Originally published in 1994 this book undertakes a comprehensive study dealing with the effects of machine flexibility, tool magazine capacity, varying production demands and different oeprating policies on the production planning problems. Performance measures such as FMS flexibility, makespan and inventory are used in evaluating the effects. Three measures of FMS flexibility - actual routing flexibility, potential routing flexibility and capacity flexibility are defined and operationalized.

Originally published in 1994 this volume investigates the relationship between a firm's decision to integrate vertically and its research and development (R & D) strategy. Literature on vertical integration is reviewed and a framework presented to analyze the costs and benefits of vertical integration. The theoretical basis for the proposed hypostheses is investigated and the hypotheses tested empirically.

Originally published in 1995, this book explores a number of subjects of significance for labor and economic policy, especially the role of U. S. tax policy in the relocation of jobs from the contintental USA to Puerto Rico. The book demonstrates the problems for the USA because of inadequate adjustment policies to protect the interests of communities and workers when plants close and production is relocated. It disproves the myth that markets will take fcare of workers and communities, showing that basic economics is concerned with market forces and not with equity, environmental and worker protections. The Whitehall plant closing case is documented and the economic and political context analyzed which caused that case to be instructive for broader economic and labor policy purposes. In a new age of American Protectionism, this book has enduring relevance.

Boost Efficiency, Sales, and Profits by, Unleashing the Power of Web Technology "Forget Web hype, Internet academia, and all the new technology books you’ve read before. This one really delivers. The authors have created a practical and useful set of tools any CEO, manager, or entrepreneur can use to empower their organizations and themselves. I’m sending copies to all of my companies." —Ed Bennett, Chairman Prodigy Ventures "In this well-written and easy-to-read book, McEachern and O’Keefe help the business manager keep pace with technology and ahead of the competition by showing how business innovators have parlayed Internet technology into business advantage. McEachern and O’Keefe provide insight into how business can leverage the Internet as a powerful commercial tool and strategic weapon." —George Tillmann, Vice President Booz • Allen & Hamilton "Re-Wiring Business gives us the opportunity to not repeat our mistakes by focusing on the Internet as a fantastic communications tool that can increase worker productivity, raise service levels, and allow all who need information to have access to it." —Phyllis K. Sokol, Director of Educational Services for the Commerce Enterprise Business Unit, Sterling Commerce "A powerful reference for companies who are competing in the digital age, this book comes at an intriguing time in business and addresses many of the trends and issues facing organizations today." —Cheryl Currid, President, Currid & Company

This volume investigates the impact of energy technology innovations on economic development and presents new areas of research into the financial economics of energy as well as new studies into valuation, electricity pricing and the economic, regulatory and environmental costs of alternative energy sources. Academics and practitioners take a global perspective and present cases from several countries. The book concentrates on three issues: 1) innovation and shocks in energy markets; 2) environment and renewables and 3) fossil fuel regulation. The book will provide a useful resource for anyone with an academic or business interest in energy and value issues. This is the fourth volume in a series on energy organized by the Center for Energy and Value Issues (CEVI). The previous volumes in the series include Financial Aspects in Energy (2011), Energy Economics and Financial Markets (2012) and Perspectives on Energy Risk (2014).

What changes are occurring at the macro and the sectoral levels, how the labour market changes are taking place and what impactis felt on the low income households are some of the questions that the present volume focuses on. It begins by examining the sectoral composition of growth, revisiting the issues related to industry-services balance, and also brings out the spatial dimension of growth. On the one hand the industry does not seem to have played a major role in the context of employment generation as imported technology is by and large capital intensive in nature. On the other hand, the services-led growth is seen to have reduced the pace of poverty reduction. Given the services-led growth the possible impact of trade in services on employment both in the formal and informal sectors have been worked out, indicating limited positive spill-over effects. The labour market outcomes are brought out with great details suggesting that rapid economic growth in India could not result in productive employment generation on a large scale. The gender dimensions of employment are brought out to verify if reduction in labour market inequality can result in improving the position of women in other spheres encompassing the decision making process both within the household and outside the household. Issues relating to urbanisation and rural-urban migration are also covered to understand the dynamics of urban poverty and to bring out the challenges of population transfer given the spatial concentration of growth. The job search practices pursued by the low income households are often pursued in terms of informal networks. What problems are associated with such mechanisms in experiencing improvements in wellbeing levels are covered in the present volume. On the whole, the volume offers an explanation of limited poverty reduction in a situation of rapid economic growth on the basis of an inter-disciplinary framework though efforts are being made to keep the methodology quantitatively rigorous. "

Sweden has a long history of ambitious environmental, energy and climate policy. Due to the large amount of data available it is possible to perform statistically sound analysis and assess long term changes in productivity, efficiency, and technological development. The data at hand together with Sweden's ambitious energy and climate policy provides a unique opportunity to shed light on pertinent policy issues. The Impact of Climate Policy on Environmental and Economic Performance answers several key questions: What is the effect of the CO2 tax on environmental performance and profitability of firms? Does including emissions in productivity measurement of the industrial firm matter? Did the introduction of the EU ETS spur technological development in the Swedish industrial firm? What air pollutant is most inhibiting production when regulated? Being aware and learning from the Swedish case can be very relevant for countries that are in the process of shaping their climate policy. This book is of great importance to researchers and policy makers who are interested in environmental economics, industrial economics and climate change.

With increasing pressure on resources, the looming spectre of climate change and growing anxiety among eaters, ecology and food are at the heart of the political debates surrounding agriculture and diet. This unique contribution unravels agri-environmental issues at different spatial levels, from local to global, documenting the major shifts in agriculture from a long-term perspective. The book begins by exploring the changes in the industrialisation and socialisation of agriculture over time, through the lens of institutional economics including The French Regulation School and Conventions Theory. Building on Polanyi's 'Great Transformation', the chapters in this volume analyse long-term and contemporary changes in agriculture and food systems that have occurred throughout the last few centuries. Key chapters focus on the historical changes in provisioning and the social relations of production, consumption, and regulation of food in different socio-political contexts. The future of agriculture is addressed through an analysis of controversial contemporary political claims and their engagement with strategies that aim to improve the sustainability of agriculture and food consumption. To shed light on ongoing changes and the future of food, this book asks important environmental and social questions and analyses how industrial agriculture has played out in various contexts. It is recommended supplementary reading for postgraduates and researchers in agricultural studies, food studies, food policy, the agri-food political economy and political and economic geography.

Originally published in 1972, The University and British Industry examines the lively and controversial relationship between British industry and the university. The book looks at the impact of industry on the development of British universities from the 1850s to the 1970s, and with contribution from the universities to industry through scientific research and the supply of graduate skills. The book argues that the close involvement of the universities and industry has been one of the chief beneficial forces shaping the British universities movement in the last hundred years. It gives an account of the changes which took place within the universities to make them more suitable for industries purposes, describing for example the early rise of the English civic universities, strongly financed by, and closely supporting industry. The book also considers how, during the two world wars, industry became highly reliant on the universities for the war technology, and how, despite the depression between the wars, university research and graduate employment embraced the widening opportunities of the new industries. The book also discusses the expansion of the university in the sixties and points out that industrial motives have merged with those of social justice, posing dilemmas for present and future relations between universities and industry.

This volume examines the circumstances in which a shareholder can bring an action on behalf of a company (a derivative action), exploring how this remedy may be used to ensure good corporate governance, and laying out a theoretical framework and practical guidance for future development of the law. Derivative actions are an important aspect of the continuing debate about corporate governance in the UK, the US and many other jurisdictions worldwide. This book offers a conceptually inclusive approach to thinking about derivative actions by providing a detailed and clear overview, commentary, and a theoretical explanation of the law governing derivative actions in the corporate governance context. Reisberg provides a fundamental reassessment of the nature and objectives of the derivative action, and conceptualizes a new model of the derivative action mechanism. He argues that action should be taken in three areas: (1) conceptual (adoption of a new framework- the 'Functional and Focused Model' set out in the book) (2) strategic (employment of appropriate incentives and fee rules which advance the premises behind the Model) (3) maintaining doctrinal consistency (clarification of the interaction between the derivative action and other remedies available to shareholders) This book offers practical guidance on solving current problems in many jurisdictions based on case law, and on substantive legal, economic, and comparative research. It also provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis and commentary on the regime governing derivative actions under Part 11 of the Companies Act 2006 in the UK.

Structured into sub-sector by sub-sector analyses, this book provides a clear and accessible examination of industrial development, without over-generalizing or being weighed down by historical details. Written by an authority in the area of development economics it explores the companies and the individuals that have pushed Japan's economy forwards.

Kohama situates the miraculous growth of the Japanese economy in the 1960s in the trade liberalization policy of 1960 and the income doubling plan that commenced in 1961, yet also analyzes the pre-war structures that were in place to facilitate such a 'miracle.' Combining policy analysis with empirical industry-specific analysis, he argues that private dynamism was the real driver of change, rather than policy alone.

Reviewing the macroeconomic development of the economy but focusing on the development of the industrial sub-sectors that dominated Japan s industrial scene at various stages of development and structural changes that happened in the process of industrial development, this book is ideal reading for graduate students taking courses on economic development.

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ERP Systems for Manufacturing Supply Chains: Applications, Configuration, and Performance provides insight into the core architecture, modules, and process support of ERP systems used in a manufacturing supply chain. This book explains the building blocks of an ERP system and how they can be used to increase performance of manufacturing supply chains. Starting with an overview of basic concepts of supply chain and ERP systems, the book delves into the core ERP modules that support manufacturing facilities and organizations. It examines each module's structure and functionality as well as the process support the module provides. Cases illustrate how the modules can be applied in manufacturing environments. Also covered is how the ERP modules can be configured to support manufacturing supply chains. Setting up an ERP system to support the supply chain within single manufacturing facility provides insight into how an ERP system is used in the smallest of manufacturing enterprises, as well as lays the foundation for ERP systems in manufacturing organizations. The book then supplies strategies for larger manufacturing enterprises and discusses how ERP systems can be used to support a complete manufacturing supply chain across different facilities and companies. The ERP systems on the market today tend to use common terminology and naming for describing specific functions and data units in the software. However, there are differences among packages. The book discusses various data and functionalities found in different ERP-software packages and uses generic and descriptive terms as often as possible to make these valid for as many ERP systems as possible. Filled with insight into ERP system's core modules and functions, this book shows how ERP systems can be applied to support a supply chain in the smallest of manufacturing organizations that only consist of a single manufacturing facility, as well as large enterprises where the manufacturing supply chain crosses multiple facilities and companies.

This book investigates the birth and evolution of craft breweries around the world. Microbrewery, brewpub, artisanal brewery, henceforth craft brewery, are terms referred to a new kind of production in the brewing industry contraposed to the mass production of beer, which has started and diffused in almost all industrialized countries in the last decades. This project provides an explanation of the entrepreneurial dynamics behind these new firms from an economic perspective. The product standardization of large producers, the emergence of a new more sophisticated demand and set of consumers, the effect of contagion, and technology aspects are analyzed as the main determinants behind this 'revolution'. The worldwide perspective makes the project distinctive, presenting cases from many relevant countries, including the USA, Australia, Japan, China, UK, Belgium, Italy and many other EU countries.

This book focuses on three main areas, each of which is central to economic theorising: firms' organisation and behaviour, technological change and the process of globalisation. Each subject can be analysed by using different methods, which range from purely theoretical abstractions to case studies and from econometrics to simulations. What this collection provides is a broad view of the three topics by concentrating on different aspects of each of them, and utilising different methods of investigation. Internationalization, Technological Change and the Theory of the Firm looks in detail at various questions surrounding firms' organisation, including why we can observe ordered paths of production, whether proximity between firms matters, and whether patenting is always worthwhile. In addition, several essays explore technology and innovation, including the persistence-cum-development of old technologies. Furthermore, this book focuses on those processes which concern small- and medium-sized firms, considering the usefulness of stage theory, the possibilities of production off-shoring and the skill composition of manufacturing firms. Overall, the book is characterised by original ideas, renewed applications of mathematical and statistical methods and the use of new databases. This valuable collection will be of interest to postgraduates and researchers focusing on innovation, theories of the firm and globalisation; and should also be useful to a professional readership as it presents up-to-date research with the aim of improving our understanding of the phenomena of technological change, firms' strategies, and globalisation.

When this book was first published in 1967, it was one of the first pieces of research to systematically examine the manpower problems associated with rapidly changing technology. It discusses issues such as technological change and unemployment, changes in the structure of employment, the mobility of labour, occupational structure and adjustment, hours of work, and labour-management relations. Its findings suggest that structural unemployment and redundancy are only two of a host of difficulties accompanying technical progress. Although the book originated in Sweden its relevance is clear to other Western european countries and researchers and policy-makers in the USA.

Originally published in 1988, this book explores how new technologies, industrial innovation and the growth of high technology industry have affected regional employment and economic change in different European countries. It discusses the factors which make some areas better suited than others to the development of the new industries, emphasising how fuctional integration and dependence upon highly-qualified manpower tend to concentrate these industries in particular locations. Attempts to encourage innovation and the development of high technology industry in old industrial areas are discussed, with particular reference to the role of large firms, training programmes and government policies.

The revolution in new technology gave rise to new work patterns and improved productivity, all of which affect the management of human resources. Expectations for increased efficiency have not always been fulfilled because of the problems that have arisen in workings of labour relations. How can management maximize the benefits of these technologies while co-operating with their employees? How far are trade unions involved in the decisions as companies adopt new technology? Is the workforce consulted in systems design? This book, originally published in 1992 looks at the problems of developing strategies in information technology when considering labour relations. Experts in industrial sociology, human resource management and organizational behaviour assess the achievements and failures, including consideration of issues such as public sector work, gender and race. Drawing on empirical evidence, the contributors cover a wide range of industries including case studies in electronics and banking, together with international comparisons.

This book examines ten major fields of innovation to see what factors have contributed to success or failure. In each field, it compares 3 or 4 companies from Britain, the USA and Europe. The book provides recommendations for government policy on procurement and industrial structures.

This book, originally published in 1988, reviews the development of high technology industries at global and selected national and local levels, providing a unique insight into reasons for and consequences of such modern industrial development. It appraises government policies for assisting the development of this sector and focuses on the fact that high tech industry tends to be concentrated in particular regions of countries which attain the status of 'successful populations'. High technology industry seems to offer little benefit to declining manufacturing areas and the book offers explanations for these regional concentrations and assesses the likely consequences.

Originally published in 1997, this book puts information management in the context of technology transfer, industrialization and national development. As well as showing the necessity for the efficient use of information resources, the book also examines the costs of poor information management in undermining negotiation, the preparation of contingencies and the ability to let go of 'dead projects'. The book includes case studies of two technology transfer projects in Kenya are included.

Originally published in 1992 this book charts the global restructuring of telecommunications industries away from the monopoly structures of the past towards increased competition, deregulation and privatization. The book's authors are international policy-makers and scholars, who examine the regulatory environment within a theoretical and historical context. The book looks at the roots of regulatory and legislative changes by discussing individually the countries at the forefront of the revolution: the UK, France, Germany, Japan and the United States. It examines the impact of new technology for consequences of change in trade and government policies.

Originally published in 1993, this book contains 4 studies on Asia: Bangladesh, India, South Korea and Sri Lanka. The studies reflect 4 different patterns of technological transformation. India, with its large populaiton has made considerable progress but its overall development has been slow until recently. At the other extreme, South Korea which had a very low per capita income in the 1950s registered a quantum leap in technological transformation within a short span of 30 years. The heritage of Bangladesh's past has constrained its progress in overcoming structural weaknesses but in comparison, Sri Lanka displays a very different pattern. The sources used draw upon research in development economics, economic history, technology and studies in general and country studies in particular.

New technology arguably provided the greatest challenge to industrial relations since the formation of unions. The problems raised led to a whole range of responses - from rejection of the new technology to acceptance fo the change with management and workers making new (and sometimes unheard of) agreements. This book, originally published in 1986 and based on extensive original research, examines the changes in industrial relations which the new technology of the 1980s caused, analysing the implications for the workforce and the reactions of the management and trade unions to the challenges.

Originally published in 1973 this book discusses whether the ordinary manager can exploit the power of computers without being overwhelmed by them, a question which still has enduring relevance today. As well as discussing the massive resources which computers put at our fingertips, the pitfalls are also discussed: the danger of using computers as a scapegoat for human failure, or of sub-contracting mangerial decisions to a computer system.