Business Commons^™

The Relationship Between Board Skills And Conservatism: Malaysian Evidence, Rahimah Yunos, George Smith, Zubaidah Ismail

Research outputs 2012

This study seeks to examine the influence of board skill, multiple directorships (BSHIP), and tenure of independent directors on accounting conservatism, as measured by asymmetric timeliness and accrual-based conservatism (CONACCR). Fixed-effect regression models were constructed on a sample of 2016 firm-year observations for asymmetric timeliness model and 2033 firm-year observations for CONACCR model, which covered from 2001 to 2007. The findings show that the degree of financial expertise on the board is positively associated with the recognition of bad news which is relative to good news into earnings. BSHIP appears to have no effect on conservatism. Independent directors who have …

Thumbs Up To Parametric Measures Of Relative Var And Cvar In Indonesian Sectors, David Allen, Ray Boffey, Akhmad Kramadibrata, Robert Powell, Abhay Singh

Research outputs 2012

We examine relative share market risk between Indonesian sectors and how this changes during extreme market fluctuations. Ten sectors comprising the IDX Composite Index are examined over an eight-year period spanning the pre-GFC, GFC and post-GFC. Risk is measured using parametric and nonparametric Value at Risk (VaR) and Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR), which measures risk beyond VaR. In contrast to studies on most global markets, and due to relative stability in the Indonesian market, no significant differences are found in relative portfolio risk between the conditional and non-conditional measures, or between parametric and nonparametric measures. The insights are important …

Conditional Value At Risk Applications To The Global Mining Industry, David Allen, Akhmad Kramadibrata, Robert Powell, Abhay Singh

Research outputs 2012

It is generally accepted that asset returns are not normally distributed, especially during volatile economic circumstances such as those seen during the global financial crisis. Yet portfolio optimisation is often based on lower order moments of mean and standard deviation, which do not take into account the tail of a distribution. The mining industry can be extremely volatile during times of economic downturn. We compare extreme risk in mining share portfolios from each of the world’s seven leading mining areas using Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) which measures those risks beyond traditional Value at Risk (VaR) metrics. We also show …

The Impact Of Contagion On Non-Performing Loans: Evidence From Australia And Canada, David Allen, Ray Boffey, Robert Powell

Research outputs 2012

Despite Canadian and Australian banks being widely perceived as having weathered the storm of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) very successfully, the impaired assets (also known as non-performing loans) of both these two countries increased several fold during this crisis. Previous studies in other countries have tended to focus on the impact of bank specific factors, such as size and return on equity, in explaining bank risk. Our approach involves including those traditional variables, plus Distance to Default (DD), and a novel contagion variable, which is the effect of major global bank DD on Australian and Canadian non-performing loans. The …

Is There A Consensus Towards Transparency: International's Corruption Perceptions Index?, Shrabani Saha, Rukmani Gounder, Jen-Je Su

Research outputs 2012

Given the clandestine nature, corruption is intrinsically a complex phenomenon and hard to measure. This paper examines whether Transparency International's corruption perception index converges towards consensus over time? Furthermore, we estimate the speed of adjustment towards general agreement. The results indicate differences in the degree of concordance, i.e. high level of agreement for the mostlyclean and most-corrupt countries but disagreement remains high for the mediumcorrupt countries. The speed of converge is high for the most-corrupt and mostlyclean countries and a decline for the medium corrupt countries.

Option Valuation And Accounting For Contingent Consideration In Mineral Sector Acquisitions, Atul Chandra, Pietro Guj

Research outputs 2012

Vendor consideration on acquisition of mineral sector companies/projects may include shares and/or options contingent on achievement of uncertain milestones either financial (specified levels of future profit, share price etc) or physical (delineation of specific levels of mineral resources). Accounting standards on business combination, fair value and financial instruments have recently undergone major changes, with potentially significant impact on the valuation and accounting of the consideration transferred. The valuation approaches to assess the "fair value" of contingent consideration in the form of financial instruments include expected present value techniques and option-pricing models. These are discussed and applied to an actual acquisition …

Superannuation Fund Communications In Good And Bad Times, George Smith, Paul Gerrans, Jacqueline Whale

Research outputs 2012

We examine the content and presentation of the first statement to members appearing in a Superannuation Fund’s annual report (typically made by the Chairperson or the CEO). We reflect on the words and themes employed, and the clarity and readability of communication. Our focus is on the respective differences between statements made in the year prior to the global financial crisis (GFC) and those made during the GFC. A content analysis of the CEO statement was conducted for 81 annual reports in each of the two years - respectively ‘good news’ and ‘bad news’ years. The readability of statements (as …

Investigating The Interaction Effect Of Democracy And Economic Freedom On Corruption: A Cross-Country Quantile Regression Analysis, Shrabani Saha, Jen-Je Su

Research outputs 2012

This paper explores the interaction effects of economic freedom and democracy in controlling corruption for 100 countries by using quantile regression technique. The main contribution is to explore the interaction effects throughout conditional distribution of corruption across nations. Our results reinforce some findings in the literature, but also provide new conclusions. The findings suggest a stronger and significant interaction effect in reducing corruption, especially in the most-corrupt countries. However, democratic and economic freedoms alone may not cure corruption effectively in the most-corrupt nations, a sound democratic reform can eliminate corruption substantially only after achieving a threshold level of economic freedom.

Viability Of Healthcare Service Delivery Alternatives For The Australian Mining Sector, Patricia Williams, Margaret Giles

Research outputs 2012

The changing and demanding nature of the mining workforce in rural and remote Australia brings unique challenges to the delivery of healthcare services. In an attempt to control costs whilst delivering cost effective and quality healthcare, new models of delivery must be considered. For a workforce that is fly-in/fly-out, the provision of healthcare is problematic given the lack of consistency in location. A cost-benefit framework is analysed comparing three models of service provision using travel to a major location, locum services and remote health monitoring. Ultimately, new models of care must be considered to address the issues of increasing workforce …

Workplace Hazard Identification: What Do People Know And How Is It Done?, Susanne Bahn

Research outputs 2012

The correct and proactive identification of hazards in the workplace underpins all occupational health and safety practice and risk management strategies and is therefore paramount to effective business practices and the health and safety of all organisational members. It is a basic right of employees to be safe at work, but working safely relies on identifying risk. If managers and employees cannot identify risk then their safety cannot be assured. Managers and employees need to have sufficient knowledge to identify hazards that lead to risk in the workplace in order to inform processes to successfully control those risks. This paper …

Harmonised Health And Safety Legislation In Australia: Confusion And Complexity For Training Remains, Susanne Bahn, Llandis Barratt-Pugh

Research outputs 2012

This paper presents findings from a study that examined the impact of the national Work Health and Safety Act 2011 on training delivery for safety professionals and their perceptions of what assisted in reducing industrial accidents. The study identified an increased uptake of safety training including high risk licensing and post-graduate degrees and the inclusion of safety elements across many courses in TAFE and universities. In addition industry is calling for safety professionals with a formal tertiary qualification in the discipline. However, national and state regulators are limited in their understanding of the complex training framework. The paper concludes by …

Where Has The Strategic Thinking Gone In The Non-Profit Board Room? A Study Of Board Member Perception And Reality, Matthew Bambach

Research outputs 2012

As a practitioner working closely with independent school boards the researcher observed that many boards of small to medium sized independent schools were operationally focussed to the detriment of strategic thinking. Much of the literature on board governance effectiveness stresses the importance of strategic thinking, yet some empirical studies suggest not all non-profit boards are strong in this area. Research however is limited, especially in the independent school sector. This paper therefore presents an empirical study of the extent of strategic thinking in seven independent school boards. The study reveals an alarming picture as to the extent their strategic thinking. …

Skilled Labour Supply And Demand In Resource Rich Regions In Australia, Susanne Bahn, Rosalyn Cameron

Research outputs 2012

The demand for specific skills for the current resources boom in Australia is placing extreme pressure upon the Australian workforce and economy to supply this labour for billion dollar resource sector projects primarily in Western Australia and Central Queensland. This paper is a conceptual think piece which overviews the current demand and supply of specialised labour for the Australian resources sector before presenting two resource rich region case studies. The first is the mining sector in Western Australia and the second is the coal seam gas/liquefied natural gas (CSG/LNG) industry in Central Queensland. This is followed by a mapping of …

The Impact Of The Interaction Between Economic Growth And Democracy On Human Development: Cross-National Analysis, Shrabani Saha, Zhaoyong Zhang

Research outputs 2012

This paper evaluates the effects of economic growth and democracy on human development using panel data over 170 countries for the period 1980-2010. Our results show that democracy enhances human development in any level of economic development. However, economic growth increases human development only in developing countries. The interaction effect between economic growth and democracy shows that democracy increase human development in developing countries where growth level is low.

What Knowledge, Skills And Attitudes Should Strategic Hrm Students Acquire? A Delphi Study, Alan Coetzer, Helen Sitlington

Research outputs 2012

Much work has been done to identify competencies that HR practitioners need for a strategic HR role. However, little, if any, attention has been paid to the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) required of graduates entering the strategic HRM (SHRM) field. This study focuses on this area of neglect by employing the Delphi method to address the question: What core KSAs should SHRM students acquire? Three sequential questionnaires were administered to elicit opinions of leading academics and senior HR practitioners on KSAs that are important and to build consensus on the core KSAs. These processes generated ranked lists of 10 …

A Quantile Analysis Of Default Risk For Speculative And Emerging Companies, David Allen, Akhmad Kramadibrata, Robert Powell, Abhay Singh

Research outputs 2012

Using quantile regression, this article examines default risk of emerging and speculative companies in Australia and the United States as compared to established and investment entities. We use two datasets for each of the two countries, one speculative and one established. In the US we compare companies from the S&P 500 to those on the Speculative Grade Liquidity Ratings list (Moody's Investor Services, 2010). For Australia, we compare entities from the S&P/ASX 200 to those on the S&P/ASX Emerging Companies Index (EMCOX). We also divide the datasets into GFC and Pre-GFC periods to examine default risk over different economic circumstances. …

The Relevance Of Attribution Theory To It Project Management, Craig Standing, Eric Kordt, Oliver Standing

Research outputs 2012

Internet related projects are often complex because of the need to work with a range of stakeholders and satisfy a range of expectations. These projects are consequently difficult to manage as projects. Attribution theory enables us to examine how individuals and groups attribute success and failure in relation to projects so that we can better prepare workers for their roles in teams. This paper explores how attribution theory impacts on projects management and makes recommendations on how to develop effective project teams and team members.

Harnessing Social Capital : An Exploratory Investigation Of Stakeholder Disposition In Boundary Spanning Networks, Brett Martin-Smith

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis confronts existing bilateral models of stakeholder management. It is based upon the premise that existing models place insufficient value upon the mediating power of individuals and small groups imbued with social capital within an organisational stakeholder environment. Initially, this study explores and maps the complex theoretical relations between organisations, stakeholders and social capital to construct an argument for addressing stakeholder management from a more plural and holistic perspective. The thesis suggests that rapid advances in social media and social interconnection now enables the sentiment of individual stakeholders to aggregate and rapidly form issue-specific interest groups that harness social …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Small Business Owner-Managers' Participation And Learning In An Online Discussion Forum : Not Quite Paradise Found, Tara Laureen Smith

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Small business owner-managers (SBOMs) are a difficult group to engage in formal face-to-face training and learning activities. Research to encourage SBOMs' participation has focused on two main themes: first, trying to ascertain why they do not attend training and, second, determining their learning preferences. They are reluctant to attend formal training because they prioritise business operations (no time to attend training), perceive training as a poor return on investment, have negative perceptions of training and education, and believe the training provision often does not meet their needs. In terms of their learning preferences, it is clear that SBOMs prefer informal, …

Security Awareness By Online Banking Users In Western Australian Of Phishing Attacks, Nattakant Utakrit

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Phishing involves sending e-mails pretending to be from the legitimate financial institutions to recipients and asking for personal information such as username and password. It also redirects network traffic to malicious sites, deny network traffic to web services, and modify protection mechanisms in the targeted computer systems. Consequences of successful attacks can include identity and financial losses, and unauthorised information disclosure.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of Western Australian bank users in using online banking. The study considered the relationship between the background of the Western Australian bank users and their experience in using online …

The Psychological Wellbeing Of Women Operating Mining Machinery In A Fly-In Fly-Out Capacity, Anne Bailey-Kruger

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The present study aimed to address the gap in the current mining research by investigating women’s experiences of working in the mining industry in a “bluecollar” work role and the impact of fly-in fly-out (FIFO) mining on their wellbeing. An Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (IPA) was used as a framework to explore the experiences of 19 female machine operators through in-depth interviewing at one mineral mine site in Queensland, Australia. IPA analysis revealed three themes as identified by the participants. The first theme described how workplace barriers to job progression were salient issues for the women, particularly in respect to discrimination …

Individual Retirement Savings Behaviour : Evidence From Malaysia, Nurasyikin Jamaludin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis investigates factors that influence individuals‟ investment choice decisions within the context of retirement savings in Malaysia. The focus is on individuals‟ likelihood of investing part of their retirement savings in approved unit trusts (also known as mutual funds). In addition, individuals‟ choice of fund and mutual fund selection criteria are also explored. This thesis utilised questionnaire-based surveys to solicit responses from members of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), as well as from unit trust consultants. Data collected from 440 EPF members and 561 unit trust consultants were analysed using statistical procedures of SPSS version 18.0 (also known as …

Manager Learning In The Micro Business Context : The Role Of External Business Advice, Training Providers And Close Others, Jennifer Devine

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Small business has often been referred to as the “engine driving the economy”. This description highlights the significance of small business to the economy of most countries. But what about the smallest of these organisations; those businesses with fewer than five employees? These businesses, termed micro businesses, form a large part of our economy and are sometimes the starting point for larger business and sometimes provide a long term, alternate business structure. This type of business has special needs and characteristics and is often neglected in the management literature. The nature and diversity of these businesses prompted an interest in …

Internal Auditor And Internal Whistleblowing Intentions : A Study Of Organisational, Individual, Situational And Demographic Factors, Syahrul A. Ahmad

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Whistleblowing is a type of ethical decision-making behaviour, and it has been one of
the positive outcome behaviours investigated in the ethical decision-making literature.
The issue has garnered widespread attention since the collapse of global multinational
companies which lead to the passage of the renowned Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Since then a vast amount of research has been conducted in the whistleblowing stream,
though it is still predominantly taking place largely in western countries. Such studies
as have been undertaken in Asian countries neglect to consider how Malaysian
respondents might play their roles in undertaking this type of ethical decision-making …

Finance, Fear, And Family: Issues Of Trust And The Common Ground With Terrorist Funding, David M. Cook, Timothy Smith

Australian Counter Terrorism Conference

In the immediate aftermath of al-Qaeda’s September 11 attacks on the United States of America, examinations of terrorist funding focused on the Middle Eastern and South Asian use of Hawala and non-traceable financial transactions. However, whilst the cloaking of identity is certainly a part of criminal activity for funds transfer, there are other factors. South Asia’s community banking norms align far more closely with informal systems that follow centuries-old customs of familial trust rather than reportable record keeping. Tightened restrictions on money movement in the form of identity checks and statements of purpose have coerced more than two hundred million …

Toward A Better Understanding Of Motivations For A Geotourism Experience: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective, Mamoon Allan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Motivation theories and studies play a vital role in understanding why tourists travel and the kind of activities they engage in whilst away from home. By reviewing the literature, it is apparent that previous tourism studies pay scant attention to the issue of why people travel to geosites and this important issue is still an undeveloped area of study. Therefore, investigating the motivations of tourists undertaking a geotourism (geology and tourism) experience reflects an urgent need to bridge the gap in the geotourism literature. The purpose of this study is to explore the different motivations behind tourists engaging in a …

Voluntary Environmental Disclosure By Australian Listed Mineral Mining Companies: An Application Of Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines, Yanan Xia

Theses : Honours

There is a growing interest in studying voluntary environmental reporting around the world, especially in the mining industry, as there has been an increasingly focused debate about mining and its environmental responsibility, driven by strong public sentiment. The objectives of this study were, firstly, to evaluate the changes in environmental reporting over the period 2007-2010, in terms of type and volume of information disclosed in the Australian mineral mining industry, using the 2006 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines and secondly, to identify the key political characteristics of companies that volunteer to disclose environmental information in their annual reports. Based on …

Sport Tourism: An Exploration Of The Motivations And Tourism Experiences Of Australian Football League Interstate Sport Tourists Travelling To Western Australia, Grace Rinaldi

Theses : Honours

Sport tourism is a growing sector within both the tourism and sport industries. The majority of research into sport tourism has focussed on definitions, the benefits and impacts associated with hosting a sport event and exploring who these sport tourists are. The motivations behind these sport tourists have been considered, however the associated tourism experience tourists have while at a destination has not been widely explored. There is also a lack of research into the motivations and tourists activities of fans who travel interstate to support a team in a professional national sport league like the Australian Football League (AFL). …

An Exploratory Study Into Stakeholder Perceptions Of A Proposed Geotrail In The Perth Hills, Lauren M. Norrish

Theses : Honours

Geotourism is a form of natural area tourism that can include natural and human-made sites of geological significance. This new form of tourism provides destinations with an opportunity to provide a unique product to visitors. The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions of tourism stakeholders on a proposed geotrail in the Perth Hills. Due to the limitation of appropriate frameworks and models surrounding geotourism development, Steps 1 to 5 of Gunn's (2002) Site Design Steps was used for the identification and development of individual geosites within a proposed geotourism trail in the Perth Hills. Fourteen tourism stakeholders …

Seminal Exchanges: Exchanges That Change Our Life, Stephen Fanning

Research outputs 2011

The purpose of this paper is to revisit and advance a classic marketing concept; Copeland‟s (1923) classification of convenience, specialty and shopping exchanges. In doing so, product involvement, the three time zones of the buyer decision process and the three estimation, assessment and evaluation qualities, are also discussed. The findings are the result of a larger interpretive, qualitative study that explored a number of classic marketing concepts through the consumption experiences of a group of immigrant consumers. In this paper a new classification – seminal exchanges is proposed. Seminal exchanges have distinguishing features (1) they are high in total involvement; …