The relevance of democracy to organizational management

The relationship between democratic ideals and organizational structuring and functioning receives attention in this article. After a brief historical consideration of liberal democracy in the United States, we analyze social, managerial, ethical, and economic issues defining the relevance of democracy to organizational management. These issues lead to a presentation of specific purposes that particular mechanisms of organizational democracy can serve. Because of other scholarly attention to participative management and employee ownership, hierarchical constraints receive emphasis here.     

The Effect of Social Cues on Sniping Behavior in Internet Auctions: Field Evidence and a Lab Experiment

This research explores how social cues presented in an online auction affect sniping behavior. Sniping is a strategy of placing a bid on an item in the very ending stages of an auction with a pre-determined ending time in an attempt to win the auction. Such a strategy conceals the intentions of the bidder until the last moments of the auction and minimizes the possibility of other opposing bidders submitting higher bids due to the short period of time left to respond. The research includes two field studies and a lab experiment indicating that sniping appears to be influenced by social factors, that is, when there are a greater number of bidders in the auction or the auction site provides social information about the bidders, the relative use of sniping increases. This research supports the perspective that bidders rely on others' bidding behavior and characteristics as an indication of the true value of the item on sale, and is one of the first studies in the literature which takes this perspective.     

A network approach to modeling the multi-echelon spare-part inventory system with backorders and interval-valued demand

A multi-echelon inventory system implies the existence of a hierarchy of stocking locations, and the dependence and interaction between them. We consider a multi-echelon, spare-part inventory management problem with outsourcing and backordering. The problem is characterized by deterministic repair time/cost, and supply and demand that lie within prescribed intervals and that vary over time. The objective is to minimize the total inventory and transportation costs. We develop a network model for problem analysis and present a network flow algorithm for solving the problem. We prove that the Wagner-Whitin property, known for the lot-sizing problem, can be extended to the spare-part inventory management problem under study.     

Cash-Flow Valuation and Value at Risk

The cash-flow valuation method (CFVM) has been developed in Canada for the valuation of insurance company annuity products. Its range of application is expected to be extended shortly to the valuation of most other life insurance company products. The CFVM is based on the use of “best-guess” assumptions, supplemented by specific provisions for adverse deviations. In this paper, special attention is paid to the calculation of the provision for adverse deviations with respect to the interest rate risk. We show that the determination of this provision is the analog for life insurance and annuity policy liabilities of the calculation by banks of Value at Risk (VaR) with respect to portfolios of securities held for trading.     

The effects of anticipated goal‐inconsistent behavior on present goal choices

Prior work has examined how, in the pursuit of long‐term goals, past goal behavior influences present goal choices. Instead, the present work focuses on how anticipating future goal behavior, specifically future goal‐inconsistent behavior, influences present goal choices. For example, how anticipating overspending on an upcoming vacation influences current spending behavior. The authors propose that the effect of anticipated goal‐inconsistent behavior on present goal choice is moderated by the perceived changeability of the future behavior. When future goal‐inconsistent behavior is perceived as changeable, consumers tend to imagine it away, and it has no systematic effect on present goal choices. However, when future goal‐inconsistent behavior is perceived as unchangeable, consumers accept it as a matter of fact, and systematic effects occur. Specifically, some consumers not only fail to buffer against future goal‐inconsistent behavior's negative consequences, but tend to exacerbate those consequences by increasing their goal‐inconsistent behavior in the present. Four studies examine this surprising behavior, using an individual difference (the response‐to‐failure scale) to identify when and for whom it occurs. The studies demonstrate the role of perceived changeability using various manipulations across multiple critical goal domains such as spending, eating, and academics.     

The process by which product availability triggers purchase

Both product availability and lack of availability have the potential to trigger the intention to buy. The present research aims to identify the specific processes by which the latter situation of lack of availability drives purchase intention. The research demonstrates that, when lack of product availability is perceived positively, it influences purchase intentions via consumer involvement. However, when lack of product availability is perceived negatively, it influences purchase intentions via perceived feasibility, irrespective of consumer involvement. Two studies confirm the dual indirect effect of product availability on purchase intentions and its underlying processes.     

Digital Negotiation: Online Leisure in Coping with Gender Stereotypes

This study aimed at exploring whether cyberspace and the anonymity it provides can be useful in coping with leisure constraints that originate in gender stereotypes. The study was based on a survey that measured perceptions of parallel online and offline forms of masculine, feminine, and gender neutral leisure activities among 240 Internet users belonging to one of two age groups: adolescents and seniors. Findings indicated that offline feminine activities were perceived as more suitable for both genders in their online form. By contrast, the offline leisure activities labeled masculine were still perceived as such in their online form, with older participants even considering them more masculine in that mode. These findings suggest that online leisure plays a dual role, rendering activities more accessible to men of all ages but further discriminating against older women. It seems to broaden age and gender disparities and perpetuates power relations inherent in patriarchal societies.     

The pyramid model of school management

Models of organizational management are presented in the literature and in the managerial practices of recent years. They are aimed to improve organizational governance, and to enhance organizational overall efficiency. The common denominator for most, if not all these management models is that they generally focus on a single aspect, or on a very limited number of aspects of the organizational conduct whereas running an organization is a highly complex undertaking, incorporating a large number of functions and processes. School principals tend to adapt out-of-school management process, usually adapting them from the business world. And therefore we can see that the educational system at all and the school system in particular, implement business management methods. This research indicates that school principals are well aware of all the school management processes and procedures. The important contribution of this research, which is based on the unique contribution of the multi-faceted theory, is acknowledging the work of the school principals as a pyramid which its base is composed of essential consensus procedures and its three sided indicate three major school management process. We suggest that this pyramid will be called “The Pyramid Model of School Management”. The various management processes that built this pyramid are based on mutual aims and consensus of the school team to reach these aims. The consensus of the aims is essential, and with out it, the school cannot exist as an affective organization. Choosing when to take a various management action is a feedback based, and situation-based conduct. It is also shown in this research that school principals distinguish between three major management processes which we recommend that they will be called the “pyramid sides” and include: results management, human resources management and general resources management. The three groups are bounded by the “core of management” which we recommend that will be called the “pyramid base”. The pyramid base is connected to each and every phase of the life cycle of the organization, to each process and each result. It includes the school targets and aims which all the school team has to agree upon and there must be an un-doubtful consensus about them.     

Releasing Control: Parents on Vacation

The paper examines the family vacation phenomenon by comparing parents on vacation (n = 203) with parents during daily life (n = 246) in terms of two psychological constructs: regulatory focus and parenting style. Results revealed that parents in both samples were similar in their ‘regulatory focus of promotion’ (need for challenges) and ‘parenting styles’ (permissive and authoritarian), but parents on vacation scored lower on both need for security (‘regulatory focus of prevention’) and authoritative ‘parenting style’. The findings suggest that parents, especially mothers, view family vacation as an opportunity to relax and release parental control. The findings' theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is the world economy about to disintegrate?

There have been increasing warnings lately that the world economy is in danger of disintegrating. How realistic are such fears? Could the world's trading partners have a serious interest in such a development and be prepared to accept the risks involved? The following three articles seek to answer these questions.