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This article reviews some of the key debates in
the area of just‐in‐time operation and
implementation, and identifies 13 research issues.
These issues include: information systems for
JIT; organisational structures; performance
measurement; the management of the supply‐manufacturer‐customer
chain; location policy;
purchasing and distribution strategy and the social
implications of JIT.

This study examines the influence of employee work values, demographic characteristics, and organizational rewards on levels of organizational commitment, involvement, identification, and loyalty in a U.K. employee-owned firm. The idea that commitment can be understood as afunction of the 'fit" between employee values and organizational rewards was explored. Under multiple regression analysis, demographic variables made little impact on levels of commitment, but both organizational rewards and work values showed significant relationships to commitment. Employees who showed strong participatory values exhibited relatively high commitment; those with strongly instrumental values showed relatively lower commitment, providing some support for the 'fit" model. The implications of these findings for theory and practice in the area of employee ownership are discussed.

Based on case studies collected at two UK factories, the issues
which arise during JIT implementation are examined. These cases show
that the changes involved in a move towards JIT have a political
dimension. The implication is drawn that, in implementing a JIT system,
production managers need to consider the strategic aspects of the change
as much as they do the machines and materials aspects. An equally
strategic approach to human resource management is indicated.

This paper examines organizational structure and control in a small producer cooperative. The methods by which the cooperative meets its information-processing needs (Galbraith, 1974), the sites of authority in the cooperative, and the sources of member compliance are analysed. This analysis reveals that, although authority relations in the cooperative did not conform to those of a classical bureaucracy, the information-processing needs of the organization led to a greater bureaucratization along some dimensions than is typically found in comparable traditional businesses. It is argued that separating the information-processing aspects of coordination and control from issues of authority can provide a useful insight into the processes and dilemmas of cooperative organization.

This paper describes an exploratory study into organizational commitment in six workers' cooperatives in Scotland. Data was collected using questionnaires and semistructured interviews. The questionnaire was used to gather information about attitudes toward work, social attitudes, and demographic characteristics of the cooperatives' members. The interviews produced more detailed data about motivations for joining cooperatives, and about perceptions of the cooperative environment. The members of the cooperatives appeared to form a highly self-selected group, and produced scores on the scales of organizational commitment that were significantly higher than population norms. The data are interpreted as indicating a close match between the values and goals of the members of the cooperatives and what the cooperatives provided as work organizations. It is argued that this may account for the high organizational commitment scores, using a contingency model of organizational commitment.

Despite two decades of stagnation in Japan since 1990, there is remarkably little evidence of radical change in Japanese economic institutions, including employment relations. However, Japan has seen a steady increase in foreign mergers and acquisitions, which can challenge existing institutional patterns.Women have traditionally been excluded from core membership of the Japanese corporate community. Drawing on case studies of several companies, some acquired, some not, this article examines the impact of foreign ownership on the role of women in the Japanese workplace.Although prospects for women improve at foreign-acquired companies, this is not necessarily accompanied by a change in attitudes towards gender. The article concludes that while a change of ownership can cause changes in practice, wider societal shifts will be required to alter significantly the position of women in Japanese enterprises.

Noting moves towards just‐in‐time production methods in the UK
passenger vehicle industry, the impact of such moves at the retail and
distribution end of the supply chain is considered. Based on interviews
with a number of vehicle retailers selling cars manufactured both in the
UK and overseas, it appears as if little progress towards true
just‐in‐time (as practised by Toyota in Japan) is occurring.

The issues and dilemmas facing companies, their
unions and their workers as they attempt to
emulate Japanese‐style production practices are
discussed. Using the case of Ford UK as an
example, the causes and effects of the 1988 strike
and the withdrawal from the proposed electronics
plant at Dundee are explored. Major obstacles to
the successful introduction of practices such as
just‐in‐time production are identified; however,
once implemented these practices carry significant
implications for unions and workers.

Organizations, particularly those for whom safety and reliability are crucial, develop routines to protect them from failure. But even highly reliable organizations are not immune to disaster and prolonged periods of safe operation are punctuated by occasional catastrophes. Scholars of safety science label this the "paradox of almost totally safe systems," noting that systems that are very safe under normal conditions may be vulnerable under unusual ones. In this paper, we explain, develop, and apply the concept of "organizational limits" to this puzzle through an analysis of the loss of Air France 447. We show that an initial, relatively minor limit violation set in train a cascade of human and technological limit violations, with catastrophic consequences. Focusing on cockpit automation, we argue that the same measures that make a system safe and predictable may introduce restrictions on cognition, which over time, inhibit or erode the disturbance-handling capability of the actors involved. We also note limits to cognition in system design processes that make it difficult to foresee complex interactions. We discuss the implications of our findings for predictability and control in contexts beyond aviation and ways in which these problems might be addressed.

This paper describes a multistate project that addressed the growing need for health insurance information for individuals by focusing on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and health insurance education and outreach efforts in targeted areas of the country in federally-facilitated marketplaces with high numbers of uninsured and underinsured individuals. Specifically, the project provided ACA and health insurance information to individuals in formal and informal settings to assist them in choosing a health insurance plan through the Marketplace. Education and outreach activities included group workshops and presentations, Q&A sessions, and panel discussions; one-on-one in-person consultations, phone consultations, and email consultations; and information provided through websites, blog posts, Facebook posts, tweets, YouTube videos, email blasts, newsletters, newspaper articles, and radio and TV programs. Health insurance enrollment assistance was provided by volunteers and some Extension educators or referrals were made to Navigators or Certified Application Counselors for enrollment assistance.