The relationship of strategic planning to financial performance

The relationship between financial performance and characteristics of corporate planning systems was investigated/Planning systems that combined an external focus with a long-term perspective were found to be associated with superior 10-year total return to stockholders. A lagged relationship between such systems and 4-year average annual returns to investors also was identified.     

Vested Interests Oppose Consumers

Earlier attempts to overhaul the funding of education foundered in the face opposition from vested interests. Lawrence Norcross, Headmaster of Highbury Grove School in North London, warns that the educators will themselves require education if change is to be effective.     

THE APPLICATION OF ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE TO INTER-FIRM COMPARISON RATIOS

There is a lack of consensus about the utility and validity of information provided through firms participating in an Interfirm Comparison (IFC). The disagreement is a result of different notions about the purpose served by IFC schemes. The unresolved question is how to use the same information for two purposes - the appraisal of operating efficiency and the guidance of longer-term planning decisions. The application of analysis of variance to the results of an IFC helps to clarify the nature, and improve the utility, of the comparative data by identifying factors accounting for variation in performance among firms grouped by multiple characteristics.     

On the choice of immediate monetary targets

This paper studies the control problem of a stochastic monetary system. The Central Bank has the choice of two targets: the size of its portfolio of assets or the level of interest rate on that class of assets. If its objective is to minimize the variance of a monetary aggregate or of private sector interest rate, the conditions under which one or the other of the targets should be used are analyzed. However, if the ultimate objective is a minimum variance in a desired GNP level the effect of the immediate target is the same whether the central bank employs a money stock or a private interest rate target.     

Initial Steps in High-Frequency Modeling of China

This paper presents the first step in building a forecasting model of Chinas GDP. Being constrained by a statistical history that effectively begins in 1993, it uses high frequency data and principal components analysis to construct a single-equation model that generates elasticities and is applied to two-quarter-ahead forecasts. Initial results suggest a gradual deceleration of growth, consistent with Chinese government policy.A version of this paper was presented as part of Lawrence R. Kleins Adam Smith Award Address at the NABE Annual Meeting, October 4, 2004. The Adam Smith Award Address was sponsored by Global Insight.JEL Classification C5,O53     

A contingency framework for the design of accounting information systems

Most of the research to date concerning the design of an accounting information system has taken a rather narrow and inflexible view of accounting information. The primary intent of this paper is to provide a broader and more adaptive framework for designing such systems. A contigency approach, which takes into account the environment, organizational attributes, and managerial decision making styles, is advocated. In this context, several hypotheses are offered concerning the requisites of an accounting information system.