Quotable value: A case of increasing value

In 2005 Quotable Value was New Zealand’s largest valuation and property information organisation with approximately 230 staff and 22 offices throughout the country. While Government reforms within New Zealand had forced this former Government department to operate in a competitive market, a booming property industry and a number of innovative projects generating new income streams had fuelled Quotable Value’s success and growth. Recent changes in the economic environment, however, and predictions that the property bubble would soon burst, also presented a number of threats. The challenge for Quotable Value was how to sustain and build further growth.

Administering Welfare Reform: International Transformations in Welfare Governance

While reforms of welfare policies have been widely analyzed, the reform of welfare administration has received far less attention. Using empirical case studies, this book provides significant new insights into the way welfare administration is being internationally transformed. Particular attention is given to the effect on welfare clients, staff, and agencies. The book presents a critical analysis of governance practices in welfare administration, examining shifts in the participants, practices, and processes. Administering Welfare Reform provides a much-needed international and comparative perspective of changing welfare governance.

Assessing Union Strategies in Indonesian Telecommunications Industry

This article explores the implementation of a comprehensive model of union strategy,consisting of union aims, union methods, union tactics, and level of decision-making (Gahan 1998). The analysis further employs the framework of Boxall and Haynes (1997) to assess the dominant strategy pattern of the unions. Empirical data are provided from a survey of seven national enterprise unions in the telecommunications industry in Indonesia. Research findings reveal that consultancy unionism is playing important roles in explaining the relationships among unions, workers, and employers. This pattern of strategy places more emphasis on servicing and limited partnership with employers. The stronger organising solidarity from their members may improve their partnership in the interest of union survival facing tough competition in the telecommunications business.