Absence/lost time management: strategies to keep the workforce productive

Managed disability is an effective tool to reduce the expense of disability claims. However, many employers have not realized the financial significance of lost time due to unexpected absence. This article discusses emerging trends that contribute to the need for absence/lost time management, quantifying the costs of lost time to the employer. Methods for tracking absence/ lost time are illustrated, as well as examples of lost time management.     

Absence Management in the Public Sector: An Integrative Model?

Workforce absence rates in Britain have been found to be higher in the public sector than the private. The Government has set ambitious targets for the reduction of public sector absence rates and published a range of recommendations. The authors look at the ways the two sectors manage long-term absence. Although many public sector organizations, as well as some large private services ones, have systems in place, this article shows that these often contain structural weaknesses, and frequently do not operate in an integrated way. It is therefore concluded that many public organizations have some way to go to achieve the holistic approach to absence management advocated by the Government.     

Demand for and Assessment of Audit Quality in Private Companies

Financial statement audits are mandated in most countries, thus making it difficult to distinguish between auditing driven by private incentives versus that driven by regulation. Who would ask for an audit, and how would its quality be assessed in the absence of regulation? Many private companies in Canada get their financial statements audited even though the law does not require it. In this field study, we conduct interviews to discover reasons for demanding an audit, and criteria used to assess their quality. Our study reveals that both internal stakeholders (management, boards, and employees) as well as external stakeholders (customers, banks, and private equity firms) request audits. Users evaluate audit quality based on a variety of criteria such as the auditor's accounting expertise, the absence of errors, the fees involved, risk assessments offered, allocation of effort, internal control, and general business advice. Implications for audit regulations are discussed.     

Stability and change in management accounting over time—A century or so of evidence from Guinness

In recent years, much has been written on the nature of management accounting change, and indeed stability. Many researchers have used concepts such as rules and routines to interpret this change and/or stability. Recent research has provided an increasingly clear picture of what rules and routines are, as well as contributing to our understanding of the processes of change and stability in management accounting.Management accounting research has mainly presented rules and routines as related phenomena, but some conceptual work has suggested they are separable and can (and possibly should) be considered independently when studying processes of change/stability within management accounting. However, empirical support for such work has been scarce to date. This paper uses data from the archival records of the Guinness company in an effort to establish whether rules and routines, at least in management accounting research, are best considered separable concepts or not. The archival records are artefacts of rules and routines and thus can be used to trace the interactions of rules and routines over time. Support for the notion that rules and routines should be considered separately is presented. The findings also portray the stable, but changing, nature of management accounting routines over time; a point worthy of further research.     

Preconditions for Successful Implementation of Accrual Accounting in Central Government

A number of national governments, including the UK, have successfully implemented a change to accrual accounting. But the change should not be regarded as an end in itself: it will not solve the problems that arise where inadequate cash accounting systems exist; it will not improve control or management where inadequate control and poor management exist; nor will it improve external audit or the legislature's control over the executive. Before this reform is introduced, cash accounting should be robust, control should be secure, external audit should be functioning well and the legislature should have an ability to call the executive to account. This article sets out preconditions that governments need to meet to ensure that the full benefits of accrual accounting are achieved.     

论物流管理专业实践教学体系的内涵建设

实践教学是本科物流管理专业教学过程中的重要环节,也是提高物流人才创新能力的有效保证。就物流管理专业实践教学体系的建设而言,从横向角度上,要协调整合教学目标、教学内容、课堂组织管理以及实践教学评估等四个子系统以构建一个不断完善和发展的闭环体系。从纵向角度上,要组织好专业认识实践、课程仿真训练、综合课程设计和毕业综合实训四个有序阶段。实践教学体系的构建与实施,重在组织保障与评价监督环节。     

Organizational management in New Zealand’s public service

This paper explores the extent to which New Zealand’s central government organizations are effectively reporting on, and arguably therefore focusing on, the management of their organizations, as well as their operations. There is widespread concern that new public management reforms have resulted in an over-emphasis on the former at the expense of the latter. A solution to this problem requires a clear and consistent framework for how organizational management should be reported.     

再论金融学科建设与金融人才培养

金融学科的发展依托于金融业发展。金融学科的建设在当前需要关注金融学科究竟属于经济学还是属于管理学、金融学科能否成为一级学科,以及当代国内外金融学科的新发展。金融学科建设既要结合我国实际又要立足人才培养,学科建设中“拿来主义”不是最佳的选择。金融人才培养要分层次,要考察和判断社会有些什么样的金融机构。学科建设与人才培养均要建立在金融研究深化的基础之上。     

Relate management accounting research to managerial work!

This article argues that management accounting research should be more aligned with managerial work. Managers work with words. This means that managerial conversation and the use of accounting information in such conversation should be studied. Methodology is developing rapidly in other areas of social science where a “linguistic turn” has made an impact. Managerial work, characterised by “brevity, variety, and fragmentation,” provides the context in which accounting information is used. Management is thus described as a co-operative game where communication is central to attention direction as well as problem solving. An illustration is given of the kind of studies deemed necessary for management accounting research to progress towards managerial relevance.     

Earnings Management? Erroneous Inferences Based on Earnings Frequency Distributions

A vast literature following Hayn [1995] and Burgstahler and Dichev [1997] attributed the so-called "discontinuities" in earnings distributions around zero to earnings management. Despite recent evidence that these discontinuities are likely caused by other factors, researchers and teachers continue to point to the shapes of these distributions as evidence of earnings management. We provide three sets of further evidence that these discontinuities are likely caused by factors other than earnings management: (1) we provide, as an example, a detailed analysis of the severe effects of sample selection in a recent study; this study erroneously concludes that the shape of an earnings distribution is evidence of earnings management, (2) we provide a simple explanation for the shape of the earnings distribution that is most often cited as evidence of earnings management; the relation between earnings and prices differs with the magnitude and the sign of earnings, and (3) we provide further examples that support the main point of our paper; evidence beyond the mere shape of a distribution must be brought to bear before researchers can draw conclusions regarding the presence/absence of earnings management.     

按市场原则构建风险管理机制与管理理念--澳大利亚联邦银行风险管理机制与文化考察及启示

解决我国国有商业银行存在的巨额不良资产问题,必须严控增量风险,同时切断继续累加存量风险的渠道.为此,借鉴澳大利亚联邦银行风险管理的经验,国有商业银行要按"一放、一垂直、一集中"的思路调整信贷链中相关部门的职责和管理架构,实现政策制定和执行相分离、独立性的风险集中评价及对风险放大客户的信用恢复等;此外,建立"垂直领导、集中管理、派驻监督"的稽核体制,并以"零容忍"维护制度执行;在考核上要以风险揭示、风险处理和结果反映等指标相互配合,使风险考核覆盖资产运行全过程;同时,将风险管理理念作为一种企业文化融入各项经营之中.     

企业信用管理制度缺失问题研究——基于995户企业调查问卷的分析

信用管理制度是现代业管理的一项重要制度安排.湖南省995户工商企业调查问卷分析表明:企业信用管理制度缺失、信用销售能力不足、信用风险巨大影响企业竞争力.为推进企业信用管理制度建设,我国应尽快建立信用管理研发和推广机制,推进征信体系建设,健全失信惩戒机制、信用风险转移机制以及应收账款再融资机制.     

Chief executives define their own data needs.

Identification of information needs of top management is discussed in this article by comparing four methods now in use with a new approach, "identification of critical success factors," developed at the Sloan School of Management. The author argues that the CSF method, implemented through a series of two to three interview sessions, helps top management define its own current information needs. Critical success factors are those performance factors which must receive the on-going attention of management if the company is to remain competitive. While not intended for strategic planning purposes, the identification of critical success factors can help top management by: (1) determining where management attention should be directed; (2) developing measures for critical success factors; and (3) determining the amount of information required and thus limiting gathering unnecessary data. The author concludes that the CSF method is both effective and efficient and should be seriously considered by top management as an important tool in assessing data needs.     

高等院校管理育人问题

大学管理育人和服务育人是一篇大文章,是弥补中小学教育做人教育、素质教育缺失的有效过程和手段,是培养高素质、具有创新能力社会主义现代化建设事业接班人的重要环节。高等学校一定要对此高度重视,认真谋划,纳入教育教学体系,使管理育人和服务育人由号召、口号成为现实,发挥应有的功效。     

我国证券公司有效风险管理体系探讨

全面、有效的风险管理是现代金融机构获得成功的一个重要因素。而要对风险进行全面有效的管理，就必须有与之相适应的组织架构作为保障。本文从全面风险管理的内涵出发，并借鉴美国投资银行的经验，结分我国证券公司的现状，对国内证券公司如何建立一个相对科学的风险管理组织架构进行了探讨并提出了一些建议。     

美国次贷危机对国内银行经营管理的启示

该文剖析了美国次贷危机的发生及其影响．并深入分析了美国次贷危机对国内银行经营管理的启示,认为国内的银行必须关注绩效激励的逆向选择、不要懈怠贷前尽职调查、不要过分依赖第二还款来源、营销手段应适度以及不应过渡迷信风险转移等。     

中国国有企业业绩评价制度:回顾与思考

业绩评价制度是股东对经营者、经营者对组织内部各层级进行管理控制的重要机制。本文以中国改革开放30年来国有企业业绩评价制度演变为主题,归纳分析了中国国有企业业绩评价制度在不同时期(承包经营责任制、现代企业制度初步建立、现代产权制度等)的基本特点及其演变路径;文章还着重讨论了在科学发展观指引下国有企业业绩评价需要解决的几个理论问题。本文认为,业绩评价制度不应被简单地理解或矮化为一种用于衡量组织各级经营者"奖金数"的制度安排,它应当是构建国有企业产权管理体系、完善国有企业内部管控制度的重要组成部分。     

Perceived risk and the interplay of expert endorsement,corporate image and investment knowledge in mutual fund advertising

This study aims at examining the effects of expert endorsement, corporate image and investment knowledge on individuals’ perceived risk in mutual fund advertising. Based on the results from a content analysis of 341 print advertisements of mutual funds in Hong Kong, a 3 (advertising texts about corporate image: corporate management, financial performance, corporate responsibility)?×?2 (visual of expert endorser: presence, absence) between-subjects online experiment was subsequently conducted. The content analysis showed that visuals of experts had a significant relationship with corporate attributes in the advertisements. Results from the experimental study revealed that the participants reading the expert-endorsed advertisement about corporate management were more favorable toward the advertiser’s corporate image. The participants’ investment confidence posed a significant effect to their favorability toward the advertiser’s corporate image and subsequently their willingness to invest. When formulating communication strategies for financial products and services, practitioners should pay attention to the effect of expert endorsement in enhancing individuals’ favorability of the corporate image, as well as the effect of individuals’ investment confidence on individuals’ willingness to invest.     

Corporate Portfolio Management Roundtable

The dean of a top ten business school, the chair of a large investment management firm, two corporate M&A leaders, a CFO, a leading M&A investment banker, and a corporate finance advisor discuss the following questions:

• ? What are today's best practices in corporate portfolio management? What roles should be played by boards, senior managers, and business unit leaders?
• ? What are the typical barriers to successful implementation and how can they be overcome?
• ? Should portfolio management be linked to financial policies such as decisions on capital structure, dividends, and share repurchase?
• ? How should all of the above be disclosed to the investor community?

After acknowledging the considerable challenges to optimal portfolio management in public companies, the panelists offer suggestions that include:

• ? Companies should establish an independent group that functions like a “SWAT team” to support portfolio management. Such groups would be given access to (or produce themselves) business‐unit level data on economic returns and capital employed, and develop an “outside‐in” view of each business's standalone valuation.
• ? Boards should consider using their annual strategy “off‐sites” to explore all possible alternatives for driving share‐holder value, including organic growth, divestitures and acquisitions, as well as changes in dividends, share repurchases, and capital structure.
• ? Performance measurement and compensation frameworks need to be revamped to encourage line managers to think more like investors, not only seeking value‐creating growth but also making divestitures at the right time. CEOs and CFOs should take the lead in developing a shared value creation model that clearly articulates how capital will be allocated.

     

Ensuring the validity of labor productivity benchmarking

Limitations of high-level metrics, such as FTEs per adjusted occupied bed, can cause them to be misleading when used to compare a hospital's labor productivity with that of peers. Rather than serving as the sole basis for management decisions, these metrics should be used as a means to determine whether a department-level productivity assessment is warranted. When using an outpatient conversion factor (OCF) for such a benchmarking analysis, the hospital's OCF should be comparable to the median OCF of the comparison group of hospitals. Similarly, when a case mix index (CMI) adjustment is used, the analysis should allow for differences between the hospital's CMI and the median CMI of the comparison group.