‘Strong Personalities’ and ‘Strong Institutions’ Mediated by a ‘Strong Third Force’: Thinking ‘Systems’ in Corruption Control

Corruption in public sector is a complex, ‘messy’ and ‘fuzzy’ phenomenon which involves calculus machinations between actors and constantly growing in sophistication. Consequently, an attempt to prevent, control or fight it requires systems thinking that ranges from public officials with integrity and personal ethics [strong personalities]; administrative rules and procedures as well as governments adopting, enforcing and monitoring appropriate systems [strong institutions]. This paper provides a systems approach to enhancing public sector ethics through ‘a corruption control tripod’ in preventing, controlling and combating corruption in all its forms. This framework discusses three overarching pillars and argues that adopting a reductionist approach in corruption control would yield futility; there is a need for synthesis so that each one would reinforce the other.     

International market selection strategies selected by ‘micro’ and ‘small’ firms

Policy-makers and practitioners are seeking to promote the development of established firms. This paper suggests they may need to target customized export programmes to the specific situational demands of established ‘micro’ and ‘small’ firms. The following broad research question is explored: are there differences between ‘micro’ and ‘small’ firms with regard to the decision to sell goods or services abroad? In 1990/91, survey responses were gathered from 621 independent businesses located in Great Britain. In 1997, a follow-on telephone survey was conducted with 150 surviving firms. This survey gathered information on the propensity to export goods or services abroad and the mode of export behaviour reported by established ‘micro’ as well as ‘small’ firms. The performance of exporting and non-exporting firms was also compared. Implications for policy-makers, practitioners and researchers are highlighted.     

Business Ethics through Meditation: The Ethical ‘I,’ the Ethical ‘You,’ the Ethical ‘We’⋆

Environmentalists have been criticizing the ethics of business people concerning the natural environment. Citing Thomas Berry as an example, this paper attempts to bring his three abstract values (presence, subjectivity, and communion) closer to the understanding of the average business person through meditation. The introduction describes business ethics in terms of relationships to the individual, or the ethical ‘I’ to the natural environment, or the ethical ‘You’ and to interpersonal relationships, or the ethical ‘We.’ Meditation is also defined, according to Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1986), as a meditative experience together with a period of reflection and small-group discussion. More specifically, meditation takes on three forms. Part one describes nondiscursive meditation in the context of what Berry means by presence. The problem addressed here is how to meet and cultivate the ethical ‘I.’ Part two will deal with semidiscursive meditation in the context of what Berry means by subjectivity, or the ethical ‘I’ in relation to the earth. The earth then becomes the ethical ‘You.’ Part three will deal with Berry's definition of communion, or the ethical ‘We.’ The practice of discursive meditation gradually leads to what Thomas Berry calls a renewed ‘visionary experience.’ The article concludes with a redefinition of business ethics in terms of our relationships to ourselves, as human persons, to the earth as our living environment, and to each other as members of the human community. The redefinition of our relationships through meditation is ‘visionary,’ or a new ‘paradigm,’ that, hopefully, will lead to the renewed ethical practice that other environmentalists are also advocating, for example, Arnold Berleant. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

‘Born-again global’ firms: An extension to the ‘born global’ phenomenon

Firm internationalisation has for long been regarded as an incremental process, wherein firms gravitate towards ‘psychologically close’ markets and increase commitment to international markets in a gradual, stepwise manner through a series of evolutionary ‘stages.’ However, much of the recent literature provides clear evidence of rapid and dedicated internationalisation by ‘born global’ firms. Typically, these are smaller entrepreneurial firms that internationalise from inception or begin shortly thereafter. Their main source of competitive advantage is often related to a more sophisticated knowledge base that they use to exploit the dynamics of an increasingly global market environment. This contribution posits that there is growing evidence of another phenomenon, that of the emergence of ‘born-again’ global firms. These are firms that have been well established in their domestic markets, with apparently no great motivation to internationalise, but which have suddenly embraced rapid and dedicated internationalisation. The underlying motivations and triggers leading to such a strategy are explored and illustrated through a number of case studies. Research and public policy implications of the ‘born-again’ global phenomenon are discussed.     

浅谈人民币汇率‘隐形双轨制’

<正> 我国1994年外汇体制改革统一汇率,标志着汇率改革取得了重大历史性突破,向国际规范和社会主义市场经济前进了一大步。如今两年时间过去了,全面审视一番,不难发现,统一后的人民币汇率并没有象人们原来所想象的那样合理完善,相反存在着较为严重的“隐形双轨制”(名义汇率和实际汇率)。     

“‘三不’领导”新解

时下，在我们的领导干部中，存在着一种对下属发生的错误和“不端”不敢管、不愿管、不用心管的消极不作为心态。在此，笔者姑且把有这些行为的领导称之为“三不’领导”，并作如下解析。     

Tracing ‘driver’ versus ‘modulator’ information flow throughout large-scale,task-related neural circuitry

Primary objective: To determine the relative uses of neural action potential (‘spike’) data versus local field potentials (LFPs) for modeling information flow through complex brain networks. Hypothesis: The common use of LFP data, which are continuous and therefore more mathematically suited for spectral information-flow modeling techniques such as Granger causality analysis, can lead to spurious inferences about whether a given brain area ‘drives’ the spiking in a downstream area. Experiment: We recorded spikes and LFPs from the forelimb motor cortex (M1) and the magnocellular red nucleus (mRN), which receives axon collaterals from M1 projection cells onto its distal dendrites, but not onto its perisomatic regions, as rats performed a skilled reaching task. Results and implications: As predicted, Granger causality analysis on the LFPs—which are mainly composed of vector-summed dendritic currents—produced results that if conventionally interpreted would suggest that the M1 cells drove spike firing in the mRN, whereas analyses of spiking in the two recorded regions revealed no significant correlations. These results suggest that mathematical models of information flow should treat the sampled dendritic activity as more likely to reflect intrinsic dendritic and input-related processing in neural networks, whereas spikes are more likely to provide information about the output of neural network processing.     

约稿启事“构建领导干部‘舒适度’与人民群众‘满意度’的平衡机制”专题研究

正党的十八大以来,中央加大了对领导干部群体的治理力度,一方面彻查严惩了一大批贪污腐败、违法乱纪的领导干部,另一方面从严巨细地规范领导干部行为,从公共权力的运用到个人的食用住行,都进行了限制和约束。在此背景下,一些领导干部觉得当官没有以前舒服了,慨叹"为官不易""官不聊生",个别领导干部甚至选择了"官而不为"。对中央的反腐治吏措施,群众无不拍手称好,群众满意度在不断提高;但同时,随着领导干部"舒适度"的降低,"官而不为"现象如果蔓延开来,最终还是会损害人民群众的利益,人民群众     

反对“疑似‘凡是论’”

<正>"疑似‘凡是论’"这几个字过去没有见过,这是我的"发明创造"。譬如,小平同志说的"发展才是硬道理"对不对?当然对,而且一点都没错。它简洁明快、朴实无华,一是针对几千年旧中国的闭关自守、夜郎自大、安于现状和故步自封;二是针对几十年的"以阶级斗争为纲"的折腾,将发展作为执政兴国的第一要务。中国之所以有今天这样的繁荣,与这个"发展"就是"硬道理"分不开。但是,邓小平在"南巡"中讲的"发展才是硬道理"中的"发展"是有特定内     

市场调研——企业制胜的‘法宝’

<正> 一、市场调研不可缺 孙武在《谋攻篇》中说:“知彼知己者,百战不殆。”这是孙武的调查研究思想,它贯穿于《孙子兵法》全书,是世人皆知的名言。其意是说,在战争中既了解敌人又了解自己,明了敌我情势,有把握才打,虽经百战也不会陷入危险的境地。知彼知己的目的是为了百战不殆,它的手段是深入实际进行调查研究,它的作用是达到胸中     

众人拾柴火焰高和谐德育重‘示导’

人的美不再外表,而在内心.思想工作极为艰辛,育德工作任重而道远,我们只有齐心协力、众人拾柴,才能营造浓厚的育人氛围,才能取得德育的实效.     

Market reactions to acquisition announcements: The importance of signaling ‘why’ and ‘where’

Acquisitions are risky events but not all acquisitions involve the same levels of risk. We suggest that the announced acquisition motive – the ‘why’ of the acquisition – is an important risk signal. We categorize acquisition motives and distinguish between acquisitions with ‘pure explore’ and ‘pure exploit’ motives. Recognizing that most acquisitions have multiple motives, we identify acquisitions with ‘ambidextrous’ motives – that is different combinations of explorative and exploitative motives – too. Then, building on recent contributions to signaling theory, we argue that the ‘why’ will matter more, if the ‘where’ pertains to a high-risk setting. We measure this using target-to-acquirer industry relatedness. We find that the market reacts more positively to pure acquisitions, aimed at exploration or exploitation, compared to ambidextrous acquisitions. We show that the market reacts more positively to ambidextrous acquisitions orientated towards exploitation than ambidextrous acquisitions orientated toward exploration. Finally, we find that relatedness moderates this relationship, in that the market is more willing to tolerate exploration in a related industry. Our core contribution is to the literatures on acquisition motives and ambidexterity. We provide new insights into the incidence of specific motives, the ways in which they are mixed, and the market's reaction to their announcement. In addition, we contribute to the emerging literature that takes on behavioral perspective of market reactions by showing that the ‘why’ and ‘where’ of an acquisition matter.     

“‘浙商’的人文精神——科学发展观与和谐社会建设的‘浙商’实践”研讨会启事

<正>举世瞩目的"浙商"现象,蕴含着丰富和深刻的人文精神。"浙商"的人文精神,既是悠久灿烂的中国传统文化的当代表现,也是西方文化和经济全球化影响的体现,更是无数当代"浙商"传承和发扬了浙江区域工商文化传统,在实践活动中创造和积累的思想、理念和品行等的结晶,是"浙商"发展的精神宝库。     

强化‘社区’力量的城市更新运用研究

从政府、开发商和社区三方共同参与城市更新的角度,以不动产证券化方式和融合民间资本方法加强‘社区’力量在城市更新中的作用,对于解决我国城市更新中系列问题的意义。     

Adapting Zara’s ‘Pronto Moda’ to a value brand retailer

The clothing sector is currently characterised by frequent assortment rotation in stores, a quick response product development and a focus on minimising end-of-campaign stock levels. This paper is based on a case study carried out at a value brand retailer, with a purpose to show how the company increased competitiveness in a market requiring more responsiveness. The case presented shows that the establishment of an adequate supply strategy for differentiated product segments, the introduction of mini-collections, the redesign of business processes (especially the new product development and the order fulfilment processes) and the redesign of the supply chain, lead to a sales increase and purchasing savings. Moreover, the study treats how a value brand retailer, facing different supply chain challenges compared with the leading brands, balance global and local production, lean and agile manufacturing and how it is possible to abandon the traditional two-campaign paradigm in favour of more rapid replenishment.     

Security-voting structure and equity financing in the banking sector: ‘one head-one vote’ versus ‘one share-one vote’

Using a unique dataset including all rights issues of new shares and other equity-like securities announced by Italian listed banks between 1989 and 2014, and exploiting the ideal setting provided by the Italian Banking Law, which allows for listed co-operative banks, we test if the ‘one head-one vote’ principle of co-operative banks and the ‘one share-one vote’ voting system of joint stock banks imply different costs of equity. Our empirical results, obtained using an event-study methodology, regressions and matching estimators, support our research hypothesis that the one head-one vote principle makes it more difficult raising new capital compared to one share-one vote principle, and contribute to the literature on demutualization and cooperative hybrids.