Guilds,corporations and socialist theory

This book is reviewed as an example of the manner in which cultural critique approaches the question of the formation and regulation of personal capacities and conducts. Despite its sophistication and power, it is argued that the dialectical character of this critique leaves it incapable of interrogating its two central objects: subjectivity and government. As a results, Donald's critique retains the notion of subjectivity and its unconscious formation as the essential site of resistance to government. Against this oppositional cultural politics it is argued that human agency has no single general (subjective) form that might be captured by or freed from government. It is further argued that the heterogeneity of the instruments and objectives of government robs such a politics of both a general logic of power that might be resisted and any general reason for resistance.     

Failures,downsizings, and mergers among community development corporations

Abstract

Over the past 30 years, community development corporations (CDCs) have become increasingly important actors in low‐ and moderate‐income communities. One prominent view of CDCs is that they have experienced uninterrupted growth since the 1970s. Despite their growth and productivity, however, many are facing serious challenges to their continued viability. When confronted by such challenges, CDCs are likely to respond in one of three ways: go out of business, downsize, or merge with one or more other groups. The major goal of this research was to assess the causes of these failures, downsizings, and mergers.

First, we found that these changes do not appear to be isolated instances; rather, they are prevalent across the country. Second, we identified a number of contextual and organizational factors leading to CDC failures, downsizings, and mergers. Finally we suggest a series of actions CDCs, support communities, and policy makers can take in response.     

Congressional response to public crisis: how corporations can prepare

Public policy is at the heart of US congressional investigations, where private corporations can confront a unique set of rules and mores—in a very public forum, often covered in the news and televised. This article traces the historical precedents to congressional inquiries, highlighting cases such as the ‘Teapot Dome’ scandal and the ensuing US Supreme Court case, McGrain v. Daugherty, confirming the Legislative Branch's independent investigative authority to compel a witness to testify and produce documents. The article explains the two types of congressional investigations, oversight and legislative, and how their differences could impact the corporations involved. It reviews recent examples of investigations, illuminating how a corporation's public relations and legal rights can both overlap and point to differing interests. Based upon first‐hand experience, the author provides a legal perspective in explaining the investigation procedures, the legal limits to congressional authority, and the steps taken to prepare a witness for testimony. Finally, the author explains how readiness for congressional inquiries is an integral aspect of prudent risk management for any major corporation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of online media on stakeholder engagement and the governance of corporations

Online tools such as social media provide new opportunities for citizens and stakeholder groups to be informed, identify common interests, express and share opinions and demands, organize, and coordinate interventions. Therefore, the Internet could be expected to increase stakeholder engagement in corporate affairs and facilitate good governance. In order to provide an overview of current findings on the impact of online media on governance and stakeholder engagement, we conduct a systematic literature review. Our analysis reveals five topical categories of inquiry. We analyze studies from the field of business participation and find a strong bias towards consumer engagement and marketing issues. Only few studies are found to critically explore the effect of online media on power and value distribution between corporations and stakeholders. We then turn to the more established field of political and civic participation in order to further analyze antecedents, forms, and outcomes of online engagement in civic affairs, and derive a framework for future research. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Municipal corporations, economic calculation, and political pricing: exploring a theoretical antinomy

Most thinking about political economy treats states as unitary actors. In contrast, this paper treats states as ecologies of politically-based enterprises. Where a market is a congeries of business enterprises, a state is a congeries of political enterprises. Both sets of enterprises compete with one another in a setting where those who manage corporate capital are largely separate from those who supply it. Competition among political enterprises, however, cannot generate market prices because of the inalienability of property rights. In consequence, what arises is a system of pricing and calculation that exists parasitically upon the system of market prices.     

Managing the reputation of restructuring corporations: send the right signal to the right stakeholder

When restructuring their operations, companies intend to minimise environmental uncertainty; however, corporate restructuring increases the unintended uncertainty for stakeholders, as constituents often lack the information or understanding on how ongoing reorganisations would affect them. This paper proposes to manage restructuring through reputations, ie send information signals to the constituents. This contribution analyses the problems of reputation, integrating knowledge on information efficiency and information problems, and proposes five tasks of reputation management of restructuring corporations: release more information, release consistent information, simplify information, reach your stakeholders and reach competitors' stakeholder(s). Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications     

China's multinational corporations in the Democratic Republic of Congo's mining industry: An Afrocentric critique

China's entrance in Africa in the early 2000s through the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation has apparently signalled several mutual beneficial agreements. However, there is a view that the Asian tiger's (China) arrival on the African soil was driven by its national interests. Such interests were particularly in the continent's rich mineral resources complex, which are deemed significant for its own economic boom. This observation reflects that scholars and practitioners alike have not uniformly understood China's engagement with Africa. Therefore, this paper problematizes what is often cited as the second “scramble for Africa” within the context of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It argues that Chinese mining companies' operations in DRC are no different to the early colonial masters who only came to Africa for nothing else but mineral resources in order to develop their own nations at the peril of Africa's own development. Based on Afrocentricity as the alternative theoretical lens, this paper seeks to critique the involvement of Chinese Multinational Corporations in the mineral resources complex of DRC. Methodically, this paper relies on document review and analysis in its broadest sense.