Abstract Both the Green Party of Germany and the New Party of Taiwan are minority political parties. Yet, they both play a critical role. Their party line is explicitly defined. For the Green Party, they appeal to ¡§Ecological Issues¡¨ and gaine their support from new social movements. As for the New Party of Taiwan, they appeal to ¡§Issues of Anti-Independence of Taiwan and Anti-Black Money¡¨ as their national identification. This has its root in the 1990s, when Taiwan was overheated by the issue of declaring independence or unification with Mainland China. In Germany, the Green Party has successfully constrained the development of nuclear industry, and gained strong support from the public in social well-beings. In Taiwan, the New Party also claims to speak for the common people. This posture enabled the New Party to win high popularity in Metropolitan Taipei, and exert high pressure to the Kuomintang. Indeed, the New Party has had stirred up a hurricane in Taiwan. However, this did not last long. The appeals of both parties have been incorporated into the guidelines and agendas of other larger political parties as well. This was deteriorated by the egocentrism of the key leaders of the parties. As such, the parties were divided, and those leaders tended to play one off against another. They both faced the crisis of disintegration and failure as the third choices for the public in political participation. The Green Party has revised its party line and compromised with reality. They formed a coalition with the Social Democratic Party and won the election of the Bundestag in 1998. A coalition government between the red and green was formed in Germany. In the election of the Bundestag in 2002, the same coalition won again. Indeed, the Green Party has performed exceptionally outstanding in the recent election. They won 8.6 % of the votes, the highest in the history of the Green Party. The New Party in Taiwan adopted the slogan of ¡§ Bring Down Lee Teng-Hui and Protect the Republic of China¡¨ as their appeal. However, some of the topics in their agenda have been absorbed by other political parties. They hardly won support by spelling out this slogan for a number of reasons. Lee Teng-Hui completed his term in 2000. Nativisim has gained momentum in Taiwan. The tension between Taiwan and the mainland intensified. The homogenous People First Party was founded. The strife inside the New Party intensified, coupled with the exodus of elites. All these events severely hampered the reputation of the New Party and their efforts in the election. Therefore, they lost in the election of the Legislative Yuan in 2001, with humiliation. Outsiders describe their downfall as a bubble. Nevertheless, the New Party revitalized themselves by appealing to the common people, which enabled them to win 5 seats in the City Council of Taipei in the 2002 election. This success changed the attitude of the others towards the New Party, as they felt that this party is going to rejuvenate. Therefore, the rise and fall of the Green Party of Germany and the New Party of Taiwan and their strategies for development may well be served as cases for the study of political parties that appeal to political agenda.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-51).

The study aimed to investigate and critically analyze claims management, an ethical issue in insurance companies in Nigeria, to find out if these insurance companies recognize it to be an ethical issue and also to find out how they handle insured’s claims. A qualitative research method was used in carrying out this study; data was sourced through interviews and by secondary data using literatures from books, journals, articles, and electronic websites. The researchers used purposive sampling to select some top insurance companies in Nigeria; in these insurance companies basically personnel working in the claims department were interviewed, also sales agents from two of these insurance companies were interviewed. Data was sourced from two insurance broking firms in Nigeria by interviewing their top personnel, and also some of the insuring public with and without insurance policies was interviewed. The analytical strategy adopted in this research work was to rely on theoretical propositions. This study made use of Jones (1991) moral intensity model. Based on the analysis of data collected during the interview, the study revealed that insurance personnel in claims administration who take decision on insured’ claims in Nigeria recognize that there is a moral dilemma in their act and they discharge this responsibility professionally and ethically sticking to the rules of the business. Also the characteristics that constitute moral intensity model; proximity, social context, probability of effect, concentration of effect and magnitude of consequence offered by Jones (1991) influence the moral decision making process and moral behavior of claims personnel in Nigeria insurance companies. But due to some challenges faced by these personnel in discharging their duty and some lapses from their side and the insured’s there have always been complaint on claims. However they acknowledge that no one is perfect therefore they are open to getting feedbacks from their clients on the way they feel about their claims which they look into and make necessary amendments where needed. This study concluded with proposition for future researchers to look into how the challenges encountered by personnel managing insured’s’ claims in insurance companies in Nigeria can be dealt with and to find out how insurance companies in Nigeria can gain the awareness of the insuring public and make them understand the terms and conditions of insurance service. / kemi987@yahoo.co.uk, +46760825772

The study aimed to investigate and critically analyze claims management, an ethical issue in insurance companies in Nigeria, to find out if these insurance companies recognize it to be an ethical issue and also to find out how they handle insured’s claims. A qualitative research method was used in carrying out this study; data was sourced through interviews and by secondary data using literatures from books, journals, articles, and electronic websites. The researchers used purposive sampling to select some top insurance companies in Nigeria; in these insurance companies basically personnel working in the claims department were interviewed, also sales agents from two of these insurance companies were interviewed. Data was sourced from two insurance broking firms in Nigeria by interviewing their top personnel, and also some of the insuring public with and without insurance policies was interviewed. The analytical strategy adopted in this research work was to rely on theoretical propositions. This study made use of Jones (1991) moral intensity model. Based on the analysis of data collected during the interview, the study revealed that insurance personnel in claims administration who take decision on insured’ claims in Nigeria recognize that there is a moral dilemma in their act and they discharge this responsibility professionally and ethically sticking to the rules of the business. Also the characteristics that constitute moral intensity model; proximity, social context, probability of effect, concentration of effect and magnitude of consequence offered by Jones (1991) influence the moral decision making process and moral behavior of claims personnel in Nigeria insurance companies. But due to some challenges faced by these personnel in discharging their duty and some lapses from their side and the insured’s there have always been complaint on claims. However they acknowledge that no one is perfect therefore they are open to getting feedbacks from their clients on the way they feel about their claims which they look into and make necessary amendments where needed. This study concluded with proposition for future researchers to look into how the challenges encountered by personnel managing insured’s’ claims in insurance companies in Nigeria can be dealt with and to find out how insurance companies in Nigeria can gain the awareness of the insuring public and make them understand the terms and conditions of insurance service.

It is now clear that managers, and their organisations, are under increasing pressure to respond to environmental issues (IPCC, 2007; KPMG, 2005). Research has identified the important role that individuals play in affecting organisational change (Andersson & Bateman, 2000; Bansal, 2003; Starik, 1995), yet more remains to be done. Despite past success of cognitive and behavioural perspectives in explaining proenvironmental behaviours, few researchers have explored its affective dimensions (Kals & Maes, 2002; Vining & Ebreo, 2002). While organisations and the natural environment (ONE) research does mention emotive components of proenvironmental behaviours (Andersson & Bateman, 2000; Bansal & Roth, 2000; Ramus & Steger, 2000), there are very few studies that examine emotion directly. The lack of affective research on environmental issues in organisations has meant that ONE research has not kept pace with the theoretical and empirical developments in wider management literature that clearly demonstrate that emotion is an inescapable part of work-life (Ashforth & Humphrey, 1995; Fineman, 2003; Härtel, Zerbe, & Ashkanasy, 2005). As such, therefore, more research is needed to examine further the role of emotion in driving proenvironmental behaviours (Kals & Maes, 2002; Vining & Ebreo, 2002). Within this research, I aim to address this need by developing an understanding of the contribution of emotion to workplace proenvironmental behaviours. I draw on Weiss and Cropanzano’s (1996) Affective Events Theory and Pratt and Dutton’s (2000) theory of issue ownership to assimilate current understanding of the role of emotion in proenvironmental behaviour, from the fields of environmental psychology, ONE, and emotions in organisations. I also integrate Stern’s (2000) Value-Belief-Norm theory in order to account for both attitudinal and affective antecedents of proenvironmental behaviour. The relationships between environmental issues, emotions, and proenvironmental behaviour were explored in Study 1. Thematic analysis and content analysis of 31 interview transcripts revealed that managers experience positive and negative emotional responses to environmental issues. Results showed that emotions were expressed significantly more often when managers discussed environmental issues and proenvironmental behaviours at the individual level, compared to the organisational level. These findings demonstrate the importance of the organisational context in exploring the antecedents of workplace proenvironmental behaviour. In Study 2, my aim was to test a conceptual model of affective and attitudinal components of workplace proenvironmental behaviour. The sample for the study was 324 employees from five Australian organisations. I developed a web-survey to collect data from the employees and used structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyse the data. Results showed that aggregated positive emotions enhanced workplace proenvironmental behaviours. Contrary to expectations, however, I found that aggregated negative emotion impeded proenvironmental behaviour. Furthermore, results suggested that the direct relationships between emotion and behaviour were more important than the mediated effect of issue ownership. I conducted two experiments to test further the direct effects of emotion on workplace proenvironmental behaviour and issue ownership. In Study 3, I conducted a laboratory experiment. Five discrete emotions were manipulated using audio-visual stimuli developed for the purposes of the research. One hundred and ninety-four masters and final year undergraduate students participated in the study. Results demonstrated that emotions of the same valence led to different effects on workplace proenvironmental behaviour intentions and recycling behaviours. Contrary to expectations, results showed no significant effect of emotion on environmental issue ownership. Study 4 extended this work by testing the effect of the five discrete emotion manipulations in a field study. The sample for the study was 135 office-based employees. Results revealed that the emotion manipulations had a significant effect on proenvironmental behaviour, as measured by requests for information on improving environmental performance. Congruent with findings from Study 3, results of Study 4 demonstrated that emotions of the same valence led to different effects on workplace proenvironmental behaviour. Comparisons of effect sizes across Studies 3 and 4 revealed attenuation of the effect of emotion in an organisational setting. Together, these findings demonstrate the importance of emotion as an antecedent of proenvironmental behaviour. Findings demonstrated the significant role of organisational context in the relationship between emotions and workplace proenvironmental behaviour. Indeed, this research demonstrates that emotional reactions can induce proenvironmental behaviour. In a workplace context, however, results revealed that individuals also look to the organisation for cues as to the appropriateness of engaging in such behaviour. This research has implications for theory, research, and practice, and makes a contribution to the three research areas of organisations and the natural environment, environmental psychology, and emotions in organisations.

It is now clear that managers, and their organisations, are under increasing pressure to respond to environmental issues (IPCC, 2007; KPMG, 2005). Research has identified the important role that individuals play in affecting organisational change (Andersson & Bateman, 2000; Bansal, 2003; Starik, 1995), yet more remains to be done. Despite past success of cognitive and behavioural perspectives in explaining proenvironmental behaviours, few researchers have explored its affective dimensions (Kals & Maes, 2002; Vining & Ebreo, 2002). While organisations and the natural environment (ONE) research does mention emotive components of proenvironmental behaviours (Andersson & Bateman, 2000; Bansal & Roth, 2000; Ramus & Steger, 2000), there are very few studies that examine emotion directly. The lack of affective research on environmental issues in organisations has meant that ONE research has not kept pace with the theoretical and empirical developments in wider management literature that clearly demonstrate that emotion is an inescapable part of work-life (Ashforth & Humphrey, 1995; Fineman, 2003; Härtel, Zerbe, & Ashkanasy, 2005). As such, therefore, more research is needed to examine further the role of emotion in driving proenvironmental behaviours (Kals & Maes, 2002; Vining & Ebreo, 2002). Within this research, I aim to address this need by developing an understanding of the contribution of emotion to workplace proenvironmental behaviours. I draw on Weiss and Cropanzano’s (1996) Affective Events Theory and Pratt and Dutton’s (2000) theory of issue ownership to assimilate current understanding of the role of emotion in proenvironmental behaviour, from the fields of environmental psychology, ONE, and emotions in organisations. I also integrate Stern’s (2000) Value-Belief-Norm theory in order to account for both attitudinal and affective antecedents of proenvironmental behaviour. The relationships between environmental issues, emotions, and proenvironmental behaviour were explored in Study 1. Thematic analysis and content analysis of 31 interview transcripts revealed that managers experience positive and negative emotional responses to environmental issues. Results showed that emotions were expressed significantly more often when managers discussed environmental issues and proenvironmental behaviours at the individual level, compared to the organisational level. These findings demonstrate the importance of the organisational context in exploring the antecedents of workplace proenvironmental behaviour. In Study 2, my aim was to test a conceptual model of affective and attitudinal components of workplace proenvironmental behaviour. The sample for the study was 324 employees from five Australian organisations. I developed a web-survey to collect data from the employees and used structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyse the data. Results showed that aggregated positive emotions enhanced workplace proenvironmental behaviours. Contrary to expectations, however, I found that aggregated negative emotion impeded proenvironmental behaviour. Furthermore, results suggested that the direct relationships between emotion and behaviour were more important than the mediated effect of issue ownership. I conducted two experiments to test further the direct effects of emotion on workplace proenvironmental behaviour and issue ownership. In Study 3, I conducted a laboratory experiment. Five discrete emotions were manipulated using audio-visual stimuli developed for the purposes of the research. One hundred and ninety-four masters and final year undergraduate students participated in the study. Results demonstrated that emotions of the same valence led to different effects on workplace proenvironmental behaviour intentions and recycling behaviours. Contrary to expectations, results showed no significant effect of emotion on environmental issue ownership. Study 4 extended this work by testing the effect of the five discrete emotion manipulations in a field study. The sample for the study was 135 office-based employees. Results revealed that the emotion manipulations had a significant effect on proenvironmental behaviour, as measured by requests for information on improving environmental performance. Congruent with findings from Study 3, results of Study 4 demonstrated that emotions of the same valence led to different effects on workplace proenvironmental behaviour. Comparisons of effect sizes across Studies 3 and 4 revealed attenuation of the effect of emotion in an organisational setting. Together, these findings demonstrate the importance of emotion as an antecedent of proenvironmental behaviour. Findings demonstrated the significant role of organisational context in the relationship between emotions and workplace proenvironmental behaviour. Indeed, this research demonstrates that emotional reactions can induce proenvironmental behaviour. In a workplace context, however, results revealed that individuals also look to the organisation for cues as to the appropriateness of engaging in such behaviour. This research has implications for theory, research, and practice, and makes a contribution to the three research areas of organisations and the natural environment, environmental psychology, and emotions in organisations.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Erlangen.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1991.

Freiburg i. Br., Univ., Magisterarb., 2004.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-51). Also available in print.