The privatisation of telecommunications services : comparison of the developed and developing countries

The telecommunication sector in most countries was managed by the government for a long period. Government provision led to poor delivery of services, poor cost recovery, heavy subsidies and pOOl' maintenance. Privatisation was adopted as a means of overcoming these problems in the telecommunications sector in most developing countries. However, the results were not as expected due to poor privatisations processes, absence of genuine regulatory structure and unnecessary interference from the government. Hence the teledensity, breakages, call completion times, and tariff levels have not improved significantly compared to the developed countries.

Is privatisation good for investment in Australia?

Privatisation was expected to promote investment in the economy as part of improving dynamic efficiency. The relation between aggregate public and private investment in Australia is investigated in an endogeneous ECM framework. Model selection for a simple investment function allows restrictions for neoclassical crowding out or Keynesian crowding in (after Aschauer 1989) in a small open economy. An ECM is estimated including annual aggregate private investment, public investment, income, rate of return, average interest cost, exchange rate and inventories from 1960 to 2005. Public capital appears unresponsive to shocks and crowding out is not evident.

The privatisation experience in the Australian banking and insurance sectors: an explanation of the change in ownership structures

Deregulation has been a feature of the evolution of financial markets in the past two decades. Extending this trend has been the move to privatise government-owned financial institutions. In the 1990s, Australian governments progressively sold publicly owned banks and insurance institutions. One outcome has been that few of these privatised financial firms exist today, having been absorbed in mergers and acquisitions within the financial services sector. This paper uses an information cost framework to explain the experience of privatised banks and insurers. Our approach points to a dynamic process of organisational change that has influenced the outcomes of privatisation in the financial services sector.

The privatisation experience in banking and insurance in Australia

The role of ownership in performance of financial institutions is under-examined yet remains a topical issue. Whilst ownership changes in the banking sector have been evaluated in several studies, the link with other sectors has not been a focus of in depth analysis. A controlled comparison of performance between privatising banks and insurance firms in Australia is undertaken via a ‘meso’ approach of pairing privatising with comparator private institutions across the event period. Performance is evaluated using commercial CAMEL indicators and applying Wilcoxon rank tests (Otchere and Chan 2003) which provide statistically robust findings in the small annual data samples available around the privatisation event. Performance of privatising and private institutions is found to be quite similar before and after the event. For the privatising banks, some indicator medians improved to commercial levels (CBA) or were mostly unchanged (Colonial). By contrast one of the privatising insurance institutions (Suncorp) was found to outperform the private insurance comparator while there was little difference for the other (GIO).

Prison architecture and privatisation : project delivery in the Australian context

The study is a comparison of the relationship between the architect and associated parties in the planning, design and construction of private and public prisons in Australia between 1985-2000.

Does privatisation drive innovation? Business model innovation through stakeholder viewpoints: the case of Sydney Airport 10 years post-privatisation

Broad economic and social reform, rapid technological change and increasing global competition have meant that organisations must consider all aspects of their business model in order to successfully create and capture ongoing customer value. In this study it is proposed that business model innovation must always consider and incorporate the symbiotic and interdependent relationship that stakeholders have with an organisation. One particular aspect of economic reform, privatisation, has become an important driver of economic growth in many economies, particularly when linked with the rapid growth of air travel. Privatisation of an airport can generate a radical change in the overall business model for the airport owner and the various stakeholders involved in the operation of the airport. Sydney Airport has restructured its overarching business model to meet the demands of stakeholders. Using feedback from key stakeholders, this research examines the generally accepted view that airport privatisation leads to an improvement in airport performance. Chesbrough's Business Model Framework provides a lens to assist the analysis of Sydney Airport operations before and after privatisation, and provides valuable insights into the impact of privatisation on business model innovation. © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2014.

Privatising human rights: what happens to the state`s human rights duties when services are privatised?

Human rights law has traditionally focused on the obligations of states in fulfilment of human rights - how a state-focused approach fits in a world where social services are frequently privatised or contracted out - examples of social service provision, health, education and prisons, and inquiries into the obligations of the state and the private operators in relation to these services - private providers of social services have certain human rights obligations within their respective spheres of activity - the state retains an obligation to guarantee the protection and realisation of human rights of everyone under its jurisdiction, regardless of the character of the service provider.

New forms of organising : changing structures, processes and boundaries in a public sector institution

Globalisation, deregulation, privatisation, and advances in communications technologies have intensified competition and impacted on the structures, processes and boundaries that define organisations. Increased competition at both the local and global level calls for increased responsiveness and flexibility, and continuous improvement and innovation. As organisations endeavour to become more attentive and responsive to environmental trends, and customer needs and expectations, they are experimenting with different forms of organising. This has included flattening structures, devolving decision-making responsibility and encouraging greater collaboration and knowledge transfer across functional areas.

The William Angliss Institute of TAFE operates in the post-secondary sector which has experienced significant changes over the past decade as a result of: wide-ranging public sector reforms imposed by successive governments; budgetary cutbacks; accountability and performance improvement pressures; increased national and international competition, industrial relations changes and more demanding, sophisticated customers. This paper draws on the INNFORM Study's three organisational design dimensions of structure, process, and boundaries to examine the nature and degree of change that has taken place at the Institute. Case study findings indicate that while William Angliss has implemetted changes across the three design dimensions, the depth and breadth of these vary and this has impacted on overall performance outcomes. Its experience suggests that even when an organisation adopts a systemic approach and implements changes simultaneously across structure, process and boundaries, optimal performance benefits will not accrue unless these elemental changes are mutually reinforcing and complementary. It also suggests that improvement to processes, particularly communications and human resources practices must be an overarching consideration, as complementary change across all three design dimensions depends ultimately on the contribution and commitment organisational members are prepared to make.

Managing organisational change

The complexities of change in today's business environment can be overwhelming for organisations, irrespective of their operating motives and resources. The pressures of deregulation, privatisation, tax change, social renewal and globalisation have compelled organisations to change regularly in order to remain competitive. Managing Change navigates the minefield of acronyms, catchphrases, theories and principles that are associated with change management. Managing Change weaves together the research, models and practical examples that shape change management studies. It explains basic concepts and theoretical approaches and their practical application to organisations.

Modelling new public management in an Asian context : public sector reform in Malaysia

This article combines the key elements of new public management theories with theories of privatisation and total quality management. The key elements identified in this review are used to establish a general model of new public management. Based on western theorising, the model is acknowledged as having a cultural bias. As a corrective, the article reviews the empirical experience of Malaysian public sector reform between 1980 and 2000, with the findings being used to identifying country-specific characteristics as a means of refining the model in a way that reflects that experience. The discussion concludes by setting out a revised model of new public management which takes account of its application in a Malaysian context. The contention is that the process of enquiry leading to this contingent model of new public management might be adapted along similar lines for the purposes of analysing the application of public sector reform in other developing countries.

Considerations for performing arts organisations in a climate of transition to the open market context in Vietnam

The emergence of a global economy and culture has created a worldwide climate of change since the 1980s. These changes impact on the growth of a national economy and change the significance of sectors in society, for example the service sector, which increasingly accounts for an important part of the economy (Burbules & Torres, 2000). The arts have also been profoundly influenced by social changes, and technological development. While these changes pose new challenges for the arts, most of which struggle for financial viability in an era of globalisation, privatisation and reduced public funding, the developments also open new opportunities for arts companies/artists but require them to possess the capability to identify and adapt to change. This process underlines the necessary new capacities of arts management, arts marketing, arts leaders and artists.

Doi moi - Vietnamese economic reforms in 1986 - provided impetus for change in every sector, resulting in growth of the service sector in Vietnam (UNDP, 2002). Arts organisations in Vietnam found themselves operating in a more competitive environment, forcing them to adjust to this new economic structure. Improved Vietnamese living standards helped to create more demands for a diverse entertainment industry and allowed both the government and individuals to spend more on the arts. A new cultural policy - socialisation (somewhat equivalent to privatisation in Western countries) was implemented in the arts and cultural sector, producing for performing arts organisations (PAOs) as well as a broader cultural milieu in Vietnam, challenges of being self-sustaining but also more autonomy and greater funding diversity. Simultaneously, this led to upgraded artistic standards, improved infrastructure and higher musicians’ salaries; the latter having only experienced slow improvement during the subsidised era.

This paper investigates how social changes affected organisational operations of selected PAOs in Vietnam and Australia. The analysis of how PAOs in each country adjusted to rapid changes will provide experience for learning from each other, particularly for the Vietnamese case. These analyses provide points of discussion, comparison and implications for development of arts management training in Vietnam. Case studies, personal interviews with key participants and policy actors have been used to discern which direction performing arts management should take in order to correspond with Vietnam’s present and future economic situation and its political position in the world.

Community development and enterprise culture : prospects and dilemmas

Community Development as a form of practice promotes empowerment and social justice. Its origins lie in people's collective struggle to be heard, recognised and accorded full citizenship in society. It has developed strategies to achieve social change that challenge dominant ways of thinking, policy and resource allocation in society. 'Enterprise culture has its origins in the individualism and competitiveness of capitalism. These essentially neo-liberalist concepts have been remoulded into a radical political program of change sponsored by the state under the guise of new managerialism, competitive tendering and privatization. This research seeks to examine the interface between community development and enterprise culture as a potential site of tension and contestation through an analysis of discourse. The initial task, therefore, was to elaborate the concept of enterprise culture and examine the ways enterprise culture has been manifested in community development. The focus has been on practitioners committed to community development through a qualitative, empirical approach with a view to discerning their views on the relevance and impact of enterprise culture on their work. Community development provides a useful domain for interrogating the infiltration of the concept of the enterprise culture because of its history of opposition and mobilisation. The research seeks to understand the ways in which the forms of enterprise culture as an essentially cultural project are manifested in practice contexts and to analyse the nature of the response to its various manifestations. As a result, it constitutes more than just a critique of any one of these forms, eg, privatisation, tendering out, managerialism, and instead seeks to investigate the degree to which a cultural shift may be occurring towards notions of greater individualism and away from collective notions of responsibility, obligation and citizenship. The research critically analyses the impact of enterprise culture on Australian social policy through the case study of community development practice. The manifestations of enterprise culture are investigated at various levels, with an emphasis on the responses of practitioners. A related aim is to reveal the range of possible responses to the infiltration of the enterprise culture in terms of values, language and practice into community development. Are new forms of practice emerging or is the field being steadily co-opted by government social and educational policy? Finally, the research should enable some future directions to be identified for the field of community development. The findings represent an initial attempt in an Australian context to establish the degree of influence that enterprise culture has had and/or will have on social policy. Chapter 1 examines the concept of enterprise culture and a background to its impact on community development as a domain of practice. The meaning of enterprise culture and its origins will be examined in Chapter 2. Its influence on Australian social policy is then discussed with particular reference to recent changes in Victoria regarding family services. In Chapter 3, the main features of critical discourse analysis are outlined as a framework for subsequent analysis of the links between discourse and hegemony. The work of Fairclough (1992, 1995) is utilised to highlight the relevance of discourse analysis to an examination of the infiltration of ideas associated with enterprise culture into the domain of community development. Chapter 4 provides an overview of the origins and defining characteristics of community development practice. The diverse beginnings and philosophical underpinnings are discussed and the main features of community development outlined in order to establish meanings attached to key concepts such as empowerment and participation. In Chapter 5, the findings of initial interviews with sixteen community development practitioners are discussed in terms of their perceptions of the impact of enterprise culture on their practice and the organisational culture within which they operate. These initial interviews were conducted in November-December 1996. A primary focus of the interviews was to establish the key words in their lexicon of practice and to provide an opportunity for reflection on the relative influence of discourse and practices associated with enterprise culture. A framework for analysing and making sense of the forms of response to enterprise culture is applied to the responses. Four forms of possible response are proposed and discussed in the context of the data. Follow up interviews were conducted in November-December 1997 and the findings of these interviews are discussed in Chapter 6. A particular emphasis in these interviews was on any changes in the lexicon of practice and indications of a change in the impact of discourse and practices associated with enterprise culture. The forms of response suggested in the framework outlined in Chapter 5 are discussed in the light of any movement in the responses of participants in the study. The implications of the findings are discussed in the context of the framework of responses or forms of embrace of enterprise culture analysed in earlier chapters. Finally, in Chapter 7, the potential for community development as a form of practice to transcend or at least accommodate the impact of enterprise culture through strategic forms of embrace is discussed and possible strategies based on the research that may assist in the development of this response are proposed.