Foundation funding of grassroots organisations

According to grassroots scholar David Horton Smith, there are 7.5 million grassroots associations in the USA (compared to two million paid staff nonprofits). He states, ‘Associational participation is a major engine of democratic participation.’ J. Craig Jenkins and Abigail Halcli found that foundations commit only 0.2 per cent of all their grants for indigenous social movement organisations. The Foundation Center collects no statistics concerning foundation funding of grassroots organisations. Why do grassroots organisations not receive more foundation money? What could foundations do differently to get more money into their hands? And what could grassroots organisations do differently to obtain more foundation money? These are the central questions addressed in this study. To obtain answers to these questions, 48 people were interviewed by telephone: 26 grassroots organisation leaders and 22 foundation executives. The findings in this study defy easy summary. Contrary to the author's expectations, there is often great harmony between grassroots leaders and foundation officials. Frequently, the interviewees, whether grassroots or foundation types, speak of or allude to ‘partnerships’. This is true even when most grassroots leaders blame foundations for the fact that they do not receive any or enough money. Another key finding is that foundation officials believe that different social class between themselves and grassroots organisations is crucial to the minimal funding of grassroots organisations. Yet almost no grassroots leaders mentioned this as a factor. Perhaps the most salient fact that comes through, is that the foundations that regularly fund grassroots organisations have great knowledge and sympathy for these organisations, and that other funders who might want to enter into such funding would be well advised to seek their counsel. By the same token, the grassroots organisations which have done well with foundation funding feel quite comfortable with the foundations, and those other grassroots leaders who might want to obtain foundation funding should seek out their successful brothers and sisters. The particular value of this qualitative study is the way in which it divulges the great diversity of interactions between grassroots and foundation leaders. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

The fallacy of giving advice

Have you ever been micro-managed? Have you ever been told ‘to the letter’ what to do in a given situation? Or maybe as a leader you have also fallen into the trap of giving advice? We challenge the assumption that leaders should have the answer for everything. Occasionally, directing works, however, do it too often and at one point, it will turn out to be bad advice. The logical consequence is that leaders work on and increase the quality of the advice they give. We showcase that the alternative to leaders giving ‘bad’ advice is to not give advice at all. We shed light on the concept of leaders acting as coaches and how leaders can empower others to find their own answers. Specifically, we highlight four mind shifts in which leaders can engage if they want to use a coaching style: from ignoring emotions to empathy, from directing to empowering, from problem-focused to solution-focused and from weakness to strengths.     

李宁豪赌CBA

中国体育运动品牌有史以来最大金额的赛事赞助计划出炉,陷入危机的李宁能否借此扭转颓势?[1]love this game——这是上世纪90年代NBA的宣传语,很多中国球迷一边念叨着这句话,一边完成了人生第一次投篮。"李宁公司应该出钱把这句话的版权买下来,或者山寨一下——反正NBA宣传语已经改为‘where     

资金时间价值实质的再认识

资金时间价值理论是经济学科和财务管理学科非常重要的理论,对其研究具有重要的现实意义。我们不仅要客观上认识资金时间价值的存在,还需要对其实质进行深入的研究。只有清晰理解资金时间价值的实质,才能更好地为现代企业财务决策提供依据。     

Economic Viewpoint: Does broad money matter?

Last October the Chancellor of the Exchequer suspended the target for the broad money supply (£M3). It was reinstated in this year's Budget with a range of 11 to 15 per cent. Its growth is currently exceeding even that apparently generous target. (On the terms of the original Medium-Term Financial Strategy in 1980, the growth should have been cut to 5 to 9 per cent by 1983–4.) Does this rapid growth of £M3 matter? Does it raise the threat of higher inflation some time in the future, or can the government now readily abandon £M3 completely and concentrate instead on some other measure of the money supply – or indeed abandon monetary targeting altogether? The relevance of £M 3 as an intermediate target depends on whether there is a stable demand for it. We report econometric evidence which suggests that there is a stable demand for £M3, which depends, among other things, on the rate of inflation. We believe that the unexpectedly rapid growth of the money supply since 1981 partly reflects an adjustment of desired money balances to lower inflation. But once this process of adjustment is complete, monetary growth must be brought to far lower levels. We conclude that the government should continue to use £M3 as an intermediate target, supported, as at present, by a narrow measure.     

The Ethics of Countering the Private Counterfeiter: Rejoinder to Block

Counterfeiting is, and should be, a crime. It involves theft by deception, and the stealing of goods or other valuables using false claims to money. But what about counterfeiting money that is already counterfeit? In Block's interpretation, such an action amounts to seizing stolen goods from a thief. Counterfeiting simply relieves the original counterfeiter of his ill gotten gains and is therefore not theft itself. The present article offers a critique of this thesis of Block's on the basis that counterfeiting money involves the theft of property from innocent people.     

Sensitivity training doesn't work magic

If corporations are to put money into sensitivity training for their up-coming executives, they had better determine what they are expecting to get. It may be a lot less than they hope. Dr. Drotning asks: if the benefits of sensitivity training are less than the cost, why train?     

Health care: a leader or a follower? Reducing disposable waste

We clearly have the means to examine and reduce the amounts and types of disposable medical waste that health care institutions are creating. Although there may be special circumstances that prevent specific hospitals, or specific departments within a hospital, from converting to alternative products, much improvement can still be made. There are several strong examples of hospitals across the United States with programs that have drastically cut the amount of waste they are generating. They have eliminated disposable cups and eating utensils from the cafeterias, shifted to reusable underpads and surgical linens, and established recycling programs for paper and cardboard. These few cases are not enough. We cannot be lulled into believing that these exceptional efforts on the part of a few institutions are all that is needed. We should remember that if Mother Nature had intended for us to pat ourselves on the back, our hinges would be different. What is needed is a clear statement from the health care industry of its responsibility to society with regard to managing its waste. Leadership begins with action. If the health care industry does not take steps to regulate its disposable waste, the government undoubtedly will. We do not need to wait for our supervisors or administrators to fashion credos for us. All staff members know there are numerous ways that they can affect the amount of waste produced at their hospitals. They can also begin to affect the attitudes of those working around them. The consequences of inaction are simply too great. As fictional as half-empty grocery stores may have sounded at the beginning of this article, the problems that we face with waste disposal are certainly as grim. If we wait for our state and federal governments to solve the problems, it may be too late; and if it is too late, the solutions that they develop will certainly be extreme. We have the technology and the ability to cut dramatically the amount of disposable waste that health care generates. In practically every case, the lower-waste options also save the institution money. It is time that we honestly challenged our need for today's convenience at the expense of tomorrow's quality of life.     

Legacy fundraising: a practical guide to the basics

• Remember a Charity, the public awareness campaign run by over 130 charities in the UK, has stated that donations in wills are the largest single source of voluntary income for charities—currently worth £1.3 billion per year (April 2005).
• So can legacies to charity still be described as just windfall money? Should charities spend precious funds on promoting legacy giving when it is difficult to monitor results? It so, what is the message? Who are the target audiences? What form should legacy promotional literature take? What part could or should solicitors and funeral directors play in legacy campaigns? Patrick Wise looks back on his twenty plus years of experience in the world of charitable legacies, and gives his views on the answers to these questions, and why he thinks all charities should take legacy promotion very seriously.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

京平高速公路对沿线农村城镇化的影响

高速公路的建设使沿线区域的潜在优势得以发挥,促进了产业结构的优化和区域经济的发展,对农村城镇化进程具有重要影响.对京平高速沿线农村城镇化发展条件及现状进行了实证分析,按照各地优势资源的不同,探讨了各种城镇化类型的最佳路径.     

6. No More Hiroshimas and Sharp Weapons

When it comes to rethinking the Hiroshima A-bombing and its historical impact, there arise a number of approaches to be exercised from different perspectives related to the human condition and the current situation today. This essay presents two of them: a poetical reflection and a philosophical pondering that are characterized by either factual inquiry or empirical wisdom. The former is deplorably sentimental and unforgettable with regard to the deadliest mode of warfare that has ever occurred in human history. The philosophical pondering from a Taoist viewpoint is thought-provoking and instructive with ongoing relevance to the problematic globe. Hence when the poet calls out "No More Hiroshimas," we shall go ahead and appeal for "No More Wars,""No More Sharp Weapons," or "No More Excessive Forces." However, what haunts the world all the time is constant warfare at varied scales here and there; and what worries us right now is the hard fact that some nations are presumably taking the risk of developing nuclear weapons on a starvation budget, for they think that they are under the threat and pressure of other countries armed with plenty of such mass-destructive devices. They all seem to have neglected or obliterated the historical memory of Hiroshima as a symbol of the worst violence ever known to humankind.     

The Effect of Follow-up Mailings on The Response Rate and Response Quality in Mail Surveys

Numerous experts have demonstrated that the increase in the number of contacts produces a “lengthening” of the field work, although this lag in the analysis of the data is “compensated” by the increase in the response rate that is achieved through this second, third, and successive “contacts”. However, can it be said that these interviewees respond with the same dedication as those who responded from the initial contact? Or could it be that they will try to respond “hastily” so as not to be “harassed” further? The aim of this study is to try to find some answers to these questions by giving the results of the first ever research carried out in Spain using the TDM of Dillman in mail surveys.     

Performance evaluation of social service provision in Italian major municipalities using Network Data Envelopment Analysis

This paper employs Network Data Envelopment Analysis (NDEA) to measure the municipality performance. The NDEA approach allows to have a more comprehensive evaluation of the municipality performance if compared to traditional DEA. The proposed NDEA model aims at shedding new light on the efficiency-effectiveness relationship in the provision of social services by municipalities. Municipal efficiency and effectiveness are combined to generate a single performance measure which can be considered as a proxy measure of the value for money of municipality services. A sample including 103 major Italian municipalities is used as a case to implement the proposed model. Findings indicate that there is no trade-off between the efficiency and effectiveness components of the overall municipal performance score, but rather they appear to be preconditions of each other. Therefore, higher level of performance can be achieved without conflicting one against the other. Furthermore, only 6 municipalities achieve the highest performance level, suggesting that there is still room for improving the performance of a great number of municipalities.     

Free Money for Social Progress

A bstract Silvio Gesell (1862-1930) proposed a system of stamped money in order to accelerate monetary circulation and to free money from interest. This was part of a global socialist system intended to free the economy from rent and interest. In the 1930s, Irving Fisher, who proposed the system to President Roosevelt, and John Maynard Keynes rendered homage to Gesell's monetary proposals in the context of the economic depression. Several experiments took place that were based on his ideas, notably in the Austrian town of Wörgl and in the United States. These experiments were always local and never lasted more than a few months. This article shows that trust is the main issue of this kind of monetary organization; and therefore, that such experiments can only take place successfully on a small scale.     

Statistical Integration Through Metadata Management

Faster and more versatile technology is fuelling user demand for statistical agencies to produce an ever wider range of outputs, and to ensure those outputs are consistent and mutually related to the greatest extent possible. Statistical integration is an approach for enhancing the information content of separate statistical collections conducted by an agency, and is necessary for consistency. It has two aspects-conceptual and physical-the former being a prerequisite for the latter. This paper focuses on methods for achieving statistical integration through better management of metadata. It draws on experiences at the Australian Bureau of Statistics in the development and use of a central repository (the "Information Warehouse") to manage data and metadata. It also makes reference to comparable initiatives at other national statistical agencies.
The main conclusions are as follows. First, a prototyping approach is required in developing new functionality to support statistical integration as it is not clear in advance what tools are needed. Second, metadata from separate collections cannot easily be rationalised until they have been loaded to a central repository and are visible alongside one another so their inconsistencies are evident. Third, to be effective, conceptual integration must be accompanied by physical integration. Fourth, there is great scope for partnerships and exchange of ideas between agencies. Finally, statistical integration must be built into the ongoing collection processes and viewed as a way of life.     

Beyond the Business Case for Diversity in Organizations

Many organizations and institutions are spending extensive time, money, and resources to justify a focus on diversity. In this paper, we argue that, instead of justifying demographic diversity, the more appropriate focus is on properly managing the processes and outcomes of a diverse workforce. Demographic diversity in the workplace is a reality. In terms of both composition and sheer numbers, the workforce today is more demographically diverse than it has ever been, and there is every indication that it will be even more diverse in the future. Accordingly, this paper argues that we must go beyond the business case for diversity to effectively utilize the diversity that already exists and create a just workplace.     

On Granger’s predictability of financial markets in theory and practice

I was kindly invited by the organizers to discuss the presentation by Professor Clive Granger at the 5th International Institute of Forecasters Workshop in Lisbon, which was, perhaps, the last one that he ever delivered in a regular meeting. The task would have not been easy in any case, given his deep knowledge of the field and his many contributions. My discussion, however, turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated, given that there was no formal paper to discuss, just some sparse notes that he had written at various different dates, but certainly before the spectacular gyrations that hit the speculative markets in mid to late October 2008 and early December 2008. During our brief encounters at the workshop, he mentioned the thought of expanding his notes and writing a full-length paper on the issue. However, his unexpected demise left this thought unrealized. The editors of this special issue thought that it would remain incomplete without his outstanding contribution, and invited me to write my reflections on his notes and his verbal presentation. If discussing the paper (in an informal setting) was already daring, writing a paper on such a wide and complicated topic was a daunting task. I had many reasons for refusing the assignment; however, in the end, I felt that I should take it, if only as a personal homage to a giant in our discipline.     

In Defense of Counterfeiting Illegitimate Money

Counterfeiting legitimate money is, and ought to be, a crime, not only under the libertarian law code but under the rules and regulations of all civilized orders. But what about counterfeiting money that is per se illegitimate; that is, is itself counterfeit? Is that a licit human action? The present article argues, somewhat paradoxically, that it is. It offers a counterpart to two authors— Murphy (2006 ) and Machaj (2007 )—who take the opposite point of view.     

Real Balances, the Price Level and the Unit of Account

A bstract It is argued that Patinkin's introduction in his 1956 book of the stability analysis of the price level resulted in great measure from his reading of Wicksell's 1898 Interest and Prices. Both Patinkin and Wicksell based their treatments of the stability of the price level on what Patinkin used to call the "real balance effect." That effect, however, does not operate under Wicksell's assumption of a competitive "pure credit economy", where all transactions are carried out by bookkeeping transfers, and the unit of account is the same unit in which the accounts of banks are kept. In that case, Patinkin showed in the second (1965) edition of his book that the real balance effect–and, by that, the stability of the price level–would still be a feature of the system if profit maximizer banks held reserves, created by the central bank to settle temporary imbalances at the clearinghouse. According to Wicksell, on the other hand, a pure credit economy should consist of a central bank that attracts and remunerates deposits at the same interest rate charged for its loans, plus profit maximizer financial intermediaries that lend money for risky projects. The basic rate of interest set by the central bank decides, accordingly, the price level in such an economy. Wicksell's and Patinkin's approaches differ from the view put forward in the 1980s by the so-called "new monetary economics" that the key to price level stabilization is the separation of the function of money as the unit of account from its function as the medium of exchange in pure accounting systems of exchange.     

The winners know how to change--do you?

Major change is always costly, but when maintaining the status quo is even more expensive, a strategic imperative for change has been created. The process of managing change is not focused on what to change, but how change decisions can be implemented successfully. Successful organizations achieve their change objectives (human and technical) on time and within budget. Unsuccessful organizations either never accomplish what they plan or do so only after consuming a great deal more time and money than they anticipated. This article introduces an abbreviated review of the ten best practices associated with change management. The reader will recognize the multitude of variables that can be relevant to any change effort and begin to assess the matrix relationship between these interdependent variables.