International assignments: is there a role for gender and race in decisions?

The authors argue that international managers and researchers need to avoid an ostrich-like attitude of ‘gender and race blindness’ when dealing with diversity in the workforce. This issue is addressed specifically in the case of international assignments. The paper draws on previous studies investigating gender, race and international assignment, and considers a sample of regulations pertaining to gender and race in the context of international assignment decisions. The authors present the results of a preliminary study focusing specifically on the interplay of these variables. Based on the issues discussed, the authors examine selection, preparation and support activities as important avenues for meaningfully incorporating gender and race into the international assignment process.     

Corporate Governance, Board Diversity, and Firm Value

This study examines the relationship between board diversity and firm value for Fortune 1000 firms. Board diversity is defined as the percentage of women, African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics on the board of directors. This research is important because it presents the first empirical evidence examining whether board diversity is associated with improved financial value. After controlling for size, industry, and other corporate governance measures, we find significant positive relationships between the fraction of women or minorities on the board and firm value. We also find that the proportion of women and minorities on boards increases with firm size and board size, but decreases as the number of insiders increases.     

Value-Added Management: A Powerful Tool For Reducing Costs

Value-added management is a powerful tool which can help businesses reduce costs. Evidence from the US and from Europe suggests that in many organisations at least 40% of costs can be eliminated without any deterioration in the value provided to customers. Conventional management accounting systems have not identified this non-value-added activity, largely because they have ignored inefficiencies between processes. Using a value-added management approach, non-value-added activities are identified and programs implemented to eliminate them. This paper considers what is meant by value-added management, why it is necessary and how it can be implemented. The paper includes examples of businesses which have used value-added management to save costs and improve performance.     

A Closer Examination of the Impact of Zoo Visits on Visitor Behaviour

Zoos suggest that they can play a role in fostering conservation behaviour, but there is only limited research support for such claims. This article examines why there might be a difference between the stated potential for zoos to influence visitor behaviour and existing research findings. The present study utilises a research design, methods and instruments that provide more sensitive measures of conservation behaviour outcomes. In particular, a distinction is made between behaviours that were already known to visitors and new/unknown behaviours. Two behaviours communicated during a bird presentation at an Australian zoo (recycling and removing road kill from the road) were chosen to test. Results include that, 81% of the respondents recalled hearing the conservation actions during the presentation and 54% stated an intention to increase their commitment or start an action. In 38 follow-up telephone interviews six months after their visit, 26 stated that they had started or increased their commitment to an action. However, only three had started a new action and these were actions previously known to them. The results frame a discussion on actions that zoos may wish to target if they wish to communicate more successfully.     

Wages Pressures

Wages are rising in China. In order to assess the scope of wage adjustments, the influence of minimum wage hikes and labour unions,and the magnitude of labour productivity improvements,we carried out surveys of clients of Standard Chartered Bank(China) over the past month.We spoke to Hong Kong manufacturers operating in the Pearl River Delta(PRD);Taiwan companies operating outside of Shanghai;and companies operating in Chongqing,in south western China.Our main findings are as follows:·Wages are up 9-15%t...     

Managerial Incentives and Investment Policy in Family Firms: Evidence from a Structural Analysis

This paper provides evidence that CEO incentive pay mediates the effect of family preferences on corporate investment policy. Our study focuses on the option portfolio volatility sensitivity vega, which motivates the risk‐taking behavior of undiversified managers. After controlling for factors that affect incentive pay and investment policy simultaneously, we find that one‐third of underinvestment in riskier R&D projects in active family firms can be attributed to a significantly lower vega. Passive family firms allocate more capital to R&D as opposed to active family firms, and are more active in M&A deal making. In contrast to many prior studies, pay incentives and families are not associated with capital expenditures. Overall, our empirical results suggest that CEO pay incentives induce investment policy contingent on firm risk. Family CEO incentive pay manifests the family preference for lower risk, especially in firms with higher firm risk. Nonetheless, after replacing family CEOs with outside professionals, investments in both R&D and M&A increase, which is consistent with the family preference for extended investment horizons. Interestingly, such a preference seems not to be manifested in incentive pay.     

Cognitive moral development and attitudes toward women executives

Research has shown that men and women are similar in their capabilities and management competence; however, there appears to be a glass ceiling which poses invisible barriers to their promotion to management positions. One explanation for the existence of these barriers lies in stereotyped, biased attitudes toward women in executive positions. This study supports earlier findings that attitudes of men toward women in executive positions are generally negative, while the attitudes of women are generally positive. Additionally, we found that an individual's level of cognitive moral development correlates significantly with attitudes toward women executives. Limitations of the present study and implications for ethics and diversity training in organizations are discussed. Debbie Thorne is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at The University of Tampa. She earned her doctorate in 1993. Her research has been published in conference proceedings and in The Journal of Teaching in International Business and The Journal of Business Ethics.Linda Howell Everett is an Associate Professor of Management in the Master of Arts in Organizational Management program at Trevecca College, Nashville, Tennessee. Her research interests include business ethics, decision making, risk, and mergers and acquisitions.Carol Danehower is an Assistant Professor of Management in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at The University of Memphis. Her research interests include gender issues, employee motivation, and employee benefits.     

Idea Management: A Systemic View*

abstract Ideas are a central ingredient of organizational life and ideation is an essential faculty that propels every day management action. Yet, little is known about how ideation is manifested and managed. We employ the philosophies of transcendentalism, process and interactionism to provide insights into the empirical referents of idea management. We use these referents as a point of departure in our interpretations. Rather than studying idea management in terms of lists of categories, continua of characteristics, or details about process, we explore its systemic nature and investigate the inter‐relatedness of idea generation, problem solving and inquiry. Based on field interviews, we propose idea management archetypes that reflect managers’ dominant approaches and a model of idea management based on patterns of behaviour. The study validates the notion of idea management and demonstrates the strengths of grounded theorizing. We discuss implications for theory and practice and identify possible strategies for future research.