The Internet, Intel and the Vigilante Stakeholder

The Internet furore over Intel's flawed Pentium chip provides an important case study of the ethical ambiguity of internet communications and the legitimacy of certain forms of "electronic activism". Joseph Badaracco, Jr., is John Shad Professor of Business Ethics at the Harvard Business School and his co-author is a former Research Associate at Harvard and currently on the editorial staff of Inc . magazine.     

Critical thinking and communication skills: Integration and implementation issues

This article describes issues associated with implementing an integrated approach to critical thinking and communication skills within accounting courses. The article builds on the work of Hirsch and Collins (1988) and discusses the following issues: (a) the collaboration of accounting and English faculty, (b) types of assignments, (c) assignment design, (d) the feedback process, (e) revisions in courses to accommodate a communication skills program, and (f) resources and motivation. The examples offered are from management/cost accounting courses, but our experience suggests that such an integrated approach to teaching critical thinking and both oral and written communication skills works well within most accounting and other business courses. However, individual programs will need to be tailored in order to address the issues defined here in ways that best fit their mission, goals, and resources.     

经济全球化时代的企业核心竞争力

随着经济全球化进程的加快，我国企业日益步入信息技术极速发展、技术升级日新月异、世界市场自由开放、各国竞争激烈残酷、机遇挑战同时并存的新环境。企业意欲在这样错综复杂的市场竞争中立于不败之地并谋求长期生存与稳步发展，就必须深刻认识到核心竞争力是其长期竞争优势的源泉，是其获得成功的关键要素。     

AN EVALUATION OF PROCESS‐ORIENTED SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS

Supply chain management (SCM) is implemented by integrating corporate functions using business processes within and across companies. Several process‐oriented frameworks for SCM have been proposed but only two of these provide sufficient detail to enable implementation. We evaluate the Supply‐Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) framework and The Global Supply Chain Forum (GSCF) framework using four criteria and identify their relative strengths and weaknesses.     

创新型企业组织形式的设计

创新型企业在组织构成上与传统企业有很大的不同，它是为了达到技术和产品创新的目的，在不同专业领域进行一定方式的分工和合作的一批高素质技术人员的集合。因此，在组织上，创新型企业就要不同于传统企业的直线职能式的组织结构。经研究，它应以项目组为组织的基本单元，建立矩阵式的组织结构，充分利用人力资源，灵活、快速地适应环境的变化。     

试论基于WEB的企业信息系统对电子商务运作平台的支持

电子商务的实质就是信息化,就是信息技术在社会生产中的应用,电子商务经过管理信息系统时代进入到了电子商务时代,其使用的技术也由单纯使用计算机技术转变为计算机、网络及通信技术的综合运用.基于WEB的企业信息系统对电子商务的支持表现在互联网提供了企业信息系统的硬件平台;企业内联网的技术和思想实现了企业之间的横向联系和信息共享;以B/S模式为核心的分布模式实现了用户端界面的统一.     

University-Provided Retirement Planning Support and Retiree Financial Satisfaction During Retirement: Differences by Gender, Job Classification, and Planning Behavior

Sound financial planning and financial advice is necessary to achieve retirement income adequacy. The shift from defined benefit to defined contribution pension plans and the recent bankruptcy of Enron Corporation underscore the importance of managing retirement accumulation and liquidation risks. This study analyzes the effectiveness and adequacy of institutional-provided information and advice on employees' retirement planning decisions and their satisfaction with financial resources during retirement. Results suggest that retirement planning should begin earlier in an employee's career and that employer-provided retirement information and advice is a highly valued service. Gender, planning practices, job classification, and age are all significant predictors of satisfaction with financial resources during retirement. Targeting women and union employees with retirement information and advice that focuses on allocating contributions using a balanced portfolio approach should result in significant increases in satisfaction with financial resources during retirement. Regulatory objectives should focus on reducing retirement accumulation and liquidation risks, improving the delivery of professional financial advice to plan participants, and expanding qualified retirement plan choice for all labor force participants. To encourage employer participation in employee retirement planning, employers acting in "good faith" should be federally protected from liability for providing retirement planning information and advice to employees.     

Short sales, price pressure, and the stock price response to convertible bond calls

The announcement of a convertible bond call is associated with an average contemporaneous abnormal stock price decline of 1.75% and an ensuing price recovery in the conversion period. A price fall and the subsequent recovery suggest price pressure as the explanation for the announcement effect. However, in general the option to convert is not exercised early and hence, the increase in the number of shares outstanding does not occur at the announcement date. Instead, this paper argues and provides evidence that hedging-induced short selling causes at least part of the short-run price pressure.     

Fluidised pellet bed bioreactor: a promising technology for onsite wastewater treatment and reuse.

A pilot-scale fluidised pellet bed (FPB) bioreactor, which combines chemical coagulation, biological degradation, particle pelletisation and separation in one unit, was applied for onsite wastewater treatment and reuse. As a result of rational use of inorganic coagulant and organic polymer and moderate mechanical agitation, spherical particles were generated in the upflow column and a well-fluidised bed was formed. With a continuous supply of dissolved oxygen through a recycling loop, an aerobic condition was kept in the bottom section of the FPB column. Under such conditions the pellets in the FPB column showed the following characteristics: (1) compact structure and high density; (2) rich in microorganisms; and (3) high MLSS and MLVSS concentrations. Therefore, the FPB bioreactor achieved more than 90% removal of SS, COD, BOD and TP from raw domestic wastewater within a total hydraulic retention time (HRT) of only about 30 minutes. It also showed nitrification and denitrification ability and the TN removal could be about 50% as the recycling ratio was increased to 1:1. The treated water quality is generally competitive with the secondary effluent from a conventional activated sludge process. With these advantages the FPB bioreactor is recommendable as a compact system for onsite wastewater treatment and reuse.     

Toxicity of Detroit River Sediment-Bound Contaminants to Ultraplankton

Four sites in the Detroit River/Lake Erie western basin were evaluated for their toxicity. The evaluation was based on 1) bulk chemical characterization of the sediments, 2) chemical composition of the sediment elutriates, and 3) toxicity of the elutriates to ultraplankton and microplankton/net plankton. A sequence of decreasing contamination was determined from the chemical composition of the elutriates based on the elutriation release of metals such as Zn, Mn, Cd, Ni, and Co. Bioassessment of elutriate toxicity was determined by carbon-14 Algal Fractionation Bioassays (AFB's) which were conducted with various dilutions of standard and Chelex-100 treated elutriates. Site A (near Windsor, Ontario) and Site D (western Lake Erie) were found to be toxic to ultraplankton. The observed toxicity was attributed to the bioavailability and synergistic impact of elutriated metals on ultraplankton production. A direct relationship between the water soluble metal fraction and toxicity was observed. These results confirmed that sediment toxicity should not be evaluated solely on bulk chemical composition of the sediments. The AFB's have been proven useful in the bioassessment of sediments due to their rapidity/sensitivity and hence could be routinely used for the screening and early detection of contaminants affecting fast growing organisms which form the basis of the aquatic food chain.