The Administrative Law of Regulatory Slop and Strategy

Judicial review of agency behavior is often criticized as either interfering too much with agencies’ domains or doing too little to ensure fidelity to statutory directives and the rule of law. But the Trump administration has produced an unprecedented volume of agency actions that blatantly flout settled administrative-law doctrine. This phenomenon, which we term “regulatory slop,” requires courts to reinforce the norms of administrative law by adhering to established doctrine and paying careful attention to remedial options. In this Article, we document numerous examples of regulatory slop and canvass how the Trump agencies have fared in court thus far. We contend that traditional critiques of judicial review carry little force in such circumstances. Further, regulatory slop should be of concern regardless of one’s political leanings because it threatens the rule of law. Rather than argue for a change to substantive administrative-law doctrine, therefore, we take a close look at courts’ remedial options in such circumstances. We conclude that a strong approach to remedies can send corrective signals to agencies that reinforce both administrative-law values and the rule of law

An Organizational Performance Study Of AACSB International Member Business Schools

Organizations are thought to adopt or evolve to an organizational strategy that will improve organizational effectiveness. Familiar strategies in the business world include a production strategy, low cost strategy, and market orientation strategy. In the world of higher education however organizational strategies may take a different form such as a research strategy, student centered strategy, or a national/international focus. This manuscript reports the results of a national survey examining the levels of reported customer and market orientation toward students and explores their impact on organizational performance. The organizations researched are AACSB-International member business schools. The respondents to the survey are academic vice-presidents of colleges and universities holding membership in AACSB, the premier business school accreditation organization. The academic vice-presidents were chosen as they are thought to hold the management position that can primarily affect the organizational strategy of the academic organizations under their purview. This includes, but is not limited to AACSB member business schools. We use a reworded Narver and Slater (1990) “market orientation” scale and the Jaworski and Kohli’s (1993) “overall performance” scale for use in the current research. 116 vice-presidents whose schools are members of AACSB responded to the survey. The manuscript details the data collection and analysis processes, the statistical findings, along with implications and a call for additional subject matter research

Agency Behavior and Discretion on Remand

Despite the prevailing focus of administrative law on judicial review of agency discretion, scholars are increasingly asking what we can learn about agency discretion in the absence of judicial review. Indeed, such work prompts a reexamination of administrative law and our assumptions about agencies’ legitimacy. When a court invalidates an agency action, the agency’s response on remand is often left open to the agency’s discretion. Agencies frequently have significant latitude in whether, how, and when (if ever) to remedy the initial flaw. What is the extent of agency discretion following a remand, and how do agencies use that discretion? In this Essay, we sketch the interplay of four variables to form some preliminary hypotheses and lay a foundation for future empirical work. These variables are the nature of the judicial remedy that accompanies the remand, the timing of the required agency response, the valence of the agency action (its alignment with the interests of the group winning the remand and with the then-current presidential administration), and the timing of the presidential administration, paying particular attention to changes that occur or are anticipated to occur during the agency’s formulation of a response on remand. We suspect that, barring a specific and enforceable judicial directive, agencies have almost as much discretion as they would in the first instance, when deciding whether and how to respond to a judicial remand. We also suggest that whether agencies act with haste or stall is at least somewhat dependent on the alignment of the agency’s policy position with the incumbent President and any anticipated uncertainty regarding a future President. The vigilance of the original litigants, budgetary constraints, newly created statutory deadlines, and other factors also will influence what happens on remand. But we hope that this initial exploration will yield a useful set of testable hypotheses that can inform more detailed future work

Accounting Department Chairpersons Perceptions Of Business School Performance Using A Market Orientation Model

This manuscript is part of a stream of continuing research examining market orientation within higher education and its potential impact on organizational performance. The organizations researched are business schools and the data collected came from chairpersons of accounting departments of AACSB member business schools. We use a reworded Narver and Slater (1990) market orientation scale and the Jaworski and Kohlis (1993) overall performance scale for use in the current research. 101 chairs of accounting departments whose schools are members of AACSB responded to the survey. The manuscript details the data collection and analysis processes, the statistical findings, along with implications and a call for additional subject matter research

Comparing The Machiavellianism Of Todays Indonesian College Students With U. S. College Students Of Today And The 1960s

The tactics and strategies that were suggested by Niccolo Machiavelli in The Prince (1513) have become synonymous with manipulative and unethical practices. Machiavellis writing to the politician has been used to describe business leaders as well. The business literature indicates that Machiavellian tactics do not guarantee success. The research we report examined the Machiavellian tendencies of college students in Indonesia and compare those results to the literature including the original U.S. student sample of the 1960s and the Harmon and Webster student sample published in 2002

Market Orientation Effects On Business School Performance: Views From Inside And Outside The Business School

In the world of higher education, organizational strategies may take the form of a research, teaching, student-centered, comprehensive, or international strategy, just to name a few.  This manuscript reports the results of a national survey examining the possible impacts of employing a market orientation strategy within schools of business and its possible impact on organizational performance.  The schools researched are member business schools of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB-International) and all of the schools studied are located in the United States.  The respondents to the survey are academic vice-presidents (outsiders) and deans (insiders) of colleges and universities holding membership in AACSB.  The academic vice-presidents were chosen as they are thought to hold the outside management position that can primarily affect the organizational strategy of the academic organizations under their purview.  The deans of the business schools were selected as they represent the highest inside level of leadership.  We use a reworded Narver and Slater (1990) “market orientation” scale and the Jaworski and Kohli’s (1993) “overall performance” scale in the current research.  One hundred sixteen academic vice-presidents and 131 business school deans responded to the survey.  The manuscript details the data collection and analysis, statistical results, and implications for university leaders of business schools as well as other academic leaders

Customer And Market Orientation Within AACSB Member Business Schools: Comparative Views From Three Levels Of Administrators

This paper is part of a stream of research dealing with customer and market orientation within higher education, specifically within business schools holding membership in AACSB-International. A market orientation strategy leading to a customer and market-oriented organizational culture is based upon the acceptance and adoption of the marketing concept.  The market-oriented organization recognizes the importance of coordinating the activities of all departments, functions, and individuals in the organization to satisfy customers by delivering superior value.  The market-oriented organization continually monitors customer information, competitor information, and marketplace information to design and provide superior value to its customers.  Theory and empirical research suggest that higher levels of customer and market orientation result in a greater ability of the organization to reach its objectives, in other words, higher levels of organizational performance.  This paper extends the current research on the use of the market orientation strategy by reporting and analyzing customer and market orientation levels (scores) toward two customer groups within AACSB member business schools.  The two customer groups studied were students and employers of students.  Data input from three separate administrative levels having responsibilities associated with the business school were collected and analyzed.  The administrators participating in the study were academic vice-presidents, business school deans and marketing department chairs. A critical underlying question in the research is whether students and employers of students are viewed as customers by higher education administrators.  Comparisons of the various reported scores are made against a benchmark established in the marketing literature and then are compared by administrative group against one another.  The university academic vice-presidents, business school deans, and marketing department chairs were surveyed by way of a national mail survey.  All administrators were from colleges or universities holding membership in AACSB-International. 102 Vice-Presidents, 141 Business School Deans, and 94 Marketing Department Chairs responded.  The paper presents details of the research process, findings, statistical inferences, and discusses the implications of the research for schools of business and academic marketing departments

Market Orientation Within University Schools Of Business: Can A Dynamical Systems Viewpoint Applied To A Non-Temporal Data Set Yield Valuable Insights For University Managers?

This study investigates the use of using complexity theory – the study of nonlinear dynamical systems of which chaos and catastrophe theory are subsets – in the analysis of a non temporal data set to derive valuable insights into the functioning of university schools of business. The approach is unusual in that studies of nonlinearity in complex dynamical systems typically involve longitudinal data.  Challenges associated with such studies usually involve establishing nonlinearity, obtaining a data set with a sufficient number of entries, and robust mathematical and computational requirements for effective analysis.  The format of the paper is as follows: 1) a general description of complex systems is presented which identifies a number of generally accepted characteristics of complex systems, 2) a description of the data set and the research technique utilized, 3) a presentation of the data set as an “attractor” landscape as typically defined in complex systems analysis, 4) potential insights that may be derived from the analysis; and 5) conclusions and recommendations for further study.  The value of the study is to demonstrate that within the framework of complexity theory, non longitudinal data may be used to derive valuable managerial insights into the functioning of organizations such as university schools of business

Managing Complex Dynamical Systems

Management commonly engages in a variety of research designed to provide insight into the motivation and relationships of individuals, departments, organizations, etc. This paper demonstrates how the application of concepts associated with the analysis of complex systems applied to such data sets can yield enhanced insights for managerial action