Within the ephemeral world of fad products and activities (such as teenage fashion and the hula-hoop) things come and go quickly. In such a competitive market many new products become obsolete from the moment they reach the market. It is therefore essential to launch new products on the market as soon as possible in order to sustain business and profits. / With activities that can easily become passing fads and fashions, such as going to a Karaoke box, it is important to sustain the novelty value of the leisure-time pursuit by keeping customers motivated and interested in coming back for more. A failure to operate successfully in a fad business seriously threatens profit margins, return on investments and ultimately the lifespan of the product. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2006.

Development of a learning organisation is the most powerful approach for increasing organisational capability and further pursuing competitive advantage. Empirical researchers such as Ellinger et al. (2002) and Lien, Yang and Li (2002) showed a positive association between the presence of a learning organisation and a firm's financial performance. Another area of increasing focus is performance management. The profusion of literature on the balanced scorecard combining financial and non-financial measures demonstrates the interest in both professional and academic circles with improving effective feedback for performance in this area. In particular, the balanced scorecard is viewed as the performance measurement system most likely to encourage the development of a learning culture and managing organisational learning. Taking organisational learning and the balanced scorecard together, a primary research is to investigate whether a link exists between learning organisations and the use of the BSC measures. Survey research has been conducted in Australia and Taiwan. / A positive relationship between learning organisations and the BSC measures is significantly supported by the management practices of Australia and Taiwan. The financial and non-financial BSC measures are highly associated with the learning dimensions in the Taiwanese firms, whereas the Australian firms only use the non-financial BSC measures to assess and manage some learning dimensions. Although the balanced scorecard usually includes learning as part of the learning and growth perspective, it appears that organisations struggle with this dimension. The findings from this study imply that learning & growth perspective is the key driver for improvement of learning dimensions in the organisations. The findings imply that national cultures, like Western and Chinese, are as the main factors affecting the learning dimensions and they apply the BSC measures differently. A whole system considered which learning dimensions may increase the use of the BSC measures, continuous learning and system connection which are shown in the Australian firms, whereas team learning and embedded system are demonstrated in the Taiwanese firms. Considering learning at three levels of organisations, both countries have agreement that learning at individual and organisational levels are significantly associated with the BSC measures. In particular, team learning in the Australian firms disappears when associated with the BSC measures, but the Taiwanese firms show the link to a moderate degree. The findings imply that national culture is a crucial factor affecting the development of a learning organisation, and performance measurements differ from one country to another. / Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2006.

The purpose of this study was to learn how five Indonesian grassroots nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) perceive, understand, interpret and operationalize the constructs of organizational effectiveness (OE) in the management of their organizations. Previous research has been largely based on findings from business oriented profit organizations in economically developed societies. However, there has been little information collected from non-profit organizations in developing countries, in particular indigenous NGOs working at grassroots level. The aim of this research was to redress that imbalance, in particular, to discover which aspects of organizational effectiveness appear to be relatively universal and which appear to be context-specific. / Data were collected using a combination of qualitative and quantitative data in the form of focus groups, interviews, case studies and surveys. Eigen value factor rotation and Cronbach's alpha analyses of qualitative data, as well as observer and methodological triangulation of qualitative data informed that data findings were statistically reliable and valid. Key findings indicate that participants and their stakeholders used language reflecting traditional management concepts to describe such events as differentiating short, medium and long term goals, and developing information and documentation procedures. Yet on almost every occasion these descriptors were augmented by context-specific additional discourse suggestive of a multidimensional view of each event. Approximately two thirds of effectiveness criteria adopted by NGO managers and their constituents involved relationships, communication. mutuality of goals, solidarity, empowerment, and self-help with only about one third of usage relating to functional management issues such as financial accountability, project monitoring and evaluation, and work processes. / Strongly featured in participants' perceptions effectiveness was a reflection of the dominant role played by political issues within the surrounding community and the lives of the participants. For example, in describing their efforts to achieve effectiveness, NGOs nearly always suggested criteria and values that described efforts to mobilize, advocate, influence and affect societal change. Activities utilized to transform the internal organization were thought by participants also to be transforming the organization's external political landscape. Context-specific findings included attempts to blend organizational structures with community practices. For example, one NGO purposely disbanded its legal status as a foundation (Yayasan) to become a collective. There were significant disagreements among participants regarding best organizational practices. Often, the grassroots NGOs appeared to be pulling in opposite directions. Those NGOs engaged primarily in striving to provide tangible services appeared to be moving towards more conservative, conventional management models that focus on structure, operating procedures, and fiscal and program assessments. Other NGOs, engaged in community mobilization, were moving towards more radical organizational structures and processes. / Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2005.

Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2004.

This paper is a review of the literature on quality management practices and firm performance. Theoretical frameworks linking ISO 9000 and Total Quality Management (TQM) were analyzed. ISO 9000 has been recommended to be used as a route to TQM. The emergence of constructs of quality management practices was examined. Eight most popular constructs have been identified - top management support, quality information availability, quality information usage, employee training, employee involvement, product/process design, supplier quality and customer orientation. A thorough review of the literature pointed to three categories of empirical studies on quality management practices and firm performance, i.e., comparative studies, longitudinal studies and impact studies. This paper suggests that future research in quality management should focus on the link between quality management and financial performance. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2004.

Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2002.

Thesis (MProjMgmt)--University of South Australia, 1998

My aim in this thesis is to improve understanding of the contributions of organizational climate to organizational effectiveness. Climate is defined as the shared perceptions of the work environment (Schneider & Reichers, 1983). First, I developed and empirically validated four targeted climates ??? climates for involvement; mission-alignment; consistency; and adaptability ??? reflecting a broad range of management perspectives. These climates are based on Quinn and Rohrbaugh???s Competing Values Framework (1983a), and extend the work of Patterson et al. (2005). Using secondary data from 2027 business-units from diverse industries, worldwide, these climates were, as expected, inter-related, yet distinct. Second, I explored the relationships between multiple climates and stakeholder outcomes (staff motivation, perceived customer loyalty and perceived business performance) using structural equation modeling and discriminant function analysis. Separate but matched manager and employee samples from 620 business-units were used to assess relationships linking the four climates and three effectiveness outcomes within a single model. The findings indicated that employees??? perceptions of workplace characteristics influence important organizational outcomes. Overall, key findings were: (1) a climate for mission related directly to perceived business performance; (2) climates for consistency and adaptability both related to higher business performance through their positive link with customer loyalty; (3) a climate for involvement also related to business performance, but only when the context was uncertain; (4) while climates for involvement and mission related to staff satisfaction, staff satisfaction did not uniquely predict business performance; (5) the most effective business-units, with high scores on all three outcomes, had a balance of high levels of all four climates. The thesis discusses the implications of these results for both theory and practice, as well as suggestions for future research. In particular, the comprehensiveness and empirical integrity of this multiple-climates model indicates its potential to provide new insights about the relationships between perceived organizational characteristics and outcomes. Furthermore, my research suggests that organizations can foster high levels of all four climates concurrently, and in doing so achieve better outcomes for a diversity of stakeholders. This has implications for change management: specifically that organizations should embed and integrate multiple approaches concurrently rather than move from one to the next.

Becoming a Learning Organization (LO) is widely recognized as a process through which organizations can develop characteristics that enable them to be competitive in an increasingly competitive business environment. While there is an assumption that LOs have the ability to manage change, few empirical studies are available to prove whether an organization with strong LO characteristics also has a high level of change readiness. In developing itself into an LO, an organization seems to gain possession of relevant characteristics through knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge utilization. There is, however, a lack of clarity on what LO characteristics are developed at each of the three stages. The relationship among these stages is also confusing. The purpose of this research is to confirm whether organizations with a high level of LO characteristics also have a high level of readiness-to-change. It also attempts to verify the relationship among the LO development stages of knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge utilization. A questionnaire has been designed following an extensive review. It incorporates "an Inventory of LO Characteristics" to measure the level of LO characteristics formed in an organization. There are also questionnaire to gauge the level readiness-to-change. The questionnaire has been distributed to employees in two leading mobile phone service companies in Thailand. The industry is selected because of its changing business environment. Thailand has been chosen for as the location for the research because few studies in LO have been conducted outside the more developed economies. The findings demonstrate two major insights. Firstly, the correlation coefficient between the six categories of LO characteristics - cultural values, leadership commitment and empowerment, communication, knowledge transfer, employee characteristics and performance upgrading - and readiness-to-change confirms that if an organization has a high level of LO characteristics, it will also have a high level of readiness-to-change. Secondly, the correlation coefficient between the three LO development stages - of knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge utilization - and readiness-to-change, support the hypothesis that they follow a sequential order. Results of the research are analysed and discussed, providing valuable contributions to both research and practice in the area. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Adelaide Graduate School of Business, 2004.

Thesis (MComm)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.