The concept of capital before and after industrial revolution： Islamic versus market economy

The concept of capital and ownership of capital in market economy and Islamic economy is different. Also the role that capital is expected to play in the economy is different in two economic systems. One of the key elements in creation of the capital （capital formation） is interest rate. In Islam interest is strictly forbidden. This paper reviews the concept of capital and the process of capital formation both before and after industrial revelation. In that context it also looks at the function of interest rate during the time of Prophet Mohammed and the present time.     

Stress perceptions and leadership orientation of Malaysians： Exploring their similarities and differences with Americans

To explore the management orientation of employees in Malaysia and the United States, this paper focuses on comparing the leadership and stress perception of respondents in these two different countries. It appears that Malaysians and Americans have a significantly higher score on the relationship-orientation than task-orientation. Similarly, the female respondents in Malaysia had a significantly higher score on the relationship orientation. Finally, the responses of these 216 Malaysian respondents were compared with the 87 Americans, demonstrating significantly higher scores for respondents from the U.S. on both orientations. For management and practical application, suggestions and implications for future studies are presented.     

HRD in a multipolar world： An introductory study

In the last two decades, the economic and political world was radically transformed. At the start, in the 1980s, the USA and the USSR ruled, in a bipolar context. But, after the fall of the Communist regimes, in the 1990s, a different form of world power sharing emerged, in which the USA, the European Union and Japan were the major players. That change was evident from the documents that were made by those political powers （i.e. the Lisbon agenda on human resource development （HRD））, which in itself contained a forecast of the world situation in 2010. However, life is by nature unpredictable, and the unforeseeable changes happen all the time. And, in the last decade, several main players emerged in the world scene, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, the Arab World and Africa. In consequence, at the present moment, the world economy exists around at least 9 main players, 3 old and foreseen and 6 new and not foreseen. It is the author＇s opinion that this societal transformation should be addressed by the HRD community, because HRD scholars must study the more national relevant cases in a world that is changing very fast. Accordingly, in this paper, the author tries to make a rather introductory study in which he/she tries to define the basic economic variables for the HRD markets, namely demand, supply, need, equilibrium, investment, stock, flow, and return, for the USA, Japan, Brazil, Russia, India and China. The author uses the last available data, even if we tried to put the analysis in a historical perspective. The author concludes that several very different forms of situations exist in the HRD markets of those very important political entities.     

Implementing a model for identifying organizational complications for the purpose of increasing productivity in hydropower plant

The present economical conditions on today＇s world require specific point of view and policy making in business agencies. In this competitive world to achieve competence, competitive advantages in order to better governance, organizations have to increase their competitive powers through promotion and productivity. One of the fundamental approaches to elevate the productivity level is finding the complications and obstacles, and arise planning to remove them. In order to understand organizational complication, we have tried to take critical factors of success and continue improvement into consideration to demonstrate a model to find the main and radical problems and complications and recognize the recoverable areas in the business agencies. In order to verify and validate the performed research, he planned model has been accomplished in the Hydropower Plant Department, positive and acceptable results were obtained and organizations total factor productivity improvement was achieved which was appreciated by the organization.     

Modification of Costanza＇s model of valuing ecosystem services and its application in China

In the past, evaluations of ecosystem functions were mostly based on Costanza＇s model, whereas the spatial, quality and temporal characteristics of regional ecosystems were not considered in the model. Focusing on these issues, coefficients of regional difference, spatial heterogeneity and willingness-to-pay （WTP） were established to modify Costanza＇s model, and a new comprehensive valuation model of ecosystem functions is proposed. The analytical results indicate that the comprehensive model could evaluate regional ecosystem functions in China accurately and provide more helpful information for decision-making. The empirical study on Zhangbei County in Hebei Province shows that the intensive human activities could limit the provision of ecosystem functions while the planned ecological programs might promote the restoration of ecosystem functions.     

The effects of attributes and buyer regret on overall satisfaction

The current study represents an attempt at exploring product attribute, service attribute evaluation, and buyer regret influence overall satisfaction in the buyer decision context. The data used in the project were collected as part of a large study of buyer regret. The sampling frame consisted of automobile purchases in Taiwan We have collected yield 600 questionnaires, by screening out 44 questionnaires, including those missing value or incomplete answer, and finally a usable sample of 556 questionnaires were utilized in this study. The results reinforce the finding form early research that the concept of buyer regret plays an important role for automobile purchases in the buyer decision. Results show that higher evaluations of service and product attributes lead to less buyer regret, and lower buyer regret will likely to increase overall satisfaction. Specifically, the finding indicates that buyer regret mediates the effects of the attributes on overall satisfactions. Implications for marketing theory and practitioners are discussed, and possible directions for future research are sketched.     

Generational management in corporate America： The differences and challenges in management of four generations of working adults

There are many differences and challenges that employers face while managing employees in the current work force. Our present day workforce is made up of a diverse group of people： Matures, also known as Veterans （age 55＋）, Baby Boomers （age 45-54）, Generation X （age 35-44） and Generation Y also known as Millennial （age 18-34）. The differences and challenges among these groups will be evident when reviewing recognition and praise, managerial styles, subordinate responses to generational leadership. Companies are stepping back and looking more holistically at how to develop programs and deploy technology that will speak to four distinct generations in the workforce （Sprague, 2008）. Each generation has their own definition of work ethic, responsibility, and performance. The best way to deal with the multi-generations is coming up with ways that make everybody feel like they are members of a team, thus helping them to learn how to develop a better way of communication than what exists between them now. If everybody is a part of a team, then they are all sharing the benefits that the other generations can bring to the table, making them a strong entity. Matures and boomers can become mentors to the X and Y＇s, and the X and Y＇s can then share and impart their knowledge of technology to the Matures and boomers. Companies in today＇s workplace must learn a better way to understand the values of the four generations, for it is very important in understanding and guiding these people in the workplace. Without this proper understanding, the guidance and alliance that managers are hoping to achieve will be even longer in the making and then one, possibly two, whole generations will be gone from the workforce and their knowledge and skill gone as well.     

Interest and profit

This paper argues that it is important to distinguish between the real rate of interest on money and the profitability of business enterprise. The former is a purely financial or monetary phenomenon （as claimed by Keynes） and the latter is in the nature of a surplus over and above the costs of production, including financing costs. There is an inverse relationship between the real rate of interest on money and the average mark-up or profit share. A synthetic theory of profit illustrates these points.     

A system dynamics approach for studying the resilience of irrigation systems

One of the most interesting outcomes from the recent collaboration between natural and social scientists is the concept of resilience, which imported from engineering to ecology. The problem with that concept is that it is hard if not impossible to get simple measures for resilience as far as social-ecological systems are complex ones. Using a system dynamics model, the author shows that, for assessing resilience of systems like irrigation systems, it probably helps to see the process of resilience loss as a systemic one, in which dynamics is given by positive self-reinforcing loops, like the one we have labeled in this paper--the death spiral. The author also presents a list of symptoms of collapse in irrigation systems, in order to assess the resilience of those systems, and suggest some future avenues of research on the subject.     

Effects of user perceptions associated with perceived playfulness on their attitude toward using a netbook

A netbook, Internet-enabled and with extra portability, has been fast-growing in the domain of information technology （IT） in recent years. Compared with standardized laptops or desktop computers, a netbook＇s key features include a shrunken-down and lightweight laptop that is ＂easy to learn, easy to work, and easy to play＂. This research is to empirically test the influence of user perceptions of this new form of IT （usability, compatibility and relative advantage） associated with playfulness and attitude toward purchase intention. In addition, personal innovativeness of an individual plays an important role in the antecedents of such perceptions. A test of this model, two-stage approach, confirmatory factor analysis （CFA） and structural equation model （SEM） are employed to validate the casual model from among 227 usable respondents who have been using a laptop for more than two years. Results showed support for eleven of twelve research hypotheses, and one new path linking personal innovativeness with attitude toward using is found to be non-siznificant.     

Intelligent tools and techniques for modern management

In order to make decisions all companies need information. As a rule, all the informatics systems of a company contain a multitude of data and turn these data into information that has to be analyzed in order to make decisions. It is a slow process. The solution of this drawback is given by Business Intelligence （BI） applications that can help companies increase income or diminish costs by offering the executive management appropriate information on the basis of which quick and efficient decisions can be taken.
The main purpose of the paper is to prove the necessity that BI tools should be used by the modem manager. Managers are aware of that by putting into practice the BI solutions, opportunities of getting control over the business process and methods are improved and better, timely analysis functions of the performance parameters can be obtained.     

The importance of product positioning and global branding for sustaining competitive advantage within the companies＇ global marketing strategy

In today＇s globally competitive world, because of the globalization, new business patterns and the changing nature of consumers, the companies feel the necessity to act strategic in the market and to reach up the target markets and sustain maximum customer satisfaction in order to compete and survive. In this context, within the study it is tried to define product positioning in international markets and global branding strategies conceptually and to focus on their contributions to the overall competitive advantage of the company. Initially, the study tries to present the association between product positioning and global branding approaches of the companies and sustaining competitive advantage. Justifications for the examination of the importance of companies＇ international product positioning and global branding orientations as a basis of creating competitive advantage were derived from the literature. It is suggested that the companies＇ product positioning and global branding orientations and sustaining competitive advantage are the important aspects in multinational management and international business areas. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of product positioning and global branding strategies of the companies with special references to various industries and global brands.     

Is proximity to oil refinery a big factor in explaining differences in gas prices？

According to the Energy Information Administration, average retail gasoline prices tend to typically be higher in certain states than in others. Aside from taxes, the factors shown to contribute to regional and even local differences in gasoline prices include proximity of supply, supply disruptions, competition in the local market and environmental programs. Of interest in this paper is proximity of supply. It has been hypothesized that areas farthest from the Gulf Coast （the source of nearly half of the gasoline produced in the United States and, thus, a major supplier to the rest of the country） tend to have higher prices. To test this hypothesis, the paper assembles state level monthly retail gasoline data for the period 1983 to 2007 for five states with oil refineries （Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana） and five states without refineries （Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida）. The analysis employs dynamic correlation, regression, cointegration and vector autoregressive methods. Overall, the results show that retail gas prices in states with refineries and those without refineries tend to move in the same direction over time. The small differences observed over time may suggest that price shocks take a short time to be felt nationwide.     

Culture-related differences in process efficiency in corporations as a competitive factor

This paper focuses on cultural influences on the effectiveness of organizational processes in companies. At this time, there is a predominant emphasis on culture-related differences of processes and workflows in companies in the main body of articles on cross-cultural management research. This paper proposes an extension of these research efforts in that case that the different efficiencies of these processes, resulting from cultural influences, should be examined in more detail. Based on the beginnings of organizational theory and with practical examples, it has been already verified that cultural influences shape organizational structures as well as organizational processes. This kind of fact should lead to the assumption that these cultural influences should also create differences in their efficiency, depending on what kind of culture the companies are. These differences in efficiency can be regarded as opportunities for success from which further competitive advantages can be derived. As that the examination of differences in efficiency of processes is still a rarity in the field of cross-cultural management research this should be developed further.     

A typologies of traveler in Thailand： Using traveling patterns approach

This research investigates the characteristics of Thai to discern what their traveling behavior patterns. It indicated five different traveling patterns, which were named, ＂Physical action＂, ＂Conservation of nature＂, ＂Service expectation＂, ＂Intend to travel＂ and ＂Obedience of law and order＂. It revealed that their traveling patterns were physically passive, less environmentally aware and knowledgeable, service expected, multi-purpose and short trip, and moderate obedience of law and order. The relation of sociodemographic profile （gender, age, education and income） to their traveling patterns was analyzed using Chi-Square tests. Discriminant analysis was run as a way of examining the accuracy and usefulness of the ecotourist scorecard. Using the concept of a hard-to-soft ecotourist with discriminant analysis, 51.4% was soft ecotourist, 39.3% was medium ecotourist and 9.3% was hard ecotourist. Although not identified, it is likely that there are subgroups （0.3%） within the hard ecotourist with the higher scoring tourists being most active ecotourist. The findings showed that the majority of Thai people tend to be comfortable nature-based tourist with less environmentally aware and knowledgeable. In fact, it could be argued that tourists in natural environments, even if they try to minimize their impact, may cause more environmental damage than tourist on a city tour.     

Quantificational analysis and simulation of Technical Barriers to Trade with two country model

The Technical Barriers to Trade （TBT） is an important problem faced to the export of China. Based on the number differences of TBT notifications between countries, we propose the concept and computational method of the technical barrier coefficient. By means of price-production and price-demand functions, a trade model with a developed country and a developing country is designed. The available trade policies such as technical barriers, tariffs and export subsidies are simulated and analyzed. According to the simulation results, several trade strategies to come over technical barriers are suggested. These suggestions were provided to several export enterprises for their export strategy design.     

The SLCP-driven land use changes and farmers＇ responses in the loess hilly and gully region： a case study for Ansai County

Taking Ansai County located in loess hilly and gully area as a case, this study analyzes the land use changes driven by the SLCP （Slope Land Conversion Program） and the farmers＇ responses by household survey and participatory rapid appraisal （PRA）. It is found that the SLCP aroused various changes in land use, agricultural production, rural incomes, etc. In the period of 1999-2005, the farmland and grasslands were reduced by 26,809 ha and 17,571 ha respectively, while forestland increased by 38,203 ha; greenhouse vegetable and orchard got a quick development, with the area enlarged by about 7 times and nearly doubled respectively. The SLCP reduced the area of crops particularly those that normally grown on slope lands, e.g. the sowing area of winter wheat ped from 19.39% of the total cropping area in 1999 to 0.98% in 2005. Draught animals, pigs and sheep have a decline in the number because the remained land and the ban on grazing on natural grasslands can not provide sufficient feed forage. Thanks to the financial subsidy, farmers increased land inputs and thus outputs. To achieve long-term sustainable development and improve rural income, the government should continuously support farmers to improve the land management, to adopt alternative land use systems, and to increase inputs on soil conservation. Vegetable and fruit production are two promise land use systems, and should be further developed.