The performance appraisals system types and their applicability： Case and application

This study was conducted to construct a theoretical model of the performance appraisal system that including four types according to two dimensions： the programmed degree of task and the formalized degree of the performance appraisal system. The conclusion drawn by this paper was that, the Chinese enterprise should adhere to the principles of which compounding individual goal with the organization, and balancing the organization＇s adaptability and the stability, to design the performance appraisal system and then promote enterprise performance management innovation and construction of harmonious labor relationshios.     

Introducing the Non-Financial Indicators Into the Enterprise Evaluation

Currently, the enterprise performance becomes a hot topic because it inherently captures all areas of the enterprise activities that should be combined so that the enterprise is prosperous in the long term and has a long-term perspective of existence. New approaches to measure and evaluate the enterprise performance are being implemented, which come from the traditional system based on financial indicators, and also other aspects of a non-financial character are added to them. The modern way of performance evaluation is based on the assumption that the company is efficient if it is able to achieve pre-defined strategic objectives. A new set of financial and non-financial performance indicators are identified, which helps to monitor and control decision-making and strategy realization in small and medium industrial enterprises. This paper shows the importance and necessity of the use of the non-financial indicators in measuring the enterprise performance. These indicators are nowadays commonly used tools for the performance evaluation in all areas of the enterprise. The concepts of ISO （International Standardization Organization） standards, TQM （Total Quality Management） concepts, and Balanced Scorecard concept belong among the most common concepts defining the necessity of measuring with the non-financial indicators and describing also the concrete areas of the enterprise evaluation.     

A study on the rising of service-oriented government

With the development of the society, governments strengthen their functions and expand the scope of management, as well as administrative agencies and staffing increases, resulting in organization overstaffing, bureaucracy and public expenditure can not survey burden. From the 70s of 20th century, the model of managerialism-based government began inefficient, and appeared fnancial crisis, managing crisis and trust crisis, which led to large-scale administrative reform. In this reform, a lot of theories appeared. To redefine the functions of government and look for the way to achieve the government functions become the requirement of the age and the focus of attention. The paper is to show the defects of traditional managerialism-based mode and the new requirements of people and society, by researching into the rising of service-oriented government, so as to enhance the construction of the service-oriented government in China.     

Using Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management Studies： Not a New Agenda

Today, many researchers publish their qualitative works in top accounting and management journals. The contribution of this approach in accounting and management studies continues to gather momentum. Policymakers in both public and private sectors have been increasingly recognizing the importance and value of this method, since it offers detail and rich analysis of accounting and management practices in an organization. Various current literatures indicate that the interest in qualitative approach in the field of accounting and management seems to grow. However, there are still many researchers in these fields reluctant or even reject to implement this method arguing that qualitative approach is not scientific and the results are also not scientific. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the issue of using qualitative method in accounting and management studies. The paper is started by looking at the conceptualization of qualitative research. After that, a paradoxical view of qualitative and quantitative methods is discussed. This is followed by discussions of using qualitative research method in accounting and management studies, particularly the use of interpretive case study and grounded theory will be reviewed and discussed in this paper.     

Information strategy： An analysis framework

Strategic information requirements define which information an enterprise needs to operate and manage its business. These requirements are told ＂strategic＂, since they are at a very high abstraction level, and reflect what managers want to know about operations. In an ideal world, managers would simply express their needs in natural language and the analyst will translate them in actual systems. To get close to these ideal results, a key point is to structure requirements and go from a strategic level, suitable for managers but not for IT analysts, from a semantic level, suitable for IT analysts. For this purpose, we here present an approach to strategic information requirements elicitation （SIRE）. It includes a meta-model, analysis steps and a software tool. The meta-model describes the information domains of the enterprise. The design steps specify the activities the analyst should perform to go from a strategic level to an engineering level. SIRE is based on some key ideas. First, an enterprise processes information made of universal information domains, which include stakeholders, products, process and contexts. By specializing these domains, the analyst identifies domains specific to individual enterprises. Second, whatever domain includes different information types： Master information that defines structural properties, transaction information that describes events, indicators that describe performances. By crossing information domains and types the analyst identifies strategic information entities （SIE）. The method requires few definitions and is readily understood by management and users. Of course, it can be used to design new systems. Additionally, it can be used in information systems planning to assess the coverage of current systems （fill-gap analysis）. The tool enables to store high level schemas that can be mapped against real database schemas of commercial software platforms to understand their coverage.     

Toward a Framework for the Sustainable Management of Social （Public） Housing Estates in Nigeria

Housing is a centre for many socio-economic activities and often provides a mark of prosperity, social acceptance, and an element of urban development and growth in a country. However, it is suspected that the significance of housing to people in the Niger Delta of Nigeria is lacking because of poor post-construction management practice that is currently in place. At the same time, there are housing shortages, uncompleted, vandalized and abandoned social housing stock in the Nigeria Delta. This has been a continuing challenge facing people in this region as reported in previous studies. Therefore, the overall aim of the study is to develop a framework for the sustainable management of social （public） housing estates in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. This paper aims to set out the context for the research, identify its overall aim and objectives and thereafter considers issues related to the determination of an appropriate scope for the study. It argues that the management of social housing estates in a sustainable manner needs to adopt the principles of sustainability in combination with effective people-centred management and building maintenance practices. It further asserts that the development of such a framework would be a panacea approach in meeting the social housing challenges faced in the Niger Delta and in Nigeria at large.     

E-Documentation as Medical Services Quality Determinant on the Private Dentist＇s Surgery Example

The paper presents the modem management of health care institutions in the electronic medical document （EMD） context. Electronic medical document is in the form of software that provides a comprehensive system for the whole dentist＇s surgery management. The program allows for complete service of the patient in the private dentist by keeping records, archival photographs, the settlement of visits, and patient registration. It has been shown that technological innovation can fundamentally change the quality of the medical services in Poland, making a revolution in the management of budgetary expenditure. Electronic medical document is a system for the citizens of the 21st century. This is a new quality in healthcare administration, reimbursement systems, and most importantly patient care. Created based on specified standards and national standards, information databases ensure the reliability and comparability of data, and can be an analytical tool for health policy planning at various levels of the administration.     

Educational offer,education demand and institutional capacity

The present world is subject to some structural and institutional transformations unprecedented. The education-a public goods, a product and a process at the same time, is not different especially, since late modernization and modernity make education an essential vector of development. The present study insists on the triad educational offer, education demand and institutional capacity. It starts from the imperatives of knowledge society in globalization era and re-defines the educational market in the context of late modernity. Although the approach of the educational supply, the demand of education and competition on the educational market aims at a factorial analysis initially related to the realities in Romania, the issue is extended globally. The demonstration is simple enough, though the potential capacity （and the real one） of any institution of higher education management must be mediated on educational market. To this effect, the study insists on the objectives and aims of educational management. The premise to fundamentally define this type of management is that the intelligent models, the creative models and the strategic models of thought may contribute to the development of institutional （organizational） culture with axiological appliance, giving both identity and openness to diverse education. The study poses the problem of a new type of educational order, an educational order of a society based on knowledge.     

The Pragmatic Research Approach： A Framework for Sustainable Management of Public Housing Estates in Nigeria

The paper is based on a research which tries to explore, explain and develop a framework that would be used in the sustainable post-construction management of public housing estates. Literature review provides evidence of the extent of unoccupied, unfinished, vandalized, and abandoned social housing estates in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, signifying that the availability and management of decent public housing estates in the Niger Delta of Nigeria are lacking because the post-construction management practice is not as good as it should be. The aim of this paper is to assess and set out the methodology and rationale for adopting a strategy to the research. It further, thus, examines case study design strategy that follows exploratory and explanatory methods and other research worldviews as alternatives in philosophy, approach and in research methodology. In addition, the paper draws out the significance of pragmatism as current practical world thinking that is a better answer to a research study aim, objectives and questions which focus on real-life situations. It argues that the development of a framework for use in the post-construction management of social （public） housing estates in a sustainable manner is needed; and that, using a pragmatic philosophical perspective and approach of worldview through a mixed method （qualitative and quantitative） in a case study design line of inquiry in the research methodology would be a better proposition to adopt in the study. The paper recommends that the issues of sampling, validity, reliability, the relationship between the researcher and the subject and other research quandaries are vital when deciding on an appropriate method.     

Intellectual Capital and Public Management： A Bibliometric Analysis

Starting from the premise that public management, in the context from the emergent knowledge society, needs new forms to act and new tools to reach its objectives, this paper aims to find evidence of the adoption of the principles of intellectual capital under the public management, by raising scientific articles about the subjects, and aims to select theoretical referential about intellectual capital and public management, by bibliometric analysis. The processes presented 100 constant articles in the final portfolio, available in the data base Web of Science, Science Direct and Scopus. The bibliometric indicators show that the studies were published as from 1969, released by 15 international periodicals, written by 164 authors, used 241 key words related to the constructs of this study. It is believed that the identification of the main references helps the understanding of the foundations of this research field. Additionally, this paper provides many inputs that contribute to the comprehension of the subject at an international level, and that can be utilised in the development of future works.     

On context,discourse and implication of knowledge management in an organization

This theoretical investigation claims knowledge management （KM） is about tacit organizational knowledge and people in the context of virtual organizations rather than information technology （IT） infrastructure. Some professional/academic discourses about knowledge management are examined. It is found that KM is the management of human （inter） actions, organizational learning, intellectual capital and business process re-engineering. The implication of KM for government officials and corporate executives is also discussed.     

Knowledge,innovation and sustainability： The implementation of voluntary environmental policies in Greece： The case of environmental management systems

The paper focuses upon the issues of knowledge, innovation and sustainability concerning the implementation of voluntary environmental policies in Greece, and in particularly, through assessing the implementation of environmental management systems （EMS）. The first part of the paper refers to the theoretical background of EMS, presenting selected aspects from the approaches of the new economic geography and the new regionalism and from ecological modernization theory. In the second part, the implementation of EMS in Greece is highlighted, mainly focused on the profile of the enterprises, the sectoral and regional distributional pattern and the main problems during the implementation. The third part presents the main results of the empirical research on the impact of EMS implementation, concerning sustainability （e.g., water and energy savings, alternative renewable resources, sound waste management）, innovation （e.g., product or process innovation） and participation. The role of knowledge, during the process of implementation of EMS, is analyzed in the forth part of the paper. In the last part, recommendations for future policies are described, aiming at promoting strategies of EMS in urban areas and enchasing the role of local government.     

Anonymous electronic identity in cross-border and cross-sector environment

The paper deals with identity management in cross-border and cross-sector communication in e-government. The new ALUCID （automatic, liberal and user-centric electronic identity） technology based on new principles of anonymous and automatic identity enables markedly different and simpler identity management with strong authentication support. This paper aims to compare ALUCID with PKI （public key infrastructure, a well-known identity management technology used in cross-border and cross-sector environment of e-government） from user＇s and government＇s point of view. It focuses on organizational aspects of eID issuing and verification, various interoperability issues, language issues, legislative framework variety, cultural differences and privacy protection issues related to identity use and management. The specific features of the ALUCID technology which was designed to support the specific needs of e-government in a cross-border and cross-sector environment are also described herein.     

Public Policy： The Reality in the Practice of Management Agreements

This paper presents the new version of public policy for government transparency, outlining state＇s required functions, in the context of economic globalization, to enable fulfillment of social demands and Brazil＇s competitive insertion in international markets. In this sense, public policies were adjusted to the role of social and economic development promoter and regulator： Strengthening government capacity for formulating and evaluating them; increasing governance, i.e., government＇s ability to implement public policies, from the viewpoint of efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness through the introduction of new organizational models and new partnerships with civil society; establishing management contracts, agreements, and partnership terms; and finally modernizing public management. E-government （e-gov） includes three of the seven lines of action of the information society： universal service, government available for all and advanced infrastructure. The Integration and Intelligence Government Information System （i3-Gov） was developed in open platform. Thus, new trends in shared and interagency management for public, productive, and growing third （voluntary） sectors are contemplated. The paper presents the results obtained with the Federal Government Voluntary Transfers Integrated System （SICONV）, which adequately fulfills the expectations of service and transparency, but needs improvement in regard to government participation without state interference.     

Electronic government interoperability framework in Greece： Project management approach and lessons learned in public administration

The implementation of e-government is a burgeoning phenomenon across the globe. However, a review of the IS literature reveals the inability of public administration organizations to complete information technology projects successfully. Unless governments learn to manage the government transformation projects, these e-dreams will turn into global nightmares. The shortage of studies on e-government implementation presents a knowledge gap that needs to be plugged. This paper describes and analyzes the implementation and the project management approach of the electronic government interoperability framework （EGIF） in Greece. Our intent is to present an application of a goal-driven project management methodology named EGTPM （electronic government transformation project management） in order to use it as a methodological reference when navigating in the open sea of information technology project implementations in the area of public administration. The successful implementation of the specific project indicates that the application of EGTPM approach could provide a solution to achieve government transformation objectives more effectively and efficiently.     

Ecological Management of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration： The Tragedy of Commons and System Solution

The continuous integration development trend of China urban agglomerations will not only further promote economic development but also cause the loss of the natural buffer zone which could protect the regional environment, leading to the combined effects of environmental pollution. Hardin＇s ＂Tragedy of the Commons＂, ＂Prisoner＇s Dilemma＂, Olson＇s ＂Logic of Collective Action＂, and other theoretical models demonstrated the tragedy result of ineffective governance of regional ecology. Clear property rights, centralized governance, social autonomy, and competitive-collaborative model based on comparative advantage of the organization are four kinds of ＂system solution＂ for regional ecological management, providing scientific management tool for urban agglomeration management in different regional contexts.     

Exporting to China and ASEAN countries： Perceived advancement in marketing competencies and export performance

Malaysians firms have made inroads into the non-traditional export markets. Such ventures are expected to result in increased knowledge about the marketing systems that are posited to be different from the traditional export markets. This paper reports on the perceived improvement in marketing competencies of Malaysian exporters. The results of data analysis show that there are five dimensions of marketing competency. In ranking order, segmenting and targeting competency is ranked highest followed by product management, export management, product differentiation and promotion. Multiple regression analysis was performed to test the explanatory power of each marketing competency on export performance of firms exporting to China and ASEAN countries. The result revealed that none of the marketing competency explained the variation in export performance for the China market. However, among exporters in ASEAN countries, it was noted that promotion competency resulted in a negative impact on both measures of export performance. Product competency is positively associated with financial measure of export performance. Competencies in segmenting and targeting, and export management are positively associated with non-financial performance.     

Further improvement on the regulation of food safety in China

Market mechanisms in food safety management can not fully play its role, together with food producers, processors, distributors and other stakeholders＇ breach of competition rules, so food safety management must rely on government regulation. But at this stage, government regulation of food safety in China is not perfect, vicious food safety incidents that continuously occur seriously endanger lives of people, reduce the credibility of government functions and hinder the stable development of social harmony. Therefore, improving the food safety laws and the food safety regulatory system, establishing food safety credit system and expanding social participation of food safety supervision mechanism are the top priority of the government to regulate food safety.     

Foreign direct investment,restructuring of R and D sector and technology transfer during economic transition： The case of Hungary

With the industrial restructuring of former socialist countries of Eastern and Central Europe （ECE）, the local R and D system experienced fundamental changes as well. Specialized R and D institutions that supplied technology to enterprises were downsized dramatically. With the privatization of the industry, multinational corporations became major players in the advanced sectors of the industry. Sourcing of technology within the multinational corporate system increased import of technology and locally performed R and D dropped sharply. The rapid decline of R and D staff both at specialized research institutions and at the enterprise level coincided with a sharp drop in local patent applications. Operation of multinational corporations has also resulted in vertical and horizontal spillover of technology. The evidence on the extent of such transfer has varied among ECE transition economies and industrial sectors.