Ethical discontinuities in public—private sector negotiation

One problem in dispute settlement negotiations between public and private sector agents is a lack of congruence in the behavioral norms the parties consider appropriate. This normative dissonance may be seen as a problem of professional ethical discontinuity. The implementation and enforcement of Superfund, in which public sector engineers negotiated with private sector lawyers, illustrates this problem. Suggested remedies include addressing the negotiation process in professional codes of ethics, avoiding professional mismatches, better training for negotiators about the ethical discontinuity problem and, in the public health setting, improving alternatives to negotiated agreements.     

Continuous product and process improvement as keys to success: A case study

Dynamic customer expectations and increased competitive pressures require manufacturing organizations to continually improve both their products and processes. To gain a better understanding of this improvement process so that other firms might benefit from the lessons learned, an in-depth study of a relatively small electronics manufacturing firm was conducted. A review of the organization's product and process improvements over an extended period of time highlighted the importance of the following four “areas”: the firm's sensitivity to its external environment in motivating and guiding product and process improvements, the firm's sensitivity to its product and process strengths as well as the potential advantage these might provide in the marketplace, the firm's management stability and style in motivating and guiding product and process improvements, and the synergistic relationship between the firm's competitive strategy and its product and process improvements.     

Development assistance on the brink

The international aid regime is currently faced with a major paradox. On the one hand, officials in bilateral and multlateral agencies increasingly agree that 'aid matters' and can contribute significantly to development. This confidence has been reinforced by the fact that, after a decade dominated by the objective of structural adjustment, the much less controversial one of sustainable development has taken over as the new mantra of aid policies. On the other hand, development assistance appears to be a declining priority for foreign policy-makers in the developed countries. The generosity of donors has diminished to the point that aid reached an all-time low in 1997. The aim of this article is to make sense of this paradox. After examining the grounds for optimism within the aid community, the article then explains why there is reason to doubt that foreign assistance can effectively foster sustainable development over the course of the next generation.     

Attitudes toward the criminal legal system: Scale development and predictors

The purpose of this study was to assess attitudes toward the criminal legal system and determine how they are related to rule-violating behaviors and experiences with the criminal legal system. To this end, the Attitudes Toward the Criminal Legal System Scale (ATCLS) was developed and five studies were conducted with participants from New England, including college students, high school students, and the community. Studies 1 and 2 found support for the reliability and validity of the ATCLS, and a relation between the ATCLS and authoritarianism and belief in a just world. Study 3 examined the test–retest reliability of the ATCLS. Studies 4 and 5 were conducted primarily to uncover the relation between the ATCLS and law- or rule-related behaviors with a community and high school sample, respectively. Generally, results suggested that there were no sex differences on the ATCLS, but attitudes toward the criminal legal system might function differently for men and women with regards to authoritarianism and behavior.