State Owned Enterprises

As the major shareholder, Malaysian Government in 2004 has embarked on the Government linked Companies (GLCs) transformation policy program that mainly emphasizes on enhancing the corporate governance mechanisms of the State owned Enterprises (SOEs) in order to enhance effectiveness of the board. The paper aims to examine the impact of corporate governance mechanisms as embedded in the transformation program on the practice of earnings management. In particular, the study uses data for two periods of time (pre and post transformation), and examine whether the period of post transformation policy has experienced any improvement of board monitoring role in curbing earnings management activities. The main findings show that there is an increase of earnings management activities in post transformation period. Further, the findings revealed that all corporate governance mechanisms have little impact to curb earnings management activities except for board meetings and leadership structure in the post transformation period. The board meetings and separate role of two top positions in the companies were shown to have negative impact on earnings management post transformation policy and that relationship do not hold for the period pre transformation policy. Although the study has shown positive preliminary impact of tightening corporate governance in GLCs, scope to expand the research was also discussed.

Chinese national oil companies have long been seen as rampantly overpaying for overseas assets. This has serious implications for the sustainability of the Chinese SOE model. This paper examines in detail how the prices paid for overseas oil and gas compare with the rest of the world, against specific peers and in certain subsectors. The paper aims to provide public policy recommendations on further reform of the sector in China.

"The economic trajectory of China has been closely monitored by the world over the last half-century. The transition from the governance model of Chairman Mao Zedong to Deng Xiaoping has resulted in the People’s Republic of China emerging as a global economic superpower (currently ranked second behind the United States of America).
This rapid ascension to super power status has been nothing short of phenomenal. The country has sustained double digit GDP growth for over two decades raising a considerable percentage of its population out of poverty and developed huge coastal cities geared for global enterprise. However due to the speed of China’s development significant problems have emerged: environmental, socio-economic, and, a severe shortage of skilled white-collar employees. The lack of skilled white-collar employees is a direct result of both China’s turbulent Mao governance and the unprecedented Deng derived economic growth. There are not enough skilled managers to fill positions in China’s booming economy, job-mobility is high, and poaching by Multinational Enterprises (MNE’s) and private businesses is common. Further, the standard of education is low amongst the demographic that would otherwise be occupying these managerial positions today. It is the macroeconomic creation and organisational challenges posed by this white-collar skills shortage that is the central focus of this thesis."

This article explains the case of Assa as a significant example of a
fraudulent action made by the Iranian government. The US government alleged that Assa Corporation was a front company for Bank Melli Iran, which is completely owned by the Government of Iran.

A descriptive study about rationality and politics in the decision-making process. The current paper aims to describe how rational and political factors in the decision-making process concerning budgeting of a great Brazilian state-owned enterprise have taken place. In order to do so, a case study research has been made in which the same process was analyzed under different perspectives, using as theoretical background the rational, organizational and political models for decision-making analysis. The rational and organizational models have been approached jointly under the formal rationality conceptualization, delimiting, then, the analysis to rational and political perspectives of decision-making process. The utilized methodological procedures underlie descriptive and qualitative nature and the collected data, from different sources—in-depth interview, observations and documents—, have been analyzed through a thematically categorical content analysis kind. The obtained results show a complex decision-making process where both rational and political factors have taken place and influenced decisions and the process per se. The rational factors identified from the literature that have been verified in the analyzed process are: calculus, value maximization, impersonality, bounded rationality, patterns and organizational processes, adaptation and organizational learning, structure, predictability, and rational choice. The latter has been the least perceptible factor in relation to the others. The acting political factors observed are: negotiation and persuasion, power, conflict, coalition and cooperation, interests, and external influence. Political factors contingences and cooptation have not been verified. It is noticed that the budget, although being an idealized technology under instrumental rational premises and utilized to impose a mechanic behavior to organizational processes, has also a political dimension. This dimension takes its shape as far as the situations of decision become arenas where individuals and groups interact in different interests and approaches about the same problem.