The infant formula debate

Two articles on ‘The baby milk controversy’, published in the August 1980 issue of Food Policy, were received with great interest and have generated a large response. In those articles, John Sparks put the case for the infant formula manufacturers and Andy Chetley replied. We now present the comments of a Third World scientist in response to those articles, a report from Andy Chetley on the international marketing code for breast-milk substitutes, and an appeal by Jennifer Halpern for increased cooperation between the multinationals and INFACT and its supporters.     

'Good and Bad'

If it's not good for something, then it's good for nothing. The Director of the Centre for Business and Professional Ethics at the University of Leeds continues her examination of basic terms frequently used in business ethics.     

The Effects of Norms on Investor Reactions to Derivative Use

Prior research indicates that a firm's use of derivatives to manage business risks is viewed favorably by investors. However, these studies do not consider a potentially key factor in this setting—namely, the typical behavior (or norms) regarding derivatives by other firms in the industry or the firm itself. In this paper, we report the results of multiple experiments that test whether norms are influential in affecting investors’ evaluations of firms’ derivatives choices. Our results show that the generally favorable reactions to derivative use actually reverse and become unfavorable when firms’ derivative decisions are inconsistent with industry or firm norms. Somewhat surprisingly, though, we find that industry and firm norms are not viewed similarly by investors. These results expand our understanding of how investors respond to firm's derivative use decisions and demonstrate the role of norms as factors that influence investors’ judgments in financial reporting settings. Our results have implications for firm managers making decisions about derivative use.     

Feminization and professionalization: A review of an emerging literature on the development of accounting in the United Kingdom

This paper analyses the feminization and professionalization experience of accounting in the United Kingdom. Accountancy is involved in an on-going struggle to consolidate its privileged position in society. It is, therefore, particularly sensitive to any process which may threaten this position. Since the position of women in society is a subordinate one, the increasing feminization of accounting may adversely affect this struggle. As a result, complex patriarchal structures evolve to reduce the threat to professionalization that feminization may pose, and also to reduce the contradictions between women's subordinate role in society, and their relatively privileged role in professionally aspiring occupations.     

How global is the Global Compact?

Launched by the United Nations in 2000, the Global Compact (GC) promotes private sector compliance with 10 basic principles covering human rights, labour standards, the environment, and anti-corruption. Its sponsors aim to establish a global corporate social responsibility (CSR) network based on a pledge to observe the 10 principles adopted by companies across the range of company size and regional origin, backed by a modest reporting system and collaborative programmes. The author analyzes the GC's progress toward building a global network from its launch through 2006 and finds that, while the GC's nominal membership base of nearly 3000 companies makes it the largest system among collective action institutions (CAIs) for corporate responsibility, the GC has not reached 'critical mass'. Deficiencies in its nascent global network include limited market penetration among the largest corporations, a membership heavily weighted toward Western European companies, and major weaknesses in compliance with its reporting system. The author concludes that the GC must improve both penetration and compliance if it is to succeed in building a global standard for CSR.