Communications and telecommunications: Integrated approaches to communications planning

The author argues for an integrated approach to the formulation of communication policies. He suggests that the term ‘communication planning’ signals changes in attitudes to planning in general, breaking through the boundaries of technical or quantitative exclusivity into a broader, more interdisciplinary approach. After describing the main characteristics of the integrated approach, he examines the Unesco Afghanistan survey as an example of recent work on the methodology of overall communication system planning. The author then discusses the issue of technology transfer in the context of communications, and concludes with an analysis of the trend towards the international coordination of planning approaches.     

Industrialization and Values Evolution: The Case of Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China

This field study evaluated the convergence, divergence, crossvergence, and multi-crossvergence perspectives of value system evolution in industrializing regions. Value differences were identified among graduating business university students in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, and the United States. Specific value dimensions in this study reflected the primary influence of either industrialization or regional culture. Thus, our overall results suggest that both industrialization and culture influence the combination of values held in Hong Kong. This finding could be interpreted as supporting the crossvergence perspective of value system evolution. A more precise interpretation, however, is that some value dimensions converge with increasing industrialization, while others remain divergent.     

Networks, Transactions, and Resources: Hong Kong Trading Companies' Strategic Position in the China Market

The author draws on network perspective, transaction cost perspective and resource-based perspective to analyze Hong Kong trading companies' strategic position in Western manufacturers' exports into China. The study examines the strategic position at different stages of market entry and from the views of both manufacturers and trading companies. The discussion shows that under certain conditions Hong Kong trading companies will enjoy and maintain important position in the market.     

Regulation to deregulation: the telecommunications sector and industrialization : Evidence from the Pacific rim and basin

Evidence from the Pacific and elsewhere suggests that countries deregulate their telecommunications sectors as economic development proceeds. Theoretical considerations support this, since arguments for (against) deregulation are mostly applicable to industrialized (developing) countries. Several such arguments are surveyed. Actual instances of telecommunications deregulation in Pacific countries are also cited to confirm this hypothesis. The scarcity and simplicity of telecommunications in early development stages favour cooperative, regulated solutions; as technological progress makes services more abundant and varied, competitive, deregulated approaches become more attractive.     

Subcultures in Greater China: A Comparison of Managerial Values in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

Managerial values in the three regions that form Greater China — Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) — were compared. It is posited that in addition to Confucian philosophy, political and economic systems also have significant effects on the values of Chinese managers. Results show that despite the economic integration in Greater China, managerial values have yet to be unified. Managers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the PRC are convergent in collectivism and uncertainty avoidance. On the other hand, managers in the PRC demonstrated higher power distance and less concern about deadlines and plans than in managers Hong Kong and Taiwan. Materialism is also greater in the PRC and Hong Kong than in Taiwan.     

Commitment to Company and Union: Evidence from Hong Kong

This article examines the pattern and antecedents of employee commitment to company and union in the Hong Kong context. Findings are consistent with those from the United States. In general, company and union commitment have different antecedents, although the perceived industrial relations climate is a common predictor. Dual commitment is in evidence. Union membership is a function of union commitment. The findings caution against attempts to explain the pattern of Hong Kong industrial relations purely in terms of culture.     

Complementary approaches to preliminary foreign market opportunity assessment: country clustering and country ranking

Companies seeking to expand abroad are faced with the complex task of screening and evaluating foreign markets. How can managers define, characterize, and express foreign market opportunity? What makes a good market, an attractive industry environment? National markets differ in terms of market attractiveness, due to variations in the economic and commercial environment, growth rates, political stability, consumption capacity, receptiveness to foreign products, and other factors. This research proposes and illustrates the use of two complementary approaches to preliminary foreign market assessment and selection: country clustering and country ranking. These two methods, in combination, can be extremely useful to managerial decision makers in the early stages of foreign market selection.     

7月1日起我国将调整部分产品出口关税

据国家财政部消息,为促进稳定外需,调整出口结构,经国务院关税税则委员会审议,并报国务院批准,自7月1日起．我国对部分产品的出口关税进行调整,取消小麦、大米、大豆等粮食产品以及硫酸、钢丝等工业品的出口暂定关税,降低微细目滑石粉,中小型型钢,部分氟化工品,部分钨、钼、锢等有色金属及其中间品等产品的出口暂定关税。     

The transformation of the mobile telecommunications industry in Pakistan: A developing country perspective

This paper offers a rare insight into the reality of the mobile telecommunications market transformation in Pakistan. Our analytical framework treats the mobile telecommunications market as a complex socio-technical system. Specifically, we define the telecommunications market as being composed of technology standards and three sets of social actors that include government institutions, network and service providers, and users. In the case of Pakistan, these social actors together determine the adoption of standards and services, and thus shape the trajectory of the market change. Our case study provides evidence that a pro-competition policy is imperative for mobile telecommunications development in developing countries, and an independent regulator is critical in promoting technological innovation.     

Interlocking Directorates, Firm Strategies, and Performance in Hong Kong: Towards a Research Agenda

Filling a gap in the interlocks literature which has been largely centered on the West, we present preliminary data on the pattern of interlocking directorates among the top 200 largest corporations in pre-1997 Hong Kong. Then we identify four separate groups of firms in Hong Kong, and suggest propositions based on the resource dependence perspective on the critical relationships among their interlocking directorates, firm strategies, and performance. These propositions have the potential to form the building block of an emerging research agenda that will shed light on the role of interlocking directorates in an increasingly important part of the world.     

Managerial Values Across Cultures: Australia, Hong Kong and the United States

The relationship between personal managerial values and a range of important organisational variables has increasingly been recognised. Personal values are shaped by the wider cultural milieu in which the individual is socialised. Managers from different cultural contexts may therefore be expected to possess different work and business-related values. However, exposure to a more universalistic managerial ethos may also generate a degree of similarity in managerial values across cultural contexts. In order to examine these issues, the values and expectations of managers in Hong Kong (N = 653), Australia (N = 505) and the United States (N = 1,060) were compared. Both differences and similarities were revealed, leading to speculations about the relative impact of culture versus roles on managerial values.     

港澄合作 玩具联盟 赢在世界 香港、澄海联合举行玩具展示中心招商活动

本刊特别报道：由香港玩具总动员有限公司和汕头市澄海展览中心主办,汕头市澄海区玩具协会支持的＂香港一澄海玩具展示中心联合招商大会＂于2009年9月3日下午在广东省汕头市澄海展览中心主馆三     

Applications of quantitative techniques in Hong Kong: An empirical analysis

A survey was conducted to examine the usage of quantitative techniques among companies in Hong Kong. Results show that, although 74% of the respondents reported using one or more techniques, usage was confined to relatively few and simple techniques. These techniques, however, were used in a rather wide spectrum of application. The lack of understanding among top management of quantitative techniques was cited by respondents as the major barrier to their use. The results of this study are compared to a comparable survey in the United States, and the implications of the findings for the training of managers are discussed.     

Capital investment practices: A survey of large corporations in Malaysia,Singapore and Hong Kong

This paper presents the results of a survey on the capital investment practices of large corporations in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Our findings are fairly consistent with those from similar U.S. surveys. However, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong companies seem to use multiple techniques, both simple and sophisticated, in evaluating investment projects, while U.S. companies appear to make great use of discounted cash-flow rate of return. Although Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong companies often make annual cash-flow forecasts over the life of a project, they do not undertake much analysis of risk involved in the project. Moreover, there is room for improving the practice of project implementation, the post-audit of implemented projects, and the use of post-audit data.Dr Wong Kie Ann is with the School of Management, National University of Singapore; Dr Edward J Farragner is with the Department of Finance, DePaul University, U.S.A.; and Mr Rupert K.C. Leung is with the Department of Business Management, Hong Kong Baptist College.     

Organisation development practices in Hong Kong: Current state and future challenges

This paper examines the current state of OD practices in Hong Kong. The results of two recent studies among major firms and among the managers of large firms are reported. It is found that Hong Kong firms put more emphasis on the human processual type of interventions, followed by strategic planning. Some firms are practising state-of-the-art OD activities, though the majority are still using traditional OD interventions. The current state of OD practice is then reviewed and implications for the future are discussed.The author is from the Department of Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The author would like to acknowledge the financial support of UPGC Direct Grant of the Chinese University of Hong Kong for this project.     

The impact of the regulatory framework on fixed-mobile interconnection settlements: the case of China and Hong Kong

Network interconnection is one of the most critical issues in the process of telecommunications deregulation. An improperly interconnected new network is not dissimilar to an isolated network, while network externality remains a concern for subscribers who are searching for demand-side economies of scope. Traditional studies mainly focus on formal mechanisms of setting an interconnection price, while this study indicates that an appropriate regulatory framework is also one of the most important factors in settling effective network interconnection arrangements.     

Competition Policy under Laissez-Faireism: Market Power and its Treatment in Hong Kong

The paper describes the current competition policy framework in Hong Kong: how it came into existence, what business practices are prohibited, and how the enforcement system works. Recent cases in the telecommunications industry are used to illustrate the sectoral approach, a unique feature of Hong Kong's competition policy. We argue that a sectoral approach faces two fundamental drawbacks. First, due to having different ``rules of the game' for different sectors, the allocation of resources may be distorted in the long run. Second, since the relevant regulatory agencies perform dual roles both as competition policy enforcer and as traditional regulator of natural monopolies, the impartiality of their competition decisions may not be credibly conveyed to the public. We also address other specific problems associated with the sectoral approach, such as the exclusion of structural issues, narrow coverage of sectors, and the lack of public enforcement. We conclude that an overall competition law can better promote competition and economic efficiency in Hong Kong.     

冬天里的一把火——香港玩具展点燃2009

在金融海啸的重创之下迎来的2009年，对全球的玩具行业来说，充满着许多的无奈和期待，1月5日至8日在香港会议展览中心举行第三十五届香港玩具展为冬天里送来一把火，点燃了2009年！     

Transition to more cooperative and consensual pattern of labour-management relations: Singapore and Hong Kong compared

In recent years, labour-management relations in Hong Kong and Singapore appear to have been shifting away from confrontation towards cooperation. This paper examines the relative contributions of thelaissez-faire and the State approaches to this development, and proposes that a collaborative industrial partnership might take different forms in the two societies.The authors thank the anonymous reviewers of the APJM for their comments and for recommending several additional references.