Convergence Of Practices Research Articles

Comités d'éthique et normalisation de la recherche médicale : contribution à une sociologie de l'institution

Are ethics committees bringing about an ethical realignment of medical research, with the examination and broadening of issues previosly unknown or of limited scope, concerning the value and purpose of medical research ? A study of ethics committees in Canada shows that they favour adherence to the standards and practices already in use, by discouraging any deviation from these norms. Influenced by a confusion between what is and what ought to be, the standardization process under way is leading to a convergence of research practices without there being a clear discussion and endorsement of the standards.

Education and the Convergence of Management Codes

Summary This article will argue that there is an increasing convergence of practices between the commercial and non‐profit sectors, including schools, and that this can be interpreted as beneficial to both sectors. Nevertheless, a cautionary note is sounded. Whilst the commercial sector is adopting many of the practices and strategies of the non‐profit sector, this article suggests that it is doing this, at least in part, for different reasons: as another means of achieving better results. It is predicted that should such strategies fail to achieve what is envisioned, they will be dropped for other methods. In such circumstances, non‐profit organisations like schools should be very wary of surrendering their mission statements and practices because, unlike commercial organisations, these must be treated as first‐order ethical commitments, not second‐order strategic options. The conclusion, then, is one of a welcome for the increased dialogue which is likely to take place between the sectors, but the sounding of a cautionary note in any final description of the kind of ethically challenging role which schools may play for other‐‐and particularly commercial‐‐organisations.

Japanese management in Singapore: Convergence of human resource management practices

This paper discusses the transfer and adaptation of Japanese human resource management practices to Singapore. By comparing Japanese parent companies, their subsidiary companies in Singapore, and comparable local Singaporean companies, the modifications to the practices of the Japanese parent companies and the adoption of local practices by Japanese management are made evident. The findings seem to uphold both the convergence and the contingency theses.

Foreign Systems, Familiar Refrains: Civil Service Reform in Comparative Perspective

The civil service reforms of the 1970's in the United States were closely paralleled by similar reforms in other Western nations. This article identifies five themes in civil service reform — non- discrimination, public sector labor relations, decentralization, political responsiveness, and private sector influences — and discusses how they have shaped changes in personnel systems at home and abroad. Although civil service systems still vary significantly from one country to another, common social, political, and economic pressures are forcing a marked convergence in personnel practices and institutions.

Organizations Alike and Unlike: International and Interinstitutional Studies in the Sociology of Organizations.

Part 1: Introduction. 1. Towards A Comparative Sociology of Organizations Cornelis J Lammers and David J Hickson. Part 2: Salient Issues. Summary. 2. Grounds for Comparative Organization Theory: Quicksands or Hard Core? David J Hickson, Charles J McMillan, Koya Azumi and Dezso Horvath. 3. For A Study of The Societal Effect: Universality and Specificity in Organization Reseach Marc Maurice. 4. Organizations and the Social Order: A Pluralist Approach Jacques van Doorn. 5. Managerial Incentive Systems and Organizational Theory David Granick. 6. Hierarchical Power Distance in Forty Countries Gert Hofstede. Part 3: Comparing Organizations in Varying Institutional Settings. Summary. 7. Internal Belief Systems and Ideologies About the Organizational Structure of Church and Industry Fred H Goldner. 8. Continuities in the Study of Organizations: Churches and Local Government C R Hinings. 9. Contextual Variables and Bureaucratic Types of Israeli Service Organizations Bilha F Mannheim and Nathan Moskovits. 10. Organizational Control: A Comparison of Authority Systems in US and Nigerian Organizations W Richard Scott, Sanford M Dornbusch and Emmanuel A Utande. 11. Organizational Control: A Review of Studies Employing the Control Graph Method Arnold S Tannenbaum and Robert A Cooke. Part 4: Comparing Organizations in Varying Societal Settings. Summary. 12. Culture and Organizational Structure and Process: A Comparative Study of Local Government Administrative Bureaucracies in the Walloon and Flemish Regions of Belgium Michael Aiken and Samuel B Bacharach. 13. Organization and Managerial Roles in British and West German Companies: An Examination of the Culture-Free Thesis John Child and Alfred Kieser. 14. Cultural Context As A Determinant of Organizational Rationality: A Comparison of the Tobacco Industries in Britain and France Peter Clark. 15. Structural Differences Between Swedish and US Hospitals Egon Jonsson and Duncan Neuhauser. 16. Kidney Units: Culture, Structure and Technology Olgierd Kuty. 17. Convergence In Organizational Practices: An Empirical Study of Industrial Enterprises in Developing Countries Anant R Negandhi. 18. Organizational Role Commitment in the Catholic Church in Spain and the USA Richard A Schoenherr and Jose Perez Vilarino. 19. Profession, Autonomy and Time Perspective: A Comparative Study of the Rise of the Air Force Weapon G Teitler. Part 5: Conclusions. 20. Methodological Convergences? Cornelis J Lammers and David J Hickson. 21. Are Organizations Culture-Bound? Cornelis J Lammers and David J Hickson 22. A Cross-National and Cross-Institutional Typology of Organizations Cornelis J Lammers and David J Hickson. Name Index. Subject Index.

THE REVOLUTION IN BIRTH CONTROL PRACTICES OF U. S. ROMAN CATHOLICS

There has been a wide and increasing defection of Roman Catholic women from the traditional teaching of their Church on the subject of birth control over the past two decades and a resulting convergence of Catholic and non-Catholic contraceptive practices. By 1970, two-thirds of all Catholic women were using methods disapproved by their Church; this figure reached three-quarters for women under age 30. Considering the fact that most of the one-quarter of young Catholic women conforming to Church teaching had never used any method, the percentage of those deviating may well reach 90 as these women grow older and the problems of fertility control become more important. Much of this increasing deviation has been among the more educated Catholics, who were formerly the most faithful adherents to Church teaching. The change between 1965 and 1970 was especially striking for Catholic women who had attended college. Perhaps the most significant finding is that the defection has been most pronounced among the women who receive Communion at least once a month. Even among this group, the majority now deviates from Church teaching on birth control; among the younger women in this group, the proportion not conforming reaches two-thirds. It seems abundantly clear that U.S. Catholics have rejected the 1968 papal encyclical9s statement on birth control and that there exists a wide gulf between the behavior of most Catholic women, on the one hand, and the position of the more conservative clergy and the official stand of the Church itself, on the other. That many Catholics can continue in their other religious practices and simultaneously deviate on the issue of birth control is an interesting commentary on the process of social change. Ultimately this crisis of authority will probably be resolved by a change in official teaching, since it seems doubtful that such a major discrepancy can continue indefinitely without other repercussions. At a minimum, the cost to the Roman Catholic Church will be a loss of authority in a major area of life: that of sex and reproduction.

The revolution in birth control practices of U.S. Roman Catholics.

There has been a wide and increasing defection of Roman Catholic women from the traditional teaching of their Church on the subject of birth control over the past two decades and a resulting convergence of Catholic and non-Catholic contraceptive practices. By 1970, two-thirds of all Catholic women were using methods disapproved by their Church; this figure reached three-quarters for women under age 30. Considering the fact that most of the one-quarter of young Catholic women conforming to Church teaching had never used any method, the percentage of those deviating may well reach 90 as these women grow older and the problems of fertility control become more important. Much of this increasing deviation has been among the more educated Catholics, who were formerly the most faithful adherents to Church teaching. The change between 1965 and 1970 was especially striking for Catholic women who had attended college. Perhaps the most significant finding is that the defection has been most pronounced among the women who receive Communion at least once a month. Even among this group, the majority now deviates from Church teaching on birth control; among the younger women in this group, the proportion not conforming reaches two-thirds. It seems abundantly clear that U.S. Catholics have rejected the 1968 papal encyclical's statement on birth control and that there exists a wide gulf between the behavior of most Catholic women, on the one hand, and the position of the more conservative clergy and the official stand of the Church itself, on the other. That many Catholics can continue in their other religious practices and simultaneously deviate on the issue of birth control is an interesting commentary on the process of social change. Ultimately this crisis of authority will probably be resolved by a change in official teaching, since it seems doubtful that such a major discrepancy can continue indefinitely without other repercussions. At a minimum, the cost to the Roman Catholic Church will be a loss of authority in a major area of life: that of sex and reproduction.