Ethics Codes in British Companies

How common are corporate codes of ethics in the UK and especially among Britain's most admired companies? The author is Wicklander Professor of Professional Ethics at DePaul University, Chicago, and current President of the American Society for Business Ethics.     

Understanding conflicting views of endocrine disruptor experts: a pilot study using argumentation analysis

Abstract

To what extent do substances have the potential to cause adverse health effects through an endocrine mode of action? This question elicited intense debates between endocrine disrupting substances (EDS) experts. The pervasive nature of the underlying differences of opinion justifies a systematic analysis of the argumentation put forward by the experts involved. Two scientific publications pertaining to EDS science were analyzed using pragma-dialectical argumentation theory (PDAT). PDAT’s methodology allowed us to perform a maximally impartial and systematic analysis. Using PDAT, the structure of the argumentation put forward in both publications was reconstructed, main standpoints, and arguments were identified, underlying unexpressed premises were made explicit and major differences in starting points were uncovered. The five differences in starting points identified were subdivided into two categories: interpretative ambiguity about underlying scientific evidence and normative ambiguity about differences in broader norms and values. Accordingly, two differences in starting points were explored further using existing risk and expert role typologies. We emphasize that particularly the settlement of normative ambiguity, through the involvement of broader ethical, social or political values, inherently requires multi-stakeholder approaches. Extrapolation of our findings to the broader discussion on EDS science and further exploration of the roles of EDS experts in policy processes should follow from further research.     

Which Chinese Markets to Diversify into?

This paper investigates the correlation and feedback relationships between the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index (HSI), the Hang Seng Chinese Enterprise Index (CEI) and the S&P 500 Index (SP). We divide the indexes into two separate periods, from the inception of the CEI in 1994 to the stock market crash in 2000, and from 2001 to 2011. Our results show that the feedback relationship between the CEI and the SP is stronger after 2000. As the feedback relationship grows stronger, the diversification benefit reduces for US investors who utilizes the CEI as a tool for diversifying into Chinese markets.     

Offshore Strategy to Build Overseas M&A Platform

Currently,the often- or popularly-chosen destinations for corporate cross-border investments include such places as Bermuda,Cayman,Panama,UK,HongKong,Singapore,as well as Nevada and Delaware of US,which are mostly preferred in actual overseas M&A.And these places can be generally classified into three categories — offshore destinations,similar offshore destinations such as Hong Kong and Singapore and transit stations with low taxation in the international market.How to choose the suitable place for registration,Mr.Gong Enguang,General Manager of Mossack Fonseca in China told the reporter from China's Foreign Trade magazine that under different circumstances,they will propose strategic suggestions according to different situations.     

Technical efficiency, market share and profitability of manufacturing firms in Cote d'Ivoire: the technology trap

This paper investigates the sources of inefficiency of firmsin Côte d'Ivoire and examines to what extent these effectstranslate into poor performance. A large majority of firms istechnically inefficient, producing far below the maximum attainableoutput level. Major cost savings can also be realised throughenlarging the scale of activities of firms. Efficiency gainsand scale advantages translate into a better competitive positionand via their impact on market share into higher profitability.However, severe growth barriers and imperfect markets keep firmsfrom realising these gains and prevent firms from catching upin technology with respect to their larger, older and oftenforeign-owned competitors.     

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE CURRENT VALUE DEBATE

Proponents of alternative accounting information production systems have, in supporting their alternative, usually demonstrated the superiority of their system conditional upon assumptions about the producers and consumers of accounting information, and in light of the lack of evidence on the issue, assumptions about the relative costs and benefits of their system. This paper addresses the premises that are implicit in the usual arguments for one or the other form of current value accounting and reaches the general conclusion that the arguments for change are not as compelling as they may, at first glance, appear to be.     

Underwriting Limits and Optimal Leverage in Commercial Real Estate

The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics - Risk-averse commercial mortgage lenders follow an underwriting policy with strict limits based on the property’s value and cash flow. A...     

The implications of nurse staffing information: the real value of reporting nursing data

There is a dearth of information about the relationship between the patient care contributions of nursing and its financial contributions to an organization. As consumers and legislators are becoming more aware of the ramifications of nurse staffing issues, and as they endeavor to address them with legislative solutions, the decision on how best to develop optimal staffing strategies may soon be taken away from nursing leaders. To maintain control of this important issue and develop solutions that will help highlight the economic and patient care contributions of nurses, a thorough understanding of the problem, and a new commitment are needed from nursing leaders to take charge of the issue. To relate nursing care to patient outcomes, meaningful data on the nursing care provided is needed in addition to data on the nursing needs of patients. Staffing and performance monitoring tools should be used to effectively plan, implement, and control financial and operating resources as well as measure the economic value of the nursing profession's contribution to the cost and benefits of patient care.     

Evaluating offshore and domestic production in the apparel industry: The small firm’s perspective

This paper extends the existing literature on the potential advantages and drawbacks of domestic and offshore manufacturing strategies to a small firm perspective. The advantages of offshore production to the large corporation have received much attention in recent years, particularly with regards to the apparel industry. The key advantages of offshore production are obvious for the large firm: cost reductions and increased productivity through labour market differentials. Little is known however about the viability and attractiveness of this strategy for the small apparel firm. The high number of small apparel firms who continue to produce in their domestic market, despite labour market differentials, suggests that the cost advantages of producing offshore may not be as critical for the competitive advantage of many of these small firms. Four case studies of small New Zealand apparel firms are used to substantiate and expand on themes developed from the literature.