Search

Abstract Proponents of development projects (e.g., new roads, mines, dams) are frequently required to assess and manage their impacts on threatened biodiversity. Here, we propose that the environmental legislation and standards that mandate such assessments are failing those threatened species and ecological communities listed as vulnerable. Using a case study of Australia's key environmental legislation, we highlight that vulnerable ecological communities receive no statutory protection, while vulnerable species are held to a less stringent standard in the impact assessment process compared with those that are endangered or critically endangered. In the 19 years since Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 was enacted, four times as many vulnerable species have declined in their threat status than have improved. Beyond Australia, we demonstrate the global relevance of this issue, as it applies to internationally recognized best practice impact assessment guidelines. These cases provide a cautionary tale: without greater attention and stricter assessment criteria in the impact assessment process, the vulnerable species of today risk becoming the endangered species of tomorrow, with all the attendant costs and missed opportunities for recovery that this implies.

Proponents of development projects (e.g., new roads, mines, dams) are frequently required to assess and manage their impacts on threatened biodiversity. Here, we propose that the environmental legislation and standards that mandate such assessments are failing those threatened species and ecological communities listed as vulnerable. Using a case study of Australia's key environmental legislation, we highlight that vulnerable ecological communities receive no statutory protection, while vulnerable species are held to a less stringent standard in the impact assessment process compared with those that are endangered or critically endangered. In the 19 years since Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 was enacted, four times as many vulnerable species have declined in their threat status than have improved. Beyond Australia, we demonstrate the global relevance of this issue, as it applies to internationally recognized best practice impact assessment guidelines. These cases provide a cautionary tale: without greater attention and stricter assessment criteria in the impact assessment process, the vulnerable species of today risk becoming the endangered species of tomorrow, with all the attendant costs and missed opportunities for recovery that this implies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluators play a central role in assessments of researchers' performance for reward, but the nature of their role and influence is not well understood. Ongoing reliance on evaluator judgement is typically justified as a need for referees in contests for reward, because quantitative performance measures alone can be subject to distortion. Yet, if evaluators are able to privately establish or interpret the performance standards utilized in evaluation, it may inhibit equality of opportunity, limit applicant pools, and reinforce existing inequalities. This article untangles the different roles played by evaluators through the development of a typology of systems of performance evaluation from existing literature. The typology is then applied to one type of evaluation system—promotion in a public research organization (PRO)—to investigate how and why particular evaluator roles emerge, and what contextual factors influence their implementation. Data are drawn from a mixed-method case study of a large Australian PRO, which includes data from one focus group, 22 in-depth interviews and 803 survey responses. The case study finds that evaluators' role can extend to sponsorship of researchers through the promotion system when diversity in research specializations inhibits the establishment of uniform performance standards. It also demonstrates that reporting lines and evaluator workload impact how and to whom sponsoring support is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organisations throughout the world adopt business excellence frameworks to guide their business strategy and continuous improvement. Some seek and receive awards which recognise high levels of achievement against the criteria of these frameworks. Even at these levels of performance, organisations face challenges to maintaining high levels of achievement and these are the subject of this paper. Using a sample of Australian Business Excellence Award winners, interviews with key managers provide insights into the challenges which these organisations face in their ongoing quest for excellence. Six key themes emerged: embedding excellence, ensuring it is not onerous, engaging people, providing meaning, driving and consistency. The paper explores these and how they are managed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Teaching and unit evaluations surveys are used to assess the quality of teaching and the quality of the unit of study. An analysis of teaching and unit evaluation survey practices in Australian universities suggests significant changes. One key change discussed in the paper is the shift from voluntary to mandatory use of surveys with the results used to assess and reward academic staff performance. The change in the direction is largely driven by the introduction of performance-based funding as part of quality assurance arrangements. The paper aims to outline the current trends and changes and the implications in the future such as increased scrutiny of teaching and intrusion to academic autonomy. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the analysis of current teaching and unit evaluation practices across the Australian university sector. The paper presents the case of an Australian university that has introduced performance-based reward using various measures to assess and reward academic staff such as the outcome of student satisfaction surveys. The analysis of external quality audit findings related to teacher and unit evaluations is also presented. Findings – The findings suggest a shift in trend from the use of voluntary to mandatory tools to assess and reward quality teaching. The case of an Australian university outlined in the paper and the approach taken by seven other universities is largely driven by performance-based funding. One of the key concerns for many in higher education is the intrusion of academic autonomy with increased focus on outcomes and less emphasis on resources needed to produce excellence in learning and teaching and research. The increased reliance on student happiness as a measure of educational quality raises the questions on whether high student satisfaction would strengthen academic rigour and student attainment of learning outcomes and generic skills which are seen as key factors in graduate exit standards. Practical implications – The renewal of quality assurance and performance-based funding using student satisfaction as a measure of educational quality will result in increased use of student voice to assess learning and teaching outcomes. Such direction will increase the accountability on academics to improve student experience and the measures will be used to assess academic staff performance. Originality/value – The paper outlines the trends and changes in the teacher and unit evaluations in Australian universities and its implications in the future. The paper also provides a case of an Australian university that has recently made teacher and unit evaluations compulsory with the results used in academic staff annual performance review and linking reward with performance outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to investigate in an Anglo and a Confucian-Asian nation how pressure is exerted on middle managers by their subordinate staff, and the managerial activities affected. Design/methodology/approach — In a survey, Australian (n = 251) and Singaporean (n = 340) health managers rated the degree of pressure exerted on them by subordinate staff to devote additional time to various managerial activities. They described the influence strategies employed. Findings — Ratings of the average pressure experienced regarding nine managerial activities were identical in both cultures. Australian managers reported significantly greater pressure affecting people and general organisational management. Singaporeans experienced more pressure affecting their quality and data management tasks. Australian subordinates used more direct-assertive and direct-persuasive influence strategies. Singaporeans employed more indirect-assertive tactics, particularly poor work performance. Research limitations/implications — The generalisability of the findings may be limited by having convenience samples from one occupational sector. Practical implications — The cultural differences found are relevant to the increasing numbers of multinational organisations and expatriate and migrant workers. The information will inform discussions on factors affecting the assignment of managers' priorities, which can be at variance with their aspirations. Originality/value — Managers' experiences of pressure from subordinates and how pressure is conveyed have been under-researched, particularly cross-culturally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If academic research on performance measurement is to benefit the wider global community, an examination of its implementation under various contexts is vital. This paper, which focuses on the performance measurement systems of Australian and Hong Kong government departments, aims to just do this. Although both countries adopt an outputs-and-outcomes performance measurement framework, Australia's devolved approach to performance measurement contrasts that that of Hong Kong's centralized approach. This paper evaluates their performance measurement systems against five commonly recommended criteria for performance measures: validity, legitimacy, credibility, public accessibility, and functionality. Several criteria were found to interact with one another, suggesting that one cannot always get away with focusing on some of the features in a performance measurement system at the expense of other features. The similarities and differences found in the performance measurement systems between both countries are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to present a theory of the leadership process within the substantive setting of a cleaned-up bureaucracy. Design/methodology/approach - Orthodox grounded theory is employed within the setting of a large public-sector organization in an eastern state of Australia. Findings - A leadership process model is presented which depicts a core social process within which subordinates' view of leadership is formed. Subordinates in cleaned-up bureaucracies view leaders as people who service them, thus facilitating the movement of subordinates towards the minimization of their ‘attainment differences’. This view is far from the New Leadership notions of the charismatic, visionary, transformational leader or the captain-like instrumental and authoritative leader. Research limitations/implications - Findings are derived on the basis of a substantive case study of one cleaned-up bureaucracy in a particular country. Further research needs to expand this base to encompass other organizations in a wider range of countries across different cultures. Practical implications - The grounded theoretical model draws attention to the intermediation and brokering role of leaders below the top management team who need to find ways to accommodate within the unilateral dictates of the senior executive strategies designed to minimize the attainment differences of subordinates. Originality/value - The paper responds to recent calls to situate leadership process research within specific organizational and change contexts. Not all organizational change involves movement away from existing structures, systems or principles. Rather, some change efforts involve movement within the framework of existing structures, systems or principles, in the sense that they are aimed at tightening up rather than breaking down these concepts. Thus, change efforts are often aimed at cleaning-up bureaucracies so they can achieve their prime objectives more efficiently. The leadership literature is far less rich in analysing such situations, a deficiency which this paper is aimed at filling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which explores the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and organizational culture. The empirical data was acquired from 194 organizations in Australia. The research model uses the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria as TQM framework and builds on the competing values model to frame organizational culture. The data was analysed using structural equation modeling technique. The study's results support the pluralist view, in which different subsets of TQM practices are determined by different cultures. The major implication of this finding is that organizations need to accommodate divergent goals by developing a system and/or structure that allows enough flexibility for adapting different (even contrasting) management styles, hence, swinging comfortably between control and flexibility and between internal and external orientations. Finally, this study considers organizational culture as the antecedent of TQM practices. The findings of the study provide evidence of the need for managing multidimensional elements within TQM that reflect multidimensional cultures.