The purpose of this thesis is to explore conditions under which the human spirit flowers in modern organisations. The topic of the thesis was sparked by prolonged study at the Master’s level of the writings of Robert K. Greenleaf, modern servant leadership theorist. Greenleaf was concerned with the ways and the conditions in which the human spirit flowers. He wrote a number of essays on the topic (Greenleaf, 1996b). He often questioned what organisations as they currently stood were doing to help people grow as whole people. As workers spend increasing amounts of time in the workplace, organisations continue to seek ways in which to increase employee satisfaction and decrease the compartmentalising of human experience. The geographical context of study is that of Aotearoa/New Zealand with participants selected from the Church Educational System of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Tāmaki-makau-rau/Auckland region. The Church Educational System, or CES, is a worldwide religious education provider headquartered in the Western United States. The context for study was chosen based on my perceived personal growth as a student for nine years in the CES programmes and my desire to understand how the programme was administered in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The project employs a qualitative methodology using as primary data gathering methods in-depth interviews with three CES directors, three focus groups made up of sixteen volunteer teachers, classroom observations, and document analysis. Using Greenleaf’s descriptions of the servant leader as a central focus, I attempt through this qualitative study to address the central research question: How does the Church Educational System (CES) nurture servant leaders? The central metaphor of the garden was used in processing and analysing data. The garden metaphor was intended to assist in the conceptualisation of relationships of service as they are at work in the lives of participants. Identified relationships of service from the findings were between participants co-workers (plants), love (life-force), Jesus Christ (sun), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (plot), purpose (strength), Aotearoa/New Zealand (soil), exemplars (canopy), experience (seasons), Church Educational System (gardener), positions, training, programmes (gardener tools), growth (colour/aroma/fruit), knowledge (water), and organisational care (pruning/transplanting). Findings indicated that nurturing in the Church Educational System is influenced by the ability of the organisation to bring people together in meaningful ways. Findings also show that understanding relationships of service that make up whole people may be an important step for organisations in the nurturing of servant leaders. Nurturing in the CES appears to be taking place in three primary areas: balancing, renewal, and regeneration. The findings of this study have significance for those inside and outside of the CES. A chapter is dedicated to exploring possible application of findings in variant organisational contexts. Providing consistent formal and informal opportunities for sharing in spirit and intellect at the organisational level appears to be a key in the nurturing of servant leaders in organisations.

In recent years, a growing body of research has examined the issue of work–life balance (WLB). WLB initiatives have been developed by organisations, not only to aid employees in leading healthier and more satisfying lives, but to attract and retain talent. One area where WLB issues have not been examined in detail is from the perspective of Chinese immigrant women. As one of the largest and growing Asian ethnic groups, the WLB issues faced by Chinese women are especially worthy of being examined and addressed. The primary purpose of this research was to explore the WLB experience of Chinese women in administrative roles at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). It also aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on WLB issues for minority ethnic groups and investigated Chinese women’s coping strategies for integrating work with their non-work roles. An exploratory qualitative case study approach was adopted for this study in order to compare and contrast organisational initiatives and policies for WLB with women’s experiences. A triangulated research design was also employed to glean qualitative data by virtue of multiple methods including archival evidence such as publicly available documentation, secondary research on WLB and AUT’s WLB policies, and semi-structured interviews. This study involved 12 Chinese female administrative staff and three staff members from the Human Resource Department (HRD), the Asian Staff Network (ASN) and the AUT Branch of Tertiary Institutes Allied Staff Association (TIASA). Participants were recruited by utilising sources such as the Asian Staff Network (ASN) and the researcher’s network of contacts within AUT. The findings of the study indicated that Chinese women’s WLB experience and ways of handling work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC) were affected by their experiences of immigration and cultural backgrounds. In particular, their family situation had a critical influence on the way they organised their households and arranged for childcare or eldercare. Child/elder care responsibilities, personal/family emergencies, and personal/individual sacrifice engendered tensions around their ability to integrate WLB. In addition, work factors such as heavy workloads, meeting deadlines, and working longer hours, and cultural barriers caused emotional stress and physical consequences. While informal support from managers and colleagues and the WLB policies offered by the university helped women address their WLB issues, some policies were underutilised. A variety of coping strategies such as family members, win-lose strategies, time management, building clear boundaries, changing mindsets, and demonstrating commitment were actively adopted by Chinese women as mechanisms to cope with tensions between their work and family lives. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of the theory and practice of WLB.

Internet services play an increasingly important role in modern society. Mobile Internet, a fast-growing technology that combines the Internet with mobile devices, has recently become popular. It is predicted that the convergence between mobile networks and the Internet would become the next generation of network architecture, and mobile IPv6 is likely to emerge as the most efficient and cost-effective instrument to achieve "anywhere and anytime" fast Internet and resolve the problems of worldwide mobility management. This research project reviews mobile Internet competition and the market mix in New Zealand, both major players and minor players being involved. The researcher also investigates the requirements of the mobile Internet deployment model from two perspectives: the market and the consumers. Finally the connection between end user services (for example, mobile Internet) and convergence (for example, network convergence and technology convergence) are examined in the research study conducted.The researcher applies a multi-case study strategy to conduct the research project and interview is adopted as the major research technique in order to collect research data. Several organizations which deploy mobile Internet services in New Zealand are chosen as participants, with the aim of offering both personal insights and business views to the research questions and objectives.

The research aim was to gain a more detailed understanding of the operation of different key segments for fresh produce supply chains originating in the Highlands Provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The research investigates a number of supply chain dimensions of effectiveness which include, value creation and integration of processes, logistics, quality, information, relationship/vertical integration and overall effectiveness. These were linked together in SC framework. Two potato chains were investigated, one formal, the other informal. The informal potato chain involves small holder farmers, input suppliers and local markets including kai bars and the urban market. The chain originates and ends within the Western Highlands Province. The formal potato chain has farmers, input suppliers, wholesaler/marker, transport companies (trucking and coastal shipping agents), supermarkets, hotels and kai bars. This chain originates in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands Province and ends in Port Moresby, National Capital District. The effectiveness of both the formal and informal chains was identified, and comparisons were made to see how each chain differed. The informal chain was found to have different problems to the formal chains. However, participants to both chains demonstrate a high entrepreneurial behavior. A key finding of the study was that the chains spread their risk by operating in multiple market segments and this can help to solve issues with variable quality. The marketers in each chain position themselves in these different market segments. It was clear from this work that focusing on functions and not the whole chain can lead to a distorted view of chain performance. For example, for the informal chain, a focus on logistics issues, particularly poor roads and problems with availability of seeds, can misrepresent the effectiveness of this chain. Therefore, it was concluded that it is important to look at the overall performance of each chain rather than looking specifically at particular chain functions in isolation.

The study explores the management of patient complaints at a private hospital in Taiwan (i.e. the Case Hospital). The case study aims to identify factors which influence the response of the hospital to patient complaints and whether it incorporates information derived from patient complaints in its quality improvement efforts. The study was conducted in two stages. The first stage was a cross-institutional comparison of quality management systems between a hospital in Britain and a hospital in Taiwan. The study explored how these hospitals managed patient complaints and whether they took such feedback into account in reviewing priority of services. The second stage included a detailed case study of the hospital in Taiwan (the Case Hospital), exploring the hospital???s responses to patient complaints, along with the factors which may have influenced these responses. The study was designed to triangulate data through the use of a multi-method approach to derive converging or diverging empirical evidence from a variety of data sources. Data were obtained through interviews with hospital senior managers, a senior social worker, government officials, and managers of non-government organisations. A questionnaire survey was administered to managers, and the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), along with observation, was applied, as well as analysis of documents. Principally, this study adopts the techniques of thematic analysis (Lincoln and Guba, 1985a) with an interpretivist approach to analyse the empirical data. The results of the study indicate that although the Case Hospital appeared to be concerned about patients??? complaints, it did not respond in a systematic way to the messages received. Hospital managers appeared to merely attempt to pacify complainants while ignoring the underlying causes of their complaints. It was evident that there were no protocols in place as to how staff should handle complaints, and as a result, the hospital was failing to use the information about systemic problems provided by patient complaints to make any sustainable quality improvement. In other words, whilst the Case Hospital was attempting to resolve patient complaints on a case-by-case basis (doing things right for the patient, or in the terms of Argyris (1990), using ???single-loop??? learning), it was not reviewing or acting on these complaints as a collective group to identify systemic problems and deficiencies (doing right things, i.e. ???double-loop??? learning). The study found that the organisational response to complaints was influenced by features of the complaints and institutional attributes. Features of complaints affected the response pathways to complaints, such as patients??? status, the severity of complaints, and the nature of complaints. In terms of systemic features, the organisational response to complaints was influenced by the interaction between managerial factors (e.g. organisational structure and organisational culture), operational factors (e.g. documentation and communication), and technical factors (e.g. complaints handling techniques and information systems). The values of the top hospital management have been recognised as a powerful influence on these factors. Generally, results show that although the Case Hospital tends to take action to address individual complainants, there was no evidence of sustainable quality improvement within the organisation as a result of complaints data. The study recommends that if the hospital intends to use patient complaints to improve quality of clinical care, a ???double-loop??? learning strategy should be adopted within the organisation. This study also argues that governments need to take more responsibility and demand more accountability from hospitals, in terms of complaints handling. The individual hospital would thus be able to respond to patient complaints in a systemic way. Hospitals need to be more accountable when using patient complaints to drive quality improvement in the future.

In 1978, Primary Health Care (PHC) was formally recognised, in the Declaration of Alma-Ata, as the key to achieving the World Health Organisation's goal of 'Health For All by the Year 2000' (HFA). PHC was seen as the solution to the inadequate illness management systems that had developed throughout the world. It was hoped that PHC would address some of the major inequalities in health observed both within and between countries by its balanced system of treatment and disease prevention. The WHO envisaged that PHC would take place as close as possible to where people live and work and be the first element of a continuing health care process. Additionally, health service collaboration and multi-professional partnerships were expected to replace professional boundaries and competition. Shortly after the Declaration of Alma-Ata, the World Health Organisation, supported by national and international nursing bodies, proposed that nurses would be the driving force behind the HFA movement as active partners in inter-professional teams, leaders in health care and resources to people rather than resources to other health professionals. In the ensuing years, although community health nurses were acknowledged by the government and the nursing profession as key players in PHC in Australia, practice nurses (nurses who are employed in general medical practices) were not identified within this group. Hence, it appeared as though these practice nurses were 'invisible', not considered important to PHC in Australia, or simply overlooked as a major influence on population health. The purpose of this study was to describe the current role of these nurses and to identify and analyse the factors that influenced their scope of practice and hence their contribution to PHC. The research was conducted as a case study of practice nurses in one Division of General Practice in southeast Queensland. The study was influenced by the constructivist paradigm of inquiry and utilised a complementary sequence of quantitative methods followed by qualitative investigation. The first stage of the study comprised a telephone followed by mail survey of general practitioners and practice nurses employed within the Division. This was followed by a second stage, which involved group and individual interviews of key informants and was supported by document review and observation. The study revealed that the practice nurse role is essentially one of assistant to the general practitioner wherein the nurse undertakes basic assessment procedures to aid the medical diagnosis, carries out delegated therapeutic procedures, and contributes to the administrative functioning of the practice. Autonomous nursing initiatives, which appear to be largely opportunistic and incidental to delegated activities, include physical and emotional support of patients, clarification and reinforcement of medical instructions, and the provision of health education. The practice nurse's role, and hence contribution to PHC, was found to be constrained by a number of factors. These factors include the current funding arrangements for general practice, the view that practice nurses are an option rather than a necessity, the general practitioners' control of the practice setting, the appropriation of nursing work to medical receptionists, the lack of professional development opportunities, and the practice nurses' passive acceptance of their circumstances. However, both general practitioners and practice nurses appreciate the value of nursing services in general practice and GPs would sanction the employment of more nurses, if given financial incentives, especially for the purpose of preventive care. The majority of practice nurses believe their role should be expanded to include autonomous functioning while most of the GPs were amenable to some extension of nursing practice but reticent or opposed to any independent interventions. There appears a need in Queensland for courses to prepare practice nurses for advanced practice if they want to expand their role in PHC beyond that of assistants to GPs. It would also seem to be in the nurses' interests to initiate a professional association of practice nurses as a vehicle to explore other issues relevant to their professional development. In addition, if PNs want to expand their role they will need to demonstrate improved patient outcomes and cost effectiveness.

ACT Year 9 Exhibitions Program aligns curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in the design and implementation of rich learning tasks, which are focussed on transdisciplinary, problem-based, community-centred issues. It provides an authentic assessment model through a panel assessment process of demonstrated student achievement. This case study research examines the uptake of an Exhibitions approach in three ACT high schools. It discovers, through their own telling, what inspires commitment by participants to the program and the ways that they measure success. The study draws on a rich data set of narrative inquiry and semi-structured interviews with teachers and students from the case study schools. Analysis of the 'lived experiences' of the participants indicates that how individuals profit by the program is determined by five critical factors which are realized differently for them. Further, for the Year 9 Student Exhibitions Program to succeed in meeting its goals of providing for teacher renewal and improved student learning outcomes, and of promoting high school reform, certain conditions must prevail. These conditions converge around the support afforded teachers to build their capacity for curriculum and pedagogical change, and the opportunities for engagement and agency of both teachers and students in the design of the Exhibition task and its implementation. This study investigates the realities of implementing change in schools and its findings augment what theorists would predict for school change. It indicates that the extent to which Exhibitions can drive a wedge into the 'business-as-usual' approach of the ACT's more traditional high schools, and provide an alternative view of what it means to educate for the 21st century, depends ultimately upon the human and structural conditions created in the school, and the authenticity of the approach to uptake. This study contains important recommendations for government and education systems alike as they pursue school change.

Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / This thesis investigates performing arts administration and management in the current economic and social environment in Vietnam and Australia within a context of globalisation. A comparative study of two major arts organisations in both Vietnam and Australia was carried out to investigate the following: why and how performing arts organisations are adapting to the changing environment; how arts leaders are adapting to changes; and whether arts managers need specific arts management training. The suitability of pertinent training packages and tertiary arts management courses from an Australian perspective are examined to determine whether these could be adapted for arts administration training in Vietnam. A qualitative case study approach was employed, using judgemental sampling. Two case studies were in Vietnam (the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra and the Hanoi Youth Theatre), and two in Australia (the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Melbourne Theatre Company). Some arts administrators involved with managing these performing arts organisations were interviewed in-depth, and relevant documents, regulations and policies in the arts field were also analysed to lay a foundation for comprehending the operation and management of performing arts organisations in both countries, at a time of change. Findings indicate that globalisation and particularly economic changes are major pressures that are pushing arts organisations to adapt. Furthermore, in the context of the knowledge economy, credentials have become increasingly important for arts leaders to obtain their positions, while in order to be successful in their positions, practical experience, innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset proved to be even more essential. It is suggested that some pertinent arts management training courses in Australia could, if adapted, contribute to enhancing arts management and the entertainment industry in Vietnam, as well as providing mutual benefit to both Vietnam and Australia.

Elite coaches consider aspects of sports science when preparing athletes for competition. Sports scientists conduct applied research and a fundamental purpose of sports science research is to produce knowledge that helps improve the performance of elite athletes. In view of the considerable resources being directed toward research and coaching at the elite level, there is a need to conduct research to identify the relationship between research and coaching practice at the elite level. Australia has an institute of sport or academy of sport in each state and territory dedicated to the development of team and individual sports, both Olympic and non- Olympic. In the area of elite athlete performance, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has gained an international reputation for excellence, and the AIS Research Centre has achieved international recognition for the quality of research projects directed toward the performance of elite athletes. Sports scientists at Australian universities also undertake research related to elite coaching, some of which has occurred in partnership with researchers at Australian institutes of sport. The purpose of the study was to identify the relationship between sports science research at Australian institutes of sport and post-graduate sports science research in Australian universities, and how elite coaches in Australia perceive sports science research practice meeting the needs of elite coaching. A case study method was selected for this thesis, which involved the following data gathering instruments: a survey of 225 elite coaches and 125 sports science researchers, follow-up interviews of elite coaches and sports science researchers, and document analysis of 725 research projects conducted at Australian institutes of sport and postgraduate theses at Master and Doctoral level at Australian universities. An analysis was also conducted to assess the sports science content contained in the National Coaching Accreditation Scheme's Level Three course material. A schedule was developed for the document analysis called the "Williams Sports Science Research Schedule". Interviews were conducted with elite key informants to validate a model that was developed fiom the study. Results of the study revealed a degree of congruence between the perceptions of elite coaches and sports science researchers regarding the research needs of elite coaches and the research activity of sports science researchers. A model, called the "Elite Sports Research Model" was developed to describe that relationship. The Elite Sports Research Model contains four components, namely: coach knowledge, information seeking/dissemination strategies, qualities valued in an elite coach and a sports science researcher, and application of research. Within the model, particular perspectives of elite coaches and particular perspectives of sports science researchers were identified. Some differences were found between elite coaches of team sports and elite coaches of individual sports, as well as some differences between researchers at institutes of sports and researchers at universities. At the elite level in Australia a relationship was found between sports science research activity and the research needs of elite coaches. With the increase in support for elite coaching and sports science research in Australia and internationally, the results of this study should help to inform improvement in sports science research programs that support elite coaching practice.

The professional sport market and its established teams offer consumers a service and experience that is typically high in social identification, emotional involvement (Underwood, Bond & Baer, 2001) and a sense of community or social belonging (Heere & James, in press). The strong social attachment to a sports organisation and its brand is proposed here to closely resemble the concept of a brand community (Muñiz Jr & O'Guinn, 2001). For newly-established teams without a considerable history, along with having to compete with their established competitors, there is generally a lack of consumer identification or emotional investment in the team.This study aimed to investigate newly-established teams within the New Zealand sports market with two specific research questions: 1) What issues affect the development of a new sports team brand, and 2) Do managers of new sports teams use antecedents of brand community or social identification in their branding strategies, and if so, how?A qualitative, case study approach was used; featuring both interviews with managers of three newly-established New Zealand sports teams and direct observations of their stadiums. Findings suggested that the managers believed that existing image and awareness, audience nature, win-loss record, quality of the team or competition, and a lack of history were the main issues affecting the development of their brands. Respondents largely considered the antecedents of a brand community as important, with the exception of history. Promotion of these antecedents was largely absent from each of the team's branding strategies. Along with providing a detailed review of brand community literature, this thesis provides recommendations for managers of new teams on how to develop and position branding strategy toward the long-term goal of creating a community around their team brand.