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Changing Japanese Capitalism: Societal Coordination and Institutional Adjustment
Michael A. Witt
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521868602 |
Book Description
Economic crisis tends to spur change in the 'rules of the game' - the 'institutions' - that govern the economic activity of firms and employees. But after more than a decade of economic pain following the burst of the Japanese Bubble Economy of the 1980s, the core institutions of Japanese capitalism have changed remarkably little. In this systematic and holistic assessment of continuity and change in the central components of Japanese capitalism, Michael A. Witt links this relatively slow rate of institutional change to a confluence of two factors: high levels of societal co-ordination in the Japanese political economy, and low levels of deviant behavior at the level of individuals, firms, and organizations. He identifies social networks permeating Japanese business as a key enabler of societal co-ordination and an obstacle to deviancy, and sheds light on a pervasive but previously under explored type of business networks, intra-industry loops. Includes a Foreword by Gordon Redding.
Book Description
Making Sense of a Changing Economy presents an unorthodox and original view of the current state of economic theory and policies. Deriding the general trend for `econobabble', the author explains the reason why conventional wisdom in economics now seems irrelevant and looks to likely future scenarios. Entertaining throughout, Nell employs a lightness of touch and wit not generally It associated with economic literature. It will appeal to those who care what is really happening in the economy.
Customer Reviews:
Making Sense From the Start.......2002-03-08
If I were teaching the introductory courses in Economics this is the book I would use in a final unit to test the students'ability to critically absorb what should have been learnt throught the semester or the year. As the author meant: this is a book to digest the textbooks in much the same way an antiacid works upon an upset stomach. Written at a level that should be understood by anyone with the basic rudiments in economic analysis, it should, at least, expose the reader to an interdisciplinary approach to it.
The author dwells into the contradictions between theory and practice stemming from the ideological and epistemological foundations on which social phenomena is perceived. It is written in an easygoing style in which the author is as comfortable in explaining in three pages and a footnote the complexities of: Marx'labor theory of value, Sraffa's standard commodity, von Neumann's maximum rate of growth and how the Perron-Frobenius theorem relates to equilibrium prices in an exchange economy (mind you, with a minimum of lineal algebra),- as in explaining how Machiavelli's and Hobbes' understanding of human behavior help us understand the workings of the market in a capitalist economy and how it relates to other social institutions.
For the economist this is a book much like - in intent if not in content - to Joan Robinson's Freedom and Necessity through which economic phenomena is seen within the context of historical evolution and social reality. To the layman in Economics it provides the philosophical, historical and sociological framework within which the different issues debated among economists,in the realms of theory and public policy, can be understood.
Book Description
This is the third volume of Immanuel Wallerstein's essays to appear in Studies in Modern Capitalism, following the immensely successful collections The Politics of the World Economy and The Capitalist World Economy. Written between 1982 and 1989, the essays in this volume offer Wallerstein's perspective on the events of the period, and the background to his interpretation of the momentous events of 1989. Wallerstein argues that the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the process of perestroika bear out his basic analysis: that the decline of U.S. hegemony in the world-system is the central explanatory variable of change; and that the collapse of the communist empire and the approach of European unity cannot be understood without reference to this decline as a critical stage in the cyclical rhythm of the capitalist world economy. As part of the analysis the book also charts the development of a challenge to the dominant "geoculture": the cultural framework within which the world-system operates. This collection offers the latest ideas of one of the most original and controversial thinkers of recent years, and is bound to stimulate debate among students and scholars across the social sciences.
Book Description
The conventional wisdom has it that a balanced budget is the height of economic rationality, that social security should be privatized, and that most adult welfare recipients could and should get jobs. All our social and economic problems, we are told, are due to too much government; if we only left the American free enterprise system alone, the free market would heal all that ails our society and lead to lasting prosperity. Challenging these widespread stereotypes and myths, this book starts with the fundamental theory underlying capitalist ideology, showing that even in theory an unfettered free market cannot deal effectively with the many needs of a modern economy. Our society has many social goals to which the great majority subscribe--goals such as sustained full employment, universal health care, and quality education for all. The free market will not, the author argues, bring us quality education for every American child, affordable universal health care, Social Security for the elderly, assistance for the poor, or protection of the environment. Only an active, participant government can affect positive change in such areas of social concern.
Customer Reviews:
Medicare / The Budget / The Truth.......2000-07-13
An informative, entertaining examination of the Social Security System. A bold look at revealing the truth about what needs to be done in all areas or government and finance.
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Changing Economic Geography of Globalization Reinventing Space (Studies in Global Competition)
Giovan Vertova
Manufacturer: Routledge
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ASIN: 041535398X |
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The Changing Economic Geography of Globalization examines the effects that recent developments in capitalism have had on shaping the global map as well as analyzing the effect on people and places which occupy different positions in the global economic system.
An international team of scholars are bought together to assess, both theoretically and empirically, the effects of globalization over space and to critically examine the prevailing debates. Collectively the essays in this volume challenge the belief that Globalization shrinks time an space and leads to a homogenized global market.
This book explores the relationship between globalization, capitalist development, local competitive distinction, local economies, regional innovation systems, European regional inequalities and growth.
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- Excellent Beginning, then becomes painfully repetitive
- Refreshing and forward looking
- An instant classic in the field of corporate governance.
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Investor Capitalism : How Money Managers Are Changing the Face of Corporate America
Michael Useem
Manufacturer: Basic Books
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The Inner Circle: Large Corporations and the Rise of Business Political Activity in the U.S. and U.K.
ASIN: 0465050328 |
Amazon.com
Michael Useem, a professor of management at the Wharton School of Business, explains an economic transformation that is not only changing corporate America but is having profound effects on the rest of society. Namely, that the managers of mutual funds now command so much power that corporate CEOs practically plead to have their stocks included in the fund. In turn, to make their stock appear attractive, CEOs are downsizing and restructuring companies in any way Wall Street deems favorable. And, strikingly, we approve of this action by supporting mutual funds. A revealing work.
Book Description
A behind-the-scenes look at today's kingmakers: institutional investors. Out of the public eye, a small group of professionals--investment experts who handle other people's monies--are exerting ever-greater control over corporate managers, firing CEOs and pushing through 'restructurings' that cost thousands of jobs. Michael Useem's "Investor Capitalism" portrays the quiet, veiled nature of this dance of elephants, and portrays the enormous implications of its results. --John Rekenthaler, Publisher, Morningstar, Inc.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Beginning, then becomes painfully repetitive.......2006-06-02
Although this book is out of date now, it is still a good intro to the conflict between investors and corporate management. It does a good job of introducing concepts and has excellent footnotes and supporting data. However, halfway through I had to stop reading as I realized that it had become painfully and obviously repetitive. If not for that I would have given it 5 stars. The book is in desparate need of a good editor. The type of people who would most likely read this book are also the type of people whose time is very valuable and would be turned off by reading paragraph after paragraph of essentially the same content.
By the way, I read parts of other chapters to conclude that the painful repetition continued and was not just a minor flaw occurring in the middle of the book. The repetition of content is so bad it becomes comical at certain points.
If this book had been "restructured" and pared down to 180 pages, it would be an excellent book, a classic, and 5 stars. Like many of the companies it talks about it is desparate need of management (editor in this case) who will significantly downsize it.
Refreshing and forward looking.......2004-11-06
Le livre de Michael Useem vient à point nommé pour rappeler que les performances économiques dépendent étroitement du système de Gouvernement d'entreprise. En effet, l'économie américaine est en train de vivre une véritable révolution managériale avec l'apparition d'investisseurs institutionnels qui ne se contentent plus de placer passivement leurs fonds, mais militent activement pour que celles qui en bénéficient améliorent sans cesse la valeur actionnariale, objectif suprême du dirigeant.
Certes, l'entreprise a des clients, des fournisseurs et des salariés, mais si elle néglige l'intérêt de ses actionnaires, elle n'aura plus les moyens de son développement, et, à terme, portera un préjudice à tous ses autres partenaires. La valeur actionnariale impose ses règles pour le plus grand bien de l'entreprise. Ce n'est pas seulement pour l'investisseur que l'entreprise doit privilégier la valeur. Elle doit le faire pour elle-même. C'est la condition de sa survie, la marque de son succès et de sa profitabilité, bref c'est le signe de son efficacité économique.
Cette révolution qui fait disparaître progressivement le capitalisme des managers au profit de celui des investisseurs commence à toucher les pays européens, et en particulier la France. Elle a des conséquences importantes dans de multiples domaines du management.
* Le système financier doit être totalement reconsidéré. La diversité des objectifs stratégiques et financiers au sein d'une entreprise engendre incohérence et dispersion des efforts. Elle doit laisser place à un système unifié autour d'un indicateur représentatif de la création de valeur (comme le profit économique). Toutes les décisions de gestion (budget et plans, choix d'investissement) doivent être prises en fonction de cette mesure unique et le contrôle de gestion doit naturellement intégrer cette dimension.
* La politique financière doit se moderniser. C'est ainsi qu'une entreprise en maturité qui dégage un flux de liquidité important doit avoir une politique de distribution de dividendes active, plutôt que d'accumuler des réserves improductives qui pénalisent la valeur actionnariale. Elle peut aussi envisager un rachat partiel de ses actions (comme Parfinance ou Pernod Ricard). Un autre exemple est donnée par la vague des scissions de groupes diversifiés incapables de créer des synergies entre des activités profondément différentes.
* Les modes de fonctionnement de l'entreprise doivent être revus. La mise en uvre d'une gestion de la valeur passe par la mise en place de structures décentralisées dont les responsables sont jugés en fonction de leur capacité à maîtriser l'importance des actifs utilisés et à améliorer leur rentabilité économique. Une politique de rémunération soucieuse de la valeur actionnariale doit transformer les managers en actionnaires afin d'aligner leurs comportements sur les attentes de leurs mandants.
* L'organisation des pouvoirs au sein de l'entreprise doit repensée afin de permettre aux actionnaires de s'exprimer. Contrairement à ce que pensent les chefs d'entreprises, les actionnaires professionnels ont une perspective à long terme. Leur approche est différente, et les études montrent que lorsqu'ils s'expriment par le biais du marché financier, leurs anticipations sont souvent plus justes que les analyses internes effectuées par le management. Un dialogue institutionnel ou informel plus fréquent avec les actionnaires significatifs permettrait de mieux comprendre leurs objectifs et enrichirait la prise de décision.
* La communication financière doit aussi être profondément transformée. L'efficience des marché financiers conduit les investisseurs à rechercher les informations privilégiées auprès des partenaires de l'entreprise ou des observateurs avertis. Pour contribuer à la gestion de la valeur, la communication financière doit intégrer une dimension marketing : à l'avenir le manager devra sélectionner ses actionnaires, écouter les attentes du marché, et lui adresser des signaux clairs quant aux principes d'action qu'il entend suivre.
Ces transformations ne pourront pas voir le jour sans un renouvellement culturel et professionnel de nos dirigeants entreprises. Ceux-ci devront tout d'abord accepter de soumettre leurs performances au jugement du marché et organiser un meilleur équilibre des pouvoirs au sein de leur entreprise. Ensuite, ils devront acquérir de nouvelles compétences : compréhension des marchés financiers, maîtrise des techniques d'évaluation et d'ingénierie financière, acquisition de qualités commerciales pour promouvoir les titres financiers de l'entreprise.
Ce chemin de Damas sera difficile, mais la pérennité et la prospérité de notre système économique est certainement à ce prix.
An instant classic in the field of corporate governance.
.......1996-10-14
Managerial capitalism ascended during the century's middle decades. "The decisions
they made often affected the lives of thousands of people, yet they were seemingly
accountable to no one." The large holdings of institutional investors and the growth
of indexing as a major investment strategy have prevented the ready selling of
underperforming companies; investors are now more likely to "speak out than to cash
out." Whereas managerial capitalism tolerated a host of company objectives, Useem
argues that under investor capitalism enhancing shareholder value has become
paramount.
According to Useem, the struggle for corporate control is no longer "just another
squabble among the rich and powerful," since most Americans now "derive a substantial
fraction of their current or future livelihood from the performance of companies
whose stock they directly or indirectly own through pension funds and mutual funds."
Critical to the book's many informative insights are a series of interviews the
author conducted between 1991 and 1995 with a wide array of corporate and investor
executives. The result, is a rare behind the scenes look at how "investor capitalism"
is reshaping the corporation.
The dismissals of top executives at GM, Digital, IBM, Kodak, Kmart, and others were
only the "most visible edge of a more widespread development." "Shareholders can
replace directors, directors can replace managers, and managers in turn can replace
shareholders." Each party is now on a more equal footing. Institutional investors put
out their Focus List but corporations now use their investor relations staff to hold
"shareholder mix" campaigns. Such campaigns usually seek to increase the holdings of
employees and individual investors with modest holdings.
Yet, for all the changes increasing the voice of institutional investors, only 6% of
375 major firms surveyed in 1992 received a single director nomination from an
institutional investor. Another study cited by Useem shows that "directors' careers
bear little or no relationship to their performance on behalf of shareholders."
The book contains a wealth of information and behind the scenes examples. Useem's
description of an executive's frustration with pension fund managers in comparison
with mutual fund managers is particularly interesting. "Mutual fund managers pay more
attention to strategic directions, product performance, and prospective risks. Strong
pension managers, by contrast, seem more preoccupied with the formalities of
governance." For the CEO the "challenging--and useful--questions lay in product
strategy rather than broad policy." This guided how he allocated his time. However,
with the average mutual fund turning over their stock every 6 months, instead of once
every 7.5 years for the average public pension fund, I have to wonder if the vision
of this and similar CEOs might be just a little short sighted, especially given the
importance that "corporate governance" issues may play as money moves more widely
abroad.
Useem points to the recent dramatic increases in the global market. Capitalization of
the Hong Kong market, for example, went from $74 billion in 1988 to $385 billion
in 1993. Prior to 1990, 20% or less of new equity investments went to foreign stocks;
by the beginning of 1994 that was up to 40%. These investments have displaced the
investments of the World Bank, national governments and private creditors as the
largest source of external financing. International bodies are harmonizing accounting
and securities standards. The Department of Labor requires pension fund managers to
cast informed proxy votes with the same diligence as in the U.S. CalPERS has
announced a program to expand international holdings from 13% to 20% of its assets.
Convergence is seen as a major theme.
Convergence is also carried over when Useem brings the split between corporate and
money managers down to the personal level. Company executives see each other at the
Business Roundtable, Committee for Economic Development and Bohemian Grove. "They
frequent the same clubs, sometimes the same schools, occasionally the same islands."
Those presiding over public pension funds and investment companies, however, remain
remote from the "higher reaches of traditional business community." Their networks
instead lead to such professional circuits as the New York Society of Securities
Analysts and the Association for Investment Management and Research. For Useem, as a
professor at the most highly rated business school in the country, the M.B.A., as the
"credential of choice for movement into top management at both large firms and large
investors," will result in "two years of shared training...each of the two sides will
have a lingering appreciation for the concerns and challenges of the other."
The strength of Investor Capitalism lies in its vivid descriptions of personal
communications derived from dozens of interviews and Useem's unique ability to draw
on a large number of surveys from other reputable sources. While personal relations
will be critical to building the next stage of development, it is also important to
examine the process constraints within the current system which shape our everyday
behavior.
For example, open-ended mutual funds have liquidity problems which discourage
"ownership" and long-term holding. Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 requires shareholders with 10% or more of a stock to return short-swing profits,
even if the trading was done without inside information. Most pension funds exist in
a culture of "blame avoidance" built around the legal concept of "prudence." Although
portfolio theorists generally agree that 99% of the risk management value of
diversification can be achieved with a portfolio of only 100 stocks, pension plans
continue to over diversify. Congress and/or the Securities and Exchange Commission
could provide mechanisms for hybrid "relational" type mutual funds by allowing funds
to require some notification prior to withdrawal and by adjusting 16(b) requirements.
Congress and/or the Department of Labor could clarify that prudence, under ERISA, is
to be evaluated on a portfolio-wide, rather than individual investment basis. The
mutual cooperation between long-term owners and corporate executives which Useem
envisions appears unlikely to be fully realized, regardless of the benefits of shared
educational experiences, unless such structural reforms are made.
Useem notes that "when U.S. company executives describe the relations they have
established with investors, few cite other company experiences and none allude to
non-U.S. models." He concludes that "companies have, of necessity, invented their own
solutions to the problems of managing a far more concentrated yet still remarkably
diverse ownership base." The increasing use of books such as Michael Useem's
Investor Capitalism, Monks and Minow's Watching the Watchers, Mark
Roe's Strong Managers, Weak Owners, and Margaret Blair's Ownership and
Control in MBA programs should go a long way, both in reducing the need of
company executives to continually reinvent emerging solutions to problems in the area
of corporate governance and in furthering their dialogue with shareholders.
James McRitchie is the editor of Corporate Governance, http://www.wp.com.corpgov
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Capitalism in a changing world
Rex Dye
Manufacturer: Vantage Press
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Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: 0533009812 |
Book Description
An increasing number of studies in the last decade or so have emphasized the viability and persistence of distinctive systems of economic coordination and control in developed market economies. Over more or less the same period, the revival of institutional economics and evolutionary approaches to understanding the firm has focused attention on how firms create distinctive capabilities through establishing routines that coordinate complementary activities and skills for particular strategic purposes. For much of the 1990s these two strands of research remained distinct. Those focusing on the institutional frameworks of market economies were primarily concerned with identifying complementarities between institutional arrangements that explained coherence and continuity. On the other hand, those focusing on the dynamics of firm behaviour studied how firms develop new capacities and are able to learn new ways of doing things. This book aims to bring together these approaches. It consists of a set of theoretically motivated and empirically informed chapters from a range of internationally known contributors to these debates. In their chapters, the authors show how institutions and firms evolve. Ideas of path dependency and complementarity of institutions are subjected to critical scrutiny both by reference to their own internal logic and to empirical examples. Varieties of institutional integration, the surprising maintenance of 'deviant' or alternative traditions and processes, and the existence of unpredictable yet consequential policy options that can lead to breaks in path dependency are scrutinized with particular reference to how national and international firms may relate to institutions at various levels as a diverse arena of potential resources rather than as a singular and determinant constraining force. The book provides a set of theoretical and empirical challenges for researchers concerned with the relationship between national institutional contexts and firm dynamics. For those involved in teaching or studying at doctoral, Masters and higher level undergraduate courses, the book provides a structured entry into the debates about how institutions and firms are changing in the contemporary era.
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