Individuals and Organizations Thoughts on a Micro-Foundations Project for Strategic Management and Organizational Analysis

Making links between micro and macro levels has been problematic in the social sciences, and the literature in strategic management and organization theory is no exception. The purpose of this chapter is to raise theoretical issues in developing micro-foundations for strategic management and organizational analysis. We discuss more general problems with collectivism in the social sciences by focusing on specific problems in extant organizational analysis. We introduce micro-foundations to the literature by explicating the underlying theoretical foundations of the origins of individual action and interaction. We highlight opportunities for future research, specifically emphasizing the need for a rational choice program in management research.

MODEL STOKASTIK SUSCEPTIBLE INFECTED RECOVERED (SIR)

Felin Yunita. 2013. MODEL STOKASTIK SUSCEPTIBLE INFECTED RECOVERED (SIR). Fakultas Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam. Universitas Sebelas Maret. Model susceptible infected recovered (SIR) menjelaskan penyebaran penyakit dari individu susceptible menjadi infected, kemudian individu infected akan sembuh (recovered) dan tidak terinfeksi kembali karena memiliki kekebalan. Penyebaran penyakit dapat dipandang sebagai kejadian random yang bergantung pada variabel waktu sehingga disebut proses stokastik. Perubahan banyaknya individu susceptible, infected, dan recovered merupakan proses stokastik dalam selang waktu dan variabel random kontinu sehingga dapat dijelaskan dengan model stokastik SIR. Tujuan penulisan ini adalah menurunkan model stokastik SIR. Penyelesaian model stokastik SIR diperoleh dengan formula Ito dan fungsi probabilitas variabel random dari model stokastik SIR harus memenuhi persamaan diferensial Kolmogorov maju. Model stokastik SIR disimulasikan dengan mengambil laju kontak �, laju kesembuhan , dan individu awal yang terinfeksi I(0) yang berbeda. Hasil simulasi menunjukkan bahwa jika semakin besar nilai � maka puncak epidemi semakin tinggi dan semakin besar nilai I(0) maka puncak epidemi juga semakin tinggi. Akan tetapi jika semakin besar nilai maka puncak epidemi semakin rendah. Kata kunci : formula Ito, model SIR, model stokastik, persamaan diferensial Kolmogorov Felin Yunita, 2013. SUSCEPTIBLE INFECTED RECOVERED (SIR) STOCHASTIC MODEL. Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Sebelas Maret University. The susceptible infected recovered (SIR) model explains the spread of a disease from the susceptible individuals become infected individuals, then the infected individuals will be recovered and will be not re-infected because they have immunity. The spread of disease is considered as random events which depend on the time variable so it is called a stochastic process. The changes of the number of susceptible, infected, and recovered individuals are a stochastic process with continuous time interval and random variable that can be explained by a SIR stochastic model The purpose of this research is to construct the SIR stochastic model. The solution of the SIR stochastic model is obtained by the Ito formula and the probability function of random variables from the SIR stochastic model must satisfy the Kolmogorov forward differential equations. The SIR stochastic model is simulated by taking the various values of the contact rate �, the recovery rate , and the initial value of infected I(0). The results of simulation show the more value of �, the higher of outbreak, and the more value of I(0), the higher of outbreak. On the other hand the more value of , the lower of outbreak. Key words : Ito formula, Kolmogorov differential equations, SIR model, stochastic mode

Building Micro-Foundations for the Routines, Capabilities, and Performance Links

Micro-foundations have become an important emerging theme in strategic management. This paper addresses micro-foundations in two related ways. First, we argue that the kind of macro (or “collectivist”) explanation that is utilized in the capabilities view in strategic management ? which implies a neglect of micro-foundations ? is incomplete. There are no mechanisms that work solely on the macro-level, directly connecting routines and capabilities to firm-level outcomes. While routines and capabilities are useful shorthand for complicated patterns of individual action and interaction, ultimately they are best understood at the micro-level. Second, we provide a formal model that shows precisely why macro explanation is incomplete and which exemplifies how explicit micro-foundations may be built for notions of routines and capabilities and for how these impact firm performance.Routines, capabilities, micro-foundations, production function

THE DECLINE (AND REVIVAL?) OF BLACK FARMERS AND RURAL LANDOWNERS: A REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH LITERATURE

African-Americans as a group went from owning almost no land in the United States after the Civil War to peaking at 15 million acres by 1920. In that year, 14% of all US farmers were black. Of these 926,000 black farmers, all but 10,000 were in the South. By 1997, fewer than 20,000, or 1% of all farmers, were black, and they owned only about two million acres. The loss of landownership and farming operations has contributed to the poverty of many rural communities in the South. This paper consists of a review of 74 journal articles, reports, chapters, and books on African-Americans and farming, comprising most of the scholarly literature on the issue published since 1971. One of the commonalities in the literature is the sense of hopelessness in stemming the tide of black land loss. On the other hand, another commonality is the view that the black farmer and rural landowner must be sustained, even brought back. Among the studies are those claiming that landowners make up the backbone of civic and political life in rural black communities. Other advantages of landownership include increased personal pride, higher educational achievement of children, and an overall better sense of wellbeing. Most of the works offer similar perspectives of the decline of blacks in farming, and suggested solutions also are often repeated in these works. But there are differences in the works, and together they cover a wide range of issues that differentiate black farmers by sub-region, state, farm size, tenure, crops raised, and social and economic situation.Afro-American farmers -- Bibliography, Afro-American farmers -- Government policy -- United States -- Bibliography, Afro-American landowners -- Bibliography, Farm ownership -- United States -- Bibliography, Agrarian structure -- United States -- Bibliography, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use,

AN ANALYSIS OF TRANSITIVITY SYSTEM IN STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC WRITING TEXTS : A Case Study of International Program on Science Education Students in a State University in Bandung

This study entitled ‘An Analysis of Transitivity System in Students’ Academic Writing Texts’ investigated how the students present scientific information in their academic writing seen from the Transitivity System, and what the difficulties are encountered by the students while writing their texts. It was conducted in the English for Academic Purposes class in an International Program of Science Education in a state university in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. This study is a qualitative study using a case study as the research design. The data were collected from the documents of six students’ writing texts from three different categories based on students’ achievement during their study. The categories are high achievers, middle achievers, and low achievers. The texts were analyzed using Transitivity System proposed by Halliday (1994) and Eggins (2004). Other theories such as the theory of scientific texts suggested by Halliday & Martin (1993), Martin & Veel (1998), Fang (2005), and Fang (2006), and the theory of text types in science proposed by Martin & Rose (2007), Anderson & Anderson (1997), and Knapp & Watkins (2005) were used in the process of analysing the texts. The findings of this study show that the types of students’ writing texts are Descriptive Report and Factorial Explanation Text. Most of the students appeared to have insufficient knowledge about the schematic structure of those texts and they needed some improvements particularly in terms of word choices, text organization, grammatical structure, and writing style. Moreover, the informational density and the abstraction, as the specific features of scientific text realised by the number of content words and nominalization, were not successfully achieved. Based on the findings, it is recommended to teachers in some schools where all subjects are taught in English, especially in content area such as science, to apply explicit teaching about the schematic structures and linguistic features of scientific texts. Moreover, it is also suggested that further research can analyze the features in scientific texts beyond Transitivity system. Keywords: Systemic Functional Linguistic, Transitivity System, Scientific Text

MODEL STOKASTIK SUSCEPTIBLE INFECTED RECOVERED (SIR)

Model susceptible infected recovered (SIR) menjelaskan penyebaran penyakit dari individu susceptible menjadi infected, kemudian individu infected akan sembuh (recovered) dan tidak terinfeksi kembali karena memiliki kekebalan. Penyebaran penyakit dapat dipandang sebagai kejadian random yang bergantung pada variabel waktu sehingga disebut proses stokastik. Perubahan banyaknya individu susceptible, infected, dan recovered merupakan proses stokastik dalam selang waktu dan variabel random kontinu sehingga dapat dijelaskan dengan model stokastik SIR. Tujuan penulisan ini adalah menurunkan model stokastik SIR. Model stokastik SIR disimulasikan dengan mengambil laju kontak β, laju kesembuhan γ, dan individu awal yang terinfeksi I(0) yang berbeda. Hasil simulasi menunjukkan bahwa jika semakin besar nilai β maka puncak epidemi semakin tinggi dan semakin besar nilai I(0) maka puncak epidemi juga semakin tinggi. Akan tetapi jika semakin besar nilai γ maka puncak epidemi semakin rendah. Kata kunci: model SIR, model stokastik

Relato de experiência de um agente social sobre suas atividades com as comunidades do município de Santa Maria-RS, através do Programa de Esporte e Lazer da Cidade

O objetivo do presente trabalho é analisar a atuação de um agente social do Programa Esporte e Lazer da Cidade (PELC), Programa do Ministério do Esporte vinculado á Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) no Centro de Educação Física e Desportos, no período dos meses de Maio a Julho de 2013, tendo seu objetivo democratizar o esporte e lazer as periferias da cidade de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. Ao entrar no Programa o Agente Social passa por uma entrevista com os Coordenadores, para saber o interesse e se existe alguma dúvida sobre o Programa, o agente recebe informações de suas atribuições e como elas estão elencadas dentro do Programa. A carga horária é disposta em vinte horas semanais, sendo que doze horas são frente ao aluno, seis horas de planejamento de aulas, uma hora de reunião de núcleo e uma reunião geral por mês, possuindo módulos de formações, onde o agente recebe instruções de planejamento de atividades, como criar oficinas físicopedagógicas e estratégias para mobilizar e incentivar a participação de todos da comunidade. O Programa oferece diversas atividades relacionadas à saúde, interação social e a prática de lazer às pessoas que participam do mesmo, no período supracitado, explanando como este programa almeja e alcança um índice de impacto as comunidades de uma forma positiva e de democratização.Eje 5: Las prácticas de la Educación Física vinculadas con la integración e inclusión social. Mesa de Trabajo A: Políticas públicas educativas.Departamento de Educación Físic

Essential Micro-foundations for Contemporary Business Operations: Top Management Tangible Competencies, Relationship-based Business Networks and Environmental Sustainability

Although various studies have emphasized linkages between firm competencies, networks and sustainability at organizational level, the links between top management tangible competencies (e.g., contemporary relevant quantitative-focused education such as big data analytics and data-driven applications linked with the internet of things, relevant experience and analytical business applications), relationship-based business networks (RBNs) and environmental sustainability have not been well established at micro-level, and there is a literature gap in terms of investigating these relationships. This study examines these links based on the unique data collected from 175 top management representatives (chief executive officers and managing directors) working in food import and export firms headquartered in the UK and New Zealand. Our results from structural equation modelling indicate that top management tangible competencies (TMTCs) are the key determinants for building RBNs, mediating the correlation between TMTCs and environmental sustainability. Directly, the competencies also play a vital role towards environmental practices. The findings further depict that relationship-oriented firms perform better compared to those which focus less on such networks. Consequently, our findings provide a deeper understanding of the micro-foundations of environmental sustainability based on TMTCs rooted in the resource-based view and RBNs entrenched in the social network theory. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings, and we provide suggestions for future research

MICRO-Foundations in Strategic Management: Squaring Coleman's Diagram

Abell, Felin and Foss argue that "macro-explanations" in strategic management, explanations in which organizational routines figure prominently and in which both the explanandum and explanans are at the macro-level, are necessarily incomplete. They take a diagram (which has the form of a trapezoid) from Coleman, Foundations of Social Theory, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Mass.)/London, (1990) to task to show that causal chains connecting two macro-phenomena always involve "macro-to-micro" and "micro-to-macro" links, links that macro-explanations allegedly fail to recognize. Their plea for micro-foundations in strategic management is meant to shed light on these "missing links". The paper argues that while there are good reasons for providing micro-foundations, Abell, Felin and Foss's causal incompleteness argument is not one of them. Their argument does not sufficiently distinguish between causal and constitutive relations. Once these relations are carefully distinguished, it follows that Coleman's diagram has to be squared. This in turn allows us to see that macro-explanations need not be incomplete

Dynamics on expanding spaces: modeling the emergence of novelties

Novelties are part of our daily lives. We constantly adopt new technologies, conceive new ideas, meet new people, experiment with new situations. Occasionally, we as individuals, in a complicated cognitive and sometimes fortuitous process, come up with something that is not only new to us, but to our entire society so that what is a personal novelty can turn into an innovation at a global level. Innovations occur throughout social, biological and technological systems and, though we perceive them as a very natural ingredient of our human experience, little is known about the processes determining their emergence. Still the statistical occurrence of innovations shows striking regularities that represent a starting point to get a deeper insight in the whole phenomenology. This paper represents a small step in that direction, focusing on reviewing the scientific attempts to effectively model the emergence of the new and its regularities, with an emphasis on more recent contributions: from the plain Simon's model tracing back to the 1950s, to the newest model of Polya's urn with triggering of one novelty by another. What seems to be key in the successful modelling schemes proposed so far is the idea of looking at evolution as a path in a complex space, physical, conceptual, biological, technological, whose structure and topology get continuously reshaped and expanded by the occurrence of the new. Mathematically it is very interesting to look at the consequences of the interplay between the "actual" and the "possible" and this is the aim of this short review.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figure