With a triple-bottom-line lens on sustainability, this study examines the effects of culture on companies' economic, social, and environmental sustainability practices. Drawing on institutional theory and project GLOBE, we delineate cultural practices dimensions that consistently predict sustainability practices related to each of the three domains. Based on a sample of 1924 companies in 36 countries and nine cultural clusters, we find that future orientation, gender egalitarianism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance practices positively, and performance orientation practices negatively, predict corporate sustainability practices. Further, our findings suggest that these effects might vary according to the country vis-à-vis cluster level of analysis.

by Chen, Shuojian. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-61). / ABSTRACT --- p.I / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.III / LIST OF CHARTS --- p.VII / LIST OF TABLES --- p.VIII / Chapter CHAPTER I: --- INTRODUCTION 一 A REVIEW OF FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN CHINA --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- "The foreign investments in China had soared in the past dozen years, but now, it levels off" --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Most of the foreign investments come from Hong Kong and Taiwan --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- "Three policies toward foreign investments - deny, welcome unconditionally, and welcome conditionally" --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Before 1979 ´ؤ deny --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- From 1979 to 1991 ´ؤ welcome unconditionally --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3.3 --- After 1991 - welcome conditionally --- p.6 / Chapter 1.4 --- focus on the disharmonies --- p.6 / Chapter CHAPTER II: --- DISHARMONIES IN DIRECT INVESTMENTS - THE PHENOMENA --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1 --- Hostility toward foreign investments --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- """ Economic invasion “" --- p.7 / "“The Eight Countries' Allied Force""" --- p.8 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- """ National Dignity “" --- p.9 / """China Can Say No""" --- p.9 / """Prefect's Decision""" --- p.10 / Chapter 2.2 --- Uncooperative Attitude --- p.11 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Joint venture forming bids are turned down --- p.11 / """Pretty daughters"" and ""ugly daughters""" --- p.11 / Le Kai ® and Kodak® --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Chinese enterprises repurchase the brands they once contributed to joint ventures as assets. --- p.14 / Sheng Brand ® Chrysanthemum Crystal --- p.15 / Case: MAXAM ® --- p.15 / Chapter 2.3 --- Internal Conflicts in Joint Ventures --- p.16 / Chapter CHAPTER III: --- THE CAUSE OF DISHARMONY --- p.17 / Chapter 3.1 --- "Chinese have over-expectation to foreign investment. While disappointed, some become unfriendly toward foreign investors " --- p.17 / Chapter 3.2 --- "Although foreign investments contribuie to the economic growth, its opportunity cost IS PRETTY HIGH " --- p.19 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- "Foreign investments may worsen, rather than relief the problem of unemployment " --- p.19 / Create New Market vs. Redistribute the Market Shares --- p.20 / The Myth of Export Oriented --- p.20 / 8.8% of the Employees Accounts for 19.1% of the Sales --- p.21 / A model to identify jobs created vs. jobs extinguished by foreign funded enterprises --- p.23 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- "Bypassing the tariff, it is possible for overseas enterprises to dump in China " --- p.25 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Foreign capital and honest society --- p.27 / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Tax paid by foreign funded firms is not proportionate to their profits --- p.29 / 2+3Corporation Tax Holiday --- p.29 / Value Added Tax --- p.29 / Legal Tax Mitigation & Illegal Tax Evasion --- p.29 / Chapter 3.2.5 --- The fact that foreign-funded firms are not required to contribute appropriate proportion to social security indirectly results in social unrest --- p.33 / Chapter 3.3 --- Fraudulence in Forming Joint Ventures --- p.35 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Equipment Overpricing --- p.35 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Technology Overpricing --- p.35 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Material and Components Overpricing --- p.36 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- "Land, workshop & sales network overpricing " --- p.37 / Chapter 3.3.5 --- Fraudulence in equipment importation --- p.37 / Chapter 3.3.6 --- "Both of the foreign partners and the Chinese partners can be cheaters, but it is more common that a Chinese partner is the victim " --- p.38 / Chapter 3.4 --- National Security --- p.39 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- "Foreign investment, national industries, and national security " --- p.39 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Even civil products may have unexpected significance to national security --- p.39 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- "In case of international disputes, trade wars, or real wars, who holds the hostages? " --- p.40 / Chapter 3.5 --- The Agency Problem --- p.41 / Chapter 3.6 --- The Limited Running Time of Joint Ventures --- p.42 / Case: Zhang Xiao Quan ® --- p.42 / Chapter CHAPTER IV: --- MEASURES TO MINIMIZE THE DISHARMONIES --- p.44 / Chapter 4.1 --- Facilitate long-run view in founding joint ventures --- p.44 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Two ways in forming joint venture --- p.44 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- To increase the stakes in a joint venture gradually --- p.45 / Chapter 4.2 --- Assign outsiders to manage the joint venture --- p.46 / Chapter 4.3 --- Localization --- p.46 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Local sourcing --- p.47 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Employee localization --- p.47 / Chapter 4.4 --- Adopting local brand names --- p.47 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Case: P&G® Jiehua® andGaofuli ® --- p.48 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Multiple brands 一 a successful strategy --- p.50 / P&G itself is a successful example in multiple brands strategy --- p.50 / The advantages of multiple brands strategy --- p.50 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- "Reasons that foreign investors refuse to adopt the Chinese brands, besides the duration of the joint ventures " --- p.51 / Case: Wine & Spirit --- p.53 / Chapter 4.4.4 --- Adopting famous local brand names --- p.57 / Under what situation Chinese brands should be kept in the joint venture --- p.57 / Case: Yale ® and Gu Li ® dual brands strategy --- p.58 / CONCLUSION --- p.59 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.60

This thesis examines the character of Middle Neolithic to Middle Bronze Age (3600-1200 BC) funerary and ritual practices in Wales. This was based on the analysis of chronological (radiocarbon determinations and artefactual evidence), contextual (monument types, burial types, deposit types) and osteological (demographic and pyre technology) data from a comprehensive dataset of excavated human bone deposits from funerary and ritual monuments. Funerary rites in the Middle Neolithic (c. 3600-2900 BC) sometimes involved the deposition of single inhumation or cremation burials in inconspicuous pit graves. After a hiatus in the Late Neolithic (c. 2900-2400 BC), formal burials re-appeared in the Chalcolithic (c. 2500-2200 BC) with Beaker burials. However, formal burials remained relatively rare until the Early Bronze Age (c. 2200-1700 BC) when burial mounds, which often contained multiple burials, became the dominant type of funerary monument. Burial rites for this period most commonly involved the cremation of the dead. Whilst adult males were over-represented in inhumations, no age- or gender-based differences were identified in cremation burials. Patterns in grave good associations suggest that perceived age- and-gender-based identities were sometimes expressed through the selection of objects to be placed in the graves. The tradition of cremation burials carried on into the Middle Bonze Age (c. 1700-1200 BC), although formal burials became less common. Circular enclosures (henges, timber circles, stone circles, pit circles), several of which were associated with cremated human bone deposits, represented the most persistent tradition of ritual monuments, with new structures built from the end of the fourth millennium BC to the middle of the second millennium BC in Wales.

As práticas verdes vêm constantemente sendo discutidas devido a sua importância para as empresas e para a sociedade. Porém, ainda não se chegou a um consenso sobre todos os seus benefícios, quer sejam ambientais ou econômicos. Cada vez mais os estudos demonstram a capacidade de geração de valor das práticas verdes para as empresas e para a sociedade. Portanto, imagina-se que as mesmas irão influenciar a sua aplicação em segmentos que hoje não têm uma utilização mais efetiva de práticas ambientalmente corretas. O objetivo dessa pesquisa é medir o valor das práticas verdes na percepção dos executivos de organizações manufatureiras e de serviços. O método escolhido foi a pesquisa survey, realizada a partir de um instrumento previamente proposto, contendo 5 variáveis e 25 itens. A pesquisa survey foi realizada em duas etapas: estudo de pré-teste e estudo final. Diferentes técnicas estatísticas foram empregadas para refinar o instrumento, como Análise de Confiabilidade, Análise Fatorial Exploratória e Análise Fatorial Confirmatória. Como resultado desse refinamento emergiu um modelo teórico de pesquisa final contendo 5 variáveis, sendo as dimensões de Estratégia, Custos, Crescimento, Marca e Riscos em 25 itens, onde foi verificado que a variável Marca não se confirmou, pois não teve validade estatística no modelo testado. Também como contribuição para as empresas e sociedade, o modelo teórico de pesquisa final se mostrou adequado para avaliar o valor das práticas verdes para organizações. A principal contribuição da pesquisa para a prática gerencial é o mapeamento da percepção dos executivos a respeito dos benefícios que as práticas verdes proporcionam às suas organizações e um novo modelo representando o valor das práticas verdes. / Green practices are constantly being discussed due to their importance for business and society. However, a consensus on all its benefits has not been reached yet, whether on environmental or economic field. Increasingly, studies have demonstrated the ability to generate value of green practices for companies and society . Therefore, it is thought that they will influence their application in segments that currently have a more effective use of environmentally friendly practices. The objective of this research is to measure the value of green practices in the perception of executives of manufacturing and service organizations. The method chosen was the survey research conducted from a previously proposed instrument, containing 5 variables and 25 items. The survey was conducted in two stages: a pre-test study and a final study. Different statistical techniques were employed to refine the instrument, as Reliability Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. As a result of this refinement a theoretical model for the final survey containing 5 variables has emerged, with the dimensions of Strategy, Cost, Growth, Brand and Risks with 25 items , which found that the variable Brand was not confirmed, it had no statistical validity in the model tested. Also, as a contribution to business and society, the theoretical model for the final survey was adequate to assess the value of green practices for organizations. The main contribution of the research for management practice are mapping the perceptions of executives about the benefits of green practices to their organizations and provide a new model representing the value of green practices.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of a Masters in Commerce. March 2016 / The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a systematic difference in the textual characteristics of information in the chairman’s statement of profitable and unprofitable companies on the JSE main board. This would indicate the existence of impression management in management commentary. The difference of profitable and unprofitable companies was analysed in relation to six pre-determined textual characteristics. The primary conclusion drawn is that impression management does exist in the chairman’s statements of companies listed on the main board of the JSE. Another finding of the study was that ‘extremely unprofitable’ companies are less likely to employ impression management. The findings of this research indicate that users of annual reports should be alert to the existence of reporting bias introduced by management in its commentary. Users of the annual report should carefully consider the usefulness of management commentary in their decision making, discounting these disclosures for the use of impression management techniques employed in corporate reporting strategies. Studies on impression management techniques in narrative disclosures within the annual report have not been piloted in South Africa before. This is the first study of linguistic variation employed in management commentary within the South African context. The study was exploratory in nature and did not set out to identify the causes of impression management being employed within the South African context. Future research may explore this further and may also be extended to determine whether impression management is present in other sections of the annual report and even the integrated report. Key words: Chairman’s statement, impression management, management commentary, reporting bias / MT2017

To significantly reduce the volumes of food currently wasted in industrialized countries, tackling food waste on the household level is paramount. While awareness campaigns and economic incentives are important measures, it is crucial to look beyond individual decision making and scrutinize how contextual factors frame consumer lifestyles in ways that intensify the issue of food going to waste. This paper addresses the role of material contexts-in particular, infrastructures and Technologies- in the shaping of food shopping and storing practices and thus consumer food waste. It presents an in-depth, qualitative study with 24 Austrian households, conducted from November 2016 to February 2017. Data were collected through food waste diaries, semi-structured interviews and a total of 16 focus group discussions. In line with other studies, we find that food waste is a largely unintended outcome of entangled daily routines revolving around food, such as meal planning, grocery shopping and food storing. The characteristics of food retail infrastructures-in terms of accessibility, density and type-shape these routines and thus potentially influence excess food purchases. Food storing practices as well depend on the characteristics of domestic infrastructures and co-evolve with technologies used for storing food. Unraveling the interconnectivity between material contexts and household food practices can inform policy, product design and food retail development and thus has implications for reducing consumer food waste.

<p>Motivating employees is essential for any organization aspiring to succeed. However, the process of motivating is not straightforward due to the diversity of individual’s needs. The task has been made even more difficult by the fact that personalized needs have altered in recent years. For instance, in many circumstances financial compensation is not considered as the main motivational factor of employees. Therefore, various other motivational practices have been developed, which take into consideration such issues as the work environment and the job itself.</p><p>This thesis is a comparative study between Sweden and Finland. The study has an objective of exploring how corporate culture affects the use of motivational practices in the Information Technology industry.</p><p>According to the findings gathered from two organizations, Sasken Finland Oy and SYSteam, culture does influence the choice of motivational practices. The issue of how culture affects, depends on whether corporate culture is task or person-oriented.</p>

<p>This paper will analyse critically the main sources, namely UNCAC, the African Union Convention on Prevention and Combating Corruption (AU Convention), the Southern African Development Community Protocol against Corruption (SADC Protocol) and the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (CoE Convention). Furthermore, the paper will examine the corresponding explanatory notes and try to provide a picture of the most important aspects of the issue. As many countries are obliged to consider the criminalisation of trading in influence, drawing an overview of it may make a substantial contribution to its comprehension. Due to the limited space, the paper is unable to cover all provisions of trading in influence in countries where it exists. Accordingly, the discussion will be restricted to the situation in France, Spain and Belgium. By analysing the position in these countries, the different approaches to criminalisation can be highlighted.</p>

Motivating employees is essential for any organization aspiring to succeed. However, the process of motivating is not straightforward due to the diversity of individual’s needs. The task has been made even more difficult by the fact that personalized needs have altered in recent years. For instance, in many circumstances financial compensation is not considered as the main motivational factor of employees. Therefore, various other motivational practices have been developed, which take into consideration such issues as the work environment and the job itself. This thesis is a comparative study between Sweden and Finland. The study has an objective of exploring how corporate culture affects the use of motivational practices in the Information Technology industry. According to the findings gathered from two organizations, Sasken Finland Oy and SYSteam, culture does influence the choice of motivational practices. The issue of how culture affects, depends on whether corporate culture is task or person-oriented.

This study, one of four cohort studies, was designed to determine the relationship between student performance and leadership practices as perceived by principals and selected site-based decision making committee members of middle schools in the Region 5 Education Service Center area of Texas. Using the Leadership Practices Inventory developed by Kouzes and Posner, the study compared the perceptions of middle school principals and selected observers regarding leadership practices. These leadership ratings were compared to student achievement for each campus in the study. In addition, the study examined if selected demographic variables impact the perception of leaders and observers in regard to leadership. For schools in this particular study, there was no direct correlation between perceived leadership practices of the principals and student achievement as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests. This was true of total LPI scores and also of each individual practice measured by the LPI. The data revealed that principals in the study rated themselves higher as a group than their observers rated them on the LPI. This trend was consistent for the total instrument and for each leadership practice. There were also similarities, however, between the two groups. The practice Model the Way had the highest mean for both groups, while Inspire a Shared Vision and Enable Others to Act were rated lower by both groups of respondents. A researcher-developed questionnaire was used to gather demographic information about each respondent. Years of experience, age group, gender, and ethnicity were all studied to determine if they had any effect on responses. The results indicate that there were some differences when principals and observers were studied separately, but these differences were minimized when the two groups were combined. Of particular interest was the fact that younger principals and less experienced principals rated themselves more conservatively than their older and more experienced colleagues. Younger observers and less experienced observers, however, had a propensity to rate their leader high when compared to older observers and more experienced observers. Neither ethnicity nor gender had an impact on leader ratings.