Broadening the Definition of Unlawful Retaliation Under Title VII

Title VII retaliation cases have become a larger part of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) caseload, and this development should be a growing concern for business. By addressing the question of exactly when a prohibited retaliatory action has been taken against an employee, the United States Supreme Court’s June 2006 decision in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Sheila White ended a significant disagreement among the various appellate courts on the issue. The Supreme Court answered two specific questions regarding retaliation for raising a claim of sexual discrimination. First, the Court decided that the retaliatory conduct need not take place within the employment setting; and, second, it held that a materially adverse action requires only that a reasonable employee would be deterred from making, filing, or supporting a claim of workplace discrimination to the EEOC, the courts, or the employer. Employers need to revise and update their internal policies and procedures to ensure that their firms comply with these new standards.     

Developments in Remuneration Policy

In this article, the former chairman of the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) begins by summarizing the guidelines on "Executive Remuneration" that were published by the ICGN in July 2002. Among other changes, the guidelines called for independent remuneration committees, full disclosure of remuneration packages in an annual report, reduced reliance on stock options, elimination of executive loans and CEO bonuses for making acquisitions, better-informed and more active institutional investors, and a "clear mechanism by which shareholders are given the opportunity—possibly through an advisory vote at the annual shareholder meeting—to review and influence remuneration proposals."
Thanks in part to the efforts of the ICGN and growing investor activism, U.K. companies have made "a reasonably swift transition to a position where the majority of their boards are totally independent of management, and free of other potential conflicts of interest." U.S. boards, by contrast, remain "dominated by the imperial CEO" and "have failed to rein in the ambitions and appetites of their CEOs in such circumstances." What's more, U.S. institutional investment managers have failed to hold boards accountable for escalating remuneration. The solution to this problem lies, as suggested above, in "greater transparency, better analysis, and more shareholder monitoring."     

Derivatives Use, Corporate Governance, and Legislative Change: An Empirical Analysis of New Zealand Listed Companies

Abstract:   This paper examines if board composition has any systematic bearing on derivatives usage by New Zealand listed companies. We also test if derivative usage changed following the introduction of the new 1993 Companies Act. The Act raised expectations of directors' fiduciary responsibilities and the perceived risk of liability on outside directors for poor investment decisions. Using a dataset of listed New Zealand companies in 1994 and 1997, we find companies with higher growth opportunities and a greater proportion of outside directors were less likely to use financial derivatives following the introduction of the new Act. Our results supplement the US‐based literature on derivatives usage by illustrating that internal governance mechanisms can play a role in corporate derivatives policy, and that the legislative and regulatory environment may affect this role.     

Economic Issues in Health Policy: Comment

This article reviews the adequacy of policy targeting of health market failures and the sector's positioning for the challenges ahead.     

全球旅游研究格局的综合分析(2003-2012)

基于Mill & Morrison的旅游系统理论,文章构建了由6个主类和61个亚类组成的旅游研究系统分类框架(The tourism research system categorization framework),选.取31本国际旅游期刊在2003-2012年期间的10058篇文章,从而提取出13669个关键词(其出现频次为41624)并进行归类,运用演绎分析和统计方法对旅游研究主题进行大数据整理.文章识别出旅游学研究的跨学科特征和各个旅游研究主题的受关注程度:从主类来看,最受关注的是“目的地”领域,其次是“需求”和“营销”领域;从亚类来看,最受关注的是“市场细分”和“吸引物和节庆”领域,而“基础设施”、“交通(旅游目的地内部)”和“旅游客流”等领域受关注度最少.最后,本文试图寻求与旅游学学科树进行理论对话,重新检验了近10年国际旅游研究在国内分类框架的学科特征与演变趋势.     

The effect of prior experience on vacation behavior

This research applied consumer involvement theory to describe, interrelate, and explain the repeat visit phenomenon and empirically tested the effect of past experience on tourists’ vacation behaviors. The results indicated that prior experience influenced current trips in terms of activity participation and expenditure patterns. These changes in behavior invoke different demands and requirements unique to the repeat vacation market. Since the quality of experience is central in destination loyalty management, knowledge about changes in behavior associated with this accumulation can be instrumental for destinations seeking to provide creative, relevant, and meaningful experiences to their different market segments.     

The determinants of excessive indebtedness of the rural poor

Conclusion The foregoing analysis helps to explain how the poverty cycle deepens and becomes increasingly intolerable for the rural poor. The authors acknowledge the assistance of Les Pinter and Riad Chehlaoui, graduate students, Rice University and the University of Houston, respectively, for some statistical work.     

Seeing sustainability in business operations: US and British food retailer experiments with accountability

This article compares how food retail industries in Britain and the United States are facing sustainability challenges. The British and US industries are in different stages of maturity in identifying and responding to sustainability. Some UK retailers have begun developing broad‐based accountability systems that may aid them to see sustainability in their business operations. By examining what retailers are doing, how accountability systems can inform retailers and the business case for accountability, this article argues that retailers can gain significant business advantages with strategies to improve accountability. Compared with their American counterparts, British retailers may be better placed to deal with sustainability issues in future. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

The Pay Review Bodies in Britain Under the Labour Government

The current Labour Government's public sector 'modernization' policy has placed new pressures on the 30-year-old Pay Review Body system. The Government is now expecting the six Review Bodies to make recommendations on pay reform and restructuring and key decisions on pay for public sector groups are being taken by Government outside of the Review Body process. Despite these problems, the Pay Review Body system still offers the main parties—the Government, employers and unions—a useful political device for handling pay determination at 'arm's length' in the public sector. While political expediency is the main defence for the Pay Review Bodies, the move to long-term agreements may undermine their role.