With the tight labour market in Singapore, greater emphasis needs to be put on increasing the utilisation of the woman work force. Although the concerted efforts by the Government are necessary in ...increasing the female labour force participation rate, employers should develop their own equal opportunity guidelines and policies, which will provide women with a suitable job and ensure that they remain employed. This research aims to study the existing human resource policies on women in Singapore organisations. A survey was conducted on 100 Singapore-based organisations to investigate their human resource policies on recruitment and selection, career development, training, compensation, flexible work arrangement and child care arrangements.
New evidence is presented on the degree of aggregate and sectoral labour productivity convergence among 11 EU countries between 1970 and 1990. As with studies for other groups of countries, it is ...found that there is a greater degree of aggregate than sectoral convergence. Aggregate productivity converged at 0.9 percent per annum, with agriculture and manufacturing both diverging and only services converging (0.6 percent p.a.). We contend that structural change provides one explanation for this finding. When measured as changes in sectoral employment shares, structural change accounted for between 50 percent and 66 percent of the overall rate of aggregate productivity convergence among the EU countries over the period. Countries with relatively low levels of aggregate productivity benefited most from structural change.
Besides the models of M. Keynes, R.F. Harrod, E. Domar, D. Romer, Ramsey-Cass-Koopmans model etc., the R.M. Solow model is part of the category which characterizes the economic growth. The paper ...proposes the presentation of the R.M. Solow adjusted model with specific simulation characteristics and economic growth scenario. Considering these aspects, there are presented the values obtained at the economy level, behind the simulations, about the ratio Capital on the output volume, Output volume on employee, equal with the current labour efficiency, as well as the Labour efficiency value.
We consider the potential importance of labour market efficiency for aggregate growth. The idea is that efficient labour markets move workers more quickly from low to high productivity sites, thereby ...raising aggregate productivity growth. We define a measure of labour market efficiency as a structural parameter from a matching function. Using labour market data on 15 OECD countries, we estimate this and show that it has a significant effect on growth. The results are robust to a number of different estimation techniques. The quantitative impact of market efficiency is not trivial.
The aim of this study is an analysis of the equipment in productive factors in the new regions against the background of regions in the old EU countries, and also an analysis of equipment in labour ...force, land and capital depending on the economic size of a farm. The analysis indicated that the regions of the new states (i.e. admitted on May 1, 2004) are characterized by a small economic size of farms, not exceeding 20 ESU. Doubling of labour efficiency in these farms requires very large investments, especially in current assets, to a smaller degree in fixed assets. / Synopsis. Celem niniejszego opracowania jest analiza wyposażenia w czynniki wytwórcze nowych regionów na tle regionów starej Unii Europejskiej, a także analiza wyposażenia w siłę roboczą, ziemię oraz kapitał w zależności od siły ekonomicznej gospodarstw. Stwierdzono, że regiony państw nowoprzyjętych w wyniku rozszerzenia UE w 2004 r., w tym również Polski, odznaczają się niskim poziomem wielkości ekonomicznej gospodarstwa, nie przekraczającym 20 ESU. Podwojenie wydajności w tych regionach wymaga doinwestowania gospodarstw, zwłaszcza w kapitał obrotowy, w mniejszym stopniu w kapitał trwały.
Purpose – Many economists and politicians have declared the price mechanism to be the most effective coordination mechanism. On the contrary, the economic perspectives at the beginning of the ...twenty-first century reveal that an increase in the supply of products does not necessarily engender an increasing demand. That is why more and more economists agree that every society not only can, but also must, choose the combination of coordination mechanisms that are most appropriate under its specific conditions. Design/methodology/approach – Economic development and growth are approached as being dependent on the development of society and vice versa. The empirical relation between economic openness of a country and the structure of its industrial relations is analysed in relation to different economic outcomes. Special attention is paid to the question whether a policy to engender smaller income differentials does or does not provide a positive drive for the structural change towards a modern information technology-based economy. Findings – Although some authors argue that smaller income differentials coincide with lower productivity rates, this study reveals that there is no such trade-off. Different sets of coordinating mechanisms determine economic performance. The market mechanism is therefore not the overriding force determining economic development. On the contrary, income and education seem to be two drivers of the sectoral shift to an ICT-based service economy. Originality/value – Different sets of coordination mechanisms seem to support the same economic performance. This implies that governments should once again take responsibility for structuring the economy and society – that is to enforce a system of reliable justice for the vast majority of citizens.
Labor planning is a key component of production/operations management. A productive organization needs a workforce that is of the right size, is competent and is well‐motivated. Production/operations ...managers need to understand the tools and techniques at their disposal to create such a workforce. This paper examines some of the key issues relating to labor planning and management, and introduces some of the available approaches and tools that can help shape and direct a workforce to productive ends.
The seasonal workload associated with pasture-based dairy farms, combined with increasing herd sizes, has led to a renewed focus on labor time-use and efficiency on dairy farms. The objective of this ...study was to examine labor time-use on pasture-based dairy farms in the spring and summer seasons. A total of 82 spring-calving Irish dairy farms completed the study from February 1 to June 30, 2019 (150 d). Each farmer recorded their labor input on one alternating day each week using a smartphone app. Any labor input by farm workers not using the app was recorded through a weekly online survey. Farms with data for each month (n = 76) were classified into 1 of 4 herd size categories (HSC) for analysis: farms with 50 to 90 cows (HSC 1); 91 to 139 cows (HSC 2); 140 to 239 cows (HSC 3); and ≥240 cows (HSC 4). Total hours of labor input was similar on HSC 1 (1,821 h) and HSC 2 (2,042 h) farms, but predictably as HSC increased further, total hours of labor input increased (HSC 3: 2,462 h, HSC 4: 3,040 h). On a monthly basis, labor input peaked in February (15.4 h/d) and March (15.7 h/d). The farmer worked on average 60.0 h/wk over the duration of the study period. Hired labor and contractors completed a greater amount of work as HSC increased. Labor efficiency, as measured by hours/cow, improved as HSC increased (HSC 1: 26.3 h/cow, HSC 2: 17.7 h/cow, HSC 3: 14.3 h/cow, HSC 4: 10.9 h/cow), though there were large variations in labor efficiency within HSC. Milking was the most time-consuming task, representing 31% of farm labor input making it an important focus for potential improvements in efficiency. The next 5 most time-consuming tasks were calf care (14%), grassland management (13%), cow care (10%), repairs and maintenance (10%), and administration/business (8%). This study contributes to the understanding of labor use during the busiest (most labor demanding) time of the year on pasture-based dairy farms and points to areas where labor efficiency improvements can be made on farms. The considerable variation in farm labor efficiency observed within HSCs emphasizes the necessity for a greater focus on knowledge transfer of methods to achieve improved labor efficiency and a better work–life balance on many dairy farms. As the 2 busiest months on most dairy farms, February and March require the most focus for identification of potential labor savings.
With the cessation of milk quotas in the European Union, dairy herd sizes increased in some countries, including Ireland, with an associated increase in labor requirement. Second to feed costs, labor ...has been identified as one of the highest costs on pasture-based dairy farms. Compared with other European Union countries, Ireland has historically had low milk production per labor unit; thus, optimization of labor efficiency on farm should be addressed before or concurrently with herd expansion. The objective of this study was to quantify current levels of labor input and labor efficiency on commercial pasture-based dairy farms and to identify the facilities and management practices associated with increased labor efficiency. Thirty-eight dairy farms of varying herd sizes, previously identified as labor-efficient farms, were enrolled on the study and data were collected over 3 consecutive days each month over a 12-mo period, starting in May 2015 and finishing in August of 2016. This was achieved through the use of a smartphone application. For analysis purposes, farms were categorized into 1 of 3 herd size categories (HSC): farms with <150 cows (HSC 1), 150–249 cows (HSC 2), or ≥250 cows (HSC 3). Overall farm labor input increased with HSC with 3,015, 4,499, and 6,023 h worked on HSC 1, 2, and 3, respectively. A higher proportion of work was carried out by hired staff as herd size increased. Labor efficiency was measured as total hours input to the dairy enterprise divided by herd size. Labor efficiency improved as herd size increased above 250 cows with 17.3 h/cow per yr observed for HSC 3; labor efficiency was similar for HSC 1 and 2, at 23.8 and 23.3 h/cow per yr, respectively. A large range of efficiency was observed within HSC. The labor requirements had a distinct seasonal pattern across the 3 HSC with the highest input observed in springtime (February to April) primarily due to calving and calf-care duties, milking, and winter feeding. The lowest input was observed in wintertime (November to January) when cows were dry. Particular facilities and management practices were associated with efficiency within certain tasks, the most notable in regard to milking and winter feeding practices. Additionally, the most efficient farms used contractors to perform a higher proportion of machinery work on farm than the least efficient farms.
This paper investigates the potential labour efficiencies and socio-cultural benefits of agroforestry for coffee smallholders practising low input production strategies. Employing both qualitative ...and quantitative methods, our case study of coffee smallholders in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, shows that despite managing very small holdings of coffee trees (< 500 trees), productivity is challenged by labour shortages and by very low levels of farm inputs. Constraints on labour supply include barriers to mobilising women’s labour; competition for labour from alternative livelihoods; the absence of a market in hired labour; and the time, labour and income demands of the indigenous socio-economy. The indigenous social economy draws heavily on smallholders’ time, labour and coffee income, to the extent that there is little labour for coffee garden maintenance and little coffee income invested in other farm inputs. To address these input shortfalls we explore the potential of ecosystem services from shade-grown coffee to generate labour efficiencies to partly fill some of the unmet maintenance requirements of coffee gardens and to partly fill the role of other farm inputs. Coffee extension must become more holistic and consider smallholder families’ diverse livelihoods and recognise the enduring nature of the low input production strategy, its socio-cultural value, its role in determining life quality, and thus its resistance to change. Extension must align with, rather than challenge, the low input production strategy to promote the potential labour efficiencies and benefits of agroforestry to create more resilient, sustainable and culturally-enriching coffee-based farming systems.
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