E-business security benchmarking : a model and framework

The dynamic nature of threats and vulnerabilities within the e-business environment can impede online functionality, compromise organisational or customer information, contravene security implementations and thereby undermine online customer confidence. To negate these problems, e-business security has to become proactive, by reviewing and continuously improving security to strengthen e-business security measures and policies. This can be accomplished through benchmarking the security measures and policies utilised within the e-business, against recognised Information Technology (IT) and Information Security (IS) security standards.

School innovation in science : a model for supporting school and teacher development

‘School Innovation in Science’ represents a model, developed through working with more than 200 Victorian schools, to improve science teaching and learning. SIS works at the level of the science team and the teacher, providing resources to challenge and support the change process. Its emphasis is on strategic planning supported by a framework for describing effective teaching, materials for auditing practice and planning initiatives, and a networked support structure. Experience and results from the project, concerning the nature and extent of change, will be used to provide insight into the multidimensional nature of the change process and to suggest a number of principles concerning support for change. Arising out of this, the major elements of a School Innovation Model are identified, that supports a transformative agenda for schools more generally.

A model of business ethics

It appears that in the 30 years that business ethics has been a discipline in its own right a model of business ethics has not been proffered. No one appears to have tried to explain the phenomenon known as ‚business ethics’ and the ways that we as a society interact with the concept, therefore, the authors have addressed this gap in the literature by proposing a model of business ethics that the authors hope will stimulate debate. The business ethics model consists of three principal components (i.e. expectations, perceptions and evaluations) that are interconnected by five sub-components (i.e. society expects; organizational values, norms and beliefs; outcomes; society evaluates; and reconnection). The introduced model makes a contribution to the creation of a conceptual framework for business ethics. A few tentative conclusions may be drawn from the introduced model of business ethics. The model aspires to be highly dynamic. The ultimate outcome is dependent upon the evolution of time and contexts. It is also dependent upon and provides reference to the behaviours and perceptions of people. The model proposes business ethics to be a continuous and an iterative process. There is no actual end of the process, but a constant reconnection to the initiation of successive process iterations of the business ethics model. The principals and sub-components of the model construct the dynamics of this continuous process. They provide guidance on what and how to explore our common efforts to understand the phenomenon known as business ethics. The model provides opportunities for further research in the field of business ethics.

Business 2.0 : a novel model for delivery of business services

Web 2.0, regardless of the exact definition, has proven to bring about significant changes to the way the Internet was used. Evident by key innovations such as Wikipedia, FaceBook, YouTube, and Blog sites, these community-based Website in which contents are generated and consumed by the same group of users are changing the way businesses operate. Advertisements are no longer dasiaforcedpsila upon the viewers but are instead dasiaintelligentlypsila targeted based on the contents of interest. In this paper, we investigate the concept of Web 2.0 in the context of business entities. We asked if Web 2.0 concepts could potentially lead to a change of paradigm or the way businesses operate today. We conclude with a discussion of a Web 2.0 application we recently developed that we think is an indication that businesses will ultimately be affected by these community-based technologies; thus bringing about Business 2.0 - a paradigm for businesses to cooperate with one another to deliver improved products and services to their own customers.

Harmonised procurement policy environment - identifying key themes towards the development of a conceptual model

Capital works procurement and its regulatory policy environment within a country can be complex entities. For example, by virtue of Australia’s governmental division between the Commonwealth, states and local jurisdictions and the associated procurement networks and responsibilities at each level, the tendering process is often convoluted. There are four inter-related key themes identified in the literature in relation to procurement disharmony, including decentralisation, risk & risk mitigation, free trade & competition, and tendering costs. This paper defines and discusses these key areas of conflict that adversely impact upon the business environments of industry through a literature review, policy analysis and consultation with capital works procurement stakeholders. The aim of this national study is to identify policy differences between jurisdictions in Australia, and ascertain whether those differences are a barrier to productivity and innovation. This research forms an element of a broader investigation with an aim of developing efficient, effective and nationally harmonised procurement systems.

Public research commercialisation, entrepreneurship and new technology based firms : an integrated model

Entrepreneurship is the engine of innovation. The accumulated tacit knowledge and culture of the entrepreneur are the resources essential to create wealth from research commercialisation leading to technological innovation and the creation of New Technology Based Firms (NTBFs). The authors explore, in definitional terms, discovery of entrepreneurial opportunity and entrepreneurial capacity as the essential elements in the interaction between all types of tacit knowledge (technological, managerial, risk management, financial, etc.). These both derive from and affect interactions between the institutions (sets of rules), organisational culture and external business environment. They also interact with the entrepreneur’s own background and personality. This leads then to a wider analysis of the importance of such tacit knowledge as the glue bringing together effective mechanisms for wealth creation out of research commercialisation.

Harvesting a 'lost' investment : case study of a financial innovation

In the field of Entrepreneurial research, financial innovations have been less studied and reported than product or process innovations. A case example is presented with implications for a large number of firms requiring financial restructuring as a precondition to attracting equity investmemnt. An insolvent asparagus exporter with high growth potential offered opportunity to test a model of financial restructuring and unlisted equity marketing, the ersatz venture capital (EVC) hypothesis. A business plan written in accordance with EVC prescriptions revealed the company's potential and attracted investors. It is argued that the approach may help solve two pressing problems of the Australian economy: re-vitalisation of businesses rendered insolvent by excessive debt and stimulation of a depressed venture capital market.

An empirical and logical exploration of the strategic compatibility of best practice and product innovation : preliminary insights from Australian and New Zealand manufacturing industry

In an attempt to enhance debate focused on an established academic controversy, this study re-investigated selected data from the 1994 AMC survey of Australian and New Zealand manufacturing practices to test the hypothesis that best practice and product innovation may be incompatible generic business strategies. A modification of Robert G. Cooper’s Stage-Gate product development model was used as a theoretical framework to create a measurable construct of ‘product innovation’ as a strategy and compare two groups: firms committed to a best practice strategy (BPs) and firms not utilising best practice (Non-BPs). Eight variables were scrutinised. After logical critique was added to statistical data analysis, four major insights emerged.

(1) Tests yielded several statistically significant but substantively inconclusive results because both studied groups had nearly identical profiles in rating innovation as the factor of lowest importance to commercial success and because the definitional framework which guided construction of the survey instrument treated innovation as a second-order issue. (2) Currently, best practice and product innovation are logically incompatible by definition. (3) Even if the definition of best practice were changed, it is likely that the additional key process of innovation would remain incompatible with the existing key process of benchmarking. (4) However, until the definition of best practice does make an attempt to include innovation as a key process rather than an outcome, testing any hypothesis of strategic compatibility between a best practice focus and an innovation focus will be both empirically difficult and logically unnecessary.

A learning laboratory approach for business improvement : the case of discontinuous innovation

This paper considers the current situation within Australian manufacturing SMEs and their approaches to innovation and international competitive advantage. Using the viewpoint and language of complexity theory, we consider the variety of possibilities available to SMEs in this area. We then consider a particular international project on Discontinuous Innovation, how this has been deployed in Europe and Australia and the knowledge gained from our interactions with Australian SMEs to date around this project. Finally we consider the general development of a “Learning Laboratory” approach to working with SMEs and the differences required to make such approach successful in Europe and in different settings in Australia.