An Overview and Guide to the Literature of Environmental Accounting Issues, Methods and Models

This report was developed as course literature for a masters program at the IIIEE. It contains an overview over the state of the art of environmental accounting as it stood in 1996. Methods such as Total Cost Assessment, Full Cost Accounting and Life Cycle Analysis/Assessment/Costing are discussed, as well as environmental disclosure in annual reports

Business models reinvention: from staffing to management consulting case

Despite the high market demand in the staffing business, the dissatisfaction and volatility of employees is a constant risk and the value proposition for customers brings limited value. Besides being purely transactional, this business model makes the creation and development of assets unfeasible as it lacks regulation and is still perceived as one that can be easily imitated. In order to reverse the situation and considering that the management consulting business model is relatively similar in terms of means and is perceived as having sustainable competitive advantages, the objective of this investigation was to propose the transformation of the business model from staffing to management consulting. A total of 62 professionals from 34 staffing and management consulting companies were interviewed, revealing details regarding the various areas of the value chain. A comparative financial analysis and model validation was also performed. Literature review, as well as the analysis of the interviews was supported by text mining techniques. The conceptual model and the conclusions obtained in parallel are certainly useful for the academy, but also for companies and society, since the transformation of the business model represents a combination of different working conditions and formats in the face of current events. There are several findings, but it should be highlighted that in management consulting the profit per employee is on average 87% higher when compared with a staffing employee. Recommendations are also provided to push the limits of thinking, generate new options and, ultimately, to enhance the competitive advantages of service companies.Apesar da elevada procura de mercado, no negócio de staffing a insatisfação e volatilidade dos colaboradores é um risco atual e a proposta de valor para os clientes aporta valor limitado. Além de puramente transicional, este modelo de negócio inviabiliza a criação e desenvolvimento de ativos, carece de regulamentação, sendo ainda percecionado como facilmente imitável. No sentido de inverter a situação e sendo o modelo de negócio de management consulting relativamente similar em termos de meios e percecionado com vantagens competitivas sustentáveis, foi objetivo desta investigação uma transformação do modelo de negócio de staffing para management consulting. Um total de 62 profissionais de 34 empresas de staffing e management consulting foram entrevistados revelando detalhes relativos às várias dimensões da cadeia de valor. Foi ainda realizada uma análise financeira comparativa e a validação modelo. A revisão de literatura, assim como a análise das entrevistas, foi suportada por técnicas de text mining. O modelo concetual e as conclusões paralelamente obtidas são certamente úteis para o meio académico, mas também para as empresas e para a sociedade, dado que a transformação do modelo de negócio representa igualmente uma combinação de condições e formatos de trabalho diferentes face à atualidade. Existem várias conclusões, mas é de salientar que em management consulting o lucro por colaborador é em média 87% superior a um colaborador de staffing. São ainda fornecidas recomendações para ampliar os limites do pensamento, para gerar novas opções e, em última análise, para potenciar o aumento de vantagens competitivas das empresas de serviços

Leadership from the Perspectives of Filipino-Americans: A Delphi Study

The majority of the texts and other materials on leadership have been written from the perspective of people from Western culture. A number of scholars have called attention to this lack of a more diverse literature, inquiring as to the reasons why academicians primarily offer leadership literature that has a predominantly Western culture perspective. Since social and political contexts represent diverse cultural views, leadership literature should also reflect that diversity. This issue is particularly important in the San Diego area for Filipino-Americans because of their increasing numbers and active participation in social and political endeavors. The absence of culturally and ethically diverse literature on leadership provides scholars with a limited view of the leadership theories and principles of non-Western societies. Further, this lack of non-Western literature reinforces the notion that persons in other cultures have not developed leadership perspectives, and a continued absence of leadership literature authored by people from other cultures will only prolong this cultural bias in the academic environment. This research study of leadership was conducted to determine the perspectives of Filipino-Americans. A qualitative research approach, the Delphi technique, was employed. An attempt was made to examine how the panelists view leadership and integrate these leadership perspectives in social and political settings. The subjects were selected from Americans of Filipino descent from various fields of endeavor who are currently holding or have previously held leadership roles. Three Delphi rounds were used to obtain consensuses on the most dominant Filipino-American leadership perspectives and leadership characteristic styles or traits. The study revealed a culturally specific Filipino-American leadership philosophy known as bayanihan. Bayanihan is a leadership concept that may be defined as a process among people who have a shared vision to achieve their intended purposes of improving their community or society. Further, the study revealed characteristic leadership styles or traits unique to Filipino-American leaders. These traits are bahala na, hiya or hiya hiya, kanya kanya, kumpadre, ningas cogon, pakikisama, and utang na loob. At the end, this researcher made specific recommendations for Leadership Educators and Leadership Practitioners to consider undertaking as well as recommendations for further research

A Multiple Perspective Approach Towards the Assessment and Development of Expert Systems in Manufacturing. Volume 1

Current approaches to technology innovation often fail because they are conceived and assessed from a single perspective or dimension. Thus, current considerations in expert systems development are characterised by a strong focus upon the technology and technical issues without a prior process of wider appraisal and technology assessment. A central theme of this study is that the business, organisational and human factors, which determine how effectively the technology will be used in practice, must be an integral part of the assessment process. The thesis describes a ‘multiple perspective approach’ to technology assessment applied to expert systems innovation in a large manufacturing organisation. This research therefore embraces detailed technical, organisational and individual perspectives of expert systems assessment and development and describes how each perspective adds new concepts, methods and tools. In practice, this has meant modelling activities and information flows in a two-site manufacturing organisation, the identification of a variety of potential areas for expert systems development, the narrowing down and selection of particular areas according to technical, organisational, business and personal criteria, and the eventual design, development, ‘operationalisation’ and evaluation of a single application. This study is placed in a wider context by complementary analyses of other manufacturing users and suppliers of expert systems. The work aims to contribute towards an understanding of expert systems innovation and to improved methodologies for technology assessment and technology transfer.Ph

A Process Analysis of Lenders' Use of FAS 95 Cash Flow Information

This study uses concurrent verbal protocol analysis to examine the decision processes of lenders as they evaluate the financial information of a loan applicant. Of specific interest is the lenders' use of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Board No. 95 (FAS 95), Statement of Cash Flows, in that decision process

Perceptions and effectiveness of the investor relations function in Greece

Abstract unavailable please refer to PD

U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform

The U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform was created by Congress to assess U.S. immigration policy and make recommendations regarding its implementation and effects. Mandated in the Immigration Act of 1990 to submit an interim report in 1994 and a final report in 1997, the Commission has undertaken public hearings, fact-finding missions, and expert consultations to identify the major immigration-related issues facing the United States today.LBJ School of Public Affair