Child Labor and Multinational Conduct: A Comparison of International Business andStakeholder Codes

Increasing attention to the issue of child labor has been reflected in codes of conduct that emerged in the past decade in particular. This paper examines the way in which multinationals, business associations, governmental and non-governmental organizations deal with child labor in their codes. With a standardized framework, it analyzes 55 codes drawn up by these different actors to influence firms external, societal behavior. The exploratory study helps to identify the main issues related to child labor and the use of voluntary instruments such as codes of conduct. Apart from a specific indication of the topics covered by the code, especially minimum-age requirements, this also includes monitoring systems and monitoring parties. Most important to company codes are the sanctions imposed on business partners in case of non-compliance. Severe measures may be counterproductive as they do not change the underlying causes of child labor and can worsen the situation of the child workers by driving them to more hazardous work in the informal sector. This underlines the importance of a broad rather than a restrictive approach to child labor in codes of conduct. The paper discusses the implications of this study, offering suggestions for future research.     

Nongovernmental organizations as institutional actors in international business: theory and implications

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have emerged as major actors in international business. NGOs have assumed a particularly prominent role in influencing the interaction between business and governments over the terms of international business rules, norms, and practices, especially the conditions applied to international investment projects. In this paper, we argue that the rise of NGOs as important institutional actors requires new perspectives on state–firm interactions in an era of increasing globalization. Host governments and multinational corporations (MNCs) must now critically assess the potential impact of nongovernmental actors on investment plans and projects. Drawing from institutional, agency, and stakeholder theory, we develop a model to help organizations evaluate and assess the relative importance of NGOs to the stability and longevity of international investment projects and the emergent impact of NGOs on investment projects at different stages of the investment cycle. We use the specific circumstance of infrastructure privatization and state-owned enterprise restructuring to demonstrate the potential value of this perspective to MNCs and host governments. We suggest this approach is also useful in evaluating classes of other stakeholders, and in examining other situations in which governments, companies, and NGOs negotiate over the terms of international business exchanges.     

Performance-enhancing internal strategic factors and competencies: Impacts on financial success

The purpose of this study was to examine the internal strategic factors likely to influence company financial performance for service organizations from managers’ perspectives. It provides empirical evidence of the links between the internal strategic factors examined and financial performance of service organizations. Data for this study were collected from middle and upper managers of service companies using a self-administered survey questionnaire. The results of the study suggested that four of the seven critical internal strategic success factors examined had a significant impact on company financial performance. Those factors are sales, R&D and distribution, information technology, and human resources. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

跨国公司进入中国市场的产业组织分析--竞争与垄断的经济规模均衡

竞争和垄断与产业规模都存在正相关关系。因此，不考虑跨国公司进入条件下的产业组织政策，往往会出现在限制垄断的同时，也削弱竞争力的结果。因为跨国公司进入可能引起竞争与垄断的逆转，所以，提高传统的产业规模标准，慎重拆分现有规模较大的产业等，将是必要的产业政策。     

生态伦理视阈下我国创新社会治理体制探析

中共十八届三中全会上提出:"推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化"、"加快形成科学有效的社会治理体制"、"改进社会治理方式,激发社会组织活力",当然,当前社会治理问题能否彻底得以解决关键在于生态伦理秩序是正常有序,这势必会加强将伦理秩序朝着生态化方向发展与践行。因此,研究社会治理问题的深层意义,弄清其背后所蕴含的生态伦理思想,不仅有助于我们正确认识人与自然的关系,更有助于创新社会治理体制,促进社会主义和谐社会建设,助推中国梦,早日实现中华民族伟大复兴。     

Why People Co-Produce: Analysing citizens’ perceptions on co-planning engagement in health care services

Abstract

The aim of this article is to comprehend the motivation of citizens to co-produce. More specifically, it considers citizens’ motivations to engage in co-planning activities of health care services. The article brings together theoretical insights and empirical data. First, we integrate insights from different strands of literature. We combine literature on citizen participation, political efficacy, co-production, volunteerism, public service motivation, and customer engagement to offer a first understanding of citizens’ motivations to actively engage as co-producers of public services. Next, empirical data are derived from one specific case: citizens participating in client councils in health care organizations. Q-methodology, a method designed to systematically study persons’ viewpoints, is used to distinguish different perspectives citizen have on their engagement in co-production. Our analysis of citizens’ motivations to engage in client councils enables us to identify four types of citizen co-producers, which we label: the semi-professional, the socializer, the network professional, and the aware co-producer. Implications for future research studying citizens’ motivations in a broader range of co-production cases are discussed.     

民间非营利组织财务管理问题浅议

本文针对当前民间非营利组织财务管理存在的问题,提出完善法律法规、加强监督力度、提高财务信息披露等对策,进而在一定程度上增加民间非营利组织运作的公开性和透明度,促进组织的良性发展。     

农民加入合作组织影响因素研究

[目的]从农户行为视角提炼农民加入合作组织影响因素,并试图找到影响农民加入合作组织的主要因素,揭露农民合作组织发展的规律。[方法]文章分析影响农民加入合作组织的主要因素有农民的受教育程度、可得模仿机会及地区的经济发展水平,并根据上述3个主要因素选取一系列变量,在对变量进行相关系数分析后,建立模型分析农户行为的正负影响。[结果](1)农民的受教育水平对农民加入合作组织是正的影响,即农民的受教育水平越高,其越愿意加入合作组织;(2)农民可得模仿机会越多,农民参加合作组织的比例越高,即通讯设备越普及、交通越发达、合作组织数越多、合作组织中成员数越多的地区,农民在合作组织中模仿学习的机会越多,农民加入合作组织的比例越高;(3)在经济发展水平越高的地区农民加入合作组织的比例越低,在经济发展水平较高的地区市场体系较为完善、农产品的销售渠道越多、农产品不存在滞销问题,农民加入合作组织的效益不高,因此农民不愿意加入合作组织。[结论]农民受教育水平和可得模仿机会对农民加入合作组织是正的影响,而地区的经济发展水平对农民加入合作组织是负的影响。     

农户对专业合作组织满意度的影响因素分析  ———以安徽省为例

该文采用了安徽省4个市16个县的210户农民对专业合作组织评价的调研数据,建立Logistic回 归模型对农民满意度影响因素进行实证分析。结果表明,家庭人口数、是否合作组织成员、人均耕地面积、 收入结构、经营农产品性质以及合作组织是否提供资金、技术服务等因素对农户满意度有积极的影响。为 此,该文最后提出改善农户满意度的相关政策建议。     

不对称信息的交易成本分析

信息不对称的关键在于缺乏足够的信息传递渠道,这可以看成是交易双方获得对方真实信息需要很大代价的一种表现。因此,交易中的信息问题可视为一个交易成本问题。从交易成本的视角分析了不对称信息的不同成本承担的效应以及降低成本的途径。文章的结论是:1.完全信息时,无论由谁来承担信息成本,交易的结果不变。2.信息不完全时,交易结果会随信息成本的承担情况不同而不同,较之信息完全情况下是低效的;而且,在交易中,存在社会福利的净损失。改进信息不完全状态能实现帕累托改进。3.人们可以通过两种方式来有效地解决广泛的信息不对称:一是通过赋权;二是通过引入信息专门化组织。