Packing for the trip: A model of competencies for successful expatriate hospitality assignment

This paper aims to propose a model to assist international hotel companies to prepare expatriate executives for their overseas assignments to minimize expatriate failure. Survey questionnaires measuring competences and skills of expatriation were administered to 66 representatives of the lodging associations and properties who are members in the International Hotel & Restaurant Association. Exploratory factor analysis findings indicate that three categories of attributes are keys for successful overseas assignments: personal competencies, global management skills, and expatriate adjustment. Human resource development professionals should be especially cognizant of identifying personal competencies as the distinguishing elements for selecting high-potential expatriate managers. Educational programs preparing students for work in international hospitality business should strive to expose students to all of the behavioral aspects of international hospitality business identified in this study.     

Market efficiency, discount-rate changes, and stock returns: A long-term perspective

This paper examines the market efficiency issue by analyzing stock returns surrounding Fed announcements of discount-rate changes. Based on an analysis ofex post returns over a 58-year period, the results provide evidence of long-term market efficiency. Consistent with recent literature, the findings also reveal some predictability in return patterns where an active trading strategy based on directional reversals in the pattern of discount rate changes outperforms a passive buy-and-hold approach. The results indicate that the proposed active trading produces substantially higher risk-adjusted returns than the buy-and-hold strategy.     

An application of multiattribute utility theory to the planning of emergency medical services.

This research considers the problem of relating Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to patient outcome. The hypothesis is that response time alone may be misleading as an EMS performance criterion. This research uses methods for approximating multiattribute utility functions to consider both response time and on-the-scene care. The final result is an optimization problem where the response time and desired personnel requirements are decision variables. These are important inputs in the planning for Emergency Medical Services.     

Perspectives on Leisure of LDS Women Who Are Stay-at-Home Mothers

The purpose of this study was to explore the meanings of leisure for women who belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, lived in Utah, and were stay-at-home mothers. Particular attention was given to the religious, cultural, and role-determined forces that shaped their lives and leisure. A phenomenological approach was used. Thirteen women were identified through a criteria-based snowball sampling technique. Emerging theory indicated that cultural beliefs and values can contribute to feelings of entitlement to leisure because of the support for leisure and life roles given by one's faith, family, and community.     

What is holding back housing?

There are two major factors constraining the homeownership rate today: limited supply relative to net household formation and restricted credit availability. In this paper, we carefully document each of these factors, arguing that is is very difficult to fix the supply issues, as so much of the problem is local zoning laws, while steps can be taken to fix the credit availability issues. The supply/demand imbalance is currently the more significant of the two problems, as it places upward pressure on both home prices and rents.     

White response to potentially discriminatory actions in a services setting

Discrimination in the marketplace is a significant problem for many blacks and for service providers. However, recent research suggests that some whites may respond similarly to blacks when they witness what they perceive to be a discriminatory act in a service encounter. Using an experimental design methodology, this research investigates the extent to which this occurs. The degree to which an observing customer values the other customer's welfare and feels empathy has been found to explain differences in service failure perceptions among white study participants. White participants high in empathy for blacks were found to react similarly to blacks relative to the inherent negativity of the service failure. This suggests that a service failure involving black customers that hints of discrimination has a greater overall impact on the long‐term success of the service firm than originally envisioned. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The effects of wait expectations and store atmosphere evaluations on patronage intentions in service-intensive retail stores

Many factors, both obvious and subtle, influence customers’ store patronage intentions. Using videotape technology that enabled us to experimentally manipulate the number of visible store employees, number of customers, and music, we test the relative importance of wait expectations and store atmosphere evaluations on patronage intentions. These constructs are found to be critical antecedents of store patronage intentions in the context of the service-intensive retail store at which the model was tested. We also find support for the direct effects of gender on wait expectations and store atmosphere evaluations. We discuss some implications for retailing research and practice.     

Cobweb dynamics and price dispersion in illicit drug markets

Extreme price dispersion is a hallmark of illegal drug markets, and this apparent contradiction to the law of one price has long puzzled drug market economists. We propose a novel explanation for this dispersion: the coupling of dealers’ unwillingness to hold inventory with dealers’ imperfect foresight concerning future prices and/or random lead times when “ordering” drugs from higher-level suppliers. Unwillingness to hold inventory means drug markets might operate consistent with a cobweb model. The classic cobweb model was inspired by the observation of cyclic (typically annual) fluctuations in commodity prices. However, with minor changes that make the model more realistic the resulting price trajectories can be highly variable or even chaotic, not just periodic. Cobweb dynamics can also amplify the variability created by supply chain disruptions.     

Ideological reactions to Sarbanes–Oxley

The Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 has been generally seen as a legitimate response to a significant crisis in the capital markets. Not often acknowledged, however, is the observation that the law's overarching emphasis on restoring credibility to the capital markets is revelatory of a deep ideological commitment to maintaining the capitalist system which is inherent in the American political structure. Intriguingly, several groups have emerged in recent years which stand in opposition to the Sarbanes–Oxley Act. On the face of it, the efforts of these groups appear to contradict the law's intent of restoring credibility to the capital markets. This paper describes certain of these groups and the ideological claims that have been advanced with respect to their arguments. While it will be seen that the Sarbanes–Oxley Act has some weaknesses which might be corrected, it has generally been a progressive piece of legislation that has contributed to increased levels of transparency in financial reporting and a greater independence of auditors. While these goals might be viewed as self-serving measures intended to protect the interests of capital, they may also be seen as beneficial to society in a larger sense. Credible financial reporting and independence of auditors helps to provide greater societal control over corporations. In the absence of explicit multinational structures to reign in corporate power, it is difficult to conceive of any other potential control mechanisms apart from effective systems of financial reporting and corporate governance.     

An Economic Theory of Mortgage Redemption Laws

Redemption laws give mortgagors the right to redeem their property following default for a statutorily set period of time. This article develops a theory that explains these laws as a means of protecting landowners against the loss of nontransferable values associated with their land. A longer redemption period reduces the risk that this value will be lost but also increases the likelihood of default. The optimal redemption period balances these effects. Empirical analysis of cross-state data from the early twentieth century suggests that these factors, in combination with political considerations, explain the existence and length of redemption laws.