Assessing probabilities of unique events： Calibrating qualitative likelihood judgments into a probability distribution

Multifaceted events in an organizational environment usually need to be assigned probabilities as a prerequisite to analytical decision-making. If the decision situation is unique, a lack of relevant historical frequency data may preclude use of traditional probability models such as the normal, binomial etc. In this case, an individual decision maker （DM） or an informed group of persons can input into a procedure as outlined here to determine a probability distribution that leads to the expected values of alternative actions or fair values of securities. The individual or group member must decide qualitatively on the extent to which one event is ＂more likely＂ than another where both events are ranked adjacent （i.e., closest to each other） in terms of likelihood. Even though the individual or group members may lack experience in orthodox probability assessment, these pairwise ＂more likely＂ judgments on the relative likelihood of events are not overly demanding for persons familiar with the possible outcomes in the situation under analysis.     

Ethics as an Active Self-construction of the Human

This paper will attempt to clarify the clear tendency, in our contemporary world, to look at ethics as something that ＂cures＂ all wrongs, all unbalance, and all evils from the political, environmental, to the business ones. For this reason, there is nothing better than to turn to ethics in order to ＂moralise＂ the system and the world, when the numerous news of fraud, injustice, and scandals are a part of everyday life in the business world and in our society. But, is this the role of ethics？ Can we reduce the aim of ethics to a mere technique？ In this paper, it is argued that ethics needs to be replaced in the epistemological scale of knowledge, where until now it has occupied a place at the top. Ethics needs to be repositioned in a different level of knowledge where we may find the roots of its foundation. It is also discussed that it is at the core of being that the experience of the action takes place and develops and in it, ethics takes root. Furthermore, it is suggested that understanding ethics from this point of view presupposes a new ethos around a relational poietics which privileges inter-subjectivity, self-creation, and an active and dynamic construction of the human and of the world.     

The decision-making dimension of the systems approach to management

Theoretically, a system is anything that is made up of various parts. Theses parts are known as subsystems. At every point in time, these parts should work in harmony so that objectives could be achieved successfully. A system could be inanimate or animate item. Examples of inanimate systems include vehicles, households, computer and institution. Examples of animate systems are human being, animal and insect. Both inanimate and animate systems are made up of various subsystems. Such subsystems are required to co-operate, collaborate and work together so that set objectives could be achieved successfully. From practical managerial point of view, business organizations are equally systems that are made up of subsystems which may take the form of departments, sections and/or units. It is supposed to be collaborations among the managers and other members in these departments, sections and/or units so that organizational objectives could be achieved. All the managers in various departments, sections and/or units are required to work together as a team to make the system coherent and closely-knit to make disintegration impossible. Closely related to the systems approach to management is managerial decision-making. Decision-making is a very important function of every manager＇s job. The success and failure stories of many organizations are the result of the quality of decisions made. Many organizations have survived turbulent conditions. Others have also collapsed in spite of favourable conditions. These varying conditions are the result of the quality of decisions made by managers at positions of authority and responsibility. Therefore the systems approach to management enjoins top managers in particular to be very circumspect and cautious in certain decision-making activities. This is because, the quality of decision a manager makes can go a long way to determine the success or failure story of an organization as exemplified in the case study in this paper.     

National Lottery Participation and Expenditure： Evidence from Hainan Province in China

Lottery has already been broadly used by countries to raise funds to construct the public organizations, but its function is decided by the rate of participation and expenditure levels. Using the lottery investigation data from Hainan Province, this paper analyzes the factors affecting the rate of participation and expenditure in Hainan Province by applying Probit and Tobit Model. It shows that factors such as gender, marriage, education level, attitude and the social environment have distinct influence on the individual lottery participation and expenditure decisions. Therefore, lottery is a restricted rational behavior affected by psychological and social environment variables. Publicity may play an important role in our country＇s lottery policy. Moreover, lottery policy in China should implement a development strategy which requires adjustment in product pattem and promotion approach.     

Generational management in corporate America： The differences and challenges in management of four generations of working adults

There are many differences and challenges that employers face while managing employees in the current work force. Our present day workforce is made up of a diverse group of people： Matures, also known as Veterans （age 55＋）, Baby Boomers （age 45-54）, Generation X （age 35-44） and Generation Y also known as Millennial （age 18-34）. The differences and challenges among these groups will be evident when reviewing recognition and praise, managerial styles, subordinate responses to generational leadership. Companies are stepping back and looking more holistically at how to develop programs and deploy technology that will speak to four distinct generations in the workforce （Sprague, 2008）. Each generation has their own definition of work ethic, responsibility, and performance. The best way to deal with the multi-generations is coming up with ways that make everybody feel like they are members of a team, thus helping them to learn how to develop a better way of communication than what exists between them now. If everybody is a part of a team, then they are all sharing the benefits that the other generations can bring to the table, making them a strong entity. Matures and boomers can become mentors to the X and Y＇s, and the X and Y＇s can then share and impart their knowledge of technology to the Matures and boomers. Companies in today＇s workplace must learn a better way to understand the values of the four generations, for it is very important in understanding and guiding these people in the workplace. Without this proper understanding, the guidance and alliance that managers are hoping to achieve will be even longer in the making and then one, possibly two, whole generations will be gone from the workforce and their knowledge and skill gone as well.     

Assessment of the immigration effect and choice of development pattern for scenic areas： a case study of Wuyi Mountain, China

Mountainous regions face a series of Conflicts betWeen the natural resources conservation and the economic development, especially in protected areas, where are the home to some of the poorest people in＇the world In China, the Protected Areas Authorities （such as Protected Areas Authorities of Wuyi Mountain） transferred the mountainous people out of the protected areas. We found that it is not a good approach of immigration project, as fal economic and ecological effect is concerned. Although remote and majestic, beauty attracted many tourists, mass tourism is not a good approach to soh,e the development problem in mountainous areas because it can not provide enough opportunites to make local people live a comfortable life, and the high volume of tourists indicates that the resources, face significant threats. Because many fandscapes,are run by Private enterprises, local residents and government only get limited benefits. Alihough ecotourism principles expatiate on economic development and resource, onservation, local people income and tourists feelings, it has discordance between the theory and the praciice Therefore. the term of ＂integrated ecotourism ＂ was coined in the paper.based on the ecotourism theory, Integrated ecotourism means a broadly tourism resources and pendulum spatial pattern which will come into being with the movement of local,people and tourists from protected areas io the nearby town or city： and it also tries to solve the property right conflict of mountain land between the local people and the private enterprises according to property right theory.     

An Improved Reverse Auction for Addressing Water Quality in Agricultural Watersheds Using Coupled Simulation-Optimization Models

As nutrients and sediment in agricultural watersheds continue to degrade water quality, attention is increasingly given to reverse auctions to cost-effectively address these pollutants. Typically, reverse auctions include a selection process which depends on both the monetary bid and a ranking of the environmental benefit, where the latter is often approximated using simple models, such as the Universal Soil Loss Equation （USLE）. When the environmental objective is to improve water quality, the cost-effectiveness of such ranking methods cannot always be assured since simple models may poorly approximate the effects on downstream water quality. In this paper, we introduce an alternative reverse auction approach that takes advantage of richer watershed process models and optimization tools that are now much more commonly available. This ＂improved＂ reverse auction allows decision-makers to better consider the cost-effective assignment of conservation practices and to address water quality or other environmental objectives. In a spatially detailed simulation, we demonstrate how this approach can improve the design of a reverse auction for the Raccoon River Watershed in Iowa, and estimate the potential gains from using the simulation-optimization approach relative to simpler ranking methods for selecting bids. We also point out that simple bid ranking schemes may not yield sufficient nutrient reductions to achieve water quality goals but bids areeasily selected to achieve any feasible water quality improvement in the ＂improved＂ auction process.     

Characteristics of Organizational Leadership and Motivation as a Factor of Change in the Public Health System

The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of organizational leaders in the health system and the factors that motivate health workers, in order to improve health care. The research was conducted in the public health institutions in Montenegro. The objectives of the research were to investigate whether leaders affect the motivation of employees in order to implement changes in the health system. The study was implemented through the interview method on the representative sample of 603 employees in public health institutions. The factor analysis revealed the latent characteristics of the organizational leader and the factors that motivate employees in public health institutions. The result of study indicates that employees in public health perceive organizational leadership to have a good quality. Result also exposes that the strongest motivation factor is a financial incentive. Financial incentive is the main motivator for employees in the public health sector, while the participation in decision-making was the least important motivational factor. The results obtained indicate that employees are primarily focused on individual goals, which influence the acceptance of change within the health system. The role of organizational leaders in motivating is poor because obtained factor scores are not correlated. The research has shown that organizational leaders do not have a great impact on the motivation of employees in the public health sector. This has effect on the process of accepting changes, where the roles of leaders are very important, especially in providing support to employees.     

A Comparative Study of Performance Between Operators With Work Discontinuity and Without Work Discontinuity

In situations where discontinuity in operation occurs, specifically in a country where coontractualization has an increasing trend, the performance level of operators after the work break is of great interest. Existing studies have found that the performance of an operator declines after her operation is completely stopped. However, when the operator performed other tasks （may it be similar or not from her previous task） during the work break, the performance after the work break seems to be affected at different level. Contractual and regular operators from a semiconductor and textile company were considered to replicate a discontinuous and continuous operation. The processing times of contractual workers before and after several months of work break were compared. Two types of work break were seen to have significant effect on an operator＇s performance after the work break, Type 1： 0% to 40% similarity from previous task and Type 2： 40% to 97% similarity from previous task. One can find that when 21% of tasks performed during the work break are similar to the operator＇s previous task, there would be no change in her performance upon returning. On the other hand, a 5% decline in performance was observed after work break type 1 and an 8.54% improvement after work break type 2. Also, a remission rate of 18% from end of stint 1 to start of stint 2 under work break type 1 was seen, while 8% for work break type 2. This may also be true to other industries. Thus, further study is suggested.     

Opportunities of manufacture under global economic crisis： The case of Estonia

Because of the smallness of Estonia, its main source of economic growth is export, i.e. successful sales in the world market. It is necessary to shift from branches, activities and value chains where it is difficult to increase value added, to more profitable and promising ones. The present economic situation provides for this an exceptionally good chance. All kinds of development, international relocation of production and reallocation of economic power in the world are gathering speed. It is necessary to rapidly find an opportunity in the ＂declining＂ market, a profitable niche. Manufacturing entrepreneurs and executive managers have for several years already been complaining of shortage of workforce that hinders them carrying out new business plans, increasing production and exports. Increased supply of workforce dismissed from construction is an opportunity for the forced development of the manufacturing export sector and sharp increase in exports.     

Empirical Examination of the Effects of Competition and Regulation on Public Universities and Colleges＇ Performance in China

Competition and regulation are indispensable entities for a university＇s improved performance. Using university rating as an index to performance, empirical analyses with the data from 145 public universities and colleges in China show that increased competition in the education service market is associated with higher university＇s （college＇s） performance. And increased competition in R＆D may make a quadratic effect on university＇s （college＇s） performance. University＇s performance improves when a university is directed as a branch of the central government because they enjoy some degree of management flexibility more than the local government controlled ones. A major implication of the study is the need to reform competition and regulation for improving universities and colleges＇ operating performance in China.     

Investment risk analysis of China＇s wind power industry based on pre-assessment matrix

Wind energy is a clean and sustainable energy, and wind power does not rely on fossil fuels. So there is no fuel price risk, and it, of course, does not include the environmental costs, such as carbon emissions. Because of these unique advantages, wind power has gradually become an important part of the strategy of sustainable development in China. Now with the growing voices on global greenhouse gas emission reduction, and as a clean and efficient energy, wind power has huge potential in combating climate change, energy security pressures and the needs for energy. Wind power in China began to develop from the 1980s. In the first 20 years, the speed of development was slow; but since 2004, it has had an extremely rapid growth.This paper, in order to study the development mechanism of China＆amp;amp;amp;#39;s wind power industry, investigated and analyzed the status quo of wind power industry in China, and then found that （1） the development trend of wind power industry in China appears exponential growth; （2） China＆amp;amp;amp;#39;s installed capacity of wind power is still smaller than that os some other countries; （3） new subsidy policies bring developing opportunities to wind power industry in China; （4） the sectors of wind power industry are in unbalanced growing; （5） the owners of proposed wind farms are too optimistic though the built wind farm had many problems. In addition, by using the methodology of Game Theory, this paper has also constructed the matrix of pre-assessing risks of China＆amp;amp;amp;#39;s wind power industry to further discuss the potential risk factors within China＆amp;amp;amp;#39;s wind power industry as risk factors of wind farm construction, risk factors of production of wind turbines, risk factors of parts and components manufacturing industry under risk indicators like R＆amp;amp;amp;amp;D, patents, the domestic policy, the international policy, the quality of products and the market regulation, in order to provide a scientific assessment and self-assessment tool for investors or implementers, and also to promote the further development of the wind power industry.     

Contracts in the payments for ecosystem services： the case of bioprospecting

We examine the economics of royalties in bioprospecting contracts between a pharmaceutical and genetic resource supplier （local）, with an eve to understanding the relative advantages of indexing royalty, payments to gross revenue or net revenue. We show a risk-averse firm facing only production or only cost risks will index royalties to net revenue. When facing both types of risk the choice of royalty type depends on the relative magnitudes of the production and cost risk. In each case, the risk-averse firm chooses the royalty-type that shifts as much risk as possible to the local. Wheat the local is risk neutral the pharmaceutical＇s and local＇s preferences are compatible.If the local is risk averse and there is only one type of risk, it will prefer a gross revenue royalty, and shift as much risk as possible to the firm： here the local and firm preferences are compatible only ifthe firm is risk-neutral. Lastly we show if the firm sets the terms of the contract and both agents are risk averse, the.firm will not likely volunteer to implement the socially optimal royalty arrangement as it prefers to shift as much risk to the loeal, who now also prefers a more certain return, This last outcome is at the heart of the benefit sharing discussionand suggests if risk sharing and equity are a concern in benefit sharing, then the choice of rcyalty type can be an important part of negotiations between pharmaceuticals and locals for the phytochemical from nature for new drug discovery.     

A study on the Chinese beliefs and their effects on small and medium sized business after 1990

As a result of economic reform commencing in 1978 in China, cultural beliefs of the Chinese busines,owners are changing. While much has been published concerning large and multinational businesses, there is gap in knowledge of cultural beliefs of small and medium sized enterprises. To provide new knowledge, a survey or, these smaller sized enterprises located throughout China was conducted in the summer of 2006. Respondents were selected from urban and rural areas, coastal and inland provinces and various industries to provide information or, their opinions on how some of their cultural beliefs have changed from 1990 to present. Specific beliefs questionea include： Use of fengshui, Traditional Forbidden Activities, Company Naming Responsibility, Company Name Basis, Use of Numbers, Use of Physiognomy, and Prediction of a Company＇s Future. The importance of fengshui has risen aver in the last sixteen years and certain traditional.forbidden activities such as not turning over the fish while eating has remained important as a cultural belief. Naming a company is important and the desirability of a good name is bared on various factors. Use of numbers, physiognomy, and non-scientific methods for predicting the future success,of companies are of lesser use. These aspects of culture are reviewed in consideration of the change from a planned economy to amarket-based economy.     

Culture-related differences in process efficiency in corporations as a competitive factor

This paper focuses on cultural influences on the effectiveness of organizational processes in companies. At this time, there is a predominant emphasis on culture-related differences of processes and workflows in companies in the main body of articles on cross-cultural management research. This paper proposes an extension of these research efforts in that case that the different efficiencies of these processes, resulting from cultural influences, should be examined in more detail. Based on the beginnings of organizational theory and with practical examples, it has been already verified that cultural influences shape organizational structures as well as organizational processes. This kind of fact should lead to the assumption that these cultural influences should also create differences in their efficiency, depending on what kind of culture the companies are. These differences in efficiency can be regarded as opportunities for success from which further competitive advantages can be derived. As that the examination of differences in efficiency of processes is still a rarity in the field of cross-cultural management research this should be developed further.     

Developing an effective industrial cluster from strawberry farms： A case of Dahu Township in Taiwan

Dahu, a small township in northern Taiwan, is famous for its produce of strawberries. Near Dahu, there are some attractions, such as hot springs, native Taiwanese tribes and a national park named Shei-pa. In order to better support more small businesses in this area, the local government is eager to promote an industrial cluster of agriculture and tourism based on the well-developed strawberry farms. In this research, the authors investigated 200 strawberry farmers to examine forming factors of the cluster, and effects of cluster on organizational performance. The findings are firstly, capital resource is regarded as the most effective forming factor of the cluster. Secondly, institutionalization, interaction mechanism and knowledge flow positively intermediate the clustering effects on organizational performance. These findings have important implications for the local government and the businesses as well.     

The role of e-readiness assessment criteria in accepting e-commerce for small and medium size enterprisesmDevelopment of technology acceptance model

This paper develops Davis technology acceptance model by adding two criteria of e-readiness assessment. For small and medium size enterprises, the paper evaluates the credit of developed model in studying the efficient factors in internet technology acceptance, which is one of the most applicable communication tools in e-commerce. The added factors, taken from models and means of e-readiness assessment, are ＂existing information technology infrastructures＂ as well as ＂organization＇s training＂. The authors study 45 small and medium size enterprises in the city of Tehran, which are active in information technology products and services. Using Lisrel structural equation modelling, it is shown that there is a meaningful relationship between the added factors and the variables indicating internet network usage. Therefore, the better factors of e-readiness assessment lead to the higher acceptance level of electronic communication tools in e-commerce.     

The Cosine-Shaped Pattern of Innovations and Technological Advantages： Theory and Evidence

Using data from 24 OECD countries, we find that the relationship between a country＇s R＆D investment and technological advantage in a sector （measured by the country＇s labor productivity of the sector relative to the rest of the world） is non-monotonic. In particular, for countries whose technology levels are much lower or higher than the rest of the world in a sector, their sectoral R＆D investment declines as their advantages in the sector improve; for counties with middle technology levels, the opposite is true. Extending the Eaton and Kortum framework, we develop a static model to theoretically analyze the relationship between R＆D investment and technological advantages. We show that when the research efficiency in a sector is sufficiently elastic with respect to the sectoral technological advantage, a country＇s R＆D investment increases with its technological advantage, and vice versa.     

The music industry ＆ its consumers： A potential divorce through technology and shifting market linkages？

A large market exists of online users who desire online video and music content. However, recent developments have shown that some industries, such as music and videos are not fully utilising the market benefits that disruptive technologies can bring to organisations despite the change of value drivers. According to Christensen et al （2004）, and based on RPV theory, organisations may decide not to pursue disruptive innovative ideas for a variety of reasons, such as their values are set in another direction, processes do not support the new technology and resources may become under-utilised or even obsolete. Trying to pursue partly aggressive strategies, partly defence or avoidance strategies, it is suggested that the music industry has missed to reengineer its business so far. At the same time, music consumers have found various peer-to-peer models to execute their own avoidance strategies, i.e., avoiding to buy music but to share it. Various consumption platforms for music, such as, pandora, hulu or spotify, emerged, which themselves show significant innovative power. As scholars＇ research tested, innovation has two beams, technology and market linkages. While the technological part is inevitably developing further, the music industry erects legal barriers to bloc those sites by applying the presently unclear DRM, since the new ways of music consumption threaten their established ways of content distribution. At the same time, barriers are placed that those consumers being online specialists find ways to circumvent them. The proposition is that by the salient marketing concept of CRM such behaviour increases the pressure on incumbents since risking market linkages with their customers. This paper will contrast technology and market linkages, discussing how online innovations may alter the status quo of the music industry, especially its record business. Research provides evidence that technological implications are supporting a sustainable shift of consumers＇ behaviour and the ways, by which consumers are able to overcome the legal and technological barriers for accessing P2P sites despite industrial prevention. It is suggested that there is further significance this paper addresses, since what affects the music industry today, will likely have an impact on the movie, games, software and other industries in the near future： Disruption of existing resources, processes and values and threatening market linkages by redefined ways of content distribution.     

Strategic group theory： A customer-oriented view

Barney and Hoskisson （1990） argue that the strategic group research has neither established the existence of strategic groups, nor their relationship to firm performance. The primary reason behind the unsatisfactory results is the lack of a theoretical framework： what strategic variables to include in the analysis and their relative importance; the definition of an industry, and how to make competitive strategy operational. First, the author presents a customer-oriented theory of management which submits that, like Procter and Gamble, understanding customers should be the primary focus of a business. Second, the author proposes an integrated approach to competitive strategy. Because customer-perceived quality is far more critical to long-term success than any other factor, it should be the centerpiece of competitive strategy. The author suggests that competitive strategy should be divided in two interdependent dimensions： external and internal. It is the external strategy that should be considered the primary dimension because it reflects the customers＇ perspective, and provides a sense of direction regarding how the internal resources should be used. Next, the author presents an operational framework of competitive strategy which proposes that the best route to market share leadership in consumer markets is competing in the mid-price segment, offering superior quality compared to competition at a somewhat higher price： （1） to maintain an image of quality, and （2） to ensure that the strategy is profitable and sustainable. Finally, the author offers a framework of business or industry definition that extends Abell＇s （1980） three dimensions to seven. He suggests that an integrated approach to market segmentation provides the foundation for conducting strategic group analysis in consumer markets. So, in strategic group research, we need a bottom-up approach that begins with a product-market segment. In each product market, real competition occurs at the brand level. This is the ground where actual competitive wars are fought, and this is where the rich dynamics of competition often come to light.