Business Commons^™

Macroconstants Of Development: A New Benchmark For The Strategic Development Of Advanced Countries And Firms, Andrey Bystrov, Vyacheslav Yusim, Tamilla Curtis

Dr. Tamilla Curtis

This research proposed a new indicator of countries’ development called “macroconstants of development”. The literature review indicates that the concept of "macroconstants of development" is not used at the moment in neither the theory nor the practice of industrial policy. Research of longitudinal data of total GDP, GDP per capita and their derivatives for most countries of the world was conducted. An analysis of statistical information has been done by employing econometric analyses.

Based on the analysis of the statistical data, which characterizes the development of large, technologically advanced countries in ordinary conditions, it was identified that the average acceleration …

The Future Of Human Capital: An Employment Relations Perspective, Thomas Kochan, Adam Seth Litwin

Adam Seth Litwin

[Excerpt] It is not surprising that most theories of human capital treat the firm as the key unit of analysis, given the deep imprint that Becker (1964 [1993]) left with his early efforts to distinguish between general and specific human capital. It is especially understandable for research that focuses on American institutions and practices. Ever since the passage of the New Deal employment policies of the 1930s, firms have been assigned central roles in the delivery and financing of a variety of labor-market services, including the provision of workforce training and development (Osterman et al, 2001). Most of the chapters …

Not Featherbedding, But Feathering The Nest: Human Resource Management And Investments In Information Technology, Adam Seth Litwin

Adam Seth Litwin

This study draws on employment relations and management theory, claiming that certain innovative employment practices and work structures pave the way for organizational innovation, namely investments in information technology (IT). It then finds support for the theory in a cross-section of UK workplaces. The findings suggest that firms slow to adopt IT realize that their conventional employment model hinders their ability to make optimal use of new technologies. Therefore, the paper advances the literature beyond studies of unionization’s impact on business investment to a broader set of issues on the employment relations features that make organizations ripe for innovation.

Organizational Strategy And Staffing, John Hausknecht, Patrick Wright

John Hausknecht

In this chapter, we draw linkages between theory and research from strategic human resource management (and its focus on predicting unit/firm performance) with the key issues and empirical findings from the staffing and selection literature (and its focus on predicting individual performance). We organize the chapter around the fit and flexibility framework (Wright & Snell, 1998) to discuss the dual concerns of fitting staffing and selection systems to strategic needs while simultaneously enabling flexibility to respond to future demands. Implications for research and practice explain how such an approach may alter and enhance conventional views regarding staffing system characteristics such …

A Bayesian Network Estimation Of The Service-Profit Chain For Transport Service Satisfaction, Ronald Anderson, Robert Mackoy

Robert Mackoy

Bayesian network methodology is used to model key linkages of the service-profit chain within the context of transportation service satisfaction. Bayesian networks offer some advantages for implementing managerially focused models over other statistical techniques designed primarily for evaluating theoretical models. These advantages are (1) providing a causal explanation using observable variables within a single multivariate model, (2) analysis of nonlinear relationships contained in ordinal measurements, (3) accommodation of branching patterns that occur in data collection, and (4) the ability to conduct probabilistic inference for prediction and diagnostics with an output metric that can be understood by managers and academics. Sample …

Blackness And Governance, Fred Moten, Stefano Harney

Stephen Matthias Harney

No abstract provided.

The Culture Of Management, Stefano Harney

Stephen Matthias Harney

From filo faxes to palm pilots; from cell phones to laptops; from spreadsheets to online banking, many of us try to make the most of our day, to not waste any time, to maximize our efficiency. These are the hallmarks of time, financial, and information management. More and more we find ourselves managing our time, health, finances, careers and families. We are all managers now. In The Culture of Management, Stefano Harney investigates how the principles of management now shape our lives, both individually and collectively. Ironically, as we embrace the tools of management in our personal lives, as workers …

Theories For Competitive Advantage, Hui-Ling Wang

Hui-Ling Wang

Introduction Competitive advantage is obtained when an organisation develops or acquires a set of attributes (or executes actions) that allow it to outperform its competitors. The development of theories that help explain competitive advantage has occupied the attention of the management community for the better part of half a century. This chapter aims to provide an overview of the key theories in this space. The overview will span a long timeline, starting from the 1960s to formulations that were introduced in mid-2013. In the early period, there were two dominant theories of competitive advantage: the Market-Based View (MBV) and the …

Institution Building In Nascent Markets: Lessons From The Carbon Offset Market, Hans Rawhouser, Brandon Lee

Brandon Lee

In order to compete in nascent markets, an infrastructure of institutions that support economic exchange needs to be built in order. Little is known about whether and to what extent benefits accrue to firms that help develop a nascent market’s institutional infrastructure. To address this gap in the literature, we argue that involvement in building the regulative institutions in a new market—one form of participation on institutional building—helps a firm to build a reputation for as a leader in the market with a firm’s stakeholders. We argue that firms with reputations that are more established and more positive are benefit …

The Practice Of Scenario Planning: An Analysis Of Inter- And Intra- Organizational Strategizing, Gary Bowman, Ryan Parks

Gary Bowman

Strategic activity is often punctuated through the application of strategy tools. Despite widespread use, opacity surrounds how these tools shape the strategy process. We examine the application and effect of a scenario planning process at an inter- and intra-organizational level. We use a longitudinal case study to demonstrate the importance of sensemaking in strategizing activity at the inter-organizational level. We also demonstrate the relative weakness of the scenario narrative as a boundary object capable of transferring knowledge to the intra-organizational level. Through empirical and theoretical integration we develop a model depicting the flow of knowledge in inter- and intra-organizational strategizing.

Possible Futures, Present Logics: A Neo-Institutional View Of The Scenario Planning Process, Gary Bowman, Ryan Parks

Gary Bowman

This paper integrates work on institutional logics with that of sensemaking in the context of the scenario planning process. We explore the influence of three societal-level institutional logic struggles, as manifested within the context, content and process of a large public sector organization’s scenario development exercise. We view this as a significant opportunity to employ institutional logics to enhance our understanding of the political nature of public policy development and as an opportunity to challenge the assumptions of scenario planning as a strategy tool. Conversely, we also use the sensemaking-sensegiving activities of scenario planning to identify occasions where institutional logics …

Firm Culture And Performance: Intensity's Effects And Limits., Patrick Murphy, Robert Cooke, Yvette Lopez

Patrick J. Murphy

No abstract provided.

Unfinished Business: The Cultural Commodity And Its Labour Process, Stefano Harney

Stephen Matthias Harney

In what follows I am going to argue that the rise of the creative industries has in general been understood too narrowly. This narrow understanding has had implications for the way that a politics of management and labour in the creative industries has been framed and contained, and it has held back an analysis of class struggle in the creative industries. To elaborate an understanding of labour in the creative industries I am going to revisit some insights related to the development of British cultural studies, and try to link these insights to what Stuart Hall calls the conditions of …

Portfolio Management: The Australian Experience, Aileen Koh, Lynn Crawford

Lynn Crawford

The increasing use of projects and programs by organizations to achieve business strategy and goals has led to the need for understanding project portfolio management. Along with the increasing diffusion of portfolio management, a new managerial role has evolved: the portfolio manager. This new role is pivotal in planning and controlling complex project landscapes more effectively and efficiently. This study investigates the governance structures and the roles, responsibilities, and practices of portfolio managers. A sequential mixed-method approach under a realism paradigm is used. This article presents the first-stage qualitative study, using an inductive interview-based approach with six portfolio managers from …

The Role Of Strategic Planning In The Performance Of Small Professional Service Firms: A Research Note, Steven French, Stephen Kelly, Jennifer Harrison

Adjunct Professor Stephen J Kelly

Using a sample of small, regional professional service firms, this paper investigates relationships between firm performance and aspects of strategic planning. Constructs measuring vision, mission, latent abilities, competitor orientation and market orientation are identified using exploratory factor analysis and respondents categorised as non-planners, informal planners, formal planners and sophisticated planners. Multiple performance measures were used to assess the relationship between these factors and categories and firm performance. While no significant relationship between the performance measures and factors is identified, a significant relationship between net profit and informal planning emerges. These mixed results bring into question the value of the classical …

Reframing Strategic Thinking: Emergence Beyond The Box, Stephen Kelly, Alexander Kouzmin

Adjunct Professor Stephen J Kelly

No abstract provided.

Crisis Opportunism: Bailouts And E-Scads In The Gfc, Judy Johnston, Alexander Kouzmin, Kym Thorne, Stephen Kelly

Adjunct Professor Stephen J Kelly

As a response to the junk debt-inspired global economic crisis, governments, with supra-national organizational approval, have appropriated billions of taxpayers dollars for bailouts, have set up special funds and underwritten depositors savings in the desperate hope of alleviating the threat of rapid, economic decline and systemic destruction of value. Whether these governments have a democratic mandate for such unprecedented action is debatable. More importantly, though, is whether such decisions amount to good re-regulatory policy. First, it is known that some of the bailout money to large corporations has been squandered by oligarchic recipients and appropriated by them in their own …

Strategic Benefits And The Small Firm, Stephen Kelly

Adjunct Professor Stephen J Kelly

No abstract provided.

Questioning The Epistemic Virtue Of Strategy: The Emperor Has No Clothes!, Steven French, Alexander Kouzmin, Stephen Kelly

Adjunct Professor Stephen J Kelly

No abstract provided.

Strategy Beyond The Box: An Editorial Prologue, Stephen Kelly, Alexander Kouzmin

Adjunct Professor Stephen J Kelly

No abstract provided.

The Power Of “We”: Effects Of Psychological Collectivism On Team Performance Over Time, Erich C. Dierdorff, Suzanne T. Bell, James A. Belohlav

James A. Belohlav

No abstract provided.

Aldi In Australia, Ingrid Bonn

Ingrid Bonn

Extract: In 1948, the brothers Theo and Karl Albrecht opened the grocery store ‘Albrecht Discounts’ (Aldi) in Essen (Ruhr Valley), Germany. The store had a simple layout and offered a restricted number of products at a low price. The company grew rapidly, owning 13 stores in 1950 and about 300 stores in 1961 across Germany. In 1961, Theo and Karl divided the company into Aldi North (run by Theo) and Aldi South (run by Karl). The reasons for this division, according to Dieter Brandes, a former managing director of Aldi in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, were different views about how to develop …

The Transgenerational Family Effect On New Venture Growth Strategy., D. Pistrui, Patrick J. Murphy, A. Deprez-Sims

Patrick J. Murphy

We examine family-based resiliencies and transgenerational phenomena in family business contexts and introduce the transgenerational family effect (TFE) construct. The TFE influences long-term strategy and culture in family-based entrepreneurial ventures. We clarify the boundaries of the construct based on evidence from 414 cases in the panel study of entrepreneurial dynamics. Then, we operationalise it with two-by-two permutations of family membership and strategic tradition. Finally, we develop and assess hypotheses about venture strategic vision, growth orientation and wealth orientation. Our findings suggest that the TFE promotes vision and wealth creation across generations in family businesses

The Effects Of The Balanced Scorecard On Performance: The Impact Of The Alignment Of The Strategic Goals And Performance Reporting, Errol Iselin, Lokman Mia, John Sands

Errol Iselin

The balanced scorecard (BSC) and other multi-perspective systems have become popular in recent times because of problems with financial systems. The BSC is a strategic management system involving strategic goal setting and performance reporting across four perspectives: financial, customer, internal business processes, and learning and growth. Kaplan and Norton (1996), the creators of the BSC, argue that the performance reporting system must be aligned with the strategic goals. Although these systems are important, research in the area is still at an embryonic stage. The research objectives are to (1) investigate if the strength of the alignment of the strategic goals …

Do Or Die - Strategic Decision-Making Following A Shock-Event, Ingrid Bonn, Sharyn Rundle-Thiele

Ingrid Bonn

Little attention has been directed towards investigating how senior managers and boards approach strategic decision-making when dealing with shock events as compared to strategic decision-making in a stable environment. This paper presents evidence to suggest that strategic decision-making following a shock event involves a more intuitive, less analytical and less consultative approach, while decision-making in a stable environment is characterised by a more cooperative, formal and analytical process. Decision-making following a shock event tends to be simplified and fast, whereas decision-making in a stable environment tends to be comprehensive and slow. Furthermore, the strategic role of the board transforms following …

International Strategies And Ethics: Exploring The Tensions Between Head Office And Subsidiaries, Josie Fisher, Ingrid Bonn

Ingrid Bonn

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the complexities and tensions that international organisations face in managing ethics.

Design/methodology/approach – Three levels of ethics are identified and discussed in the paper in the context of three international strategies.

Findings – The study finds that an organisation’s approach to ethics depends on its level of ethics and the type of international strategy adopted. These two dimensions have the potential to create identifiable tensions between head office and subsidiaries that will need to be understood and managed.

Practical implications – The paper offers practical guidance to managers by providing …

Improving Strategic Thinking: A Multilevel Approach, Ingrid Bonn

Ingrid Bonn

Following a multilevel approach, the purpose of this paper is to develop a framework of strategic thinking, which integrates the micro-domain's focus on individuals and groups with the macro-domain's focus on organisations. The paper first defines strategic thinking, outlines its elements and examines some of the conceptual issues surrounding the construct, especially those concerning levels of analysis. The following questions are addressed. What are the characteristics of an individual strategic thinker? What are the dynamics that take place within groups and how do they influence strategic thinking? What are the contributions of the organisational context to strategic thinking?

This Is An Independently Managed Website. The Views Expressed In The Pages Are Those Of The Contributors And Not Necessarily Those Of The Cape Peninsula University Of Technology, Michiel Moll

Michiel E Moll

No abstract provided.

Sustainability- The Missing Ingredient In Strategy, Ingrid Bonn, Josie Fisher

Ingrid Bonn

While strategy has been addressed in the literature since the 1960s and sustainability has received a lot of attention recently, there has been little attention paid to the question of how sustainability considerations might be integrated into an organisation's strategy. In this paper a framework that outlines how sustainability can be addressed strategically in organisations is introduced and analysed. It is argued that all three dimensions of sustainability- economic, environmental and social- must be integrated into all aspects of an organisation's strategy and need to be addressed on an ongoing basis.

Information Literacy In The New Curriculum, Michiel E. Moll

Michiel E Moll

South Africa has undergone major changes in the school curriculum. At the same time, international emphasis on the importance of Information Literacy has found reflections locally in many calls for the development of school libraries (e.g. Arnold, 2002: 178), but has remained a problem in the actual implementation. This is also reflected in initial teacher training which has moved Information Literacy to a skill of the teacher, rather than an essential part of the curriculum that they have to teach.

This paper first looks briefly at the changes in national curricula in South Africa, and then at the current curriculum, …