The Relationship Between Workplace Practices and Firm Level Productivity in New Zealand

Raising New Zealand’s growth in productivity (ie output per person employed or hour worked) has become a topic of increasing political and academic debate. This has been driven by recognition that the relative decline in our incomes (compared to those of other developed nations) is a direct consequence of our inability to raise our productivity at a comparable rate. In this paper, we examine issues relating to achievement of productivity growth within organisations. We firstly contextualise this by providing a general overview of productivity trends, including the connection between firm­level and wider productivity. We then outline a framework for considering business practices and how these might affect workplace productivity; review New Zealand research findings about the relationship between workplace practices and firm­level productivity growth; and discuss the results of recent studies (done or funded by the Department of Labour) of change processes within organisations. From this, we conclude that there is a wide range of business improvement options, depending on the needs of the individual organisation; that significant improvements in workplace practices can be achieved; and that these contribute to a range of better operational outcomes. Ultimate benefits in productivity can be expected but are harder to attribute. However, the experience of the organisations studied highlights the challenges inherent in these processes, which require sustained commitment, and buy­in from people at all levels. There were significant differences in outcomes between those organisations that began with positive internal relationships and culture, and management leadership, and those where these conditions were absent

The ascent of kimberlite: Insights from olivine

Olivine xenocrysts are ubiquitous in kimberlite deposits worldwide and derive from the disaggregation of mantle-derived peridotitic xenoliths. Here, we provide descriptions of textural features in xenocrystic olivine from kimberlite deposits at the Diavik Diamond Mine, Canada and at Igwisi Hills volcano, Tanzania. We establish a relative sequence of textural events recorded by olivine during magma ascent through the cratonic mantle lithosphere, including: xenolith disaggregation, decompression fracturing expressed as mineral- and fluid-inclusion-rich sealed and healed cracks, grain size and shape modification by chemical dissolution and abrasion, late-stage crystallization of overgrowths on olivine xenocrysts, and lastly, mechanical milling and rounding of the olivine cargo prior to emplacement. Ascent through the lithosphere operates as a “kimberlite factory” wherein progressive upward dyke propagation of the initial carbonatitic melt fractures the overlying mantle to entrain and disaggregate mantle xenoliths. Preferential assimilation of orthopyroxene (Opx) xenocrysts by the silica-undersaturated carbonatitic melt leads to deep-seated exsolution of CO2-rich fluid generating buoyancy and supporting rapid ascent. Concomitant dissolution of olivine produces irregular-shaped relict grains preserved as cores to most kimberlitic olivine. Multiple generations of decompression cracks in olivine provide evidence for a progression in ambient fluid compositions (e.g., from carbonatitic to silicic) during ascent. Numerical modelling predicts tensile failure of xenoliths (disaggregation) and olivine (cracks) over ascent distances of 2–7 km and 15–25 km, respectively, at velocities of 0.1 to >4 m s−1. Efficient assimilation of Opx during ascent results in a silica-enriched, olivine-saturated kimberlitic melt (i.e. SiO2 >20 wt.%) that crystallizes overgrowths on partially digested and abraded olivine xenocrysts. Olivine saturation is constrained to occur at pressures <1 GPa; an absence of decompression cracks within olivine overgrowths suggests depths <25 km. Late stage (<25 km) resurfacing and reshaping of olivine by particle–particle milling is indicative of turbulent flow conditions within a fully fluidized, gas-charged, crystal-rich magma

SDSS-IV MaNGA: Identification of active galactic nuclei in optical integral field unit surveys

In this paper, we investigate 2727 galaxies observed by MaNGA as of June 2016 to develop spatially resolved techniques for identifying signatures of active galactic nuclei (AGN). We identify 303 AGN candidates. The additional spatial dimension imposes challenges in identifying AGN due to contamination from diffuse ionized gas, extra-planar gas and photoionization by hot stars. We show that the combination of spatially-resolved line diagnostic diagrams and additional cuts on H$\alpha$ surface brighness and H$\alpha$ equivalent width can distinguish between AGN-like signatures and high-metallicity galaxies with LINER-like spectra. Low mass galaxies with high specific star formation rates are particularly difficult to diagnose and routinely show diagnostic line ratios outside of the standard star-formation locus. We develop a new diagnostic -- the distance from the standard diagnostic line in the line-ratios space -- to evaluate the significance of the deviation from the star-formation locus. We find 173 galaxies that would not have been selected as AGN candidates based on single-fibre spectral measurements but exhibit photoionization signatures suggestive of AGN activity in the MaNGA resolved observations, underscoring the power of large integral field unit (IFU) surveys. A complete census of these new AGN candidates is necessary to understand their nature and probe the complex co-evolution of supermassive black holes and their hosts.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, accepted to MNRA

The Relationship Between Workplace Practices and Firm Level Productivity in New Zealand

Raising New Zealand’s growth in productivity (ie output per person employed or hour worked) has become a topic of increasing political and academic debate. This has been driven by recognition that the relative decline in our incomes (compared to those of other developed nations) is a direct consequence of our inability to raise our productivity at a comparable rate. In this paper, we examine issues relating to achievement of productivity growth within organisations. We firstly contextualise this by providing a general overview of productivity trends, including the connection between firm­level and wider productivity. We then outline a framework for considering business practices and how these might affect workplace productivity; review New Zealand research findings about the relationship between workplace practices and firm­level productivity growth; and discuss the results of recent studies (done or funded by the Department of Labour) of change processes within organisations. From this, we conclude that there is a wide range of business improvement options, depending on the needs of the individual organisation; that significant improvements in workplace practices can be achieved; and that these contribute to a range of better operational outcomes. Ultimate benefits in productivity can be expected but are harder to attribute. However, the experience of the organisations studied highlights the challenges inherent in these processes, which require sustained commitment, and buy­in from people at all levels. There were significant differences in outcomes between those organisations that began with positive internal relationships and culture, and management leadership, and those where these conditions were absent