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Traditional utility analysis only calculates the value of a given selection procedure over random selection. This assumption is not only an inaccurate representation of staffing policy but also leads to overestimates of a device's value. This paper presents a more accurate method for computing the validity of a selection battery for when there are multiple selection devices and multiple criteria. Application of the method is illustrated using previous utility analysis work and an actual case of administrative assistants with eight predictors and nine criteria. A final example also is provided that includes these advancements as well as other researchers' advances in a combined utility model. Results reveal that accounting for multiple criteria and outcomes dramatically reduces the utility estimates of implementing new selection devices.

The importance of gender equality is reflected not only in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but also in the World Bank’s Gender Action Plan launched in 2007 as well as in other treaties and actions undertaken at regional and international levels. Unlike other gender poverty works, which are mostly based on monetary measurement, the purpose of this paper is to adopt a non-monetary approach.

The present study makes use of a counting approach to examine gender issues in Burkina Faso and Togo using household surveys, namely Enquête Intégrale surles Conditions de Vie des Ménages (2009/2010) and Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (2011), respectively. It focusses on six dimensions (housing, basic utilities, assets, education, employment and access to credit) largely recognized as MDG targets.

Main findings indicate that overall individuals are the most deprived in education in Burkina Faso, while the reverse situation is true in Togo. Gender inequality is observed in all dimensions since women always seem to be more deprived than men. The situation is also marked by regional disparities. Moreover, the assessment of dimensional contributions shows different patterns for each country. While employment proves to be the main contributor of gender inequality in Burkina Faso, three dimensions (assets, access to credit and employment) account together for most of the total contribution to gender inequality in Togo.

The main contribution of the paper is to use a multidimensional method (counting approach) to assess gender deprivation, with countries comparison. It also proposes an interesting combination of the decomposition by dimension with the subgroup’s decomposition in order to determine the largest contributor to gender inequality.

While it is true that in a considerable part of economic analysis the concept of cardinal utility can be dispensed with, the tenet that utility is intrinsically non‐measurable is a belief rather than an established fact. But we know intuitively, and it is freely admitted even by the cardinalists themselves (Robertson, 1951), that differences between the satisfactions enjoyed by different persons cannot possibly be conceived as amenable to measurement, and that hence a concept of community welfare which does not involve value judgments belongs to the realm of phantasy.

We present a comprehensive literature review and critique of union decertification research, and develop a theoretical framework that should prove useful for future research. The framework incorporates three theoretical viewpoints from several research traditions: the expected utility, social‐political, and workplace voice perspectives. We provide suggestions for how each viewpoint can be modeled in future research. Additionally, although some previous decertification research was theoretically rich, the empirical findings across prior studies were ambiguous and inconsistent. We analyze the reasons for the ambiguous and inconsistent prior findings, and note how future research can avoid or minimize the empirical problems of the past.

This article outlines a procedure for quantifying risk‐adjusted capital reserves that may be used for both performance evaluation and capital allocation. The author identifies and quantifies the sources of risk capital that must be addressed, to cover current investment and withstand market shocks, for any business line that exhibits earnings volatility. The author classifies risk capital into two types: market‐risk capital and earnings volatility‐related capital. Market risk capital may be divided into two categories; risks due to “normal” or “diffusion” type price movements and catastrophic moves or “stress” events. In contrast, earnings volatility‐related capital is directly related to the firm's equity‐at‐risk, in the event that market shocks lead to sustained earnings volatility. The author suggests that these risk‐adjusted capital measures may be used as a benchmark, in conjunction with net earnings, to evaluate performance, or to allocate equity capital across different operations within a firm.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze empirically the fundamental role that information asymmetry plays in the functioning of an efficient capital market as mediator in the relation between corporate disclosures and cost of capital.

By using a sample of 1,260 international non-financial listed companies in the period 2007-2014.

The findings suggest that high-quality financial and social disclosures quality reduce the cost of capital, by decreasing information asymmetry. In other words, the authors find evidence of the mediator role of information asymmetry in the relation between corporate disclosures and the cost of capital. These results are also controlled for differences on accounting standards and other institutional factors.

The central assumption is that the demand for corporate disclosures that reduces the information advantages of some investors (who are more informed) arises from agency conflicts and these information differences in turn, determine the cost of capital. This paper is the first attempt to study, jointly, the effects of decreasing information asymmetries by corporate disclosures on the cost of capital in an international setting. In addition, the authors focussed on both financial and social disclosures, creating empirical proxies whose validity for the analysis has been evidenced.

Contemporary literature has paid scholarly attention to corruption from a variety of competing perspectives. However, broader accounts of the impact of corruption on development in developing countries are relatively scarce. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of corruption as a social impediment to development, which has a devastating effect on developing countries.

The paper explores the relevant literature and the different perspectives that have been developed and conducted for investigating corruption in developing countries. The paper uses publicly available evidence to show that political, economic elite engaged in corrupt practices.

The evidence shows that socio‐political and economic development, politics, power, history and globalisation have continued to reproduce and transform the institutional structures and actors which have facilitated corrupt practices in developing countries. The review shows that large sums of government revenue have been undermined by the corrupt practices of the political and economic elite (both local and international), which have enriched a few, but impoverished most.

The paper seeks to bring the anti‐social activities of political, economic and professionals under scrutiny and offers some suggestions for reforms.

Corruption has played a major role in causing serious damage to the economic and social landscape in developing countries. This in turn, has undermined social welfare and also investment in the public services, thereby eroding the quality of life and producing a decline in average life expectancy.

The paper is a general review of literature and evidence on contemporary issues.

An estimated 30 million people make use of the Internet not only for electronic mail (e‐mail), but also to peruse databases, view photographs and videos and find travel information and weather reports. Innovative data systems managers can offer business solutions by integrating the capabilities of the Internet into their business environment. The Internet offers vast communication resources to enhance product development and system support. Offers an introduction to the communication resources of the Internet and provides several specific examples of business solutions in the areas of e‐mail communications, business applications software support, system design and databases. An awareness of these global solutions by today′s managers may stimulate an increased appreciation of the power of electronic communications and an encouragement of co‐operative work, using electronic media.

There has been a surge of interest in leader character and a push to bring character into mainstream management theory and practice. Research has shown that CEOs and board members have many questions about the construct of leader character. For example, they like to see hard data indicating to what extent character contributes to organizational performance. Human resource management professionals are often confronted with the need to discuss and demonstrate the value of training and development initiatives. The question as to whether such interventions have a dollars-and-cents return on the investment is an important one to consider for any organizational decision-maker, especially given the demand for increased accountability, the push for transparency and tightening budgets in organizations. The authors investigated the potential dollar impact associated with the placement of managers based on the assessment of leader character, and they used utility analysis to estimate the dollar value associated with the use of one instrument – the Leader Character Insight Assessment or LCIA – to measure leader character.

The authors used field data collected for purposes of succession planning in a large Canadian manufacturing organization. The focus was on identifying senior management candidates suitable for placement into the most senior levels of leadership in the organization. Peers completed the LCIA to obtain leader character ratings of the candidates. The LCIA is a behaviorally based and validated instrument to assess leader character. Performance assessments of the candidates were obtained through supervisor ratings.

The correlation between the leader character measure provided by peers and performance assessed by the supervisor was 0.30 (p < 0.01). Using the data required to calculate ΔU from the Brogden-Cronbach-Gleser model leads to an estimate of CAD $564,128 for the use of the LCIA over the expected tenure of 15 years, which is equivalent to CAD $37,609 yearly; and CAD $375,285 over an expected tenure of 10 years, which is equivalent to CAD $37,529 yearly. The results of the study also indicate that there is still a positive and sizeable return on investment or ROI associated with the LCIA in employee placement even with highly conservative adjustments to the basic utility analysis formula.

Utility analysis is a quantitative and robust method of evaluating human resource programs. The authors provide an illustration of the potential utility of the LCIA in a selection process for senior managers. They assert that selecting and promoting managers on leader character and developing their character-based leadership will not only leverage their own contributions to the organization but also contribute to a trickle-down effect on employees below them.

Provides a perspective by which to look at interactions within a family unit (notably man and wife) that lead to purchasing decisions by that unit. Reveals a model for analysing the interactions of family members in decision making. Discusses the interaction processes influencing perceptions of priority, utility and debt. Looks at the differences of families with different social classes, age groups and member orientation. Investigates potential uses of the model with regard to marketing management, adevertising, product planning and market research.