Rethinking corporate restructuring

A giant wave of corporate restructuring has rolled through the global corporate landscape ever since the early 1980s, and to date there are still no signs of it slowing down. Much of the restructuring took place under the banner of increasing corporate financial performance, but a significant by‐product of the deep‐rooted organisational change it involves is additional strain on the organisation's relationships with employees, communities, taxpayers, governments and other stakeholders. This commentary paper first assesses four qualitatively different types of corporate restructuring and the corresponding techno‐rational explanations and justifications for their occurrence. Next, it demonstrates how these restructuring transactions can frustrate a firm's relationships with market and non‐market parties. It then goes beyond the techno‐rational perspective by discussing four types of public affairs instruments, and framing them as facilitating measures which companies can take to appease actors that have the potential to inhibit organisational restructuring efforts. The authors thus rethink corporate restructuring by focusing on the crucial role that public affairs activities can play in the management of the market and non‐market pressures associated with the redesign of organisational structures and portfolios. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications     

论江泽民对科技生产力认识的深化

学习江泽民科学技术思想,研究江泽民如何继承和发展毛泽东思想、邓小平的科技生产力思想,对加快我国科技进步和科技创新,实现跨越式发展有着重要意义。江泽民科学技术生产力理论是当代先进生产力的集中体现和主要标志;科技创新理论是当今社会生产力解放和发展的重要标志;科技动力观是可持续发展的理论依据。     

我国社会救助制度优化初探

文章在界定社会救助的概念并分析其特征的基础上,指出了当前我国社会救助制度存在的四个主要问题:观念偏差,认识不足;政社不分,政府全能化,垄断社会救助事务;社会救助法制化建设滞后;救助范围有限,救助标准偏低。针对现存问题,探讨了优化我国社会救助制度的四条路径。     

斯大林“三和”思想探析

苏联国家工业化和农业集体化的过程,也是对城乡资本主义经济成分实行排挤和消灭的过程。斯大林根据苏联社会主义改造完成后的经济结构、阶级结构变动情况,初步探索和分析了社会主义社会内部的矛盾关系,提出了社会主义社会生产关系和生产力之间、社会成员之间、各民族之间,形成一致与和谐的关系。然而,斯大林把和谐看成是无矛盾,甚至"完全一致",这就使得他的认识不仅偏离了唯物辩证法,陷入形而上学,而且也不符合当时苏联的实际情况,其后果是非常严重的。我们要构建社会主义和谐社会,必须从斯大林的错误中吸取深刻的教训。     

Soldier,civilian, criminal: identifying pathways to offending of ex-armed forces personnel in prison

Little is known about why some ex-armed forces personnel become involved in the criminal justice system, however, they represent the largest known occupational group in prison. In-depth interviews were employed to explore possible pathways to offending. Twenty ex-armed forces personnel in prison were recruited from five prisons in England. Data were analysed using a combination of thematic analysis and constant comparison methods rooted in grounded theory. Four predominant themes were identified: experiences of trauma and adversity; belonging; impulsivity and creating a soldier. Participants had experienced a number of traumatic incidents and adversity in their lives, encompassing pre, during and post-service but felt a sense of belonging in the armed forces. Participants demonstrated impulsivity in a number of areas with links to both their service in the armed forces and offending behaviour. The creation of the identity of ‘soldier’ was perceived to impact participants’ lives in a number of ways, including their offending, alcohol use and coping with trauma. The interplay of these themes and their potential impact on participants’ pathways to offending are discussed.     

生产力标准的道德哲学含义

生产力标准在道德哲学层面上,不仅体现了以社会为本位、以人民幸福为终极目标的功利主义原则,而且体现了以物质文明为基础、以精神文明为灵魂的社会进步的综合价值取向;不仅体现了效率与公平相统一的社会主义利益关系体系的客观要求,而且体现了以人为本、全面发展的社会主义人道主义精神和人类自我完善的主体性特征。     

Arms Acquisition Patterns and the Dynamics of Armed Conflict: Lessons from the Niger Delta

Arms acquisition is a crucial venture for armed insurgency groups for carrying out their militant activities. I argue that the specific manner in which these groups obtain weapons may have important consequences for the dynamics of violent intrastate conflict. While most previous studies of the relationship between arms acquisition and armed conflict have focused solely on the impact of arms availability, in this article I analyze the impact of two specific aspects of arms acquisition patterns—the methods and the degree of leadership control—on the dynamics and nature of armed conflict in a qualitative case study of the armed conflict in the Niger Delta (Nigeria) between 1995 and 2005. I conclude that the specific arms acquisition method and the degree of leadership control over this process have strongly affected the dynamics of the conflict.     

深化行政改革需要深入思考的三个问题

本文讨论新形势下推进我国行政改革深化涉及的三个重大问题。首先是动力机制创新,在对相关理论、国际实践和我国动力机制特征和困境系统分析的基础上,提出动力机制创新的三个转变。其次,针对有关市场化改革的争论,提出并论证了需要反思的不是市场化改革的大方向,而是市场化的具体形式。第三,围绕改革侧重点,提出并论证了机构改革与运作管理改革的合理平衡。     

马六甲海峡航行安全形势的变化（2000～2008年）

本文根据国际海事组织的相关资料,统计了从2000年1月到2008年12月发生在马六甲海峡针对过往船舶的武装抢劫犯罪案件,并将其按照袭击是否实际发生,犯罪情节是否严重以及案件“高发地”进行了划分,指出了马六甲海峡武装抢劫犯罪的主要受害者,估算了它造成的损失。本文的目的是通过实际的分析,客观地评估马六甲海峡武装抢劫犯罪所造成的影响。     

We do negotiate with terrorists: navigating liberal and illiberal norms in peace mediation

The normative framework in mediation processes is growing. Mediators are increasingly expected by their mandate-givers to incorporate liberal norms such as inclusivity into their overall strategy. However, in the wake of the terrorist attacks that took place on 11 September 2001, and the policy shifts that accompanied the “Global War on Terror”, mediators find themselves simultaneously pressured to design mediation processes actively excluding armed groups proscribed as terrorists and consequently incorporating this illiberal norm of “exclusivity”, barring proscribed groups’ access to negotiations. This article asks what consequences this development has on the normative agency of mediators, based on if and how they incorporate proscribed armed groups into their mediation strategies. It argues that the dichotomy between liberal and illiberal norms has important consequences on a mediator’s normative agency. First, the dichotomy constrains mediators to a single normative standard, rendering only liberal and illiberal views possible. Second, the assumption that liberal norms are “good” and illiberal norms are “bad” engenders a double dichotomy that greatly constrains a mediator’s normative agency. Third, these constraints on a mediator engender new mediation practices such as outsourcing and risk-sharing in an attempt to salvage normative agency. The article contributes to scholarship on norms, terrorism and mediation through providing a more nuanced view of normative parameters in mediation practice.