Stress perceptions and leadership orientation of Malaysians： Exploring their similarities and differences with Americans

To explore the management orientation of employees in Malaysia and the United States, this paper focuses on comparing the leadership and stress perception of respondents in these two different countries. It appears that Malaysians and Americans have a significantly higher score on the relationship-orientation than task-orientation. Similarly, the female respondents in Malaysia had a significantly higher score on the relationship orientation. Finally, the responses of these 216 Malaysian respondents were compared with the 87 Americans, demonstrating significantly higher scores for respondents from the U.S. on both orientations. For management and practical application, suggestions and implications for future studies are presented.     

The concept of capital before and after industrial revolution： Islamic versus market economy

The concept of capital and ownership of capital in market economy and Islamic economy is different. Also the role that capital is expected to play in the economy is different in two economic systems. One of the key elements in creation of the capital （capital formation） is interest rate. In Islam interest is strictly forbidden. This paper reviews the concept of capital and the process of capital formation both before and after industrial revelation. In that context it also looks at the function of interest rate during the time of Prophet Mohammed and the present time.     

Modification of Costanza＇s model of valuing ecosystem services and its application in China

In the past, evaluations of ecosystem functions were mostly based on Costanza＇s model, whereas the spatial, quality and temporal characteristics of regional ecosystems were not considered in the model. Focusing on these issues, coefficients of regional difference, spatial heterogeneity and willingness-to-pay （WTP） were established to modify Costanza＇s model, and a new comprehensive valuation model of ecosystem functions is proposed. The analytical results indicate that the comprehensive model could evaluate regional ecosystem functions in China accurately and provide more helpful information for decision-making. The empirical study on Zhangbei County in Hebei Province shows that the intensive human activities could limit the provision of ecosystem functions while the planned ecological programs might promote the restoration of ecosystem functions.     

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.     

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.     

HRD in a multipolar world： An introductory study

In the last two decades, the economic and political world was radically transformed. At the start, in the 1980s, the USA and the USSR ruled, in a bipolar context. But, after the fall of the Communist regimes, in the 1990s, a different form of world power sharing emerged, in which the USA, the European Union and Japan were the major players. That change was evident from the documents that were made by those political powers （i.e. the Lisbon agenda on human resource development （HRD））, which in itself contained a forecast of the world situation in 2010. However, life is by nature unpredictable, and the unforeseeable changes happen all the time. And, in the last decade, several main players emerged in the world scene, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, the Arab World and Africa. In consequence, at the present moment, the world economy exists around at least 9 main players, 3 old and foreseen and 6 new and not foreseen. It is the author＇s opinion that this societal transformation should be addressed by the HRD community, because HRD scholars must study the more national relevant cases in a world that is changing very fast. Accordingly, in this paper, the author tries to make a rather introductory study in which he/she tries to define the basic economic variables for the HRD markets, namely demand, supply, need, equilibrium, investment, stock, flow, and return, for the USA, Japan, Brazil, Russia, India and China. The author uses the last available data, even if we tried to put the analysis in a historical perspective. The author concludes that several very different forms of situations exist in the HRD markets of those very important political entities.     

Sharing and evaluation of a new community co-management model for protecting Crested Ibis: a case study of Crested Ibis National Nature Reserve, China

The Crested Ibis（Nipponia Nippon） is endemic to Qinling Mountains of China and was once abundant over vast areas of north-east of Asia habitat.During the 20th century,however,the population declined greatly in numbers.Habitat quality used to be the main threat to this species but recent actions by the government and wildlife protection organizations have brought this under control.With the establishment of Crested Ibis Nature Reserve in China,conflicts between socio-economic development and Crested Ibis conservation have become more acute.How do we deal with the relation between Crested Ibis conservation and community development？ In this study,the Crested Ibis Nature Reserve co-management model namely ＂companies ＋ farmers ＋ Nature Reserve＂ model is proposed and evaluated with demonstration investigation methods,including continuous six-year fixed-site socio-economic development data of surrounding community,company sales revenue data and monitored data of Crested Ibis Nature Reserve.The results show that farmers＇ income and conservation awareness increased greatly from 2003 to 2008; company sales revenue has increased by about 20% annually in the recent years; management level has noticeably improved in Nature Reserve,the scope of Crested Ibis habitat has expanded 50 hm2; chemical composition of habitat reduced year after year; and the number of Crested Ibis had been growing annually.At the end,the success of the model is evaluated,and problems in implementation of the model are discussed from the following aspects：management system,co-management concept,economic base of partners,marketing mechanism,technical capacity and so on.     

Interest and profit

This paper argues that it is important to distinguish between the real rate of interest on money and the profitability of business enterprise. The former is a purely financial or monetary phenomenon （as claimed by Keynes） and the latter is in the nature of a surplus over and above the costs of production, including financing costs. There is an inverse relationship between the real rate of interest on money and the average mark-up or profit share. A synthetic theory of profit illustrates these points.     

Human security and sexuality in the IPPF Africa Region

The influence of human security components on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights （SRHR） of individuals was explored in four sub-Saharan Africa countries of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Uganda from November 2008 to April 2009. The present results suggest that the major threat to human security is the competing economic demands that make it difficult for the population to prioritize reproductive health services in their household budgets. This study concludes that there are potential benefits of human security approaches for furthering the goals of SRHR initiatives, in line with the principles and guidelines expressed in the Maputo Plan of Action and the Millennium Development Goals （MDGs）. The results of this study suggest that IPPF Africa Region can start to prioritize economic security, community security and health security which have greatest impact on the reproductive health of the sub-Saharan African population. The key lesson learnt is that the effective use of family planning services mitigates the effects of other human insecurities, including economic, food, and health insecurities as its application in the families will reduce family size and demand on available resources.     

The importance of product positioning and global branding for sustaining competitive advantage within the companies＇ global marketing strategy

In today＇s globally competitive world, because of the globalization, new business patterns and the changing nature of consumers, the companies feel the necessity to act strategic in the market and to reach up the target markets and sustain maximum customer satisfaction in order to compete and survive. In this context, within the study it is tried to define product positioning in international markets and global branding strategies conceptually and to focus on their contributions to the overall competitive advantage of the company. Initially, the study tries to present the association between product positioning and global branding approaches of the companies and sustaining competitive advantage. Justifications for the examination of the importance of companies＇ international product positioning and global branding orientations as a basis of creating competitive advantage were derived from the literature. It is suggested that the companies＇ product positioning and global branding orientations and sustaining competitive advantage are the important aspects in multinational management and international business areas. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of product positioning and global branding strategies of the companies with special references to various industries and global brands.     

Impact of openness, economic policy reform and regional shocks on trade and growth of Thailand： An econometric study

Thailand has currently enhanced and promoted intensive trade and investment liberalization and implemented long-term growth policy according with current regional economic integration, WTO obligations and globalization. Nevertheless, several recent internal and external factors e.g. the massive SARS and avian flu outbreaks, the Indian Ocean tsunami devastation, the Asia financial crisis and domestic policy reforms （ICSEAD, 2006） have also impeded this policy. While the issues are important for Thailand and developing countries in Asia, only limited research has been undertaken to investigate them. The paper conducts a substantive quantitative study to contribute to these trade and development policy issues. A new econometric modelling policy method, namely the generalized gravity theory （Tran Van Hoa, 2004） is used to develop a simple flexible simultaneous-equation econometric model of Thailand＇s openness model with its seven major trade partners （ASEAN-4, Australia, the USA, the EU, China, Japan and India）. Using data from the ICSEAD, the World Development Indicators and the Bank of Thailand databases, the paper reveals efficient and reliable empirical findings on trade-growth causality, trade determination including the impact of shocks and policy reform on trade and growth between Thailand and its major trade partners over the past two decades. The paper also provides evidence on the linkages between trade in goods, FDI and services and regional economic integration for more credible policy implications.     

A comparative analysis of Japanese firm productivity： Solow residual and Malmquist productivity index

For some time, two major kinds of Total Factor Productivity （TFP） have existed independently of each other： the Solow residual and the Malmquist Productivity Index （MPI）. The Solow residual was introduced in macro economic growth models, and the MPI has been used in micro economics and management studies. As both indices were developed independently, few studies utilize both together and compare the results. This paper uses the same data to compare the two productivity indices by setting to determine the economic implications of combining the two indices. We discovered that we could decompose TFP with each aspect of the Soiow residual and MPI. We could then interpret their relationship in the business cycle. Our results indicated that the frontier shift in MPI of Japanese firms often occurred when the Solow residual increased, meaning that improving oroductivitv with the Solow residual could be generated by a firm that could shift new production frontiers.     

Quantificational analysis and simulation of Technical Barriers to Trade with two country model

The Technical Barriers to Trade （TBT） is an important problem faced to the export of China. Based on the number differences of TBT notifications between countries, we propose the concept and computational method of the technical barrier coefficient. By means of price-production and price-demand functions, a trade model with a developed country and a developing country is designed. The available trade policies such as technical barriers, tariffs and export subsidies are simulated and analyzed. According to the simulation results, several trade strategies to come over technical barriers are suggested. These suggestions were provided to several export enterprises for their export strategy design.     

Basic conditions study to accelerate the realization of transformation of Shaanxi＇s economy growth mode

It is an urgent and important economic work in the moment and the next period for China to realize the transformation of economic growth mode. Relatively, there must be certain basic conditions. This article makes elaboration of the basic conditions, which accelerate the change of Shaanxi＇s economic growth mode from government angle, and proposes countermeasures for it, according to Shaanxi＇s situation and the requirement of scientific development concept, in order to provide basis for the government＇s economic growth transformation.     

The gender pay gap： Review and update

This paper explores the research behind the wage gap between men and women, the reasons for and extent of the gap, and strategies for dealing with gender pay discrepancies. Historically, gender discrimination was the traditional and easy explanation for pay discrepancies, but more aggressive enforcement of equal pay legislations has virtually diminished the validity of rationalizing the existence of pay differences solely on gender. Statistical data surrounding the pay gap point to other factors as more causal instruments that sustain and perpetuate the gap in spite of more than forty years of enforcement of equal pay legislations. The choices we make seem to predict and explain current wage gaps better than blatant gender discrimination does, and policies directed at improving those choices appear to be better strategic tools in closing the wage gap.     

The effects of attributes and buyer regret on overall satisfaction

The current study represents an attempt at exploring product attribute, service attribute evaluation, and buyer regret influence overall satisfaction in the buyer decision context. The data used in the project were collected as part of a large study of buyer regret. The sampling frame consisted of automobile purchases in Taiwan We have collected yield 600 questionnaires, by screening out 44 questionnaires, including those missing value or incomplete answer, and finally a usable sample of 556 questionnaires were utilized in this study. The results reinforce the finding form early research that the concept of buyer regret plays an important role for automobile purchases in the buyer decision. Results show that higher evaluations of service and product attributes lead to less buyer regret, and lower buyer regret will likely to increase overall satisfaction. Specifically, the finding indicates that buyer regret mediates the effects of the attributes on overall satisfactions. Implications for marketing theory and practitioners are discussed, and possible directions for future research are sketched.     

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.