title: The 'Jackson effect': The late 1990s to 2005

authors: Lealand, Geoff

abstract: This chapter describes Jackson's journey from New Zealand cult director to global film maker and examines what might be called the 'Jackson Effect': his singular influence on the state of New Zealand film making in the wake of the LOTR trilogy. While his global success has not been insignificant in terms of his own career, it has also directly affected several elements of the New Zealand film industry. These include the development of New Zealand as an investment focus for global film making; the development of a New Zealand-based production infrastructure to service both offshore and local film; and a measure of job creation and work stability in the industry. Jackson's success has also helped stimulate the growth of destination tourism and has revised our understanding of what a 'New Zealand film' might be in the early twenty-first century.

text: The 'Jackson effect': The late 1990s to 2005 This chapter describes Jackson's journey from New Zealand cult director to global film maker and examines what might be called the 'Jackson Effect': his singular influence on the state of New Zealand film making in the wake of the LOTR trilogy. While his global success has not been insignificant in terms of his own career, it has also directly affected several elements of the New Zealand film industry. These include the development of New Zealand as an investment focus for global film making; the development of a New Zealand-based production infrastructure to service both offshore and local film; and a measure of job creation and work stability in the industry. Jackson's success has also helped stimulate the growth of destination tourism and has revised our understanding of what a 'New Zealand film' might be in the early twenty-first century.

year: 2011

title: Social capital and the budgeting process

authors: Frost, Denise Margaret

subjects: social capital

abstract: This thesis arose out of a previous study of budgeting practices carried out at a not-for-profit church.  This initial study had found that relationships played an important role in budgeting practices.  Interviewees carried out their budgetary tasks in a cooperative, sometimes sacrificial manner.  This relationship-based approach to budgeting was inconsistent with conventional approaches to budgeting.  It became apparent that budgeting practices in this church could be explained by social capital theory, and that budgeting could be viewed as a social phenomenon.

I began to question whether considering budgeting as a social process might also apply to profit-orientated organisations.  As part of this thesis, I approached two different for-profit organisations: an entertainment centre; and, a science testing laboratory.  Along with the church examined previously, both of these organisations agreed to participate in this investigation into the social aspects of their budgeting processes.

An interpretive methodology was adopted to study budgeting practices from the viewpoint of managers. Social capital was a sensitising theoretical perspective, and was viewed as a ‘skeletal theory’; in particular, I was drawn to a model of social capital proposed by Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998).  Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (1998) social capital framework was chosen as it was pertinent to examining the influence of social capital on the budgeting process.  It came as a surprise to find that elements of Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s framework were in evidence in all three organisations.  In the three case study organisations, budgeting was found to be a social process which can be explained by social capital theory. 

In contrast to the beyond budgeting proponents, who claim budgeting is redundant, this thesis has found that the budgeting process constitutes an investment of managers’ time and energy, because it encourages and promotes social capital.  The budgeting process brought managers together to work cooperatively towards a commonly understood goal.  Budgeting encouraged social interaction and fostered relationship building.  Organisational norms and values were reinforced.  Despite the differences between the three organisations, the common feature was that the budgeting process encouraged and reinforced social capital.

This thesis has implications for other researchers.  It provides a new insight into budgeting.  It contributes to the qualitative budgeting literature by providing a contemporary view of the way social forces influence the budgeting process.  It advances the literature on church budgeting.  It adds to the social capital literature by adapting Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (1998) framework of social capital to a context not previously studied – the budgeting process.  There are implications for policymakers involved in setting budget-related policy in organisations, and for practitioners, as this thesis highlights the importance of the social side of the budgeting process.

text: Social capital and the budgeting process This thesis arose out of a previous study of budgeting practices carried out at a not-for-profit church.  This initial study had found that relationships played an important role in budgeting practices.  Interviewees carried out their budgetary tasks in a cooperative, sometimes sacrificial manner.  This relationship-based approach to budgeting was inconsistent with conventional approaches to budgeting.  It became apparent that budgeting practices in this church could be explained by social capital theory, and that budgeting could be viewed as a social phenomenon.

I began to question whether considering budgeting as a social process might also apply to profit-orientated organisations.  As part of this thesis, I approached two different for-profit organisations: an entertainment centre; and, a science testing laboratory.  Along with the church examined previously, both of these organisations agreed to participate in this investigation into the social aspects of their budgeting processes.

An interpretive methodology was adopted to study budgeting practices from the viewpoint of managers. Social capital was a sensitising theoretical perspective, and was viewed as a ‘skeletal theory’; in particular, I was drawn to a model of social capital proposed by Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998).  Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (1998) social capital framework was chosen as it was pertinent to examining the influence of social capital on the budgeting process.  It came as a surprise to find that elements of Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s framework were in evidence in all three organisations.  In the three case study organisations, budgeting was found to be a social process which can be explained by social capital theory. 

In contrast to the beyond budgeting proponents, who claim budgeting is redundant, this thesis has found that the budgeting process constitutes an investment of managers’ time and energy, because it encourages and promotes social capital.  The budgeting process brought managers together to work cooperatively towards a commonly understood goal.  Budgeting encouraged social interaction and fostered relationship building.  Organisational norms and values were reinforced.  Despite the differences between the three organisations, the common feature was that the budgeting process encouraged and reinforced social capital.

This thesis has implications for other researchers.  It provides a new insight into budgeting.  It contributes to the qualitative budgeting literature by providing a contemporary view of the way social forces influence the budgeting process.  It advances the literature on church budgeting.  It adds to the social capital literature by adapting Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (1998) framework of social capital to a context not previously studied – the budgeting process.  There are implications for policymakers involved in setting budget-related policy in organisations, and for practitioners, as this thesis highlights the importance of the social side of the budgeting process.

year: 2017

title: Indigenous-washing and colonial amnesia: how New Zealand’s nation brand depoliticizes climate change

authors: Hellmann, Olli

abstract: New Zealand’s nation brand has drawn ever louder accusations of “greenwashing” the country’s image in recent years. Through a visual discourse analysis of Air New Zealand’s Tiaki & The Guardians safety briefing video, this article shows that brand managers have responded with a strategy of “Indigenous-washing,” appropriating the Māori worldview to deflect attention from intensive farming’s carbon footprint and other environmentally unfriendly activities. More broadly, this article makes an important contribution to the growing critical-cultural literature on nation branding by revealing how New Zealand’s latest marketing initiative contributes to the depoliticization of climate change. The “Tiaki” campaign not only positions New Zealand as an “untouched land,” but also closes the space for democratic debate about climate change by obscuring the role of colonialism in causing the planet’s ecological crisis and by silencing alternative socioecological futures proposed by Indigenous peoples.

text: Indigenous-washing and colonial amnesia: how New Zealand’s nation brand depoliticizes climate change New Zealand’s nation brand has drawn ever louder accusations of “greenwashing” the country’s image in recent years. Through a visual discourse analysis of Air New Zealand’s Tiaki & The Guardians safety briefing video, this article shows that brand managers have responded with a strategy of “Indigenous-washing,” appropriating the Māori worldview to deflect attention from intensive farming’s carbon footprint and other environmentally unfriendly activities. More broadly, this article makes an important contribution to the growing critical-cultural literature on nation branding by revealing how New Zealand’s latest marketing initiative contributes to the depoliticization of climate change. The “Tiaki” campaign not only positions New Zealand as an “untouched land,” but also closes the space for democratic debate about climate change by obscuring the role of colonialism in causing the planet’s ecological crisis and by silencing alternative socioecological futures proposed by Indigenous peoples.

year: 2023-07-27