The effects of management controls and national culture on manufacturing performance: An experimental investigation

The increasing dominance of Asian manufacturing firms in the global economy has raised an important issue: whether these firms' superior manufacturing performance is caused by their management control systems, the national culture of their employees, or the interaction of these two factors. This experimental study provides a direct test of the effects of national culture and management control system on manufacturing performance. The dimension of national culture studied was individualism (vs collectivism) because this work-related attribute has been noted as a major difference between Asian and Western cultures. In turn, the focus on cultural individualism motivated a study of two aspects of management controls: work flow interdependence and pay interdependence. The results are consistent with cultural individualism and management controls having independent, but not interactive, effects on manufacturing performance. The potential implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Futures India: society, nation-state, civilisation

The future of a phenomenon can only be understood in terms of (a) the conceptual construction one makes of it and (b) the changes in empirical content of that phenomenon. In turn, the empirical reality ought to be discerned in terms of the past-present-future dialectic. Keeping this in view, this paper begins with conceptual clarifications of the terms society, nation-state and civilization and situates India in terms of these notions. It is suggested that India’s future as a society and as a civilisation is durable although some changes in their content are inevitable. But as a ‘nation-state’ India may radically change given the contestations about it. Four competing value-orientations—cultural monism, cultural pluralism, cultural federalism and cultural subalternism—about the contemporary Indian nation-state have been identified. India’s future as a nation-state will depend upon the legitimacy these value orientations achieve in future.     

Pacific science in the 21st century

‘Science’ is often implied to be something emanating from Western Europe or its derivatives. But the people of the 24 nations and territories of the Pacific Islands also want their unique scientific knowledge recognized and perpetuated. Politically the islands are divided into 24 nations and territories, and culturally their people speak about 1200 different languages—each with some differences of culture. This is much the greatest cultural fragmentation on earth. Each culture has, over thousands of years, experimented and discovered some unique principles and evolved some unique techniques. For example, some principles of Pacific navigation (for many centuries the world's most advanced) and techniques of vessel construction, are unknown elsewhere—even today. Some pharmaceutical remedies are unique, some items of marine and plant science are not known to ‘Western science’ and so on. It is to these that the term ‘Pacific science’ refers. This essay explores the potentials for Pacific science in the future, and for Pacific contributions to global knowledge.     

New markets and new commons : Opportunities in the global casino

The United Nations is well positioned for the global changes of the information age now engulfing nation-states. The UN role and tasks—as global norm setter, broker, networker, convenor, and peacekeeper—are ideally suited to today's world of linked ‘infostructures’ and distributed power, influence and knowledge typified by the emerging global civil society. The UN can serve all these emerging infostructures—and be compensated by fostering debates and convening parties to design the needed agreements for operating the emerging ‘electronic commons’, including today's global financial casino. Technological, social and economic contexts for this new global agenda are described together with some market opportunities in new public/private partnerships to serve the global commons.     

Darwinian dystopia: the shape of things to come

Acknowledging that evolution is directionless, shaped only by context and history, and that predicting the future is, therefore, a risky business, scenarios for ‘short-term’ (next few centuries) and ‘long-term’ (10s-100s of thousands of years) futures are offered. The short-term future will be determined by the appearance of transnational corporations that represent levels of social complexity above that of the nation state. Best described as laissez-faire capitalism run amok, the rise of transnationals controlled by powerful managerial elites is warranted or justified by the simultaneous emergence of neo-conservative ideologies that resemble the pernicious social Darwinism of Victorian England. The long-term future will be shaped by the failure of humans to control their fertility. In the face of cultural barriers to rational control of population growth, and as global populations exceed the carrying capacity of the planet, countless millions of ignorant, miserable humans will barely eke out an existence, surviving only long enough to reproduce more of the same. The prospects for speciation are nil, given that high global population densities will preclude reproductive isolation.     

Future kinship and the study of culture

Throughout the 20th century, body and machine have provided distinctive parallel metaphors for the concept of culture. But now these metaphors are merging as human lives are increasingly engineered through technonatural processes. In one imagined future, biotechnology will give us the means to determine our own genealogy and the potential to play a role in the ‘culturing’ of the future, as the natural and unpredictable transmission of human characteristics is transformed into a predictable process arising from the manipulation of the gene pool. New procreative possibilities—fertilization in vitro, gamete donation, maternal surrogacy etc—challenge us to reconstrue notions of identity and kinship; the article speculates on the implications of this for possible cultural futures.     

When courts are overgrown with grass: the role of courts in the 21st Century

What will be the social role of courts over the future? This essay explores this question by examining the “five dimensions” of judiciary—the judiciary as a branch of government, subsystem of the legal system, as a forum for resolving dispute, as public agency, and an institution of a changing society. It considers the duty of courts to safeguard the interests of future generations; the place of courts during “the end of authority”; the increasing use of artificial intelligence in formal adjudication, and concludes with a time when “the courts of justice are overgrown with grass”.     

The future quantified

The results reported in this paper demonstrate that the qualitative (group) research and quantitative (individual) survey techniques that have been developed now offer a viable means for mapping current expectations and the possible future directions these will take. Sensible use of these should provide governments, and large organisations in general, with a powerful new set of tools for positively managing the future. In terms of the issues themselves, the group which emerged most strongly from the quantified responses of the individuals are those which might be seen as relating to the ‘green' environment. On the other hand, our qualitative groups looked upon these key issues as representing matters of survival for humanity as a whole. Such a focus on survival may seem selfish, but it can also be seen as altruistic not concerned with personal survival. It also represents a sound, rational approach to long-term planning, where the respondents focused instead on how governments might positively, and safely, manage all the long-term issues threatening the future of humankind. If we move away from ‘green' issues, it is also clear that even individuals recognize the globalisation of issues in particular the globalisation of business, the possibility of a global financial crash and the (threat of) domination by Pacific Rim countries. At the opposite end of the spectrum are worries about the significant problems faced by the underclasses—and, in turn, the significant threat these present to society as a whole. In general though, apart from technological issues, the emphasis was—across almost all areas—on survival in the face of events ranging down from catastrophes to mere crises and stresses!     

Emerging and re-emerging infections: the societal determinants

Emerging and re-emerging infections have changed the course of human history from the beginnings of human civilization. Currently, emerging infections such as HIV-AIDS and re-emerging infections such as cholera and diphtheria are plaguing our society. There is now increasing concern about future emerging and re-emerging infections — arising on their own, induced by excessive or inappropriate use of antibiotics or deliberately inflicted on society (biologic warfare).There are multiple approaches to prevention, early detection and control of these infections. At present, the major focus is on achieving better surveillance, developing more sophisticated diagnostic techniques, and creating more effective public health infrastructures. An additional approach, which may be the most effective in minimizing the frequency and severity of these society-threatening epidemics, is amelioration of critical societal determinants that provide the milieu in which emerging infections arise and flourish.Excessive population growth and global warming are the two superordinating variables, in particular because once they have supervened, it would take decades, even centuries, to effectively mitigate their consequences.Other variables include: massive urbanization; wars; poverty; malnutrition; forced migration; human behavior (particularly sexual behavior); massive irrigation projects and dam construction; extensive travel; and planetary population aging. These determinants which, for the most part, are closely inter-related, are virtually all modifiable by individual actions, by small but important changes in our educational system, and by political actions.     

Interrogating an accounting-based intervention on three axes: Instrumental, moral and aesthetic

Accounting research is beginning to concern itself with mapping the operation of accounting in specific empirical settings. This paper has a similar aim — to track the effects of an accounting-based intervention in a rationalized lifeworld that is constituted by three cultural spheres with their associated modes of rationality —instrumental, moral and aesthetic (Habermas, J., The Theory of Communicative Action, Vol. 1, Heinemann, 1984). The institutional setting chosen is the U.S. health-care industry and the empirical event focused upon is the introduction of a prospective payment system in 1983. The empirics raise some interesting suggestions for future research. It appears that accounting struggles as an instrumental technology but enables action by providing a way out of moral dilemmas and in so doing enacts substantive power effects upon human bodies, both individual and collective.     

跨国并购新趋势下我国证券交易所公司化的法律思考

全球金融一体化的趋势与市场竞争压力的加剧,使得全球新一轮证券交易所跨国并购浪潮再次掀起。在推动我国资本市场发展进程中,证券交易所公司化转型是提升我国资本市场市场化与国际化水平的重要前提。面对证券交易所公司化改制引发的证券交易所商业角色与监管角色失衡、自我上市与自我监管冲突、监管权力滥用以及自律监管与公共监管冲突等一系列问题,应当立足我国证券交易所的自身发展状况,结合国外成功经验,适时更新自律概念的内涵,重新设定自律监管模式,并作出相应的制度安排,如完善内部治理、强化外部监管、健全信息披露等,从而有效消除公司化改制带给自律监管的影响,优化公司制证券交易所的作用。     

World War II, or, what did the future hold?

World War II appears in the history books as a series of moments when major events—Pearl Harbour, Operation Barbarossa, Hiroshima—suddenly transformed the image of the future for nations and, indeed, for most of the inhabitants of Earth. As l.F. Clarke notes, the war years were the time when future-think engaged the minds of all combatants—from the briefing of battalions for the operations of tomorrow to the labours of the decrypters who sought to discover the intentions of the enemy. The intelligence staffs interrogated the future—what? when? where? how many?—and the planners in operations decided the day, hour and place when the battle would begin. These labours of anticipation and prediction did not end with the Japanese ceasefire on 15 August 1945. They carried over into the immediate postwar period to provide models for the first think-tanks. Indeed, they are still with us. On 26 October 1993 the US Central Intelligence Agency introduced the R.V. Jones Intelligence Award for those who had displayed ‘outstanding scientific acumen in the cause of intelligence’. The medal was named for an Englishman, the Assistant Director of Intelligence (Science) who had located the V2 rocket site at Peenemünde. The first recipient was the former Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of Aberdeen, R.V. Jones.     

The interplay between professional groups, the state and supranational agents: Pax Americana in the age of ‘globalisation'

In response to recent calls for systematic and in-depth studies of the impact of international forces on local accounting practices, discourses and institutions, this essay explores the interconnectedness of national politics with global forces and the ramifications of this interaction for the regulation of accounting and the state–profession relationship. The paper employs Held's (1991) framework [Held, D. (1991). Democracy, the nation-state and the global system. Economy and Society, 20(2), 138–172.] on the role of the nation state in the age of globalisation, extended to encompass insights from the realist paradigm on international politics, to examine the international aspects of an attempt by a group of indigenous auditors in Greece to recapture their monopoly status, following the ‘liberalisation' of the Greek auditing profession in 1992. The paper explores changes in the state–profession relationship in the era of ‘globalisation' and documents the catalystic role of major states (the USA), politico-economic blocks (the EU), and other powerful international actors. It is posited that the politics of international accounting professionalism in the ‘globalisation' era are becoming more polycentric with (lesser) nation-states as merely one level (of diminishing importance) in a complex system of superimposed, overlapping and often competing national and international agencies of governance. The lessons to be learned from the Greek experience seem to be relevant to a number of countries — weaker or more important players in the world economy and politics — as they realign the assemblage of government in accounting and in other domains, in response to the progressive internationalisation of the world economy.     

World on fire: two scenarios of the destruction of human civilization and possible extinction of the human race

This paper examines the foundation for two scenarios of the future depicting how human civilization might destroy itself and possibly bring about the extinction of the human race in the process. The scenarios are based upon the two human-generated “fires” deeply ingrained within industrial civilization: (1) the nuclear “fire” of tens of thousands of nuclear weapons and their automated “launch on warning” alert systems and (2) the slow burning “fire” of global warming and runaway climate change. This paper also examines obstacles that are currently preventing the necessary first steps towards solving these problems.     

The community and public spaces: ecological thinking, mobility and social life in the open spaces of the city of the future

The roots of the present crisis of public urban spaces in the modern and contemporary city can be traced back not only to the history of the early vision of the planning movement to which the city planning discipline dedicates much attention, but also to the history of scientific thinking, the measuring eye that all of us—specialists, administrators, intellectuals and citizens alike—have used on it from the 17th century up to the present day. Recognition of these roots allows us to distinguish the fruitful from the sterile among the many directions offered by the various projects for the city of today and the city of the future. In the recent emphasis placed on the concept of community—in the interpretation offered here—lies the basis and motivations of some of the most interesting guidelines for an in-depth study and really innovative approach to the problems of city traffic and the closely associated problems of the reappropriation of a social dimension of public space for the city of the future.     

Contending voices: futures, culture and development

This essay discusses some aspects of the World Commission on Culture and Development (WCCD), a major UN initiative. It describes, in particular, the fate of a proposal to establish a General Agreement on Culture and Development (GACD) similar to other international agreements, but which takes a ‘bottom-up’ rather than a ‘top-down’ approach to negotiation. The proposed GACD would contribute to the resolution of culture-related crises and promote new directions for development based on cultural diversity and shared global values. The aim of the essay is: to indicate the aims and progress of the Commission; to consider how cultural futures-oriented thinking might assist in the conceptualization of a GACD; and to reflect on how different voices within the world community affect the progress of such initiatives and proposals.     

Men, children and the future of the family in the third millennium

This paper examines the effects of demographic change on the foundations of the family. The “first” demographic transition — the massive declines in fertility and mortality — is shown to have undermined the traditional male–female relationship based on parenthood. This has led to the gender revolution in the public sphere. The “second” demographic transition — the increases in divorce and cohabitation — is shown to have undermined the father–child relationship, reflecting women's control over children, a control that increased continually during the first demographic transition. This paper argues that the gender revolution needs to be brought into the family, increasing women's ability to compete in employment and men's ability both to choose whether to assume parental responsibility and to maintain active parental roles with their children.     

The future of Muslim politics : Critique of the ‘fundamentalist’ theory of the Islamic state

This article considers the future of Muslim political thought in the context of growing de-Islamization and the dominance of Western institutions. The ‘fundamentalist’ theory of the Islamic state—total mobilization of Muslim societies under a universal state—is criticized as religiously an immanentist heresy, and politically a totalitarian nightmare. Proposed here is a way out of the moral and intellectual crisis in Islamic political thought through the principle of Shura—meaning that Muslims must evolve their own form of representative government.     

Gylany: the balanced future

Futurist projections indicate that androcracy is rapidly taking us to an evolutionary dead-end. But the two projected androcratic futures—a totalitarian future or no future at all—are not our only alternatives. There is the third alternative, the humanistic future to which the concept of gylany, both the balanced core and the logical requirement of our cultural evolution, provides the key.