Charitable Conflicts of Interest

This paper looks at conflicts of interest in the not-for-profit sector. It examines the nature of conflicts of interest and why they are of ethical concern, and then focuses on the way not-for-profit organisations are especially prone to and vulnerable to conflict-of-interest scandals. Conflicts of interest corrode trust; and stakeholder trust (particularly from donors) is the lifeblood of most charities. We focus on some specific challenges faced by charitable organisations providing funding for scientific (usually medical) research, and examine a case study involving such an organisation. One of the principal problems for charities of this kind is that they often distribute their funds within a relatively small research community (defined by the boundaries of a small region, like an American state or Spanish Autonomous region, or a small country), and it often proves difficult to find high-level researchers within the jurisdiction to adjudicate impartially the research grants. We suggest and recommend options appropriate for our case study and for many other organisations in similar situations.     

Guanxi and Conflicts of Interest

Guanxi involves interpersonal obligations, which may conflict with other obligations people have that are based on general or abstract moral considerations. In the West, the latter have been widely accepted as the general source of obligations, which is perhaps tied to social changes associated with the rise of capitalism. Recently, Western ethicists have started to reconsider the extent to which personal relationships may form a distinct basis for obligation. In administration and management, salient bases for decision-making include deontological, consequentialist and personalist ethics. The first may be reflected in a bureaucratic approach, the second in a price system, and the third in arrangements like guanxi. Each has positive and negative aspects, but problems arise when they lead to conflicting obligations, as may occur for an office holder who has some obligations based in deontological considerations and others based in personal relationships. This is a type of conflict of interest. Such conflicts have been considered in the West, and remedies proposed. Problems arise especially in cases where it is not clear how to prioritise different obligations, and this has been noted as a difficulty in the Chinese legal system. Questions that need to be answered include not only questions about how to deal with conflicting obligations, but also questions about what institutions to accept as giving rise to obligations. Institutions themselves may be problematic not only because of their consequences for economic productivity, but because they are internally incoherent, and this may be manifested in frequent conflicts faced by office holders. Chris Provis studied and taught philosophy, then worked for some years in industrial relations and now is Associate Professor in the School of Management at the University of South Australia, and Deputy Director of the Ethics Centre of South Australia. He has published articles in journals including Business Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Business Ethics, and Business Ethics: A European Review. His book Ethics and Organisational Politics was published by Edward Elgar in 2004.     

矩阵型组织结构的冲突问题

矩阵型组织结构在现代企业中广泛应用．存在于矩阵型组织结构中的冲突问题不容忽视。介绍了矩阵型组织结构的基础理论,并对矩阵型组织结构中的冲突问题进行了本质分析,给出了解决冲突问题的几种办法。     

Conflicts of Interest in Financial Intermediation

The last years have seen a surge of scandals in financial intermediation. This article argues that the agency structure inherent to most forms of financial intermediation gives rise to conflicts of interest. Though this does not excuse scandalous behavior it points out market imperfections. There are four types of conflicts of interest: personal-individual, personal-organizational, impersonal-individual, and finally, impersonal-organizational conflicts. Analyzing recent scandals we find that all four types of conflicts of interest prevail in financial intermediation.     

Computer-Assisted Negotiations of Water Resources Conflicts

This paper describes the algorithms within and results obtained using an interactive computer program developed to assist those involved in negotiating agreements among parties having conflicting objectives. This Interactive Computer-Assisted Negotiation Support system (ICANS) can be used during the negotiation process by opposing parties or by a professional mediator. On the basis of information provided to the program, in confidence, by each party, it can help all parties identify feasible alternatives, if any exist, that should be preferred to each party's proposal. If such alternatives do not exist, the program can help parties develop counter proposals. Through a series of iterations in which each party's input data, assumptions, and preferences may change, ICANS can aid each party in their search for a mutually acceptable and preferred agreement. This paper describes the algorithms used for analyzing preferences and for generating alternative feasible agreements. Also presented a re the results of some limited experiments involving water resource system development and use conflicts that illustrate the potential of programs such as ICANS.     

Managing Co-occurring Conflicts in Teams

This study extends prior research on conflict in teams by showing that a team’s chances of appropriately managing one type of conflict depends on what other types of conflicts are co-occurring. We interviewed 44 managers from different industries who had recently participated in a negotiating team, asking about within-team conflicts and how those conflicts were managed. The data showed that task conflict increased the likelihood that teams managed co-occurring procedural conflicts appropriately, but that procedural conflicts decreased the likelihood that teams managed co-occurring task conflicts appropriately. These results explain why some teams fail to realize the theorized benefits of task conflict and why procedural conflict does not always have a deleterious impact on team performance: The co-occurrence of these different types of conflict can alter what strategy a team uses to manage conflicts.     

不可忽视的采掘业社区冲突

过去十年里,全球矿产和能源价格居高不下,采掘业规模持续扩大,这在深刻改变国际环境、社区和经济形势的同时,也不断引发新的社会冲突.借助较为深入的访谈和真实案例分析,我们的研究显示,大多数采掘企业目前并没有识别、认知和全面总结社区冲突的成本.与开采设备故障、合同或法律纠纷、环境或安全状况恶化一样,企业-社区冲突完全可能产生同等广泛的负面影响.尽管如此,冲突管控并没有被给予同样的重视或资源投入.     

Effects of interest rate swaps

In this paper we examine the effect of interest rate swaps on the firm, and identify characteristics of firms that use interest rate swaps, reporting findings consistent with interest rate swaps being used as a risk-reducing instrument. Relative to nonswappers, firms using swaps are more likely to experience decreased cash flow variance in the five-year period subsequent to swap initiation. In addition, firms that engage in swaps are found to be larger and more highly levered than a control sample of nonswappers. Dividing our sample based upon type of swap, we find different characteristics explain different types of swap. In particular we find evidence consistent with swaps from variable to fixed interest rates being engaged in for risk reduction, i.e., hedging purposes.     

中美贸易摩擦产生的深层原因

从世界范围看,贸易摩擦在两国贸易发展过程中属于正常现象。中美由于在社会制度、价值观念、经济发展水平等诸多方面存在差异,双方又互为重要的贸易伙伴,因此,在贸易迅速增长的过程中,两国围绕一些重大问题发生争议和摩擦在所难免。从地缘政治和地缘经济的角度看,中美之间没有根本的利害冲突,双方的共同利益大于分歧。本文从影响中美贸易关系的经济因素和非经济因素两方面进行分析,探讨双边贸易摩擦和纠纷产生的深层次原因。     

沟通与人际冲突

人际冲突是人类社会普遍存在的现象 ,几乎存在于人与人之间的所有关系之中 ,其最重要的起因是沟通不足或沟通不当。为了阐明沟通与人际冲突关系 ,必须从人际冲突的原因、沟通障碍及人际冲突管理中的沟通策略三方面进行详细的分析与介绍。     

转基因农产品国际贸易争端问题研究综述

基于自己的生物技术研究、应用水平、农业发展程度和在国际贸易体系中的地位及作用,世界各国对转基因农产品的研究、应用、生产和贸易采取了不同的立场和政策,造成国际贸易秩序的失控与混乱。在这样的背景下,如何厘清国际贸易现状,辨识贸易争端的根源,寻找解决问题的对策,对促进国际贸易可持续发展具有重要的现实意义。     

战略决策中人与人造成的信息冲突问题研究

决策主体的思维贯穿战略决策的过程。由于主体之间的素质和价值观的差异导致战略决策过程中的信息冲突 ,决策者与执行者、执行者之间矛盾导致了信息的冲突。这类冲突影响着决策实施计划的完成 ,是决策系统要解决的矛盾。     

The interest group theory of financial development in China: Openness and the role of interest groups

The interest group theory of financial development predicts that the incumbents' opposition to financial development will be weaker when an economy is open to both trade and capital flows. Based on regressions of financial development on trade and financial openness, existing studies only provide indirect tests of the hypothesis and deliver mixed findings. This paper proposes models for direct tests of interest group theory for China. Using Chinese cross-province data, we define and measure interest groups based on the close tie between state-owned enterprises and local government in China. The empirical results show that the opposition from interest groups to financial development cannot be weakened in provinces with high trade or financial openness alone. However, the opposition is indeed weakened in provinces with high levels of both trade and financial openness. These results provide robust support for interest group theory in accounting for cross-province differences and time-series variation in financial development in China.     

Due Resolution of Conflicts between Design and Other Rights

This article will be presenting some thoughts on the issue of design right conflict on the basis of the practical design patent invalidation examination in line with the general principles of the Patent Law.     

Due Resolution of Conflicts between Design and Other Rights

This article will be presenting some thoughts on the issue of design right conflict on the basis of the practical design patent invalidation examination in line with the general principles of the Patent Law.……