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The ethical behaviour and social responsibility of private companies, and in particular large corporations, is an important area of enquiry in contemporary social, economic and political thinking. In the past, a company's behaviour would be considered responsible as long as it stayed within the law of the society in which it operated or existed. Although this may be necessary, it is no longer sufficient. In this paper, we examine an energy company's response to an ethical incident in New Zealand which prompted different responses across the country about the role of business in society. Thus, we argue that when a corporation is accused of unethical behaviour, executives of the company are usually compelled to offer responses to defend their actions and corporate image. Further, we use communicative response model, social issue life cycle theory, and organisational learning, to analyse the incident and how the company responded. Using social issues life cycle theory and organisational learning theory, we demonstrate that sustained pressure can potentially trigger a change of strategy that may serve to improve the ethical posture of a corporation and thereby improve the corporate image long term. We conclude that, although corporations may understand the significance of social issues to the performance and success of their business, this same understanding does not always translate into meaningful social action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Joint Implementation (JI) host country has to make sure that JI projects are additional to avoid extra costs to generate the reductions necessary to cover the deduction of Emission Reduction Units (ERUs) from the country's Kyoto Protocol emissions budget. A tender of ERUs by the government allows to generate additional reductions beyond the ERUs issued if it thoroughly checks project additionality. The government of New Zealand is running a tender for JI projects under the title ‘Projects to Reduce Emissions’ since 2003. In two rounds, 10 million ERUs have been awarded and several projects have already entered into contracts with European buyers. The ratio of ERUs awarded to reductions achieved was 0.8 in the second tender. However it remains to be seen whether the additionality test of this tender is sufficient to exclude clearly non-additional projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses and illustrates organizational changes as initiated by ownership transition. It develops and elaborates three different pathways that organizations might follow through the process of transformation from government departments to state-owned enterprises, and then to privately-owned companies: the incremental, radical and reductive pathways. The research reported here is based on 11 case studies of New Zealand privatized companies. The pathway approach develops and extends existing models of transitional organizational trajectories, emphasizing the importance of antecedent conditions of organizational development, current environmental patterns and the strategic choices of the government and new owners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the changes in New Zealand's private sector industrial relations legislation following the introduction of the Labour Relations Act of 1987. Background on the introduction of the bill; Implication of the changes on the ideology of legislators.

Focuses on a study on the mortality of small and medium enterprises in New Zealand. List of companies included in the study, such as limited liability companies; Contribution of small businesses to the economy; Difficulty with defining small business mortality.

Focuses on a private company and public organisations that were evaluated in 2004 and received the New Zealand Business Excellence Framework Awards. Performance of insurance company Vero since adopting the business excellence framework; Challenge faced by Accident Compensation Corp. in performance comparisons; Significance of the award to the Hutt City Council.

The article focuses on the findings of ANZ Bank's Privately Owned Business Barometer on the barriers to the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in New Zealand. Privately owned SME are valuable contributors to the New Zealand economy. According to the Privately Owned Business Barometer, underutilization of boards might prevent the capability of companies to achieve their maximum growth potential. The issues that should be addressed by SME to promote corporate growth are identified.

The author discusses factors influencing the increase in executive compensation for corporate directors in New Zealand, noting the controversy over the disclosure that the directors of the utility company Mighty River Power (MRP) received a 73 percent raise in their fees. Topics include the relationship between organization size and director compensation, the differences between privately owned and public listed companies, and directors' responsibilities, skills, and workload.

The article presents findings of a survey on the constraints to the ability of New Zealand's privately owned businesses to expand, conducted by Grant Thornton. The survey revealed that a shortage of orders or reduced demand has become the main constraint to a business' expansion. It states that red tape and the availability of skilled workers continue to outrank the cost of finance and the shortage of working capital or long-term finance as barriers.

The article provides an overview of the Grant Thornton International Business Report. According to the report, more than half of New Zealand businesses surveyed expect an ownership change. A percentage of private companies are expected to change ownership. Peter Sherwin, of Grant Thornton New Zealand, commented on the sale-of-company mentality among New Zealand businesses.

This article presents four types of business structures available to New Zealand companies setting up in Australia. One option is to form an Australian company separate from the New Zealand company. The advantage of this structure is that if the Australian branch makes a loss, it can be offset against the New Zealand company profit. Limited liability protection is another way of trading in Australia.

Explains the importance of establishing a limited liability company to sole traders and partnerships in New Zealand. Legal ways to operate a business; Vulnerabilities of sole traders to business laws; Safety profile of an incorporated limited liability company.

Presents the response of the Industry New Zealand to the accusation of columnist Ralph Penning citing duplication of services and a burgeoning bureaucracy in New Zealand. Functions of the government agency; Role of the agency in the establishment of private sector taskforces; Clarification of the working approach of the agency.

Presents information on the fringe benefit tax (FBT) in New Zealand, focusing on its implications on small private companies. Detailed information on the tax; Reference made to a lease case brought before the tax courts; Details on the case referenced; How the Taxation Review Authority ruled on the case.