scholarly journals Vendor Confidentiality Agreement

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (5) ◽  
pp. 1755-1778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmijn C. Bol ◽  
Jeremy B. Lill

ABSTRACT In this study, we examine a setting where principals use past performance to annually revise performance targets, but do not fully incorporate the past performance information in their target revisions. We argue that this situation is driven by some principals and agents having an implicit agreement where the principal “allows” the agent to receive economic rents from positive performance-target deviations that are the result of superior effort or transitory gains by not revising targets upward, while the agent “accepts” target revisions by not restricting output when these revisions are the result of structural changes in the operation's true economic capacity. Although both the principal and the agent can benefit from an implicit agreement, we argue that for the implicit agreement to be maintainable, the principal either needs information on the cause of the performance-target deviation or there needs to be trust between the principal and the agent. Using archival data across multiple years and independent bank units, we find a pattern of ratchet attenuation and output restriction that is consistent with the existence of implicit agreements for those principal-agent dyads where information asymmetry is sufficiently reduced or mutual trust exists. Data Availability: Data used in this study cannot be made public due to a confidentiality agreement with the participating firm.


2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela M. Porporato

ABSTRACT This case, based on a real-life situation of how logistics costs function in daily operations, aims to provide students with the opportunity to understand how logistics costs are calculated and how the inter-organizational nature of these costs affects the profitability of two companies. The case hinges on understanding cost behavior (fixed and variable) and on management control systems design. Although logistics costs represent a small fraction of total costs in manufacturing companies, they can negatively affect the bottom line if left unattended. Students are presented with data relating to a three-year project in the automotive industry that shows that the project has been experiencing a sustained increase in costs that has eroded its profit margin. While it appears that logistics costs are the problem, it cannot be verified until the contracts are studied. In addition, the financial- and contract-related data provided are sufficient to extend the profitability analysis to the provider of logistics services. This case is suitable for management accounting courses at the master's or advanced undergraduate level; it has been tested and well received by students who want to gain a greater understanding of logistics costs—their nature, behavior, possible containment strategies, and inter-organizational effects. Data Availability: Some of the data are from public sources, but the logistics contracts and cost schedules are private; the confidentiality agreement with the two companies requires masking certain details and modifying the numeric data.


2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Joe ◽  
Arnold Wright, and ◽  
Sally Wright

SUMMARY We present evidence on the resolution of proposed audit adjustments during a unique time period, immediately following several U.S. financial scandals and surrounding calls for reforms in auditing and financial reporting, which culminated in the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). During this period, auditors and their clients faced increased scrutiny from investors and regulators. In addition, auditors had to contend with changed incentives, a new external regulator (i.e., the PCAOB), and upcoming annual PCAOB inspections. We extend prior studies by considering a broader range of factors potentially impacting the resolution of proposed adjustments, including the effect of client tenure, strength of internal controls, and repeat adjustments. Data on 458 proposed adjustments are obtained from the working papers of a sample of 163 audit engagements conducted during 2002 by a Big 4 firm. We find that 24.2 percent of proposed adjustments were subsequently waived. The results indicate audit adjustments are more likely to be waived for clients with whom the audit firm has had a longer relationship, although the pattern does not reflect favoring such clients. We also find that adjustments are more likely to be waived for repeat adjustments. Data Availability: Due to a confidentiality agreement with the participating audit firm the data are proprietary.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris O'Connor ◽  
Joe O'Hara

<p><strong>Background</strong></p><p>Since the mid 1980’s, reflective practice has become formally acknowledged and adopted as a key strategy for learning and has become one of the cornerstones of medical education for doctors, nurses, and many of the allied healthcare professions. In the education of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners in Ireland, it is only in the last decade that the notion of reflective practice has been tentatively approached.  Indeed until recently it has largely been ignored by practitioners and educators alike, who have been slow to engage with this new way of learning. This paper explores the attitudes of practitioners to the use of a reflective discussion forum to encourage and support reflection and reflective practice among pre-hospital emergency care practitioners in Ireland.  It also examines the experiences of practitioners who participated in a collaborative reflective discussion forum.</p><p><strong>Literature</strong></p><p>The research was informed by reviewing literature from a number of areas including:  Adult Learning, Reflective Practice, Educational Research directly relating to Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and EMS &amp; Nursing Journals and publications.</p><p><strong>Methodologies</strong></p><p>This paper is part of a larger project which consisted of three cycles of action research.  Data was collected via an online survey questionnaire, and by conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with participants in the reflective discussion forum.  These included all three clinical levels of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners and the three hierarchical levels within the organisation.</p><p><strong>Findings</strong></p><p>The collaborative reflective discussion forum was found to be beneficial.  Among the benefits cited were, the opportunity to draw on the experience of more experienced colleagues, the development of critical thinking skills, and the potential for use as part of a mentoring process.  It was also felt that the collaborative nature of the forum had the potential to improve workplace relationships through the empowerment of the staff. Concerns were raised regarding the potential for abuse and misuse, particularly in relation to the areas of patient confidentiality and a lack of trust within organisations.</p><p><strong>Recommendations</strong></p><p>The establishment of a regular Reflective Discussion Forum within organisations as a key learning strategy. Any collaborative forum must be chaired by a trusted, experienced and highly skilled facilitator. A learning contract for all participants and faculty, including a confidentiality agreement, must be in place prior to the establishment of any collaborative forum.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 395-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim A. Van der Stede ◽  
Anne Wu ◽  
Steve Yu-Ching Wu

ABSTRACT We examine how employees respond to bonuses and penalties using a proprietary dataset from an electronic chip manufacturer in China. First, we examine the relative effects of bonuses and penalties and observe a stronger effect on subsequent effort and performance for penalties than for bonuses. Second, we find that the marginal sensitivity of penalties diminishes faster than that of bonuses, indicating that the marginal effect of a bonus may eventually exceed that of a penalty as their value increases. Third, we find an undesirable selection effect of penalties: penalties increase employee turnover, especially for skillful and high-quality workers. These results may help inform our understanding of the observed limited use of penalties in practice due to their bounded effectiveness and possible unintended consequences. Data Availability: The confidentiality agreement with the company that provided data for this study precludes the dissemination of detailed data without the company's consent.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa G. González-Ramírez ◽  
J. Rene Villalobos ◽  
Cesar Meneses

PurposeThis paper explores the effect of port's service time, particularly the mean and variability, on shippers' total landed costs to determine the competitive position of the port and derive recommendations for the strategic design of port services.Design/methodology/approachThe competitive position of a port is estimated considering the service level offered to the end-users of the port such as port service time, its variability and its effect on the total landed costs observed by the port users. The proposed methodology is meant to help ports to determine the required service time levels to maintain or gain a competitive advantage against other ports, in terms of attracting common hinterland's customers.FindingsResults show the advantages of considering service levels factors to determine the competitive position of a port, and what are the minimum characteristics required to capture more traffic volumes, that can help port managers to take strategic design decisions to better position the port in the current fierce market.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed methodology is illustrated by considering a case study, which is the Port of Guaymas in Mexico. Data was not directly collected by the port, but based on interviews with shippers and public information, a representative case is presented. Due to a confidentiality agreement with the Port, specific references for most of the data used to estimate the model's parameters are not provided. The analysis is intended to show the potential value of this mechanism and can be used for evaluating the competitive position, from a high-level perspective, of any port to determine potential hinterland by improving the service level of the port.Originality/valueThe existing literature on port choice and port competition has not previously considered the effect of port service levels under the perspective of total landed costs of the users, being this paper a contribution to fulfill this gap.


2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie L. Burney ◽  
Sally K. Widener

ABSTRACT: Strategic performance measurement systems (SPMS) that translate a firm's strategy to its employees are increasingly used. We examine whether the extent to which an SPMS is coupled with strategy affects employee performance indirectly through motivational characteristics including perceived self-efficacy and perceived psychological contract. Using data from 242 employees, we find evidence that the extent to which an SPMS is tightly coupled with strategy affects employee performance through perceived self-efficacy and perceived psychological contract. Self-efficacy is a critical dimension of intrinsic motivation. Thus, an implication of our findings is that tightly coupling an SPMS-based incentive plan with strategy facilitates internalized motivated behaviors. We also find that our hypothesized results hold across varying levels of two types of employee climate. However, the workforce's age and education levels serve as boundary conditions since we find that the relation between self-efficacy and employee performance holds only for the older, less-educated employees. Data Availability: Data used in this study cannot be made public due to a confidentiality agreement with the participating firm.


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