Leveraging organisational context to maximise team performance and thriving: a dynamic approach to understand team learning across diverse settings. Work teams can be a means of delivering business objectives as well as promoting human thriving, resulting in employees who are learning and physically vital. Yet competing tensions in organisations threaten these outcomes. The project will examine ways of mitigating contextual challenges to result in sustained organisational performance and employe ....Leveraging organisational context to maximise team performance and thriving: a dynamic approach to understand team learning across diverse settings. Work teams can be a means of delivering business objectives as well as promoting human thriving, resulting in employees who are learning and physically vital. Yet competing tensions in organisations threaten these outcomes. The project will examine ways of mitigating contextual challenges to result in sustained organisational performance and employee well being.Read moreRead less
On-line training for small business: Creating a best practice model. By evaluating the current training delivery methods used to inform small business managers this project will provide a best practice model to meet the specific training needs of those working in this sector. This model will encourage increased training participation by small business managers and provide the impetus for development of new on-line learning options. The project outcomes offer the opportunity for growth and deve ....On-line training for small business: Creating a best practice model. By evaluating the current training delivery methods used to inform small business managers this project will provide a best practice model to meet the specific training needs of those working in this sector. This model will encourage increased training participation by small business managers and provide the impetus for development of new on-line learning options. The project outcomes offer the opportunity for growth and development in small businesses. In turn, small business expansion offers Australia greater economic growth and at the local level also increases employment opportunities.Read moreRead less
Identity and intimacy in a virtual world: designing meaningful, responsible and effective virtual work. This project will help to bring theories of work design into the twenty-first century by acknowledging the important role of electronic communication reliance and being in remote locations for determining work outcomes, and offering concrete alternatives, including building identity and intimacy, to manage virtual work to leverage benefits and mitigate costs.
Increasing the effectiveness of remote and cross-cultural collaborations in organisations. Minerals, oil and gas exports dominate the Australian economy, and the effective organisation and management of collaborative work spanning remote, dispersed, environmentally fragile and culturally sensitive locations in this industry is a key challenge. Findings will provide insight into the systems, processes, and skills that are required to collaborate in these domains, improving international competiti ....Increasing the effectiveness of remote and cross-cultural collaborations in organisations. Minerals, oil and gas exports dominate the Australian economy, and the effective organisation and management of collaborative work spanning remote, dispersed, environmentally fragile and culturally sensitive locations in this industry is a key challenge. Findings will provide insight into the systems, processes, and skills that are required to collaborate in these domains, improving international competitiveness and global impact. Extensive efforts to interpret, synthesize and disseminate findings for scholars and non-scientists will also help inform educational agendas within industry and higher education to better prepare future collaborators.Read moreRead less
Managing work systems to promote employee engagement and business unit outcomes. This project will lead to the identification of specific people management practices that can be implemented within business units in order to promote both positive business outcomes and improvements in employee psychological well-being through increased employee work engagement. Given that research has already demonstrated significant positive business and psychological benefits arising from work engagement, the r ....Managing work systems to promote employee engagement and business unit outcomes. This project will lead to the identification of specific people management practices that can be implemented within business units in order to promote both positive business outcomes and improvements in employee psychological well-being through increased employee work engagement. Given that research has already demonstrated significant positive business and psychological benefits arising from work engagement, the results of the study have the potential to identify practical pathways towards generating significant economic, social and psychological benefits for employers and employees, at the level of the organisation, the community and, by extrapolation, the nation. Read moreRead less
How migration reshapes labour markets: a study of professional service firms. Australia needs skilled migration to maintain its economic growth and replenish its skill base as the population ages. It needs the skills of migrant accountants. This project will identify the barriers migrants face when seeking work in the financial services industry and discover how migration is changing the financial services labour market.
A multilevel approach to leadership and dynamic capabilities in organisations. The quality of leadership in Australian organisations has an impact on business productivity, international competitiveness, and employee health and well-being. This research will support the development of leadership skills at different organisational levels. For senior leaders, these skills include developing strategy, allocating resources, and supporting innovation. For team leaders, skills include team coordinatio ....A multilevel approach to leadership and dynamic capabilities in organisations. The quality of leadership in Australian organisations has an impact on business productivity, international competitiveness, and employee health and well-being. This research will support the development of leadership skills at different organisational levels. For senior leaders, these skills include developing strategy, allocating resources, and supporting innovation. For team leaders, skills include team coordination, employee support, and creating flexibility. By supporting interventions that build adaptivity and flexibility in organisations, the research will provide resources to support dynamic organisations to be better equipped to compete in demanding international markets.Read moreRead less
Facilitating Capacity Building in the Australian Not-For-Profit Sector through Improved Work Learning. This project aims to investigate how both formal and informal work learning can improve the governance, leadership, and management capacity of not-for-profit organisations (NFPs). The research aims to identify key competencies, and chart the needs, opportunities, preferences, and barriers to develop them on a national scale. Organisational mechanisms under managerial control are further examine ....Facilitating Capacity Building in the Australian Not-For-Profit Sector through Improved Work Learning. This project aims to investigate how both formal and informal work learning can improve the governance, leadership, and management capacity of not-for-profit organisations (NFPs). The research aims to identify key competencies, and chart the needs, opportunities, preferences, and barriers to develop them on a national scale. Organisational mechanisms under managerial control are further examined to understand what facilitates work learning within NFPs. Findings aims to inform theory, practice and policy about professional development and capacity building to enhance NFPs’ ability to make a strong social impact. Outcomes aim to significantly strengthen Australia’s social and economic fabric by building effectiveness within the critical NFP sector.Read moreRead less
To use or not to use financial incentives for motivation and performance. For decades, compensation experts have advocated for the use of financial incentives to motivate work performance, yet organisations keep encountering performance issues caused by these incentives. Using agency, expectancy, and self-determination theory to inform a meta-analysis and a series of experiments, this research will help uncover the most important motivational mechanisms that explain how financial incentives infl ....To use or not to use financial incentives for motivation and performance. For decades, compensation experts have advocated for the use of financial incentives to motivate work performance, yet organisations keep encountering performance issues caused by these incentives. Using agency, expectancy, and self-determination theory to inform a meta-analysis and a series of experiments, this research will help uncover the most important motivational mechanisms that explain how financial incentives influence different types of performance. Given that compensation accounts for an important proportion of an organisation's operating expenses and that employee engagement is on the decline around the world, this research will provide a strong empirical basis to develop more effective compensation systems.Read moreRead less
The impact of self-management training on staff satisfaction, absenteeism and an organisation's service culture. Self-management training has been widely suggested as a way to improve organisational performance. Using a classic training intervention approach, the present project will experimentally examine whether such training improves attendance and well-being at work and whether it creates a more positive approach to customers. Further, the study will examine whether changes are maintained ....The impact of self-management training on staff satisfaction, absenteeism and an organisation's service culture. Self-management training has been widely suggested as a way to improve organisational performance. Using a classic training intervention approach, the present project will experimentally examine whether such training improves attendance and well-being at work and whether it creates a more positive approach to customers. Further, the study will examine whether changes are maintained over time. The study will also test whether self-management training improves employees' perceptions of their organisation's service culture and increases their willingness to provide appropriate customer service. The practical implications of such training interventions for Human Resource Management practices in service organisations will also be evaluated.Read moreRead less