A Client Driven Model for Service Pricing

The pricing of services is perhaps the most important and perplexing issue facing marketers today. Success depends on setting it correctly. Although economic principles do provide pricing guidelines, they are often too general to apply in everyday business settings. This article presents an alternative by describing a pricing model meant to help the front-line marketer. The model is "Client Driven" because it is built on client response to price, namely the quantity of services used and the number of clients gained or lost. Its objective is to set a price level, both short and long-term, to maximize profits. It works equally well for the marketing of either services or products. This article explores the model's structure, major findings and implications. A number of interesting results are obtained; for example the relationship between optimal price and market share. The article also illustrates with an actual case how to use the model in practical settings. The model can easily be set up on a personal computer, and is a useful simulation tool for exploring pricing strategy.     

What is really unethical about insider trading?

Insider trading is illegal, and is widely believed to be unethical. It has received widespread attention in the media and has become, for some, the very symbol of ethical decay in business. For a practice that has come to epitomize unethical business behavior, however, insider trading has received surprisingly little ethical analysis. This article critically examines the principal ethical arguments against insider trading: the claim that the practice is unfair, the claim that it involves a misappropriation of information and the claim that it harms ordinary investors and the market as a whole. The author concludes that each of these arguments has some serious deficiencies; no one of them by itself provides a sufficient reason for outlawing insider trading. This does not mean, however, that there are no reasons for prohibiting the practice. The author argues that the real reason for outlawing insider trading is that it undermines the fiduciary relationship that lies at the heart of American business. Jennifer Moore is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Business Administration at the University of Delaware. She teaches and does research in the areas of business ethics and business law. She is the author of several articles in business ethics and co-editor of the anthology, Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality, published by McGraw-Hill.     

Peace in the Middle East: What does if really mean for Israeli business?

The growing authenticity of the Middle East peace process is as much a product of the realities of the international business community as the efforts by the region's diplomats. The disintegration of the former Soviet Union and the results of the Gulf War have hastened the acceptance of Israel as a world class trading partner. Any meaningful peace should improve the region's living standards, but Israel is likely to be the major beneficiary in the short run. True stability in the region remains the challenge of business.     

The Sunrise Economy: 24-hour Drinking Legislation in Leeds

ABSTRACT

As the growth of the public houses has become static within the UK the government has been looking at different ways in which they can strategically expand the market, of which one is the 24-hour drinking legislation.

The 24-hour drinking legislation has been operative in the United Kingdom for just over one year now and this article looks at how a chain of public houses has adopted this legislation into their day-to-day running of the business. The paper also discusses the types of consumer's who frequent the public houses at the new trading times and in particular, with the aid of consumer behaviour theory and in particular the PIECE model, discusses the process in which these consumer's go through.

The main conclusions denote that shift workers, the unemployed, and blue collar workers all use these premises at the new trading times.     

Culture's Consequences for Management in Hong Kong

In a recent review of Hofstede's comparative study of business practice and national cultures, 61 works replicating his methods are identified, and the critical four differences in the cultural dimension are ‘largely confirmed’. The only replication of Hofstede's study within IBM (his original sample vehicle) has largely validated the original model some twenty years later. These results seem to confirm the valuable contribution of Hofstede's work, although his model contains the limitations of all models; the simplification of reality into an understandable form cannot do justice to its complexity. In this paper, the main consequences of Hofstede's work for Hong Kong are reviewed. His proposition that culture and particularly social values influence economic activity and management, which is consequently ‘culture-bound’, is restated and supported by more recent studies.     

Narrowing the Concept of Marketing

SUMMARY

The misapplication of marketing to major American social institutions-education, religion, health care, the media, government and the legal system-has frequently undermined the fundamental purposes of those institutions, to the point that Laczniak and Michie's (1979a; 1979b) worst fears about marketing as a force for social disorder may have become a reality. Even more perplexing is a deeper question that marketers have yet to address adequately: Is the customer metaphor, which is so central to business and consumer marketing, fundamentally incompatible with the nature of a productive social institution?     

Latvia

Situated on a trading crossroads between Western Europe and Russia, Latvia has emerged as one of the most successful countries in Central Europe. This article provides a comprehensive review of Latvia's historical development, political structure, economy, investment, and foreign‐trade environment. It aims to be a useful source of information for foreign businessmen and investors interested in doing business in Latvia. In the fall of 1991, when the Baltic States separated from the Soviet system, no one predicted that these countries would make the transition to a market‐based economy as quickly and as effectively as they have. However, 11 years later, with notable growth and rising standards of living, such thinking is no longer considered overly optimistic. “It is the biggest, most complicated, and most promising piece of the new Europe,” wrote The Economist (1998) in reference to the Baltic region. Wherever there is new growth, there are many business opportunities to be found. Latvia's position in the center of this region is one indication of the business potential for those with the capacity to do business there. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Textual Contents of Media Reports of Information Security Breaches and Profitable Short-Term Investment Opportunities

Information security-related incidents continue to make headlines. Interestingly, researchers have found mixed results when attempting to associate reports of information security breaches with changes in the affected firm's stock price. This research delves further into this puzzle by investigating the association between the textual contents of information security breach media reports and the stock price, as well as the trading volume reactions of the affected firm(s) around the breach announcement day. Our findings suggest that when the textual contents of breach reports provide more detailed information regarding the incidents, a more consistent belief is formed by the market about the negative impact of the reported security incident on the firm's business value. However, when there is a lack of specific information regarding the reported breach, the market does not seem to reach consensus on the impact of reported security incidents. We further demonstrate that different perceptions exist among general and sophisticated investors regarding the impact of reported information security incidents on a firm's future performance as demonstrated by changes in trading volume. By exploiting the different perceptions among investors, we form a trading strategy to demonstrate that, on average, one can make about 300% annual profit around the breach announcement day.     

Whose Culture and How Far? Culture Presentation in Current Business English Textbook Series

International business communication is associated with cultural norms of both native and non-native business counterparts. It seems that the study of culture presentation from the perspective of English as a lingua franca in business English textbooks has been rather underexplored. To this end, cultural contents in two internationally distributed business English book series published by leading publishers were examined. It was found that the selected textbooks in the series were in favor of a representation of native speakers in global business encounters, the inner-circle culture of native speakers was the dominant culture content, and the level of cultural presentation tended to remain in the knowledge-oriented rather than communication-based level. This leads to an argument in favor of critical and reflective culture presentations in business materials.     

Anatomy of a rural meat operation: The family values/firm strategy nexus at Jackson's of Symington,c.1890–1981

Addressing current concerns in the academic literature regarding family business, this study traces the development of Jackson's, a firm which became Scotland's leading producers of sheep meat by the late 1920s, fulfilling this role until 1981. The paper examines the firm's progress from its startup before 1900 to 1933, when it abandoned its cattle-dealing interests to specialise in the production of lamb and mutton, principally for the London wholesale markets, which it served by means of rail transportation. After 1954, the firm greatly increased its throughput to meet the growing demands of the post-war economy, but by the late 1970s, increasing difficulties associated with the EEC caused a deterioration in trading conditions and results and the firm withdrew from the market in 1981. The paper focuses on the family influence on strategic direction and implementation.     

Social Media as the Missing Link: Connecting Communities of Practice to Business Strategy

Communities of Practice (CoP) have long been considered powerful Knowledge Management (KM) mechanisms. CoP, however, are often viewed independently from organizational goals and structures, as they are primarily seen as a means of individual knowledge sharing and learning. In this article, we argue that CoP supported by social media have great potential to contribute to organizational goals, such as business strategy. We seek to support this statement through an embedded case study that includes 54 CoP within a prominent multinational engineering firm. This investigation explores the extent to which CoP contribute to business strategy. The paper's contribution is in providing five guidelines for practice that outline how CoP can be best designed to contribute to business strategy and how social media can serve as the “missing link” to execute those guidelines.     

Rising BRIC and Changes in Sub‐Saharan Africa's Business Cycle Patterns

This paper assesses the extent to which Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA)'s business cycle is synchronized with that of the rest of the world (RoW). SSA's business cycle has not only moved in the same direction as that of the RoW, but has also gradually drifted away from the G7 in favor of the BRIC. Trade with the BRIC has been the strongest driver of this shift. As fiscal policy stances in SSA and the BRIC are not synchronized, they have not caused output correlation. Also, financial openness, which is at an early stage in SSA, has acted as a neutral force.     

An Empirical Analysis of Danish Companies' Experiences in the People's Republic of China

In the last ten years or so, the People's Republic of China has been the subject of increasing attention on the part of researchers and practicioners alike, not least because of the potential trading implications for Western firms (and economies) of China's "open door policy." This paper examines the business experience of small and medium-sized Danish companies in dealing with the People's Republic of China. Based on information provided by 49 companies responding to a mail questionnaire, the study provides empirical evidence relating to (1) the motivation underlying the firms' decision to enter the Chinese market, (2) the forms of initial market contact and modes of market entry, (3) the bases of competitive advantage, (4) the specific difficulties/problems associated with setting up and operating in this market, and (6)the perception of the companies as to the success of their efforts. The results are placed in the context of previous analyses of the peculiarities of China as a trading partner for Western firms and their managerial implications are considered in terms of highlighting issues of practical importance for companies contemplating the establishment of links with what has come to be known as "the world's largest untapped market."     

Globalization and regionalization: Toward the shaping of a tripolar world economy?

Trade relations today are undergoing more fundamental change than at any time since immediately after World War II. The rules of the game in international economic relations have changed dramatically, particularly since the early 1980s. The multilateral trading system is facing a severe test, with an apparent tilting of the preferences of its major players in favor of subglobal arrangements. At the same time, a growing number of developing countries are embracing unilateral trade liberalization. This article presents how new developments in international business and trade affect international relations and the evolution of a new world order. In doing this, the process of globalization and economic integration, the building of economic blocs in Europe and North America, and the response from Asia will be examined. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Contrasting Expectations of Individualists and Collectivists

This article explores practical ways for effectively training international business students in Hofstede's individualism and collectivism dimension. It details the behaviors arising from this dimension that frequently interfere with the success of group projects in international business classes as well as the implications arising from these behaviors for international business relations between those from individualist and collectivist cultures. Too often, projects aimed at fostering collectivism fail. Conventional theories of motivation derive from and apply to North American individualist culture, but may not have the same application in collectivist situations. Tools for adapting group projects which are given to individuals from individualist cultures to help them develop a more collectivist orientation are explored here. These tools-group autonomy in excluding non-performers (loafers), and self and group evaluations empower groups while engendering collectivist concepts.     

Productivity and patriotism: The management narrative of New South Wales Rail Chief Commissioner James Fraser, 1917–1929

The management narrative of James Fraser, the Chief Commissioner of the NSW Railways and Tramway Department, 1917–1929, provided the defining values of the Department's organizational discourse and reflected the aims of transformational leadership, inspiring managers and staff to share the values he advocated. Fraser sought to impose a regime of disciplined productivity upon rail and tram workers based on scientific management techniques, and linked appeals to increased productivity with patriotism to manage the stresses imposed on the Department during World War I. Fraser's narrative reflected the values of liberal governmentality in shaping the conduct and culture of the workforce. It is argued that the narrative turn may establish a more fruitful analytical relationship between business history and organization studies by uncovering the discursive codes and values embedded in organizational culture and practice.     

Business ethics in China and Iceland—Contrasts and convergence

It is generally accepted that cultural differences affect individuals' approaches to ethics, but how are the effects of culture manifested in perceptions of ethics? Further, how are cultural differences displayed in such ethics-related actions as recommendations for business ethics education? Managers' responses from two starkly different cultures, China and Iceland, reveal, somewhat surprisingly, that one group's top business ethics concerns and business ethics education recommendations are at the bottom of the other group's rankings, and vice-versa, yet each appears reasonable given the cultural background. This shows how nuanced the expression of cultural differences in the realm of ethics can be and how potential practical steps may rely on perceived “top” ethical issues. Together, these findings imply that there is more to explore about the role of culture on ethical reasoning and behavior than researchers have examined to date. We provide suggestions for further research and practical applications.     

文化传承与创业实践育人的研究

大学生在新的经济形势下，充满了对创业的向往。但是大学生创业面临多种困境，很多创业计划仅是一个创意，这种创意又缺乏立足于市场的特点，缺乏中国特色，不能将中国古典文化融入创业。高校教师应在古典文化传承的基础上指导大学生进行创业实践，这样才能不断提高大学生创业的能力，提高大学生创业成功率。