Integrated data-driven analytics to identify instability signatures in nonstationary financial time series

With the objective of identifying instability signatures of the financial system, this article integrates two classes of data-driven techniques. The first class of techniques is utilized to investigate macroeconomic behaviour by aggregating an ensemble of heterogeneous nonstationary time-series data and the second class of techniques examines the local dynamics of the microstructures in each time series. Moving window principal component analysis (PCA) and functional PCA (fPCA) are shown to extract collective signatures of the financial system for understanding macroeconomic behaviour, and the Synchrosqueezing and Markov switching techniques are used to study local dynamics within each individual time series. The integrated data analytics successfully identifies the diverse events from 1986 to 2012. All events, both major and minor, have been identified by fPCA. The major economic events, especially the 2008 Great Recession, along with several minor events, showed a strong leading indicator in the density index derived from Synchrosqueezing. The capability of this integrated analytics suite is demonstrated in this article, and it motivates further studies encompassing data sets from broader sectors. As a complement to existing model-driven approach, this would lead to achieving a robust and reliable method that can help in taking measures to avoid catastrophic collapse in the constantly evolving financial system.     

A note on mean testing for high dimensional multivariate data under non‐normality

A test statistic is considered for testing a hypothesis for the mean vector for multivariate data, when the dimension of the vector, p, may exceed the number of vectors, n, and the underlying distribution need not necessarily be normal. With n,p→∞, and under mild assumptions, but without assuming any relationship between n and p, the statistic is shown to asymptotically follow a chi‐square distribution. A by product of the paper is the approximate distribution of a quadratic form, based on the reformulation of the well‐known Box's approximation, under high‐dimensional set up. Using a classical limit theorem, the approximation is further extended to an asymptotic normal limit under the same high dimensional set up. The simulation results, generated under different parameter settings, are used to show the accuracy of the approximation for moderate n and large p.     

The performance effects of coaching: a multilevel analysis using hierarchical linear modeling

Drawing on the conceptual foundations of feedback and behavior modeling we investigate the effects of managers' coaching intensity on the performance of those they supervise, at multiple levels of an organizational hierarchy. Data from 328 sales associates reporting to 114 middle managers, and 93 middle managers reporting to 32 executive managers are used to test the research hypotheses. Using hierarchical linear modeling we find that managers' coaching intensity influences the performance of their subordinates after controlling for job satisfaction, and this effect weakens at greater hierarchical levels. Surprisingly, we do not observe any cross-level moderating effects of coaching intensity on the satisfaction–performance relationship. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research and practice.     

A Regional Model of Multifamily Housing Starts

This paper presents a regional time series model of multifamily housing activity. The theoretical model, based on a profit-maximizing builder or investor is used as a basis for estimating housing start and completion equations for each of the four Census regions and the U.S. as a whole. The empirical estimates show that new housing construction is highly responsive to profitability consideration, with the elasticity being between 5 and 14. The empirical estimates also demonstrate that there is substantial variance between regions in terms of parameter estimates.     

Culture and organizational control

The influence of socio-cultural processes on organizational control is explored. The concepts of external and internal control are developed and related to several key dimensions of socio-cultural analysis which vary cross-culturally. Ethnographic evidence is presented to illustrate these different relationships.     

Every employee an owner. Really

Surveys indicate that when new rules on expensing stock options take effect, many companies are likely to limit the number of employees who can receive equity compensation. But companies that reserve equity for executives are bound to suffer in the long run. Study after study proves that broad-based ownership, when done right, leads to higher productivity, lower workforce turnover, better recruits, and bigger profits. "Done right" is the key. Here are the four most important factors in implementing a broad-based employee equity plan: A significant portion of the workforce--generally, most of the full-time people--must hold equity; employees must think the amounts they hold can significantly improve their financial prospects; managerial practices and policies must reinforce the plan; and employees must feel a true sense of company ownership. Those factors add up to an ownership culture in which employees' interests are aligned with the company's. The result is a workforce that is loyal, cooperative, and willing to go above and beyond to make the organization successful. A wide variety of companies have recorded exceptional business performance with the help of employee-ownership programs supported by management policies. The authors examine two: Science Applications International, a research and development contractor, and Scot Forge, which shapes metal and other materials for industrial machinery. At both companies, every employee with a year or so of service holds equity, and employees who stay on can accumulate a comfortable nest egg. Management's sharing of financial information reinforces workers' sense of ownership. So does the expectation that employees will accept the responsibilities of ownership. Workers with an ownership stake internalize their responsibilities and feel they have an obligation not only to management but to one another.     

Breaking the Silence: Creating User-Friendly Sexual Harassment Policies

Numerous surveys suggest that while the number of women in the work force who have experienced sexual harassment is high, the number of those who are willing to actually report incidents of harassment is far lower. To better understand the consequences of sexual harassment to women and the legal implications to the corporation, we discuss briefly the psychophysiological consequences experienced by victims, followed by a review of sexual harassment law. Next we discuss the results of our survey based on a national sample of 1500 working women. Our study examines the reasons underlying women's reluctance to report sexual harassment and identifies policies and procedures to encourage the reporting of sexual harassment. Our findings are discussed in terms of the need for organizations to develop more user-friendly sexual harassment reporting procedures.     

Teaching ethics to marketing and logistics majors: A transformative learning experiment

Within the context of a transformative learning field experiment, the ethical ideologies of marketing majors, logistics majors, and nonbusiness majors were found to differ. Based on this finding, a field experiment was conducted to determine the effect (if any) that ethics instruction has on marketing and logistics majors versus nonbusiness majors. Students' knowledge of basic ethical principles and their ability to assess the application of these principles to ethical dilemmas were tested with a new assessment instrument. The major findings suggest (a) transformative learning ethic exercises have pedagogical potential and (b) dissimilar ethical predispositions between marketing and logistics majors versus nonbusiness majors confirms the need for customizing ethics pedagogy by college major.