Technology and marginalization: a case study of the limited adoption of the intranet at a state-owned organisation in rural Australia

Taking a critical theory approach and the pluralist view of technology, this paper examines the problems in organizational communication that arose due to the implementation of a limited intranet electronic mail system as the main channel of communication between a rural stateowned organization and its city-based Head Office, installed at the sole discretion of the latter.
The intranet was provided only to the administration division and managers of some units due to financial constraints. This required others to receive information carried via the intranet through a gatekeeper who due to information and work overload, failed to disseminate the information effectively and efficiently. Using a combination of qualitative data collection methods, this study found that the intranet had marginalized those without access to it and reinforced the privileged position of those already with higher status within the organization, contrary to the utopian predictions
of new technologies as leading to social equality.

The challenge of reconciling working time demands and life transitions : a policy proposal

Labour markets, like all market institutions, exhibit structural and dynamic characteristics. Both the structural and dynamic characteristics of labour markets inevitably change and evolve over time in response to a host of exogenous and endogenous factors. In the case of the Australian labour market, structural changes are reflected in significant shifts in the industry and occupational composition of employment, the decline of full-time work and the concomitant rise in part-time and atypical forms of employment, demographic changes in the labour force, as well as changes in social and individual preferences. Dynamic shifts can be found in cyclical pattern of employment and wages growth, the growth in labour mobility, and transitions between various labour market states.
The starting point for this paper is that these structural and dynamic changes have given rise to an increase in the likelihood that individuals will experience a transition between various labour market states, and a greater diversity in the range of transitions they may experience over their working life. This acceleration in the rate of transition generates ‘transition costs’ for both employers and employees, as well the likelihood of mismatch between employer and employee working time preferences. As a consequence, existing labour market policy regimes, based on the traditional model of labour market participation over the life course may not provide adequate protection for most workers today.
Gunther Schmid (1998) and others have proposed institutional reforms which promote ‘transitional labour markets’. Transitional labour market institutions are those that allow individuals (and firms) to successfully adjust to critical events. While transitional labour market institutions may consist of traditional ‘active labour market policy’ mechanisms, Schmid and others have proposed a range of innovative policy responses which allow individuals (and firms) to adjust the intensity of their abour market participation over the life cycle. In this paper we use the general approach of advocated by the transitional labour market concept to do three things. First, we investigate the processes by which the nature of labour market transitions has changed over time. Second, we review the range of policy options available to government to smooth labour market dysfunctions associated with labour market transitions, with the objective of ensuring labour markets operate more efficiently and more equitably. Third, we focus on one possible way in which an existing labour market institution, Long Service Leave (LSL), could be reformed to make way for a more comprehensive transitional labour market institution in the form of a ‘working time bank’.

Sources of productivity growth in Australian textile and clothing firms

This paper estimates the sources of productivity growth in Australian textile and clothing firms based on the Business Longitudinal Survey (BLS) from 1995 to 1998. Productivity growth estimates have been obtained for each sub-category of textile and clothing firms. Sources of growth in multifactor productivity (MFP) are examined with growth in technical efficiency and scale effects based on estimates of stochastic frontier production functions. Separate estimates of output growth have been compared with the productivity growth estimates for each of the product categories. MFP improved in all clothing firms and declined in textile firms over 1997–1998 by four-digit level of Australia New Zealand Standard Industrial classification Scheme (ANZSIC). MFP declined in most major categories of both textile and clothing firms in 1995–1997. Changes in technical efficiency mostly dominated scale effects in the overall direction of MFPG in both textile and clothing firms. The findings of the study provide evidence for policies for improving the firms' operative performance in the ongoing liberalised regime.

Toward successful knowledge transfer in web-based self-service for information technology services

Web-based self-service has emerged as an important strategy for providing pre- and post-sales customer support. Yet, there is a dearth of theoretical or empirical research concerning the organisational, customer-oriented, knowledge-based, and employee-oriented factors that enable web-based self-service systems (WSS) to be successful in a competitive global marketplace. In this paper, we describe and discuss findings from the first phase of a multi-method research study designed to address this literature gap. This study explores critical success factors (CSFs) involved in the transfer of support-oriented knowledge from an information technology (IT) services firm to commercial customers when WSS are employed. Empirical data collected in a CSF study of a large multinational IT services business are used to identify twenty-six critical success factors. The findings indicate that best-in-class IT service providers are aware of a range of critical success factors in the transfer to commercial customers of resolutions and other support-oriented knowledge via WSS. However, such firms remain less certain about what is needed to support customer companies after support-oriented knowledge has initially been transferred to the customer firm.

The impact of the adoption of IAS 19 employee benefits on annual financial statements: an examination of Australian and United Kingdom companies

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have been adopted by a number of countries as a means of harmonising financial statements around the world. Proponents of IFRS suggest many benefits upon their adoption. This paper examines the effect of the adoption of IFRS on aspects of the company's financial statements, in particular, the adoption of the IFRS relating to post employment benefits and its effects on debt/equity ratios.

This study compared the reporting practices of a number of Australian and UK companies and found that for most companies there was a substantial increase in liabilities, a decrease in shareholders' equity and a corresponding increase in debt/equity ratios after the IFRS were adopted.

The employee share ownership plan: what value has it for Australia?

The Australian government is currently committed to the goal of increasing organisational participation in employee share ownership plans (ESOP) from 4% of all companies to 11% by 2009. The Nelson Report into ESOPs commissioned by the Honourable Brendan Nelson highlighted the lack of comprehensive information on the nature and extent of ESO plans in Australia. ” (Nelson 2000). This paper places the program in context by reviewing overseas experiences and considers the viewpoints of both employers and employees. The preliminary investigation concludes by highlighting the need for further thorough research before success for all types of businesses can be confidently predicted. ”

An examination of the effect on debt/equity ratios with the adoption of IAS 19 : employee benefits

A number of countries have adopted the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as a means of harmonising financial statements. .This paper examines the effect of the adoption of IFRS, relating to post employment benefits and its effects on debt/equity ratios. The adoption of the IFRS resulted in most companies reporting a substantial increase in liabilities, a
decrease in shareholders’ equity and a corresponding increase
in debt/equity ratios.

Sources of productivity growth in Australian textile and clothing firms

This paper estimates the sources of productivity growth in Australian textile and clothing firms based on the Business Longitudinal Survey (BLS) from 1995 to 1998. Productivity growth estimates have been obtained for each sub-category of textile and clothing firms. Sources of growth in multifactor productivity (MFP) are examined with growth in technical efficiency and scale effects based on estimates of stochastic frontier production functions. Separate estimates of output growth have been compared with the productivity growth estimates for each of the product categories. MFP improved in all clothing firms and declined in textile firms over 1997–1998 by four-digit level of Australia New Zealand Standard Industrial classification Scheme (ANZSIC). MFP declined in most major categories of both textile and clothing firms in 1995–1997. Changes in technical efficiency mostly dominated scale effects in the overall direction of MFPG in both textile and clothing firms. The findings of the study provide evidence for policies for improving the firms' operative performance in the ongoing liberalised regime.

Leadership, culture and employee deceit : the case of the National Australia Bank

The National Australia Bank (NAB), one of Australia's largest banks, announced losses in 2004 of AUD$360 million due to unauthorised foreign currency trading activities by four employees who incurred and deceptively concealed the losses. The NAB had in place risk limits and supervision to prevent trading desks ever reaching positions of this magnitude. However, the risk management policies and procedures proved ineffective. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the deceit, via a content analysis of official investigative reports and other published documents, to determine the extent to which the Bank's culture and leadership may have influenced the rogue traders' behaviour. The findings suggest that cultural issues, and the role played by the Bank's leaders, were influential in creating a profit-driven culture that ultimately impacted the Bank's foreign exchange operating activities.

Small firms as social formations : relationships as the unit of analysis for eBusiness adoption research

Existing research concerning the adoption of Electronic Business (eBusiness) by small firms has primarily investigated the factors influencing their adoption decisions, with firms being the unit of analysis. In addition, the research assumes that it is primarily small firm owners, employees, trading partners, eBusiness product/service providers, government and business networks which influence adoption. This paper argues that small firms can more accurately be characterised as social formations whereby family, friends and social networks most likely play a significant, often overlooked, role. On this basis the paper argues that future research should include relationships within and external to small firms as the unit of analysis, not just the firm. The paper concludes by examining whether the theories commonly used to explore small firm eBusiness adoption are suitable for relationship-based research.

Why should small firms adopt ebusiness? A framework for understanding the SME ebusiness context

eBusiness research typically questions why small firms do not adopt these powerful technologies and suggests explanatory factors for these perceived shortcomings. This paper argues against the technological expansionist view by questioning why small firms should adopt eBusiness. Specifically, it proposes a new conceptualisation showing that each small firm has different circumstances and associated business goals, and that researchers and practitioners must convince each small firm why eBusiness should be used for its goals in preference to non-technology solutions. The paper also provides some preliminary insights, based on this view, into future theoretical and empirical directions to guide researchers who conduct small firm eBusiness adoption studies.

Integrating job stress and social exchange theories to predict employee wellbeing

This research examines the organizational characteristics that contribute to employee wellbeing in public sector agencies that have undergone substantial organizational change. Two studies were undertaken, the first involving 2,466 police officers working in a statebased law enforcement agency, whereas the second comprised 1,010 occupationally diverse employees working in a State Government authority. The research was guided by a theoretical framework that begins with a model underpinning many large-scale job stress investigations—the job strain model (JSM)—and is expanded to incorporate widely used social exchange variables (i.e., psychological contract breach and organizational fairness). The results of hierarchical regression analyses from both studies confirm the value of the JSM. There was also strong support for extending the JSM to include the breach and fairness variables; however, proposed interactions between job demands and organizational fairness failed to add to the explanatory value of the model. The implications of these results particularly for public sector organizations that have undergone extensive reforms consistent with New Public Management are discussed.

The influence of locus of attribution, level of employee authority and employee concern on consumers postrecovery evaluations

This study employed a 3 x 2 x 2 full-factorial, between-subjects design experiment involving locus of attribution, concern, and the level of authority of the employee performing the recovery on consumers’ postcomplaint evaluations. The research, conducted in a restaurant context, involved a sample of 411 undergraduate students. Findings suggest that customers are less dissatisfied and more likely to revisit the restaurant when the location of the cause of the failure is internal (i.e., they are to blame). In addition, consumers are less likely to repurchase when the manager, as opposed to the waiter, is responsible for the service failure.