathan J. M.
Published: March 2005

In recent years many commentators have addressed the ‘crisis’ in manufacturing industry (Gerwin, 1982; Drucker, 1988, 1990; Hayes and Jaikumar, 1988). Some have offered cross‐national comparisons on Japanese and Western management methods and techniques (Kharbanda and Stallworthy, 1991; Oliver and Wilkinson, 1987; Pascale and Athos, 1981) whilst others have concentrated on improving performance in specific fields such as management accounting (Kaplan, 1984; Cooper, 1991) or manufacturing management (Schonberger, 1982; Halt, 1983). Empirical research into managing AMT in Japan and the UK (Currie 1991a) considers some of the broader managerial issues in manufacturing. Cultural differences are common in the areas of investment appraisal, post‐auditing of AMT and preventive maintenance policy. For example, in Japan JIT is perceived ‘holistically’ incorporating production management, total quality assurance (TQA) and total preventive maintenance (TPM). This is contrary to the UK in that many large manufacturing companies fail to include TPM in their manufacturing strategies (Currie and Seddon, 1991). There are few management information systems (MIS) which provide an understanding of machine performance using both non‐financial and financial information. Focusing on maintenance as a central theme, the paper discusses the development of the Failure And Scheduled Maintenance Analysis (FASMA) system, which offers a practical solution to the problem of collecting and manipulating manufacturing data on the shopfloor (Seddon, 1991a). Essentially, FASMA attempts to interface both the manufacturing and management accounting functions by translating machine performance data into valuable information from which preventive maintenance policy may be improved. Using FASMA to measure machine performance at a major UK automotive manufacturer, machine down‐time has averaged 61% each month over a 3‐year period. By manipulating this data, performance measurement information may be utilized by management accountants. FASMA thus develops a link between manufacturing and management accounting by providing data on machine performance which can be used for cost analysis within a manufacturing environment. The paper concludes by arguing that manufacturing strategies can only be developed using appropriate management information systems (MIS) designed to enhance functional integration. This will enable a better understanding of how the ‘manufacturing jigsaw’ fits together.
Some Implications for Management Development of Research into Managers' Moral Dilemmas
Authors: Maclagan Patrick , Snell Robin
Published: March 2005

In this paper, we present two cases of moral dilemmas as told by the managers who had faced them. We analyse the cases, drawing on frameworks developed by Toffler (1986), Kohlberg (1981) and Maclagan (1990). We also comment on the broader findings of the research from which the cases were taken. These analyses and findings and those of other researchers (e.g. Waters et al., 1986) suggest a number of requisite ‘moral attributes’ for managers and have, we argue, significant implications for the curriculum for ethical education and development for managers and intending managers. One is that case material needs to reflect more strongly the actual experiences of practising managers; another is that there is scope for wider use of experiential methods on management ethics courses. We conclude with a call for a multifaceted approach to ethical education as a lifespan process entailing the development of personal and interpersonal skills and qualities, and self‐knowledge as well as cognitive skills. While we acknowledge that ethical education needs to take account of learners' differing levels of prior experience, stages of moral development and levels of learning maturity, our over‐riding concern is that learners are prepared for and helped to live through the very ‘real’ dilemmas that they are likely to experience in managerial work.
Fitting Management Control Systems to Competitive Advantage
Authors: Bruggeman Werner , Van der Stede Wim
Published: March 2005

Recent publications suggest that existing management accounting and control systems prevent business unit managers realising their desired competitive advantage. Although the concept of competitive advantage has already been thoroughly discussed in strategy literature, it has not yet been integrated in the management accounting and management control frameworks. Only a limited number of researchers have concentrated on contingency research in this area. Contingency theory simply states that organization structure, process and management control systems are contingent upon various internal and external factors, such as industry, technology, size, culture and strategy (Anthony and Young, 1988; Anthony et al., 1992).

This article is an attempt to identify and investigate the management control – strategy relationship. We report the results of our exploratory field research in 18 companies (32 business units). Based on our results, we formulate some hypotheses on the observed characteristics of the management control process in case of low‐cost strategy, differentiation strategy in a standard product environment and differentiation strategy for customized products (make to order, engineer to order).
A Two‐Decade Test of Product Life Cycle Theory
Authors: Mercer D.
Published: March 2005

The product life cycle (PLC) has represented a central element of marketing theory for four decades. Following its development in the 1950s, and its subsequent popularization in the 1960s, it has remained a stable feature of marketing teaching; despite evidence of its limited applicability and the growing awareness, amongst leading academics at least, of its flawed nature. This paper critically re‐examines its practical value in the light of the 20‐year history of 929 brands spread across 150 fast‐moving consumer goods (FMCG) markets in the UK. The main conclusion is that the ‘life cycle’ of the brand leaders is indeed more stable, and much longer, than some of the previous work might have suggested; and that the PLC would have predicted. As a credible aid to marketing decisions the brand life cycle is, therefore, of little value in the majority of FMCG markets ‐ and cannot justify its long‐held position as a theory that has general practical applicability across the whole field of marketing.
Assessing the Height of Mobility Barriers: A Methodology and an Empirical Test in the UK Retail Grocery Industry1
Authors: Carroll Charles , Pandian J. R. M. , Thomas Howard
Published: March 2005

A profitable niche will have few entrants if the presence of significant mobility barriers impedes entry and, hence, reduces the expected rents for entrants. Identifying sources of mobility barriers is critical in explaining how incumbents can sustain competitive advantage and obtain supranormal profits (excess rents). While much of strategic management research (and strategic group research, in particular) focuses on the pursuit of sustainable performance advantages, there is relatively little empirical research exploring the dynamics of firm movement and the impact of mobility barriers on performance. The paper analyses mobility dynamics and, most importantly, develops a method to identify the location and severity of mobility barriers. The method is illustrated on a database of large multiples in the UK retail grocery industry for the period 1982–1986. It appears that there are two dimensions of strategic change that facilitate movement into profitable niches. Implications for competition and profitability are discussed.
Styles of Managerial Creativity: A Comparison of Adaption‐Innovation in the United Kingdom, Australia and the Unites States1
Authors: Foxall Gordon R. , Hackett Paul M. W.
Published: March 2005

Kirton has proposed that creative styles form a continuum from the most adaptive (implying a preference for solving problems through incremental improvement with the system) to the most innovative (preference for restructuring the system in order to solve the problem). This dimension of creative style has traditionally been measured by the Kirton adaption‐innovation inventory (KAI), a 32‐item measure that contains three factors: sufficiency vs. proliferation of originality, efficiency and rule‐conformity. Studies of mid‐career MBA students in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States indicate that members of the more externally orientated managerial functions (such as marketing and strategic planning) score more innovatively than more internally orientated managers (e.g. in production management, accounting and quality control). However, the research shows that within each of the major functional areas of management, relatively internally orientated and relatively externally orientated management groups can be identified; moreover, the latter score significantly more innovatively than the former. The paper discusses the relevance of these findings to the management of change in organizations (especially in view of recent claims that all managers must embrace and cope with radical and turbulent change), and for the composition and management of effective task groups. Recent criticism has alleged that abridged measures of the KAI (consisting respectively of 20 and 13 of its items) provide more coherent and orthogonal subscales, and that use of the factors comprising adaption‐innovation would elucidate managerial behaviour. These propositions are tested by employing all three versions of the KAI in the analysis. The results lead to the conclusion that the three versions of the KAI produce identical results with respect to the creative styles of managerial functions and subfunctions and that the use of the subscales adds little, if anything, to our understanding of managerial creativity.
An Empirical Model of Managerial Careers in Organizations
Authors: Herriot Peter , Gibbons Patrick , Pemberton Carole , Jackson Paul R.
Published: March 2005

A theoretical model of managerial careers in organizations was tested by questionnaire. Respondents were 200 managers attending management courses. The model incorporated traditional structural predictors of objective and subjective indices of managers' career progress. It also introduced perceptions of the career management practices of an organization as a predictor, together with career progress, of satisfaction with career management. Results indicated that an organization's structure was a powerful predictor of its perceived career management practices; these in turn were more powerful predictors of satisfaction with career management than was career progress; of particular power was the perceived fairness of career management practices. Regression analysis indicated that the model was generally supported. It was concluded that perceived equity is a powerful determinant of satisfaction, and that therefore an organizational model of career management as part of a psychological contract is likely to be more effective than one based on the prescriptions of human resource management ideology.
Technology, Human Resources and Turbulent Change in Lucas and Bosch: A Plant Level Study1
Authors: Harding Rebecca
Published: March 2005

This paper studies two companies in a period of turbulent technological change. Based on historical data for the 1980s, it examines the technology and human resource strategies of Lucas Industries PLC and Robert Bosch GmbH both at a group and plant level. It draws two main conclusions: first that stability in company strategy is a key to understanding competitive performance and second that the way in which strategy is transmitted to the individual plant level and diffused into actual working practices is similarly central to effective performance.
World Class Manufacturing: Further Evidence in the Lean Production Debate1
Authors: Oliver Nick , Delbridge Rick , Jones Dan , Lowe Jim
Published: March 2005

This paper reports the results of a study into the performance and management practices of 18 autocomponents plants, nine of which were located in the UK and nine in Japan. The study compared the performance of these plants and used quantitative measures to test the use of lean production techniques among the high performers. Five plants displayed high performance on measures of both productivity and quality. All of these were located in Japan. Several measures of management practice provided some support for the lean production model, particularly in the area of process discipline and control; measures of human resource management policy and work organization proved less significant. Contextual factors pointed to the conditions necessary to support lean production; higher performing plants had more stable demand and lower absenteeism.
The Information Content of Common Stock Repurchases: An Empirical Study1
Authors: Oyon Daniel , Markides Constantinos C. , Ittner Christopher D.
Published: March 2005

Share repurchase announcements are known to be associated with significant positive abnormal stock returns. Past studies have argued that the main explanation of this value creation is that share repurchases signal new (and favourable) information about the repurchasing firms' future cash flows. This paper examines this hypothesis and provides evidence on the nature of the information revealed by share repurchases. Using a sample of 41 repurchase announcements from the USA, we show that the new information signalled to the stock market through share repurchasing is not only about changes in the level of future cash flows but also about changes in the riskiness of these cash flows.
The Contribution of Formal Planning Systems to Strategic Investment Decisions1
Authors: Papadakis Vassilis M.
Published: March 2005

This paper aims to investigate linkages between formal planning systems (FPSs) and characteristics of the processes followed in making strategic investment decisions (SIDs).

The empirical testing was based on a sample of 70 SIDs drawn from 38 industrial enterprises operating in Greece. Primary data on FPSs and SIDs were provided by key participants in the decision‐making process, using a combination of structured interviews and questionnaire completion.

Contrary to the argument raised by several academics that much decision making takes place outside FPSs, the findings of this paper support the view that at least for decisions of a clearly strategic nature this may not be valid. Results consistently show that strong associations exist between characteristics of SID processes and dimensions of FPSs. More specifically: The degree of rationality‐comprehensiveness as well as degree of financial reporting in the process of making SIDs is positively associated with FPSs. Particularly strong is the association between the existence of a set of formalized rules guiding the process of strategic decision making and FPSs. Furthermore, the association between both hierarchical decentralization and lateral communication in advancing SIDs and FPSs appears to be fairly strong. Finally, results failed to support any statistical significant relationship between duration timing of SID processes and dimensions of FPSs.
Dimensions of Control in UK International Joint Ventures*
Authors: Glaister Keith W.
Published: March 2005

From a sample of UK joint ventures with partners from Western Europe, the USA and Japan, dimensions of parent control of the ventures are considered by way of a taxonomy based on the mechanisms, extent and focus of control. The origins of the mechanisms of control identified in the study indicate that UK parents have not been sufficiently responsible for providing the mechanisms to allow them to exercise a greater leverage of control than that obtained by the foreign partners. The origins of the mechanisms of control also indicate relatively little autonomy for the managements of the joint ventures. Evidence from the study supports the view that joint venture parents seek to focus their influence of control over particular decisions and activities of the venture, rather than attempting to extend their control over the whole venture. The study considers the mechanisms and focus of control across the characteristics of the sample: contractual form of the venture, relative equity shareholding of the UK parent, time period of formation, nationality of foreign partner, industry group of the venture and broad purpose of the venture. Chi‐squared tests show that there is little evidence of any systematic variation in the dimensions of control across the characteristics of the sample, the major exception to this being the relative equity shareholding of the UK parents.
Socio‐biographical Antecedents of Intercultural Effectiveness: The Neglected Factors1
Authors: Mamman Aminu
Published: March 2005

Behavioural, attitudinal, cognitive and personality traits factors have been recognized as the main determinants of intercultural effectiveness. This paper argues for the need to recognize the plausibility that expatriates having similar behavioural, attitudinal, cognitive and traits characteristics may vary significantly in their intercultural effectiveness. This is because some expatriates may be effective or ineffective by chance or birth (ascribed rather than achieved). Therefore expatriates' ‘socio‐biographical’ background, such as hisher ethnicity, age, nationality, educational qualification, profession (role) and religion, is noted as among the most significant factors that can impact on intercultural effectiveness. It is argued that these variables deserve serious attention given the diversity of expatriates from different national and ethnic backgrounds.
The Performance of an NHS Trust Board: Actors' Accounts, Minutes and Observation
Authors: Peck Edward
Published: March 2005

The corporate board is a common feature of both private sector and public sector enterprises. The roles undertaken by boards are therefore a significant area of interest for writers on organizations. This paper makes two contributions to the study of corporate hoards. First, it presents the results of an intensive study of the performance of the board of directors of a first wave National Health Service (NHS) Trust based on three sources of data: actors' accounts; minutes; and observation. This study concludes that the board has made only a marginal contribution to the governance of the Trust. Second, it provides a critique of the three methodological approaches which are available to researchers undertaking such studies and argues that most reported studies of boards are unreliable as they are based on only one, or at best two, of the three available sources of data.
The Influence of Functional Experience on Perceptions of Strategic Priorities
Authors: Bowman Cliff , Daniels Kevin
Published: March 2005

This paper reviews three previous studies of functional bias (Dearborn and Simon, 1958; Walsh, 1988; Nystrom, 1991) which have produced conflicting evidence. The results of a study into functional bias in perceptions of strategic priorities are presented. These results, which provide evidence of functional bias, are discussed and some suggestions for future research are made.
Gestalt Approaches to Assessing Strategic Coalignment: A Conceptual Integration1
Authors: Veliyath Rajaram , Srinivasan T. C.
Published: March 2005

Strategic coalignment involves a configuration comprising the external environment, internal organizational arrangements and organizational effectiveness. Each of the above elements is constrained, quasi‐deterministic (especially in the short‐term) and multidimensional. For the open systems property of equifinality to be satisfied, organizational effectiveness profiles need to be considered endogenous to a gestalt containing all the three elements. Strategic fit would then be assessed in terms of the consistency of the gestalt. This approach would also position coalignment research more consistently with strategic management's goal of adaptive fit, as well the other open systems property of homeostasis. A modified analytical approach is suggested.
The Influence of Performance, Environment and Size on the Identifiability of Firm Strategy
Authors: Bantel Karen A. , Osborn Richard N.
Published: March 2005

This paper empirically examines the broadly held assumption that higher performing firms pursue identifiable generic and/or industry‐specific strategies, as opposed to pursuing an unidentifiable strategy. Here, in a sample of 200 banks, the identifiability of strategy was linked to two dimensions of the environment (interdependence/complexity and munificence) and bank size. The linkage between identifiability and performance was more complex. The discussion emphasizes the potential importance of institutionalization, and implementation in the performance‐strategy identifiability link.
Problem‐based Learning: Potential and Implementation Issues
Authors: Chaharbaghi Kazem , Cox Roy
Published: March 2005

This study addresses the issues associated with the application of problem‐based learning, examines the key design dimensions of a problem‐based learning course and considers the implications of problem‐based learning for learners and educators.
Technology Investment and Management Accounting Practice
Authors: Nixon Bill
Published: March 2005

Management accounting techniques and information are often accused of having many limitations that are likely to constrain investment in new technology. However, relatively little is known about the actual influence of management accounting practices on investment decisions. The empirical evidence of this research shows that new technology investment decisions are both highly complex and political. These decision attributes give rise to a protracted, circuitous, decision process that is very different from the rational model which dominates the capital budgeting literature. The research also shows that the management accounting system captures only a fraction of the information generated by this process and consequently has a relatively low influence on these investment decisions.
A Critical Review of Research in Marketing
Authors: Wensley Robin
Published: March 2005

An historical review of research in three major sub‐fields within marketing: market structure and segmentation, market networks and interfirm relationships, and market orientation and the implementation of the marketing concept, suggests that there remain a number of key issues in terms of significance and interpretation. It is noteworthy that these issues, which have important strategic and managerial implications have not, in general, been reflected in the content of key marketing textbooks. A number of more general issues can be derived which are relevant not only to future research in the marketing arena but also the wider context of strategy research.
Organizational Transformation and Top‐Down Change: The Case of the NHS
Authors: Ashburner Lynn , Ferlie Ewan , FitzGerald Louise
Published: March 2005

This paper analyses the effects of government‐sponsored attempts to change the way that the NHS, one of the largest employers in Europe, is managed. The theoretical issues raised relate to the concept of transformational change and attempts at public‐sector restructuring, which set the context for the presentation of data. The empirical research, carried out over three years, examines the changes since the most recent reforms (the NHS and Community Care Act 1990).

The research considers the extent of organizational change which can be seen as the outcome of these reforms in relation to: a multiple and inter‐related change agenda; the creation of new forms of organization; the creation of new roles; the reconfiguration of power relations; and the creation of a new culture, ideology and organizational meaning. These are presented as the key variables which could indicate whether transformational, rather than incremental, change has occurred. The focus of this analysis is at local board level.

This article concludes that earlier analyses of the limited success of administrative reform are no longer the case. Our analysis of the key variables suggests that what is occurring at least at local board level goes beyond incremental change and may represent the beginnings of an ‘organizational transformation’. This contains unintended as well as intended elements as an unanticipated ‘hybrid’ form of management may be emerging.
Uncovering the Management Process: An Ethnographic Approach1
Authors: Ram Monder
Published: March 2005

The continuing controversy over the extent to which labour management has been transformed in recent years has sustained considerable interest in the basic issue of how management regulates the employment relationship. However, two curious features of these burgeoning discussions are the neglect of small firms and the rarity of intensive fieldwork methods of investigation. This paper examines particular methodological issues arising from an ethnographic study of the small firm‐dominated West Midlands clothing sector (Ram, 1994). The ethnographic approach was crucial to the unravelling of the complexities and tensions inherent in the management process. Insights generated by the method allow prevailing views of managerial practices in such settings to be questioned; and more generally, highlight the potential of ethnography as a means of management research.
Technical Innovation and Competitive Advantage in Retail Financial Services: A Case Study of Change and Industry Response
Authors: Morris Timothy , Westbrook Roy
Published: March 2005

This article presents a case study of a major technical innovation in the core activity of payment processing in a UK bank. In describing the strategic rationale for the change and the process of implementation, the degree of consistency between the operational and organizational dimensions of the new system are examined. As this system is widely regarded as the benchmark for future paper processing in the industry, the factors contributing to successful innovation are discussed and the management rather than the technological aspects of this are emphasized. Competitor responses to the innovation are explained by the influence of traditional assumptions about the basis of competitive advantage in banking.
The View from the Top: Senior Executives' Perceptions of Changing Management Practices in UK Companies1
Authors: Ezzamel Mahmoud , Lilley Simon , Willmott Hugh
Published: March 2005

There is a growing literature which suggests that the 1980s witnessed significant, even unprecedented changes in the management of organizations. This paper contributes to that literature by providing questionnaire and interview‐based evidence of senior managers' perceptions of recent changes in management practice in large and medium‐sized firms in the UK. The findings cover three main areas: the changing context of management practice; change initiatives in the areas of human resource management (HRM) and management levels; and the degree of success in managing change. Our findings suggest that senior managers perceive rapid and continuous change within the UK corporate sector. We conclude by suggesting that the changes reported appear to be of degree rather than a radical break with past management practices and that inconsistent means of facilitating change are seemingly being deployed.
New Organizational Forms for Competing in Highly Dynamic Environments: the Network Paradigm
Authors: Cravens David W. , Piercy Nigel F. , Shipp Shannon H.
Published: March 2005

Turbulence and rapid change in the business environment have been associated for some time with the development of new network organizational forms which put various types of strategic alliance and other inter‐organizational collaborations into effect. This paper traces the rationale for the formation of such networks and the associated vertical disaggregation of functions and implications for internal organizational design. This leads to the proposal of a classification framework for network forms. Using the dimensions of volatility of environmental change on the one hand, and the type of inter‐organizational relationship involved (collaborative or transactional) on the other hand, network forms are classified as: hollow networks, flexible networks, value‐added networks and virtual networks. In each case it is possible to identify the environmental and organizational contingencies most likely to be associated with the emergence and adoption of a particular type of network arrangement. This argument leads to the identification of a new research agenda which has the goals of developing more robust conceptualizations of network characteristics; better understanding the contingencies surrounding the emergence of network forms and their relative efficiencies and specifying some of the major implications of network formation for internal organizational design. In parallel the paper identifies a number of managerial implications for setting strategic priorities and developing appropriate management systems in these new organizational contexts.
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management: Can We Afford to Neglect Them in the Twenty‐first Century Business School?
Authors: Gibb Allan A.
Published: March 2005

This article reviews the case for business schools becoming more seriously involved in teaching and research in the field of entrepreneurship and small business. It begins by reviewing some of the global pressures that underpin the need for management schools to devote more serious attention to these phenomena. It then argues the central case for a clear conceptual stance to be taken on the relationship between small business and entrepreneurship as a basis for core programme and pedagogical design. It finally reviews the key issues of change that will confront business schools wishing to move into this area under the three headings of: involvement with the community; teaching and research; and organization design.
Approaches to Manufacturing Regeneration: Some Empirical Data1
Authors: Smith Stuart , Tranfield David
Published: March 2005

The study examined the efforts of 11 manufacturing companies to regenerate competitiveness through implementing improvement programmes. Data were collected about the activities seen to constitute improvement programmes as well as the reasons and intentions given for their implementation. Companies were found to have shared a common set of strategic intentions whilst having used differently constituted improvement programmes to achieve them. This similarity in strategic intent was seen as evidence of companies using improvement programmes to facilitate movement from mass to lean production paradigms. AU of the 11 companies studied exhibited widespread use of improvement activities. However, significant differences in individual company choice was interpreted as contra‐evidence of improvements being driven solely by manufacturing fashions. This together with their similarities in strategic intent was seen as evidence that companies tailored their regenerative efforts to suit individual circumstances in pursuit of a generic strategic recipe. Some companies had discovered they had developed new capabilities through their regenerative efforts and these were seen as providing a distinctive competitive advantage. All of the companies set out with strategic intentions which centred on catching up with or imitating the best of their competitors – over a half discovered en route a means for changing the rules of the game.
Supply Chain Management: Relationships, Chains and Networks
Authors: Harland C. M.
Published: March 2005

The term supply chain management is used to represent a variety of different meanings, some related to management processes, others to structural organization of businesses. This paper identifies and discusses various definitions of supply chain management, summarizes the associated bodies of knowledge and connects them using a systems approach. Systems levels of supply chain management are identified as the internal supply chain, the dyadic relationship, the external supply chain and the inter‐business network.

Empirical research on behavioural aspects of relationships, chains and networks in the European automotive aftermarket is discussed, identifying gaps in perceptions of requirements and performance held by customers and suppliers in the areas of quality, delivery, service, range and price. A combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis demonstrates substantial differences between approaches to supply chain management, though performance in relationships, chains and networks in the territories examined does not differ significantly.

Customer dissatisfaction in relationships is shown to increase upstream in the supply chains examined, extending the applicability of the industrial dynamics ‘Forrester effect’ to softer, behavioural aspects of performance. Conclusions are drawn supporting the suggestions of operations strategists that position in the supply chain is an important strategic variable which, to date, have not been comprehensively proven empirically.
Physical Discipline and Children's Adjustment: Cultural Normativeness as a Moderator
Authors: Lansford Jennifer E. , Chang Lei , Dodge Kenneth A. , Malone Patrick S. , Oburu Paul , Palmérus Kerstin , Bacchini Dario , Pastorelli Concetta , Bombi Anna Silvia , Zelli Arnaldo , Tapanya Sombat , Chaudhary Nandita , Deater‐Deckard Kirby , Manke Beth , Quinn Naomi
Published: March 2005

Interviews were conducted with 336 mother–child dyads (children's ages ranged from 6 to 17 years; mothers' ages ranged from 20 to 59 years) in China, India, Italy, Kenya, the Philippines, and Thailand to examine whether normativeness of physical discipline moderates the link between mothers' use of physical discipline and children's adjustment. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that physical discipline was less strongly associated with adverse child outcomes in conditions of greater perceived normativeness, but physical discipline was also associated with more adverse outcomes regardless of its perceived normativeness. Countries with the lowest use of physical discipline showed the strongest association between mothers' use and children's behavior problems, but in all countries higher use of physical discipline was associated with more aggression and anxiety.
Mothers' Time With Infant and Time in Employment as Predictors of Mother–Child Relationships and Children's Early Development
Authors: Huston Aletha C. , Rosenkrantz Aronson Stacey
Published: March 2005

This study tested predictions from economic and developmental theories that maternal time with an infant is important for mother–child relationships and children's development, using time‐use diaries for mothers of 7‐ to 8‐month‐old infants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care (N=1,053). Employment reduced time with infants, but mothers compensated for some work time by decreasing time in other activities. With family and maternal characteristics controlled, time with infants predicted high Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) scores and maternal sensitivity, but bore little relation to children's engagement with mothers, secure attachment, social behavior, or cognitive performance from 15 to 36 months. Mothers who spent more time at work had higher HOME scores. Maternal time with infants may reflect maternal characteristics that affect both time allocation and maternal behavior.
Examining the Motivational Impact of Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Goal Framing and Autonomy‐Supportive Versus Internally Controlling Communication Style on Early Adolescents' Academic Achievement
Authors: Vansteenkiste Maarten , Simons Joke , Lens Willy , Soenens Bart , Matos Lennia
Published: March 2005

The present experimental research examined whether framing early adolescents' (11‐ to 12‐year‐olds) learning activity in terms of the attainment of an extrinsic (i.e., physical attractiveness) versus intrinsic (i.e., health) goal and communicating these different goal contents in an internally controlling versus autonomy‐supportive way affect performance. Both conceptual and rote learning were assessed. Three experimental field studies, 2 among obese and 1 among nonobese participants, confirmed the hypothesis that extrinsic goal framing and internal control undermine conceptual (but not rote) learning, even in comparison with a control group. Study 3 indicated that the positive effect of intrinsic goal framing on conceptual learning was mediated by task involvement, whereas the positive effect of autonomy‐supportive communication style on conceptual learning was mediated by relative autonomous motivation.
Steps in Theory‐of‐Mind Development for Children With Deafness or Autism
Authors: Peterson Candida C. , Wellman Henry M. , Liu David
Published: March 2005

Prior research demonstrates that understanding theory of mind (ToM) is seriously and similarly delayed in late‐signing deaf children and children with autism. Are these children simply delayed in timing relative to typical children, or do they demonstrate different patterns of development? The current research addressed this question by testing 145 children (ranging from 3 to 13 years) with deafness, autism, or typical development using a ToM scale. Results indicate that all groups followed the same sequence of steps, up to a point, but that children with autism showed an importantly different sequence of understandings (in the later steps of the progression) relative to all other groups.
Infant Emotional and Cortisol Responses to Goal Blockage
Authors: Lewis Michael , Ramsay Douglas
Published: March 2005

This study examined the relation of infant emotional responses of anger and sadness to cortisol response in 2 goal blockage situations. One goal blockage with 4‐month‐old infants (N=56) involved a contingency learning procedure where infants' learned response was no longer effective in reinstating an event. The other goal blockage with 6‐month‐old infants (N=84) involved the still face procedure where infants' reactions to their mothers' lack of responsivity were not effective in reestablishing interaction. For both blockages, sadness was related to cortisol response, though anger was not—the greater the sadness, the higher the cortisol response. This differential relation is consistent with other evidence indicating the more positive role of anger as opposed to sadness in overcoming an obstacle.
THE SIMPLICITY OF THE LIVING GOD: AQUINAS, BARTH, AND SOME PHILOSOPHERS
Authors: FRANKS CHRISTOPHER A.
Published: March 2005

The traditional notion of divine simplicity is frequently misunderstood. Philosophers of religion who defend it and theologians who dismiss it agree on its Greek, rather than biblical, heritage. On the contrary, a particularly Christian account of divine simplicity, as reflected for example in Thomas, maintains a Creator‐creature distinction as understood in light of Trinity and Incarnation. Stump and Kretzmann's discussion of simplicity appears to follow Aquinas, but misses the character of this distinction, and so treats a human idea of “the simple” instead of Thomas's living source of being. The true modern follower of Thomas on simplicity is not Stump and Kretzmann, but Barth.
Politics and Administration: A Trichotomy?
Authors: CARROLL BARBARA WAKE
Published: March 2005

This article compares changes in the education and career paths of senior federal civil servants in Canada between 1967 and 1987. It shows that there has been a marked trend toward managers with less formal education than had previously been the case and also a shift toward managers with less experience in the policy areas within which they are responsible for providing policy advice and program management. This finding is consistent with Osbaldeston's study of Canadian deputy ministers, and with studies of bureaucratic elites in other Western democracies. In an increasingly complex environment, problems facing government decision‐makers require high levels of technical expertise. This requirement is central to Weber's concept of bureaucracy, and it has been used as an explanation for the increasing prominence of bureaucrats in the policy‐making process. In recent decades, however, bureaucratic reforms have emphasized the administrative functions of senior managers at the expense of their technical roles. In Canada, at least, this process appears to have gone so far that it may have seriously compromised the capacity of senior civil servants to give informed advice and to make knowledgeable decisions about the policies and programs of their departments.
Theoretical Developments in Public Administration: Implications for the Study of Federalism
Authors: O'TOOLE LAURENCE J.
Published: March 2005

The perspective of public administration potentially carries great relevance for the development of theory concerning federal systems. However, the impact of each specialty on the other has often been uneven. Reasons for this state of affairs are explored. Some recent and current research on public administration is highlighted for its implications regarding the study of federalism.
The Future of Four Wheels: Government and the Automobile Industry in France and West Germany, 1971–1985
Authors: HODGE CARL CAVANAGH
Published: March 2005

The concept of a “policy community” is useful in understanding the joint efforts of national governments and domestic business interests to secure industrial competitiveness in world markets. The definitional debate accompanying the increased use of the term in political studies, on the other hand, is of marginal value in appreciating the substance of government‐industry collaboration. An analytic account of the actions of two national governments grappling with the needs of industries subject to similar circumstance, as in a sectoral crisis, provides the opportunity to apply the term in a practical manner. Policy communities are no more than the institutionalized expressions of long‐established relationships between private and public interests, subject to national idiosyncracies and accumulated experience. They are not the product of a deliberate and coherent design for the attainment of specific industrial goals. This point can be illustrated by reconstructing the actions of two national policy communities in crisis, that is in situations where established relationships come under greater strain than found under “normal” circumstances and, indeed, might be expected to break down entirely. A comparison of government intervention in the automobile industries of West Germany and France, 1971–1985, demonstrates the resilience of industrial policy communities. The maintenance of established relationships is shown to be part and parcel of the emerging industrial solution. Institutions and organizations involved in crisis resolution in the French and German motor industries are revealed to have dissimilar, overarching political objectives beyond the specific and immediate needs they seek to address. The imposition of such political factors onto industrial problems is not necessarily a disservice to an industry's long‐term vitality.
The EC's Budget in the Move to a Single Market
Authors: SHACKLETON MICHAEL
Published: March 2005

This article will consider the approach of 1992 and the single market from the perspective of the community budget. It will begin by recalling the distinctive characteristics of that budget and the way in which argument about it dominated the EC agenda throughout the 1980s up until the Brussels European Council meeting held between 11 and 13 February 1988. It will then consider the relationship between the decisions taken in Brussels and the wider issue of the creation of a single market. In particular, it will examine the issue of resource availability and will argue that the budgetary framework established in Brussels significantly contributed to modifying the extent and nature of community policies in a way which will continue to be felt after 1992. It will conclude by arguing that the process initiated in Brussels has widened the acquis communautaire and altered the balance between autonomy and interdependence in the community in the run‐up to the creation of the single market.
Beyond the NIMBY Syndrome in Hazardous Waste Facility Siting: The Albertan Breakthrough and the Prospects For Cooperation in Canada and the United States
Authors: RABE BARRY G.
Published: March 2005

The prospects for agreements in the siting of hazardous waste facilities in Canada and the United States would appear bleak given the repeated failures of the past decade. A variety of provincial and state siting approaches have been attempted, only to be thwarted regularly by local opposition. The most far–reaching exceptional case involves the siting of a comprehensive hazardous waste disposal facility in Alberta, Canada in the mid‐1980s. The Alberta approach to siting differed markedly from those of other provinces and states and in many respects met the conditions necessary for policy cooperation specified by the maturing institutionalist and game theoretic literatures on this topic. The Alberta siting agreement has already demonstrated shortcomings in the implementation phase and may not be easily transplanted to other subnational units of government. Nonetheless, it suggests that the Not‐In‐My‐Back‐Yard Syndrome so familiar in hazardous waste facility siting need not be an inevitability and that careful attention to key aspects of siting policy may facilitate cooperation.
American Think Tanks: Policy Elites and the Politicization of Expertise
Authors: FISCHER FRANK
Published: March 2005

This article examines policy expertise and the role of think tanks in the context of shifting political alignments in American government. The article first considers the radical and neoconservative critiques of the liberal use of an elite group — or “new class”— of policy experts to formulate and legitimate political reform agendas, a strategy said to represent a technocratic threat to the future of representative government. The discussion then focuses in particular on the neoconservative critique and its promotion of a counter strategy designed to politicize policy expertise through the development of a conservative “counterintelligensia” and the funding of partisan think tanks. The political outcome is seen to be a significant variation in the relationships linking expertise, think tanks, and the setting of national policy agendas. Elite think tanks, conceptualized as policy “discourse coalitions,” are analyzed as institutional mechanisms for coordinating the advice of leading policy experts with the interests of economic and political elites. Although the experts' role in these policy‐planning organizations falls short of the threat envisioned by the technocratic critique, the political implications of the emergent elite relationship between expertise and policy formation is nonetheless seen to pose troubling questions for both the theory and parctice of representative governance.
Structural Adjustment and Political Adaptation: The Politics of Neoliberal Reform in Mexican Agriculture
Authors: FOLEY MICHAEL W.
Published: March 2005

Through a study of recent policy change in Mexico, this article shows that even a strong state, implementing a radical reform via purportedly neutral policy changes, inevitably must adapt to a context shaped by previous policy choices and outstanding political imperatives. In this case, the prior organization of commercial export growers in the fresh fruit and vegetable subsector, the strength of an independent peasant movement, and the state's long‐term commitment to a rhetoric of development and social welfare significantly qualify the reform effort. In the export sector, Mexican production is largely shaped by the still powerful Confederation of Growers of Fruits and Vegetables. In regard to peasant agriculture, the government has had to make significant concessions to independent peasant organizations in an effort to regain political support. The neoliberal program has thus been qualified and to some extent reshaped by both immediate political considerations and the longer‐term institutional and political structures of Mexican society. In this sense, economic forces remain “embedded” in prior social structures and political choices.