Rethinking marketing: Peter Drucker’s challenge

Just as Peter Drucker pointed out the importance of assessing whether a company’s “theory of business” is relevant, marketers need to consider whether the current “theory of marketing” still fits in a world of rapid change. The author examines how Drucker challenged the theory of business at financial services firm Edward Jones, helping to identify new market opportunities. For example, he urged the company to move into metropolitan areas, which now account for 60 percent of the firm’s business. The article then considers how the field of marketing needs to reexamine its own mental models. Finally, the article considers how Drucker’s seminal insights on marketing, particularly his emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach, might point the way to new approaches.     

Examining the link between skill shortages,training composition and productivity levels in the construction industry: evidence from Northern Ireland1

One of the key questions in international research addresses the tensions arising from international co-ordination and local adaptation of multinational companies' (MNCs) policies and practices. The German business system encourages MNCs to have a long-term, high-investment orientation, to practise intensive management-labour cooperation and to pursue developmental human resource management (HRM). This study analyses six major German MNCs operating in both Britain and Spain and outlines their reasons for the international co-ordination of HRM. It addresses the issue of central control versus local adaptation by looking at the transfer of German HR policies and practices. The cases show that the MNCs were able to preserve substantial ‘German-ness’ abroad. However, the results of the transfer of German HRM were not always positive due to a variety of endogenous and exogenous causes. Barriers to transfer from institutionally strong to weak environments are discussed and possible internal HR approaches are suggested to counterbalance the national business system effect. Their success will depend on head office-foreign affiliate relations shaped by factors such as cross-border communication, trust and power distribution.     

探讨企业管理中的成本控制措施

要想在激烈的竞争中获得生存,企业必须提高成本管理水平。文章探讨了关于成本的一些基本概念,指出企业在成本管理中存在的缺陷,继而提出解决的方法,以期促进企业成本管理水平的提高。     

Business process re-engineering in the logistics industry: a study of implementation,success factors,and performance

As business process re-engineering (BPR) is an important foundation to ensure the success of enterprise systems, this study would like to investigate the relationships among BPR implementation, BPR success factors, and business performance for logistics companies. Our empirical findings show that BPR companies outperformed non-BPR companies, not only on information processing, technology applications, organisational structure, and co-ordination, but also on all of the major logistics operations. Comparing the different perceptions of the success factors for BPR, non-BPR companies place greater emphasis on the importance of employee involvement while BPR companies are more concerned about the influence of risk management. Our findings also suggest that management attitude towards BPR success factors could affect performance with regard to technology applications and logistics operations. Logistics companies which have not yet implemented the BPR approach could refer to our findings to evaluate the advantages of such an undertaking and to take care of those BPR success factors affecting performance before conducting BPR projects.     

长株潭区域经济发展中的行政区划调整研究

行政区划与区域经济发展具有内在的联系，行政区划的合理与否直接影响着区域经济的发展。在分析长株潭地区现行行政区划体制与区域经济发展不适应所存在问题的基础上，提出了行政区划调整的建议，使行政区划更好地适应长株潭地区的区域经济发展。     

Globalization of Chinese firms,location choice,and socio-cultural milieu

For a number of years, the bulk of Chinese outward foreign direct investment was found in countries with lower technological development and minimal management capabilities. Recent research and preliminary data have shown a swift shift in outward foreign direct investment allocation by Chinese multinational enterprises to OECD countries. We argue that the main reasons for this shift are: location strategy, firm-specific resources, new government policy, and socio-cultural milieu. This paper examines the factors which influence Chinese manufacturers' decisions to invest in OECD countries. We integrate the resource-based view, institutional view, and economic view to explain the propensity of Chinese manufacturing firm investment. We contribute to Chinese investment decision and foreign direct investment location theory by incorporating these three views.     

The Use of Narrative Interview in Teaching Principles of Macroeconomics

The author describes the design and implementation of one experiential learning assignment used in a principles of macroeconomics course. The learning exercise provides an active role for students and results in a relational experience that provides traditional undergraduate students with a frame of reference with which to interpret the impact of macroeconomic events and policy on their daily lives.     

中国家族企业代际传承问题研究

文章从经济学角度分析指出，现阶段家族企业“子继父业”的代际传承模式是中国家族企业实现权力传承的一种理性行为。在对众多利益相关者进行分析的基础上，提出了完善家族企业产权结构、规范家族企业接班制度等有助于解决代际传承问题的相关建议。     

建筑业常见事故防范

建筑业的劳动条件和作业环境比其他行业艰苦恶劣,从事建筑业的工作人员的劳动强度大,在工作中要面对众多危险因素。文章对建筑业典型事故案例进行研究分析,希望能帮助从事建筑业的人员牢固地树立安全生产意识,并掌握、防范事故的方法和措施,做好本岗位的安全生产工作。     

个人信用货币化与小企业信贷问题研究

从博弈论的角度分析影响小企业融资能力的原因以及导致小企业贷款难的问题根源,结合实际从关系型融资和关系型担保角度分析解决路径,认为基于担保公司的个人信用货币化是解决这一问题的有效途径,并提出相关政策建议。