Human Resource Flexibility as a Mediating Variable Between High Performance Work Systems and Performance

Much of the human resource management literature has demonstrated the impact of high performance work systems (HPWS) on organizational performance. A new generation of studies is emerging in this literature that recommends the inclusion of mediating variables between HPWS and organizational performance. The increasing rate of dynamism in competitive environments suggests that measures of employee adaptability should be included as a mechanism that may explain the relevance of HPWS to firm competitiveness. On a sample of 226 Spanish firms, the study’s results confirm that HPWS influences performance through its impact on the firm’s human resource (HR) flexibility

History of ESL Pronunciation Teaching

This chapter tells the story of over 150 years in the teaching of English as a second language (ESL) pronunciation. An analysis of historical resources may reveal a reliable history of pronunciation teaching. A consistent theme within the historical record is that prior to the second half of the nineteenth century pronunciation received little attention in L2 classrooms. Beginning in the 1850s and continuing for the next 30 years, early innovators such as Berlitz, Gouin, Marcel, and Predergast were rejecting and transitioning away from classical approaches. A change that resulted in pronunciation teaching\u27s considerably more consequential second wave was the formation in Paris during the period 1886-1889 of the International Phonetic Association. The 1950s-1970s coincide with a slow rise of attention to innovations in how to teach pronunciation. If we may speculate on the future of ESL pronunciation teaching, there is every reason to feel optimistic

Factors affecting spatial distribution of Typha in Kano Hadejia Nguru wetlands

No Abstract

Why Isn’t the Accident Information Shared? A Coopetition Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to investigate both cooperative and competitive strategies of firms that may cause accidents. The firms may exchange information about the previous accidents associated with their products in order to reduce accident probabilities and the amount of damage. Thus, these firms may cooperate on this point. On the other hand, they compete on quantities after deciding whether accident information is to be disclosed. This situation is termed coopetition. In order to address the issue of disclosure of accident information, an economic model is developed and it derives two main conclusions. First, there is a unique equilibrium where firms choose to not disclose their accident information. Second, the equilibrium strategies of firms are Pareto inferior for them when the condition relating to marginal effort costs and potential demands is satisfied. Thus, whether the coopetitive situation that firms exchange their accident information cooperatively and choose their quantity levels competitively is desirable for firms depends on the magnitude of the cost reduction and demand reduction effects