Human resource development as we know it: speeches that have shaped the field,by M. Lee

This paper is a retrospective of the 12th International Conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (Asia Chapter) that took place in Taipei, Taiwan on 5–8 November 2013. This paper provides a brief review of pre-conference workshops, keynote and innovation addresses, parallel sessions and cultural activities. The authors also share their thoughts on the contributions of international conferences to the field of human resource development.     

Managerial and leadership effectiveness as perceived by managers and non-managerial employees in Mexico

Using the critical incident (CI) technique, concrete examples of effective and ineffective managerial behaviour (CIs) were collected from managers and non-managerial employees within private and public sector organizations situated in the north and southeast regions of Mexico. The CIs were content analysed using open, axial and selective coding to identify a smaller number of thematic categories. A total of 38 ‘manager’ and 35 ‘non-managerial employee’ behavioural categories were identified respectively, of which 82.19% (n = 60) were found to be either convergent or polar opposite in meaning. The findings suggest that what behaviourally differentiates effective managers from ineffective managers is perceived, described and defined by Mexican managers and non-managerial employees in much the same way. The study provides new insights on the issue of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness in Mexico and is a rare example of indigenous managerial behaviour research in a non-Anglo country.     

Between stability and higher-order asymptotics

We discuss the effects of model misspecifications on higher-order asymptotic approximations of the distribution of estimators and test statistics. In particular we show that small deviations from the model can wipe out the nominal improvements of the accuracy obtained at the model by second-order approximations of the distribution of classical statistics. Although there is no guarantee that the first-order robustness properties of robust estimators and tests will carry over to second-order in a neighbourhood of the model, the behaviour of robust procedures in terms of second-order accuracy is generally more stable and reliable than that of their classical counterparts. Finally, we discuss some related work on robust adjustments of the profile likelihood and outline the role of computer algebra in this type of research.     

Modified quasi-profile likelihoods from estimating functions

We discuss higher-order adjustments for a quasi-profile likelihood for a scalar parameter of interest, in order to alleviate some of the problems inherent to the presence of nuisance parameters, such as bias and inconsistency. Indeed, quasi-profile score functions for the parameter of interest have bias of order O(1)$\mathrm{O}(1)$, and such bias can lead to poor inference on the parameter of interest. The higher-order adjustments are obtained so that the adjusted quasi-profile score estimating function is unbiased and its variance is the negative expected derivative matrix of the adjusted profile estimating equation. The modified quasi-profile likelihood is then obtained as the integral of the adjusted profile estimating function. We discuss two methods for the computation of the modified quasi-profile likelihoods: a bootstrap simulation method and a first-order asymptotic expression, which can be simplified under an orthogonality assumption. Examples in the context of generalized linear models and of robust inference are provided, showing that the use of a modified quasi-profile likelihood ratio statistic may lead to coverage probabilities more accurate than those pertaining to first-order Wald-type confidence intervals.     

Governance and Participation in Local Welfare: The Case of the Italian Piani di Zona

This article analyses four cases of governance in Italian local welfare systems. Following Law 328/2000, the design and management of the social services system in Italy involve different public responsibility levels, mainly regional and municipal. In order to manage social policies, Italian municipalities have to join in new inter‐municipal groupings called ‘Piani di Zona’ (Area Plans). Moreover, the law provides for engaging in these Plans even local third‐sector organizations and citizens. The article attempts to highlight the implications of this complex system that is leading local authorities to open new governance arenas. We hereby present the results of a research project on two Piani di Zona in the Region of Lombardy (Northern Italy) and on two in the Region of Campania (Southern Italy), carried out by means of institutional analysis. We particularly focus on the dynamics of participation triggered by the Piani di Zona. Our hypothesis is that the role of public administration is a fundamental variable to understand the different ways of participating. In this sense, we discuss the dynamics of local governance by relaying them to four main questions: who participates in what, where and how?     

Private Ownership versus Institutional Ownership: Exclusion Pricing of Initial Public Offerings

The authors examine the literature with respect to the pricing of initial public offerings and focus upon the relationship of pricing to the structure and conduct of the investment banking industry. Using a data base of all share offerings undertaken in the United States over a two and a half year period, the authors find that there is considerable evidence for the proposition that large, prestigious, and well capitalised investment banks tend to price their share offerings at a higher absolute level than those not meeting such characteristics. Using classical statistical methods, the authors find that the pricing strategy of investment banks is connected to their affiliation with investment funds and unit trusts. The motives for such pricing strategies, the authors argue, lie with the affiliation of investment banks with investment funds, suggesting that the pricing of new share offerings may be a means of excluding retail investors from participating in the strong returns such issues exhibit. The authors raise legal and regulatory implications of their findings in the context of the general consolidation observed within the investment banking industry. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.