Developing first-level leaders

Oil and energy corporation BP was well aware of the importance of its work group managers on the front lines. Their decisions, in aggregate, make an enormous difference in BP's turnover, costs, quality control, safety, innovation, and environmental performance. There were about 10,000 such supervisors, working in every part of the company-from solar plants in Spain, to drilling platforms in the North Sea, to marketing teams in Chicago. Some 70% to 80% of BP employees reported directly to these lower-level managers. Yet, until recently, the corporation didn't have a comprehensive training program--let alone an official name--for them. For their part, the frontline managers felt disconnected; it was often hard for them to understand how their individual decisions contributed to the growth and reputation of BP as a whole. In this article, BP executive Andreas Priestland and Dialogos VP Robert Hanig describe how BP in the past five years has learned to connect with this population of managers. After one and a half years of design and development, there is now a companywide name--"first-level leaders"--and a comprehensive training program for this cohort. The authors describe the collaborative effort they led to create the program's four components: Supervisory Essentials, Context and Connections, the Leadership Event, and Peer Partnerships. The design team surveyed those it had deemed first-level leaders and others throughout BP; extensively benchmarked other companies' training efforts for lower-level managers; and conducted a series of pilot programs that involved dozens of advisers. The training sessions were first offered early in 2002, and since then, more than 8000 of BP's first-level leaders have attended. The managers who've been through training are consistently ranked higher in performance than those who haven't, both by their bosses and by the employees who report to them, the authors say.     

Financial and nonfinancial performance measures: How do they affect job satisfaction?

Recent interest on the use of nonfinancial measures (e.g. in the Balanced Scorecard) generally assumes that such measures are essential to overcome the inadequacies of financial measures. However, it remains unclear (1) if the behavioural effects of these nonfinancial measures are different from those of financial measures; and (2) whether these effects are influenced by the relative importance of nonfinancial measures vis-à-vis financial measures. This study hypothesises that the use of performance measures for performance evaluation will significantly affect managers' job satisfaction. However, these effects are indirect through the managers' perceptions of the fairness of these measures and the interpersonal trust these measures promote. Based on a sample of 70 managers, these expectations are supported by the results. More importantly, the results also suggest that (1) the process by which nonfinancial measures affect employee job satisfaction is not different from that of financial measures, and (2) the relative importance of nonfinancial measures vis-à-vis financial measures has no significant effect on employee job satisfaction. These results may have important theoretical and practical implications.     

银行员工如何做好本职工作

文章对银行员工用心办事,用情做事,精细行事进行了深入探讨,有助于提高银行员工的工作水平。     

When do German firms change their dividends?

Dividends of German firms are often perceived to be more flexible than those of Anglo-American firms. We analyse the decision to change the dividend for 221 German firms over 1984–1993. Consistent with Lintner [Am. Econ. Rev. 46 (1956) 97], net earnings are key determinants of dividend changes. However, our findings also refine those of Lintner [Am. Econ. Rev. 46 (1956) 97] and Miller and Modigliani [J. Bus. 34 (1961) 411]. First, the occurrence of a loss is a key determinant of dividends in addition to the traditional key determinant, the level of net earnings. Second, the majority of dividend cuts or omissions are temporary. This stands in marked contrast with DeAngelo et al. [J. Finance 47 (1992) 1837] who report that US firms are more likely to reduce their dividend when earnings deteriorate on a permanent basis. Finally, we find that firms with a bank as their major shareholder are more willing to omit their dividend than firms controlled by other shareholders.     

Why inexperienced investors do not learn: They do not know their past portfolio performance

Recently, researchers have gone a step further from just documenting biases of individual investors. More and more studies analyze how experience affects decisions and whether biases are eliminated by trading experience and learning. A necessary condition to learn is that investors actually know what happened in the past and that the views of the past are not biased. We contribute to the above mentioned literature by showing why learning and experience go hand in hand. Inexperienced investors are not able to give a reasonable self-assessment of their own past realized stock portfolio performance which impedes investors' learning ability. Based on the answers of 215 online broker investors to an Internet questionnaire, we analyze whether investors are able to correctly estimate their own realized stock portfolio performance. We show that investors are hardly able to give a correct estimate of their own past realized stock portfolio performance and that experienced investors are better able to do so. In general, we can conclude that we find evidence that investor experience lessens the simple mathematical error of estimating portfolio returns, but seems not to influence their “behavioral” mistakes pertaining to how good (in absolute sense or relative to other investors) they are.     

How do firms choose their lenders? An empirical investigation

This article investigates which companies finance themselvesthrough intermediaries and which borrow directly from arm'slength investors. Our empirical results show that large companieswith abundant cash and collateral tap credit markets directly;these markets cater to safe and profitable industries, and aremost active when riskless rates or intermediary earnings arelow. We show that determinants of lender selection sharpen duringinvestment downturns and that there are substantial asymmetriesin the way firms enter and exit capital markets. These resultssupport a theoretical framework where intermediaries have betterreorganizational skills but a higher opportunity cost of capitalthan bondholders.     

Why do companies transfer the trading compartment of their common stocks

We analyze the motives and determinants of voluntarily stock exchange section switching on the NYSE Euronext. By strategically deciding trading-section transfer when it is beneficial, managers expect to reduce their liquidity and invisibility costs, cost of capital, or their listing costs. We show that managers decide to change the trading compartment of their common stocks based on various factors including firm's size, liquidity level, debt ratio, and expected growth opportunities. Firms that move voluntarily from a less or non regulated compartments to a more regulated one are likely to have transferred to increase their credibility, improve their stocks’ liquidity, re-balance their leverage, and to finance their growth opportunities. Whereas those that move their common stocks toward a less-regulated compartments do it mainly for costs saving reasons.     

如何履行好一级分行生产管理岗位的职责

生产管理岗位是确保信息系统安全稳定运行的重要岗位之一。中国工商银行对此高度重视，建立健全信息科技管理制度、大力推行有效的实施措施，确保信息系统安全稳定运行。生产管理岗位的重要职责在于严格执行信息科技管理制度、强化日常生产管理和有效应对突发事件，确保全行生产运行不间断和业务的连续性（见图1）。本文结合生产管理工作经验和体会，     

让会计准则早日无国界

随着国际经济一体化的日益加强,资本市场的全球化以及与之息息相关的会计准则国际化,已成为各个国家不可回避的现实问题.本刊特摘登4月15日《中国证券报》采访证监会顾问冯汉光和邱家赐的"让会计准则早日无国界"一文、以飨读者.     

产品:让市场作主

中国境内的金融产品是随着金融改革进程的展开而逐步问世和增加的.这意味着,与其它各方面情况一样,它也受到计划体制的严重影响.政府部门主要通过四个环节来实现对金融产品的控制:即控制金融产品的种类,控制金融产品的规模,控制金融产品的价格以及控制金融产品的交易.对金融产品的管制大大束缚了金融机构的创新能力,也不利于满足实体经济对金融服务的要求.     

让工行品牌拥有美——工行牡丹江分行私人银行中心创建“美丽工行”纪实

建设“美丽中国”呼唤“美丽金融”。2012年9月27日,牡丹江分行私人银行中心挂牌营业。虽然只有三个月,却被客户称为“美丽工行”。截至12月31日,吸纳高端客户31户,储蓄存款20148万元,日均1874万元;累计出售理财产品38345万元,基金8524万元;销售财产保险1455万元,国债1896万元;办理财富卡69张,信用卡73张;推介个人贷款6笔。金额300余万元,创造了客户推崇、同业领先的金融佳话。     

让车贷驶上高速路

商业银行只有实行的利率更优惠，担保方式灵活多样，产品更适合大众胃口，才会在日益增长的汽车金融业务市场中占有一席之地。[编者按]     

The impact of all-star analyst job changes on their coverage choices and investment banking deal flow

Using a sample of all-star analysts who switch investment banks, we examine (1) whether analyst behavior is influenced by banking relationships and (2) whether analyst behavior affects investment banking deal flow. Although the stock coverage decision depends on the relationship with the client firms, we find no evidence that analysts change their optimism or recommendation levels when joining a new firm. Investment banking deal flow is related to analyst reputation only for equity transactions. For debt and M&A transactions, analyst reputation does not matter. There is no evidence that issuing optimistic earnings forecasts or recommendations affects investment banking deal flow.     

Reclaim your job

Ask most managers what gets in the way of their success, and you'll hear the familiar litany of complaints: Not enough time. Limited resources. No clear sense of how their work fits into the grand corporate scheme. These are, for the most part, excuses. What really gets in the way of managers' success is fear of making their own decisions and acting accordingly. Managers must overcome the psychological desire to be indispensable. In this article, the authors demonstrate how managers can become more productive by learning to manage demands, generate resources, and recognize and exploit alternatives. To win the support they want, managers must develop a long-term strategy and pursue their goals slowly, steadily, and strategically. To expand the range of opportunities, for their companies and themselves, managers must scan the environment for possible obstacles and search for ways around them. Fully 90% of the executives the authors have studied over the past few years wasted their time and frittered away their productivity, despite having well-defined projects, goals, and the necessary knowledge to get their jobs done. Such managers remain trapped in inefficiency because they assume they do not have enough personal discretion or control. They forget how to take initiative--the most essential quality of any truly successful manager. Effective managers, by contrast, are purposeful corporate entrepreneurs who take charge of their jobs by developing trust in their own judgment and adopting long-term, big-picture views to fulfill personal goals that match those of the organization.     

让资本市场在废墟上运行——中国证监会主席尚福林慰问地震灾区支持上市公司灾后重建纪实

汶川大地震使四川境内的上市公司遭受重大损失，有些证券交易所倒塌，正常的交易行为受到一定程度的影响，对此，中国证监会主席尚福林高度重视，于6月4日到四川实地查看证券期货经营机构、上市公司的受灾情况。     

让客户等待抑或让窗口等待

排队论是运筹学的一个分支 ,又称随机服务系统理论或等待线理论 ,是研究要求获得某种服务的对象所产生的随机性聚散现象的理论。排队论起源于 190 9年丹麦哥本哈根电话公司的Ａ·Ｋ·爱尔朗发表的题为《概率与电话通话理论》一文。排队论起初是与电话、通信问题相关 ,尔后 ,在交通运输、计算机系统、公用服务事业得到了广泛的应用。其显著特征是解决系统中随机到达、等待服务的排队问题。如 :加油站前等待加油而排队的汽车、车站售票处等待购票而排队的旅客、医院门诊等待医生诊视而排队的病人…… ,无一不是排队现象。金融业是一个服务行业…     

Perceptions of master of accountancy graduates concerning their job search and employment experiences with public accounting firms

The public accounting profession has been calling for a 150-hour education requirement for new entrants to the profession for over two decades. The rationale for increasing the entry-level education requirement is that since the business world is more dynamic and complex than ever before, new professionals need broader knowledge and skills to be able to cope. Graduates of master of accountancy (MSA) programs would appear to be the type of students that public accounting firms are seeking since they often have intellectual breadth gained through undergraduate degrees in areas other than accountancy, current technical competence in accountancy, and frequently have work experience. This paper reports the results of a study undertaken to determine the perceptions of MSA graduates concerning: (1) how recruiters from public accounting firms viewed their non-accounting academic backgrounds and work experience; (2) how well prepared they were for their first jobs in public accounting as compared to traditional undergraduate accounting majors; and (3) any bias they experienced during the hiring process. The results of this study indicate that although a majority of the respondents who desired careers in public accounting were able to secure jobs in the field, they believed it was harder for them to get jobs in public accounting than their peers with just undergraduate degrees. The majority did not feel that public accounting firms viewed their non-accounting academic backgrounds and work experience favorably. Although more than half believed that they were paid more than their peers who held only undergraduate degrees, less than half felt that they were given more responsibility. The results also indicate that older MSA graduates believed that they were subject to age bias during the interview process.     

金融监管如何更有效率?

金融监管要做到既不缺位又不越位,这就是监管的辩证法。     

一级分行信息科技风险点分析及防范策略

随着信息技术与金融业务的深度融合,信息技术已经渗透到商业银行经营管理的各个领域。作为商业银行重要组成部分的一级分行,其经营管理高度依赖信息技术。信息科技风险现已成为影响一级分行业务发展的重要因素。新《巴塞尔资本协议》将信息科技风险作为操作风险中的重点进行防控,并把信息科技风险纳入银行总体风险监管框架中,因此商业银行一级分行信息科技风险防范的重要性日益凸显。一级分行在做好信息科技风险点分析工作的基础上,必须合理配置人力资源,构建信息科技风险监测和保障体系,规范生产运行管理过程,有效防范信息科技风险。