The Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge is indexed in the CABELL'S, and ULRICH'S DIRECTORIES of Refereed Publications.   The primary goal of the journal will be to provide opportunities for business related academicians and professionals from various business related fields in a global realm to publish their paper in one source. The Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge will bring together academicians and professionals from all areas related business fields and related fields to interact with members inside and outside their own particular disciplines. The journal will provide opportunities for publishing researcher's paper as well as providing opportunities to view other's work.  All submissions are subject to a two person blind peer review process.

The Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge is published two times a year, March and September.  The e-mail: drsenguder@aol.com; Website, www.jaabc.com  Requests for subscriptions, back issues, and changes of address, as well as advertising can be made via the e-mail address above. Manuscripts and other materials of an editorial nature should be directed to the Journal's e-mail address above. Address advertising inquiries to Advertising Manager.

The Impact of Frequency of Use on Service Quality Expectations: An Empirical Study of Trans-Atlantic Airline Passengers

Dr. Kien-Quoc Van Pham and Dr. Merlin Simpson

ABSTRACT

While the academic debate continues relative to the conceptual validity, reliability of the SERVQUAL model to assess service quality, the paucity of empirical studies addressing service quality antecedents indicates the need to revisit the causal relationships between these antecedents and the “corollary” service quality assessment. In today’s globally competitive marketplace, the fostering of customer loyalty reigns undisputed as the most important goal for all commercial enterprises, with repeated use or purchase as one of the primary indicators of customer satisfaction, and yet frequency of use has not been addressed in terms of its impact on the means to achieve and maintain such customer loyalty. The airline industry, with its Frequent Flyers Mileage reward system, its success and that of similar promotional programs in promoting loyalty (bankcards purchase cash rebate, Starbuck’s patrons’ cards), is a natural venue to further investigate this service quality conceptual antecedent (past experience) construct.

Whistleblowing: International Implications and Critical Case Incidents

 Dr. Steven H. Appelbaum, Professor of Management, Kirandeep Grewal, MBA, and Hugues Mousseau, MBA

ABSTRACT

This article will examine the following: (1) motivation of whistleblowers; (2) international implications; (3) consequences for the individual and organization; (4) selected mini-case studies and (5) solutions for organizations. An employee’s decision to report individual or organizational misconduct is a complex phenomenon that is based upon organizational, situational and personal factors. According to Miceli and Near (1985), “whistle blowing is the disclosure of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices under the control of their employers, to a person or organizations that may be able to effect action”. (Vinten, 1995). Whistle blowing is the voice of conscience”.  (Berry, 2004).  Whistle blowing is a new name for an ancient practice.  The fist time the term whistle blowing was used was the 1963 publicity in the USA surrounding Otto Otopeka. who was an American public servant had given classified documents to the chief counsel of the Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security, which could pose as a threat to the government administration. (Vinten, 1995)  Mr. Otpeka’s disclosure gesture was severely punished by the then Secretary of State who dismissed him from his functions for conduct unbecoming.  The term whistle blowing is sometimes perceived negatively, while it is also very often viewed in a positive, even heroic fashion.  In fact, this perception is highly influenced by the perspective from which one looks at it and by the circumstances surrounding the disclosure by an employee.  The main reason why whistle blowing is such an important issue, amongst other elements, is that it has to do with the fact that many public and corporate wrongdoings are never disclosed. 

Sales Growth versus Cost Control: Audit Implications

 Dr. Ray McNamara and Dr. Catherine Whelan 

ABSTRACT

Concerns raised by regulators, investors, and researchers over the independence implications of audit firms providing both auditing and consulting services, has led to the discontinuation by some firms of their consulting activities. The resulting decline in expertise may lead to an impairment of the ability of audit firms to adequately audit the revenues of listed firms. This research investigates the moderating effect of sales growth and cost control on the value-relevance of earnings and book value. The results demonstrate that the market responds differently to the revenue and cost component of earnings. In particular, the market perceives enhanced earnings quality in the presence of both sales growth and cost control. Consequently, audit procedures should provide assurance of both completeness and existence of revenue and expense items on the income statement.  The approach of the new millennium saw an increasing emphasis on the audit profession’s need to broaden its activities into a range of assurance services (Elliot 1998). One area of potential profitability was revenue and cost assurance in those industries with large customer bases, complex revenue schema, and advanced revenue cycle technology such as in the telecommunications and health care industries (Connexn 2003).

E-Local Government Strategies and Small Business

Dr. Stuart M. Locke

ABSTRACT

The New Zealand Government like governments in many countries recognises the importance of small business in the economic and social structure of the country.  It has implemented a number of policies, in recent years, to assist small, medium enterprises (SMEs).  The extent to which these initiatives are successful, in terms of generating the outcomes purported as the rationale for their implementation typically does not receive detailed scrutiny.  This paper reports upon an investigation into one element of government programmes directed toward the promotion of greater broadband internet coverage and the encouragement of the adoption of internet technologies have been promoted.  In particular the E-Government single access portal for central government and a similar e-local government strategy have been promulgated.  An empirical investigation of the progress made by the territorial local government authorities in implementing the e-local government strategy and the impact upon SMEs is presented.  It is observed that at the policy formulation stage the nexus between policy and SME outcome is not made explicit and second that the monitoring of policy is lacking which has potentially negative implications for SMEs.  I is suggested that the level of public administrative accountability as it relates to the monitoring of this policy is inadequate and to the extent that this observation is generalisable SMEs may not be reaping the gains that could be achieved.

The Effects of Humor and Goal Setting on Individual Brainstorming Performance

David W. Roach, Ph.D., L. Kim Troboy, Ph.D., and Loretta F. Cochran, Ph.D.

ABSTRACT

The efficacy of goal setting is widely accepted by researchers, managers, and the “man-on-the-street.”  Given this agreement, the simple maxim to “set goals” seems obvious. However, individual, task, and context characteristics affect the characteristics of goals that lead to high performance. The primary purpose of this study is to examine the effects of goal characteristics and a specific context variable, humor, on an individual brainstorming task. With respect to goal characteristics, we examine the effect of goal specificity (vague goals, specific attainable goals, and specific stretch goals) on individual brainstorming performance. With respect to humor, we examine the effect of the presence or absence of humor and the interaction of humor and goal characteristics on individual brainstorming performance. In addition, we examine the interaction between goal characteristics and humor on the task. We found that performance on a brainstorming task was highest when goals were both specific and challenging (stretching). While humor did not affect performance on specific goals, humor did improve performance with vague goals and humor radically improved performance with stretch goals. The research results suggest that humor may be an effective managerial lever for certain tasks and contexts.

A Comparison of the Solicited and Independent Financial Strength Ratings of Insurance Companies

 Dr. Martin Feinberg, Dr. Roger Shelor,  Dr. Mark Cross, and Axel Grossmann

ABSTRACT

This study provides a comparison of the life/health and property/casualty insurance company ratings of a solicited ratings agency, A.M. Best, versus those of an independent ratings agency, Weiss Ratings Inc. for the time period 1998 – 2001. Financial strength ratings assess the company’s overall claims paying ability.  The results provide further evidence that A.M. Best ratings are higher than Weiss ratings. Although previous studies have indicated this result, they did not fully account for any lack of correspondence between ratings and possible sample selection bias, as this study does. The finding of no difference in rating changes with respect towards timing is inconsistent with previous research. The results add evidence to the argument that there should be concern among consumers regarding the closeness and unique nature of the relationship between the solicited rating agency and the insurance company being rated. The results remain consistent across both life/health and property/casualty insures.  Insurer financial strength ratings provide the rating agency’s assessment of overall financial strength and the insurer’s ability to meet policyholder obligations. Consumers, insurance agents and brokers, corporate risk managers, regulators and investors use financial strength ratings to assess insurer’s insolvency risk.

The U.S., Japan in the Global Semiconductor Industry

Dr. Farahmand Rezvani, Dr. Ahmat Baytas, and Dr. Serpil Leveen

INTRODUCTION

As we enter the 21^st century, the global electronics market is an approximately $1 trillion industry and is expected to double during the early years of this century.  Technologically-related industries currently account for more than a ninth of the U.S. domestic product, as compared to just a twentieth of U.S. domestic product only ten years ago (Simons 1995). Even though the invention of the transistor and the integrated circuit (IC), as well as the equipment to manufacture them were almost totally product of U.S. innovation (Spencer 1993), during the 1980’s the U.S. ceded its global domination of the field to the Japanese. However, by the 1990’s the U.S. market share managed to rebound significantly and this favorable trend appears to be continuing. This paper will explore the factors that resulted in the loss of world domination by the U.S. semiconductor industry and will also analyze the factors that contributed to its revival and the gradual American regaining of semiconductor leadership.

The Relationship of Personal Characteristics and Job Satisfaction:  A Study of Nigerian Managers in the Oil Industry

Dr. John O. Okpara

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of personal characteristics on job satisfaction of Nigerian managers employed in the oil industry. Stratified sampling techniques were used to select the managers for this research. A total of 550 questionnaires were distributed, and 364 were returned, representing a 66.18% response rate. The key findings of this study were that job satisfaction is strongly associated with personal characteristics of managers surveyed for this paper. Results also show that older managers were overall more satisfied than were their younger counterparts. Experience and education affect satisfaction with present job, pay, promotions, supervision, and coworkers. Findings of the study provide management and human resources professionals with key information that would assist them in recruiting, rewarding, promoting, and retaining their workers. This paper offers realistic suggestions to the management of oil companies for how to enhance the job satisfaction of their most valuable workers, thus improving their efficiency and effectiveness. It also offers tools for how to establish a comparable pay policy, create equal opportunity for promotion, and provide a favorable work environment for all workers.

A Fuzzy Logic Approach to Explaining U.S. Investment Behavior

Dr. Tufan Tiglioglu

ABSTRACT

This paper uses a non-linear fuzzy logic procedure to empirically investigate the links between the real interest rate and aggregate investments in the United States from 1959 to 2000.  In an interesting paper, “A fuzzy design of the willingness to invest in Sweden [1998],” Tomas Lindström utilized a fuzzy logic approach to explain willingness to invest in Sweden during the period 1950-1990.  I examine whether or not his results in Sweden can be replicated in the United States, focusing on both the real interest rate and its variability.  The paper provides a brief overview of fuzzy set theory and logic, then discusses the Lindström model and results.  It concludes with the results of this approach using interest rate, real output, and investment data from the United States.  Fuzzy logic has been widely used by scientists, mathematicians and engineers, among others, as a means of designing decision and control systems where “rules of thumb” are easier to conceptualize and implement than precisely delineated decision making criteria. 

Union Leaders' Value Systems: The Lack of Change Over Time and Scope

Dr. David Meyer, Dr. William E. Tracey, Jr., Dr. G. S. Rajan, and Vincent Piperni 

ABSTRACT

Two studies of union leaders’ value systems were conducted two years apart.  One was of local union leaders, the other was of national union leaders.  England's Personal Value Questionnaire (PVQ) (1967) was modified to focus on the union as the organization being studied.  A measure of the priority of each value was also obtained.  Analysis revealed no significant differences across time or scope of leadership.  Union leaders are very pragmatic and much more socially concerned than managers.  England, Agarwal, and Trerise (1971), comparing union leaders' value systems with managers' value systems, concluded that union leaders were moralistically oriented, whereas managers were pragmatically oriented.  They suggested that union leaders occupying higher level positions would be more pragmatic than their counterparts at lower levels.  Since then, a number of articles have focused on managers' value systems.  Whitely and England (1977) and England (1978) compared managers' value systems across cultures and countries.  Lusk and Oliver (1974) measured the change in managers' values from 1966 to 1972 in order to test England’s supposition that values are stable over time.  Their study supported that contention. 

“Collaborative Systemic Training (CST) Model in Los Angeles for Adult Learners”

Dr. Deborah LeBlanc

ABSTRACT

Enrollment management is vital to the survival of institutions of higher education.  While enrollment management is not a direct part of the scope, duties and responsibilities of faculty; yet faculty can play a critical and significant role indirectly in the process of enrolling adult learners into colleges and universities.  National University is distinguishing itself ‘through its leadership in the field of adult learning through continued growth in improved effectiveness of operations, student support and academic quality’ (NU, 2010, Strategic Direction One).  New approaches in student enrollment management are essential to continued academic program growth, development and vitality in meeting the needs of adult learners.  This study was developed to provide a descriptive analysis of  a team building approach utilized through collaboration designed to increase student enrollment and enhance services for adult learners within the School of Business and Information Management at National University in Los Angeles during the 2003-2005 academic year.  Findings and Recommendations from this study can be useful in the following three areas: (1) to better serve adult learners; (2) to provide greater collectivity between faculty and student services unit; and (3) to enhance faculty opportunities in the provision of quality community service using a collaborative method.

On Financing with Convertible Debt: What Drives the Proceeds from New Convertible Debt Issues?

Dr. Camelia S. Rotaru

ABSTRACT

Despite extensive research, it is not clear why companies issue convertible securities and what drives the variation of proceeds on the convertible market. In this paper I use a sample of 509 convertible securities issued between 1980 and 2003 to show that companies do not issue convertible securities to mitigate adverse selection costs. Rather, the variation of convertible proceeds suggests that managers time the convertible issue for periods when investors are optimistic. This is consistent with the findings of Loughran et al. (1994) and Lowry (2003) which show that IPOs are issued during periods of high investor optimism.  The dollar volume of outstanding convertible debt securities has grown tremendously over the past several years. (1) By 2001, the size of the US convertible market had reached $200 billion. However, not all companies issue convertible securities, and despite extensive research, we still do not know why only some companies choose to finance through convertible securities. Some authors suggested that companies issue convertible securities in order to reduce the bondholder-stockholder agency costs (Green, 1984; Brennan and Kraus, 1987), or to hedge against the impact of uncertain risk (e.g., Brennan and Schwartz, 1987), while other argued that convertible issuers are trying to reduce adverse selection costs and financial distress (Stein, 1992), or to take advantage of time-varying selection costs (Choe et al., 1993; Bayless and Chaplinsky, 1996; Lewis et al., 2003).

Do the Stars Foretell the Future?: The Performance of Morning Star Ratings

Philip S. Russel

ABSTRACT

The mutual funds industry has emerged as a major player in the financial system with net assets of over $6 trillion and serving nearly 100 million investors.  The latest institution to capitalize on the popularity of mutual funds is the mutual fund rating agencies.  Naïve investors are increasingly relying on “star-ratings” provided by mutual fund rating agencies to guide their selection of mutual funds. However, do mutual fund ratings provide any information of value to investors? We investigate this question by evaluating the performance of premier mutual fund rating agency, Morning star.  Mutual funds have become a popular avenue for investors and the net assets of mutual funds have grown exponentially from a mere $17 billion in 1960 to over $8 trillion in 2005.  The number of mutual funds has grown to more than ten thousand, exceeding the number of stocks listed on the organized exchange, making the selection of mutual funds an onerous task for the average investor.  In response to investor demand for some simple strategy to screen the numerous funds, several independent agencies have started offering ratings on the mutual funds, Morningstar being the most prominent among them. Morningstar rates mutual funds on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, with 5 stars being the best.  Other organizations (such as Lipper, Value Line) also provide similar rating services.

Mobility of Technology Positioning with Change in Patent Portfolio

Dr. Shann-Bin Chang, Dr. Kuei-Kuei Lai, and Shu-Min Chang, Ph.D. Program

ABSTRACT

Patents are an important indicator of R&D performance. A researcher can determine the technological competence of an enterprise by researching the patents it holds and so determine its technological position. Over time and with a changing environment, a firm may change strategies and improve their technological position. The purpose of this study is to discuss the impact of changes in the patent portfolio on the mobility of technology positioning. This study researched 37 firms that are representative of the business method patent of US Class 705. These firms all experienced the three stages of the Internet life cycle. Five technology groups were formed based on cluster analysis. This study also examined possible group movements among the 37 companies during the three stages. This study combined these five technology groups into three technologies oriented: postage metering technology, information and Internet technology, and business model development technology. Furthermore, this study discusses the trend of technology group development, and makes suggestions regarding how to develop “co-petition” strategies between or within technology groups.

Managing Corporate Legitimacy: Nonmarket Strategies of Chinese Firms

Dr. Zhilong Tian and Haitao Gao

ABSTRACT

In recent years, Chinese firms had met a lot of nonmarket obstacles on the global market. The fact indicates the deficiency of legitimacy management of Chinese firms. However, in spite of hostile institutional environment, Chinese private firms had changed their political status successfully and explored their living space. The article identifies nine legitimacy-building strategies that Chinese private firms had employed in Chinese transitional economy, and compares them with the legitimacy strategies of western firm. And discuss the implication for Chinese firms to go aboard.  On September 17, 2004, leather shoes of Wenzhou shoe firms were burned by the local extremist in Elche in Spain, which cause a loss about $984,000. It was reported that a lot of similar events had happened in the internationalization process of Chinese firms in the past several years. The accident draws public attention. It is widely believed that the reason why the Elche Accident had happened is that a few extremists try to demonstrate their hatred by making violence event, hoping the government to pay more attention to them, as conventional shoes industry in Spain was facing a great pressure in fierce international competition.

Corporate Strategic Management and Business Re-Engineering Effort Analyzed by the Balanced Scorecard Model

 Jui-Chi Wang

ABSTRACT

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) model requires corporations to evaluate their organizational performance from four different perspectives—financial, customers, internal businesses, and learning and growth.  Its utility lies in the prioritization of key strategic objectives that can be allocated to these four perspectives and the identification of associated measures that can be used to evaluate organizational progress in meeting the objectives (Kaplan & Norton, 1992, 1993).  Through subsequent modifications and improvements, researchers and business specialists have found that the BSC could be used as an effective strategic management tool.  More specifically, by determining the existence of strategic linkages between the strategic objectives and measures of the four perspectives, managers can take into account both the organizational objectives and the business processes in their creation of a BSC.  Therefore, the BSC can not only be used as an evaluation of the organization’s performance, but also to manage business processes within the organization (Cobbold & Lawrie, 2002).  A case study analysis of the business re-engineering efforts of two high-tech companies—Compaq and Acer—was conducted.  The business re-engineering efforts of the corporations, which led to their alignment to their work processes with organizational goals, were analyzed within the context of the four perspectives of the BSC. 

An Empirical Study of Using Derivatives on Multinational Corporation Strategies in Taiwan

Yi-Wen Chen

ABSTRACT

This study is very much a preliminary one and arrives at through the open-ended interviews conducted in conjunction with the analysis of the literature review on the derivatives market. At the same time, it sets up a solid basis for (a) laying out the parameters and boundaries of the given field of study; and (b) stimulating further studies. It also seems to agree with most of the major studies in the literature with reference to the importance of the derivatives market around the world and its effect on firms of a particular size (Bryan, 1993; Steinherr, 1999; and Fornari & Jeanneau, 2004). The study makes fairly clear what must be done in Taiwan with respect to improving the chances of its firms to compete globally: improve the financial derivatives market through further deregulation and a less hands-on attitude on the part of the government. In this way, Taiwan’s economy can become more integrated with that of the rest of the world (Chelley-Steeley, 2003).

Market Entry Patterns: The Case of European Asset Management Firms in the U.S.

Dr. Jafor Chowdhur

ABSTRACT

The process theory of internationalization posits that the foreign expansion process of firms follows an incremental and sequential path. However, the entry patterns of a fairly large sample of European asset managers establishing presence in the U.S. market in the last two decades show that the entrants had taken a predominantly acquisitive approach, skipping the intermediate steps in the expansion process. The objective of this study is mainly two-fold. First, to describe the firms’ entry patterns with regard to their choice of market entry vehicles. Second, to explain the entry patterns in terms of the internal factors prompting the firms to deviate from the process theory’s predicted path. The implications of the findings of this study for both theory and research are explored.  The process theory of internationalization posits that the foreign expansion process of firms generally follows an incremental and sequential path (Johanson & Weidersheim-Paul & Johanson, 1975, Johanson & Vahlne, 1977). However, the entry behaviors of a sample of 54 European asset management firms engaging in 152 entry incidents in the U.S. market during the period 1984-2004 show that the entrants had taken a predominantly acquisitive approach. To a degree, the entrants had employed all three available entry modes— build (internal expansion), buy (acquisition), and partner (strategic alliance). However, buying was by far the most frequently utilized entry mode accounting for nearly three-fourths of all entry incidents. In terms of deal value and assets involved, the acquisition incidents represent significantly larger transactions than those involving either building or partnering. In addition, partnering was used mostly as an adjunct to buying for tapping into certain location-specific resources and capabilities that the entrants needed for bolstering their European and global competitive positions.

The Discussion of Media Selection and Accessible Equity in Distance Education

Dr. Jack Fei Yang

ABSTRACT

Is the role of media in distance education important? Is the medium the message? The impact of media on instructional outcomes continues to be debated. The cost for new distance-system development and training is a major challenge for institutions in developing countries that want to be competitive in the global society. To adopt the newest distance media does not always directly result in a proportional increase in student learning outcomes and learning achievements. A choice of a high quality media for a few people may miss the challenge of serving the greatest number with an effective delivery approach within economic reach. Media influences learning by introducing different levels of learning objectives, learning activities, and learning outcomes. However, beyond media consideration, factors such as instructional methods, learning styles and teaching strategies need to be high priority to policy makers. The less economically fortunate people of developing countries need the concern of the high technology world to assure that large populations are excluded from the distance learning society.  Development of distance education across the world is influenced by economics, politics, technology, and societal issues, it is important for distance program designers to be aware that technology applications in distance education may provide quality education for mass populations, radically increasing equal access to opportunity. Clear educational purposes‚ and careful decision-making and program design are key factors to develop a good distance education program to serve an increasing mass population.

The Value Added Tax applied in the Member States of European Union. The Case of Spain

Dr. Maria Luisa Fernandez de Soto Blass

ABSTRACT

The Value-added tax (VAT) was introduced in the European Economic Community in 1970 by the First and Second VAT Directives and was intended to replace the production and consumption taxes which had hitherto been applied by the Member States, which hampered trade. The following text summarises a consolidation of existing Directives in this field.  The present paper introduces new figures and formulas never seen before at book of taxes, analyses the concept of Value Added Tax., makes a brief approach to the history of the VAT, studies the elements of this tax as the beneficiary, taxable person, territoriality,  basis of assessment,  exemptions, explains the basic mechanism for VAT: VAT NET, OUTPUT TAX and INPUT TAX,  deductions, the taxable base, the VAT rates, place of taxable transactions, chargeable event and chargeability of tax, special schemes VAT Invoice, Collections and example at European Union and  the case of Spain.  This paper is the result of three researches that I´m carrying out at The Institute for Fiscal Studies, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Spain,  University of San Pablo-CEU, Madrid, Spain, from 2003 to 2006, and at University of Leeds, United Kingdom from 1st July to 1^st September of 2004, 2005 and 2006 that is going to continue at the same time and place.

Causes and Consequences of High Turnover by Sales Professionals

Dr. Phani Tej Adidam

ABSTRACT

Retention of sales professionals is becoming one of the most challenging issues facing current sales managers, especially since the cost-effects of high turnover on the corporate bottom line is devastating. In this scenario, this paper investigates the costs and reasons behind high sales professional turnover, and offers some suggestions on how to increase sales professional retention, and thereby lowering the turnover rate. Emphasis must clearly be placed on recruiting the right kind of sales professionals by offering realistic job previews, providing appropriate training and developmental opportunities, engaging salespeople by developing high trust and commitment levels, establishing reasonable and equitable sales quota setting procedures, designing appropriate compensation structures, and individualizing the motivational incentives for each sales professional.   One of the most important issues facing businesses is finding and keeping good sales professionals. After all, sales professionals are the most valuable organizational resource, and good sales professionals should be thought of in terms of investments needing frequent rewards. Sales human resource professionals find themselves trying almost anything to retain their best sales people, especially when such sales professionals are being ensnared by their competitors in a tight labor market.

Two Stage Residual Income Model for Evaluating Intrinsic Value of Stock Listed Firms: An Empirical Analysis of Electronic Information Industry of Taiwan Fifty Index

 Tao Huang, Ming Hsin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan

Shih-Chien Chen, Takming College, Taiwan

Dr. Jovan Chia-Jung Hsu, Kun Shan University of Technology, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Along with the diversification of our securities market in recent years, as well as with the chaos of market order, corporate valuation has now become a critical issue for numerous public investors. In this thesis, we will carry out our study by means of the Residual Income Model as proposed by Ohlson, and try to understand the intrinsic value of our stock market through the analysis of electronic information industry of Taiwan Fifty Index, thereby providing references for our investors. Conclusions in this study are drawn as follows: Ohlson’s Residual Income Model is a good reference for the forecast of middle-term and long-term industrial rate of return; while the book to market price ratio (B/P) can have relatively more excellent predictive power in both short-term and long-term. And the earnings to price ratio (E/P) is a good index in the short term. In the case of the sales to market price ratio (S/P), it can’t be a suitable reference for short-term rate of return for electronic information industry.

The Determinants of Working Capital Management

Dr. Jeng-Ren Chiou and Li Cheng, Ph.D. Candidate and Han-Wen Wu 

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the determinants of working capital management. We use net liquid balance and working capital requirements as measures of a company’s working capital management. Results indicate that the debt ratio and operating cash flow affect the company’s working capital management, yet we lack consistent evidence for the influence of the business cycle, industry effect, growth of the company, performance of the company and firm size on the working capital management.  Corporate finance can be mainly categorized into three domains: capital budget, capital structure and working capital management. The raising and management of long-term capital belong to the domains of capital budget and capital structure. Source and use of long-term capital are traditionally aspects of much concern in finance, while management of the working capital that sustains the operation of an enterprise draws relatively little attention. Working capital, including current assets and current liabilities, is the source and use of short-term capital. In addition to company characteristics, working capital is also related to the financial environment, especially the fluctuation of business indicators. Since the poor performance of the global economy during the late 1990s, financial institutions have in general adopted a tighter credit policy to lower their deposit/loan ratio.

Exploring Customer Satisfaction, Trust and Destination Loyalty in Tourism

Heng-Hsiang Huang and Chou-Kang Chiu

ABSTRACT

As the concept of relationship marketing has motivated management of travel agents to seek fresh and creative ways of establishing long-term relationships with their tourist customers, it is important to explore the tourists’ destination loyalty given a competitive market in tourism around the globe. This study proposes a model of tourists’ satisfaction, trust and destination loyalty in tourism. In the proposed model, the perceived cultural differences, perceived safety and convenient transportation indirectly influence destination loyalty through the mediation of relationship quality comprising satisfaction and trust. Finally, the discussion and limitation about the proposed model are also provided.  Tourists’ decisions to choose destinations and spots have been one of the significant issues usually discussed by researchers (Ajzen and Driver, 1991; Chen, 1998; Fesenmaier, 1988; Um and Crompton, 1990). Such decisions have been also linked with the topics of decision rules, decision-making processes, and choice factors (Chen and Gursoy, 2001). Despite the substantial contributions from previous research on decisions to choose tourist destinations (Crompton, 1992; Crompton and Ankomah, 1993; Fesenmaier, 1990; Woodside and Carr, 1988), research pertaining to the linkages between decisions to choose a tourist destination and tourists’ destination loyalty from a perspective of relationship marketing is rather limited, which deserves a close attention as this study attempts to demonstrate.

The Effects of Individual and Joint Gift Giving on Receipt Emotions

Dr. Shuling Liao and Yu-Huang Huang

ABSTRACT

This paper employs the concepts of hedonic framing and mental accounting to interpret the effects of individual and joint gift giving on receiver’s emotional responses. The moderating effects of situational factors including distance of social relationships and types of gift are also investigated. The results show that receivers respond more positively to joint gift giving. Gifts from close members produce better affect. When the gifts come from intimate relationships, receivers respond no differently to nonmonetary gifts from individual or group but negatively toward someone who sends the monetary gift alone. By contrast, individual gift giving from distant relationships generates the worst emotions for a nonmonetary gift. The findings provide insights to the appropriate behavior and practice of gift giving.  Gift giving is a kind of common behavior in daily life and is highly promoted by business marketing activities. People are motivated to give gifts for the purposes of social exchange, economic exchange, and love sharing (Belk & Coon, 1993). People also love to receive gifts when the gifts are appropriate to indicate the perceived interpersonal connection (Neisser, 1973; Shurmer, 1971). However, the course of paying a man back in his own coin between men not merely involves the exchange of the entity goods; the implicit psychological factor and influence behind this interaction are even more intricate and thought-provoking. For this reason, the past research on gift giving behavior has integrated perspectives of different domains in social sciences.

A Study of Implementing Six-Sigma Quality Management System in Government Agencies for Raising Service Quality

Dr. Li-Hsing Ho and Chen-Chia Chuang, Ph.D. Candidate

ABSTRACT

In an age of thin profit margin, the corporations are diligently looking for ways to differentiate themselves from the competitors, to beat the competition, to expand market share, to create quality differences, and even to achieve zero quality defects. Regardless of the industry type, continuous improvement on quality is the irreplaceable part of the entire production activities. Although there are many ways to solve the problems in product quality, the six sigma quality management system can effectively solve the core issue in production quality. This quality management system is highly integrated, contains detailed problem solving procedures, and has been tested by multination corporations like Motorola and General Electric. It is also a system that emphasizes on fundamental educations, changes in organization culture, the quantification of the effective productivity through the discussion of the core problems. Taiwan’s government agency has realized the importance of the six sigma quality management system, and by implementing the six sigma quality management system, the government agencies are able to increase the qualities of the services provided. With an increased and improved government service quality, the general public will have a greater confidence on out government. The main tasks for the health administrative agencies are providing vaccination shots, controlling the drug usage, examining and testing food quality, providing smoke hazard-prevention and public health educations, managing the medical administrative tasks, and etc.

Influence of Audio Effects on Consumption Emotion and Temporal Perception

Dr. Chien-Huang Lin and Shih-Chia Wu

ABSTRACT

Consumer expectations towards retail stores exceed selling functions. Audio arrangements and the atmosphere of the shopping environment have become key influences on consumer satisfaction. Previous studies used actual retail stores as the investigation bases. This study adopted a computer graphic design tool to avoid previously uncontrolled variables in actual stores. A virtual realty shopping environment was built to identify audio effects in all aspects on consumers’ shopping behavior. The findings of this study demonstrated that consumer consumption emotion and temporal perception toward a shopping environment are significantly influenced by low music volume, and music type. Audio effects exert a greater influence on consumption emotion and temporal perception.  The study of retail environment in the past research was focused on actual retail stores.  Variables, including climate, shopper traffic, the attitudes of sales persons, and special events, are difficult for the researchers to control. Moreover, the validity of the findings is easily impeded by imprecise variables. Recently, with rapid advances in technology, virtual reality has created more opportunities for consumers in shopping and also become an effective research tool. This study was attempting to achieve variable control by using the computer graphics design software, named “Space Magician V2.0,” to create a virtual electronic appliance store, similar to a real bricks-and-mortar store, as an experimental and test venue. In this study, objects in virtual electronic appliance stores can be adjusted and moved based on individual needs in terms of color, location, and size. Subjects can also manipulate music broadcasting, for example: volume and broadcast timing.

Multi-Criteria Analysis of Offset Execution Strategies in Defense Trade: A Case in Taiwan

 Dr. Chyan Yang and Tsung-cheng Wang

ABTRACT

In international trade the offset practices have received increased attention over the past twenty years.  In the coming ten years, the Taiwanese government may expend roughly US$16 billions for purchasing military equipments through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, and can achieve US$8 billions offset credit.  Consequently, this paper is to discuss with Taiwan’s optimal offset execution policy and propose a framework of drawing on offset credit in future.  In order to help the decision makers determine the optimal offset strategy, the TOPSIS method by incorporating AHP method is applied to determine the best compromised offset execution strategy.  The potential applications and strengths of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) in assessing the offset strategies are highlighted.  Offset is one alternative marketing strategy recently introduced in the international marketplace.  Offset, or its military conunterpart, is a commitment associated with a sale where the seller will provide the buyer with an offsetting agreement to purchase other products.  The basic philosophy of an offset agreement or countertrade is to structure the commitment so the seller will fulfill a contract that rewards the buyer.  This reward may have the potential for economic, social or technological growth, or increased sales of other domestic goods in exchange for the buyer’s purchase.  This contract increases the competitive value of the seller’s product.  In theory, this agreement allows the buyer to purchase additional units since the sale is more economically, socially, or politically attractive with the offset agreement, making a product more affordable or competitively attractive. 

Convergence of Learning Experiences for First Year Tertiary Commerce Students – Are Personal Response Systems the Meeting Point?

Brian Murphy and Dr. Ciorstan Smark

ABSTRACT

This paper reflects on the need for interactivity in first year lectures. This need is suggested to arise from first year students’ diminishing tolerance for impassivity and also from the increasing accessibility of Personal Response Systems (PRS) in terms of cost, user-friendliness and students’ level of technological savvy. The ways in which PRS can enhance interactivity and the importance of increasing interactivity in first year students’ learning outcomes is discussed in terms of  factors supporting good learning and enhancing their overall learning experience.  A fundamental shift in the outlook of commerce students coming into Universities today from the outlook of first year students ten years ago has been argued by many authors (for example, Tapscott, 1998; Friedlander, 2004; Davis, 2005). This shift in outlook is related to the fact that the bulk of first year students coming into Australian university courses in 2006 are both familiar with technology and (in a related development) are reluctant to suffer impassive learning environments silently. 

The Influence of Cultural Factors on International Human Resource Issues and International Joint Venture Performance

Dr. Lung-Tan Lu

ABSTRACT

The numbers of international joint ventures (IJVs) have rapidly increased during the past decade, providing Multinational Enterprises the opportunity to stay competitive and manage complex international business activities. This paper proposes a conceptual model, distinguishing between culture theory, international human resource (IHR) issues and IJV performance. An IJV mixes the IHR activities of parent firms from different nations, and, therefore poses more complex management challenges than other entry modes in foreign markets. Many IJV failures, according previous research, point out the importance of (IHR) activities. Theoretical perspectives are used to generate four propositions of concerning cultural factors and IHR issues in IJV performance in this paper. Several suggestions involving culture, management styles, role stress, and conflict resolution strategies are made for future research. The issue of cultural factors for multinational firms investing in foreign countries has increasingly attracted academic attention in the field of international business (Buckley 2002). Cultural background has been suggested to be influential in the entry mode decision for internationalizing firms (the choice, for example, between wholly-owned and joint venture activity).

Measuring Goodwill: Rationales for a Possible Convergence between the Excess Profits Estimate and the Residual Value Approach

Marco Taliento, Ph.D.

ABSTRACT

This study examines the two principal approaches to goodwill valuation which are widely accepted in academic literature and in the best accounting practice: (i) the discounted excess earnings technique and (ii) the residuum estimation procedure. The specific attempt of this study is to verify whether – and under which technical conditions and limits – it is possible to achieve a quantitative convergence between the results coming from both methods. In particular, since the former (‘direct’) method finds in firms’ net income power its explanatory variable, any investigated economic / financial convergence will be retained unlikely, or merely casual, if the other estimation (‘indirect’) approach is incoherently based on some alternative value drivers (e.g. cash flow, unless measuring involves the direct goodwill by some kind of ‘abnormal’ cash streams or similar performance indicators). Therefore, attention is paid to the determination of the above normal earnings capacity (excess earnings) and, on the other hand, to the allocation of the value of the firm, assessed as a whole, firstly to every identifiable assets and liabilities of the business enterprise, and then, as residual value, to goodwill. Against this backdrop, numerical illustrations and methodological remarks on time periods and discount rates are provided.

Research Discussion of Independent Mechanism in an Industrial Area Developed by the Government

Dr. Li-Hsing Ho and Chao-Lung Hsieh

Abstract

Our country has made regulations to investment since the 49th year of the Republic of China. This is by the joined strength of the government and the chinese people in making investments and production space together. Over the past forty years, our country has developed the industrial area and is up to more than 13,000 hectares in total, with a great contribution to the development of Taiwan. The conditions for sale in the industrial sector have been poor in recent years, primarily as a result of economical recession. Funding sources for management of development in the industrial sector has been reduced.The government has invested in order to fullfil the demand from the manufacturers for industrial development. Investments are made to promote the relevant coaching and services and to continously decrease the costs for administration and management. However, the develpment of management in the industrial sector is in a difficult phase. Bringing new life to the government in terms of organization and management in the industrial area, with regard to the way of operation is already initiated, An idea for independent operation in the industrial sector has been generated. This enables the industrial area to act according to the tendency of today with regard to service efficiency, strength of pluralism in guest service functions and decrease in the financial shortfall in development of management.

Financial Management in the Nonprofit Sector: A Mission-Based Approach to Ratio Analysis in Membership Organizations

Dr. Anne Abraham

ABSTRACT

Nonprofit organisations (NPOs) are melting pots combining mission, members and money.  Given that the mission of a nonprofit organisation is the reason for its existence, it is appropriate to focus on financial resources in their association with mission and with the individuals who are served by that mission (Parker 2003; Wooten et al 2003; Colby and Rubin 2005).  Measurement of financial performance by ratio analysis helps identify organizational strengths and weaknesses by detecting financial anomalies and focusing attention on issues of organizational importance (Glynn et al 2003).  Questions have been raised that relate the performance of NPOs to their financial resources, their mission and their membership.  Addressing these questions is the key to analysis and measurement of financial and operational control (Turk et al 1995) and provides an appropriate analysis for past performance which will help an organisation chart its future direction.  This paper analyses financial performance by concentrating on ratio analysis in order to identify anomalies and focus attention on matters of significant concern to NPOs.  It discusses the centrality of mission in the use of financial ratio analysis and extends previous financial performance models to develop one that can be applied to individual NPOs thus ensuring that financial performance analysis is not carried out in isolation from any consideration of an organization’s mission.  The paper concludes by identifying the limitations of such an analysis and makes suggestions for further application of the model.

Chinese Currency Forecasts and Capital Budgeting

Ilan Alon, Ph.D. and Ralph Drtina, Ph.D.

ABSTRACT

Forecasting the Renminbi (also called RMB or Yuan) is crucial for any type of capital budgeting or long-term investment assessment in China.  This article makes a dual contribution by first showing how to use exchange rates in a capital budget model and, second, by forecasting the 10-year RMB-US dollar exchange rate with the help of scenario analysis and using this forecast in a capital budget model.  We believe that the RMB will appreciate against the dollar in the decade to come making the net present value of long-term invested capital higher in US dollar (USD) terms.  China’s urban middle class, estimated at 50 million, is growing rapidly, and has disposable income to buy consumer products favored by developed economies worldwide (Browne, 2006).  Foreign direct investment in China during 2005 reached $60.3 billion and this number is expected to grow in the future.  For many companies, investing is not an option, but a necessity because the opportunity cost of not investing can be quite high. China is now the leading host of foreign direct investment in the world.  Investing in China, however, does require the company to take risks. Among the risks are political, economic, country and project related.  Changes in the exchange rate, in particular, are relevant to almost any type of foreign direct investment and with the liberalization of the Chinese Yuan, currency conversion is now a growing concern in China. 

A Study on the Information Transparency of the Involvements by Venture Capital—Case from Taiwan IT Industry

Dr. Dwan-Fang Sheu

Hui-Shan Lin, Deloitte, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

A series of financial scandals of Tung Lung Hardware, Central Bills, Godsun and Taichung Commercial Bank were occurred in Taiwan due to unsound corporate governance, especial the weak information transparency. This study explores the role of venture capital in the information transparency of IPO companies of IT industry from 2001 to 2003. Regression analysis is used to explore the relation of information transparency of the invested companies depending on variables of whether involved by venture capital, shareholding rate of venture capital, number of venture capital and whether venture capital are appointed as directors and supervisors. This study will be discussed year by year based on “Criteria Governing Information to be Published in Annual Reports of Public Companies” as amended by Securities and Futures Bureau in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Empirical results indicate the information disclosures are significantly positively correlative to investments of venture capital, their shareholding rate and number of venture capital in all samples of 2001, 2002 and 2003. Only in samples of 2001 and 2002, venture capital as directors and supervisors are significantly positively correlative to information disclosures. Because of their involvements, venture capital companies have ability to ask the invested companies to disclose more relative information, strengthen information transparency, and minimize the possibility of concealment of information by insiders.

The Effect of Corporate Identity Changes on Firm Value: An Empirical Investigation

Dr. Ceyhan Kilic and Dr. Türkan Dursun

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study is to examine the value creation effects of the company name change announcements. Additionally, the wealth creating effects of the company type (consumer versus industrial goods companies), and the type of name change (partial versus complete name changes) are investigated. An event-study methodology is utilized using a multi-variate regression model. The final sample included 44 name change announcements made by U.S. companies. The empirical results of this study indicate that name changes add to firm value. Furthermore, it was found that the name changes made by industrial goods companies with monolithic identity reduce shareholders’ wealth significantly. However, the name changes made by consumer goods companies with branded identity do not affect the investor’s perception of firm value. In terms of the type of a name change, partial name changes generate positive and significant stock returns. Managerial implications and future research suggestions were also provided.

Estimating Costs of Joint Products: A Case of Production in Variable Proportions

Ying Chien, Ph.D. and Roxanne Johnson, Ph.D.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to offer two different joint cost allocation models to add to the traditional cost allocation methods with which we are most familiar. Cost accounting, of which this concept is an essential component, is becoming more and more important as the need for the control of costs, no matter how marginal such controls may be, are recognized within the business community.  The importance of cost accounting is evident in that cost information is essential for production planning, budgeting, product pricing, and, inevitably, inventory valuation for financial reporting purposes.   As in all matters significant to the preparation and dissemination of financial statements, one must recognize the use of estimates, arbitrary allocations, and alternative methods of constructing the final information that constitutes the building blocks resulting in these statements.  This is nowhere more evident than in the various methodologies used to attribute joint costs to product lines for purposes as varied as decision-making, planning, and inventory valuation.  In this paper two new methods using a multiplicative total joint cost model and an additive total joint cost model respectively are proposed to estimate production costs for joint products produced in variable proportions over a period of time.  The multiplicative total joint cost model and additive total joint cost model, their characteristics, and the procedures for estimating production costs for individual joint products are described.  Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the application of the models.

Board Control and Employee Stock Bonus Plans: An Empirical Study on TSEC-Listed Electronic Companies in Taiwan

Chiaju Kuo, Doctoral Student, Dr. Chung-Jen Fu, and Yung-Yu Lai, Doctoral Student,

ABSTRACT

This study examines the correlation between board control and employee stock bonus of TSEC-listed electronic companies in Taiwan, in both corporate governance and regulatory perspectives. In addition, the soundness of regulations regarding board control is also examined. This empirical research differs from previous studies in that not only the different roles played by board directors and supervisors are identified more clearly, but also that there is more accurate data with regard to board control. The evidence provides support for our argument that, owing to the different characteristics, it is inappropriate to combine directors’ ownership with supervisors’ ownership, or to combine the number of directors and supervisors as an explanatory variable, as adopted by previous studies. The main contribution is that we examine the influence of directors and supervisors separately, taking into account the two-tier structure of the corporate governance system in use in Taiwan.  In Taiwan, in order to assist companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TSEC) and the GreTai Securities Market (GTSM), collectively referred to as "TSEC/GTSM-listed companies"), to establish a sound corporate governance system, and to promote the integrity of the securities market, the TSEC and GTSM jointly issued “Corporate Governance Best-Practice Principles for TSEC/GTSM Listed Companies” on October 4, 2002, to be followed by TSEC/GTSM-listed companies.

Measuring the Performance of ERP System --- from the Balanced Scorecard Perspectives

Mei-Yeh Fang and Dr. Fengyi Lin

ABSTRACT

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are commercial software systems that can be defined as customizable, standard application software which integrates business solutions for the core processes and the main administrative function of an enterprise. Traditionally, ERP performance measures focus on financial indicators which tend to reflect on past performance, this study therefore proposed a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach; a framework provides a comprehensive set of key perspectives to simultaneously evaluate the overall ERP system performance. Moreover, we empirically investigated Taiwan public companies with ERP system implementation to explore whether different corporate ERP objectives could have affected the post-ERP performance and cou7ld translate a company’s vision and strategy through all levels of organization. Adopting the Balanced Scorecard increases the completeness and the quality of ERP implementation reports and raises the awareness for relevant factors. Based on the research finding, we provided a regression model to measure the performance of ERP systems and found that financial perspectives have closed relationship with non-financial perspectives.

Endless Surpluses: Japan’s Successful International Trade Policy

Dr. James W. Gabberty and Dr. Robert G. Vambery

ABSTRACT

In 1991, authors Akio Morita, chairman of Sony and Shintaro Ishihara, member of the Japanese Diet, published a book titled “A Japan That Can Say No”. This work called for the nation of Japan to take a much more self-assertive and aggressive attitude toward the rest of the world (especially the U.S.) in its diplomatic and business relations. The caustic tone of the book, with chapter titles such as “America Itself is Unfair”, “American Barbaric Act!”, and “Let’s Become a Japan that Can Say No” caused much consternation in the West. Nonetheless, before and after the publication of this book, the U.S. - Japan trade deficit was (and still is) enormous [Morita, Shintaro]. Consequently, Americans who express concern about large and persistent trade deficits are not engaged in Japan bashing, but rather may be strong supporters of free trade who are analyzing the effects of large-scale adverse economic phenomena that may need remedy [Lincoln].  In the 1950s and 1960s, the U.S. was the world's leading export powerhouse. The Marshall plan helped provide the capital needed to rebuild Europe and Japan, and fueled a tremendous demand for U.S. exports. During this period, the U.S. ran a substantial trade surplus of about one percent of gross domestic product. The U.S. also benefited initially from strong export demand in a wide range of industries, from low-tech textiles and apparel to sophisticated aircraft and machine tools.

Economic Convergence in the Old and the New Economies of the OECD

Dr. Bala Batavia and Dr. P. Nandakumar and Dr. Cheick Wague

INTRODUCTION

The optimistic belief that incomes per capita will converge in course of time, voiced by a number of economists and soothsayers, has been belied by developments in the last few decades.  Instead of catching up with the affluent west, the less developed countries of the southern hemisphere have fallen still further behind in terms of income per resident.  In this paper, we address the same issue for the OECD group of countries, and also analyze the impact on the convergence of the income-catch up process of certain fresh factors which have emerged or have become relevant recently in this regard. In particular, a distinction is made between the convergence process in traditional sectors of the economy, and the ‘new economy’ -  i.e., the sectors which use significant inputs of information  technology.  The notion that relatively backward countries, with a comparatively low income per capita, will grow faster than the richer nations, thus effectively closing the income gap, seems to have been prevalent for several decades. Such a process of income catch-up had clearly occurred in the aftermath of the war years, when barriers to trade and capital flows fell rapidly, heralding a golden age for international commerce which lasted well into the 1960s. In fact, this may have been the most expansive era for trade since the classical age that was spearheaded by Great Britain.

An Evaluation of Investment Performance and Financial Standing for Life Insurers in Taiwan

Dr. Shu-Hua Hsiao and Dr. Shu-Hui Su

ABSTRACT

Life insurers in Taiwan should set a goal of a higher efficiency of investment performance and profitability because the whole market structure changed after the insurance market opened in 1987. Facing more highly intensive competition, insurers may become insolvent when inefficient performance of investment occurs. Hence, to achieve a financial solvent objective and a competitive advantage, life insurers should maintain their relative investment efficiency and performance. The main purpose of this study is to determine the capital investment efficiency based on the DEA results and MPI. Some hypotheses were created to test if there is a statistically significant difference among the original domestic life insurers, new entrant domestic life insurers, and foreign branches of life insurers. Results expressed that there is no significant difference among those three groups for MPI. Nan Shan and Hontai are found to have an efficient investment performance for the overall efficiency and scale efficiency. In addition to Nan Shan and Hontai, Cathay, American, and Manulife are efficient for pure technical efficiency.  As the insurance market structure has been changed, more competitive environments will impact financial profitability. It is important to study the profitability and investment performance for life insurers, because companies may become insolvent when failure leads to declining profit, and even to serious interest spread loss. To evaluate the efficiency of investment performance, and to guide companies to financial improvement areimportant. In Taiwan, the main sources of a life insurer’s profit, financial receipts, depend on the investment performance. Obviously, premiums received only cover commission and business expenses, although this amount is about eighty percent of the total income (Yen, Sheu, & Cheng, 2001).

Dolorous Songs and Blessings of the Curses

Md. Kazi Saidul Islam, Dr. Kathie Cooper, and Dr. Jane Andrew

ABSTRACT

The latest trend in accounting arises from the spate of pathetic exodus of sprinkling stars from the corporate sky around the globe. The direct and domino effect of the corporate collapses are dreadful.  The neurotic curses arising out of gripped collapses remind us of the fact that there is the other side of a coin. Severity in accounting scandals and commonality in the nature of collapses have bought in a number of blessings by triggering global consciousness and consensus to root out the diagnosed disease, setting celestial attributes in the governance process, bringing harmony as well as transparency in the disclosure regime and building a strong knowledge-base through continuous education to be provided by the higher educational institutions and professional bodies.  Regulatory changes, emergence of corporate governance codes, mandatory compliance with accounting standards for greater transparency and thus emergence of a new accounting order were not possible so rapidly without such a severity in the corporate ruins.   Songs reflect mind. Birds and people sing to express their jovial feelings. Again the songs of cuckoo in the spring remind the sorrows of loosing her pair. Sometimes songs of people cause tears. Songs on drums can not be as pathetic as those on a violin or piano. So songs can be dolorous or delightful. Blissful or brutal events determine the sweetness of songs. 

Process and Quality Model for the Production Planning and Control Systems

Dr. Halim Kazan, Dr. Ahmet Ergülen, and Dr. Haluk Tanrıverdi

ABSTRACT

Over the last decades, many industrial sectors have been experiencing profound changes involving both the business environment and the internal organisation. This process has been so deep and radical as to suggest that a new operations management paradigm has emerged. In this new competitive and turbulent environment, effective production planning and control systems have become extremely important to drive improvement efforts.  We consider production planning models from a different perspective, assuming that both production and quality are decision variables. Within this class of models, we consider various degrees of process on the part of the producer including the quality, process technology and control system to determine the acceptance or rejection of how the system is designed, implemented, run, improved and measured the quality of the outputs.  Our intent is to provide an overview of applicable process and quality model; we present briefly how the quality is identified, designed, implemented, run, improved and measured in terms of the appropriate quantity, the appropriate time, the appropriate level of quantity. Especially, our purpose of the PP&C is to ensure that manufacturing run effectively and efficiently and produces products as required by customers.

Analysis of Financial Performance by Strategic Groups of Digital Learning Industry in Taiwan

Wen-Long Chang,  Kevin Wen-Ching Chang,  and Jasmine Yi-Hsuan Hsin

ABSTRACT

The research focuses on digital learning providers in Taiwan. The digital learning providers are categorized into different strategic groups depending on the strategic dimensions they conduct. Factor analysis is applied to determine the measurement index for the financial performance of these providers, and to further examine the divergence among their financial performance. As a result of the research, digital learning providers in Taiwan can be divided into four strategic dimensions which are ‘leading group with integration of marketing and sales abilities’, ‘leading group with external relation management, and research and development abilities’, ‘leading group with human capital and financial management abilities’, and ‘leading group with Niche market management and product innovation abilities’. Among all four, the leading group with integration of marketing and sales abilities shows the best profit earning ability.

Duality of Alliance Performance

Dr. Noushi