Developing and testing a best practice model of enterprise bargaining in the retail sector. Recently, the Australian labour market has seen a decrease in the manufacturing sector and an increase in the retail sector. The SDA with over 230,000 members is the largest trade and industrial union in Australia. It negotiates EB Agreements on behalf of employees. This research will assess improved job satisfaction and job conditions - a key EB goal, which will have tangible benefits in reducing turnove ....Developing and testing a best practice model of enterprise bargaining in the retail sector. Recently, the Australian labour market has seen a decrease in the manufacturing sector and an increase in the retail sector. The SDA with over 230,000 members is the largest trade and industrial union in Australia. It negotiates EB Agreements on behalf of employees. This research will assess improved job satisfaction and job conditions - a key EB goal, which will have tangible benefits in reducing turnover of retail sector employees, recognised as a major problem for employers. This research will enhance effectiveness for unions and employers in the implementation of agreements commensurate with the needs of employees, the findings of which will have broad applicability across Australian industryRead moreRead less
Social and cultural factors in Indigenous enterprise management and governance. The project addresses Indigenous economic self-sufficiency by developing a model of Indigenous enterprise development and governance. By focusing on sustainability of Indigenous communities in remote areas, the project contributes to National Research Priority 3 (Promoting and maintaining good health: Strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric). The project addresses the National framework of principles f ....Social and cultural factors in Indigenous enterprise management and governance. The project addresses Indigenous economic self-sufficiency by developing a model of Indigenous enterprise development and governance. By focusing on sustainability of Indigenous communities in remote areas, the project contributes to National Research Priority 3 (Promoting and maintaining good health: Strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric). The project addresses the National framework of principles for delivering services to Indigenous Australians developed by the Council of Australian Governments by seeking new ways to promote economic participation and development, supporting capacity at local and regional levels and building opportunities for indigenous families and individuals to become self-sufficient.Read moreRead less
Culture Change for a Sustainable Future: Strategy, Culture and Subculture in Queensland Health. The project investigates the strategic change processes of a State Health authority. The organisation has launched a series of change efforts in recent years, the most current being a major strategic initiative that is being implemented via a Balanced Scorecard methodology. The project examines longitudinally that change implementation process and its affects, particularly the impact on organisational ....Culture Change for a Sustainable Future: Strategy, Culture and Subculture in Queensland Health. The project investigates the strategic change processes of a State Health authority. The organisation has launched a series of change efforts in recent years, the most current being a major strategic initiative that is being implemented via a Balanced Scorecard methodology. The project examines longitudinally that change implementation process and its affects, particularly the impact on organisational culture. Theoretically, it explores the existence of organisational subcultures and how they function as a resource by organisational members to make differential interpretations of the change process. It focuses on subcultures formed around professional identifications and the extent to which they align with the change.Read moreRead less
The evolution of global communities of practice within organisations: leveraging structure, identity and coordination. Communities of practice, groups of people who interact to share interests, concerns, or problems in a topic area, are popular within global organizations seeking to leverage dispersed knowledge and expertise for competitive advantage. This research project will examine factors that influence the effectiveness of global communities of practice.
Behind the scenes: diversity management paradigm shifts and sticking points. Many Australian organisations miss out on the potential benefits of workforce diversity because they do not manage diversity effectively. This project will investigate how organisations can initiate and direct change processes to manage diversity more effectively, and as a result, experience higher productivity and employee engagement.
Examinations of the relationship between accreditation and clinical and organisational performance. Accreditation of organisations is now commonplace. It involves assessing organisations against pre-defined standards. This is a highly significant issue because of the millions of dollars of investment in accreditation. We do not know if we achieve value for money or whether positive change is associated with accreditation. Few studies have examined this in detail. We aim to do so in this stud ....Examinations of the relationship between accreditation and clinical and organisational performance. Accreditation of organisations is now commonplace. It involves assessing organisations against pre-defined standards. This is a highly significant issue because of the millions of dollars of investment in accreditation. We do not know if we achieve value for money or whether positive change is associated with accreditation. Few studies have examined this in detail. We aim to do so in this study. We will examine organisational and individual performance associated with accreditation status in order to illuminate the process and uncover any associations between accreditation and organisational culture, consumer participation and clinical (individual) performance indicators.
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Development of psychological capital in emergency service organisations. The project addresses the research priorities ‘Promoting good health and well being for all Australians’ and Safeguarding Australia. The project will identify ways in which the performance and wellbeing of volunteer and paid members of emergency service organisations can be enhanced, potentially diminishing the likelihood of depression, aggression, and other detrimental effects. The findings will also contribute to the qual ....Development of psychological capital in emergency service organisations. The project addresses the research priorities ‘Promoting good health and well being for all Australians’ and Safeguarding Australia. The project will identify ways in which the performance and wellbeing of volunteer and paid members of emergency service organisations can be enhanced, potentially diminishing the likelihood of depression, aggression, and other detrimental effects. The findings will also contribute to the quality of training provided to leaders in emergency services. Theoretically, the project will advance understanding of the mechanisms that underpin the psychological capital construct, placing Australian researchers at the forefront of this important emerging field of inquiry.Read moreRead less
Work related road safety countermeasures in a large fleet (QFleet). Despite accounting for more than 20% of the road crashes, relatively little research has been conducted on fleet safety in Australia. This research will develop guidelines for current best practice and design, implement and evaluate several new countermeasures. More importantly, it will develop a comprehensive model for future design, implementation and evaluation of fleet safety that will extend the frontier of knowledge in cra ....Work related road safety countermeasures in a large fleet (QFleet). Despite accounting for more than 20% of the road crashes, relatively little research has been conducted on fleet safety in Australia. This research will develop guidelines for current best practice and design, implement and evaluate several new countermeasures. More importantly, it will develop a comprehensive model for future design, implementation and evaluation of fleet safety that will extend the frontier of knowledge in crash analysis and prevention. By working closely with QFleet, current fleet safety thinking will be advanced to reduce the frequency and severity of road crashes thereby reducing road trauma and increasing business effectiveness.Read moreRead less
Whistling While They Work: Enhancing the Theory and Practice of Internal Witness Management in Public Sector Organisations. The protection of whistleblowers and other internal witnesses to corruption, misconduct and maladministration is a great unsolved problem in public sector governance. Involving 11 integrity institutions, this first national study of internal witness management will describe and compare organisational experience under varying public interest disclosure regimes across the Au ....Whistling While They Work: Enhancing the Theory and Practice of Internal Witness Management in Public Sector Organisations. The protection of whistleblowers and other internal witnesses to corruption, misconduct and maladministration is a great unsolved problem in public sector governance. Involving 11 integrity institutions, this first national study of internal witness management will describe and compare organisational experience under varying public interest disclosure regimes across the Australian public sector. By identifying and promoting current best practice in workplace responses to public interest whistleblowing, the project will use the experience and perceptions of internal witnesses and first- and second-level managers to identify more routine strategies for preventing, reducing and addressing reprisals and other whistleblowing-related conflicts.Read moreRead less
Determining the factors influencing the success of private and community-owned Indigenous businesses across remote, regional and urban Australia. The main benefit of this project is a thorough understanding of the challenges facing Indigenous enterprises in a range of geographical, economic and social settings. The research will identify and determine the importance of a broad range of factors which influence the success of Indigenous enterprises.