The Only Solution to the Decline in Business Ethics: Ethical Managers

This paper defines business ethics as a seriesof behaviors that adhere to values held by theindividual manager, the manager's supervisorsand subordinates, general society and, mostimportantly, the manager's customers andclients. The concept of business ethics isexplored through several levels of businessorganizations and operating environments.The paper then examines recent evidence of thedecline in business ethics by noting a fewexamples involving Beech-Nut, Hertz, MichaelMilken, E.F. Hutton, Sears, Salomon Brothers,Dalkon Shield, Exxon Valdez, S&L scandal,brokerage analysts. Surveys are cited toindicate that the American public believes thatbusiness ethics are declining.To further analyze the topic, the authorreports on a series of structured interviewswith managers in a variety of organizations.Fourteen senior managers were interviewed: 4from large county government, 3 from stategovernment, 4 from large corporations, 3 fromsmall businesses. The managers were asked theiropinions concerning the decline of businessethics, and for their recommendations topossibly retard the decline. All managers saidthey believed that ethics are in decline andthat the public believes ethics are declining.The recommendations for retarding or reversingthe decline yielded several suggestions: teachethics in schools and business organizations,develop and enforce Codes of Ethical Conductwithin all organizations, establish bettermonitoring and reporting mechanisms, and hireethical managers.The paper builds on theinterview results by coupling the managers'remarks with admonitions from many authors:while teaching ethics and Codes of EthicalConduct are important, the most importantfactor is the ethical behavior of managers(leaders). Ethical leadership is fundamentalsince ethical behavior is an individual – not acorporate – matter. In practice, ethics is notsomething that a manager ``does'; it issomething that the manager ``is.'     

Risk and the miller equilibrium: Capital structure choice with risk-averse investors

Merton Miller's (1977) tax model of equilibrium capital structure choice results in capital structure irrelevance and the existence of tax clienteles, assuming the restrictive case of risk-neutrality. Relaxation of the assumption of risk-neutrality in Miller's tax framework, allowing utility-maximizing risk-averse investors, indicates that capital structure irrelevance continues to hold under reasonable assumptions about utility. Evaluation of resulting tax clienteles shows that marginal tax rates do not restrict investors from investing in equities but do affect the tax status of purchased bonds.     

FIRST-MOVER ADVANTAGE: THE OPPORTUNITY CURVE

A model depicting first-mover dynamics is proposed wherein certain types of strategic barriers activated by the first-mover strategy figure prominently in preserving benefits in the time dimension. Strategic barriers conferring singularity (i.e. one-time benefit) are considered to be the most effective preservers of first-mover advantage. the theoretical model is tested empirically in a study of six major industries. Benefits operationalized as industry share and profit share were found to decline consistently with industry age according to an exponential function designated the opportunity curve.     

政策要闻

~~政策要闻@刘红     

资产评估和审计业务能否公开招标

看了《中国财经报》2003年5月14日第五版的一篇报道:济南产权交易所接受山水集团的委托,对山水集团下属的济南新型建筑材料公司改革改制过程中的资产评估及审计业务进行公开招标。经过激烈竞争和评委的公正评判,新求是会计师事务所、舜天信诚会计师事务所和颐通地产评估公司三家中介机构中标,资产评估、审计和土地评估的中标价格分别为5800元、4000元和2000元,三项共计11800元,按中介机构行业收费标准应支付费用42000元计算,实际节约资金30200元,占应收费金额的71.9%,大大降低了企业改革的成本。我们认为,这个案例非常典型,它涉及到资产评估…     

仓库物资装卸最优性方案的选择

军队后方仓库是军用物资装备的储备基地，是军队物流系统的一个重要环节。如何利用现有条件，提高日常乃至战时仓库的收发、存储能力和工作效率，是提高军队后勤保障能力的一个重要课题。本文对仓库物资装卸中的几个主要技术经济指标进行探讨分析。     

创业女性:要事业还是要家庭?

对这个问题的回答，无外乎三种答案：一是更看重事业；二是更看重家庭；三是家庭和事业兼顾。     

东亚经济一体化与粤台经贸关系探讨

2005年4月以来,台湾各界纷纷访问大陆;而“连宋”访问大陆后,台湾当局的政治取向仍不明朗,其后果将会是阻碍两岸经贸关系的发展,使台湾经济面临着边缘化的可能。当前,粤台双方应该顺应时代潮流,加强经贸合作,推动两岸经济一体化,尽快融入东亚区域经济整合的格局之中。