Property Exchange Rules Offer Tax Opportunities for Hotel Owners

One strategy often overlooked by hospitality owners in developing cost-saving strategies is the use of like-kind exchanges to acquire property. The author reviews some alternative methods of like-kind exchanges, which may not only provide new business opportunities for the hospitality owner, but lucrative tax benefits as well.

(Table 1) Granulometry of sediments obtained during research cruises of Tender Ems and Hermann Wattenberg in Kiel Bay, Baltic Sea

Sediment cores, mainly push-box samples, from a channel system of the Kiel Bay are described. The channel system, of glacial and fluviatile origin, is important for the distribution of heavy, salt-rich water entering from the North Sea through the Great Belt, Sediment erosion and transport in the channels is due entirely to currents, because the bottom lies too deep for wave action. The sediments of these channels proude information about current velocities and their frequencies. Grain-size, minor sediment structures and thickness of the sediments vary remarkably. Nevertheless, for those parts of the channels where stronger currents occur, some typical features can be shown. These include: small thickness of the marine sediments, erosional effects upon the underlying sediments, and poor sorting of the sediments, whereby fine and coarse fractions are mixed very intensively. Besides strong currents which effect the bottom configuration and deposits in the Fehmarn Belt, there must exist longer periods of low current action upon the bottom, although current measurements show that current velocities higher than 50 cm/sec at some meters above the bottom occur frequently during the year. In the channel to the west of the southern mouth of Great Belt, coarse sediments were found only in elongate, deep throughs within the channels. This is believed to be due to an acceleration of the entering tongues of heavy water as they flow downslope into the throughs. Minor structures of two sediment cores were made visible by X-ray photographs. These showed that the mixing of sand and clayey material is due partly to bottom organisms and that the mud, which appears 'homogeneous' to the bare eye, is built up of fine wavy laminae which are also partly destroyed by boring animals. At another location in the channel system, there was found a thin finegrained layer of marine sediment resting upon peat. Palynological dating of the peat shows that very little older sediment could have been eroded. The current velocities, therefore, must be too low for the movement of coarse material and erosion, but too high to allow the Sedimentation of a lot of fine-grained material.

Are you ready for a tender project? – Analysis of organisational project management maturity in the Austrian-Hungarian border region

Are you ready for a tender project? – Analysis of organisational project management maturity in the Austrian- Hungarian border region. Since the 1990s the European Union has paid more and more attention to subsidising cross-border development. It is understandable that different funding from proposal sources is particularly important for the border area, especially to those of utmost importance that support co-operation and rural development. Therefore, they could become a driving force for development. The authors’ research analyses the organisational project management maturity of the projects implemented in the frame of the Austria-Hungary Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013 (AT-HU). Analysing this kind of organisation is an important issue, since the new call for proposals are open in 2016 and the results of this study may provide a self-evaluation opportunity to organisations that need to know if they are ready or mature enough for a new tender project. The aim of this study was twofold. First of all, those indicators that could be used to analyse the project management maturity of implementing organisations in the AT-HU programme were identified. Based on the empirical research these are the project experience accumulated by the organisation, the internal processes operating at the institution and the professional background. Secondly, factors that can affect this project management maturity were explored and we determined five influencing area: the organisational structure, culture, project managers motivation and the typical and important competences.

Viewpoint 66: What is the Housing with Care ‘Offer’ and who is it for?

Published to coincide with the International Day of Older Persons, this viewpoint explores some of the findings from Adult Social Services Environments and Settings(ASSET), a research project that was funded by the NIHR School for Social Care Research from February 2012 to April 2014. The project explored how adult social care services are commissioned and delivered in extra care housing and retirement villages. It is a timely paper, coming hot off the heels of the recent Commission on Residential Care, chaired by former Care Services Minister, Paul Burstow MP. This recommended greater clarification on what constitutes housing with care.

Tender offers in South America: Are abnormal returns really high?

Diferentes estudios realizados en mercados de capital desarrollados han revelado tasas de retorno positivas inusuales de por lo menos 15% durante la fecha de anuncio de la oferta pública de adquisición de acciones. Aunque casi no se han llevado a cabo estudios sobre los mercados bursátiles en Sudamérica, algunos estudios han reportado tasas de retorno positivas inusuales en un rango del 25% al 50%, las cuales están relacionadas con el anuncio de la primera oferta de adquisición. En el presente estudio, se argumenta que las tasas de retorno positivas inusuales estimadas en los mercados emergentes son altas porque los estudios se han basado en un mercado de capitales totalmente segmentado aplicando el modelo de mercado y utilizando un índice del mercado bursátil local. Al considerar la integración parcial entre los cinco mercados emergentes en Sudamérica, se demuestra que efectivamente existen tasas de retorno positivas inusuales antes, durante y después de la fecha de anuncio de la primera oferta de adquisición. Sin embargo, el retorno positivo inusual asociado a la fecha del anuncio se encuentra en el orden del 8%. Utilizando un modelo de mercado que considere la integración parcial y el riesgo a la baja, se obtiene una tasa de retorno inusual ligeramente mayor. Estos resultados señalan una menor tasa de retorno positiva inusual en la muestra de las empresas sudamericanas incluidas en el estudio.

Unexpected Levels of Biological Activity during the Polar Night Offer New Perspectives on a Warming Arctic

The current understanding of Arctic ecosystems is deeply rooted in the classical view of a bottom-up controlled system with strong physical forcing and seasonality in primary-production regimes. Consequently, the Arctic polar night is commonly disregarded as a time of year when biological activities are reduced to a minimum due to a reduced food supply. Here, based upon a multidisciplinary ecosystem-scale study from the polar night at 79 degrees N, we present an entirely different view. Instead of an ecosystem that has entered a resting state, we document a system with high activity levels and biological interactions across most trophic levels. In some habitats, biological diversity and presence of juvenile stages were elevated in winter months compared to the more productive and sunlit periods. Ultimately, our results suggest a different perspective regarding ecosystem function that will be of importance for future environmental management and decision making, especially at a time when Arctic regions are experiencing accelerated environmental change [1].

Uncertainty Management in Acquisitions: What Scenario Analysis Could Offer

This study answers to How scenario analysis could help acquiring companies to reduce uncertainty in the acquisition process? It is due to the mismatch between academic world’s caveat emptor and business world’s eagerness to pursue acquisitions that motivated this study. Acquisitions are as popular as ever, thus, managing the uncertainty surrounding these transactions is relevant. This study creates a generic theoretical model with a strategy-level scope. Thus, the study does not discuss nor does it seek answers to operational issues related in both fields. This study is explorative and constructivist in nature. It discusses briefly the concepts and relatedness of risk and uncertainty and establishes a hierarchy between these two: Risks being a “sub-section” of uncertainty, although not with clear boundaries. Acquisition theory follows the process view that understands acquisitions as a process with various levels – some strategic, some operational. Scenario analysis is presented as tool for management to enrich their strategic discussion and understand their future options. The empirical data collection is done through interviewing. The results are reflected on literature on strategic management, scenario literature, and on a consultancy’s report picturing firm’s strategies in accordance with their acquisition processes. The study has an abductive approach as it tries to combine multiple views and generates discussion between literature review, interviews, the report, and second round of literature. The model suggests three propositions: First, at the strategic decision making level, when the decision whether or not to pursue an acquisition growth strategy has been made, it provides firms new data and enriches the strategic discussion. Second, when the acquisition strategy has been created, it can be applied as a tool to measure possible acquisition targets against the backdrop of the first set of scenarios. Third, due to the scenario analysis’ requirement to include people with various backgrounds and from multiple levels of the corporate hierarchy, it could help managers to avoid biases stemming from hubris.

Framing the socialisation process of the DBA candidate : what can universities offer and what should candidates bring?

In Australia, the Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) remainsa popular program but considerable anguish persists within theuniversity sector over just what it is offering students. In thisarticle, we use the process of postgraduate socialisation tounderstand how candidates, supervisors and administratorsnavigate pathways to successful completion and offering of a DBAprogram. We identify four modes of knowledge applicable to theDBA and suggest that universities and candidates may draw onone another’s cultural capital to determine which mode(s) can beoffered. We also illustrate how candidates exercise agencythrough their cultural and social capital as they move through theprogram. We present a conceptual framework to help guidefuture research, and resource allocation on the DBA.

Digital credentialing: does it offer a meaningful response to initial teacher education reform?

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight key features of the disruptive technological innovation identified as digital credentialing and also known as digital badging or Open Badges. The chapter discusses the current policy reform landscape in Australia for the initial teacher education (1TB) context and then offers the possibility of how digital credentialing may create opportunities to meaningfully address policy recommendations, particularly in relation to the concepts of graduates being 'classroom ready'. While not an extensive review of the literature about digital credentialing, the chapter discusses the disruptive innovation and emerging understandings and design frameworks that can support new ways of approaching initial teacher education.

Nonprofit Boards in Australia: A Distinctive Governance Appoach

This article reports the findings into patterns of governance on nonprofit boards in Australia. The research surveys 118 boards, upon which serve a total of 1405 directors. The findings indicate that nonprofit boards can mimic some aspects of a shareholder approach to governance. But nonprofit boards, in the main, indicate priorities and activities of a stakeholder approach to governance. The features of `isomorphism' that arise largely stem from legislative requirements in corporate governance. Generally, nonprofit directors are influenced by agenda and motivations that can be differentiated from the influences upon director activity in the corporate sector. The study indicates that nonprofit boards prize knowledge and loyalty to the sector when considering board composition. The survey suggests nonprofits ``compensate'' for the demands placed upon them about fiduciary duty and due diligence responsibilities with the diverse intellectual expertise of non-executive directors. Nonprofit boards possess greater diversity than boards in the corporate sector; they include more women as directors than corporate boards and they include a greater proportion of directors from minority groups. While strategic issues feature significantly as a task of the nonprofit board, they distinguish themselves from their corporate counterparts by engaging in operational management. The findings indicate that, in the main, directors on nonprofit boards deliberate and operate in ways distinctive from their corporate counterparts. Such findings offer a contribution to the reform of Corporations Law in other countries and the likely consequence on boards outside the corporate sector.

Skill development for innovative procurement environments in construction

The construction industry should be a priority to all governments because it impacts economically and socially on all citizens. Sector turnover in industrialised economies typically averages 8-12% of GDP. Further, construction is critical to economic growth. Recent Australian studies estimate that a 10% gain in efficiency in construction translates to a 2.5% increase in GDP Inefficiencies in the Australian construction industry have been identified by a number of recent studies modelling the building process. They have identified potential savings in time of between 25% and 40% by reducing non-value added steps in the process. A culture of reform is now emerging in the industry – one in which alternate forms of project delivery are being trialed. Government and industry have identified Alliance Contracting as a means to increase efficiency in the construction industry as part of a new innovative procurement environment. Alliance contracting requires parties to form relationships and work cooperatively to provide a more complete service. This is a significant cultural change for the construction industry, with its well-known adversarial record in traditional contracting. Alliance contracts offer enormous potential benefits, but the Australian construction industry needs to develop new skills to effectively participate in the new relationship environment. This paper describes a collaborative project identifying skill needs for clients and construction professionals to more effectively participate in an increasingly sophisticated international procurement environment. The aim of identifying these skill needs is to assist industry, government, and skill developers to prepare the Australian construction workforce for the future. The collaborating Australian team has been fortunate to secure the Australian National Museum in Canberra as its live case study. The Acton Peninsula Development is the first major building development in the world awarded on the basis of a joint alliance contract.

The Impact of Internal Market Orientation on Staff Service Behaviours

The impact of service direction, service training and staff behaviours on perceptions of service delivery are examined. The impact of managerial behaviour in the form of internal market orientation (IMO) on the attitudes of frontline staff towards the firm and its consequent influence on their customer oriented behaviours is also examined. Frontline service staff working in the consumer transport industry were surveyed to provide subjective data about the constructs of interest in this study, and the data were analysed using structural equations modelling employing partial least squares estimation. The data indicate significant relationships between internal market orientation (IMO), the attitudes of the employees to the firm and their consequent behaviour towards customers. Customer orientation, service direction and service training are all identified as antecedents to high levels of service delivery. The study contributes to marketing theory by providing quantitative evidence to support assumptions that internal marketing has an impact on services success. For marketing practitioners, the research findings offer additional information about the management, training and motivation of service staff towards service excellence.

Two main challenges in service description : Web service tunnel vision and semantic myopia

Through media such as newspapers, letterbox flyers, corporate brochures and television we are regularly confronted with descriptions for conventional (bricks 'n' mortar style) services. These representations vary in the terminology utilised, the depth of the description, the aspects of the service that are characterised and their applicability to candidate service requestors. Existing service catalogues (such as the Yellow Pages) provide little relief for service requestors from the burdensome task of discovering, comparing and substituting services. Add to this environment the rapidly evolving area of web services with its associated surfeit of standards, and the result is a considerably fragmented approach to the description of services. It leaves the reality of the Semantic Web somewhat clouded. --------- Let's consider service description briefly, before discussing our concerns with existing approaches to description. The act of describing is performed prior to advertising. This simple fact provides an interesting paradox as services cannot be described exactly before advertisement. This doesn't mean they can't be described comprehensively. By "exactly", we are referring to the fact that context provided by a service requestor (and their service needs) will alter the description of the service that is presented to the discoverer. For example, a service provider who operates a cinema wants to describe the price of their service. Let's say the advertised price is $15. They also want to state that a pensioner discount and a student discount is available which provides a 50% discount. A customer (i.e. service requestor) uses the cinema web site to purchase tickets online. They find the movie of their choice at a time that suits. However, its not until some context is provided by the requestor that the exact price is determined. The requestor might state that they are a pensioner. The same is applicable for a service requestor who purchases multiple tickets perhaps on behalf of other people. The disconnect between when the service is described and when a requestor provides context introduces challenges to the description process. A service provider would be ill-advised to offer independent descriptions that represent all the permutations possible for a single service. The descriptive effort would be prohibitive.

Exchange relationships in building services maintenance activity : a test of transaction cost economics and the resource dependency view

The firm is faced with a decision concerning the nature of intra-organizational exchange relationships with internal human resources and the nature or inter-organizational exchange relationships with market firms. In both situations, the firm can develop an exchange that ranges from a discrete exchange to a relational exchange. Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) and the Resource Dependency View (RDV) represent alternative efficiency-based explanations fo the nature of the exchange relationship. The aim of the paper is to test these two theories in respect of air conditioning maintenance in retail centres. Multiple sources of information are genereated from case studies of Australian retail centres to test these theories in respoect of internalized operations management (concerning strategic aspects of air conditioning maintenance) and externalized planned routine air conditioning maintenance. The analysis of the data centres on pattern matching. It is concluded that the data supports TCE - on the basis of a development in TCE's contractual schema. Further research is suggested towards taking a pluralistic stance and developing a combined efficiency and power hypothesis - upon which Williamson has speculated. For practice, the conclusions also offer a timely cautionary note concerning the adoption of one approach in all exchange relationships.