Suchergebnisse

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) efforts to address the year 2000 computing problem, focusing on: (1) FAA's progress to date; (2) the agency's self-reported data showing that much remains to be done; (3) challenges FAA faces in ensuring that its internal systems will work; (4) risks associated with external organizations--focusing specifically on airports and international entities; and (5) the critical need for business continuity and contingency plans that identify how aviation operations will continue should systems fail."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to reform how it does business, focusing on the: (1) actions taken by DOD to provide program direction and momentum to the Defense Reform Initiative (DRI) effort; (2) additional steps that could be taken to facilitate a more comprehensive reform effort; (3) impact of the current initiatives on DOD's budget process; (4) progress generally being made in implementing the initiatives; and (5) status of the competitive sourcing initiative."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO followed up on its report on Amtrak's financial performance, focusing on: (1) Amtrak's overall financial performance in fiscal year (FY) 1998; (2) the prospects for Amtrak to meet its financial goals for operating self-sufficiency outlined in its most recent strategic business plan; and (3) the extent to which current and anticipated federal funding and recently enacted legislative reforms aimed at helping Amtrak better control its costs are likely to help improve its financial condition."

FROM THE BEGINNING, RUSSIA'S POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC LEADERSHIP HAS NEGLECTED INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT. AT EVERY STAGE POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY HAS TRUMPED RATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY, AND POLICYMAKERS HAVE DELUDED THEMSELVES WITH THE NOTION THAT ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND RATIONAL BUSINESS DECISION MAKING WOULD SPRING FULL BLOWN FROM THE FORMER NOMENKLATURA WHO DOMINATED THE "REFORM" ECONOMIC SCENE. THE QUESTION NOW REMAINS WHETHER A STRATEGY CAN BE DEVISED IN RUSSIA BY RUSSIANS TO COMPLETE THE TRANSFORMATION OF THEIR ECONOMY INTO A WORKING MARKET ECONOMY, AND WHETHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS WILL BE ABLE AND WILLING TO OFFER FINANCIAL AND MORAL SUPPORT.

The economic perspectives of Thorstein Veblen & John Maynard Keynes are compared, arguing that, not only is there considerable agreement between the two men, but Keynes built on most elements of Veblen's economic theory. Topics include aggregate demand, determination of output & employment, determination of price level & inflation, monetary theory of production, the business cycle, & uncertainty & the future of capitalism. Both men denounced equilibrium economics, but Veblen stressed evolution/conflict while Keynes relied on uncertainty. Veblen saw the world constantly changing in unknown directions & believed that capitalism should be abolished, but Keynes believed that rational intervention could direct the course of social change & correct the inherent instability of the free market economy. 44 References. J. Lindroth

THE SUPPOSEDLY METAMORPHIC 1990'S, WHICH WERE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE RADICAL CHANGE, HAVE INSTEAD STRAIGHTENED VERY FEW OF THE CONVOLUTIONS OF DOING BUSINESS IN RUSSIA. THE POLITICAL CRISIS OF 1998 AND THE COUNTRY'S ONGOING ECONOMIC DEBACLE HAVE DEVASTATED THE OLD OPTIMISM. THE FIRST GRIEVOUS MONTHS OF 1999 SET RECORDS FOR FAILURE IN POST-SECOND WORLD WAR RUSSIA. MEANWHILE, THE MANY MANAGERS OF GRASPING NEW ENTERPRISES AMONG THE INSIDERS ARE NOT AMBIVALENT ABOUT THEIR SELF-INTEREST. INSTEAD, THEY ARE CONVINCED THAT THEY PROFIT BY MAKING RUSSIA'S ECONOMIC "MARKET" AS COMPLEX AS POSSIBLE.

Historically, utilities have been granted a natural monopoly status through the
regulatory process. Under such conditions, utilities need to prove to their regulators that their
expenditures were necessary to comply with imposed "obligation to serve." When these
prudency arguments are successful, the utilities may recover their costs plus a rate of return.Some have argued that this structure has not created an environment that fosters productive
efficiency. With deregulation on the horizon, the utility business is changing. To survive the
21st century, utilities need to find ways to improve their efficiency. One such avenue is
strategic staffing.

AbstractThis case illustrates the difficult financial decisions that exist in agriculture. A small group of farmers are considering planting tung nut trees on their land. Historical information about the tung nut industry is included as background. Because tung nuts are grown on trees, farmers deciding to invest in tung orchards must wait years for a return on investment. Instructors can use this case to aid in teaching financial topics, such as net present value, simple rate of return, and other financial measures. Other issues also could be explored, including risk, marketing channels, business planning, and alternative agricultural crops.

A high level model of the organisation is built using the system dynamics method and an operations management perspective. The organisation is portrayed as a process linking the key competitive capabilities of cost, quality, time and flexibility. Empirical data are used to calibrate the model and predict improvements stemming from business process reengineering (BPR). The model is evaluated and suggestions made for future developments. The study highlights the need for more data on the outcomes of BPR and the need for more knowledge on how competitive capabilities are linked.

Time is the most precious resource in business and society. Unlike other resources, like people and capital, time is often considered fixed. However, the way people subjectively experience and utilize time varies substantially between people. Human development provides the basis for breakthrough improvements in time management. In particular, in higher states of consciousness it may be possible to transcend the limitations of time so that time ceases to be a factor limiting our accomplishments in life. In order to realize in practice a transformation to improved time management, we introduce an effective technique for personal evolution ‐ the Maharishi Transcendental Meditation program.

Using cases and news reports about Club Med's evolution, we have developed a five-stage exercise that involves students in the design and redesign of an organization as it changes from a simple, single-site enterprise to a complex, multinational business. Students grope with discovering the solutions to the problems of differentiation and integration, control, operating in a variety of cultural rather than national contexts, and responding with strategic and organization design changes to shifts in the competitive environment. This exercise can be done in one 3-hour session or extended over two or more shorter class periods.

A manufacturing supply chain is an integrated set of business functions, encompassing all activities from raw material acquisition to final customer delivery. Delivering the right product at the right time in the right amount are essential objectives of efficient and effective supply chain systems. Thus measures must be taken to ensure that all operational components of the supply chain system are operating efficiently. This research examines quality measurement in a supply chain process by developing the process quality model to be used in the assessment, improvement and control of a manufacturing supply chain system.

Information technology (IT) outsourcing is a favourable option for enhancing core organisational competencies/activities. Provident decision making in selecting an optimum IT outsourcing vendor involves judgements about qualitative and quantitative factors. The paper discusses IT outsourcing and proposes a customised computer‐orientated model based on action research and analytical hierarchy process. The aims are to: specify, combine, structure, measure and prioritise key qualitative and quantitative risk elements in IT outsourcing; and provide relevant information to support managers in outsourcing decision making. The results are expected to help managers in minimising business risks and in improving quality of IT outsourcing.

For 124 Indian tribes, casino gaming has become an important source of revenue as a result of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) of 1988. This article reviews the judicial and legislative history of Indian gaming. Second, it examines regulation and oversight of Indian gaming. Next, it provides examples of the uses of gaming revenue. Then it considers the positive and negative impacts of casinos on Indian communities, local businesses, and states. Finally, it discusses the conflict over the sovereignty of Indian tribes as it relates to amending IGRA.

Using data from a sample of over 2,000 individual strikes in the United States from 1881 to 1894 this article examines geographic, industrial, and temporal variations in the use of strikebreakers and the sources from which they were recruited. The use of strikebrekers was not correlated with business cycle and did not vary appreciably by region or city size, but employers located outside the Northeast or in smaller cities were more likely to use replacement workers recruited from other places. The use of strikebreakers also varied considerably across industries, and was affected by union authorization and strike size.