Is Strategic Human Resource Management Socially Responsible? The Case of Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.

In 2005, Wegmans Food Markets Inc., the family-owned supermarket chain, was awarded the number one spot on the Fortune “100 Best Companies To Work For.” Wegmans’ recognition illustrates an exemplary case of strategic human resource management embedded in an overall culture of social responsibility, amidst a highly competitive and low margin industry. We detail Wegmans’ human resource practices and its overall stakeholder orientation, arguing that the treatment of employees as strategic assets constitutes an effective approach to social responsibility. In other words, strategic human resource management can help organizations reconcile the often cited conflict between profits and principles. We therefore begin with an overview of the contemporary supermarket industry, provide a brief history of Wegmans, and showcase the supermarket chain’s human resource practices. In closing, we discuss Wegmans’ stakeholder orientation and comment on the divide between strategic human resource management and social responsibility research.     

The Dortmund Case — On the Enactment of an Urban Economic Imaginary

Launched in the year 2000, the so‐called Dortmund Project was a 10‐year local development initiative aimed at creating 70,000 new jobs and redeveloping the old industrial sites in Dortmund, a city in the Ruhr area of Germany. The project's proclaimed vision of a ‘new Dortmund’ is seen as a part of a new imaginary. This article uses a praxeological perspective to work out the enactment practices in this imaginary, viewing them as various nexuses of doings and sayings. In doing so, it stresses the relevance of the production and influence of different reports in this process and seeks to offer an insight into the complexity of the setting in which this imaginary was enacted.     

Performance comparisons in fundraising – the case of fundratios

Fundraisers need to be able to compare results if they are to judge the success of their different programmes and schemes. But any such comparisons are fraught with difficulties. This paper reviews the experience of what is almost certainly the longest running scheme for comparing fundraising performance anywhere in the world. It describes the way it has developed, the challenges it has faced and the ways in which its figures are used, drawing on the views of a wide range of participants. It concludes by highlighting the prospects and possibilities now open to the scheme, and its longer-term significance for nonprofit managers. Copyright © 1999 Henry Stewart Publications     

Were the Hartz Reforms Responsible for the Improved Performance of the German Labour Market?

From 2005 to 2011 employment rose and unemployment rates declined considerably in Germany. This favourable development followed the labour market reforms initiated in 2003, and there has been a tendency to attribute the improved labour market performance to those reforms. Causal micro‐evaluations of the various measures, however, show hardly any effects on variables that can be related to employment. Rather, it seems that employment increased in response to a process of wage moderation that had already begun in the 1990s. It is possible that this moderation was itself partially a product of the reforms, but this needs further investigation.     

Mandated Recognition of Employee Stock Option Expense – The Case of Canada

On December 18, 2003 the Accounting Standards Board of Canada announced that all firms registered in Canada would be required to expense stock options‐based compensation effective January 1, 2004. While a few firms had voluntarily opted to expense stock options prior to this date, the vast majority of firms had not. This study investigates the market reaction to this announcement by listed firms in the Toronto Stock Exchange that continued to disclose option expense rather than report it in the financial statement. We find no average market reaction by our sample firms affected by this mandate around the announcement date, but a significantly negative market reaction during the 5‐day window around the issuance date of the exposure draft. However, in cross‐sectional tests around the mandated expense announcement date, we find a significant negative relationship between the cumulative abnormal returns and the Black–Scholes value (and number) of options outstanding and of options granted the previous year. These results suggest that the magnitude of the market reaction to the mandated expense announcement is related to the firm's usage of options. Our results provide further evidence that stock prices may not fully impound information disclosed in footnotes.     

熊市下我国开放式证券投资基金业绩特点研究

采用平均收益率、詹森指数和Fama-French三因素詹森指数对我国开放式证券投资基金在熊市下的业绩特点进行了实证研究。研究结果表明:大多数基金业绩基本上与市场指数持平;基金从总体上看偏好于对大公司及成长型公司的投资。     

Understanding the Change–Cynicism Cycle: The Role of HR

Employee change cynicism is an unintended consequence of organizational change, which can undermine the effectiveness of change initiatives. Based on social information processing theory, we examine the impact of two human resource roles (administrative expert and strategic change agent) on the relationship between the quantity of organizational change and employee change cynicism. Using multilevel data from 1,831 employees in 70 organizations, we find employees who are exposed to more organizational change report higher levels of change cynicism. However, the strength of the organizational change–cynicism relationship is affected by the role of HR in the employees’ organizations. When HR undertakes an administrative expert role, change is more likely to generate change cynicism. When HR undertakes a strategic change agent role, change is less likely to generate change cynicism. Our results suggest that organizations need to think carefully about the role of HR during organizational change and encourage HR to adopt a strategic change agent role. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Effect of ‘Simplicity’ on the Strategy–Performance Relationship: A Note*

abstract The concept of ‘simplicity’ ( Miller, 1993 ) in strategy making suggests a preoccupation with a single goal, strategic activity, or function. Prior research indicates that simplicity may, under certain conditions, benefit firm performance, but it may also limit an organization's perspective and blind it to the breadth and variety it needs to sustain its success. This field study investigates the role of simplicity as a moderator of strategy–performance relationships. Using moderated hierarchical regression analysis, simplicity was found to enhance performance among firms using cost leadership and focus strategies among a sample of 32 firms. The findings suggest that the strategy making styles and practices of strategic managers influence the character of the whole organization and often have an important impact on organizational outcomes.     

熊市下我国开放式证券投资基金业绩持续性研究

采用基于回归分析的多期基金业绩持续性评价模型,对56只中国的各类开放式证券投资基金在熊市下的业绩持续性进行了实证研究。结果表明:在短期内,各类基金的业绩不存在持续性,基金业绩往往具有反转性。不同的基金超额业绩的计算方法有时会对评价结果影响很大。     

基于EVA的医药企业绩效评价——以千金药业为例

近年来受医改推进、老龄化水平加重以及居民收入增加等因素影响,我国医药企业总体发展良好,但医药企业使用的绩效评价方法不能反映真实的企业价值。因此本文以千金药业为例,结合医药行业特点计算其近三年EVA指标并与传统指标进行分析对比,结果发现EVA方法更好能反映企业的真实状况。最后对医药行业提了几点建议。     

Market orientation – a case study of three UK opera companies

This paper is based on a recent marketing study conducted as part of an MBA programme. It considers the applicability of marketing orientation in a nonprofit context and takes the case of three opera companies in order to investigate and explore the potential benefits and issues associated with attempting to achieve a market orientation in this environment. A key issue identified is the tension apparent between the need to remain financially stable and the artistic desire to preserve the operatic heritage by performing less popular works. A model is also introduced to explore these two dimensions in more detail. Copyright © 2000 Henry Stewart Publications.