Beyond contractual interpretation: bias in arbitrators' case perceptions and award recommendations

This study applies literature on extra‐legal variables and impression management towards an understanding of judgment biases in arbitration. The extra‐legal variables of previous record and consequence of infraction as well as impression management strategy were manipulated in a written case sent to practising arbitrators. Results suggest that impression management and previous record independently affected the severity of the arbitrator's ruling. In addition, significant interactions occurred. The data are discussed in terms of implications for arbitration and future studies in the area. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationships between career concerns and political tactics in organizations

The study examined the relationships between four career concerns (Personal Success, Organizational Involvement, Skill Development and Autonomy) and two categories of political tactics in organizations (Hierarchical Tactics and Networking Tactics) in a sample of management school alumni. Career concerns were not related to the employment of hierarchical tactics but were strongly related to the use of networking tactics. ‘External’ career concerns of personal success and organizational involvement were more strongly related to political behavior than ‘internal’ career concerns of skill development and autonomy. Organization size was significantly related to the use of hierarchical tactics but not to the use of networking tactics. Type of organization structure (mechanistic versus organic) did not have a direct effect on political behavior but moderated the relationships between career concerns and political tactics. These relationships were stronger in organic than in mechanistic organizations.     

Probabilistic Streamflow Generation Model for Data Sparse Arid Watersheds1

Abstract: The authors present a model that generates streamflow for ephemeral arid streams. The model consists of a stochastic hourly precipitation point process model and a conceptual model that transforms precipitation into flow. It was applied to the Santa Cruz River at the border crossing from Mexico into Southern Arizona. The model was constructed for four different seasons and three categories of inter‐annual variability for the wet seasons of summer and winter. The drainage area is ungauged and precipitation information was inferred from a precipitation gauge downstream. The precipitation gauge record was evaluated against simulated precipitation from a mesoscale numerical weather prediction model, and was found to be the representative of the regional precipitation variability. The flow generation was found to reproduce the variability in the observed record at the daily, seasonal and annual time scales, and it is suitable for use in planning studies for the study site.