Towards the development of a best practice index for the disclosure of organisations' climate change-related corporate governance practices

The aim of this study is to develop a disclosure guide for climate-change-related corporate governance (CCCG) practices. Drawing from existing climate change policy guidelines together with content analysis of leading Australian companies’ disclosure practices, we develop a best practice index for the disclosure of CCCG practises. The best practice index is further informed, validated and refined by the contribution of experts from a range of stakeholder groups. Our index represents the most comprehensive list generated to date, utilising experts’ opinions, in relation to CCCG disclosure practices. This CCCG disclosure index would be useful for companies seeking to provide information in relation their CCCG practices

Exploring the validity and predictive power of an extended volunteer functions inventory within the context of episodic skilled volunteering by retirees

The current study examined the structure of the volunteer functions inventory within a sample of older individuals (N = 187). The career items were replaced with items examining the concept of continuity of work, a potentially more useful and relevant concept for this population. Factor analysis supported a four factor solution, with values, social and continuity emerging as single factors and enhancement and protective items loading together on a single factor. Understanding items did not load highly on any factor. The values and continuity functions were the only dimensions to emerge as predictors of intention to volunteer. This research has important implications for understanding the motivation of older adults to engage in contemporary volunteering settings.

The impact of construction organisations’ learning capabilities on collaborative projects

Dynamic capability theory asserts that the learning capabilities of construction organisations influence the degree to which value-for-money (VfM) is achieved on collaborative projects. However, there has been little study conducted to verify this relationship. The evidence is particularly limited within the empirical context of infrastructure delivery in Australia. Primarily drawing on the theoretical perspectives of the resource-based view of the firm (e.g. Barney 1991), dynamic capabilities (e.g. Helfat et al. 2007), absorptive capacity (e.g. Lane et al. 2006) and knowledge management (e.g. Nonaka 1994), this paper conceptualises learning capability as a knowledge-based dynamic capability. Learning capability builds on the micro-foundations of high-order learning routines, which are deliberately developed by construction organisations for managing collaborative projects. Based on this conceptualisation of learning capability, an exploratory case study was conducted. The study investigated the operational and higher-order learning routines adopted by a project alliance team to successfully achieve VfM. The case study demonstrated that the learning routines of the alliance project were developed and modified by the continual joint learning activities of participant organisations. Project-level learning routines were found to significantly influence the development of organisational-level learning routines. In turn, the learning outcomes generated from the alliance project appeared to significantly influence the development of project management routines and contractual arrangements applied by the participant organisations in subsequent collaborative projects. The case study findings imply that the higher-order learning routines that underpin the learning capability of construction organisations have the potential to influence the VfM achieved on both current and future collaborative projects.

Empirical analysis of knowledge management activities in construction organisations

Knowledge is a commodity. It is a by-product of learning that involves the creation, sharing, processing and possible use of information in the mind of an individual. Knowledge management (KM) is, therefore, concerned with the effective implementation of such activities within the organisation. It is simply the process of leveraging organisational knowledge to deliver a long-term competitive advantage. This paper presents the results of an empirical research investigation into the interaction between different KM activities within the context of construction contracting organisations. The different KM activities include: responsiveness to the knowledge of business environment, knowledge acquisition, knowledge dissemination, and knowledge application. A questionnaire survey was administered to investigate the opinions of construction professionals regarding the intensity of activities currently implemented by their organisations to facilitate knowledge capturing, sharing and application. A total of 149 responses were then used to statistically examine the inter-relationships between the different KM activities as practised by contracting organisations in Hong Kong. The paper presents and discusses the survey findings and proposes recommendations for improving the effectiveness of current KM practices.

Project management office a knowledge broker in project-based organisations

Current research into project management offices (PMOs) has stressed the PMOs' potential to act as knowledge brokers between projects, and between project and top management. Nonetheless, the literature does not provide sufficient evidence of the brokering role of PMOs. The research reported here aims to examine PMO's functions from a knowledge sharing perspective and explore whether or not these functions reflect the knowledge sharing needs of project managers (PMs). These issues are investigated through a cross-case analysis of seven organisations. The main contribution is insight into how PMs share knowledge and awareness of the need to structure PMOs to align with PMs' nature, needs and expectations in order to improve knowledge sharing in PBOs. Finally, some practical steps for helping PMOs to better adapt their functions to the needs of PMs and their learning and knowledge sharing style are proposed.

Work motivation as a determinant of organisational and professional commitment in temporary organisations : theoretical lenses and propositions

The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical framework to investigate the relationship between work motivation, organisational commitment and professional commitment in temporary organisations. Through a review of theory, we contend that work motivation has two major patterns — internal motivation (which includes intrinsic, need-based and self-deterministic theories), and external motivation (which includes cognitive or process-based theories of motivation) through which it has been investigated. We also hold the nature of employee commitment to be of three types — affective, continuance and normative. This commitment may be towards either the organisation or the profession. A literature review revealed that the characteristics of the temporary organisation — specifically tenure and task — regulate the relationship between work motivation, organisational commitment and professional commitment. Testable propositions are presented.

The emergence of giving circles and their relationships with nonprofit organisations : a case study

This thesis explores the relationships that exist between a giving circle and the nonprofit organisations it supports. The case study focusses on a formal giving circle operating in Austin, Texas, United States and includes embedded case studies of nonprofit organisations that had received funding from the giving circle. Findings provide insights to nonprofit experiences with the giving circle phenomenon stimulating further conversation for fundraising practitioners in how they engage with not only giving circles but donors who may wish to be engaged at a different level, compared to the more traditional means adopted by nonprofit organisations.

In-side-out : photojournalists from community and mainstream media organisations in Brazil's favelas

New media initiatives in Brazil's capital, Rio de Janeiro, are attempting to change mainstream ideas about favelas (poor districts) and their inhabitants. This thesis focuses on two of these initiatives that are being run by non-government organisations, Viva Favela and Imagens do Povo. This study takes an ethnographic and discursive approach to investigating and comparing two categories of professional photographers to determine how their working practices contribute to empowering the people living in Brazil's favelas. While mainstream photojournalists mainly cover human rights abuses in the favelas, community photographers challenge stereotypes by presenting images of the favelas' everyday life.

A time-based quantitative approach for selecting lean strategies for manufacturing organisations

Lean strategies have been developed to eliminate or reduce waste and thus improve operational efficiency in a manufacturing environment. However, in practice, manufacturers encounter difficulties to select appropriate lean strategies within their resource constraints and to quantitatively evaluate the perceived value of manufacturing waste reduction. This paper presents a methodology developed to quantitatively evaluate the contribution of lean strategies selected to reduce manufacturing wastes within the manufacturers’ resource (time) constraints. A mathematical model has been developed for evaluating the perceived value of lean strategies to manufacturing waste reduction and a step-by-step methodology is provided for selecting appropriate lean strategies to improve the manufacturing performance within their resource constraints. A computer program is developed in MATLAB for finding the optimum solution. With the help of a case study, the proposed methodology and developed model has been validated. A ‘lean strategy-wastes’ correlation matrix has been proposed to establish the relationship between the manufacturing wastes and lean strategies. Using the correlation matrix and applying the proposed methodology and developed mathematical model, authors came out with optimised perceived value of reduction of a manufacturer's wastes by implementing appropriate lean strategies within a manufacturer's resources constraints. Results also demonstrate that the perceived value of reduction of manufacturing wastes can significantly be changed based on policies and product strategy taken by a manufacturer. The proposed methodology can also be used in dynamic situations by changing the input in the programme developed in MATLAB. By identifying appropriate lean strategies for specific manufacturing wastes, a manufacturer can better prioritise implementation efforts and resources to maximise the success of implementing lean strategies in their organisation.

The role of Non-Government Organisations (NGOS) in practising editorial photography in a globalised media environment

The news media industry has changed dramatically into a global business with ever-increasing attention being devoted to entertainment and celebrity across the last 10–20 years. There has also been a growing reliance on images produced by citizens (citizen photojournalism), by media outlets and publishers. It is widely acknowledged that in tandem these changes have shrunk publication opportunities for professional photographers undertaking editorial projects. As a result, photographers are increasingly relying on non-government organisations (NGOs) to gain access to photographing issues and events in developing countries and to expand their economic and portfolio opportunities. This increase in photographers working for and alongside NGOs has given rise to a new genre of editorial photography which I call NGO Reportage. By way of a case study, an exploration of this new genre reveals important issues for photographers working with NGOs and examines the constructed narratives of images contained within these emerging practices.

Cultural drivers of high performing knowledge-intensive service organisations

Organisational culture is considered an important influence on performance, particularly for service firms that rely on values-driven social controls to enhance human interactions (O’Reilly & Chatman, 1996). Using a qualitative approach, we show how the modified Organisational Culture Profile developed by Sarros, Gray, Densten, and Cooper (2005) to assess Australian organisations provides a framework for exploring the cultural drivers of high performing knowledge-intensive service firms in New Zealand. Our study provides rich insights into how six key cultural dimensions–competitiveness, innovation, performance orientation, emphasis on rewards, supportiveness and social responsibility–are translated into strategic human resource management practices.

Critical reflections on the use of participatory methodologies to build evaluation capacities in international development organisations

There has been a greater focus on strengthening evaluation capacity building (ECB) within development organisations in recent years. This can be attributed in part to the growing appreciation of the value of participatory and collaborative forms of evaluation. Evaluation is increasingly seen as an ongoing learning process and an important means of strengthening capacity and improving organisational performance (Horton et al., 2003:7). While there are many benefits of using participatory methodologies in ECB projects, our experiences and a review of the literature in this area highlight the many challenges, issues and contradictions that can affect the success of such ECB efforts. We discuss these issues, drawing on our learnings from the ongoing participatory action research (PAR) project 'Assessing Communication for Social Change’ (AC4SC). This four year project, which began in 2007, is a collaboration between communication and development academics and evaluation specialists from two Australian universities and communication for development practitioners and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) staff in the NGO Equal Access Nepal (EAN). The aim is to develop, implement, and evaluate a participatory methodology for assessing the social change impacts of community radio programs produced by EAN. It builds on previous projects that used ethnographic action research (EAR) methodology (Tacchi et al., 2007).

Critical reflections on the use of participatory methodologies to build evaluation capacities in international development organisations

"In this chapter the authors present a critique of Participatory Evaluation as worked in development projects, in this case, in Nepal. The article works between established claims that Participatory Evaluation builds capacity at programmatic and organisational levels, and the specific experiences of these claims in the authors’ current work. They highlight the need to address key difficulties such as high turn-over of staff and resulting loss of capacity to engage in Participatory Evaluation, and the difficulty of communication between academic as compared with local practical wisdoms. A key issue is the challenge of addressing the inevitable issues of power inequities that such approaches encounter. While Participatory Evaluation has been around for some time, it has only enjoyed more widespread recognition of its value in comparatively recent times, with its uptake in international development environments. To this extent, the practice is still in its early stages of development, and Jo, June and Michael’s work contributes to strengthening and more comprehensively understanding it. With regard to the meta-theme of this publication, this chapter is an example of how context not only influences the methodology to be used and the praxis of how it is to be used, but contributes to early explication of the core nature of an emerging methodology."

Learning and development opportunities as a tool for the retention of volunteers : a motivation perspective

The growing reliance on volunteers in Australia has heightened the need for non-profit organisations to retain these valuable resources. However, the current literature on volunteer retention is limited. One potential way volunteers can be retained is by providing learning and development opportunities (LDOs). This study investigates the relationship between volunteer perceptions of LDOs, their motivations for volunteering, and retention. Analyses revealed significant main effects for LDOs and volunteer motivations on retention and several interactive effects demonstrating that LDOs can have differential effects on retention depending on the reasons for volunteering.