The organizational and geographical boundaries of the firm: Focus on labour as a major stakeholder

© 2017 Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: This paper aims to analyse the organizational and geographical (by nation-states) boundaries of the firm and their impact on labour and to develop a theoretical framework in which firms’ boundaries are analysed from the point of view of labour as a main stakeholder in the firm. Design/methodology/approach: The paper considers the boundaries in terms of: perspectives (legal/proprietary, responsibility and control); stakeholders (shareholders and managers as well as labour, governments and suppliers) and dimensions (organization of production, geographical/by nation-state and sectoral). The paper analyses various organizational forms of production in terms of control (over labour process and brand), responsibility for labour employed across the value chain and labour bargaining power. The firm is seen in the context of labour as main stakeholder and of strategic control versus the property rights view of the firm. The paper contains references to some real-life cases which support the arguments developed at the theoretical level. Findings: In terms of organizational boundaries, the paper analyses hybrid forms of firm organization and their implications for the position of labour. In the context of geographical boundaries, conclusions are drawn on the impact of transnational corporations (TNCs)’ direct activities on labour. Changes in organizational and geographical boundaries are seen as strategic moves that lead to the fragmentation of labour and to the weakening of its bargaining position. There is an analysis of the role of nation-state regulatory regimes in creating opportunities for TNCs’ advantages towards labour. The basic pillars of this theoretical approach are emphasis on labour as a main stakeholder as well as one of the main actors towards whom firms develop strategies and who, in turn, develops countervailing strategies; and the assignation of responsibility for labour over that part of the value chain – which could be the whole of it – over which the firm exercises strategic control. Research limitations/implications: More case study work would further support the arguments in the paper and lead to refinements of the theory. Social implications: For labour, cross-country strategies are developed, and it is argued that the principal firm should take responsibility for the labour force on the basis of the “control” perspective rather than the “legal/proprietary” one. At the macro level, it could be argued for policies that lead to more homogeneous regulatory regimes across countries and in particular within the EU. There are implications for the strategies of trade unions within and across countries. There is also a call for overcoming academic disciplinary boundaries in research specifically those between economics, business strategy and sociology of labour and industrial relations. Originality/value: The work puts labour at the forefront of analysis in the boundaries of the firm. It develops a theoretical framework for this analysis and for its policy implications including policies by trade unions

Outcomes of a specialist weight management programme in the UK national health service: prospective study of 1838 patients

Objectives There is limited evidence on the effectiveness of weight management programmes provided within routine healthcare and inconsistent use of outcome measures. Our aim was to evaluate a large National Health Service (NHS) weight management service and report absolute and proportional weight losses over 12 months.<p></p> Design Prospective observational study.<p></p> Setting Glasgow and Clyde Weight Management Service (GCWMS), which provides care for residents of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area (population 1.2 million).<p></p> Participants All patients who began GCWMS between 1 October 2008 and 30 September 2009.<p></p> Interventions Structured educational lifestyle programme employing cognitive behavioural therapy, 600 kcal deficit diet, physical activity advice, lower calorie diet and pharmacotherapy.<p></p> Primary and secondary outcomes measures Baseline observation carried forward (BOCF), last observation carried forward (LOCF) and changes in programme completers reported using outcomes of absolute 5 kg and 5% weight losses and mean weight changes at a variety of time points.<p></p> Results 6505 referrals were made to GCWMS, 5637 were eligible, 3460 opted in and 1916 (34%) attended a first session. 78 patients were excluded from our analysis on 1838 patients. 72.9% of patients were women, mean age of all patients at baseline was 49.1 years, 43.3% lived in highly socioeconomically deprived areas and mean weights and body mass indices at baseline were 118.1 kg and 43.3 kg/m2, respectively. 26% lost ≥5 kg by the end of phase 1, 30% by the end of phase 2 and 28% by the end of phase 3 (all LOCF). Weight loss was more successful among men, particularly those ≤29 years old.<p></p> Conclusions Routine NHS weight management services may achieve moderate weight losses through a comprehensive evidence-based dietary, activity and behavioural approach including psychological care. Weight losses should be reported using a range of outcome measures so that the effectiveness of different services can be compared

New Constraints on the Yukawa-Type Hypothetical Interaction From The Recent Casimir Force Measurement

We calculate the constraints on the constants of hypothetical long-range interactions which follow from the recent measurement of the Casimir force. A comparison with previous constraints is given. The new constraints are up to a factor of 3000 stronger in some parameter regions .Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 2 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Universality in the Gravitational Stretching of Clocks, Waves and Quantum States

There are discernible and fundamental differences between clocks, waves and physical states in classical physics. These fundamental concepts find a common expression in the context of quantum physics in gravitational fields; matter and light waves, quantum states and oscillator clocks become quantum synonymous through the Planck-Einstein-de Broglie relations and the equivalence principle. With this insight, gravitational effects on quantum systems can be simply and accurately analyzed. Apart from providing a transparent framework for conceptual and quantitative thinking on matter waves and quantum states in a gravitational field, we address and resolve with clarity the recent controversial discussions on the important issue of the relation and the crucial difference between gravimetery using atom interferometers and the measurement of gravitational time dilation.Comment: Gravity Research Foundation honorable mention, 201

Dual-doped thermographic phosphor particles as surrogates for green fluorescent protein-labeled cells in tests of cytometric neurocatheters

We investigated the laser-induced fluorescence of particles of a compound thermographic phosphorLa2O2S:Eu(1%) and Gd2O2S:Eu(1%) to see if they can serve as a surrogate for cells transfected with the green fluorescent protein, in tests of neurocatheters used for intraparenchymal celldelivery. At an excitation wavelength of 337 nm and a concentration of ≈2×106 particles ml−1, the resulting slurries produced fluorescence intensities at 625 nm that were within a factor of 2 of those produced by similar number densities of relevant cells, thus suggesting the utility of this approach

The organizational and geographical boundaries of the firm: strategic and policy issues for labour and governments

Analysis of the firm’s boundaries in terms of: perspectives – legal/proprietary; responsibility; control - ; stakeholders – shareholders and managers but also others and specifically labour and governments -; dimensions – organization of production; geographical/by nation-state; sectoral -. The organization of production in hierarchical as well as in a variety of hybrid forms and to the position of labour in the context of these hybrid forms. The geographical – by nation-states - dimension leads to a discussion of transnational companies, the advantages they derive from operating across borders and the source of such advantages. Detailed analysis of the position of two stakeholders vis-à-vis the changing boundaries of the firm: labour and governments. How organizational and geographical fragmentation of production lead to a more fragmented and weaker labour force. The geographical dimension and the position of governments in relation to transnational companies. How the changing boundaries of the firm particularly with respect to organizational forms and to the geography of direct foreign operations by TNCs put both labour and governments in a weaker position

Observation of opto-mechanical multistability in a high Q torsion balance oscillator

We observe the opto-mechanical multistability of a macroscopic torsion balance oscillator. The torsion oscillator forms the moving mirror of a hemi-spherical laser light cavity. When a laser beam is coupled into this cavity, the radiation pressure force of the intra-cavity beam adds to the torsion wire's restoring force, forming an opto-mechanical potential. In the absence of optical damping, up to 23 stable trapping regions were observed due to local light potential minima over a range of 4 micrometer oscillator displacement. Each of these trapping positions exhibits optical spring properties. Hysteresis behavior between neighboring trapping positions is also observed. We discuss the prospect of observing opto-mechanical stochastic resonance, aiming at enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in gravity experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

The Midspan studies

No abstract available