Management Ethics and Corporate Policy: A Cross-cultural Comparison

This paper reports the results of a cross-cultural empirical study that investigated differences in the clarity of corporate attitudes towards ethical 'grey areas' and their influences on managers' ethical decision making. The study encompassed managers in France, Germany, Britain, Spain and the USA working in over 200 companies operating in these countries. Comparisons are made at both individual manager level and at corporate level. At the former level significant differences are found among nationalities of managers themselves. For the latter, differences are found among companies according to the nationality of their home country rather than the host country. Despite identifying national differences in areas of gift giving and receiving, loyalty to company, loyalty to one's group, and reporting others' violations of corporate policy, the study presents evidence that clarity of corporate policy has little influence on managers' reported ethical decision making. The perceived behaviour of managers' colleagues is far more important in predicting attitudes towards decision making of managers across the nationalities surveyed. This has implications for the efficacy of the growing popularity of corporate codes across Europe. Companies should place more emphasis on intervening in peer dynamics rather than trying to legislate for managers' ethical conduct.     

Young African Americans: a new generation of giving behaviour

It has been suggested that younger generations of African Americans may be the group whose giving behaviour has altered most in recent times. Primary research to establish whether this is indeed the case was conducted through focus groups to identify deviation from the extant research on giving motivations. The ages of the participants were 26–32. The theoretical foundation for this research was drawn from historical literature on African American philanthropy, relevant models of giving behaviours and contemporary research in the field. The research concludes that the notion of uplifting one's race remains a powerful motive for giving. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications     

Non-existence of equilibrium in Vickrey, second-price, and English auctions

A simple example shows that equilibria can fail to exist in second price (Vickrey) and English auctions when there are both common and private components to bidders’ valuations and private information is held on both dimensions. The example shows that equilibrium only exists in the extremes of pure private and pure common values, and that existence in standard models is not robust to a slight perturbation.     

Who Loses HOPE? Attrition from Georgia's College Scholarship Program

Georgia's lottery-funded HOPE Scholarship program provides free tuition to in-state students who can maintain a B average at state universities. However, roughly half of HOPE Scholars lose their support after their freshman year. This study employs student-level administrative data to identify the observed characteristics that systematically relate to scholarship attrition. Conditional on measures of student ability, there are not statistically significant differences between white, black, and Hispanic students. However, there are dramatic differences across academic disciplines. Students majoring in science, engineering, and computing are 21 to 51 percent more likely to lose their HOPE Scholarships than students in other disciplines.     

Are auction revenues affected by rising art buyers’ premia? The case of early American art

The steady rise in the premiums charged to art buyers at auction (above hammer price) has been underway since 1992. This article, using a stable and bounded sample of repeat purchase of American works created before 1950, reveals that this tact has reduced hammer prices for that art. However, renewed and hyper-competitive efforts to bring more and higher quality art to market by the two main houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, have resulted in general profitability. Nevertheless, we calculate that a rise in buyers’ premia at Sotheby’s, a publically traded company, has reduced revenues and profits below their potential in the absence of such increases.     

Outdoor recreation participation and views on resource development and preservation

Abstract

Views on the preservation of resources versus their development for recreation are compared among participants in three types of outdoor recreation: “appreciative”; activities (cross‐country skiing, hiking, and canoeing); “consumptive”; activities (fishing and hunting); and “mechanized”; activities (motorboating, snowmo‐biling, and trail biking). The results from a 1984 questionnaire survey conducted in Edmonton and Calgary, Canada, indicate a stronger preservationist orientation among participants in appreciative activities, whereas (with the exception of hunters) participants in consumptive and mechanized activities hold stronger pro‐development views. These differences cannot be attributed to simultaneous variations in socioeco‐nomic characteristics or environmental attitudes among the recreational groups. The findings suggest that differences in outdoor recreational activity preferences represent an important source of variation in views about appropriate levels of preservation versus development of Alberta's natural and wildernesss resources.     

Private Equity in the U.S.: Building a New Future

Despite the recent downturn, private equity firms still have an important role to play in the global economy. At the same time, many PE firms may need to rethink their strategies. Practices that have been worked in the past may not produce acceptable returns in a future, particularly given the current constraints on financing and leverage. One source of PE's comparative advantage, as demonstrated during the recent crisis, has been the ability of the best and most experienced firms to reorganize their portfolio companies when they get into financial trouble. But in addition to their financial management skills, specialized operating expertise has become more critical to success, and those PE firms that have not acquired it are especially likely to find that past success in raising capital is no guarantee of success in the future. The authors begin by providing a brief overview of the past three decades of global private equity to identify how the market arrived at its current position. Using the findings of academic research together with case studies and interviews with PE practitioners in the U.K., the authors suggest a number of building blocks for the future that reflect the considerable success of the most reputable and experienced PE firms in increasing the value of their portfolio companies.     

Police authorities in England and Wales: board composition and corporate governance

This article examines the corporate governance arrangements of police authorities in England and Wales. It provides empirical evidence from interviews with police authority members. Given the fundamental responsibility of police authorities for ensuring efficient and effective policing in their areas, their governance is of considerable interest and importance. The authors conclude that the main challenge for police authorities is enhancing cohesion.