Valuation and management of tropical forests

This paper develops a framework for the valuation and management of tropical forests that reflects their ecological and economic characteristics. The analysis demonstrates the importance of modeling the feasible use patterns and the information structure in tropical forest management decisions. The model predicts that cases exist where the foresighted management of forests leads to more preservation than the traditional expected value approach. An application in Thailand provides evidence that such cases occur in relevant ranges of benefit flows. The model focuses tropical forest management on assessments of sustainability and feasible sequences in light of uncertainty and information flows.     

Voluntary agreements in environmental protection: experiences in Germany and future perspectives

A trend towards ‘softer’ regulation, especially in the form of negotiated environmental agreements, is observable in national and international environmental policies. Such agreements are controversial, because there are fears that government will relinquish its responsibility for environmental protection. This paper analyses recent experiences with voluntary agreements in Germany. Proponents of voluntary agreements argue that they provide incentives to business for the development of efficient, innovative and environmentally‒friendly solutions. Analysing some topical Germany examples, we conclude that it is hard to detect solutions deserving such attributes. These agreements are unlikely to produce results that go beyond what industry would have done in any case and they avoid using economic incentives; they are unenforceable, with the negotiating process leading to a watering down of the environmental goals government had originally aimed at. The Federal Government of Germany's, current preference for negotiated solutions on principle seems to be ‘counterproductive’. Government needs to be ‘in control’ to leave its choice of policy instruments open and to be flexible. Finally, we derive some general conclusions concerning reasonable strategies and applications of voluntary agreements within the EU. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Generational Characteristics and Their Impact on Preference for Management Control Systems

Research indicates that different macro‐socialisation results in systematic differences in generational characteristics, which may in turn result in different generational workplace preferences for management control systems (MCS). An exploratory study was undertaken of three generations (Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y) and their MCS preferences in a large Australian professional services firm. The results found that each generation exhibited different characteristics and these differences are linked to specific generational MCS preferences for goal setting, performance evaluation, administrative controls and incentives. These findings have implications for MCS design that attracts, motivates and retains employees, improves organisational performance, and manages intergenerational conflict.     

一名前CFO的忠告

首先,先讲述一下我对于CFO所发挥角色的看法。就自身的经历而言,我发现CFO分为两类。一类属于会计专家,负责编制关键的财务资料。他们通常是公司管理层的成员。另一类则肩负广泛的业务战略发展职责。这就是我在花旗集团以及美一银行扮演的角色,也是摩根大通使用的模式。此类CFO在推动公司的业务战略实施方面发挥着领导作用。作为CEO的左膀右臂,     

Are tourism livelihoods sustainable? Tourism development and economic transformation on Komodo Island,Indonesia

Tourism development has often been regarded as an effective strategy for poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods. However, tourism often triggers transformations of traditional livelihoods and complete dependence on tourism-based income. Presenting the case of Komodo village on Komodo Island, Indonesia, this study provides an empirical evidence for such transformation. Based on qualitative methods, this article discusses the ways in which tourism development has led the local fishing community to give up their fishing to become fully dependent on selling souvenirs. Although currently, the souvenir business offers adequate return for local people, potential threats to this new livelihood, like a limited market, fierce competition, a short tourist season, and high dependence on cruise ship visits, are looming large. If tourism declines, local people will be left with no options to sustain their livelihood.     

Environmental impact assessment of urban land use transitions—A context-sensitive approach

Land consumption due to residential development, economic growth and transportation belongs to the most serious environmental pressures on landscapes worldwide, in particular in urbanised areas. Accordingly, the aim of containing the development of land is rated increasingly high on the agenda of environmental policy, at least in densely populated countries such as Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands or the UK. As a result, different strategies and instruments to prevent excessive land consumption are being discussed. However, many of these strategies and instruments adopt a rather general approach, while it seems more effective to define the particular areas where the goal of reducing land consumption is to be pursued. Such an approach must draw on information about how detrimental specific land use transitions are with regard to, for instance, the functionality of soils, water balance or habitat quality at specific locations. This paper introduces a conceptual framework for the impact assessment of land use transition in urban areas which highlights how such information can be acquired. This framework includes the differentiation of two levels of impact assessment: the level of the single land unit and the context level which takes into account regional and aggregated impacts of land use transition bound to the spatial context. The conceptual framework provides a basis to disaggregate (supra-)national policy targets regarding land use, to scale them down to the regional level, and thus to clarify the spatially explicit implications of land use policies.     

Management Control Systems in a Non-Enterprise Network: The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative

This article is based on the action research project of a multi-stakeholder collaboration formed to produce the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. This non-enterprise cross-sector collaboration had two sets of problems: the first being the ideological differences of the stakeholders, who had differing interests and agendas regarding the production of standards. The second set relates to the practical problems of enabling 300 people from different organisations and time zones, with different levels of resource access and no clear financial goal or endpoint, to work together. To overcome these issues three types of management control systems were developed: strong planning processes, administrative and governance structures, and socio-ideological controls. The result of the collaboration is a set of greenhouse gas accounting standards that have widespread acceptance internationally. This study contributes to both practice and research on management control systems (MCS) by outlining how alternative forms of MCS can be designed for non-enterprise cross-sector collaboration.     

Perceived correlates of illegal behavior in organizations

A survey was conducted of the perceived correlates of illegal abuses in the electronics industry. Human resource directors of thirty-one firms responded to a questionnaire which assessed their perceptions of the degree to which illegal behavior was caused by (1) deficiencies in the moral character of employees (2) the clarity of expectations and standards describing illegal behavior and (3) the presence of reinforcements and punishments contingent on these behaviors. All three variables were related to the frequency of abuses in three areas of organizational crime (e.g. administrative, labor, environment) and three areas of personal crime (theft, falsifying records kickbacks) as reported by the directors and/or indicated by archival records. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of how organizations may reduce illegal activity. Mitchell, Terence R., Edward E. Carlson Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Psychology, University of Washington. Professor Mitchell's interests are decision making, leadership, and social responsibility. He has recently published articles on these topics in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, The Academy of Management Review, The Journal of the Academy of Management, and the Journal of Applied Psychology. He is co-author (with J. Larson) of People in Organizations, and a joint author of Birnbaum, Scott and Mitchell, Organization Theory: A Structural and Behavioral Analysis. Mitchell is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Management. He is also a member of the Society for Organizational Behavior. Daniels, Denise is a graduate student in organizational behavior and human resources management. Denise's interests are motivation, self-efficacy, and groups. She has recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and has presented papers at the Academy of Management national meeting. Hopper, Heidi is a graduate student in organizational behavior and human resources management. Heidi's interests are accountability, attributions, and motivation. She has recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and has presented papers at the Academy of Management national meeting. Jane George-Falvy is a Ph.D. Candidate in Organizational Behavior. She received a B.A. degree in psychology. Her primary research interests include the areas of learning and motivation. She has recently co-authored articles which have appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings, and Group and Organization Management. Her dissertation explores the moderating effects of task complexity and learning stage on the relationship between participation in goal setting and task performance. Gerald R. Ferris is Professor of Labor and Industrial Relations, of Business Administration, and of Psychology, and Caterpillar Foundation University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also is the Director of the Center for Human Resource Management at the University of Illinois. He received a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and subsequently served on the Department of Management faculty at Texas A&M University. Ferris is the author of numerous articles published in such journals as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Personnel Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, and Academy of Management Review, and he serves as editor of the annual series, Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management.     

Strategic Ambiguity and Crisis Apologia: The Impact of Audiences' Interpretations of Mixed Messages

Based on the perspectives of strategic ambiguity and organizational reputation, the current study examines the effects of mixed crisis response strategies, which adopt seemingly contradictory messages (i.e., apology and denial), through experiments. Consistent with the scope of strategic communication research, this study incorporates theoretical aspects of distinct areas of organizational communication to examine audience response to strategic messages, and makes recommendations for organizational communication strategies during crisis situations. The findings demonstrate that, instead of taking messages straightforwardly, people interpret the same messages divergently in their own ways, and these interpretations accordingly affect their attitudes and behavioral intentions. Findings indicate participants choose a dominant interpretation when given mixed messages, and subsequent responses are based on the initial interpretation, such that evaluating a mixed message as an apology yielded more positive outcomes than those who interpreted the message in other ways. In addition to people’s diverse interpretations, organizations’ crisis communication strategies and the business type also significantly influenced the outcomes. The apology-interpreters showed more positive outcomes than those who were exposed only to apology for an automaker’s crisis. On the other hand, for a nonprofit organization’s crisis, those who were exposed to a simple denial message showed more positive outcomes than those who perceived the mixed message as a denial. Based on these findings, this study offers practical recommendations on when to use single messages versus mixed messages, along with the explanation of how these divergent strategies work.