Search results
1 – 10 of 354Valerie Chambers, Eric N. Johnson, Gary M. Fleischman and Kenneth Zheng
Management discretion in the decision to reduce payroll costs is an important but under-researched issue in management accounting. The authors leverage the experimental…
Abstract
Management discretion in the decision to reduce payroll costs is an important but under-researched issue in management accounting. The authors leverage the experimental environment to test the role of organizational culture (close vs. distant) and managerial communion (concern for others) along with their interaction with sales decline persistence (one vs. two periods) on planned layoff decisions. The authors find that communal managers are hesitant to downsize employees and that a close organizational culture interacts with one period sales declines to reduce layoffs although the influence of culture is reduced with persistent sales declines. The authors also examine the influence of culture and communion on managers’ preference for pay cuts as an alternative to layoffs. The authors find that a close culture and higher communion are associated with decisions to choose pay cuts over layoffs; however, these costs interact such that managers low in communion in a distant culture express a higher preference for layoffs. These findings illustrate the combined influence of economic, organizational, and dispositional factors on manager decisions about the extent and form of labor cost reductions due to sales declines.
Details
Keywords
Hospitality literature is deficient in empirical research that specifically focused on human resource information systems (HRIS) in hospitality. To fill this gap in literature…
Abstract
Hospitality literature is deficient in empirical research that specifically focused on human resource information systems (HRIS) in hospitality. To fill this gap in literature, this research has proposed a model, based on a review of previous research, to serve as a starting point toward building an empirical research agenda in the hospitality discipline. It has two primary objectives: firstly, to examine the factors that contribute to the decision to implement a HRIS in a small-size restaurant chain; and secondly, to develop a research agenda in an area where progress has been limited in the hospitality discipline. Results of the current study indicated that financial resources, culture, and computer competency are better predictors of any successful implementation of HRIS in restaurant chains.
I evaluate how the tax reform of 2012 reduced informality in Colombia both theoretically and empirically. Theoretically, I develop a labor market model and obtain simulations…
Abstract
I evaluate how the tax reform of 2012 reduced informality in Colombia both theoretically and empirically. Theoretically, I develop a labor market model and obtain simulations indicating that the reform should reduce informality significantly. Empirically, I obtain difference-in-difference estimates from two household surveys. Estimates from the repeated cross-sections data indicate small, short-term effects and large long-term effects. Estimates from the household survey panel data are in line with these results. I also simulate difference-in-difference estimates with different combinations of changes in payroll taxes and enforcement indicating that large improvements would have been needed to obtain the corresponding econometric estimates.
Details
Keywords
Grégory Jemine and François Pichault
The abundance of technological innovations has dramatically increased the prominence of digital transformation processes in many organizations and sectors. At the present time…
Abstract
The abundance of technological innovations has dramatically increased the prominence of digital transformation processes in many organizations and sectors. At the present time, digital transformation is first and foremost depicted in the literature as a strategy carefully elaborated and deployed by diligent executives. This stands in sharp contrast with contemporary organizational theory, and most especially the strategy-as-practice research stream, which has increasingly underlined the capability of middle managers to weigh upon strategizing processes. An empirical inquiry conducted in a major aeronautics company reveals that digital transformation can be largely driven by middle managers in charge of specific technological projects, who operate in the absence of a well-defined, overarching strategy. Drawing on the sociology of translation, the chapter identifies four tactics used by middle managers to ensure that their projects make it to the strategic agenda of the firm. Ultimately, the findings suggest that digital transformation processes cannot be solely understood as strategic endeavors, and can result from the addition of disjointed technological projects driven by middle managers instead.
Details
Keywords
Sabelo G. Sifundza and Md. Humayun Kabir
The Government of Eswatini (GoE) civil service wage bill has continued to rise in recent years. The personnel budget is still the largest single recurrent expenditure item in the…
Abstract
The Government of Eswatini (GoE) civil service wage bill has continued to rise in recent years. The personnel budget is still the largest single recurrent expenditure item in the budget in Eswatini. To control the civil service wage bill, the GoE introduced Lean Service Principle through Management Services Division (MSD). The civil service wage bill continues to rise despite the implementation of the Lean Service Principle. So far, there are no tangible outcomes that indicate that the principles applied have been effective in the reduction of the wage bill. Thus, this research aims to examine the question of why the Lean Service Principle failed to effectively slow the rampant growth of the civil service wage bill in the Kingdom of Eswatini. This study used the quantitative research approach to collect data on amounts spent on wages, the percentage increase of the wage bill for the period 2010–2017, and the percentage increase in the number of civil servants as per the Establishment Registers, 2010–2017. The study investigated the wage bill push factors, the shortcomings of the Lean Service Principle, and the Just-In-Time (JIT) Technique in the management and reduction of the GoE civil service wage bill. The study found the MSD has been applying the wrong methodologies in wage bill control, which has been evident in the continued yearly increase of the wage bill. The study recommends that the MSD should consider the utilisation of Human Resources Forecasting and Planning Techniques instead of using the Lean Service Principle and the JIT technique. This study will enable the Cabinet to make an appropriate decision on the mandate and future of the MSD, as there have been growing calls to disband the division due to the failure to reduce and/or control the wage bills as that is the core mandate of the division.
Details
Keywords
Adam Wagstaff and Rodrigo Moreno-Serra
Objective – The implications of social health insurance (SHI) for labor markets have featured prominently in recent debates over the merits of SHI and general revenue financing…
Abstract
Objective – The implications of social health insurance (SHI) for labor markets have featured prominently in recent debates over the merits of SHI and general revenue financing. It has been argued that by raising the nonwage component of labor costs, SHI reduces firms’ demand for labor, lowers employment levels and net wages, and encourages self-employment and informal working arrangements. At the national level, SHI has been claimed to reduce a country's competitiveness in international markets and to discourage foreign direct investment (FDI). The transition from general revenue finance to SHI that occurred during the 1990s in many of the central and eastern European and central Asian countries provides a unique opportunity to investigate empirically these claims.
Methodology/approach – We employ regression-based generalizations of difference-in-differences (DID) and instrumental variables (IV) on country-level panel data from 28 countries for the period 1990–2004.
Findings – We find that, controlling for gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, SHI increases (gross) wages by 20%, reduces employment (as a share of the population) by 10%, and increases self-employment by 17%. However, we find no significant effects of SHI on unemployment (registered or self-reported), agricultural employment, a widely used measure of the size of the informal economy, or FDI.
Implications for policy – We do not claim that our results imply that SHI adoption everywhere must necessarily reduce employment and increase self-employment. Nonetheless, our results ought to serve as a warning to those contemplating shifting the financing of health care from general revenues to a SHI system.
John P. Formby, John A. Bishop and Hoseong Kim
Labor markets for unskilled and low-wage workers in the United States stagnated in the last quarter of the 20th century. The collapse in the low-wage labor market has been well…
Abstract
Labor markets for unskilled and low-wage workers in the United States stagnated in the last quarter of the 20th century. The collapse in the low-wage labor market has been well documented1 and numerous research initiatives have investigated the causes. Despite some geographical mismatches between buyers and sellers low-paying jobs are generally available but forces are at work on both the demand and supply sides of unskilled labor markets that make it increasingly difficult for working families at or near the bottom of the income distribution to earn enough to meet basic needs. Welfare reform effectively increased the supply of unskilled workers, which placed added pressures on wages and earnings of low-income families.
Suzanne Markham Bagnera and Peter Szende
This chapter discusses techniques for scheduling and organizing staff to meet guest demands and financial obligations. Key building blocks relevant to labor management are…
Abstract
This chapter discusses techniques for scheduling and organizing staff to meet guest demands and financial obligations. Key building blocks relevant to labor management are explained, such as productivity, fixed and variable labor hours, and the development of realistic performance standards to help organizations optimize productivity. As a next step, this chapter illuminates the importance of providing management labor standards and staffing models, which are key management tools. Lodging and food and beverage labor strategies are presented. Finally, effective planning of labor scheduling is also discussed.
Details