Developing countries and the future of the automobile industry

This paper reassesses the controversial view which has assumed that, at some point in the future, the global automobile industry, having reached maturity, would naturally migrate to the leading developing countries where the markets are growing more rapidly and wages are substantially lower. The authors argue that the threshold facing a developing country seeking to establish a domestic automobile industry has risen because of two recent developments: the rise of Japan as a major automobile producer; and a new wave of technological and organizational innovation. This involves use of state-of-the-art microelectronics and flexible manufacturing system, as well as complete restructing of component supply resulting in considerable unit cost and lead-time advantages.The authors look at what these trends mean for both the OECD and the developing countries. They outline the conventional view in more detail and then present an alternative analysis of the evolution of the industry. New policy options for the developing countries are spotlighted.     

Accounting Revolution at Oxford in 1882. The Case of a Governmental ‘Deus ex Machina’

In 1882 new statutes were prepared for the University and colleges of Oxford. This paper looks at the legislative developments leading up to these changes, and by examining the case of Magdalen College shows how these external pressures led to the replacement of charge and discharge accounting by double entry bookkeeping and the appointment of external auditors.     

Technology Management in a Mature Firm: Structuration Theory and the Innovation Process

Most innovation studies focus on the activities or characteristics of individuals (agency) or on organizational attributes such as size and formalization (structure). In attempting to reconcile this agency-structure dichotomy we draw on structuration theory to examine the innovation process in detail. Structural properties (signification, domination and legitimation) are constantly reproduced from social interaction (communication, power and sanctions) by means of the modalities (interpretative schemes, facilities and norms) drawn on by knowledgeable, reflexive actors. This framework is utilized to examine the case of a mature manufacturing company in which managers and engineers were attempting to access new technologies. The data were acquired by means of a 6-year, on-going study which began in 1992 and which we suggest is essential for a thorough understanding of the innovation process.     

From promise to performance

Book reviewed in this article:
Bauman, Robert P., Jackson, Peter and Lawrence, Joanne T. From Promise to Performance: A Journey of Transformation at SmithKline Beecham     

The Economic Puzzle of Oskar Schindler:

ABSTRACT The popular film Schindler's List is a cinematic portrayal of Oskar Schindler , the German industrialist who rescued more than a thousand of his Jewish workers during the Holocaust . While the film has generated much debate over the character's motivations, the historical Oskar Schindler can be viewed as an economic actor who made several choices. Examined together, these various choices make an excellent case for amenity potential , a concept from the work of Harold Demsetz which explains how one's control over a firm's resources gives one opportunities to use those resources for whatever purposes one sees fit, subject to legal and market constraints . Applying amenity potential to the economic puzzle of Schindler's choices reveals how and why he was able to make various choices which followed the letter of the law in Nazi Society, while violating its spirit.     

倘若……？压力测试运用不同方案测定的国家金融体系面临冲击时的脆弱性

20世纪90年代的金融危机强调了对金融部门脆弱性的详细了解的重要性。作为一种反应，IMF和国际社会一道开始开发新工具来更好地评估金融体系的稳定性。这些工具之一，压力测试，强调了一个国家的金融体系如何预见一系列的冲击的。     

Responsibility and moral reasoning: A study in Business Ethics

This essay was written for the 1984 General Motors Intercollegiate Business Understanding Program. It consists of three sections, each responding to a separate issue posed by General Motors. The opinions expressed are not those of the General Motors management.The first section attempts to document, through the use of Harvard Business Review articles, a shift in the notion of managerial responsibility from a narrowly focused role responsibility to a more widely focused moral responsibility.The second section explicates the different conceptions of Justice behind the United States and West German economic systems. It gives examples of the consequences of the different conceptions both in methods of policy formation and results.The third section deals with business ethics in international contexts. It argues that law is by itself inadequate in the regulation of business activity and must be supplemented by public discussion, which employs the traditional methods of moral reasoning.John Davis Feldmann, John Kelsay, and Hugh E. Brown III are or have been graduate students in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. Their essay, written under the direction of James F. Childress, Edwin B. Kyle Professor of Christian Ethics, won first prize in the 1984 General Motors Intercollegiate Business Understanding Program.John D. Feldmann, currently writing a dissertation on justice and tax reform, holds a law degree from the University of Virginia. He has practiced business law, served as a Vice-President of a banking corporation, and worked for the Center for Applied Ethics at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.John Kelsay, an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., holds a Ph.D. in Religious Ethics from the University of Virginia and has been serving as an Instructor there. His dissertation dealt with ethics and society in Islam.Hugh E. Brown III, now preparing for the Episcopal ministry at Virginia Theological Seminary, holds an M.A. in Religious Ethics from the University of Virginia. Prior to entering graduate school, he had experience in business as a supervisor for an AT&T affiliate.