An inspection game of internal audit and the influence of whistle-blowing

In this paper we analyse how whistle-blowing affects fraudulent behaviour of managers while the company instigates imperfect internal audit to detect the fraud. To do so, we employ in a first step a non-cooperative inspection game to analyse fraudulent behaviour of a manager controlled by an internal auditor. In a second step we introduce exogenous whistle-blowing of a manager’s employee to aid the auditor to reveal the fraud. In a third step, the two-person inspection game is extended to a three-person approach with endogenous whistle-blowing. Our novel results are that the intensity of internal audit is always lower with whistle-blowing than without and that whistle-blowing renders the manager to act less fraudulently than compared to the basic inspection game if and only if she is unaware of the whistle-blower’s expected pay-off and the efficacy of internal audit is sufficiently low.     

The 2007 financial crisis: strategic actors and processes of construction of a concrete system

The recent financial and economic crisis, defined “a once in a century credit tsunami” by former President of Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, has produced relevant damages in all economic sectors, making many people much poorer. For this reason, many scientific contributions have addressed the causes of the crisis, focusing mostly on the ‘bad practices’ in lending and credit securitization procedures as well as in corporate governance mechanisms ruling the banking system. Our work is based on an organizational perspective and it reviews the crisis under a theoretical model that combines the political and new institutionalist studies, in order to show evidence of the intense network of relationships and interests underlying the financial system government. In doing so, we identify the key players acting as institutional entrepreneurs that, levering on their resources and power, have contributed to construct and reshape the institutional framework—normative and symbolic—ruling the so called Great Moderation period.     

Leadership and the strategic emotional manipulation of political identity: An evolutionary perspective

This paper offers a theoretical argument for some of the ways in which leaders can strategically manipulate emotion and appeal to shared identity to create cohesive political identities among followers which allow them to overcome recruitment, coordination and collective action challenges to maximize prospects for group survival. Building on divergent strands of literature from several disciplines including political science and psychology as well as recent work in biological anthropology, this argument outlines how leaders build on a foundation of shared social identity to incite fear and outrage toward out-groups among followers. Social identity and emotion thus serve as proximate mechanisms by which leaders can develop and sustain cohesive cooperation among followers that can then be deployed at will. In this way, the most effective leaders can leverage extant psychological mechanisms to cultivate a devoted group of followers whose affective attachment to a particular political identity can be activated for a wide variety of purposes independent of actual political content or issue area.     

The relationship between organizational value sharing and influence over strategic decisions

This study examines the relationship between influence in the strategic decision-making process and the sharing of organizational values. Findings from a quick service restaurant chain indicate that perceptions of value sharing are associated with the ability to influence critical strategic issues. The assessed ability of various corporate departments to influence specific strategic decisions differs according to the type of value shared and the degree of value sharing. Few differences in results exist as a function of value sharing with the top management team (vice presidents) versus value sharing with the founder/CEO. Implications of the results and the need to continue empirical exploration of value-based explanations for strategic decision making are discussed.     

Alliance: The new strategic focus

Alliance between companies has long been a major corporate strategy. However, the recession and increasing protectionism have combined to raise the costs of doing business which in turn have favoured the increasing use of business alliances. While alliances have proved to be valuable competitive manoeuvres, there are inherent risks in relying on alliances as the sole or the major strategy for a company. This article discusses the key factors behind the change in focus for alliance strategies and identifies the major alliance thrusts being adopted in response to changing conditions.     

The strategic analysis of logistics service sharing in an e-commerce platform

In e-commerce, the success of hybrid online platforms is well documented where the platform not only works as a retailer but also offers online marketplace services to sellers. Logistics service is one of the most expensive operations for e-commerce and plays a critical role in promoting online purchases. In most cases, the platform builds a self-supporting logistics service system to deliver its own products, and the seller outsources the logistics service to third-party logistics service providers (TPLPs). Recently, the e-commerce market has emerged with a new trend of business-to-business logistics service sharing—the platform shares its logistics service system with the seller. In this paper, we first analyze the strategic and economic impacts of logistics service sharing. Our analysis shows that whereas logistics service sharing will lead to a lose-win situation for the platform and the seller when the TPLP's logistics service level and the market potential are low, it will lead to a win-lose situation when the TPLP's logistics service level or the market potential is very high. Furthermore, a win-win situation can be achieved when the TPLP's logistics service level and the market potential are in the middle regions. Then, we examine the equilibrium mode by considering the strategic interactions between the platform and the seller. We find that when the TPLP's logistics service level and the market potential are relatively low, the equilibrium mode is No-Service-Sharing. As the TPLP's logistics service level, the market potential, or both increase, the equilibrium mode will evolve from No-Service-Sharing to Service-Sharing.     

Inspection of an unreliable flexible manufacturing system: with repairable parts and non-negligible inspection times

The purpose of this paper is to address the problem of quality control and repair in an FMS which is described by an open queuing network. We consider two cases: first, all detected defective parts are directed to a special repair facility; second, a defective part is repaired within the machine group where it is detected. Using numerical analyses, we provide some managerial insights regarding the role, position, and distribution of the inspection effort in an FMS, and draw some inferences regarding the design of such FMS when both quality and quantity issues in the FMS are considered.     

Maintaining strategic momentum: The CEO''s agenda

How does the chief executive of a large complex organization maintain strategic momentum? This represents a great challenge when there are no obvious external threats, and no obvious reasons for having a concerted action. Floris Maljers, Charles Baden-Fuller and Frans van den Bosch explore the inherent tensions which exist between stability and change. Change is necessary to maintain success, but too much change is disastrous. The authors argue that there are several possible solutions to this paradox, including that of generating periods of intense activity followed by periods of comparative stability and incremental improvement. Using the introspection of one of the CEOs of Unilever, who held office from 1984 to 1994, the authors examine how these tensions were played out and resolved.     

组织学习、战略柔性对企业绩效影响的实证研究

通过对组织学习能力、战略柔性及企业绩效的相关文献的系统梳理,探索性地提出了一个体现组织学习能力、战略柔性以及企业绩效之间关系的结构模型,采用多行业的样本数据,运用SPSS和结构方程模型,通过样本分析,检验了组织学习能力对不同类型的战略柔性(资源柔性和能力柔性)的影响,以及资源柔性和能力柔性分别对于企业绩效的影响;通过假说验证分析,辅助各变量R2值的分析,企业绩效的53.6%被战略柔性的影响作用所解释,又由于资源柔性对企业绩效的影响作用不显著,所以被解释的企业绩效很大程度上源于能力柔性的影响.研究表明确实存在组织学习能力对战略柔性的影响作用,以及不同类型的战略柔性(资源柔性和能力柔性)对企业绩效影响的差异,从而为企业提高经营绩效提供理论基础和有效途径.     

Competing with Japan—The rules of the game

This paper explains that, to deal with the Japanese challenge, it is important to understand the comprehensive nature of that challenge. The challenge covers every function and every phase of the product development and marketing cycle. Therefore, solutions must not be piecemeal. In writing this paper, the author draws extensively on his working and consulting experience.     

演化博弈视角下地方环境规制部门执法策略研究

通过建立环境规制中地方规制部门与排污企业的演化博弈模型,研究了博弈双方的决策演化规律,着重分析了地方规制部门环境执法的影响因素,并采用结构方程模型对理论分析结果进行了实证检验。研究结果表明:地方规制部门与排污企业的决策演化规律一共包含12种情形,对方策略既定条件下治污和执法策略的相对净支付决定了博弈主体策略选择。加大中央(上级)环保部门对地方规制部门的奖惩力度、提高环境规制标准,能够促使地方规制部门提高环境执法力度,而且加大奖惩力度的促进作用要大于提高环境规制标准。对环境执法产生负面影响的主要因素是地方政府干扰,其次是环境执法成本。污染削减技术创新既可能提高、也可能降低环境执法力度,实证结果表明其降低了环境执法力度。企业污染物产生量越大,地方规制部门越倾向提高环境执法力度。地方规制部门的环境执法特征是现有政治、经济和环保体制下多方互动的均衡结果。     

Overconfidence and risk seeking in credit markets: an experimental game

Behavioral biases may influence bank decisions when granting credit to their customers. This paper explores this possibility in an experimental setting, contributing to the literature in two ways. First, we designed a business simulation game that replicates the basic decision-making processes of a bank granting credit to clients under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Second, we implemented a series of short tests to measure participants’ overconfidence and risk profile according to prospect theory and then conduct an experimental implementation of the simulation game. We find that higher levels of overprecision and risk seeking for gains (mostly attributable to distortion of probabilities) foster lower prices and higher volumes of credit, and reduce quality. The most consistent result is that distortion of probabilities affects the ability to discriminate between the quality of borrowers according to objective information, fostering strategies of lower loan prices to lower quality clients. The external validity of the results is also discussed.     

Regulating the domestic air travel in India: an umpire's game

This paper analyses the competitive strategies available to an Indian airline in a scenario where the entry of private domestic airlines has only recently been allowed. The Calcutta-Delhi route is initially analysed as an example—where there are three major players competing. The fare charged by each airline being the same, the number of departures is used as one of the major competitive weapons. Game theory is used here as a useful tool to analyse such situations. The equilibrium behaviour of the airlines is studied and the possibility of the game being played at the focal point is then analysed.All over the world, airlines have had a long history of economic regulation of both their national and international operations with governments often regarding regulation as necessary—both to achieve a comprehensive route network and to achieve stable markets. The game formulated is then analysed from the point of view of the regulating body and it is found that the game-theoretic framework is able to provide powerful insights regarding regulatory interventions. Two types of interventions, viz. fare regulation as well as the introduction of a licence fee per flight, are analysed and their ability to shift the Nash equilibrium to the focal point are studied. Finally, the problem is generalised and some results are obtained which are applicable to any route with any number of operators as long as the basic nature of the competitive situation remains the same. Use of the game-theoretic approach as a powerful tool to decide regulatory interventions is thus highlighted.     

Hospital and medical staff strategic planning: developing an integrated approach

The physician as the principal customer of the hospital is a relatively new concept, indicative of the shift to a more complete market orientation in strategic planning. Although medical staff and medical community dynamics receive increasing attention in strategic planning, much more sophistication is now needed to involve physicians constructively in strategic planning for the hospital and medical staff. While full consonance of physician and hospital plans may be achievable only in a completely integrated delivery system, there is considerable room for improvement in current organizational models.     

The components of strategic planning

What is the current level of strategic planning in the United States? What objectives are quantified in the strategic plans? What kinds of environmental factors are identified in the planning process? What areas are planned for? How often are the strategic plans reviewed? These are among the questions which were raised in a recent survey of 323 companies whose results are summarized in this paper. It is hoped that this study will permit practitioners to compare their planning with planning being performed in their industry.Suggested improvements in the stategic planning process include more frequent monitoring of performance against the plans, more comprehensive environmental surveillance, and greater emphasis on organizational structure plans. The strategic planning process was found to be constantly evolving and cyclical. The strategic planning activity expanded during adversity and contracted when business prospects were good.     

A game theoretical analysis of an extended manager-auditor-conflict

Horst Albach has dealt in his research very often with problems of the quality of balance auditing (Albach 1992, 2003). Sometimes his considerations show close relations to the current crisis of the financial market and its consequences. Some of his contributions were already made in times, when it was not yet expected that the dependency of auditors from clients could once become a serious deficit of auditing. Those aspects also become relevant now in connection with the crisis of the financial market.The misgivings that arise continuously in this context with regard to the correctness of submitted balance sheets have sparked off intense discussions in two directions in the Federal Republic of Germany. Whereas the USA has already realised a prohibition of this nature to a great extent through statutory provisions, a broad spectrum of additional consultancy services is still permissible in the Federal Republic of Germany in spite of similar initiatives on the part of legislators.The present paper analyses methodically in the framework of an extended manager–auditor game how the Nash equilibrium is altered in a non-cooperative two-person game through the behaviour of the players, if the supervisory board, as an exogenous party, detects with a specific probability the incorrect certification of a substantively incorrectly prepared balance sheet. At the same time, payoffs from consultancy services for both players are included in the analysis here. However, with a greater probability of detection of an incorrectly certified incorrect balance sheet, and through the reductions of consultancy payoffs, the supervisory board can work towards the product of audit and publication quality being increased.     

The competitive advantage: strategic thinking for physician leaders

Physician executives should manage their career strategies like a well-run company. Learn how to start thinking aout your career strategy.