The effect of training on organizational performance: differences by age composition and cultural context

This paper examines the effects of two training-related measures (i.e. average days spent on training an employee per year and the extent of concentration) on three aspects of organizational performance: level of productivity, rate of innovation, and rate of turnover for organizations in Anglo, Germanic, Nordic, and Eastern European cultures, as defined by the Global Leadership and Organization Behavior Effectiveness project. Analysis of the 2004 Cranet survey data indicates that both training-related measures positively affected the level of productivity in Anglo nations, but that the effect of extent of concentration was smaller for organizations with older age profiles.     

The Association of Board Independence and Ownership Concentration with Voluntary Disclosure: A Meta-analysis

In this paper we apply meta-analysis to a sample of 27 empirical studies to clarify the association of board independence and ownership concentration with voluntary disclosure. We examine whether variations in results are attributable to the differences in the corporate governance system, the investor protection rights and the measurement of the governance variables. The findings show that the positive association between board independence and voluntary disclosure only occurs in those countries with high investor protection rights. The findings emphasize the need to consider the legal and institutional setting explicitly when analysing the effect of corporate governance on voluntary disclosure.     

Ownership Structure and the Cost of Debt

This paper examines the impact on the cost of debt by ownership concentration and shareholder identity; that is, whether the shareholders are banks, non-financial firms, the state, institutional investors or the board of directors. Our analysis suggests that directors who own shares tend to be aligned with external shareholders, that firms with government ownership enjoy lower cost of debt and that banks effectively monitor management, so reducing the agency costs of debt.     

Buddhist Feminist Transnational Networks,Female Ordination and Women's Empowerment

Consideration of the role that religion plays in women's lives in developing contexts can be important in understanding ways of approaching their “strategic gender needs”. Rather than rejecting religion for its inherent patriarchy, styles of “religious feminism” have emerged across the globe. These argue for reinterpretations of religious systems that are consistent with the “core” values of the tradition as well as various types of feminist thinking. The aim of this paper is to discuss the emergence of a transnational movement across Buddhist traditions and countries that is concerned to make full ordination an available option to women in contexts where it is currently prohibited. While becoming fully ordained is considered to be the most suitable way of becoming enlightened and escaping future rebirths, a strong theme within the movement is the argument that gender hierarchies within Buddhism have a broader cultural impact upon social attitudes that disempower women and limit their development. Dialogue between members of Buddhist communities across the world has encouraged reflection upon and a challenge to unequal and oppressive gender hierarchies within the Buddhist tradition and within Buddhist societies. This paper explores four “international” events/examples that enable information exchange as well as the flow of material support between women from different traditions.     

An analysis of extreme movements of exchange rates of the main currencies traded in the Foreign Exchange market

This article analyses the extreme movements of exchange rates of the seven main currencies traded in the Foreign Exchange market against the US dollar: Euro, British pound, Canadian dollar, Japanese Yen, Swiss franc, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar by using tail index indicators. Payaslio?lu (2009) considers the case of the Turkish exchange rate using the traditional Hill (1975) estimator as a tool. In this article, we employ also an alternative estimator proposed in Iglesias and Linton (2009) that is shown to have, in some cases, improved finite sample properties and it provides substantially different results versus the Hill estimator. We find that for the Euro, Japanese Yen, Swiss franc, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars, the Hill estimator provides a better measure to analyse the extreme behaviour; while for the British pound, the Iglesias and Linton alternative estimator is superior by using Hausman-type tests of misspecification. Measures of value at risk are also provided for the seven markets. We also find that the largest estimated value at risk by far is for the Japanese Yen, followed by the Swiss franc, the Canadian dollar, the Euro, the New Zealand dollar and the Australian dollar. The UK pound has the smallest value at risk when extreme movements occur.     

“不专业”的500强董事会

正更要命的是,集团董事会成员严重缺乏经验。集团网站上公布的董事名单中,有一名护士和一个退了休的出版商。当选董事根本不用承担任何行政责任合作社集团(The Co-Operative Group)总部位于英国曼彻斯特是世界上最大的消费者合作组织之一。值得一提的是,它有自己的所谓"股票",但"股价"固定不变,也不能交易。消费者购买"股票"后成为会员,投资金额多少并不重要,再多的投资也不会增加其在英国合作社集团中的发言权。     

Investors in People: Market-led Voluntarism in Vocational Education and Training

Introduced in the UK in 1991, Investors in People (IiP) provides a benchmark for good training practice. It has become a central feature of the UK government's vocational education and training policy. This article aims to broaden the debate relating to IiP in two ways: first, by reviewing the existing evidence on recognition rates and its impact on training activity; and second, by exploring the new directions that IiP is taking in terms of its redesign and its overseas adoption. Finally, we consider the research agenda and the policy implications that arise from the review.     

The Nature of Strategic Communication: A Rejoinder to Nothhaft

In this article, we address and challenge Nothhaft’s (2016) recent attempt to revive the field of strategic communication through an application of approaches and principles from the studies of the human mind. Instead of an indiscriminate import of a natural science perspective, we argue that the shortcomings of the field are dealt with more adequately by recognizing and embracing the immense complexity at play in all dimensions of strategic communication. The challenge is to understand the multiple goals and dimensions of the field, to acknowledge the principle of recursivity in all communicative practices, and to approach the individual not as a solitary mind, but a social being whose drives and proclivities are always socially and culturally mediated.     

Embodied uncertainty: living with complexity and natural hazards

In this paper, we examine the concept of embodied uncertainty by exploring multiple dimensions of uncertainty in the context of risks associated with extreme natural hazards. We highlight a need for greater recognition, particularly by disaster management and response agencies, of uncertainty as a subjective experience for those living at risk. Embodied uncertainty is distinguished from objective uncertainty by the nature of its internalisation at the individual level, where it is subjective, felt and directly experienced. This approach provides a conceptual pathway that sharpens knowledge of the processes that shape how individuals and communities interpret and contextualise risk. The ways in which individual characteristics, social identities and lived experiences shape interpretations of risk are explored by considering embodied uncertainty in four contexts: social identities and trauma, the co-production of knowledge, institutional structures and policy and long-term lived experiences. We conclude by outlining the opportunities that this approach presents, and provide recommendations for further research on how the concept of embodied uncertainty can aid decision-making and the management of risks in the context of extreme natural hazards.