The dialectics of globalization: what are the effects for management and organization in Germany and Japan

The globalization literature has been limited cumulative. Different disciplines have different accents, use different definitions, rely on divergent theories and focus on different units of analysis. As a corollary, they have come to divergent opinions on the concept of globalization, on its broader consequences as well as on the more specific consequences for organization and management. This article contributes to the literature by proposing a societal theory of institutional change to analyze globalization effects in a more systematical way. It explores the effects of globalization forces on organization and management in Germany and Japan in comparison to the US and the UK, by tracing their impact on the systems of corporate governance, industrial relations and human resources. The article shows that different patterns of change exist at different levels of analysis. These differences help us explain why no generalized pattern of convergence towards the same economic model should be expected.     

The composition of interest: The judaic prohibition

An interest charge is made up of an award for waiting known as the real rate of interest, a premium for risk and compensation for transaction costs. Where inflation exists the lender seeks further compensation. In order to understand the composition and evolution of different versions of the usury prohibition it is necessary to ask which components of an interest charge are prohibited by each version. The Judaic prohibition has two aspects which are of particular interest to business historians and students of usury. First, the general rule is that a reward for waiting is prohibited. This focuses on the time-based part of interest charge. Second, interest is prohibited because it amounts to placing a stumbling block before the blind. This focuses on the typical gullibility of the borrower confronted by a more expert, better funded lender. Economics confirms and enriches our understanding of these important aspects of the prohibition. They achieve this by increasing our understanding of two facts: first, that the borrower is a gullible individual subject to irrational and inconsistent behaviour; and, second, that this behaviour relates to the waiting aspect of interest which is proscribed in the prohibition. How far these insights apply to other civilisations' prohibition, particularly those which derive from the Judaic prohibition, merits further study; so also do the ethical lessons of the Mosaic rules for a globalised society based on capitalism.     

The wage-push hypothesis: The Italian case

In this paper an attempt has been made to find out the extent to which all the strike variables that I know of are correlated with the rate of wage inflation. The general conclusion is that the standard wage-push hypothesis performs very poorly.     

Postmodernism: The Basis of Insurance

Insurance practices are often depicted as being based on objective, “scientific” knowledge, and informed by carefully modeled rational actor theories that are embedded in clearly written contracts. This article seeks to displace these notions with a more realistic account. From underwriting, to the creation of actuarial tables, the structuring of programs, and contract analysis, insurance practices are predicated on stories of risk and responsibility. By acknowledging and examining these stories, we come to a greater understanding of why insurance practices take the various forms that they do, and also realize the potential for changing them in ways that are more profitable for the companies and more inclusive and protective for the public.     

投资成功法则

案例: 郑裕彤是香港新世界集团董事长,他在业界有一个别号叫做鲨鱼大亨,在商界赫赫有名.在投资方面,郑裕彤大胆却不鲁莽,激进却不冒进.他投资的许多项目,包括1989年中国政治风波后在内地进行了上百亿投资,都是逆当时的潮流而动.他早期巨资兴建的香港新世界中心和香港会议展览中心,已经成为香港的一种象征,在高楼华厦林立的港埠以别具一格、气势恢弘而引人注目.1997年香港回归仪式就是在他兴建的香港会议展览中心举办的.     

Low-mobility: The future of transport

Nearly all researchers into the future of global passenger transport assume that both car-ownership and overall vehicular travel will continue to rise. But they also increasingly acknowledge the environmental and resource problems facing vehicular transport, particularly global climate change and oil depletion. In order to meet these challenges, researchers propose a variety of technological solutions, including greatly improved vehicular fuel efficiency, alternative fuels and propulsion systems, and carbon capture and storage. In this paper we question whether these optimistic solutions can be developed and widely deployed in the limited time frame available, and argue instead that not only are ever-rising vehicular mobility levels unlikely to occur, but that the human costs of continuing this approach are also too great. Instead we argue that because transport is a derived demand, we must first articulate a preferred vision of the future, then design an appropriate, sustainable transport system. Finally, we briefly outline what such a low-mobility future transport system would look like, using our own city, Melbourne, Australia, as a case study.     

The global compact: The conservative politics of international tourism

In response to any distributive outcome, politics asks, “who benefits?” and its corollary, “who loses?” Tourism, the world's largest industry, must have a politics; its presence changes the distribution of power and wealth, and promotes some values and groups over others. Yet tourism is deeply depoliticized. A few key characteristics of tourism, combined with basic aspects of the international system, create tendencies and patterns at three levels: the local, the national, and the international. The industry's elasticity means that quantitative projections are less helpful in understanding what politics is, and for identifying prospective winners and losers, than are qualitative sketches outlining how power relationships are elided in different spheres. This essay considers the current state of international tourism, and the infrastructure, national and international, that support and guide it, emphasizing the ideas and practices that keep politics out, and arguing that tourism is to a considerable degree about elites justifying, or mystifying, the status quo, and destinations playing into those expectations.     

The other side of value: The gross profitability premium

Profitability, measured by gross profits-to-assets, has roughly the same power as book-to-market predicting the cross section of average returns. Profitable firms generate significantly higher returns than unprofitable firms, despite having significantly higher valuation ratios. Controlling for profitability also dramatically increases the performance of value strategies, especially among the largest, most liquid stocks. These results are difficult to reconcile with popular explanations of the value premium, as profitable firms are less prone to distress, have longer cash flow durations, and have lower levels of operating leverage. Controlling for gross profitability explains most earnings related anomalies and a wide range of seemingly unrelated profitable trading strategies.     

The city summit: The lessons of Istanbul

Global summits have been frequent over the past four years — on environment and development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992; on population and development in Cairo in 1994; on social development in Copenhagen in 1995; and on women in Beijing in 1995. The last of this series was the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) which took place in Istanbul in June 1996. After reminding us of the speed of urbanization and the enormous stakes involved in the development of megalopolises, the author gives his account of this ‘summit on cities’ and seven lessons he learned from it.     

The CF and Accounting Standards: The Persistence of Discrepancies

The conceptual framework (CF) has introduced a set of ideals and broad criteria for financial reporting focusing on servicing users' information needs. In this article, each concepts statement is considered, in turn, and its consistency with selected accounting standards examined. Particular attention is paid to accounting standards issued for the first time, or in a revised form, subsequent to the release of the concepts statements. It is found that many standards have provisions that are at odds with the CF. These inconsistencies come as no surprise. The CF is incomplete; the issue of measurement remains unresolved, leaving ambiguity in the definitions of concepts such as revenue. The CF project has remained unfinished while standard setters have given priority to other tasks, such as international harmonization, in resolving contemporary financial reporting issues.     

阿里巴巴IPO五大看点

当年红军长征胜利,毛泽东豪迈地说:长征是宣言书,长征是宣传队,长征是播种机。弹指间80年过去了,如今马云的阿里巴巴在美国上市,成就了世界最大的IPO。阿里巴巴可以豪迈地说:阿里巴巴是宣言书,阿里巴巴是宣传队,阿里巴巴是播种机,阿里巴巴是聚宝盆,阿里巴巴是混血儿。这是阿里巴巴的五大看点,看清个中奥妙,有志创业的热血青年也可以成就"阿里巴巴梦"     

The financing decisions of REITs: The case of warrant extensions

In this paper, we examine the warrant price and stock price reactions to the announcement of warrant life extensions by REITs. As predicted by option pricing theory, warrant prices increase in response to these extensions. The stocks of REITs making the extension announcements experience average abnormal returns that are not significantly different from zero. Thus, total firm value appears to increase, with the gains accruing primarily to the warrantholders.     

The dilemma of implementing controls: The case of managerial accounting

Managerial accounting contains a technical theory of control. Whenever this technical theory of control is correctly implemented to deal with issues that are embarrassing or threatening, the players activate their personal-human theory of control in order to remain “in control”. The correct implementation of the personal-human theory of control necessary inhibits the effective implementation of the technical theory and vice versa.     

The dark side of analyst coverage: The case of innovation

We examine the effects of financial analysts on the real economy in the case of innovation. Our baseline results show that firms covered by a larger number of analysts generate fewer patents and patents with lower impact. To establish causality, we use a difference-in-differences approach that relies on the variation generated by multiple exogenous shocks to analyst coverage, as well as an instrumental variable approach. Our identification strategies suggest a negative causal effect of analyst coverage on firm innovation. The evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that analysts exert too much pressure on managers to meet short-term goals, impeding firms' investment in long-term innovative projects. We further discuss possible underlying mechanisms through which analysts impede innovation and show that there is a residual effect of analysts on innovation even after controlling for these mechanisms. Our paper offers novel evidence on a previously under-explored adverse consequence of analyst coverage—its hindrance to firm innovation.     

The euro: The logic and inevitability of UK adoption

A competitive, smoothly functioning financial system is widely accepted as a prerequisite for realising an economy's growth potential. Modern growth theories have broadened their focus beyond the rate of interest as the means of equilibrating savings and investment to the contribution that efficiently operating financial markets make to underlying growth rates. The successful introduction of the euro marks an historic and significant step towards the achievement of a competitive, smoothly functioning pan-European integrated financial system. The elimination nominal currency risk for participants and reduced transaction costs are only the start of a continuing dynamic process that is steadily reducing asymmetries and increasing contestability. More generally a single currency and a smoothly functioning pan-European financial system are necessary counterparts to a single EU market in goods, services, labour and financial capital. This paper advances the argument that the integration of the EU's financial markets should be viewed as part of a longer-term process of economic and political integration in Europe. The UK is unable to stop this trend and UK business in general, and the UK financial markets in particular, would be wise to acknowledge these forces and to start to work with them. Marketing UK financial services with a view to UK membership of EMU would not only align marketing with the flow of history, but also it offers the prospects of a greater longer-term return.     

比资金更重要的是能力二次融资如何做

在联合国开发计划署发放的贷款中,有一个问题值得注意,即联合国开发计划署对某个项目的投资,并不是大数额,有限的投资一般用于项目的能力建设和技术建设,为项目单位进一步吸引外资铺垫道路.     

The biological reserve: The future's last stand

This article addresses the societal and cultural aspects of bioreserves and environmental restoration programmes. It begins with a discussion of bioreserves, then uses the example of a Man and Biosphere (MAB) inspired study of the US Everglades to illustrate how land has been shaped historically by culture and technology. It then demonstrates how current conflicts of values and culture, from both inside and outside the region, from interest groups with both pragmatic and emotional stances, are determining the future of an environment—the Everglades. The article thereby shows how human values and perceptions impact on the development of a sustainable Everglades, using the findings of surveys and public meetings to highlight the interests of the competing communities, ethnic and interest groups involved. If bioreserves are to survive they cannot become alienated from the people in the regions in which they are located.