The Virtual University: Is It A Panacea Or A Pandora’s Box?

Dr. Z. S. Demirdjian, California State University, Long Beach, CA

ABSTRACT

Peter Drucker, the visionary dean of modern management experts, declared that in several decades “The big university campuses will be relics and the residential university is destined to yield to the virtual university.” Increasingly, the virtual university system is being packaged as a panacea. Could it be that the virtual university may prove to be the Pandora’s box in a society where individuals mostly lead isolated life away from parents and extended families? This study first explores the benefits of graduating from the virtual university from both an economic and convenience perspective. Then the researcher evaluates its possible detriments against concepts drawn from social psychology. The fundamental question is whether there is enough evidence that students of online education systems might somehow run the risks of “dehumanization,” endure possible setbacks due to “deficient group experiences,” and be affected by “deprivation dwarfism” in their development toward maturity. With the advent of the personal computer, which ushered in the Internet, there seems to be a revolution in performing both ordinary and extraordinary tasks. One area which has been lately receiving a great deal of attention is the online education. While almost all new ideas and innovations attract controversy, cybereducation has had its lion’s share of hotly debated arguments in recent years. Hardly a day passes without seeing a periodical that had published a pro or a con position article on this raging controversy (Johnstone 2001). Peter Drucker, the visionary guru of modern management thought, predicted that in several decades “The big university campuses will be relics and the residential university is destined to yield to the virtual university.” (Macchiette and Roy 2001).

Cross-Cultural Differences in Styles of Negotiation Between North Americans (U.S.) and Chinese

ABSTRACT

Increasing interdependency of world economies and globalization of enterprises characterizes business in the 21^st century. Successful negotiation in this environment requires special attention to cultural differences. This study investigated the question, “Is there a difference in the preference for negotiation styles of subjects based on their culture, the type of conflict situation, and/or the individualism vs. collectivism of their beliefs?” A total of 100 MBA students from medium-sized U.S. and Taiwanese universities comprised the sample. Culture was either Taiwan or American. The conflict situation was either a business or close-friend scenario; and individualism ranged from low or high. The research design involved a multivariate comparison of negotiation style preference based on combinations of three dichotomous independent variables. A composite questionnaire was used to measure the five negotiation style preferences (accommodation, collaboration, withdrawal, competition, and consultation), as dependent variables, and the five demographic variables (gender, marital status, job status, ethnicity, and age) Results tested for alpha < 0.05 indicated that: a) culture differentiated a preference for withdrawal and consultation, b) scenario differentiated a preference for accommodation, collaboration, withdrawal, and competition, c) individualism differentiated a preference for competition, and d) culture combined with individualism differentiated a preference for consultation. All other combinations of independent variables and other negotiation style preferences were not significantly different. These results will be of special interest to U.S. companies doing business in Taiwan and vice versa.

Internet Integration of Finance Courses

Dr. Ted Azarmi, California State University, Long Beach, CA

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on experiences of a finance faculty in an attempt to use Web-based instructional material to enhance student performance in his classes. The discussion highlights the experiences gained in designing and operating course web pages. The pedagogical issues and teaching methodology relating to student participation, satisfaction and the consequences of decisions regarding the above issues are analyzed. Costs and benefits of Internet course integration are also discussed. Lessons drawn from the above experiences and strategies for future success are explored. The fast pace of development of content on Internet and corresponding increase in access to internet-based material has altered the technological environment of higher education. There are two extreme approaches to dealing with this change in the technological forces that affect higher education. On one extreme, there are those who envision the future dominance of a non-traditional distant learning mode of delivery based on Internet ("the Internet-university approach"). According to this view Internet will replace the campus, exclusively serving as a medium for delivering courses, as a virtual classroom, and as a place for interaction between professors and students (or students with each other). On the other extreme, there are those educators who view the Internet as a library of material that would affect education in a way similar to a traditional physical library. This view predicts that Internet does not change the educational environment to such a degree that a finance professor, an accounting, or any other professor (except perhaps one teaching information systems) has to fundamentally change her teaching technique.

An Examination of Money Laundering Prevention in the U.S.

Dr. Turan Senguder, Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

ABSTRACT

The main issue with money laundering activities is that no taxes are paid to the government from those illegal financial gains. Most of the time banks are used to make this type of illicit financial gain legitimate because banks do not properly maintain concentration accounts and do not identify beneficial owners of offshore accounts. Therefore, new laws are needed to close loopholes. Highly publicized cases involving money laundering demonstrate the importance of federal supervision and bank vigilance in money laundering areas. While it is impossible to identify every transaction at an institution that is potentially illegal or involves illegally obtained money, financial institutions must take reasonable measures to identify such transactions in order to ensure their own safe and sound operations and their reputations. Therefore, in October of 1970, Congress enacted the statute commonly known as the Bank Secrecy Act, or BSA. The BSA authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to require banks to report cash transactions over $10,000 to the Department of the Treasury. In addition, the BSA requires domestically set up financial institutions to keep records that are determined to have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, and regulatory matters and to implement programs and compliance procedures to counter money laundering (Schuck & Matthew, 1996). The BSA is a vital component of the United States’s anti-money laundering efforts. The statute and its implementing regulations work because of the necessary cooperation between the Government and financial institutions. It would be almost impossible to construct an effective system for detecting money laundering and preventing criminals from using the financial system without cooperation from financial institutions.

Employee Retention: Approaches for Achieving Performance Objectives

Dr. Jean Gordon, Barry University, FL

Dr. Bill Lowe, Fire Department, GA

ABSTRACT

As business enters the dawn of the new millennium, it has become more complex than at any other point in the history of mankind. In today’s fast paced world of International Business, impossible deadlines, increased costs and high stress levels, more and more corporations find themselves in the position of confronting their biggest challenges yet. There are three questions worried managers ask about their organizations collective futures: Has a new competitor entered the marketplace? Has a new technology found its way onto the market without us knowing about it? What is the fear that shakes today’s corporations to their foundations? In simple terms, the threat is coming from within the organizations themselves. The threat most feared by executives has begun to rear its ugly head on the corporate landscape – Employees are leaving corporations in record numbers and loyalty seems to be a thing of the past. The challenge for corporations in the 21^st Century is their ability to recruit and then retain their most valuable resource – employees. Imagine if you will, that it is Monday morning and you are sitting in your office enjoying that first cup of coffee contemplating what your day will be like. Everything is going well: your phone messages are clear, there is nobody waiting at your door telling you that they need this or the world will end, and your inbox is actually empty. You can start the week out fresh. You then decide to turn on your computer and check your email. Big mistake! It has finally happened to you and the only thing you can do is stare at the blinking cursor. One of the brightest stars in your corporate galaxy has just emailed you a resignation notice. You get your thoughts together and try to develop an action plan to keep the employee, but alas all of your efforts will be in vain – you are too late before you begin.

Validation of the Healthy Work Organizations Model

Dr. James Browne, University of Southern Colorado, Pueblo, CO

ABSTRACT

This article extends the research on work-related stress and employee well-being previously published under the rubric of organizational health by validating the Healthy Work Organizations (HWO) model proposed by researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The HWOs model links three dimensions of organizational characteristics (i.e., management practices, organizational climate, and organizational values) to indicators of organizational health at both the level of the organization and individual employee. This research meaningfully extends prior empirical work on the HWOs model (Sauter, Lim and Murphy, 1996; Lim and Murphy, 1997) by validating construct measures of the model's three dimensions of organizational characteristics and examining the influence of these characteristics on organizational health for three occupational groupings of employees (i.e., maintenance/production, technical/administrative, and managerial/professional). The ability of the HWOs model to link characteristics of healthy organizations with organizational-level and individual-level outcomes is supported and implications for primary stress-prevention strategies are discussed. The impact of the industrial work environment on worker health and safety has been recognized since the advent of the industrial revolution. During much of this century occupational accidents and disease were attributed to unsafe work practices, poorly engineered tools and machines, and unhealthy working environments resulting from workplace toxins. However, the trend in the study of worker health in the post-industrial era has been to also recognize the influence of psychosocial factors on employee well-being (Levi, 1983).

Corporate Put Strategy

Dr. Ted Azarmi, California State University Long Beach, CA

ABSTRACT

This paper shows that when corporate insiders have information regarding the value of the firm that cannot otherwise be credibly communicated to the market, a corporate put strategy serves as an effective mechanism for conveying that information. In particular writing corporate put options on a firm’s stock emerges as a better strategy that corporate stock repurchases for a firm that has considerable net present value positive projects. When corporate insiders have proprietary information about the prospects and future revenues of the firm that the market participants do not know about, they often strive to mitigate this information asymmetry between insiders and the investors by disclosing earnings, cost and revenue details, and other relevant information. However, when information cannot be credibly conveyed or if the proprietary information, once disclosed could cause the firm losses due to misuse by competitors, regulators, labor unions, and other claimants to a firm’s assets, then the firm may use a costly signal to credibly convey this information to the market. For example, a firm with good prospects may issue large amount of debt that requires fixed and regularly scheduled payments of interest and principal. Due to bankruptcy costs, this signal cannot be falsely conveyed.

Cross-Cultural Issues in Internet Marketing

Dr. Robert G. Tian, Erskine College, SC

Dr. Charles Emery, Lander University, SC

ABSTRACT

The development of Internet has generated strong impacts on marketing world widely; at the same time the Internet together with many other factors fastens the process of the globalization. To be aware of and sensitive to the cultural differences is a major premise for the success in the world marketplace. This would apply to both traditional marketing and the new electronic based Internet marketing. This paper is an examination of "borderless" on line markets where marketers are able to do the business without boundaries but cross-culturally. It discusses and analyzes several key cross-cultural issues in the Internet marketing imperative from an anthropological perspective. By examining the social-cultural functions in the interactive marketing process the authors tend to construct a cross-cultural approach to Internet marketing. It is undeniable that any types of advancement of technology have generated certain effects on marketing; they provide great potential benefits to the marketers while create series problems. The communication superhighway or the Internet, apart from reshaping the business environment, is providing opportunities and challenges to marketers. As Bandiwadekar (2001) notices, exporters, importers, international brokers and others can exploit the many advantages the Internet offers to sell effectively at a very low cost. The Internet not only makes it easier to obtain quality secondary and primary marketing information as well as providing value to existing products or services; also it helps developing marketing channels and strategies. In fact, the Internet today is considered an increasingly important factor of the marketing mix. It was claimed that the advent of the Internet is the most exciting marketing innovation in history.

Political-Economy Considerations when Doing Business in Emerging Economies

Dr. Jaime Ortiz, Florida Atlantic University, FL

ABSTRACT

There are basically two government policy instruments that shape business strategy during the corporate expansion in emerging economies. However, political considerations determine, ultimately, the effectiveness of government intervention in translating their impacts into sustainable corporate revenues. Misleading strategies can be adopted by local subsidiaries when price policies and publicly funded technical innovations are assumed exogenous to the policy-decision making process and are treated independently from the political factors that affect them. Consequently, this article provides a theoretical framework for a better understanding of the business performance in emerging markets as a result of collective action exerted by two competing interest groups. Governments intervene in the private sector in a variety of ways and with differing intensities accross countries (Egelhoff, 1988). In emerging economies the pattern of government involvement in private corporate activities ranges from strong price subsidization to heavy income taxation (Havrylyshyn and van Rooden (2000). Government intervention results in various allocative and distributive effects that have stimulated discussion about the determinants of policy decisions. Several studies have attempted to analyze the political and institutional factors that influence institutional decision-making formation. Among these studies, Burnetti and Weber (1997) and Scott (1995) develop an analytical framework to explain and forecast institutional behavior.

Clustering of Tourist Resorts Visited by GCC Consumers

Dr. Abdulla M. Alhemoud, University of Qatar, Qatar

ABSTRACT

Cluster analysis was applied to results of a survey conducted in three capital GCC cities in 1999 to identify resorts with similar attributes that are often visited by Gulf tourists. By examining the main characteristics of these resorts, it may be possible to target future-marketing strategies more efficiently. Multiple discriminant analysis was used to describe the nature of the differences between clusters and to test these differences for significance. The results suggest that tourist resorts visited by Gulf consumers can be clustered into four groups. The first group includes resorts in Morocco, Tunisia, and South East Asia. The second group comprises Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey. Included in the third group are Spain, UK, France and other European resorts. Finally, Group four included tourist resorts in USA, Australia and South America. Multiple discriminant analysis suggests that GCC tourists select Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey because travelling and living expenses are relatively cheaper for these resorts. Those GCC consumers who select Morocco, Tunisia or South East Asia believe that these resorts offer better entertainment than other resorts. GCC consumers who visit European resorts (England, France, Spain and others) find more comfort in spending their vacations in these resorts than in other places. Finally, multiple discriminant analysis suggests that GCC tourists who visit the USA, Australia or South America do so because of the attractions and adventures.

Using Genetic Algorithms For Multicriterion Resource Allocation Problems In Fuzzy Settings

Dr. Probir Roy, Henry W. Bloch School of Business, University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO

Dr. Rishi Roy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.

ABSTRACT

The establishment of common, shared goals and efficient allocation of resources are among the most important issues associated with the implementation and administration of resource allocation programs. Oftentimes such programs are multicriterion in nature and articulated in fuzzy terms. For example criterion 1 is more important than criterion 2 and so on. Unfortunately, even the best of normative plans requires a formal process for selecting the 'best' possible course of action in the face of multiple goals and objectives that may be inherently incompatible. In this paper, we suggest that Genetic Algorithms (GA s) provide a very efficient way to solve such problems. This process is a multi-criterion decision-making mechanism based on finding a 'satisficing' solution using simulation and ' front-end processing'. Once the senior executives, in an organization, have identified the normative goals, scarce resources have to be efficiently allocated in order to attain these goals. Such resource allocation processes are generally characterized as follows: Initially there exists a set of inputs to the team planning the resource allocation. These inputs are derived from both external and internal stimuli and institutional databases. The external inputs usually represent requirements or goals, which are either explicitly or implicitly imposed on the allocation process by external forces; for example, governmental regulations; market demand (quality, quantity and timing) etc.

Litigation Contingencies: What Auditors Need To Know, What Lawyers Are Willing

To Provide and What Gets Reported

Dr. Jeffry R. Haber, Hagan School of Business, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY

ABSTRACT

The financial statements serve a variety of purposes for a multitude of users. Some uses are retrospective, while others infer the future. No matter the use or user, the statements are only as good as the information they contain. Some of the information is factual, having already happened. Some of the information is based on estimates. For most of these estimates, there is a substantial amount of history and experience on which to base the estimate. The financial statements serve a variety of purposes for a multitude of users. Some uses are retrospective, while others infer the future. No matter the use or user, the statements are only as good as the information they contain. Some of the information is factual, having already happened. Some of the information is based on estimates. For most of these estimates, there is a substantial amount of history and experience on which to base the estimate. Contingencies present an extremely complex area. Not only is there a question as to amount, but also to the very existence. By definition, the realization of contingencies is based on the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a future event. This is typically not known at the financial statement date. The literature provides that the accounting treatment for loss contingencies is based on the probability of negative outcome. For some contingent losses, this information is available based on past experience. For litigation contingencies, each lawsuit has its own facts and circumstances. Past experience is not usually suitable for estimation. Auditors rely on the attorney for obtaining the probability and range of loss. If this information is inaccessible, there may not be clear guidance of the proper financial statement presentation. This research surveyed lawyers to find out their willingness to provide information to auditors.

Foreign Market Entry Strategies in the Formerly Socialist Countries: A Case Study

Dr. Esin Can Mutlu, Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

ABSTRACT

Transition economy is a term used to designate the economic situation of countries who have just got out of a closed economic system trying to adapt to market economy. The transition process, especially in Eastern European countries and the former Soviet Union, have started in the period between 1989-1991 and 26 countries of the region have experienced problems in common, i.e. social and economic problems such as rapid increase in the inflation and unemployment rates, and the inequalities in income distribution. The disintegration of the Soviet Union has marked the beginning of this process, namely the transformation to the market economy. Hence, in the countries of the region mentioned above this transformation is characterized by transition economies. The transition to the market economy resulted in foreign investment flow in these countries. Although they constitute a risky environment, these turbulent markets may be preferred by international firms, because they offer a virgin market where internationals can realize their investments according to their specific strategies. Business strategies have become increasingly important for managers in the so-called “transition economies”. Business strategy refers to the process of identifying long-term objectives of a firm, as well as finding and making use of the resources necessary to attain these objectives. International firms’ business strategies are very varied, since they ought to recognize and incorporate into their strategies the cultural, political and economic differences that each host country presents. As to the transition economies, international firms employ a variety of strategies, ranging from the formation of alliances and joint ventures to the acquisition of local firms.

International Equity Relationship and Global Trade Interdependency

Dr. M. T. Vaziri, California State University, San Bernardino, CA

ABSTRACT

International Trade and global capital flow now account for more than quarter of the US GDP. With an increase in the number and business lines of trans.-national corporations and the continual move towards a global economy, it is important to understand the relationships between trade interdependency among nations and their equity markets. When two or more countries have high trade interdependency, they make themselves more vulnerable economically and financially to the trade and monetary policy of others. Generally, when the ratio of the export-import of the two countries is closed to each other and significantly larger than the combined size of two counties GDP’s, any increase in the ratio increase the level of the intra-industry trade. Such increase also signifies close trade interdependency between two countries with comparable developmental stages. Such increase in intra-industry trade will provide opportunity not only for direct investment, but also manifest the benefits of portfolio investment for the purpose of asset diversification. Many money managers such as ones in Morgan Stanley Capital International have emphasized the diversification through investing in these trade dependency markets to reduce the variance of the portfolio of domestic stocks without reducing the expected return. Many mutual fund managers even suggest that most investors should have money in foreign markets with an equity portfolio made up of 20 to 25 percent of non-U.S. stocks which will add return and lower overall risks. The new millennium will accentuation the sentiment that, the highest performing stocks are generally found outside of the United States.

Re-Defining Accounting Concepts: A New Definition of Land

Dr. Jeffry R. Haber, Hagan School of Business, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY

ABSTRACT

Land is currently classified as a fixed asset. Intangible assets are those assets that do not have physical presence, but nonetheless have value and will be benefit multiple accounting periods. In this paper, a rationale for classifying land as an intangible asset is presented which contrasts current accepted practice. “Land” is described by parameters contained in a deed, not by any physical existence. Dirt, commonly considered the “land,” can be touched, but this is not “land.” The dirt can be removed without changing the “land.” Likewise any other growth that is contained within the deed parameters. Classifying land as an intangible asset would require amortization of the cost, over a period not to exceed the defined accounting limits. In an accounting sense, land currently comes in three flavors. There is land as the depletable asset, land as an investment, and perhaps the most common, land as a component of plant, property and equipment. The subject of this paper is land that is classified as part of plant, property and equipment. Current accepted accounting is to capitalize the cost of the land (or the assigned value when purchased with other assets, such as buildings and improvements) and include it within the plant, property and equipment section. Land is the one element of the plant, property and equipment section that is not subject to depreciation, based on long-standing practice. The only pronouncement that discusses not depreciating land is Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 93 (Recognition of Depreciation by Not-For-Profit Organizations):

Task-Technology Fit: Brick & Mortar Beware?

Dr. Nora M. Martin, Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

ABSTRACT

Electronic commerce (ecommerce) takes on many forms and addresses all aspects both internal and external to an organization utilizing information technology. It includes but is not limited to business-to-business transactions, business to end consumer transactions and information gathering by both businesses and consumers. Although initially viewed as a tool to arm consumers with product information, the Internet over the past decade has made the transition from an information tool to a viable shopping alternative. The Internet appears to fit the bill for these consumer-buying preferences in certain areas of the market. The prime areas of growth for Internet purchases are in music, computer equipment and travel (Brannback1997). Understanding the task-technology of the Internet will prove viable for business owners in terms of analyzing their own needs and aspirations with regards to this technology. Although the major impact is predicted to be in business-to-business, 1.3 trillion by 2003, there is considerable impact in business-to-consumer electronic commerce sector (Grewal, Comer, Mehta 2001). In 1998, one third of Internet users made purchases and the other 2/3 used the Internet to research product information (Ackerman, 1998). Electronic commerce sales comprised $10 billion of the total sales. The consumer has several viable channels to choose from in terms of consumer purchases. These alternatives can be categorized as local shopping (local retail stores), shopping out of town (out shopping), and shopping through mail, computer or by telephone (in-home shopping (Blakney, Sekely 1994).

An Operational Theory Integrating: Cash Discount and Product Pricing Policies

Dr. William Lim, The University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB

Dr. Muhammad Rashid, The University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB

ABSTRACT

We present a simple operational theory to integrate the firm’s product pricing decision with its cash discount policy and argue that a firm’s price setting behavior requires simultaneous determination of both a cash discount rate and a pre-discount product price. We show that the cash discount elasticity affects the optimal cash discount rate more significantly while the product price elasticity affects the optimal product price more significantly. We then discuss several practical implications. This paper determines simultaneously the optimal levels of the cash discount rate in credit policy and the pre-discount product price and shows the effects of price elasticities of demand on these optimal levels. In the literature of credit policy, very little research exists that focuses on integrating a firm=s credit decision with its product pricing policy. One exception has been Rashid and Mitra (1999). Although Rashid and Mitra do show the effect of a product market variable, namely the price elasticity of demand, on the firm=s optimal cash discount rate, yet their model cannot be considered an integrating attempt because the cash discount rate is the only choice variable in their analysis as they assume the pre-discount product price to be fixed. Integrating a firm=s credit policy with its product pricing approach is an important area of research recognized by Kim and Atkin (1978) who state, A..., it is conceptually incorrect to analyze credit programs in isolation of pricing schemes.@ (p. 403)

Perceived Uncertainty: How Different Environmental Sectors Moderate Strategy-Performance Relationships

Dr. Kamalesh Kumar, The University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI

Dr. Karen Strandholm, The University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI

ABSTRACT

Results of a survey of 159 acute care hospitals were used to test hypotheses relating to the specific ways that the environment modifies the strategy‑performance relationship. Results indicated that the environment moderates the strength and not the form of the above relationship. Specific environmental conditions that facilitated the success of a differentiation strategy as well as a cost leadership strategy were identified. Implications for hospital administrators are also addressed. Environments are an important consideration for organizations, since they create both problems and opportunities. While organizations depend on the environment for scarce and valued resources, they often must cope with unstable, uncertain, and unpredictable events (Daft, Sormunen, & Parks, 1988). Indeed, the logic relating environment to strategy and, in turn, to performance is compelling Empirical demonstration of the match between environmental characteristics and strategy and its performance implications have unequivocally shown that the success of an organization is incumbent on the organization's ability to align or match its strategy to its environments (e.g.. Hambrick, 1982, Miller, 1989; Kim & Lim, 1988; McArthur & Nystrom, 1991; Lamont, Marlin, & Hoffman, 1993; Boyd & Fulk, 1996). However, while research results clearly demonstrate that environmental conditions interact with strategy to affect performance, little evidence exists about the specific ways in which various environmental dimensions relate to strategies and performance. Empirical studies that have directly addressed this issue (Prescott, 1986; McArthur and Nystrom, 1991) present contradictory evidence about the precise type of moderator influence that environmental conditions have on strategy-performance relationships.

North-South Gender Role Differences in Business

Dr. Joel D. Nicholson, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

Dr. Yim-Yu Wong, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

ABSTRACT

Brusiness related gender role attitudes across two South American countries (Venezuela and Chile) and one North American country ( the U.S.A.) were examined across a sample of 3,101 managers, professionals and upper division business students. Dorfman and Howell's (1988) revision of Hofstede's (1980) work-related cultural value scale was used to measure masculinity versus femininity. High masculinity scores indicate strong gender role typing in the work place (i.e.; there are certain jobs only men can do). High femininity scores indicate a diminished role of gender in attitudes towards work roles. The data indicated that males in each country held significantly different attitudes towards the role of women in the work force. In addition, the Chilean respondents had stronger gender role typification responses than did the U.S. or Venezuelans. Directions for future studies are given. Research on Latin American cultural differences continues to grow. A field once considered a sub-specialty area of history, sociology, and political science has grown into an interdisciplinary area of study with specialties of its own. A booming area of research in this growing field is the study of women and families in Latin America. Scholars have explored the history of the family in Latin America (see for example, Balmori, Voss, and Wortman, 1984; Adler Lomnitz and Perez-Lizaur, 1987; Saragoza, 1988; and Smith, 1984, among others.)

Gender and Perception of Service Quality in the Hotel Industry

Jabulani Ndhlovu, Nova Southeastern University, Ft Lauderdale, FL

Dr. Turan Senguder, Nova Southeastern University, Ft Lauderdale, FL

ABSTRACT

Research on gender has been attempted in various disciplines with conflicting results. Success in the implementation of a balanced service quality delivery program in the hotel industry needs a deeper understanding of this subject. This study investigated the question, “Does the perception of service quality in hotels differ by gender?” A total of 241 guests, consisting of 127 (52.7%) males and 114 (47.3%) females at three 5-star hotels in Jamaica was studied. The research design involved collection of data from guest of three 5-star hotel by a questionnaire method to measure customer expectations of service quality. Demographic variables of gender, age and education were recorded. Data analysis was done using ANOVA and t-Test. Using an alpha <0.05 for significance, results indicated that the perception of service quality in hotels did not differ by gender. (t=0.33; df=239; p=0.623). This results present challenges to some hotel managers who believe that the perception of service quality differ by gender. Recommendations for further research include replication of this study with a larger sample. Additionally research is needed on moods states of respondents and a critical analysis of gender related problems affecting guests in hotels. Although some gender differences are biologically founded, most of the stereotypic attributes and roles linked to gender arise more from cultural design than from biological identity (Bandura, 1986). Gender status makes a big difference and it carries enormous significance, not only for dress and play, but for the skills cultivated, the occupations pursued, the functions performed in family life and the nature of one’s leisure pursuits and social relationships. The effect of sex dissimilarity is most severe for men working in female-dominated groups, as this group composition violates their expectations of being in the majority.

Analytilitic Framework for Global Transfer-Pricing

Dr. Virginia Anne Taylor, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ

ABSTRACT

Multinational Enterprises can organize their cross- border transactions as international trade, contract modes of coordination, or direct equity investment. All three modes require transfer-pricing decisions. This study is an interdisciplinary examination of the motivation and regulation of transfer pricing activities. As globalization and trade liberalization trends continue to emerge even small firms find themselves doing business in more than one tax jurisdiction (Carter, 1998); they too must learn to navigate the international transfer price jungle. The accounting and economics literature, government documents and business publications are reviewed to uncover the underlying rationale for various government regulations and multinational enterprise price manipulation when reporting of intra-firm transactions. An analytical framework is designed to bring order, structure, and organization to the environmental complexity and thereby improve the effectiveness and optimality of these decisions. Insights from the literature suggest four drivers of transfer pricing for cross-border intra-firm transactions in goods, knowledge, and services. When a firm forms a market closes; for better or worse resources are henceforth allocated by the visible hand of managerial authority rather than the invisible hand of the competitive price system. The primary advantage of a multinational firm versus a domestic corporation lies in its flexibility to transfer resources across boarders through a globally maximizing network.

Linking Organizational Goals and Objectives to Employee Performance: A Quantitative Perspective

Dr. Charles S. Duncan, Army Training Support Center, Ft. Eustis, VA

Dr. J. D. Selby-Lucas, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA

Dr. William Swart, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA

ABSTRACT

Training is a multi-billion dollar industry, and with the advent of the training technology revolution, and the possibilities it provides to business, government, as well as the academic communities, it seems important to determine if the money invested in training by these communities is providing the expected performance on the part of those who are trained. This paper examines training and performance in a quantitative perspective, by discussing the linkages of organizational goals and objectives to employee performance. Each year literally billions of dollars are spent on training. With the recent “explosion” of training technology, and the impact of the web on training delivery applications, industry, academia, and the government have become increasingly interested in the correlation between training programs, and performance expectations as a result of successful completion of courses. The necessity to study this relationship is heightened by the cost for training, which has now become a multi-billion dollar business. While many in the training world have been content with sending learners to traditional courses, consisting of standard classroom settings, and paying the tuition, and associated per diem, today training can be done without the necessity of leaving the work setting. The training possibilities resultant from training technology, have become wide and varied. The industry has gone from videotape in the 1960’s to web-based delivery some 40 years later. Each technological change has created training applications, and often, additional expenses.

The Tower: An Experiential Simulation

Dr. Dietrich Schaupp, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Dr. Barbara Parsons, Monongalia Health System, Inc., Morgantown, WV

ABSTRACT

"The Tower," a simulation exercise, is the evolutionary end product of work done initially to present the concepts of change, Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and empowerment to a group of manufacturing managers. The exercise was designed to help implement an organizational development initiative for a major international corporation. Over time, this exercise has evolved into a "self-contained" demonstration of organizational change that has universal applicability to many management and organizational functions. This experiential activity was originally designed to provide approximately a one-hour activity within a six to eight hour seminar, the purpose of which was to provide an organizational simulation in which strategic and operational decisions are made and assessed. The final product as presented here satisfies the following purposes: To engage in a simulation that will highlight the underlying concepts associated with CQI, empowerment, and organizational change. To explore the dynamics of teamwork, competition and organizational change. o highlight the importance of competition and its energizing effect. To validate the synergistic effects associated with teamwork and development. To be applicable in a variety of organizational settings, cultures and leadership styles. The "Tower" as an exercise has evolved into a broad philosophical statement about organizational survival, individual and organizational adaptation, and ultimately the impact of employee empowerment. Employee empowerment serves as the foundation for the simulation and the skeletal framework that gives body and movement to the endeavor.

The Weighted Fair Division Problem

Dr. Somdeb Lahiri, Indian Institute of Management and University of Witwatersrand at Johannesburg

ABSTRACT

The exact problem we are concerned with in this paper is of the following nature. There are a finite number of producers each equipped with a utility function of the standard variety, which converts an input into a producer specific output. An allocation of the input among the producers is sought which is Pareto efficient i.e. there is no reallocation which increases the output of one producer without decreasing the output of any other. This, as is very widely known, corresponds to maximizing the weighted sum of the utility functions subject to a resource constraint. Alternatively, the weights can be interpreted as exogenously specified prices of the separate outputs and then the problem reduces to maximizing the aggregate revenue subject to a resource constraint. Our analysis focuses on the relations between the optimal solutions and the price and aggregate resource pair. Further, we also study the effect on the former of varying the latter pair. Formal graduate education of most economists begins by an exhaustive study of consumer choice theory. The paradigm that is generally favored is one where given a vector of prices and income, a rational agent equipped with a utility function, maximizes it subject to the budget constraint that the prices and income imply. The utility function is supposed to reflect the preferences of the consumer. An adequate analysis of the theory for our purposes can be found in Luenberger [1995]. If the utility function is interpreted as a rule which transforms inputs into a desirable output, the same model of consumer choice can be used to model the behaviour of an agent who seeks to maximize output (or for that matter revenue at exogenously given prices for the output he produces), subject to the cost of production not exceeding a given investment (which is irreversible).

Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Finance in China: A Case Study

Dr. Ted Azarmi, California State University, Long Beach, CA

INTRODUCTION

In 1977, Mr. Wu was employed as the head carpenter for a middle school in Huai Nan, a city with a population of about one million in Anhui province of China. His monthly salary was 60 RMB (less than $8 at today's exchange rate). He took care of the school's needs for furniture such as desks, bookshelves and occasionally made furniture for the teachers. The following year, Mr. Wu started his own small business. Initially, it wasn't a brilliant product idea or a new innovation that motivated him to switch careers from a state-employed worker to a private entrepreneur. It was simply that Mr. Wu and his wife both were hoping for a better standard of living for themselves. Mr. Wu set up shop on a sidewalk. He would show up with his carpentry tools and supplies on the same corner of that sidewalk every day, take orders for small furniture and make them on the spot. Mrs. Wu took a job as a tailor to make sure that the family made it through these lean years. In that time period, traditional "sidewalk" businesses were prohibited in China. The communist government considered these businesses "bourgeois enterprises". However, despite being illegal, Mr. Wu's business was initially too small to attract government officials' attention. His was a tiny traditional street workshop with a single owner operator. From the local communist party's point of view this type of operation did not fit in the mold of typical capitalist businesses which according to that dogma exploit workers to generate corporate profits. Despite this, the survival of his business was by no means certain. After all, he was there on the street without a license or an operations permit from the authorities. Mr. Wu worked hard, producing pieces of furniture that met his customers' expectations on quality and cost.

Strategic Decision Making In Today’s Managed Care Environment

Dr. Jeff Ritter, President / CEO, Strategic Consulting, Inc., FL

ABSTRACT

Strategic planning in health care today has become extremely important. In selecting health care coverage, consumers see managed care as a double-edge sword. On the one hand, the cost of a managed care plan is much more appealing than traditional indemnity plans. One negative impact is losing the freedom of choice in selecting a particular provider, who many not participate in the network. What makes this even more complicated, is when business and government mandates or requires consumers to join a managed care plan. In this era of market based managed health care delivery, effective communication is more important than ever before (Root and Stableford, 1999). The article goes on to discuss how this is even more complex with the Medicare and Medicaid populations. Marketing refers to attempts to manage behavior by offering reinforcing incentives and/or consequences in an environment that invites voluntary exchange (Rothschild, 1999). The level of satisfaction is correlated to the ability to select a plan without coercion. Marketing strategy will play a vital role in healthcare decision-making. Marketing strategies that involve segmenting, mass customization, and competitive pricing will come out ahead (Veit, 1999). Brand loyalty in the Medicare marketplace is what most managed care organizations strive for. This has become extremely difficult with so many plans leaving the Medicare market (Health Affairs, 2000) because of reduced reimbursements from the government. One essential strategy is using multi-channel communications that include printed materials, public service announcements, seminars and workshops.

An Examination of Management Philosophy

Dr. Turan Senguder, Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

What is your personal management philosophy? The first job of the management is to make a business perform well. The management takes given resources -- such as manpower, money, machine and materials -- and orchestrates them into production to accomplish organizational goals. When employees’ basic human needs go unsatisfied, their psychological and physical health as well as their productivity suffers. The participative management meets such needs. Participation in an organizational development is likely to include problem solving, decision making and goal setting activities. Employees may participate in any or all of the areas at any one time. Management should share decision-making authority and responsibility with its workers. Management should also communicate openly and candidly. However, this approach may not work well with all employees. Some workers can take only limited responsibility. They prefer to let others shoulder the main burden of responsibility. Therefore, management should differentiate talents and energies of their workers. Each worker is uniquely complex; To help workers achieve their best performance level, management must understand each worker’s needs. Needs are what make all of us tick. Workers are motivated to behave in certain ways because of their need for money, security and status. Work helps to satisfy a worker’s physical and emotional needs. Weekly paychecks, for example, enable workers to obtain food, clothes and housing. Besides security, workers may also seek status through promotion, a merit salary increase, the learning of new skills, and the invention of a new product.

Measuring Destination Attractiveness: A Proposed Framework

Dr. Sandro Formica, ESSEC Business School, Paris, France

ABSTRACT

The driving force of the tourism industry is represented by the attractions offered by the destination. Travelers have no reason to visit destinations that have nothing to offer. Tourism research has demonstrated that attraction studies are necessary in the understanding of the elements that encourage people to travel. Achieving the goal of measuring destination attractiveness requires the understanding of its components and their relationships. There are two ways of examining attractiveness: by studying the attractions or by exploring the attractiveness perceptions of those who are attracted by them. As competition among tourism destinations increases and tourist funding decreases, it is of vital importance to evaluate the inventory of existing attractions and the perceptions that travelers have of those attractions. Tourism literature provides only a limited number of studies addressing destination attractiveness. The purpose of this study is to explore past studies on destination attractiveness and propose a procedure for its measurement. The principles of regional analysis, tourism planning, and tourism attraction research provide the foundation for such evaluation. The proposed procedure is based on the assumption that tourism is a system, which is the result of supply and demand interaction. The tourism phenomenon consists of two essential components: an origin and a destination (Uysal, 1998). The first is labeled as tourism demand (representing the tourists) and the second is described as tourism supply and includes elements such as natural resources, cultural attractions, and historical monuments. In the past, tourism demand has been considered the sole variable of importance by local and national governments.

Predicting Leaders and Team Leaders in Times of Great Change

Dr. Barbara E. Kovach, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.

ABSTRACT

People in organizations have been experiencing unprecedented change in the last decades, as a result of competition from domestic and foreign settings and new technological capabilities. As a consequence, organizations have been seeking means to heighten their productivity. Two of the most frequently touted results of this search are a call for leadership and more effective teams. Yet as psychologists review the literature in the mid- to late-1990s, one after another comments on the lack of data and/or lack of research over the preceding 30 years. We want people who know how to cope with change, but know little about them. We want leaders who can live in a changing field, but do not know how to shape our selection procedures to cull these individuals from the managerial pool. We want good teams, but know little about who is a good team member and/or a good team leader. In response to this need and the research literature’s focus on individual perceptions and expectations as a key to understanding peoples’ organizational behavior a set of instruments were designed two decades ago and since tested on over 5,000 individuals. The first two instruments, and key to the series, are the Personal Expectations Inventory (PXI, Kovach and Morris, 1980) and the Organizational Expectations Inventory (OXI, Kovach and Morris, 1980). Now, given two carefully-monitored samples of relatively similar composition and size, one from the 1980s, and one from the 1990s, and one much smaller sample of fast-trackers (Kovach, 1989), will an analysis of their scores answer following questions: (1) can a critical subset of scores from the early sample, predict the strong performers (as independently evaluated) in the second sample? and, (2) do the results relate to perceptions of leadership and teamwork?

Practical-Theoretical Approach in the Application of Theory Models of Organizational Behavior

Dr. Robert DeYoung, Saint Thomas University, Miami, FL

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the idea of incorporating a practical-theoretical approach to the application of theory relevant to the instruction of organizational behavior. In an effort to move beyond the mere traditional theoretic-based approach of instruction, the practical-theoretical approach brings to life the concepts, allowing the student to experience the learning within the controlled confines of academia. The paper identifies two important components necessary to the practical-theoretical approach: (1) The identification of a commonality among the students and (2) the discovery of meaningfulness in the issue being discussed. Commonality refers to something each student has in common. Meaningfulness refers to anything that is important to each student. The organizational behavior theories used as an example in this paper include Bandura’s Model of Organizational Behavior and E. F. Harrison’s Rational Model of Decision Making. The Model of Organizational Behavior is used as a foundation throughout the course to establish a clear understanding of the behavioral dynamics that occur inside the organization. The practical application of the theory-based Rational Model of Decision-Making brings to life an understanding of the theory that implicitly applies to the student. The use of the practicum supports the importance of the practical-theoretical approach to pedagogy. In the ongoing effort to bring innovative methodologies into the traditional classroom, one must sidestep the mainstream, the status quo, and consider the appropriateness of practicality.

Using Organizational Behavior Theories To Manage Clinical Practice Guideline Implementation

Dr. Nancy Borkowski, St. Thomas University, Miami, FL

Dr. William Allen, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, MA

ABSTRACT

By building on sociological and organizational psychology concepts versus reinventing the wheel, healthcare administrators can develop the right mix of management strategies to assist in the adoption and implementation of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) into their organizations. Physicians control approximately 80 percent of how and where medical services are delivered. Therefore, concerns over healthcare costs and delivering quality, efficient, and effective medical care have led to a growing interest in the standardization of and accountability in health care delivery by altering physicians' practice patterns through the use of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). It is estimated that a CPG costs an organization between $100,000 and $500,000 to develop. As such, there is great concern as to why CPGs have been remarkably unsuccessful in influencing physician practice patterns (Greco & Eisenberg, 1993; Kosecoff et al., 1987; Lomas et al, 1989). The primary reason cited for this lack of success has been the disproportionately little attention paid to CPGs’ implementation relative to their development and dissemination (Fang et al., 1996; Mittman et al., 1992). Understandably so. Implementing a CPG guideline is far more difficult than its development because implementation requires widespread physician behavior changes, which is a complex undertaking (Epstein, 1991; Main et al., 1995; Sisk, 1998). The intent of this paper is to assist healthcare managers understand why physicians are slow to apply CPGs in their medical practices by taking well-established theories from the behavioral science literature and applying them to current research.

Market Orientation, Organizational Competencies and Performance:

An Empirical Investigation of a Path-Analytic Model

Dr. Kamalesh Kumar, The University of Michigan-Dearborn, MI

ABSTRACT

Results of a survey of 159 acute care hospitals were used to test examine the specific ways in which market orientation of an organization contributes to the creation of organizational competencies that contribute to superior performance. Results indicated that market orientation makes a significant contribution to the creation of a number of organizational competencies which in turn lead to superior performance in the areas of cost containment and success of new services. Implications for managers were also addressed. Recently, researchers have shown an increasing interest in the relationship between market orientation and organizational performance (Jaworski & Kohli, 1993; Slater and Narver, 1994; Greenley 1995a, 1995b, Kumar, Subramanian and Yauger, 1997, 1998). Market orientation is defined as "the organization wide generation of market intelligence, dissemination of intelligence across departments and organization wide responsiveness to it" (Kohli & Jaworski, 1990, p. 3). More specifically, market orientation involves generation and dissemination of market intelligence that is composed of information about the customers and competitors, sharing of this information among all functions in an organization, and rapid managerial action in response to this information. An organization that is market oriented also possesses a strong long-term orientation to ensure that preferences of current and potential customers are identified as also the ability of current and potential competitors to satisfy these preferences. Finally, a market oriented organization also exhibits a determined orientation toward profitability to ensure that the resources necessary to support the information collection, dissemination and organizational response activities are available (Kohli and Jaworski, 1990; Narver and Slater, 1990).

Caribbean and US Shopping Behavior: Contrast and Convergence

Dr. J. A. F. Nicholls, Florida International University Miami, FL

Dr. Sydney Roslow, Florida International University Miami, FL

Dr. Lucette B. Comer, Purdue University, Indiana

ABSTRACT

Situational influences devolve from factors that are pertinent to a particular time and place and specific to a potential purchase. In this study, patrons of a mall in the United States are compared with patrons of a mall in Trinidad in respect of demographic attributes, situational variables, and shopping behavior. There were wide-ranging differences between the two populations in respect to the possession of situational variables and purchase behaviors, although the difference in demographics was limited to a single attribute. Since all 17 situational variables exhibited significant statistical differences, this suggest that within the United States population situational factors are operating dissimilarly than for the population in Trinidad. In light of these findings, alternative ways in which merchants might react to these findings are suggested. From studies of consumer behavior, readers are taught that individuals have needs and wants that they strive to satisfy. In an exchange economy, people shop to acquire the goods and services which they believe will satisfy these needs and wants. A retailer with international operations may be interested in knowing whether there is any commonality in the shopping behaviors of consumers in different parts of the world. This study constitutes an initial step in exploring the question of commonality in global shopping behavior. Consumer shopping behavior may be influenced by internal and external factors. Thus, a basic factor is consumers= search patterns. The extent to which individuals utilize particular forms of transportation, allocate time to the shopping process, and consider themselves safe from crime, among others, is investigated. Situation factors also influence shopping behavior. Belk (1975) suggested that broad areas, such as temporal perspective, physical surroundings, antecedent states, social surroundings, and task definition, all might affect consumer choice.

Intercultural Perceptions of Business and Management Practices:

A German-American Learning Experience

Dr. Josef Neuert, Prof. Achim Opel, University of Applied Sciences Fulda, Germany

Dr. Dietrich L. Schaupp, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

ABSTRACT

The increasing globalization of societal and economic activities around the world has generated much interest in and a need for joint partnerships between international businesses and educational institutions that teach management education. Of major interest in business today is how to structure international business operations in order to gain competitive advantages in international markets. As more and more companies expand into international markets, it is imperative that managers become prepared to discharge their duties in a global context. This paper first examines specific cultural dimensions of influence on international management. It then describes the West Virginia University – University of Applied Sciences Fulda joint EMBA program, which was designed to create a greater awareness and understanding among students for intercultural management aspects, especially within Germany and the European Union. The discussion of this program is followed by the outline of the basic research approach of the joint German-American learning experience. Finally, after describing the design of the field study some major results and conclusions are presented. Assuming that management perspectives and practices are universal most certainly will result in unintended consequences for international business operations. There are, indeed, significant differences between managing an international company and a domestic one (Fatehi, 1996). Major differences pertain primarily to various perspectives regarding cultural, legal, and communicative expectations found in international business settings. One major task of management can be described as the success-oriented steering of organizational processes within a given and/or developing system of objectives (Neuert, 1987; 28).

An Ex-Post Investigation of Interest Rate Parity in Asian Emerging Markets

Dr. Todd M. Shank, University of Portland, Portland, OR

ABSTRACT

Divergent views exist regarding the question of how interest rate differentials among foreign countries relate to corresponding exchange rate differentials among those same economies. Interest rate parity (IRP) theory suggests that if interest rates are higher in one country than they are in another, the former country's currency will sell at a discount in the forward market (Van Horne, 1998). In other words, interest rate differentials and forward-spot exchange rate differentials should offset one another. If not, opportunities for profit by engaging in covered interest arbitrage would exist, although profits must be sufficiently large enough to cover transactions costs and other market frictions. Several studies over the past two decades have examined the validity of interest rate parity in major world markets. Most of these studies have focused on countries with established forward financial markets in foreign currencies since these data are required to test "covered" IRP. The expectation is that the level of informational efficiency of these major markets is higher than other (less established) markets, making IRP more probable and opportunities to earn economic profits from covered interest arbitrage less likely. Moreover, financial market frictions such as the regulatory and political barriers among established markets have decreased over this period, further reducing arbitrage opportunities in foreign exchange markets. In testing the validity of IRP in emerging markets where no forward markets in currencies exists, "uncovered" IRP is used where the question is whether the change in the actual exchange rate between two countries equals that previously implied by the interest rate differential (Van Horne, 1998).

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