Irish women accountants and career progression: a research note

This article presents the findings of research into the career progression of Irish Chartered Accountants which compares the career progress of men and women and examines the obstacles to progression encountered by women. The research indicates that women face obstacles that are not encountered by their male counterparts and that career progression is frequently made at substantial cost to their personal lives.     

Are health insurers in multiple lines of business less profitable? An examination of scope economies in health insurance

In markets where companies can offer multiple products or services, production costs may decline, and profitability may increase as business scope expands. Using a sample of health insurers from 2015 to 2018 with data reported in the annual NAIC Supplemental Health Care Exhibit, we test whether scope economies exist among health insurers. We evaluate the relationship between scope and four profitability metrics—the medical loss ratio, the expense ratio, the underwriting profit ratio, and a profit efficiency measure obtained using a data envelopment analysis technique. We test two competing hypotheses from prior literature on scope economies in insurance. The strategic focus hypothesis states performance is higher for insurers that specialize in one line of business. The conglomeration hypothesis states performance is higher for insurers that operate in multiple lines of business. Our results provide evidence in support of the strategic focus hypothesis among US health insurers.     

Multinational corporations and trade union development in Malaysia

This contribution considers the impact of American, Japanese and Australian capital upon organized labour in Malaysia and concludes that the legacy of the multinational corporations' (MNCs') home context is carried forward to the host country. Despite the predictions of globalization theorists, country of origin characteristics interact with local contexts to inform management strategies towards trade unions, rather than being driven by the lowest common denominator of anti-unionism. While there are substantial differences between the MNCs in their approach to trade unions in Malaysia, there is also a degree of conformity in as much as they all embrace the restrictive intent of the Malaysian state's trade union regulatory environment, thereby severely curtailing the power of the union movement.     

The moderating effect of environmental uncertainty on the relationship between real options and technological innovation in high-tech firms

In the past decade, management scholars have applied aspects of real options theory to organizational settings, considering it an approach to enhancing strategic flexibility in the firm. They have also recognized that technological innovation is a critical mechanism through which high-tech firms try to secure a place in the competitive world of the future. Uncertainty about the environment makes it very important to analyze both factors, since the use of real options obligates managers to reflect constantly on future scenarios for which they will have to propose innovative solutions. This paper attempts to apply the theory of real options to innovation theory to propose a model in which real options reasoning improves the level of product/process technological innovation. We argue that this improvement will increase when the environment's level of uncertainty is higher. The proposal is supported empirically by a study performed on a sample of technology firms from different countries in the European Union.     

Lean, take two! Reflections from the second attempt at lean implementation

It’s not easy being lean. And for many companies, getting lean right the first time does not always happen. Lean is a management philosophy focused on identifying and eliminating waste throughout a product’s entire value stream, extending not only within the organization but also along the company’s supply chain network. Lean promises significant benefits in terms of waste reduction, and increased organizational and supply chain communication and integration. Implementing lean, however, and achieving the levels of organizational commitment, employee autonomy, and information transparency needed to ensure its success is a daunting task. This article describes in detail two lean implementation projects within the same company: a global manufacturer of food processing machines and equipment. The first project was a failure, while the second is viewed as a success. Examining these projects in detail, the major criteria and conditions that led to either lean failure or lean success are identified. Based on these conditions, we highlight a number of lessons learned, all of which may help other organizations ensure the success of their own lean implementation and improvement efforts.     

Justice and Trust

With the demise of Marxism and socialism, the United States is becoming a model not merely for free enterprise, but also for employment practices worldwide. I believe that free enterprise is the least worst economic system, given the alternatives, a position I shall assume, but not defend, here. However, I shall argue, a successful free enterprise political economy does not entail mimicking US employment practices. I find even today in 1998, as I shall outline in more detail, these practices, when consistently carried out, by and large erode trust in the workplace, they are, on balance unfair to workers and managers, and, if Jeffrey Pfeffer is correct, they do not maximize long-term corporate earnings or growth. Getting clear on US employment practices and their weaknesses may help to shape other models for employment that neither contravene free enterprise nor are degrading to workers.     

“I'd like to thank the academy”: An analysis of the awards discourse at the Atlantic Schools of Business Conference

The awarding of prizes has become embedded in all aspects of our society, including academic conferences. At the same time, the reputation economy, an economy where individual standing is based on the opinions of end users, is growing in strength and validity. We analyzed the way in which the awards discourse has been recontextualized within a small academic conference that is struggling to find legitimacy—the Atlantic Schools of Business Conference. With a focus on language and the different meanings words hold in different discourses, we have determined that recontextualization of the discourse within the conference has resulted in two distinct discourses—the discourse of the award giving body and the discourse of the potential award recipient. Copyright © 2008 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Eastward enlargement—Benefits and costs of EU entry for the transition countries

The Central and East European transition countries are pinning considerable hopes for their economic future on entry into the European Union. However, given the huge amount of catching up they still have to do in economic terms, the tough entry conditions they have to meet and the limited amount of help the Union is willing to provide, it is questionable whether the benefits these countries will derive from entering the EU outweigh the corresponding substantial costs.