Business Commons^™

Interest Rate Risk Of Australian Reits: A Panel Analysis, Jaime L. Yong, Abhay Singh

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Management structures of many Australian REITs have shifted towards internal property management since 2001. Sector returns have been rewarding until the Global Financial Crisis, but rising costs of debt and years of aggressive borrowing have eroded REIT values. Externally managed trusts had relatively higher levels of debt than internally managed counterparts thus increasing the sensitivities to interest rate risks. Yet internally managed REITs engage in a wider set of operating activities which compound market and financial risks. This study uses panel and panel quantile regressions to examine the joint impact of financial leverage and management structure on REIT returns in …

Liminal Experience Of East Asian Backpackers, Huong T. Bui, Hugh Wilkins, Y S. Lee

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Acknowledging the increasing popularity of independent travel from East Asia, this article explores the backpacking experience of young travellers of the region, from a socio-anthropological angle. Using liminality theory as a guideline and adopting a qualitative investigative approach, 31 interviews with East Asian backpackers were conducted. The findings suggest there are dual facets of the liminal experiences of the backpackers. On one hand, young travellers were motivated to escape from temporal, spatial and social pressures at home. On the other, their narratives reflected a strong commitment to home through a sense of filial piety, an awareness of their identity and …

Forgery In The Making Of Audit Report: The Liabilities And Breach Of Professional Duties, Khairul Anuar Abd Hadi, Halil Paino, Zubaidah Ismail, Muhammad Haziq Dhiyauddin

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Forgery is a mechanism to commit fraud and involves the modification of original documents without valid authorization. This includes the process of making an audit report by the auditors. This paper will examine the liability of the auditor if he/she fails to identify the existence of forgery and fails to exercise due diligence in the making of audit report.

A Framework For Clarifying The Goal And Implementation Of Iso, Layla M. Al Hameed, Philip J. Dobson, Paul D. Jackson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Many organisations are dissatisfied with the outcomes of ISO implementations. This paper proposes that this dissatisfaction is often a consequence of a lack of clarity as to the goal of the implementation and the lack of a clear linkage to the organisational goal over the implementation. The paper proposes that the use of the relatively new tool from the Theory of Constraints –the Strategy and Tactic (S&T) tree can help to provide this linkage and to guide the subsequent implementation. The integration of the S&T Tree and Treacy and Wiersema’s Value Discipline model (1993) is used to focus the original …

The Use Of Unregulated Staff: Time For Regulation?, Christine M. Duffield, Di E. Twigg, Judith D. Pugh, Gemma Evans, S Dimitrelis, Michael A. Roche

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Internationally, shortages in the nursing workforce, escalating patient demands, and financial constraints within the health system have led to the growth of unlicensed nursing support workers. Recently, in relation to the largest publicly funded health system (National Health Service), it was reported that extensive substitution of registered nurses with unskilled nursing support workers resulted in inadequate patient care, increased morbidity and mortality rates, and negative nurse outcomes. We argue that it is timely to consider regulation of nursing support workers with their role and scope of practice clearly defined. Further, the addition of these workers in a complementary model of …

Undergraduate Perceptions Of The Development Of Team-Working Skills, Denise Jackson, Ruth Sibson, Linda Riebe

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Purpose: The ability to working effectively with others (WEWO) is critical yet industry continues to lament deficiencies in new graduates. Progress in developing this highly valued skill in undergraduates is impeded by a lack of conceptual clarity and evidence of how best to measure it, and a tendency to adopt an outcomes-focused, rather than process-oriented, approach. This paper aims to investigate undergraduate perceptions of how well a stand-alone employability skill development programme, operating in an Australian Business Faculty, is fostering the WEWO skill set and which pedagogical practices are considered to add most value. Design/methodology/approach: The study examines undergraduate perceptions …

Line Managers' Involvement In Hrm Activities: A Malaysian Case Study, Nik Hazimah Nik Mat, Pattanee Susomrith

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Despite evidence on greater line managers involvement in many HRM activities, the overall picture of their HRM role is still blurred especially in terms of their coverage and depth of involvement in HRM activities. For line managers to deliver their HRM role effectively, it must be clearly defined so they can enact the role according to the expectations of their role evaluators, who include the line managers supervisors, employees and HR specialists. The expectations of role evaluators are important because the assessment of line managers performance depends on what the role evaluators perceive as valuable. However, the expectations of the …

Australian Smes: Waste Sent To Landfill, Janice Redmond, Elizabeth A. Walker, Craig M. Parker, Mike Simpson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Landfill waste has a negative impact on the environment and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are believed to be significant contributors. There is little government or scholarly research, however, quantifying the collective volume of waste SMEs send to landfill. The limited studies instead measure total volumes (landfill and recycling combined) and/or do not distinguish between specific waste streams (e.g. wood) and subcategories (e.g. dust). This paper contributes to knowledge by reconceptualising SME waste into subcategories and by measuring landfill volumes. It presents findings from 404 Australian SMEs which found that, in descending order, cardboard, paper, plastic wrap, wood dust and …

Education And Training Of Specialist Sexual Offence Investigators In Victoria, Australia From 2009 To 2011, Jennifer Anne Turnley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The topic of training specifically designed for investigators of sexual offences has received little attention from academic researchers to date. Previous studies have not described training provided to police investigators of sexual offences in Australia. This thesis developed Turnley’s Framework for the Examination of Police Training in Sexual Assault Investigation, to examine and describe a Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigative Teams (SOCIT) Course, provided to Victorian Police from 2009 to 2011. This entailed triangulation of findings from non-participant observations of one SOCIT Course, with quantitative and qualitative data sourced though an in-depth interview with course trainers; feedback sheets voluntarily …

The Hrm Role Of Line Managers: A Malaysian Case Study, Nik Hazimah Nik Mat

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

While HRM has long been part of the line manager’s role, it has now become a crucial component. Unfortunately, for many line managers, their HRM role is uncertain, in terms of their coverage and depth of involvement in HRM activities. It is therefore difficult to measure whether their involvement affects HRM effectiveness or contributes to organisational achievement. The purpose of this study is to explore the development of the line managers’ HRM role, based on the perceptions of key members of selected organisations. This exploration may lead to the understanding of the effect of line managers’ HRM role performance on …

Post-School Adult Life For Young People With Down Syndrome, Kitty Rose Foley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Down syndrome is a chromosomal birth disorder affecting one in 650 to 1000 live births in Western Australia. The life expectancy for people with Down syndrome has increased dramatically over the past two generations leading to these young people having changing needs in terms of social, economic and personal life. Encompassed within this, is the successful transition from school to post-school, a time of upheaval, stress and important decisions for young people with intellectual disabilities. The International classification of functioning, disability and health (ICF) is a world renowned framework which provides a scientific basis and standardised language for describing and …

Constructing Corporate Capability In Changing Contexts: The Innovation Journey Of Strategic Management Development At Bankwest, Moira Watson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is about an unfolding management development process over time. Interconnections influencing corporate capability are explained and insight provided into the social construction of strategic organisational change. Studies of strategically-focused change don’t generally address the part management development plays in innovation and corporate capability construction. This research thus fills a persistent knowledge gap in the understanding of the way management development is provided within organisations and the value of the process.

This empirical study is in the process research tradition. A longitudinal, in-depth case study of BankWest, an Australian financial services company undergoing significant change between 1997 and 2009, …

Redefining Internal Audit Performance: Impact On Corporate Governance, Razimah Binti Abdullah

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

One of the preventive measures to situations akin to world financial crises increasingly forwarded is effective internal audit function (IAF) (e.g., Imhoff, 2003; Mohamad & Muhamad Sori, 2011). Internal audit, a component of corporate governance, continues to evolve due to changes in business strategies and requirements placed on it by legislators. The roles of internal auditors and audit committees (ACs), the key personnel in IAFs, are changing to a more value-added approach as business strategies move towards corporate sustainability and organisational excellence. Suggestions forwarded to improve the performance or determining the quality of IAF include effective involvement of ACs in …

Corporate Governance, Conservatism And Firm Performance: Evidence From China, Yun Ren

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis examines the effect of the board of directors and supervisory board on conservatism and firm performance, respectively, and the benefits of conservatism on performance. In addition, this thesis investigates whether the effectiveness of firms’ governance on conservatism and firm performance is influenced by ownership concentration and state ownership. The extant literature has shown that conservatism reduced agency conflict and was beneficial for corporate governance in developed countries; however, little evidence has been provided for emerging countries such as China.

Sample companies are selected from the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges for the period from 2007 to 2010. Archival …

The Perceived Personal Characteristics Of Entrepreneurial Leaders, Ling He

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The concept of entrepreneurial leadership has attracted growing interest from leadership scholars but research is still in an early stage and empirical studies are rare. This thesis explores this new concept in an empirical study of the personal characteristics of entrepreneurial leaders (ELs). The study is underpinned by the “common characteristics” model in which ELs have characteristics of both entrepreneurs and leaders. Semi-structured interviews and a short questionnaire were used to explore business owners’ and corporate managers’ perceptions of the personal characteristics of ELs. Responses were summarised with thematic analysis and descriptive statistics.

The findings show participants perceived EL as …

The Effect Of Shared Leadership On Workgroup Creativity, Simon Guive Minaee

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Research on leadership typically assumes a single leader who has managerial authority over the group, unit or organisation. Shared leadership is an emerging concept of leadership as a group-level phenomenon. It builds on antecedents such as democratic leadership, semi-autonomous and self-managed work groups, participative decision-making and co-leadership that are typically studied as variations of leadership by a single leader. Shared leadership is seen as more distributed, informal and emergent than these. Recent empirical research shows shared leadership can have beneficial effects on a variety of group process and outcome variables. However, so far its effects on creativity have not been …

The Relationship Between Place Attachment And Return Visits To Heritage Sites : A Case Study Of Ras Al Khaimah, Ahmed Alshemeili

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Over the past decade, heritage tourism has become a significant growth industry worldwide. Fuelled in part by nostalgia for the past, tourists seem to have the desire to visit archaeological sites. A review of the literature reveals that many visitors return to heritage places repeatedly over a short period of time. While the reason visitors return to heritage sites vary and may be individualistic; place attachment may be a major intrinsic element.

The main purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between place attachment and tourists’ intentions for return visits to heritage sites. The overall objectives of the …