Margaret P. Battin, Leslie P. Francis, Jay A. Jacobson, and Charles B. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195335842
- eISBN:
- 9780199868926
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335842.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Infectious diseases and genetic conditions are both transmitted “vertically” from a pregnant woman to the child she bears. Most U.S. states require routine screening of women for syphilis during ...
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Infectious diseases and genetic conditions are both transmitted “vertically” from a pregnant woman to the child she bears. Most U.S. states require routine screening of women for syphilis during pregnancy, and cases of congenital syphilis now number less than about 400 per year. In contrast, although a blood test can diagnose up to 90% of cystic fibrosis carriers and affected individuals, no states require premarital or prenatal screening for CF. These two vertically transmitted disorders are similar in potential incidence, detectability, and the absence of curative treatments after vertical transmission occurs. Past and present screening policies for syphilis can be characterized as preconception, prenatal, paternalistic, state mandated, universal, with presumed consent for tests and treatment, widely practiced, and effective. Screening policies for cystic fibrosis can, in contrast, be characterized as prenatal, postnatal, selective, and voluntary—except, most recently, for newborn testing. While differences between these policies may rest partly on historical or other factors, the chapter argues that there are moral differences, too. Recent emphasis on individual rights and choice may be more important in explaining different strategies than the fact that one type of vertical transmission is infectious and the other is genetic. Neither is “exceptional”; rather, both the historical and the ethical explanations of difference relate to other factors, particularly ready access to treatment and the availability of methods for preventing transmission.Less
Infectious diseases and genetic conditions are both transmitted “vertically” from a pregnant woman to the child she bears. Most U.S. states require routine screening of women for syphilis during pregnancy, and cases of congenital syphilis now number less than about 400 per year. In contrast, although a blood test can diagnose up to 90% of cystic fibrosis carriers and affected individuals, no states require premarital or prenatal screening for CF. These two vertically transmitted disorders are similar in potential incidence, detectability, and the absence of curative treatments after vertical transmission occurs. Past and present screening policies for syphilis can be characterized as preconception, prenatal, paternalistic, state mandated, universal, with presumed consent for tests and treatment, widely practiced, and effective. Screening policies for cystic fibrosis can, in contrast, be characterized as prenatal, postnatal, selective, and voluntary—except, most recently, for newborn testing. While differences between these policies may rest partly on historical or other factors, the chapter argues that there are moral differences, too. Recent emphasis on individual rights and choice may be more important in explaining different strategies than the fact that one type of vertical transmission is infectious and the other is genetic. Neither is “exceptional”; rather, both the historical and the ethical explanations of difference relate to other factors, particularly ready access to treatment and the availability of methods for preventing transmission.
Michael D. Cohen, Roger Burkhart, Giovanni Dosi, Massimo Egidi, Luigi Marengo, Massimo Warglien, and Sidney Winter
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199269426
- eISBN:
- 9780191710179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269426.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
This chapter reports and extends discussions at a workshop held at the Santa Fe Institute in August 1995. It considers the following topics: the importance of carefully examining research on routine, ...
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This chapter reports and extends discussions at a workshop held at the Santa Fe Institute in August 1995. It considers the following topics: the importance of carefully examining research on routine, the concept of ‘action patterns’ in general and in terms of routine, the useful categorization of routines and other recurring patterns, the research implications of recent cognitive results, the relation of evolution to action patterns, the contributions of simulation modelling for theory in this area, examples of various approaches to empirical research that reveal key problems, and a possible definition of ‘routine’. The chapter also includes an extended lexicon on synonyms and opposites of the word ‘routine’.Less
This chapter reports and extends discussions at a workshop held at the Santa Fe Institute in August 1995. It considers the following topics: the importance of carefully examining research on routine, the concept of ‘action patterns’ in general and in terms of routine, the useful categorization of routines and other recurring patterns, the research implications of recent cognitive results, the relation of evolution to action patterns, the contributions of simulation modelling for theory in this area, examples of various approaches to empirical research that reveal key problems, and a possible definition of ‘routine’. The chapter also includes an extended lexicon on synonyms and opposites of the word ‘routine’.
Michelle M. Nickerson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691121840
- eISBN:
- 9781400842209
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691121840.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This book tells the story of 1950s Southern Californian housewives who shaped the grassroots right in the two decades following World War II. The book describes how red-hunting homemakers mobilized ...
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This book tells the story of 1950s Southern Californian housewives who shaped the grassroots right in the two decades following World War II. The book describes how red-hunting homemakers mobilized activist networks, institutions, and political consciousness in local education battles, and it introduces a generation of women who developed political styles and practices around their domestic routines. From the conservative movement's origins in the early fifties through the presidential election of 1964, the book documents how women shaped conservatism from the bottom up, out of the fabric of their daily lives and into the agenda of the Republican Party. A unique history of the American conservative movement, this book shows how housewives got out of the house and discovered their political capital.Less
This book tells the story of 1950s Southern Californian housewives who shaped the grassroots right in the two decades following World War II. The book describes how red-hunting homemakers mobilized activist networks, institutions, and political consciousness in local education battles, and it introduces a generation of women who developed political styles and practices around their domestic routines. From the conservative movement's origins in the early fifties through the presidential election of 1964, the book documents how women shaped conservatism from the bottom up, out of the fabric of their daily lives and into the agenda of the Republican Party. A unique history of the American conservative movement, this book shows how housewives got out of the house and discovered their political capital.
Stewart Gordon
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195177435
- eISBN:
- 9780199864690
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177435.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Performing Practice/Studies
This book offers advice for all performers to achieve performance mastery. It defines performance in the broadest terms as being applicable to many life situations and challenges in many professions. ...
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This book offers advice for all performers to achieve performance mastery. It defines performance in the broadest terms as being applicable to many life situations and challenges in many professions. Through real life experiences and pre-performance exercises, the book offers highly practical advice on every aspect of performance. It analyzes motivation, assesses talent levels, sets performance goals, suggests levels of energy needed, and develops a performance philosophy. It deals with building technique, practice routines, the role of repetition and drill, changing bad habits, and developing a secure memory. It discusses performance anxiety or stage fright and how to deal with it. It explores psychological states during performance, evaluation after performance, audience reaction, and challenges faced during a lifetime of performance, including career planning, plateaus, and burnout. Finally, it relates performance to the development of a spiritual life.Less
This book offers advice for all performers to achieve performance mastery. It defines performance in the broadest terms as being applicable to many life situations and challenges in many professions. Through real life experiences and pre-performance exercises, the book offers highly practical advice on every aspect of performance. It analyzes motivation, assesses talent levels, sets performance goals, suggests levels of energy needed, and develops a performance philosophy. It deals with building technique, practice routines, the role of repetition and drill, changing bad habits, and developing a secure memory. It discusses performance anxiety or stage fright and how to deal with it. It explores psychological states during performance, evaluation after performance, audience reaction, and challenges faced during a lifetime of performance, including career planning, plateaus, and burnout. Finally, it relates performance to the development of a spiritual life.
Albert O. Hirschman
Jeremy Adelman (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691159904
- eISBN:
- 9781400848409
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691159904.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
This book brings together some of the finest essays in the social sciences, written by one of the twentieth century's most influential and provocative thinkers. The author was a master essayist, one ...
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This book brings together some of the finest essays in the social sciences, written by one of the twentieth century's most influential and provocative thinkers. The author was a master essayist, one who possessed the rare ability to blend the precision of economics with the elegance of literary imagination. In an age in which our academic disciplines require ever-greater specialization and narrowness, it is rare to encounter an intellectual who can transform how we think about inequality by writing about traffic, or who can slip in a quote from Flaubert to reveal something surprising about taxes. The essays gathered here span an astonishing range of topics and perspectives, including industrialization in Latin America, imagining reform as more than repair, the relationship between imagination and leadership, routine thinking and the marketplace, and the ways our arguments affect democratic life. Throughout, we find humor, unforgettable metaphors, brilliant analysis, and elegance of style that give the author such a singular voice. Featuring an introduction that places each of these essays in context as well as an insightful afterword, this book is the ideal introduction to the author for a new generation of readers and a must-have collection for anyone seeking his most important writings in one book.Less
This book brings together some of the finest essays in the social sciences, written by one of the twentieth century's most influential and provocative thinkers. The author was a master essayist, one who possessed the rare ability to blend the precision of economics with the elegance of literary imagination. In an age in which our academic disciplines require ever-greater specialization and narrowness, it is rare to encounter an intellectual who can transform how we think about inequality by writing about traffic, or who can slip in a quote from Flaubert to reveal something surprising about taxes. The essays gathered here span an astonishing range of topics and perspectives, including industrialization in Latin America, imagining reform as more than repair, the relationship between imagination and leadership, routine thinking and the marketplace, and the ways our arguments affect democratic life. Throughout, we find humor, unforgettable metaphors, brilliant analysis, and elegance of style that give the author such a singular voice. Featuring an introduction that places each of these essays in context as well as an insightful afterword, this book is the ideal introduction to the author for a new generation of readers and a must-have collection for anyone seeking his most important writings in one book.
Alfred Kieser
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199231423
- eISBN:
- 9780191710865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231423.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Political Economy
This chapter examines the specific interplay of rules and routines in organizational learning. It is argued that rules and routines provide media of organizational learning. Organizational learning ...
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This chapter examines the specific interplay of rules and routines in organizational learning. It is argued that rules and routines provide media of organizational learning. Organizational learning based on rules and routines comes about only when there are organizational members who actively pursue changes in rules and routines, when these members overcome the learning barriers and thus complete the learning cycle, and when the organization succeeds in correctly interpreting feedback from the environment.Less
This chapter examines the specific interplay of rules and routines in organizational learning. It is argued that rules and routines provide media of organizational learning. Organizational learning based on rules and routines comes about only when there are organizational members who actively pursue changes in rules and routines, when these members overcome the learning barriers and thus complete the learning cycle, and when the organization succeeds in correctly interpreting feedback from the environment.
Steven Postrel and Richard P. Rumelt
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199269426
- eISBN:
- 9780191710179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269426.003.0002
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies
In explaining the advantages of the principle of hierarchy representing organizations over market exchanges, coordination of specialized efforts and control of opportunistic behaviour are often ...
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In explaining the advantages of the principle of hierarchy representing organizations over market exchanges, coordination of specialized efforts and control of opportunistic behaviour are often brought up as methods for governing transactions. Yet these approaches fail to account for many observed internal workings of organizations that may be attributed to impulsiveness, and the consequent mechanisms of impulse control with regard to those moment-by-moment ways by which individuals fail to take action in what they believe to be their own long-term interest. This chapter proposes a model that assumes the existence of such impulsiveness, as well as overall automatic thought and behaviour. This model builds on psychological literature but also on economists' work on time-inconsistent choice, and brings both into the structure of organizational theory. The chapter is a timely reminder of the importance of enriching efficiency views of economic organization with more realistic models of human behaviour.Less
In explaining the advantages of the principle of hierarchy representing organizations over market exchanges, coordination of specialized efforts and control of opportunistic behaviour are often brought up as methods for governing transactions. Yet these approaches fail to account for many observed internal workings of organizations that may be attributed to impulsiveness, and the consequent mechanisms of impulse control with regard to those moment-by-moment ways by which individuals fail to take action in what they believe to be their own long-term interest. This chapter proposes a model that assumes the existence of such impulsiveness, as well as overall automatic thought and behaviour. This model builds on psychological literature but also on economists' work on time-inconsistent choice, and brings both into the structure of organizational theory. The chapter is a timely reminder of the importance of enriching efficiency views of economic organization with more realistic models of human behaviour.
Nina Eliasoph
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691147093
- eISBN:
- 9781400838820
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691147093.003.0013
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
This concluding chapter pieces together some practical proposals based on the findings set out in the previous chapters. Like any other kind of organization, Snowy Prairie's empowerment projects had ...
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This concluding chapter pieces together some practical proposals based on the findings set out in the previous chapters. Like any other kind of organization, Snowy Prairie's empowerment projects had developed relatively predictable routines. Through their routines, the projects potentially arrived somewhere that may, in some ways, be better than where they had planned to go. The point of this chapter is to see what those potentials may be, both in Snowy Prairie and in other parts of the world. It starts by asking how Snowy Prairie empowerment projects' everyday routines had made it hard for organizers to notice those potentialities. The chapter then outlines a list of concrete suggestions to make empowerment projects work better. Finally, the chapter shows how these organizations' everyday routines are contributing to seismic historical transformations.Less
This concluding chapter pieces together some practical proposals based on the findings set out in the previous chapters. Like any other kind of organization, Snowy Prairie's empowerment projects had developed relatively predictable routines. Through their routines, the projects potentially arrived somewhere that may, in some ways, be better than where they had planned to go. The point of this chapter is to see what those potentials may be, both in Snowy Prairie and in other parts of the world. It starts by asking how Snowy Prairie empowerment projects' everyday routines had made it hard for organizers to notice those potentialities. The chapter then outlines a list of concrete suggestions to make empowerment projects work better. Finally, the chapter shows how these organizations' everyday routines are contributing to seismic historical transformations.
Roderick Martin, Peter D. Casson, and Tahir M. Nisar
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199202607
- eISBN:
- 9780191707896
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199202607.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Finance, Accounting, and Banking
Institutional investors adopt different methods of engagement. Much investor engagement is routine and informal; other engagement is extraordinary and arises from specific circumstances, such as ...
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Institutional investors adopt different methods of engagement. Much investor engagement is routine and informal; other engagement is extraordinary and arises from specific circumstances, such as firms adopting remuneration policies which are viewed as inconsistent with ‘best City practice’. Routine engagement is conducted by individual investors. But extraordinary engagement is usually conducted through collective organizations, such as the Institutional Shareholders' Committee, as a means of reducing the costs of monitoring and intervening and addressing ‘free rider’ problems.Less
Institutional investors adopt different methods of engagement. Much investor engagement is routine and informal; other engagement is extraordinary and arises from specific circumstances, such as firms adopting remuneration policies which are viewed as inconsistent with ‘best City practice’. Routine engagement is conducted by individual investors. But extraordinary engagement is usually conducted through collective organizations, such as the Institutional Shareholders' Committee, as a means of reducing the costs of monitoring and intervening and addressing ‘free rider’ problems.
Thomas Ahrens
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199546350
- eISBN:
- 9780191720048
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199546350.003.0002
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, Finance, Accounting, and Banking
This chapter explores some of the ways in which intentionality is played out in everyday accounting practices. From a practice perspective accounting is an array of activities that is ordered by ...
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This chapter explores some of the ways in which intentionality is played out in everyday accounting practices. From a practice perspective accounting is an array of activities that is ordered by practical understandings, rules, and objectives, and projects, and one that forms a nexus of practices together with management and control practices, commercial practices, reporting practices, bookkeeping practices, and suchlike. Intentionality is important for ordering accounting practices and for connecting them to other practices. A practice lens can also help overcome distinctions between accounting change and accounting routines by showing how everyday accounting practices can give rise to change.Less
This chapter explores some of the ways in which intentionality is played out in everyday accounting practices. From a practice perspective accounting is an array of activities that is ordered by practical understandings, rules, and objectives, and projects, and one that forms a nexus of practices together with management and control practices, commercial practices, reporting practices, bookkeeping practices, and suchlike. Intentionality is important for ordering accounting practices and for connecting them to other practices. A practice lens can also help overcome distinctions between accounting change and accounting routines by showing how everyday accounting practices can give rise to change.
Anna Wierzbicka
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195174748
- eISBN:
- 9780199788514
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195174748.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, English Language
One of the most interesting phenomena in the history of the English language is the remarkable rise of the word right, in its many interrelated senses and uses. This chapter tries to trace the ...
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One of the most interesting phenomena in the history of the English language is the remarkable rise of the word right, in its many interrelated senses and uses. This chapter tries to trace the changes in the meaning and use of this word, as well as the rise of new conversational routines based on it, and raises questions about the cultural underpinnings of these semantic and pragmatic developments. It explores the hypothesis that the “discourse of truth” declined in English over the centuries; that the use of “right” and “wrong” as parallel concepts (and opposites) increased; and it notes that the use of right as an adjective increased enormously in relation to the use of true. Furthermore, the chapter explores the role of the word right as a conversational response and its role in modern Anglo discourse of cooperation and mutual concessions. The chapter traces the transition from the Shakespearean response “Right”, described by the OED as “you are right; you speak well”, to the present-day “Right” of non-committal acknowledgement, and it links the development in semantics and discourse patterns with historical phenomena such as Puritanism, British empiricism, the Enlightenment, and the growth of democracy in America and in other English-speaking countries.Less
One of the most interesting phenomena in the history of the English language is the remarkable rise of the word right, in its many interrelated senses and uses. This chapter tries to trace the changes in the meaning and use of this word, as well as the rise of new conversational routines based on it, and raises questions about the cultural underpinnings of these semantic and pragmatic developments. It explores the hypothesis that the “discourse of truth” declined in English over the centuries; that the use of “right” and “wrong” as parallel concepts (and opposites) increased; and it notes that the use of right as an adjective increased enormously in relation to the use of true. Furthermore, the chapter explores the role of the word right as a conversational response and its role in modern Anglo discourse of cooperation and mutual concessions. The chapter traces the transition from the Shakespearean response “Right”, described by the OED as “you are right; you speak well”, to the present-day “Right” of non-committal acknowledgement, and it links the development in semantics and discourse patterns with historical phenomena such as Puritanism, British empiricism, the Enlightenment, and the growth of democracy in America and in other English-speaking countries.
John Kay
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198289883
- eISBN:
- 9780191718205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828988X.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
‘Architecture’ is introduced as the first of the three primary sources of distinctive capabilities and it refers to a network of relationship contracts within, or around, the firm. It can be ...
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‘Architecture’ is introduced as the first of the three primary sources of distinctive capabilities and it refers to a network of relationship contracts within, or around, the firm. It can be subdivided into internal architecture (relationships with employees), external architecture (relationships with their suppliers and customers) and networks (relationships among a group of firms engaged in related activities). It adds value by helping create organizational knowledge and routines that enable the company to respond flexibly to changing circumstances and allows easy exchange of information. Note that such capabilities can only add value in a long‐term context, which penalizes opportunistic behaviour.Less
‘Architecture’ is introduced as the first of the three primary sources of distinctive capabilities and it refers to a network of relationship contracts within, or around, the firm. It can be subdivided into internal architecture (relationships with employees), external architecture (relationships with their suppliers and customers) and networks (relationships among a group of firms engaged in related activities). It adds value by helping create organizational knowledge and routines that enable the company to respond flexibly to changing circumstances and allows easy exchange of information. Note that such capabilities can only add value in a long‐term context, which penalizes opportunistic behaviour.
David S. Wendler
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199730087
- eISBN:
- 9780199776689
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199730087.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
The chapter begins with Paul Ramsey's argument which offers the most prominent and persuasive argument against nonbeneficial pediatric research. Ramsey argues that nonbeneficial pediatric research is ...
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The chapter begins with Paul Ramsey's argument which offers the most prominent and persuasive argument against nonbeneficial pediatric research. Ramsey argues that nonbeneficial pediatric research is necessarily unethical because it involves exploitation, exposing those who cannot consent to risks for the benefit of others. To evaluate this argument it is necessary to consider the importance of informed consent, when is it necessary and why. The chapter then considers a number of prominent views which hold, effectively, that we do not need a justification for nonbeneficial pediatric research because such research does not raise serious ethical concern in the first place. Commentators offer a number of arguments for this view, citing the fact that the risks of most nonbeneficial pediatric research studies are low or children would consent to it if they could consent.Less
The chapter begins with Paul Ramsey's argument which offers the most prominent and persuasive argument against nonbeneficial pediatric research. Ramsey argues that nonbeneficial pediatric research is necessarily unethical because it involves exploitation, exposing those who cannot consent to risks for the benefit of others. To evaluate this argument it is necessary to consider the importance of informed consent, when is it necessary and why. The chapter then considers a number of prominent views which hold, effectively, that we do not need a justification for nonbeneficial pediatric research because such research does not raise serious ethical concern in the first place. Commentators offer a number of arguments for this view, citing the fact that the risks of most nonbeneficial pediatric research studies are low or children would consent to it if they could consent.
John E. Cort
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195132342
- eISBN:
- 9780199834112
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195132343.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The world‐renouncing monks and nuns – the mendicants of the Jain tradition – are the living examples of the path to liberation. This chapter details their daily practice, which revolves around ...
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The world‐renouncing monks and nuns – the mendicants of the Jain tradition – are the living examples of the path to liberation. This chapter details their daily practice, which revolves around practices designed to reduce the karma that binds them to suffering and rebirth. The mendicants are also teachers of the laity, and so are expected to deliver frequent sermons on religious topics. The mendicants are dependent upon the laity for food, and the gifting of food provides Jain laity the opportunity to increase their meritorious karma (punya) and wear away sinful or demeritorious karma (pap). Jains understand that this process is accentuated if the layperson expresses great devotion (bhakti) to the mendicants, who in return shower their grace upon their lay devotees.Less
The world‐renouncing monks and nuns – the mendicants of the Jain tradition – are the living examples of the path to liberation. This chapter details their daily practice, which revolves around practices designed to reduce the karma that binds them to suffering and rebirth. The mendicants are also teachers of the laity, and so are expected to deliver frequent sermons on religious topics. The mendicants are dependent upon the laity for food, and the gifting of food provides Jain laity the opportunity to increase their meritorious karma (punya) and wear away sinful or demeritorious karma (pap). Jains understand that this process is accentuated if the layperson expresses great devotion (bhakti) to the mendicants, who in return shower their grace upon their lay devotees.
Susan E. Whyman
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199532445
- eISBN:
- 9780191714535
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199532445.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History, British and Irish Modern History
The 18th-century Post Office is usually portrayed as mired in inefficiency. New private and public sources tell a different earlier story. Post office records and 34 letter collections show how ...
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The 18th-century Post Office is usually portrayed as mired in inefficiency. New private and public sources tell a different earlier story. Post office records and 34 letter collections show how people used the Royal Mail and how it affected their lives. In the 17th century, basic postal routines were established and the quantity of letters carried increased. In the 18th century, a national network served by coaches grew out of the old six roads. By 1800 the Royal Mail had become a commercial newsagent spreading papers throughout the nation. At the same time, it continued to open letters and censor mail. The newspaper, novel, and coffeehouse are often cited in regard to the rise of the public sphere, but the letter and the Post Office are rarely mentioned. Yet its arena of unrestricted discourse was as provocative to the state as any coffeehouse. By 1800, a service created to censor mail had become a private necessity and a public right.Less
The 18th-century Post Office is usually portrayed as mired in inefficiency. New private and public sources tell a different earlier story. Post office records and 34 letter collections show how people used the Royal Mail and how it affected their lives. In the 17th century, basic postal routines were established and the quantity of letters carried increased. In the 18th century, a national network served by coaches grew out of the old six roads. By 1800 the Royal Mail had become a commercial newsagent spreading papers throughout the nation. At the same time, it continued to open letters and censor mail. The newspaper, novel, and coffeehouse are often cited in regard to the rise of the public sphere, but the letter and the Post Office are rarely mentioned. Yet its arena of unrestricted discourse was as provocative to the state as any coffeehouse. By 1800, a service created to censor mail had become a private necessity and a public right.
Benjamin Coriat and Giovanni Dosi
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296041
- eISBN:
- 9780191596070
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296045.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
Highlights the specificity of organizational competencies and their routinized, inertial, and conflictual properties from the perspective of the individual firm, arguing that persistent and ...
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Highlights the specificity of organizational competencies and their routinized, inertial, and conflictual properties from the perspective of the individual firm, arguing that persistent and distinctive variation among firms can best be understood by taking these properties into account, but only after also taking account of the pervasive influence of institutions in different countries. The role of organizational routines in explaining firm differences is addressed; with the critical competencies of firms embodied in the operational routines, they are difficult to copy and their evolution is constrained by both the characteristics of the firm itself and the environment of the firm. This is designated ‘competence specificity’, where competencies are seen not only as involving problem‐solving and learning skills, but also as including skills and rules governing firm internal relationships; hence, there is also a dual role of organizational routines—as problem‐solving procedures, and as governance devices or mechanisms for coordination. The firm is then interpreted as a behavioural entity that must compromise between several different functions and activities; this complex picture is not reducible to viewing a firm simply as a nexus of contracts, instead, competencies and routines are viewed as co‐evolving with the environment in which they are embedded. Inertia is thus ‘built into’ this concept of the firm, and in prying open this ‘organizational black box’, the authors also indicate several avenues for future research.Less
Highlights the specificity of organizational competencies and their routinized, inertial, and conflictual properties from the perspective of the individual firm, arguing that persistent and distinctive variation among firms can best be understood by taking these properties into account, but only after also taking account of the pervasive influence of institutions in different countries. The role of organizational routines in explaining firm differences is addressed; with the critical competencies of firms embodied in the operational routines, they are difficult to copy and their evolution is constrained by both the characteristics of the firm itself and the environment of the firm. This is designated ‘competence specificity’, where competencies are seen not only as involving problem‐solving and learning skills, but also as including skills and rules governing firm internal relationships; hence, there is also a dual role of organizational routines—as problem‐solving procedures, and as governance devices or mechanisms for coordination. The firm is then interpreted as a behavioural entity that must compromise between several different functions and activities; this complex picture is not reducible to viewing a firm simply as a nexus of contracts, instead, competencies and routines are viewed as co‐evolving with the environment in which they are embedded. Inertia is thus ‘built into’ this concept of the firm, and in prying open this ‘organizational black box’, the authors also indicate several avenues for future research.
John Kay
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198292227
- eISBN:
- 9780191596520
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198292228.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
“Architecture” is introduced as the basis of competitive advantage for many companies. It refers to a network of relationship contracts within, or around, the firm. It can be sub‐divided into ...
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“Architecture” is introduced as the basis of competitive advantage for many companies. It refers to a network of relationship contracts within, or around, the firm. It can be sub‐divided into internal architecture (relationships with employees), external architecture (relationships with their suppliers and customers) and networks (relationships among a group of firms engaged in related activities). It adds value by helping to create organizational knowledge and routines that enable the company to respond flexibly to changing circumstances and allow easy exchanges of information. Such capabilities can only add value in the context of a long‐term relationship, which penalizes opportunistic behaviour.Less
“Architecture” is introduced as the basis of competitive advantage for many companies. It refers to a network of relationship contracts within, or around, the firm. It can be sub‐divided into internal architecture (relationships with employees), external architecture (relationships with their suppliers and customers) and networks (relationships among a group of firms engaged in related activities). It adds value by helping to create organizational knowledge and routines that enable the company to respond flexibly to changing circumstances and allow easy exchanges of information. Such capabilities can only add value in the context of a long‐term relationship, which penalizes opportunistic behaviour.
Richard Florida and Martin Kenney
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199248544
- eISBN:
- 9780191596155
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199248540.003.0011
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
Organizational theory has long held that it is difficult to transfer organizations from one environment to another and that organizations that are transferred will take on characteristics of the new ...
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Organizational theory has long held that it is difficult to transfer organizations from one environment to another and that organizations that are transferred will take on characteristics of the new environment. The authors argue that organizations have the capabilities and the resources to transfer and to some degree replicate key capabilities in a new environment, and further to alter those environments in light of their functional requirements. We explore the question of organizational transfer and replication through the lens of a specific class of transplant organizations—Japanese automotive assembly plants and their suppliers in the US. We believe that these transplant organizations provide an ideal case to explore such questions because they represent organizations which are being transferred from a supportive to a foreign environment. We find that these Japanese automotive transplants have effectively transferred and to some degree replicated key organizational forms and capabilities at both the intra‐ and inter‐organizational levels.Less
Organizational theory has long held that it is difficult to transfer organizations from one environment to another and that organizations that are transferred will take on characteristics of the new environment. The authors argue that organizations have the capabilities and the resources to transfer and to some degree replicate key capabilities in a new environment, and further to alter those environments in light of their functional requirements. We explore the question of organizational transfer and replication through the lens of a specific class of transplant organizations—Japanese automotive assembly plants and their suppliers in the US. We believe that these transplant organizations provide an ideal case to explore such questions because they represent organizations which are being transferred from a supportive to a foreign environment. We find that these Japanese automotive transplants have effectively transferred and to some degree replicated key organizational forms and capabilities at both the intra‐ and inter‐organizational levels.
David J. Teece, Gary Pisano, and Amy Shuen
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199248544
- eISBN:
- 9780191596155
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199248540.003.0013
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
The chapter tries to conceptualize different forms of competence and relate them to both organization theory and strategic management. A general premise is that organizations embody coherent ...
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The chapter tries to conceptualize different forms of competence and relate them to both organization theory and strategic management. A general premise is that organizations embody coherent structures of tasks and competences, with distinctive governance modes, which do not replicate either pure market arrangements or any ‘nexus of contracts’. The authors identify the specificities of each firm in terms of (1) organizational processes (including their operating routines), (2) positions (broadly defined to cover their specific assets, their location along the value chain, and their relationships with suppliers and customers), and (3) paths (i.e. their patterns of change in the former two sets of characteristics). The chapter emphasizes the stickiness over time of distinct organizational capabilities and, thus, also the constraints that the past learning history of the organization puts upon the degrees of discretionality of strategic management. This perspective on organizations and organizational learning clearly shifts the focus of analysis from rather product positioning or ‘clever strategizing’ to the process of problem‐solving and organizational governance, and, dynamically, to competence‐enhancing strategies.Less
The chapter tries to conceptualize different forms of competence and relate them to both organization theory and strategic management. A general premise is that organizations embody coherent structures of tasks and competences, with distinctive governance modes, which do not replicate either pure market arrangements or any ‘nexus of contracts’. The authors identify the specificities of each firm in terms of (1) organizational processes (including their operating routines), (2) positions (broadly defined to cover their specific assets, their location along the value chain, and their relationships with suppliers and customers), and (3) paths (i.e. their patterns of change in the former two sets of characteristics). The chapter emphasizes the stickiness over time of distinct organizational capabilities and, thus, also the constraints that the past learning history of the organization puts upon the degrees of discretionality of strategic management. This perspective on organizations and organizational learning clearly shifts the focus of analysis from rather product positioning or ‘clever strategizing’ to the process of problem‐solving and organizational governance, and, dynamically, to competence‐enhancing strategies.
Daniel A. Levinthal
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199248544
- eISBN:
- 9780191596155
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199248540.003.0014
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
The chapter provides a theoretical framework for the analysis of organizational capabilities, underlining complementarity and interdependence among organizational routines and assets. A crucial ...
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The chapter provides a theoretical framework for the analysis of organizational capabilities, underlining complementarity and interdependence among organizational routines and assets. A crucial consequence concerns what one could call the ‘competitiveness diagnostics’ of corporate performances: precisely because of the (non‐linear) interrelatedness in the contribution of the various organizational traits to overall performances, ‘credit assignment’ is a difficult exercise. Relatedly, in terms of organizational learning, ‘local’ exploration and adjustments are likely to be the rule, since otherwise one is likely to lose any grasp on the relationships between causes (i.e. changes in organizational behaviour) and effects (i.e. changes in revealed performances). But a fundamental corollary of all this is also that organizations are likely to end up stuck into local peaks of the ‘fitness landscape’ (which is, roughly speaking, the mapping between organizational traits and ‘competitiveness’), with low probabilities of exploring radically diverse organizational arrangements.Less
The chapter provides a theoretical framework for the analysis of organizational capabilities, underlining complementarity and interdependence among organizational routines and assets. A crucial consequence concerns what one could call the ‘competitiveness diagnostics’ of corporate performances: precisely because of the (non‐linear) interrelatedness in the contribution of the various organizational traits to overall performances, ‘credit assignment’ is a difficult exercise. Relatedly, in terms of organizational learning, ‘local’ exploration and adjustments are likely to be the rule, since otherwise one is likely to lose any grasp on the relationships between causes (i.e. changes in organizational behaviour) and effects (i.e. changes in revealed performances). But a fundamental corollary of all this is also that organizations are likely to end up stuck into local peaks of the ‘fitness landscape’ (which is, roughly speaking, the mapping between organizational traits and ‘competitiveness’), with low probabilities of exploring radically diverse organizational arrangements.
