China＇s adjustment of climate change policies： what lessons can be learned from the US？

From the US New Energy Plan, personnel appointment, and diplomatic activities, etc., we can see that US is now on the way to returning to the negotiation table and undertaking the leadership in addressing climate change. What US has done puts tremendous challenges on China, which emits large amount of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. However, different from US, China is undergoing rapid development, and huge energy consumption is unavoidable. China has to make a balance between developing economy and addressing climate change. This paper focuses on the US climate change policies and its greenhouse gas emissions, and its influences on China climate change policy. China greenhouse gas emissions and relative policies are also analyzed to see what situation China is in, and what challenges that China is facing. Consequently, combing China＇s local situation, we propose several solutions for China to address climate change, i.e. moving towards a low carbon economy, struggling for emitting more, enhancing China-US cooperation, and implementing different climate change policies based on local situation. Meanwhile, the achievements that China has made are also introduced.     

Changes to Climate and Visitor Behaviour: Implications for Vulnerable Landscapes in the North West Region of England

Many high quality landscapes can be found in the North West region of England, including those of international significance such as the Lake District National Park. These natural assets are recognised by the regional tourism strategy as particularly important, as they are a major determinant for visitors within, and to, the region. However, with the strategy geared towards increasing visitor numbers, there is a substantial challenge to be faced in the future: how to maintain the quality of an environment that is under combined pressure from both visitor numbers and climate change? Focusing on two landscape types considered to be the most vulnerable to a changing climate, the coastal zone and the uplands, this paper presents ‘downscaled’ climate change scenarios, and provides an assessment of how a combination of climate and non-climate factors are likely to impact these vulnerable landscapes in the future. The case study analysis is largely drawn from a series of ‘risk’ workshops held with key regional stakeholders.     

A critical review of methods for tourism climate change appraisal: life cycle assessment as a new approach

This paper reviews existing approaches to assessing tourism sustainability, especially its contribution to climate change. It assesses ecological footprint analysis, environmental impact assessment and input–output analysis but finds them inaccurate and unreliable. It goes on to argue that life cycle assessment (LCA) is a more promising tool for tourism climate change impact assessment, highlighting important areas where LCA application can contribute towards better understanding of tourism's role in global climatic changes. To demonstrate the applicability of the LCA methodology, a case study of a short weekend holiday trip is presented. Related greenhouse gas emissions are measured comparing LCA and alternative carbon footprint calculation methods. The comparison demonstrates markedly different results. The reasons for the discrepancy along with the potential of LCA to estimate the “indirect” carbon contribution of the holiday trip's components are discussed. A key feature of the LCA calculation is that for short-haul trips the proportional impact of accommodation-related emissions is shown to be larger than in earlier calculations, while transport impacts are reduced.     

The perceived autonomy–perceived service climate relationship: The contingency effect of store-level tenure diversity

Although prior research has examined the relationship between perceived autonomy and perceived service climate, a dearth of studies exist that have explored the boundary conditions of the perceived autonomy–perceived service climate relationship. To this end, this study draws on self-determination theory and the job characteristics model to develop a multi-level model that examines the relationship between perceived autonomy and perceived service climate and how this relationship alters at varying levels of store-level tenure diversity. Based on matched data from service employees and customers from a national chain of retailers, the findings indicate that perceived autonomy is positively associated with employee's perception of service climate. However, this relationship was qualified by a curvilinear (U-shaped) moderating effect of store-level tenure diversity. Perceived autonomy had a greater impact on perceived service climate at low and high levels compared to moderate levels of tenure diversity. Implications for advancing theory in service retailing are discussed along with strategic ramifications.     

Pay disparity in multinational and domestic firms in China: the role of pro-disparity norm

A survey of Chinese employees was conducted in China to examine the antecedents and consequences of a pro-disparity norm concerning the pay disparity associated with expatriate managers and with Chinese managers recruited from distant geographical areas (outside managers). These two groups, especially expatriate managers, tend to receive high salaries. Interactional justice received from outside managers was positively related to pro-disparity norm and task interdependence with them was negatively related to pro-disparity norm, but no significant relationship was found for expatriate managers. When innovative climate was high, interactional justice and task interdependence showed a positive relationship with pro-disparity norm. With regard to consequences of pro-disparity norm, when innovative climate was high, it was positively related to compliance with the requests of expatriate and outside managers and positively related to knowledge sharing with them.     

全球气候变化对中国南方五省区域旅游流的可能影响评估

全球气候变化是人类迄今面临的最重大、也是最为严重的全球环境问题,是21世纪人类面临的最复杂的挑战之一。已经观测到的气候变化影响是显著的、多方面的。各个领域和地区都存在有利和不利影响,但以不利影响为主。文章根据区域气候模式RegCM2模拟的气候情景,采用Lars Hein气候—旅游模型,研究气候增温情景对我国南方部分省份旅游流的可能影响。结果表明,与2008年相比,全球气候变化对研究区域年接待游客总量影响较小,但是在旅游流的季节影响分布上,差异较为明显。冬季旅游流基本呈上升趋势,而夏季则呈现出下降趋势,其中影响较大的省份分别是广东省和海南省,广东省影响最大,2月份增幅高达13.02%,8月份降幅高达13.62%。春季和秋季呈现不规律的过渡性变动,春季浙江省接待过夜游客数量呈明显上升趋势,而海南省呈下降趋势;秋季的情况与春季正好相反。     

Impacts from climate change on organizations: a conceptual foundation

Physical impacts from climate change already pose major challenges for organizations, and the trend is rising. Organization theorists, however, have barely begun to systematically consider the organizational impacts of more and increasingly intense storms, floods, droughts, fires, sea level rise or changing growing seasons as part of their domain of study. Eight organizationally relevant dimensions of climate impacts are identified: severity, temporal scale, spatial scale, predictability, mode, immediacy, state change potential and accelerating trend potential. Combined, their scale, scope and systemic uncertainty suggest future conditions of systemic hyperturbulence in organizational environments, defined here as ‘massive discontinuous change’ (MDC). To build a conceptual foundation for organizations to respond and adapt to MDC, the paper examines contributions from literatures on the management of sustainability, crisis, risk, resilience and adaptive organizational change. It highlights gaps for addressing both business challenges and opportunities from MDC, and suggests avenues for future research. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

金融危机下的加工贸易研究

当前,金融危机对全球经济已经造成了严重的影响,对我国来说,虽然金融机构直接受到的冲击不大,但由金融危机引起美、欧等国经济衰退会对我国的出口企业带来较大的冲击,出现货款被拖欠、外需下降、订单减少、贸易摩擦加剧等现象。正是这一背景下,本文从我国加工贸易的历史和现状入手进行分析,并结合我国当前的经济政策,对加工贸易的出路进行分析,以其对加工贸易的发展中转型升级提供一些借鉴。     

Tourism climatic condition over PDR Korea

ABSTRACT

Climatic condition has a remarkable influence on tourism activity. This paper evaluates the tourism climatic condition over DPR Korea applying Tourism Climate Index (TCI). Results show that (1) climate of present resorts is favorable to tourism from mid-April to early October, with TCI scores for most of them well above 70 (very good) from mid-April to late June; (2) seven key tourism resorts have a very good tourism climatic condition, with Mt Guwol, Sariwon, Nampo and Pyongyang at a higher TCI score; (3) six proposed sites have higher TCIs during warm season, and tourism industry could be planed and developed.     

Creating and Sustaining Fun Work Environments in Hospitality and Service Organizations

ABSTRACT

Managers of hospitality and service organizations have long believed that it is critical for their employees to have fun at work. They recognize the important relationships between their employees having fun and their customers having a pleasant experience. While everyone accepts this notion, there is little empirical support for either a definition of what managers can do to promote a fun work environment or even what makes a fun work environment fun. Further, while many positive outcomes for both the individual and the organization are claimed to be associated with fun work environments, there is even less empirical data to support this belief.

This primary purpose of the paper is to identify and define the actions and activities that managers can do or support to create and sustain the feeling employees have that their firm is a fun place to work or have a “fun work environment.” The paper reports results of a large e-mail survey of human resource managers designed to identify what cues managers send to create a fun work environment, the degree to which these cues actually are associated with a work environment that is fun, and the positive individual and organizational outcomes that are claimed to be associated with working in such an environment. The study offers definitions and measurements of the cueing process, a fun work environment, and outcomes of the process.

We found a strong relationship between the antecedent cues and the degree to which the work environment was perceived as fun. The relationships between a fun work environment and various outcomes were not as strong or comprehensive. While the results of this research are positive and extend our knowledge of cues, culture and especially “fun work environments,” more needs to be done in validating the measures and extending the research.