Third-Party Monitoring and Risk Management: A Literature Review

Although risk management is prevalent in organizations, agency theory studies on contractual relationships in firms fail to address it. Risk reduction is mostly discussed within the context of monitoring, understood as insight into the activities of subordinates. Hence, this literature review discusses 18 main analytical studies on monitoring, reviewing whether they can be reinterpreted as depicting risk management, thereby allowing for the transfer of gained insights. Accordingly, only Meth, B. (1996). Reduction of outcome variance: optimality and incentives. Contemp. Account. Res. 13: 309–328 and Dürr, O., Nisch, M., and Rohlfing-Bastian, A. (2020). Incentives in optimized teams for projects with uncertain returns. Rev. Account. Stud. 25: 313–341, can be reinterpreted as such, bearing the following risk management implications: (1) risk management is vital for firms, as firm’s risk affects employee incentive contracts, firm’s utility, and optimal firm size; (2) risk attitudes of risk managers are crucial for designing incentive contracts, with incentives necessary for more (less) risk-averse agents to encourage risk-taking (risk reduction); and (3) risk management should be delegated as a task separate from other managerial activities. The other studies do not depict risk management. Therefore, many research subjects remain open, such as organizing risk management in hierarchies, delegating risk management as a task and incentivizing it when a firm’s outcome is unavailable for contracting, and establishing the connection between the performance measures and the risk of a firm.

The ‘code adjudicator’ model: the Pubs Code, statutory arbitration and the tied lease

The ‘code adjudicator’ is a new statutory intervention in business-to-business disputes. They are Janus-faced, combining a statutory arbitration function with a regulatory remit. This paper is a detailed critique of the ‘Pubs Code Adjudicator’, which presides over the Pubs Code Regulations 2016 and intervenes in the contractual relationships between the largest pub-owning companies and their tied tenants. Drawing on a sample of interviews with affected tenants, arbitration data, and legal appeals under the Arbitration Act 1996, we argue that – although these ‘new intermediaries’ show promise – there are a series of limitations with both the function of the Pubs Code Regulations and the ‘code adjudicator’ model itself. In particular, our findings demonstrate the use of delaying tactics, the interaction of code adjudication with the parties’ existing contractual relationships, and issues with the application of arbitration ‘burden of proof’ standards to the exercise of duties under the statutory code.

Flexibility of creating and changing employment in the options of the Slovak Labor Code

Flexibility of the employer’s ability to manage human resources during the several-month “lockdown” due to the COVD-19 pandemic has proven crucial to the survival of a Slovak company. However, this flexibility, unlike other contractual relationships, is strictly regulated by the Slovak Labor Code. Given the scope of the problem, the paper focuses only on issues related to the possibility of creating and changing employment in the Slovak Republic, which must be addressed by the management of all companies. The main purpose of the study is to assess flexibility in creating and changing employment. In processing this managerial issue, analysis, synthesis, deduction, and comparison are used. It was found that the Slovak Labor Code is flexible enough and fulfills its purpose. Despite its flexibility, it also provides an employee with the necessary protection in employment relations and allows him, in agreement with an employer, to grant more rights than he himself guarantees. However, in the current information age, it does not allow for electronic conclusions of legal acts and still prefers the paper form. Another disadvantage is the finding that it does not regulate the institute of a management contract, which objectively causes problems between the employer and the manager, especially in the issue of stability of a managerial position.  AcknowledgmentThis scientific paper was created within the project VEGA [1/0320/21] “The Role of Universities in Building the Knowledge Economy” and was supported by funds from Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Management.

Realist evaluation of the implementation and impact of the NHS carbon reduction strategy in the UK

ObjectivesTo evaluate the extent to which organisational factors facilitate or inhibit the implementation of the National Health Service (NHS) carbon reduction strategy within acute hospital settings.SettingA single acute NHS Trust with four satellite sites which serve more than 2 million patients annually in Central England.ParticipantsInterviews with a purposive sample of 10 stakeholders, including those who conceptualised the intervention and those who were responsible for its implementation.InterventionThe NHS is a major carbon emitter and therefore developed the ‘NHS carbon reduction strategy (NHSCRS)’ in 2009. NHS organisations are contractually obliged to develop a local carbon reduction strategy known as a Sustainable Development Management Plan (SDMP) which details carbon reduction measures (CRM), as described in the NHSCRS. However, the organisational context within which the SDMP is implemented is likely to determine the extent of its success. We undertook an adapted realist evaluation cycle to develop refined initial programme theories. Documents were analysed using thematic content analysis. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsCRM were most likely to be implemented if the Trust Board were sufficiently pressured by staff and reputational fears, and the potential impacts of CRM were perceived to align with wider organisational aims. Differences in implementation of CRM across hospital sites were related to logistical factors, accessibility to regional partners and contractual relationships. There were expected carbon, energy and long-term financial savings, with variability in the effectiveness of some CRM post implementation.ConclusionsOrganisational factors, particularly Board leadership and internal implementation pathways, have a significant bearing on whether CRM are implemented or not. However, greater national support and guidance is needed for NHS organisations to effectively reduce their carbon emissions. Further cycles of this evaluation are necessary in multiple case study sites to illuminate the path to a net-zero NHS carbon footprint by 2045.

Concept, types and signs of responsibility in the field of medical activities

The development of medical science, the improvement of the living standards of the population and the establishment of democratic institutions contribute to the increase of the requirements for the activity of medical workers and to the increase of cases of bringing them to justice for improper performance of professional duties. Civil law distinguishes between types of liability according to different criteria. Thus, on the basis of the rights and obligations, for the violation of which liability is established, it is divided into contractual and non-contractual. Contractual and non-contractual civil liability have some common generic features. Liability in medical activities arises in case of violation of rights and responsibilities. The activities of health professionals (doctors, nurses, support staff) in any case, aimed at the patient, he receives medical care, taking into account his health, physical condition, and aim at positive changes in the patient's health. In the case of contractual liability, the terms of the contract are violated, in the case of non-contractual (tort) liability between the violator and the victim before the violation there were absolute legal relations. The behavior of the offender must be active, ie passive behavior is not the basis for tortious liability, but only if there are special rules of law that provide only for active behavior (doctors). Tort liability damages the general prohibition, where potentially harmful conduct is not clearly defined by law, as any active conduct is illegal and associated with the occurrence of the damage. Contractual liability will arise in compliance with the terms of liability, especially the causal link, ie the objectively existing link between the wrongful conduct of the debtor and the adverse consequences that have occurred. The classic features of the contract, of course, are more clearly manifested in private medical services (eg, dentists, private medical institutions), there are contractual relationships. Liability in the field of medical activity is a type of legal liability, ie the implementation of a sanction of a legal norm, which by its nature is a means of coercion, is accompanied by condemnation by the state and is expressed in imposing on the perpetrator of violation of intangible consequences of a material nature.

On work-for-hire intellectual property assets created under employment agreements for conducting scientific research, development and engineering

Keywords: subjects of contractual relationships, work-for-hire intellectual propertyassets, author, employer, property rights for work-for-hire intellectual property assets,consideration The article analyzes the legal regime of official works createdduring the performance of the contract for the performance of research or researchand development and technological work. It is proved that the subjects of contractualrelations in addition to the executor and the customer should also include the creator(author, inventor) — an employee working in a scientific institution or enterprise,whose creative work created an official object of intellectual property. At the sametime, a scientific institution (enterprise) that has hired an employee under an employmentagreement (contract) acts as an employer. Based on the analysis of the legislationin the field of intellectual property and scientific sources, the author identifiesthe features of intellectual property. The meaning of the terms «duties» and «employer's order» is investigated. It is stated that there is no definition in the legislation ofUkraine of the term «official task» and requirements for registration of official taskfor the creation of a work. The grounds for recognizing the objects of intellectual propertyrights as official are determined and analyzed. The peculiarities of the distributionof property rights to official objects between the customer, the executor and theemployee-author in the context of the legal relations that arise and accompany theperformance of contracts are considered. Various contractual constructions used inthe mechanism of division of property rights into official objects are analyzed. Proposalsare formulated aimed at improving the local regulation of the distribution of propertyrights to service facilities. Particular attention in the article is paid to the issue ofpayment of remuneration to the author of the official object. The structure of such remunerationis analyzed, sources of its payment are offered, terms of payment of suchremuneration and their legal definition. It is proposed that the contracts provide forobligations (guarantees) of the parties to «finance» the customer and pay the contractorremuneration to the author for the creation and use of the official object.

Theoretical Foundations of Relational Incentive Contracts

This article describes the emerging game-theoretic framework for modeling long-term contractual relationships with moral hazard. The framework combines self-enforcement and external enforcement, accommodating alternative assumptions regarding how actively the parties initially set and renegotiate the terms of their contract. A progression of theoretical components is reviewed, building from the recursive formulation of equilibrium continuation values in repeated games. A principal-agent setting serves as a running example. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Economics, Volume 13 is August 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

The History and Origin of Fraud as a Defect in Consent in Contractual Relationships

Fraud is a specific type of defect in consent that manifests the purpose of one of the parties to establish a contractual relationship through deceptive actions. As such, fraud is an unlawful and unethical action that emerged beginning with some of the earliest agreements in human society. Moreover, the practical treatment of fraud is likely to have occurred since the genesis of its appearance. More appropriate and advanced treatment of fraud can be seen after the implementation of the first legal systems, which focused on contractual relationships. Fraud in contractual relationships will be examined starting with Babylonian, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Islamic law and will continue with a focus on Albanian customary law and modern laws implemented in Kosovo. Furthermore, in this article, we will show how the treatment of fraud has evolved in the legal framework in Kosovo.

Cloud Computing Law

This book examines in detail the legal implications of cloud computing. In essence, 'the cloud' is a way of delivering computing resources as a utility service via the Internet. It is evolving very rapidly with substantial investments being made in infrastructure, platforms, and applications, all delivered 'as a service'. The demand for cloud resources is enormous, driven by such developments as the deployment on a vast scale of mobile apps and the rapid emergence of 'Big Data'. The book explains what cloud computing is and how it works; analyses contractual relationships between cloud service providers and their customers, as well as the complex roles of intermediaries; and explores specific arrangements for public sector cloud procurement and questions about ownership of data in clouds. It also studies the protection of personal data in clouds, governance challenges relating to access to data in clouds by law enforcement authorities, ways of facilitating competition between cloud service providers, and the consumer protection implications of cloud computing.

Biofuel value chains and contractual relationships

One of the main issues in growing energy crops for the production of liquid biofuels, at global level, is the availavility of land to do so (S. C. Trindade, 2010). Some nations in temperate areas do not count on those productivity rate as those as the ones presented by tropical countries (S. Trindade, 2005).