Fair Value and Risk Profile for Presale Contracts of Condominiums

Developers usually presell new condominiums, requiring purchasers to make down payments on a contract that allows them to purchase, at a fixed price, the finished condominiums on a later date. This presale contract is akin to a financial call option sold by the builder to the purchaser of the condo. In this paper, we value the presale contract from both the purchaser’s and the developer’s points of view. We examine the influence of various opt-out clauses, different interest rates and other factors on the value of presale contracts. We discuss the extent of risk sharing between the purchasers and the developers according to varying levels of down payments. We conclude that developers enjoy a reduction in risk without a corresponding reduction in expected profits by holding a presale.     

Mapping your innovation strategy

In the complex sport of American football, teams rely on playbooks as thick as the Manhattan phone directory. But when it comes to creating innovative growth businesses-which is at least as complicated as professional football--most companies have not developed detailed game plans. Indeed, many managers have concluded that a fog enshrouds the world of innovation, obscuring high-potential opportunities. The authors believe that companies can penetrate that fog by developing growth strategies based on disruptive innovations, as defined by Clayton Christensen. Such innovations conform to a pattern: They offer an entirely new solution; they perform adequately along traditional dimensions and much better along other dimensions that matter more to target customers; and they are not initially appealing to powerful incumbents. Companies can develop customized checklists, or playbooks, by combining this basic pattern with analysis of major innovations in their markets. The key early on is to focus not on detailed financial estimates--which will always guide companies toward the markets most hostile to disruptive innovations--but on how well the innovation fits the pattern of success. It's also crucial to encourage flexibility: Companies must be willing to kill projects that are going nowhere, exempt innovations from standard development processes, and avoid burdening project teams with extra financing, which can keep them heading in the wrong direction. Companies can create competitive advantage by becoming champions at defining the pattern of successful innovations and executing against it. But as that pattern becomes obvious--and others emerge-building a sustainable advantage on innovation competencies will again prove elusive.     

Is the grass on the other side greener? Testing the cross-border effect for U.S. acquirers

Why do U.S. acquirers fare worse when acquiring targets in foreign countries than when acquiring domestic targets? This paper investigates reasons for the so called “cross-border effect” by examining the influence of target public status and competitiveness of the takeover market in the target country. Our findings show that the listing status of the target drives the cross-border effect in two opposite directions: acquirers of private targets fare worse in cross-border takeovers, while acquirers of public targets experience significantly higher gains in acquisitions of foreign targets. The positive cross-border benefit for acquirers of public targets is more pronounced if the target is from a country with a less competitive takeover market.     

On the Persistence of Labour Market Insecurity and Slow Growth in the US: Reckoning with the Waltonist Growth Regime

In this article I systematically incorporate empirical work on rising income inequality and wage stagnation into a regulation theoretic framework for analysing macroeconomic growth. The rise of job polarisation and income inequality coincides with a long period of macroeconomic stagnation, both continuing through to the present (with the exception of a brief period of strong growth and declining inequality in the second half of the 1990s). The corporate scramble to restore profit rates after the crisis of Fordism has transformed the institutional configuration of the political economy. In particular, institutions supporting upward mobility and middle-class incomes in the economy have been eroded by the twin forces of internationalisation (leading to the re-emergence of wage-based competition) and employment externalisation (outsourcing, downsizing, antiunionism, etc). The current growth regime, which may be characterised as Waltonist, based on the Wal-Mart model of buyer-driven global supply chains focused on cutthroat wage-based competition and deunionisation, is not transitional but rather embedded in apparently long-term institutional settlements that amount to a dysfunctional regime.     

On the determinants of UK unemployment and the Great Recession: analysing the gross flows data

This article provides a detailed analysis of the gross worker flows data in the United Kingdom between 1997 and 2010, with particular emphasis on the 2008/2009 recession and its aftermath. Utilizing flows data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the dominant macroeconomic factors driving unemployment in the United Kingdom before, during and after the recessionary period are identified. Amongst the salient findings of this article is a striking decline in job-to-job movements throughout and beyond the recent recession. This discovery adds a new dimension to the existing literature in this field.     

New development: Reintroducing the zone of indifference: disengaging the cogs of public service performance and citizen satisfaction

This article presents an overview of the legal issues pertaining to the possible secession of Scotland from the United Kingdom. International law and existing norms are few and far between. However, many issues, such as the right to secession, settlement of debt and membership of international organizations are relatively well established. The likely conclusions are that Scotland would have to apply for membership of international organizations. However, it is far from certain that Scotland would have to pay its share of the UK's national debt.     

Understanding the Behavioral Intention to Report Unethical Information Technology Practices: The Role of Machiavellianism, Gender, and Computer Expertise

Although organizations can derive competitive advantage from developing and implementing information systems, they are confronted with a rising number of unethical information practices. Because end-users and computer experts are the conduit to an ethical organizational environment, their intention to report unethical IT-related practices plays a critical role in protecting intellectual property and privacy rights. Using the survey methodology, this article investigates the relationship between willingness to report intellectual property and privacy violations and Machiavellianism, gender and computer literacy in the form of programming experience. We found that gender and computer expertise interact with Machiavellianism to influence individuals’ intention of reporting unethical IT practices. This study helps us to improve our understanding of the emergent ethical issues existing in the IT-enabled decision environment.     

Game over? Assessing the impact of the emergence of a profitable wagering strategy in major league baseball wagering markets

Testing the impact of profitable investment strategies is often hampered by the practical difficulties of determining who knew what, and when. This study examines the impact of the publication of a profitable wagering strategy on the Major League Baseball wagering market. While standard measures of market efficiency characterized the Major League Baseball win–loss moneyline market to be efficient, previous works shows that wagering on underdogs early in the season can generate persistent profits. Though the overall efficiency of the baseball wagering market remained after publication, these profitable opportunities dissipated. Bettor behaviour is found to play varying roles across different wagering strategies; up to half of the drop in returns can be attributed to wagering market participant behaviour.     

Some people aspects of knowledge engineering

if an Expert System is to work effectively it must be fitted to its users' needs and preferences, not to its creators' convenience.
The elegance of the programming language or the brilliance of the logical mechanisms will be wasted if the system is difficult to use or irrelevant in action.
The capture of the knowledge when setting up an Expert System, and the use of a working system are both areas which involve Man/Machine interaction. This paper will draw attention to developments in the modelling of Human Learning Styles and Problem Solving Processes which could contribute to Knowledge Engineering methods.
Models drawn from such disciplines can help the designers of Expert Systems to take account of human requirements as well as technical and logical factors. In addition, methods exist whereby the specific needs and objectives of potential users can be incorporated at the design stage, rather than as a result of criticism of systems already provided.
Examples will be given of the contribution these methods are making to the progress of several Man/Machine Interface projects that the author is currently engaged upon.