The Effects of State Risk and Controllability Filters on Compensation Contract and Effort Choice

Surveys of business firms in the U.S.A. indicate that standard-based compensation contracts are common in practice. Analytical studies of this form of contract have suggested that under conditions of state risk, an employee's contract and effort choice are significantly affected by how pay relates to measured performance, and whether the compensation contract filters out the effects on measured performance of factors beyond the employee's control. This paper reports the results of a laboratory experiment indicating that in the presence of state risk, an individual's choice of compensation contract depends jointly on these two contract attributes and his/her risk preference as well as performance capability. The findings also indicate that actual effort is a function of the realized state, the presence/absence of a controllability filter, and the level at which the individual had expected to perform at the time of his/her contract selection. When an adverse state was realized, subjects without a controllability filter still exerted the level of effort that they had expected at contract selection, even though their marginal return to effort had been substantially reduced. On the other hand, when the controllability filter was absent, subjects who had a favourable realized state increased their effort in response to the increased marginal return to effort.     

新女力价值

变种女强人 如今，香港的“女强人”早已摒弃灰姑娘情结，显得精明干练，形成了新的女性职场文化和价值观。在香港，学者却少有提及“情人”这种另类的职业女性，其实，她们对理财和投资也有其独到见解。综观历史，只要婚姻制度仍然存在。     

从财神话财富

新春迎财神,是年节应景的重要祭祀活动之一,港人亦喜欢在大年初二参拜财神,但真能与财有缘者却不多。有见财神庙前的门联,夹叙夹议:"只有几文钱,你也求他也求,给谁是好;不作半点事,朝来拜暮来拜,教我为难。"参拜财神者可曾尝试理解"财神"带给众生的启示?     

美丽末日

"11"果然是个极其厉害的数字,继"9·11"之后,又多了个"3·11"。不过,虽然"11"非同寻常,但绝不是纯悲剧的象征,因为有人愁时总有人暗自欢喜。趁火打劫合理化而最欢喜的,应该是那些炒起恐慌意识、大发末日商机财的商人。在2003年沙士袭港期间,板蓝根及醋供应商已经大捞了一笔,现在轮到盐商们赚到笑。外国那些核子生化防护帐幕及空气过滤     

港人热议《天与地》

无线电视剧集《天与地》，在香港引起了种种回响。虽然某些言论带点歧视，但却大致合乎逻辑，显示出香港近年少见的理智。 《天》剧虽赢得不俗口碑，却因未能迎合“师奶”们的口味，收视率是黄金档期10年来新低。相反，由于剧中加插了不少发人深省的金句，让一批电视剧稀客愈看愈过瘾，甚至有网民奉此为“神剧”。     

中西合璧的老人支持体系——香港所追求的全面照顾模式

以老人照顾体系发展的四个阶段,回顾香港过去五十年来从家庭维系传统孝亲价值,政府角色对照顾责任的厘清,传统家庭对机构照料的忌讳,到近年来从"在社区照顾"发展至"就地养老"的概念;从人口结构的变化、社会经济发展的变迁以及政府角色与责任的不同作了探讨剖析。说明"全面照顾模式"如何结合上述价值与社会体系背景,将政府与民间的各层面力量融入成为全方位、多面向与多选项的照顾体系,说明了对于政策制定者、服务提供者以及社区工作者这又意味着什么样的挑战。