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There is undoubtedly market change in the 1990s and this is reflected in the views of senior executives. In the present study executives from companies in four different industries across seven of the EC countries were questioned about developments in their industries, including the possible impact of the Single European Market (1992), and the response of their companies in this situation. There is a definite patterning of their answers with regard to industry-wide market developments, the attraction of newer markets, the dynamics of competition, and the implications for management development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceptions of environmental uncertainty and organizational control influence strategic behavior. As national culture influences these perceptions we expect to find cultural differences in interpretation and response to strategic issues. Given a case describing an issue concerning deregulation of the U.S. banking industry, managers completed questionnaires rating interpretations and responses to that issue. National culture was found to influence interpretation and responses. In particular, Latin European managers when compared with other managers were more likely to interpret the issue as a crisis and as a threat. Latin Europeans were also more likely to recommend proactive behavior. This study indicates that different cultures are likely to interpret and respond to the same strategic issue in different ways. These differences may help to explain and predict different responses of European countries to '1992'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses upon the perceived need satisfactions of United States business executives working in Europe and United States business executives working in the continental U.S. Comparisons of need satisfaction data were made on the basis of the managerial level of the respondents. A sample of 75 managers in Europe and 404 managers in the United States provide the empirical data base for the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes links between eco-innovation performance and selected competitiveness issues perceived by managers in the 26 EU member states. Different dimensions of eco-innovation performance in individual EU member states were examined based on the Eco-Innovation Scoreboard. The country-specific data on selected competitiveness issues were obtained from the survey of business leaders carried out by the IMD World Competitiveness Center. The data on the Summary Innovation Index applied in the European Innovation Scoreboard were also used. The results of the cross-country analysis indicated that overall eco-innovation performance is strongly correlated with ethical practices, social responsibility of business leaders, health, safety and environmental concerns, as well as with corporate values. Moreover, it was found that the lack of pollution problems affecting economy, credibility of managers in society, environmental laws that do not hinder competitiveness of businesses, positive attitudes toward globalization in society, sustainable development being a priority in companies, and need for economic and social reforms are of particular importance in achieving better eco-innovation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human Resources Management varies, sometimes considerably, according to geographic, economic and cultural space where it operates. Therefore, we need to understand its features in different countries in Europe as well as outside European boundaries in order to grasp the organizations' functioning and performance parameters, especially against the current social background where human resource is the most important asset of any organization. Bearing this in mind, the present study brings out aspects regarding theoretical approaches and practical actions of Human Resources Management within modern states, both in Europe and elsewhere, aspects which have become fundamental in order to sustain actual society development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Drucker has often been criticized for his pejorative interpretation of business ethics and the use of the term "casuistry". This paper aims to show that Drucker was just the opposite of unethical in his viewpoint regarding the behavior of managers and organizations, and that in fact much of his writings pointed to discourse-ethics-universalism and away from casuistic particularism. Specifically, the paper seeks to analyze and contrast the ways in which US and European institutions take action (a "transatlantic divide") when management and society eventually reposition their stance on ethics, as forecast by Drucker. Design/methodology/approach - This is a comparative study emphasizing the main day-to-day perspectives of ethical issues in businesses and how they are handled in the USA and in Europe. This is complemented by references to what Drucker's position would be on those issues and how he would have shown that "good ethics" serves to ensure that entrepreneurial energies end up by serving society and not destroying it. Findings - The paper provides an insight about how change is successfully brought about in current management practices by adhering to discourse and right behavior as pointed out by Drucker. It suggests that leaders acting responsibly are intrinsically ethical and will transfer their individual positions into their organization. Research limitations/implications - The research primarily concentrates around the implications of Drucker's writings on the "transatlantic divide" and does not extensively explore how this relates to businesses in Asia and other areas outside the Western world. Practical implications - The paper displays a number of standards and guidelines that have been adopted by practitioners and thus provides an input for further applications. Businesses that have adopted Drucker's philosophies will find useful directions on how to connect them to other philosophical developments. Originality/value - This paper fulfils an identified need to reject claims that Drucker is an "efficiency enthusiast" pursuing "global change in a manner that has little to do with minimal standards of human decency, to say nothing of democracy, much less of emancipation". It proves that the changes and the repositioning required for the current economic situation need a full understanding of Drucker in all respects of his work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study analyses role expectations of 104 staff from nine European countryunits within a multinational enterprise (MNE). Questions were administered to a sample of staff to elicit data on managers' and employees' expectations about managerial and employee roles. Following a categorization of reports and statistical analyses within and between country-units (i.e. subsidiaries and headquarters offices), results offer substantial evidence of differential patterns of role expectations across country-units, suggesting influences of local cultures and other societal forces. Significant differences were also found between managers and employees independent of country-office for expectations about the managerial and employee roles. Implications for research and practice are presented and future research directions are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of a cross-cultural empirical study that investigated differences in the clarity of corporate attitudes towards ethical 'grey areas' and their influences on managers' ethical decision making. The study encompassed managers in France, Germany, Britain, Spain and the USA working in over 200 companies operating in these countries. Comparisons are made at both individual manager level and at corporate level. At the former level significant differences are found among nationalities of managers themselves. For the latter, differences are found among companies according to the nationality of their home country rather than the host country. Despite identifying national differences in areas of gift giving and receiving, loyalty to company, loyalty to one's group, and reporting others' violations of corporate policy, the study presents evidence that clarity of corporate policy has little influence on managers' reported ethical decision making. The perceived behaviour of managers' colleagues is far more important in predicting attitudes towards decision making of managers across the nationalities surveyed. This has implications for the efficacy of the growing popularity of corporate codes across Europe. Companies should place more emphasis on intervening in peer dynamics rather than trying to legislate for managers' ethical conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. Choosing a methodology determines what we can study as well as the range of possible results and conclusions. This study took an instrument that had been developed in the West and used extensively in Europe and North America to investigate managerial behavior in the People's Republic of China. For a number of reasons, it failed to produce a valid and reliable description of Chinese managerial behavior. This paper investigates some of the methodogical issues involved in extending western organizational knowledge to the East. It raises some fundamental questions about being "outside, looking in". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines implications of the European Community (EC) integration and recent developments in Eastern Europe for American small and medium- sized firms by analyzing survey results of European companies. Both Danish and Swedish firms have positive attitudes concerning European economic integration, viewing it as an opportunity, rather than a threat. Strategic alliances, cost cutting, expansion in other EC countries, and focused product lines are the likely strategies that will be followed. Larger firms and those that are export-oriented are adopting strategies that are independent of EC integration. Eastern Europe, particularly the Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary, and Poland, is perceived to be a viable market within 5 to 10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on several studies on Human Resource (HR) management and attitudinal attributes of successful managers. The study conducted by Orion Partners Inc. reveals that successful HR leaders continue to seek for improvement one after the other, in which 73% of the study's respondents had leadership positions before their current role. Meanwhile, a survey conducted in Europe by Krauthammer regarding the attitude that employees seek from their managers asserts that 80% of the respondents seek for a manager who is willing to admit mistakes. However, the survey claims that only 43% of managers do the said practice. Moreover, a report from Regus indicates that two thirds of business leaders initiate changes to their workplace models.

The article discusses the increase in ethics and social responsibility in management and Masters in Business Administration classes offered in European and American universities. Topics of discussion include prestigious universities being accused of neglecting social and societal values in favor of short-term and disrespectful management practices, spurred by financial and economic crises, and European and American apprentice managers who are becoming more responsible in entrepreneurship.

The article presents an abstract of a dissertation entitled "The Global Skills, Knowledge and Attitudes Senior Business Executives Will Require by the Year 2005: Compared and Contrasted by American, European and Japanese Executives and Academicians: A Multimethod Study," by Kelly Jett Murphrey. This study was undertaken to determine the global skills, knowledge and attitudes that will be required of senior business executives by the year 2005 and to compare and contrast these findings between American, European and Japanese business executives and academicians. In Phase I, 23 multidisciplinary elite interviews produced 105 global challenges executives will be facing. In Phase II, a delphi panel determined 97 global skills, knowledge, attitudes, and educational background items that executives will need to possess. The panel consisted of U.S. university business faculty members, corporate executives, and government international trade experts. In Phase III, 954 questionnaires were sent to American, European and Japanese business executives and academicians for the purpose of ascertaining a degree of importance for the items determined in Phase II.

The article discusses the difficulties in teaching a group of European middle managers. These difficulties can best be described as a failure "to get through" to them. Nearly all North American middle managers have had some exposure to a wide range of business ideas and techniques throughout their educational experience, both institutional and on-the-job. By and large, European universities have neither been interested in nor active in education for business management. The European professor tends to be far more interested in the development of logical structures, in classifying observations and phenomena, in working toward general syntheses. When a European university student actually enters a company, he is still, in a great many instances, denied the opportunity of acquiring the broad knowledge of business institutions, procedures, and objectives characteristically acquired by North American middle managers. Most American businessmen accept implicitly the desirability of business growth. However, European students mostly emphasizes on considering risk factors. There is less incentive for him to strive for growth, especially when such striving involves risk--risk to one's personal wealth rather than to the wealth of virtually faceless shareholders.

The article provides information on the results of a survey conducted by the Management Centre Europe about the ability of Europe's chief executive officers (CEO) in leading their companies. Based on the results, the business leaders in the continent fail in five major areas and one of the conclusions of the study is that they are not that good in managing their businesses. Nine out of ten managers say that CEOs should be able to build effective teams and 83 % of the respondents say that they should surround themselves with the right people.

the Examines opinions of top executives of multinational firms in West European countries on the performance of local national banks, European banks with substantial international activity and United States international banks. General satisfaction level in the services of national banks; Ranks of international banking services according to degree of importance; Preference for U.S. banks over European banks.