Business Commons^™

A Study Of Business Enterprise In The City Of Wanneroo: Policy Implications For The Wanneroo Economic Development Association And The Wanneroo Goes For Jobs Employment Task Force, Marc G. Saupin

Research outputs pre 2011

In February 1993 the Wanneroo Economic Development Association (WEDA) with financial support from the Office of Labour Market Adjustment commissioned the Department of Marketing at Edith Cowan University to undertake a survey of business enterprises within the City of Wanneroo. The study commenced in March 1993 and concluded in November of the same year. The overriding objective of this study was to provide WEDA and the Wanneroo Goes for Jobs Employment Task Force with an empirical data base from which appropriate polices and programmes could be devised.

This reports details the findings of this study highlighting the real need for …

Women In Leadership Program 1993: Shaping The Culture, Catriona Pyner

Research outputs pre 2011

In discussing Women in Leadelrship one member of the Management Group sometimes used the term "Program", and sometimes "Project". This was not a mere slip of the tongue. One useful way to conceptualise "Women in Leadership" is as a Project- which seeks to strategically engage with a changing institution, and which is both organic and structured. Part of the Project structure is the Program. The Program is made up of three formal elements: The Collegial Groups; the Public Lecture Series and the National Conference. And yet, part of the Purpose of the Program is to engage with, shape and respond …

Interaction Of Budget Emphasis, Budgeting Participation And Task Characteristics : A Cross-Cultural Study, Liang C. Low

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is an empirical examination which links two important areas of management accounting research. The first area relates to the relation between superiors' evaluative styles and the two dependent variables of job related tension and managerial performance. The second area relates to the impact of culture on management accounting system. Two of Hofstede's (1980) dimensions of culture were used in this study. They were power distance and individualism. Two studies, Brownell and Hirst (1986) and Brownell and Dunk (1991), both of which were conducted with samples from a low power distance/high individualism nation were re-examined within the framework suggested …

In Defence Of Australian Academic Unionism, Grahame Mcculloch

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper does not aspire to be an objective account of academic unionism. It is written from my perspective as a committed union activist, and comes at a time when there is a real prospect of a substantial erosion of the role and authority of Australia's academic unions. I refer, of course, to the well publicised plans to developed a model of academic industrial relations in which working conditions would be radically deregulated, and in which unions would be given only a limited role. Unionism is seen as responsible for the debasement of collegial life in our universities, and the …

Determinants Of A Firm's Approach To Accounting For Goodwill, Christine E. Taylor

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study is to ascertain factors that may explain an Australian firm's approach to accounting for goodwill and to examine the diversity that existed in accounting for goodwill in the pre-standard era. Utilising a costly contracting framework, determinants of the accounting policy choice are proposed and three separate groups of hypotheses are formulated. The ex ante hypothesis in this study utilises industry as an explanatory variable that would be expected to explain the motivations of accounting choices by firms. It was found that there is no significant association between industry classification and the choice of method in …

Consumer Attitudes Toward The Advertising Of Professional Services By Accountants, Lawyers, And Physicians, In Perth, Western Australia: An Exploratory Study, Damien W. Millen

Theses : Honours

The accounting, law and medical professions in Australia have resisted using advertising as part of a marketing strategy until the late 1980's. Unlike their colleagues in the United States, the majority of professionals in Australia have yet to explore the benefits of utilising advertising to develop and maintain a high quality reputation, as well as informing potential clientele of available services and other necessary information that customers may use to select a professional practitioner. It is the aim of this research to investigate consumer attitudes toward accountants, lawyers, and physicians with respect to professional service advertising in Perth, Western Australia. …

The Marketing Orientation Of The West Australian Wine Industry, Michael J. Stansby

Theses : Honours

Marketing academics and practitioners have been studying the effects of marketing orientation on the level business performance for many years. To date, there has been little effort to develop a valid measure of marketing orientation, and analyse its impact on business performance. Because of the lack of such a measure, companies possess no specific guidelines how they may become more marketing orientated. This study presents a valid measure of marketing orientation and analyses its effect on business performance. A conceptual model for marketing orientation is presented. This model comprises of four components: customer orientation; competitor orientation; interfunctional coordination; and long-term …

A Review Of The Credit Application And Assessment Process From A Consumer Perspective, Natalie Dall

Theses : Honours

It has been noted by the consumer Credit Legal Service in Western Australia that there has been considerable debate about the lending practices of financial institutions. It is argued by many Financial Counsellors that lending practices, such as the assessment of using credit scoring, may contribute credit to the worthiness increasing number of consumers who are overcommitted. The Consumer Credit Legal Service has suggested that there is a need to seek information about the lending practices in Western Australia. The study reviewed the current credit application and assessment process that operates in Western Australia using a case study approach. The …

Leveraged Buyouts, Kurt J. Smith

Theses : Honours

This study comprehensively reviews theoretical and empirical literature pertaining to leveraged buyouts. An agency theory framework best describes the source of LBO value creation. Agency conflicts are mitigated through extensive utilisation of debt capital and concentrated equity ownership, which are functions of asset and organisation structures. The evidence generally supports the hypothesis that economic wealth is created by leveraged buyouts, rather than merely redistributed among stakeholders. This thesis uses a multiple case design to examine leveraged buyouts in Australia. It compiles data from a broad range of public and private sources, and conducts qualitative and quantitative analysis on six (6) …

Women In Leadership National Conference 1992: Women, Communication And Power, Margaret Butterworth (Ed.)

Research outputs pre 2011

Victorian feminist lawyer and social activist, Dr. Jocelynne Scutt, confronted the issue of women and power by drawing upon a powerful reading of stories from women. These stories, drawn from ordinary and not so ordinary women, showed the barriers that face women as they attempt to deal with a daily reality infused with masculine power, violence, fright, shame, and self-realization. She spoke poignantly of a world that is all to familiar to women; women whose capacities have been curbed sharply by a common theme in their lives: domination and coercion...

The Systematic Interest Rate Risk Of The Returns On Australian Bank Shares, Michael Shanahan

Theses : Honours

This paper examines the relationship bank share returns have with interest rate changes. Specifically, what is the systematic interest rate risk of Australian bank share returns. The reasons why bank shares and interest rates possibly have a relationship with interest rates are numerous, interrelated and complicated. Shares and interest rates generally have a relationship because of the comparison made between interest bearing securities and dividend paying shares. However, the relationship is compounded with banks, because of their exposure to interest rate risk. This paper involves two separate analyses. The firp.t part involves attempting to measure a bank share's interest rate …

Measuring The Quality Of Service Within Challenge Bank, George M. Gilchrist

Theses : Honours

This research project looks at how the management and counter staff of four branches of the Challenge Bank define quality of service and asks them to judge if they deliver that quality. lt also examines the climate for service in which staff operate. The project simultaneously explores the customers' idea of what constitutes quality service, and whether or not customers consider they receive it consistently. A review of the most recent literature on customer service from Australia and overseas, has provided a theoretical framework for the interpretation of the data. It was necessary to first define quality of service then …

Costing Employee Absenteeism At Three Local Organisations, Justin Ponton

Theses : Honours

This thesis looks at a methodology that can be used to cost a specific human resource activity - absenteeism. It applies the costing framework established by Cascio (1991) to three local organisations, with differing results and reactions. The cost of absenteeism ranged from $461 per employee up to $1,454 per employee per annum. Other costing techniques for Human Resource Departments are also looked at, but the main thrust of this thesis is the costing of absenteeism. Absenteeism is studied in terms of its causes, costs, and possible solutions. Each of three organisations studied, is discussed in terms of the cost …

The Potential For Work Redesign Within Contemporary Organizations, Chris Du Boulay

Research outputs pre 2011

Work redesign is not only important for the wellbeing of the employee, but it has also captured the imagination and zeal of some employers. Recent studies (Hendry, 1990 ; Cordery, Mueller & Smith, 1991) have indicated that employees become more positive and enthusiastic towards their jobs and employers experience gains in productivity. Over the years many people have examined the concept and need for work redesign (Hackman & Oldham, 1976; Galbraith, 1984; Pasmore, 1988). Concepts such as work simplification, job enrichment, job enlargement, socio-technical redesign, alternative work arrangements and quality of work life programmes have been introduced, developed and implemented. …

The Flexible Organization Design: Advantages And Pitfalls, Chris Du Boulay

Research outputs pre 2011

Organization design, mission statements and management strategy are not often given the emphasis they deserve within the human service sector. These issues are given a great deal of emphasis within the mainstream commercial sector.

In the minds of many human service boards of management these issues are seen as secondary, behind the primary aim of assisting clients. While this priority is commendable, the secondary issues are rarely addressed sufficiently. The result is that the organization loses direction and fails to remain abreast of the changing demands of the client population.

The Effect Of Employers' Attitudes On The Implementation Of Computer Aided Manufacturing Techniques In The Furniture Industry In Western Australia, Brian Ferguson

Theses : Honours

In this study, the incorporation of computers in industry is compared with the industrial revolution. It is envisaged that computers in industry will bring about similar sweeping changes to the workforce as those that took place during the eighteenth century. However, it is noted that, thus far, Australian industry leaders in general remain ignorant of these changes (Eckersley 1988,p.3) and the Western Australian furniture industry is no exception. If Australian industry in general and the Western Australian furniture industry in particular, are to avoid a similar decline in economic competitiveness to that experienced by European countries {Marcum 1986,p.28 ), there …

Children In The Entertainment And Advertising Industries, Gary Partington

Research outputs pre 2011

This survey of the employment of children in the entertainment and advertising industries has described the nature and process of employment of children in the following areas:

a) film dramas and documentaries

b) television commercials

c) radio commercials and dramas

d) print advertising

e) live theatre

f) modelling.

The survey was limited in its scope, and any conclusions based on it must be regarded as tentative until a more thorough investigation based on a larger, more representative sample is conducted. Even so, some companies appear to maintain high standards of conduct in relation to the employment of children, judging from …

Information Technology In Youth Agencies : A Rural Perspective, Rod Underwood, Barry Sherridan

Research outputs pre 2011

A survey of rural youth agencies investigated current or projected applications of computer technology to agency management and service delivery. The expectations of agency administrators regarding computer usage by youth workers, the nature of training provided or considered desirable, and identification of issues critical to the applications of computer technology in rural youth: services were studied. Youth agencies generally recognised that computers have the potential to enhance the quality of service provision. The lack of formal training in the use of computers may have serious implications for future developments.

Employment Status Of 1978 Graduates From Churchlands College Of Advanced Education, Frank Wilson

Research outputs pre 2011

In 1979, Churchlands College graduates participated for the second time in the Graduate Career Council's graduate employment survey.

Detailed results of the 1979 survey have now been published and appear in the report: First Destinations of 1978 University and College Graduates as at April 30, 1979. Complementary copies of this report have been distributed to all Heads of Department.

In addition to the standard eleven item G.C.C.A. questionnaire, Churchlands graduates also received a supplementary set of questions. This collected additional employment information from graduates.

To be reported in this memo are:

1. The major G.C.C.A. findings of relevance to Churchlands; …