Despite the considerable existing body of academic literature, increasing employee motivation for environmental endeavors continues to be poorly understood. Recently Govindarajulu and Daily (2004) presented a comprehensive theoretical framework for environmental performance by looking at the crucial employer and employee factors affecting environmental performance. The authors identified management commitment, employee empowerment, feedback and review, and rewards as key human resource (HR) factors in increasing employee motivation for enhanced environmental performance. However, no published studies to date have empirically validated the framework. Therefore, one purpose of this dissertation is to address this void. Additionally, job satisfaction and organizational commitment were proposed as mediators in the relationship between the HR factors and environmental performance.

Employee turnover is not a new phenomenon. The retail industry has always suffered from high employee turnover rates. High employee turnover is costly to retailers not only because it increases administrative costs in recruiting and training employees but it also reduces the operational capability of the retailer. While most studies had focused their attention on the financial costs of employee turnover, in retailing, the non-financial costs of employee turnover can also be substantial. These non-financial costs include lower morale among remaining employees and losses in expertise and experience. / While there are already many studies on employee turnover, there is a lack of studies of the phenomenon in the retail industry. This study will attempt to close the gap in the literature by studying employee turnover in the retail industry more closely. More importantly, the study will adopt a social constructivist approach to the study of the phenomenon. This approach is not commonly used in employee turnover studies and is likely to add a different perspective to the phenomenon. The aim of the study is to establish the causes of employee turnover in the retail industry and to suggest ways in which retailers can attempt to retain their employees. / The study was conducted with 29 respondents with a major bookstore chain operating in Singapore. The findings suggests that factors that affect employees' decision to quit can be categorised into push and pull factors. Push factors include the level of relationship the employee has with the supervisor and colleagues, the presence of career advancement opportunities and the presence of work-family conflict. Pull factors is the presence of other job opportunities. In addition, a consistent finding in the research show that strong and positive relationships with colleagues can reduce turnover intentions of employees in the retail industry. However, these factors are moderated by personal factors like demographics and personality of the employee. / The study concluded with a discussion of the implications of the research findings and suggests how retailers can adopt policies that can reduce the employee turnover rate. In addition, the study also suggests areas for further research. / Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2005

The subject of employee participation in the public sector has been neglected in the academic literature of Australia. The present research aims to redress this deficiency. Its explicit focus is employee participation in Australian Government Employment (AGE) in the first six years of the Hawke Labor Government, that is, the period 1983-1988. The choice of this period is an important one. The election of the Hawke Government marks a turning point in Australian public administration: this was a government committed to the thoroughgoing reform of the public sector and employee participation was integrated into its reform agenda, albeit in the guise of industrial democracy. (For complete abstract open document)

The hospitality and tourism industry is an increasingly important part of the New Zealand economy, contributing almost nine percent of the Gross Domestic Product in 2008. One of the key concerns regarding this part of the economy is the impact of a tight labour market and intense skill shortages on its ability to maximise returns from tourists. Labour turnover rates have been extremely high in the hospitality sector over the past few years and this has contributed to the intense labour market pressures affecting this industry. Hotels have suffered particularly high turnover rates in the past few years and exit interviews have been one of the tools that Human Resource Managers used to try and gain data about employee reasons for leaving. This study looks at exit interviews as a source of data on the causes of labour turnover in two New Zealand hotel chains. The aim of this study was to analyse hotel exit interview data in order to identify significant patterns that might illuminate the causes and potential moderating factors of labour turnover in New Zealand hotels. In addition, the study aimed to analyse the processes used to gather exit interview data in order to evaluate the efficacy of exit interviews and see if any practical recommendations could be made regarding the use of exit interviews to address labour turnover. A qualititative, triangulated research methodology was applied in order to analyse the data generated from over 4500 exit interviews, from 17 hotels, in two New Zealand hotel brands. The interviews cover six years of exit interview gathering. In addition, in depth semi-structured interviews with six hotel Human Resource Managers were used to gain insight into the practice and perceptions around exit interviews. The study found that despite considerable application of time and resources, hotels gain very little benefit from the exit interview process. Several issues are identified as bringing the efficacy of exit interviews into question, including power imbalance between interviewees and interviewers, language and cultural concerns, and the impact of psychological contract breaches on the employment relationship. In addition, the study found that even when opportunities for organisational improvement did arise from exit interviews, little or no action was taken by the hotels in question. The study concludes that there is insufficient benefit to the hotels given the costs of exit interviews and suggests that other forms of employee feedback, such as engagement surveys may be more efficacious in addressing labour turnover.

Although the negative effects of psychological contract breach (“breach”) are reasonably well established (e.g., Zhao, Wayne, Glibkowski, & Bravo, 2007), the role of context in shaping employees’ responses to breach has not been thoroughly explored (Lo & Aryee, 2003). As such, the primary research objective was to investigate the moderating effects of the organisational-embeddedness sub-dimensions (links, fit, and sacrifices; Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, & Erez, 2001) on the relationships between breach and employees’ exit (job search, turnover intention, turnover), voice (prosocial voice, innovation), loyalty (loyalty, social participation), and neglect (withdrawal, production deviance, silence) behaviours. Two studies were conducted to investigate the conceptual model and research hypotheses. / In Study 1, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 administrative (non-academic) Australian university employees. Content analysis of the results regarding breach outcomes revealed many of the hypothesised responses, and others, such as seeking assistance from colleagues and raising supervisor’s awareness, that were not anticipated. Furthermore, analysis of the results regarding response motives suggested themes relevant to the influence of organisational-embeddedness. / In Study 2, longitudinal survey data was collected from samples of Australian university professionals and alumni (N = 198 for Time 1 and 101 for Time 2). Outcomes were organised using the Exit, Voice, Loyalty and Neglect (EVLN) framework (Rusbult, Farrell, Rogers, & Mainous, 1988). Breach was positively related to exit (job search, turnover intention) and neglect (silence), and negatively related to loyalty (loyalty) in the cross-sectional Time 1 data. In addition, the positive breach-neglect (withdrawal, production deviance) relationship was weaker for those with more organisational-links, while the positive breach-exit (job search) relationship was stronger, and the negative breach-loyalty (loyalty) relationship was weaker, among those with good organisational-fit. At Time 2 (six months later), breach was negatively related to loyalty (loyalty). Furthermore, organisational-links, organisational-fit, and organisational-sacrifices each moderated the effects of breach on voice (innovation) as hypothesised. Specifically, employees with many links and good fit were more likely to respond to breach with voice (innovation), while those with high levels of perceived organisational-sacrifices were less likely to engage in this response. Overall, the research findings have implications for theory regarding the influence of context in shaping responses to breach, and the role of embeddedness as a moderator of employee reactions to negative work events. From a practical perspective, the research findings suggest that organisations can establish a safety net for effectively managing the harmful consequences of breach by increasing organisational-links and fit among their employees.

Employee turnover is not a new phenomenon. The retail industry has always suffered from high employee turnover rates. High employee turnover is costly to retailers not only because it increases administrative costs in recruiting and training employees but it also reduces the operational capability of the retailer. While most studies had focused their attention on the financial costs of employee turnover, in retailing, the non-financial costs of employee turnover can also be substantial. These non-financial costs include lower morale among remaining employees and losses in expertise and experience. / While there are already many studies on employee turnover, there is a lack of studies of the phenomenon in the retail industry. This study will attempt to close the gap in the literature by studying employee turnover in the retail industry more closely. More importantly, the study will adopt a social constructivist approach to the study of the phenomenon. This approach is not commonly used in employee turnover studies and is likely to add a different perspective to the phenomenon. The aim of the study is to establish the causes of employee turnover in the retail industry and to suggest ways in which retailers can attempt to retain their employees. / The study was conducted with 29 respondents with a major bookstore chain operating in Singapore. The findings suggests that factors that affect employees' decision to quit can be categorised into push and pull factors. Push factors include the level of relationship the employee has with the supervisor and colleagues, the presence of career advancement opportunities and the presence of work-family conflict. Pull factors is the presence of other job opportunities. In addition, a consistent finding in the research show that strong and positive relationships with colleagues can reduce turnover intentions of employees in the retail industry. However, these factors are moderated by personal factors like demographics and personality of the employee. / The study concluded with a discussion of the implications of the research findings and suggests how retailers can adopt policies that can reduce the employee turnover rate. In addition, the study also suggests areas for further research. / Thesis (PhDBusinessandManagement)--University of South Australia, 2005

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, Aug., 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Jyväskylä--[Jyväskylä, Finland], 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-91).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-206). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. / "May 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-126). Online version available on the World Wide Web.