“There's a hole in the ship of free enterprise and I see torpedoes ahead,” graphically explained one CEO to the authors of this work. His concern about the future course of…
Abstract
“There's a hole in the ship of free enterprise and I see torpedoes ahead,” graphically explained one CEO to the authors of this work. His concern about the future course of business‐government relations is widely shared by many Fortune 500 CEOs.
David N. Hurtt, Jerry G. Kreuze and Sheldon A. Langsam
One of the most complex and controversial issues confronting the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) over the last several years has been the accounting and financial…
Abstract
One of the most complex and controversial issues confronting the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) over the last several years has been the accounting and financial reporting of stock options. In December 2004, the FASB issued Statement 123R, Share‐Based Payment, in the hope that the long process of revising the accounting and financial reporting for stock options will be put to rest. FASB Statement 123R requires the fair‐value‐based method of accounting for share‐based payments. In order to offset the dilutive effects of generous stock option compensation packages for employees, companies are seemingly participating in stock repurchase plans. In the past, stock buyback programs were viewed as a means of distributing excess cash flow to investors; however, it appears now that many companies are financing stock repurchases through the issuance of debt, which can significantly impact the financial flexibility of a company. So, why do companies engage in this behavior? One possible reason for stock buybacks is to reduce the dilutive effect of stock option plans. Companies have, however, disputed that there is a direct relationship between exercised stock options and stock buyback transactions. Nevertheless, several articles and studies have found that there is a relationship and the FASB seems to believe that there is an association between stock buybacks and stock options, as Statement 123R requires that companies disclose the relationship between stock buybacks and stock payment programs. Using a sample of technology firms, we find evidence of an association between exercised stock options and repurchase of stock.
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David N. Hurtt, Jerry G. Kreuze and Sheldon A. Langsam
Significant investment dollars are now allocated to companies deemed by investors as socially responsible. This socially responsible theme contends that corporations should be…
Abstract
Significant investment dollars are now allocated to companies deemed by investors as socially responsible. This socially responsible theme contends that corporations should be held accountable for the totality of their actions and decisions, including CEO compensation levels. This paper investigates whether CEO compensation levels are more associated with traditional performance measures for socially responsible firms than for firms deemed not socially responsible, with the assumption being that social choice firms will be more sensitive to and may attempt to align CEO compensation levels with corporate performance. Rank correlation analysis and regression results using nine performance variables for 270 firms indicated that CEO compensation levels at social choice companies were more highly associated with performance variables than those at nonsocial companies. The study results suggest that social choice companies, in addition to their other corporate good deeds, seem to include CEO compensation levels as a part of their overall corporate decision process.
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A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balanceeconomics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary toman′s finding the good life and society enduring…
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A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balance economics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary to man′s finding the good life and society enduring as a civilized instrumentality. Looks for authority to great men of the past and to today′s moral philosopher: man is an ethical animal. The 13 essays are: 1. Evolutionary Economics: The End of It All? which challenges the view that Darwinism destroyed belief in a universe of purpose and design; 2. Schmoller′s Political Economy: Its Psychic, Moral and Legal Foundations, which centres on the belief that time‐honoured ethical values prevail in an economy formed by ties of common sentiment, ideas, customs and laws; 3. Adam Smith by Gustav von Schmoller – Schmoller rejects Smith′s natural law and sees him as simply spreading the message of Calvinism; 4. Pierre‐Joseph Proudhon, Socialist – Karl Marx, Communist: A Comparison; 5. Marxism and the Instauration of Man, which raises the question for Marx: is the flowering of the new man in Communist society the ultimate end to the dialectical movement of history?; 6. Ethical Progress and Economic Growth in Western Civilization; 7. Ethical Principles in American Society: An Appraisal; 8. The Ugent Need for a Consensus on Moral Values, which focuses on the real dangers inherent in there being no consensus on moral values; 9. Human Resources and the Good Society – man is not to be treated as an economic resource; man′s moral and material wellbeing is the goal; 10. The Social Economist on the Modern Dilemma: Ethical Dwarfs and Nuclear Giants, which argues that it is imperative to distinguish good from evil and to act accordingly: existentialism, situation ethics and evolutionary ethics savour of nihilism; 11. Ethical Principles: The Economist′s Quandary, which is the difficulty of balancing the claims of disinterested science and of the urge to better the human condition; 12. The Role of Government in the Advancement of Cultural Values, which discusses censorship and the funding of art against the background of the US Helms Amendment; 13. Man at the Crossroads draws earlier themes together; the author makes the case for rejecting determinism and the “operant conditioning” of the Skinner school in favour of the moral progress of autonomous man through adherence to traditional ethical values.
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Joshua Doane, Judy A. Lane and Michael J. Pisani
Volume 25 celebrates the 25th year of publication for the American Journal of Business (AJB). Launched by eight MAC schools of business in March 1986, the Journal has featured…
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Volume 25 celebrates the 25th year of publication for the American Journal of Business (AJB). Launched by eight MAC schools of business in March 1986, the Journal has featured more than 700 authors who have contributed more than 330 research articles at the intersection of theory and practice. From accounting to marketing, management to finance, the Journal prominently covers the breadth of the business disciplines as a general business outlet intended for both practitioners and academics. As the Journal reaches out beyond the MAC in sponsorship, authorship, and readership, we assess the Journal’s first quarter century of impact.
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Using semantic differential ratings of evaluation, potency and activity of American and German undergraduates, I will test the general hypothesis that if both cultures agree on…
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Using semantic differential ratings of evaluation, potency and activity of American and German undergraduates, I will test the general hypothesis that if both cultures agree on the sexual‐ erotic denotation of sentiments, sentiments will differ disproportional in their affective representations. It will be demonstrated that there is an interconnection of role‐identities and emotions. Affective representation between sexual role‐ identities differs in German and American culture. Emotions associated with sexual‐erotic role‐identities have a deviant and violent quality for Americans. The same role‐identities associate with emotions of impression and passion for German subjects.
Die Redeweise von der «touristischen Explosion» in der jüngsten Gegenwart gehört ins «Wörterbuch des Unmenschen». Sie kennzeichnet aber drastisch einen Vorgang, dem eine…
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Die Redeweise von der «touristischen Explosion» in der jüngsten Gegenwart gehört ins «Wörterbuch des Unmenschen». Sie kennzeichnet aber drastisch einen Vorgang, dem eine Sprengwirkung nicht ganz abgesprochen werden kann. Jahrtausendalte Gewohnheiten der Sesshaftigkeit wurden seit rund 20 Jahren durch den Tourismus in einem früher unvorstellbaren Ausmass aufgebrochen. Die Erschütterung erfasste auch die Jugend. Das Beben pflanzt sich fort, zeitlich und räumlich, nicht etwa sich verebbend wie bei einem einzigen Erdstoss. Einmal in Schwung gesetzt, wurde der Tourismus allgemein, somit auch jener der Jugend, zu einem perpetuum mobile.
A television comic announces a satiric Golden Fleece Award for the faux pas of some government official. The San Diego Chicken hams it up in the stands of the baseball park. A…
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A television comic announces a satiric Golden Fleece Award for the faux pas of some government official. The San Diego Chicken hams it up in the stands of the baseball park. A Swiss mime troupe advertises the services of a communications corporation. All these may be more familiar to young people today than is a circus clown. These and other entertainers are all in the business of laughter and provide commentaries on current society.
Chih-Yang Tsai, Paul Pancoast, Molly Duguid and Charlton Tsai
The purpose of this paper is to understand the time spent on various tasks during physician inpatient rounds and to examine the new electronic health records (EHRs) impact on time…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the time spent on various tasks during physician inpatient rounds and to examine the new electronic health records (EHRs) impact on time distribution.
Design/methodology/approach
Trained observers shadowed hospital physicians to record times for various tasks before and after EHR implementation.
Findings
Electronic records did not improve efficiency. However, task times were redistributed. Physicians spent more time reviewing patient charts using time saved from miscellaneous work.
Research limitations/implications
The study focusses solely on work distribution and the changes it underwent. It does not include quality measures either on patient results or physician satisfaction.
Practical implications
As EHR provides rich information and easier access to patient records, it motivates physicians to spend more time reviewing patient charts. Hospital administrators seeking immediate returns on EHR investment, therefore, may be disappointed.
Originality/value
Unlike previous work, this study was conducted in a non-teaching hospital, providing a task-time comparison without any educational and team factor influence. The result serves as a benchmark for many community hospital managers seeking to address the same issue.
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Guido Baltes and Isabell Leibing
“Guerrilla marketing” describes unconventional marketing strategies with which to achieve significant effects – with a fraction of the budget of “traditional” marketing campaigns…
Abstract
Purpose
“Guerrilla marketing” describes unconventional marketing strategies with which to achieve significant effects – with a fraction of the budget of “traditional” marketing campaigns. This article aims to give an introduction to “guerrilla marketing” principles and discuss suitability of this marketing approach for information services.
Design/methodology/approach
Whether guerrilla marketing strategies may be suitable for introducing information services and the necessary prerequisites for that are explored based on applying cross‐case analysis findings from industry examples to information services. This is based on a conceptual framework illustrating differentiating and positioning hypotheses for information services.
Findings
It is argued, that guerrilla marketing strategies may be applied for information services whenever a product‐like representation for such a service can be developed and a link to emotional values be established. Furthermore, for the product‐like representation there must be coherent target groups to be identified and relevant user scenarios be created for them.
Originality/value
This article provides a conceptual framework related to the question of how to increase acceptance and degree of utilization of information services in their relevant target groups. By discussing the possibilities of marketing strategies with limited resources, this article provides alternative ways of thinking and acting for information services mediators such as, for example, librarians. This is of particular relevance for this community, as information services mediators generally need marketing efforts to gain spread for their information services offer – but usually are faced with strictly limited marketing budgets.