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An Introduction to Indian Stock Market Index(s) —- SENSEX & NIFTY

Comments OffPosted by Administration & Management on May 29, 2012

The time I invested since my student days, to Private Corporate Sector, and presently working with a public sector autonomous body, I got opportunity to interact with good number of individuals who either were aspiring to get into a B-School so that they can land up smoothly and get absorbed in the vacant Human Resource Positions/ existing Manpower Requirements of Corporate (Private or Public) Sector.

I met one more category of individuals [relevant to this write up], who were pursuing their Post Graduate Program at some institution or Master’s Degree Program at some University to earn their PG Diploma in Business Management or Master of Business Administration Degree.

Since at this level they happen to be very new, it is not expected of them to be expert enough to understand the complexity of Industrial and Corporate Sector. Often, I noticed that at this stage, they thought that Business Administration as probably something very near to (if, not synonymous to) knowledge domains called as Economics or Commerce.

The other component that they look as business is Stock Market Index [Sensex or NIFTY], as they often see numerous articles discussing the business scenario or economic scenario and relating these to Stock Market Index in or the other context. Specially, since 2008 onwards there has been so much volatility and lack of stability in markets that now they often make headlines in Political News Papers too.

I found them, often very curious, to learn what Stock Market Index is, how it is created, why it is there, how is it a reflection of economic scenario and many more questions of the similar kind.

The problem is that majority of such individuals, even after having earned their degree or diploma sometimes, are not aware of it. There is no use deliberating on issue that why it is so, as that is not the subject of this deliberation. So coming directly to the topic, and that is to explain the heads mentioned below:

1. History of BSE

2. Calculation Methodology

3. Scrip Selection Criteria

4. Free Float Methodology

5. Definition of Free Float

6. Major Advantages of Free Float

7. History of NIFTY

8. Calculation Methodology

9. Scrip Selection Criteria

The same follows here onwards:

HISTORY OF BSE SENSEX

SENSEX, first compiled in 1986, was calculated on a ‘Market Capitalization-Weighted’ methodology of 30 component stocks representing large, well-established and financially sound companies across key sectors. The base year of SENSEX was taken as 1978-79. SENSEX today is widely reported in both domestic and international markets through print as well as electronic media. It is scientifically designed and is based on globally accepted construction and review methodology. Since September 1, 2003, SENSEX is being calculated on a free-float market capitalization methodology. The ‘free-float market capitalization-weighted’ methodology is a widely followed index construction methodology on which majority of global equity indices are based; all major index providers like MSCI, FTSE, STOXX, S&P and Dow Jones use the free-float methodology.

The growth of the equity market in India has been phenomenal in the present decade. Right from early nineties, the stock market witnessed heightened activity in terms of various bull and bear runs. In the late nineties, the Indian market witnessed a huge frenzy in the ‘TMT’ sectors. More recently, real estate caught the fancy of the investors. SENSEX has captured all these happenings in the most judicious manner. One can identify the booms and busts of the Indian equity market through SENSEX. As the oldest index in the country, it provides the time series data over a fairly long period of time (from 1979 onwards). Small wonder, the SENSEX has become one of the most prominent brands in the country.

CALCULATION METHODOLOGY

SENSEX is calculated using the ‘Free-float Market Capitalization’ methodology, wherein, the level of index at any point of time reflects the free-float market value of 30 component stocks relative to a base period. The market capitalization of a company is determined by multiplying the price of its stock by the number of shares issued by the company. This market capitalization is further multiplied by the free-float factor to determine the free-float market capitalization.

The base period of SENSEX is 1978-79 and the base value is 100 index points. This is often indicated by the notation 1978-79=100. The calculation of SENSEX involves dividing the free-float market capitalization of 30 companies in the Index by a number called the Index Divisor. The Divisor is the only link to the original base period value of the SENSEX. It keeps the Index comparable over time and is the adjustment point for all Index adjustments arising out of corporate actions, replacement of scrips etc. During market hours, prices of the index scrips, at which latest trades are executed, are used by the trading system to calculate SENSEX on a continuous basis.

SCRIP SELECTION CRITERIA

The general guidelines for selection of constituents in SENSEX are as follows:

Equities of companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd. (excluding companies classified in Z group, listed mutual funds, scrip suspended on the last day of the month prior to review date, scrips objected by the Surveillance department of the Exchange and those that are traded under permitted category) shall be considered eligible.
Listing History: The scrip should have a listing history of at least three months at BSE. An exception may be granted to one month, if the average free-float market capitalization of a newly listed company ranks in the top 10 of all companies listed at BSE. In the event that a company is listed on account of a merger / demerger / amalgamation, a minimum listing history is not required.
The scrip should have been traded on each and every trading day in the last three months at BSE. Exceptions can be made for extreme reasons like scrip suspension etc.
Companies that have reported revenue in the latest four quarters from its core activity are considered eligible.
From the list of constituents selected through Steps 1-4, the top 75 companies based on free-float market capitalisation (avg. 3 months) are selected as well as any additional companies that are in the top 75 based on full market capitalization (avg. 3 months).
The filtered list of constituents selected through Step 5 (which can be greater than 75 companies) is then ranked on absolute turnover (avg. 3 months).
Any company in the filtered, sorted list created in Step 6 that has Cumulative Turnover of >98%, are excluded, so long as the remaining list has more than 30 scrips.
The filtered list calculated in Step 7 is then sorted by free float market capitalization. Any company having a weight within this filtered constituent list of <0.50% shall be excluded.
All remaining companies will be sorted on sector and sub-sorted in the descending order of rank on free-float market capitalization.
Industry/Sector Representation: Scrip selection will generally attempt to maintain index sectoral weights that are broadly in-line with the overall market.
Track Record: In the opinion of the BSE Index Committee, all companies included within the SENSEX should have an acceptable track record.

UNDERSTANDING FREE FLOAT METHODOLOGY

Free-float methodology refers to an index construction methodology that takes into consideration only the free-float market capitalization of a company for the purpose of index calculation and assigning weight to stocks in the index. Free-float market capitalization takes into consideration only those shares issued by the company that are readily available for trading in the market. It generally excludes promoters’ holding, government holding, strategic holding and other locked-in shares that will not come to the market for trading in the normal course. In other words, the market capitalization of each company in a free-float index is reduced to the extent of its readily available shares in the market.

Subsequently all BSE indices with the exception of BSE-PSU index have adopted the free-float methodology.

DEFINITION OF FREE FLOAT

Shareholding of investors that would not, in the normal course come into the open market for trading are treated as ‘Controlling/ Strategic Holdings’ and hence not included in free-float. Specifically, the following categories of holding are generally excluded from the definition of Free-float:

Shares held by founders/directors/ acquirers which has control element
Shares held by persons/ bodies with ‘Controlling Interest’
Shares held by Government as promoter/acquirer
Holdings through the FDI Route
Strategic stakes by private corporate bodies/ individuals
Equity held by associate/group companies (cross-holdings)
Equity held by Employee Welfare Trusts
Locked-in shares and shares which would not be sold in the open market in normal course.

MAJOR ADVANTAGES OF FREE FLOAT METHODOLOGY

A Free-float index reflects the market trends more rationally as it takes into consideration only those shares that are available for trading in the market.
Free-float Methodology makes the index more broad-based by reducing the concentration of top few companies in Index.
A Free-float index aids both active and passive investing styles. It aids active managers by enabling them to benchmark their fund returns vis-a -vis an investible index. This enables an apple-to-apple comparison thereby facilitating better evaluation of performance of active managers. Being a perfectly replicable portfolio of stocks, a Free-float adjusted index is best suited for the passive managers as it enables them to track the index with the least tracking error.
Free-float Methodology improves index flexibility in terms of including any stock from the universe of listed stocks. This improves market coverage and sector coverage of the index. For example, under a Full-market capitalization methodology, companies with large market capitalization and low free-float cannot generally be included in the Index because they tend to distort the index by having an undue influence on the index movement. However, under the Free-float Methodology, since only the free-float market capitalization of each company is considered for index calculation, it becomes possible to include such closely-held companies in the index while at the same time preventing their undue influence on the index movement.
Globally, the Free-float Methodology of index construction is considered to be an industry best practice and all major index providers like MSCI, FTSE, S&P and STOXX have adopted the same. MSCI, a leading global index provider, shifted all its indices to the Free-float Methodology in 2002. The MSCI India Standard Index, which is followed by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) to track Indian equities, is also based on the Free-float Methodology. NASDAQ-100, the underlying index to the famous Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) – QQQ is based on the Free-float Methodology.

HISTORY OF NIFTY

S&P CNX Nifty is a well diversified 50 stock index accounting for 21 sectors of the economy. It is used for a variety of purposes such as benchmarking fund portfolios, index based derivatives and index funds.

S&P CNX Nifty is owned and managed by India Index Services and Products Ltd. (IISL), which is a joint venture between NSE and CRISIL. IISL is India’s first specialised company focused upon the index as a core product. IISL has a Marketing and Licensing Agreement with Standard & Poor’s (S&P), who are world leaders in index services.

Traded value for the last six months of all Nifty stocks is approximately 44.89% of the traded value of all stocks on the NSE
Nifty stocks represent about 58.64% of the total market capitalization as on March 31, 2008.
Impact cost of the S&P CNX Nifty for a portfolio size of Rs.2 crore is 0.15%
S&P CNX Nifty is professionally maintained and is ideal for derivatives trading

CALCULATION METHODOLOGY

S&P CNX Nifty is computed using market capitalization weighted method, wherein the level of the index reflects the total market value of all the stocks in the index relative to a particular base period. The method also takes into account constituent changes in the index and importantly corporate actions such as stock splits, rights, etc without affecting the index value.

SCRIP SELECTION CRITERIA

The constituents and the criteria for the selection judge the effectiveness of the index. Selection of the index set is based on the following criteria:

Liquidity (Impact Cost)

For inclusion in the index, the security should have traded at an average impact cost of 0.50% or less during the last six months for 90% of the observations for a basket size of Rs. 2 Crores.

Impact cost is cost of executing a transaction in a security in proportion to the weightage of its market capitalisation as against the index market capitalisation at any point of time. This is the percentage mark up suffered while buying / selling the desired quantity of a security compared to its ideal price (best buy + best sell) / 2

Floating Stock

Companies eligible for inclusion in S&P CNX Nifty should have at least 10% floating stock. For this purpose, floating stock shall mean stocks which are not held by the promoters and associated entities (where identifiable) of such companies.

Others
a) A company which comes out with a IPO will be eligible for inclusion in the index, if it fulfills the normal eligibility criteria for the index like impact cost, market capitalisation and floating stock, for a 3 month period instead of a 6 month period.

b) Replacement of Stock from the Index:

A stock may be replaced from an index for the following reasons:

i. Compulsory changes like corporate actions, delisting etc. In such a scenario, the stock having largest market capitalization and satisfying other requirements related to liquidity, turnover and free float will be considered for inclusion.

ii. When a better candidate is available in the replacement pool, which can replace the index stock i.e. the stock with the highest market capitalization in the replacement pool has at least twice the market capitalization of the index stock with the lowest market capitalization.

With respect to (2) above, a maximum of 10% of the index size (number of stocks in the index) may be changed in a calendar year. Changes carried out for (2) above are irrespective of changes, if any, carried out for (1) above.

Always Yours — AS Usual — Saurabh Singh

Source: Money Control Portal

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Has the Track been cleared …….for Policy Decisions, A Must for Economic Growth & Development

Comments OffPosted by Administration & Management on March 10, 2012

The counting of ballots and consequent declaration of results of Assembly General Elections 2012 held in five states of India on March 06, 2012 completed an important event in the process of Governance. Simultaneously, it also emphasized the importance of concept of Federalism for modern day democracy. On the other side of these developments, an increasing demand world over could be seen, India included, to incorporate or bring about a transformational change in the context to the ‘Governance’ issue.

It seems to be an apt time for revisiting to ensure that ‘Democracy’ as a system of governance adheres to its core attributes and the ‘Institutions’ erected to ensure its real spirit are capable of not alone performing the task, but also of representing the diversity, culture and socioeconomic issues and facets of the people, who have adopted such a system of governance.

It’s being expected by all concerned, that with culmination of Assembly General Elections 2012 of five states, functioning of Union Government would turn more efficient. Union government may now get free from the clutches of ‘Policy – Paralysis’ or ‘Stymied Decision Making Process’, which seemed to have become integral process of decision making by Union Government in Financial Year 2011 – 2012.

Numerous issues of urgent importance, which were supposed to have been approved or rejected, are still there in cupboards of ministries, either awaiting their turn for being tabled in parliament, or are there in roll back mode awaiting the creation of elusive ‘consensus’. The post Assembly General Elections 2012 picture may not be pleasant to ruling coalition as Union Government, but it has certainly succeeded in putting an end to chaos, confusion or dilemmas born out of various presumptions and self-fulfilling interests of a number of political parties.

The words, such as ‘Urgent’, ’Important’, ’Immediate’, ’Today ’and ‘Top Priority’ etc. have turned meaningless when seen in context of number of issues to be tabled, discussed and cleared or rejected by both the houses of Parliament, and also in the context of quantum of delay that has already occurred. Some issues out of them may be put, for purpose of illustration, as ‘FDI in Retail Sector’, ‘Direct Tax Reforms’, ‘Entry of Foreign Equity in Indian Airlines Industry’, ‘Issue of 4G Spectrum’, ‘Issue of Telangana’, ‘Creation of NCTC’, ‘Proposal on RPF’, ‘Issue of Inflation in Food Items’, ‘Deregulation of Prices of Petroleum Products’, ‘Land Leasing Bill or even Land Reforms Bills’, ‘Transforming Education in to Business’ and many more of the similar type.

The comments on issues are knowingly being avoided, as every single issue is important and also a subject matter to be covered in numerous articles, debates and deliberations. Certainly the same will be done, but the purpose here was to highlight the important issues pending approval of the parliament and also the evolution of Indian Political System and Governance as on date.

Always Yours —– As Usual —— Saurabh Singh

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Salient Features of Indian Union Budget 2011 – 2012

Comments OffPosted by Administration & Management on February 28, 2011

IncomeTax exemption limit raised to Rs. 1.80 lakh from Rs. 1.60 lakh .
Exemption for senior citizens raised to Rs. 2.5 lakh.
Tax under women slab unchanged.
Tax exemption raised to Rs. 5 lakh for senior citizens of 80 years.
To increase service tax on air travel.
Excise and customs duty proposals to result in the net gain of Rs. 7,300 crore.
Export duty rates on iron ore unified and kept at 20% ad valorem.
Basic customs duty on agricultural machinery reduced to 4.5% from 5%.
Basic customs duty on raw silk reduced from 30 to 5 per cent.
Excise and customs duty proposals to result in the net gain of Rs. 7,300 crore.
Nominal one per cent central excise duty on 130 items entering the tax net. Basic food and fuel and precious stones, gold and silver jewellery will be exempted.
Peak rate of customs duty maintained at 10% in view of the global economic situation.
Customs duty exemptions for hybrid auto parts.
Nominal one per cent central excise duty on 130 items entering the tax net. Basic food and fuel and precious stones, gold and silver jewellery will be exempted.
Standard rate of central exercise duty maintained at 10%.
Central government debt in proportion to GDP will be 44.2% in 2011-12.
20% export duty on all grades of iron ore.
Basic customs duty reduced on certain textile products
No change in service tax rate of 10%.
No change in central excise duty.
Plan to levy 1% on 130 consumer items.
Revenue deficit fixed at 2.3 per cent in revised estimates of 2010—11 and 1.8 per cent in 2011—12.
Total plan expenditure will go up 100 per cent in nominal terms in the next year.
15% tax on dividend for Indian cos from foreign unit.
Direct Tax proposals result in expenditure of Rs. 11,500 cr.
To reduce surcharge on domestic companies to 5% from 7.5%
MAT rate hiked to 18.5% from 18%.
MAT on developers in SEZs to be levied.
Fiscal deficit revised to 5.1% from 5.5% for FY’11.
Total expenditure raised by 13.4% at Rs. 12.57 lakh cr over budget estimates.
Gross tax receipts estimated at 9.32 lakh cr for FY 2011-12.
Bill to amend India Stamp Act soon.
Budget allocation of Rs. 100 cr for Ladakh and Rs. 150 cr for Jammu for implementation of projects identified by taskforce.
Old age pension to persons of over the age of 80 raised from Rs. 200 to Rs. 500
Health allocation up by 20% to R 27,600 cr.
Rs. 9- lakh ex-gratia for defence personnel for 100% disability fighting Left-wing extremism.
To set up 15 more mega food parks.
Remuneration of anganwadi workers raised from Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 3,000 per month, Helpers to get Rs. 1,500 from Rs. 750.
Tax free bonds of Rs. 30,000 cr to be issued for infrastructure development. This will cover Warehousing Corporation, NHAI, IRFC and Hudco.
Allocation under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to be raised from Rs. 6,755 crore in the current year to Rs. 7,860 crore.
Rs. 50 cr grant to Aligarh Muslim University centres in Murshidabad in West Bengal and Malappuram in Kerala.
Rs. 200 cr for environmental remediation programme.
Age for pension eligibility reduced from 65 years to 60 years under Indira Gandhi Yojana scheme.
To move insurance, pension and banking bills in Parliament.
Rs. 500-cr for National Development Fund.
Rs. 400-cr as one-time grant for IIT-Kharagpur.
Move to set up State Innovation Councils underway.
Allocation to education sector raised to Rs. 52,000 cr.
Scholarship scheme for SC/ST students in classes iX, X.
Increase in allocation to higher education.
Plan 17% increase in social sector spending.
To introduce Food Security Bill.
Tax free bonds of Rs. 30,000 cr to be issued for infrastructure development. This will cover Warehousing Corporation, NHAI, IRFC and Hudco.
Fertiliser industry to be included under infrastructure category.
New companies bill to be introduced.
GoM to be set up to deal with corruption.
Five-fold strategy to deal with black money.
Mega cluster for leather products to be introduced.
Existing interest subvention scheme on short term farm loans at 7 % interest to continue.
Self-assessment in customs to be introduced.
Credit flows to farmers raised from Rs. 3.75 lakh crore to Rs. 4.75 lakh crore.
Constitution Amendment Bill for introduction of GST in this session.
Goods and Services Tax Bill this year.
Direct Taxes Code Bill likely to be passed by Parliament next financial year after getting Standing Committee report.
Public Debt Management Agency Bill in the next fiscal.
Indian mutual funds to get direct access to foreign markets; FIIs to be allowed to invest in MFs.
To liberalise FDI policy further.
To extend infra tax breaks to fertiliser sector.
To set up microfinance equity fund.
Government to move towards direct cash transfer of cash subsidy as regards kerosene, LPG and fertilisers from March 2012 for BPL in view of large diversion.
3% interest subvention to farmers who repay in time.
Nabard capital base to be increased by infusing Rs. 10,000 cr.
Rural housing fund increased to Rs. 3,000 cr.
Banks asked to step up lending to agriculture.
Allocation under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to be raised from Rs. 6,755 crore in the current year to Rs. 7,860 crore.
Budget proposes to raise housing loan limit from Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 25 lakh for priority sector lending.
Allocation for farm development hiked to Rs. 7,860 cr.
Rs. 300 cr proposed to promote production of cereals.
Indian micro-finance equity with SIDBI to be formed at Rs. 100 crore.
Rs. 6,000 cr to be given to public sector banks to maintain capital-to-risk assets ratio norms.
RBI to bring in new guidelines for banking licences.
Aiming Fiscal deficit of 3% by fiscal 2014.
Central electronic registry to reduce fraud cases.
FII investment limit for infra corporate bonds hiked to $40 billion.
Discussions on to further liberalise FDI policy.
Preparation of GST rollout in final stages.
Microfinance equity fund of Rs. 100 cr proposed.
Govt committed to hold 51% in PSUs.
Rs. 3,000 cr to Nabard for handloom societies.
Women self-help group development fund to be set up.
Direct transfer of subsidy for kerosene.
Goods and Services Tax Bill to be introduced in Parliament this year.
Direct Tax Code Bill likely to be passed by Parliament next financial year after getting Standing Committee report.
Disinvestment target at Rs. 40,000 cr.
Direct Tax Code from April 2012.
SEBI-registered MFs to be allowed direct access to foreign funds.
Expect RBI to moderate inflation.
Public Debt Management Agency Bill to be introduced next financial year.
Current account deficit and average inflation in 2011-12 likely to be less than current year.
FDI policy review done in Sept 2010.
Economic growth in 2011-12 likely to be 9 per cent.
Admits large-scale diversion of kerosene.
Introduction of DTC will be a watershed moment.
Debt managment bill to be introduced.
Constitutional Amendment Bill on GST to be introduced.
Expect agri sector to grow at 5.4% in 2011.
Growth in 2010-11 broad-based.
Economy resilient to shocks.
RBI measures will further moderate inflation.
GDP estimated growth at 8.6% in real terms.
New dynamism in rural economy.
Core inflation in check.
Current account deficit is at 2009-10 levels, and is a matter of concern.
Huge difference in wholesale and retail prices not acceptable.
Total food inflation down from 20.2 per cent last year to 9.3 per cent in Jan
Revival in private investment should be sustainable.
Service growing in double digits.
Need to reconcile legitimate environmental concerns with developmental needs.
Food Inflation has declined by half, but still a matter of concern.

Always Yours — As Usual–Saurabh Singh

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Union Budget 2011: The Wish List

1 CommentPosted by Administration & Management on February 25, 2011

Governments come and go. But their visions outlined in the annual fiscal planning (the Union Budget) have a long lasting impact on the economy. The Budget of 1992 was one such document. It was a threshold that set India on a superior economic growth path. The first Union Budget of the current decade also comes to meet several challenges. It should not just counter risks within and outside the economy. But it needs to also fortify India’s position amongst global heavyweights.

Consequently in the Budget 2011-12, emphasis should be on maintaining and even accelerating the pace of growth and employment. The ensuing budget is expected to take note of the current scenario and announce policies and reforms to support and form a suitable base for the economy to continue to grow at 8%+ levels. In general one can feel that the budget would be skewed towards investment rather than consumption. Agriculture & related activities would continue to be the focus area as inflation and food security is high on the government agenda. Government would allocate higher amounts towards infrastructure (logistics, rural infrastructure and water management), education and technology to give a multiplier effect to the economy to sustain high GDP growth in the coming years.

The Union Budget 2011-12 might be a key from a policy stand point and may provide incremental direction to markets. There is an inherent value in India economy given the growth story and favorable demographics, but catalysts are required at macro level to deleverage the underlying value.

India was among the few countries in the world to implement a broad-based counter-cyclic policy package to respond to the negative fallout of the global slowdown. These policy actions has helped Indian Economy to clock a growth of 8.6% in FY11 (advance estimates). While rising strongly in the world economic order, India faces the most critical challenge of crossing the ‘double digit growth barrier’. Current macroeconomic challenges are manifold

1. Controlling inflation, including that for essential commodities,

2. Maintaining fiscal deficit amongst rising oil prices,

3. Absence of one-time revenues such as 3G, WiMax license fees,

4. Allocation & channelising investment in Infrastructure,

5. Domestic financial sector liquidity management with large government borrowing can potentially be a dampener for private investments,

6. Reducing current account deficit from current elevated levels,

7. Over and above, handling corruption issues.

The upcoming elections in some of the major states may prompt the government to continue to take some populist measures

Normal Expectations, on few Specific Fronts, from Upcoming Budget are Deliberated Here Under

Higher short term capital gains tax for FIIs:

The volatility in Indian stock markets over the past six to nine months can to a large extent be attributed to fickle mindedness of the FIIs. Loose monetary policies in developed markets have not helped either. Hence, a stricter policy to curb short term capital gains earned with the hot money is in order. While the DTC has proposed to tax all FIIs, the current budget should lay a foundation for the same by hiking the taxes on short term gains.

Incentivise low income housing:

The construction sector is unlikely to have a very peaceful fiscal ahead. Low bank funding and high interest rates could stall projects and build up inventory in the sector. Allowing higher fiscal incentives on low income housing loans could address the problem of high cost for the houses as well as offer a solution to builders to increase sales.

Incentivise long term investment in equities:

Institutional investors such as insurance companies, PFs and mutual funds should be offered fiscal incentives on their schemes wherein investments are locked in domestic equities for 5 years and above. This could help draw more retail savings into equities for a longer term.

Pool in private sector funds for infrastructure investments:

Floating SPVs that can pool in private funds for meeting the 12th and 13th Five year plan targets may be an ideal way to meet the funding gap. Especially given that the contribution from the private sector is seen going up from 30% in the Eleventh 5-Year Plan to 50% in the Twelfth Plan.

Decontrol of Urea Prices:

Where as Government seems to be planning to raise Urea Prices by 2 to 5 per cent in 2011 – 2012. De-canalization of Urea imports is also expected once it comes under Neutrient Based Scheme Regime. Perhaps the fertilizer industry expects Rs 50000 Crore in cash for Financial Year 2012 by way of subsidies. It would not be a great surprise if import and export restriction on Urea trade are lifted.

Deepen India’s corporate debt market:

Developing a vibrant corporate debt market is paramount to serving the long term funding needs of corporates. The Budget should initiate policies in this direction so that retail participation in corporate debt issuances becomes easier and more transparent . The debt papers also need to be rated to suit investors’ risk profiles.

Rejig subsidies and off balance sheet items:

An increase of 245%! This is exactly how much the cost of major subsidies has gone up in India in the last five years. And mind you, this does not even include oil. In CAGR terms, it amounts to a huge 28%. When one considers India’s nominal GDP growth rate of 14%-15%, it quickly becomes clear that such a growth in subsidy is not sustainable at all. Fortunately, the Government seems to have woken up to this fact. Hence, rather than trying to increase subsidies further, it is now looking to reduce pilferage in the system. As a big step towards the same, it has set up a task force to create a way to directly transfer cash to the ultimate beneficiaries of various subsidy schemes. We believe in addition to reducing indirect subsidies, investing more in warehouses and logistics could help keep the food prices in India under control to an extent.

Always Yours — As Usual — Saurabh Singh

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Welcome you all to and the New Year 2010

Comments OffPosted by Administration & Management on December 28, 2009

WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR

Global Trade in Herbal Medicines : An Indian Perpective - Cover Pages

Season's Greeting2010, Agribusiness Management, Book Covers, Business Administration, College of Agribusiness Management, Finance Management, GBPUAT, Happy New Year, Herbal Medicine, New Year Greetings, Pantnagar, Saurabh, Technical Monograph

I Keep Thinking About:

Comments OffPosted by Administration & Management on December 17, 2009

“Why majority of social scientists often try to turn mathematicians, which they are not and neither it’s expected of them…Gentlemen you are expected to have Mastered humanities …society won’t take mathematical equations in exchange…equations will be taken as…adding salt to injury …if you do so…You are the one who destabilized the fine balance of Psycho-Socio-Economic elements of Humanity…we can hire a lot of Mathematics graduates…But Philosophers, Thinkers, Social Scientists are Rare Creations of Almighty…We are Searching them Pan Disciplines identified till Date.”

“Want to keep Yourself Updated about Saurabh’s Every move ! — Then Click The Google Button Just Below. It would do the Job, So Now You can Relax.”

ThoughtAdministration, Behavioral sciences, Behavioral Scientists, Business Administration, College of Agribusiness Management, Equations, Finance Management, Fool, Fooling, GBPUAT, Injury, Management, Mathematics, Pantnagar, Political Economy, Polity, Professor, Professor Business, Professor Finance Management, Psychology, Psychonomics, resaerchers, Salt, Saurabh, Saurabh Singh, Scholars, Social Sciences, Social Scientists, Sociology, Socionomics, Tagline

Finance in History

1 CommentPosted by Administration & Management on December 10, 2009

Dear Learned Audiences,

History is not just a forte of Kings, Emperors, Social Workers, Leaders and so on only. It keeps on silently recording the numerous developments happening in the various spheres of learning too. Sometimes, it may be in the form of thought other day it may be principles and following day may be for practices.

Finance in History

If you are doomed to repeat history, let’s hope you can pick your era. Once upon a time, business bankruptcies resulted in jail time (if you were lucky), treasurers defended their funds with a sword, and financial planning was tested by plagues and fire. Things improved during the American Revolution, when the father of our country also proved to be one of its best bookkeepers. But accounting couldn’t keep up during the Industrial Revolution, with disastrous consequences for workers. If you tend to think of history as the third quarter of the last fiscal year, it may be time to learn a little bit more about your profession’s checkered past.

The 17th-century business world revealed in Samuel Pepys’s famous diary is not so far removed from our own.

“Most happy in the keeping of all my accounts, for that after all the changings and turnings necessary in such an account, I find myself right to a farthing in an account of 127,000 pounds.” — Samuel Pepys’s diary entry, August 20, 1666

Public officials in 17th-century England had not yet refined the notion that one has to pay to play; that is, pony up political contributions to obtain government contracts or favors. But when Samuel Pepys was an important naval administrator in London during the mid-1660s, the basic idea was well understood. Like others similarly situated, Pepys gladly accepted gifts, and he recognized the debt he incurred in accepting them.

We know this from reading Pepys’s diary, regarded by many as the greatest in the English language. Between January 1, 1660, and May 31, 1669, Pepys (rhymes with “keeps”) chronicled his everyday life, from his professional concerns to his sexual escapades, from the state of the financial accounts he kept to the painful progress of his kidney stone. The practice of diary keeping began to catch on during the 17th century, according to Pepys biographer Claire Tomalin. But his is prized for its confessional insights, large cast of characters, accounts of significant events, and entertaining narrative, combining to reveal a singular sensibility.

“What is extraordinary is that he went into areas no one else considered recording, looked at himself with as much curiosity as he looked at the exterior world, weighing himself and the world equally in the balance,” observes Tomalin in Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self (2002). Writing for his eyes only, Pepys used a private shorthand and, in especially delicate passages, French. His six-volume diary was only deciphered and published in the 1820s, more than 100 years after his death.

To historians, Pepys was an invaluable chronicler of a period when the press was censored by the government of Charles II. From him we have poignant accounts of the Great Plague, which decimated England in 1665, and of the Great Fire of London, which destroyed half the city in 1666. On a more personal scale, Pepys supplied entertaining accounts of his financial wheelings and dealings as a government administrator.

“The Diary sends a beam of light into the way in which government officers and businessmen worked together, through clubs, through hospitality, through trips that mixed business and pleasure, through well-chosen and discreetly given presents and through cultivating the friendship of those in a position to be helpful in giving contracts or licenses,” observes Tomalin. “The circumstances were different, but there is something eerily familiar about it too: today’s arms and building contracts, entertainment of clients, quiet words at the club, conferences in luxury hotels, boardroom rivalries and contributions to favourite charities are all in the same tradition. Pepys was, among other things, mapping a recognizably modern world.”

Accounting for the Royal Navy

As one learns from the diary, Pepys was ambitious, intelligent, and well connected. Born in 1633, he never became a sailor, but gained an accounting post in the British Navy and turned it to steady profit. Pepys had the good fortune to capitalize on his family’s one political connection: he was a distant cousin to Sir Edward Montagu, later the Earl of Sandwich. Oliver Cromwell put Montagu in joint command of the British fleet, and the 27-year-old Pepys sailed in on Montagu’s coattails. In 1660 Pepys was appointed Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board, and as such was responsible for requesting funds from Parliament and dispensing them to build the navy and keep it afloat.

Pepys advanced steadily during the next 13 years, eventually becoming Secretary of the Admiralty. Anyone who wanted a government contract to supply the Royal Navy had to go through his office. Shipbuilders, victuallers, slopsellers, and many others did their best to curry favor with the young finance minister.

On August 16, 1660, in the first year of his diary, Pepys recorded a telling conversation he had with Lord Sandwich. Riding across town in a coach, Sandwich told Pepys that he hopes the Clerk of the Acts position will be good to him, saying “it was not the salary of any place that did make a man rich, but the opportunity of getting money while he is in the place.”

Pepys took this advice to heart. Once sworn in as Clerk of the Acts, he almost immediately found himself on the receiving end of a steady stream of gifts, from barrels of oysters, wine, and brandy to gold coins and silver plate. In 17th-century London, merchants clearly considered these donations to be money well spent, just another cost of doing business.

On April 3, 1663, the diarist described a defense used by politicians to this day, which basically consists of sticking to an absurdly literal, and narrow, truth. After a certain Captain Grove gives him a letter that he can tell contains money, Pepys wrote: “But I did not open it till I came home to my office; and there I broke it open, not looking into it till all the money was out, that I might say I saw no money in the paper if ever I should be questioned about it.”

Another business associate gave him “a present for his wife,” a package said to contain a pair of gloves. On the evening of February 2, 1664, Pepys noted: “When I came home, Lord! in what pain I was to get my wife out of the room without bidding her go, that I might see what these gloves were; and by and by, she being gone, it proves a payre of white gloves for her and forty pieces in good gold, which did so cheer my heart that I could eat no victuals almost for dinner for joy to think how God do bless us every day more and more.”

Plague, Fire, and Fortune

Ironically, biographer Tomalin says the plague year of 1665 was one of Pepys’s happiest. During it his fortune quadrupled, thanks in part to two additional appointments: treasurer for Tangier and surveyor-general of victualling for the navy. Meanwhile, as his fortune grew, so did the plague. From June to September, deaths from the disease doubled nearly every week.

“But, Lord! to see how the plague spreads,” wrote Pepys on June 16. “It being now all over King’s Streete, at the Axe, and next door to it, and in other places.” At its height, in the last week of August 1665, the plague killed nearly 10,000 Londoners. “Thus this month ends with great sadness upon the publick, through the greatness of the plague every where through the kingdom almost,” wrote Pepys on August 31. “Every day sadder and sadder news of its encrease.”

The Great Fire of London, which began on September 2, 1666, and engulfed most of the central part of the city, helped quell the plague by killing the city’s disease-infected rats. As the fire raged toward his home, Pepys packed up his gold and silver and rode by cart in his nightshirt to a friend’s, safely outside the city. What he could not transport, he buried. Luck was on his side, however, and his neighborhood was spared.

As for the Lord of Sandwich, embezzlement was his downfall. While at war with the Dutch, Sandwich’s fleet captured several Dutch ships, including some loaded with goods from the East Indies. Instead of delivering these spoils of war to the King, Sandwich let the hatches be broken and divvied up the prizes with his fleet’s captains. His share’s worth came to 5,000 pounds. When news of this reached the King, Sandwich was stripped of his command. (He would later be reappointed and died in battle in 1672.)

Pepys’s assessment of the fall of “his Lord” is less forgiving. On December 31, 1665, he wrote: “The great evil of this year, and the only one indeed, is the fall of my Lord of Sandwich. The Duke of Albemarle goes with the Prince to sea this next year, and my Lord very meanly spoken of; and, indeed, his miscarriage about the prize goods is not to be excused, to suffer a company of rogues to go away with ten times as much as himself, and the blame of all to be deservedly laid upon him.”

Fearing for his eyesight, Pepys brought his diary to a close in 1669. He would later keep two other journals before his death in 1703, but Tomalin notes that they have “none of the qualities of the first Diary. Something essential was missing — some grit that had caused him to produce his pearl.” The luster of that pearl, and the qualities of the man, can be seen in the entry for Christmas day, December 25, 1666:

“To church in the morning, and there saw a wedding in the church, which I have not seen many a day; and the young people so merry one with another, and strange to see what delight we married people have to see these poor fools decoyed into our condition, every man and woman gazing and smiling at them. Here I saw again my beauty Lethulier. Thence to my Lord Bruncker’s by invitation and dined there, and so home to look over and settle my papers, both of my accounts private, and those of Tangier, which I have let go so long that it were impossible for any soul, had I died, to understand them, or ever come to any good end in them. I hope God will never suffer me to come to that disorder again.”

Observations from Samuel Pepys’s Diary On dog days:

“By coach to St. James’s and there did our business, which is mostly every day to complain of want of money.” (July 13, 1666)

On hard work: “How little merit do prevail in the world, but only favour; and for myself, chance without merit brought me in; and diligence only keeps me so, and will, living as I do among so many lazy people that the diligent man becomes necessary, that they cannot do anything without him.” (November 1, 1665)

On success: “But, Lord! to see what successe do, whether with or without reason, and making a man seem wise notwithstanding never so late demonstration of the profoundest folly in the world.” (August 15, 1666)

ThoughtAdministration, Art of writing history of fiannace and economics, Behavioral sciences, Behavioral Scientists, Business Administration, College of Agribusiness Management, Equations, Finance, Finance Management, Fool, Fooling, GBPUAT, History of Financial Management, Injury, Management, Mathematics, Pantnagar, Political Economy, Polity, Professor, Professor Business, Professor Finance Management, Psychology, Psychonomics, resaerchers, Salt, Saurabh, Saurabh Singh, Scholars, Social Sciences, Social Scientists, Sociology, Socionomics, Tagline

RBI and Finance Ministry at Cross Heads

Comments OffPosted by Administration & Management on December 2, 2009

The RBI is not in favor of the consolidation in banking industry as it feels that right time is still to arrive. They have a valid reason too. In a country, where the process of financial inclusion has not been completed, talking of consolidation does not make a sense. Though they understand that as a country, there exists a problem of having Banks more in numbers, where as there is absence of dominant players in the sector, leaving a few exceptions. But it still hold the view that as a factor, financial inclusion has much weight as compared to bank consolidation.

On the other hand finance ministry has asked the top five public sector banks to come up with the ideas on banking consolidation by the end of current fiscal. They have further been told to submit a detailed roadmap and also do the due diligence of the small banks they could acquire. The finance ministry is of the opinion that there should be 8 to 10 large public sector banks as compared against 27 at present. They have point, as their problem is of governance, overstaffing, fat organizational structure and thus more expenses to be meat from Government Budget. Thus ROI that the Government is generating can not be called satisfactory. Certainly they want to be in the banking sector, but the only point that it wants to make is; that the Government needs to be represented as dominant player and simultaneously the consolidation will also reduce the burden on Government exchequer while efficiency would be boosted.

I have presented both the point of views, now it’s up to you, that whom you choose to align with. Here, a clear conflict exists, but at the same time, both the points have a valid reasons and arguments to support it.

Good day

Saurabh, India

ThoughtAgribusiness, Agribusiness Management, Agricultural Banking, Bank Consolidation, Bank Mergers, Banking, Commercial Banking, Economics and growth, Finance Management, Finance ministry, Financial Inclusions, Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy, Penetration of financial Institution in Villages, Rural Banking, welfare and Develoment

Easier book-keeping norms for SMEs

Comments OffPosted by Administration & Management on November 27, 2009

It looks as if government may allow for SMEs to follow a bit diluted version of new global accounting standard called “International Financial Reporting standards (IFRS)” to reduce compliance cost for them.

IFRS, to introduce to new followers of the blog, is a globally accepted set of accounting norms. The same is going to be made mandatory for the purpose of reporting the financial information of any business entity form the fiscal year starting April 2011.

Convergence of current accounting norms with IFRS will require major accounting changes and will also demand large disclosures. Presenting company’s accounts as per IFRS will involve huge cost and thus may become a great hurdle for SMEs.

The International Financial Reporting standards Board’s Draft IFRS for SMEs is already there, which is already a watered down version. This provision by IFRS board has been drafted, so as to make is easier for SMEs to comply with it, as the same can be adopted without much drain on company exchequer.

Within normal course, even before large company’s converge to IFRS, various Acts like, Companies Act, Insurance Act, SEBI Act, and RBI Acts will require amendments to be incorporated, so as to enable companies in the same and related sector to converge with International Financial Reporting standards [IFRS].

Agribusiness Management, Business Administration, Governance IssuesAccounting, Accounting Standards, Agribusiness, AS, Business, Business Management, Finance, Finance Management, IAS & IFRS, IFRS, Midcap, Money, Professor Business, Professor Finance, Saurabh, SMEs, SMEs & IFRS, Thought for Comments

Review of Some Management Literature……………………..

1 CommentPosted by Administration & Management on October 24, 2009

It is always very difficult to have mass customization, therefore, you may find me addressing or analyzing the burning issues in the field or domain of business management/ business administration.

This is the basic reason, as to why I am going to put such an abstract item on page —— that itself has been named: Abstract(s)…………So here under are a good amount of reviews, probably the management scholars may find usefull:

It Takes a Community to Create an American Indian Business and Management Course

Muller, Helen Juliette

Journal of Management Education, Apr 2000; vol. 24: pp. 183-212

Management and business curricula have rarely addressed the subject of American Indian business and management. In response to our American Indian students, the broader American Indian community in the region, and to this neglected topic, a small group of faculty members and Native American students embarked on an experimental course at a major Southwestern university. The courses existence illustrates the intersection of culture, business, and organization. The course can be considered a postcolonial bridge between the business college and the American Indian community. This article focuses on the course context including recent tribal economic developments and the subject of culture and business. It then examines the rationale and design of the course including the content and process, participants, and the case study development format. Some course outcomes are reviewed and the implications for management education are drawn out.

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Organizational, Business, Management, and Corporate Communication: An Analysis of Boundaries and Relationships

Shelby, Annette Nevin

Journal of Business Communication, Jun 1993; vol. 30: pp. 241-267

This paper sets out a theory-based analysis of boundaries for four communication- focused subject areas that may be legitimately taught in business schools: organiza tional communication, business communication, management communication, and corporate communication. System, process, and product models provide the basis for the analysis. Those models were derived primarily from published definitions and taxonomies of the four areas. Such conceptual differentiation allows for a relatively objective determination of discipline boundaries and their interrelationships.

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Financial Management Techniques in Family Businesses

Filbeck, Greg, Lee, Sharon

Family Business Review, Sep 2000; vol. 13: pp. 201-216

This paper explores financial management techniques of family businesses. We surveyed family businesses to understand the extent to which they use capital budgeting techniques, risk adjustment techniques, and working capital management techniques. We found that more established, larger family businesses that have either an outside board of directors or a nonfamily member in the financial decision-making role are more likely than their smaller counterparts to employ sophisticated financial management techniques.

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Educating Leaders: Is There Anything to Learn from Business Management?

Hallinger, Philip, Snidvongs, Kamontip

Educational Management Administration Leadership, Jan 2008; vol. 36: pp. 9-31

The current focus on school leader preparation reflects the importance societies around the world are placing upon the goal of improving their educational systems. The investment of substantial new resources into leadership preparation and development activities is based upon the belief that school leaders make a difference in both the effectiveness and efficiency of schooling. Developing school leaders who do make a difference, however, requires a management curriculum that is relevant to schools, up-to-date in learning methods, and which draws upon knowledge from disciplines inside and outside of education. This article examines the implications that curricular trends in the development of business leaders may have for leadership preparation and development in education. The authors acknowledge, at the outset, that differences in the practice of education and business management require some differences in the content of preparation programs. At the same time, we argue for an integration of selected business-related understandings of organizational management that are highly relevant for the improvement of schools.

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What are Business Schools for? On Silence and Voice in Management Education

Grey, Christopher

Journal of Management Education, Oct 2002; vol. 26: pp. 496-511

There are widespread reports of poor working conditions, especially in developing countries. If these are commercially necessary and if business schools exist to enable effective management, why are they not taught in such schools? This article argues that the reason is that business schools are not primarily concerned with producing effective managers but withsocializing and legitimating managers. Critical manage ment education needs to give voice to concerns about management practice, which presents pedagogical problems to which some solutions are suggested.

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Knowledge Management: development strategy or business strategy?

Kalseth, Karl, Cummings, Sarah

Information Development, Sep 2001; vol. 17: pp. 163-172

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Information Management Working Group of the European Association of Development Re-search and Training Institutes (EADI) which took place 6-9 September 2000 in Bergen, Norway. The paper first provides an introduction to knowledge management as a business strategy. It deals with the main components of the approach: continuous improvements; the building a new business culture; its approach to information and to people; and its emphasis on organizational learning. The second part briefly considers the role played by new technology in knowledge management. The third part then reviews the application of the strategy in development agencies, using the example of the World Bank which has pioneered the application of this approach in the development arena. Finally, it argues that knowledge management is both a business and a development strategy. Given the growing adoption of knowledge management, much of its vocabulary has entered the development discourse. Terms such as community of practice and best practices can now be found in development-related discussions although their etymology is not always clear. To introduce the knowledge management terminology, a glossary is also provided.

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Varieties of Knowledge and Their Use in Business and Management Studies: Conditions and Institutions

Whitley, Richard

Organization Studies, Apr 2008; vol. 29: pp. 581-609

Many research fields combine practical goals with a search for fundamental mechanisms and make significant contributions to theoretical understanding. This is especially so in the social sciences, which are often concerned with policy issues and problems, albeit with varying degrees of directness. Business and management studies (BMS) may be more focused on practical problem solving than other social sciences, but they are equally capable of contributing major intellectual innovations. They produce a variety of kinds of knowledge that are practically useful in different conditions. At least eight types can be distinguished in terms of their horizontal and vertical isolation, and their identification of causal mechanisms. These can be expected to be more or less effective in producing desired outcomes according to three conditions: contextual independence, stability of internal causal processes, and similarity of circumstances. These conditions in turn are likely to be achieved to varying degrees in different socio-economic systems governed by different institutional arrangements, particularly those that encourage varying degrees of managerial authority sharing and inter-firm coordination of economic activities. Differences in the dominant institutions governing knowledge production and labour markets also affect the kinds of research styles and knowledge types that dominate BMS in different societies.

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Reinventing human resource management: Business partners, internal consultants and the limits to professionalization

Wright, Christopher

Human Relations, Aug 2008; vol. 61: pp. 1063-1086

The status of human resource management (HRM) and its standing as a managerial profession has been a recurring concern for practitioners over time. In recent years, a normative discourse has developed which asserts that the path to improved status for HR `professionals’ involves reinvention of their role as `business partners’ and `internal consultants’ promoting enterprise competitiveness. This article examines how HR managers interpret this new role and whether the internalization of this model results in an increase in professional identity. The findings suggest that while many gain greater self-esteem and organizational status from the identity and role of business partner/internal consultant, this does not equate to a broader identity as a member of an HR `profession’. Two developments are central here. First, the focus on the business partner/ internal consultancy role has served to undermine any pretence to a unitary and cohesive occupational identity, as the bifurcation between routine transactional and strategic transformational activities encourages competition within the HR profession between different sub-groupings. Second, this strategy of redefinition has reduced the entry barriers demarcating HR activities and facilitated the entry of new occupational groups and rival managerial specialisms.

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Commercial and financial policies in family firms: The Small Business Growth Management Flight Simulator

Bianchi, Carmine, Bivona, Enzo

Simulation Gaming, Jun 2000; vol. 31: pp. 197-229

An interactive learning environment (ILE) was built to reproduce the budgeting process of a small family-owned entrepreneurial firm and to capture how current decisions affect business growth in a longer time horizon. The ILE matches the accounting-related perspective through which spreadsheet-based budgets are drawn up, with the system dynamics (SD) view. Such a goal has been pursued through a connection of traditional Excel spreadsheets with POWERSIM SD models. Playing the SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH MANAGEMENT FLIGHT SIMULATOR allows one to learn how (a) to draw up a budget based on an SD perspective, (b) long-term goals may be affected by current decisions, (c) business/family survival and growth are strongly influenced by current policies, and (d) linking short-to medium-and long-term policies and commercial to financial and equity management issues is critical to business growth.

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Strategies for Sustainable Business and the Handling of Workers’ Interests: Integrated Management Systems and Worker Participation

Lund, Henrik Lambrecht

Economic and Industrial Democracy, Feb 2004; vol. 25: pp. 41-74

This article examines the challenges to trade unions related to workers’ participation in organizational renewal known as sustainable business’. It analyses how integrated management systems involving occupational health and safety (OHS) and environmental issues affect employee participation. The analysis involves two case studies of enterprises that have recently been modernized in terms of employing integrated management systems. Under the general title of Developing Workplaces’, the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions has increased its commitment to sustainability, which is used as the point of departure for conceptdriven organizational change. However, the article concludes that the so-called prime mover’ and high-pro.le environmental and OHS enterprises do not suf.ciently take the interests of employees into consideration.

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New human resource management practices in knowledge-intensive business services firms: The case of outsourcing with staff transfer

Grimshaw, Damian, Miozzo, Marcela

Human Relations, Oct 2009; vol. 62: pp. 1521-1550

This article investigates the human resource management practices that underpin a specific model of organizing knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). Drawing on data from four countries, it examines HR practices in two global IT services firms — EDS and IBM. The market for IT services depends very much on outsourcing and the transfer of IT workers from the client to the IT firm. This has theoretical and empirical implications for how IT firms manage recruitment, skill development and job security. The evidence supports an alternative framework for understanding four key influences on HRM in large specialist KIBS firms: i) inter-organizational relations (tight inter-linkages with client organizations); ii) contract performance conditions (outsourcing contracts); iii) knowledge flows (inter-organizational transfers of highly skilled IT workers); and iv) the economic and institutional context (industrial relations institutions). The article demonstrates that these internal and external conditions generate new tensions and conflicts in the design and implementation of HR practices.
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Managing Key Business-to-Business Relationships: What Marketing Can Learn From Supply Chain Management

Ryals, Lynette J., Humphries, Andrew S.

Journal of Service Research, May 2007; vol. 9: pp. 312-326

Key account management (KAM) is a rapidly growing area of interest in business-to-business marketing. However, unnoticed by marketing, a quiet revolution has taken place in supply chain management (SCM), where the traditional emphasis on least-cost transactions has given way to a focus on long-term relationships with a few key suppliers. It is thus apparent that the two disciplines are converging. This article uses a cross-disciplinary approach to explore whether these developments from the field of SCM provide insights into key business-to-business relationships. A detailed case study of a long-term relationship between a business-to-business services provider and a key customer in the construction industry suggests there is a definable overlap. The supply chain model illuminates five important elements of KAM and offers a promising method for the evaluation of such relationships. As a result of the research, both supplier and customer companies implemented actions to improve and strengthen this important relationship.

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Sustainable Development and Environmental Management: The Performance of UK Business Schools

Coopey, John

Management Learning, Mar 2003; vol. 34: pp. 5-26

In this article the role and performance of LU business schools are examined to determine the extent to which they provide support for business organizations and other stakeholders in the efforts they are making to lay the foundation for a state of sustainable development both nationally and globally. A wide variety of data are analysed relating to research into, and published material about, environmental management and sustainability, the incorporation of these topics into MBA and other postgraduate programmes, and the research context within business schools. This reveals how little attention business schools appear to be paying to such fundamental issues. Finally, there is a discussion of the values that motivate current practice in an attempt to account for the situation. Suggestions are also made concerning some possible ways of relating recent debates about management research strategies to the goal of sustainable development.

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The State Matters: Management Models of Singaporean Chinese and Korean Business Groups

Tsui-Auch, Lai Si, Lee, Yong-Joo

Organization Studies, May 2003; vol. 24: pp. 507-534

Both the proponents and critics of Asian economic organization have been preoccupied with the ideal-typical management models of family businesses, and have rarely identified their changing management structures. We, instead, identify the change and continuity in these management structures through an analysis of family-controlled business groups in Singapore and South Korea before and after the Asian currency crisis. In our view, these business groups professionalized their management, but retained family control and corporate rule before the crisis. The crisis, however, increased the pressure on such groups to relinquish family control and corporate rule. Singaporean Chinese business groups tended to loosen their tight grip on corporate rule by absorbing more professional managers into their upper echelons. The surviving Korean chaebol, however, intensified family control. Only a few chaebol, which were on the brink of bankruptcy, relinquished corporate rule to professional managers. We argue that other than the market, cultural, and institutional factors as suggested in the existing literature, state capacities and strategies do matter in shaping the changing management structures of business groups. Drawing on our analysis, researchers will be able to conduct comparative studies of family businesses across East Asian societies, of organizational imitation, and of the role of the state in influencing management models.

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Dialogue as Global Issue Management: Legitimizing Corporate Influence in the Transatlantic Business Dialogue

Zoller, Heather M.

Management Communication Quarterly, Nov 2004; vol. 18: pp. 204-240

Using the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), the phenomenon of governmentbusiness dialogues is examined. TABD, a corporate coalition, advises the E.U. and U.S. governments regarding business regulation and global trade. Because of increasing economic and political disputes between the European Union and United States, TABD faces a dual rhetorical challenge: promoting its success to business and government participants to further the process while encountering a small but growing activist community protesting TABD’s influence as an example of corporate hegemony. Continued protest may bring unwelcome attention to TABD, threatening its legitimacy with the larger public. TABD employs the language of the two-way symmetrical model of public relations as a means of issue management. TABD strategically exploits the multifarious meanings of dialogue to promote and legitimize a hegemonic role in establishing transatlantic business regulations and trade policy. Critical examination reveals how TABD excludes multiple viewpoints from public dialogue about trade and business policies.

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The Imprecise Science of Evaluating Scholarly Performance: Utilizing Broad Quality Categories for an Assessment of Business and Management Journals

Lange, Thomas

Eval Rev, Aug 2006; vol. 30: pp. 505-532

In a growing number of countries, government-appointed assessment panels develop ranks on the basis of the quality of scholarly outputs to apportion budgets in recognition of evaluated performance and to justify public funds for future R&D activities. When business and management journals are being grouped in broad quality categories, a recent study has noted that this procedure was placing the same journals in essentially the same categories. Drawing on journal quality categorizations by several German- and English-speaking business departments and academic associations, the author performs nonparametric tests and correlations to analyze whether this claim can be substantiated. In particular, he examines the ability of broad quality categorizations to add value to governmental, administrative, and academic decision making by withstanding the criticism traditionally levied at research quality assessments.

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Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis in Strategic Management Research: An Examination of Combinations of Industry, Corporate, and Business-Unit Effects

Greckhamer, Thomas, Misangyi, Vilmos F., Elms, Heather, Lacey, Rodney

Organizational Research Methods, Oct 2008; vol. 11: pp. 695-726

The authors present qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) as a viable method for strategic management research. Specifically, they demonstrate its ability to examine the potential interdependence and complexity among effects through a study of how industry, corporate, and business-unit attributes combine in determining business-unit performance. They present in an accessible manner the consecutive phases of the QCA approach by analyzing a sample of 2,841 cases of business-unit performance, and they examine the insights that the QCA analysis provides for this particular stream of literature. The authors conclude with a discussion of the benefits and limitations QCA poses for strategic management research more generally, including major contingencies under which QCA or linear methods may be more appropriate for strategy research.

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Rethinking Cross Cultural Management in a Globalizing Business World

Soderberg, Anne-Marie, Holden, Nigel

International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, Apr 2002; vol. 2: pp. 103-121

Cross cultural management is often regarded as a discipline of international management focusing on cultural encounters between what are perceived as well-defined and homogeneous entities: the organization and the nation-state, and offering tools to handle cultural differences seen as sources of conflict or miscommunication. The authors argue that this approach is out of phase with the business world of today, with its transnational companies that face the challenges of the management of global knowledge networks and multicultural project teams, interacting and collaborating across boundaries using global communication technologies. The authors emphasize the need for an alternative approach which acknowledges the growing complexity of inter- and intra-organizational connections and identities, and offers theoretical concepts to think about organizations and multiple cultures in a globalizing business context.

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Building an ROI Business Case for Enterprise Compensation Management Solutions

Dobbs, Kevin M.

Compensation Benefits Review, Aug 2004; vol. 36: pp. 7-12

A new breed of technology, called Enterprise Compensation Management (ECM) is automating the compensation process to help organizations acquire, manage and optimize workforces, in addition to enabling true manager self-reliance. By utilizing an ECM solution to optimize employee compensation on an enterprise level, surveyed companies reported greater workforce effectiveness, better execution of pay-for-performance strategies, increased productivity and substantial financial savings. This article seeks to provide a conceptual framework to assist in quantifying the financial and strategic benefits that companies can expect to achieve from ECM solutions. It also provides detailed survey results from a wide-range of companies that have evaluated and implemented ECM solutions-examining the 5-step ROI Methodology companies can follow when building an ECM business case.

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How Business Families Manage the Transition from Owner to Professional Management

Berenbeim, Ronald E.

Family Business Review, Mar 1990; vol. 3: pp. 69-110

This article summarizes the findings of a qualitative study of twenty large family businesses (above $100 million) from the United States, Europe, and Latin America. The study focuses on family businesses that have successfully completed the transition from founder to professional management, and it identifies many of the emotional and managerial dilemmas that arise as companies move from one generation to the next. The author outlines the specific steps these companies have taken in order to constructively manage succession and continuity.

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Cross-cultural Management Competence in Australian Business Enterprises

Fish, Alan, Wood, Jack

Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Jan 1997; vol. 35: pp. 37-52

This paper identifies four critical cross-cultural management competencies derived from a larger study that examined the expatriate career management practices of twenty Australian business enterprises with a physical presence in the East Asian business region. Results point to the need to reassess existing cross-cultural management competency development practices pursued by Australian business enterprises, so that interactional management skills and transactional management communication skills are enhanced. Other cross-cultural management competency constructs identified included transformational management skills. In addition, while foreign language skills were also identified, the result was marginal. Evidence from this study confirms the need for stronger attention by Australian organizations to cross-cultural management competency development as well as more informed means of developing Australian expatriate managers prior to international career appointments.

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Using Government Performance Management Data to Identify New Business Opportunities: Examples from Government Services Outsourcing in the United States

Martin, Lawrence L., Singh, Karun K.

International Review of Administrative Sciences, Mar 2004; vol. 70: pp. 65-76

This article describes how the private sector can utilize government performance management data to identify business opportunities. Governments around the world today are making increased use of outsourcing, performance management and performance budgeting. Utilizing readily available data that can often be accessed via the World Wide Web, private sector businesses can identify current business opportunities in terms of what services governments are outsourcing, in what amounts and at what costs. Additionally, potential future business opportunities can be identified in terms of what services governments are currently providing in-house, at what costs and with what results. Armed with this information, private sector businesses can readily identify markets for their goods and services.

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Toward an Environmentally Sensitive Ecophilosophy for Business Management

Clair, Judith A., Milliman, John, Whelan, Karen S.

Organization Environment, Sep 1996; vol. 9: pp. 289-326

Although values and philosophy can influence a company’s environ mental management practicees, they are overlooked by managers and business scholars. In this article, a classification scheme of three types of ecophilosophies–“unrestrained economic growth,” “social con sciousness,” and “environmental consciousness”– is explained. The authors propose that a company’s ecophilosophy forms the basis for its behaviors toward the natural environment. Through these actions, the organization’s ecophilosophy may influence its eventual environ mental performance and its effectiveness.
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Family Business in the Middle East: An Eexploratory Study of Retail Management in Kuwait and Lebanon

Welsh, Dianne H. B., Raven, Peter

Family Business Review, Mar 2006; vol. 19: pp. 29-48

The Middle East is a growing, lucrative marketplace that has recently captured the interest of the world for political as well as economic reasons due to the War in Iraq, which began in 2003. This exploratory study examines the relationship between retail small/medium enterprises (SMEs) that are family business owned, organizational commitment, and management and employee perceptions of customer service on a number of dimensions. The results suggest that managers and employees of family-owned businesses in the Middle East behave in ways similar to those in Western countries; however, there are differences, probably related to cultural characteristics. The Middle East is a richly diverse region, a myriad of unique cultures. As the market becomes more sophisticated, the importance of service quality increases. Global retailers can benefit from this study by better understanding the managers and employees in the region and the pivotal role of the family on business. Implications for practice are discussed.

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A Survey and Critique of Management Selection Practices in Australian Business Firms

Vaughan, Edward, McLean, Jeffrey

Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Nov 1989; vol. 27: pp. 20-33

This paper reports on a survey of management selection practices among Australian business firms and discusses the conclusions that could arguably be drawn from it about the quality of Australian business management. The survey found, generally, that management selection in Australian business firms pays little heed to research reports and recommendations in personnel selection literature, and relies extensively on assessment methods that have poor predictive validity and low reliability. This must cause one to doubt whether the best qualified persons are being appointed to manage Australian business.

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Management Development and Small Business Education : the Implications of Diversity

Goss, David M.

Management Learning, Jul 1989; vol. 20: pp. 100-111

This article suggests that small business education in Britain is currently underdeveloped in relation to other areas of management education, particularly management development. Whilst such underdevelopment undoubtedly reflects the relative novelty of the UK ‘small business boom’, it is also, in part, a product of the oversimplified stereotype of the small business manager held by many trainers and educators. Research findings are presented to illustrate the real diversity of small firm managerial styles and, on the basis of this data, the implications and possibilities for new forms of small business management development are explored.

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Student-Operated Internet Businesses: True Experiential Learning in Entrepreneurship and Retail Management

Daly, Shawn P.

Journal of Marketing Education, Dec 2001; vol. 23: pp. 204-215

Using the Internet, students can create and carry through to completion their own business plans, from product development to marketing and promotions to operations. As measured by student satisfaction and content analysis of student reflection papers, this new technique is an effective way to study “real-world” entrepreneurship and retail management, especially in terms of developing Internet skills. Side benefits include increased fund-raising and membership for student organizations, increased community interaction, and free publicity for the host institution. The author provides observations and recommendations concerning the successful operation of student-operated Internet businesses.

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Re-Re-Viewing the Domains of Business, Management, and Organizational Communication: A Response to Murphy

Rogers, Donald P., White-Mills, Kim

Journal of Business Communication, Jan 1998; vol. 35: pp. 144-148

In our original article, “Identifying the Common and Separate Domains of Business-Management-Organizational Communication,” we reported that there was little overlap in the research articles and textbooks judged influential by professors in business communication, management communication, and organizational communication. In this article, we respond to Murphy’s critique.

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Customer Efficiency: Concept and Its Impact on E-Business Management

Xue, Mei, Harker, Patrick T.

Journal of Service Research, May 2002; vol. 4: pp. 253-267

The continued development of e-business models has triggered a dramatic transition of customers’roles in a variety of service production and delivery processes. In the coproduction of service, the scale and scope of customers’ participation have been significantly transformed and enhanced by newe-business models and technology. This transition calls for a newunderstanding of customers’ roles in service delivery systems. The concept of customer efficiency is crucial for the successful management of systems where customers are actively engaged in service production and delivery processes. This article presents the concept of customer efficiency management (CEM), studies its relationship with other key customer characteristics, and explores its potential impact on e-business management.

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Management Learning Organizations: Enhancing Business Education for the 21 st Century

Kilmann, Ralph H.

Management Learning, Jun 1996; vol. 27: pp. 203-237

Although the topic of organizational learning is still in the early stages of development, there are two interrelated issues that guide most discussions in the literature. How is knowledge acquired and used by individuals and organizations? How can the speed at which knowledge is acquired and used be increased? This article resolves these key questions in terms of describing, controlling and improving learning processes within self-designed subunits and across organizational networks. Such an approach can then use the extensive literature on quality management and organizational development as the basis for building and improving learning organizations. This article then describes how an entire incoming class of 250 full-time MBA students was formed into 18 self-designed learning organizations for the purpose of speeding up and improving their acquisition and use of business knowledge. Last, the conclusion outlines how all other types of organization can also form self-designed global learning networks in order to improve their rate of acquiring and using strategic knowledge.

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Key Books in Business and Management Studies: An Ana lysis of Heavily Used Literature in UK Business Schools

Smith, Gerry

Management Learning, Dec 1977; vol. 8: pp. 119-130

The heavily used books in four leading British business school libraries are analysed by type of author; subject; type of book; publisher; language; nationality and date of publication. Implications of the findings for management educators are discussed.

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Modern Organization Theory and Business Management Thought

Hilgert, Raymond L.

American Behavioral Scientist, Oct 1964; vol. 8: pp. 25-29

Professor Hilgert of Washington University in St. Louis reviews the literature of organization theory as it is applicable to business manage ment. Beginning with the concept of the “whole” organization, theory is traced through scientific management and the human relations approach, including recent revisionist concepts, to new thought on organizational planning. The article concludes with a discussion and critique of some quantitative approaches to decision-making and model building.

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The Management Crunch: A Challenge for Business Education

Burton, Gene E., Pathak, Dev S., Zigli, Ron M.

Journal of Management, Oct 1976; vol. 2: pp. 47-55

This study investigated the factors relevant to management motivation of today’s college students. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire administered to 78 juniors and seniors in a large College of Business in the nation’s Southeast. Among other findings, this study seemed to indicate that management and marketing majors offer strong management potential while accounting, banking, general business, health administration and business education majors appear to be a poor source of managerial talent.

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Inclusive approaches to effective communication and active participation in the multicultural classroom: An international business management context

Devita, Glauco

Active Learning in Higher Education, Dec 2000; vol. 1: pp. 168-180

This article reports on the author’s experiences of, and reflections on, theory-based practices with respect to communication and participation in the multicultural classroom in the context of business management education. Key issues concerning the learning experience of international students are identified and examined, and suggestions on the implementation of inclusive approaches to effective communication and active participation in a culturally diverse class of international business management are provided.

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The knowledge management process in a business school environment

Hafstad, Sissel

Business Information Review, Sep 1997; vol. 14: pp. 135-140

Reports results of the ELSINOR project, undertaken at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Norway, to bring order to the chaos in the information management functions of the School. The project group was drawn from four administrative departments, chosen for their daytoday contact with information processing. The aim of the project was to plan a complete, integrated, electronic information system with electronic mail. The problem of reporting research activities and publications was referred to a separate project and it was recommended that the FORSKDOK module, of the BIBSYS system, be used as the vehicle for registering them. Reports the strategies used in the setting of system parameters, the choice of technical solutions, the recommendations of the study and the plan for their implementation. Concludes with notes on the work done by ELSINOR to extend the School’s activities on the Web via its already established Web site.
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Nongovernmental Organizations in Business and Society, Management, and International Business Research: Review and Implications From 1998 to 2007

Kourula, Arno, Laasonen, Salla

Business Society, Oct 2009; vol. 0: 0007650309345282

This review shows how the relationship between nongovernmental organizations (NgOs) and businesses has been examined in business and society, management, and international business (IB) literatures. altogether 88 relevant studies have been identified through the analysis of article abstracts from 11 leading journals in these fields. The articles have been classified into three categories according to their focus: NgO-business interface, NgO-business- government interface, and NgOs as one of many corporate stakeholders. Six main themes are identified: (a) activism and NgO influence, (b) dyadic partnership (NgO-business), (c) cross-sector partnership (NgO-business- government), (d) global governance and standardization, (e) national-level governance, and (f) stakeholder management. The state of the research topic is assessed, and implications and avenues for further research are provided.

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Launching the Revenue Rocket: How Revenue Management Can Work for Your Business

Cross, Robert G.

Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Apr 1997; vol. 38: pp. 32-43

Revenue management (RM) is the application of disciplined tactics that predict consumer behavior at the micromarket level and optimize product availability and price to maximize revenue growth. While the application of RM principles depends on each company’s competitive situation, the process is similar for all firms. Each firm should examine the applicability of RM to its situation, and specifically if its market is characterized by vagaries of demand, a perishable product (e.g., hotel rooms, restaurant meals), and strong competition. The firm’s management should use data-analysis techniques to estimate untapped revenue potential. This estimate involves analyzing all available data to uncover hidden revenue potential through the computerized emulation of actual business environments and control processes. Finally, the firm should quantify the benefits of revenue management. Those responsible for managing revenue should be given express control over all revenue-generating functions, and top management should allow those revenue managers the leeway to make constant and rapid changes in the price and product mix. In the final analysis, revenue management allows a firm to create new time-based products on the spot, as customer demand for those products becomes apparent.
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The future of the business school: Knowledge challenges and opportunities

Starkey, Ken, Tempest, Sue

Human Relations, Jan 2005; vol. 58: pp. 61-82

Despite its importance, there is relatively little serious academic research into the business school. This article sets out to stimulate debate that will fill this gap. We review the origins and evolution of the business school and debates about management research and teaching in terms of ideals and practice. Increasingly, the role of the business school is being questioned but much of this debate looks at the business school in isolation from changes in the wider university sector. We situate our analysis within the broader context of debates about the university as a privileged knowledge space. We conclude by suggesting that the future of the business school can best be discussed in terms of changes in knowledge production and that the business school has the opportunity to position itself as a unique site of knowledge generation and diffusion.

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The Virtues of Virtue: Social Capital, Network Governance, and Corporate Social Responsibility

Weisband, Edward

American Behavioral Scientist, Feb 2009; vol. 52: pp. 905-918

Network governance, social capital, and virtue-based forms of corporate social responsibility justify sectoral arrangements organized around reciprocated forms of entrepreneurial accountability to promote best practices of corporate social responsibility benchmarked in near and long terms. Standards of corporate social responsibility require precise elaboration within the contexts of contemporary theories of the firm that specify the normative limits of voluntary business obligations. This article argues that such ethical constraints remain too narrow and suggests how corporate social responsibility might be extended in accordance with eudaimonic principles of social capital and aretaic principles of executive excellence manifested by managerial learning.

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Governance of public–private partnerships: lessons learnt from an Australian case?

Johnston, Judy, Gudergan, Siegfried P.

International Review of Administrative Sciences, Dec 2007; vol. 73: pp. 569-582

Large infrastructure public–private partnerships (PPPs) in Australia have revealed significant governance problems. The aim of this research is to examine the technical-rational and social contractual issues of PPPs within the broad context of risk, and accordingly propose a governance framework. The research builds on international PPP literature to develop an analytical conceptualization. It uses document review and interviews to construct a case study of a Cross City Tunnel (CCT) toll-way in Sydney, which became operational in August 2005 and failed in December 2006. The research indicates that failure within this so-called PPP largely occurred within the technical-rational governance system due to unforeseen risks. This led to a breakdown in the social contract, through political risk. A governance system that enhances risk assessment and diminishes the likelihood of negative political behaviours is required. Points for practitioners To develop a more considered risk assessment process within the technical-rational environment, negotiation and contractual processes need deeper analysis to identify factors that could affect PPP success or failure. This would involve taking the potential impacts of identified technical-rational and social risk factors through to a logical conclusion for the project and the partners. Furthermore, this research confirms that a basic system of PPP governance needs to encompass behavioural rules, which could include appropriate sanctions and penalties within the contract. Breach of rules could involve mediation but improved PPP governance may be better achieved through an independent, oversight authority.

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A View of the Market Through Studies of Policy and Governance

Martinez, Mario, Richardson, Richard C.

American Behavioral Scientist, Mar 2003; vol. 46: pp. 883-901

The purpose of this article is to develop a research-based conceptualization of a state’s higher education market in the United States. The aim is to synthesize existing notions of the higher education market into a coherent starting point and to organize discussion of the market around subjects related to supply, consumption, and management. The conceptualization provides a state-level view of the higher education market appealing to state policy makers. The article draws on another study linking state policy to postsecondary performance. Results incorporate existing literature germane to the higher education market, within and outside of the higher education discipline.

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Democratizing Global Environmental Governance? Stakeholder Democracy afterthe World Summit on Sustainable Development

Backstrand, Karin

European Journal of International Relations, Dec 2006; vol. 12: pp. 467-498

One of the most pressing problems confronting political scientists today is whether global governance has democratic legitimacy. Drawing on an analysis of the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002, this article advances and empirically deploys an ideal-typical model of a new approach to key areas of global governance– stakeholder democracy’. This work is located in the context of the changing practices of global governance, in which concerns about legitimacy, accountability, and participation have gained prominence. Sustainability is an arena in which innovative experiments with new hybrid, pluri-lateral forms of governance, such as stakeholder forums and partnership agreements institutionalizing relations between state and non-state actors, are taking place. A central argument is that sustainability governance imperfectly exemplifies new deliberative stakeholder practices with general democratic potential at the global level. In examining these governance arrangements, we draw together the nascent elements of this new model’, such as its distinctive takes on political representation and accountability.
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Convergence of Management Practices in Strategy, Finance and HRM between the USA, Japan and Germany

Carr, Chris, Pudelko, Markus

International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, Apr 2006; vol. 6: pp. 75-100

The issue of convergence of management practices as between national business systems and cultures is contentious but important given increasing cross-continental cooperation and competition. This article investigates comparative practices in strategy, finance and human resource management in the USA, Japan and Germany. For strategy and finance we used field research in over 70 companies to gain access to top-level decisions; for HRM we surveyed top 500 companies, again in all three countries, yielding responses from 232 HRM managers. Two hypotheses, derived from rich research literatures, are explored. The first hypothesis suggests diffusion of best practices’ for all three management areas – strategy, finance and HRM – to the point of convergence, in spite of national institutional and cultural factors. More specifically, the second hypothesis suggests even greater convergence at the strategic and financial level, given pressures from increasingly common customer and capital markets, as compared with HRM where cultural factors might remain more influential. We found German practices in strategy, finance and HRM lie midway between those in the USA and Japan, and some convergence across all three management areas, particularly between Germany and the USA. Surprisingly, most convergence was found at the HRM level, where imitation of worldwide best practices’ proved more common.

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Corporate Governance and Globalization

O’Sullivan, Mary

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Jan 2000; vol. 570: pp. 153-172

There is growing interest in pressures on national systems of corporate governance to converge that are allegedly being generated by the process of globalization, especially the global integration of financial markets. Advocates of the merits of globalization contend that the trend will lead to a more efficient allocation of capital. Drawing on the cases of the United States and Germany, the author argues that considerable change has indeed occurred recently in national governance systems. These changes cannot be understood, however, as the outcome of a market-driven, efficiency-enhancing process. Rather, realignments in corporate governance reflect the growing economic and political power of those who have accumulated financial assets, a trend that is highly dependent on the extent of population aging and the social arrangements for pension provision in domestic economies.

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Financialization, finance rationality and the role of media in Australia

Greenfield, Cathy, Williams, Peter

Media Culture Society, May 2007; vol. 29: pp. 415-433

This article aims to contribute to understanding the role of media in financialization, understood as the composite of practices involved in making finance central to present-day capitalism and everyday life. To focus on financialization is to consider how it has come to be that the sovereignty of national governments has been eroded by their embedding within a globalized financial environment where financial markets and credit-rating agencies are able to shape the policy preferences and capacities of elected governments, and where the profitable operation of finance markets has become a predominant measure of value. One neglected part of understanding this development is tracing how populations have been equipped with a finance rationality that makes the ethos and affiliations of finance culture into so much `common sense’, thereby transforming existing and possible relations of mutuality. This task is undertaken with examples from archival Australian television programming.

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Multi-Level Governance and the Study of the British State

Bache, Ian, Flinders, Matthew

Public Policy and Administration, Jan 2004; vol. 19: pp. 31-51

The British State is currently being restructured through a process of constitutional and institutional reform. This process contributes to other changes that are creating an increasingly complex range of inter-governmental relationships of shifting and opaque jurisdictional boundaries together with a redefinition of state-society relations. In light of this, observers are increasingly making reference to an emergent system of multi-level governance’ within Britain. The focus of this article is conceptual. The aim is to assess the value of multi-level governance as an analytical framework that can contribute to understanding the changing nature of the British State. In doing so, we identify and apply the two models or types of multi-level governance developed by Hooghe and Marks (2004). We conclude that while multi-level governance has its limitations, it has great potential as a contrastive concept when juxtaposed with the Westminster Model.

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Two Stops in Today’s New Global Geographies: Shaping Novel Labor Supplies and Employment Regimes

Sassen, Saskia

American Behavioral Scientist, Nov 2008; vol. 52: pp. 457-496

The key variable is the incipient formation of global labor markets at the top and bottom of the economic system. At the top there is the transnational market for high-level managerial and professional talent across economic sectors, from finance to engineering; this market is increasingly shaped by public and private regulations. At the bottom one finds an amalgamation of mostly informal flows, with the “global care chains” among the most visible ones. There are sites of complex intersection between these two markets. The two sites singled out for examining the formation of these labor circuits are the global city and a set of Global South countries subject to the international debt-financing regime that puts governments, firms, and households under enormous constraints to survive. Emigration and people trafficking now generate money flows that help governments, firms, and households survive. The focus is especially on lower labor circuits and their feminizing.

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Boards of Directors: A Review and Research Agenda

Johnson, Jonathan L., Daily, Catherine M., Ellstrand, Alan E.

Journal of Management, Jun 1996; vol. 22: pp. 409-438

Boards of directors have been the subject of extensive conceptualization and empirical research. We review literature addressing boards of directors from the perspective of the control, service, and resource dependence roles that directors are hypothesized to fulfill, with particular focus on that research reported after the Zahra and Pearce (1989) compendium. We also discuss a number of methodological and conceptual elements which complicate the aggregation of research in this area of inquiry.

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Capitalizing on the Curriculum: The Challenges of Curricular Joint Ventures

Eckel, Peter D.

American Behavioral Scientist, Mar 2003; vol. 46: pp. 865-882

For many institutions, finding new resources and positioning themselves well in the technology-rich, competitive environment has become a high priority. Universities have long capitalized on their research to both maximize prestige and generate revenue. Many institutions now view their curriculum and courses as capital. Some engage in for-profit curriculum-based ventures and others enter into strategic alliances. These activities raise questions for shared governance in initiating and operating activities intended to capitalize on the curriculum. This article explores how these new activities and traditions of shared governance and institutional autonomy intersect, identifying potential conflicts and raising questions for campus leaders.

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Hope the Reviews of Management Literature Posted above are found to be of some use by my Blog Audiences, who may happen to be pursuing research programs or are themselves involved in Research and Academics in the Discipline of Business Administration.

Keep waiting, my friends, within years the structure, style, instruments and manner of Administration or Governance will witness numerous tremors and would metamorphose in some thing which I may say that would be beyond imagination of a vast majority us today.

——-Saurabh Singh

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