Dennis Tourish defends academics and says life is not one long free lunch.
Subordinates often bottle out of telling their superiors what they really think. Some are intimidated, others hope to wield more influence this way. But truth, say Dennis Tourish and Paul Robson, can be the first casualty.
Adolescence is a period when levels of self-disclosure are often lowest. While studies have revealed a clear preference for female targets of disclosure, little research has been carried out on the effects of religion upon disclosure. The impact of religion was of importance in this investigation, given that it was conducted in Northern Ireland, where religion affects almost every aspect of social life. The aim was to ascertain the effects of gender and religious affiliation on adolescent disclosure to friends and strangers. Results revealed that while females were significantly higher disclosers than were males, religion per se did not play a key role. This suggests that even in a highly polarized society, gender is the central determinant of disclosure and is even more important than political identity. The implications of these findings are discussed, particularly with regard to the difficulty young males have in terms of revealing personal information.
This study evaluated the impact of an interview skills training intervention on adolescent school pupils in Northern Ireland. In particular, it explored their levels of interview-related worry and career locus of control orientations, and how they were affected by the programme concerned. A sample of 264 students aged 14–16 were assigned to a training (n = 132) or control (n = 132) condition. Trainees were significantly less worried than their control counterparts about four of six interview-related items at post-test only—i.e. the training programme had significantly reduced their levels of communication apprehension about the interview process. No differences between the two groups were detected for career locus of control. The findings are discussed in the context of mediating variables including gender and religion. Their implications for educators in preparing young people for the rigours of the job market and selection interviews are also discussed.
Against the backdrop of an increasing importance of the purchasing function in manufacturing companies, this paper introduces the notion of a "green multiplier effect" and suggests that purchasing could become an important agent for change regarding environmental initiatives in the supply chain. The literature offers some support for this concept. However, a study into purchasing in Scottish manufacturing companies produces a less optimistic picture, as environmental initiatives involving the supply chain are rare. Where they occur, they are mostly undertaken in a passive fashion, with the main motivation being compliance with legislation. Above-average environmental initiatives are reported from three industries: paper making, chemicals and electronics. Explanations of the discrepancy between anticipated and actual results point to the reactive nature of purchasing and to performance measurement systems that focus on economic criteria.
The aim of this research was to investigate how service firms evaluate their new service development (NSD) activities. A survey of marketing managers in UK service firms was used to elicit information on two subject areas. First, the firm's approach to NSD, its strategy, and the scope of its activity in this area. Second, the firm's approach to measuring performance at both the project and the programme level. It was found that although new services are an important source of revenue for most, firms are still not satisfied with their ability to develop new services. On the whole, service firms employ a limited number of measures of performance, and often these do not reflect the reasons behind development. Significantly, financial measures of performance are most often used by less innovative firms, fast followers employ customer-based measures of performance, and truly innovative firms measure performance along a number of softer internal dimensions. The management implications of these findings are discussed.
This paper considers the adoption of intranet technology as a vehicle for encouraging organization-wide knowledge sharing within a large, global bank. Ironically, the outcome of intranet adoption was that, rather than integrate individuals across this particular organization, the intranet actually helped to reinforce the existing functional and national boundaries with ‘electronic fences’. This could be partly explained by the historical emphasis on decentralization within the bank, which shaped and limited the use of the intranet as a centralizing, organization-wide tool. This is possible because the intranet can be described as an interactive and decentred technology, which therefore has the potential for multiple interpretations and effects. Thus, while the intranet is often promoted as a technology that enables processes of communication, collaboration and social coordination it also has the potential to disable such processes. Moreover, it is argued that to develop an intranet for knowledgesharing requires a focus on three distinctive facets of development. These different facets may require very different, sometimes contradictory, sets of strategies for blending the technology and the organization, thus making it extremely difficult for a project team to work effectively on all three facets simultaneously. This was evidenced by the fact that none of the independent intranet-implementation projects considered actually managed to encourage knowledge-sharing as intended, even within the relatively homogeneous group for which it was designed. Broader knowledge-sharing across the wider organizational context simply did not occur even among those who were working on what were defined as ‘knowledge management’ projects. A paradox is that knowledge-sharing via intranet technologies may be most difficult to achieve in contexts where knowledge management is the key objective.
In examining attempts to move towards HRM-style practices in organisations, the term “greenfield” helps to conceptualise the break with existing employee relations practices, either on new or on existing sites, or to undertake a philosophical break with the past. Focuses on one stimulus to such transformational change – the development of human resource information systems (HRIS) as an opportunity structure that can enable a break with the past. Considers a case study of a large company implementing an HRIS integrated with other functional systems, to examine whether an e-greenfield site exists. This is defined as a break with the past in the design and use of a computerised HRIS at either new or old organisational locations, to facilitate a greenfield HR philosophy and enable a more strategic role for HR specialists.
In this paper we examine the phenomenon of Y2K as an example of cross-functional knowledge integration. We start with the observation that although an enormous amount of investment was made for year 2000 (Y2K) readiness, a smooth millennium rollover has ended with widespread debates about the worthiness of the investment. These debates not only reflect a common perception that the Y2K investment has been a waste of money, but also indicate that organisations often fail to learn from what they have done in the past in order to prepare for future actions. A case study of a multinational investment bank's Y2K program was conducted to analyse its main features and conceptualise the underlying cross-functional knowledge integration process. Based on our findings, we identified the following as the main processes involved in knowledge integration: (1) the penetration of different boundaries to obtain required knowledge and support; (2) the expansion of different paradigms to achieve shared understanding; (3) the reconfiguration of organisational memory to create new organisational routines and knowledge.
The growing number of firms adopting ERP systems demonstrates the increasing dependency of organizations on new information and communication technology to improve the efficiency and quality of their decision-making. Because the appropriation of such complex technologies is difficult, it is important to understand the processes involved in successful implementation. By focusing on processes of knowledge sharing and knowledge integration, this study explores the dynamics of ERP implementation and appropriation based on the empirical findings from two case studies. The research findings highlight the need for firms to take into account the impact of ERP systems on supplier relationships, to ensure that there is clearly defined information and project ownership to overcome user resistance (which may be due to lack of commitment or time), and to obtain the continuous support from top management. The research extends previous studies of technology implementation and appropriation, and supports the employment of a knowledge-focused perspective as an effective lens with which to explore the dynamics of technology implementation.
This paper examines the financial performance of Malaysian initial public offerings (IPOs) during the period 1980-1995. The major focus of the study is on the role of management earnings forecasts and underwriters in the valuation of IPOs. The results suggest extremely high and statistically significant initial premiums and positive and statistically significant long-term returns up to 3 years after listing. The findings for long-term returns contradict the consensus of the IPO literature that documents a significant negative long-term performance. Our results indicate a negative association of upward bias in management earnings forecasts with IPOs' performance during the first 12 months after the IPOs. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V.
Market Models provides an authoritative and up–to–date treatment of the use of market data to develop models for financial analysis. Written by a leading figure in the field of financial data analysis, this book is the first of its kind to address the vital techniques required for model selection and development. Model developers are faced with many decisions, about the pricing, the data, the statistical methodology and the calibration and testing of the model prior to implementation. It is important to make the right choices and Carol Alexander′s clear exposition provides valuable insights at every stage. In each of the 13 Chapters, Market Models presents real world illustrations to motivate theoretical developments. The accompanying CD contains spreadsheets with data and programs; this enables you to implement and adapt many of the examples. The pricing of options using normal mixture density functions to model returns; the use of Monte Carlo simulation to calculate the VaR of an options portfolio; modifying the covariance VaR to allow for fat–tailed P&L distributions; the calculation of implied, EWMA and ′historic′ volatilities; GARCH volatility term structure forecasting; principal components analysis; and many more are all included. Carol Alexander brings many new insights to the pricing and hedging of options with her understanding of volatility and correlation, and the uncertainty which surrounds these key determinants of option portfolio risk. Modelling the market risk of portfolios is covered where the main focus is on a linear algebraic approach; the covariance matrix and principal component analysis are developed as key tools for the analysis of financial systems. The traditional time series econometric approach is also explained with coverage ranging from the application cointegration to long–short equity hedge funds, to high–frequency data prediction using neural networks and nearest neighbour algorithms. Throughout this text the emphasis is on understanding concepts and implementing solutions. It has been designed to be accessible to a very wide audience: the coverage is comprehensive and complete and the technical appendix makes the book largely self–contained. Market Models: A Guide to Financial Data Analysis is the ideal reference for all those involved in market risk measurement, quantitative trading and investment analysis.
Developing the concepts of risk management discussed in the first volume in this set, Mastering Risk Volume 2: Applications examines the application of some of the most important recent research into financial products to the risk management of financial institutions. Building on the discussion of risk management concepts in the first volume, it provides a comprehensive overview of how to put market, credit and operational risk controls into practice. As with the first volume, the contributors are risk experts; leading academic specialists and practitioners in the day-to-day environment of risk management. They provide a balanced analysis of risk management applications including: - Monte Carlo methods for Value-at-Risk - The orthogonal GARCH model for generating large covariance matrices - The valuation of equity options using strike-adjusted spread - Models of portfolio credit risk, and of default correlation in bond portfolios - Techniques for measuring and managing operational risk - The management of model risk. Mastering Risk Volume 2: Applications gathers an impressive cast of 17 contributors, including Mark Davis (Imperial College), Emanuel Derman (Goldman Sachs), Paul Glasserman (University of Columbia Graduate School), Michael Gordy (Federal Reserve Board of Governors), John Hull and Alan White (University of Toronto), Dilip Madan (University of Maryland) and Riccardo Rebonato (Group Head of Market Risk, Royal Bank of Scotland Group). Mastering Risk Volume 2: Applications takes a detailed look at the theory of risk management and illustrates how to apply the concepts to your business, supported by recent examples and short case studies. It is an invaluable follow-on from the first volume and an equally comprehensive source in its own right. Mastering Risk Volume 2: Applications has been produced in association with the ISMA Centre, The Business School for Financial Markets at the University of Reading, UK
The aim of this paper is to investigate whether there is a link between disaggregated measures of government expenditures and private investment in Greece. A cointegration analysis of a multivariate system of equations is applied in order to empirically estimate the long run relationships between private investment and different measures of government expenditures. Subsequently IRF and VDC are estimated. Government investment is found to assert a positive effect on private investment, supporting in this way the capital accumulation process. On the other hand, government consumption appears to compete for the same resources with government investment, while it negatively affects private investment.
This study assesses the extent to which public infrastructures have contributed to output in the Chilean economy over the period 1960–1995. For the long-run, it uses a vector error correction model for cointegration tests, while for the short-run, it resorts to the use of impulse response functions and variance decompositions. The results appear to show that public infrastructures in Chile have been significantly productive.
The exchange of technical personnel between organizational actors in a supply network has become known as Guest Engineering (GE). Despite increasing popularity as an inter-organisational arrangement (especially in the automotive sector) it has generated relatively little academic research and therefore this paper seeks to extend our understanding of GE by exploring how its scope is determined, what motivates the participants and how the relationships evolve. The paper draws on extant GE, supply networks and Resource-Based View (RBV) literature to derive research propositions that are used to analyse empirical work carried out with four automotive suppliers and four automotive OEMs. A number of preliminary conclusions are drawn. At a micro-project level, the criticality of the individual 'playing the GE role' is highlighted, as are related concerns that collaborative team structures often fail to address broader social/cultural characteristics. At a macro-project level, the study argues that difficulties and mistrust will often characterise integrated and competitively successful GE relationships. Finally, at a strategic level, GE needs to be understood as a process of resource transfer and transformation, and therefore the management of interdependency and power asymmetry are core considerations in effective adoption. The paper concludes with recommendations for further critical and practical work.
This dissertation addresses emerging developer communities in a new field of science and technology as well as methods to capture exchange processes between them. It contributes to the discussion about a new mode of knowledge production and a changing division of labour between public research, industry, and government by investigating 'nanotechnology' – an emerging area between science and technology. To explore exchange processes in this field, the study applies various methods. In particular, it uses patent citation analysis.
The methodological contribution is a new interpretation of this indicator, which sees patent citations as information flows that point to reciprocal exchange processes and potential overlaps between science and technology. This is in contrast to the received interpretation, which suffers from the application of a framework that was developed in the context of scholarly citation and does not fully appreciate that a patent citation is established by the patent examiner – a party external to the inventive process.
Various formats of patent citation analysis describe 'nanotechnology' as a set of instrument-driven scientific fields on their way towards science-related technologies. Even though nanotechnology patents contain more patent citations to the scientific literature than other technical fields, the science and technology systems are relatively autonomous. What links them in the case of nano-science and technology is a common interest in improving techniques of nano-scale measurement and manipulation.
Another finding is that both countries and firms exhibit relatively strong path-dependencies. While nanotechnology comprises a key set of technological areas – instrumentation, electronics, and pharmaceuticals/chemicals – nano-scale activities vary considerably from country to country. Also knowledge-building activities of firms follow a strong technological path-dependency. As a result, 'social capital' seems to be confined to chiefly technological or scientific trajectories. Hence, 'social capital' appears not to be very useful in explaining how knowledge is accumulated and integrated at the nano-scale.
Given the central role of instrumentation and the mediated nature of exchange between science and technology at the nano- scale, public policies should be directed towards supporting education and infrastructure in the area rather than more 'direct' transfer mechanisms.
The time value of money (TVM) equation is a polynomial therefore it has interest rates as solutions. Until recently, only one of these solutions has been employed in the financial literature. The other solutions have been ignored because they lie elsewhere in the complex plane. This paper shows that working in the complex plane is useful. Previously published results are gathered together and a new conjecture is based on them. The first result is that equations for financial concepts based on the TVM equation can have 'complex twins', alternative equations embedded in the complex plane, and that these complex twins can shed new light on old problems. The second result is that complex twins can be obtained for the mean and variance of a set of data, again using the TVM equation. Finally, the new element, a conjecture is made that a complex twin, based on the TVM equation, exists for the price of an option. If the conjecture is true, the TVM equation would become the core equation for the analysis of all, rather than just some, financial concepts.
In a previous edition of this journal Osborne [2000] contains new expressions for two financial concepts from the bond markets: modified duration and the yield to maturity. The concepts are given in terms of the distances between the roots of the time value of money equation and other salient points in the complex plane. This note offers three extensions. First, another new expression is offered, this time a simple and elegant equation for the price of a bond. Secondly, since its introduction by Macauley [1938], the concept of duration has suffered from several shortcomings. One of these shortcomings is the fact that the traditional formulas for duration, Macauley or modified, give estimates of the interest elasticity of the bond price that do not allow for the curvature of the link between price and the interest rate. The orthodox formula can be made more accurate by supplementing it with convexity; however, the result is still an approximation. The problem can be found illustrated in any finance text. It is shown here that the new approach to duration outlined in Osborne [2000] can be adjusted to give a formula that yields precise results for the change in the price of a bond in response to a change in the interest rate. This result, and the methodology surrounding it, is important because it demonstrates that the new perspective from the complex plane not only gives an alternative view of an existing concept, but also improves on it. In addition, it explains why the orthodox formula does not provide precise results, and why it cannot be adjusted to do so. Thirdly, in order to make the theory operational in the bond markets, a question must be answered. How can the theory be adjusted to cope with bonds priced part way through a coupon period? The required level of detail in time in the bond markets is down to the individual day, and the required level of accuracy down to $1 in a million. In the context of these requirements the new approach poses questions about computation. The questions are stated here, but not answered.
Policy-makers have supported initiatives that enhance the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). They have also encouraged more students to seek jobs in SMEs. This study assessed the contribution of the 1994 Shell Technology Enterprise Programme (STEP), which subsidized the employment of students in SMEs in the UK. A key issue is whether STEP students participating in the programme reported significantly superior benefits than students who had never participated in the programme (i.c. non-STEP students). Outcomes associated with the programme were assessed over a 36-month period between 1994 and 1997. The programme had no significant impact on the ability students to have obtained full-time jobs. Similarly, the programme was not found to be significantly associated with the ability of graduates to have obtained full-time jobs in small private firms. Both STEP and non-STEP students reported in 1997 less positive attitudes towards self-employment or starting their own business. However, STEP students expressed a significantly more positive attitude than non-STEP students towards self-employment or starting their own business. Conclusions and implications for policy-makers and practitioners are detailed.
The time value of money equation is often differentiated to obtain the interest rate sensitivity of whatever is being valued. The process is so common in finance that it could be said to be automatic it is never questioned. Two recent examples, chosen at random from the literature, are Skinner [1998] and Crack and Nawalkha [2000]. It is well known that it yields approximate answers. Considerable extra effort is necessary to improve the approximations by adding the extra terms of a Taylor series expansion. But the results remain approximations. This paper summarises an entirely new approach based on the fact that the time value of money is a polynomial, and a polynomial does not have one root, it has many, distributed around the complex plane. The result of taking the multiple solutions into account is a new equation that provides precise results for the measure of interest rate sensitivity. The paper describes the computational issues presented by the new approach and suggests a way to deal with them. The analysis provides a new perspective that may be a launch pad for further research.
Wir erleben gegenwärtig einen folgenreichen Strukturwandel der Wissenserzeugung. Der Band beleuchtet aus konzeptioneller, empirischer und historischer Sicht diese Entwicklungen und hinterfragt deren wissenschaftliche und gesellschaftliche Implikationen.
This paper explores the interrelationships between science and technology in the emerging area of nano-science and technology. We track patent citation relations at the sectoraldisciplinary, the organizational, and the combined industrial/organizational levels. Then we investigate the geographic location and organizational affiliation of inventor/authors. Our main finding is that there are only a small number of citations connecting nano-patents with nanoscience papers, while nano-science and technology appear to be relatively well connected in comparison with other fields. Further explorations suggest that nano-science and technology are still mostly separated spheres, even though there are overlaps, as an analysis of title words shows. Another observation is that university-assigned patents seem to cite papers more frequently than other patents.
Our understanding of the way in which human resource management (HRM) is linked to organizational performance is still limited, despite recent advances that use a quantitative approach to argue for a strong positive relationship between 'High Performance Work Practices' and firm financial performance. These studies are limited by their reliance on a single informant in each organization, and their emphasis on financial performance at the expense of a broader range of outcome variables. This paper contributes to the debate by analysing in detail the human resource policies and practices of one case-study organization over a two-year time period, using a variety of methodologies and drawing on a broad range of informants across the organization. Instead of devising a list of 'best practice' HRM from the literature and testing its impact on performance, we instead invert the question and take a firm that is financially successful and ask what HR policies and practices it uses. We also examine the way in which these policies are enacted. This methodology enables us to show that even successful organizations do not always implement 'best practice' HRM, and that there is frequently a discrepancy between intention and practice. Outcomes at the individual and organizational levels are complex and often contradictory; we question the extent to which is it possible or meaningful to attempt to measure the interrelationship between HRM, at the level of the formal system, and organizational performance, without taking into consideration the role played by the informal organization in the process and implementation of HR policies.
NHS Trusts are under enormous pressure to change the way they deliver health care to patients, but there is often little information or guidance available to help Trusts achieve these changes successfully. Based on broader research in change management, we present the findings of a study into the context for change within one NHS Trust, and discuss the way in which the challenges identified in the study have been met.