The field of customer satisfaction is complex and lacks clarity. Any technique that can bring order and predicability to the field is keenly sought. The partial least square methodology (PLSM) is a new means of modelling and predicting future outcomes. This research uses the partial least square modelling methodology to investigate and model the satisfaction of users of the Metropolitan Ambulance Service, Melbourne (MAS). The theories of Customer Satisfaction were reviewed then a definition of the concept established. The current state of the MAS was briefly discussed and the PLSM methodology was defined. Data collected from the MAS customer population was analysed by the PLSM method and by traditional statistical methods for comparative purposes. The results of the research demonstrated that the PLS methodology can be successfully applied to the field of satisfaction measurement of the ambulance service customer. Whilst uniquely modelling the determinants of customer satisfaction, it agreed with work by earlier researchers that particular aspects of staff behaviour were very important for high levels of customer satisfaction in the service industries. The model predicted that changes in the satisfaction rating of the staff variable would have a significant effect on overall satisfaction and critical consequential outcomes such as reuse and re-subscription. It also predicted that the overall model of customer satisfaction of MAS users was insensitive to changes with image, cost or equipment. An unexpected finding was that perceived medical ability was strongly linked to the paramedic's professional appearance. Implications of the finding are that MAS should pay close attention in the design and maintenance of the paramedic uniform. The relationship between a paramedic's professional appearance and their medical ability as perceived by a patient should be emphasised during training and professional development days. The very high importance of staff issues such as competence, friendliness, calmness and trustworthiness in regard to customer satisfaction reaffirms MAS attention and awareness of the matter. The research needs to been repeated within MAS to give a trend over time and a measure of the effectiveness of changes. To show that the methodology is widely applicable the research should be repeated using another ambulance service.

This thesis places the 1989 Australian domestic pilots and airlines dispute in the context of pilot industrial relations 'norms', pilot industrial relations history and the political and economic environment. The aim is to gain a greater understanding of the 1989 dispute and to answer questions such as whether the dispute stood out from its context as an inexplicable development. It was discovered that the reasons behind the dispute went well beyond the AFAP claim for a 29.47% salary increase. The dispute built up over a lengthy period and can only be properly understood by considering: - the nature of the pilot community and pilot militancy, - the history of pilot industrial relations, - pilot bargaining patterns, - the individuals involved in pilot industrial relations, - the impact of the Accord on pilot bargaining, - the interventionist approach of labor governments to pilot industrial relations, - the roles of the ACTU and the AIRC, - the impact of neo-corporatism in the Australian industrial relations system, - the impact of aviation deregulation, - the impact of economic fortunes, - any many others... Pilot industrial relations and salary determination will be considered in the period since the Whitlam Government, with reference to the parties, the influences upon them and the environment in which their relationships were conducted. Emphasis will be given to the implications for and of the 1989 dispute. Observations shall also be made about the future of pilot industrial relations.

This thesis explores the acquisition, measurement, and impact of leader skills in relation to business managers' performance in an Australian context. The central problem explored in this thesis is whether effective managers are the same as successful managers, and the role of leader skills in that respect. Studies of managers commonly equate effectiveness with success. However, Luthans, Hodgetts and Rosenkrantz (1988) have shown that effectiveness and success are not identical concepts. In this thesis, research results are classified into four categories. Managers recognised as achieving both individual success and leader effectiveness are classified as excellent. Those who are comparatively high in individual success but low in leader effectiveness are classified as career managers. Highly effective managers with low individual success are classified as achievement managers. Finally, those low in individual success and low in leader effectiveness are classified as student managers. This classification framework is named the Manager Quad. It is presented in Figure 3.1. The quadrant categories are based on the results of a quantitative survey of 185 work unit members and 43 managers drawn from 49 work units employed in 17 companies. These results are reported in Chapter Five. Qualitative data derived from 16 interviews of managers are also analysed and reported in Chapters Six and Seven. The theoretical framework for this thesis, resulting in the four categories, involves a Reality Management Theory of individualised leadership developed within a Symbolic Interactionist paradigm. This theory is summarised in Section 3.4. It is theorised that outcomes like effectiveness and success depend upon leader skills accrued from life-long learning processes. It is proposed that excellent managers' behaviours form a highly proficient, integrated set of leader skills within what is described in this thesis as the Leader Action Characteristics Set (LACS). This thesis presents a leader skill instrument referred to as the Leader Interaction Skills Inventory (LISI). The instrument demonstrates parsimony, reliability, and validity in an Australian business context. Statistical analysis of data shows leader skill proficiencies are related to managers' leader effectiveness, individual success, and work unit performance. Additionally, qualitative analyses indicate four Differential, Interpreted Life Patterns (DILPs), which provide important conceptual extension of the quad. DILPs are shown to distinguish managers' abilities to define situations that produce desirable business results. In this thesis it is argued that leader skills are relative rather than absolute. The data analysis classifies a number of respondents as excellent managers, indicating that Australia has a reasonable number of business managers with highly proficient leader skills, and shows many other Australian managers possess very sound, though incomplete sets of leader skills.

This study focused on Australian-based non-governmental development organisations (NGDOs) (also referred to as non-governmental aid agencies). The study used a telephone survey of eleven agencies and a mail survey of forty-five agencies to make inferences about organisational processes of delivering development assistance, together with an evaluation of the contribution of organisational factors and external environmental factors to the delivery of that assistance. Those aspects of organisational factors that were selected for examination were restricted to two areas, namely (i) organisational structures, and (ii) strategies for financial resource mobilisation and service delivery. The external factors selected were (i) the external stakeholders of non-governmental aid agencies (development clients, partner agencies, donors, governments, other aid agencies) and (ii) the macro environment factors. In examining these issues, the study found that: 1. In spite of the diversity within the non-governmental aid agency sector, the processes of service delivery could be broadly labeled into the following subprocesses (i) project identification and initial assessment; (ii) project implementation; and (iii) project monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment. Within each of these three sub-processes, a fourth sub-process – a project sustainability process was identified. These processes, and the microprocesses within each of them, were identified in a wide range of organisations, representing different development sectors, size, scope of operation, goals, policies and objectives. This suggests that irrespective of the diversity within the sector, there are underlying principles that govern the development assistance role of aid agencies. 2. Within the broad service delivery process variations existed between agencies in respect of how the steps within each sub-process were managed. The organisational factors, structures and strategies, accounted for some of these variations in the processes. In addition, respondents identified organisational policies, working principles and the learning experiences as accounting for some of the variation. It was observed that whereas some agencies attempted to change those organisational factors that they perceived as disabling to the process of service delivery, others were unable to change owing to resource constraints. 3. The intervening effect of the external environment on process was also examined. Whereas all the agencies were faced by a similar external environment, their responses to the environment were varied, consequently varying the process of service delivery. External stakeholders were categorised as having a significant influence on the process, as their expectations formed the criteria against which the performance of aid agencies was judged. Within the stakeholders, however, there were the more powerful donors and governments and the less powerful development clients and partners. The challenge for the aid agencies was therefore to not only respond to stakeholder expectations in ways that promoted an effective service delivery process, but also balance between the stakeholder expectations, to ensure agencies’ credibility was not undermined. Responding to the changes in the macro environment was considered especially difficult, as the task of examining and interpreting trends was complex, and appropriate responses hard to determine. 4. From the evidence gathered, it is clear that organisational factors within aid agencies and contextual factors influence the process of service delivery. Thus, for aid agencies and others involved in development assistance, evaluating project work by focusing on the outputs and outcomes of specific projects and on the capabilities of development clients and partner agencies in developing countries begs half the issue. The context for success or failure is much broader. A wholistic critical examination of organisational factors within aid agencies and the contexts within which agencies operate ought to be included in any assessment of development outcomes. Such an assessment will enable practitioners to account for mismatches between intentions and outcomes of development initiatives in a comprehensive way. Any assessment short of these factors will always be inadequate. The significance of such an extensive critical evaluation of the outcomes of the work of aid agencies, would be the development of an elaborate guide to good development management practices that aid agencies can use to improve on their performance.

The roles of culture and entrepreneurial disposition in entrepreneurship have been widely researched. Some researchers have concluded that an individualist culture fosters entrepreneurial disposition and entrepreneurship while a collectivist culture retards them. Others have argued that collectivism does not have much bearing on these two factors. The present research explored entrepreneurship in Fiji's small tourism business sector by focusing on the roles of cultural values and entrepreneurial disposition displayed by the three ethnic groupings. The question of whether successful Fijian entrepreneurship could develop by a fusion of collectivism and entrepreneurial principles was also explored. Ninety-nine respondents from the private, public and semi-public organisations participated in the qualitative survey and a further sixty-two people participated in the quantitative survey. One hundred and twenty-three students took part in the quantitative component of the research. The results of the qualitative data showed that individualism contributed to the entrepreneurial disposition of entrepreneurs belonging to the Indo-Fijian and Others categories, but the quantitative data produced mixed results. Other significant factors that have influenced entrepreneurship amongst these groups include exposure to good educational facilities, risk-taking skills, hard work and perseverance, sound financial management, ability to raise capital, values of materialism and capitalism, prudent business planning, skills of savings and investment, good management skills, and building investment capital. It was found that Fijian entrepreneurship was considerably impeded by collectivism and associated behaviour, and they showed more success in collective capitalism. Other factors that have stifled Fijian entrepreneurship include poor education, lack of hard work and commitment, poor financial management, absence of material culture, inability to raise venture capital, short term planning perspective, and a lack of ability to save funds for future investment. Students from the three ethnic groupings were found to exhibit different degrees of entrepreneurial disposition, but generally displayed similar values of individualism and collectivism. Based on these findings, a reconceptualised model of entrepreneurship was proposed, which shows the interaction of various specifiable contextual variables which influence entrepreneurship.

Industrial tourism involves visits by tourists to operational industrial sites where the core activity of the site is 'non-tourism' oriented. The study discusses the concept of industrial tourism within the context of tourism attraction theory, and tests empirically the extent to which visitors to industrial tourism attractions can be identified by using (a) a particular personality theory (Holland's 1985 theory of personality types), (b) demographics, and (c) past visitation. Prior to conducting a major household survey, two preliminary studies were conducted. One study considered the range and type of industrial tourism attractions in Australia, while the other considered the applicability of Holland's theory to career choice and to tourism choice behaviour. The major household study found that there were some significant associations between the respondents' Holland personality types, and their tourism behaviour, for some attractions and some measures of behaviour. The study found that industrial tourism attractions are perceived as being different to other types of tourism attraction and that Holland's theory may be a useful means of predicting tourism choice behaviour but that other measures, such as demographics and type and size of travel party, should also be taken into consideration. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the marketing and other aspects of the management of industrial tourism attractions.

This thesis focuses on an analysis of factors influencing Australia's dairy product exports to Thailand. To the author's knowledge, such an analysis has not been conducted so far. The research consists of literature reviews of the theories and empirical studies of comparative advantage and export demand, the econometric estimation of Thailand's demand for Australia's exports of dairy products to analyse the determinants of Thailand's demand for Australian dairy products, and an investigation of experience of selected Australian exporting companies in exporting dairy products to Thailand based on the interviews of export managers. Australia exports dairy products such as, milk dry (skim milk powder or SMP and whole milk powder or WMP), butter, cheese and curd, and whey products to Thailand. SMP is the principle ingredient of Thailand's milk processing industry. Australia's main competitors in Thailand for exports of dairy products are New Zealand, the EU and to some extent the U.S.A. Thailand has heavily protected its local dairy industry by high tariffs and regulation. The Thai government promotes local dairy production and the use of local milk products. However, the dairy sector of Thailand is still incapable of meeting the demand from the domestic dairy processing industry and consumers. Hence, Thailand has to import a large volume of dairy products each year. The Australia-Thailand free trade agreement (FTA) started to operate in January 2005. Thailand's import tariffs on Australia's dairy products will decline to zero to 32 per cent, and be phased out by 2010 or 2020. The quotas on Australia's exports of milk powders and milk and cream to the Thai market will be increased by 2025. The analysis of revealed comparative advantage and revealed competitive advantage identify that among the dairy product exporting countries, Australia has comparative advantage and competitive advantage of all of the dairy products (milk evaporated, milk dry, whey preserved and concentrated butter and cheese and curd). Thailand has comparative advantage and competitive advantage only in milk condensed and evaporated. Thailand has comparative disadvantage and competitive disadvantage in the other dairy product categories. Australia's competitors in the Thai market (New Zealand, and the selected EU countries) have comparative and competitive advantages in most of the dairy products. These results suggest that Australian dairy exporting companies and policy makers could focus on increasing the volumes of all of the dairy products exported to Thailand, except milk condensed and evaporated. The results from the estimation of econometric models of Thailand's demand for Australia's exports of milk dry shows that in the short run, the quantity of Australia's milk dry exports demanded in Thailand declines when Australia's export price relative to that of competing countries increases, while it is not responsive to Thailand's real national income. In the long run, the quantity of Australia's milk dry exports demanded in Thailand declines when Australia's export price relative to that of competing countries' price increases. The estimated long run price elasticity of export demand is -2.76. In the long run, the quantity of Australia's milk dry exports demanded in Thailand does not change significantly in response to changes in Thailand's real national income. In the short run, the quantity of Australia's butter exports demanded in Thailand falls when Australia's export price relative to that of competing countries increases, but it is not responsive to Thailand's real national income. The quantity of Australia's butter exports demanded in Thailand declines when the Thai baht depreciates against the Australian dollar. In the long run, the quantity of Australia's butter exports demanded in Thailand decreases when Australia's export price relative to that of competing countries' price increases. The estimated long run relative price elasticity of demand is -1.13. In the long run, the quantity of Australia's butter exports demanded in Thailand does not change significantly in response to changes in Thailand's real national income. The quantity of Australia's butter exports demanded in Thailand declines when the Thai baht depreciates against the Australian dollar. The estimated long run exchange rate elasticity of demand is -6.34. In the short run, the quantity of Australia's cheese and curd exports demanded in Thailand is not responsive either to the relative price of exports or to Thailand's real national income. In the long run the quantity of Australia's cheese and curd exports demanded in Thailand changes significantly in response to changes in Thailand's real national income. The estimated long run income elasticity of demand is 1.84. During the interviews, the export managers of Australian dairy export companies agreed that Thailand is a significant importer of Australia's dairy products, particularly for SMP, WMP, whey powder, butter and cheese. Thailand's stable economic and political environment is one of the reasons that they are attracted to the Thai market. The principal factors that make Australia's products successful in the Thai market are competitive price and 'clean, green and natural' products. However, limited Australian dairy product varieties and distribution channels are major factors that contribute to Australia falling behind New Zealand and the EU in the Thai market. The Australian dairy Corporation (ADC) is not involved in promoting Australian dairy products in the Thai market at present, but has done so in the past. Thailand's tariff and import quota protection and support to local dairying industry is one of the barriers encountered by Australia's exports to Thailand. All the managers are hopeful of expanding opportunities for their dairy exports in the Thai market. These findings imply that Australian dairy export companies could expand the dairy product varieties they export and offer for sale in the Thai market. They could also take advantage of the established sales distribution network in addition to exploring the possibilities of setting up their own distribution channels. They could be looking into the possibilities of setting up of joint ventures with local dairy processing companies in Thailand so that their dairy exports could be expanded. The Australian dairy export companies as well as the ADC have to actively promote in various ways the Australian dairy product exports in the Thai market in order to take advantage of the window of opportunities open to them within the trade liberalisation framework of the Australia-Thailand free trade agreement (FTA).

This study focuses on the international higher education service in i)Australia as one of the leaders in this service and ii) Thailand as an eastern developing country that has potential to offer this service. However, as a new country offering this service, Thailand lacks experience of operating it in the world market. Therefore, it is necessary to learn from a leading country, which has more experience, like Australia. This study aims to i) identify the factors affecting international students in coming to study at HEIs (Higher Education Institutions) in Thailand and in Australia (Melbourne), ii) explore how these factors influence each stage in the model of "International Students' Innovation Decision Process" in offering the international higher education service of Thailand and Australia (Melbourne), iii) present the implications of the results of this study with regard to marketing of the international higher education service by Thailand, iv) reveal how international higher education service is perceived by persons who are involved with this area in Thailand/Australia (Melbourne) and v) Propose practical directions for the international higher education service of Thailand by adapting the useful experiences of Australia (Melbourne). When international students have studied in their home countries, the international higher education service offered by other countries is a 'new' service to them. This view is therefore different to that taken by previous studies in similar areas. Therefore, the model in this study of 'the International Students' Innovation Decision Process' was developed in order to examine the factors affecting international students when making a decision to study abroad in Thailand and Australia. It was also developed to explore their experiences when they were studying at Higher Education Institutions: HEIs in both countries. The results of the study including the findings of Australia's experiences in offering the international higher education service will be used to assist Thailand in offering a high quality international higher education service. v In this study both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. The qualitative component included in-depth interviews with persons involved in the international higher education service in Thailand and Australia. The quantitative component involved a questionnaire survey which was designed to investigate factors affecting international students when making a decision to enrol, and when studying at HEIs in Thailand and Australia. The survey of international students in both countries was used to investigate 'the International Students' Innovation Decision Process. It incorporated five groups of factors; sources of information, HEI characteristics, country characteristics, benefits and risks of study abroad. Seventeen (17) HEIs and one (1) government department in Thailand and four (4) HEIs in Australia (Melbourne) were used for this study. Results of the in-depth interviews indicated that the demand by international students for study abroad in Thailand and Australia is still high. It was found in both countries that the international higher education service offers major benefits including cultural exchange as well as financial benefits. Strategies for offering this service that have been successful in Australia, for example use of reliable private agents, were identified and this could be utilised by HEIs in Thailand when offering the international higher education service to prospective international students. Findings of the survey with international students in both countries of this study identified 4 stages in 'the International Students' Innovation Decision Process' Knowledge Stage: building up the knowledge base Persuasion and Decision Stage: assessment and decision activities - Implementation Stage: reassessment activities - Confirmation/Disconfirmation Stage: confirmation/disconfirmation decision The international students' knowledge about study abroad in Thailand and Australia was found to be likely increased by word of mouth communication from acquaintances and also from the internet. Sponsors, parents and friends were likely to be influential vi sources of information when international students were making a decision to enrol at HEIs in both countries. HEI characteristics such as standard of courses and recognition of qualification, country characteristics, for example reasonable cost of living, were factors that influenced international students when making a decision to enrol at HEIs in both countries. High benefits and perceived risks of study abroad influenced international students when making a decision to enrol at HEIs in both countries. The results indicated that expectations of international students in both countries expectations were not met for all HEI and country characteristics once they were studying at HEIs in the destination country. For international students in Thailand, perceptions of the benefits of study abroad did not change, whereas in Australia perceptions of the benefits of study abroad such as 'learn English with native speakers' decreased. However, international students' perceptions of risks of study abroad changed very little in both countries. Further, the majority of international students in both countries intended to complete their study (at the confirmation/disconfirmation stage) in the destination country. This was the final stage of 'the International Students' Innovation Decision Process'. The international higher education service in this study is defined as a 'new' service (an innovation) for international students, who have already made a decision to enrol at HEIs in other countries. In order to examine the international higher education service as a 'new' service for international students who look for a place to study abroad, Rogers' (1995) innovation decision process was an effective model to utilise and adapt to examine international student perceptions and their experiences of the international higher education service in Thailand/Australia in each stage of 'the International Students' Innovation Decision Process' model. Moreover this model is also expected that this model will be helpful for future researchers who are interested in conducting research in similar areas particularly for research in developing countries that wish to offer international higher education service.

Since the 1980s the public sector in Australia, including local government, has been imbued with the language of business management. In part, this has occurred because other levels of government have brought changes to the operation of local government and also because public sector managers have accepted the conventional wisdom that the private sector provides the better model for managing large organisations. But how useful is this way of operating in the public sector? This thesis argues that local government management continues to be 'captured' by the dominant ideology of neoliberalism. This ideology has shaped the politically conservative policies of many western countries and is based on economic theories of public choice and agency, which essentially argue that the market is the key sphere of influence that, if it is left to regulate itself without undue government intervention, inevitably brings order and prosperity. The neoliberal theory of the market - economic rationalism - still appears to dominate language and thinking within local government, and this may not be in the best interests of either local government organisations or the communities they serve. Management theories arising from the private sector, in the main, do not take account of the direct engagement of local government with local communities, the ethic of service, the breadth of services provided and the political environment of local government. Nor do they fully address issues such as the impact on the practice of management of CEO values, worldviews and unconscious motivations. This research aims to take account of the rich unspoken, unconscious meanings in human dialogue and interaction. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the breadth of experience in being a local government CEO, the researcher conducted face-to-face semistructured interviews with 18 (23per cent) of Victorian local government CEOs. Then the researcher observed one local government CEO at her workplace, over a period of six months. The thesis draws on socio-analytic theory to look beyond currently popular management theories, with their emphases on rationality and instrumentality, to examine the beliefs and motives local government CEOs bring to their work. It concludes that local government is not a non-profit variant of private enterprise and that the importation of business language and tools has damaged local government's service role. It argues for a renewal of commitment to the values of service and to leadership that encompasses both rational and non-rational aspects of managing people. The real work of the leader is to participate in a relationship with staff that acknowledges that projections, splitting and denial do occur and to be patient with their effects. The more able a leader is to contain the projected fantasy material of those around her, the better leader she will be.

There has been widespread support for formal treaties and declarations to ensure ecologically sustainable development (ESD) internationally and in Australia, at national and state levels, for almost 30 years. Despite this, the momentum of ESD appears to be waning (Low et al 2000). It is the author’s view that such loss of momentum calls for examination of planning process as it affects land use, including tourism. Indeed, the social and environmental impacts of tourism in Australasia have tended to be ignored in policy development (Hall et al 1997). Sub-optimal outcomes and the uncertainty engendered by costly and high profile conflicts over competing land use, in Australia and internationally in the past decade, highlight the need for such an examination. In addressing this hiatus between ESD policy development and implementation, the aims of this research are fourfold. First, it seeks to clarify the meaning of ecologically sustainable tourism, given the reliance of the rapidly growing Australian tourism industry on natural resource conservation. In so doing it addresses the inherent conflict between alternative visions for land use as they relate to tourism development in and around protected areas Second, contemporary applications of stakeholder theory are examined in order to analyse and learn from such tourism related land use conflicts. Stakeholders are defined as individuals or groups with multiple stakes or interests in an organisation or decision. Several epistemological perspectives are noted, with the present research fitting broadly within those of the political economy or political ecology of tourism, to which power relations are central. The third aim is to analyse the decision-making process in 1996-9 for the development of visitor facilities near The Twelve Apostles, an 'icon' coastal attraction of national significance at Port Campbell National Park, in south western Victoria. The case study method is chosen to enable an in-depth application of stakeholder theory to that process as it relates to ecologically sustainable outcomes. The framework used for this empirical analysis is derived from an approach to stakeholder management known as Shared Decision-making (SDM). It was applied in a recent design and evaluation of planning process in British Columbia, Canada, where a comparable governmental framework and experience of natural resource conflict made it a useful model for a Victorian case study (Williams, Penrose and Hawkes 1998). The Williams et al framework of evaluative criteria informs the schedule of semistructured interviews. This was administered to 17 respondents representing the 12 key decision makers and stakeholders involved in the decision-making process for the Twelve Apostles tourism development. The framework also underpins the author’s approach to analysis of material drawn from the project files of five stakeholder organisations and from contemporary media coverage. Finally, the research seeks to identify the implications of this decision-making process for tourism planning which is conducive to ecological sustainability. It is the author’s contention that a government commitment to collaborative planning, involving meaningful public participation is a key determinant of EST. Whereas community involvement has long been advocated for many reasons, philosophical and expedient, this research identifies the primary role of the community in promoting sustainable tourism as that of active citizens. Collaborative planning is judged essential but insufficient to achieve equitable and sustainable outcomes. Meaningful participation and environmental protection must also be enforceable through institutional reform, including provision for open standing and third party appeal rights, largely unavailable under Victorian environmental law. Collaborative planning and stakeholder management, it is argued, operates in a political context, insufficiently acknowledged. Research involving multiple cases and multiple jurisdictions would enable the validity of the study’s conclusions regarding the pivotal role of citizens (and non government organizations) in the implementation of ecologically sustainable tourism to be tested. Further research, it is argued, should promote an interdisciplinary approach drawing on political science, law, ecology, urban and regional geography and environmental planning. In particular, the application of political ecology to tourism offers a promising framework for the analysis and design of stakeholder management conducive to ecologically sustainable tourism.