Is Busy Really Busy? Board Governance Revisited

We investigate the relationship between firm governance and the board's position in the social network of directors. Using a sample of 133 German firms over the four‐year period from 2003 to 2006, we find that firms with intensely connected supervisory boards are (1) associated with lower firm performance, and (2) pay their executives significantly more. We interpret these results as evidence of poor monitoring in firms with directors who are more embedded in the social network. In both cases, simple measures for busy directors that were used by other studies in the past fail to show any significant pattern. The findings suggest that the quality and structural position of additional board seats may play a bigger role than simply the number of board appointments.     

Motivational bases for managing diversity: A model of leadership commitment

Given the limited effectiveness of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action programs in promoting minorities in the U.S., the onus to advance women and minority groups may depend on the voluntary efforts from corporate America. In this paper, we apply a general theory of commitment to help explain why top executives may be committed to managing diversity in organizations. We propose that top executive commitment can stem from instrumental, normative, or affective bases. Specifically, top executives may be motivated because of utility maximization, a moral obligation, or a personal desire to be associated with a program of social importance and/or to leave a positive legacy. We further explore the implications of the three motivational bases of top executive commitment to managing diversity on firm diversity outcomes, and we offer some propositions which can serve as a basis for future research.     

信息集成环境下集团财务战略执行系统研究——基于价值链视角

我国企业集团在发展壮大过程中,财务战略执行力薄弱成为集团最高管理者面临的最重要和最紧迫的问题之一。本文首次将研究重点集中在战略管理、财务管理和企业战略执行力三个领域的交集,通过价值链分析得出结论,集团财务执行力弱化的原因主要源于信息集成的缺失,只有信息资源有效集成才能为财务战略执行提供必要保障,这一结论为研究我国企业集团的发展提供了新的视角。并在价值链优化与信息集成技术相融合的IT平台上,设计出由战略共识、战略协同和战略评价三大要素构成的集团财务战略执行系统框架。     

Delivering International Management Education in China Using Tutored-Video Instruction Technology

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the results of a study of classroom performance and student attitudes of (on-site vs. the off-site) students enrolled in a distance education international management program leading to a MBA degree. The program was developed by the McLaren School of Business at the University of San Francisco and involves two large Hong Kong-based Chinese corporations. The off-site students of this distance education took classes at Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou via Tutored-Video Instruction methodology. The students were highly satisfied with the program and its delivery. However, their performance was less than anticipated.     

The development of the Personality Audit: a psychodynamic multiple feedback assessment instrument

The Personality Audit (PA) was developed to meet a need for a relatively simple multiple feedback instrument that could clarify the various motivational needs of executives. Using a psychodynamic approach to leadership, the PA allows the test-taker to assess him- or herself in seven personality dimensions important in human behaviour and to identify personal ‘blind spots’. The resulting insights can be used to formulate appropriate leadership development goals.

The objective of this paper is to describe the design and psychometric properties of the PA. This instrument, in contrast with other tools that can be used to clarify the inner theatre of individuals, is designed not only to report information given by the test-taker but also to reflect the perceptions of observers representing both the test-taker's public and private spheres. This paper describes in detail the conceptual foundations of the questionnaire, the psychometric methods used to confirm its validity and reliability, and possible directions for future research.     

Design and Implementation of Return on Capital Employed Performance Indicators Within a Trading Regime: The Case of Executive Agencies

The financial regime under which trading executive agencies operate implies that return on capital employed (ROCE) is used to indicate that revenues meet but do not exceed costs, including the cost of capital; that is, that there is neither cross-subsidisation nor hidden taxation. This paper develops a model for measuring ROCE derived from this objective. It argues that users of ROCE indicators are likely to lack financial sophistication and to want to compare performance between entities, so that indicators should be clear, readily understandable and comparable. The range of measurement and presentation methods used in practice undermines clarity and comparability and some methods are inconsistent with the model. Performance is sometimes characterised as meeting the target when this is problematic. The paper also examines outturn performance and finds some very substantial excess returns, implying hidden taxation.     

Climate for Scandal: Corporate Environments that Contribute to Accounting Fraud

We examine the governance characteristics, earnings quality, growth rates, dividend policy, and compensation structure of 97 firms recently under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for accounting fraud. Our results show that the corporate environment most likely to lead to an accounting scandal manifests significant growth and accounting practices that are already pushing the envelope of earnings smoothing. Firms operating in this environment seem more likely to tip over the edge into fraud if there are fewer outsiders on the audit committee and outside directors appear overcommitted.     

Reining in auditors: On the dynamics of power surrounding an “innovation” in the regulatory space

In the aftermath of Enron and the collapse of Arthur Andersen, new “independent” institutions were created to oversee financial auditing. Based on a modified version of Lukes’ multidimensional model of power, we first investigate how the creation of the Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB) has affected the dynamics of power among the main players enlisted in Canada’s regulation of public accounting. Our findings strengthen the view that a “form of allegiance” was, at the time of data collection, developing between CPAB and the largest Canadian accounting firms. Through a second analytical movement, we extend the boundaries of our argument, showing that patterns of resistance against the logic of arm’s length regulation operate in a variety of audit regulatory sites. Our conclusion points, in particular, to the spatial gap - and incidentally the limitations - of any attempt to control and supervise a globalized industry from a national or regional perspective.     

上市公司高管薪酬的激励效果及影响因素研究

作为一种重要的激励方式,高管薪酬通过促进其管理能力的发挥,进而影响企业业绩。但实证研究表明,我国上市公司高管薪酬水平与企业业绩不相关,上市公司的薪酬激励效果有限,需要进一步完善。影响上市公司高管薪酬水平的主要因素有:公司规模、第一大股东比例、国有股比例、流通股比例、董事会规模、总经理权限和公司所处的经济地理位置。     

Repricing and Executive Turnover

We examine whether the threat of executive turnover faced by a firm affects its decision to reprice stock options held by its executives. We estimate a model of voluntary turnover among top executives and show that the predicted turnover from this model is positively related to the probability of repricing. The relationship is robust to the inclusion of several known determinants of repricing. Our results are consistent with a model in which a tight labor market makes executives hard to replace, forcing firms to reprice stock options when they go underwater.