Is it feasible?

The benefits offered by a feasibility study are considerable. Not only does it enable an organization to set a realistic campaign goal, but it can also help with the more inexact science of assessing the fund-raising climate.     

英语中it用法初探

在英语中it虽小,但其用法及其灵活。它可以用作人称代词、非人称代词、指示代词,也可以作先行词(作形式主语和形式宾语),还可以用于固定句型"强调结构"特别强调句子的某一成分。本文对it常见用法做以简单的介绍,希望能够对所学者有所帮助。     

Some Like it Non-Financial …

Abstract

Over the last decades the process of modernization in the public sector has fostered the adoption of new accounting techniques, such as accrual accounting and non-financial performance measurement systems. The purpose of this paper is to test hypotheses on the different perceptions of politicians and managers as to the importance of performance information. Our findings suggest that politicians’ and managers’ views on the importance of performance information are more similar than expected. They also show that accounting innovations are in some cases embraced with enthusiasm (non-financial performance), whereas in other cases they are hardly recognized (e.g. accrual accounting).     

自动驾驶:let it go

"第一次操作自动驾驶的车辆时,最重要的可能就是信任了。事实上,当它稳稳地停在停车线上的时候,我什么都没干,一定要let it go。"——来自于美国加州Palo Alto研发团队的高级经理Jan Becker一辆银色宝马驰骋在德国的高速路上,而驾驶员双手交叉胸前与副驾驶侃侃而谈,全然不顾方向盘。这可不是科幻     

Tele-fund raising: what's it all about?

Now in its 12th year, Tele-Response Center Inc. raises funds and awareness through donor acquisition, renewal/cultivation and lapsed donor campaigns, direct mail follow up, special events, advertising sales for non-profit publications, and volunteer recruitment campaigns.     

The hierarchical age–period–cohort model: Why does it find the results that it finds?

It is claimed the hierarchical-age–period–cohort (HAPC) model solves the age–period–cohort (APC) identification problem. However, this is debateable; simulations show situations where the model produces incorrect results, countered by proponents of the model arguing those simulations are not relevant to real-life scenarios. This paper moves beyond questioning whether the HAPC model works, to why it produces the results it does. We argue HAPC estimates are the result not of the distinctive substantive APC processes occurring in the dataset, but are primarily an artefact of the data structure—that is, the way the data has been collected. Were the data collected differently, the results produced would be different. This is illustrated both with simulations and real data, the latter by taking a variety of samples from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data used by Reither et al. (Soc Sci Med 69(10):1439–1448, 2009) in their HAPC study of obesity. When a sample based on a small range of cohorts is taken, such that the period range is much greater than the cohort range, the results produced are very different to those produced when cohort groups span a much wider range than periods, as is structurally the case with repeated cross-sectional data. The paper also addresses the latest defence of the HAPC model by its proponents (Reither et al. in Soc Sci Med 145:125–128, 2015a). The results lend further support to the view that the HAPC model is not able to accurately discern APC effects, and should be used with caution when there appear to be period or cohort near-linear trends.     

What Does it Take to Make Surprises Less Surprising?

Abstract

It is not unusual for public management systems to be ‘caught by surprise’ when events unfold which had not been anticipated in policy processes. An empirical example from New Zealand is used to show the contribution complexity theory has to make to helping public management scholars and practitioners understand the origin of surprises and anticipate them. This illustrative case identifies a number of unforeseen events in tertiary education, their origins and effects through a complexity-informed lens. These self-organizing changes can be the source of unwanted surprises (unknown unknowns) which require complexity-compatible approaches to their anticipation and management.     

IR journal and conference literature from the 1960s to the 1990s: What can HR learn from it? Where is it headed?

The industrial relations (IR) literature has changed notably from the early 1960s until the late 1990s. Yet it has retained an externalist flavor — a sense that the key variables determining outcomes are often outside the control of firm-level actors. However, the kind of externalism found in the modern IR literature differs notably from that of the past. Externalism today is seen as labor market and personal variables — often in an econometric formulation — rather than grand social forces. Generally, the IR literature has moved toward sophisticated empiricism and toward a labor economics paradigm. To the extent that the older grand themes remain, they are more likely to be found in IR books rather than in academic journals. Human resource (HR) academics and practitioners can nonetheless benefit from the IR approach, even though the tyranny of tenure review has made journal articles in IR less readable. The IR literature emphasizes that labor–market forces, sometimes stemming from product and financial markets, matter to HR outcomes. And it regards conflict more as a source of information rather than just a cause of lost productivity.     

Consolidation in the European banking industry: how effective is it?

The European banking industry is becoming increasingly consolidated as banks engage in domestic and cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) activities. Due to cultural differences in cross-border consolidations, the benefits of domestic and cross-border consolidations are likely to differ. This paper examines the effectiveness of merger processes, with a detailed analysis of both domestic and cross-border consolidations in Europe from 1998 to 2004. Effectiveness is measured via several criteria: improvement in costs, return on assets (ROA), and return on equity (ROE). To analyze potential cost efficiency improvement, we use a stochastic cost frontier approach. The same methodology is used for ROA and ROE to estimate efficiency in profitability. Finally, considering cross-border mergers as a form of entry, we carry out an analysis of the entry effect in response to the performance and profitability of the incumbent market participants. Results show that mergers in the European banking industry have been effective. Although domestic M&As are more common than cross-border M&As, banks involved in cross-border M&As are more efficient. Moreover, cross-border merged banks seem to outperform incumbent banks.     

Necessity entrepreneurship in Latin America: it´s not that simple

ABSTRACT

Entrepreneurship literature takes for granted the motivation dichotomy; however, this simplistic view have been criticised for several studies because it likely does an injustice to entrepreneurs, particularly Latin America (LA) entrepreneurs. This study seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on entrepreneurs to better explain the process of entrepreneurs being motivated by necessity. We use the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) database for LA countries and develop an econometric model based on a set of variables, including contextual variables. First, we identify three types of entrepreneurial motivation: necessity, opportunity and transition. We then demonstrate that the motivation dichotomy does not represent LA entrepreneurship. Second, we find that necessity-driven entrepreneurship does not necessarily indicate the absence of high growth aspirations because some entrepreneurs in this category have such aspirations. Third, we observe that significant differences exist among entrepreneurs based on context, specifically among necessity-driven entrepreneurs. These findings have practical implications for research on entrepreneurship and for regional development.     

Does it matter where to conduct training? Accounting for cultural factors

Training is an important function of human resource management. However, prior research about the relation between culture and training mostly focuses on a particular region, uses a few single case studies or examines only one or a few dimensions of culture at a time. We believe a more holistic and systematic approach is warranted. To address this need, we provide a theoretical framework which proposes that cultural factors affect training effectiveness via (1) contents and methods, (2) selection of trainers, and (3) learners' motivation, valence and learning style. In the context of cross-cultural training, we also reason that the congruence between parent and host culture influences training process and effectiveness. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Inflation is on the rise,but how far will it go?

• September's sharp rise in inflation is likely to mark the start of a steep ascent, which will likely see the CPI measure peaking above 3% in the middle of next year. The initial momentum will come through base effects but the main thrust will come from the pass‐through of the sharp depreciation of the pound. However, inflation is likely to then fall back rapidly in 2018 to average 2.2%.
• The CPI measure of inflation reached a near two‐year high in September. This was partly a function of last autumn's sharp falls in petrol and energy prices dropping out of the calculation, but it also reflected a continuation of the recent pickup in core pressures.
• The degree to which inflation accelerates from this point will depend upon the pass‐through of the weaker pound. The literature suggests that the maximum impact on inflation will come after a year, but there is some variation in the estimates of the degree of pass‐through. Studies conducted over a long period suggest the degree of pass‐through may have become smaller over time.
• We expect the weak economic backdrop to limit the extent to which the weaker pound pushes up inflation, though we still see the CPI measure averaging 2.7% in 2017, with a brief period in the middle of the year where inflation exceeds 3%, hastening a letter of explanation from the Governor of the Bank of England to the Chancellor. However, we would not see this prospect as a serious impediment to a further rate cut, given that the MPC has made it clear that it is prepared to tolerate such an overshoot.
• Inflation should then drop back through 2018 as sterling recovers and the 2017 acceleration provides powerful base effects. This is somewhat at odds with the Bank of England's latest forecast, which shows inflation lower in 2017 but then accelerating in 2018, implying a much more protracted pass‐through.

     

The Coalition's Economic Strategy; Has it made a bad thing worse?

The source of the present recession in the UK and elsewhere was the world‐wide financial crisis that followed a generalised collapse in inter‐bank and bank lending to the private sector, which led to huge falls in spending and a collapse in output in most developed countries. By effectively ignoring this amplified credit effect, supply‐side explanations place their emphasis instead on changes to the pattern of productivity shocks, downgrades in risk premia or shifts in aggregate production functions. Our review of some high profile examples of supply‐side accounts suggests that the evidence is against them and a world‐wide fall in aggregate demand seems a more likely explanation. Nonetheless, the supply‐side view still appears to be the approach preferred by the Treasury suggesting, as it does, that present levels of slack in the economy are small. The Coalition's main response to the recession here has been fiscal consolidation, based on the claim that the jump in the fiscal deficit was not due to the world recession and was instead caused by Labour's profligate spending. Also, the Coalition's strategy treats the two problems; that of ensuring recovery and that of achieving a sustainable debt ratio in the longer term as if they were the same problem. Not only are these two claims wholly wrong, the risks they pose to the economic future of the country are very large and of long duration. It is already evident that the “cuts now” programme has retarded the recovery as it assumes, incorrectly, that the deficit can be reduced by making cuts to spending without these having adverse effects on economic growth. And its precipitate rush to cut Welfare and non‐investment Education budgets are visibly leading to worse, not better, efficiency outcomes in these key sectors, in spite of government claims to the contrary. A low wage, low productivity economy seems a highly likely outcome of the present policy over the medium to longer term.     

What's in it for me? Creating and appropriating value in innovation-related coopetition

There has been a substantial increase in collaboration with external stakeholders in R&D and innovation activities in modern economies. In particular, collaborating with competitors (coopetition) has been found to be an effective way of creating both incremental and radical innovations, especially in high-tech industries. However, coopetition also includes some major risks and disadvantages, which makes it undesirable in certain cases. The focus in this study is on the factors that distinguish coopetition from collaboration. We propose that the ability of a firm to reap benefits in innovation-related coopetition is contingent on factors that enable collective value creation, and on those that facilitate the individual isolation of the innovations and any subsequent profits. Further, we suggest that the effectiveness of these factors depends on the novelty of the innovation with respect to current markets and technology. In explicitly analyzing such issues we aim to expand current understanding of how firms can create and appropriate value in collaborative R&D and innovation with competitors as specific partners.     

Identifying the best companies for leaders: does it lead to higher returns?

Since 2002, Chief Executive magazine, in conjunction with the Hay Group, has published a list of the Top 20 Companies for Leaders. In this paper, we examine the performance of those companies listed as being the best for leaders. We examine the announcement impact on share price associated with the press releases for firms included in the list and holding period returns between subsequent survey releases. While we generally do not find a significant difference in the performance of the Best Leader sample compared with either the market or the matched sample, we do find that the Best Leader sample outperforms other benchmarks on a raw and risk‐adjusted basis during times of high market volatility. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.