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This volume highlights current research and developments on organizations and (their) performance against the background of ubiquitous complexity. It investigates some of the challenges and trends dominating the complex world of nowadays and the ways organizations are dealing with them in their continuous search for performance. The papers in the volume cover a series of hot and/or emerging topics (i.e. sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, green marketing, digital revolution, social media, global trade, intangible assets, economic intelligence and innovation).Built on an interdisciplinary perspective and a multi-level approach―global (trade, power, sustainable development), regional (EU, BRICS), national (country-based systems, cultures, policies, practices), industry (airlines, pharma, luxury, retailing, banking, tourism), local (communities, destinations), and organization (entrepreneurship, MNEs, public organizations: national and local)―thevolume uniquely addresses issues of high interest for researchers, practitioners and policymakers.

This book presents selected theoretical and empirical papers from the 26th and 27th Eurasia Business and Economics Society (EBES) Conferences, held in Prague, Czech Republic, and Bali, Indonesia. Covering diverse areas of business and management in various geographic regions, it addresses a range of current topics, such as human resources, management, SMEs and marketing. It also includes related studies that analyze management and marketing aspects, e.g. workplace learning, gamification in business, resilience and entrepreneurship, the use of IT tools in small businesses, and dynamic marketing capabilities in an intercultural environment.

This book gathers selected theoretical and empirical papers from the 28th Eurasia Business and Economics Society (EBES) Conference, held in Coventry, United Kingdom. Covering diverse areas of business and management in various geographic regions, it highlights the latest research on human resources, management and marketing, among other topics. It also includes related studies that address management and marketing aspects such as telecommuting versus the traditional work environment, the effect of value congruence, promoting product characteristics using social media, perception of terrorism risks, and personal innovativeness and employability.

This volume presents the current thinking on finance and strategy inside China. It begins with research presented at the China Financial Markets Conference in 2016, jointly organized by the University of Malaya and the Sun Tzu Art of War Institute. It includes a talk by Check Teck Foo on Currency-at-War: A Longer View, as well as a highly innovative piece by Kishan on the New Chinese Paradigm in Finance, and Tianyue Lu and Wee-Yeap Lau's empirical work on China's Shadow Banking. Ignatius Roni Setyawan and Buddi Wibowo also offer compelling contributions on Determinants of Market Integration in ASEAN. Other topics include The intriguing poser: integrating China into ASEAN, will determinants be the same? and Real Estate and Inflation in China by Siew Peng Lee and Mansor Isa.The book also features contributions from the 7th Global Chinese Management Conference held in 2017. Of the several papers on Sun Tzu, Seow Wah Sheh's on Modeling of the Dao of SunTzu for Business was chosen along with Shi Yong Song's Legal Risks inside China and Sustainability Reporting by Xin Sheng Duan and Check-Teck Foo. Furthermore, contributions on Company Secretaries on Chinese Board of Directors by Guang You Liu and Xiao Hui Wang are included. Lastly, it presents Check-Teck Foo's interview with Singaporean Chinese forecaster, Jason Tan Beng Siang, discussing Chinese approaches to forecasting as well as his invention, San Bian Shu.

This volume is a collection of empirical and theoretical research papers regarding public finance and business and economics written by researchers from several different universities. The studies include a wide range of topics from issues in public finance and business and economics. The book is aimed at educators, researchers, and students interested in public finance and business and economics.

Ob Diesel-Skandal oder Panama-Papers – immer wieder umgehen große Unternehmen oder führende Persönlichkeiten aus Politik und Wirtschaft das Gesetz. Und immer wieder staunt die Öffentlichkeit, warum das so oft kaum spürbare Konsequenzen für die Beteiligten hat. Jochen Theurer erklärt anhand aktueller Fälle, wann und warum der Rechtsstaat an seine Grenzen stößt: Warum entscheiden Richter nicht immer nur nach Recht und Gesetz? Warum helfen Rechtsanwälte auch den bösen Buben? Warum gibt es Gesetzeslücken? Warum haben es Menschen mit Geld leichter vor Gericht? Warum wird nicht jeder Gesetzesverstoß bestraft? Warum hört der Kampf ums Recht nie auf? Spannend, unterhaltsam und informativ beantwortet der frühere Insider diese Fragen und gibt dem Leser wertvolle Einsichten in den operativen Alltag des Rechtswesens. Das Buch schließt mit nützlichen Tipps zum Umgangmit Anwälten und Richtern.

These proceedings comprise 60 refereed papers of the Seventh World Congress on Engineering Asset Management (WCEAM) that was held in Deajeon City, Korea from 8-9 October 2012. The material is a compilation of state-of-the-art papers in the field covering a comprehensive range of subjects that are equally relevant to business managers and engineering professionals alike.Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Engineering Asset Management (WCEAM 2012): Towards Integration and Interoperability in EAM covers a wide range of topics in the discipline of engineering asset management, including:· strategic asset management· condition monitoring and diagnostics· integrated intelligent maintenance· sensors and devices· information quality & management;· sustainability in asset management· asset performance and knowledge management· data mining and AI techniques in asset management· engineering standards and· education in engineering asset management.The breadth and depth of these proceedings will make them an excellent resource for asset management practitioners, researchers and academics, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students in tertiary institutions and in industry.

This volume is a collection of empirical and theoretical research papers in regarding Public Finance, Business and Economics written by researchers from several different universities. The studies include a wide range of topics from issues in Public Finance, Business and Economics. The book is aimed at educators, researchers, and students interested in Public Finance, Business and Economics.

This volume is a collection of empirical and theoretical research papers in regarding Public Finance, Business and Economics written by researchers from several different universities. The studies include a wide range of topics from issues in Public Finance, Business and Economics. The book is aimed at educators, researchers, and students interested in Public Finance, Business and Economics.

For decades Germany and France have been forming the core of the European Union. They generate about 40 per cent of total economic output in the Euro Zone. Nowhere else, there does exist such an intense relationship between neighbouring economies like between these two countries. Those links go far beyond external trade relations and are targeted towards mutual business cooperation. In the light of globalisation, a rising number of competitors, increasing customer demands and short product life cycles, cross-national commerce are of great importance for German Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) – particularly in the B2B sector. Sales is often tagged as an enterprise's figurehead. It is responsible for determining whether a manufacturer effectively conveys its capabilities to the B2B customer. To date, there exists no single reference book covering all four topics of this paper's headline: B2B, SMEs, sales and Franco-German business relationships. The ongoing literature is mainly focussed on large firms. The subject of international sales has hardly been investigated, yet. Apart from the sales excellence approach, there are few selling models for corporate practice. The lack of sales expertise both in theory and practise is thus not the ideal prerequisite for succeeding on a cross-border scale. This study addresses sales challenges of German SMEs with its trading partner France in the B2B sector. It should be stressed that the focus is on SMEs from Germany only. The company size of French business partners does not play a role in this context. The acquisition-related part of sales (selling) is highlighted while the physical component (distribution) is secondary within the framework of this assignment. In consequence, the central question is to figure out what kind of challenges German SMEs must face when exerting B2B sales activities in France. A related sub-issue is defined as follows: “Which type of challenge has the greatest impact on cross-border sales operations in France?” The declared purpose of this study is to answer the above-mentioned queries. Following the acquired basic knowledge this is done through an empirical survey. Furthermore, it is targeted to provide recommendations in order to enhance sales efficiency and effectiveness of German SMEs.

This book discusses the concepts of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) that are the core of various paradigms used in strategic management to understand competitive advantage as well as flexibility in organizational boundaries. It serves as a valuable reference resource in the area of VUCA markets. An increase in the levels and types of uncertainty has important implications potentially for the durability of a company's advantages, the way firms learn and adapt, approaches for managing innovation and knowledge, and the attractiveness of different strategies and organizational models. In today's world, strategic flexibility in VUCA is essential for business leaders to sustain market advantage and attain a clear vision amid the chaos. Business leaders who stay focused and are aware of external volatility as the prevalent characteristic are successful, while those who are not flexible in this VUCA world and lock themselves into fixed positions lose out.The book includes empirical and conceptual research papers along with case studies and models discussing strategies for emerging markets in volatile and uncertain environments. It also covers a variety of issues, including innovation, people and processes, financial management, and leadership and strategies in VUCA markets. Apart from research fraternity and academia, the contents of the book will be useful for practitioners as well as industry watchers.

This volume provides the latest outcomes of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) research conducted in various industries. It reveals how AR and VR are currently changing the business landscape, and how new innovations provide opportunities for businesses to offer their customers unique services and experiences. Collecting the proceedings of the International AR & VR Conference held in Manchester, UK, in February 2017, the book advances the state of the art in AR and VR technologies and their applications in various industries such as tourism, hospitality, events, fashion, entertainment, retail, education and the gaming industry. The papers presented here cover the most significant topics within the field of AR and VR for both researchers and practitioners, approaching them from a business and management perspective.

Management Science is often confronted with optimization problems characterised by weak underlying theoretical models and complex constraints. Among them, one finds data analysis, pattern recognition (classification, multidimensional analysis, discriminant analysis) as well as modelling (forecasting, confirmatory analysis, expert system design). In recent years, biomimetic approaches have received growing attention from Marketing, Finance and Human Resource researchers and executives as effective tools for practically handling such problems. Biomimetic approaches include a variety of heuristic methods - such as neural networks, genetic algorithms, immunitary nets, cellular automata - that simulate nature's way of solving complex problems and, thus, can be considered as numerical transpositions of true life problem solving. Bio-Mimetic Approaches in Management Science presents a selection of recent papers on biomimetic approaches and their application to Management Science. Most of these papers were presented at the last ACSEG/CAEMS International Congresses (Approches Connexionnistes en Sciences Economiques et de Gestion/Connectionnist Approaches in Economics and Management Science). All papers combine the discussion of conceptual issues with illustrative empirical applications, and contain detailed information on the way heuristics are practically implemented. The advantages and limits of the biomimetic approaches are discussed in several of the papers, either by comparing these approaches with more classical methods (logit models, clustering), or by investigating specific issues like overfitting and robustness. Synthesizing overviews are provided, as well as new tools for coping with some of the limitations of biomimetic methods.

During recent years auditory research has advanced quite rapidly in the area of experimental psychology as well as in that of physiology. Scientists working in both areas have in cornrnon the study of the process in HEARING, yet different scientific areas always tend to diverge. A SYMPOSIUM ON PSY­ CHOPHYSICAL MODELS AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTS IN HEARING was or­ ganized for the exchange of information and to stimulate dis­ cussion between research workers in psychoacoustics, neurophy­ siology, anatomy, morphology and hydromechanics. The basic aim of holding this syrnposium was to halt the divergence and to initiate the kind of multi-disciplinary research that will be need ed to elucidate the hearing process as a whole. The present proceedings comprise the papers, which were circulated to the participants two months before the syrnposium and discussed during the syrnposium, together with some cornrnents and additional re­ marks. These cornrnents and rernarks do not, however, represent the full discussions but only the parts available in written form. We have arranged the material in five sections: I. Structure and Neurobiology of the Inner Ear II. Cochlear Mechanisms III. Auditory Frequency Analysis IV. Auditory Time Analysis V. Nonlinear Effects Within the limits of a syrnposium, none of these topics could be treated comprehensively; moreover, most of the papers concerned problems having several aspects.

This book is a multi-purpose document. It can be used as a text by teachers, as a reference manual by researchers, and as a practical guide by statisticians. It covers 1165 references from different research journals through almost 1900 citations across 1194 pages, a large number of complete proofs of theorems, important results such as corollaries, and 324 unsolved exercises from several research papers. It includes 159 solved, data-based, real life numerical examples in disciplines such as Agriculture, Demography, Social Science, Applied Economics, Engineering, Medicine, and Survey Sampling. These solved examples are very useful for an understanding of the applications of advanced sampling theory in our daily life and in diverse fields of science. An additional 173 unsolved practical problems are given at the end of the chapters. University and college professors may find these useful when assigning exercises to students. Each exercise gives exposure to several complete research papers for researchers/students.

This volume is the proceedings of a symposium entitled'Bottom Line Results from Strategic Human Resource Planning'which was held at Salve Regina University, Newport, Rhode Island on June 11-14, 1991. The meeting was sponsored by the Research Committee of the Human Resource Planning Society (HRPS). In developing the agenda, the Research Committee continued the approach used in previous HRPS research symposia. The focus of these meetings is on the linkage ofthe state-of-practice with the state-of-the-art. Particular attention was placed on research studies which were application oriented so that member organizations can see examples of ways to extend current practices with the knowledge presented by the applications. The meeting had sessions on: (1) The Strategic Role of Human Resources, (2) Globalization, (3) Downsizing, (4) Quality as a Strategic Human Resource Issue, (5) Forecasting Human Resource Needs, and (6) Managing People to Build Competitive Advantage. Twenty six papers were presented with discussion periods at appropriate points in the meeting. This volume contains twenty two ofthese papers along with an introductory paper. A short summary is also provided at the beginning of each major subdivision into which the papers are arranged. Thanks are in order for all who contributed to the success of the meeting.

This edited book focuses on growth and entrepreneurial development in rapidly developing countries in Asia-Pacific region. The book synthesizes the scholarly papers and ideas presented at the 3rd International Conference on Managing the Asian Century, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2015. It accounts for that fact that entrepreneurs of today are focusing more on technology and that this is happening in so-called Smart Nations. Chapters in the book elaborate on huge gains in innovation in ASEAN, China and India. Gains that are essential for national growth. Some of the issues that are covered include developments in Financial-Data Analysis, Global Healthcare, Geospatial Analysis, Lean Manufacturing, Human Resource, and Big Data and Learning Analytics.

This book has an objective and a focus. It provides the reader with: • an in-depth acquaintance with the theory of the firm developed by Erich Gutenberg • an insight into a coherent body of current German research in the theory of the firm. The book is divided into two parts. The first part lays the foundations. It presents Gutenberg's theory of the firm to the English speaking reader. Considering the great importance that Erich Gutenberg has had in Germany and taking into consideration the impact that the translations of his path-breaking three volumes'Principles of Management'have had in France, the Spanish speaking countries, and in Japan, it was felt that it was necessary, on the occasion of his tOOth anniversary, to present a concise summary of his contributions to the theory of the firm to an English speaking scientific community. Six papers present Gutenberg's theory in the light of the theoretical advances that he stimulated as well as in the framework of other theoretical developments like capital market theory, transaction cost theory, principal agent theory, and contract theory. The papers show that Gutenberg's theory is highly relevant for theory and highly influential in the practice of management.

Eugene A. Feinberg Adam Shwartz This volume deals with the theory of Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) and their applications. Each chapter was written by a leading expert in the re­ spective area. The papers cover major research areas and methodologies, and discuss open questions and future research directions. The papers can be read independently, with the basic notation and concepts ofSection 1.2. Most chap­ ters should be accessible by graduate or advanced undergraduate students in fields of operations research, electrical engineering, and computer science. 1.1 AN OVERVIEW OF MARKOV DECISION PROCESSES The theory of Markov Decision Processes-also known under several other names including sequential stochastic optimization, discrete-time stochastic control, and stochastic dynamic programming-studiessequential optimization ofdiscrete time stochastic systems. The basic object is a discrete-time stochas­ tic system whose transition mechanism can be controlled over time. Each control policy defines the stochastic process and values of objective functions associated with this process. The goal is to select a'good'control policy. In real life, decisions that humans and computers make on all levels usually have two types ofimpacts: (i) they cost orsavetime, money, or other resources, or they bring revenues, as well as (ii) they have an impact on the future, by influencing the dynamics. In many situations, decisions with the largest immediate profit may not be good in view offuture events. MDPs model this paradigm and provide results on the structure and existence of good policies and on methods for their calculation.

Insurance companies, as well as banks and thrift institutions, have traditionally reported assets and liabilities on the basis of their amortized cost, or book value. But following the turmoil in securities markets due to highly volatile interest rate fluctuations in the 1980s and the early 1990s, and problems caused by inadequate liquidity, in the mid-1990s the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a new ruling calling for financial intermediaries to report the fair, or market, value of most assets. Called FAS 115, this new standard is the first step in the eventual change to valuing all the assets and liabilities belonging to financial intermediaries under the fair value accounting method. Thus, these changes will pose tremendous future implications for three key business measures of a financial intermediary: Solvency: if the fair values of assets and liabilities are out-of-step, then healthy companies may report negative net worth and insolvent companies may appear to be in sound financial condition. Reported Earnings: if the fair values of assets and liabilities are out of step, then reported earnings will not accurately represent the financial operations of the company. Risk Management: FASB recently postponed the implementation of its new rules on accounting for the use of derivatives instruments. However, if the final set of rules for figuring the fair value of derivatives is not carefully crafted, it may be possible that companies prudently hedging their risks are subject to penalties in their financial reports, while companies taking greater risks appear to have less volatile financial performance. Compared to banks and other financial intermediaries, life insurance companies have the longest term and most complex liabilities, and hence the new FASB requirement poses the most severe challenges to the life insurance industry. The lessons learned from the debate amonglife insurance academics and professionals about how respond to the fair value reporting rule will be instructive to their counterparts in other sectors of the insurance industry, as well as those involved with other financial institutions. Of particular note are the two papers which comprise Part III. The first provides examples of the fair valuing of annuity contracts, while the second offers examples of the fair valuing of term insurance products. As the papers collected in The Fair Value of Insurance Business extend and update some of the issues treated in a previous Salomon Center conference volume, The Fair Value of Insurance Liabilities, this new volume may be viewed as a companion to the earlier book.

Components of System Safety contains the invited papers presented at the tenth annual Safety-critical Systems Symposium, held in Southampton, February 2002. The papers included in this volume are representative of modern safety thinking, the questions that arise from it, and the investigations that result. They are all aimed at the transfer of technology, experience, and lessons to and within industry, and they offer a broad range of views. Not only do they show what has been done and what could be done, but they also lead the reader to speculate on ways in which safety might be improved.

Computing Tools for Modeling, Optimization and Simulation reflects the need for preserving the marriage between operations research and computing in order to create more efficient and powerful software tools in the years ahead. The 17 papers included in this volume were carefully selected to cover a wide range of topics related to the interface between operations research and computer science. The volume includes the now perennial applications of rnetaheuristics (such as genetic algorithms, scatter search, and tabu search) as well as research on global optimization, knowledge management, software rnaintainability and object-oriented modeling. These topics reflect the complexity and variety of the problems that current and future software tools must be capable of tackling. The OR/CS interface is frequently at the core of successful applications and the development of new methodologies, making the research in this book a relevant reference in the future. The editors'goal for this book has been to increase the interest in the interface of computer science and operations research. Both researchers and practitioners will benefit from this book. The tutorial papers may spark the interest of practitioners for developing and applying new techniques to complex problems. In addition, the book includes papers that explore new angles of well-established methods for problems in the area of nonlinear optimization and mixed integer programming, which seasoned researchers in these fields may find fascinating.

This book presents the latest findings and ongoing research in the field of green information systems and green information and communication technology (ICT). It provides insights into a whole range of cross-cutting topics in ICT and environmental sciences as well as showcases how information and communication technologies allow environmental and energy efficiency issues to be handled effectively. The papers presented in this book are a selection of extended and improved contributions to the 28th International Conference on Informatics for Environmental Protection dedicated to ICT for energy efficiency. This book is essential and particularly worth reading for those who already gained basic knowledge and want to deepen and extend their expertise in the subjects mentioned above.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management in Mediterranean Countries, ISCRAM-med 2016, held in Madrid, Spain, in October 2016. Information systems and technologies can play a key role in crisis management in order to support preparation, response, mitigation and recovery processes. Yet technology is not enough to guarantee a better management process, and therefore the conference does not only focus on engineering technologies, but also on their application and practical experiences. The 12 full and 8 short papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 36 submissions. They are organized in topical sections on mobile apps for citizens, modeling and simulation, development of information systems, information and knowledge management, collaboration and coordination, social computing, and issues in humanitarian crisis.

This paper provides a guideline for how the entire process chain of automotive after-sales services could be researched in China. In addition, Schwartz's individual level value theory is introduced as a beneficial operationalisation approach to cultural marketing. So, values are modelled as exogenous variables in order to show which ones are really causal. A total of 301 Chinese workshop customers were surveyed to assess the critical success factors of after-sales services via partial least squares structural equation modelling. After-sales services have become very important in the automobile industry. However, this area has not been sufficiently researched, particularly with regard to China, the most important car market globally.

The object of this paper is to discuss money-making; to examine its prevalence as an aim among people generally and the moral standards which obtain among those who consciously seek to make money. The desire to make money is common to most men. Stronger or weaker, in some degree it is present in the mind of nearly every one. Now, how far does this desire grow to be an aim or object in our lives, and to what extent is such an aim a worthy one?

These conference proceedings focus on the topic of decision-making under uncertainty, smart decisions, management simulation and their applications in operations management for power and logistics companies. The Beijing University of Chemical Technology organized IFDS2015, the 3rd International Forum on Decision Sciences, with this year's theme being “Decision Making under Uncertainty”. The proceedings collect 7 selected papers presenting the cutting-edge modeling and solution methods and including numerous practical case studies, which are of interest for researchers and practitioners alike. Teachers, students and practitioners working in the fields of decision science, operations research, management science and engineering will benefit from the valuable findings presented in this book.

A'highly entertaining history [of] global hustling, cola wars and the marketing savvy that carved a niche for Coke in the American social psyche” (Publishers Weekly).Secret Formula follows the colorful characters who turned a relic from the patent medicine era into a company worth $80 billion. Award-winning reporter Frederick Allen's engaging account begins with Asa Candler, a nineteenth-century pharmacist in Atlanta who secured the rights to the original Coca-Cola formula and then struggled to get the cocaine out of the recipe. After many tweaks, he finally succeeded in turning a backroom belly-wash into a thriving enterprise. In 1919, an aggressive banker named Ernest Woodruff leveraged a high-risk buyout of the Candlers and installed his son at the helm of the company. Robert Woodruff spent the next six decades guiding Coca-Cola with a single-minded determination that turned the soft drink into a part of the landscape and social fabric of America. Written with unprecedented access to Coca-Cola's archives, as well as the inner circle and private papers of Woodruff, Allen's captivating business biography stands as the definitive account of what it took to build America's most iconic company and one of the world's greatest business success stories.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Agent-Mediated Electronic Commerce, AMEC 2002, held in Bologna, Italy in July 2002 during the AAMAS 2002 conference. The 20 revised full papers presented together with an introductory survey by the volume editors were carefully selected and improved during two rounds of reviewing and revision. The book gives a unique overview of the state of the art of designing mechanisms and systems for agent-mediated e-commerce- The papers are organized in topical sections on electronic auctions, negotiations, and electronic markets.

Management and Leadership Innovations, vol. 38 of Advances in Librarianship presents techniques, cases and theoretical papers on how libraries and other non-profit organizations can achieve sustainability through application of the UN's Agenda 21, how to interview candidates through non-traditional and interactive processes to assess'soft skills'needed to join a team, how a model was developed to ensure successful school libraries, and how academic libraries can provide leadership in sustaining and preserving their surrounding communities'history and culture. It also offers chapters on the utility of gossip in management, how to provide mindful leadership within an organization, and how to identify and manage levels of stress and burnout. The volume presents a case study of how a library altered the skill sets of subject librarians to function in teams using a matrix approach in order to better serve clients. Another innovation is represented by a chapter on staff development and service through participation in a community of practice. Also included is a chapter on service design a relatively new concept of service design which is critical in improving user/customer satisfaction and patronage.

In the early 1980s, Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation (SRC) in Springfield, Missouri, was a near bankrupt division of International Harvester. That's when a green young manager, Jack Stack, took over and turned it around. He didn't know how to'manage'a company, but he did know about the principal, of athletic competition and democracy: keeping score, having fun, playing fair, providing choice, and having a voice. With these principals he created his own style of management -- open-book management. The key is to let everyone in on financial decisions. At SRC, everyone learns how to read a P&L -- even those without a high school education know how much the toilet paper they use cuts into profits. SRC people have a piece of the action and a vote in company matters. Imagine having a vote on your bonus and on what businesses the company should be in. SRC restored the dignity of economic freedom to its people. Stack's'open-book management'is the key -- a system which, as he describes it here, is literally a game, and one so simple anyone can use it. As part of the Currency paperback line, the book includes a'User's Guide'-- an introduction and discussion guide created for the paperback by the author -- to help readers make practical use of the book's ideas. Jack Stack is the president and CEO of the Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation, in Springfield, Missouri. The recipient of the 1993 Business Enterprise Trust Award, Jack speaks throughout the country on The Great Game Of Business and Open Book Management.

We live in a culture—especially at work—that prefers harmony over discord, agreement over dissent, speed over deliberation. We often smile and nod to each other even though deep down we could not disagree more. Whether with colleagues, friends, or family members, the tendency to paper over differences rather than confront them is extremely common. We believe that the best thing to do to preserve our relationships and to ensure that our work gets done as expeditiously as possible is to silence conflict. Let's face it, most bosses don't encourage us to share our differences. Indeed, many people are taught that loyal employees accept corporate values, policies, and decisions—never challenging or questioning them. If we want to hold on to our jobs and move up in our organizations, stifling conflict is the safest way to do it—or so we believe.And it is not just with our bosses that we fear raising a dissenting opinion. We worry about what our peers and even our subordinates may think of us. We don't want to embarrass ourselves or create a bad impression. We don't want to lose others'respect or risk rejection.We often associate conflict with its negative form—petty bickering, heated arguing, a bloody fight. But conflict can also be a source of creative energy; when handled constructively by both parties, differences can lead to a healthy and fruitful collaboration, creation, or construction of new knowledge or solutions. When we silence conflict, we avoid the possibility of negative conflict, but we also miss the potential for constructive conflict.Worse yet, as Leslie Perlow documents, the act of silencing conflict may create the consequences we most dread. Tasks frequently take longer or never get done successfully, and silencing conflict over important issues with people for whom we care deeply can result in disrespect for, and devaluing of, those same people. Each time we silence conflict, we create an environment in which we're all the more likely to be silent next time. We get caught in a vicious “silent spiral,” making the relationship progressively less safe, less satisfying, and less productive. Differences get glossed over, patched over, and suppressed... until disaster happens. “Saying yes when you really mean no” is a problem that haunts organizations from start-ups to multi-nationals. It exists across industries, levels, and functions. And it's exacerbated by a down economy, when the fear of losing one's job is on everybody's mind and the idea of allowing conflict to surface or disagreeing with others seems particularly risky. All too often, the conversation at work bespeaks harmony and togetherness, even though passionate disagreements exist beneath the surface. Leslie A. Perlow is a corporate ethnographer, an anthropologist of corporate culture. Anthropologists like Margaret Mead spend years in the field studying exotic cultures. Perlow does the same, although the field for her is the office and the exotic people are us—those who work in the world of organizations. But the end result is no less surprising or rich in insight. Whether it's a Fortune 500 firm, small business, or government bureaucracy, Perlow provides a keen understanding of the hidden issues behind what people say (and don't say). And more important, she shows how to create relationships where individuals feel empowered to express their genuine thoughts and feelings and to harness the power of positive conflict.

This book originated in a symposium on business ethics that took place in the Faculty of Commerce at the University of Canterbury in September of 1997. Professor Werhane, who was a visiting Erskine Fellow, provided the keynote address, and many of the papers in this collection were originally presented at this symposium. We are grateful to Kluwer Publishers for the opportunity to publish these essays in their series on International Business Ethics. We want to thank the Olsson Center for Applied Ethics at the Darden School, University of Virginia, and the Erskine Trust and the Department of Management at the University of Canterbury for their support of Professor Werhane's fellowship, research for this text, and funding for its production. We especially want to thank Lisa Spiro, who copy-edited and prepared the manuscript for publication. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW This book originated in a symposium on business ethics that took place in the faculty of commerce, at the University of Canterbury, in September 1997. Professor Werhane, who was a visiting Erskine Fellow, provided the keynote address. Contributions to the proceedings were. inter-disciplinary, spanning theory and practice. Subsequent contributions were obtained from within New Zealand and from Asia. The book starts off on rather a pessimistic note: the new managerialism (the kind of thing Scott Adams jokes about in the world-famous Dilbert cartoons) is economically suspect and psychologically damaging.

Volumes 1 & 2 Guide to the MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE 1991192, Volume 1, arrangement of the book contains useful information on over 4000 of the top companies in the European Community, excluding the UK, over 1100 This book has been arranged in order to allow the reader to companies of which are covered in Volume 2. Volume 3 covers find any entry rapidly and accurately. over 1300 of the top companies within Western Europe but outside the European Community. Altogether the three Company entries are listed alphabetically within each country volumes of MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE now provide in section; in addition three indexes are provided in Volumes 1 authoritative detail, vital information on over 6500 of the largest and 3 on coloured paper at the back of the book, and two companies in Western Europe. indexes in the case of Volume 2. MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE 1991/92, Volumes 1 The alphabetical index in Volume 2 lists all the major & 2 contain many of the largest companies in the world. The companies in the UK. In this index companies with names area covered by these volumes, the European Community, such as A B Smith can be found listed as A B Smith and represents a rich consumer market of over 320 million people. Smith, A B.

units. This can be seen as an indicator of the extent to which the MNC is capable of putting its corporate-level resources to work on aglobaI scale. Becerra and San­ tal6 find that about ten percent of the variability of regional units is attributable to corporate effects. The more internationalized the MNC is, the stronger the cor­ porate effect. This suggests that the more internationalized MNCs are also more successful in integrating their international operations, whether by employing worldwide home-grown advantages, or by spreading over the entire organization resources and capabilities developed by a particular subsidiary. This integration within the MNC, that can be assumed to be responsible for the stronger corporate effect in the more internationalized MNCs in Becerra and Santal6's sampie, is the focus of Mauri and Sambharya's paper. These authors study the effect of global integration on the performance of the MNC, operatio­ nalizing global integration as the inter-area product flows within the multinatio­ nal. They find a non-linear relation between global integration and MNC per­ formance. At low levels of global integration, there is a negative relation with performance, which turns positive at intermediate levels, but negative again at very high levels of global integration. Their explanation is that at very low and very high levels of integration the balance between the costs and benefits of global integration activities is negative.

Fixed-point algorithms have diverse applications in economics, optimization, game theory and the numerical solution of boundary-value problems. Since Scarf's pioneering work [56,57] on obtaining approximate fixed points of continuous mappings, a great deal of research has been done in extending the applicability and improving the efficiency of fixed-point methods. Much of this work is available only in research papers, although Scarf's book [58] gives a remarkably clear exposition of the power of fixed-point methods. However, the algorithms described by Scarf have been super~eded by the more sophisticated restart and homotopy techniques of Merrill [~8,~9] and Eaves and Saigal [1~,16]. To understand the more efficient algorithms one must become familiar with the notions of triangulation and simplicial approxi- tion, whereas Scarf stresses the concept of primitive set. These notes are intended to introduce to a wider audience the most recent fixed-point methods and their applications. Our approach is therefore via triangu- tions. For this reason, Scarf is cited less in this manuscript than his contri- tions would otherwise warrant. We have also confined our treatment of applications to the computation of economic equilibria and the solution of optimization problems. Hansen and Koopmans [28] apply fixed-point methods to the computation of an invariant optimal capital stock in an economic growth model. Applications to game theory are discussed in Scarf [56,58], Shapley [59], and Garcia, Lemke and Luethi [24]. Allgower [1] and Jeppson [31] use fixed-point algorithms to find many solutions to boundary-value problems.

This book represents the tenth edition of what has become an established reference work, MAJOR COMPANIES OF THE Guide to the FAR EAST & AUSTRALASIA This volume has been carefully researched and updated since publication of the prevIous arrangement of the book edition, and provides more company data on the most Important companies In the region The information In the ThiS book has been arranged In order to allow the reader to book was submitted mostly by the companies themselves, find any entry rapidly and accurately completely free of charge Company entries are listed alphabetically Within each section, The companies listed have been selected on the grounds of In addition three Indexes are provided on coloured paper at the size of their sales volume or balance sheet or their the back of the book Importance to the bUSiness environment of the country In which they are based The alphabetical Index to companies throughout South East Asia lists all companies haVing entnes In the book Irrespective The book IS updated and published every year Any company of their main country of operation that considers It IS eligible for Inclusion In the next edition of MAJOR COMPANIES OF THE FAR EAST & AUSTRALASIA The alphabet/cal Index to companies Within each country of should write to the pu blishers No charge whatsoever IS made South East ASia lists companies by their country of operation for publishing details about a company The bUSiness activity mdex lists companies by their vanous

The articles in this volume were originally reports conceived as Germany's contribution to the 6th International Congress of Criminology in Madrid. Impressions gained at this world congress, prompted our decision to make these papers available in the English language. In this way we hope to make accessible to an international audience the most recent reflections, approaches and research findings of criminologists in the Federal Republic of Germany. We are adding to this collection a bibliography listing all criminological It seems to us monographs published in German within the last five years. that a systematic survey of the literature is highly suitable for completing the picture outlined in the various articles. This should provide some idea of the focal points and tendencies of the present thinking and of the efforts at institutionalization in German criminology. Last but not least, this col­ lection may help to revise the opinion that criminology in the German­ speaking world is still largely biologically oriented. The editors are aware of the scholarly and editorial risks connected with the publication of such a volume. Nevertheless they believe that these risks have to be faced in order to provide information about the present crimino­ logical thinking in the Federal Republic of Germany and to illustrate its close links with the international scene. We hope that this book will be accepted by the international public as a contribution to a'comparative criminology'. Should this venture find an interested audience, similar volumes could follow in regular intervals.

to Actuarial Mathematics by A. K. Gupta Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, U. S. A. and T. Varga National Pension Insurance Fund. Budapest, Hungary SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B. V. A C. I. P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-90-481-5949-9 ISBN 978-94-017-0711-4 (eBook) DOI 10. 1007/978-94-017-0711-4 Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved © 2002 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2002 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. To Alka, Mita, and Nisha AKG To Terezia and Julianna TV TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE.......................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1. FINANCIAL MATHEMATICS.................................. 1 1. 1. Compound Interest........................................................ 1 1. 2. Present Value................................................................... 31 1. 3. Annuities........................................................................... 48 CHAPTER 2. MORTALITy.............................................................. 80 2. 1Survival Time.................................................................... 80 2. 2. Actuarial Functions of Mortality................................... 84 2. 3. Mortality Tables............................................................... 98 CHAPTER 3. LIFE INSURANCES AND ANNUITIES..................... 112 3. 1. Stochastic Cash Flows..................................................... 112 3. 2. Pure Endowments........................................................... 130 3. 3. Life Insurances................................................................. 133 3. 4. Endowments.................................................................... 147 3. 5. Life Annuities................................................................... 154 CHAPTER 4. PREMIUMS................................................................ 194 4. 1. Net Premiums.................................................................. 194 4. 2. Gross Premiums.............................................................. 215 Vll CHAPTER 5. RESERVES................................................................. 223 5. 1. Net Premium Reserves.................................................. 223 5. 2. Mortality Profit................................................................ 272 5. 3. Modified Reserves...............

Die hier vorgelegten Beiträge aus Wissenschaft und Praxis der Online-Marktforsch­ ung unterstreichen, mit welcher Rasanz sich ein neues Forschungsfeld entwickelt und mit welchem Engagement über seine Grenzen und Möglichkeiten Überlegungen und Untersuchungen durchgeführt werden. Erfreulicherweise macht man sich rechtzeitig daran, nicht nur über Stichproben und Methoden nachzudenken - und dabei vor allem auch über die Sicherung der Qualitä- sondern auch um rechtliche und standesrechtliche Aspekte. Die,alten', klassischen Marktforscher mit Paper-and-Pencil, CATI und CAPI wissen ja nur zu genau, auf welch schmalem Grat sie sich häufig zwischen forscherische- durch das Grundgesetz gesichertem Vorgehen - und nicht forscherischer - verkäuferi­ scher -Tätigkeit bewegen. Sie kennen aber die Grenzen und respektieren sie im eigenen Interesse. Das Internet ist diesbezüglich ein Medium mit sehr fließend ineinander übergehen­ den Möglichkeiten der Informationsbeschaffung und -vermittlung. Darüber hinaus sind die Erwartungen und Anforderungen an Markt-und Sozialforschung im Internet deutlich von denen an die klassischen Medien bzw. Informations- und Kommunikationsmittel unterschieden. Es hat sich ganz offensichtlich bereits nach der kurzen Zeit seiner Exi­ stenz beim User ein internetspezifisches Denken und Wollen allein aufgrund der schein­ baren Grenzenlosigkeit der Angebote und Möglichkeiten entwickelt.

Guillaume Wunsch, Michel Mouchart, Josianne Duchene This book is an outcome of the activities of the Working Group on Health, Morbidity, and Mortality Differentials of the European Association for Population Studies, which was chaired for some years by one of the present editors (G. Wunsch). In collaboration with the Institute of Statistics and the Institute of Demography of the University of Louvain, this Working Group held a workshop in Louvain-Ia-Neuve a few years ago on the use of life tables in Europe, taking into account problems of data collection, methods, and models. Some of the participants in the workshop were then invited by the present editors to improve, develop, or in some cases thoroughly modify their papers in order to transform them into chapters of a book on life tables. Though life tables are one of the oldest tools in demography, and every textbook on demographic methods deals with the topic of life table construction, few books have dealt with the subject in depth. It is the hope of the editors that the present volume will fulfill to some extent this need. Though primarily written by and for demographers, this book will also be of use to actuaries working in life insurance, and to epidemiologists dealing with morbidity and cause of death. Furthermore, a topic such as competing risks theory should also be of interest to statisticians.

Volumes 1 & 2 Guide to the MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE 1993/94, Volume 1, arrangement of the book contains useful information on over 4000 of the top companies in the European Community, excluding the UK, over 1100 This book has been arranged in order to allow the reader to companies of which are covered in Volume 2. Volume 3 covers find any entry rapidly and accurately. over 1300 of the top companies within Western Europe but outside the European Community. Altogether the three Company entries are listed alphabetically within each country volumes of MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE now provide in section; in addition three indexes are provided in Volumes 1 authoritative detail, vital information on over 6500 of the largest and 3 on coloured paper at the back of the books, and two companies in Western Europe. indexes in the case of Volume 2. MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE 1993/94, Volumes 1 The alphabetical index to companies throughout the & 2 contain many of the largest companies in the world. The Continental EC lists all companies having entries in Volume 1 area covered by these volumes, the European Community, in alphabetical order irrespective of their main country of represents a rich consumer market of over 320 million people. operation. Over one third of the world's imports and exports are channelled through the EG. The Community represents the The alphabetical index in Volume 1 to companies within each world's largest integrated market.

The second edition of Major Business Organisations of Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent Guide to the States provides comprehensive data on over 3,000 organisations including Manufacturers, Foreign Trading arrangement of this Organisations, Banks, Ministries, Chambers of Commerce and Services. book Due to the change in the import/export laws in Eastern Europe it is now possible to trade directly with many This book has been arranged in order to allow the reader organisations, and with over 5,000 named contacts and to find any entry rapidly and accurately. comprehensive details on each organisation, this directory enables the western business community to Company entries are listed alphabetically within each reach this new market. country section; in addition three indexes are provided on coloured paper at the back of the book. The information in this directory is the result of a careful research and extensive translation operation ensuring The alphabetical index of organisations throughout the entries are as accurate and up-to-date as possible. Eastern Europe and the c.rs. lists all entries in The Editors would like to express thanks to the huge alphabetical order irrespective of their main country of number of organisations who provided information about operation. themselves for inclusion in this book. The alphabetical index of organisations within each Whilst the editors have taken every care to ensure the country of Eastern Europe and the c.rs. lists information in this book is up-to-date, due to the fast organisations by their country of operation.

As the markets in transitional economies open and grow, major challenges and opportunities arise for multinational firms entering these markets, local firms facing these new competitors, and policymakers seeking to increase the ability of all firms to compete fairly and efficiently. Yet despite the important questions transition economies pose for policymakers and companies seeking to enter and compete in these new markets, there has been a relative absence of systematic research on these concerns. This book seeks to fill a gap in the existing literature by offering a pioneering and comprehensive examination of issues that have developed as markets in transitional economies become more deregulated and open. The countries discussed include China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa and South Korea. The topics covered are divided into five main sections, and the individual chapters are written by some of the world's leading academic experts on these issues. Most of the authors draw from freshly-collected data in new studies of consumers and/or firms in transitional economies. After an opening section which discusses the marketing issues and challenges multinational and local firms face in transitional economies, the next three sections offer detailed treatments of changing consumer behavior, measuring and improving the marketing orientation of firms, and implementing and managing distribution channels. The fifth and final section is devoted to firm strategies and tactics, examined variously from the perspective of multinational firms entering these new markets, from the viewpoint of existing local firms facing new competitive challenges from global entrants, and from the perspective of local firms seeking to establish themselves in foreign markets where they have not previously competed. Most of the individual chapters are revised versions of papers originally presented at a conference sponsored by the William Davidson Institute, which focuses on research related to emerging and transitional economies, and have not previously appeared in published form. Thus, the book is a unique collection of cutting-edge scholarship on the various aspects of marketing in transitional economies. It will prove valuable reading to academics, policymakers, and international business strategists.

Volumes 1 & 2 Guide to the MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE 1993/94, Volume 1, arrangement of the book contains useful information on over 4000 of the top companies in the European Community, excluding the UK, over 1100 This book has been arranged in order to allow the reader to companies of which are covered in Volume 2. Volume 3 covers find any entry rapidly and accurately. over 1300 of the top companies within Western Europe but outside the European Community. Altogether the three Company entries are listed alphabetically within each country volumes of MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE now provide in section; in addition three indexes are provided in Volumes 1 authoritative detail, vital information on over 6500 of the largest and 3 on coloured paper at the back of the books, and two companies in Western Europe. indexes in the case of Volume 2. MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE 1993/94, Volumes 1 The alphabetical index to companies throughout the & 2 contain many of the largest companies in the world. The Continental EC lists all companies having entries in Volume 1 area covered by these volumes, the European Community, in alphabetical order irrespective of their main country of represents a rich consumer market of over 320 million people. operation. Over one third of the world's imports and exports are channelled through the EC. The Community represents the The alphabetical index in Volume 1 to companies within each world's largest integrated market.

Ethical issues are emerging as the most important managerial challenge in all spheres of organizational life, from the wider issues of strategy-making, finance, technology, marketing, information systems to the subtle concerns of gender, demography or cultural diversity. The competitive market-economy model has widened the scope for managers in all countries to violate the fundamental values and integrity needed to maintain and enrich a civil society. These violations stretch from personal lapses of bribery and corruption to the wider areas of moral questions related to an ethically grounded global business system. This book grew out of'a three-day international workshop addressing these issues, held at the Management Centre for Human Values (MCHV), Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, during February 1998. The workshop explored topics of applied management by providing mUltiple perspectives. Eighteen of the papers have been chosen for this volume, covering business functions, strategies and alliances. One of the key objectives of the workshop was to integrate ideas of applied ethics developing from Asia, Australia and Europe. Any book on applied ethics must be founded on a multicultural base and be practically oriented. This project has been greatly privileged in drawing together the work of 18 very senior and widely experienced academics and practitioners, spanning four continents. The two editors, from different continents, communicated regularly with each other and the contributors. The book is a result of the support and encouragement of many individuals.

Volumes 1 & 2 Guide to the MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE 1991/92, Volume 1, arrangement of the book contains useful information on over 4000 of the top companies in the European Community, excluding the UK, over 1100 This book has been arranged in order to allow the reader to companies of which are covered in Volume 2. Volume 3 covers find any entry rapidly and accurately. over 1300 of the top companies within Western Europe but outside the European Community. Altogether the three Company entries are listed alphabetically within each country volumes of MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE now provide in section; in addition three indexes are provided in Volumes 1 authoritative detail, vital information on over 6500 of the largest and 3 on coloured paper at the back of the books, and two companies in Western Europe. indexes in the case of Volume 2. MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE 1991/92, Volumes 1 The alphabetical index to companies throughout the & 2 contain many of the largest companies in the world. The Continental EC lists all companies having entries in Volume 1 area covered by these volumes, the European Community, in alphabetical order irrespective of their main country of represents a rich consumer market of over 320 million people. operation. Over one third of the world's imports and exports are channelled through the EC. The Community represents the The alphabetical index in Volume 1 to companies within each world's largest integrated market.

Even the most casual reader leafing through the pages of this book will quickly realize that it is not the thoughts of one indi­ vidual set down on paper, but rather the synergism of many people. Herbert Goeler of American Cyanamid and Keith Slater of Johns-Manville, the latter now retired, are certainly the brightest stars in my particular customer service galaxy. They have been well-springs of information, thinkers and thought­ starters, friends and fellow-believers, for almost two decades. Without the encouragement and inspiration they gave me, this book would be much shorter and far less relevant. In 1984, my firm presented Herb and Keith with our special'Patron Saint'Award; it doesn't say nearly enough for what they have meant to me personally and, through me, to the field of customer service management where I disseminate ideas and guidance as an editor and teacher. Some years ago, the American Management Associations asked me to chair a series of seminars on Customer Service Management in the U. S. and Canada. Through this activity I met many wonderful people who in many cases taught me more than I taught them.

This book represents the fourth edition of what has become an established reference work, MAJOR COMPANIES OF THE Guide to the FAR EAST & AUSTRALASIA. This volume has been carefully researched and updated since publication of the previous arrangement of the book edition, and provides more company data on the most important companies in the region. The information in the This book has been arranged in order to allow the reader to book was submitted mostly by the companies themselves, find any entry rapidly and accurately. completely free of charge. For the second time, a third volume has been added to the series, covering major companies in Company entries are listed alphabetically within each section; Australia and New Zealand. in addition three indexes are provided on coloured paper at the back of the book. The companies listed have been selected on the grounds of the size of their sales volume or balance sheet or their The alphabetical index to companies throughout Australia & importance to the business environment of the country in New Zealand lists all companies having entries in the book which they are based. irrespective of their main country of operation. The book is updated and published every year. Any company The alphabetical index to companies within Australia & New that considers it is eligible for inclusion in the next edition of Zealand lists companies by their country of operation.

Volumes 1 & 2 Guide to the MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE 1993/94, Volume 1, arrangement of the book contains useful information on over 4000 of the top companies In the European Community, excluding the UK, over 1100 This book has been arranged in order to allow the reader to companies of which are covered in Volume 2. Volume 3 covers find any entry rapidly and accurately. over 1300 of the top companies within Western Europe but outside the European Community. Altogether the three Company entries are listed alphabetically within each country volumes of MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE now provide in section; in addition three indexes are provided in Volumes 1 authoritative detail, vital information on over 6500 of the largest and 3 on coloured paper at the back of the books, and two companies in Western Europe. indexes in the case of Volume 2. MAJOR COMPANIES OF EUROPE 1993/94, Volumes 1 The alphabetical index to companies throughout the & 2 contain many of the largest companies in the world. The Continental EC lists all companies having entries in Volume 1 area covered by these volumes, the European Community, in alphabetical order irrespective of their main country of represents a rich consumer market of over 320 million people. operation. Over one third of the world's imports and exports are channelled through the EC. The Community represents the The alphabetical index in Volume 1 to companies within each world's largest integrated market.