Oligopoly behaviour by domestic firms faced with foreign competition in a small open economy is examined in the context of a market for differentiated products. This paper concentrates on the responsiveness of import flows to import price in the context of trade with imperfect competition. The empirical work analyses the behaviour over time of the interaction between domestic industry prices and domestic costs as well as foreign competitors' prices. A structural model is employed for estimation purposes with consumer demand derived from a CES (constant elasticity of substitution) utility function of domestic and foreign composites of goods. Domestic firms are assumed to face Leontief production functions and maximise profit independently subject to their conjectures about the reactions of rivals. Firm behaviour is modelled using conjectural variations to identify market power, distinguishing two models of oligopoly, namely, Cournot and Bertrand conjectural variations. This leads to the econometric specification of pricing, import and budget share equations consistent with oligopolistic equilibrium. The interrelationship between the budget share equations and the price-cost margin provides encompasses either Cournot or Bertrand conjectural variations. The econometric specification is applied to each of the two digit Australian manufacturing industries using quarterly data covering the period from 1984 to 2000. Results of the industrial behaviour indicate that industries that produce consumer products are generally react to price movements The classification of industry 21 to 24 is more proximate to consumer products as compared to higher industrial numbering. The regression results for industry 25 to 28 suggest quantity reactions. This is in line with the nature of the products produce by these industries, which are heavy industrial manufacturing products. / The elasticity with respect to foreign price is distinguished between the "partial" and the "total" effect. The partial elasticity of import demand ranges from .6205 to 4.9497, while the total elasticity of import demand ranges from .6505 to 19.8132. The elasticity of demand ranges from .0191 for Wood and Paper Product manufacturing to 3.4093 for Food, Beverage and Tobacco manufacturing.

Union mergers have occurred since unions were first established. Research on this particular aspect of the union movement is well established in the UK and the US. However, there are few studies of Australian union mergers, despite the fact that many Australian unions took part in a 'merger boom' in the 1980s and 1990s. Two of the few Australian studies, Hocking (1996) and Campling and Michelson (1998), utilised resource dependency and strategic choice theories to ascertain the why and how of union mergers. However, these Australian studies, like their UK and US counterparts, cease with the completion of the merger and, consequently, there is little known of the post-merger operation of unions. How does the integration of the merger partners - with their traditions, structures and financial arrangements - occur? This thesis rectifies the gap in the literature by means of a qualitative, longitudinal study of the merger and post-merger activities of one of the largest and most prominent unions in Australia, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU), as it moved towards complete amalgamation. The thesis examines the period 1995-2003. Four of the five pre-merger unions faced a serious and continued decline in membership and all faced mounting financial deficits. From 1995, the year the various mergers were completed, membership decline continued and financial resources dwindled further, providing the impetus for further and significant post-merger changes. The analysis demonstrates that, due to a continuing lack of financial resources, the AMWU leadership initiated a budgeting strategy which influenced the actions and changed the opinions of many of the Union's officials, guiding them towards accepting integration of the constituent divisions and near complete amalgamation. The thesis answers the questions of why and how a union moves from a negotiated federated structure towards amalgamation, post merger, with a particular focus on financial decision-making processes.

The focus of this work-based action research project was attempts to change practice in an Australian manufacturing facility. The setting is a medium sized light manufacturing operation responding to the new commercial realities of the globalised and deregulated Australian marketplace. The analogy of a sandcastle facing the rising tide is used to assist the reader associate with the destructive threat that globalisation brings to Australian manufacturing. In an attempt to maintain profitability amidst unprecedented competition, the organisation has published a manufacturing improvement strategy designed to raise productivity and assure its future viability. Consistent with the objectives of this strategy, the project examines processes for changing practice within the organisation. Specifically, the project aimed to implement change using the Global Manufacturing Strategy as a guide, to increase the capacity of the managers who were accountable for the implementation of the Strategy. to improve the productivity and profitability of the company and to make a contribution to professional knowledge, in particular, the way that change is facilitated in an Australian manufacturing setting. Set within this local context, constructionist-learning techniques are implemented and their effectiveness assessed. The influence of power relationships on practice are analysed from data derived through workplace conversations and questionnaires. The paper concludes that under the threat of job losses, change in practice was limited. Manager-researcher role tension and the associated knowledge, power, time and ethical conflicts impacted the processes of collaborative learning and the rate of change in practice. It is suggested that collaborative change may be limited to situations where there are tangible benefits for all parties. As the profitability squeeze continues to slowly and relentlessly tighten, a depressing outlook is envisaged for those employed at the factory.