Designing and supporting transnational teams: The human resource agenda

As the challenges of managing across borders become increasingly complex, companies are exploring innovative ways to organize and manage people. Many are turning to the use of transnational teams composed of individuals from multiple nationalities working on tasks that span multiple countries. This article reports the findings from a study of human resource practices used in 34 transnational teams from 23 multinational firms. The article provides specific examples of how staffing, training, and rewards systems are adapted to support the strategic orientations of these teams.¹ © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

MANAGEMENT BY PANACEA: ACCOUNTING FOR TRANSIENCE

The cyclical nature of much consultant-led activity designed to improve managerial effectiveness is explored through three consultant-driven approaches to organizational improvement - management by objectives, organization development and total quality management. Such packaged programmes seem to proceed through phases of high enthusiasm and much activity followed by a period of disillusionment, to be replaced by the next stage panacea. an attempt is made to offer some explanation of the transitory nature of much managerial activity which is believed to lie fundamentally in cultural and psychodynamic phenomena. Such an analysis may provide some clues to the search for remedial steps which might be taken to find more enduring ways to bring about increased managerial effectiveness in organizations, although by the very nature of our diagnosis we remain pessimistic.     

Rethinking the Business School*

It is ironic that at a moment in history when the business school seems to be enjoying unparalleled success, the role of the business school is being increasingly questioned by some of its leading professors. We examine the debate about the business school and its evolution. While sympathetic to the criticisms levied against the business school we nevertheless suggest a positive future if the business school can build upon its potentially unique position as knowledge space.     

Framing consumer education conceptual innovations as consumer activism

This position paper developed the argument that creating innovative and forward‐thinking conceptual approaches to consumer education is a proactive process, the trademark of consumer activism. Assuming that (re)conceptualizing consumer education is a form of consumer activism, this article identified the conceptual contributions and intellectual innovations of 24 consumer education initiatives in North America (1962–2012). Using an historical analysis method, this study profiled consumer educators who tried to stay ahead of the curve by creating leading‐edge approaches to socializing people into their consumer role. In effect, they were expressing their personal and intellectual convictions about the potential and possibilities of consumer education as a means to promote change to protect and empower people in their consumer‐citizen role.     

Success in Place Branding: The Case of the Tourism Victoria Jigsaw Campaign

This article addresses issues of complexity in place branding by presenting a perspective of this concept from a theoretical as well as a practical perspective. The discussion addresses a gap in the literature in terms of studying long-term, successful place branding cases within a well-defined academic theoretical framework. The aim of this study is to develop the understanding of how a successful destination operates by applying S.K. Rainisto’s model as a framework from which to understand place branding through the use of an exemplary case study, namely the Tourism Victoria Jigsaw Campaign.     

Accountability and human rights: A tentative exploration and a commentary

There continues to be many attempts to articulate what is meant by Human Rights but Griseri and Sepella's (2010, p. 176) adaptation of Leighton et al. (2002) as “entitlements that one holds by virtue of being a human being” takes us to the heart of the matter. What is it to be human and what does humanity demand of us? But the notion is far from settled; it is far from uncontentious; despite its domination by lawyers it is far from simply legalistic; and the matter has only relatively recently been taken up as a matter of focus amongst business and management academics. Human rights have, as yet, almost no presence in accounting and finance. This short essay seeks to provide an introduction to the practitioner papers presented in this issue of CPA and in doing so to provide some context within which the papers might be better appreciated. As happens too often for comfort, practice (at least regulatory and NGO practice) is still leading research and theory in the field of Human Rights. Providing that context offers us the opportunity to speculate on how – notwithstanding the potentially seminal papers that also appear in this issue – we might see accounting academe recognising and responding more widely to Human Rights.     

Location,Location, Location: Film Corporations' Social Responsibilities

Many TV series are set and filmed in small rural communities that are often attempting to deal with issues of rural decline. Increasing tourism is an extremely attractive option for these communities. Entrepreneurial film‐tourism business activities such as guided tours, branded souvenirs, and guidebooks can also assist in arresting decline in these communities. However, such opportunities do not always eventuate, with the community left to deal with increased visitation and often a serious loss of privacy. Film companies have a vested interest in maintaining a positive relationship with the location communities, particularly if they wish to continue filming there. This paper argues that they need to consider their responsibilities to the communities in which they film, particularly in relation to the tourism legacy they leave behind.     

MARKET REACTIONS TO THE PASSAGE OF THE FINANCIAL HOLDING COMPANY ACT IN TAIWAN

Abstract. We examine how financial institutions react to various events surrounding the passage of Taiwan's Financial Holding Company Act in June 2001. Empirical results indicate that the financial system experiences significant abnormal returns along the legislative process. Smaller firms have significantly higher abnormal returns, thus lending no support for the hypothesis that larger firms benefit more from the Act. Further analysis shows that the significance of market value is replaced by a significant securities industry effect, thereby consistent with the observation that Taiwan's securities firms are generally smaller in market values and are potential target firms for financial holding companies.