international journal of management

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International Journal of Management

Contents 20/1 Mar 03

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Utilizing the Maslach Burnout Inventory in Cross-Cultural Research Chi-en Hwang, Robert F. Scherer, M. Fall Ainina	3
Utilizing the Maslach Burnout Inventory in Cross-Cultural Research Chi-en Hwang Cedarville University Robert F. Scherer Cleveland State University M. Fall Ainina Wright State University Over the last twenty years more than 100 studies have been conducted to test substantive hypotheses related to burnout in a variety of occupations.  Parallel to this line of research have been tests of the factorial stability of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) in different cultures and languages.  In the current study we reviewed measurement equivalency of the MBI.  We found that, in general, the dimensionality of the instrument was similar across multiple languages and countries.  Recommendations are provided to enhance the effectiveness of using the MBI in cross-cultural research.
Succeeding in the Dotcom Economy: Challenges for Brick & Mortar Companies Peng S. Chan, Dennis Pollard	11
Succeeding in the Dotcom Economy: Challenges for Brick "&" Mortar Companies Peng S. Chan California State University-Fullerton Dennis Pollard California State University-Fullerton The internet is evolving into a powerful new channel for traditional stores or so called “brick and mortar” companies to expand upon their existing business models. While the physical stores have certain inherent advantages over the pureplay internet companies, the former’s transition into cyberspace is a journey that many have faltered. This study examines the challenges faced by traditional companies in their quest to compete successfully in the digital economy.
Total Quality Management in an Automotive Supply Chain in the United States Jayanta K. Bandyopadhyay, David A. Sprague	17
Total Quality Management in an Automotive Supply Chain in the United States Jayanta K. Bandyopadhyay Central Michigan University David A. Sprague Central Michigan University In order to compete in the world markets, American businesses are striving to improve their competitive edge, and one aspect of which is quality. Quality is not only an order winning criteria but also is an order qualifier for many companies, and total quality management (TQM) has been widely accepted as the ways and means for maintaining supply chain quality. Multitudes of businesses in manufacturing industry have already implemented or started implementing TQM for achieving a competitive edge in the world market place. From part suppliers to retailers or dealerships, businesses are accepting TQM approach for achieving quality excellence through out the supply chain management. This paper attempts to describe how a TQM approach can be implemented for achieving supply chain quality management in manufacturing industry and uses the automotive industry in the United States as an example.
Understanding and Managing Chaos in Organisations S.L. Dolan, S. Garcia, A. Auerbach	23
Understanding and Managing Chaos in Organisations S.L. Dolan ESADE Business School, Barcelona, Spain S. Garcia University of Barcelona, Spain A. Auerbach Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada Business organisations can represent what in physics and mathematics are designated “chaotic” systems. This paper proposes that viewing organisations in terms of complexity theory may assist leaders in fine-tuning managerial philosophies that provide orderly management within a culture of organised chaos, for it is on the “boundary of chaos” that the greatest creativity occurs. In the 21st century, companies will no longer be effectively managed by rigid objectives or instructions. Their capacity for self-organisation will be derived from how their members accept a shared set of values. Complexity theory deals with systems that show complex structures in time or space, often hiding simple deterministic rules. This theory holds that once these rules are found, it is possible to make effective predictions. The state of chaos that self-organises, thanks to the appearance of the “strange attractor”, leads to creativity and innovation. In this self-organised state of chaos, members are not confined to narrow roles, and develop their capacity for differentiation, growing toward their maximum potential contribution to the organisation. In this way, values act as organisers or “attractors” of disorder. In a culture that cultivates or shares values of autonomy, responsibility, independence, innovation, creativity, and proaction, the risk of short-term chaos is mitigated by an overall long-term sense of direction. A more suitable approach to manage the complexities that organisations are currently confronting is to alter their dominant culture under the principles of Management by Values (hereafter) MBV.
The Determination of Optimal Bank Lending Decisions During Acquisitions: An Option Value Approach Yin-Chieh Hsu, Jyh-Horng Lin	36
The Determination of Optimal Bank Lending Decisions During Acquisitions: An Option Value Approach Yin-Chieh Hsu National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Jyh-Horng Lin Tamkang University, Taiwan This paper shows how an opportunity for future bank acquisition can be viewed as call options, how its valuation relates to bank lending, and its effect on the incentive to conduct bank acquisitions. Given this incentive, the optimal bank lending decision demonstrates that the marginal Tobin’s q in the acquisition and non-acquisition alternatives must be equal. Moreover, the acquirer bank’s loan market value increases with volatility. This paper suggests that bank acquisition can also be important in influencing a bank’s lending decision.
Globalisation of Corporate America and its Implications for Management Styles in an Arabian Cultural Context Syed Aziz Anwar, Mohammad Naim Chaker	43
Globalisation of Corporate America and its Implications for Management Styles in an Arabian Cultural Context Syed Aziz Anwar University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Mohammad Naim Chaker University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Recent years have witnessed globalisation of business with astonishing speed. The US multinational corporations, in particular, have ventured rapidly to enter markets all over the world. This kind of trend poses great challenges for managers as they have to interact with different cultures. The management styles that prove effective in the western world may not produce the desired results in other cultures. This paper highlights the differences between the American and Arabian cultures and examines how the American management philosophy and styles are adapted to suit the cultural context of the United Arab Emirates
Managing Fire Safety in High-Tech Industries: A Case Study of the Semiconductor Companies in Taiwan Yi-Chun Lin, Chyan Yang	56
Managing Fire Safety in High-Tech Industries: A Case Study of the Semiconductor Companies in Taiwan Yi-Chun Lin Central Police University, Taiwan Chyan Yang National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan The high-technology industries have been developed in Taiwan for about twenty years and carries great weight in the world. However, several severe fire and earthquake disasters that the semiconductor companies have encountered have caused them to suffer uncountable damages and losses of properties, for which the fire underwriters have paid huge compensation. As a result, most foreign fire underwriters are very much cautious in accepting re-insurance for the semiconductor companies of Taiwan. This research begins with the analysis of the building characteristics of plant and the potential dangers therein. Then it designs an effective safety system for such plants, which may help prevent from disasters or lower the loss arising.
Attitudes Toward Women and Management Attributes: An Update Joseph Tomkiewicz, Kenneth Bass	62
Attitudes Toward Women and Management Attributes: An Update Joseph Tomkiewicz East Carolina University Kenneth Bass East Carolina University The purpose of this research was to examine current attitudes toward women and managerial abilities of graduating business school students and compare these findings with those of a former study by Tomkiewicz and Brenner, (1988). Both studies employed the Attitude Toward Women Scale (Spence, Helmreich, and Stapp, 1973) and the Self-Description Inventory (Ghiselli 1971). In contrast to the earlier study, no differences were found between females and males on any of the managerial attributes. There were significant differences between females’ and males’ attitude toward women. Males in the 2001 study were significantly more profeminist than the earlier sample of males. Groups of individuals who scored above the median on the Attitude Toward Women Scale were compared with the group of subjects who scored below the median. Significant differences were found among the groups on three of the six Self Description Inventory items.
The Asian Financial Crisis and Non-performing Loans: Evidence from Commercial Banks in Taiwan Yang Li	69
The Asian Financial Crisis and Non-performing Loans: Evidence from Commercial Banks in Taiwan Yang Li National University of Kaohsiung, Taiwan Financial crises have been a worldwide phenomenon in the last decade. This study tries to investigate how the 1997 Asian financial crisis affects the non-performing loans of Taiwan. We adopt a panel data set with 40 Taiwanese commercial banks (established before 1996) for the period of 1996-1999 for empirical analysis. We find that both banks’ loans and sizes are positively related to the rate of non-performing loans, but at a diminishing rate; rates of non-performing loans steadily increased from 1996 to 1999, possibly resulting from the 1997 Asian financial crisis; banks established after deregulation, on average, have a lower rate of non-performing loans than those established before deregulation.
Power in Acquired Top Management Teams and Post-acquisition Performance: A Conceptual Framework Hema A. Krishnan, Daewoo Park	75
Power in Acquired Top Management Teams and Post-acquisition Performance: A Conceptual Framework Hema A. Krishnan Xavier University, Cincinnati Daewoo Park Xavier University, Cincinnati In this study we build a conceptual framework to show that power in the acquired firm top management team can positively impact post-acquisition performance. We develop propositions for two dimensions of power, namely, expert power, and prestige power. Our framework is built on the premise that acquisitions are more likely to succeed if the acquired executives are able to wield control over strategic decisions taken by the consolidated organization.
Estimating the Cost Efficiency of Mixed Enterprises in Taiwan Yung-ho Chiu	81
Estimating the Cost Efficiency of Mixed Enterprises in Taiwan Yung-ho Chiu Soochow University, Taiwan In this study, parametric (the translog function model) programming method is employed to compare cost efficiency among different levels of privatization. The panel data of 113 firms in Taiwan during the period 1996-1997 are used to estimate the translog cost function and cost inefficiency measure of each firm. Then we run a regression to find the effect of the government stock share on inefficiency measure. The empirical results in this study are consistent with the empirical findings of Boardman, Eckel and Vining (1983), Boardman and Vining (1992), Ehrlich et al. (1994).
Are Imports and Exports of the Five ASEAN Economies Co-integrated? An Empirical Study Tuck Cheong Tang	88
Are Imports and Exports of the Five ASEAN Economies Co-integrated? An Empirical Study Tuck Cheong Tang Monash University, Malaysia This paper aims to investigate the presence of a unique equilibrium relationship between imports and exports of the five ASEAN founding economies. The unit root and cointegration approaches were used for analysis. The presence of a long-run relationship among imports and exports of a country indicate favorable of macroeconomic policies being effective in correcting external imbalance in long-run. The results show that the imports and exports of Malaysia and Singapore are cointegrated. However, this situation is not happened for the Philippine, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Examining Communication Style and Leader-Member Exchange: Considerations and Concerns for Managers Augusta C. Yrle, Sandra J. Hartman, William P. Galle, Jr.	92
Examining Communication Style and Leader-Member Exchange: Considerations and Concerns for Managers Augusta C. Yrle University of New Orleans Sandra J. Hartman University of New Orleans William P. Galle, Jr. University of New Orleans In this research, we examine the relationships between findings from two related literature streams:  a prescriptive body of communication theory involving supervisor-subordinate communication, and leader-member exchange (LMX) theory from the management literature.  LMX suggests that supervisors may afford differing treatment, and thus possibly use different communications tactics, with subordinates in higher quality exchange relationships than with those in lower quality relationships.  This literature, however, leaves unresolved whether supervisors should treat employees differently.  In contrast, much of the communication literature has emphasized development of “best” practices which, presumably, should be used with all employees.  In this research we consider whether there are consistencies between leader communication practices and the perceived quality of the Leader-Member exchange.  We find evidence that employees perceive differences, especially in level of participation-related communication, depending upon whether they believe they are in a higher or lower quality LMX relationship.  Moreover, we find some evidence for congruence between supervisor and subordinate perceptions of the quality of the exchange and no significant evidence that similarity of the dyad influences the quality of the exchange.
Managerial Work Role Perceptions in Japanese Organizations: An Empirical Study Cecil A.L. Pearson, Samir R. Chatterjee, Katsuji Okachi	100
Managerial Work Role Perceptions in Japanese Organizations: An Empirical Study Cecil A.L. Pearson Murdoch University, Australia Samir R. Chatterjee Curtin University of Technology, Australia Katsuji Okachi Ryukoku University, Japan Over the past several decades, the Japanese corporate management system has been considered a counterpoint to the Western model. This unique non-Western design and culture generated a managerial world view that also attracted much scholarly attention. The imperatives of global logic and the emergence of knowledge economy over the past decade has seen a transformation of these distinctly culture oriented concepts and practices. The role of Japanese managers is in turn increasingly in need of convergence in response to such imperatives. This paper evaluates the role of managers in changing Japan against the well known formulations of Mintzberg’s taxonomies of managerial roles. A recent survey of 195 managers drawn from a range of industries reveal the claim that individualistic values are replacing collective priorities is not yet readily evident. The empirical trend outlined in this paper suggests that the’‘universalist’ roles espoused by Mintzberg are practiced by Japanese managers in a highly ‘context-driven’ way negating the convergence theorists of the recent years.
Foreign Investment Opportunities and Customs Laws in China’s Special Economic Zones Nadeem M. Firoz, Farahmand Rezvani, Taghi Ramin, Ahmed S. Maghrabi	108
Foreign Investment Opportunities and Customs Laws in China’s Special Economic Zones Nadeem M. Firoz Montclair State University Farahmand Rezvani Montclair State University Taghi Ramin William Patterson University Ahmed S. Maghrabi Makkah, Saudi Arabia Almost half of all foreign investment in China now has been invested in the economic zones. The industrial production in all economic zones has grown faster than the rest of China. There are many economic development zones in China today. They are named differently and create much confusion for the researcher or investor. Their names are many for example, FTZ, SEZ, ETW, OEZ, CEOA, COC, OEZ, T17Z and bonded warehouses. This paper will discuss them in detail, by explaining the logic behind the FTZ concept. The aim of all zones is to provide tax holidays, customs duties exemptions, preferential tax rates, and lower corporate taxes as special incentives to encourage foreign investment. On the other hand the purpose of these zones is to bring new technology, management "&" marketing know how, the development of a skilled labor force and foreign exchange to China. This study spells out what the FTZ is, their current status, and how profitable it is to invest in them.