The ‘Myth’ of Human Resource Management in Chinese Enterprises

This study examines changing labour-management practices in China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in comparison with those in joint ventures (JVs). Based on a sample of 62 firms in seven Chinese major cities, it explores the degree to which HRM practices are a ‘myth’. The researchers carried out semi-structured interviews with managers and other employees at all levels. The role of trade unions and workers' congresses are also examined. The results show that the ownership type, size of the firm, and its location are important factors affecting the extent to which these enterprises have adapted to market-orientated HRM practices. The study concludes that most firms have not fully made this adaptation, and that even where it has been taken up, it has in many cases only been done so partially due to organizational inertia, amongst other factors.     

Marketing in five “simple” questions!

Peters (1987) describes how after some of his seminars he is asked “But what do I DO?”. This question is also often directed at people who have been introducing marketing ideas to businessmen—particularly businessmen whose work does not bring them into contact with customers. This article explains how anybody can start to think in marketing terms by asking five simple questions about the organisation they work for. “Simple” to ask, but requiring disciplined thought if answers are to be found which lead to appropriate managerial actions. “Difficult” to answer not least because the answers to each question affect the answers given to the others. In doing so it also introduces a number of basic but important marketing concepts.     

The Relevance of the Fishbein Model to Insurance Buying

Consumer decision making is a much-researched area. This cannot be said of the more specific area of the insurance purchaser. This study explores the validity to insurance of Fishbein's ‘Theory of Reasoned Action’ model and examines the responses obtained in the elicitation stage, the first stage in the model's two-stage process. The authors consider some of the implications arising from the salient and normative beliefs extracted.     

Labour Turnover in Hotels - Revisited

Five years have now elapsed since the author last conducted an empirical investigation into the prevailing rates of labour turnover in a small sample of hotels (Johnson 1980). One conclusion of this survey was that excessive labour turnover could only be resolved by action at unit level. The object of the study outlined in this article was to re-examine the turnover process at this level and to analyse any changes or developments that had taken place in the intervening years. This was to be achieved by repeating the earlier investigations and comparing the findings with those of the original. Unfortunately it proved impossible to use all the original hotels and consequently a similar, rather than identical, sample of units had to be used. In reconstructing the sample, attention was focused on large units. This was because the original work had shown that even relatively low levels of turnover in large hotels lead to considerable economic loss. The results of this latest survey highlight some important changes that have taken place in the last five years and illustrate a new type of turnover. More specifically, several factors are identified which are of value to those unit managers interested in predicting and thereby exercising greater control over their labour turnover.     

The pre-acquisition evaluation of target firms and cross border acquisition performance

The paper investigates the impact of the pre-acquisition evaluation of target firms on the performance of cross border acquisitions using data from a sample of acquisitions made by UK firms. The findings provide reasonable support for organizational learning theory, suggesting that the more the acquiring firm learns about the target firm then the better will be the acquisition performance. Specifically, we find support for the hypothesis that thorough evaluation of the strategic and cultural fit positively influences cross border acquisition success. Further, the analysis reveals that detailed evaluation of the target firm's employee and business capability improves acquisition performance. The managerial implications of the findings and directions for future research are also discussed.     

Coalition Analysis in Group Decision Support

GMCR II, a decision support system based on the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution, now contains an algorithm for Coalition Analysis to alert users that certain decision-makers would find it both feasible and beneficial to co-ordinate their actions. The theory and implementation of Coalition Analysis in GMCR II are discussed and illustrated.     

Harvest contract price volatility for cotton

Changes in agricultural and international trade policy have increased attention to issues of price volatility and risk management. Previous work in the area of price volatility has typically focused on grains, with little work dealing with cotton. The objective of this analysis was to examine the determinants of price volatility for cotton, focusing on the growing season volatility of the harvest contract. Different econometric techniques, including ARCH/GARCH, were employed to estimate the effects of a set of variables on price volatility. The potential for a nonlinear relationship between price and volatility was examined. Findings suggest a significant seasonal pattern to volatility as well as a nonlinear relationship between price and volatility. The results also suggest that cotton price volatility has not significantly changed with respect to changes in agricultural policy. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 19: 717–733, 1999     

It's Not All Relative: The Effects of Mental and Physical Positioning of Comparative Prices on Absolute versus Relative Discount Assessment

In the context of three experiments, the authors examine the manner in which consumers compare a sale price to an explicit reference value. They find that a comparison of sale price to regular price may be more likely to involve an absolute (dollar amount) assessment, whereas a comparison of sale price to a competitor's price may be more likely to involve a relative (percent) assessment. The authors also find that vertical (i.e., columnar) placement of prices may result in a greater tendency to estimate discounts in relative terms. Conversely, horizontal (i.e., side-by-side) placement may result in a greater tendency to compute absolute numerical difference. The results provide important implications for retail managers in terms of framing and communicating price discounts.