Copyright (c) 2009 University of Wollongong All rights reserved. http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers Recent documents in Faculty of Commerce - Papers en-us Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:06:40 PST 3600 http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/573 http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/573 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:34:54 PDT In response to the continuing under-representation of women in academic positions of higher rank, the Faculty of Commerce and the Employment, Equity and Diversity unit at the University of Wollongong jointly supported a Women in Commerce Research Platform (WICRP) with the view to increasing research of women in commerce. We describe the WICRP and evaluate it in the context of prior research related to the specific challenges faced by female academics. The WICRP pilot period was reviewed using surveys and open ended questions and our findings are generally consistent with prior research. This paper draws on these findings and in writing about them (both as researchers and participants) we focus on the role of research as praxis. We discuss the potential impact of specific strategies to support academic women in research and its contribution to the ideal of community. In suspending methodological and theoretical differences we note the imperative for a shared space to also accommodate diversity as an empowering strategy. Just as dichotomies between work and family need to be problematised, so must the differentiation between research, teaching and administration in evaluating career progression. M. A. Barrett http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/572 http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/572 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:12:59 PDT Purpose - This study tests three hypotheses: (1) that non-profit organizations follow a customer-centered approach to marketing, (2) that marketing is run by marketing-trained staff and (3) that cross-continental differences in the adoption of marketing in the UK, the USA and Australia exist due to differences in the operating environment. Methodology - A survey study was conducted with non-profit managers. The sample contains 136 respondents; 36 from the UK, 33 from the USA and 67 from Australia. Findings - Non-profit managers indicated that the most important marketing activities are promotional in nature. The importance of market research and strategic marketing was acknowledged only by a small proportion of non-profits, supporting Andreasen and Kotler's (2003) assertion that non-profit organizations have an "organization-centered" mindset. Only one fifth of marketing staff are trained in marketing. Non-profit organizations in the UK, USA and Australia did not differ in their use of marketing and marketing operations, suggesting that the similarity of market pressures may be more influential than the differences in operating environments. Practical implications - Shifting from an "organization-centered" to a "customer-centered" approach to marketing represents a key opportunity for non-profit organizations to increase their competitive advantage and improve their outcomes in terms of the organizational mission. The primary strategy to achieve this aim is to make increased use of formally trained marketing staff. Originality - To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to assess the state of marketing practise in non-profit organizations since Kotler (1979, 1982), the first to test the organization-centered hypothesis and the first to test differences across countries. S. Dolnicar http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/571 http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/571 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:45:36 PDT The aim of this paper is to develop a self-actualizing spirituality model. It examines the place of self-actualization in the experience of workplace spirituality of Sri Lankan business leaders. The primary method of data collection was in-depth and face-to-face interviews with 13 Sri Lankan business leaders. Within the qualitative tradition and case study method, grounded theory and data triangulation were used to analyze the data. The findings suggest that when the business leaders experience workplace spirituality, they commonly project a need to grow, become and evolve towards the ideal (ought) self. This need is primarily driven by a desire to relate or connect to one's self. Findings suggest that self-actualizing work arrangements offer a way to implement inclusive workplace spirituality, devoid of the challenges usually associated with the practice of religion-based workplace spirituality. Despite the geographical, cultural and social differences that exist between Sri Lanka and other cultures, this paper provides research implications for spiritual leadership and ethical decision-making in other cultural settings. M. Fernando http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/570 http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/570 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:45:32 PDT The Assessment of Spirituality and Religious Sentiments (ASPIRES) Scale represents spirituality as a universal source of motivation. Psychometric evidence for this argument is demonstrated when scores on the scale remain reliable and structurally valid across cultures and religious contexts. The psychometric qualities of the ASPIRES was examined with in a diverse religious sample from Sri Lanka. The results demonstrated the structural validity and applicability of the measure within this ethnic group. The data provided further support for cross-cultural applicability of the instrument and for the assumption of spirituality as a universal aspect of the human experience. R. Piedmont http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/569 http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/569 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:45:28 PDT Stage theory argues that firms expand exports incrementally and, in the process, pass through a series of increasingly more resource intensive export channels. This paper tests this hypothesis for NSW regional exporters in the period 1996/97 to2000/01. Consistent with other studies, we found general support for incremental export expansion, and that firms added more sophisticated export modes as commitment increased. However, they did not discard earlier modes in this process. One major contradiction to stage theory lay with 'born global' firms, which move immediately tohigh export ratios. A second more unexpected one lay with long term, intensiveexporters, which persisted in using simple modes such as direct exporting A. Hodgkinson http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/568 http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/568 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:45:24 PDT When we did the primary research for our book Learning Family Business: Paradoxes and Pathways*, we talked to many owners of family businesses at different stages of the business life cycle. In the course of talking to them, we noticed that family business owners would say that their business was "just like any other business". But then they would always follow this with the word "except" and then go on to describe something which suggests that family businesses are very unlike other businesses. This is not altogether surprising. After all, a family and a business are both systems that do not necessarily occur together, so running the two of them together is likely to create situations that make family businesses different from others. Moreover, the high level of interdependency between ownership and management in a family business creates forces which make executive and strategic decisions more complex and more subjective. When a family runs a business, major decisions in the family firm will affect both the family and the business systems, creating paradoxes about running family businesses that do not occur in non-family businesses. We saw this at all the successive stages of learning the family business that we described in our book: learning business, learning our business, to learning to lead our business and, finally, learning to let go our business. M. Barrett http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/567 http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/567 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:45:20 PDT The paper describes a study of three groups: patients, orthopaedic surgeons and the surgeons' practice managers, concerning three types of legal risk associated with duty of care: failure to follow up, failure to warn and failure to diagnose. The study found there is cause for concern about doctors' follow-up and documentation of patient care. Doctors may be unaware of the Australian courts' propensity to emphasise practitioner responsibility rather than patient autonomy. A further important result is the considerable disparity between doctors' views and the views of their practice managers. The paper draws implications for improved risk awareness and further research. S. Andrew http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/566 http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/566 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:26:52 PDT The two great upsurges in Australian union mobilisation occurred in the 1880s and the first decade of the twentieth century. In both cases membership increased in scope and intensity: an expansion of the number of union organisations across a wider range of industries and occupations, as well as an increase of union density in industries and occupations where unions already existed. However, a major environmental difference between the two upsurges in mass unionism was the existence of a system of compulsory state arbitration, from 1901 in NSW and from 1904 in the Commonwealth. It has commonly been observed that the legislation was critical in assisting rapid trade union growth in the early 1900s. This article examines in more detail the factors common to both the 1880s and early 1900s which contributed to union mobilisation, and reviews the evidence for a major role for the arbitration system in the latter period. It concludes that the statistics have been misused and misunderstood by those previously relying on them to argue that the arbitration system was critical for the expansion of unionism in the early 1900s. Union growth in the early 1900s seems to have had a similar basis to that in the 1880s: strong localised communities, perceived threats to working conditions, and a strong coordinating role by peak union bodies, together with a broad consensus providing a public place for unions. The role of the state was a critical factor in the early 1900s in constructing this public place for unions, even if the operation of the arbitration system itself was not a major direct contributor to union growth. R. Markey http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/565 http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/565 Sun, 31 May 2009 17:28:17 PDT This paper uses an Autoregressive Fractionally Integrated Moving Average (ARFIMA) process to determine if Australia's savings and investment are fractionally cointegrated. The study finds the two series to be fractionally cointegrated implying that deviations from equilibrium are persistent. A. Cooray http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/564 http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/564 Sun, 31 May 2009 17:28:13 PDT This paper examines the efficiency in the stock markets of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF-1979, 1981), the Phillips-Perron (PP-1988), the Dicky-Fuller Generalized Least Square (DF-GLS-1996) and Elliot-Rothenberg-Stock (ERS - 1996) tests are used to examine weak form stock market efficiency. Weak form efficiency is supported by the classical unit root tests. However, it is not strongly supported for Bangladesh under the DF-GLS and ERS tests. Cointegration and Granger causality tests are used to examine semi-strong form efficiency. Semi-strong form efficiency is not supported as these tests indicate a high degree of interdependence among the South Asian stock markets. The above results have implications for domestic as well as foreign investors in South Asian stock markets. A. Cooray