THE IMPACT OF WORLD WAR II ON COST ACCOUNTING AT THE SPERRY CORPORATION

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard K. Fleischman ◽  
R. Penny Marquette

The impact of World War II on cost accountancy in the U.S. may be viewed as a double-edged sword. Its most positive effect was engendering greater cost awareness, particularly among companies that served as military contractors and, thus, had to make full representation to contracting agencies for reimbursement. On the negative side, the dislocations of war, especially shortages in the factors of production and capacity constraints, meant that such “scientific management” techniques as existed (standard costing, time-study, specific detailing of task routines) fell by the wayside. This paper utilizes the archive of the Sperry Corporation, a leading governmental contractor, to chart the firm's accounting during World War II. It is concluded that any techniques that had developed from Taylorite principles were suspended, while methods similar to contemporary performance management, such as subcontracting, emphasis on the design phase of products, and substantial expenditure on research and development, flourished.

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-58
Author(s):  
Tommaso Piffer

This article explores the relationship between the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in the Italian campaign during World War II. Drawing on recently declassified records, the article analyzes three issues that prevented satisfactory coordination between the two agencies and the impact those issues had on the effectiveness of the Allied military support given to the partisan movements: (1) the U.S. government's determination to maintain the independence of its agencies; (2) the inability of the Armed Forces Headquarters to impose its will on the reluctant subordinate levels of command; and (3) the relatively low priority given to the Italian resistance at the beginning of the campaign. The article contributes to recent studies on OSS and SOE liaisons and sheds additional light on an important turning point in the history of their relations.


2008 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ernesto López-Córdova ◽  
Christopher M. Meissner

The likely endogeneity between democracy and trade is addressed with an instrumental variables strategy in this article about whether international trade fosters democracy. The authors use a measure of natural openness to obtain estimates of the causal impact of openness on democratization in three separate samples spanning the last 130 years. A positive impact of openness on democracy is apparent in the data over the long run. The post–World War II results suggest that with a rise in trade with other countries equal to a one standard deviation increase, countries such as Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela could eventually become as democratic as the U.S., Great Britain, or France. There is some variation in the impact of openness by region that may be because trade seems to have a positive impact only when the capital-to-labor ratio is sufficiently high. This is consistent with the idea that openness promotes democracy when it strengthens the economic fortunes of the middle class.


1995 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-5
Author(s):  
Frank FU

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in English; abstract also in Chinese.Asia is composed of a large number of countries spread over a long distance from east to west as well as north to south. It has been traditionally influenced by the colonial powers of Britain, France, Portugual, Spain and Holland and more recently, the U.S. After World War II,while most countries were enjoying a period of peace and prosperity, wars broke out in Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East. The 1988 Olympics at Seoul was so successful that people again realised that Asia has many hidden resources. It is therefore fair to say that Asia is in transition with different countries responding differently to the impact of modernization and the influence of their natural heritage and past colonial power.亞洲是由一群廣佈東西南北的國家組成。它一向受著其他國家和勢力的影響。例如,較早期的英國,法國,葡萄牙,西班牙以及荷蘭等殖民勢力以致較近期的美國浪潮。第二次世界大戰後,正當大部份國家享受著和平和繁榮生活之際,戰爭卻在韓國、越南和中東相繼爆發。亞洲某些地域又吿進入烽火期。 到了一九八八年在韓國漢城舉行的奧林匹克運動會,運動員和主辦單位的成功又再顯示出亞洲擁有廣大有待發掘的資源。從這點我們可以説,亞洲各國現正處於既受殖民勢力和天然遺產的影響以及對現代化不同反應的過度期。


2000 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Rainger

In the years between 1940 and 1955, American oceanography experienced considerable change. Nowhere was that more true than at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. There Roger Revelle (1909-1991) played a major role in transforming a small, seaside laboratory into one of the leading oceanographic centers in the world. This paper explores the impact that World War II had on oceanography and his career. Through an analysis of his activities as a naval officer responsible for promoting oceanography in the navy and wartime civilian laboratories, this article examines his understanding of the relationship between military patronage and scientific research and the impact that this relationship had on disciplinary and institutional developments at Scripps.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Metin Bayrak ◽  
Dastan Aseinov

In the literature, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been compared to the Great Depression of the 1930s, World War II, the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, or natural disasters. The COVID-19 outbreak has deeply affected the economies of countries. Almost every country has endeavored to implement remedial and precautionary packages in a way to overcome the effects of the epidemic with minimum damage in this process. As a result of the limitations and constraints applied according to this crisis, there is an economic crisis. The aim of this study is to research the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the banking sector of Kyrgyzstan. The comparative analysis in this study will be carried out using data on the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods of the banking sector. Our results show that the COVID crisis has negatively impacted the Kyrgyz banking sector, mainly in the form of problem loans. The COVID-19 pandemic did not create a serious problem in the form of a lack of liquidity and depreciation of capital. Based on our analysis, the acceleration of the digital transformation of the banking system can be indicated as a positive effect of the pandemic.


Author(s):  
Mischa Honeck

This gauges the impact of radical youth organizations on the BSA before and during World War II. As the Great Depression afflicted youths the world over, Scouters found their aspirations to repair the minds and bodies of America’s future citizens challenged by fascist and communist alternatives. In an effort to stave off groups affiliated with the Young Pioneers or the Hitler Youth, the BSA distanced itself from the buoyant internationalism of the 1920s and pictured the nation’s youth as disoriented, imperiled, and particularly susceptible to totalitarian propaganda. Casting the Scouts as the last best hope of boyhood in a world assailed by dictators reinforced the boundaries of Americanness and un-Americanness and obscured the closeness of the BSA’s scheme to mobilize boyhood for democracy with methods of regimenting youth on the far right and left. This narrative intensified with the U.S. entry into World War II when the BSA gave young males a share in defending the nation without transgressing the limits dictated by white middle-class ideals of childhood.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
GIUSEPPE DI VITA ◽  
FABIO DI VITA ◽  
GIANLUCA CAFISO

AbstractThis paper aims to evaluate the impact of Italy's unification on its economic growth from 1861 to the outbreak of World War II. This historical analysis attempts to prove that the process of legislative harmonization intrinsic to the unification had a positive effect on Italy's GDP because legislative uniformity facilitates economic transactions. Moreover a uniform and more effective legislation would have caused less litigation and therefore favoured economic growth, thanks to smoother relations between economic agents.


Author(s):  
C. Claire Thomson

This chapter traces the early history of state-sponsored informational filmmaking in Denmark, emphasising its organisation as a ‘cooperative’ of organisations and government agencies. After an account of the establishment and early development of the agency Dansk Kulturfilm in the 1930s, the chapter considers two of its earliest productions, both process films documenting the manufacture of bricks and meat products. The broader context of documentary in Denmark is fleshed out with an account of the production and reception of Poul Henningsen’s seminal film Danmark (1935), and the international context is accounted for with an overview of the development of state-supported filmmaking in the UK, Italy and Germany. Developments in the funding and output of Dansk Kulturfilm up to World War II are outlined, followed by an account of the impact of the German Occupation of Denmark on domestic informational film. The establishment of the Danish Government Film Committee or Ministeriernes Filmudvalg kick-started aprofessionalisation of state-sponsored filmmaking, and two wartime public information films are briefly analysed as examples of its early output. The chapter concludes with an account of the relations between the Danish Resistance and an emerging generation of documentarists.


2020 ◽  
pp. 79-92
Author(s):  
Burhanettin Duran

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the domestic and foreign policy agendas of all countries have been turned upside down. The pandemic has brought new problems and competition areas to states and to the international system. While the pandemic politically calls to mind the post-World War II era, it can also be compared with the 2008 crisis due to its economic effects such as unemployment and the disruption of global supply chains. A debate immediately began for a new international system; however, it seems that the current international system will be affected, but will not experience a radical change. That is, a new international order is not expected, while disorder is most likely in the post-pandemic period. In an atmosphere of global instability where debates on the U.S.-led international system have been worn for a while, in the post-pandemic period states will invest in self-sufficiency and redefine their strategic areas, especially in health security. The decline of U.S. leadership, the challenging policies of China, the effects of Chinese policies on the U.S.-China relations and the EU’s deepening crisis are going to be the main discussion topics that will determine the future of the international system.


Author(s):  
Joia S. Mukherjee

This chapter outlines the historical roots of health inequities. It focuses on the African continent, where life expectancy is the shortest and health systems are weakest. The chapter describes the impoverishment of countries by colonial powers, the development of the global human rights framework in the post-World War II era, the impact of the Cold War on African liberation struggles, and the challenges faced by newly liberated African governments to deliver health care through the public sector. The influence of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund’s neoliberal economic policies is also discussed. The chapter highlights the shift from the aspiration of “health for all” voiced at the Alma Ata Conference on Primary Health Care in 1978, to the more narrowly defined “selective primary health care.” Finally, the chapter explains the challenges inherent in financing health in impoverished countries and how user fees became standard practice.


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