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Writing
up Research
Introductions
- SOM
The
research article introductions below are for text analysis in AIT Extension - LC's Writing
Up Research course. See the three-move
pattern given in the introductions web page of the on-line course then read
the introductions below to see how they fit the schema. Bear in mind that some
introductions fit it closely whereas others do not -- if not, why do you think
the author/s chose the structure that they used?
Outsiders
in the Middle Kingdom: Expatriate Managers in Chinese-Western Joint Ventures
Bjorkman,
Ingmar and Schaap, Annette (1994). European Journal of Management, 12/
2, 147-153,
Introduction
The
opening up of the “Middle Kingdom” for Western influence of different
kinds, including the operations of foreign companies within the country, is a
relatively recent phenomenon in Chinese history. Although some foreign
investors operated in China prior to the Communist take-over in 1949, it is
only since the end of the 1970s that large scale foreign direct investment has
been carried out in China. Recently there has been a tremendous boom in
foreign direct investment (FDI) in the People’s Republic of China, most of
which has been in Sino-foreign joint ventures. While the total contracted FDI
in 1986 was 3.3 billion US dollars, in 1991 it
had grown to 11.9 billion, and in 1993 to no less than 58 billion dollars.
A
few years ago it was en vogue in the business press to publicize stories on
the setbacks of Western businesses in China. Today many of the foreign
companies in China are going extremely well financially (Stelzer et al., 1992;
Osland, 1993). Nevertheless, most foreign managers express frustration over
the problems they encounter [1]. It is thus of utmost importance for foreign
companies to identify and further develop foreign managers who are able to
work effectively in China. This paper reports on various human resource issues
related to the use of expatriates in Sino-Western joint ventures. Data is
presented on staffing, selection, training and preparation, and the tenure and
development of the expatriates’ stay in China. Company practice is analyzed
in light of information provided by Chinese and foreign employees in 36 joint
ventures [2]. Based on our data and extant research we will present a number
of suggestions for Western companies concerning how to handle issues related
to the use of expatriates in China.
An
Extension of the Analytical Hierarchy Process for Industrial R&D Project
Selection and Resource Allocation
Liberatore,
Matthew J. (1987). IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol. EM-34/ 1,
Feb .
I. Introduction
The Research and Development (R&D) project selection decision is concerned
with the allocation of scarce organizational resources, namely, funds,
manpower, and facilities, to a set of proposals for scientific and engineering
activities. Although a variety of mathematical decision process modeling
approaches have been proposed to address this problem, few available methods
are being utilized by research and engineering management as aids to decision
making [9]. The purpose of this paper is to examine the applicability of an
extension of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) for priority setting and
resource allocation in the industrial R&D environment. A framework for
applying AHP and supporting methods in this context will be developed, and
then illustrated using an extended example.
The
importance of the R&D project selection decision can be attributed to two
key factors. First, in many industrial organizations, R&D spending
represents a sizable investment. Project selection decisions have a
significant impact on the current and future financial position of the
organization, and its ability to compete on a technological basis. Projects
often entail large organizational commitments that translate into significant
opportunity costs if an improper choice is made. Thus, project selection
decisions should be linked to the strategic objectives and plans of the firm.
Second,
the organizational returns from R&D projects are multi-dimensional in
nature and risky in terms of projected outcome. For example, a heavy reliance
on cash flow-rate of return measures for R&D project selection may lead to
an unbalanced portfolio of product and process improvement efforts at the
expense of new product/process and exploratory studies. Certain projects may
be required to maintain a threshold of competence in technologies of strategic
importance, or to boost the morale of scientists. Also, the direct financial
benefits of research projects may occur ten to twenty years in the future.
R&D’s contributions are sometimes difficult to measure and separate from
those of other organizational activities, such as manufacturing, marketing,
and commercial development, who may play roles of varying importance in the
development, nurturing and commercialization of the R&D knowledge base.
A
Framework For Improved Development Appraisals In Developing Countries
Smyly,
B. (1993). Journal of Property Research, 10, 135-145.
Development
projects are organizationally complex though the extent, degree and sources of
complexity vary from one project to another (Sachdeva, 1984), and from country
to country. Complexity is often attributable to uncertainties and risks which
are unavoidable everywhere. Development appraisal techniques ultimately aim at
forecasting the level of uncertainty associated with development projects. In
all development projects, there are uncertainties regarding costs, duration,
objectives and technology. These variations are often most vividly observed in
developing countries where in addition to these ambiguities the outcome of
most property development projects will normally be dependent on political
stability, the future expectations in prices, the availability of foreign
exchange, the general economic policies of the government and the perceptions
and inspirations of developers and financial institutions backing the
particular project. All the foregoing variables are, no doubt, subject to
considerable uncertainty in all countries, but the degree of uncertainty is
exacerbated by the ambiguities of a turbulent developing country environment.
The objective of any analysis is to obtain realistic projections. A realistic
projection should not only be a surprise free estimate but one in which both
internal and external factors have been taken into account. This implies that
analysis should not only take into account the theoretical approaches to the
solution but also the particular and peculiar attributes, as well as the
practical aspects of the situation. The ultimate goal in using the three
levels of analyses in development appraisal should therefore be to guide both
the analyst and developer to achieve surprise free projections for property
development projects. This objective can be achieved not by indiscriminate
application of techniques but rather by the systematic application of
techniques geared towards the particular problem.
The aim of this paper is to attempt to bridge the widening gap between the
growing sophistication of theory and practice of development appraisal in
industrialized countries and the ad hoc methods often used in practice in
developing countries, and to show that more concerted and organized approaches
to the analysis of property development projects would not only improve
professional practice but also aid in minimizing the often large variation
between forecasts and actual occurrences. More specifically, this paper
examines the method of scenario analysis/ planning general usage and in use by
development appraisers in particular and concludes that in developing
countries, scenarios analysis, would be more appropriate and beneficial.
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