Organizational Philosophies of Japanese companies in the U.S.A.

The paper presents data about the Organizational Philosophies of fifty-nine Japanese owned companies in the United States. Harmony emerged as the single most popular element in these Organizational Philosophies. Data about specific concepts of Organizational Philosophy (kaizen, correct attitudes) were also obtained. Mechanisms to encourage the adoption and use of Organizational Philosophy were investigated. The evidence suggests that Organizational Philosophy continues to be an important aspect of Japanese companies in the U.S.A., and that American managers of these companies are accepting these Philosophies.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1991 International Academy of Management and Marketing Annual Conference held in Detroit, MI.     

The use of multiple scenarios by U.S. industrial companies

A growing number of firms have responded to the ‘unpredictable future’ by developing ways to measure their proposed strategies against several plausible alternative futures. Probably the most widely used of these techniques is multiple (or alternative) scenario analysis (MSA).Survey results indicate that approximately 150 of the Fortune ‘1000’ industrials now use MSA in their formal planning processes. Most have begun using MSA within the last 3 or 4 years. Furthermore, a number of other companies are considering its use. Survey results also show that firms do not follow the relatively rigorous procedures as suggested in the literature. Also, MSA seems to be most successful when management is both knowledgable and involved with scenarios from the beginning.     

Corporate planning in medium-sized companies in the U.K.

The past decade has seen the publication of a considerable amount of research into the corporate planning practices of industrial giants. More recent work has investigated corporate planning practice in small businesses. However, little attention appears to have been paid to actual practice in medium-sized companies. This article reports the results of a study designed to investigate corporate planning practice in medium-sized companies in the U.K. The results show that while corporate planning is widespread among medium-sized companies, it is not the well-balanced and integrated system envisaged in the literature. Also, the majority of chief executives are not truly satisfied with corporate planning as practised in their organizations, but are, at the same time, largely unable to suggest changes to make corporate planning more effective. This points clearly to a need for action by researchers and consultants in the area.     

Strategic planning in 21 U.K. companies

This article is based upon an analysis of strategic planning performance in 21 UK companies and discussions with 91 executives in those companies. The author's findings stress some of the problems related to strategic planning particularly with regard to the importance of informal and political processes in planning.     

Organized planning in major U.K. companies

Corporate Long Range Planning began to be fashionable in Britain in the 1960's. Now it should be possible for the managers which pioneered this development to analyse their experience for the benefit of others. This article reports the results and conclusions from a detailed study of corporate planning in 27 major British companies, each with 2–8 years experience. The aim was to discover why organized planning was introduced; what factors affected its development and what results were achieved.     

Technological forecasting in six major U.K. companies

This study, although based upon a small sample, generally supports the recent evidence in the U.K. and the United States concerning the state of current practice in technological forecasting. The weight of this evidence points to the conclusion that the formal techniques of TF are not widely practiced, although the need for TF is generally accepted, and that those companies which are using these techniques do so with some reservation. Some companies in the U.K., however, do have considerable experience in technological forecasting, diffusion of the knowledge of which would be of benefit to the bulk of British industry.     

Long-term planning in the U.S.S.R.

This article illustrates the U.S.S.R. approach to long-term planning and the relationship of cooperative planning within the Comecon countries. The conception of planning which the author puts forward is comprehensive and is illustrative of what is being attempted at the macro level in the centrally planned economies.     

Competition within the U.S. National Security Regime: A study of the U.S. Aerospace Defense Sector

This article examines the aerospace defense sector and the national export control regime within which U.S. corporations operate. While the U.S. federal government plays many roles in this industry, the focus here is on its role as regulator of defense exports from the United States. From this vantage point, ten case studies illustrate the difficulties faced by companies in this challenging environment, and highlight factors that lead to noncompliance with U.S. government regulations. Firm performance effects are investigated, including impacts on profits, share price, and reputation. The paper concludes with implications for international management practice and international business research that reflect realities in the aerospace defense sector.     

The use of multiple scenarios by U.S. industrial companies: A comparison study, 1977–1981

Over the past 5 years the authors have been examining the Fortune 1000 U.S. industrials' changes in corporate planning practices with respect to environmental analysis. Results of earlier studies have been reported in the February 1979 and October 1981 issues of Long Range Planning. This article documents the rapid, domestic increase in the use of multiple scenarios between 1977 and 1981. Given the intention for future use by present users and the length of time multiple scenarios have been used by some firms, this is strong evidence that multiple scenarios are a useful conjectural tool which can help corporate management plan in an unstable environment.     

Competitive strategies in U.S. banking

This paper discusses the planning gaps and needs of U.S. Commercial and Savings Banks which must be addressed as part of a strategic response to the new competitors in the field and the new circumstances.     

Foresight activities in the U.S.A.: Time for a re-assessment?

This article reports on a brief, informal, reconnaissance study of ‘foresight’ activities now being conducted in the private sector and the Federal government. Such activities include: external environmental assessment, internal organizational assessment, direction setting, definition, and selection of base and contingent plans, implementation, performance evaluation and feedback. The study involved the reading and analysis of the existing literature and discussions with over 50 people in diverse private and public sector organizations. The objective was to determine what foresight activities are being done, how, by whom, with what results, and what are the implications and options.     

A comparative study of U.S. and Iraqi students

This study uses a sample comprised of U.S. students and Iraqi students to determine if differences occur over ethical perceptions based on cultural/demographic issues. Irrespective of demographics, the results of this study indicate significant cultural differences between Iraqi students and American students with regard to selected ethical issues concerning graduate education. Specifically the differences occurred in the students' perceptions of winning is everything, selling one's soul, logic before emotion, and pander to professors. Iraqi students consistently viewed these beliefs as more necessary for success in their graduate education than did their American counterparts.     

Managing Risk: A Joint U.S.-German Perspective

Ideas from a USA-FRG conference on risk management are presented. In general, the difficulties confronted by risk management authorities in the two countries are similar, from discovering important risks at an early stage to setting acceptable goals. Government regulation is overburdened and somewhat inefficient in both countries, leading to greater search for alternatives. The many differences in approach between the two countries can inform both. German risk management is done largely through negotiations among the affected parties; when this does not resolve a dispute, a specialized administrative court takes charge. In both countries nonregulatory methods of managing risk should be enhanced and given a larger role. A matrix of risk management method versus criteria proved stimulating in comparing and ranking approaches. The conceptual differences between managing discrete events (auto crashes, boiler explosions, etc.) and chronic exposures have not been appreciated. Although uncertainty and probability are involved in both, there are qualitative differences in both analysis and management. Public perceptions of risk and the role these should play have been characterized by "objectivist" and "subjectivist" positions. In the former view, risks are subject to analysis, are calculable, and the public must be educated to accept the conclusions of experts. In the latter view what people perceive is what is most important, both psychologically and politically, and the risk experts must understand public fears and desires. These are important opportunities for cross cultural studies.     

Environmental scanning in U.S. corporations.

Environmental scanning is a new activity among corporations, because of its importance, corporations need to progress by stages to achieve a structured and formal system of scanning, and this takes time. This paper is based on a study examining the evolution and state of environmental scanning among corporations, and finds that the essential difference between scanning at the corporate and at the product/market level is not observed by all companies. Ideally, there should be a close liaison between the two levels so that each may reinforce the scanning effort of the other.     

Career Patterns in the U.S. Army Officer Corps

In order to examine the careers of high attaining personnel in a large organizational labor market, variation in 5,114 U.S. Army officer careers is shown to be reducible to a small number of career rhythms with similar speeds in attainment of promotions and credentials. Early promotion to captain, early awarding of a temporary higher rank during war, and career entry close to the onset of war are consistently associated with “star” careers. This finding suggests that career outcomes are driven by temporal proximity to exogenous events like wars and cumulative advantage processes in which benefits accrue to early achievements.     

略论美国的强势外交(三)

结束语 纵观美国立国以来推行强势外交的历史,不难发现:美国这个超级大国是自私的、好战的.