Business success and the architectural practice of Sir George Gilbert Scott,c.1845–1878: a study in hard work,sound management and networks of trust

The study which follows explores the management of Sir George Gilbert Scott’s architectural practice, which was responsible for the very large output of over 1000 works across the Victorian period. The Scott practice has been seen by some as a predecessor of the modern, large-scale architectural office. Employing insights from Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic (PE), the article examines Scott’s motivation as an architect, the nature of his leadership and the detailed structuring and management of his office and of architectural projects. This is followed by a short case study relating to Scott’s rebuilding of Glasgow University from 1865–1870. Finally, there are some reflections on the article’s implications for further historical studies of businessmen and businesses from different periods through the lens of Weber’s PE.     

The EU’s new competition policy standards

In a 2008 article in the EU’s Competition Policy Newsletter, Peter Lowe, Director General of the EU Commission’s Directorate Competition, synthesised the experience of his office with regard to the design of competition policy institutions for the 21st century. A year earlier, he had co-authored another article, appearing in the same venue, recapitulating the Commission’s lessons learned from the Energy Sector Inquiry and the need for effective unbundling of energy transmission networks. The reader of both, at first astounded by the apparent gap between policymaking reality and reflections upon it, soon detects a rather pragmatic approach to shaping regulatory agendas. But are there limits to expediency?     

The Emergence of a New Regime: Business Management and Office Mechanisation in the Dutch Financial Sector in the 1920s

During the 1920s the methods, procedures and technologies used in the Dutch office workers' sector to conduct administrative processes underwent sweeping changes. New management styles, office methods and information technologies were introduced. These changes were closely related to each other, and served as a new organisational model for large-scale office activities. We may therefore speak of the emergence of a new ‘regime’ of office organisation. Important elements of the new regime were the standardisation and formalisation of internal communication flows, the introduction of systematic analyses of office operations and the use of punched card technology. In this article the causes, characteristics and consequences of this regime shift are traced by closely examining a couple of reorganisation projects that took place in the 1920s at two different Dutch financial institutions, one of which was successful and one of which amounted to a failure. These institutions were the Rotterdamsche Bankvereeniging (Robaver) and the national Giro Service. The cases demonstrate that the different elements of the new regime were closely connected, and that the new management styles and office methods were indispensable for the successful introduction of the new information technology.     

A quantitative analysis of authors,schools and themes in virtue ethics articles in business ethics and management journals (1980–2011)

Virtue ethics is generally recognized as one of the three major schools of ethics, but is often waylaid by utilitarianism and deontology in business and management literature. EBSCO and ABI databases were used to look for articles in the Journal of Citation Reports publications between 1980 and 2011 containing the keywords ‘virtue ethics’, ‘virtue theory’, or ‘virtuousness’ in the abstract and ‘business’ or ‘management’ in the text. The search was refined to draw lists of the most prolific authors, the most cited authors, the most cited articles, and the journals with the most virtue ethics publications. This information allows one to chart how virtue ethics articles have evolved through the decades and to establish ‘schools’ or clusters of authors as well as clusters of themes. The results of this quantitative analysis of authors, ‘schools’, themes, and publications provide a foundation for the future study of virtue ethics in business and management, identifying its achievements and potentials.     

Christopher McKenna. The World's Newest Profession: Management Consulting in the Twentieth Century

In this engrossing study of management consulting, ChristopherMcKenna seeks to understand the prominence of consulting withinAmerican business. Focusing on a small set of elite consultingfirms, but frequently discussing others, McKenna argues thatthe legitimacy and knowledge sold by consultants to their clientswere rooted in the growing complexity and internationalizationof the American economy (the forces conventionally invoked toexplain consulting's rise), as well as changes in federal regulationsin the 1930s, 1950s, and 1980s.     

A critical examination of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is responsible for the Code of Professional Conduct that governs the actions of CPAs. In 1988, the Code was revised by the AICPA, but a number of issues still remain unresolved or confounded by the new Code. These issues are examined in light of the profession's stated commitment to the public good, a commitment that is discussed at length in the new Code.Specifically, this paper reviews the following issues: (1) client confidentiality and whistleblowing, (2) limited liability, and (3) auditor independence. We argue that, in each of these areas, the AICPA promotes a position that is potentially harmful to the public good.Allison Collins is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Accounting and Taxation at Colorado State University. She has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1982. She has published previously inJournal of Business Ethics.Normal Schutz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Accounting and Taxation at Colorado State University. He has published in such journals asJournal of Business Ethics, EDP Auditor Journal andInternal Auditor.     

Globalized New Public Management and its Impact on Scientific Research Activity in New Zealand

Since the early 1980s the concept of New Public Management (NPM) has had a considerable impact on both theoretical debate and practical management in the public sector. Within this debate issues of efficiency and productivity are critical when discussing the performance of publicly funded organizations. The concept of NPM is also relevant to the issues surrounding privatization and deregulation. New Zealand has been in the vanguard of these changes from the early 1980s and this contribution investigates how changes in government funding mechanisms have affected the organizational structure, culture and human resource management strategies and practices of one Crown research institute in New Zealand. The case study shows how difficult it is not only to change a public sector organization to one that is more ‘market-focused’, but also how this is compounded in a research and development institute.     

提高经管类专业《财政学》授课效果的几点思考

尽管我国是市场经济体制,但政府的经济职能不容忽视。《财政学》研究的是政府的收支活动,与我们生活息息相关,因此很多院校经管类专业开设《财政学》。局限于专业特点,《财政学》常常作为选修课存在,《财政学》的授课效果并不理想。应在教学手段,课程体系及教材等方面进行改革。     

Auditor independence deficiencies & alleged audit failures

Some critics of the accounting/auditing profession in the United States claim that independence-related quality control problems are the cause of an increased number of alleged audit failures. Certified public accountants (CPAs) were queried regarding independence impairment in their profession. Questionnaire results indicate a number of CPAs believe independence deficiencies exist, and some CPAs admit to personal independence impairment. Michael A. Pearson is Associate Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Management and College of Business Administration, Kent State University. Additionally, he is the Editor of The Ohio CPA Journal. Professor Pearson is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). He has written numerous articles including, Enhancing Perceptions of Auditor Independence, Journal of Business Ethics 4 (1985), 53–56.     

Engaging and marketing to stakeholders in World Heritage Site management: a United Kingdom multiple case study perspective

ABSTRACT

This research addresses the limited studies which apply stakeholder theory to World Heritage Site (WHS) management and managerial theory to heritage management. WHS management highlights a context where sites rely on numerous interests uniting through goodwill. This is intensified by the multiple-ownership patterns which characterise many WHSs, necessitating a need for collective action. This study aims to explore how managers attempt to manage stakeholders and generate involvement and support. This study adopts a multiple case study approach, exploring three United Kingdom WHSs. Data were collected through interviews, documentation and physical artefacts. The analysis found that through representation, raising awareness and support, managers were able to generate stakeholder patronage. However, this required managers to look beyond informative engagement toward participatory means. Furthermore, the findings highlight the importance of the facilitators, time and money in successful stakeholder engagement. Lastly, conclusions, limitations and future research are offered. Underpinned by stakeholder theory, this paper contributes to the understanding of stakeholder engagement within WHS management and adds to limited empirical studies on multiple sites. This investigation found that engagement is constrained by managers’ limited time and resources. Furthermore, participatory engagement is essential in fostering stakeholders’ responsibility for site management and developing relationships with managers.     

Review of Korean workplace gender policy literature from 1989 to 2014

This paper systematically investigates the English literature on the study of the South Korean Government’s gender policies concerning Korean workplaces and has found that the scope and quantity of the relevant published research on this topic has greatly increased over the years. This research reviews 66 articles that were published in the literature of academic journals and non-governmental organizations from 1989 to 2014 and is meant to serve as a reference compilation of specific characteristics on the topic for interested international academics and policy-makers. Findings include a growing interest in the field of knowledge with most articles being published in roughly the last decade and on an increasingly diverse selection of topics. In addition, most articles are quantitative, though they are based on secondary data provided by the Korean Government, extant literature or the Occupational Wage Survey. Furthermore, this paper reviews the literature’s primary limitations and key words as well as outlines the future topics the academics wished to address.     

International strategic alliances and national culture: Mapping the field and developing a research agenda

This study focuses on the role of national culture and cultural distance (NC/CD) in international strategic alliances features, management, and evolution. Our integrative literature review combines the results of a Multiple Correspondence Analysis with an in-depth reflection derived from the research team’s thorough study of the selected articles. The key trends within the field are identified and represented in a proximity map. The resulting four thematic regions are deeply analyzed in terms of content and dynamics. Additionally, the study identifies research gaps and proposes avenues for future research.     

A Measurement of Bank Efficiency,Ownership and Productivity Changes in Taiwan

German consulting engineering firms currently face great difficulties in competing in globalised markets. They are comparatively small. This article asks what the reasons for this situation are and whether there are options for political assistance to help the trade – perhaps Germany can learn from other countries – and describes the results of a benchmarking study which compares the situation of German firms with that of companies in the US, UK and France. The factors that may possibly be important for international competitiveness are analysed. The main result of the study is that the present weakness of German consulting engineering is caused by their lack of adaptation to the needs of the new globalised markets. German firms suffer now from the rather good and secure business opportunities which they have enjoyed during the phase of ‘Aufbau Ost’ in eastern Germany in the 1990s. They have somewhat missed the restructuring that became necessary. Hence, German consulting engineering has to do the bulk of restructuring itself in order to become competitive again.     

胡馨方 拒绝平庸的80后女掌门

<正>【人物简介】胡馨方,1984年出生,河南新乡人,现任久星集团董事长。2005年毕业于公安大学治安管理专业;2007年获得清华大学工商管理专业EMBA学位。2008年开始接触国家太阳能光伏发电项目,2009年具体申办并实施建设了大型"金太阳"光伏发电项目。2010年2月,久星集团旗下的管理咨询公司成立。2010年初,涉足矿产行业。2011年,集团旗下的汽车配件公司与奇瑞公司达成合作。在河南参与南水北调工程两期。     

Marketing and Professional Services: the Case of Consultancy Engineering

Professional services suffer from a dearth of literature on marketing, especially in New Zealand. Like other professioal services, consulting engineers have expressed particular concern on how to adapt to the present competitive environment. A survey of New Zealand consulting engineers indicated that the use of marketing techniques within consulting engineering practices is uncoordinated in nature and there is disagreement as to the most efective method of attracting clientele. The lack of coordination of marketing techniques is best illustrated by the majority of consulting engineering practices competing on price, while actually perceiving service quality as the most important method for success. Within consulting engineering practices, marketing is becoming a legitimate management function. However, evidence can be seen to illustrate that the ‘trappings' of marketing prevail rather than the ‘substance’ which is needed to have the customer-driven orientation fundamental to the implementation of the marketing concept.     

Measuring customer equity and managing the customer asset: an explanatory study in the Australian hotels

Although there are a range of conceptual and theoretical studies about customer equity (CE) measurement and management in the literature, there are few empirical studies where these two concepts are examined together. This paper focuses on the need for a more synthesised approach and addresses calls for more research into this specific area of marketing management. A conceptual framework was developed that synthesises both customer lifetime value and customer relationship management from a customer equity management (CEM) perspective. The framework was used to empirically examine how four CE strategies, together with a firm’s use of the two types of customer data (aggregated and disaggregated), impact on CEM outcomes. Data were collected from 114 hotel managers in Australia and analysed through a decision tree methodology. The results show that hotels are utilising their CE strategies for acquisition purposes more than retention purposes (customer asset management), which overall appears to satisfice more than maximise their hotel’s capacity in achieving effective CE outcomes. The study’s contribution to theory is through empirically testing a framework that combines two discrete theoretical concepts in one study to provide insights to guide future research.     

International purchasing offices in China: A dynamic evolution model

The salience of the international purchasing office (IPO) in the management of international sourcing activities of multinational corporations (MNCs) has steadily increased, in developed and emerging economies, since the first adoption of this supply chain strategy in the 1980s. The aim of this paper is to develop an activity/role-based evolution model for IPOs, employing multiple case studies: 14 MNCs’ IPOs in China, studied by British, Italian, and Chinese scholars. Applying role theory in a global purchasing context, we identify eight routine roles and four strategic roles played by IPOs and propose that IPOs could lead an MNC's global sourcing in a geographical region. We challenge the unilinear and sequential nature of existing global sourcing process models and propose a dynamic evolution model, consisting of five stages differentiated by number, depth, and breadth of roles, in which IPOs could leapfrog some stages, re-trench (move back to lower stages) and be potentially withdrawn. Finally, we conclude that the stage of an IPO is determined by the strategic importance of China to its parent company.     

Innovation in retail internationalisation: Tesco in the USA

This paper examines the market entry of the UK's largest retailer (Tesco) into the USA. Tesco's launch of a new brand – Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets – in virgin territory is a bold move, notwithstanding the firm's considerable success with its overseas investment strategy (which within ten years has resulted in more than 50% of the firm's operating space being outside its ‘home’ market). The paper contextualises the study by taking a historical view of innovation in the retail industry, which reveals that generally - and certainly for the most part of the twentieth century – innovations have dominantly flowed from the US to the UK. The paper suggests that Tesco's US experiment is unusual both in terms of the innovatory aspects of its market entry and the reversal in that conventional direction of knowledge transfer. The Fresh & Easy story is then examined in terms of ten ‘dimensions of innovation’ involved in the market entry. The paper concludes by drawing out from these ‘dimensions of innovation’ a number of important issues for management scholarship raised by the study, stressing the need to incorporate insights from a wider social science literature.     

An empirical study of ethical predispositions

Using a two-part instrument consisting of eight vignettes and twenty character traits, the study sampled 141 employees of a mid-west financial firm regarding their predispositions to prefer utilitarian or formalist forms of ethical reasoning. In contrast with earlier studies, we found that these respondents did not prefer utilitarian reasoning. Several other hypotheses were tested involving the relationship between (1) people's preferences for certain types of solutions to issues and (2) the forms of reasoning they use to arrive at those solutions; the nature of the relationship between utilitarian and formalist categories; and the possibility of measuring ethical predispositions using different methods. F. Neil Brady is Professor of Public Management and Associate Director for the Center for the Study of Values in Organizations in the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. He is the author of Ethical Managing: Rules and Resultsand has published numerous articles on business ethics, ethical theory, and moral reasoning.Gloria E. Wheeler is Associate Professor of Public Management and Associate Director of the Institute of Public Management at Brigham Young University. Her primary areas are research methodology and human resource management. She has extensive survey research experience in many substantive fields and has published articles in journals covering such diverse areas as taxation, teaching, marketing, and human behavior in organizations.