SBANC
Newsletter
May
16, 2006
Issue 421-2006
|
QUOTE
"The
successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person
doesn't like to do."
-- Thomas
Edison
|
FEATURE
PAPER
An International Comparison of Ethics: A Pilot Study
The
following paper was presented at the 2005 Association of College
Marketing Educators Conference held in Dallas, Texas.
It was written by Peter J. Gordon and Bert J. Kellerman, both
of Southeast Missouri State University.
Abstract
Over the past twenty five years, great efforts have been made in both the business world and
academia to improve the level of ethics practiced by U.S. corporations. Increased interest in this
subject has emerged with some recent, high-profile corporate failures. Cases such as Arthur
Anderson, Enron, Global Crossings and others have highlighted the need to improve ethical
standards practiced by American companies. But is the U.S. alone in facing these challenges?
This study attempts to compare the ethical standards of tomorrow's business leaders in the U.S.
with those in similarly advanced economies.
Introduction
In
the last few years, newspaper headlines have chronicled major
ethical failures by U.S.
executives at corporations such as Adelphia Communications, Arthur
Anderson, Conseco,
Enron, Global Crossings, Health-South, Tyco, WorldCom, ImClone
Systems and Martha Stewart
Living Omnimedia. But ethical failures are not limited to U.S.
corporations. Foreign-based
multinational corporations such as Parmalat, the large Italian
Food producer, Credit Suisse,
Royal Ahold NV (Netherlands) and Skandia (Sweden) have all been
rocked by recent ethical
scandals (Munson 2004).
According to Lamb et al, ethics refers to the "moral principles or values that generally govern the
conduct of an individual or a group" (p. 78). They point out what is a generally accepted notion -
that ethical values are acquired through family, educational and religious institutions. That being
the case, then how do ethical values compare across cultures that experience different family,
educational and religious upbringing?
Several studies have been published that compare the ethical standards of business decision
makers in different countries. Some have focused on large corporations, while others have
focused on smaller organizations. Some have compared relatively similar countries - those with
like economic systems and standards of living, while other studies have highlighted the
difference between corporate managers in first world and third world countries.
Read
the Entire Paper... |
CONFERENCES
SMBE
|
| Who: |
SMB
Egypt
|
| What: |
The
International Franchise and Branding Exhibition 2006
|
| Where: |
Doha,
Qatar |
| When: |
June
18-21, 2006
|
|
|
|
IPSI
|
| Who: |
Internet,
Processing, Systems, and Interdisciplinary (Research)
|
| What: |
IPSI
2006 - Boston
|
| Where: |
Boston,
Massachusetts, USA |
| When: |
July
6-9, 2006 |
|
|
|
ACI
|
| Who: |
Academic
Conferences International
|
| What: |
The
2nd European Conference on IS Managment, Leadership
and Governance
|
| Where: |
Paris,
France |
| When: |
July
12-13, 2006 |
|
|
|
WMSCI
|
| Who: |
World
Multi-Conference on Systemics,
Cybernetics and Informatics
|
| What: |
WMSCI
2006
|
| Where: |
Orlando,
Florida, USA |
| When: |
July
16-19, 2006 |
|
|
|
EFMD
|
| Who: |
European
Foundation for Management Development
|
| What: |
EFMD
36th EISB Conference
|
| Where: |
Southampton,
UK |
| When: |
September
6-8, 2006 |
|
|
|
CALLS FOR PAPERS
IABE
|
| Who: |
International
Academy of Business and Economics
|
| What: |
IABE-2006
Annual Conference
|
| Where: |
Las
Vegas, Nevada, USA |
| When: |
October
15-18, 2006 |
Submission
Deadline:
May 31, 2006
|
|
|
|
ASC
|
| Who: |
American
Society for Competitiveness
|
| What: |
17th
Annual Conference
|
| Where: |
Washington,
D.C., USA |
| When: |
November
9-11, 2006 |
Submission
Deadline:
June
5, 2006
|
|
|
|
AGB
|
| Who: |
Association
for Global Business
|
| What: |
18th
International Conference
|
| Where: |
Hyatt
Regency, Newport Beach, California, USA |
| When: |
November
16 - 19, 2006 |
Submission
Deadline:
June 30, 2006
|
|
|
|
MMA
|
| Who: |
Marketing
Management Association |
| What: |
11th
Annual Fall Educators' Conference
|
| Where: |
Sheraton
Nashville,
Downtown Nashville, Tennessee, USA |
| When: |
September
20-22, 2006 |
Submission
Deadline:
July 15, 2006
|
|
|
|
NCIIA
|
| Who: |
UNational
Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance |
| What: |
NCIIA
11th Annual Meeting
|
| Where: |
To
be determined |
| When: |
March
22-24,
2007 |
Submission
Deadline:
October 6, 2006
|
|
|
|
|
TIP
OF THE WEEK
Rivalry Among
Existing Competitors
Professor
Porter typically identifies rivalry among competitors as the
strongest of the competitive forces. He identifies nine specific
areas of rivalry:
1. Rivalry intensifies as the number of competitors increases
and as competitors become more equal in size and capability.. In
an industry with few competitors, competition is minimized. As
the number of competitors increases, so does the level of competition.
What does this mean for an entrepreneur thinking of starting
a new business? It means you should investigate the industry
carefully and determine how many potential competitors exist
in the geographic market of your proposed business. Based on
the number, estimate the level of competition.
2. Rivalry is usually stronger when demand for the product
is growing slowly. In
a mature industry, competitive rivalry is stronger because the
market size is fairly well established. In a growing industry,
competitive rivalry is less intense because new customers are
easier to find. Aspiring entrepreneurs should seek out growth
industries in which competition is not likely to be as aggressive
toward new entrants.
3. Rivalry is more intense when industry conditions tempt
competitors to use price cuts or other weapons to boost unit
volume. When
business conditions put pressure on companies to sell more product
units to protect cash flow, they are more inclined to use price
as a competitive weapon. If you enter a business driven by the
need for large unit sales, evaluate your company's economic health
and the nature of your product to determine the best time to
enter the market.
4. Rivalry is stronger when the cost to customers of switching
brands is low.
If a customer
is using a $50,000 piece of equipment, the cost to swtich brands
would be very high. If, on the other hand, the customer is using
a $10 item, the cost to swtich would be very low. The price of
the products you sell will be a very important variable in the
potential competitive environment.
5. Rivalry is stronger when one or more competitors is dissatisfied
with its market position and launches moves to bolster its standing
at the expense of rivals. A
large competitor may seek to enhance its position in the market
by using aggressive competitive tactics. If you are considering
entry into such a market, take into account the already heightened
level of competitiveness.
6. Rivalry increases in proportion to the size of the payoff
from a successful strategic move.
If a strategic
move such as a new product introduction results in a rapid increase
in market share, the competition to make that move is very high.
Obviously, in an industry where the payoff for a new product is
very high, the risks of entry are also very high.
7. Rivalry tends to be more vigorous when it costs more to
get out of a business than to stay in and compete. If
an entrepreneur has several million dollars invested in a business,
the cost of closing that business would be extremely high. Consequently,
such a businessperson is inclined to stay in the business even
though the profit margin is low. It is better than losing millions
of dollars. You should carefully examine the costs of starting
the proposed business. The higher the initial costs, the harder
it is to exit the business later.
8. Rivalry becomes more volatile and unpredictable when competitors
are more diverse in terms of their strategies, personalities,
corporate priorities, resources, and countries of origin.
The more diverse
the group, the harder it is to predict competitive response. Gather
as much competitive intelligence as possible on all your major
competitors. You can never know enough about those with whom you
compete.
9. Rivalry increases when strong companies outside the industry acquire
weak firms in the industry and launch aggressive, well-funded moves
to transform their newly acquired businesses into major market contendors. Competition
grows more intense when larger companies enter the industry by purchasing
small, already existing companies and transforming them into major competitors.
You should understand that if the industry is attractive to you, it
might also be attractive to a large company wishing to expand its offerings.
| Jerry
W. Moorman and James W. Halloran. Successful Business
Planning for Entrepreneurs First
Edition. United States of America: Thomson Southwestern
Inc., 2006. 142-143. |
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CEO in Chicago
The Collegiate
Entrepreneurs' Organization is holding its Annual Conference
in Chicago at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. The event takes
place November 4-6, 2006. Some topics include: bootstrap financing,
accounting and legal issues, crafting a business plan, venture
capital financing, and etc. There will be over 40 outstanding
speakers.
Entrepreneurial Alertness
Drexel University's
LeBow College of Business is presenting the 2006 Entrepreneur
Conference on May 25, 2006. The focus of the conference is,
"Capturing Emerging Trends: An Art or a Science?" Several CEOs and company presidents will be featured. Michael J. Hagan, CEO and chairman, Nutrisystem, Inc. will deliver the keynote address. For more information call Terri McIlhenney at (215)-895-0302.
|
The
SBANC Newsletter is provided as a service to the members of our
affiliates: Academy of Collegiate Marketing Educators (ACME), Association
for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (ASBE), Federation of
Business Disciplines (FBD), International Council for Small Business
(ICSB), Institute for Supply Management (ISM), The International
Small Business Congress (ISBC), Marketing Management Association
(MMA), Small Business Administration (SBA), Service Corps of Retired
Executives (SCORE), Small Business Institute (SBI), Society for
Marketing Advances (SMA), United States Association for Small Business & Entrepreneurship
(USASBE), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).. If you are
interested in membership or would like further information on one
of our affiliates, please see our web site at http://www.sbaer.uca.edu
SBANC STAFF
Main Office Phone: (501) 450-5300
Dr.
Don B. Bradley III, Executive Director of SBANC & Professor
of Marketing;
Direct Phone: (501) 450-5345
Brandon
Tabor, Development Intern
Tyler
Farrar, Development Intern
Garion
McCoy, Development Intern
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the
SBANC Newsletter, please E-mail SBANC at sbanc@uca.edu
|
|
