Southern African perceptions of the moral obligations and objectives of corporations
- Authors: West, Andrew
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Sixth Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference (APIRA 2010) p. 1-22
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- Description: The question of whether or not Southern African countries should adopt a shareholder, a stakeholder, or another approach to corporate governance is relevant both to debates on corporate governance convergence, and the development of the region. Such normative arguments, however, are predicated upon some descriptive understanding. This paper investigates the claims of descriptive moral relativism, that there are differences in moral judgements between individuals/groups, by comparing the beliefs put forward by a group of black Southern African professional accounting students regarding the obligations and objectives of corporations to the underlying morality of the Anglo-American model of corporate governance. While differences were identified with the traditional theoretical Anglo-American model of corporate governance in which social responsibilities are limited or denied, fewer differences were evident when considering a more moderate Anglo-American model in which stakeholder concerns are considered. The relationship of a corporation with its community remains a possible area of difference.
Systemic factors moderating effective whistle blowing : An exploratory study into a public service organisation
- Authors: Pillay, Soma , Dorasamy, Nirmala
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: African Journal of Business Management Vol. 5, no. 22 (2011), p. 9429-9439
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- Description: A review of research concerning whistle-blowing suggests that it is of benefit to society hence, sophisticated policies have been introduced to encourage whistle blowing. However, research on conditions that lead to whistle-blowers being effective in stopping wrongdoing is still developing in industrialised countries or woefully absent in developing and less developed countries. The purpose of this paper is to use survey data to examine the variables impacting on whistle-blowing using the case of a developing country. It was found that a majority of respondents believe that systemic factors moderates effective whistle-blowing. Based on these findings, we present a model of a culture contingent whistle-blowing process which considers context, content, situational variables, and outcomes. This paper has practical implications for policy makers, managers and public officials in developing democracies, especially in designing policies that consider the cultural aspects of complex open systems and exploring concerns of obvious importance practically as well as theoretically.
Tests of factor structure and measurement invariance in the United States and Australia using the adult version of the parental acceptance-rejection-questionnaire
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Rohner, Ronald
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Cross-Cultural Research Vol. 45, no. 3 (2011), p. 267-285
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- Description: This study uses confirmatory factor analysis procedures to examine the factor structure of the mother and father versions of the Parental AcceptanceRejection Questionnaire (PARQ) and their measurement invariance across ratings provided by 314 Australian adults and 509 adults in the United States. The adult version of the PARQ is a 60-item self-report instrument designed to measure adults’ perceptions of maternal and paternal acceptance-rejection during childhood. The questionnaire contains four scales measuring warmth/ affection, hostility/aggression, indifference/neglect, and undifferentiated rejection. Results of analyses support the proposed four-factor model. All but six items in the father version and all items in the mother version show invariance across the two national groups. Overall, the results indicate support for the factorial model of the PARQ, as well as measurement equivalence across the national groups tested
The Internationalization of an Arab bank : The case of Ahli United Bank of Bahrain
- Authors: Khan, Golam , Amine, Lyn , Uddin, Syed , Zaman, Monir
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Thunderbird International Business Review Vol. 53, no. 5 (2011), p. 581-600
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- Description: Ahli United Bank of Bahrain (AUB) has "leapfrogged" over early stages of internationalization by means of multiple rapid acquisitions of competitors. Use of this high-cost, high-risk strategy is well known among companies with the resources to invest in international expansion, but its application has not yet been studied in depth among companies based in the Middle East. This theory-driven case study examines the growth record of AUB, its place in the regional banking industry in the Gulf, and its successful internationalization as an Arab bank. The article concludes with a detailed assessment of managerial and theoretical implications arising from the case study, and proposes further research to understand better the process of internationalization by companies expanding from a base in the Middle East. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
To have and to hold: Modelling the drivers of employee turnover and skill retention in Australian organisations
- Authors: Smith, Andy , Oczkowski, Edward , Smith, Chris Selby
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Human Resource Management Vol. 22, no. 2 (2011), p. 395-416
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- Description: This paper examines the determinants of employee turnover and long-term skill retention in Australian organisations. Three new perspectives are examined: the difference between short-run turnover and long-term retention; the role of different high performance work systems philosophies and human resource practices; and an examination of turnover for various groups of employees based on skill level. The results suggest that the role of learning within organisations is of fundamental importance in reducing short-run turnover and improving long-term skills retention. A series of training and human resource practices have also been found to be important for individual-specific skill categories, but general conclusions for all skill categories cannot be readily made. Finally, different drivers to short-term turnover maybe at play when retention is considered from a long-term strategic perspective. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.
Towards a model of eco-sustainable agricultural production in a regulated river basin
- Authors: Courvisanos, Jerry , Richardson, Colin
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Innovation Economics Vol. 2, no. 8 (2011), p. 59-87
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- Description: A clear path to the new eco-sustainable techno-economic paradigm is mapped out in Courvisanos (2009a) using a framework for innovation and investment developed from the seminal work of Adolph Lowe and Michal Kalecki. This theoretical framework is based around three elements that are crucial to achieving this eco-sustainable paradigm: (i) cumulative effective demand for eco-sustainable products, services and processes, (ii) ecological rules for capital investment to ensure resource saving and long-term carrying capacity, and (iii) iterative flexible public and private planning and monitoring processes to allow ecologically sustainable innovation to be supported by infrastructure, R&D and learning and development systems. This path was specifically applied in Courvisanos (2009a) to regional (non-metropolitan) Australia, an area of food and fibre production that is fragile because of drought, fire and massive storms due to ecological degradation and greenhouse warming. The heartland of regional Australia is the nation’s food bowl, the Murray-Darling River Basin (MDRB), which is under great stress due to salination and drought. There also is great rainfall variability with huge floods due to climate change, as became evident in 2010. A path for resolution of the concerns of specific regional and corporate interests along the whole Murray-Darling river system has not yet emerged. What is required is an eco-sustainable framework that addresses these issues in a holistic manner.
- Description: 200300879
Tripartite consultation: an emergent form of governance shaping employment relations in China
- Authors: Shao, Sijun , Nyland, Christopher , Zhu, Jiuhua
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Industrial Relations Journal Vol. 42, no. 4 (2011), p. 358-374
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- Description: This article examines China's approach to industrial consultation by examining six tripartite bodies at the national, provincial and county levels. It argues that the institutionalisation of tripartitism is consistent with China's overall approach to market reform being characterised by experimentalism, gradualism, dynamism and a gradual softening of party domination. Despite limitations, it is accepted that China is building a transition tripartite system that is bolstering the autonomy and representational capacity of the social partners.
Whistleblowing : Impediments to effective implementation within the South African public sector
- Authors: Dorasamy, Nirmala , Pillay, Soma
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Corporate Ownership and Control Vol. 8, no. 3 B (2011), p. 196-208
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- Description: This purpose of this article is to explore impediments to effective whistleblowing as a strategy for promoting anti-corruption practices within the South African public sector. Corruption, which violates the public service code of conduct; deters foreign investment, increases the cost of public service delivery, undermines the fight against poverty and unnecessarily burdens the criminal justice system. The article addresses the question on whether legislation on whistleblowing is adequate to encourage whistleblowing in the public sector.A review of literature determines that the effective implementation of whistleblowing legislation is largely dependent on addressing the challenges identified in the article. The quantitaive research method was employed in the study to ascertain the views of employees in the public sector on whistleblowing. Empirical findings confirm the hypothesis that the protection of whistleblowers through legislation is inadequate to encourage whistleblowing. The article provides a conceptual framework for the effective achievement of the intended outcomes of whistleblowing in the public sector.
A performance framework for corporate sustainability
- Authors: Venkatraman, Sitalakshmi , Nayak, Ravi
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Business Innovation and Research Vol. 4, no. 5 (2010), p. 475-490
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- Description: Recent studies conducted worldwide on corporate sustainability indicate gaps in sustainability practice. Many organisations deal with their economic, social and environmental issues individually and have not explored their inter-connections. They are now required to rethink their business strategies for improving their contribution to both shareholders and society as a whole. This paper is a step further to address these gaps in sustainability practice. Through an empirical study conducted in 85 different Australia-based firms, we unearth the inter-relationships among environmental, social and economic considerations simultaneously and propose a performance framework for implementing corporate sustainability. The framework consciously interconnects the triple bottom line measures using our 'Triple-I' principles of innovation, integration and interdependence that we propose within the managerial thinking. We describe the implementation of this framework in the form of a step-wise roadmap, using the Plan-Do-Check-Act quality cycle. We believe that such a practical guideline would pave way for continuous improvements in corporate sustainability performances.
- Description: 2003008239
A review of dominant and emerging issues in corporate earnings management
- Authors: Hettihewa, Samanthala , Wright, Christopher
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Southern Business Review Vol. 35, no. 1 (2010), p. 15-36
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- Description: The form and means of corporate earnings management (CEM) have evolved and become ever more sophisticated; however, in substance, CEM remains the misinforming of the users of an organization's financial statements, via the strategic abuse of timing, reorganizing, reclassifying, and/ or omitting of material information. Thus, even though CEM rarely involves outright deception, it is a fundamental breach of trust. As such, CEM is immensely damaging to the primary role of financial statements (i.e., the creation and/ or maintenance of informed trust between organizations and their key stakeholders) .
A review of twenty years of competency-based training in the Australian vocational education and training system
- Authors: Smith, Erica
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Training and Development Vol. 14, no. 1 (2010), p. 54-64
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- Description: In this paper, the author reflects, both as an academic researcher and as a senior practitioner, on the experience of competency-based training (CBT) in the Australian vocational education and training system. She seeks to draw conclusions about the Australian experience using a typology drawn from the academic literature which focuses on the philosophical, educational, technical and market aspects of CBT. She concludes that, despite many improvements over the past 10 years, some potential problems remain. The system is controlled overly tightly by the interests of industry and it also exhibits some inflexibilities. Both of these act to disadvantage some groups of learners. Teachers and trainers do not have adequate skills to work skilfully and critically with CBT, leading to thin pedagogy and a narrow focus on assessment of individual items of performance. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Age equality in education and training
- Authors: Taylor, Philip
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: International Encyclopedia of Education p. 262-268
- Full Text: false
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European employers policies concerning career management and learning from a life-span perspective
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , Brooke, Elizabeth , Di Biase, Tia
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Soziale Lebenslaufpolitik p. 474-497
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- Description: This chapter considers the characteristics of employer practices concerning age management, with specific reference to career management and learning among European employers. Using data collected for a recent European study of employer behaviour regarding workforce ageing we conceptualise the policy approach in organizations and how this is manifested in the experiences of employees. The chapter begins by examining recent changes in the way career management and learning are viewed, particularly the shift away from conceptualisations based on the notion that career management and learning are the prerogative of the young towards a perspective based on a more inclusive notion of career management learning taking place at different transition points in the lifecycle.
European employers policies concerning career management and learning from a life-span perspective
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , Brooke, Elizabeth , Di Biase, Tia
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Soziale Lebenslaufpolitik p. 474-497
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This chapter considers the characteristics of employer practices concerning age management, with specific reference to career management and learning among European employers. Using data collected for a recent European study of employer behaviour regarding workforce ageing we conceptualise the policy approach in organizations and how this is manifested in the experiences of employees. The chapter begins by examining recent changes in the way career management and learning are viewed, particularly the shift away from conceptualisations based on the notion that career management and learning are the prerogative of the young towards a perspective based on a more inclusive notion of career management learning taking place at different transition points in the lifecycle.
Falls from plasterers' work platforms in Australia
- Authors: Cowley, Stephen , Leggett, Susan
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Health, Safety and Environment Vol. 26, no. 3 (2010), p. 259-268
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- Description: Plasterers are over-represented in falls-related injury data. When accessing work at height, it is common for plasterers to use stilts, trestles, scaffolds and ladders (as well as other conveniently available items) as work platforms. To determine the prevalence of injuries sustained through the use of work platforms, a review of workers compensation claims recorded between 31 July 2002 and 30 September 2007 in New South Wales and Victoria was undertaken. During this period, 283 workers compensation claims (costing A$ 19.3m) were recorded. The greatest number of falls was from ladders, followed by scaffolds and trestles. Sixty-one claims (costing A$1.5m) were made for injuries sustained while alighting (stepping off) platforms. Very few injury reports implicated stilts. It is possible that this is associated with the veracity of the data within the claims databases or an under-reporting phenomenon. The findings have implications for policy formulation and demonstrate the need for empirical research that is not dependent on injury data.
Herbert Vere Evatt, The Tolpuddle Martyrs : Injustice Within the Law
- Authors: Eklund, Erik
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Book review
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- Description: Book Review- Herbert Vere Evatt, The Tolpuddle Martyrs: Injustice within the Law, Sydney University Press, Sydney, 2009 (first published 1937). pp. xxi + 104. $25.00 paper Herb 'Doc' Evatt, is perhaps best known for his role in forging the United Nations, defending the Communist Party in the High Court, and for his failure to win office during his term as Labor leader (1951-60). The extent of Evatt's legal and historical scholarship is often overlooked. This new edition of his 1937 book, The Tolpuddle Martyrs, is a timely reminder of the brilliant and energetic intellect behind Evatt's more public activities. In 1834, in the midst of concerns over the rising tide of trade union and reform activity, six labourers from Dorset were charged under the 1797 Illegal Oaths Act and sentenced to seven years transportation to the Australian colonies.
Integrating the historiography of the nineteenth-century gold rushes
- Authors: Reeves, Keir , Frost, Lionel , Fahey, Charles
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Economic History Review Vol. 50, no. 2 (2010), p. 111-128
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- Description: In the century preceding World War I, the world experienced a series of gold rushes. The wealth derived from these was distributed widely because of reduced migration costs and low barriers to entry. While gold mining itself was generally unprofitable for diggers and mine owners, the increase in the world's gold supply stimulated global trade and investment. In this introductory article we integrate the histories of migration, trade, colonisation, and environmental history to identify endogenous factors that increased the world's gold supply and generated sustained economic growth in the regions that were affected by gold rushes.
OHS professionals : Are personal and professional characteristics linked to strategic influence?
- Authors: Pryor, Pam
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Health, Safety and Environment Vol. 26, no. 1 (2010), p. 21-23
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- Description: Analysis of the data collected from a survey into what OHS professionals do in practice indicated that they are not strategically influential with senior managers and that this lack of influence may be limiting workplace health and safety improvements. This article revisits the survey data to investigate the potential links between the personal (gender) and professional (education and experience) characteristics of OHS professionals, the industry and the size and geographical location of the organisation in which they work, and their involvement in strategic activities. The analysis indicates that the profile of OHS professionals who are strategically influential includes the following: they are male; they have worked in OHS for six to 10 years; and they are employed by large organisations, particularly in the mining and construction industries. The data regarding the role of education were contradictory to expectations and other reports. While this analysis has provided a profile of OHS professionals in Australia, it has added little to our understanding of the interactions and dynamics of factors that might impact on the strategic influence of OHS professionals.
OHS professionals: Technicians or strategic advisors?
- Authors: Pryor, Pam , Sawyer, Neroli
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Health, Safety and Environment Vol. 26, no. 1 (2010), p. 7-20
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- Description: This article arose from a concern that OHS professionals are not strategically influential with senior managers, and that this lack of influence may be limiting workplace health and safety improvements and, in turn, hindering the progress of the national OHS improvement strategy. The article analyses data from an Australian survey into the communication patterns and activities of OHS professionals in an attempt to clarify whether their activities are likely to have a strategic influence on senior managers. While there may be a number of interpretations of the data, the results indicate that the focus of the activities of OHS professionals is mainly task-oriented. Less often, the focus of their activities is operational (such as developing the OHS management system), while a few of their activities may be considered as strategic. The Australian survey was part of a broader international study and a comparison of the results with those from other countries revealed that the limited focus on strategic activities is not unique to Australia.
Old dogs, new tricks : Training mature-aged manufacturing workers
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Smith, Andy , Selby Smith, Chris
- Date: 2010
- Type: Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Workplace Learning Vol. 22, no. 5 (2010), p. 277-291
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- Description: Purpose – This paper aims to examine the employment and training of mature-aged workers, so that suggestions for improving training for mature-aged workers may be offered. Design/methodology/approach – Six expert interviews were carried out by telephone, and three case studies involving company site visits were completed. Each company case study involved interviews with managers, trainers and mature-aged workers. The study was confined to the manufacturing industry. Findings – Mature-aged workers bring many advantages to workplaces and some employers show a definite preference for them over younger workers; but in some cases training needs to take account of lack of confidence and literacy and health issues. However, there is great diversity among mature-aged workers. Research limitations/implications – The research is confined to shop-floor workers in manufacturing, and does not address training of mature-aged managers and professionals. The research is small-scale but provides new insights, and importantly the voices of the workers themselves. Practical implications – The paper identifies managerial and training practices that can immediately be implemented. Originality/value – The paper identifies some issues that can be taken up at a policy level as well as within companies. For example, the preference for qualification-based training at a national level is not necessarily consistent with what mature-aged workers prefer.