Microeconomic Uncertainty and Macroeconomic Indeterminacy

We construct a stylised intertemporal macroeconomic model to illustrate how the combination of decentralised trading and microeconomic uncertainty can generate coordination problems and indeterminacy of the macroeconomic equilibrium. With a competitive labour market and a fixed labour supply, the range of equilibria depends mainly on the variance of the idiosyncratic shocks and may thus remain fairly narrow. The situation is different when there is imperfect competition on the labour market. The existence of real rigidities is apt to considerably increase the size of the interval of indeterminacy, for a given variance of the shocks.indeterminacy; non-Walrasian economy; equilibrium unemployment; coordination; continuum of equilibria

Performance measurement and organizational effectiveness : bridging the gap

The aim of this paper is to bridge the gap between the organizational effectiveness (OE) models developed in the field of organizational theory and the performance measurement models presented within the management accounting literature. The specific evolution of these two complementary streams of research stemming from two different fields of research are reconciled and integrated by analyzing their convergencies and divergences. As a response to theoretical and practical pressures, the evolution of OE models reflects a construct perspective, while the evolution of performance measurement models mirrors a process perspective. Performance measurement models have moved from a cybernetic view whereby performance measurement was based mainly on financial measures and considered as a component of the planning and control cycle to a holistic view based on multiple nonfinancial measures where performance measurement acts as an independent process included in a broader set of activities. This paper contributes to the performance measurement literature by establishing the origins of the performance measurement models and by shedding light on unexplored fertile areas of future research

Performance comparison between Java and JNI for optimal implementation of computational micro-kernels

General purpose CPUs used in high performance computing (HPC) support a vector instruction set and an out-of-order engine dedicated to increase the instruction level parallelism. Hence, related optimizations are currently critical to improve the performance of applications requiring numerical computation. Moreover, the use of a Java run-time environment such as the HotSpot Java Virtual Machine (JVM) in high performance computing is a promising alternative. It benefits from its programming flexibility, productivity and the performance is ensured by the Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler. Though, the JIT compiler suffers from two main drawbacks. First, the JIT is a black box for developers. We have no control over the generated code nor any feedback from its optimization phases like vectorization. Secondly, the time constraint narrows down the degree of optimization compared to static compilers like GCC or LLVM. So, it is compelling to use statically compiled code since it benefits from additional optimization reducing performance bottlenecks. Java enables to call native code from dynamic libraries through the Java Native Interface (JNI). Nevertheless, JNI methods are not inlined and require an additional cost to be invoked compared to Java ones. Therefore, to benefit from better static optimization, this call overhead must be leveraged by the amount of computation performed at each JNI invocation. In this paper we tackle this problem and we propose to do this analysis for a set of micro-kernels. Our goal is to select the most efficient implementation considering the amount of computation defined by the calling context. We also investigate the impact on performance of several different optimization schemes which are vectorization, out-of-order optimization, data alignment, method inlining and the use of native memory for JNI methods.Comment: Part of ADAPT Workshop proceedings, 2015 (arXiv:1412.2347

Variational Principle Involving the Stress Tensor in Elastodynamics

The decomposition of the stress tensor proposed in this article (1986) for a hyperelastic medium is now widely used in the literature. 16 pages.International audienceIn the mechanics of inviscid conservative fluids, it is classical to generate the equations of dynamics by formulating with adequate variables, that the pressure integral calculated in the time-space domain corresponding to the motion of the continuous medium is stationary. The present study extends this principle to the dynamics of large deformations for isentropic motions in thermo-elastic bodies: we use a new way of writing the equations of motion in terms of potentials and we substitute the trace of the stress tensor for the pressure term

Harnessing eco-control to boost environmental and financial performance

The article provides information on the concept of using eco-control tools in improving both the environmental and financial performance of organizations in Canada. Eco-control tools are accordingly aimed at incorporating environmental aspects in available tools, as they are also intended to isolate their effect on the organization. Meanwhile, charts depicting the usage index of environmental performance indicators (EPI), and the index of integration of environmental aspects are also presente

Modelling the impact of ISO 14001 on environmental performance : a comparative approach

Studies analyzing the effects of ISO 14001 certification and determinants of environmental performance tend to be based on a traditional and instrumental model of efficiency. Using structural equation modelling developed through a survey of 303 organizations, this paper compares the validity of this instrumental model with two alternatives models: the legitimacy-based model and the hybrid model. The findings question the efficiency of ISO 14001 and show that the traditional model does not explain the environmental performance of the surveyed organizations. Study results show that the legitimacybased model, which questions the efficiency of ISO 14001 certification, is more pertinent in explaining the environmental performance but leads to a rather critical view of management practices. The development of a hybrid model based on the principal hypotheses of the legitimacy-based model, but integrating certain managerial and operational practices distinct from ISO 14001 certification, results in a less critical and more pertinent view of the determinants of environmental performance. Study results suggest that this hybrid model provides the best data fit

Eco-control : the influence of management control systems on environmental and economic performance.

Eco-control is the application of financial and strategic control methods to environmental management. In this study, we investigate to what extent eco-control influences environmental and economic performance. Using survey-data from a sample of Canadian manufacturing firms, the results suggest that eco-control has no direct effect on economic performance. A mediating effect of environmental performance on the link between eco-control and economic performance is observed in different contexts. More specifically, eco-control indirectly influences economic performance in the context of (i) higher environmental exposure, (ii) higher public visibility, (iii) higher environmental concern, and (iv) larger size. This study contributes to the management accounting literature by providing insight into the roles and contributions of management accounting in the context of sustainable development

Is sustainability performance comparable? : a study of GRI reports of mining organizations

The objective of this study is to analyze the measurability and interfirm comparability of sustainability performance through the qualitative content analysis of 12 sustainability reports of mining firms using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. The systematic comparison of information disclosed in 92 GRI indicators sheds light on the reasons underlying the impossibility of rigorously measuring and comparing the sustainability performance of firms from the same sector, which are supposed to be strictly following the same reporting guideline. These reasons include qualitative aspects of sustainability, lack of compliance with GRI protocols, indicator contingency, ambiguous or incomplete information, data heterogeneity, and report opacity. The study makes it possible to return to the very notion of sustainability, its meaning, and flexible application by organizations. The results are discussed from three different theoretical perspectives (functionalist, critical, and postmodern), each of which proposes possible and complementary explanations of the main findings