Accountants are often asked for advice on pricing products, and their input is often quite helpful and necessary. Accountants, however, are very likely to focus on costs when trying to advise management on appropriate pricing strategies. Economists might focus on rules for maximizing short-run...

A small change in prices can have a significant impact on profits and it is therefore becoming crucial for firms to use innovative approaches to pricing. Smart pricing is a dynamic approach to pricing that requires that firms have accurate information about market demand and profit margins on...

The authors demonstrate how a firm can determine whether it is really marketing oriented, i.e., following the marketing concept, the philosophy that considers satisfying the customer the major purpose of the organization. A nine-question checklist is provided for a firm to use in evaluating...

The authors investigate the question of the optimal number of points to use on a rating scale using validity as the major criterion for comparison. In the reported study, perhaps surprisingly, the results suggest that the 11-point rating scale may be the best performer

A key principle of financial reporting is that substance matters, not form. This is how auditors ensure that a firm will be viable in the future. The authors provide a checklist of goals that an organization should examine in order to determine whether it is investing in the long-run rather than...

In this brief call to action, the authors decry disciplinary elitism. A large number of academics in various disciplines actually believe that their discipline alone has the answer to how the world works. This sort of academic bigotry runs rampant through our myriad ivied and hallowed halls, and...

One of the great ironies of the financial meltdown of 2008 – which was really more of a values meltdown – is that very few U.S. laws were actually broken. This paper investigates the financial crisis from a different legal perspective – that of Jewish law, using six framing principles:...

In this paper it is argued that two kinds of capitalism are engaged in a great struggle in the United States. Both approaches are derived from the opinions of Adam Smith, the father of capitalism, who posited in The Wealth of Nations that universal self-interest and the “invisible hand” of...

It is clear that people do not always behave in a rational manner. Sometimes they are presented with too much information or they may want to make a quick decision. This may cause them to rely on cognitive shortcuts known as heuristics (rules of thumb). These cognitive shortcuts often result in...

The ancient sages of the Talmud used stories as a method to teach people how to behave ethically. Elijah stories remain extremely popular today and he becomes an important figure in Jewish folklore and Chassidic tales. Elijah is supposed to show up at every Jewish circumcision and at the...