Exploring training issues of multinational companies in Asia

Effective employee training is important to organisations as it improves quality of human resources, which in turn help achieve better organisational outcomes. The literature on education, training and other aspects of human resource development (HRD) among multinational companies (MNCs) in Asia is quite limited. This paper intends to explore training expenditure, training programs offered and training concerns indicated by companies, using a survey of 529 MNCs operating in six Asian countries (namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan). The findings show that the majority of MNCs surveyed recognised the benefits of employee training and invested heavily on training different types of employees in local subsidiaries. Organisational variables such as size, industry, parent source and proportion of international activity also affected training practices of MNCs. The paper identified some quality and relevance issue related to formal and externally-conducted training programs.

Green revelations in a country of drought, flood and fire : a case study of Abrahamic faith communities and sustainability

This paper reports research into the levels of awareness and engagement of Abrahamic communities regarding environmental sustainability in the State of Victoria, Australia. Seventeen faith groups were targeted for study at 22 locations throughout Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne; with 15 in-depth interviews completed. The study suggests that personal awareness does not always translate well into group action, resulting in conflicting positions within denominations on how to respond to environmental issues. Some denominations have funding and human resources to support environmental programs. Smaller groups struggle to maintain numbers, are trying to expand, or do not participate because of fundamentally different worldviews.

Managing work health and safety : recent developments and future directions

Effective management of occupational health and safety ( OHS) continues to pose a challenge to many organisations. While significant advancement has occurred in knowledge about traditional workplace risks, organisational and labour market changes have created new risks, psychosocial risks are more prevalent, and the trend towards the adoption of OHS management systems has produced only mixed results. These issues are the focus of this review of recent developments in workplace health and safety. We argue there is a need for organisations to refocus systematically on a collaborative approach to identifying and controlling workplace risks, and on improving the integration of OHS into broader systems and every day management to better meet existing and future OHS challenges.

A multi-objective sensitivity approach to training providers' evaluation and quota allocation planning

The practice of solely relying on the human resources department in the selection process of external training providers has cast doubts and mistrust across other departments as to how trainers are sourced. There are no measurable criteria used by human resource personnel, since most decisions are based on intuitive experience and subjective market knowledge. The present problem focuses on outsourcing of private training programs that are partly government funded, which has been facing accountability challenges. Due to the unavailability of a scientific decision-making approach in this context, a 12-step algorithm is proposed and tested in a Japanese multinational company. The model allows the decision makers to revise their criteria expectations, in turn witnessing the change of the training providers' quota distribution. Finally, this multi-objective sensitivity analysis provides a forward-looking approach to training needs planning and aids decision makers in their sourcing strategy.

External knowledge and performance of offshore IT service providers in India : the mediating role of talent management

The global shortage of IT professionals has been identified as one of the most serious threats against the continued growth of offshore IT service providers (OSPs). As a result, talent management has become a key competitive strategy for OSPs. However, how talent management contributes towards the performance of OSPs remains poorly understood in relation to its interaction with knowledge. To examine this issue, we draw on a sample of 68 OSPs in India to test the effects of talent management and external knowledge on performance. The results confirm that both external knowledge and talent management are positively related to firm performance and that the latter has strong mediating effects on the relationship between external knowledge and firm performance. The results suggest that OSPs should consider talent management as a mechanism through which knowledge resources can be exploited to enhance firm performance. The managerial implications and limitations of the findings are also discussed.

Effectiveness of e-recruiting : empirical evidence from the Rosebank business cluster in Auckland, New Zealand

This article focuses on the background of the 'conventional' or 'old' way of recruiting, it reviews different 'new' ways; e-recruiting and its effectiveness; advantages such as accessibility and disadvantages such as transgression of some legislation in e-recruiting and the impact it has on management. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 102 companies within that population. A 36- question questionnaire was used and we employed random stratified cluster sampling. Research done in Auckland's Rosebank Business Precinct (New Zealand) revealed that for certain job categories e-recruitment is effective. E-recruitment is revolutionising the way employers hire employees. Some implications for managers are pointed out such as the need to be trained for these changes; it can save a lot of money on advertisements; the savings could be used to develop careers or training for employees. The recommendations suggest that the HR objectives have to align with the organisational objectives to ensure that they recruit, select and employ the right candidate for the right job. A flow diagram for e-recruiting was developed by the authors for use by employers.

Management perspective for TQM solution

Quality management is an important research topical in construction industry. The aim of this paper is to review and investigate, via extensive literature reviews, the management perspectives when construction organization implementing total quality management (TQM). If it is successfully operated, competitive advantage will be enhanced that may lead to eight beneficial areas [improve quality and environmental performance; broaden business opportunities; benefit the community; increase market share; improve finance situation; enhance organizational effectiveness; streamline response to legal issues and lessen insurance budget] which favour commercial viability. However, there are challenges in doing so which include inexperience, resources and administrative constraints, inadequate management skill, and cultural differences. Therefore, in order to foster quality culture, it needs four management directions, namely construction management (CM), knowledge management (KM), project management (PM) and human resources management (HRM). One can reasonably conclude that the quality improvements by TQM are going to create long term commercial advantages.

Australia’s initiatives in post-conflict nation building in Iraq

After decades of growth and development, Iraq has become amongst the worst performing states worldwide as a legacy of successive wars and sanctions despite the rich endowment with ample natural resources and capable human resources. Many observers expected that the “new” Iraq after the US “liberation” in 2003 will be a tolerant and unified nation-state that “with a degree of civil society” will grant and secure the human rights for all the Iraqi people (Gresham 2006: 27). However, due to the external military intervention lead by the US, the Iraq state collapsed after the 2003 war (Diamond 2005) as well as its economic, educational, health systems and infrastructure; and, Iraq’s development indicators are amongst the lowest globally (Hassin 2010). Australia’s controversial joining of Bush’s Coalition of Willing has been discussed by various intellectual studies from different angles. It is discussed in the socio-political discourse from an international relations perspective (Verrier 2003), social resistance to war (Hil 2008), and the implications on the Australian internal politics (McAllister and Bean 2006) and federal elections (Kelton 2008). However, there is scarce evidence about any research engaging with Australia’s roles in post-conflict nation building in Iraq. This article explores developmental roles and initiatives played and funded by Australia in Iraq since the invasion in 2003. Based on Hippler’s (Hippler 2004- 2005) multi-faceted approach to nation building this paper will study Australia’s roles in the three interlinked dimensions or “starting points” for nation building: improvement of living conditions, structural reforms and integration of the national political system.