“Gultural Fower”in the Decisive Battle of the Beauty Market

During its six-year development in China, Balincan created market miracles one after another! They are well known both in market management and unique branding characteristics. Therefore, the "Balincan Phenomenon "emerged on the market, and even has caught the eyes of analysts, who made Balincan a research subject. But what is behind the stunning phenomenon? To explore the secret, China's Foreign Trade interviewed Balincan. By Editor     

On the crisis of the “liberalization policy” in the economics of interdependence

In spite of all protestations and exhortations it is a fact that trade liberalization, the modern version of free trade, is caught in a crisis. Professor Detlef Lorenz is here analysing the causes of this crisis and suggesting alternatives for a future liberalization policy.     

Revisiting the “passée”: history rewriting in the neo-burlesque community

Neo-burlesque, or the “burlesque revival,” is a movement that emerged in the 1990s, with retro-inclined consumers revisiting old-fashioned striptease performances informed by the burlesque satirical tradition. Based on an 18-month ethnographic immersion in North American neo-burlesque communities, our initial research sought to understand how this movement acts as a forum through which forms of female representations are retrospectively enacted and revisited. While providing for empirical evidences that a feeling of incongruity can be experienced by members of retro communities such as that of neo-burlesque – particularly with regards to gender ideals, including body and sexual identity – this paper argues that certain types of neo-burlesque practices disrupt the nostalgic or contemporary logic of idealisation and, as such, can reinvest non-idealised identities, bodies with new meanings and legitimacy in the present.     

“Superdisabilities” vs “disabilities”? Theorizing the role of ableism in (mis)representational mythology of disability in the marketplace

ABSTRACT

People with disabilities (PWD) constitute one of the largest minority groups. While recognition and inclusion of this group in the marketplace has seen improvement, the effects of (mis)representation of PWD in shaping the discourse on fostering marketplace inclusion of socially marginalized consumers remain little understood. By extending the theory of ableism into the context of PWD representation and applying it to the analysis of the We’re the Super humans advertisement developed for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, this paper examines the relationship between the (mis)representation and the inclusion/exclusion discourse. By uncovering that PWD misrepresentations can partially mask and/or redress the root causes of exclusion experienced by PWD in their lived realities, it contributes to the research agenda on the transformative role of consumption cultures perpetuating harmful, exclusionary social perceptions of marginalized groups versus contributing to advancement of their inclusion.     

Consumer Perceptions of “Functional Food” in the United States

There is a strong trend to market products that promise improved health in the United States. Functional food is a rather new concept promoting the healthfulness of foods. Functional food manufacturers should provide motivating and trustful marketing messages. However, since the term “functional foods” lacks definition, communication to consumers is challenging and can be confusing. This study investigates how U.S. consumers understand the concept of functional foods. An online survey containing 64 questions was structured to measure awareness, consumption, and trust toward functional foods. Based on a definition provided in the survey, a clear minority (15%) of the respondents (n = 1027) stated they had heard of functional foods before the survey. Compared to the respondents who had not heard of functional foods, they more often used whole wheat cereals, vegetable juice, carrots, toast with high fibre and green tea (Chi-square –test, p < 0.001). Food and drug administration (FDA), health associations, and dieticians were the most trusted sources of information for functional food decisions with 28%, 24%, and 20% shares of the respondents, respectively. Food producers, food retailers and media together were chosen as the most trustworthy source by less than 1.5%. We concluded U.S. consumers find functional foods confusing and even unreliable. To strengthen their confidence, we suggest clear and transparent collaboration with nutrition and health specialist and product- specific marketing messages based on solid scientific documentation.     

“Walking into the World Expo”Exhibition opens in Beijing

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government awarded on June 29 a contract to design and provision Hong Kong＇s exhibition at the Urban Best Practices Area （UBPA） at the 2010 World Expo.     

Occupational illness in the hospitality industry: “Sick Buildings” and the bottom line

When the poor quality of the air inside a building results in the building's inhabitants' becoming ill, the problem may be “sick-building syndrome.”     

Assessing the “Tone at the Top”: The Moral Reasoning of CEOs in the Automobile Industry

Relying on an expanded view of leadership and the moral reasoning framework developed by Lawrence Kohlberg (1981), this study explores the moral reasoning of the chief executive officers at the 11 largest automobile manufacturers in the world. Using the CEOs’ letter to their stakeholders found in the organizations’ annual social responsibility reports, the CEOs’ moral reasoning is compared to other managers’ moral reasoning, and the moral reasoning exhibited within the CEO group is analyzed for differences due to regional location. Contrary to conventional understanding based on prior research, the CEOs in our sample did not exhibit moral reasoning at a higher level than a cross section of managers but there were differences within the sample of CEOs when looking at nationality. Implications of these results for CEOs, managers, academics, and others are explored.     

Problems and opportunities of retailing in the US “Inner City”

In recent years, a number of large-scale retailers have established stores in the Inner City areas of the major cities in the United States. This paper relies upon a number of theories put forth by scholars in geography, sociology, and urban planning to understand the experience of Pathmark Stores, Inc. as it attempted to place a full-service supermarket in New York City’s Harlem. The study considers why establishment of large-scale stores in Inner City areas may represent important opportunities for profit, but discusses why they may also disrupt long-standing economic and societal relationships of neighborhoods and be a source of conflict among competing local factions.     

“Strategic Failure” in the Financial Sector: A Policy View

Analysis of the recent financial crisis has tended to focus upon “market” and corresponding “regulatory” failures. While this provides important insights, it may neglect deeper issues at the root of recent problems. In this paper, we take a broader perspective, drawing upon the stategic choice approach to the theory of the firm (Cowling and Sugden, 1998 Cowling, Keith and Sugden, Roger. 1998. The essence of the modern corporation: markets, strategic decision-making and the theory of the firm. The Manchester School, 66: 59–86. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar], 1999 Cowling, Keith and Sugden, Roger. 1999. The wealth of localities, regions and nations: developing multinational economies. New Political Economy, 4: 361–378. [Taylor & Francis Online] [Google Scholar]). We present a governance-based analysis which emphasises the process of engaging interested “publics” in corporate decision-making processes. We illustrate our arguments with respect to three UK cases – Northern Rock, Bradford and Bingley, and HBOS banks – which each required major interventions by the UK Government and whose recent history reveals significant changes in ownership, governance and corporate strategy. We argue that the current period of reform for these former building societies represents an ideal opportunity to address serious concerns over governance within the financial sector, and we propose a revised mutual solution as one appropriate way forward.     

Bank of China Elected as the“Best Bank in China”

A Hong Kong magazine Asiamoney declared recently that the selecting activity just ended "2004 best cash-management bank in Asia", Bank of China was elected as the "BestBank in China". This reward was voted and     

The project-management approach in the “systematic management” of innovative start-up firms

This paper presents the principal results obtained by applying the project- management approach to strategic planning and operations management of innovative start-up firms' key activities. This approach is used to implement Drucker's view of entrepreneurship as a systematic discipline and his recommendation that innovation be treated using his principle of systematic innovation.As is well known, the management of growth in an innovative start-up firm is a difficult problem facing that organization. During this particular stage of the firm's development, many interdependent activities need to be performed under the conditions of uncertainty and limited resources. In these cases, flexibility and contingency planning are necessary. The fact that there exists no generally accepted approach that an entrepreneur can utilize, however, results in chaotic situations in many such enterprises.The start-up firm cannot utilize the formalized management systems and procedures available and useful in large firms. In addition, a disorganized, chaotic, random management-decision process will seldom provide desirable results in such firms. Viewing the firm as a project to be managed with specific tasks, activities, precedence relations, durations, and milestones presents an opportunity to utilize project-management techniques, including the critical-path method (CPM).Recent research has demonstrated that project-management methodology and its computer- software applications are applicable to small, innovative start-up firms. By utilizing a microcomputer, one can analyze any start-up business for flaws in management or organization and can chart a more productive path for achieving the firm's strategic goals. Project management using computers is not new: it has been used for years for major aerospace, utility, and construction projects. Only recently, however, have microcomputers and software become inexpensive enough to allow small firms to utilize this approach.The project-management approach collects information about a start-up firm, including all of its planned activities consistent with its evolving business plan, and then utilizes a microcomputer and inexpensive, readily available project-management software to process the information collected. Among the outputs are a “GANTT chart,” which indicates when the various activities should begin and end; a “Job Report,” which provides the earliest and latest possible deadlines for starting and ending each activity; and a “Milestone Report,” which indicates when each key event is to be accomplished according to the strategic business plan. These status reports are extremely valuable to the CEO and to the management team as the firm is kept on course according to its strategic plan.This methodology has been applied to 20 innovative start-up firms in northern California, including a computer graphics company, a semiconductor-equipment manufacturer, and firms that develop software for professional athletes, educators, ophthalmologists, and radio-station managers. In addition, the project-management approach has been applied to plan and schedule Stanford University's current centennial fund-raising campaign.Results indicate that the CEO and the entire management team are able to plan, schedule, and control the innovative start-up firm's multiplicity of activities in a systematic way. The firm is also able to modify its strategic plan based on a review of its updated status reports and to modify its operations plans accordingly. Current research is under way to develop similar systematic methods for managing innovations in large organizations.     

从“Made in China”到“Design in China”

从“Made in China”到“Design in China”，看似一小步，实则需要所有人重新思考，中国元素的内核究竟是什么？     

Chinese Auto Industry Should Avoid to “Walk in the Detour Again”

Interviewee:Liu Shijin,Director of Industrial Devel-opment Deparment,Eco-nomic Research Center of theState CouncilBackground:In spite ofthe excellent situation of Chi-nese auto industry,some ex-perts sound the alarm:itshould by no means slack-en.In the recent"Chinese Au-to·Changchun Auto Fo-rum",Liu Shijin,Director ofIndustrial Development De-partment,Economic ResearchCenter of the State Council,presented his view,whicharoused much resonanceamong the participants.     

Business and Government Ethics in the “New” and “Old” EU: An Empirical Account of Public–Private Value Congruence in Slovenia and the Netherlands

This article studies how financial investors respond to firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance in terms of their investing behaviors, and how such behaviors change contingent on an event that provokes their attention and concerns to CSR. Using the melamine contamination incident in China as a natural experiment, it is found that neither the individual investors’ nor the institutional investors’ behaviors are influenced by firms’ CSR performance before the incident. Nevertheless, in the post-event period, institutional investors’ behaviors are significantly influenced by firms’ CSR performance that exceeds a certain threshold. Furthermore, such an effect diminishes for a better CSR performance. In comparison, the authors do not find any effects of CSR performance on individual investors, either before the event or after the event. Finally, firms’ performance and investors’ behaviors jointly affect firms’ stock returns after the event but not before the event. This article reconciles the mixed findings in the literature on the effect of firms’ CSR performance on their financial performance by showing that such an effect exists in a contingent manner. Furthermore, the authors show that a too low or a too high CSR performance could lead to undesirable responses from investors. Therefore, managers should pay attention to optimizing firms’ CSR activities.     

Strengthening “Giving Voice to Values” in Business Schools by Reconsidering the “Invisible Hand” Metaphor

The main contention of this paper is that our ability to embed a consideration of values into business school curricula is hampered by certain normative parameters that our students have when entering the classroom. If we don’t understand the processes of valuation that underpin our students’ reasoning, our ethics teaching will inevitably miss its mark. In this paper, we analyze one of the most prevalent metaphors that underpin moral arguments about business, and reveal the beliefs and assumptions that underpin it. By revisiting the content of Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” metaphor, we show that the moral content of the metaphor has been significantly misconstrued through its subsequent reception in economic theory. The “Giving Voice to Values” (GVV) pedagogy aims to enable students to act on their tacit values and address the rationalizations that they may encounter for not acting on these values (Gentile in Giving voice to values. How to speak your mind when you know what’s right, Yale University Press, Yale, 2010a; Discussions about ethics in the accounting classroom: student assumptions and faculty paradigms, Darden Business Publishing,2010b. http://store.darden.virginia.edu/Syllabus%20Copy/Discussions-about-Ethics-in-Accounting_S.pdf; Educating for values-driven leadership across the curriculum: giving voice to values, Business Expert Press, New York, 2013). We believe our analysis can strengthen the employment of GVV in three ways: (1) understanding tacit blockages to moral action, i.e., how students’ belief in the moral efficacy of the invisible hand could undermine their own sense of moral duty; (2) addressing common rationalizations that may emerge from different assumptions about morally appropriate courses of action in the workplace; and (3) resolving values conflicts on how to act.     

The Second Meaning of the Word “Creative” Should Be First in the Hearts of Advertising People

Abstract

Those who complain that pressure to sell is squeezing the creativity out of advertising forget, if they ever knew, that the second meaning of the word “creative” is “PRODUCTIVE”.

As the author points out, Webster's Collegiate Dictionary even spells it in capital letters.

Advertising should be interesting to the best prospects for the product advertised rather than to people who make advertising.

Writers and art directors are not typical of the mass market and the things which interest them do not necessarily interest the mass market.

Productive advertising, that is creative advertising, in the best sense of the word, talks to the best prospects for the product about things that interest them. It uses words and picures that the prospects can appreciate and understand.

It is a challenge to the highest skills of the best creative people which may be why there isn't too much productive advertising around.