Ethical behaviour: the means for creating and maintaining better reputations in arts organisations

Arts organisations, unsure of the level of continued government funding available and confronted with the need ever to improve, are seeking new ideas upon which they can focus. At a time when leadership and governance in arts organisations have changed in line with cultural expectations, how is their ethical stance assessed? How does their ethical stance impact on reputation? The challenge to build a good reputation starts at the top of the organisation; however, traditionally, one type of arts organisation, art museums, has focused on the activities level. In an age of globalisation, economic restructuring and technological change, museums therefore may be seen as a contradiction. Traditionally seen as temples for the muses, today’s museums are being challenged to be ethical for society and to build their reputation. As a solution, proposes a cooperative model of cultural organisational ethics that attempts to provide a framework by which arts organisations can put in place ethical artefacts that enhance organisational reputation, rather than detract from it.

Constructions of volunteerism in third sector organisations: some comparisons

This paper is concerned with notions of volunteerism in third sector organisations. It argues that volunteerism takes different forms and involves different practices according to the contexts in which it is constructed. It draws on a comparative study of the contributions of third sector organisations to civil society, particularly a collaborative research project, Voluntary Associations and Active Citizenship-Welfare, Democracy and the Market in Australia, Russia and Sweden which involved the author as a member of the research team. The paper elaborates four operating frameworks in third sector organisations and discusses the ways in which these frameworks facilitate, co-opt or impede volunteer practices in different settings.

Marketing research and its value: the experience of Australian organisations

There is a continuing need for organisations to identify the returns obtained from marketing research, such as direct knowledge acquisition or the indirect results of decisions made using this information (e.g., financial returns). This paper reports on a study based on a conceptual model proposed by earlier researchers that explored knowledge acquisition derived from marketing research, together with its dissemination and utilisation. An adequate fit for the model was found using primary data from a sample of decision-makers in Australian organisation. The findings of this empirical study show an association between marketing research, knowledge utilisation, and the performance of the organisations sampled.

Community organisations and the dance of good and bad risk

This paper is concerned with an element of contemporary society that forms. the backdrop for some of the contradictory expectations and practices that currently bedevil community organisations in Australia. This element is the idea of risk, or more pertinently, the construction of the idea of risk society. The argument presented is that there are two different interpretations of risk, risk as threat and risk as opportunity. Each interpretation is examined to reveal the ways in which it affects community organisations in Australia. The paper concludes with the view that both ways in which risk is constructed are being used as part of the rationale for new forms of control.

Environmental management system adoption by Australasian organisations: part 1: reasons, benefits and impediments

The decision to adopt environmental management system (EMS) and to develop effective implementation strategies has engrossed managers at all levels and in all types of organisations in recent years. Some organisations have claimed that environmental issues have been determining their  bottom-line and business performance in the market place. This paper is first part in the series focussing on the reasons for EMS implementation and the benefits and impediments associated with the process. Measures  commonly practised by organisations to overcome/address the  impediments are also presented in this paper. The findings of this paper are based on a questionnaire survey mailed to Australasian organisations on their experiences with ISO 14001 implementation and certification.

A study of the environmental management system (EMS) adoption process within Australasian organisations-2. Role of stakeholders

The importance of an Environmental Management System (EMS) for organisations is becoming widely known across all industrial sectors. EMS has brought both challenges and benefits for the organisations and these many-a-times are determined by the role played by the organisational stakeholders. Stakeholder is a broad term and can encompass a number of individual(s) or group(s) directly or indirectly impacted by organisational activities. This paper, second part in the series, focuses on the role of the stakeholders, primarily employees and suppliers during the EMS planning and implementation stages. It is based on the findings of the quantitative part of a large research project exploring the role of employees and suppliers, as organisational stakeholders, during the EMS adoption stages. A response rate of almost 50% was achieved from a questionnaire survey of ISO 14001 certified organisations in Australia and New Zealand. The key relationships existing between the organisations and stakeholder involvement and the benefits and impediments associated with the process have also been presented.

Integrated management system:the experiences of three Australian organisations

Purpose – Management systems and standards have become a key part of the organisation's lifeline and a prerequisite for survival in the twenty-first century. Systems for quality environmental and occupational health and safety (OHS) now form the three main pillars of the organisation, the fourth one being financial accounting. In light of the increasing pressure and demands from different stakeholders, it is becoming necessary for organisations to adopt the different systems/standards. However, to achieve the benefits from the implementation and subsequently maintenance of these systems it is only a practical and logical step that the existing management systems/standards be integrated into a single system.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents the experiences of three Australian-based organisations that have successfully undertaken the integration of their management systems/standards. Data for this paper were collected through in-depth interviews conducted with the managers responsible for quality, environment and OHS systems.

Findings – The interviews revealed a number of quantifiable and unquantifiable benefits experienced by the companies from operating one integrated system, such as saving of dollars, better utilisation of resources and improved communication across the organisation, to name a few. However, for the benefits to be realized it is essential that organisations are aware of the challenges and obstacles accompanying integration of systems/standards. If these challenges are not addressed early in the process they can delay the completion of the integration process.

Originality/value – Recommendations for other organisations contemplating integrating their management system include: obtaining commitment from the top management; having adequate resources to integrate the systems; having communication and training across the organisation in aspects of integration; and, last but not the least, having integrated audits. Implementation of these recommendations may vary from one organisation to another; however, it would result in lesser resistance for the organisations following them.

Market research effectiveness : the effects of organisational structure, resource allocation and strategic type

According to the marketing literature and marketing textbooks, market research is required for successful marketing. However organisations differ in the way they both manage and resource their market research. This study hypothesised that market research effectiveness would be a function of internal research buying expertise, resource allocation and strategy. The research was conducted among a sample of 240 Australian marketing managers. Market research effectiveness was measured in terms of a) decision making support, b) contribution to marketing strategy, c) leveraging customer and competitor data, d) its ability to represent the "voice of the customer" and finally, e) bolstering the role of the marketing group and marketing manager within the organisation. The findings showed that having dedicated internal market researchers and allocating internal and external resources to the research function enhanced market research effectiveness. It was also found that organisations with an entrepreneurial strategic orientation were more likely to see value in the market research function, with these organisations being less likely to use market research for internal political purposes.

The impact of management style on the employment relations of different sized organisations

Purpose of the research/paper: The views and values of managers are typically noted as being wedded to unitarist or pluralist ideals. This paper disaggregates these views and values by looking at the impact of various managerial styles on employment relations in different sized organisations.
Methodology: Conceptual with applied support from the secondary literature.
Findings: The paper concludes that large organisations confront conditions and contingencies which allow them to make certain choices about employment relations in ways that are not always available to small to medium sized organisations.

The position of Australian community sporting organisations in the third sector: membership profiles, characteristics and attitudes

Australian community sporting organisations have been relatively underresearched within the wider study of voluntary associations, yet their membership base is large and constitutes a sizable proportion of the population. This paper analyses data from the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) 2003 (Gibson et al. 2004), initially to describe characteristics ofmembers ofcommunity sporting organisations in Australia (n=948). It goes on to compare attitudinal dimensions between members of sporting and other major third-sector organisations. On the basis of these comparisons three groupings of associations are suggested: social change, individual/social progress and individual/social maintenance. Sporting organisations form part of the latter category, and the paper briefly discusses the likely nature of social capital production associated with each.

Non-government organisations and the dialectics of state and civil society

This paper is concerned with envisioning the development of non-government organisations (NGOs) in Australia over the next 200 years. It begins with a discussion of a hypothetical NGO, providing vignettes of its activities in 2104 and 2204, and sketching out contextual factors that might influence NGO development. This discussion is followed by an outline of the methodology upon which the projections indicated in the hypothetical case-study are based. Three methodological approaches are used. The first approach begins from an analysis of current contextual trajectories, and projects the role of NGOs within these trajectories. The second approach postulates that the changes that will occur will be affected by the reflexive nature of social change, involving continual reflection and action. The third methodological approach draws on this notion of reflexivity, but emphasises that social change is not only a reflexive process, it is also a dialectical one. The dialectical approach rests on the premise that change occurs through a process of the accumulation of contradictions, challenge and resolution. Using these methodological approaches the paper proceeds to identify three factors which will influence the Australian NGO sector in the next 200 years. These factors are the shifting relations between the state and civil society, including the rise of the neo-authoritarian state in the 21st century; the ways in which least advantaged people are dealt with and, finally, the idea of risk society. While it is more difficult to identify the contextual and NGO trajectories into the 22nd and 23rd centuries, the paper postulates a more utopian vision for NGOs in Australia in 200 years time, where the category of people who had been previously marginalised disappears, and the major roles of NGOs are to ensure cultural diversity and develop civil labour.

Adoption of the world wide web by traditional Australian media organisations

The aim of this paper is it to identify whether Australian media companies moved online with a clear business model in mind or in an ad-hoc manner. In-depth interviews were conducted with four Internet media managers from two large Australian media organisations. All four had been involved in Web publishing from its early stages and had extensive knowledge of the development of Web publishing in the industry. The interviews focused on the period around the mid 1990’s when the early development of the organisations’ websites took place. We also review an analytical approach of examining narratives from research interviews developed by Davidson (Davidson 1997) and Mishler (Mishler1986a, 1986b).

Extending social marketing to emergency services organisations

Social marketing theory is examined in relation to an organisational context which has received little attention. This paper examines the development of an integrated social marketing campaign for a State Emergency Service, and focusses on a particularly serious scenario where the penalty for miscommunication may be death, widespead injury or substantial property damage. The researchers take an action research approach, identifying community perceptions of risk to determine appropriate communication message development. The study identifies the factors contributing to risk perception beyond traditional concepts of involvement which are common in studies of consumer behaviour. Additionally, this paper provides an investigation of some of the issues that affect communication effectiveness, such as the influence of stakeholders, the poor performance of traditional communications methods, the utility of social marketing principles, and segmentation requirements, as well as influential ideas from the general risk communication literature.

A security method for healthcare organisations

The use of participational approaches to system design has been debated for a number of years. Within this paper we describe a method that was used to effectively design information systems and implement computer security countermeasures within an health care environment and shown how it was used in a number of environments.