The influence of executive age,career horizon and incentives on pre-turnover earnings management

In this paper we hypothesize that CEOs will be motivated to manage earnings prior to a turnover decision. This motivation comes from the horizon problem for CEOs nearing retirement age and for CEOs whose profit-based bonus is a large portion of their total compensation. We find that firms in which CEOs are nearing retirement age have large discretionary accruals in the year prior to turnover. Although we find firms with a larger proportion of profit-based bonus pay have larger discretionary accruals, this result is not robust with the inclusion of control variables in the regressions.

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Strangers in a Strange Land: Shock,Disappointment, and Adjustments Experiences of Expatriates in Central Asia

Increasing globalization is driving an increase in diversity and interaction. A more mobile and international workforce frequently requires that individuals try to understand the norms of their “new” society. This paper provides a preliminary exploration of the types of issues and concerns raised by expatriates working in a new foreign environment. In particular, the paper uses a hybrid survey/interview methodology to identify specific issues raised by expatriates working in Kazakhstan, Central Asia.

Total business strategy—the missing link

‘Total Business Strategy’ is the missing link between the aloof ‘Mission Statement’ and the particular ‘Functional Strategies’, that will make strategy formulation more implementation oriented. Total Business Strategy addresses five strategic questions:

• 1. 

  1.|What are our markets? What are the needs (existing or to be developed) of the markets and customers that our firm wants to satisfy?

• 2. 

  2.|What should be our ‘generic’ competitive advantage?

• 3. 

  3.|Are we going to be technology leaders or followers?

• 4. 

  4.|What is our attitute to risk? What risks, and to what extent are we willing to take?

• 5. 

  5.|What are our long range quantitative targets?

     

Inverse Polymatroidal Flow Problem

Let D = (V, A) be a directed graph, for each vertex v V, let ⁺(v) and ^– (v) denote the sets of arcs leaving and entering v, and be intersecting families on ⁺(v) and ^–(v), respectively, and and be submodular functions on intersecting pairs. A flow f : A R is feasible if

Governance of open source software: state of the art

In this overview of governance mechanisms developed within open source software (OSS) circles, three types of governance are studied: ‘spontaneous’ governance, internal governance, and governance towards outside parties. Moreover, two main ways in which lessons from OSS can be applied elsewhere are explored: peer production of products other than software, and embedding ‘peer-produced’ products and peer processes into existing institutions (‘coupling’).

Diesseits von Coaching und Mentoring: Kollegiale Praxisberatung

Zusammenfassung  Die Methode der kollegialen Beratung eignet sich gut für Menschen in Organisationen, die vor der Herausforderung stehen, ihr Prozesswissen in neuen, unbekannten Kontexten anzuwenden. Schnelligkeit und konkreter Praxisbezug sind dabei wesentliche Faktoren für eine akzeptierte Lernform. In diesem Artikel wird eine Anpassung der Grundmethode der kollegialen Beratung, die kollegiale Praxisberatung, vorgestellt, die diese Anforderung der Praktiker erfüllt. Die dabei auftretenden Prozesswirkungen und Lernerfahrungen werden anhand zweier Praxisbeispiele aus der Industrie illustriert und Chancen sowie Grenzen der Methode diskutiert.

Das 360-Grad-Feedback zur Unterstützung der Kompetenzerweiterung von Führungskräften

Zusammenfassung:  Der Beitrag beschreibt die Einbettung des 360-Grad-Feedbacks in ein Programm der Führungskr?fteentwicklung. 360-Grad-Feedback ist eine Voraussetzung für die systematische Kompetenzentwicklung der Führungskr?fte eines Unternehmens. Darüber hinaus k?nnen die Entwicklungs- und Lernm?glichkeiten, die ein individuelles Coaching bietet, durch ein vorheriges 360-Grad-Feedback optimiert werden. Die bei ThyssenKrupp Services mit dem F?rderprogramm „best-for-best“ gesammelten Erfahrungen zeigen deutlich, dass die Kombination von einem 360-Grad-Feedback mit gezielten Coaching-Angeboten ein echtes Erfolgsmodell darstellt.

New media economics are transforming consumer relations

The introduction of new IT-based technologies is often said to revolutionize media and retail competition, change the power of brands, and make ‘smart shopping’ or ‘e-commerce’ the future of consumer relations. Other sources, however, caution that the underlying ideas are neither new nor likely to significantly change the market environment. It is the purpose of this article to present a brief perspective on:

• 1. 

  1.|Why current changes in media will alter consumer relations;

• 2. 

  2.|Which means of consumer access is likely to dominate;

• 3. 

  3.|How the result affects the case for e-commerce; and

• 4. 

  4.|How this shapes the evaluation of commercial opportunities for established players as well as newcomers.

     

Accountability in the Shadow of Hierarchy: The Horizontal Accountability of Agencies

In the Netherlands, new accountability arrangements are created as remedies for the accountability deficit of agencies. These arrangements are of a ‘horizontal’ nature, as the agencies account for their behaviour towards accountees that are not their hierarchical superiors: clients, stakeholders or peers. This paper provides an inventory and qualitative assessment of horizontal accountability arrangements. It is argued that they have added value because they stimulate learning. However, horizontal accountability is not a substitute for hierarchical accountability. Horizontal accountability arrangements operate ‘in the shadow of hierarchy’: they gain significance through complex interactions with traditional forms of accountability.

FEMA and the Witt Revolution: Testing the Hypothesis of “Bureaucratic Autonomy”

In the wake of widespread criticism for its poor performance in Hurricane Andrew in 1992, FEMA became a more effective organization under the leadership of James Witt (1993–2001). One answer to the question of how and why FEMA improved so rapidly and significantly during this period is Carpenter’s (2001) theory of “bureaucratic autonomy.” This paper defines the minimum conditions Carpenter considers necessary for the term, evaluates their applicability to FEMA during this period, and briefly examines alternative explanations for FEMA’s organizational transformation. It concludes that the innovation and entrepreneurship FEMA demonstrated during this period do indeed meet the criteria for “bureaucratic autonomy.”

Bureaucratic Power: Security and the National Response Plan

The National Response Plan was created by the Department of Homeland Security for the purpose of organizing disaster relief services by coordinating activities of cabinet departments and independent agencies. A case study of the Plan's creation shows that the Department has skillfully used its sources of administrative power to build a latent control network with little or no oversight, raising questions of accountability and ultimate security. Variables discussed here promote building of a theory of bureaucratic power.

Empowerment as a success factor in start-up companies

In this paper, we develop a theoretical model of employee empowerment in start-ups by integrating different management-oriented approaches in the literature. To test this model, we use recent survey data from start-up companies in high-growth industries based in Germany. In particular, we examine the degree to which employee empowerment as a modern concept of delegative leadership contributes to a higher organizational effectiveness within the firm and eventually to higher growth.

From social ties to embedded competencies: the case of business groups

Our current views of economic competition are still rooted in the imagery of the isolated firm that transacts with its buyers, suppliers, and competitors via largely anonymous factor and product markets. Yet this view is fundamentally at odds with the growing importance of business groups in the global economy. We thus need a reconceptualized version of our idea of economic competition, which is capable of explaining competitive advantage at the group-versus-group rather than firm-versus-firm level of analysis. In the present paper we build on insights derived from organizational sociology and organizational economics to develop a business group-level theory of competition and competitive advantage based on embedded competencies.

Organizational Justice and Job Satisfaction in Coaching

This study explored organizational climate perceptions within high school athletic departments from the point of view of coaches. Five key facets of job satisfaction and satisfaction with the job in general were assessed as well as the relationship between each facet and three distinctive dimensions of organizational justice. High school coaches (N = 392) indicated that their athletic departments maintained a fair operating climate and were satisfied with each of the five facets and their jobs in general. Also, a linear relationship (p ≤ 0.05) was found between each of the three fairness dimensions and each of the job satisfaction facets as well as the job itself.

E-governance and Corruption-developments and Issues in Ethiopia

This paper reports the results of a survey of 400 respondents in Ethiopia about factors generating corruption and the potential of e-Governance to mitigate corruption. It is suggested that e-Governance can help not only in weeding out corruption but also in the establishment of sounder government citizen relationships in Ethiopia. While e-Governance cannot cure all the structural factors that breed corruption in the society, strategic implementation of e-Governance can help improve the critical variable in combating corruption-government citizen relationships. It is argued that while e-Governance initiatives can make important contributions to improving public services they can best do so by helping improve overall relationships between governments and citizens.

Florida ADs and Homologous Reproduction

Kanter’s (Men and women of the corporation, Basic Books, New York, 1977) proposition that those in control within organizations sustain their dominance through homologous reproduction was first applied to sport by [Knoppers, Quest 39(1):9–22, 1987]. Applying the construct to interscholastic athletics in Ohio (Stangl and Kane, Sociol Sport J 8:47–60, 1991) and in Texas (Lovett and Lowry, J Sport Manage 8:27–35, 1994) researchers were able to provide a theoretical foundation to support the anecdotal “good old boys network” which prevailed in high school athletics. This study conducted in Florida determined that while sport remained a male dominated institution, homologous reproduction did not appear to be the factor sustaining the current organizational structure within interscholastic athletic departments.

The governance of open source initiatives: what does it mean to be community managed?

The concept of ‘open source’ software initially referred to software projects managed by grassroots communities in public forums. Since 1998, the concept has been adapted and diffused to new settings that extend beyond software. While the open source community has maintained control over which software licenses can be considered ‘open source’, little attention has been paid to the elements that constitute community management. More private parties now contribute to OSS communities and more hybrid governance models have emerged. Before we can understand how hybrid models differ from a community managed model, a more precise definition is needed. This essay takes a step in this direction by identifying five core principles critical to community-managed governance.

The role of risk preferences and flexibility for risk management: lessons from a custom manufacturing environment

In this paper, we study the management of financial risks of a custom manufacturer in the specialty chemicals industry arising from increased volatility of profits caused by market uncertainty and growing competitive pressure due to globalization. We argue that such risk management can be established either by creating and utilizing flexibility or by adjusting the risk preferences. Using a model-based approach, we operationalize flexibility and risk preferences to show their effects on the profit/risk and the decision making of a firm through a stylized example motivated by the specialty chemicals business.

Promoting Public Trust in Public Organizations: Explaining the Role of Public Accountability

This paper is aimed at explaining the role of public accountability in promoting public trust in public organizations. Initially a conceptual model was developed. Then, the model was tested empirically in Iran. The result shows that public accountability influences the public trust by improving citizens’ satisfaction. In other words, legal, ethical, financial, functional, and utmost political accountability affect public trust through influencing citizens’ satisfaction. This study also confirms that changes in social trust, citizens’ trust in government, and media will moderate trust in public organizations.