Evaluative differences for production and marketing subunits: Australian managers' perceptions

In this article the relevance of a set of 42 field-based measures of subunit performance is rated by 155 production managers and 134 marketing managers. The results suggest that customer satisfaction is an important criterion of production subunit effectiveness as well as of marketing subunit effectiveness. The sense in which we think of marketing subunits buffering production subunits in organizations is questioned.The authors are from Department of Management, San Diego State University and, School of Economic and Financial studies, Macquarie University respectively. They are grateful to John Brown, Bob Hinings and John Waterhouse for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.     

Personal value systems of Japanese trainees and managers in a changing competitive system

A study of personal values held by Japanese and foreign students, trainees and managers showed recent Japanese trainees slightly more conservative than their 1979 cohorts. Foreign students and foreign managers held more pro-American work values than either Japanese managers or trainees. Finally, for the Japanese respondents, there was some evidence of specific shifts away from the Japanese employment system in the areas of thenenko compensation and promotion systems in their organisations.Roy J. Adams is a Professor of Industrial Relations in McMaster University; Richard B. Peterson is a Professor of Management and Organization in the University of Washington; Hermann F. Schwind is an Associate Professor in St. Mary's University.     

Swedish managers' perceptions of Singaporean work-related values

The purpose of this paper is to identify some of the fundamental work-related cultural values of middle managers of Chinese ethnic origin employed in Swedish companies in Singapore, and to draw comparisons with the perceptions of those values among the Swedish top managers. Using the same set of questionnaire items for both sets of respondents, the Swedish managers were asked to respond as they imagine their Chinese subordinates would do, as a projective technique. The main finding of this study is the considerable amount of misjudgment on the part of Swedish top managers in assessing work-related values of the Singaporean middle managers.Dr. Jan Selmer is Associate Professor of Business Administration at the Företagsekonomiska Institutionen, University of Stockholm, Sweden. He is a Board Director of the Center for Pacific Asia Studies, University of Stockholm. Presently Dr Selmer is a Visiting Senior Teaching Fellow at the School of Management, National University of Singapore.Acknowledgement is given to the Swedish Embassy in Singapore for help and support. The participation of the management of the Swedish companies included in the study (Appendix) is deeply appreciated.     

Singapore-based subsidiaries of US multinationals and singaporean firms: A comparative management study

The objective of this exploratory study is to compare and contrast various aspects of US management with Singapore management. One hundred and four top managers, 99 middle managers and 780 operating employees from 20 manufacturing companies participated in the survey. The chief executive of each company was contacted by mail before the survey was begun.Hypotheses concerning the management philosophies, management practices and management effectiveness were tested for differences between US subsidiaries and Singaporean firms.The results of the research indicate significant statistical differences for the two groups of companies with respect to the management variables. Explanations regarding these differences are presented.A paper comprising a substantial portion of this article was presented by the author at the43rd National Academy of Management Conference held in Dallas, Texas between August 14 and 17, 1983.The author is grateful to Dr Bruce W. Stening, of the Department of Management at the University of Western Australia for his perceptive guidance during the study. The author is with the Department of Management, University of Western Australia.     

Effort rewarding incentive mechanisms for public enterprise managers

Management incentive schemes leading to welfare optimal pricing and efficient production of public enterprises have so far been mainly concerned with the information advantages that public enterprise managers hold over their supervising government or central planning agency. Managers under these schemes are induced to improve their firm's performance in adjustment processes which in the limit lead to optimal firm decisions. Such managers are supposed to be income maximizers disregarding any personal effort which could influence their performance and utility. In this paper I show that two incentive schemes recently proposed by Tam (1981) and Finsinger and Vogelsang (1982) can also help to induce managers to provide an optimal level of effort. Here effort is assumed to reduce managers' utility and the firm's costs. The result depends crucially on myopic managerial utility maximization. Once managers maximize the discounted value of future utility levels they will deviate from the optimal behavior. Under Tam's scheme, this can hold independent of the optimal effort level. Under the Finsinger-Vogelsang performance index managers will always show suboptimal effort levels in a steady state equilibrium, because the index only rewards welfare improvements.Effort, however, has to be rewarded even with no improvement in behavior. An improved performance index, which provides cumulative rewards is shown to be strategy proof and lead to a welfare optimum. This reward structure basically treats managers as if they were private entrepreneurs. It looks extremely generous in that it gives managers the fruits of all costs reductions due to increases in effort. Suggestions are made to mitigate this income distributional impact.     

The effects of management policy on the performance of Islamic banks

This study examines the effects of management controlled variables on the performance of Islamic banks. Management controlled variables are related to assets, liabilities and expenses management. This study indicates that three major investment activities are revenue generating activities for Islamic banks, whereas savings and investment deposits are costs to the banks. As expected, total expenses are positively correlated with profitability.The author is Associate Professor of Banking and Finance at the School of Management, The Northern University of Malaysia, Malaysia. He wishes to thank an anonymous referee for providing helpful comments and suggestions.     

The protection of interests: Organizational change in the Australian services canteens organization

Outlined in this paper is a series of events pertaining to changes to the Australian Services Canteens Organization (ASCO). The behaviors of the officers of the armed forces and of the rank and file, who were employed at ASCO, in reaction to these changes are the central focus. These two groups are contrasted in the actions they followed to protect their interests in the light of anticipated change. The theoretical analysis explores the values, interests, issue clarity, legitimate action and power of the groups.Professor Graham K. Kenny is with the Department of Management, San Diego State University. Professor Phillip Morgan is with the School of Marketing, New South Wales Institute of Technology and Professor Bob Hinings is with the Department of Organizational Analysis, University of Alberta.     

Alienation of marketing executives

Marketing executives form a distinct group for a study of alienation from the marketing system because of their conflicting roles. They are consumers of goods and services from the system. They contribute to its design and functioning. Based on a sample of 128 marketing executives in Singapore, this study found a strong relationship between alienation from the marketing system and approval of greater government intervention in it. It was also found that alienated executives felt that ethical standards of marketing had declined.Subhash C. Mehta is a Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India. Currently, he is a visiting Senior Teaching Fellow at the School of Management, National University of Singapore. Kau Ah Keng is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Management. National University of Singapore.     

Learning experiences and managerial role performance: Perceptions of New Zealand managers and their subordinates

The present study was based upon Luthans' (1988) model of effective management, which has implications for managerial training and development, but has not been examined cross-nationally. A sample of New Zealand managers was surveyed to explore job-related and off-the-job experiences which they perceived to have affected their skills development. In addition, questionnaires were distributed to subordinates of these managers to assess their perceptions of managerial performance levels. Managers attributed most of their development to on-the-job experiences, which were often haphazard and unplanned, with formal education and training accounting for considerably less skills acquisition. Few links were found, however, between learning experiences and perceptions of managerial performance. Implications of the findings for managerial development and the design of constructive learning environments within organisations are discussed.The authors are from the University of Waikato, New Zealand and the Copenhagen School of Economics and Social Science, Denmark, respectively. Financial assistance for this project from the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand is gratefully acknowledged. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the International Personnel and Human Resources Management Conference, Hong Kong, 1989. The authors wish to thank Paul Taylor and Elizabeth Brady for their helpful comments. Correspondence should be addressed to Michael P O'Driscoll, Department of Psychology, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.     

Participative management and its varying relevance in Hong Hong and Singapore

First, the process whereby developing countries become developed is discussed in terms of complexity, neutrality in social relations, and the achievement ethic. An examination of managerial attitudes in eight South-East Asian countries is followed by the results of a comparative study of manufacturing industry in Hong Kong and Singapore. It was concluded that in Singapore participation leads to higher productivity (r_s 0.71, p<0.05) but only because the context is mainly foreign. This relationship was not found in Hong Kong probably because Hong Kong enterprises remain non-bureaucratic, i.e. non-western. A more participative style of management requires radical changes in non-managers' expectations of their employers, as well as a significant increase in the extent to which superiors trust their subordinates. The evidence suggests that Asian managers (except those in Japan and, possibly, Singapore) favour an autocractic approach.Dr. S.G. Redding is Professor of Management Studies and Head of Department at the University of Hong Kong. Dr. S. Richardson formerly Head, Production & Industrial Engineering Department, Hong Kong Polytechnic is now in the School of Management, National University of Singapore.     

Uniform accounting system for state-owned enterprises: The case of Taiwan

This article describes the uniform accounting system adopted by government enterprises in Taiwan. Several key elements of the system including the uniform chart of accounts, uniform accounting procedures, and external financial reports are discussed. Some unique accounting practices and special accounts used in the system are also described. The system is compared with the French and Norwegian uniform accounting systems. Similarities and differences among these systems are highlighted. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Taiwanese accounting system.The authors are respectively Associate Professor of Accounting at the University of Calgary and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Industrial Management, National Taiwan Institute of Technology. They are grateful to Professors Herbert L. Jensen and Haim Falk for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.     

Change and continuity in Japanese corporate governance

Previous studies on Japanese corporate governance were largely based on the agency theory framework, and can be seen as attempts to understand the unique monitoring mechanisms in the Japanese context. This paper briefly reviews prior research and then discusses the recent changes in the environment that have been affecting Japanese corporate governance. Our central argument is that there is both change and continuity in Japanese Corporate Governance. We also present emerging research from an institutional theory perspective. In this line of research, corporate governance is treated as part of a nation’s institutional framework and hence, researchers need to understand unique institutional arrangements that affect corporate governance practices and their change or continuity.

National and corporate culture differences in international strategic alliances: Perceptions of Chinese partners

We consider the effect of national culture and corporate culture differences on the management of international strategic alliances (ISAs). Findings are based on the perceptions of a relatively large sample of Chinese partner firms in ISAs with foreign partners. We find that differences in national culture and corporate culture have contributed to a similar extent to differing views on ISA management. However, findings indicate that differences in national culture and corporate culture have a differential impact on aspects of ISA management. Perception of national culture and corporate culture differences and the contribution of those differences to differing views on the management of ISAs are greater in relatively younger ISAs compared with older ISAs. Managers in equity-based ISAs report fewer problems with culture related impediments to managing ISAs than managers in non-equity-based ISAs.

The effect of political events on Japanese foreign direct investments

This article presents the findings of an investigation of the impact of conflictive and cooperative political events in 62 host countries on Japanese foreign direct investments during the period 1965 to 1980. In addition, the study provides evidence of the relative importance of economic conditions and intergovernmental relationships as determinants of foreign direct investments by Japanese firms. It is argued that in analyzing the effect of political events on foreign direct investments, one must not only take into account the conflictive political conditions within the host countries, but also cooperative political developments and changes in intergovernmental relationships. The findings of this study are compared with the results of investigating the impact of political events on foreign direct investments by United States and German multinational firms. Similarities and differences are highlighted as well as their probable causes. As such, this study makes a contribution to the conceptualization of political risk in an international business context.Dr. Hans Schollhammer is Associate Professor and Chairman of the International Management Program, Graduate School of Management, UCLA; Dr. Douglas Nigh is Assistant Professor of International Business, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania. The authors acknowledge with gratitude the financial support provided by the United States-Japan Friendship Commission for this research project.     

THE INTERACTIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL AND COMPETITIVE INFLUENCES ON STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE

Despite much debate in the strategy literatures, there is little consensus as to whether organizational capabilities or market competition are more important in shaping firms’ actions and performance. We suspect that simply comparing firm-level and industry-level influences will continue to prove fruitless for two reasons. In the first place, both organization and competition are clearly important in shaping strategy and performance. In the second place, we suspect that the inconclusive nature of much of the existing research reflects the fact that organizational capabilities, competition, strategy, and performance are fundamentally endogenous. That is, reciprocal interactions at multiple levels of analysis between the environment and the firm shape business strategy and performance, while interactions between strategy and performance, in turn, shape both organizational capabilities and competitive environments. This special issue of the Strategic Management Journal includes papers that focus attention on several dimensions of these interactions. A common theme emerges from the work concerning the sequential nature of the interrelationships. The papers suggest that firms develop organizational capabilities as they act in competitive, institutional, and cognitive environments, where capabilities arise both by design and as the unexpected by-products of firm actions. The capabilities, managers’ understanding of the capabilities, and the historical context that surrounds them then condition firms’ reactions to changes in their environment. The reactions and firm performance in turn affect the structure of the industry, and all these changes generate new information which in turn creates new learning opportunities. Thus, the papers view strategy and performance as an ongoing sequence of capabilities-conditioned adaptations by firms which in turn become exogenous events in the environments of the managers of other firms. For strategy researchers, the important question is not that of which disciplinary perspective or mode of explanation is a more appropriate one, but rather that of the conditions under which a given mode of explanation is most appropriate. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring New Product Development Project Review Practices*

Most organizations use new product development (NPD) processes that consist of activities and review points. Activities basically solve problems and gather and produce information about the viability of successfully completing the project. Interspersed between the development activities are review points where project information is reviewed and a decision is made to either go on to the next stage of the process, stop it prior to completion, or hold it until more information is gathered and a better decision can be made. The review points are for controlling risk, prioritizing projects, and allocating resources, and the review team typically is cross‐disciplinary, comprising senior managers from marketing, finance, research and development (R&D), or manufacturing. Over the past four decades, research has greatly advanced knowledge with respect to NPD activities; however, much less is known about review practices. For this reason, the present paper reports findings of a study on NPD project review practices from 425 Product Development & Management Association (PDMA) members. The focus is on three decision points in the NPD process common across organizations (i.e., initial screen, prior to development and testing, and prior to commercialization). In this paper, the number of (1) review points used, (2) review criteria, (3) decision makers on review committees and the proficiency with which various evaluation criteria are used are compared across incremental and radical projects and across functional areas (i.e., marketing, technical, financial). Furthermore, the associations between these NPD review practices and new product performance are examined. Selected results show that more review points are used for radical NPD projects than incremental ones, and this is related to a relatively lower rate of survival for radical projects. The findings also show that the number of criteria used to evaluate NPD projects increases as NPD projects progress and that the number of review team members grows over the stages, too. Surprisingly, the results reveal that more criteria are used to evaluate incremental NPD projects than radical ones. As expected, managers appear to more proficiently use evaluation criteria when making project continuation/termination decisions for incremental projects; they use these criteria less proficiently during the development of radical projects, precisely when proficiency is most critical. At each review point, technical criteria were found to be the most frequently used type for incremental projects, and financial criteria were the most commonly used type for radical ones. Importantly, only review proficiency is significantly associated with performance; the number of review points, review team size, and number of review criteria are not associated with new product performance. Furthermore, only the coefficient for proficiently using marketing criteria was significantly related to new product program performance; the proficiency of using financial and technical information has no association with performance. Finally, across the three focal review points of the NPD process in this study, only the coefficient for proficiency at the first review point, (i.e., the initial screen) is significantly greater than zero. The results are discussed with respect to research and managerial practice, and future research directions are offered.     

The power of marketing within the firm: Its contribution to business performance and the effect of power asymmetry

While marketing continues to gain prominence as an orientation within the firm, concerns remain about the contributions of the marketing subunit. Given the current limited and conflicting evidence on the issue, this study responds to calls for research on the link between a powerful marketing subunit and business performance. The study draws on the critical contingencies perspective on power, which was specifically developed to study power distribution among organizational subunits. The key objectives of the study are (1) to determine whether a powerful marketing department is beneficial to business performance, (2) to reconcile conflicting evidence pertaining to the marketing function's contribution to performance beyond that of a market orientation, and (3) to investigate the effect on business performance of power asymmetry between marketing and other functions. Employing data from senior managers in medium and large manufacturing firms, the study shows that a powerful marketing function is associated with improved business performance above and beyond the contribution of a market orientation. Power asymmetry between marketing and finance/accounting and between marketing and production has a negative effect on business performance while a power asymmetry between marketing and R&D shows a positive effect on business performance. Finally, a differentiation strategy attenuates the negative performance outcomes of power asymmetry between marketing and production.     

A study of the diffusion of management concepts and techniques amongst R & D managers

The management of R & D has been the focus of a great deal of research and writing during the past decade. It is, however, by no means certain that these have produced a significant effect amongst R & D decision makers. This paper describes a study of the extent to which R & D managers are aware of management concepts and techniques. The subjects were 57 senior R & D managers from British and Continental organizations who attended courses at the Management Centre, University of Bradford in 1974/5. The study was conducted by means of a questionnaire and a 100 question forced choice Quiz. The paper suggests that knowledge of modern management thinking has, to date, made only a limited penetration into R&D.     

Japanese joint ventures with western multinationals: Synthesising the economic and cultural explanations of failure

Many research studies have been done to explain the reasons for the tensions and failures observed in joint ventures between Japanese and Western multinational enterprises. These studies have identified, with various degrees of sophistication, the existence of cultural differences as a primary determinant of failure. Alternative explanations focus upon a transaction cost approach, emphasising opportunism and the danger of cheating in such strategic alliances. This paper synthesises the literature through the development of a new conceptual framework. This framework, which distinguishes between economic and cultural reasons for failure, provides a new lens to view the literature. It is demonstrated that the simple view of cultural incompatibility needs to be replaced by an awareness of the combined impact of cultural and economic forces on the viability of joint ventures between Japanese and Western firms.Lee T. Brown is a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Management at the University of Toronto. Alan M. Rugman is Royal Bank Visiting Professor at the University of Alberta and Professor of International Business at the University of Toronto. Alain Verbeke is Assistant Professor of International Business at the University of Toronto. Helpful comments have been received from Nancy Adler, Mark Casson, Martin Evans, Tom Roehl, Mark Warner and Ken Watson.     

The impacts of performance relative to analyst forecasts and analyst coverage on firm R&D intensity

Taking an agency theory perspective of managers as risk averse and self‐interest seeking and focusing on externally generated analyst forecasts as the performance target, we propose that managers tend to cut R&D expenses when they are under pressure to meet analyst forecasts, especially when they face an increase in employment risk after missing the forecasts. We further argue that analyst coverage can serve as an external monitoring mechanism to help contain this agency problem. We test these arguments with data from a sample of U.S. manufacturing firms during the period of 1979 to 2005. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.