The Preconditions for Producer Power: the OPEC Example

SUMMARY OPEC's success in raising oil prices has very special ingredients—the high degree of producer dependence, the high cost of stock piling and limited possibilities of substitution or re?cycling, the producers' control over cheaply exploitable reserves, their substantial foreign exchange balances and low dependence on import. Producer cartels for other commodities are unlikely to enjoy such advantages and would require a greater willingness to subordinate immediate interest for long?term gain. The basic power imbalance between the developed and developing countries probably makes commodity agreements more hopeful than producer cartels. RESUMEN Los Prerrequisitos del Poder Productor El éxito de la OPEP en subir los precios del petróleo tiene ingredientes muy especiales : la alta dependencia respecto de los productores, el alto costo de almacenamiento y las reducidas posibilidades de substitución y re?uso, el control de los productores sobre reservas de explotación barata, sus grandes reservas en moneda dura y su poca dependencia en materia de importaciones. Los carteles de productores en otros productos primarios dificilmente van a gozar de esas ventajas y requieren una mayor voluntad de subordinar los intereses inmediatos a las ganancias de largo plazo. El desequilibrio de poder básico entre los países desarrollados y en desarrollo hace que los convenios sobre productos primarios sean probablemente más promisorios que los carteles de productores. RESUME Conditions préalables à l'emprise des producteurs Le succès dont jouit l'OPEP en raison de la majoration des prix pétroliers repose sur la situation très subordonnée des producteurs; le prix élevé de stockage, lié à l'insuffisance de substituts ou possibilités de recyclage; le contrôle qu'exercent les producteurs sur les exploitations à ressources peu coûteuses, leurs importantes recettes en devises étrangères, et le degré insignifiant dont ils dépendent des importations. D'autres cartels, ayant trait à d'autres produits de base, ne seraient guère aussi favorisés et seraient plutôt disposés à renoncer aux intérêts immédiats en faveur de bénéfices à long terme. Les inégalités, sur le plan du pouvoir, des pays industrialisés et en développement font paraître plus souhaitables les accords sur les produits de base que les cartels de producteurs

ADR in the Federal Courts: Would Uniformity Be Better?

This article analyzes the alternative dispute resolution ( ADR ) programs implemented by federal district courts, pursuant to the Civil Justice Reform Act. It considers whether Congress should impose ADR uniformity in the federal system or whether Congress should continue to allow district courts to experiment with ADR. The article proposes a solution to this question, which balances the autonomy of district court ADR programs and the preservation of core federal values. The article also examines how ADR impacts indigent litigants and suggests that the federal system reevaluate its approach toward indigents and ADR

Servitization and operations management : a service-dominant logic approach

Managing organisational performance in sectors such as equipment provision has become increasingly complex as competition has heightened and firms have felt pressure to add value through the provision of services (Baines et al, 2007; Howard and Caldwell, 2011; Neely et al., 2011). This provision is commonly referred to as the servitization of manufacturing (Vandermerwe & Rada, 1988). By extending the traditional offering of equipment to include service activities however, underlying operational delivery systems and processes have become more complex to manage and co-ordinate. No longer are firms simply making and shipping products; they are now engaged in a more complex world of design and delivery (Neely et al., 2011). This study aims to explore servitization from a value perspective through the lens of Service-Dominant (S-D) logic, and to propose its implications for operations management

NAFTA and TPP: Comparing Imaginaries of Sustainability

Debates about new free-trade agreements provide various societal actors with opportunities to communicate their visions of sustainable futures. This paper analyses the development of US environmental groups’ imaginaries of sustainability from discussions around the North American Free Trade Agreement in the 1990s to current debates about the Transpacific Partnership. Using a qualitative Science and Technology studies approach, it examines statements, ‘fact sheets’, and reports published by environmental groups for (changing) patterns of mutually held visions of desirable futures in these two, isolated free-trade debates. The paper concludes that while argumentative continuity can be detected in the imagining of sustainability as an inclusive democratic concept, claims made against TPP increasingly focused on exclusively national concerns, the intrinsic value of nature, and the compatibility of economic growth with environmental protection

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS' CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF MATHEMATICS

Following widespread concern over an apparent decline in the mathematical skills of engineering students, this study employed survey and observation methods to investigate the ways in which engineering students understand mathematical concepts, and to compare these with the concepts held-by students of mathematics. It was found that the engineering students employ a different vocabulary from mathematics students in discussing mathematics, and that their understanding of mathematical concepts develops differently from mathematics students both in response to teaching (which appears to be a transitory effect) and as their experience gives meaning to the ideas in life outside study. These findings are important in two ways. We need to make the mathematics teachers of engineering students aware of the language and concepts of their students so that the possibility of mutual misunderstanding is reduced, and we as educators need to help engineering students to make these connections in order to ground their mathematics in reality and to use mathematics an Instrument for understanding the world. Compared with the classical mathematical modelling paradigm and the classical empirical modelling paradigm, the method used by engineering students was found to be a hybrid based on the Identification of the type of problem and the application of a "preexisting law. Some misconceptions concerning the behaviour of beams In bending were found to be widely held, by respondents with a range of levels of experience. Whereas the particular misconceptions are not Important in themselves. It Is salutary to realise that expertise in one area of study does not necessarily Inoculate one against misconceptions In a closely related area. A software package was written using the context of mathematical modelling to help students relate concepts In calculus to physical situations. This package was found not to engage the students sufficiently to provoke cognitive change, and suggests that a higher degree of Interactivity Is needed

Multilateralism: variants, potential, constraints and conditions for success

In view of the current challenges facing world politics and its specific structural conditions (national sovereignty, power diffusion), multilateralism appears to be an almost indispensable form of international diplomacy. Nevertheless, it seems controversial: multilateralism is currently under fire, particularly from the White House and the State Department, whilst both China’s President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin pose as advocates and defenders of multilateral­ism. On closer inspection, however, the controversy is not about multilateralism as a diplomatic procedure, but essentially about the question of which principles, values and organizations should determine the international order and thus shape inter­national politics. At the same time, the inherent difficulties and limitations of multi­lateralism are often underestimated, and its potential overestimated. In order to make multilateralism as effective as possible, a realistic assessment of its preconditions and a wise understanding of the peculiarities of multilateral politics are there­fore essential. (author's abstract

Vortex shedding from tapered, triangular plates: taper and aspect ratio effects

Further experiments on features of the vortex shedding from tapered flat plates normal to an airstream are described. The work extends that of Castro and Rogers (2002) and concentrates on the study of the effects of varying the spanwise aspect ratio for a fixed shape plate, by appropriate adjustment of end-plates, and of the nature of the shedding as the degree of taper becomes very large, so that the body is more like a triangular plate—e.g. an isosceles triangle—than a slightly tapered plate. With the taper ratio TR defined as the ratio of plate length to average cross-stream width, the paper concentrates on the range 0.58<TR<60. Reynolds numbers, based on the average plate width, exceed 104. It is confirmed that for a small enough taper ratio the geometrical three-dimensionality is sufficiently strong that all signs of periodic vortex shedding cease. For all other cases, however, the flow at different locations along the span can vary substantially, depending on taper. There appear to be at least four different regimes, each appropriate for a different range of taper ratio. These various regimes are described

Contextual variety, Internet-of-things and the choice of tailoring over platform : mass customisation strategy in supply chain management

This paper considers the implications for Supply Chain Management from the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) or Internet Connected Objects (ICO). We focus on the opportunities and challenges arising from consumption data as a result of ICO and how this can be translated into a provider’s strategy of offering different varieties of products. In our model, we consider two possible strategies: tailoring strategy and platform strategy. Tailoring strategy implies that a provider produces multiple varieties of a product that meet consumers’ needs. Platform strategy depicts the provider’s actions in offering a flexible and standardised platform which enables consumers’ needs to be met by incorporating personal ICO data onto various customisable applications independently produced by other providers that could be called on in context and on demand. We derive conditions under which each of the strategies may be profitable for the provider through maximising consumers’ value. We conclude by considering the implications for SCM research and practice including an extension of postponement taxonomies to include the customer as the completer of the product

'Second Generation' process thinking: a case study from UK financial services

Paper presented at British Academy of Management Conference, Harrogate, 2003.This paper traces the emergence of 'second generation' process thinking in a large UK Bank. In common with many companies, the bank had vigorously embraced the BPR revolution in the early 1990s, only to find the targeted benefits elusive and new challenges take priority. More recently, process has re-emerged as a force within the bank. This time however, the focus is not on radical change, but a more mature and sustained programme of 'end to end' process management. As part of the new drive, a collaborative research exercise was launched to develop a generic model for measuring the effectiveness of Business Process Management (BPM). A synthesis of current research was used to identify the key dimensions of BPM and translate them into a robust measurement instrument. Following an initial pilot, a comprehensive process audit was carried out. The findings recognised that the Bank had developed a strong process infrastructure, but found deployment limited with an ongoing focus on local performance rather than full 'end to end' management. The findings were presented to the management team and used to develop a process improvement programme, focusing on rapid deployment and enhanced communication. As such, the research demonstrates the compatibility of developing theory with the delivery of practical value to business managers. The paper concludes that there is evidence of new process thinking and invites researchers to monitor its future development and impact on the business community