bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Conceptualising Organizational Restructuring in the 1990s
Authors: Littler Craig R. , Bramble Thomas 
Published: November 2010

AbstractOrganizational restructuring in Western economies has proceeded along different trajectories during the latter part of the 1980s and early 1990s. Traditional theories of organizational restructuring have inherent limitations associated with a ‘growth bias’. Various new concepts have been put forward, both prescriptively in order to shape organizational change, and analytically in order to capture the nature of those changes. By contrast, these concepts are premised on organizational workforce reduction. This article considers four widely diffused concepts of organisational restructuring - downsizing, delayering, lean production and re-engineering - and argues that the trajectories of change require a broader understanding than has been provided by existing concepts. Towards this end, an integrated model is put forward.
Cross-cultural Research in New Zealand Organisations: What We Know and What Needs to Be Addressed
Authors: Chong Lee Moya Ah , Thomas David C. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractBusiness in New Zealand is increasingly global in nature. Additionally, the domestic workforce reflects a unique blend of cultural groups. These factors highlight the need for managers to understand the cross-cultural nature of their task. In this article we review the research on cross-cultural management that has been conducted in New Zealand. Findings in seven topic areas of management (job satisfaction, motivation and performance, absenteeism and turnover, leadership, communication, group behaviour and employee adaptation) are discussed. We then identify areas that might benefit most from research attention.This research was supported in part by the Carnegie Bosch Institute for Applied Studies in International Management. The authors gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments of Kerr Inkson and John Deeks on earlier versions of this manuscriptThe increasingly multicultural nature of the business environment has become widely recognised as a management issue (Adler and Ghadar 1990). New Zealand is neither a large target market (population under 3.5 million) nor is it the headquarters of a large number of multinational corporations. However, because of its geography, it is dependent on international business for its quality of life. Additionally, its unique domestic cultural environment provides a dramatic back drop for cross-cultural management. These two dimensions make cross-cultural management a particularly salient issue in New Zealand.
Leadership Activities of Australian Executives
Authors: Sarros James C. , Tanewski George A. , Santora Joseph C. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractOur study examines the nature of Australian business leadership. Various extant concepts of leadership are reviewed in terms of current trends in Australian business leadership. Some of these concepts are used in the development of the Corporate Leadership Descriptor (CLD), and its sub-scales, namely the Leadership Operations Scale (LOS), Leadership Attributes Scale (LAS), and Job Outcomes Scale (JOS). Data were collected over a three year period from a variety of executive samples. Major findings indicate that key leadership functions focus on direction setting, team building, problem solving, and change agent responsibilities. Recommendations for further research and application of the CLD are provided.
Business Ethics Education: Should We? Can We?
Authors: McKenna Richard J 
Published: November 2010

AbstractEmanating from some of the major business failures of the 1980s has been a growing disquiet at the absence of a concern for ethics in the business community. A possible cause for the apparent immorality of actions taken by some businesses is the absence of ethics from the training programs provided to business managers and professionals. It may be that whilst some practices of the 1980s were those of immoral persons, the wider and underlying problem is one of amoral behaviour. That is, our business system operates without an ethical base, and this occurs, in part, because business ethics is excluded from the curricula of the institutions responsible for the training and further education of business managers and professionals.The successful introduction of business ethics into the curricula requires a sufficient body of academics who believe that the learning of business ethics is both necessary and possible. Research data shows that few Australian universities have a formal program in business ethics. This paper reports an exploratory examination of the attitudes of business academics toward the need for inclusion of ethics in the business curriculum. The response to the survey suggests that while there is, as yet, no centre of concentrated will and ability to set the process of curricula change in motion, there is widespread interest and recognition of the need. Several constraints are identified, including the instrumentalist ethos of our institutions.
Management Characteristics, Attitudes and the Decision to Export
Authors: Philp Norman E. , Wickramasekera Rumintha 
Published: November 2010

AbstractThe incessant trend towards the internationalisation of the marketplace will continue to dominate the agendas of managers of Australia's manufacturing establishments as they approach the next millennium. Empirical studies of the determinants of the firm's export marketing behaviour have been quite prolific and internationally comprehensive (Aaby and Slater 1989) and the characteristics and attitudes of the firm's main decision makers are often posed as important explanatory variables. The current study also examines the significance of managerial characteristics, commitment and attitudes towards exporting behaviour, by concentrating on a sample of firms drawn from a single industry (food and beverage processors) and with similar size and locational characteristics (small-medium firms located in regional Victoria).A logistic regression model with a binary dependent variable (ie current exporter vs non-exporter) and, initially, 19 independent variables was formulated and estimated. An optimal model utilising only six of the most significant, management-related variables was able to predict the probability of a firm being an exporter with an accuracy of over 90% . The importance of management's willingness to commit both its mind and its firm's resources to the export endeavour and its recognition of the importance of price competitiveness were significant discriminators of active export behaviour. Exporting managers were also found more likely to be tertiary educated and foreign language fluent but not necessarily any younger than their non-exporting counterparts.
Information Technology Success Factors for Small Business Managers
Authors: Drennan Judy , Bodi Anna 
Published: November 2010

AbstractInformation Technology (IT) provides great scope for small business to gain benefits in terms of customer service, productivity, business growth, return on investment, profits and time based competitiveness. Yet these outcomes are not guaranteed. In this study of 80 small businesses in Victoria, which have been drawn into IT networks by larger organisations and invested in IT, factors which inhibit or promote gains are investigated. One important aspect is whether certain characteristics related to the small business manager show a relationship with ‘success’ or positive outcome indicators. Data analysis indicates that factors such as length of time using computers, accessibility of information and positive attitude towards IT change are associated with the extent to which business benefits are realised.
Karpin on Management: Is That All Managers Should Be Doing?
Authors: Lamond David 
Published: November 2010

AbstractThe recent Karpin Committee report once again focused attention on managerial skills and competencies, as it prognosticated on the skills and knowledge required by current and future Australian managers, and the kinds of educational experiences necessary to foster them. In doing so, the report made critical assumptions about the kinds of functions and behaviours that can be properly called ‘managerial’. Indeed, leadership is elevated as the conspicuous task of managers (leaders?). But is this what managers should be doing?Closer examination of the Karpin model of ‘management’, in the broader context of the literature on management and managerial behaviour, shows that the Karpin view is narrow and partial — it ignores or devalues key managerial functions while promoting others. This is due, in part, to the fact that the committee's approach is devoid of any theoretical framework for designating particular behaviours as ‘managerial’. If the Karpin recommendations are to steer management education into the third millennium, the result will be, in turn, a narrow and partial educational experience.This paper argues for an approach to management education driven, not by a populist vision of managers simply as entrepreneurial leaders, but by an appreciation of the necessarily broader range of managerial functions and the way in which they are integrated. It proposes such an approach, derived from management theory and elaborated in the context of Australia and the Asia-Pacific region in the 1990s and beyond.
An Analysis of Managerial Competencies Across Hierarchical Levels and Industry Sectors: A Contemporary Australian Perspective
Authors: Wallace Joseph , Hunt James 
Published: November 2010

AbstractIn recent times, an increasing number of writers have noted the important contribution that the management competency movement is making to contemporary organisations. However, there is widespread evidence to suggest that a comprehensive framework for understanding managerial competencies has not yet been established in Australia. This paper reports the results of a survey on a sample of 234 managers drawn from private and public sector organisations into the perceived importance of 99 managerial competency elements. Findings indicate a substantial number of competency elements are perceived to be generic across occupations and situations, but they also indicate in some instances differing levels of importance attached to these competencies across hierarchical levels and between sectors. Evidence of a range of significant competency groupings is presented along with a proposed framework to interpret competency elements. Additionally, this study provides assistance in developing a platform for further research into the competency field.
Paradigms and Approaches to Learning Preparing for the Third Millenium
Authors: McKenna Richard J , Williams Mark Campbell 
Published: November 2010

AbstractIn this paper, we contend that business education could benefit from attention to a field of study concerned with the way in which adults learn, and their motivation as students. We warrant the assertion that, although university business faculty tend to present a conventional wisdom set in the traditional paradigm(s) of their discipline areas, there is growing need for managers and academics to reject the concept of certainty, and to be open to conflicting values, change, uncertainty, and continuous learning. Conformity to a central paradigm requires that any ideas that stray from the established path be ignored, but emerging paradigms in business theory and research increase the urgency of the need for significant changes in the traditional curriculum and methodology of business education. We consider it long overdue for students of organisations, including current and future practitioners, to participate in the dialogue and benefit from new approaches, which will challenge the community of business academics to redesign both the content and the methodology of courses.
Marketing Decision Support Systems and Australian Businesses: A Queensland Case Study and Implications Towards 2000
Authors: Buttery Alan , Tamaschke Rick 
Published: November 2010

AbstractLittle is known about the extent to which the Marketing Decision Support System (MDSS) technology is currently used in Australia, or about the scope for the technology in Australia towards the year 2000. This paper reports the results of recent survey research into MDSS in Queensland by industry sector (agriculture and mining, manufacturing, construction, and services). The results suggest that there is an urgent need to boost the pace of MDSS development in all industry sectors, and that this should be given a high priority in government policy initiatives to enhance Australia's competitive advantage. It is possible, otherwise, that the present gap in information usage between Australia and its competitors will widen, with consequent negative implications for the nation's current account deficit, foreign debt and unemployment.
MBA Graduate Education in the People's Republic of China
Authors: Zhao Shunting 
Published: November 2010

AbstractChina has adopted economic reform and an open door policy and decided to establish a socialist market economy, which has not only strengthened her economic power and accelerated her modernization process, but also promoted her educational development and reform. The development of MBA graduate education in China is a very good example of this. However, it has taken quite a long time for the MBA program to receive attention from government, industry, business circles, colleges and universities and people from all walks of life. On the one hand, the development of the MBA program in China shows that the economic reform and modernization process have had a great effect on the demand for qualified personnel; on the other hand, the MBA program suits the design of China's market economic system and promotes China's social and economic development.
Some Evidence of Consumer Ethnocentrism in Australia
Authors: Mulye Rajendra , Rickard John , Higginson Timothy 
Published: November 2010

AbstractThe nature of consumer ethnocentrism in Australia is examined through the application of the CETSCALE to a total of 377 respondents from Victoria. Two groups of respondents — members of the Australian Owned Companies Association (AOCA) and a comparable sample from the general population were used to assess ‘known group validity’ of the scale. The results suggest that the CETSCALE is a reliable measure of consumer ethnocentrism in Australia and offers evidence of ‘known group validity.’ Two underlying dimensions of ethnocentrism, termed emotional and reasoned ethnocentrism, were detected and found to be invariant across the two groups. Awareness and knowledge of three Australian made logos was found to be lower than expected for both groups.
Towards Improved People Management: An Analysis
Authors: Davis ED 
Published: November 2010

AbstractPeople are routinely described as the most important asset of an organisation. There is, however, considerable evidence that people are managed poorly in many workplaces. This paper explores the importance of the fair and effective management of people at work and suggests some benchmarks to assist in the assessment of HRM in organisations. It surveys workplace experience and indicates some common barriers to good HRM, concluding with some suggestions for strategy to embed high quality people management in our workplaces.
The Dynamics of Diversity and Change in Management Education: Fragment from a Case
Authors: Newton John F. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractThe present paper takes an ‘unintentional’ look at the issue of diversity as it presents itself in a study of management education. The inquiry is unintentional in that the author had not conceptualised diversity as an artefact of the research, yet found himself struggling to work with his own experience of difference as he engaged with the subject of the research. The concept of diversity came to be thought of in terms of ‘requisite variety’ and its challenge to management education is conceptualised as a search for a ‘holding environment.’ These ideas are grounded in the case material of a part time, postgraduate student of business administration who works as a financial manager in an Australian corporation, is female and is ethnically a Malaysian Chinese.
Australian Management Research: Prospects for the New Millennium
Authors: Elliott Gregory R. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractThis paper is an abridged and revised version of a report that was originally published in the Australian Research Council (ARC) report ‘Management Research in Australia’, jointly funded by the ARC and the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM). It documents the results of a Delphi study into the future of management research in Australia over the coming decade. An important finding was that there might be a ‘shortfall’ between the likely and desirable level and character of Australian management research. A dominant view of the panel was that management research will become more relevant to the needs of its important client groups, including students, government and business. Significant divergence within the respondent panel is also identified.
Locus of Control and the Assessment of Managerial Skills
Authors: Spillane Lynda , Spillane Robert 
Published: November 2010

AbstractThere are considerable differences in perception of one's behaviour as externally controlled or as the result of personal choice (ie external or internal locus of control). This study assesses the influence of the external/internal locus of control on subordinates' perceptions of their managers' technical and people skills. Internal subordinates were found to criticise external managers for their technical skills, while external subordinates criticised their internal managers' people skills. The implications of these outcomes for the assessment of work performance are also discussed.
Environmental Strategies and the International Hotel Industry
Authors: Obrien Peter W. , Parker Lee D. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractBusiness enterprises worldwide have recognised that linking green objectives to profit goals can be a source of competitive advantage. This paper outlines the forces inducing corporations to adopt proactive stances to environmental strategic postures and the arguments for and against such postures. It presents an expanded concept of efficiency management and a related menu of environmental strategies that corporations can adopt. Empirical evidence of the environmental strategies that are being used and their outcomes is drawn from leading international hotel corporations and from smaller enterprises in this industry and the implications are discussed.
In Search of a Unified Definition of Organisational Political Behaviour: Evidence for a Multi-Level Approach
Authors: Härtel Charmine E. J. , Berry Melissa E. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractDespite thousands of years of interest, there is no standardised definition of organisational politics. This paper attempts to integrate different accounts of organisational politics through the development of a multi-level definition. A two-stage field study showed that political activities observed in the workplace can be fully captured by defining organisational politics relative to organisational efficiency at the level of the organisation, the group and the individual.
Debating the Ambiguous Enterprise of Management
Authors: Hardy Cynthia , Palmer Gill 
Published: November 2010

AbstractThere are significant ambiguities surrounding the academic discipline of management, which can be analysed in terms of three major debates. First the professional status of management brings with it questions about restriction or access to management education, the control of curricular and the relative importance of basic, applied and consultancy-driven research. Second, there are debates about the changing nature of management research, which require the accomodation of increasing diversity within management theory. Finally, the ambiguities associated with these debates can be seen to have impacted on the development of management education, its accessibility and diversity. The ambiguities associated with these debates must be carefully managed if the discipline is to prosper. New organisational forms are needed to embed management teaching and research within the complex collaborative relationships of the many stakeholders involved.
Strategic Choices and Business Performance: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Sharma Bishnu , Fisher Tom 
Published: November 2010

AbstractThe paper reports research within Australian manufacturing companies that investigated the perceived importance and interrelationships of functional and business strategies. Seven functional strategies were postulated (operations, research and development, technology, marketing, human resources, organisational, and financial). Porter's (1980) generic strategies were used to define business strategies because of their ability to simplify complex strategic patterns and because of their popularity in the strategic management literature (Miller and Dess, 1993). The research found that Australian manufacturers operations strategy was the most preferred and effective functional strategy. Australian manufacturers also have a preference for combined generic strategies. However, an analysis of performance suggests that the adoption of a single generic strategy may be preferable.
Systemic Barriers to Managing Change: Is Autopoiesis an Appropriate Metaphor?
Authors: Whiteley Alma M. 
Published: November 2010

AbstractThe paper reports on a study into the usefulness of autopoiesis as a metaphor for reflective thinking about organisations contemplating change. Autopoietic systems display qualities of evolutionary invariance, self organisation to perpetuate the system's status quo, self referential activities and attempts to organise aspects of the environment to suit the system's needs. Systemic characteristics include a desire to return to equilibrium and to be resistant to evolutionary change. Autopoiesis can be used as a metaphor for gaining insights and seeing with fresh eyes some of the perhaps hidden, institutionalised concepts that inform contemporary management strategies. The need for a metaphorical image emerges from the difficulty in reflecting on organisational activities while using historically derived language and symbols. The autopoiesis metaphor was integrated into an exploratory research project with human resource managers as respondents. Tentative findings were that this is a useful metaphor for use in organisational diagnosis. Given this, a more comprehensive study would seem to be worthwhile.
Is Strategic Planning Worth the Effort? A Study of Firm Performance Versus Planning Comprehensiveness in Australia
Authors: Devenish Peter , Fisher Tom 
Published: November 2010

AbstractThe planning-performance literature suggests that there is a weak positive correlation between strategic planning and financial performance. This study has been undertaken to determine whether this weak positive correlation is true for Australian firms.Strategic planning for the purposes of this study is arranged in three levels of planning complexity. A sample of 77 listed firms was surveyed to determine their level of planning complexity, and this was correlated with the firm's financial performance over a three year period.A range of statistical tests did not reveal any significant correlation between strategic planning at any of the three levels and the financial performance of the firm. This negative finding is generally in line with other recent studies conducted in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.However, positive correlations were found with several subjective performance measures, suggesting that respondents generally believe that strategic planning is helping their company.