Conglomerate Structure Research Articles

BUSINESS PRINCIPLES FOR INCIDENT COMMANDERS: WHAT THEY DIDN'T TEACH YOU IN ICS

ABSTRACT Successful companies interpret the business landscape they operate in, adapt to changes in that environment and acquire the resources necessary to produce sufficient agility so they can continue to be learning organizations and prosper. Response efforts can resemble overnight conglomerate corporate structures with diverging or disparate missions, lack coherent strategy amongst units, or mismatch organizational structure to their position in the lifecycle of their business. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) Incident Command System (ICS) adopted by many Federal agencies for use in response management promotes many sound business practices but needs to equip senior management (incident commanders) with the tools necessary to create, run and disassemble their businesses effectively. What does the steward of a small, sometimes multi-million dollar business need to know to shepherd their organization through a business “lifecycle”? Key small business principles for efficient management of a short duration organization ought to reside in the ICS-400 curriculum. A starter assortment of “things they didn't teach you in ICS” is presented.

The Paradox of Financial Services Regulation: Preserving Client Expectations of Loyalty in an Industry Rife with Conflicts of Interest

This paper considers the implications of Australian Securities and Investments Commission v. Citigroup [2007] FCA 963, a landmark decision of the Federal Court of Australia. The case highlights an apparent paradox in financial services regulation: at the same time as allowing, or even fostering, the development of financial services conglomerates, regulation in multiple jurisdictions preserves potentially incompatible general law obligations that arise from client expectations of loyalty. The paradox is most evident in the context of the modern investment bank. The paper discusses the dynamic nature of investment banks, their organizational structure, the types of conflicts they typically face and recent trends in the industry. It also considers a number of questions about the regulation of conflicts of interest at these firms. First, when an investment bank performs one of its traditional functions, what fiduciary constraints is it likely to face? Second, to what extent will the classic formulation of fiduciary obligations take account of both the conglomerate structure of the modern investment bank and the co-existence of legislation that regulates conflicts of interest? Finally, quite apart from the fiduciary obligation, what does - and should - a statutory obligation to manage conflicts of interest require? These questions are considered against the backdrop of ASIC v. Citigroup.

A robust conglomerate structure type in salts of cationic organopalladium complexes and non-coordinating anions

Ionic compounds derived from square planar cations of the type [Pd(C6H4CHMeNH2)(tmeda)]+ (tmeda = 1,1,2,2-tetramethylethylenediamine) and the non-coordinating anions BF4–, PF6– and CF3SO3– have been prepared by cyclopalladation of (aryl-substituted) primary amines and subsequent reaction with the chelating tmeda ligand. Six compounds among the tetrafluoroborates and hexafluorophosphates of unsubstituted and methyl, fluoro or chloro substituted cyclopalladated amines are isotypic: They all show conglomerate behaviour, crystallizing in the same space group with similar lattice parameters and closely related packing. Only one moderately strong hydrogen bond per formula unit between an amine H and a counteranion is formed. The stability range of this remarkably robust structure type has been explored by variation of the anion and substitution on the aryl ring of the primary amine. For three related palladium complexes which do not show conglomerate crystallization, the structures of their enantiopure and racemic crystals are reported for comparison.

Atomic and Electronic Structure of New Hollow-Based Symmetric Families of Silicon Nanoclusters

We have systematically constructed a set of stable silicon nanocluster families with large arbitrary fullerene-type hollows inside. In addition, conglomerate structures are designed by connecting the nanoclusters through pentagonal and hexagonal junctions. The atomic and electronic structure of the proposed objects is investigated using the semiempirical quantum-mechanical method. It is shown that within each family the band gap and the stability are inversely proportional to the particle effective size. The clusters inherit a wide variety of structural and symmetry properties from their parent silicon fullerenes. The conglomerates confine electrons like quasi-molecules with a peculiar electronic structure related to the junctions. Quantum dots and their conglomerates can host guest atoms in their hollows and therefore present a new promising type of nanomaterials with tunable electronic properties.

Parenting Advantage in Business Groups of Emerging Markets

The concept of parenting was originally proposed by Campbell et al (1995) in the context of conglomerates in developed economies. In contrast to the divisional structure of conglomerates in developed countries, business groups as found in most emerging consist of a network of affiliated yet independent firms. This difference in the structure of multi-business firms in developed and emerging markets solicits a revisiting the concept of parenting as originally proposed by Campbell et al. (1995). Does ‘parenting advantage’ exist in emerging markets? If so, what are the sources of ‘parenting advantage’? Given the multi-firm, multi-business group affiliated setup how does ‘parenting’ differ in emerging markets when compared to conglomerates of developed economies? How does the business group structure and associated managerial practices impact ‘parenting advantage’ of firms affiliated to a business group in emerging market? This paper examines some of these critical yet unanswered questions. The contribution made in this work is threefold… One, we redefine the concept of ‘parenting’ as relevant to business group structure found in emerging markets like India. Two, we articulate the drivers of parenting value for affiliate firms bound in a business group structure. Three, the paper discusses the nuances of parenting and its advantages in an emerging market, in contrast to its conceptualization in developed economies. Finally, extending the parenting literature to a wider context of an emerging market is an important outcome of this work.

Group control motive as a determinant of ownership structure in business conglomerates: Evidence from Korea’s chaebols

In this paper, we attempt to make two major contributions to the literature that studies the ownership structure of business conglomerates. First, we introduce the concept of group control motive and empirically show that this motive greatly shapes the controlling-minority ownership structure. Using a two stage least squares (2SLS) framework, we show that controlling families hold greater direct shareholdings in firms that have greater contribution to group control, and alternatively show that firms in which the controlling families hold greater direct shareholdings are made to have greater contribution to group control. Second, we find that the level of disparity between voting and cash flow rights is significantly higher than the levels previously reported in the literature on Korean firms when we include non-public firms and adopt a control concept that is more flexible and closer to reality.

In-situ monitoring of nickel electrodeposit structure using electrochemical noise technique

Abstract The nickel electroplating process was investigated by means of electrochemical noise(EN), cyclic voitammetry in conjunction with the scanning electron microscopy(SEM) technique. The results show that, in the experimental conditions and with the increase of current density, the growth mechanism of nickel crystallites changes from 2-D to 3-D with the potential turning point of about —1.15V, and the potential for the onset of diffusion control of the ensemble nickel electroplating process was about –1.4 V. In the case of activation-control, the two-dimensional (2-D) nucleation / growth process of nickel often results in the electrocrystallization EN features of only slowly small positive potential drift and the corresponding compact layer-by-layer deposit structure, and the maximum relative energy of the RP-EDP (re-plotted relative energy distribution plot), which is obtained from wavelet analysis, defined in the region with smaller scales. While under the diffusion-control, the three-dimensional (3-D) nucleation / growth process of nickel, often results in the electrocrystallization EN features of both the fast positive potential drift and subsequent remarkable negative potential drift and the corresponding dentritic/large conglomerate structure of nickel deposit, and the maximum relative energy of the RP-EDP defined in the region with larger scales. The electroplating time affects the nickel deposit structure mainly through its influence on the growth rate of crystallites and the Ni 2+ ions diffusion process around each crystallite.

Collective Relationship Banking and Private Information Monitoring in Korea

The structure of conglomerates embedded in the strong vertical ownership network in East Asia was believed to be a driving force for the economic success but was also blamed for the recent financial crisis in Asia given the fallacy - too big to collapse. This paper introduces a notion of collective relationship banking (CRB) as a mechanism for monitoring private information and investigates the likelihood of such a banking relationship when the borrowing firms have a heterogenous vertical ownership structure using a Korean firm level panel dataset. Policy concerns are then addressed since the post-crisis corporate restructuring may create a more concentrated banking relationship with a few dominant banks.

Self-Assembly in Materials Synthesis

AbstractThe synthesis of materials via self-assembly typically involves the spontaneous and reversible organization of small building blocks for the purpose of creating conglomerate structures over larger length scales. This introductory article describes self-assembly processes on several length scales, from subnanometer up to millimeter scales, and briefly summarizes some of the incredible diversity of materials that exhibit selfassembly. Articles in this issue cover self-assembly using zeolitic structures, organic molecular crystals, block copolymers, surfactants, mesoscale templates, and soluble crystallization additives. Keywords: block copolymers, materials synthesis, self-assembly, surfactants, templates, zeolites.

Conglomerates in Contemporary Indonesia

This paper seeks to analyse the patterns of industrial power and competitiveness in contemporary Indonesia through a detailed examination of three large conglomerates, dominant in different industrial sectors: the Salim group in cement and food manufacturing; Sinar Mas in pulp and paper; and Texmaco in textiles. The paper traces the changes in ownership and concentration that occurred from the late 1980s, and the restructuring that took place after the crisis of 1997. The focus is on the governance structure of these family-dominated conglomerates; and how banks and capital markets were exploited by the large family shareholders, who also occupied the top management positions. The role of external capital inflows is also analysed. It is argued that the family-dominated ownership structure, the preference for debt-driven growth, and weak corporate governance were implicated in the crisis of 1997 and these have since rendered restructuring extremely difficult. The final section suggests that restructuring has often involved little more than the rescheduling of debt, although it has certainly increased foreign equity and ownership.

Determinants of ownership structure: An empirical study of the Korean conglomerates

This study characterizes the ownership structure of multifirm conglomerates in terms of two dimensions; the degree of direct ownership and the amount of family stake. The determinants of the two dimensions are investigated simultaneously using the seemingly unrelated regression model. The results show that the conglomerates with a higher leverage and the bigger proportion of nonmanufacturing businesses tend to have a direct ownership. On the other hand, the conglomerates with a bigger size and a larger proportion of nonvoting shares tend to have a pyramidal ownership. As for the family stake, conglomerates with focused business lines tend to have a larger family stake. However, conglomerates that use more nonvoting shares and have more listed firms tend to have a lower family stake. The empirical results can be interpreted as a rational response of the market participants to the business environment that looks like ‘financing without governance.’

What Determines the Ownership Structure of Business Conglomerates?: On the Cash Flow Rights of Korea's Chaebol

We examine a number of firm- and group-level factors that shape the ownership structure of business conglomerates, which can include both public and non-public firms. Using an exclusive set of 1997-2002 data on the intra-group shareholdings of 46 of Korea's largest conglomerates, or chaebols, we show that the contribution of individual firms to group control and profitability are important determinants of ownership structure in Korea's chaebol: the controlling shareholder's cash flow rights in a group-affiliated firm increases with the firm's contribution to group control and profitability. We also find that the level of disparity between voting and cash flow rights is significantly higher than the levels previously reported in the literature on Korean firms, which makes use of only public firms, indicating that non-public firms play a substantial role in increasing the disparity.

Industry Structure and Value-motivated Conglomeration

Agency problems are often cited to explain why managers diversify their firms even though diversification strategies are often claimed to destroy value. In theory, however, conglomeration can be beneficial and the popular press often discusses conglomeration decisions as being driven by industry conditions. We argue that value maximization theories of conglomeration imply that two industry factors (growth opportunities and industry concentration) are negatively related to predicted degrees of conglomeration and find empirical support in a panel of 50 industries across 20 years. Our study also documents that conglomerate structures are more valuable when industry conditions predict high levels of conglomeration. Although our evidence does not rule out the existence of agency-motivated conglomeration, we conclude that value-maximization plays an important role.

Enron: Financial Information and Conflict of Interests

In this article we discuss the relationship between the financial conglomerates, the issuers and the market and in particular the role-played by the financial analysts in the dissemination of financial information in Italy and the U.S. In the last months the financial analyst have been criticized on the grounds that they had contributed to inflate the speculative bubble of the 1990s. Numerous financial analysts had a growing tendency to 'boost' the investments in the financial market and the reluctance to issue sell recommendations on companies whose shares they owned or which were clients of the investment banking side of their own firms or which were actually aggressively seeking with the promise of 'rosey' analyst reports. This attitude of the financial analysts was crystal clear in the Enron case. A Thompson Financial survey of all research recommendations covering Enron on November 29, 2001, a day after the stock price fell from the 60-cent to the 40-cent range, found six 'strong buys', two 'buys', six 'holds', zero 'sells', and only one 'strong sell'. And of the two brokers who did change their recommendation after the stock fell below a dollar, one went from 'strong buy' to 'hold' while the other went from 'buy' to 'market underperform'. In Italy this phenomenon has not reached the magnitude it had in the United States but the problem exists since the market of the financial information is also in Italy in the hands of the financial conglomerates and the integrity of the financial analyst is under siege. The Italian regulation on the protection of investors provides: (a) a duty to disclose in any research report the potential conflict of interests of the financial analysts; (b) and the duty to build in the financial conglomerate the so-called traditional 'Chinese wall'. Also the European Commission has presented a proposal for a Directive on insider dealing and market manipulation ('market abuse') that would increase the standards for market integrity in the securities field throughout the EU. However, the actual (and future) regulation does not solve the problem, which seems to persist, since the rules do not attack directly the structure of the financial conglomerates, which is the source of the potential conflict of interests inherent in the different functions the conglomerates perform.

1-Benzoylazoles: an experimental (NMR and crystallography) and theoretical study

Five N-benzoylazoles (imidazole, pyrazole, indole, benzimidazole and carbazole) have been prepared following modified literature procedures. Their NMR spectra in solution (1H, 13C and 15N) have been measured. The crystal structures of 1-benzoylindole and 9-benzoylcarbazole have been determined by X-ray crystallography and the corresponding 13C NMR spectra in the solid state have been measured by the CPMAS technique. Whereas 1-benzoylindole presents a standard behaviour, 9-benzoylcarbazole shows an unexpected 13C CPMAS spectrum with additional splittings. In order to understand this fact, the 1H and 13C NMR spectra in dimethylether at −143°C (130K) have been recorded and ab initio calculations (RHF/6-311G**) carried out. The corresponding absolute shieldings (GIAO/ RHF/6-311G**) together with the X-ray structure and the 13C chemical shifts at low temperature have been used to discuss the CPMAS spectrum. We propose that the supplementary splittings of this spectrum are due to its conglomerate structure.

Classification of ownership patterns in Korean conglomerates

This study classifies the ownership structure of conglomerates considering the conglomerates' choices of pyramidal vs. horizontal structures and the magnitude of equity held by the controlling shareholders, namely the owner family. It proposes four patterns of ownership structure: (1) horizontal ownership with a high family stake, (2) horizontal ownership with a low family stake, (3) pyramidal ownership with a high family stake, and (4) pyramidal ownership with low family stake. Further, an attempt has been made to identify the series of economic variables contributing to the varying patterns of ownership structure in the 30 largest Korean conglomerates.

The phenomenon of conglomerate crystallization: Part 52. Stereochemical control of the crystallization pathway by small alterations of ligands

The X-ray structure analysis of mer- trans-[Co(aepn)Cl 2(OH 2)](ClO 4)·H 2O ( 1) (aepn= N-(2-aminoethyl)-1,3-propanediamine) reveals that the compound crystallizes in an enantiomorphic space group P2 12 12 1 implying a spontaneous resolution of its racemic solution, known as conglomerate crystallization. Substitutions of the two chloride ligands with bromides result in the isostructural compound mer- trans-[Co(aepn)Br 2(OH 2)](ClO 4)·H 2O ( 2), which also crystallizes as a conglomerate in the space group P2 12 12 1. Meanwhile, a substitution of the coordinated OH 2 of 1 with NH 3 gives mer- trans-[Co(aepn)Cl 2(NH 3)](ClO 4) ( 3), which crystallizes as a simple racemate in P2 1/ n space group. When N-(3-aminopropyl)-1,3-propanediamine (dpt) is used instead of aepn in the preparation of 1, it gives racemic crystals of mer- trans-[Co(dpt)Cl 2(OH 2)](ClO 4) ( 4) whose molecular packing pattern is identical to that of 3. In the conglomerate structures, the protons of coordinated water ligand are strongly hydrogen-bonded to the oxygen of a water of crystallization to form a spiral packing structures. In the packing structures of 3 and 4, two molecules of opposite chirality are brought together around a crystallographic center of inversion by hydrogen bonds of the protons of the corresponding tridentate amine ligand with oxygens of perchlorate anion.

Formation of conglomerate structures in wear-resistant facings

Properties of eutectic alloys are studied mainly in the presence of eutectic structures. An interesting study concerns the wear resistance of alloys with a phase composition characteristic for conglomerate structures.

The corporate structure of financial conglomerates

This article considers the public policy issues regarding the appropriate corporate structure of a firm that provides basic banking services along with other financial services. We refer to such firms as financial conglomerates—a category that includes universal banks, multiproduct bank holding companies, and other diversified financial firms that perform basic banking functions. We address the question of how the regulation of the basic banking business in the United States should be organized in a world economy in which American banks must compete with financial conglomerates.

Strategy and accounting in a U.K. conglomerate

This paper sets out to explore various aspects of the relationship between the use of accounting information for performance reporting and control and the formulation and implementation of business and corporate strategy. It does this by means of a case study of the acquisition and subsequent management of “ELB Ltd” by “Conglom Inc.” The case gives an account of the structuring of relationships both between the Corporate centre and ELB senior management, and within ELB itself. A very complex picture of the relationship between strategy and accounting emerges. Although accounting results are often taken as a proxy for the relative success of strategy, the case suggests that in this respect accounts typically conceal as much as they reveal. Especially with a conglomerate structure it is quite possible for corporate financial “success” to be realized at the expense of the long term strategic positioning of individual unit companies. The paper illustrates how the sharing and integration of market knowledge required for the successful formulation and implementation of strategy can conflict with the conformity and distorted communication encouraged by the hierarchical use of accounting controls. It also describes some of the positive effects that can be realized from deliberate attempts to integrate strategic decision making with routine accountability.