The effect of organisational culture perceptions on the relationship between budgetary participation and managerial job-related outcomes

The impact of managers' perceptions of their organizational culture (OC) on the relationship between budgetary participation (BP) and managerial job-related outcomes, operationalized as managerial performance and job-related tension (JRT) is examined. Data supported predictions that increasing BP would lower JRT for managers perceiving a high emphasis on innovation within their OC, regardless of their perceptions of an emphasis on attention to detail. When managers perceived low innovation, however, their perception of level of attention to detail had a significant effect on the relationship between BP and JRT.

Public sector change in Australia: Are managers' ideals being realized?

Public sector organizations traditionally have been associated with the internal process (bureaucratic) model of organizational culture. Public choice and management theory have suggested that public sector managers can learn from the experience of private sector management, and need to change from the Internal process model of organizational culture. Due to these Influences an managers, the current research proposes that managers' perceptions of Ideal organizational culture would no longer reflect the Internal process model. Public sector managers' perceptions of the current culture, as well as their perceptions of the Ideal culture, were measured. A mail-out survey was conducted In the Queensland (a state of Australia) public sector. Responses to a competing values culture Inventory were received from 222 managers. Results Indicated that a reliance on the Internal process model persists, while managers had a desire for cultural models other than the Internal process model, as hypothesized.

Leadership in the Asian Century: Lessons from GLOBE

In this paper, based on the results of the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) 61-nation study of culture and leadership, we present findings related to three ‘clusters’ of countries. These clusters are: (1) the ‘Anglo culture’ cluster (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, white South Africa, UK, and USA), the ‘Southern Asia’ cluster (Iran, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines), and the ‘Confucian Asia’ cluster (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan). Data from the GLOBE study, reporting middle managers’ perceptions of societal practices and values, and of the factors that facilitate and inhibit effective leadership will be compared across the three clusters. Results demonstrate that, despite differences in cultures, especially cultural values, perceptions of effective leadership vary substantially only in respect of the extent that participation is seen to facilitate leadership. In the Anglo cluster, participative leadership is seen as much more facilitative of leadership, than in either of the Asian clusters. Results are discussed in terms of effective leadership styles suitable for management in the twenty-first century, where Asian economies are likely to play a more dominant role than they have in recent history.

Do Australian public sector employees have the type of culture they want in the era of new public management?

New public management theory proposes that public sector organisations should be managed more like private sector organisations. It is therefore expected that public sector managers will have preferences for an organisational culture that will reflect the culture of private sector organisations, with an external rather than internal orientation. The current research investigated the idea that managers' perceptions of ideal organisational culture would be different to the bureaucratic model of culture (internally oriented), which has traditionally been associated with public sector organisations. Responses to a competing values culture inventory were received from 925 public sector employees. Results indicated that the bureaucratic model is still pervasive; however, managers prefer a culture that is more external, and less control focussed, as expected. Lower level employees expressed a desire for a culture that emphasised human relations values.

The experiences and perceptions of unit managers in facilitating oral health in adults with intellectual disability

This qualitative research investigated the experiences and perceptions of unit managers regarding their involvement with oral health management of adults with intellectual disability. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with eight participants working in four different area offices of a metropolitan disability service, whose experience as unit managers ranged from 1 to 17 years. Key themes identified in the interview data focused on unit managers' views of the oral health of this group, the support roles involved in the oral health of adults with intellectual disability, the priority of oral health, the experiences of the participants within the oral health system, and the strategies for supporting adults with intellectual disability in oral health management. Implications of the findings included the need to improve education for all persons involved in the oral health of adults with intellectual disability, to encourage a collaborative approach to oral health by workers within accommodation support services and the oral health system, and to enable adults with intellectual disability to maximally participate in their own oral health management.

Emotion in the workplace: The new challenge for managers

Emotions in workplace settings and emotional intelligence are hot topics in management today. Leading business journals such as Fortune and Harvard Business Review have featured articles on emotional intelligence. But there is more to emotions in the workplace than just emotional intelligence. The aim of this article is to acquaint managers with intriguing new research that examines both emotional intelligence and the broader issue of emotion, which has been shown to play a powerful role in workplace settings. We show that this research has a strong potential for practical application in organizations within many broad human-resource functions such as selection, performance management, and training, as well as implications for more narrow domains like customer service. We conclude that the study of emotions in organizational settings has provided new and important insights into the way in which people in organizations behave, and we offer advice for managers to enable them to develop and to maintain a positive emotional climate in their organizations.

Cross-cultural perceptions in the leadership process: Theoretical perspective on the influence of culture on self-concepts and manager worker attributions

This article examines the influence of culture on the way managers and workers perceive causes of success and failure in organizational tasks. The author argues that selfserving and actor-observer biases, as well as other attribution errors, will be moderated by culture. Specifically, managers and workers with a sociocentric self-concept from high-context cultures may be biased toward external attributions, while managers from low-context cultures with an idiocentric self-concept have a tendency to make more internal attributions. These variations in attributions have consequences that affect both managers and workers. Theoretical propositions and implications for international management practices are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A qualitative cross-level investigation of safety climate perceptions

ver the last few decades occupational health and safety research has shifted its focus away from engineering and ergonomics as a means of improving workplace safety, and has given greater attention to examining the role played by organisational factors, such as safety climate. One factor constraining the advancement of our understanding of the safety climate construct is the tendency of researchers to remain steadfastly bound to the notion that safety climate is measured via a quantative measurement tool. Researchers in the area (e.g., Frone & Barling, 2004; Zohar, 2003) are now arguing for better triangulation of methodologies, in particular better qualitative research, to advance our knowledge and understanding. The present study extends the present body of safety climate literature in two ways; firstly, it addresses this methodological issue via the utilisation of a semi-structured interview methodology and secondly it examines the qualitative structure of safety climate perceptions across different levels (organisation, supervisor and co-worker) and different groups (managers vs. employees). Examination of the interview transcripts revealed qualitative differences and similarities between the different safety climate levels (organisational, supervisor and co-worker) and between manager and employee safety climate perceptions. Implications of these findings for safety climate theory and measurement are discussed.

Accommodative communication as a mediator to the negative effects of cultural identity on perceptions of foreign management practices and perceptions of organisational climate

This Study examines whether cultural identity has an impact on perceptions of foreign management practices and perceptions of organisational climate. Based on social identity theory as a conceptual framework, it is assumed that the salience of cultural identity leads to in-group bias in interpreting organisational events. This study also examines whether managers' accommodative communication behaviour mediates these relationships. In a multinational organisation, employees see the foreign company as a symbol, and the person that deals with them in everyday working relationships in the organisation is their direct leader. It is argued that the salience of cultural identity wiU depend on employees' perceptions of the way managers attach meaning to foreign managerial practices and communicate it to them. Interaction with managers who create a distance with their employees and who fail to Usten to what employees need may be a socially appropriate way to invoke the salience of cultural identity in the working relationship. The participants were 206 Indonesian employees from three multinational organisations. Using a questionnaire, this study shows that participants with strong cultural identity had more negative perceptions of foreign management practices and organisational climate. Furthermore, this study indicates that managers' accommodative communication behaviour mediated these relationships.

Leadership Attributes and Cultural Values in Australia and New Zealand Compared: An Initial Report Based on GLOBE Data.

This paper reports a comparative study of Australian and New Zealand leadership attributes, based on the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) program. Responses from 344 Australian managers and 184 New Zealand managers in three industries were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Results supported some of the etic leadership dimensions identified in the GLOBE study, but also found some emic dimensions of leadership for each country. An interesting finding of the study was that the New Zealand data fitted the Australian model, but not vice versa, suggesting asymmetric perceptions of leadership in the two countries.

Undergraduate student experiences and perceptions of group projects

This paper reports the experiences and perceptions of student group projects of three cohorts of undergraduates: a 3rd year capstone course in professional communication (N = 54), a 3rd year elective in chemical engineering (N = 29), and a core 2nd-year course in chemical engineering (N = 74).

Perceptions of mental health service delivery among staff and Indigenous consumers: it's still about communication

Objective: A needs analysis was undertaken to determine the quality and effectiveness of mental health services to Indigenous consumers within a health district of Southern Queensland. The study focussed on identifying gaps in the service provision for Indigenous consumers. Tools and methodologies were developed to achieve this. Method: Data were collected through the distribution of questionnaires to the target populations: district health service staff and Indigenous consumers. Questionnaires were developed through consultation with the community and the Steering Committee in order to achieve culturally appropriate wording. Of prime importance was the adaptation of questionnaire language so it would be fully understood by Indigenous consumers. Both questionnaires were designed to provide a balanced perspective of current mental health service needs for Indigenous people within the mental health service. Results: Results suggest that existing mental health services do not adequately meet the needs of Indigenous people. Conclusions: Recommendations arising from this study indicate a need for better communication and genuine partnerships between the mental health service and Indigenous people that reflect respect of cultural heritage and recognises the importance of including Indigenous people in the design and management of mental health services. Attention to the recommendations from this study will help ensure a culturally appropriate and effective mental health service for Indigenous consumers.

Spatial Technologies: What use are they to managers of environmental lands?

This paper reviews the potential use of three types of spatial technology to land managers, namely satellite imagery, satellite positioning systems and supporting computer software. Developments in remote sensing and the relative advantages of multispectral and hyperspectral images are discussed. The main challenge to the wider use of remote sensing as a land management tool is seen as uncertainty whether apparent relationships between biophysical variables and spectral reflectance are direct and causal, or artefacts of particular images. Developments in satellite positioning systems are presented in the context of land managers’ need for position estimates in situations where absolute precision may or may not be required. The role of computer software in supporting developments in spatial technology is described. Spatial technologies are seen as having matured beyond empirical applications to the stage where they are useful and reliable land management tools. In addition, computer software has become more user-friendly and this has facilitated data collection and manipulation by semi-expert as well as specialist staff.

Hypercapitalism: New media, language, and social perceptions of value

Every day trillions of dollars circulate the globe in a digital data space and new forms of property and ownership emerge. Massive corporate entities with a global reach are formed and disappear with breathtaking speed, making and breaking personal fortunes the size of which defy imagination. Fictitious commodities abound. The genomes of entire nations have become corporately owned. Relationships have become the overt basis of economic wealth and political power. Hypercapitalism explores the problems of understanding this emergent form of global political economic organization by focusing on the internal relations between language, new media networks, and social perceptions of value. Taking an historical approach informed by Marx, Phil Graham draws upon writings in political economy, media studies, sociolinguistics, anthropology, and critical social science to understand the development, roots, and trajectory of the global system in which every possible aspect of human existence, including imagined futures, has become a commodity form.