Search results

Offers information to CPA firms which realize that restructuring and downsizing would be the prudent move for their client. Transition is the phase in which displaced persons can move forward to address the situation. Outplacement provides the mechanism for communicating the methods and options to the individual or to help them through the period of adjustment. Discusses the changing nature of organizations dealing with the emotional impact of career job change and loss in the transition, a model for understanding loss, assessments in outplacement counselling, job search strategies, options for managers seeking re‐employment, how outplacement helps the individual, and beneficial services provided for every level of outplacement. Statistical results overwhelmingly show career growth for both men and women receiving outplacement services. Concludes, therefore, that CPA firms will want to consider an outplacement firm when restructuring and downsizing is the chosen option for revitalization of their client’s organization.

Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Term. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.

The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.

This paper revisits the debate between environmental determinism and strategic choice. It compares the two theories on their philosophical underpinnings, their view of decision making, and the environment. Although we argue that the theory of strategic choice generally prevails, we recognize that there are factors that restrict the choice and discretion of managers. Here we look at three types of factors—industry related factors (extent of regulation and stage of life cycle), organization related factors (characteristics of top management and organization size), and time related factors and explain how each of these factors either inhibit or enhance managerial discretion. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight Barnard's groundbreaking ideas, and to interpret his contributions to the philosophy and practice of business as they apply to the twenty‐first century executive.

The paper makes use of primary data by focusing on Barnard's The Functions of the Executive, as well as other material written by, and about, him. Barnard's insights on executive management are then reinterpreted in light of Ramey's Leadership Quality Commitments, whose balance is deemed an essential marker of success for twenty‐first century leaders.

The paper presents Barnard as a pioneer philosopher in the field of management, whose rich contributions have permeated management theory and practice since he first published his seminal work 71 years ago. Barnard's concept of cooperation is re‐discovered as the basis of a leadership framework that places the executive at the center of a system responsible for balancing an unstable equilibrium among life, work, and society.

The paper suggests that Barnard's contributions are as relevant now as they were 71 years ago. Exploring the competencies that make executives effective and efficient, for example, provides insights regarding the combined roles of the executive as leader and manager.

The bulk of Barnard's contributions is found in the field of management, yet his views on cooperation, moral responsibility, motivation, positive interdependence, decision making, authentic self‐hood, strategy and legacy seem incredibly in line with leadership theory. Re‐discovering him as a leadership thinker may help to bridge the conceptual gap that is perceived to exist between management and leadership literature.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the 2016 elections for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and to compare them with those that took place in 2012. It seeks to evaluate the background of the candidates who stood for office in 2016, the policies that they put forward, the results of the contests and the implications of the 2016 experience for future PCC elections.

This paper is based around several key themes – the profile of candidates who stood for election, preparations conducted prior to the contests taking place, the election campaign and issues raised during the contests, the results and the profile of elected candidates. The paper is based upon documentary research, making particular use of primary source material.

The research establishes that affiliation to a political party became the main route for successful candidates in 2016 and that local issues related to low-level criminality will dominate the future policing agenda. It establishes that although turnout was higher than in 2012, it remains low and that further consideration needs to be devoted to initiatives to address this for future PCC election contests.

The research focusses on the 2016 elections and identifies a number of key issues that emerged during the campaign affecting the conduct of the contests which have a bearing on future PCC elections. It treats these elections as a bespoke topic and does not seek to place them within the broader context of the development of the office of PCC.

The research suggests that in order to boost voter participation in future PCC election contests, PCCs need to consider further means to advertise the importance of the role they perform and that the government should play a larger financial role in funding publicity for these elections and consider changing the method of election.

The rationale for introducing PCCs was to empower the public in each police force area. However, issues that include the enhanced importance of political affiliation as a criteria for election in 2016 and the social unrepresentative nature of those who stood for election and those who secured election to this office in these contests coupled with shortcomings related to public awareness of both the role of PCCs and the timing of election contests threaten to undermine this objective.

The extensive use of primary source material ensures that the subject matter is original and its interpretation is informed by an academic perspective.

Very little is known about the influences of corporate strategy and regulation on the risk of regulated firms. The current study addresses this gap by examining the relationship among the level of diversification, the regulatory environment, and risk levels of regulated electric utility companies. Results suggest that both the regulatory environment and level of diversification impact firm risk. Specifically, the regulatory environment in which a firm operates moderates the relationship between diversification and risk. Electric utilities operating in the least favorable regulatory environments benefited the most from diversification in terms of risk reduction, while electric utilities in the most favorable regulatory environments experienced increases in risk from diversification. These findings extend previous studies by showing how both the regulatory environment and corporate strategy impact the risk of regulated utilities.

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).

Drawing from legitimacy and institutional entrepreneurship theory, this study assesses the naming patterns of entrepreneurial firms in the US biotechnology industry.

The authors use a mixed-methods design of content analysis and regression to analyze a sample of 441 entrepreneurial biotechnology firms, for which data were obtained from Net Advantage. The authors track changes to the proportion of firms with naming attributes, such as name length and type of name. The authors also examine variability in those characteristics during the industry's evolution, comparing freestanding to acquired start-ups.

Start-ups select names that are longer, more descriptive, begin with rare sounds or hard plosives and have stronger discipline- or technology-specific links during nascent years of the industry. As the industry evolves, entrepreneurs are more likely to select names that are shorter, more abstract, begin with hard plosives and have stronger industry-specific links. The naming patterns of freestanding and acquired companies differ, and companies that conform to industry pressures tend to remain independent.

Unlike extant studies that assess established industries, the current study identifies shifting trends in the naming patterns of entrepreneurial firms in an emerging industry. By focusing on start-ups, the authors expand research on organizational naming practices, which focuses traditionally on name choices and name change patterns of incumbents. By using marketing and linguistics methods when analyzing organizational name attributes, naming patterns in these attributes are identified, including name length, name type, starting letter of the name and link to the industry.

Auditing researchers have recommended that the use of audit decision models should be subject to cost‐benefit analysis. This paper provides insight into cost‐benefit analysis and its shortcomings as a tool for evaluating audit decision models. The paper also identifies and discusses the limitations of other evaluation methods. Finally, the paper suggests the use of model confidence as an alternative to model value and model validity.