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To describe the application of fair value methodologies to fund operations and emphasize the importance of appropriate valuation procedures.

Discusses the need for appropriate valuation methodologies, describes a recent survey that shows how fair valuation policies and procedures have evolved over time, recommends procedures for adoption of consistent valuation procedures and industry practices, explains recent fund management trends such as the creation of separate valuation committees and the use of third‐party pricing vendors, and warns that valuation is becoming a more frequent subject of SEC examinations.

Concludes that investment companies, private investment companies, boards, and managements are re‐evaluating and updating their valuation policies and procedures, partly in response to increased focus on valuations by the SEC in its examinations.

Provides the results of a useful survey on fair value methodologies and important considerations for fund managers and directors as they review and update their valuation methodologies and procedures.

Discusses US use of drug testing in the workplace, screening employees for smoking, AIDS, genetic traits and reproductive hazards. Attributes this to the costs employers face in insurance, litigation and compensation. Points out that the purpose of drug testing is to circumvent management responsibility for: accidents in the workplace, stress, bad management practices, and disregarding health and safety initiatives. Acknowledges that the tests are harmful and indefensible. Reports that 81 per cent of members of the American Management Association in 1996 conducted drug testing. Claims that screening is the alternative to monitoring – that is screening out individuals who are seen as high risk in some way – yet that misses the point – the focus should be on making hazardous working conditions safe. Indicates that companies may use drug testing as a means of deterring drug users from gravitating towards their organization. Mentions that workplace‐induced stress can lead to substance abuse and that, therefore it is management driven, rather than being a problem the worker brings to the workplace. Quotes a number of company physicians who object to policing drug use. Indicates that drug testing has diverted attention away from health and safety issues and hazardous working conditions.

The current financial crisis revealed weaknesses in the US financial system, including the difficulty of valuing complex assets. This paper seeks to examine regulatory and compliance issues for hedge funds valuing complex assets.

Within the context of hedge fund valuation, the paper provides a general overview of: the regulatory background of hedge funds and the central role valuation plays in the operation and regulation of such funds; relevant cases brought by the SEC; and a discussion of valuation best practices.

Hedge funds are not “unregulated.” There is a body of law and accounting standards that applies to hedge fund valuation. Nevertheless, hedge fund valuation standards are evolving in this era of heightened regulatory scrutiny. The common concepts that have emerged from valuation best practices will likely provide the underpinning for any regulatory initiatives regarding hedge fund valuation.

By the time of publication, Congress may pass pending legislation governing hedge funds and there may be additional notable SEC cases on hedge fund valuation.

The economic crisis has revitalized the SEC's interest in this area. Consequently, hedge funds should consider adoption of a compliance program that specifically targets valuation by stressing investor disclosure, independence of the valuation function, comprehensive written valuation polices and procedures, and internal controls.

The paper compiles and organizes in one place the regulatory and compliance standards governing asset valuation by hedge funds.

Looks at the marketing of five Kraft Italia food products: Splendid, Sottilette, Milka, Hag and Philadelphia in Italy. Examines the changes in consumption rate and how marketing strategies for these products have developed. States that the lessons to be learned from these case studies could help encourage the development of effective marketing of other brands in Italy.

Through a case study of J. Walter Thompson and Kraft’s efforts to market Vegemite in the USA in the late 1960s, this paper aims to explore transnational systems of cultural production and consumption, the US’s changing perception of Australia and the influence of culture on whether advertising fails or succeeds.

This paper draws from archival primary sources, including advertisements and newspapers, as well as secondary literatures from the fields of advertising history, food studies and transnational studies of popular culture.

Although J. Walter Thompson’s advertising contributed to Vegemite’s icon status in Australia, it failed to capture the American market in the late 1960s. In the 1980s, however, Vegemite did capture American interest when it was central to a wave of Australian popular culture that included films, sport and music, particularly Men at Work’s hit song, “Down Under”, whose lyrics mentioned Vegemite. As such, Vegemite’s moment of success stateside occurred without a national advertising campaign. Even when popular, however, Americans failed to like Vegemite’s taste, confirming it as a uniquely culturally specific product.

This paper analyzes a little-studied advertising campaign. The case study’s interdisciplinary findings will be of interest to scholars of advertising history, twentieth century USA and Australian history and food studies.

The PGA Tour/Tiger Woods golf series was examined for brand and product placement and found to have 2,100 identifiable brand images, with all but one occurring in the final three years. Brands appearing most frequently included Oakley, Nike, adidas, TW Nike and Tag Heuer. By product category, Nike was leader in equipment (36%) and Oakley in apparel (31%). The results indicate that video games are increasingly seen as viable marketing avenues.

To demonstrate that high performance in organizations results from their being decision‐driven.

Executives from 365 companies in seven countries were surveyed. More than 40 high‐performance companies were then interviewed. Industry leaders in the study were compared with trailing competitors, while transformations where organizational change was clearly a leading factor were also examined in depth. More broadly, the article draws on the experience of more than 1,000 organization cases for more than 500.

The findings were that only 15 percent of companies have an organization that helps them outperform and that these companies are differentiated by the quality of their decision‐making – and their ability to repeatedly implement their decisions successfully. Successful implementation depends on an integrated organizational system that aligns five attributes – leadership, accountability, people, frontline execution and a performance culture.

This research has lead to the development of a scorecard to measure organizational effectiveness. This enables companies to benchmark their performance against the 365 businesses in the survey. The scorecard gauges agreement (on a one‐to‐four scale) among managers and employees with ten key statements that reflect the five attributes of high performance.

The article will help focus company leaders on the organizational issues that drive high performance. In addition to identifying the key attributes of high performance, it presents an organizational effectiveness scorecard to isolate the causes of underperformance and guide change. It should be of value to all management levels from the chief executive to front line staff.

Micro and small enterprises (MSE) play a critical role in the Swiss economy but had no meaningfully adopted working from home (WFH) policy before the COVID-19 crisis. The timing of the study’s data collection allowed a unique assessment of Swiss MSEs’ adoption of WFH enabled by the adoption of digital technologies due to the first government-mandated COVID-19 lockdown. The study also set out to assess the permanence of any changes in the adoption of WFH by MSEs after initial government COVID-19 restrictions ended.

The study uses a threefold theoretical framework combining social, technical and spatial dimensions. Data were collected via telephone interviews. The utilised sampling frame included 153,000 small businesses with 4–49 employees, and the realised sample for the study was 503 interviews with MSE owners and managing directors (MDs).

The Swiss government’s COVID-19 crisis lockdown policies accelerated the digital transformation of work by employees in Swiss MSEs by increasing the number of employees WFH. However, the number of MSEs with WFH employees decreased after the first lockdown ended. Small business leadership is an important influence on the persistence of any increases in WFH.

The data collection uniquely captures the effects of externally driven digital transformation of work in small businesses by the adoption of WFH. The findings show that small businesses can rapidly learn new ways of working and support the claim that Swiss MSE MDs play a critical role in the adoption of WFH. They also confirm the importance of digital leadership and culture for realising the potential of WFH in small businesses.

The article questions whether integrated online library systems effectively serve all the needs of libraries and encourage the development of each module to its fullest potential. It suggests that the needs of Acquisitions Departments are not, in most cases, being met, and that a devotion to integration might in the long run be counterproductive.