The privatization experience in Malaysia: Integrating build-operate-own and build-operate-transfer techniques within the national privatization strategy

The Malaysian privatization program is perhaps the most ambitious program found amongst developing or emerging market economies. While the program did not immediately flourish, it is characterized by its development of a well structured institutional framework and creative use of a series of highly innovative restructuring and privatization techniques, the most exciting being the Build-Own-Operate and Build-Operate-Transfer methods.     

New Zealand Pavilion to focus on ‘Cities of Nature＇ experience

New Zealand commissioner general for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai,Phillip Gibson,said his country will invest 30 million NZ dollars（US$16.8 million）to build a 2,000-square-meter pavilion to focus on its“Cities of Nature：Living between Land and Sky”experience. In a recent interview,Gibson said he believed the Shanghai Expo will historically be seen as an epic event.New Zealand＇s much larger commitment to this Expo reflects the fast growing ties between China and New Zealand,he said.     

The privatization of telecommunications services: The case of Argentina

The Argentine telecommunications system is characterized by its poor quality of service. A deep national economic crisis and a huge fiscal deficit, combined with worldwide changes in the telecommunications sector, lead the Argentine government to the privatization of ENTel beginning in 1989. Herrera provides a detailed account of the economics surrounding the decision to privatize and the privatization program itself.     

The New Zealand Fair Trading Act of 1986: Deceptive Advertising

In 1986, New Zealand introduced the Fair Trading Act, legislation aimed at consumer protection. This act was modeled after similar Australian legislation, while taking into account the legislation and precedents of other countries including the United States, England, and Canada. Although wording of different nations' legislation is often similar, unique national conditions may give rise to different interpretations. The emergence of the Act may indicate a movement toward minimal international standards in consumer protection legislation among common law countries and to a lesser extent, a large number of Western nations. This paper examines the content and performance of the Act concerning deceptive advertising. Available evidence suggests that the frequency and severity of deceptive advertising has declined. Knowledge of the New Zealand experience provides insight into the evolution of consumer protection legislation and insight for American firms planning commerce there.     

Compensation for accident victims: The exemplary model of New Zealand

Compensation for accident victims is handled by tort law unless specific insurance or compensation schemes exist. Tort law has proved to be unjust, costly, and protracted. Strict liability will not change the basic deficiencies of the tort system.New Zealand has introduced a comprehensive compensation scheme for personal accidents including workplace, traffic, and household. The author gives some details of the functioning of the system which he regards as both efficient and just. Even though there may be some points of dispute (lump sum payments, ceilings, etc.), the scheme should be considered for introduction in other countries — though recently rejected in England by the Pearson Report.

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Entschädigung für Unfallopfer: Das Beispiel Neu-Seeland

Zusammenfassung Der Autor berichter über ein in Neuseeland seit über 10 Jahren existierendes Sozialversicherungssystem zur Entschädigung aller Unfallopfer, gleichgültig ob sie am Arbeitsplatz, im Verkehr oder im Haushalt entstehen. Gegenüber einem auf dem Verschuldensprinzip beruhenden System fällt auf, daß Opfer schnelle Hilfe bekommen und unnötige Rechtsstreitigkeiten vermieden werden. Ein System der Gefährdungshaftung, wie etwa von der EG-Kommission für die Produkthaftung vorgeschlagen, würde an den Nachteilen der Verschuldenshaftung nur wenig ändern.Der Autor beschreibt im einzelnen das Funktionieren des Neu-Seeländischen Entschädigungssystems. Es hat nur geringe Verwaltungsunkosten (10%). Die Opfer werden gestaffelt entschädigt; bei Arbeitsunfällen zahlt in der ersten Woche der Arbeitgeber 80% Es bestehen einkommensunabhängige Mindestsätze. Bedauerlicherweise sind Vorschläge zum Ersatz eines fiktiven Dienstausfalls von Hausfrauen nicht Gesetz geworden. Der von einer Gesellschaft (Accident Compensation Corporation) betriebene Fonds finanziert sich aus Beiträgen und Abgaben.Der Autor beurteilt die Einführung eines kollektiven Entschädigungssystems für Unfallopfer insgesamt positiv und plädiert für eine Verallgemeinerung.

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Michael Whincup is a barrister and senior lecturer in law at the University of Keele, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, Great Britain.     

British privatization: Evaluating the results

The 24 studies reviewed here reveal that nine of the 13 primary objectives of the U.K.'s privatization program have substantially been achieved. Privatization has reduced the size and scope of government, reduced political interference in management decisions, freed government funds so they can be used in sectors of the economy other than state-owned businesses, created a free market economy, promoted domestic investment, benefited the economy through higher returns on capital invested in privatized businesses, generated new sources of tax revenue, broadened domestic equity ownership and promoted equity ownership among employees of privatized businesses. Most of the research reviewed concludes that privatization has reduced the government's budget deficit; provided consumers with improved service, better quality, more choices, new products and lower prices; and improved the efficiency and performance of privatized firms. Finally, most of the studies reviewed report mixed results regarding the privatization program's success at reducing government control of business.     

Serving those going private: The role of accountancy in privatization

Privatization, as a term and as an art, has been growing steadily in importance since the 1980s. But what is it, and how is it actually accomplished? Mastrangelo and McPhail set forth a primer explaining the basic concepts of privatization, and the roles taken on by the “Big Six” accounting firms and, to a lesser extent, consultancies and investment banks.     

The making of an African success story: The privatization of Kenya Airways

This article explores the transformation of Kenya Airways from a loss‐making stateowned enterprise (SOE) to a very successful, profitable African airline and its relationship with KLM‐Royal Dutch Airlines. First, it analyzes the circumstances leading to the creation of Kenya Airways and then discusses the managerial and financial problems it encountered from the period it was set up until it was privatized. It also attempts to explain why and how Kenya Airways has been able to use privatization to avert liquidation. In this regard, it explores the benefits of privatization for the airline and the country as a whole and highlights lessons learned from this experience for the privatization process and strategies in Africa. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Impact of Moral Reasoning and Retaliation on Whistle-Blowing: New Zealand Evidence

This study examined experimentally the effect of retaliation strength and accounting students’ level of moral reasoning, on their propensity to blow the whistle (PBW) when faced with a serious wrongdoing. Fifty-one senior accounting students enrolled in an auditing course offered by a large New Zealand university participated in the study. Participants responded to three hypothetical whistle-blowing scenarios and completed an instrument that measured moral reasoning (Welton et al., 1994, Accounting Education. International Journal (Toronto, Ont.) 3(1), 35–50) on one of two conditions – i.e., strong or weak retaliation for whistle-blowing. Consistent with the results of Arnold and Ponemon (1991, Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory 10, 1–15) this study found that the strength of retaliation and participants’ moral reasoning level positively affected their PBW. Unlike results reported in Arnold and Ponemon (1991, Auditing; A Journal of Practice and Theory 10, 1–15) a significant interaction effect of moral reasoning level and retaliation on participants’ PBW was not found. However, results showed that a participant’s gender has a significant effect on the relationship between his or her moral reasoning level and PBW. These results support the need to improve ethical awareness through accounting education and to increase protection for whistle-blowing (Miceli 2004, Journal of Management Inquiry 13, 364–366). Furthermore, many participants found it difficult to take a stand when serious wrongdoing is discovered. Therefore, policymakers must exercise caution when placing heavy reliance on whistle-blowing, especially when whistle-blower protection processes are complex and not easily accessible, and processes to facilitate whistle-blowing may vary substantially between public and private sector organizations (Scholtens, 2003, Review of the operation of the Protected Disclosures Act 2000: Report to the Minister of State Services).     

Ethics in New Zealand organisations

The main objective of this study is to assess the state of business ethics in New Zealand organisations. The survey results suggest that top New Zealand companies give low priorities to ethical values. A number of suggestions have been put forward by the respondents to improve the corporate ethical environment. These include commitment of top management, written and published codes of ethics, comprehensive accounting standards and annual reporting and monitoring and an efficient legal and education system.Dr. Kazi Firoz Alam is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Management Accounting, Massey University, New Zealand. He has been teaching Accounting to MBA students since 1984 and has supervised students in different areas of accounting, including tax ethics. He has written three books on Accounting and Taxation and has published articles on Corporate taxation and Company Financial Policy, The Influence of Tax Incentives on Investment Decisions and Factors affecting Investing Decisions. Some of the journals where his publications have appeared includeMetu Studies in Development, Managerial and Decision Economics andInvestment Analysts Journal.     

新西兰的风景很精彩

今天，越来越多的人把投资的目光投向了新西兰。因为新西兰有丰富的海洋和森林资源，有得天独厚的地理位置和发达的科技、通讯、贸易、海运、空运、旅游业，以及奥克兰等天然良港，同时也因为新西兰有美丽的自然景观和舒适的生活环境。     

Right to work: Job creation New Zealand style

Between 1984 and 1994, successive New Zealand governments—first of the left, then of the right—managed the most dramatic and comprehensive deregulation exercise of any OECD country in decades. What have been the effects of this on the labour market?     

Export performance of small firms from small countries: The case of New Zealand

Drawing on traditional models of multinational expansion and organisational learning, Brouthers et al. (J Int Mark 17:21–38, 2009) prescribe that in some circumstances, small firms exporting from small countries should concentrate their exports into a single overseas market. These particular circumstances pertain to small Greek and Caribbean exporters in mature low-technology industries. This research extends this 2009 study to the same size group of small firms in another small country, New Zealand. Model estimation involved multiple regression methods on survey data from 249 small New Zealand exporters. Contrasting with Brouthers et al.’s advice, this study finds that small New Zealand exporters should not concentrate their exports into one or a few overseas markets. Success for these small firms stemmed from higher rates of R&D expenditure and multi-market exporting through company-owned channels in distant markets. These differences reflect the different environments and sample characteristics between the two studies. The paper contextualises further the evidence base on the strategies that small firm owner-managers should pursue and policy makers should promote.     

Barriers to Internationalisation: A Study of Entrepreneurial New Ventures in New Zealand

This paper presents the findings of a study of the perceptions of the barriers to internationalisation by 561 New Zealand Entrepreneurial New Ventures (ENVs). Significant differences in the perception of the barriers are identified according to the level of international activity of New Zealand ENVs. Exporters and likely exporters consider the main barriers to internationalisation to be finance and cost-related factors. A lack of New Zealand government incentives are also seen to be major barriers for these two groups with likely exporters also perceiving their lack of international experience to be a hindrance. By comparison non-exporters perceive firm size to be the biggest barrier to internationalisation followed by a lack of market knowledge and experience. Industry was found to have no influence on the perception of barriers to internationalisation, however, firm size does have an impact.     

International briefing 17: training and development in New Zealand

New Zealand is one of the world's most geographically isolated and least crowded countries. New Zealand organizations are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of training and development as the country becomes more technologically sophisticated, multiethnic and older. The country needs higher productivity, business investment and skills development. Both the government and the corporate sector work to strengthen system capability and quality, to increase opportunities for on‐the‐job experience and to raise the skills of all New Zealanders for participation in a knowledge society.     

Cost of small business banking: a New Zealand study

The research reported in this article develops a model for assessing the cost of banking services faced by small businesses. The lack of price competition in the provision of small business banking services combined with limited transparency concerning actual fee levels prevents small businesses from readily estimating likely fee levels. Prior research and government reports note the difficulties faced by small business in relation to banking services and this research contributes to an understanding of the potential dead weight losses incurred resulting from poor signalling and information asymmetry and potentially a deficient public policy framework.

Promoting sustainability through social marketing: examples from New Zealand

This paper investigates the social marketing of sustainability in New Zealand and examines the usefulness of advertising campaigns to enlist and empower people, as both consumers and citizens, towards environmental care. It draws on discussions about ‘citizen‐consumer subjectivities’ and the model of the ‘political economic person’, which link sustainability and consumption through asserting people’s capacities as reflecting citizens. Printed advertisements by local and national government agencies about air pollution, fuel dependency and energy consumption are analysed to see whether advertising campaigns can operate on multiple levels for a range of audiences – desirable for broadening understanding of sustainable consumption and dealing with the complexity and experiential aspects of ‘doing’ sustainability. The advertisements analysed have an authoritative dimension that downplays this complexity and variability. The paper concludes that these advertisements do not go far enough to involve individuals in processes of co‐producing knowledge about sustainability, and to vest them with expertise in exercising sustainability in their daily lives. The implications are that advertising campaigns that engage with the complexity surrounding consumption in people’s modern lives, and with variability in meanings of sustainability, have the possibility of inciting citizen‐consumer political subjectivities.