The Journal of American Academy

The Dark Triad of Personality: Impact upon Leadership and Employee Job Satisfaction

Dr. Steven H. Appelbaum, Professor, John Molson School of Business, Montreal, Quebec

Logan Hicks, John Molson School of Business, Montreal, Quebec

Luciana Brasil, John Molson School of Business, Montreal, Quebec

Sara Vitale, John Molson School of Business, Montreal, Quebec

Barbara T. Shapiro, John Molson School of Business, Montreal, Quebec

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the extent to which The Dark Triad of personality traits as exhibited by superiors affects employees and job satisfaction within organizations. A comprehensive search of relevant research related to the topic has been conducted to determine if a relationship exists between the two variables. Findings suggest that there is a correlation but largely for short-term financial gains and innovation with the possibility of long-term company demise. This research was collected from other studies on similar and related topics; however, an empirical study directly investigating the subject should be conducted for the most accurate and reliable results. Supervisors exhibiting The Dark Triad personality traits can have an effect on employee behavior and satisfaction which may have a resulting impact on the overall organization as a whole. This research will provide companies with more insight into the repercussions of dark leaders on their employees so they may successfully identify, control and in some cases remove potential toxic leaders. This will allow organizations to make informed decisions about their leadership and future directions, effectively balancing the negative risks and visionary potential the Dark Triad can bring to the table. The information contained in this analysis could inform hiring practices within organizations in terms of personality traits, behavioral aspects and emotional quotient. How does a superior exhibiting the dark triad of personality traits affect employee job satisfaction?: A Narcissist, a Psychopath and a Machiavellian Walk into a Bar… The bartender asks, ‘who has the darkest personality out of you three?’ The Narcissist says ‘me’, the Psychopath says, ‘I don’t care’ and the Mach says ‘it’s whoever I want it to be’ (Chopra, 2013). The dark side of personality has garnered much interest in organizational behaviour research over the past few decades due to current political, economic, and social environments.

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Do Countries That Improve Corruption Levels Attract More Foreign Direct Investment?

Dr. Vijay Sampath, CUNY-John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY

ABSTRACT

Drawing on internationalization and institutional theories, this study examines the impact of improvements in country corruption levels on foreign direct investment (FDI). Internationalization theory suggests that investors consider corruption to be a crucial factor in evaluating the attractiveness of an investment location. Institutional theory provides guidance as to how countries as institutions can institute governance initiatives to reduce corruption levels. Using outward FDI data from the United States, the hypothesis is tested as to whether improvements in corruption levels result in increased FDI. Results suggest that improvements lead to significant increases in FDI, thus providing guidance to government leaders that steps taken to decrease corruption have positive effects on their economies. The government of the Philippines’ efforts at curbing corruption appears to have been successful when it improved 24 positions in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in 2012 as compared to 2011 (Patria, 2012). A government spokesperson attributed the improvements to “efforts to strengthen institutions, provide deterrents against corrupt practices, and hold accountable those who have used power for personal gain” (2012: DU1). In the debate in recent years over the role of FDI in helping developing countries to reform their political and social systems, quality of governance has gained recognition as a crucial variable for measuring progress toward attaining such goals. This paper attempts to fill this void in the literature on how improvements in corruption levels attract FDI. Institutional theory informs us that country differences in relation to the regulatory and normative pillars represent the governance attributes of those countries (Kostova, 1999). Improvements in these attributes would be useful in exploring whether these improvements lessen corruption in countries, thereby increasing FDI from developed countries. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) from the developed world emphasize these improvements in governance attributes, making countries attractive as investment opportunities (Dunning, 1998).

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Bank Credit, Trade Credit and Innovation

Xixi Chen, Pepperdine University, CA

Dr. Jing Guo, Zhejiang SCI-TECH University, China

Dr. Fred Petro, Pepperdine University, CA

ABSTRACT

Whether bank credit can support innovation is a crucial issue which determines the success of China’s economic transformation and upgrading. In this paper, an empirical study examines the relationship between bank credit, trade credit and innovation. Also studied is the interactive term relationship existing between bank credit, trade credit and innovation, based on information taken from China’s Industrial Enterprise Database over the period 2012-2014. We show that the financing mode, dominated by bank credit for our country, both supported and nonsupported innovation, will be restrained if enterprises provide trade credit. We also find that the effect of repression from bank credit to innovation will be intensified through trade credit redistribution. Thus, to promote innovation, our tradi tional bank-credit financing mode should be revisited for modification. And we should Build Multi-Level Capital Market, propel financial market reform and reduce the opportunities allowing enterprises to exercise shadow banking in capital market. China's economic development approach needs to promote comprehensive innovation to achieve quality-oriented and efficiency-oriented intensive growth. This is achieved with the intense speed of extensive growth, with innovation from the micro-enterprise level as the most important driving force. Due to the long cycle, high risk, information asymmetry and other reasons, business innovation is subject to serious financing constraints. The mitigation of corporate innovative financing constraints needs an efficient financial system. China's financial system is dominated by banks. The allocation efficiency of bank credit funds largely determines the role of finance in promoting economic growth. In addition, China also has long-term financial restraint. Commercial credit plays an important role in the process of secondary allocation of credit resources. Under this special financial system, could bank credit support business innovation? And what is the role of commercial credit with credit secondary configuration? Theoretical and empirical research on this issue will help us to better understand the microeconomic mechanism of the financial impact on innovation in China's special financial system.

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The Impact of Liqudity on Corporate Bond Yield Spreads

Dr. Melissa Woodley, Creighton University, NE

Dr. John R. Wingender, Jr., Creighton University, NE

ABSTRACT

Holding term-structure constant, corporate bond yield spreads have traditionally been assumed to be made up of only credit risk. Recent work has expanded this view to include compensation for the tax consequences of interest income, as well as a liquidity premium and a systematic risk premium. This work shows that while credit risk explains the yield spread for high yield bonds, only 20-32% of the spread of investment grade bonds, depending on the maturity, is attributable to credit risk. The remainder of the yield spread contains compensation for bond-issue specific illiquidity, differential taxation, and systematic risk. Further, monthly changes in individual corporate bond spreads are negatively correlated with changes in liquidity. These results suggest that not only is bond liquidity priced, but monthly changes in trading activity at the individual bond level are also a compensated risk. What explains the corporate bond yield spread, the difference between the yield of a corporate bond and a U.S. Treasury bond of like duration? Several factors cause this spread to be positive. U.S. Treasury bonds are considered to be default-free, while there is a positive probability of default for even the highest quality corporate bond. Income from U.S. Treasury bonds is exempt from state taxes, while income from corporate bonds generally is not. U.S. Treasury bonds are among the most liquid securities in the world, while some corporate bonds trade only rarely, if at all. The purpose of this essay is to determine the relative impact of each of these factors on the magnitude of the corporate bond yield spread. Further, we will examine how changes in the probability of default and the liquidity of the bond are reflected in the yield spread. There is some disagreement in the literature as to the relative importance of credit risk, liquidity, and tax effects in determining the size of the corporate bond yield spread.

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Independent Accountant’s Issues with Recent Reporting Regulations

Dr. Michael Ulinski, Pace University, Pleasantville, NY

Dr. Roy J. Girasa, Pace University, Pleasantville, NY

ABSTRACT

Various security laws are designed to regulate financial markets, increase transparency of financial reporting and sometimes provide incentives for economic growth by deregulation of banking and other industries. The researchers describe past efforts to regulate reporting requirements beginning with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, followed by The Dodd-Frank Act and the Choice Act recently passed by the US House of Representatives. The Choice Act also has implications for Crowd Funding and Dark Pools as alternative trading systems (ATS). Accountants are charged with compliance with changes brought about in reporting requirements as well as interpreting and defending against enforcement efforts by the SEC and other regulatory agencies. Conflicting views about the value of deregulation from the independent accountant's perspective as well as some members of the US Congress are presented. Conclusions are reached with regard to the effects on accountants ability to comply with new and revised regulations. Independent and government accountants are faced with compliance issues with an ever changing landscape of securities and financial reporting regulations of financial markets. Recent legislation designed to streamline regulations of market activities have caused accountants charged with independent audits of financial statements or those within the SEC to comply with new rules and disclosure requirements. The Choice Act(1) recently passed by the US House of Representatives was designed to reduced regulation of the banking industry by repealing major portions of the Dodd-Frank Act and increase transparency of financial information while streamlining other supposed burdensome regulations to spur economic activity.

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Women CPAs: Retention Remains a Challenge

Dr. Denise de la Rosa, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI

Dennis C. Stovall, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI

ABSTRACT

Public accounting firms have struggled and continue to struggle with the retention, attraction, and promotion of women at their firms. Part of this can be attributed to the fact that many women desire to have a more flexible schedule which allows them to have a better family and work balance. Due to this, many women will leave a firm after only working there a few years, most likely after obtaining their CPA certification. Legislation passed in Michigan in the past few years now allows for accountants to attain their certification through either industry or public practice. Firms have tried to entice women to join and stay by offering flexible-work and part-time arrangements, but this ultimately is not solving the problem in its entirety. Women continue to leave firms at a much higher rate than men. In addition to problems with the current workforce, firms also face a new challenge of attracting the next generation of women accountants, the millennial generation. Like any generational switch, firms must analyze their current policies to ensure they attract and retain the best new talent in the years to come. This paper explores employment trends of women CPA holders, and what measures firms are taking to attract and retain them. In 1998, former Michigan governor John Engler signed into law Public Act 380 of 1998, requiring candidates applying for a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification after July 1, 2003 to have 150 semester hours of college-level education.

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The Impacts of Safe Harbors on SMEs´ Performance and Other Economic Indicators

Dr. Veronika Solilova, Mendel University, Brno, Czech Republic

Dr. Danuse Nerudova, Mendel University, Brno, Czech Republic

ABSTRACT

SMEs are an economic backbone of the European economy as they generate 28% of GDP in EU28 and employ at least 60% of persons employed in EU28. Moreover, SMEs are involved in global value chains as partners, suppliers and distributors of large and multinational companies. However, SMEs face many obstacles one of them is tax system which generates excessive compliance costs, which are regressive with regard to firm size. The situation is worse for SMEs which are internationalized in EU i.e. having subsidiaries abroad, where transfer pricing and other international taxation issues may be in point. In this case compliance costs of transfer pricing issues were determined for European SMEs annually between EUR 3,090 and 5,564 per entity and represent 1.32 % up to 2.38 % of corporate tax collection. Therefore, greater simplicity in transfer pricing administration and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of transfer pricing enforcement are considered as essential mainly for SMEs, who are not able to bear the high administrative burden to comply with the transfer pricing rules as large enterprises. One of possible solutions can be considered the introduction of safe harbor arm´s length ranges. The aim of the paper is a research of impacts of the introduction of safe harbor on changes of SME´ performance and other selected items reported in the financial statements with emphasis on the fulfilment of the long-term goals of the EU2020 agenda, such as smart and inclusive growth in the EU. Based on the research we can conclude that safe harbors are able to support the SMEs´ performance as they are able to decrease compliance costs of transfer pricing issues resulting into a smart and inclusive growth in the EU. In this respect we recommend to invest such saved money to an increase of current assets, added value or number of employees.

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Developing Production Standards for Multitask/Multilocation Service Installers with

Varying Levels of Experience: A Basic Theory

Dr. John Ed Knight, Professor, The University of Tennessee at Martin, TN.

ABSTRACT

As the economy increasingly moves toward service applications and away from highly repetitive short-cycle manufacturing operations, the use and development of production standards necessarily must undergo similar changes. This paper addresses the development of production standards for multitask/multilocation service installations with varying levels of installer experience. The application of production standards to these tasks faces special issues given that the work order will contain various, non-standard general job tasks with specific outcomes but not specific and prescribed standard repeatable methods. Each installation must depend on the experience level of the operator making a planning assessment on arrival at the installation location and deciding which sequence of task installations and methods of installation may be best. Experience is assumed to play an important role in this assessment and work order execution. An algorithm will be suggested that will not only make a work order prediction but also will develop a daily work order schedule that will meet the 8-hour daily work requirement with consideration for wide variances in the installation times, travel times from location to location, and the variances of sequential work orders so that the probability of completion in 8 hours meets a predetermined management assurance level. Production standards have many benefits that have been reaped for years (Quick, 1962). Production standards are the results of accurately and precisely timed tasks being extrapolated over a prescribed work day (typically 8 hours) with a given output per person per day being generated. The basic job task times can then be utilized as elements for determining production standards for independent work stations and then utilized as input to assembly line balancing calculations when gross demand makes division of labor more efficient.

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Possible Way to Internally Generated Intangible Assets Reporting

Dr. Hana Bohusova, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic

Dr. Patrik Svoboda, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic

ABSTRACT

Costs associated with intangible assets such as software, patents, licenses, copyrights and goodwill became an important item of costs in the recent days. Despite this fact, there are a lot of inconsistencies in their recognition, measurement a presentation in particular reporting systems. The paper is focused on the evaluation of the ways of intangible assets reporting and impacts the reporting treatment on financial position and performance of companies. There are compared treatments for intangible assets measurement, recording and reporting in selected reporting systems in the paper. The IFRS system, US GAAP system and the Czech Accounting legislation (CAL) are evaluated. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the way of IAs reporting methodology. Based on results of comparative analysis, the most different ways of IAs reporting were identified and the model case was utilized for the demonstration of the impact of different treatments for recognition, measurement and reporting on financial statements items. The characteristics of the economy had changed from the industrial one to today’s more service and information oriented during the past decades. There were especially manufacturing companies (US Steel, Jersey Standard, Pullman and American Tobacco) among the world’s largest companies in the beginning of the 20th century. Their success was based on their tangible assets: oil fields, railroads and factories.

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Pygmalion Syndrome and Misunderstanding the Duality Accounting Concept

Dr. Farrell Gean, Pepperdine University, CA

Dr. Fred Petro, Pepperdine University, CA

Virginia Gean, California Lutheran University, CA

ABSTRACT

Years ago, the famous physicist, J.L. Synge, commented on the tendency of people to confuse a concept with a something. He called this confusion the Pygmalion Syndrome. It is sometimes called reification from the Latin res meaning thing or object. To reify a concept means to speak of the concept as a physical thing. This paper has the modest goal of linking this tendency of the human brain to confuse a concept with a something to difficulty in understanding the accounting language. One of the most important, fundamental concepts underlying financial reporting by accountants is the duality notion. This is an economic principle that says every business transaction has dual effects on the financial position of an entity. Sometimes one or both effects may be conceptual and not an empirical something such as cash. Grasping this duality concept is absolutely essential for learning the accounting language. This paper presents a strong argument that the Pygmalion Syndrome is the barrier to cross if accounting is to be learned. Some empirical evidence gathered from students will be presented to support our philosophical reasoning. In this information age in which we live, there seems to be an increased tendency for human beings to confuse conceptual models of real things and events with the things and events themselves. A well-known physicist chose to call this confusion the Pygmalion Syndrome, after the symptoms of the legendary sculptor of Cyprus who carved a statue of such astonishing realism that it came to life for him and he fell in love with the statue. A concept is an idea. It is a generalized idea of a class of of objects. It is a thought; a notion or abstraction of something existing in the real, empirical world. It is often used to explain something that cannot be directly observed.

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ASEAN, the 50 Years Old, Successful Association and Hungary Prospects and Challenges in the

Economic Relations, Focusing on Vietnam

Dr. Laszlo Kozar, Professor, Head of Institute of Commerce, Budapest Business School – University of Applied Sciences

Dr. Gyorgy Ivan Neszmelyi, Associate Professor, Institute of Commerce, Budapest Business School – University of Applied Sciences

ABSTRACT

The economic integration process started fifty years ago among five countries in the Southeast-Asian region. As a result of this, nowadays, the ten members of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nation) – together – grew to be a new Asian economic power, besides China, Japan, India and South Korea. Beyond the overview of the main steps of this five-decade development, the authors aimed to give an insight to the economic, social and political aspects of the relations between Hungary and ASEAN. The timeliness of the topic can be underlined by the foreign economic strategy “Eastern Opening” proclaimed by the Hungarian Government in 2012. However, the success of this policy has still not been reflected in the trade statistic figures. The integration of the ten Southeast Asian countries develops rapidly, which is coupled by their increasing weight in the world trade. The dynamic economic and social development in the ASEAN region – and in parallel with this the growing demands and purchasing power - may encourage the Hungarian ventures in theory. In practice, however, there are still very few Hungarian entrepreneurs are ready and able to enter the markets of the countries in the region and operate successfully there in long run. Since the political and economic changes, Hungarian foreign trade has become strongly concentrated to the European Union. Due to the geographic distance ASEAN countries cannot be an alternative of the EU market, but in a certain extent they can relieve the one-sided concentration to the EU and may provide additional opportunities for the export of Hungarian goods, services and know-how. .

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