发展中国家的普遍服务政策

该文构建非对称信息模型分析普遍服务政策问题,其中政府对企业在农村提供服务的边际成本具有非对称信息.该文对区别定价和统一定价两种情形进行了对比分析.在实施区别定价时,不完全信息将提高农村地区的资费水平,并且降低相应的网络覆盖面积;而在实施统一定价时,农村地区的定价可能降低,但却是以网络覆盖的减少为代价的.该文的政策结论是:在实施普遍服务政策时,需要综合考虑网络投资的激励和用户承受能力.     

政府间财政转移支付对发展中国家的启示

本文考察了在设计政府间财政转移支付制度中出现的一些核心问题，总结了许多国家采取的做法，并侧重于发展中国家的做法。由于国与国之间的情况和目标有差别，所以并不存在单一的、普遍适用的转移支付模式。但世界范围的经验表明，如果要提供更有效率的服务，转移支付必须这样设计：即接受转移支付的政府必须拥有清晰的授权、足够的资源以及充分的决策灵活性，并且要对结果负责。     

La Ville de Quèbec et al planification stratègique

ＬａＶｉｌｌｅｄｅＱｕ啨ｂｅｃ，ｃａｐｉｔａｌｅｄｅｌａ ｐｒｏｖｉｎｃｅｄｕｍ毢ｍｅｎｏｍ，ｅｓｔｓｉｔｕ啨ｅｄａｎｓｌ＇ｅｓｔｄｕＣａｎａｄａ，ｓｕｒｌｅｓｒｉｖｅｓｄｕｆｌｅｕｖｅＳａｉｎｔ -Ｌａｕｒｅｎｔ，ｕｎｅｄｅｓ ｇｒａｎｄｅｓｖｏｉｅｓｎａｖｉｇａｂｌｅｓｄｅｌ＇Ａｍ啨ｒｉｑｕｅｄｕＮｏｒｄ．ＢｅｒｃｅａｕｄｅｌａｃｉｖｉｌｉｓａｔｉｏｎｆｒａｎｃａｉｓｅｅｎＡｍ啨ｒｉｑｕｅ，Ｑｕ啨ｂｅｃｅｓｔｕｎｅｖｉｌｌｅｆｒａｎｃｏｐｈｏｎｅｒｅｃｏｎｎｕｅｐｏｕｒｓｏｎｅｘｃｅｌｌｅｎｔｅ…     

Antwerp, a city on the move

Afewyearsago,themunicipalorganizationofthecityofAntwerpwas,duetoitsdisastrousfinancialsituation,forcedtoreduceitsPersonnelandtoshrinkitsbudgets.Allnecessaryandpainfuloperationsresultedinalotofcommotionandunrest.Thecitymanagementfounditselfconfrontedwithanumberofexternalandinternalfactors.overtheyears,thedissatisfactionoftheAntwerpcitizenstowardstheaservice-performance"ofthemunicipalorganizationhadgrown.Ingeneral,thepublicliadanextremelynegativeimageofthemunicipalofficial.Moreover,theresultso…     

Current issues in European migration

The authors examine recent migration patterns into and within the European Union. Issues involving asylum and migration policy are discussed, and problems caused by differing naturalization practices in different countries are considered. Skill patterns of migrants and problems in labor markets are also investigated.     

Attilla the Hun: leadership as a change agent

This presentation will examine both ideas and successful examples of how some companies are inspiring and empowering their employees through the development of leadership skills within their management ranks. These skills can be learned and used to aid any organization in its goal of continuous improvement. Today's leadership establishes corporate directions while balancing individual and group achievement, both of which can improve the overall company. Power is shared, not used to control. After all, leadership is not about power. It is about setting directions for others, the clearing of obstacles, and then allowing others to believe the direction was their idea. Great leadership is based on the success of others.     

What's wrong with strategy?

Why is it that successful strategies are rarely developed as a result of formal planning processes? What is wrong with the way most companies go about developing strategy? Andrew Campbell and Marcus Alexander take a common sense look at why the planning frameworks managers use so often yield disappointing results. Companies often fail to distinguish between purpose (what an organization exists to do) and constraints (what an organization must do in order to survive), the authors say. Many executives mistakenly believe, for example, that satisfying stakeholders is an objective that drives thinking about strategy. In fact, it's a constraint, not an objective. Companies that don't win the loyalty of stakeholders will go out of business. Strategy is not about plans but about insights, the authors add. Strategy development is the process of discovering and understanding insights and should not be confused with planning, which is about turning insights into action. Furthermore, because executives develop most of their insights while actually doing the real work of running a business, it is important for companies not to separate strategy development from implementation. Is there a better way? The answer is not new planning processes or more effort. Instead, managers must understand two fundamental points: the benefit of having a well-articulated, stable purpose and the importance of discovering, understanding, documenting, and exploiting insights about how to create value.     

When an executive defects

The news that one of the company's senior managers is leaving comes as a complete surprise to Paul Simmonds, CEO of Kinsington Textiles, Inc. Ned Carpenter, KTI's vice president of operations for three years, writes in his resignation letter than he is leaving for a better opportunity. Simmonds soon learns that Carpenter's new job is at Daltex, one of KTI's main rivals in the intensely competitive carpet industry. Hiring Carpenter had helped Simmonds establish his reputation as a topnotch manager. Carpenter came to KTI with lots of ideas and put his enthusiasm to good use. Three years into a five-year change program, Carpenter had turned KTI's operations from one of the worst in the industry to one of the best. He also had helped develop and plan the upcoming launch of a new fiber coating--KTI's first breakthrough in years. In this fictitious case study, Simmonds, along with the company's counsel and vice president of human resources, must figure out how much and what sort of damage control they need. What are they going to tell the company's employees and the media? Should they immediately replace Carpenter with John Brady, the second-in-command of operations? What if Carpenter is taking KTI employees--and strategic information--with him to Daltex? Should Simmonds ask all his managers to sign noncompete agreements-something Carpenter was never asked to do? Should KTI sue Carpenter? Five experts offer advice about communicating with KTI's employees, the media, and Carpenter himself, and about protecting the company's confidential information.     

The living company

What can explain the longevity gap between a company that survives for centuries--the Swedish company Stora, for example, which is more than 700 years old--and the average corporation, which does not last 20 years? A team at Royal Dutch/Shell Group explored that question. Arie de Geus, a retired Shell executive, writes about the team's findings and describes what he calls living companies-organizations that have beaten the high mortality rate of the average corporation. Many companies die young, de Geus argues, because their policies and practices are based too heavily on the thinking and language of economics. Their managers focus on producing goods and services and forget that the organization is a community of human beings that is in business--any business--to stay alive. In contrast, managers of living companies consider themselves to be stewards of a long-standing enterprise. Their priorities reflect their commitment to the organization's long-term survival in an unpredictable world. Like careful gardeners, they encourage growth and renewal without endangering the plant they are tending. They value profits the same way most people value oxygen: as necessary for life but not the purpose of it. They scuttle assets when necessary to make a dramatic change in the business portfolio. And they constantly search for new ideas. These managers also focus on developing people. They create opportunities for employees to learn from one another. Such organizations are suited for survival in a world in which success depends on the ability to learn, to adapt, and to evolve.