The Case for 'Weaker' Leadership

This article argues that the pendulum in the debate on leadership has now swung too far in the direction of the "tyranny of opinion" and that this has increased the chances of wrong decisions being taken. But if this is so, what are the practical means by which diversity and conflict can be channelled into the decision-making process. After discussing a wide range of research, the author describes his own preferred technique of formally using a devil's advocate to test proposals for change – but without setting out alternative proposals.     

A SUPPLY CHAIN‐ORIENTED APPROACH OF WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

This article analyzes and illustrates the role of payment terms for working capital improvements in supply chains. So far, research has shown how individual industries and powerful companies were able to enhance their cash‐to‐cash cycles at both their supplier's and customer's expense. From a “network perspective,” the exploitation of individual advantages by a single powerful company lowers the overall financial wealth of the supply chain. Therefore, a collaborative working capital management approach is proposed, by which the cash‐to‐cash cycles of companies with the lowest weighted average cost of capital (WACC) should be extended, while companies with higher financing costs are relieved by a shortened cash‐to‐cash cycle. An unequal distribution of power, however, between supply chain members can be the main hindrance for developing a collaborative working capital management solution.     

The Questionable Use of Moral Development Theory in Studies of Business Ethics: Discussion and Empirical Findings

The topic of the article is how moral development theory can enlighten the understanding of ethical behaviour in business. It discusses previous research on the subject, and reports an empirical study of academics (engineers and business economists with a master degree) working in the private sector in Norway.Moral development theory is based on a long research tradition, and many researchers within business ethics have assumed the importance of moral reasoning in business environments. However, the truth of these assumptions has not been confirmed by previous empirical research.The article reports on my investigation into the relationship between moral reasoning, ethical attitudes and decision-making behaviour. The data were collected by a survey study among Norwegian engineers and business economists working in businesses (N = 449) in 1997.It has been hypothesised that strong ethical attitudes would have a restraining effect on moral reasoning. In order to test this, ethical attitudes were categorized into four issue categories. The assumption being that the four categories would explain the different restraints on moral reasoning. The statistical testing showed that there was a negative, but not significant, correlation between strong attitudes and good moral reasoning ability.It was also hypothesised that good ability in moral reasoning would tend to exhibit a smaller difference between Policy-decisions and Action-decisions. This hypothesis was based on the difference in behaviour explained in "espoused theory" and "theory in use". When making policy-decisions these can be based on espoused theory and nice "talk" because it is always possible to make exceptions to or reconsider a policy. Action-decisions, on the other hand, are very concrete because they immediately trigger an action. The statistical testing rejected my hypothesis but gave a significant converse result: Good ability in moral reasoning seems to imply less stability and more inconsistence.The article concludes with the fact that moral reasoning testing seems to explain some differences in moral reasoning among people in business but not what kind of behavioural effects these differences actually have.     

Customer Involvement in Product Development: An Industrial Network Perspective

Purpose: In business markets, working with customers and users has become increasingly important to get knowledge about customer needs and to develop new products. The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to develop a framework for analyzing customer involvement in product development in a business market context, and (2) to apply this framework to a particular company to describe and analyze how it practices customer involvement.

Methodology/approach: The article takes its main theoretical starting point in the industrial network approach, but also uses other literature from the innovation and product development field. The empirical study applies a qualitative case study approach and focuses on one company in the truck business.

Findings: The suggested framework deals with four key aspects of customer involvement: Why, when, how, and who. The observed pattern of the truck manufacturer shows how dealers, hauliers, and truck drivers are all part of the overall understanding of the customer. These actors are involved for different, typically very clear, purposes at different points in time through surveys, product clinics, and field testing. The pattern, referred to as mixed facilitative, is not one of close collaboration with individual customers, but one of broad involvement of several customers through business intelligence and direct involvement.

Research implications: First, the article provides researchers with a framework and method for studying customer involvement in product development. Second, the case study provides an illustrative example of the customer involvement pattern pursued by a leading company in a major industry. This enhances the understanding of the focal phenomenon, leads to managerial implications, and gives ideas for future research.

Practical implications: There are several managerial implications related to the why, when, how, and who questions. For example, it is pointed out that managers should consider involving customers more extensively than what seems to be common today—for example, by using customers as codevelopers, working with them throughout the entire development process (i.e., not only early and late), and including different types of users (with different requirements and wishes).

Originality/value/contribution of the article: The contribution lies in the development of a framework centered on the four key questions of customer involvement in

product development and using this framework for observing a pattern, and finding explanations and relating this pattern to how other firms are doing.     

Access to finance,working capital management and company value: Evidences from Brazilian companies listed on BM&FBOVESPA

In this research, we have analyzed the impact of financial leverage on the relationship between working capital and company value and how financial constraints on access to financing affect this relationship. In addition, we have analyzed the relationship between working capital and company value. Using a sample of Brazilian public companies listed on BM&FBOVESPA from 1995 through 2009, we found evidence for the following conclusions: an extra Real (R$) of investment in working capital is significantly less worth, on average, than an extra Real (R$) of investment in cash; and, on average, increasing the level of working capital at the beginning of a fiscal year reduces company value.     

Playing the regulation game – the rise and demise of British Caledonian

Privatisation means that an increasing number of UK companies have to "play the regulation game". Business success will be determined not just by conventional strategy choices but also by regulatory strategy. British Caledonian is a striking example of one such company. Its financial fortunes ebbed and flowed with shifts in regulatory policy. BCal's chosen strategy – rapid expansion to build an alternative network to compete with British Airways – was always likely to be highly risky. But the risks were increased by regulatory controls which denied B Cal access to the UK's major airport at London Heathrow. In these regulatory conditions BCal's chosen strategy was almost certainly mis-conceived. It should have changed its regulatory strategy or – failing success – changed its business strategy. Changing neither was a recipe for the airline's eventual demise.     

Strategic Decision Making: from Crisis to Opportunity

Managers can perceive and categorise problems as crisis, threat, familiar everyday nuisance or even opportunity. This article focuses on the extent to which this categorisation determines the process the organisation goes through in tackling the problem. Using the case history of a big externally-triggered decision in a chemical company to illustrate these distinctions, the authors show that the characteristics of the processes can vary a lot according to how the problem is perceived: and across many dimensions – procedural rationality, generation of alternatives, politicisation, timing and lateral and horizontal communication. They argue that top managers should not only pay particular attention to the manner in which strategic issues are perceived and labelled within the company and its systems, but even in some circumstances should 'manipulate' the information provided from external or internal systems. The case described here also illustrates the crucial role of middle managers in providing expertise and information during the making of strategic decisions. Finally, it points to ways in which management teams can avoid destructive conflict and engage in constructive conflict.     

Does It Matter What Managers Do?

After half a century of research, we now have a fair idea of what managers do. This differs both from the "heroic self-image" idealisation and from the sanitised "management science" idealisation. Despite IT and all the talk of empowerment, management as a profession in its own right is, if anything, becoming more, not less, widespread. What managers do therefore matters simply because so many people are doing "management" as their main role. But does what managers do matter in terms of its effects on the people being managed, and, if so, how? The answer is obviously yes, but the central message of this article is how little we know through systematic research about this – particularly given how much preaching there is on how to do it well.     

The Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility: Techniques of Neutralization, Stakeholder Management and Political CSR

Since scholarly interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) has primarily focused on the synergies between social and economic performance, our understanding of how (and the conditions under which) companies use CSR to produce policy outcomes that work against public welfare has remained comparatively underdeveloped. In particular, little is known about how corporate decision-makers privately reconcile the conflicts between public and private interests, even though this is likely to be relevant to understanding the limitations of CSR as a means of aligning business activity with the broader public interest. This study addresses this issue using internal tobacco industry documents to explore British-American Tobacco’s (BAT) thinking on CSR and its effects on the company’s CSR Programme. The article presents a three-stage model of CSR development, based on Sykes and Matza’s theory of techniques of neutralization, which links together: how BAT managers made sense of the company’s declining political authority in the mid-1990s; how they subsequently justified the use of CSR as a tool of stakeholder management aimed at diffusing the political impact of public health advocates by breaking up political constituencies working towards evidence-based tobacco regulation; and how CSR works ideologically to shape stakeholders’ perceptions of the relative merits of competing approaches to tobacco control. Our analysis has three implications for research and practice. First, it underlines the importance of approaching corporate managers’ public comments on CSR critically and situating them in their economic, political and historical contexts. Second, it illustrates the importance of focusing on the political aims and effects of CSR. Third, by showing how CSR practices are used to stymie evidence-based government regulation, the article underlines the importance of highlighting and developing matrices to assess the negative social impacts of CSR.     

The Fair Trade Idea: Towards an Economics of Social Labels

The concept of Fair Trade is applied to the marketing of a variety of goods. In recent years it has met a continually increasing interest among consumers. Different Fair Trade organizations are trying to accomplish an improvement in working and living conditions in developing countries by means of Fair Trade certificates and by paying a price markedly above world market standard. This is meant to lead to the attainment of basic social standards, especially in agricultural production. The article deals with how Fair Trade works and whether the social aims can be achieved by the application of this trade concept. Our main result is that even though efficiency of redistribution through the Fair Trade institutions is lower than through traditional relief organizations, the Fair Trade concept provides an additional incentive to support better living conditions in the Third World. Moreover, it provides a stimulus for producers to reorganize the production process in a socially more acceptable manner even when this is not rewarded by the Fair Trade company.

Corporate ethical consulting: Developing management strategies for corporate ethics

The increase of scandals in the business sector is forcing many companies to examine their corporate ethical behavior with a view toward rebuilding their corporate value system. This article describes how value-system reconstruction must proceed in a company and demonstrates that corporate ethics can only become plausible if based on a corporate ethical ethos. It outlines a five-step development plan of management strategies toward rebuilding a company's value system on this corporate ethos through: corporate policy and strategy reformulation; corporate ethical code promulgation and value-statement formulation; management ethical training and corporate ethical education; and corporate ethical performance evaluation. The role of the corporate ethical consultant is also outlined to illustrate how corporate ethical consulting can provide the specialized services designed to insure an enduring management ethical upgrading and to improve a company's corporate ethical performance record. The discussion indicates how corporate ethical consulting promotes good business through its capacity to deliver industry credibility and company security. Richard Guerrette is a Research Fellow at Yale University Divinity School, where he is conducting a research study in organization management process and corporate ethics. He is also a Lecturer in sociology at the University of Connecticut at Hartford and is an author of two books on ecumenical ministry and social movement organization in the church. He has published extensively in theological journals and has recently contributed an article on Environmental Integrity and Corporate Responsibility for the Journal of Business Ethics 5 (1986). He is the Director of Equipax, an organization/management consulting service in Farmington, Connecticut.     

The European Business Lobby

Lobbying is a familiar if not always welcome reality in politics and many now recognise that companies have a legitimate role to play in the public policy process. But how firms set about exerting influence – and what works best – is still something of a mystery. In particular, few empirical studies have examined how firms have tackled the fast-changing Brussels maze. Based on interviews and a survey, this article outlines how firms have come to play a prominent role in the European Union's policy process and how their approach to influencing EU policy has developed. It then analyzes which methods they think are most effective – and most cost-effective. The author concludes by assessing the extent to which building strategic alliances with rival firms and public interest groups facilitates their own direct lobbying at the European Commission forums, and vice-versa.     

Managerial Work and Lying: A Conceptual Framework and an Explorative Case Study

In the last few years there has been a lot of fuzzy talk, scientific discourses and comments of business life about the values, ethics and social responsibility of companies. Companies are expected to have also some other tasks besides that of gaining profit. A part of the tasks which management has, except for thinking of the benefits of their own organization, are things which work for the well-being of the whole society. Issues like this are, among others, working for employment, taking care of the environment, and promoting consumer security.While making decisions of their own action in the company, the management often has to face ethical solutions. The benefit of the company may be different from that of other business stakeholders. In this case, the manager has to decide for which part he should act, for the company or for the stakeholders. The ethical problems in deciding may appear also inside the company. In our study, we are very interested in the decision-making processes which are connected with the honesty of the manager and his/her being honest with the stakeholders both inside and outside the company.In our research, we have tried to create a framework which helps us to find out in what kind of situations a manager faces the problem whether he/she should tell the truth to the stakeholders or not. We have also studied the means which the managers use in their potential dishonesty. Further, we have tried to find out how the managers see themselves in situations where they cannot tell the truth or have to cover it.     

Management Responses to Social Activism in an Era of Corporate Responsibility: A Case Study

Social activism against companies has evolved in the 50 years since Rachel Carson first put the US chemical industry under pressure to halt the indiscriminate use of the chemical DDT. Many more companies have come under the spotlight of activist attention as the agenda social activists address has expanded, provoked in part by the internationalization of business. During the past fifteen years, companies have begun to formulate corporate responsibility (CR) policies and appointed management teams dedicated to CR, resulting in a change in the way companies interact with social activists. This paper presents findings from a longitudinal case study of managerial responses to social activism targeted at a company with relatively well-advanced CR practices and reputation. The case describes the unfolding of the internal processes over an 8-year period, including the role played by different managers and the tensions in the decision-making processes. The findings emphasize how values and beliefs in the company interact with economic arguments and how those are mediated through functions and relationships in the company and beyond. The paper shows how critical managers’ understanding of the motivations of activists behind the campaign is in shaping their actions. It reveals the paradoxical outcomes that can result from social activism at the level of the firm, the industry, and the field.     

‘Wealthy and Titled Persons’ – The Accumulation of Riches in Victorian Britain: The Case of Peter Denny

This paper utilises previously examined costing material for the Consett Iron Company Ltd in an attempt to throw some light on how business in the mid-Victorian period made key decisions. The nature of the costing information available to management, its limitations for decision-making purposes, and how the costing system was developed in response to the problems facing the company in the late 1860s, are examined. It is concluded that the company adapted its costing system perceptively to cope with real problems, though the changes introduced may not always have been ideal as seen from the perspective of modern management accounting.     

我国上市乳品企业财务能力分析 ——以光明乳业为例

本文采用案例研究作为研究方法,对光明乳业进行分析,并与同行业多家企业进行对比,分析光明乳业存在的优势与不足,以期为企业的决策经营提供参考.     

Bridging Industrial Segmentation Theory and Practice

Purpose: Segmentation is seen today as a core concept within mainstream marketing. While industrial segmentation has received considerable attention within academic literature, there have been many reports on companies having problems using, applying, and implementing the principles of segmentation. Authors criticize the literature on segmentation for giving too little attention to implementation, providing marketers little help and guidance on how to make segmentation work in a practical environment. This article addresses some of these problems.

Methodology/Approach: The objective of this article is to design a process with methods and activities for segmentation by building on action research case study data from a large Danish industrial company.

Findings: Along with important considerations, this article presents the process of segmentation using a build-up approach based on qualitative market data. The process is practical and easily approachable for companies. The purpose behind segmentation is strategic—identify target segments and facilitate the planning of future product offers. It is argued that segmentation should be dedicated to the purpose and context of the company. This case illustrates how the company adapted segmentation theory to their particular needs.     

The social and ethical alchemy: an integrative approach to social and ethical accountability

In recent years there has been an explosion of interest by companies in developing approaches to instill values in their decision-making processes and to manage and report on their social performance. The emerging field of social and ethical accounting, auditing and reporting (SEAAR) is characterised by considerable differentiation not only in terminology, but also in methodology and focus. This article aims to analyse the key conceptual and methodological differences between internally focussed approaches to SEAAR, dealing with ethics (behavioural) issues, and externally focussed approaches to SEAAR, dealing with social (stakeholder) issues.
In their discussion of the benefits and potential pitfalls of exclusively internally or externally focussed approaches the authors suggest two organisational metaphors as heuristics – the Cultish and the Chameleon organisation. The authors then propose an integrative approach to SEAAR which will overcome this dissonance and initiate a mutually reinforcing process that, in the long-term, can build both internal trust and cohesiveness and external credibility. The suggested approach is characterised as social and ethical alchemy since the aim is to achieve more than the sum of the two separate parts – a business ethics programme and a social reporting process – by creating leverage and synergy between the key components.     

Women Board Directors: Characteristics of the Few

Appointment as a director of a company board often represents the pinnacle of a management career. Worldwide, it has been noted that very few women are appointed to the boards of directors of companies. Blame for the low numbers of women of company boards can be partly attributed to the widely publicized "glass ceiling". However, the very low representation of women on company boards requires further examination. This article reviews the current state of women's representation on boards of directors and summarizes the reasons as to why women are needed on company boards. Given that more women on boards are desirable, the article then describes how more women could be appointed to boards, and the actions that organizations and women could take to help increase the representation of women. Finally, the characteristics of those women that have succeeded in becoming members of company boards are described from an international perspective. Unfortunately, answers to the vexing question of whether these women have gained board directorships in their own right as extremely competent managers, or whether they are mere token female appointments in a traditional male dominated culture, remains elusive.