China's diplomatic investment may not yield returns

Subject China's diplomatic capabilities. Significance China under President Xi Jinping has become more assertive, more activist and more multilateral in its foreign policy. Initiatives such as the 'one belt and one road' commercial strategy, rapid expansion of China's global broadcast media and development of bilateral ties by state-owned enterprises all suggest that China's global network has stronger and deeper roots than before. Beijing's expanding role in multilateral fora, especially new China-led organisations such as the New Development Bank, make a clear break with Deng Xiaoping's strategy of inconspicuous passivity. Impacts Cultivation of effective diplomatic channels will pay off most in managing relations with antagonists, or where interests diverge. No other country shares China's values sufficiently to upgrade a convergence of interests into a firm alliance. The weakness of China's foreign ministry within the bureaucracy gives Chinese diplomats less influence than their foreign counterparts.

Significance The meeting between Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou and China's Xi Jinping resulted from seven years of rapid rapprochement between the former Cold War enemies. No concrete agreements or proposals emerged from the symbolic meeting. Impacts China will present the meeting as evidence of its peaceful intentions in a jittery East Asian security environment. A DPP president will not undo the cross-Strait trade and transportation agreements reached under the Kuomintang. The DPP's rejection of the 'one-China principle' as a basis for negotiations will strain relations with Beijing.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-293
Author(s):  
Shinu Abhi ◽  
Vasanti Venugopal

Synopsis Arjun Sekri, a professional-turned-entrepreneur, set out to establish the first branded gourmet industrial bakery in Bengaluru, India in late 2002. His lack of experience in the unorganized food and beverages industry did not deter him from establishing a highly popular industrial and retail bakery chain called “Daily Bread”. The case is about his roller coaster ride in establishing a premium retail food brand in India. Though many of the stores did reasonably well, many things went wrong predominantly on the operations front due to the severe impact of global price inflation, manifested by high real estate rentals, raw material, packing and logistics costs and wage costs. After two years of rapid expansion, in order to curb the bleeding bottom line, Arjun decided to shut down all the newly created stores and production units except the one in Bengaluru which was doing well. By late 2009, the dilemma Arjun faced was what should he do next? Research methodology The case study is based on primary data collected from the protagonist and a few other stakeholders involved in the case along with secondary data from published sources. Relevant courses and levels Entrepreneurship courses at MBA level or executive programs. Theoretical bases The case deals with the life cycle management of a venture with special emphasis on opportunity evaluation, setting up, funding and stakeholders selection.


2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 17-20

Purpose – To trace the development of the Benetton Group and describe the causes and consequences of the clothing retailer’s transition from a market-driving to a market-driven strategy. Design/methodology/approach – Presents a history of the company from its beginnings in the 1960s, listing the innovations it adopted to support rapid expansion. Describes the emergence of “fast fashion” retailers such as Zara during the 1990s and explains how and why Benetton subsequently changed its strategy. Findings – It all started with a yellow jumper. Back in the 1960s, Italian men typically wore dark-colored sweaters under a jacket. So when his friends asked if they could have a brightly colored jumper like the one his sister made for his son, Gilberto Benetton realized that they had a different value proposition from traditional companies – and the start of a business. Soon Benetton had a company producing sweaters for local independent retailers in Italy. Plans for expansion brought further innovations that were new to the clothing market of the time. Practical implications – Draws attention to the value of first-mover advantage and the need to align competitive strategy with current market conditions. Social implications – Highlights the value of Benetton’s emphasis on developing long-term relationships based on trust with suppliers and retailers. Originality/value – Questions the value of a market-driving strategy as the basis for sustaining long-term financial performance.


Author(s):  
Menghan TAO ◽  
Ning XIAO ◽  
Xingfu ZHAO ◽  
Wenbin LIU

New energy vehicles(NEV) as a new thing for sustainable development, in China, on the one hand has faced the rapid expansion of the market; the other hand, for the new NEV users, the current NEVs cannot keep up with the degree of innovation. This paper demonstrates the reasons for the existence of this systematic challenge, and puts forward the method of UX research which is different from the traditional petrol vehicles research in the early stage of development, which studies from the user's essence level, to form the innovative product programs which meet the needs of users and being real attractive.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-57
Author(s):  
Pintu Kumar ◽  
Prahlad Kumar Bairwa

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 29-31

Purpose Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings The problem with developing a reputation of being something of an oracle in the business world is that all of a sudden, everyone expects you to pull off the trick of interpreting the future on a daily basis. Like a freak show circus act or one-hit wonder pop singer, people expect you to perform when they see you, and they expect you to perform the thing that made you famous, even if it is the one thing in the world you don’t want to do. And when you fail to deliver on these heightened expectations, you are dismissed as a one trick pony, however good that trick is in the first place. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 1083-1102
Author(s):  
Georgios N. Aretoulis ◽  
Jason Papathanasiou ◽  
Fani Antoniou

Purpose This paper aims to rank and identify the most efficient project managers (PMs) based on personality traits, using Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE) methodology. Design/methodology/approach The proposed methodology relies on the five personality traits. These were used as the selection criteria. A questionnaire survey among 82 experienced engineers was used to estimate the required weights per personality trait. A second two-part questionnaire survey aimed at recording the PMs profile and assess the performance of personality traits per PM. PMs with the most years of experience are selected to be ranked through Visual PROMETHEE. Findings The findings suggest that a competent PM is the one that scores low on the “Neuroticism” trait and high especially on the “Conscientiousness” trait. Research limitations/implications The research applied a psychometric test specifically designed for Greek people. Furthermore, the proposed methodology is based on the personality characteristics to rank the PMs and does not consider the technical skills. Furthermore, the type of project is not considered in the process of ranking PMs. Practical implications The findings could contribute in the selection of the best PM that maximizes the project team’s performance. Social implications Improved project team communication and collaboration leading to improved project performance through better communication and collaboration. This is an additional benefit for the society, especially in the delivery of public infrastructure projects. A lot of public infrastructure projects deviate largely as far as cost and schedule is concerned and this is an additional burden for public and society. Proper project management through efficient PMs would save people’s money and time. Originality/value Identification of the best PMbased on a combination of multicriteria decision-making and psychometric tests, which focus on personality traits.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Sophie K. Löhde ◽  
Giovanna Campopiano ◽  
Andrea Calabrò

PurposeChallenging the static view of family business governance, we propose a model of owner–manager relationships derived from the configurational analysis of managerial behavior and change in governance structure.Design/methodology/approachStemming from social exchange theory and building on the 4C model proposed by Miller and Le Breton-Miller (2005), we consider the evolving owner–manager relationship in four main configurations. On the one hand, we account for family businesses shifting from a generalized to a restricted exchange system, and vice versa, according to whether a family manager misbehaves in a stewardship-oriented governance structure or a nonfamily manager succeeds in building a trusting relationship in an agency-oriented governance structure. On the other hand, we consider that family firms will strengthen a generalized exchange system, rather than a restricted one, according to whether a family manager contributes to the stewardship-oriented culture in the business or a nonfamily manager proves to be driven by extrinsic rewards. Four scenarios are analyzed in terms of the managerial behavior and governance structure that characterize the phases of the relationship between owners and managers.FindingsVarious factors trigger managerial behavior, making the firm deviate from or further build on what is assumed by stewardship and agency theories (i.e. proorganizational versus opportunistic behavior, respectively), which determine the governance structure over time. Workplace deviance, asymmetric altruism and patriarchy on the one hand, and proorganizational behavior, relationship building and long-term commitment on the other, are found to determine how the manager behaves and thus characterize the owner's reactions in terms of governance mechanisms. This enables us to present a dynamic view of governance structures, which adapt to the actual attitudes and behaviors of employed managers.Research limitations/implicationsAs time is a relevant dimension affecting individual behavior and triggering change in an organization, one must consider family business governance as being dynamic in nature. Moreover, it is not family membership that determines the most appropriate governance structure but the owner–manager relationship that evolves over time, thus contributing to the 4C model.Originality/valueThe proposed model integrates social exchange theory and the 4C model to predict changes in governance structure, as summarized in the final framework we propose.


Target ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Iribarren

This article explores translational literary Web 2.0 practices and user-generated cultural creations on the Internet, focusing on video poetry that re-creates canonical poets’ bodies of work. It will be argued that the use of for-profit platforms like YouTube and Vimeo by indie creators and translators of video poetry favours the emergence of new translational attitudes, practices and objects that have positive but also contentious effects. One the one hand, these online mediators explore new poetic expressions and tend to make the most of the potential for dissemination of poetic heritage, providing visibility to non-hegemonic literatures. On the other hand, however, these translational digitally-born practices and creations by voluntary and subaltern mediators might reinforce the hegemonic position of large American Internet corporations at the risk of commodifying cultural capital, consolidating English as a lingua franca and perhaps, in the long run, even fostering a potentially monocultural and internationally homogeneous aesthetics.


2015 ◽  
Vol 116 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 247-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Einasto

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse institutional and functional development of a library with the help of communication theories. The library as a social institution should have a quite strong position in today’s information society, but new ways of information search have made its position unstable. Thus, a library needs theoretical and cultural-political comprehension and reassessment. The paper tries to answer the questions as to how a library can satisfy the needs of modern society and which strategy of library communication will be in demand tomorrow. Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical background is represented by communication theories of Marshal McLuhan, Denis McQuail and Yuri Lotman, as well as Michel Foucault’s concepts of disciplinary power and governmentality. Findings – The analysis revealed that library–user communication is based primarily on power relations, where “access” is the main keyword. The article brought out differences in library communicative processes in the “Gutenberg Galaxy” and today’s global network society, “Zuckerberg Era”. The analysis showed that library–user relationship is shifting from disciplinary power and monologue to the governmentality and new communicative forms, dialogue and participation. Research limitations/implications – The study demonstrates the possibility of implication of communication theories for library functional analysis. The new studies investigating which methods and forms of communication do libraries use today, how are the elements of power relations transforming would be very useful for the understanding of the topic. Practical implications – The study proposes to libraries some ideas that may be useful for developing the library communication strategy. Originality/value – This study, based on the communicative approach, corresponds well to library phenomenon and nature, as well as allows for reflection on the role of libraries in the society of today and future.


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