text:
Arizona State University
W. P. Carey School of Business, Department of Management
P.O. Box 874006. Tempe, AZ 85287-4006
Phone: 602 543 6126; Fax 602 543 6220
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Insper Institute of Education and Research
R. Quatá, 300. São Paulo, SP Brazil 04546-042
Phone: 55-11-4504-2432; Fax: 55-11-4504-2350
E-mail: email@example.com
Faculdade Campo Limpo Paulista
Entrepreneurship Research Division
R. Guatemala, 167, Campo Limpo Paulista, SP, Brazil 13231-230
Phone: 55-11-4812-9400; Fax: 55-11-4812-9400
E-mail: email@example.com
Arizona State University
W. P. Carey School of Business, Department of Management
P.O. Box 874006. Tempe, AZ 85287-4006
Phone: 602 543 6126; Fax 602 543 6220
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Texas A&M University
Mays School of Business – Department of Management
420 Wehner, Mailstop 4221, office 430F
Ph 979.845.4851; Fax: 979.845.9641
January 10, 2012
We thank FIA – Fundação Instituto de Administração. São Paulo, Brazil.
The Socio-Emotional Wealth Logic: An Empirical Investigation on the Antecedents of Family Firm Administrative Practices and Performance
In the family firm literature, researchers agree that decisions driven by social and affective family motives are often made at the expense of efficiency and transparency in the managerial ranks. Yet, firms controlled by families comprise about half of the Fortune 1000 index and many family businesses have become household brand names around the world, such as Harley-Davidson, Hyundai, Ford, Hilton and Marriott, hence indicating they are quite competitive. In this paper, we address this paradox. We argue that family firms are just as rational as their nonfamily peers when making managerial choices, except that the criteria for judging whether choices are good or bad vary between these two types of firms; for the former it matters whether their socio-emotional wealth (SEW) is maximized, whereas for the latter, it matters whether efficiency is achieved. Ultimately, family firms tradeoff efficiency and risk taking for stability and stakeholder loyalty, whence these benefits and costs compensate one another, leading family businesses to be just as efficient as nonfamily ones. We specify a model wherein family businesses tend to adopt <i>caring administrative practices </i>and <i>caring stakeholder relations</i>, and investigate how these choices trace to firm performance. We find support for our conjectures, based on a large survey sample from over 18,900 employees, from 82 of the largest firms in Brazil. We derive implications for theory and practice.
Key words: socio-emotional wealth, family firms, caring administrative practices, stakeholder relations, performance, and competitive advantage
Research on family firms has grown considerably in the past few decades. A quick search in Google scholar for the term produces over 15,000 hits, most of them representing studies published in the last 15 years. This voluminous body of research concludes that family firms – understood generically here as those business entities whose family owners exert much influence over their affairs (Gomez-Mejia et al, 2011: 658) – are a distinct type of organization from the usual 'profit oriented ideal' portrayed in the business literature. For instance, when deciding over myriad of issues such as diversification, compensation, management-employee relationships, growth through acquisitions, governance, or even corporate social responsibility, family firm managers tend to display non-economic behavior, therefore focusing on priorities that seem contrary to the profit oriented agenda of their nonfamily counterparts (Gomez-Mejia, Larraza-Kintana, & Makri, 2003; Schulze, Lubatkin, Dino, & Buchholtz, 2001; Gomez-Mejia, Makri, & Larraza-Kintana, 2010; Miller, Le Breton-Miller & Lester, 2010; Schulze, Lubatkin, & Dino, 2003).
A vital pillar driving these differences, according to this literature, embodies a socio-emotional element that pervades most areas of decision-making. Essentially, families conform to an enclosed social milieu of individuals sharing emotional ties that range from relational warmth, affection, support, family-name pride, and happiness, all the way to possessiveness, incongruity, and resentment (Epstein, Bishop, Ryan, Miller & Keitner, 1993; Gomez-Mejia et al, 2011: 654). What is more, the identity of the family name is often conflated with that of the firm (Dyer & Whetten, 2006), such that how others perceive the organization directly affects the self-esteem and reputation of its owners (Chen, Chen, Cheng, & Shevlin, 2010). Because of their socio-emotional ties, the ability of family members to exercise authority and control over business decisions embodies a source of satisfaction (Schulze et al, 2003; Gomez-Mejia et al, 2011). Certainly emotions are present in all types of firms, but the literature suggests that they play a much larger role in family businesses not only because of the affective stock (which influences the behavioral, social, and cognitive aspects of business management) but also because of the generational ties that evolve across managerial ranks, thereby increasing employee exit barriers and reducing turnover.
The paradox that this literature raises is that decisions driven by social and affective family motives often tend to be made at the expense of efficiency and transparency in the managerial ranks, and consequently family firms are often seen as bastions not of financial wealth creation, but of inefficient and non-rational processes that are likely to reduce value. Interestingly however, anecdotal evidence sometimes suggests the opposite; although most family firms are smaller in size, firms controlled by families comprise about half of the Fortune 1000 index (Gomez-Mejia et al, 2010). All the while, many family businesses have become household brand names, displaying strong competitiveness in their respective industries, such as Harley-Davidson, Hyundai, Ford, Hilton and Marriott.
In this paper, we investigate this paradox. We follow Gomez-Mejia et al (2007) who suggest that family firms are just as rational as their nonfamily peers when making managerial choices, except that the criteria for judging whether choices are good or bad vary between these two types of firms. For the former it matters whether their socio-emotional wealth (SEW) is maximized, whereas for the latter, it matters whether efficiency is achieved. But to this core idea, we add that ultimately the decision-making patterns of family firms tradeoff efficiency and risk taking for stability and stakeholder loyalty. We argue that ultimately, family firms do emphasize administrative control in their day to day decision making, therefore creating some hierarchical rigidity aimed at increasing SEW and perpetuating family values as well as reducing business risk; in the process, family firms tend to underperform non-family organizations. On the other hand, the caring relationships demonstrated with inside and outside stakeholders implicate loyalty that increases relational capital; in the process, family firms tend to outperform non-family organizations. Ultimately, our argument is that these decisions present tradeoffs and imply that the gains in employee productivity and community reputation arising from personal commitment and loyalty compensate for the losses in bureaucracy and non-economic-oriented decision-making. Our contribution then is to demonstrate that, albeit they tend to be less diversified and slightly smaller than their non-family peers, family firms are no less profitable.
We test our theoretical model in a large sample of over 18,900 employees, from 82 of the largest firms in Brazil. Our intended contribution is to the family firm literature. Most literature to date compares performance outcomes of family versus non-family entities, but few have looked inside organizations to derive the administrative mechanisms that differentiate family organizations from their peers. In the final section, we derive implications for theory and practice.
Socio-Emotional Wealth defined
A broad literature on family firms agrees that the owners of such organizations derive a series of non-economic utilities from business ownership. These utilities can be broadly summarized into three large categories of caring administrative orientation (Gomez-Mejia et al, 2007; 2011): amassing emotional capital; perpetuating family values; and catering to the welfare of those in close proximity more than other organizational stakeholders. In regards to emotional capital, the literature on family firms is quite accepting of the fact that organizational and strategic decision making up and down organizational hierarchies involve emotions (Baron, 2008; Sharma, 2004). The affective nature of decision making then implies that organizations many times become the recipient of the family's emotive stock; while emotions exist in all organizations, the difficulty of family members leaving the organization implies that personal feelings are trapped inside, and cumulatively affect the behavioral, social, and cognitive aspects of business management (Gomez-Mejia et al, 2011: 655). A myriad of such emotions have been explored in the literature, such as possession and attachment (Astrachan & Jaskiewicz, 2008; Habbershon & Pistrui, 2002), commitment entrapment (Chirico & Salvato, 2008); as well as emotive befits and costs (Bjornberg & Nicholson, 2007; Astrachan & Jaskiewicz, 2008).
In regards to the perpetuation of family values, Aronoff (2004: 57) describes that they often conform the cultural pillars of family businesses, hence establishing a key source of differentiation. In a thorough review of the literature for instance, Astrachan, Klein, & Smyrnios (2002) cite a broad spectrum of anecdotal and empirical evidence that family values shape distinct organizational cultures. Family values permeate their organizations (Dyer, 2003; Fletcher, 2000), and drive cultural aspects of the organization not only during founding periods, but also across generations (Hall & Nordqvist, 2008). This perpetuation enables families to immortalize not only their core values (Handler, 1990), but also their dynasties (Casson, 1999).
A third area where socioemotional aspects are said to drive decision making in family organizations involve the altruistic behavior of family members, wherein they tend to cater to the welfare of the family unit. The logic of altruism in family businesses can be traced back to an utilitarian orientation where each individual engages in exchanges with an unselfish motivation to maximize the welfare of the entire family which is collectively engaged in a common enterprise (Becker, 1981). More recent family business literature tends to emphasize that family members wish to increase not only the well being of their blood relatives but also that of employees, independent of their relative contribution to the organization, or even their capacity to reciprocate (Gomez-Mejia, et al, 2011: 656).
By collectively labeling these non-economic utilities 'the socio emotional wealth' of a family, Gomez-Mejia et al (2007) recently argued that families are likely to gauge their stock of such wealth as a primary objective, wherein good 'family firm decisions' are those that bring profit or avoid excessive costs on their socio emotional stock, independently of how such decisions bring about traditional forms of efficiencies or other economic-oriented considerations. Looking at the family firm from this perspective then these organizations may be just as rational as their nonfamily counterparts when making managerial choices, except that the primordial criteria – or at least the one that has greater priority – become not financial but socio emotional wealth.
Thus, in this paper, we wish to supplement the above literature in two meaningful ways. First, we theorize about socio emotional wealth as a primary logic of how families conduct their businesses differently in their organizations vis-à-vis their nonfamily peers. Mostly, we argue, family businesses tend to employ caring internal administrative practices – involving areas that range from professionalization as well as human resources management, and a degree of personification in agent-principal relationships, as well as caring external stakeholder relationship practices – such as caring for their external stakeholders, as well as the broader community in general. In the end, we examine theoretically and empirically whether such choices present tradeoffs when it comes to financial performance of the organization. A caring orientation means that the family considers the interest of others as part of its own socioemotional utilities because doing so enhances the family's image, the family's reputation, as well as the family's emotional connection to internal and external stakeholders.
We summarize our model in Figure 1, below. Essentially, we conjecture that, in contrast to what happens in non-family firms, family firm managers will establish caring contracts with both internal (e.g. employees) as well as external (e.g. community) stakeholders. In essence, we believe that family firms' choices of administrative policies reflect their owners' concerns for preserving and even increasing their socio-emotional wealth. In this section then, we define each of our constructs, and hypothesize on their relationships.
<< Figure 1 about here >>
Family versus Non-family Businesses
So what is a family firm? At the theoretical level, scholars generically agree that family businesses are those where a family owner exercises much influence over the firm's affairs. When it comes to materializing such definition into measurable proxies however, there is much dissent in the empirical literature. Gallo & Sveen (1991) understand family firms as those where a single family holds the majority of shares; Westhead, Cowling, & Howarth (2001) see them as those wherein the family holds 50% or more of ordinary voting power; Anderson & Reeb (2003) define them as those where a family member holds office or is a director in the firm; Gomez-Mejia et al (2003) see them as those where family ownership exceeds 5% and at least one person is on the board, whereas Cruz et al (2010) adopt the threshold of 20%, as recommended by LaPorta et al (1999).
Albeit the literature varies in its choice on how to operationalize it, there seems to be a consensus that the degree of influence of family members onto the business varies across contexts. For instance, some studies have shown that a mere 5% of family ownership is enough to give Fortune 1000 firms its 'family flavor' (Gomez-Mejia, Tosi, & Hinkin, 1987; Hambrick & Finkelstein, 1995; McEachern, 1975; Werner, Tosi, & Gomez-Mejia, 2005), whereas in Spain, Cruz et al (2010) find this threshold may hover around 20%. In the end, as Gomez-Mejia et al (2011: 659) suggest, every operational definition is context specific, rather than generalizable, and is likely to depend on various factors, such as the access of other owners, either atomistic or large block ones (Hambrick & Finkelstein, 1995; Hoskisson et al, 2002) as well as rules that conflict out the interests of all shareholders (Aghion, Van Reneen, & Zingales, 2009). Given the context-specific nature of the definition, we deem imperative to determine a firm's identity as family or non-family based on the contextual characteristics of the country where our data comes from: Brazil. As recently as 10 years ago, Brazil saw the passing of very strict legislation in its BOVESPA stock market, wherein all businesses are required to follow transparent governance rules (Funchal, 2008). The results have been two-fold: for one, there has been a dramatic increase in the participation of minority stockholders in all sorts of businesses, and a massive increase in the availability of capital to firms, thereby catapulting BOVESPA to being one of the largest stock markets in the world (Economist, 2010). On the other hand, family firms are now required to relinquish control and must disclose all aspects of their operations publicly. The relinquishing of such control may represent a big problem; Gomez-Mejia et al (2007) for instance found that family firms may choose to abandon public funding opportunities and even accept a performance hazard, if such opportunities require loss of independence and decision-making space. As a result, publicly traded firms in Brazil, we understand, are much less subject to family influences than privately owned ones. Hence, we define a family business (in Brazil) as that which is not publicly traded, whereas it is classified as a non-family business otherwise.
Caring administrative practices
Broadly, because socio-emotional wealth is a fundamental endowment of family principals, potential losses to that endowment increase subjective decision-making, wherein family members are therefore more willing to adopt internal administrative as well as external stakeholder practices that help prevent such losses. In trying to maintain their socio-emotional wealth, we expect family businesses will be more inclined to adopt caring administrative practices than their non-family business counterparts. We define caring administrative practices as those organizational policies that are less formalized but at the same time more personable and concerned with the personal integrity of individuals. We expect in general that managers of non-family businesses will have relationships with employees that are more arm's length, whereas their chains of command as well as human resources practices will be well established and more formal. Particularly, we expect non-family firms to have more formal organizational structures and information sharing, more access to formal training and open promotion policies, as well as more arm's length relationships with personnel. We detail each of these in turn.
In regards to promotion of employees from within, it is expected that the pool of candidates will be more constrained in family firms. A socio-emotional wealth reasoning would lead us to believe that family firms would tend to favor promotion from within the family, even if a better candidate exists internally or even externally in the labor market (Kets de Vries, 1993). Evidence from a study by Zellweger, Kellermanns, Chrisman, and Chua (in press: 11) concludes that family owners count the future benefits of control (i.e. by favoring the promotion of family members rather than outsiders) as part of their current social emotional wealth endowment. This favored promotion practice often associates with the owner's desire to retain control (Astrachan et al, 2002) and to satisfy a "dynastic" family ambition (Gomez-Mejia, 2011: 661), even if such decision defies economic rationality. Moreover, when preparing candidates for promotion, non-family firms may tend to favor outsourced formal preparations (e.g. executive development seminars, and formal training); the family firm in contrast will avoid such practices as it favors personal relationships between the leader and successor (e.g. mentoring and coaching) so as to strengthen their mutual trust (Fiegener, Brown, Prince, & File, 1996). The choice for informal mentoring and coaching in family businesses tends to ensure a better transfer of idiosyncratic knowledge across generations (Castanias & Helfat, 1991; 1992), as much as it increases the emotional attachment of the newly promoted manager with the organization (Sharma, 2004).
In regards to professionalization of a firm's structure and policies, non-family firms tend to incorporate more formal management structures and processes (Dyer, 1989), whereas the literature suggests that family businesses are generally more reluctant to professionalize the organization (Gomez-Mejia et al, 2011: 662). For instance, family firms often avoid delegating greater responsibilities within (Kets de Vries, 1993; Schulze, Lubatkin, & Dino, 2003; Gomez-Mejia et al, 2007). This reluctance of family firms to professionalize follows our socio-emotional logic; delegating authority and relying on a command structure that is independent of family are likely to increase information asymmetries (Gomez-Mejia, Hoskisson, Makri, Sirmon, & Campbell, 2011), decrease family control over important decisions (Gomez-Mejia, 2011: 663) as well as increase behavioral uncertainty (Cruz et al, 2010). All in all, we expect that family firms will be less formalized when it comes to HR practices (De Kok, Uhlaner, & Thurik, 2006).
In regards to agency relationships, family businesses will tend to be more personable and caring in treating their employees. Employee relation approaches tend to emphasize businesses communication with employees through informal (e.g. impromptu meetings, social gatherings) rather than formal systems (e.g. formal communication structures, management by objectives) (Harris & Reid, 2008). Such practices follow our socio-emotional wealth logic. The implementation of long term, focused developmental plans rather than short term training may help indoctrinate new employees with the norms and values of the organization, thus strengthening an identification with the firm and fostering the family's socio-emotional wealth. Moreover, compensation and appraisal programs tend to consider non-economic criteria, such as fulfilling family obligations and contributing to the harmony of the context (Beehr et al, 1997). The use of informal communication channels can also be interpreted as the family's desire to build a familial atmosphere that helps transmit the family culture and values (Harris & Reid, 2008). In a recent study for example, Cruz et al (2010) found that firms with family ties are more likely to foster caring relationships (e.g. oriented towards support, understanding, and consideration of the agent's welfare). In sum, we expect that:
Hypothesis 1: family firms are more inclined to adopt caring administrative practices in contrast to their non-family counterparts.
Caring Stakeholder Relationships and Corporate Citizenship
More recently, scholars have begun exploring whether the idiosyncratic nature of family firms affects how they relate to their external environment, which is comprised of an extended set of stakeholders, including not only buyers and suppliers, but also their community at large. Essentially, a stakeholder includes any group of individuals who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization's objectives (Freeman, 1984: 46). In this segment of our theory, we are concerned with 'external' stakeholders, such as buyers, suppliers, and even the community at large within which the firm is immersed. Hence, we discuss these developments based on the emerging literature of corporate social responsibility and stakeholder management.
The core of stakeholder management lies in "the never-ending task of balancing and integrating multiple relationships and multiple objectives" (Freeman & McVea, 2001; Gomez-Mejia et al, 2011: 681). Albeit several scholars suggest that stakeholder management is relevant for family firms (E.g. Chrisman et al, 2005; Lubatkin et al, 2007), the concept has rarely been applied to family firms in a formal manner (Gomez-Mejia et al, 2011: 681). Based on our socio-emotional wealth reasoning, we expect that family firms are to be much more responsive to the claims of external stakeholders. Our logic is as follows. First, social and reputational sanctions are often imposed on firms exhibiting less than desirable corporate citizenship; however, in the case of family firms, such costs are also transposed to the family name (Adams, Taschian, & Shore, 1996; Dyer & Whetten, 2006), thereby affecting their legitimacy and reputation (Gomez-Mejia, 2001: 682). To avoid being stigmatized as an irresponsible corporate citizen, family firms are thus more likely to respond to external claims, even if there are few or even no direct financial rewards (Zellweger and Nason, 2008).
Besides, we expect family firms to work towards the creation of long term relationships with external stakeholders, such as buyers and suppliers, in order to amass social capital and stocks of goodwill (Carney, 2005). We reason that these relationships may also serve as a form of social insurance, protecting the firm's assets in times of crises (Godfrey 2005), so that if damage is to occur, stakeholders are more likely to give the organization and the family the benefit of the doubt. Moreover, because family organizations have this long time orientation and are less pressed for short-term results, they are more apt to build these relationships in a path dependent way (Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2005). Indeed, a recent study by Berrone, Gomez-Mejia, Cennano, and Cruz (2011) justified the greater inclination of family businesses to undertake proactive stakeholder engagement activities as a combination of social legitimacy and reputation, as well as social connections with the community; both of these reasons conform well with our socio-emotional logic.
Just like family businesses are likely to work towards building long term relationships, they are also more likely to exhibit higher levels of corporate social responsibility and good community citizenship (Berrone et al, 2010; Deniz-Deniz & Cabrera-Suarez, 2005; Dyer & Whetten, 2006) than non-family firms. Dyer & Whetten (2006) for instance found preliminary empirical evidence that family firms are much more likely to avoid actions that may make them appear as socially irresponsible. Berrone et al (2010) also demonstrated that controlling families tend to adopt environmentally friendly strategies more frequently, especially when the firm is socially and geographically embedded at the local level. This is so, they explain, because family members tend to be much more exposed to reputational loss from environmental transgressions.
Based on the above, we predict that:
Hypothesis 2: family firms are more inclined to adopt caring external stakeholder relationships in contrast to their non-family counterparts.
Though we expect family firms to adopt both caring administrative practices (i.e. caring for the welfare of their employees, through personable relationships with them), as well as caring external stakeholder relations (i.e. demonstrating a stronger stance of corporate citizenship towards the outer community), we expect that such choices will emphasize much more the former than the latter. One of the strongest characteristics of family firms, according to previous literature is altruistic behavior among family members. This means family owners have a greater desire to cater to the welfare of the family unit, more than they wish to cater to the welfare of others. Research by Economics Nobel Prize laureate Gary Becker details the logic of altruism. According to Becker (1981), altruism has a strong utilitarian orientation, wherein altruistic exchanges among family members are meant to maximize the welfare of the broader group of family members engaged in a common endeavor (i.e. in our case, running a business). For Becker (1981), altruism associates with economic rationality in family firms, and more recent literature (Jorissen, Laveren, Martens, & Reheul, 2005, Lubatkin, and colleagues 2005; 2007; Miller et al, 2007) indicate that family owners receive satisfaction by benefitting family members independent of their relative contribution to the organization, or their capacity to reciprocate in kind. According to these authors fulfillment of family obligations takes precedence over other matters, in that blood ties become more relevant a criterion for judging stakeholder relations in family firms. Based on this, we conjecture that:
Hypothesis 3: family firms are more inclined to adopt caring internal administrative practices than they are to adopt external stakeholder relationship practices.
Over the past two decades or so great effort has been devoted to finding the direct consequences of family ownership on performance. In fact, several reviews and meta analyses have appeared in the past 5 years. The main conclusion from this body of research is mixed: on average, family firms have similar or at best slightly superior performance relative to their non-family counterparts. Sacristan-Navarro, Gomez-Anson, and Cabeza-Garcia (2011), after studying 20 published empirical studies that examine the relation between family ownership and performance found that the pattern is inconclusive. In fact, their own study with 118 nonfinancial Spanish firms, with 711 observations between 2002 and 2008 concludes that once endogeneity is controlled for, family ownership has no association to performance (2011: 88). Tsao, Chen, Lin, and Hyde (2009) also suggest "there is still a need to investigate the relationships between the two concepts (page 319).
We believe that such controversial findings stem from the fact that some approaches to preserving socio-emotional wealth in family firms carry "positive" while others carry "negative" consequences to firm performance. In essence, both positive and negative probably may coexist in family firms, and it would be difficult to determine which predominates when it comes to performance results. A further complication is that positive and negative may at times be two sides of the same coin (e.g. affective commitment versus more time spent handling emotions, or long term orientation versus entrenchment; Gomez-Mejia, 2011: 691), so it may be possible that the "goods" neutralize the "bads"; for instance, some strategic choices (e.g. less formal organizational structure) may negatively affect performance, while others (e.g. more caring agency relations) may positively affect performance. As such, we expect the socio-emotional wealth logic to provide no relationship to firm performance, albeit we state our hypothesis in a form to be falsified:
Hypothesis 4: (a) Caring administrative practices and (b) caring stakeholder relations positively associate to performance.
Data Collection
We collected primary data from a set of firms, each of which was invited to participate in a survey. Our unit of analysis is the company, albeit for most of the variables we derive firm-level values by averaging responses from multiple employees.
The survey instrument was developed and applied with the support of Fundação Instituto de Administração (FIA), a non-profit think-tank research and executive education institute from São Paulo, Brazil. Since 2006, FIA has been published the "Best Places to Work for in Brazil" Annual Guide, on which our questionnaire items derive. To administer the survey, FIA randomly selected employees from all participating companies. Specifically, FIA asked participating companies for a numbered list of employees from which, based on a numerically random selection process, it chose the ones to be contacted for the survey. All selected people included formally hired employees; unrelated or outsourced staff were excluded. FIA sent the questionnaire directly to each employee by e-mail. To ensure a higher response rate, FIA presented the survey with a support letter from their firm, a brief statement from FIA stating its research goals, as well as anonymity guarantees to respondents.
Two different surveys are completed by different parties. For one survey, employees answered all questions about the firm's administrative practices (see Table 2 for question items), as well as control variables, such as gender, age, time of employment, education level, and relative position in the organizational hierarchy. For the other survey, a general manager from the organization was asked to disclose financial data (such as revenues, which is used to compute our performance metric) from the organization.
Due to the nature of FIA's survey, the entire population of firms targeted for this survey usually comprised large firms. Therefore, to ensure that the sample was actually representative of the organizational population, we required a minimum number of 200 responses from each firm. Additionally, because a few firms made a point of non-disclosure of some of their basic financial information, necessary for the empirical analysis of our model, we ended up with a smaller number of firms in our sample.
A total of 552 companies spontaneously enrolled in the survey process. This resulted in 142,913 employees answering the questionnaire. In Table 1 we outline the parameters used to select firms in the survey. After eliminating firms that did not disclose the necessary financial information (necessary for the computation of our performance model), as well as firms without the minimally required number of respondents (in which case we were less sure about the representativeness of the population), we ended up with a sample of 82 organizations, for a total of 18,792 employee-questionnaires. This is a very large sample, which makes us confident in the statistical power of the analysis of employee perceptions regarding the firm's administrative practices.
<< Table 1 about here >>
Variables and Measures
In our survey, we desired to comprehend the types of administrative practices that firms adopt, and divided these regarding how they relate to either internal or external stakeholders. Research by Fulmer, Gerhart, and Scott (2003) indicates that performance (e.g. ROA) of organizations on the list of '100 best firms to work for' is, in general, better than that of companies from a comparison group, not classified among the 100 best. At the same time, research conducted worldwide, by the Great Places to Work For Institute, in the United States and in more than 30 other countries, suggests similar tendencies. In essence, firms that have good working environments are frequently more profitable than their competitors (Fulmer et al, 2003; Levering, 1997). Levering (1997) for instance carried out a survey with American firms that found a positive relationship between performance and organizational environment; he concluded that operational profit and stock appreciation were twice larger for firms in the '100 best firms to work for' list, compared to firms in the S&P500. Dean Witter Reynolds repeated the analysis, and found that income was 18% higher among the top 100 to work for.
We followed this literature, and included several questionnaire items of our own to gauge employee perceptions regarding how the firm relates to its internal as well as external stakeholders. Specifically, our measure caring administrative practices include several items that reflect whether employees perceive the firm to maintain a more caring agency relationship (e.g. whether employees can relate to their bosses in more personable ways, whether the employee feels their health and family benefits are well taken care of, etc); whether career advancement and promotion opportunities are open (e.g. training and career advice is open to all, and opportunities are distributed fairly); as well as whether the organizational structure is formalized and communication patterns are open (e.g. expectations are clear, communication among division is quick and transparent, decision criteria are consistent, organizational routines are fair and efficient, etc.). In Table 2, we specify these questionnaire items, and provide evidence that our items have construct validity. All items were measured in a 7-point Likert scale.
Also in Table 2, the reader will find our itemized list of questions for our second perceptual construct, caring external stakeholder relations. Our measure includes items that reflect whether employees perceive the firm to care for its surrounding environment and community, and whether the organization strives to maintain a balanced relationship with suppliers, workers, and stockholders, among others (see Table 2 for details, a full list of questionnaire items, and factor loadings that confirm construct validity). Like with caring administrative practices, items were measured with a 7-point Likert scale.
Family Ownership: As far as the ownership structure is concerned, we set out to measure in a binary way whether a firm is family (i.e. privately held, which means there are few owners who are free to direct the administrative destination of the organization) or non family (i.e. publicly traded, in which case diffused ownership would make it more difficult for shareholders to directly influence the administrative policy choices of the firm). We coded family firms as 1, and non-family firms as 2.
Performance: As far as performance is concerned, we wished to gauge whether administrative choices would enhance (or decrease) the attachment of employees to the organization, therefore increasing (or decreasing) the sales performance of the organization per employee. In this case, performance stands for the firm's revenue divided by its number of employees.
Control Variables: Although we are interested in developing a parsimonious model, other alternative factors may also influence the relationships stated in Figure 1; we thus include control variables to ensure results are not unjustifiably influenced by these factors.
First, we control for firm size. Because larger firms may possess a larger pool of resources and people, it may be the case that their adoption of more formal (i.e. less caring) administrative practices as well as more arm's length (i.e. less caring) stakeholder relations stems from this characteristic. We measure firm size as the log number of employees. We also control for employee characteristics, such as tenure with the firm, hierarchy level of the employee, as well as her educational level. We expect that employees who have been longer with the firm are more likely to perceive the organization as caring to his own needs, and therefore respond more favorably to the questionnaire items. Moreover, employees at higher managerial levels are likely to also be more ingrained in the strategic decision making, therefore being likely to positively answer questions. Lastly, employees with higher educational levels are expected to respond more favorably to the questions as well, as we expect their understanding of complex social relations to differ from their less formally educated peers.
<< Table 2 about here >>
Data Analyses
In Table 3, we include our basic correlation matrix as well as descriptive statistics, whereas in Table 4 we show our main results. Akin to Anderson and Gerbing's (1988) two-stage process for validating measures before testing a substantive model, we first used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test whether the variables selected to measure each construct show convergent validity (i.e., whether items are fairly correlated with one another) and discriminant validity (i.e., whether variables across constructs clearly measure different constructs). In particular, we aggregated individual responses by firm and then analyzed firm-level survey data with CFA.
We also followed Anderson & Gerbing's (1988) formal analysis for convergent validity by computing t-tests for factor loadings. We kept indicators for which factor loadings were greater than twice their standard errors (Table 2). Lastly, we assessed discriminant validity. Here, we used chi-square difference tests for constrained and unconstrained models. The constrained model sets the covariance between two constructs equal to one; a significantly lower chi-square value for the unconstrained model supports the discriminant validity criterion. CFI differences between nested models exceeding 0.01 also are indicative of discriminant validity (Cheung & Rensvold, 2002).
<< Table 3 about here >>
Our Table 4 includes both figures as well as a direct assessment in the replicated Figure of the path values and their respective significance. To assess model fitness, we examine chi-square and three other goodness-of-fit statistics: normed and the non-normed fit indices (NFI and NNFI), as well as the comparative fit index (CFI). A commonly accepted rule of thumb for these fit indices is that they should be greater than 0.90 (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988)[1]. Probability levels on chi-square of 0.10 or higher are generally considered evidence of ideal models (Bentler, 1989).
Our measurement model resulted in good fit. Our theoretical model, represented in Figure 1, has a significant chi-square (chi-square = 3413.6, with 274 df, and p < 0.05), which could be cause for concern. In such cases, Anderson & Gerbing (1988) argue that the chi-square test is frequently not valid when Ns are large, and recommend that this statistic be treated as a general goodness of fit index, but not as a statistical test in the strict sense. The fact that our goodness of fit indices are within expected ranges (i.e. above 0.9) makes us confident that our model is acceptable. Our NFI equals 0.915; our NNFI equals 0.921; while our CFI equals 0.921.
Table 2 reports that all factor loadings are significant and sizeable, support convergent validity for our indicators for the two administrative dimensions. While the two factors are highly correlated (.85, p < .05). When we compare two measurement models—one positing two factors and another specifying one factor, the chi-square test was statistically different (938.77, p < .05), while the CFIs differed by more than .01 (Cheung & Rensvold, 2002). Such findings support discriminant validity as treating the two factors as one reduces model fit—statistically and practically.
<< Table 4 about here >>
Based on the fit of our measurement model, we subsequently proceeded to stage 2, which involves path analyses with observed variables. Given the relatively modest sample of firms, we used single indicators for all constructs (rather than test a latent variables structural model). Figure 4 presents our results, in a graphic way. We used the EQS maximum likelihood estimation method. Our chi-square resulted non-significant, with a p-value > 0.05 (chi-square = 1.60; df = 1). Our NFI = 0.987, while NNFI = 0.969. CFI = 0995.
We summarize results in Table 4, which – in order to more visually show results, and facilitate the job of the reader – includes a replication of Figure 1. Hypothesis 1 states that family firms are more likely than non-family firms to adopt caring internal administrative practices. We find full support for our conjecture. Our standardized parameter value is 0.28, while p < 0.05. Hypothesis 2 states that family firms are more likely than non-family firms to adopt external stakeholder relationship practices. We do not find support for this conjecture. Our parameter value is 0.10, while p > 0.05. Hypothesis 3 states that family firms will significantly adopt more caring internal administrative practices than caring external stakeholder relations. We find full support for this conjecture. A t-test for the difference of the two paths is significant, with p < 0.05. Hypotheses 4a and 4b respectively state that caring administrative practices and caring stakeholder relations will have non-significant impact on performance (Note: hypotheses 4a and 4b are stated in their null form, so our findings here are stated in opposite fashion). We find support for 4a, but not for 4b. Path 4a indicates that caring administrative practices has no significant impact on sales revenue per employee (in accordance with our theory); however, path 4b indicates that caring stakeholder relations has, contrary to our expectations, a statistically significant positive association to performance.
Based on an analysis of 18,900+ surveys, from 82 firms across different economic segments in a large economy, such as Brazil, we are confident in our results. The socio-emotional logic seems to be a useful concept to explain that family firms are willing to take stronger steps towards ensuring the welfare of those close to them (i.e. employees).
Contrary to our expectations, we do not find that family firms are more likely to adopt caring external stakeholder relations. Albeit the logic would indicate that family firms are willing to safeguard their family name reputations in the eyes of external stakeholders, such as buyers, suppliers, and even the wider community, our statistical analysis indicates this not to be the case in our large sample. Interestingly however, as per our theory, the family firm caring stance is confirmed to be stronger with internal employees than with external stakeholders.
What is more, contrary to popular belief that family firms are less efficient, and tradeoff efficient administrative practices for less rational ones, thereby attaining lower economic performance, we observe that caring administrative practices has no impact on firm performance. Based on our socio-emotional wealth argument, we conjectured that such practices bring additional loyalty from employees, thereby offsetting any negative effects that may arise due to lower internal efficiencies. On the other hand, firms that adopt caring external stakeholder relations are also the ones observing higher performance. Due to our cross-section analysis, we are unable to verify at this point whether such citizenship practices influence performance, or whether there exists a concomitant effect in which case firms that perform better also have more resources to adopt such practices.
Research interest on family businesses has mushroomed in the past few decades. Family entities account for the vast majority of business concerns across many countries; in developed nations they represent the majority of organizations (e.g. in Spain, according to Cruz et al, 2010, they account for over 80% of businesses, whereas in the U.S. they account for over 70%, according to Sirmon & Hitt, 2003). Concomitantly, in developing nations they account for even larger shares. Family controlled organizations are often seen as rather distinct from the 'profit oriented ideal' often portrayed in the strategy and management literatures however. They are often seen as entities which are less rational, when deciding over myriad of issues, such as compensation, management-employee relationships, corporate social responsibility, and others, wherein managers tend to display non-economic behavior, hence attaining less than ideal profit maximization results. Yet, the literature seems to be inconclusive about whether family firms are less or more profitable than their non-family counterparts (Epstein et al, 193; Gomez-Mejia and colleagues, 2003; 2010; 2011; Miller et al, 2010; Schulze and colleagues, 2001; 2003).
In this paper, we aim at adding to this literature. We begin by reviewing the concept of socio-emotional wealth (Gomez-Mejia and colleagues, 2010; 2011), and conjecturing that family firms are more likely to adopt (a) caring internal administrative practices and (b) caring external stakeholder relationship practices. We also conjecture that (c) family firms will adopt caring administrative practices more consistently than they adopt caring external stakeholder relations, and that (d) neither caring administrative practices nor caring external stakeholder relations, when they are adopted, matter to performance. In essence, our argument is that, even if family firms do adopt managerial practices that are seemingly less efficient- or even less profit-oriented, such practices trade off economic efficiency for stakeholder loyalties, and in the end positive and negative effects may balance out. The underlying logic is that family members operating to preserve their socio-emotional wealth is an as-logical and as-efficient way of managing business concerns. In our analysis, as expected, we do find that family firms are indeed more likely to adopt caring administrative practices, and that such practices do not hurt (nor benefit) performance. We do not find however that such firms are more likely than non-family organizations to adopt caring external relations, albeit we do find that the firms that do are also those who perform better.
Our theory and findings bring relevant and much needed contributions to the literature. For one, previous studies on family firm performance have often approached the issue from an 'either-or' perspective, wherein empirically one tries to separate family from non-family entities and associates that classification with higher or lower performance (see Gomez-Mejia et al, 2011 for a review). In this study, we scrutinize the black box inside, and attempt to theorize – through a socio-emotional wealth logic – on the antecedents of performance when they make administrative choices that stray away from a logic akin to economic efficiency. Based on a large employee survey, we find that all in all, if family firms adopt caring administrative practices they are neither more nor less likely to be good performers. We do however find that firms adopting good citizenship approaches to business (i.e. firms treating buyers and suppliers as well as their surrounding communities with more caring concern) are also those who perform better, albeit we do not find that family firms are more likely to adopt such practices.
In regards to the types of caring concern that family firms are more or less likely to adopt, we conjecture and empirically find that these entities are much more likely to care for stakeholders which are more immediately close to the family, such as employees, than they are to care for stakeholders that are more relationally distant, such as buyers, suppliers, and the community at large. This is not to say that family firms are less likely to care about external stakeholders vis-à-vis their non-family counterparts.
Albeit we are confident in the validity of our findings, based on a survey with a large number of employees across many economic different sectors, we are also aware of important limitations that can be addressed in future research. For one, ours is a cross-sectional examination of administrative choices versus performance. We are hence unable to determine causality. A longitudinal study would be better suited for this task. Concomitantly, albeit our data counts with a large number of survey respondents, with 18,900+ questionnaires returned, with a large representation from individual firms, our firm sample is still small, compared to the larger population of firms. To this end, our team continues to work to collect more data that would enable us to examine the remainder of our 552-firm sample as we enter the year 2012.
All in all, we are confident that initial empirical findings offer strong evidence for our socio-emotional wealth conjectures, and hope they pave the way for interesting research on the large and still growing topic of family firms.
Figure 1 – Socio-Emotional Wealth Model of Stakeholder Relations
Table 1 –Sample Selection
Initial Tally
Final Tally
Questionnaires Collected
Total of companies enrolled in the process
142, 913
Companies that did not reach the minimal required number of employee questionnaires answered
Companies that refused to disclose financial data
Companies we were unable to classify as family or non-family, in time for the Academy of Management 2012 submission deadline (January 10, 2012)
* Note: 552 firms voluntarily entered the survey process. We then proceeded to select only firms within the profile described, and ended with a sample of 82 organizations, from which we collected 18,792 questionnaires (an average of ~258 questionnaires per firm).
Table 2 – Standardized factor loadings from firm-level confirmatory analysis
Table 3 – Correlation Matrix
Table 4 - Results
Note: EQS – Maximum Likelihood. Chi-square = 1.60; DF = 1, p>0.05. NFI = 0.987, NNFI = 0.969, CFI=0.995. Family owned firms coded as 1, whereas non-family coded as 2. We linearly transformed sales to reduce variance dissimilarity, and achieve convergence. Parameters are standardized, and shown in the Figure above.
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[1] The NNFI (Bentler & Bonnett, 1980) is defined as "the percentage of observed-measure covariation explained by a given measurement or structural model … that solely accounts for the observed measure variances" (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988: 421). NNFI is often viewed as a superior variation of the Bentler & Bonnett's (1980) normed fit index (NFI) since it has been shown to be more robust in reflecting model fit regardless of sample size (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988; Bentler, 1989). The other index, Bentler's (1989) CFI, is similar to the NNFI in that it provides an accurate assessment of fit regardless of sample size. The CFI tends to be more precise than the NNIF however in describing comparative model fit as it corrects for small sample size by subtracting the degrees of freedom from their corresponding χ2 values (Bentler, 1989).


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Cast: Aishwarya Rai, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Supriya Pathak, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan
Producer: Parag Sanghvi, Ram Gopal Varma
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Release Date: 06 June,2008
Storyline: Sarkar raj is a 2008 indian dramatic thriller film set in the world of politics and crime. it was directed by ram gopal varma. it is the sequel to sarkar (2005). the primary cast features three members of the bachchan family - amitabh bachchan, abhishek bachchan (who reprise their roles from the original) and new entrant aishwarya rai bachchan. supriya pathak, tanisha mukherjee and ravi kale also reappeared in their respective roles from sarkar. Read on Wikipedia
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George Zimmerman
Latest George Zimmerman dust-up linked to prior road rage incident
WIthout hate crime, Justice Department limited in prosecuting Zimmerman
No federal charges filed in Trayvon death
George Zimmerman arrested for allegedly throwing wine bottle at girlfriend
Mother of Trayvon Martin urges end to gun violence
Celebrity Buzz: Nicki Minaj shakes up BET Awards; Pippa talks
Today's pop-culture roundup includes a Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea dust-up, Pippa Milddleton and that bridesmaid dress, Transformers ruling the weekend box office, our mystery music video and much more.
George Zimmerman opens up about Martin case
Seven months after he was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter in Martin's death, Zimmerman sat down to talk with CNN's Chris Cuomo about the case.
Zimmerman releases new artwork portraying prosecutor
George Zimmerman is releasing a new piece of artwork, this one portraying the special prosecutor who charged him with second-degree murder.
George Zimmerman painting sold for $100,099.99
Bidding has closed on eBay for artwork created by George Zimmerman.
George Zimmerman's artwork at $99,966 on eBay
The painting's starting price was 99-cents, according to the auction page. As of 9:55 p.m. Monday, the bid is at $99,996 with more than four days left to go.
George Zimmerman will not be charged with domestic violence
Prosecutors say they will not file domestic violence charges against George Zimmerman.
George Zimmerman released on bond in alleged domestic violence case
A Seminole County judge granted a $9,000 bond for George Zimmerman Tuesday, a day after he was arrested in connection with an alleged domestic dispute.
George Zimmerman: History of legal troubles
George Zimmerman has had other brushes with the law since his acquittal of any charges in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. From domestic issues to traffic stops, Zimmerman is no stranger to law enforcement.
George Zimmerman arrested for suspected domestic abuse
George Zimmerman, the man acquitted in the 2012 murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, has been arrested on suspicion of domestic abuse.
Trayvon Martin's mother testifies against 'stand your ground' laws
Trayvon Martin's mother told a panel of senators Tuesday that state stand your ground self-defense laws do not work and must be amended, reviving the politically charged gun control issue a year ahead of the 2014 midterm elections.
George Zimmerman keeps himself in spotlight long after acquittal
Whether they think that he got away with murdering Trayvon Martin or that he was just a brave neighborhood watch volunteer "standing his ground," many Americans can't seem to get enough of George Zimmerman. And he can't seem to stop giving it to them.
Zimmerman: Domestic dispute investigation on hold due to lack of evidence
The investigation of a domestic dispute between George Zimmerman and his estranged wife is on hold because there is no compelling evidence and neither one of the couple wants to press charges, a police spokesman said Wednesday.
George Zimmerman accused of threatening wife, father-in-law
After a frantic 911 call indicating that George Zimmerman had threatened both his wife and father-in-law with a gun, police say that neither will press charges and that the man acquitted of Trayvon Martin's murder had no weapon.
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A research report by Mark Kassof & Co. has revealed that 67 percent of 18-64 year olds have heard of HD Radio, a rise from 38 percent (two years ago). Woopee, "awareness" isn't what is truly important.
Don't tell that to the terrestrial radio trade mags though, they seem ready to pop the champagne over this report.
The measurement of awareness is an old-media way of thinking, so you can't really blame them. For years, "reach and frequency" have been the mantra of advertisers and media buyers, all striving to get their marketing message to as many people as possible.
But should the HD Radio really be celebrating "awareness"? Afterall, I'm highly aware of AIDS. But I don't want it. You can be "aware" of a product, and have absolutely no urge to associate yourself with it.
To be fair, the Kassof study didn't just measure awareness, it measured "consumer understanding" of HD Radio in addition, which also grew: 21 percent said they are aware that HD Radio delivers "higher quality" sound, while 8 percent now know that HD Radio delivers more listening choices.
But maybe, that's all skewed anyway, because 7 percent of those surveyed confuse HD Radio with Satellite Radio, and that metric is up from 3 percent two years ago. Come to think of it, I should have entitled this post "HD Radio confusion with Satellite Radio more than doubles."
Another three percent think they already receive HD Radio, even though they do not own an HD Radio receiver. Now that's progress.
(Disclaimer: FMQB is one of the trade mags that I actually don't loathe.)


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Learn how to buy our products.
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Conceptual Model Examples
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Evolution, Natural Selection and Speciation part of Conceptual Models Examples
In this out of class tutorial, students explore several examples of natural selection and speciation.
Earth System Topics: Human Dimensions, Evolution, Biosphere, :Ecology
Translation simulation part of Conceptual Models Examples
This module introduces students to the basics behind translation of a messenger RNA sequence into protein. In addition to text and movies, there are interactive shockwave animations that allow students to move ribosomes and tRNAs to perform translation.
Earth System Topics: Biosphere


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I>Blended supplies enough good that the wide swath of comedic misses winds up not mattering as much as it could. »»
The film to see on Memorial Day Weekend »»
Local newsman Adam can't wait to escape Alaska for a bigger TV market. But when a pod of whales gets trapped in the ice, the biggest story of his career comes to his doorstep.With the help of his ex-girlfriend Rachel, they rally competing forces to f »»
When you get something like this that actually feels organic it's worth the time to give it a look. »»
The anthology film directed by Lewis Teague and written by Stephen King is celebrating its 25th anniversary. »»
After a quick "blink and you missed it" run in theatres, Everybody's Fine is destined to be a film that people discover during the holidays between reruns of It's a Wonderful Life and the numerous versions of A Christmas Carol. »»
Quite the auspicious debut for the former child star of E.T, Whip It may not have set the box office on fire but it was a terrific film. »»
Twilight co-stars drop the fangs and pick up a guitar and a microphone. »»
20th Century Fox has a January solution if "a problem comes along." »»
Whip it? Good »»
The thing that really sells Grey Gardens is the acting. Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore are superb as Big and Little Edie. They completely capture the essence of who these women were and deliver fabulous performances. »»
It started as a simple line from a random episode of Sex and the City. It later became the title of a highly successful book by those same Sex and the City writers, Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. Now He's Just Not That Into You has been made into »»
The HBO drama Grey Gardens, which stars Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, will be available to own on DVD on July 14th, 2009. Grey Gardens is based on the true life stories of the eccentric aunt and cousin of former First Lady Jackie Kennedy, both named Edith Bouvier Beale aka "Big and Little Edie". »»
Dog movies have always been a sure-fire win for Disney. And why shouldn't they be? Dogs are adorable, lovable, and when you put a human voice to a dog, it's like we can finally hear what they're thinking. Adults may moan and groan at the thought of the newest talking dog feature from Disney, but if they think hard enough, they'll remember growing up with The Incredible Journey, the original Shaggy Dog with Disney's go to guy of the 50's Fred MacMurray, The Ugly Daschund, and possibly the most beloved dog film of all time, Old Yeller. »»
He's Just Not That Into You, based on the Oprah-friendly self-help book of the same name, stars (takes deep breath) Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connelly, Drew Barrymore, Kevin Connolly, Justin Long, and Ginnifer Goodwin, all in interconnecting stories focusing on relationships and the lack thereof. The movie comes to DVD and Blu-ray* on June 2nd. »»
Proof that you really can do less with more »»


text:
Member Since: 07/01/09Send This Person a Message Give this person a Gift Add This Person as a Friend
I AM PROUD TO HAVE YOU AS A FRIEND MILITARY AND LAWENFORCEMENT A DEDICATED BROTHER Done your duty now enjoy your rest A Fellow Retired Warrior God Bless And Stay Safe RETIRED TRUE BLUE TRUE BLUE BROTHER
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over 4 years ago
20164 Comments
Thanks for the friendship! Hope you and yours had a relaxing weekend and your week ahead goes great for you! It's finally sunny in sunny Calif, high 80's.. I'm afraid to get to excited as this is my kinda weather. I was getting so tired of the rain and cold, and I don't do cold, that's why I live in Calif..or so I thought. Take care and stay safe out there as crazies walk among us.
almost 6 years ago
"Just Another Man"
He looks in the mirror every morning and night,
Does he see what I see, it would be nice if he might.
He sees a rude man as he stands there,
I see someone who needs someone to care.
He sees a mean man, because he has to be tough,
I see someone who deals with more than enough.
He sees how he tries not to cry and feels he has no heart,
I see someone who has to keep his feelings and work apart.
He sees a murderer because he shot someone last night,
I see someone who saved someone else from a fight.
He sees a failure because he did not arrive in time
I see someone who did his best and needs peace of mind.
He sees just another man as he enters the day,
I see a special man who does his best in every way.
For all the years, he has put on the uniform of blue,
He has never realized how much he protects me and you.
But, as he starts the day again, I just wish he could see,
What he really is and how much he means to you and me.
Author Unknown
almost 6 years ago
Thanx for the add... be safe,,, God Bless
almost 6 years ago
24354 Comments
Thanks for the add.
Warm Greetings from the Island of MALTA
almost 6 years ago
5608 Comments
Thanks for accepting the invite Jon!! Hope all is well with you and your family!!
almost 6 years ago
8024 Comments
Thank you for the add. Stay safe and have a great 4th
almost 6 years ago
Appreciate you accept and friendship Jon. Wishing you and yours a great 4th of July weekend. A Big thank you for your dedicated military service to out Great Country. Enjoy your retirement, you have more than earned it. H-1
almost 6 years ago
16172 Comments
Thanks for the add and be safe...god bless. Join my group if willing?
almost 6 years ago
33752 Comments
Thanks for accepting! Stay safe out there!!
almost 6 years ago
5322 Comments
MyHotComments Hope you have a Happy 4th....Stay safe and keep in touch.......April :)
almost 6 years ago
21862 Comments
Thanks for accepting. Take care and many greetings from Austria in Europe!
almost 6 years ago
4646 Comments
Jon, Thanks for the add Brother. Have a great weekend and 4th. Stay Safe.
almost 6 years ago
6 Comments
Back at you, thanks for accepting
almost 6 years ago
31768 Comments
Thanks for the add and stay safe. "Go Tech".
almost 6 years ago
2314 Comments
Thanks for the add, Jon! A further thank you for serving and protecting...........both nationally and locally!


text:
Built on the foundation of their extremely popular Leonardo Fresnel, the DeSisti LED Leonardo 120W Fresnel M.O. - Daylight Balanced (120 VAC) offers the same silky controls, system compatibility and sturdy construction but with a twist. This is a 120W cool-running luminaire that provides high output with very low energy consumption in a lightweight form factor.
DeSisti uses Plano Convex and Fresnel optics to give you a 9.8" Fresnel with an impressive 6.0-60 degree beam angle that cuts so cleanly with the included barndoors that you'll find it hard to believe it's not a standard Fresnel. The Leonardo offers both local (manual) and remote DMX dimming that reads out on its digital display. This version of the LED Leonardo 120W is daylight balanced to integrate seamlessly outdoors on location or with HMI sources. A C-Clamp with Junior receiver is included to hang the light.
- Patent Pending Optical System
- DeSisti has designed a highly efficient Plano Convex and Fresnel optical system to complement the LED array technology
- Performance
- The design of the Leonardo allows for unmatched output with complete spot to flood focus with a beam angle from 6 to 60 degrees
- Sturdy Design
- Rugged, lightweight housing with low-glare black epoxy powder coating is assembled completely with machine screws for easy maintenance and repair


text:
North East Corfu resorts
Aghios Stefanos
Two sides of the same coin. On the one hand you have the original old village of Aghios Stefanos, once home to fisherman and farmers, grouped around the church, the old harbour and a couple of older tavernas; on the other hand, the new Greek-style resort and port provides shops, bars, and a selection of tavernas and entertainment. But both share a magnificent setting on the cape of Kefali, on the north-west tip of Corfu, with splendid views of the Ionian Sea and the Diapontian islands.
Winding country roads lead down to Aghios Stefanos bay and its golden beach; over a mile long with shallow blue water, perfectly safe for children, and a broad stretch of soft sand set in a large sheltered bay. This safe, spacious and relatively undeveloped beach is popular with families and anyone looking for a peaceful spot to lay their towel, although there are a few water sports are available if you feel the need for a some aquatic action. It has a Blue Flag, and there are sun beds and parasols for visitors, and a couple of good tavernas right on the beach.
The rural landscape that enfolds Aghios Stefanos is perfect walking and hiking terrain, with paths and trails through the lush countryside offering a refreshing change of scene from the beach. You really should make the most of the harbour, where you can take boat trips and longer cruises to nearby islands such as Kefalonia and Paxos.
Nissaki is set on the steep pine and olive grove-covered foothills of Corfu's highest peak, Mount Pantokrator. The resort is an established favourite with couples and families looking for an attractive, traditional, quiet, resort in a beautiful setting where they can relax; a place where not everything is given over to tourism. Nissaki has a few tavernas and local shops, and the nightlife is very modest in comparison with its some of its neighbours. One of the joys of the resort is that you have the option of visiting other much livelier spots nearby if charming Nissaki gets too sedate, or you are with teenagers in the mood to party.
Nissaki beaches are small coves of sparkling white shingle, excellent for scuba-diving, with clean, clear water ideal for swimmers. The beaches are away from the road and have both sloping and shallow waters, making them ideal for children to splash about in. Be adventurous and hire a boat to take a trip to the beautiful Bay of Agni, (and perhaps dine in the famous Taverna Agni, built in 1851). Despite its reputation for beauty and its popularity as a day trip destination for boats and yachts, Nissaki still has a delightful, unspoilt romantic feel about it, but if you can tear yourself away for the day you could have a complete contrast by exploring some of the charming traditional Corfu villages in the surrounding hills. Or you might even be tempted by big city life, and take a bus to the island's fascinating capital, Corfu Town.
The nightlife in Ipsos is second only to Kavos for those who love the party lifestyle, as the resort has an abundance of late night restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. The is not the place to be if you are looking for tranquil evenings, but it hits the spot if you are looking for endless nightlife fun and the full-on atmosphere of a clubbing holiday. The beachfront bars are massively popular with the younger crowd, while the atmospheric garden tavernas provide a romantic setting for couples.
The Blue Flag Ipsos beach is a 1.5km stretch of golden sand that shelves gently into the sea. There is no shortage of facilities on the beach including beach front bars and plenty of exciting water sports. Water skiing, parasailing, banana boat rides and sailing are all popular daytime activities here, and if you feel like a spin you can hire a motor boat. Ipsos beach is the perfect place to relax after a hard night's partying. If you feel like a break from the party life, Corfu Town offers the best restaurants and shopping on the island and is worth a visit – but as it also offers the best nightlife you might just want to have a change of club scene.
Dassia offers everything for young couples, groups and water sports enthusiasts. For daytime the long shingle beach is the centre of everything. If you aren't a strong swimmer but want to splash in the beautiful blue Ionian Sea, the water here is exceptionally calm and flat. The beach slopes gently, and diving platforms have been built out to sea, so it's a superb place to swim. Dassia has become a popular Corfu resort with a reputation for quality water sports including water skiing, windsurfing and parascending, and it is definitely worth hiring a boat to explore the nearby coves.
By night, there is plenty of varied and inexpensive nightlife, but is less intense than its famous neighbours, Ipsos and Gouvia, both only a short bus or taxi ride away, where the clubbing scene never seems to end. Dassia is a great place for exploring, as the resort is on a flat coastal plain and is surrounded by low verdant hills. Small inland roads meandering through olive groves help you discover more traditional, pretty Corfu villages.
There is also an excellent golf course and a pony trekking centre close to Dassia. For a day on the water instead of in it, a holiday must is a boat trip to the Bay of Piscine, where you can swim in the famous Blue Lagoon, or visit the islands of Paxo and Antipaxos. A day trip to mysterious Albania is an interesting option that should be on any holiday schedule.
Perama is one of those fortunate places that has plenty to keep visitors entertained but is close enough to so many other excellent spots that you will want for nothing for a perfect holiday. The resort is relatively quiet and relaxed, with a modest selection of bars and tavernas and basic necessities, all within striking distance of livelier resorts such as Benitses and Ipsos, where you will find plenty of nightlife and a livelier scene. It is also only five miles from Corfu Town and its traditional and international restaurants, designer shopping, museums, stunning Venetian buildings and the best nightlife options on Corfu. Corfu Town is also the starting point for plenty of boat trips, including day trips to Albania and beautiful islands such as Paxos and Antipaxos.
Perama is just the place for a family or independent traveller looking for quiet relaxation; small secluded coves lapped by the tranquil Ionian Sea are dotted along the coastline, and the clear warm waters are perfect for snorkelling and diving, as well as being ideal for families with small children. For amusements that aren't beach or clubbing focused, this is the perfect base for horse riding, hiking and mountain biking in the beautiful Ropa Valley, with its mountain ranges, crystal clear rivers and pine forests. Other local attractions are the Achillion Palace, the shell museum in Benitses, Vlacherna monastery and boat trips to Mouse Island.
Mount Pantokrator drops steeply to the strikingly blue sea at Barbati, creating a dramatic white cliff setting, below which is a mile-long, Blue Star, white pebble and shingle beach, ranking Barbati beach as one of the most scenic spots on Corfu. The shallow warm waters are safe and clean, making it very popular with families with children. The resort is split into two parts; the upper part with village centre retains some traditional charm and offers a modest collection of bars, tavernas and restaurants; the lower is the beach, which is accessible by quite a steep path, so it can be a little difficult for small children and elderly people.
Your days will probably be spent enjoying the relaxed, haven of tranquillity that is Barbati beach, (there are numerous water sports available if feel energetic), although a trip into Corfu Town is a definite holiday must, as is a cruise to the famous Blue Lagoon. By night you can enjoy the numerous lively bars and tavernas and first class Greek and international restaurants, with the lights of Corfu Town twinkling across the bay. For a wider choice of nightlife options, simply take the short boat trip from Barbati to either Corfu Town or Ipsos.


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this weekend could prove one of the most significant in the history of rugby in Scotland's fourth city, regardless of the result in today's BT Scottish Cup final.
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David Leslie former Scotland captain, who had previously tried to organise an open club in the city: ''The principle is a good idea. It is another way of attracting youngsters to the game and that is encouraging. Sandy Hutchison is taking this forward and creating another avenues for people to get involved in the game and that can only be good.
Jon Petrie current Scotland international, former Dundee High School pupil and HSFP player: ''There has been a lot of rugby talent coming out of Dundee over the years, yet I am sure there is a lot more untapped talent up there. It's been difficult to keep people interested in the past, but this will provide a channel for players to stay involved after school, at an age when it is hard to keep young people's interests up.''


text:
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May 2, 2012 — The Tailgate & Outdoor Recreation area has been a big draw so far with grills, accessories and other tailgating products drawing show attendees outside into the parking lot directly in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The area also hosted the second annual Tailgate Party. Read more »
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ABCbodybuilding - View Single Post - I Want to be Happier
I Want to be Happier
View Single Post
is "Dips, the white, white meat"
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Posts: 225
For a long time in my life, i was miserable. Sports nor faith nor anything could save me from the feeling i had about the world around me.
Then, finally at bottom again, i was convinced to start seeing a therapist again. As i have done this many times in my short life, i had no problem talking to someone. This time, they put me on some medication. I used to never want to take meds because i dont like putting synthetic stuff in my body; just doesnt sound right to me.
But this time i did it, and for someone who has depression that runs in his family, im feeling the best i have ever felt right now, thanks to one silly little pill.
Its important to understand why you feel bad and to objectively look at that, which im sure the journals help a lot. Realize, that you probably wont feel incrementally better and better, but a "Eureka!" moment happens, and you realize that thinks look differently when you change the way you look at things (Max Plankt quote btw
), and i feel that is so true.
So gl in your endevors,
Do or do not, there is no try
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text:
THE recent discovery of clusters of young stars orbiting close to the gigantic black hole at the centre of our galaxy has posed a puzzle as to how they formed in the intense gravitational forces in the region.
Now computer models show that the stars were born far away, and have been shepherded towards the galaxy's core by smaller black holes.
While the idea had been put forward by other astronomers, Atakan Gürkan and Frederic Rasio of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, are the first to model the migration of dense clusters of thousands of stars born about 30 light years from the Milky Way's supermassive black hole. The simulation shows that some stars within the cluster collide and coalesce into a mid-sized black hole. This black hole holds the cluster together as it spirals to within 1 light year of the heart of the Milky Way (www.arxiv.org/astro-ph/0412452).
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.


text:
|Adriana Gonzalez-Medina
BOSTON -- Adriana Gonzalez-Medina (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), a freshman forward on the University of New Hampshire women's soccer team, was honored as Rookie of the Week by the America East conference Monday afternoon.
Gonzalez-Medina scored two goals - both game-winners - last week to lead UNH to victory against Providence College (Sept. 24) and the University of Rhode Island (Sept. 26). She scored her first collegiate goal at PC to break a 2-2 tie in the 73rd minute and it proved to be the game-winning goal in a 4-2 win. Gonzalez-Medina broke a scoreless tie vs. URI in the 84th minute and it was the only goal of the game in the Wildcats' 1-0 victory.
Gonzalez-Medina has played in nine matches (with two starts) this season and has recorded six points, which is tied for second on the team, on two goals and two assists. She recorded her first collegiate point in the season opener with an assist vs. Lafayette College.
UNH (4-4-2) concludes the regular season with nine consecutive America East matches beginning Oct. 1 at home vs. Binghamton University. Game time at Lewis Fields is 3:30 p.m.


text:
The following is an archive of a post made to our
'vox-tech mailing list'
by one of its subscribers.
On Sun, Oct 05, 2003 at 10:43:55AM -0800, dylan wrote:
> hi --
> I am currently looking for new ( < 20GB ) IDE drive for a small scale linux
> server that we are setting up. realistically, we don't event need 5Gb of
> space, however it would be nice to have a little breathing room for future
> expansion.
> I have heard numerous *not so great* things about a lot of the new high
> density drives (> 40Gb) such as a 1 yr warranty, and tendency to die
> unexpectedly.
> any input would be greatly appreciated.
I had lots of problems with the IBM Deskstar line of drives. I think I
went through a half dozen in a year (two drives, each replaced twice).
I bought a RAID controller, set up 4 80GB Seagate drives in a redundant
array, and waited for something to fail so I could be smug about the
redundancy. Well, I haven't had a single problem with any of the four
drives in the last two years.
Also, among my friends' drives, I haven't seen a huge failure rate in
any particular line of drives save the Deskstars. Things occasionally
croak, but it's no worse than it was a few years ago.
Samuel Merritt
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text: This Is Why You Park Your Ferrari In A Garage Matt Hardigree and 285 othersEditDelete Invite manuallyPromoteXDismissXUndismissBlock for jalopnikHide I'm all for driving your expensive 599 GTO instead of letting it languish and rot under a cover, but there are probably times you should park it in a garage. More at SWNS. (Photo: Peter Watt) » 12/21/10 3:00pm 12/21/10 3:00pm