Business Commons^™

Hard To Reach: Examining The National Disability Insurance Scheme Experience - A Case Study In Wollongong, Freda C. Hui, Corinne L. Cortese, Mona Nikidehaghani, Sandra H. Chapple, Kellie M. Mccombie

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

We report on interviews conducted to examine the effectiveness of the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Our aims were to assess the effectiveness of the NDIS in communicating with people with disabilities who are socio‐economically disadvantaged, to consider the types of assistance required, and to provide recommendations to improve the NDIS. Our interviewees are characterised as ‘hard to reach’, a cohort that is missing out on benefits they might receive under the NDIS because of the socioeconomic disadvantage that compounds their disability hardship. Some of our key findings were that many of our interviewees were unaware of the NDIS, …

The Introduction Of Well-Being Into The Curriculum Of An Executive Mba Program: The Sydney Business School As A Reflective Case Study, Lee Styger, Lauren P. Richardson

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

There is hardly an established university anywhere in the world that does not have, or aspire to have, an MBA program. Few universities, however, have dedicated Executive MBA (EMBA) programs and of those universities that do, there is much confusion regarding what constitutes an EMBA. For example, some university providers suggest that an EMBA is simply an extension of the full-time MBA program that is offered to part-time students. Other university providers claim that an EMBA is a stand-alone and differentiated program, consisting of a bespoke curriculum, designed for the mature executive.

A Pilot Study Into Mapping Atypical Supply Networks, Mark Edwards, Pauline J. Ross, Lee Styger

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

A system can only be improved if it is measured. In order to adequately measure a system, that system needs to be mapped and all key inter-nodal linkages, constraints and pathways recorded. Commercial supply chains demonstrate similar characteristics to other systems. Much has been written about mapping supply systems, where typically, the product or service is tracked from the originating source such as a raw materials supplier to the end customer of the product such as the consumer. There is however, another classification of supply system, where the payment for the product or service is not undertaken by the end …

Accounting And Accountability For Disability Benefits: A Foucauldian Study Of The History Of Disability Benefit Protocols In Australia (1909-1961), Mona Nikidehaghani, Michael Ibrahim Mehmet

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Public welfare payments have played a central role in providing financial-and service-based support for the disabled in Australia since the early part of the twentieth century. This study examines the role that discursive regimes of accounting and accountability have played in these regimes between 1909 and 1961. By examining the Means Test, a key technique and strategy used to qualify or disqualify citizens as disabled, the paper demonstrates the salient role that accounting techniques have played in these governmental programs. Through this demonstration the study reveals the array of implications for the disabled of accounting techniques applied to their identities …

Public Perceptions Of Future Threats To Humanity And Different Societal Responses: A Cross-National Study, Melanie J. Randle, Richard Eckersley

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

There is growing scientific evidence that humanity faces a number of threats that jeopardize its future. Public perceptions of these threats, both their risks and reactions to them, are important in determining how humanity confronts and addresses the threats. This study investigated the perceived probability of threats to humanity and different responses to them (nihilism, fundamentalism and activism), in four Western nations: the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Overall, a majority (54%) rated the risk of our way of life ending within the next 100 years at 50% or greater, and a quarter (24%) rated the risk of humans being …

The Relationship Between Responsible Leadership And Organisational Commitment With The Mediating Effect Of Turnover Intentions: An Empirical Study With Australian Employees, Md Amlan Haque, Mario Fernando, Peter Caputi

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of an Australian study testing the relationship between responsible leadership and organizational commitment. We further test and report the mediating effect of turnover intentions of employees.

Challenging Behaviours, Co-Morbidities, Service Utilisation And Service Access Among Community-Dwelling Adults With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Multicentre Study, Grahame K. Simpson, Mark Sabaz, Maysaa Daher, Robert Gordon, Barbara Strettles

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To examine patterns, predictors and unmet needs of service utilisation and access to mental health and/or drug and alcohol services among community-dwelling adults with severe traumatic brain injury, and compare those who displayed challenging behaviours with those not displaying challenging behaviour. Design: Retrospective multicentre study.

Subjects: All active clients (n = 507) of the New South Wales (NSW) Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program (BIRP) community rehabilitation teams.

Methods: Clinician-rated data were collected on client challenging behaviours, mental health and functional status, service utilisation and unmet needs. Between-groups analyses (challenging behaviour versus no challenging behaviours) were conducted to examine patterns of …

Factors That Influence Responsible Leadership In Singapore: An Exploratory Study, Carolyn Koh

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

A fall in Singapore's transparency rankings from number one in 2010 (least corrupted) to number 5 in 2012 has led to the growing concern that Singaporeans are demonstrating a lack of values and social capital and that the tension between wealth accumulation and ethics has caused some Singaporean leaders to make poor ethical decisions. Incidents of corruption and bribery have become more frequent in Singapore, which is puzzling because Singapore has always been governed using stringent rule-based policies. The question that this research would like to answer is if rule-based governance needs to be coupled with character development, so that …

Case Study: Transfield And Tenex: Endurance And Weakness In Two Migrant Family Businesses In Australia, Mary Barrett

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Transfield is one of Australia's most prominent construction companies. The name itself: "trans" meaning across and "field", which suggests open spaces, reflects the firm's origins as a venture founded by two Italian emigrants, Carlo Salteri and Franco Belgiorni-Nettis, who crossed huge distances to Australia before establishing their own firm.

Case Study: The Al-Awadhi Brothers: The Story Of Two Emirati Entrepreneurs, Maryam Khazaeli, Mary Barrett

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

For centuries, families of transnational Sunni Arabs, or Persians both Sunni and Shiite, have migrated from southern Iran to the Arab coast of the Persian Gulf. In fact, Iranian groups living on the coast of the Persian Gulf have generally looked more to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) than to Iranian groups inland (Potter, 2009). They have maintained a "dual existence", owning houses in two or more countries and speaking multiple languages (Nadjmabadi, 2010). This has been a source of economic benefit to both Iran and the UAE, at least until the recent political unrest in the region. Many Iranians …

Visitor At-Destination Information Search: A Preliminary Study, Nina Mistilis, Ulrike Gretzel

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

A pilot study involving 38 qualitative interviews of domestic and international visitors to New South Wales was conducted to gain preliminary, in-depth insights into the way visitors search for information when they are at the destination and the impact of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) on their search patterns, including their use of visitor information centres (VICs). The findings suggest that search patterns are very complex, combining many online and offline sources and much of the search indeed happens while at the destination. Visitors bring along a variety of technologies but still rely on printed materials, maps and VICs …

Learning And Study Strategies Affecting The Performance Of Undergraduate Management Accounting Students In An Australian University, Anura De Zoysa, Palli Mulla K A Chandrakumara, Kathleen Rudkin

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This study examines the relationship between the academic performance of second year management accounting students at an Australian 'red brick' university and the respective individual learning and study strategies adopted by them in their studies of management accounting. A sample size of one hundred and eighteen valid responses comprises the data for this study. The respondents completed the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI). The results demonstrate that learning and study strategies of low and high performing groups differed significantly in six out of ten aspects that were examined, namely: anxiety; attitude; information processing; motivation; the ability to select main …

Ecological Modernization And The Role Of Environmental Accounting: A Study Of Chinese Automobile Company, Ying Deng

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

The globalised economy has changed the face of environmentalism and its application in Accounting. The transformation turned the companies to treat the environmental issues from operating problems to business opportunities. While the multinational corporations start to expand to the emerging market, the problems and issues are also coming along with the expansion. In this scenario, Chinese manufacturing industry plays prominent role. The uniqueness of State-owned-Enterprises (SOEs) has greatly transformed the ecological modernization into their practices in terms of mass production and management control. The agencies are considered as the reflexivity to the government using discursive formation to convince the public …

Neglected Stakeholder Groups: A Case Study Of Recreational Vehicle Users In Tasmania, Anne Hardy, Ulrike Gretzel, Mark Wickham

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Traditional stakeholder mapping tools have concentrated on the identification of issues such as power, urgency and predictability of stakeholder groups. Yet they do not sufficiently address the ability of neglected stakeholder groups to communicate, gain and use their power when issues affecting them arise, suggesting that traditional approaches have to be updated to accommodate suddenly emerging stakeholder groups. This paper uses the case study of Recreational Vehicle Users in Tasmania, Australia, to explore the issue. In doing so it illustrates the risks of ignoring these groups, particularly when developing public policy. The paper proposes a more iterative and consultative approach …

A Study Of Analyst Forecast Reliability In Australia, Alina Maydybura, Dionigi Gerace, Brian Andrew

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether time weighted consensus estimates offer a more effective method for predicting company actual EPS figures than simple mean or median analysis. The study aims to construct a more comprehensive earnings forecast signal using analyst earnings forecasts that have been weighted based on the timeliness of updates. Aimed at extracting valuable information from timely analyst forecasts, the time weighted earnings signal (TWES) methodology allows extracting valuable information from analysts who possess some unique insights about the market and issue their updates more frequently. One would expect the time signal to reflect a …

Happiness And Job Satisfaction In Urban China: A Comparative Study Of Two Generations Of Migrants And Urban Locals, Haining Wang, Zhiming Cheng, Russell Smyth

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This study investigates determinants of happiness and job satisfaction of urban locals, first-generation migrants and new-generation migrants in China's urban workforce. We present evidence to suggest that new-generation migrants are less satisfied with their jobs and lives than first-generation migrants, despite having higher income. This finding is consistent with aspirations rising faster than income in China's fast growing urban economy.

Survive Or Die? An Empirical Study On Chinese St Firms, Yanran-Annie Zhou, Maria H. Kim, Shiguang Ma

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

A number of listed firms that are experiencing financial distress have had a Special Treatment (ST) 'cap' imposed on them by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The ST 'cap' can be removed if the firms survive financial distress by becoming profitable. Alternatively, a ST firm which goes bankrupt is delisted from the market. Using a sample of 441 ST firms tracked from 1998 to 2011, this paper employs Cox's proportional hazards model to predict turnaround probability for a distressed firm to remove the ST 'cap'. The predictor variables incorporate: (1) accounting-driven ratios, (2) market-driven variables, and (3) information on ownership …

Exploring The Role Of Marketing Strategy And New Product Development In Long-Term Success Of Market Acceptance: A Case Study Of A Local Product In Thailand, Pensri Jaroenwanit, Uraiporn Kattiyapornpong

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

This paper aims to present the exploratory study of the role of marketing strategy and new product development in achieving long-term success of market acceptance in the context of a local product in Thailand. It is part of a large project, only qualitative study is included in this paper. The research methodology comprised documentary research, focus group discussion, and in-depth interview. Participants included local business representatives and customers who live in the regional area and have purchased and consumed the regional products in the last twelve months. The exploratory findings showed the importance of understanding the role of marketing strategy …

Australian Online Public Information Systems: A User-Centred Study Of An Evolving Public Health Website, Helen Hasan, Joseph Meloche, Sumayya Banna

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

The strategic, transformational nature of many information systems projects is now widely understood. Large-scale implementations of systems are known to require significant management of organisational change in order to be successful. Moreover, projects are rarely executed in isolation - most organisations have a large programme of projects being implemented at any one time. However, project and value management methodologies provide ad hoc definitions of the relationship between a project and its environment. This limits the ability of an organisation to manage the larger dynamics between projects and organisations, over time, and between projects. The contribution of this paper, therefore, is …

The Electoral Reform Campaigns In New Zealand: A Political Communication Case Study, Juliet Roper, Shirley Leitch

Faculty of Business - Papers (Archive)

Communication professionals employed in the public relations and advertising industries play a central role in the democratic process. They research, design, and implement the campaign strategies that attempt to influence voter choices and public policy. In New Zealand, some special legal restrictions are placed on the campaign activities of politicians during election campaigns. But, for corporations and interest groups, the ability to pay is the major controlling factor. It was within the context of this 'free market' of ideas that New Zealand held a referendum to decide whether or not to adopt a new electoral system. In spite of a …