International Differences in Lean Production, Productivity and Employee Attitudes

The study examines US-European productivity and worker attitude differences, focusing on changes in incentive structures. We analyze productivity and worker attitudes in five plants in the UK and US belonging to the same multinational producer of automotive sensors and actuators. We examine the firm's efforts to make complementary changes in product strategy and human-resource policies. In particular, we look at the impact of a Value-Added Gainsharing plan (VAG) that was introduced at different times among the four plants. Our analysis draws on multiple plant visits, surveys of almost all of the workforce, and confidential financial data. Our study offers a rare look inside a low-wage, non-union firm. We find that the VAG had an impact on productivity and profitability. We find that the UK plant's productivity and worker satisfaction was well below that of the US plants. However, neither our analysis nor interviews with managers suggest that differences in national institutions play a key role in explaining these results.

Management Practices, Relational Contracts and the Decline of General Motors

General Motors was once regarded as one of the best managed and most successful firms in the world, but between 1980 and 2009 its share of the US market fell from 62.6 to 19.8 percent, and in 2009 the firm went bankrupt. In this paper we argue that the conventional explanation for this decline – namely high legacy labor and health care costs – is seriously incomplete, and that GM’s share collapsed for many of the same reasons that many of the other highly successful American firms of the 50s, 60s and 70s were forced from the market, including a failure to understand the nature of the competition they faced and an inability to respond effectively once they did. We focus particularly on the problems GM encountered in developing the relational contracts essential to modern design and manufacturing. We discuss a number of possible causes for these difficulties: including GM’s historical practice of treating both its suppliers and its blue collar workforce as homogeneous, interchangeable entities, and its view that expertise could be partitioned so that there was minimal overlap of knowledge amongst functions or levels in the organizational hierarchy and decisions could be made using well-defined financial criteria. We suggest that this dynamic may have important implications for our understanding of the role of management in the modern, knowledge based firm, and for the potential revival of manufacturing in the United States

Analyzing Compensation Methods in Manufacturing: Piece Rates, Time Rates, or Gain-Sharing?

Economists have often argued that "pay for performance" is the optimal compensation scheme. However, use of the simplest form of pay for performance, the piece rate, has been in decline in manufacturing in recent decades. We show both theoretically and empirically that these changes are due to adoption of "modern manufacturing" in which firms produce a greater variety of products to a more demanding quality and delivery standard. We further develop a theory of the type of compensation system appropriate for this kind of production, in which there is a high return to “multi-tasking”, where the same workers perform both easy-to-observe and hard-to-observe tasks and to “just-in-time” production, which entails a high cost of holding inventory. We test these predictions using detailed monthly information on firm outcomes and employee surveys from four plants in two companies that adopted modern manufacturing methods and changed their method of compensation from piece rates to either time rates or value-added gain-sharing. We find that time rates and gain-sharing are associated with reduced employee performance on easy-to-observe tasks, enhanced performance on hard-to-observe tasks, and improved firm profitability. Our analysis shows the importance of distinguishing types of incentive pay: we find that modern manufacturing is consistent with either group incentive pay (such as gain-sharing), or no incentives (such as hourly pay), but inconsistent with individual incentive pay (piece rates).

Improving Lunar Exploration with Robotic Follow-up

We are investigating how augmenting human field work with subsequent robot activity can improve lunar exploration. Robotic "follow-up" might involve: completing geology observations; making tedious or long-duration measurements of a target site or feature; curating samples in-situ; and performing unskilled, labor-intensive work. To study this technique, we have begun conducting a series of lunar analog field tests at Haughton Crater (Canada). Motivation: In most field geology studies on Earth, explorers often find themselves left with a set of observations they would have liked to make, or samples they would have liked to take, if only they had been able to stay longer in the field. For planetary field geology, we can imagine mobile robots - perhaps teleoperated vehicles previously used for manned exploration or dedicated planetary rovers - being deployed to perform such follow-up activities [1]

Pengetahuan Tokoh Masyarakat Dan Kader Kesehatan Tentang Program Eliminasi Filariasis Limfatik Di Kecamatan Pemayung Kabupaten Batanghari Provinsi Jambi

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a disease caused by filarial worms that until recently was remains a health problem in Indonesia. Jambi province is one of endemic areas for Lymphatic filariasis that some of its regency already implemented mass drug administration (MDA) program. One of regency which has already implemented mass drug administration is Batanghari Regency with 66 chronic cases. Mass drug administration has been started in Batanghari Regency since 2009 and the implementation unit is subdistrict of Pemayung. MDA coverage in the first year is 74,2 percent. The purpose of this research was to determine knowledge of cadres involved in MDA and community leader related to elimination program of Lymphatic filariasis in Pemayung Subdistrict of Batanghari Regency. The results show cadres have good knowledge in regard to the symptoms, impact of disease and prevention aspects. Cadres also support the program of mass drug administration. Knowledge of community leaders show poor on LF disease symptom, but they have good knowledge about the impact of the disease. They also agree and support the implementation of mass drug administration. Cadres and community leaders have experience that the community fear to drink medicines due to side effects of drugs. Conclusion of the research was cadres and community leader has good knowledge regard to the Lymphatic filariasis elimination progra

What do we know about cross-country comparative studies in HRM? A critical review of literature in the period of 2000-2014

Significant progress has been made in the research on variations in HRM across national boundaries, in both the quantity of studies and theoretical advancements since the mid-1980s. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review of existing literature on cross-country comparative studies of HRM as an important strand of the international HRM field in order to shed new light on dominant key concerns and themes, and emerging syntheses. More specifically, we conducted a systematic review of cross-country comparative HRM studies published in academic journals in the English language in the 15-year period of 2000–2014. Our paper charted the development of cross-country comparative studies of HRM as a sub-field of HRM research. Our analysis of 125 articles from 30 business and management journals shows the countries/regions that have been studied, topics, and research methods used. We also highlight a number of research avenues for further study in this field. Although there are a number of distinct strands to the literature, our study concludes that there is an emerging common ground in underlying concerns and theoretical assumptions both within the field, and with other areas of management inquiry

Narrow-band imaging versus white light for the detection of proximal colon serrated lesions: a randomized, controlled trial

Background The value of narrow-band imaging (NBI) for detecting serrated lesions is unknown. Objective To assess NBI for the detection of proximal colon serrated lesions. Design Randomized, controlled trial. Setting Two academic hospital outpatient units. Patients Eight hundred outpatients 50 years of age and older with intact colons undergoing routine screening, surveillance, or diagnostic examinations. Interventions Randomization to colon inspection in NBI versus white-light colonoscopy. Main Outcome Measurements The number of serrated lesions (sessile serrated polyps plus hyperplastic polyps) proximal to the sigmoid colon. Results The mean inspection times for the whole colon and proximal colon were the same for the NBI and white-light groups. There were 204 proximal colon lesions in the NBI group and 158 in the white light group (P = .085). Detection of conventional adenomas was comparable in the 2 groups. Limitations Lack of blinding, endoscopic estimation of polyp location. Conclusion NBI may increase the detection of proximal colon serrated lesions, but the result in this trial did not reach significance. Additional study of this issue is warranted. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT01572428.

Perspectives of informal caregivers who support people following hip fracture surgery: a qualitative study embedded within the HIP HELPER feasibility trial

Objectives: To illuminate the perspectives of informal caregivers who support people following hip fracture surgery. Design: A qualitative study embedded within a now completed multi-centre, feasibility randomised controlled trial (HIP HELPER). Setting: Five English National Health Service (NHS) hospitals. Participants: We interviewed 20 participants (10 informal caregivers; 10 people with hip fracture), following hip fracture surgery. This included one male and nine females who experienced a hip fracture; and seven male and three female informal caregivers. The median age was 72.5 years (range: 65 to 96 years), 71.0 years (range: 43 to 81 years) for people with hip fracture and informal caregivers, respectively. Methods: Semi-structured, virtual interviews were undertaken between November 2021 and March 2022, with caregiver dyads (person with hip fracture and their informal caregiver). Data were analysed thematically. Findings: We identified two main themes: expectations of the informal caregiver role, and reality of being an informal caregiver; and sub-themes: expectations of care and services; responsibility and advocacy; profile of people with hip fracture; decision to be a caregiver; transition from hospital to home. Conclusion: Findings suggest informal caregivers do not feel empowered to advocate for a person’s recovery or navigate the care system, leading to increased and unnecessary stress, anxiety and frustration when supporting the person with hip fracture. We suggest that a tailored information-giving on the recovery pathway, which is responsive to the caregiving population (i.e., considering the needs of male, younger, and more active informal caregivers and people with hip fracture) would smooth the transition from hospital to home