Consensus building plays an important role in strategy formulation and implementation. Previous researchers have attempted to find a link between goal consensus among top…
Abstract
Consensus building plays an important role in strategy formulation and implementation. Previous researchers have attempted to find a link between goal consensus among top management and organizational performance, mainly in manufacturing settings, with varying results. Few extant studies have examined goal consensus at the functional level. Aims to expand our knowledge of the goal consensus/performance relationship by focusing on the relationship between operations and marketing in the service setting. Attempts to identify the types of co‐ordination mechanisms that help achieve functional goal consensus between operations and marketing. Finds a positive relationship between goal consensus of the marketing and operations managers and performance based on return on equity and return on assets. Concludes that consensus is correlated with the use of process and programming co‐ordination mechanisms and not correlated with the use of interpersonal co‐ordination mechanisms.
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Leslie O. Morgan, Winter Nie and Scott T. Young
Global business frequently requires the expatriation and repatriation of managers and skilled workers. Previous research has focused on cultural and demographic factors that lead…
Abstract
Global business frequently requires the expatriation and repatriation of managers and skilled workers. Previous research has focused on cultural and demographic factors that lead to success with this process. This study goes beyond the cultural and demographic issues to examine implications of operational and technology‐related factors, including use of standard practices, degree of technical sophistication of operations, and technical orientation of the employee. Our results indicate that the technical sophistication of operations abroad, use of standard practices at home, technical orientation of the individual, and increased responsibility and promotion all positively contribute to expatriate satisfaction. Repatriate satisfaction is primarily influenced by difficulty in finding a suitable position upon relocation home. The technical orientation of the individual, in turn, has important implications for repatriation success. This research identifies important new operational and technology‐related factors that should be considered by global firms in management of their internationally located operations.
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Shirley A. Hopkins, Winter Nie and Willie E. Hopkins
Assesses differences in the economies of Taiwan and China to determine whether or not perceptions of quality management differences exist among managers of electronic firms in the…
Abstract
Assesses differences in the economies of Taiwan and China to determine whether or not perceptions of quality management differences exist among managers of electronic firms in the two countries. Statistical results suggest that these two groups of managers not only differ in how they define quality, they also differ in their beliefs about the relationship between quality management and organizational outcomes, the extent to which quality management is practiced in the firm, and how the quality of their products compares with products produced by competitors in other countries.
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The health movement that has been sweeping this country has given rise to increased consumer awareness of both prescription and nonprescription medications. One of several…
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The health movement that has been sweeping this country has given rise to increased consumer awareness of both prescription and nonprescription medications. One of several responses to this heightened interest has been a plethora of drug information publications aimed at the general public audience. Some of these publications became so popular they attained positions on the best‐seller list. At the same time books, such as the PDR, that had generally been available only to health professionals began to find their way into popular bookstores.
P. Olivier and I. DuRand
Scrip dividends have become increasingly popular in South Africa since the introduction of secondary tax on companies (STC) in the 1993 budget. To date there is no accounting…
Abstract
Scrip dividends have become increasingly popular in South Africa since the introduction of secondary tax on companies (STC) in the 1993 budget. To date there is no accounting standard in South Africa that prescribes a particular accounting treatment for scrip dividends; therefore, different accounting approaches are used in South Africa to account for scrip dividends. These different approaches do not always meet the substance over form principle, as required by Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP). The result is that the information disclosed to the users of the financial statements differs from company to company. This study proposes an accounting treatment for scrip dividend schemes in South Africa. It concludes that the reinvestment approach is the most acceptable accounting treatment for scrip dividend schemes in South Africa.
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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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This paper gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied to the analysis of ceramics and glass materials. The bibliography at the end of the paper…
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This paper gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied to the analysis of ceramics and glass materials. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations on the subject that were published between 1977‐1998. The following topics are included: ceramics – material and mechanical properties in general, ceramic coatings and joining problems, ceramic composites, ferrites, piezoceramics, ceramic tools and machining, material processing simulations, fracture mechanics and damage, applications of ceramic/composites in engineering; glass – material and mechanical properties in general, glass fiber composites, material processing simulations, fracture mechanics and damage, and applications of glasses in engineering.
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Downsizing is a necessary evil when times get tough or when corporations get bloated. It is not, however, a viable long‐term business strategy. Even in the short run, downsizing…
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Downsizing is a necessary evil when times get tough or when corporations get bloated. It is not, however, a viable long‐term business strategy. Even in the short run, downsizing produces relatively weak returns. A Mercer Management Consulting study of the 1,000 largest US companies, comparing the stock market performance of successful cost‐cutters with that of successful growth companies, found that investors will pay considerably more for a dollar of profits generated through revenue growth than for that same dollar generated through cost reduction. The message is clear: a company cannot shrink to greatness. It has to grow.
At the World Bank we are learning that economic development is more of a process of knowledge accumulation than of capital accumulation, all the more pertinent becausethe creation…
Abstract
At the World Bank we are learning that economic development is more of a process of knowledge accumulation than of capital accumulation, all the more pertinent because the creation and dissemination of knowledge are accelerating rapidly. The stock of understanding of knowledge itself is growing more rapidly as a result of advances in our understanding of scientific principles. In addition, rapid developments in information and communications technologies (in part the results of these advances) are themselves speeding the rate of generating and diffusing knowledge. This is largely being achieved by reducing the cost of codifying and processing information.
Hongbo Cai and Eleonora Cutrini
The objective of this chapter is to provide a first assessment on the evolution of spatial distribution of foreign firms in China.
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this chapter is to provide a first assessment on the evolution of spatial distribution of foreign firms in China.
Methodology/approach
We examine the overall changes in the location of foreign firms in China over the period 1999–2009. Then, we distinguish two time periods, 1998–2001 and 2002–2009 so as to analyze whether foreign firms’ agglomeration across regions has changed significantly after the China’s entry into the WTO (2001) and the first launch of the Chinese government policies to develop western internal areas.
Findings
Our analysis suggests that foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) with higher foreign capital shares are more geographically clustered in coastal regions than other enterprises with lower foreign capital shares. This group with the highest intensity of foreign involvement in firm capital also experienced the most relevant changes over the decade of our analysis becoming more localized between the core-periphery divide (coastal provinces and the rest of mainland China).
Research limitations
The main limitation refers to poor data availability, data matching problems, and measurement errors in the database used, as highlighted by Nie, Jiang, and Yang (2012).
Practical implications
A general analysis of location patterns and the role of public policies may inform foreign companies in their entry strategy in the Chinese market.
Originality/value
Very few studies have explored location patterns with detailed geographical data and, at the same time, with data disaggregated by foreign ownership shares.