Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Corporate Social Disclosures By Indonesian Listed Companies, Juniati Gunawan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The issue of corporate social disclosure (CSD) has been of growing concern among businesses and communities globally, including those in Indonesia. As one of the big developing countries which offers a large domestic market and workforce. lndonesia is exposed to this issue. This study examines the extent of CSD in Indonesian listed companies by applying the content analysis method to company annual reports for the years 2003 to 2006. Prior studies have focused on exploring the theoretical framework, seeking the motivation for disclosures and obtaining certain stakeholder's opinions regarding CSD. However, those studies were limited to developed countries and to …

The Relationship Between Attributional Style And Information Technology Project Perception, Eric Kordt

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between attributional style and Information Technology (IT) project perception at varying job responsibility levels. To achieve this thirty participants were recruited from a large government department in the three distinct job responsibility levels of support worker (i.e. individual who undertakes activities under general direction), line manager (i.e. individual who undertakes activities under limited direction and typically performs role of team leader) and executive manager (i.e. individual who undertakes activities that involve a high a level of management skill under broad direction) and interviewed using a modified Work Attributional Style Questionnaire …

Explaining The Lack Of Strategic Planning In Smes: The Importance Of Owner Motivation, Calvin Wang, Elizabeth Walker, Janice Redmond

Research outputs pre 2011

Considerable evidence shows that strategic planning leads to increased firm performance. Yet, the majority of SMEs do not plan and the reasons why are not well understood. This article questions the common approach to understanding this problem based on identifying business barriers to planning. For the majority of SME owner operators, business performance often ranks far behind intangible goals such as autonomy, personal satisfaction and lifestyle. Strategic planning may therefore have little value to owner-operators driven by such motivators. This article presents an alternative perspective to the issue by arguing that owner aspirations are integral to whether or not SMEs …

Always The Optimist?, Eric Kordt, Craig Standing

Research outputs pre 2011

The purpose of this research is to determine the attributional style (optimistic or pessimistic) of Information Technology support workers and executive managers using attribution theory, This research suggests that support workers are likely to exhibit an optimistic attributional style whilst executive managers are likely to exhibit a pessimistic attributional style, The differences in attributional style reflected in aspects such as the strength to participate (support workers) or avoid (executive managers) projects destined for failure, The research suggests that managers can positively influence the causal dimensions of attributional style by increasing support worker involvement, supporting executive managers, empowering employees and supporting …

Delivering The Business Value Of Information Technology: Evaluation Practices Of Construction Sme's, P Love, Craig Standing

Research outputs pre 2011

With cal/sfrom the govemmentfor the construction industry to improve its peiformance and openly embrace information technology (IT), this research sought to examine the practices that organisations use to evaluate and justify their investments in IT. It was considered that this would enable those areas for improving the evaluation process to be identified and the business value of IT was maximised. A questionnaire survey was used to obtain information about the evaluation practices of 126 construction organisations. The analysis of their responses identified three key findings. First, different organisation types significantly differ in the amount they investment in IT and firm …

Collaborative Business Relationships And The Use Of Ict: The Case Of The Marine, Defence And Resources Cluster, Western Australia, Helen Cripps

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The research project was developed from an Australian Research Council Grant designed to investigate collaborative commerce and its impact on regional economic development. Through a process of consultation with the industry partner, the South West Group, the research was designed to investigate the drivers and inhibitors of collaborative relationships and the factors that impact on the creation and sustaining of these relationships. The role of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in facilitating and sustaining collaborative relationships and the perceived benefits and drawbacks of collaborative relationships were also investigated. The research sought to identify models of the best adoption of collaborative relationships.

Strategies For Designing And Implementing Knowledge Management Systems: An Interpretive Case Study Of Two Western Australian House-Building Firms, Geoffrey David Wilson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Knowledge management is a relatively new concept that has received substantial attention in the academic and industry literature particularly in the information systems field. Proponents of knowledge management argue that it has been driven by the desire of organisations for greater innovation, cost reduction and process improvements (Wilson. Jackson & Smith 2003). Little research, though, has been conducted from a knowledge management perspective into how Western Australian house-building enterprises develop and implement information systems. The WA house-building industry forms part of the wider building and construction community. Most construction firms are small to-medium-sized enterprises that differ from large organisations in …

An Exploratory Study Of The Factors That Impact On The Application Of Online Learning At The Department Of Planning And Infrastructure Of Western Australia, Alex C. Scholz

Theses : Honours

There is a growing necessity in today's globalised and dynamic business environments for learning systems to be capable of generating the continuous learning needs of the workforces within them. In adapting to their changing environments learning workers are not only required to continuously gather new information but also to transform it into understanding within their local contexts. Much praise has been placed on the capability of new learning technologies such as online learning in supporting organisations learning processes. However, relative limited research has been undertaken on how these new learning technologies support workers in learning processes, how these new learning …

The Investigation Of The Processes Of Is/It Investment Evaluation And Benefits Realization In B2b-Ec Organisations, Chad Lin, Craig Standing

Research outputs pre 2011

ISIIT investments in B2B-EC are used by organizations, as part of their business strategies, to assist in the inter-organization acquisition of goods into the value chain and to provide interfaces between customers, vendors, suppliers and sellers. However, the issue of expected and actual benefits realized from ISIIT investments in B2B-EC has generated a significant amount of debote in the ISIIT literature amongst researchers and practitioners. This research study showed that organizational satisfaction of B2BEC usage had a direct relationship with the adoption of the ISIIT investment evaluation methodology. There was also a tendency for organizations to evaluate less when their …

A Capabilities Analysis Of E-Fulfilment Businesses: Transformation In The Logistics Industry, Janice Burn, Paul Alexander

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper reports on the evaluation of practices of 48 leading e-fulfillment suppliers in the UK. Initial findings suggest that while a comprehensive model of e-fulfilment is validated these organisations are also providing services not previously recognised as e-fulfilment capabilities by the literature. This leads to the development of a staged model of transformation, which implies that the industry will embrace radical change in some sectors and lead to a new definition of e-fulfillment businesses. More in depth investigation leads to a proposed definition, and a methodology to measure the degree of transformation.

Exploring The Use Of Guided Interviews As A Research Tool In A Doctoral Study Of Safe Work Practices Of Young Construction Workers, Susanne Bahn

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper uses the research processes of a doctoral study that investigates young workers learning safe practices within the housing construction industry to explore the use of guided interviews with artefacts as an ethnographic technique to gather qualitative data. The paper identifies how this specifically vulnerable group are subject to the 'Cycle of Abuse'. The complications of gathering accurate data from the 15-19 age group in this industry are discussed, including dealing with low literacy levels, defensive trainers, power of access and high emotions. The paper reviews the use of images within guided interviews and provides a conceptual model. The …

Bridging The Digital Divide With Community Portal Regional E-Marketplaces For Smes: The Need For An Integrated Approach, Denise Gengatharen, Craig Standing

Research outputs pre 2011

In the late 19908 it was perceived that a digital divide existed in Australia between regional/rural and metropolitan areas and between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and their larger counterparts. In response, a number of regional community portals and e-marketplaces for SMEs were funded at the federal, state and local government levels. These initiatives were driven by the hope that they would lead to increased online activity and eventually promote regional economic development. A number of these portals and regional e-marketplaces (REMs) are no longer in existence. Of those that remain, some continue to battle with inadequate funding while trying …

The Effectiveness Of Sme Websites In A Buiness To Business Context, Rosemary Stockdale, Chad Lin, Susan Stoney

Research outputs pre 2011

This research analyses the effectiveness of SME business to business websites from a user perspective. An established evaluation instrument (eQual) is used to assess 80 websites in terms of usability, information quality, and interaction and service. The analysis shows that although a significant number of sites reflect little understanding of the attributes of good design or potential benefits to be gained from websites, there are examples of competent and effective website use.

An Examination Of Facilitators And Inhibitors To Knowledge Sharing In A Policing Environment : Lessons From Intelligence-Led Crime Management Units Of The Western Australia Police Service, Vince Hughes

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The objective of this research project was to gain an understanding of the inhibitors and facilitators to knowledge sharing within a policing environment. Although it did not begin with the intention of applying interverntions of any kind, in the course of the thesis it became clear that a form of action research was being employed. Initially, I presented my research proposal as a hermeneutic examination of the facilitators and inhibitors to knowledge sharing in the Western Australia Police. However, somewhere along my research journey I realised that rather than me simply collecting and analysing data from and about my colleagues, …

The Relationship Between Corporate Social Performance And Financial Asset Characteristics, Ingebjørg Kristoffersen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis explores the theoretical and empirical evidence for a relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and financial characteristics. An empirical analysis is performed to examine the Australian evidence for such a relationship, from a financial asset perspective. CSP data provided by Corporate Monitor Pty. Ltd. are used in the analysis. Specifically, available measures of environmental, social and governance performance of 237 Australian companies are compared with selected financial asset characteristics, including firm size, book-to-market value, financial performance and risk, covering the period between July 1997 and August 2003. Evidence of relationships is sought using bivariate correlations, group comparisons and …

Barriers To The Acceptance And Utilisation Of Knowledge Management Systems: An Exploratory Study, Patricia Kennett

Theses : Honours

Organisations entering the 21st Century arc exposed to an environment of continuous change, a challenge that requires a movement away from more predictable structures of the past, with hierarchies and formal chains of command. The emerging fluid and network like structures present new challenges for ensuring the development and dissemination of organisational knowledge. An area of considerable current debate involves the issue of harmony and balance between and organisation's culture and its Knowledge Management (KM) systems. The focus of this study is on organisations that are recognising the implications of these changes and are responding by installing knowledge systems in …

Market Makers' Recognition Of Key Success Factors In Electronic Marketplaces, Rosemary Stockdale, Craig Standing

Research outputs pre 2011

This study examines the recognition and use of critical success factors by market makers in electronic marketplaces. A content analysis of e-marketplace websites enabled an examination of how these factors have been incorporated into marketplace sites. Evidence of market makers’ awareness of the success factors was found in all the sites although there remain questions and issues to be addressed. Awareness of the need for critical mass and privacy were very evident, but the key factors of security, technological infrastructure and neutrality were identified as areas of concern. Evidence of an awareness of the importance of trust by market makers …

A Proposed Model To Evaluate The Benefits Of Government Sponsored Regional Electronic Marketplaces For Smes: Extending The Updated Delone & Mclean Is Success Model, Denise Gengatharen, Craig Standing

Research outputs pre 2011

Despite a growing body of research on the benefits of Internet-based electronic marketplaces, few evaluation models have emerged to examine them. This paper proposes a conceptual model to evaluate the benefits of a government-sponsored regional e-marketplace for small and medium enterprises (SME-REM). The updated DeLone & McLean IS Success Model is extended using data from a literature review on e-marketplaces, SME participation in e-commerce and from an ongoing case study of a government-sponsored SME-REM in Western Australia. The extended model considers a longitudinal approach and the context of the evaluation in determining the net benefits of government-sponsored SME-REMs.

Adoption Of M-Commerce: A Question Of Values?, Patricia Mcmanus, Craig Standing

Research outputs pre 2011

Mobile commerce is experiencing rapid growth. The underlying reasons for adoption of mobile services at the individual level are still unclear. The aim af this paper is to examine theoretical explanations for mobile adoption and to assess the significance of perceived values as an explanatory theory at the individual level. An understanding of consumers' perceived values can be useful for organisations since it has a deeper explanatory capability because it examines the intrinsic rationale in the decision making process. These can be more easily used/or predictive purposes.

Increasing The Adoption Of Electronic Commerce By Smes: Reflections From An Empirical Study, Rosemary Stockdale, Craig Standing

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper examines the perceptions of SMEs, local business associations and government workers in four regions of Western Australia regarding the adoption of electronic commerce. It first discusses the drivers and barriers that affect SME participation in e-commerce as identified by the literature, before offering an alternative to the notion oj SMEs as a homogenous group, The authors reflect on the concerns raised in a recent empirical study and offer some conclusions and recommendations.

The Service Delivery Process : An Examination Of How Consumers Evaluate Technology-Assisted Service Encounters In The Retail Banking Industry, Catherine W. Munene

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examined consumers' perceptions post-adoption of technology and how these perceptions affect their levels of dis/satisfaction and their continued use of technology·assisted service encounters. To this end, this study investigated the criteria that consumers in Western Australia's retail banking industry are likely to use when evaluating banking transactions involving EFTPOS, ATM, telephone, and Online banking modes. II examined whether these criteria changed with the mode of electronic banking in use and whether the significance of the criteria changed with

consumers' demographic characteristics. In addition, this study explored whether consumers who use these modes of electronic banking experience the paradoxes …

An Exploratory Study Of Constructive Differentiation By Managers Of Multi-Ethnic Workforces In Indonesia And Malaysia, M. A. Fergusson-Stewart

Theses : Honours

Indonesia and Malaysia are two of Australia's closest geographical neighbours and represent major trading partners; Malaysia, as one of the economic success stories of Southeast Asia and Indonesia, as the third most populous nation in the world are politically and economically of great significance to business in Australia. Both have experienced racial rioting, the former as recently as 1998, and the later in 1969. Much of the tension that has led to these riots centres around the relationship between the ethnic Chinese communities in these countries and the other ethnic groups, particularly the Pribumi in Indonesia and the Bumiputera in …

An Evaluation Of Environmental Disclosures Produced In Australian Local Government Annual Reports, Royston J. Tan

Theses : Honours

This thesis is an evaluation of the environmental disclosures published in Australian local governments' annual reports. The study is aimed in identifying disclosures of environmental information by Australian local governments and providing explanations for the variations in the quantity and quality of information disclosed. Various social responsibility theories were used in this study. The theories employed in this study were institutional factors, stakeholder theory, social and political theories. Institutional factors included issues such as local government characteristics and pressures exerted from various government and non·government organizations to implement and disclose environmental measures. A content analysis methodology was used in this …

Privacy On The Internet : Investigation Into Corporate Privacy Policy Of Australian Large Private Sector Organisations On The Internet, Keiko Sato

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The popularity of the Internet has been dramatically increased over recent years. The rapid growth of this technology and its international use has made it almost impossible to regulate the internet. As a result, the Internet has certainly provided freedoms to people and it has led to some abusing systems. Privacy is one of the major issues in the development of Electronic Commerce using the Internet. As an enormous amount of personal information is transmitted to several hosts connecting to the Internet, the information can be accessed by both authorised and unauthorised people. Although it is certain that there are …

To What Extent Can Knowledge Management Systems Build And Reinforce Consensus Around Initiatives For Change?: A Self-Reflective Analysis Of Professional Practice, Guy A. Duczynski

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis reports on my attempts to 're-align' the purpose, behaviour and underlying culture of a large military organisation through heuristic, self reflective enquiry - to 'find its future' - with and through its people. I use the word re-align with great care as I recognised that change would have been too ambitious and would (probably have) result(ed) in failure. Whilst I cannot claim total success, I have made new and valuable discoveries in knowledge elicitation and methods of integrating the views of a large number of people to 'build and reinforce consensus around initiatives for change'. In the process …

Doctrinal And Applied Tqm In Relation To Dominant Models Of Organisation: A Comparative Study, Brad J. Moore

Theses : Honours

Total Quality Management (TQM) is examined in five organisations in light of the assumption that its implementation is an ongoing negotiated order rather than an objective reality as often accepted by the literature. Guided by a theoretical framework identified by Spencer (1994) and a qualitative methodology suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994), the perceptions of a cross section of organisational members in five organisations are used to establish the nature of applied TQM in terms of mechanistic and organismic 'mental models' of organisation and the degree to which applied TQM varies from the basic doctrine. It is argued that both …

An Analysis Of Quality Practices And Business Outcomes In Western Australian Hospitals, Janis Mussett

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study aimed at identifying aspects of health care organisational management and activities that produced the highest level of quality care. A Literature review was conducted to determine the most successful quality activities currently used in a wide variety of industries. Using the findings of this review a questionnaire and interview questions were designed to identify factors associated with successful quality activities I health care organisations. Four Western Australian hospitals that were believed to have effective quality activities were randomly selected as a hospital from each of the following categories. A private hospital accredited by the Australian Council on Health …

Intellectual Capital: Managerial Perceptions Of Organisational Knowledge Resources, Mark Valentine St Leon

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study addresses the question 'To what extent does organisational type and managerial role define managers' perception of Intellectual Capital?' Our understanding of the phenomenon of Intellectual Capital is an emerging one. The most recent attempts to describe and define Intellectual Capital identify a dynamic 'action' perspective as well as a static 'perception' perspective. Intellectual Capital broadly describes the resources of knowledge available to an organisation, whether embodied in human or non-human forms, and which are capable of being transformed into and codified as productive organisational assets. The emergence, development and application of concepts of Intellectual Capital herald the arrival …

Software Quality Function Deployment : A Method For Building Better Software, Dean Carruthers

Theses : Honours

In recent years it is becoming increasingly more apparent that quality even more than productivity is emerging as the key issue in the development of software. The quality systems currently employed by most software companies however arc simply not up to the task, traditional quality systems focus upon conformance to company standards, automation to eliminate human error and in some cases quality improvement teams. These traditional quality assurance methods lead to quality as defined from the organizations point of view, all work performed is done to their standards, however a what it is that makes a quality product is defined …

To Develop And Implement A Quality Assurance System Based On Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (Haccp) To A Cook-Freeze Operation: Research Project, Denisa Baca

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to identify and develop a suitable quality assurance system based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), which was implemented to the ‘cook-freeze' operation, currently employed at Healthcarc Foods. In addition, the quality assurance system was implemented as a systematic approach to food quality, and as a means of ensuring food safety. The samples, which consisted of all the chicken dishes, were used in the development of the HACCP plans comprising of flowcharts and HACCP control charts. These dishes are regarded as 'high risk', in terms of microbiological growth, and therefore, were chosen to …