Determinants of Success in the Development of Applications Software

In this article, the third in the trio of software innovation articles, Chris Voss outlines the key factors that determine whether a new software development is likely to be successful. His research draws on an innovation framework that has emerged from previous research. His results are similar to those of the earlier studies and suggest that the software innovation process has many demands that are common to innovation in other product areas.     

Managers,Workers, and Authority

In this paper, I examine the case made by Christopher McMahon for managerial democracy. Specifically, I examine the extent to which McMahon’s account is able to address a series of objections against the case for managerial democracy as articulated by Thomas Christiano. Christiano articulates two sets of objections. First, Christiano argues that McMahon does not succeed in ruling out the possibility that managerial authority is best understood as promissory in its basis, in which case there is no presumption in favor of its democratic exercise. Second, Christiano raises a series of objections to the effect that even if we accept McMahon’s account of the nature of managerial authority, the conclusion for the democratic exercise of that authority by workers at the level of individual economic enterprises does not follow. In the end, I argue that McMahon’s account contains the resources to address these objections if one adopts a specific view about the moral limits to relationships that involve the submission of the will on the part of one person to another. Adoption of this view, however, appears to come at the expense of what I take to be the account’s commitment to liberalism. As such, what I understand this paper to reflect more generally is the apparent difficulty for liberals in arguing that there is something inherently morally troubling about capitalist work relations.     

McMahon on Workplace Democracy

This paper offers a sympathetic critique of Christopher McMahon’s Authority and Democracy: A General Theory of Government and Management. Although I find fault with some of his arguments, my goal is not to show that these arguments are irreparable, but to highlight issues that deserve further consideration. After defining some terms, first, I raise an objection to McMahon’s rejection of the moral unity of management (MUM) thesis. Second, I draw attention to his “moralization” of the workplace, and examine the role it plays in his arguments about the relative strengths of the different kinds of authority. Third, I raise questions about his reliance on an analogy between states and firms. I suggest that states and firms are in some ways more alike, but in other ways less alike, than he allows.     

Managerial Authority as Political Authority: A Retrospective Examination of Christopher McMahon’s Authority and Democracy

An introduction to the March, 2005 symposium “The Political Theory of Organizations: A Retrospective Examination of Christopher McMahon’s Authority and Democracy” held in San Francisco as part of the Society for Business Ethics Group Meeting at the Pacific Division Meetings of the American Philosophical Association. Jeffery Smith is an Assistant Professor and founding Director of the Banta Center for Business, Ethics and Society at the University of Redlands. His current research focuses on communicative ethics and the moral foundations of collaborative decision-making within economic organizations. He is also interested in the role of principles in moral decision-making and the extent to which principled decisions can be made in organizational contexts. Professor Smith’s writings have appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics, Business Ethics: A European Review, Southern Journal of Philosophy and in other journals. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2000.     

Comments On Hsieh,Moriarty and Oosterhout

A response to the discussants, Nien-hê Hsieh, Jeffrey Moriarty and J. (Hans) van Oosterhout, who took part in the March, 2005 symposium “The Political Theory of Organizations: A Retrospective Examination of Christopher McMahon’s Authority and Democracy: A General Theory of Government and Management” held in San Francisco as part of the Society for Business Ethics Group Meeting at the Pacific Division Meetings of the American Philosophical Association. Christopher McMahon is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In addition to Authority and Democracy: A General Theory of Government and Management (Princeton, 1994), Professor McMahon wrote Collective Rationality and Collective Reasoning (Cambridge, 2001) and has published widely in the area of moral and political philosophy. His work has appeared in Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs and the Journal of Philosophy, among other journals. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.     

The Role of Users in the Development of Applications Software

Meeting the needs of users has always been the goal of product developers. Recently, however, the important role of users as developers of new products has become more fully recognized. In many industries, it seems, users are actually a dominant part in the innovation process. To discover the part played by users in developing new computer software, Chris Voss traces the development path of a large number of software applications. He finds some particular circumstances where users lead the development of new products. This article and another that follows provide another view of software innovation to go with the preceding article by Glenn Bacon.     

Authority and Democracy in Corporate Governance?

Although McMahon offers a potentially valuable extension of Joseph Raz's conceptualization of authority by distinguishing three different kinds of authority, this paper argues, first, that his account of the conditions and considerations that would justify managerial authority is problematic because it relies on a conception of reasons for action that excludes precisely the kind of rationality that plays an important role in the␣explanation and justification of authority in economic␣organization. This paper explains, second, why McMahon's thesis of the justificatory similarity of authority in governments and nongovernmental organizations can also be seen to hold for corporate governance of publicly owned firms more specifically. Finally, this paper raises some critical objections against McMahon's presumption of democratic governance in governments and NGO's alike. The thrust of these objections is that democratic corporate governance does not make sense in the publicly owned firms because: (1) it will not produce results that are fair or welfare maximizing, and (2) it will undermine the legitimacy of managerial authority in such firms. J. (Hans) van Oosterhout holds an M.A. in political science from Leiden University and a PhD in organization theory from RSM Erasmus University, where he is currently an associate professor. His research involves the positive and normative theory of organizations and institutions, with a current emphasis on corporate governance and comparative economic and political organization. Earlier publications have appeared in: Academy of Management Review, Organization Studies, Journal of Business Ethics and Futures.     

2011年诺贝尔经济学奖述评:萨金特与西蒙斯

2011年诺贝尔经济学奖得主萨金特和西蒙斯将理性预期、向量自回归模型和脉冲响应分析引入宏观经济计量分析,研究经济政策对宏观经济变量的影响,其开创性的研究为宏观经济实证分析提供了核心方法,被学者和政策制定者广泛采用。此外,萨金特与其他学者创立的鲁棒控制理论已成为现代控制论的主要方法,西蒙斯提出的理性疏忽理论也对经济学的发展作出了重要的贡献。