Formal versus informal knowledge networks in R&D: a case study using social network analysis

The existence of informal social networks within organizations has long been recognized as important and the unique working relationships among scientific and technical personnel have been well documented by both academics and practitioners. The growing interest in knowledge management practices has led to increased attention being paid to social network analysis as a tool for mapping the nature and membership of informal networks. However, despite the knowledge-intensive nature of research and development (R&D) activities, social network analyses of the R&D function remain relatively rare. This paper discusses the role of informal networks in the development, exchange and dissemination of knowledge within the R&D function. A case study using social network analysis is used to compare and contrast formal and informal knowledge networks within ICI. Marked differences between the informal organization and ICI's formal structures for knowledge exchange are revealed and a series of insights into the working habits of technical staff are presented. The implications for managers are clear: through a better understanding of the informal organization of R&D staff, they can more successfully capture and exploit new ideas; more efficiently disseminate information throughout the function; and more effectively understand the working habits and activities of employees.     

Avoid the four perils of CRM

Customer relationship management is one of the hottest management tools today. But more than half of all CRM initiatives fail to produce the anticipated results. Why? And what can companies do to reverse that negative trend? The authors--three senior Bain consultants--have spent the past ten years analyzing customer-loyalty initiatives, both successful and unsuccessful, at more than 200 companies in a wide range of industries. They've found that CRM backfires in part because executives don't understand what they are implementing, let alone how much it will cost or how long it will take. The authors' research unveiled four common pitfalls that managers stumble into when trying to implement CRM. Each pitfall is a consequence of a single flawed assumption--that CRM is software that will automatically manage customer relationships. It isn't. Rather, CRM is the creation of customer strategies and processes to build customer loyalty, which are then supported by the technology. This article looks at best practices in CRM at several companies, including the New York Times Company, Square D, GE Capital, Grand Expeditions, and BMC Software. It provides an intellectual framework for any company that wants to start a CRM program or turn around a failing one.     

Towards an Epistemology for Radical Accounting: Beyond Objectivism and Relativism

This paper reviews some of the ontological and epistemological issues confronting writers who are currently pursuing a "radical" critique of "mainstream" accounting thought. This burgeoning heterodoxy has a common point of departure, that mainstream accounting relies upon the received wisdom that the veracity of competing theories may be adjudicated through criteria that appeal to the accuracy of their correspondence with the facts of a cognitively accessible external reality. This dualism between subject and object is both implicitly and explicitly challenged by the radical as they draw attention to, in a variety of ways, the projective role of the epistemic subject. But the maintenance of such a critique requires further epistemological self-reflection if incoherence and relativism are to be avoided. To contribute to the development of this heterodoxy, realism is explored as an epistemological haven from which this critique may be pursued and three key implications are explored through reference to the work of radical accountants.     

The Pensions Green Paper: A Generational Accounting Perspective

In this note we show how the policy proposals contained in the government's Green Paper on pensions (DSS, 1998) affect the long term sustainability of the UK's public finances and redistribution between current and future generations. Using the methodology of generational accounting we show that the proposals in the Green Paper will marginally increase the tax rise needed to ensure intertemporal solvency, and slightly worsen generational imbalances. The effect of implied changes in National Insurance Contributions, and the fiscal and generational implications of fully funding the proposed State Second Pension, are also discussed.     

FUTURES MARKET EFFICIENCY,THE UNBIASEDNESS HYPOTHESIS AND VARIANCE-BOUNDS TESTS: THE CASE OF THE FTSE-100 FUTURES CONTRACT*

The efficiency of futures markets is critical to their price discovery role. This paper investigates the joint hypothesis of market efficiency and unbiasedness of futures prices for the FTSE-100 stock index futures contract. Unlike previous studies, it tests for both long-run and short-run efficiency using cointegration and error correction models. Variance-bounds tests are developed and utilized for examining the question of efficiency. Results show that the market is efficient and provides an unbiased estimate of future spot prices for one and two months away from expiration. However, for three and more months away from expiration this is not the case, which has implications for the users of this market.     

国有企业董事提名最佳范例

国有企业在加拿大经济中扮演着重要角色,但国企公司治理缺失却是不容忽视的问题。治理的核心是董事会建设。而是否具有能力非凡的董事,能否选举出合适的董事会主席,是制约国有企业董事会效率的两大因素。     

Using contingent valuation to elicit public preferences for water fluoridation

The methods and results of a contingent valuation survey to elicit public preferences for water fluoridation are reported. The study demonstrates that not only is it important to acknowledge that there will be losers from the introduction of such a programme but that losers must be allowed to express a value for the magnitude of their perceived loss. Two methods of valuing this loss are explored. Conventional willingness to accept compensation questions are compared with questions in which losers are asked to state their willingness to pay to prevent their water being fluoridated. The results provide tentative support for asking willingness to pay to prevent questions instead of willingness to accept questions when evaluating certain types of public good. The issue of protest responses in contingent valuation surveys is also highlighted and discussed.