Digital Commons Network^™

Careers And Organisational Objectives: Managing Competing Interests In Cooperative Research Centres, Sam Garrett-Jones, Tim Turpin, Kieren Diment

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Research of potential socio-economic value is often conducted within cross-sector (government, university, business) centres. There has been growing interest among science policy researchers in seeking to understand the organizational dilemmas confronted in cross-sector research collaboration. While there is clearly a coalition of interests among partners engaged with collaborative research their broader organizational objectives and strategies may converge, diverge, or even compete. Yet little empirical evidence exists on (a) how individual researchers perceive the benefits of their participation, (b) how far the structures and functions of particular collaborative R&D centres coalesce around of researchers’ expectations and, (c) what problems arise for …

Implementing A Sustainability Balanced Scorecard 'Dashboard' Approach To Assess Organisational Legitimacy, Tairan (Kevin) Huang, Matthew P. Pepper, Graham D. Bowrey

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and determine the contributing factors which influence the contents of a firm‟s sustainability reporting through combined social and environmental accounting and management perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach: This paper analyzes the disclosed sustainability indicators of a major Australian financial institution, Westpac, through the application of the research method content analysis. The theoretical framework will be shaped by the consideration of legitimacy theory and the Balanced Scorecard approach.

Findings: The results indicate that the four perspectives of a traditional Balanced Scorecard are related to the main sources of influential inputs to Westpac‟s …

Organisational Perspectives On Anti-Doping Work In Sport, Alanah Kazlauskas, Helen M. Hasan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The diverse challenges associated with anti-doping work in sport can result in multiple, competing viewpoints amongst stakeholder groups working to solve the problem. Coupled with the complexity of the problem itself, this has the potential to generate chaotic or disordered work contexts that impede rather than promote progress towards a solution. A visible lack of progress can be magnified to a public perception of anti-doping work as ineffective. We offer the Cynefin Framework, informed by Complexity Theory, as a novel theoretical and methodological lens for sense-making in the changing global context of anti-doping work. The framework’s applicability at both individual …

Electronic Documentation In Residential Aged Care Facilities - A Review Of The Literature On Organisational Issues And Early Findings On Initial Conditions From A Case Study, Kieren Diment, Ping Yu, Karin H. Garrety

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This paper discusses the theoretical rationale for an empirical study of organisational change arising from introduction of electronic nursing documentation in residential aged care facilities. The study draws on a processual view of organisational change, which is related to the theory of complex adaptive systems. First we review existing literature on electronic nursing documentation with an organisational focus to provide a context to help outline the research aims of the present study. Then we describe a method to explore the hierarchical nature of the work environment based on the sociological theory of Institutional Ethnography. Finally we use this approach to …

Do Organisational Characteristics Explain The Differences Between Drivers Of Ict Adoption In Rural And Urban General Practices In Australia, Robert C. Macgregor, Peter N. Hyland, Charles Harvie

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

A number of studies have compared general medical practices in rural locations with those in urban locations. Some of these studies have concentrated on the reasons why a GP might choose to work in a rural or urban setting. Others have examined the type of work required to be undertaken by medical professionals. Increasing use of information and communications technology (ICT) in medical practices has led to some studies examining their use in rural as well as urban settings. However, little if any research has examined whether ICT adoption drivers differ between rural and urban GPs based on their organisational …

The Critical Role Of Knowledge Management In Achieving And Sustaining Organisational Competitive Advantage, Thi Nguyet Q. Nguyen, Philip E. Neck, Thanh Hai Nguyen

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The critical role of knowledge management in achieving and sustaining competitive advantage has been strongly emphasised in the extant literature. However, most previous studies were conceptually grounded and empirically examined in advanced, developed and newly industrialised countries. In addition, research to date has predominantly explored findings from a large company view while little attempt has been made to address the relative importance of different factors constituting the organisational KM capability in the context of Asian emerging, less developed countries such as Vietnam where a socialist market economy, a Confucian culture and a majority of small and medium sized enterprises currently …

The Impact Of Knowledge Management Infrastructure On Organisational Competitiveness In A Confucian-Socialist Market Economy, Thi Nguyet Q. Nguyen, Philip A. Neck, Thanh Hai Nguyen

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The critical role of knowledge management (KM) in achieving and sustaining a competitive advantage (CA) has been strongly emphasised in the extant literature. However, most previous studies were conceptually grounded and empirically examined in advanced, developed and newly industrialised countries and from a large company perspective. Meanwhile, little attempt has been made to address the relative importance of different factors constituting the organisational KM infrastructure capability in the context of Asian emerging, less developed countries such as Vietnam where a socialist market economy, a Confucian culture and a majority of small and medium sized enterprises currently exist. By adopting a …

Democratising Organisational Knowledge: The Potential Of The Corporate Wiki, Helen Hasan, Charmaine Pfaff

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Attempts to impose knowledge management often ignore the vast organisational resource of workrelated tacit knowledge possessed by knowledge workers. Our research reveals that activities supported by social technologies such as Wikis, may provide a more appropriate capability for tacit knowledge management where a network centric focus is adopted. A corporate Wiki has the potential to engage the collective responsibilities of knowledge workers to transfer their collective experience and skills into a dynamic shared knowledge repository. However, the traditional organisational culture can be reluctant to allow this power shift which surrenders the monopolistic control of the few over the creation and …

A Transfer Pricing Apparatus For Measuring Value Added Along The Supply Chain: Reflections For Internet Based Inter-Organisational Relationships, Michael D. J. Clements, Nigel J. Price

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Inter-firm communication through advanced technology such as the internet, adds value to supply chain organisations through speed of information transference at a lower cost than traditional communication modes. However, the sharing of sensitive market information relies upon a strong inter-organisational relationship presence, displaying intangible qualities such as trust and commitment. These value added relational based characteristics are not as yet easily measured. This paper introduces and explains the concept of measuring value added along the supply chain from a transfer pricing perspective. This non-conventional supply chain (value-chain) perspective invites the reader to consider measuring added value as it moves between …

Overcoming Organisational Resistance To Using Wiki Technology For Knowledge Management, Charmaine C. Pfaff, Helen M. Hasan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Although Wikis emerged in the public domain more than a decade ago, a number of business organisations are now discovering the advantages of using Wiki technology to manage knowledge. However, there are many who are not convinced about the merits of this relatively new Wiki technology and are not yet prepared to risk its adoption because it exhibits many ideas that have yet to be tested and many issues that have yet to be resolved. This paper studies the merits of using a Wiki for knowledge management. While some cases of corporate adoption of Wiki technology have been reported, cases …

Investing In The Inter-Organisational Domain, Gordon Boyce, Stuart Macintyre, Simon Ville

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Oranisations communicate with one another in many different ways and for a variety of reasons. Markets especially business, and the price signals that underpin them, require organisations to communicate regularly.

Investing In Inter-Organisational Communication: The Melbourne Wool Brokers Association, Simon Ville, David Merrett

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Trade associations were common in Australia in the 1960s with an estimated 1250 in existence (Freeman 1968: 443–58). Their primary role, as perceived by economists of the day and the Attorney-General intent on introducing legislation to quell restrictive trade practices, was to create economic gain for the association’s members at the expense of their suppliers and/or customers. While Freeman (1968: 457–58) argued that trade associations were neither necessary nor sufficient conditions for restrictive trade practices, such an interpretation was swept aside by Mancur Olson’s influential work on the rent-seeking ‘distributional coalition’ from the 1960s to the 1980s (Olson 1965, 1982).

Organisational Factors And Australian Ict Professionals' Views Of Wireless Network Vulnerability Assessments, Keir Dyce, Mary Barrett

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

Organisational Factors And It Professionals' View Of Wireless Network Vulnerability Assessments, Keir Dyce, Mary Barrett

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The paper reports on a survey-based study of Australian computer security professionals' use of and opinions about two types of wireless vulnerability assessment (WNV A): wireless monitoring and penetration testing. An initially surprising finding was how little both types are used, despite the ease with which wireless networks can be attacked, and the lack of clear obstacles to using them.

In the light of aspects of organisational culture, including decision-making style and professional identity, the survey findings become more explicable. Senior management, and even IT staff themselves, may still hold a traditional, 'wired network' view of their organisation. 'Culture' may …

The Effects Of Organisational Structure, Interpersonal Trust And Communication During New Product Development Projects, Elias Kyriazis, Graham R. Massey

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This study examines the antecedents of effective working relationships between Marketing and R&D managers during NPD projects. Adopting both a structural and individual-level perspective, we examine the impact on relationship effectiveness of formalisation, centralisation, communication frequency and bidirectionality, and interpersonal trust between Marketing Managers and R&D Managers during NPD product development projects. Our hypothesised model is tested using a sample of 184 product development projects conducted in Australia, and our findings reveal two dimensions of interpersonal trust (cognition- and affect-based trust) are potent factors driving effectiveness during product development projects. We also reveal differential effects of the two communication behaviours, …

An Activity Theory Analysis Of A Case Of It-Driven Organisational Change, Wannapa Suratmethakul, Helen Hasan

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The paper describes unexpected problems encountered in the automation of a scheduling process using an IT application already in use in other similar organisations. A grounded theory approach was used to collect and categorise data on the case. Activity Theory was then used to analyse the attempt by management to implement organisational change through the introduction of the system. The findings suggest that it is inadvisable to impose organisational change through the introduction of a complex IT system, particularly when this disrupts entrenched decision-making processes of the organisation.

Scientists, Career Choices And Organisational Change: Managing Human Resources In Cross Sector R&D Organisations, Tim Turpin, Samuel Garrett-Jones, Kieren Diment

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The resource based view (RBV) of the firm has drawn attention to the role of human resources in building innovative capacity within firms. In ‘high technology’ firms scientific capability is a critical factor in achieving international competitiveness. Science, however, is a costly business and many firms are entering into cross sector R&D partnerships in order to gain access to leading edge scientific capability. The Australian Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) program is typical of the ways many governments are seeking to promote such cross-sector R&D collaboration. Scientists are key resources in these organisational arrangements. However, there is only fragmentary information available …

Engendering Healthy Organisational Communication - Evidence From Australian Female Managers And Business People, Mary Barrett

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

Keeping 'good' communication in organisations is one of the most frequently prescribed recipes for organisational well being. Training programs for employees in assertiveness, improved communication, career development, and managing oneself and others, have often called attention to the specifics of verbal interactions between managers, employees and others in the organisation. Such training programs generally suppose that direct, open approaches to communication are best. Yet it has often been asserted in sociolinguistic research that men and women communicate differently, including at work. Despite this, precepts for 'good' communication that are recommended for both genders in communication training are usually consistent with …