Executive discretion, the latitude for executives strategic decisions, is a powerful moderator of strategic decision making. In spite of its potential contribution to strategic management studies, Hambrick and Finkelstein's (1987) socio-political model of executive discretion has received little empirical research effort. Some of the basic propositions of the model, which incorporates industry, firm and individual characteristics as determinants of discretion have not been empirically tested. The restricted research effort is partly attributable to the lack of quantitative measures for industry-level discretion. This thesis initially uses the correlation between industry-level attentional homogeneity, the similarity in foci of attention of executives in an industry, and industry-level discretion to produce 116 new values for industry-level discretion for 23 U.S. 4-digit SIC coded industries for the years 1990 to1997. Predictive validity for the new values is demonstrated using long-term debt data and annual accounts adjustment data. Theil's (1992b) industry variety measure based on information theory is modified to produce strategic variety measures that permit pan-industry comparisons. Strong support is demonstrated for a positive association between variety in long-term strategic positions and industry-level discretion. Some weak evidence suggesting large firms in low discretion industries may compete using behaviours that impact on current accounts is also identified.

This thesis examines the associations between organisational slack, that pool of actual or potential cushion of resources of an organisation, and executive discretion - the executives’ latitude for strategic action. Bourgeois and Singh (1983), George (2005), Sharfman et al. (1988) and Sharma (2000) have referred to slack as having a discretionary dimension because its ‘ease of recovery’ varies depending on where it is gained from. For the obverse of this association, slack contributes to resource availability in the task environment and therefore executive discretion (Hambrick & Finkelstein, 1987). However until now, this bi-direction association has been largely unexplored empirically. This thesis contributes to both fields by bringing them together to examine and measure aspects of these interactions. These constructs are applied to the annual reports of U.S. firms by measuring industry level discretion using content analysis of presidents’ letters to shareholders and industry average slack using financial ratios. Correlations show that industries with higher levels of slack enjoy greater industry level discretion. However the associations between slack types and industry level discretion are not uniform suggesting that the discretionary dimension of slack is influenced by the task environment and industry context. The present study replicated Keegan and Kabanoff’s (2007) method to examine slack within industries but could not extend their results to available and recoverable slack, which suggest a curvilinear relationship between potential slack and executive discretion. The limited sub-industry results offer opportunity for further research as does the idea of applying the same research question to the organisational and individual level studies of different cohorts of firms and industries. Future efforts should also improve the measurement of the slack construct.

The outsourcing market, especially Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), is growing every year. For decades, companies have successfully used outsourcing to generate significant savings. However, discussions with any employee will reveal some resentment of outsourcing. The aim of the study has been first to improve the understanding of some salient difficulties in Business Process Outsourcing relationships, with special reference to the perceived challenges of managing and monitoring Service Legal Agreements in Swiss banking, and second to assist outsourcing banks and service providers in formulating and managing their outsourcing contracts. The study was designed to obtain, through interviews, descriptions and perceptions of experts in Swiss Banking Business Process Outsourcing. Given the nature of the topic but also because of practical constraints, the investigator elected to use a qualitative, interpretative, social constructionist research framework. An extensive review of the literature revealed that a variety of definitions of in- and out-sourcing exist. Some of these terms were used in academic writings and the business press interchangeably and had to be defined. Twenty-two practitioners were interviewed. The data were analysed and interpreted with the help of qualitative analysis software (NVivo). Subsequently, I compared my findings with those of the literature reviewed. Furthermore, a gap in the literature, namely that it generally does not deal with the perceived quality of the relationship, could be addressed and practical approaches for managing BPO relationships are suggested. / Thesis (DoctorateofBusinessAdministration)--University of South Australia, 2007.

The nature and role of workplace literacy and numeracy are the subject of considerable debate (Baker, 1998; Castleton, 2002; Gee & Lankshear, 1997; Hull, 1997; Jackson, 2000; Marr & Hagston, 2007). The debate in New Zealand, (as in many other countries), is taking place amid concerns about the adequacy of the skills of its workforce and the latter’s ability to meet future demands of everyday work and life (Tertiary Education Commission, 2008). These concerns have resulted in major investment at a national level in a Skills Strategy (New Zealand Government, 2008) with particular emphasis on improving adult literacy and numeracy levels. However, Castleton (2002) suggests that conceptualising literacy as a skill ignores the reality of workplaces which, she suggests, consist of communities of workers who engage in purposeful communication and who possess and use different skills and knowledge in complementary ways, while Hull (1997) believes that too great an emphasis is placed on literacy, particularly in low skilled work. I teach on a programme for students with limited English literacy and numeracy proficiency. A common entry point into the workforce for current and past learners from the programme is entry-level supermarket work. However there is limited information available about the literacy and numeracy pre-requisites for this type of work or the literacy and numeracy demands placed on those in employment. In seeking to contribute to the body of knowledge about low skilled work in general and entry-level supermarket work in particular, research was carried out in a large, busy, suburban supermarket. The study was underpinned by the belief that both literacy and numeracy are social practices which cannot be separated from the contexts in which they occur. It adopted an ethnographic approach and was conducted through semi-structured interviews with supermarket managers and entry-level workers/supermarket assistants; observation of assistants during induction and at work; and analysis of some significant supermarket documentation. Findings indicate that, while literacy and numeracy are generally not considered to be important pre-requisites for entry-level supermarket work, supermarket assistants are exposed to highly context-specific literacy texts and ‘embedded’ and invisible numeracy demands at induction and during parts of their working day. The findings have significance for the teaching of literacy and numeracy in vocational training programmes. They indicate that off-site programmes have an important role to play in providing a learning foundation but also point to the importance of, and need for, workplace-specific, on-the-job literacy and numeracy training.

The nature and role of workplace literacy and numeracy are the subject of considerable debate (Baker, 1998; Castleton, 2002; Gee & Lankshear, 1997; Hull, 1997; Jackson, 2000; Marr & Hagston, 2007). The debate in New Zealand, (as in many other countries), is taking place amid concerns about the adequacy of the skills of its workforce and the latter’s ability to meet future demands of everyday work and life (Tertiary Education Commission, 2008). These concerns have resulted in major investment at a national level in a Skills Strategy (New Zealand Government, 2008) with particular emphasis on improving adult literacy and numeracy levels. However, Castleton (2002) suggests that conceptualising literacy as a skill ignores the reality of workplaces which, she suggests, consist of communities of workers who engage in purposeful communication and who possess and use different skills and knowledge in complementary ways, while Hull (1997) believes that too great an emphasis is placed on literacy, particularly in low skilled work. I teach on a programme for students with limited English literacy and numeracy proficiency. A common entry point into the workforce for current and past learners from the programme is entry-level supermarket work. However there is limited information available about the literacy and numeracy pre-requisites for this type of work or the literacy and numeracy demands placed on those in employment. In seeking to contribute to the body of knowledge about low skilled work in general and entry-level supermarket work in particular, research was carried out in a large, busy, suburban supermarket. The study was underpinned by the belief that both literacy and numeracy are social practices which cannot be separated from the contexts in which they occur. It adopted an ethnographic approach and was conducted through semi-structured interviews with supermarket managers and entry-level workers/supermarket assistants; observation of assistants during induction and at work; and analysis of some significant supermarket documentation. Findings indicate that, while literacy and numeracy are generally not considered to be important pre-requisites for entry-level supermarket work, supermarket assistants are exposed to highly context-specific literacy texts and ‘embedded’ and invisible numeracy demands at induction and during parts of their working day. The findings have significance for the teaching of literacy and numeracy in vocational training programmes. They indicate that off-site programmes have an important role to play in providing a learning foundation but also point to the importance of, and need for, workplace-specific, on-the-job literacy and numeracy training.

Zugl.: Hamburg, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2006

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 237-270.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Software Engineering )--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2005. / Thesis Advisor(s): Bret Michael. Includes bibliographical references (p. 389-412) Also available online.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-69). Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.