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A Hybrid National Retail Sales Tax for U.S. Tax Reform

Dr. Michael F. Williams, Prairie View A&M University, Texas

ABSTRACT

For many years some have advocated a fundamental reform of the U.S. federal tax system—replacement of the current tax system with a national retail sales tax.  Opponents of such reform have offered reasons why a national retail sales tax might be unworkable.  This paper discusses those concerns and offers a new ‘hybrid’ form of sales taxation, featuring tax withholding and tax rebates, which ameliorates many of the issues regarding the workability of a national retail sales tax. In recent years a series of substantial changes to the U.S. federal income tax code have been enacted, an indication that many politicians and their constituents have been discontent with the current income tax system. In fact there is significant political and public interest in a type of fundamental tax reform—replacing the current income-based federal tax system with a national retail sales tax (RST). This interest coincides with a preference by some economists for consumption-based taxation because of the predicted long term efficiency gains if such taxation were to replace the current income tax system. The public discontent with the current tax system may provide the political capital to undertake fundamental tax reform that realizes such gains. Yet no industrialized nation has implemented a broad based national retail sales tax as its primary revenue source, and there are some economists who believe such a system to be unworkable. These economists cite many potential problems, including tax cascading, tax evasion, difficult-to-tax services, the border tax problem, a high revenue-neutral sales tax rate, and harmonization with state and local tax systems. These problems will be examined in the context of a hybrid national retail sales tax system (HRST) that has two important features distinguishing it from a traditional retail sales tax system—a tax withholding requirement for producers, wholesalers and importers of retail goods and services, and a system of sales tax rebates for taxed purchases of business inputs. 

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The Role of Air/Spaceports: Education + Entrepreneurship + Excitement = Economic Growth

Dr. Heather L. Garten, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

ABSTRACT

This research is part of an extensive project that examines the initial ascent of the role of air/spaceports in the Age of Aerospace (Garten, 2014).  The Age of Aerospace, encompassing both aerospace and the evolving role of aviation, is driving and will continue to drive the economy of the United States for years to come.  As aerospace becomes the dominant industry encompassing all others, there is an urgent need for air/spaceports to assume a leadership role within communities.  Furthermore, if the United States desires to maintain a strong global economic position, and more importantly to strengthen its current economic position, the United States must focus on transforming air/spaceports into a stronghold of creativity and innovation that, naturally, has a symbiotic relationship with the surrounding community.  A clear and concise procedure to reform the perception and role of air/spaceports in order to use them efficiently as a catalyst for economic gain during the Age of Aerospace does not exist.  This paper proposes an approach based upon a strategy used throughout history to drive perception while creating a passion of urgency: War.  War is often cited as an economic catalyst, much due to the patriotism driving the war effort (Stinson, 2003; Aversa, 2003; Kortan, 2002).  Moreover, World War II specifically was a predominant catalyst for the aviation and aerospace developments today.  This research examines lessons from World War II, and develops the three-E equation of economic growth (Education + Entrepreneurship + Excitement = Economic Growth). 

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Importation of Information and Communication Technologies in the African

Hospitality Industry:  A Strategic Advantage or Anathema to Development?

Dr. Faith Samkange, Swiss Hotel Management School University Centre, Switzerland

Dr. Amon Simba, Nottingham Trent University (NTU), United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Consensus prevails regarding the strategic significance of Communication and Information Technology (ICT) and yet, the lack of strategic positioning continues to put developing economies at a global disadvantage (Ip et al., 2011). Various arguments articulate the digital divide-separating progressive from developing economies. Proponents of development politics perceive the digital divide as a symbol of inequality holding the colonial legacy responsible for under-development in Africa. In contrast, critics view the divide as a symbol of under-development associated with governance and business leadership failure. Despite this political and ideological divergence, the role of ICT in surviving global competition is paramount. Making ICT available in this case is a progressive development.  However, availability does not necessarily equate to accessibility and usability. This paper is based on a Kenyan case study, which tests these assumptions through an interrogation of ICT development trends and related implementation and utilisation practices. A contextualised research methodology is applied to generate data based on a stratified sample of 15 hotels.  A widespread and wholesale ICT importation trend emerges driven by capacity building factors. Arguably, ICT importation stifles creativity and perpetuates an unsustainable dependency syndrome. These findings resonate with a body of literature critical of prescriptive technological intervention (Samkange, 2008; Islam and Tsuji 2011). The linkage between technological and economic development is well documented (see for example, Fitzgerald 2014 and Sala, 2010). Thus, the need to accelerate economic development has been marked by leapfrogging technological advancement. 

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Leadership Style, Personality and Team Effectiveness

Dr. Michael Ba Banutu-Gomez, Professor, Management and Entrepreneurship

William G. Rohrer College of Business, Rowan University, NJ

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates leadership Style, Leader Personality, and Team Effectiveness. In this study, the data results and literature revealed that a leader can gain the support of the majority of employees through shared personality traits. Furthermore, the data showed that an effective leadership style is one that appeals to employees’ higher need for esteem.  The data also showed that to be an effective team leader requires the leader to skillfully utilize all employees and the knowledge they bring to the organization. Also, the paper revealed that effective motivation and empowerment techniques are influential tools for leading teams. The paper showed, the majority of the participants agreed their leader was directly responsible for the effectiveness of the team because they closely matched their own personality. The participants also indicated they felt their leader exhibited a combination of task, and relationship-orientation as well as utilizing participative leader style, engaged members in group processes. Finally, the paper showed that Leader personality and leader style directly influence team effectiveness. Definitions of leadership include one or more of the following elements: goal attainment, group or organization structure, and interpersonal relationships (Anderson, 2005). Leadership can also be defined as “interpersonal influence exercised in a situation, and directed, through the communication process, toward the attainment of a specified goal or goals” (Tannenbaum, Weschler, & Massarik, 1961). The processes and roles of leadership achieve results with and through others (Blake & Mouton, 1985). Leaders cannot act and achieve organizational goals alone, but must instead rely on their followers, often in the form of teams. Team effectiveness is a complex task driven by a considerable number of factors. A single contributing variable cannot be identified, but there is growing research that suggests leadership style and leader personality plays a significant role.  

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Power, Corruption and SMEs in Nigeria

Adedamola Ariyo, University of Windsor, Canada

Dr. Jonathan Lee, University of Windsor, Canada

ABSTRACT

In Nigeria, corruption results in various administrative barriers that burden domestic as well as foreign companies as they attempt to establish and operate their businesses. While the legislation is generally clear and of considerable quality, the enforcement has been largely ineffective because of corruption. This paper provides some recommendations as to how to begin to tackle the rampant corruption in Nigeria. Nigeria is faced with a plethora of issues such as high poverty, low employment rates, burgeoning rates of inflation, unsatisfactory economic growth, but the most pressing one is corruption. The level of corruption has had a detrimental effect on country as shown by numerous political, social and macroeconomic indicators and has hindered the programs that aim to alleviate poverty in the state. Practically every section of Nigeria’s economy is adversely affected by corruption on a regular basis. Corruption has reached epidemic levels in Nigeria. It has stultified the growth of small and medium enterprises (“SME”) and has sounded the death knell for the spirit of entrepreneurship. This paper will discuss how corruption has stifled entrepreneurship within Nigeria and will offer possible recommendations for SMEs.  Corruption refers to the efforts to garner wealth or power via illegal channels for the appropriation of private gain at expense of the public (Lipset & Lenz, 2000). Another way of viewing corruption is that it is anti-social behaviour that results in undeserved benefits which oppose specific legal and moral norms and hinder attempts to improve the living conditions of people (Okonjo-Iweala, 2005). Corruption is a global phenomenon and is common to all state structures, religions and ethnicities.

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Evaluating ERM Implementation in Egypt and Oman

Lamis Selim, Maastricht University, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT

The main aim of the study is to evaluate Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) implementation in Egypt and Oman. Additional focus is on demonstrating the integration between Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Risk Indicators (KRIs). Youngberg and Kuhn (2002) concluded in their study that risk managers who accept change and think of new ways to embed ERM principles will prosper. Conversely, those who are unwilling to embed ERM are much less likely to succeed in building successful companies. Ferkolj (2010) has pointed out that organizations should at least learn something of the body of knowledge related to ERM, so that management can make intelligent decisions about how best to implement it. This would include selecting an appropriate Risk Management (RM) framework and adapting it to the organization. However, managers not only require improved performance systems, such as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), but they also need to improve RM to manage the possibility that certain activities will be unsuccessful. The results of the study of the Oil and Gas companies showed that they have systems and standards in place for ERM and the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), but an alignment between both is essential to ensure the achievement of their objectives, plans and targets, as well as having a vision of the risks that may occur in the future. Duckert (2011) discussed the numerous key qualities of an effective Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) environment. Those qualities must be strategically aligned with the organization to be highly effective. In the past there was generally little or no focus on risk by companies, but today, many risks do arise and sometimes hinder the achievement of objectives and plans in oil and gas companies. Allwright and Vredenburg (2010) recommended in their study that organizations adopt new collaborative initiatives to deal with the changes due to global social dynamics, competition and political realities. Ferkolj (2010) identified in his study that ERM emphasizes a comprehensive view of risk and risk management (RM) and that different risks within the organization should not be managed separately, such as focusing solely on hazard or financial forms of risk. ERM seeks to address all events that might adversely or positively impact the performance of an organization.

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Neuromarketing and Its Influence in Consumer Behavior:

A Comprehensive Literature Review

Dr. Leopoldo Arias-Bolzmann, Professor of Marketing and Carlos E. Guzman-Bernabe

CENTRUM Graduate Business School, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru

ABSTRACT

The current research paper will present a literature review on the complementary role of neuromarketing techniques in revealing aspects of consumer behavior.  An attempt was made to identify the evolution of this discipline, its origins, the aspects it covers, and its relationship with marketing, neuroeconomics and neuroscience. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are offered. Neuromarketing studies the effect of certain stimuli on the brain which affect consumer behavior. In this scientific area, in order to know the brain reactions, certain medical techniques are used, such as magnetic resonance images, and tomography.  The concept was originally proposed by Ale Smidts, professor of marketing research at the Rotterdam School of Management in 2002.  It interest has increased recently, as a result of the reduction in the cost of medical techniques required and, the increase in the speed with which results are obtained. Neuromarketing is a marketing tool not to be used in an isolated fashion. On the contrary, it should be used when traditional research methods provide unexplained results or when there is doubt as to the quality of the obtained results. Its use applies to marketing research and to strategies design, which includes product development, price, branding, and above all communications. Certain ethical controversies have arisen around neuromarketing, as some authors believe that it could limit the power of decision or the free will of the human being. The studies reviewed, however, show that this scientific discipline intends to aid business strategies but does not try to change consumer behavior, when certain stimuli is presented. The consumer has several elements that influence their purchase decision process.

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Do Islamic Banks Contribute to Economic Development More Than Conventional Banks?

Dr. Khaled Elmawazini, Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST),

Dr. Khiyar Abdalla Khiyar, Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST)

Dr. Ahmad Al Galfy, Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST)

Abstract

Previous studies on the impact of Islamic banking on development are single-country studies whose findings are difficult to generalize. This study investigates the hypothesis that the Islamic banking is a channel for economic development. The study identifies five channels that may explain how Islamic banks can contribute to the economic development more than conventional banks do. The first channel is by directly linking between the real sector and the financial sector. The second channel is by encouraging entrepreneurship and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The third channel is by promoting equality. The fourth channel is the presence of Islamic banks promotes innovation activities by providing risk sharing, which positively affects economic growth and development. The fifth channel is through the ethical values of Islamic banking. In addition, the study indicates that the disagreement concerning the acceptability of certain specific features of Islamic financial products is the main challenge of the growth of the Islamic finance industry. Amartya Sen’s, the 1998 Nobel laureate in economics, argues, “Economic growth cannot be sensibly treated as an end in itself.” [Sen, 1999 p. 14]. Todaro and Smith (2011) defines development as “a multidimensional process involving major changes in social structures, popular attitudes, and national institutions, as well as the acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality, and the eradication of poverty”. This study uses Todaro (2011) definition of development to investigate the impact of Islamic Banking on economic development.  

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Price Matching Guarantee as an Anticipated Regret Reducer: The Moderating Effect of

Price Dispersion and Price Consciousness

Dr. Sultan Alaswad Alenazi, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Price Matching Guarantee is a common business practice, as well as an emerging topic in consumer behavior literature. This research examines the effect of price matching guarantee on anticipated regret under different levels of price dispersion and price consciousness. The results show that price matching guarantee  reduces anticipated regret only when price dispersion is high. In addition, the ability of price matching guarantee to reduce anticipated regret is illuminated when a consumer is price conscious. Although several aspects of pricing have been well documented in the marketing literature, various aspects of pricing need additional research (Blamires, 1997).  For example, consumer’s perception of price has received significant attention (Zeithaml, 1988; Noel & Hanna, 1996). However, the need for a deeper understanding of consumers’ perceptions of price still exists. In recent years, businesses have adopted a policy called a price matching guarantee (PMG), in which consumers are awarded the difference in price if they find a similar product offered at a lower price by a competing retailer (e.g., Sivukamur & Weigand, 1996). Some firms have gone even further to offer more than the difference if consumers find a lower price.  Price matching guarantees have received much attention from marketing scholars, particularly in the field of signal theory. Research on PMG is important to practitioners because of the growing number of businesses that use this strategy. It is also important to scholars because many aspects of consumers’ perceptions of and reactions to PMG need more research (Kukar-Kinney & Walters, 2003). 

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The Generation Y Approach to Flexibility of Employment

Dr. Krystyna Kmiotek, The Rzeszow University of Technology, Rzeszow, Poland

ABSTRACT

The recently observed desire of companies to increase flexibility clashes in the labor market with the preferences of employees in the field of legal forms of employment. The article deals with these issues, but takes into account the youngest group of employees, i.e. Generation Y. The main aim of this article is to answer the question: do Polish workers of Gen Y accept flexible forms of employment? The paper presents the results of research conducted among a sample of 1,261 employees at 16 companies based on indicated preferences of Gen Y employees as to the legal forms of employment. In the paper the factors that affect this approach were identified. The beginning of the twenty-first century is a time of dynamic change and advancing processes of globalization and integration, observed not only in the fields of art and technology, but also noticeable in all other segments of the environment, including the socio-cultural environment. On the one hand, changes are observed in employee hierarchies resulting from changes in the living conditions of populations in recent decades. On the other hand, the methods of organization and management are changing as well, which significantly changes working conditions compared to conditions 20-30 years ago. The apparent effects of these processes can be observed by comparing the characteristics of employees representing different generational groups currently operating in the labor market. The young generation, known as Generation Y, grew up in completely different conditions than their parents, at a time of rapid development of technology and when the computer was no longer an out of reach achievement of technical ideas, and found a place in almost every home.

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Religious Souvenirs from the Holy Land – Is there a Deadweight Loss?

Dr. Ze'ev Shtudiner, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel

Dr. Jeffrey Kantor, Professor, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel

ABSTRACT

Pilgrims who come to the Holy Land for a “once in a lifetime” experience are willing to spend a significant amount of money on shopping, in exchange for a tangible memory of their spiritual experience. Many souvenirs are bought as gifts to give away to friends or relatives, reminding the recipient of both the donor and the occasion.  Most studies on gifts found that gift-giving leads to a deadweight loss. In other words, the cost of the item is higher than the value for the recipient. In this study, we examine whether purchasing religious souvenirs as gifts leads to welfare benefits, since religion has such a powerful impact on people. Tourists to the Holy Land who visited major holy sights took part in this study. We found that there is a welfare benefit of 34%. The welfare benefit is much higher among Christian tourists than among Jewish tourists. The greater their religiosity (the more religious they perceived themselves to be), the larger the welfare benefit. We also found that when a tourist purchases a souvenir as a gift he/she mistakenly thinks that the value of the gift for the recipient will be higher than it realistically is.  People like to give and receive gifts.  As a result, when tourists return from travelling they more often than not return with a souvenir to remind themselves (and others) of the experience. The actual act of gift-giving is an experience that is part and parcel of the travel experience. For example, British tourists spend more than £1.2 billion a year on gifts. This translates into an average of £26 per person per vacation/trip. The purchase of a souvenir by a tourist serves as a tangible way of capturing or suspending in time an otherwise intangible experience (Kim and Littrell, 1999; Tosun et al., 2007).

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Green Building Game for Innovative Education

Yi-Kai Juan, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan

Tseng-Wei Chao, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

With the rapid change of the environment and inevitable urbanization, the concept of green building is gradually gaining more attention from various countries. However, the implementation and promotion of green buildings has been much hindered, and one of the critical factors is the lack of awareness of green buildings among most people. In order to fulfill the educational goals, this study has designed a 40-minute multiplayer (2-4 people) green building strategy game “GBGame” applicable to the Taiwan green building market. In order to verify the learning effectiveness, this study conducted separate experiments using the ARCS motivation model and the paper form examination on 72 vocational students in the architecture major. The results indicate that (1) Players have strong learning motivations during the game process; (2) players who learned through games generally exhibit better learning effectiveness when examined; (3) following cross-validation, we discover a high significance between the learning effect and players’ attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction during the game. The results also indicate that this game can also effectively improve user’s learning motivation and the effectiveness relating to green buildings through repeated game-plays. The influence of global warming caused by the greenhouse effect is not only limited to the ecological level, it has significantly impacts the human society, economy, culture and living environment (Stern, 2008). Taking the building industry as an example; its energy consumption accounts for 40% of global energy consumption (Wang et al., 2012).

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An Imperialist Competitive Algorithm for Minimizing the Makespan of Overlapped

Jobs over Multiple Machines

Dr. Sheng-Chung Tu, Hungkuang University, Taiwan

Dr. Jen-Ya Wang, Hungkuang University, Taiwan

Abstract

This paper considers a minimization problem for jobs with duplicate contents. Due to the prevalence of cloud computing and information technology, a wide choice of various services is offered. So there might be numerous jobs processed by multiple machines simultaneously. However, jobs from different users may have a lot in common and the duplicate contents are processed again and again. This is a kind of waste. In light of the observation, we propose an imperialist competitive algorithm for scheduling jobs with duplicated contents. That is, for the overlapped jobs allocated to the same machine, the duplicate items are processed once only. Experimental results show that the makespan can be reduced significantly if we have highly-overlapped jobs. Makespan minimization problems are commonly seen in many environments. This is because makespan is closely related to customer satisfaction and business cost. For example, Allouche, Aouni, Martel, Loukil, and Rebaï (2009) proposed a compromise programming model to minimize the make span as well as improve satisfaction. Makespan minimization is also commonly useful in batch scheduling. Ji and Cheng (2010) considered a batch scheduling environment and tried to minimize the makespan. In (M. Z. Wang & Wang, 2012), a single-machine makespan minimization scheduling problem with nonlinear shortening processing times was introduced. On the other hand, makespan is also an important objective in multiprocessing system (Coffman, Garey, & Johnson, 1978). Reza Bonyadi, Rahmani, and Ebrahimi Moghaddam (2010) proposed a makespan minimization problem for disk scheduling and operating system design.

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Logistic Competitiveness and Export Performance: The Case of Myanmar Fresh Produce

Dr. Hla Theingi, Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand

ABSTRACT

Agriculture sector is the mainstay of the Myanmar economy accounting for 60 percent of the GDP and employing 65 percent of the labor force.  Thus agriculture sector’s competitiveness is imperative for Myanmar’s economy.  Agriculture sector’s competitiveness depends largely on logistic competitiveness of the country since logistic costs contribute 20% of the total cost of production. According to the World Bank Logistic Performance Index (2014) Myanmar rank 145 out of 160 countries with logistic efficiency of 40% of the best performer; Germany.  Thus this article reviews logistic challenges faced by Myanmar agribusiness firms especially agriculture fresh produce suppliers and highlights the impact of logistic challenges on Myanmar fresh produce exports.  This article also proposes the efforts to be undertaken by all stakeholders involved.   Farm to consumers is not an easy job for agriculture fresh produce suppliers.  Agribusiness firms are facing with moving, handling, processing and storage of products from growers to consumers. Logistics costs are drivers of firm prices. Inefficiencies of core logistics services increase prices and reduce quality of fresh produce.  By minimizing logistic inefficiencies there exists an opportunity to obtain export competitiveness. Myanmar is a large country with land area of 676,577 square kilometers (km³) and 18% of total land area which is about 12.4 million hectares (ha) are used for agriculture production (ADB, 2013).  Some 5.7 million ha is considered cultivable but it is currently unused (ADB, 2013). 

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A Study of Social Network Based Recruiting Service Design

Dr. Pin-Rui Hwang, National United University, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Due to rapidly population decrease of college students, college faculty recruiting has become an emerging issue in Taiwan. In this study, a part-time professor recruiting service design is proposed that aims to find appropriate part-time faculty candidates based on the social network analysis. As Social Network Analysis (SNA) contains information for various utilizations, suitable services design for faculty recruiting recommendation is needed. In this study, we proposed a social network based recruiting service design, followed by its framework a prototype service application. The proposed recruiting service integrates SNA techniques, course content ontology, and professional expertise ontology for establishing a recruiting candidate’s social network model for service utilization. The result indicates the social network based approach could provide more qualified candidates for recruiting appropriate faculty than traditional relationship based recommendation approach. The rapid population decreases in Taiwan raise an emerging issue in education that school have to balance the number between students and professors. The decreasing trends also make university to manipulate their recruiting policy for economical operations. Recruiting part-time faculty is one of the solutions for decreasing student populations. Under these circumstances, how to find appropriate part-time professors for the students has become a matter issue for department committee in Taiwan’s college. As the wages of part-time faculty is relatively low and with few teaching hours, it is very difficult to find appropriate candidates for professional courses.

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The Management System of Ecotourism and Cultural Tourism for Sustainable Community Development

Dr. Nithipattara Balsiri, Dhonburi Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand

ABSTRACT

The objectives of this research were : 1) to study basic information, community life styles, community identity, and local wisdoms in Bangkhuntien district, 2) to study the unique characteristic of the community for public relation the ecotourism and cultural tourism, 3) to study opportunities and threat to develop ecotourism and cultural tourism, 4) to study participation of government and community sectors in ecotourism and cultural tourism, 5) to study and develop the management system of ecotourism and cultural tourism for sustainable community development. Research methodology is the qualitative research and participatory action research. This research area is Bangkhuntien district, Bangkok province. Interview schedules, and observation forms test were employed for data collection. Content analysis and typological analysis were employed for data analysis. The major research results were : 1) Bangkhuntien community had variety cultural and natural capital which were suitable for developing to be the cultural tourism and ecotourism attractions, 2) in Bangkhuntien community, there were factors which facilitator for developing the cultural tourism and ecotourism, but there were some problems which needs solution form government and community, 3) the management system of ecotourism and cultural tourism for sustainable community development in Bangkhuntien community can be divided in to 4 patterns, they were participation of government and community in planning, implementing, tourism benefit, and evaluation. A sustainable community is on that is economically, environmentally, socially, healthy, and resilient. It meets challenges through integrated solution rather than through fragmented approaches that meet one of those goals at the expense of the others. And it takes a long term perspective, on that is focused on both the present and future, well beyond the next budget or election cycle.

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How Sustainable is Sustained?: The Latent Trajectory of Performance in Baking Industry

Dr. Fen-may Liou, Chihlee Institute of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

Dr. Chin-Hui Hsiao, Chihlee Institute of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

This paper introduces a new methodology, Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA), to identify firms with sustained competitive advantage. LCGA models the probability of membership in the observed distinct (performance) trajectory groups where the grouping variable (the latent factor) is unavailable or unknown; it provides an appropriate procedure to capture information about interindividual differences in intraindividual change. In our paper, the trajectory of performance is defined by market-to-book ratio (MTB), a common indicator approximating Tobin’s q, to measure the competitive advantage of the firm. Using MTB as the performance indicator, we apply LCGA to US banking industry in the last 15 years and distinguished three performance-difference groups. The latent trajectory groups identified by MTB are heterogeneous in their dynamic capabilities. This paper contributes to the strategic management research by showing how one may predict the status of sustained competitive advantage from a series of historical performance. Historical financial performance is widely used to examine the existence of sustained competitive advantage. A firm is said to have sustained competitive advantage if it has achieved long-term persistent superior performance, that is, persisting profits above the norm. Previous studies have used long-term series of performance data from accounting books to detect persistent superior performance (e.g., Henderson, Raynor, and Ahmed, 2012; McGahan and Porter, 1999, 2003; Powell, 2003; Powell and Lloyd, 2005; Powell and Reinhardt, 2010; Ruefli and Wiggins, 2003; Wiggins and Reufli, 2002, 2005). These studies do not pay attention to the random-walk process associated with financial indicators under study.

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Manpower Need and Vocational Training of Electrical and Electronics Industry

Dr. Fu-Man Hsieh, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan R.O.C.

En-Kuang Lin, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan R.O.C.

Hsin-Yi Chou, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan R.O.C.

Kung-Hou Lin, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan R.O.C.

Nai-Chung Chang, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan R.O.C.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to understand the demands of manpower and vocational training of Electrical and Electronics Industry, the research sample is from the Qian-zhen export processing zone. The ways to analyze include (1) Data collection and analysis of the aspect of manpower demands. (2) Data collection and analysis of the aspect of demands in the industrial vocational trainings. (3) According to the results mentioned above, to design a proper program to fit into the supply-demand analysis in order to educate qualified workers curriculums and planning for vocational trainings.  To achieve the main purpose, some research methods are implemented as Secondary Data Analysis: (1) the resources of information with analyzing development trends and manpower demands in Electrical and Electronics Industry from DGBAS and VTC Employment Service Center. (2)Questionnaire method: there are two types of questionnaire. Both employers and employees are investigated to realize their needs. Respectively, first, Both needs of the training units’ requirements in Electrical and Electrics industries and the manpower’s needs questionnaires, effective 64 receives in 100 questionnaires.；second, Labor’s training needs questionnaire of Electrical and Electronics industry, effective 258 receives in 330 questionnaires. c. Hold expert forum, which experts, scholars and company representatives are included, 15 in total.

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A Study on Mediator Effect of the Reverse Logistics Activities on Performance

Dr. Ertan Gunduz, Istanbul Gelisim University, Turkey

Dr. Mine Afacan Findikli, Istanbul Gelisim University, Turkey

Abstract

The value attributed to reverse logistics performance in organisations is likely to affect market performance positively. Being one of the first attempts to question this proposition, we distinguished some internal and external factors that affect the reverse logistics performance and examined in the light of market performance of most of the largest firms in Turkey. General findings suggested that perceptions of the executives of the firm with regard to the internal applications and the external factors we selected were directly proportional to the performance of the reverse logistics applications of the firm. Our research highlighted the competitiveness achieved by the support of the top management of the firm for the reverse logistics applications. Results indicate that firm’s increasing profit margin affected the reverse logistics performance in a significant and positive manner. Another finding of our research was neither the internal factors nor the external factors, except for the reverse logistics performance, directly affect the organizational performance. As for practical implications, managers were recommended to identify which aspects of reverse logistics factors could be taken as core competencies by the descriptive information obtained.  The reverse logistics performance includes the processes for the planning, implementation and control of effective backward flow of the supply chain for the purpose of ensuring the revaluation or the properly disposal of the raw materials, semi-finished and end products, and the relevant information from the consumption point to the origin. In some studies before, the factors which affect the reverse logistics performance counted as the internal and external factors.

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IPR Competition between Asymmetric Countries

Dr. Chia Chi Wang, Tatung University, Taipei, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

This paper analyzes the relationship between IPR policy and the foreign firm’s location decision when the countries’ sizes are asymmetric. Two countries attempt to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) through the IPR policy. We find that a country with a stricter IPR policy gives a higher incentive for the foreign firm to invest in that country. In addition, whether or not a country can attract FDI depends on the relative size of the country and the employment gains of FDI. If the effect from employment gains is small, then a small country cannot attract FDI even if it implements full IPR protection. However, if the effect from employment gains is large, then a small country may attract FDI through the IPR policy.  In recent decades the issue of intellectual property rights (IPR) has received much attention, because firm-specific assets are considered to be knowledge-based in this high-tech era and should be protected by a patent. The World Trade Organization (WTO) administers an international agreement, called Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), that contains a set of minimum standards for IPR protection. Actually, the level of IPR protection is an important concern for a foreign firm when it chooses a location to invest.(1) If knowledge is valuable, but can be copied, then the foreign firm may not wish to invest in a country with weaker IPR protection, because the local firm can easily imitate the foreign firm’s superior technology. The foreign firm would lose absolute advantage over its know-how. On the contrary, if knowledge can be protected by IPR, then it gives a higher incentive for the foreign firm to invest in that country.  A government adopting policy intervention to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) is a frequently observed phenomenon, because FDI brings many benefits for the home country such as spurring competitiveness in the market, creating job vacancies, and bringing about technology transformation.

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Corporate Social Responsibility in Egypt: Current Status and Future Prospects

Dr. Samir Youssef, American University in Cairo, Egypt

ABSTRACT

Current level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Egypt is largely determined by organizational, social, economic, legal and political factors. In some large and possibly medium-size firms, especially those listed on the Stock Exchange, CSR is increasingly becoming a formalized process and is encouraged by government’s effort to build up capacity in this area for the purpose of increasing the country’s competitiveness. This was guided by IMF initiatives for a free market economy. However, for the majority of firms in Egypt, especially those   small in size, CSR is an absent concept and is replaced by philanthropy and paternalistic management. The social setting in Egypt is not confrontational but rather accommodative and aims at maintaining harmony between contending parties. This is encouraged by the low level of development of different business stakeholders .This sets limits on the potential of   negotiated arrangements which is the cornerstone of the stakeholder’s model. In the aftermath of the Egyptian uprising in January 2011 and in view of the high level of poverty a paradigm shift is expected by adopting a more developmental orientation of CSR.  Egypt, with a population of 90million and limited resources, is currently in dire need for economic and social development .Until the mid - seventies the country adopted the socialist system with 90 percent of the economy controlled by the government. Public sector enterprises, managed largely as a part of the bureaucracy, were depleted in order to finance several wars with Israel. 

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Coopetition? Yes, but Who With? The Selection of Coopetition Partners by High-Tech Firms

Dr. Agnieszka Zakrzewska-Bielawska, Professor, Lodz University of Technology, Poland

Coopetition can be said to be present only when two inherently contradictory inter-organisational dynamics – competition and cooperation – are occurring at the same time between the same entities. Two questions then arise: With whom are firms in coopetition relationships? With whom will they wish to institute coopetition in the future? The goal of this paper is to answer these questions. Research conducted using the Pen and Paper Interview technique on a sample of 235 high-tech firms found that the majority were engaged in multiple coopetition relationships, that is, that they were cooperating with more than one competitor. They chose their coopetition partners mostly from among their rivals in Poland and from the SME sector. That said, they most preferred to enter into coopetition with firms of a similar size and technological and market position, or with stronger and bigger firms. Their choices and preferences were, however, stratified not only in respect of firms’ size, but also with regard to their territorial scope, degree of development and area of coopetition.  Contemporary markets require firms to take an innovative approach to constructing competitive advantage. On the one side rapid technological advancement, increasing globalisation and open borders intensify competition, while on the other they compel firms to combine their strengths to take better advantage of the opportunities created by the changing environment. As a result, firms are finding themselves in simultaneous competition and cooperation ever more frequently. This state of affairs is defined as coopetition. Notwithstanding the increasing interest in coopetition, the fundamental questions associated with the relationship it defines continue to be discussed.

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The Training Requirements and the Curriculum Design of the Meridian

Therapy Industry Employees- A Case of San-Sui Tang Company

Dr. Fu-Man Hsieh, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan

Meng Chen Yu, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan

Chiao -Yi Chiu, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan

Wei Bin Li, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan

Chian Chi Huang, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Meridian therapy industry (Massage industry) formed a specific culture to Taiwan tourism industry, and it can push forward the regional economic development. This research focuses on the training demand of the staffs in the massage industry. By case study, the main purpose of this research is to improve the efficiency of the staff by developing training program moderate. This study took San-Sui-Tang Company as a case study, which has three branches in Kaohsiung so far. The research methods include (1) Organizational analysis by interviewing with the employer (2) Person analysis by questionnaire of the staffs which consist of general and specific course. There are three significant findings as below: 1. The main training motivation of masseurs is to improve their professional knowledge and skills. 2. The main providing training motivation of the employer focuses on improving staffs’ communication skill. 3. The training course map can be divided into masseurs’ part and administrative staffs’ parts. According to the Classification Employment of the ROC, meridian therapy professionals belongs to the 5149th, employees of others personal service. The three professions are masseurs, rehabilitation masseurs and meridian therapy professionals. On May 29th in 2012, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (hereinafter referred to as MOHW) released the Regulations Matters of Indigenous Medicine by Yi Zi No.1010206672, categorizing massage industry as the J industry, the cultural, sporting, leisure and other service industries. It was defined as the industry doing the traditional massage and chiropractic toward bodies, but not referred to as the medical behavior and asserting the medical efficiency.

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Minimizing the Makespan of Overlapped Jobs with Release Times Over Multiple Machines

Dr. Jen-Ya Wang, Hungkuang University, Taiwan

Dr. Jr-Shian Chen, Hungkuang University, Taiwan

Dr. Fuh-Gwo Chen, Hungkuang University, Taiwan

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we consider a minimization problem for jobs containing duplicate contents. In today’s computing environments, a batch of jobs may be assigned to multiple machines at a time. However, not all jobs are released at time 0 and some jobs have partially duplicate contents. If the jobs with duplicate contents can be assigned to the same machine as possible as we can, some processing time can be saved by processing the duplicate contents once. Therefore, we propose an algorithm for scheduling such overlapped jobs. A tabu search is also used to enhance the convergence speed and solution quality of the proposed algorithm. Experimental results show that the makespan can be improved much if the overlapped jobs can be placed together. A significant benefit of job scheduling is customer satisfaction. Job scheduling is a common research topic in computer science and operational research. Traditional studies explore how to cost-effectively and time-efficiently schedule jobs. With proper job scheduling, we can reduce makespan (Cheng et al., 2006; Rafiee Parsa et al., 2010), completion time (Shabtay, 2014; Tao, 2014), tardiness (Lushchakova, 2012), earliness (Baker, 2014), number of tardy jobs (Rasti Barzoki & Hejazi, 2013), or operation cost (Levitin et al., 2014). Therefore, lower cost and shorter waiting time could lead to better customer satisfaction and various minimization problems are studied in the field of job scheduling. Minimizing makespan is commonly seen in the field of job scheduling (Ahmadizar, 2012; Jia & Leung, 2014; Lee et al., 2012; Lin & Ying, 2013). This is because a shorter makespan generally implies a better customer satisfaction. The performance indicator, i.e., makespan, is measured by the completion time of the last job. However, due to scarce resources and conflicting constraints, obtaining an optimal schedule becomes not that easy. Such problems are usually NP-hard (Nessah & Kacem, 2012).

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Using Conjoint Analysis to Discover Guest Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Bed and Breakfast in Taitung

Dr. Chen-Te Lin, Kang Ning University

Dr. I-Hua Lin, Taiwan ShouFu University

Yi-Tsun Ho, Chang Jung Christian University

Dr. Chen-Hsien Lin, Overseas Chinese University

ABSTRACT

Within recent years, the government of Taitung County has encouraged the tourism industry and promoted this location as the best vacation spot in Taiwan. A variety of events take place there, such as folk activities and religious festivals; in addition local services and exhibitions also attract tourism. To demonstrate the distinguishing characteristics of Taitung, bed and breakfast (B&B) owners’ have blended nature and culture into their décor, menus, and activities. This study focuses on (a) consumers’ major considerations in choosing Taitung’s B&Bs, (b) market segmentation of Taitung’s B&Bs and the best product mix preferred by consumers, and (c) willingness to pay for room rate.  A two-stage cluster analysis was employed as the main research method; initially, the researchers classified the appropriate cluster numbers and used the K-means to cluster the groups in the second stage. Information about consumer preference was collected to complete the conjoint analysis of the data of the product mix and the data of the preference order of the consumer.  The researchers gained the primary attributes of the B&Bs from the literature review and developed a first-stage survey. The conjoint analysis was adopted to analyze the data；seven new attributes were discovered: electronics available in the room, supplies in the room, types of rooms, availability of local items, availability of bicycles, word-of-mouth recommendations and advertising, directional sign. In the second stage, visitors were sent to Taitung and helped the participants to complete the questionnaires to understand their preference sequence. Part-worth utilities were adopted as a segmentation method, and three clustering-based segmentations were discovered: facilities orientation, price orientation and room type orientation.

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