Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2005. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (November 15, 2006) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 180-190). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Afhandling--Copenhague, 1998. / Résumé en anglais. Bibliogr. p. 744-770. Index.

Effective communication is critical to enable the successful management of a multinational company. Without a shared language, effective communication is impossible. Previous research have not established what the role of language is in establishing strong relationships between subsidiaries and headquarters. It is argued that if effective communication is enabled through the use of a shared language and effective communication strengthens relationships between subsidiaries and headquarters, then a shared language should influence subsidiary headquarter relationships positively. A mixed method approach was used to reflect the perspective from both headquarters and subsidiaries. Questionnaires were distributed to subsidiaries and semi-structured interviews were conducted with executives from headquarters based on the results from the questionnaire. Language was found to have a profound influence on relationships between subsidiaries and headquarters but the extent of the influence varied depending on time, less hierarchical organisational structures and cultural background. Social identity theory suggested groups of ethnically similar people would cluster together and form strong personal relationships, language being one such an ethnic characteristic. The data collected challenged this theory by proving that a company identity can prove to be stronger and more influential over time, surpassing the impact of language and ethnicity. It was also found that a shared language promoted social networks and power within the organisation but that the influence is more prominent when the shared language is the official company language. The research contributed to literature by adding to the current understanding of what influences subsidiary headquarter relationships. The contribution to business is also important as attention is a scarce resource and inter unit relationships are critical to the success of any multinational company. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / zkgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Just recently a new force in world politics, the multinational corporation, has become the focus of widespread interest and concern. Many students of the development and spread of these firms emphasize their actual and potential contribution toward global economic integration. Contingent upon this process, several observers have optimistically forecast the fundamental breakdown of the nation-state system and its replacement by some form of more stable and peaceful world polity. The Canadian case however, does not sustain this optimism. Among all the nations Canada has been the most consistently liberal host of these firms, providing particular attraction for expansionist American corporations. As a consequence, the country has experienced a new and profound dependence upon the American economy. Directly resultant upon this experience has been the forfeiture of broad areas of Canadian state sovereignty and national independence. But unlike the prophecy, this sacrifice has not been part of a more universal transfer of nation-state prerogatives to the claims of supranational authority. Instead, the forfeiture has been unilateral and horizontals from the Canadian state to the American state. Clearly, American multinational corporations have been successful promoters of continental economic integration. Ho other nation in the developed world shares with Canada the same unique degree of economic subordination. On the other hand, American multinational corporations are demonstrably inadequate institutions for furthering the general erosion of the nation-state system. They are themselves subordinate to and dependent upon the U.S. state. This relationship is made most explicit through American laws of extraterritoriality whereby the U.S. government has reserved the right to dictate trade, anti-trust and balance of payments policies to the foreign subsidiaries of American firms. The Canadian government has become acutely aware of this relationship on several occasions, most notably over the 'Time and Reader's Digest Affair' and the 'American Guidelines Issue'. Of even graver import, these occasions demonstrated the ease with which American economic controls in one area could be converted into substantial political leverage in entirely unrelated areas of Canadian policy formation. In each instance where the U.S. government has employed its authority over American multinational corporations to sway Canadian government policy, the Canadian government has eventually acquiesced. Ironically, Canadian government elites have proven themselves unwilling to respond to this challenge at its source. Instead of attempting to regulate or discourage American multinational corporations in Canada, they have co-operated actively in their promotion. To understand the paradoxical behavior of Canadian governments in aiding the demise of their own powers and the Canadian state, the career patterns of certain influential political and bureaucratic elites were investigated. This research uncovered the existence of a longstanding hybrid elite composed of Canadian governmental decision-makers who have been strongly identified with corporations committed to a continental economy. The economic interests which, inhere to these corporate government linkages have been complemented and given normative justification by a business ethos prevalent in Canadian society. Together they provide a motivating rationale for Canadian government elites in co-operating with, multinational corporations and, in effect, in undermining the sovereignty and independence of the Canadian nation-state. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

This thesis is comprised of three essays dealing with outside directors. The first essay addresses the signaling role that outside directors play. This is a role that is especially important for entrepreneurial firms, and has been relatively neglected in corporate governance research. The primary contribution of this chapter is in developing an analytical model and predictive framework on which future empirical and analytical research on directors' signaling role can be based. This chapter also contributes to the signaling theory literature by deriving a new type of equilibrium — the "stochastic separating equilibrium" — which may well be applicable in a broader set of models that incorporate signaling through middlemen. This equilibrium has an important realistic feature in that it permits the coexistence of both high and low quality firms in equilibrium. In the second study, I address directors' monitoring role. This essay examines whether a systematic relationship exists between a board's composition and discrete strategic decisions of a firm, which have been addressed in the literature as involving potential conflicting interests between managers and shareholders. To explore this question, I conducted seven meta-analyses of relevant strategic decisions, on which I could obtain data. The results provide evidence for the presence of systematic relationships between a board's composition and five out of the seven strategies examined. Interestingly, these systematic relationships provide only limited support to the predictions of agency theory, which is the predominant rational behind this line of research. In the third essay, I examine the effects of outside directors' stock-based compensation on one indicator of board monitoring effectiveness: firms' research and development (R&D) intensity. The results suggest that both the percentage of stock-based compensation and the proportion of stock options within it are positively related to firms' R & D expenditures. Moreover, stock-based compensation moderates the relationship between board composition and R & D intensity. These results highlight the need to reevaluate previous findings that addressed the effects of board composition on both firm performance and firm strategic decisions. / Business, Sauder School of / Accounting, Division of / Graduate

Accounting information is an integral part of the information set used by investors. However, accrual based accounting earnings are susceptible to earnings management. Investors are concerned about earnings management since earnings management can distort reported earnings and they may make decisions that they otherwise would not have made. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of earnings management on the informativeness of reported earnings about firm value and analysts' forecasts. Chapter 2 develops an earnings management model and examines the impact of earnings management on income smoothing and the earnings response coefficient. Chapter 3 critically reviews the existing discretionary accrual models and discusses the measurements of earnings management and income smoothing, which are used in the subsequent empirical chapters. Chapter 4 empirically examines the impact of earnings management on the earnings response coefficient after controlling either for the smoothness of pre-managed earnings or for the smoothness of reported earnings. Firms are further decomposed into income smoothing and variance-increasing earnings management firms and the same analyses are repeated. Chapter 5 examines the impact of smoothness of reported earnings and earnings management on the equilibrium demand for analysts' services and the properties of analysts' forecasts. This thesis contributes to our understanding of the impact of earnings management on firm value and analysts' forecasts by providing empirical evidence consistent with the hypothesis that the financial market and analysts are aware of the nature of a firm's discretionary accrual policy, and use their beliefs about the firm's discretionary accrual policy in assessing firm value and deciding whether to follow the firm. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

No description available.

A corporate separation is an arrangement whereby the shareholders of a single corporation split up their investment among several corporate shells through a spin-off, split-off, or split-up. The tax treatment of a corporate separation is governed by Section 355 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, which allows the separation of two or more existing businesses to be tax-free provided certain requirements are met. This thesis discusses and analyzes Section 355 and its related regulations in light of the various subsequent developments in order to expound the current tax treatment of corporate separations. Also, the historical development of the tax treatment of corporate separations up to 1954 is presented as background material. Basically, Section 355 desires to encourage, through tax deferment, those corporate separations which are motivated by valid business reasons, while at the same time imposing ordinary income tax on the shareholders in the case of those corporate separations which are merely being utilized as a device to distribute corporate earnings and profits at capital gain rates. Due to the possible use of a corporate separation for tax avoidance purposes, Section 355 was made very restrictive and has usually been strictly interpreted by the Internal Revenue Service and the courts. This general restrictive trend will probably continue to persist in the future. However, there appeals to be an underlying trend developing to further consider the economic results of otherwise valid corporate separations in cases where an unnecessary restrictive technicality blocks their tax-free status. / Master of Science

The main focus of the study was to make an analysis on the impact of a merger on employees at Taletso FET College. In order to achieve this, it was necessary to consult literature on the subject which other researchers and writers had written on. This included an in-depth search using the Internet on the subject. This was necessary as it provided an overall understanding and gave insight to the study which also helped the researcher to tap into some other issues which were previously unknown to her. In conducting the investigation, the use of the questionnaire was found to be the best data collection instrument for the methodology. Reasons as to why the questionnaire was preferred as well as the disadvantages of the questionnaire were also stated. Participants were selected from the three colleges, which had merged to create Taletso FET College. The findings of the study were presented in a clear and understandable manner in the form of graphs. The study generally found that during mergers, human issues are often neglected and that if these issues are not properly addressed they can affect the success of the merger. The study through the results also displayed that when people are involved in the merger process, they are likely to remain loyal and remain in their jobs after the merger. It is for this reason that the study concludes that people need to be involved before and during the merger process. The study also gave its findings, conclusion and recommendations and advised that further research needed to be done as the subject was wide and in-exhaustive. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2011