Search results

This chapter argues that the Marxian theory of exploitation underlies the concepts of surplus and deficit industries that appear in Sraffa’s (1960) Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities. This is seen from archival research of the unpublished papers of Piero Sraffa housed at the Wren Library, Trinity College, University of Cambridge. There it is shown that the origin of these concepts lies in the Marxian theory of exploitation that Sraffa developed regarding the notion of the ‘pool of profits’ the Italian economist utilized over a 14-year period from 1942 to 1956. The chapter engages in an extensive textual study of the archival evidence and then presents a simple analytical model of these relations.

This essay explores certain aspects of single product industry basic systems of the type Sraffa develops in Part I of Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities. It focusses on triangular trade as the simplest expression of the more general n-commodity case. Two elements of the framework are explored: (i) the relation of exchange between all commodities, conceived as the configuration of exchange which is applicable to the subsistence and surplus models, and (ii) the value/price expressions of labour time, applicable to the surplus model only, which posits the productivity of, remuneration to and extraction from living labour added to the system. This analysis complements and extends the Marxian reading of Sraffa’s notions of surplus and deficit industries first explored in Carter (2014b). The methodology of ‘given quantities’ in expositing the relations developed is adopted in this essay as it corresponds to the same method employed by Sraffa. This allows readers to easily move from the present essay to Sraffa’s book and importantly his archival notes which are now for all interested parties available as colour digital images on the Wren Library website.

Sraffian's concept or metaphor of a “pool profits” is theoretically pointless and empirically irrelevant. The appropriate calculation is the variation of the equilibrium price vector along the factor price frontier.

The closure of Fagor Electrodomésticos in October 2013, the most iconic cooperative in the Mondragon Group, not only cast doubt on the economic and social management of the cooperative itself but also called into question the very viability of the overall cooperative model. In addition to describing the evolution of this cooperative in its last years in business, this chapter offers a comprehensive review of the mechanisms of inter-cooperation in the Mondragon Group and the way in which they were applied in the crisis at Fagor Electrodomésticos.

The methodology applied is a qualitative research methodology mainly based on semi-structured interviews.

The main conclusion of the chapter is that the closure of the cooperative was largely caused by market conditions. The chapter also highlights the validity of the mechanisms of inter-cooperation applied in managing employment which contributed to a rapid resumption of the employment situation of surplus personnel from Fagor Electrodomésticos.

The main contribution of this chapter comprises a detailed description of the methods used by the Mondragon Group to manage employment adjustment at the time of closure of its largest industrial cooperative during the recent general economic crisis (2008–2014), and thus avoid large-scale unemployment, its concommitant problems, and deeper deterioration of social capital in the Mondragon area. Further research is needed to compare this process with other international experiences based on cooperation.

Senior management in the newly privatized water companies have been keen to secure employee commitment to the new commercial goals they are now pursuing. Considers the use of profit sharing as a rhetorical device for this purpose. The introduction of profit sharing schemes was intended by management not only to assist in the construction of a new version of organizational reality, but more particularly to communicate to organizational members the quite different ideological conceptualization of organizational purposes and activities associated with the change in status from public sector water authority to private sector water company. Reports research based on documentary evidence and interviews with managers from six of the new water companies which provides scope for comparisons between the companies high‐lighting different interpretations of the role profit sharing may play in the processes of organizational change.

The purpose of this study is to compare the information disclosed by leading Australian audit firms in their first-time audit firm transparency reports. Australia has mandated the preparation and release of transparency reports by audit firms in 2013 to provide better information to stakeholders about audit firms, their governance and their internal governance systems. These reports promote increased transparency regarding issues which are believed to contribute to audit quality.

The paper takes the form of an archival analysis where the authors summarise the governance and other information for the 21 leading Australian audit firms as disclosed in their first-time 2013 transparency reports.

The authors find that audit firms meet the minimum transparency report disclosure requirements, but have different approaches to governance in the areas which may impact audit quality. These areas include: the internal quality control systems, independence practices, continuing education and partners’ remuneration structures. The authors identify specific areas where transparency reports may give rise to future research opportunities.

Australia is one of the first countries to require audit firms to publish transparency reports, and this is the first study to examine these reports. By summarising transparency report disclosures, we present a comprehensive picture of how Australian leading audit firms govern and oversee their business activities. This is useful to transparency report preparers, report users and regulators.

The purpose of this paper is to understand and show how public relations contributed to enhancing the visibility of Croatian non-profit organization Foundation “Croatia for Children” and its activities within its stakeholders, as well as how public relations contributed to the mobilization of target publics in Foundation’s activities.

Using a single case study approach, data were collected over a 12-month period. Quantitative and qualitative media research was applied in order to compare visibility of Foundation in the period before and after the strategic communication campaign.

Strategic communication campaign enhanced the visibility of Foundation “Croatia for Children” in national and local Croatian media and positioned it as the primary instance for children without an adequate parental care and children in need. However, local media devoted more attention comparing to the national media. All children wishes (1,000) were fulfilled by mobilizing the target publics.

The results derived from this case study cannot be generalized since they are based on a single case in one country.

This study can serve as a starting point for another research about the role and importance that public relations have in enhancing the visibility of non-profit organizations.

The results of this study point to the role and importance public relations have in the non-profit sector in order to proactively communicate with all stakeholders in society.

Professor Solow’s original comment from 2007 is addressed seven years later. Here the foundational character of Sraffa’s archival material is stressed and no longer is the search for what Sraffa “really said” or much more nefariously what he “really meant” (especially as regards the relation to Marx) the endeavour pursued. This means rendering unto Sraffa what is his and using the foundations he provides from archival material to re-conceive Marxian income distribution theory and policy as a “positive” aspect of economic science.

A key objective of the 5th Annual Pharmaceutical Congress “Marketing ROI for Pharma” conference was to illustrate how in the midst of a very turbulent environment, and with higher demand for pharmaceutical marketers to deliver bigger profits from increasingly smaller promotional budgets, there are a few critical decision areas that, if addressed appropriately, can help to deliver better return on investment (ROI). This commentary paper aims to provide a summary of what was discussed.

Given access to the conference presenters' original materials, the authors condensed the presentations into a summary article with reference to some recent academic work in the area.

The article summarises the presentations of a number of European pharmaceutical industry practitioners, healthcare professionals and government policy personnel in their assessments of the turbulent European pharmaceutical industry environment and the challenges associated with optimising ROI from promotional spending.

The entire paper summarises recent industry practice in Europe regarding how to optimise pharmaceutical ROI with respect to marketing activities and provides actual examples of how to do this.

Primarily targeting pharmaceutical industry practitioners, this paper provides a timely and thorough resource for those industry personnel charged with the mission of maximizing pharmaceutical marketing ROI.