四步减少供应商风险

那些依靠供应商提供商品或服务的公司总是面临着由此而带来的财务风险.在经济环境艰难的时候,总有一些供应商要走向破产,在他们无力偿还债务的同时,金融机构又拒绝为他们提供每日运营所需的短期贷款.当企业走到快要山穷水尽的时候,他们会被迫不惜以降低产品质量和延长交付时间为代价来削减成本,而当企业这样做的时候,破产也就离他们不远了...     

Are the Japanese Selfish,Altruistic or Dynastic?

I analyse a variety of evidence for Japan and, where available, for the United States on bequest practices, the importance and nature of bequest motives, bequest division, the willingness of individuals to help others, etc., in order to shed light on which model of household behaviour applies in the two countries. My results suggest that the selfish lifecycle model is the dominant model of household behaviour in both countries but that it is far more applicable in Japan; that the dynasty model is also more applicable in Japan but is not of dominant importance even there; and, conversely, that the altruism model is far more applicable in the USA. JEL Classification Numbers: D12, D64, D91, E21.     

From original equipment manufacturing to branding: entrepreneurship,strategic leadership,and Taiwan’s firm transformation

This paper investigates firm transformation from original equipment manufacturing (OEM) to original brand manufacturing (OBM) based on variant experiences of Taiwan’s top global brands. Taking the competitive advantage of practicing OEM for multinational corporations (MNCs), latecomer firms can generate capital and accumulate capabilities by engaging with the global production network. Rarely does every firm transform into a global enterprise. We propose that only entrepreneurs with strategic leadership competence, which serves to manage a delicate balance between stability and change in a firm, are capable to facilitate firm transformation from OEM to a global enterprise practicing OBM. We provide an analytical framework that combines the research fields of entrepreneurship, strategic management, and leadership to analyze firm growth and firm transformation of Taiwanese firms. In light of possible branding dilemma when straddling dual-track businesses, successful transforming firms can alleviate this problem either by separating their OBM units from their OEM units or by creating a symbiotic relationship with their MNC customers. How Taiwanese firms first took advantage of initiating OEM to create capital and capabilities and later transformed into OBM provide useful experiences for other latecomer firms.     

ECONOMIC SANCTIONS REVISITED: ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS INTO WHY THEY FAIL

Economic sanctions have a poor track record in achieving their objectives. In most cases, they are ineffective in bringing about policy change, cause increased suffering in the sanctioned country and reduce opportunities for business. This paper provides additional insights into why sanctions fail by examining two overlooked factors: power–dependency theory and pressure for political stability.     

Estimating Market Power in the South African Banking Sector

Indicators of market power can be ambiguous because cost economies associated with scale and not market imperfections may influence results. This article illustrates that without direct measures of concentration, estimates of costs, scale economies and profitability can be used to identify market power in banking. Secondly, via this method, econometric estimates provide meaningful evidence of market power in the South African banking sector over the study sample period (1979–1998). A reasonable conclusion is that while industrial structure is important, careful consideration needs to be given to cost economies and profitability when assessing market power. In addition, there is a need to consider appropriate policy to reduce market power in banking in South Africa.     

Union recognition in Britain's offshore oil and gas industry: implications of the Employment Relations Act 1999

The Employment Relations Act 1999 (ERA) has provided trade unions in the UK with new opportunities for achieving recognition. After a long history of anti‐unionism in the offshore oil and gas industry, employers have voluntarily ceded recognition to Trades Union Congress (TUC)‐affiliated trade unions. The legitimacy of this recognition process has been contested by the non‐TUC Offshore Industry Liaison Committee (OILC), an offshore workers’ union, seeking to act as a recognised bargaining agent. The ERA may be promoting ‘business friendly’ agreements at the expense of claims to recognition of other bargaining agents and of democratic employee choice.     

A Model of Competing Jurisdictions with Locally Polluting Environments and Mobile Populations

In this model we consider a federation consisting oftwo geographically separated Regional states withlocal taxing authority. The residents of thefederation are identical in preferences and haveexplicit tolerance to pollution. Pollution is local innature and is a by-product of production implying amore highly populated region would generate morepollution. Local authorities in the regions can andwill (in the interest of local residents) engage ingame theoretical taxation strategies. The model isused to illustrate that Nash Equilibrium can resultwherein the two regions have different levels ofenvironmental quality. The resulting Nash conditionsimply for instance that residents of the ``cleanregion' will subsidize those in the other region tostay in the more polluted environment (in order foreach to accomplish their preferred consumption andenvironmental quality pair).     

Resourceful Sensemaking in an Administrative Group

ABSTRACT In this study, we present the concept of resourceful sensemaking as an extension of Weick's sensemaking theory. Resourceful sensemaking extends Weick's theory by carefully examining the influence of the lifeworld on organizational sensemaking practices. Lifeworld factors that affect organizational sensemaking are brought out in a dialectical method wherein a working definition of the resourceful sensemaking concept is compared with the sensemaking practices of an administrative group. We then show how this dialectical method can help develop a more robust formulation of the resourceful sensemaking concept. The paper ends by discussing the strengths and shortcomings of the concept and suggesting directions for future organizational sensemaking research.     

Strategic Preemption in a Common Property Resource: A Continuous Time Approach

The threat of future entry affects the exploitation of common property resources in important ways. An incumbent has a strategic incentive to manipulate the resource stock to deter entry or to harvest more stock prior to entry rather than share the resource with the entrant. It is possible that the threat of potential entry can lead to the extinction of the resource even though actual competition would result in a steady state with a positive stock level.