The Impact Of Globalisation On Employment Relations: A Comparison Of The Auto And Banking Industries In Australia And Korea. The project compares the impact of globalisation on employment relations in Australia and South Korea by analysing changes in the auto and banking industries since the mid 1990s. It is expected that the interactions between economic factors, institutional arrangements and strategic decision making will have led to both continuity and change in employment relations during t ....The Impact Of Globalisation On Employment Relations: A Comparison Of The Auto And Banking Industries In Australia And Korea. The project compares the impact of globalisation on employment relations in Australia and South Korea by analysing changes in the auto and banking industries since the mid 1990s. It is expected that the interactions between economic factors, institutional arrangements and strategic decision making will have led to both continuity and change in employment relations during this period. The study will introduce a new theoretical dimension to comparative industrial relations by testing an ?interaction? approach. It will also provide a deeper understanding of the reasons for similarities and differences between employment relations in Australia and South Korea and indicate likely future developments.Read moreRead less
WorkChoices and the Evolution of Australian Working Life: The Changing Role of the Labour Contract. Both internationally and nationally, there is much speculation as to how the transformation of the industrial relations framework will impact on workers and the broader community. Knowledge of the impact of WorkChoices is vital for employers, unions and governments to understand the influence the industrial relations framework has on Australia's social and economic fabric. The survey will address ....WorkChoices and the Evolution of Australian Working Life: The Changing Role of the Labour Contract. Both internationally and nationally, there is much speculation as to how the transformation of the industrial relations framework will impact on workers and the broader community. Knowledge of the impact of WorkChoices is vital for employers, unions and governments to understand the influence the industrial relations framework has on Australia's social and economic fabric. The survey will address some of the social issues that are debated widely in Australia such as the impact of the industrial relations changes on wages and wage inequality, work and family balance, skills development and shortages, workers in regional areas, and workers in low skilled and low paid jobs.Read moreRead less
Equal Employment Opportunity in Australia and Britain: Policy Approaches and Progress. Equal employment opportunity policies were introduced in Australia and Britain from the 1980s in response to women's disadvantaged workforce position. These policies aimed to eliminate barriers to women's equal participation. Similar approaches were taken in both countries, but Australia's was underpinned by legislation, while Britain's was employer led and voluntary. No independent examination of these progr ....Equal Employment Opportunity in Australia and Britain: Policy Approaches and Progress. Equal employment opportunity policies were introduced in Australia and Britain from the 1980s in response to women's disadvantaged workforce position. These policies aimed to eliminate barriers to women's equal participation. Similar approaches were taken in both countries, but Australia's was underpinned by legislation, while Britain's was employer led and voluntary. No independent examination of these programs has yet been undertaken. This project examines the rationale and model for EEO in both countries, compares outcomes achieved and the role of legislation in explaining differences in EEO outcomes. It will contribute to national policy analysis and produce refereed publications.Read moreRead less
Labour Matters: The Recomposition of Trade Union Action in a Globalising Era: Australia and Canada1983-2003. Trade unions are struggling to craft innovative responses to globalisation's pressures, while seeking to shore up their traditional role in 'porous' national economies. We compare Australia with Canada 1983-2003: semi-peripheral countries facing similar pressures from globalisation, but responding differently in governance and trade union action. Labour innovation is set against the backd ....Labour Matters: The Recomposition of Trade Union Action in a Globalising Era: Australia and Canada1983-2003. Trade unions are struggling to craft innovative responses to globalisation's pressures, while seeking to shore up their traditional role in 'porous' national economies. We compare Australia with Canada 1983-2003: semi-peripheral countries facing similar pressures from globalisation, but responding differently in governance and trade union action. Labour innovation is set against the backdrop of changes in employment regulation and employment security. We examine innovation through national and transnational union campaigns that parallel in two countries, to evaluate innovation in Australia. Postgraduate research training in internationally comparative social science methodology is provided and results disseminated in academic, practitioner and public fora.Read moreRead less
Work-Life Integration: Developing the 'Dual Agenda' in Theory and Practice. This project addresses the important and urgent need to reconcile organizational efficiency with employee needs to balance work, personal and family life. Current research indicates that the adoption of standard ?family-friendly? policies is hindered by traditional, gendered work processes, organizational norms and structures. A new approach called the ?dual agenda? for change is advocated to resolve this problem. This p ....Work-Life Integration: Developing the 'Dual Agenda' in Theory and Practice. This project addresses the important and urgent need to reconcile organizational efficiency with employee needs to balance work, personal and family life. Current research indicates that the adoption of standard ?family-friendly? policies is hindered by traditional, gendered work processes, organizational norms and structures. A new approach called the ?dual agenda? for change is advocated to resolve this problem. This project tests the application of the ?dual agenda? in two large Australian organisations. The data produced will identify policies and processes which meet the ?dual agenda? of gender equitable, improved work-life outcomes for employees and improved business outcomes for organizations.Read moreRead less
Data Mining of Activity Transactions to Strengthen Debt Prevention. A national benefit from this research will be the significant analytical contribution to the prevention of incorrect payment directly associated with 30% of Commonwealth outlays. Funds not incorrectly paid will be available for direction to other areas of national importance. Another benefit is the new technology will have application in commercial, state and federal government agencies where research into activity, event or pro ....Data Mining of Activity Transactions to Strengthen Debt Prevention. A national benefit from this research will be the significant analytical contribution to the prevention of incorrect payment directly associated with 30% of Commonwealth outlays. Funds not incorrectly paid will be available for direction to other areas of national importance. Another benefit is the new technology will have application in commercial, state and federal government agencies where research into activity, event or process data can be used to improve service delivery outcomes. A further national benefit will be the development and use of frontier activity transaction mining techniques to ensure Australia a leading role in enterprise data mining research and development.Read moreRead less
Human Resource Managers' Contribution to Workplace Performance. This project examines the professional identity and role of Human Resource managers in fostering and implementing strategies that encourage high workplace performance. This is significant because workplace performance affects Australian competitiveness and this will be the first detailed empirical analysis of Australian HR managers that combine case study and survey methods. The findings will develop models and strategies that wil ....Human Resource Managers' Contribution to Workplace Performance. This project examines the professional identity and role of Human Resource managers in fostering and implementing strategies that encourage high workplace performance. This is significant because workplace performance affects Australian competitiveness and this will be the first detailed empirical analysis of Australian HR managers that combine case study and survey methods. The findings will develop models and strategies that will improve professional management standards through academic and business publications, including a book accessible to managers. Educational materials, suitable for higher and continuing education, will also aim to improve the people-related capabilities of human resource and line managers.Read moreRead less
What does 'New Public Management' look like in the public sector workplace: a comparative study of Australia and the United Kingdom. Moving beyond the macro-level focus of most previous studies of the impact of ?New Public Management? (NPM), this project will examine its effect on civil and public services at the micro-level of the workplace. It will trace, analyse and compare the impacts of the managerial/contract state on particular public sector workplaces in Australia and the United Kingdom ....What does 'New Public Management' look like in the public sector workplace: a comparative study of Australia and the United Kingdom. Moving beyond the macro-level focus of most previous studies of the impact of ?New Public Management? (NPM), this project will examine its effect on civil and public services at the micro-level of the workplace. It will trace, analyse and compare the impacts of the managerial/contract state on particular public sector workplaces in Australia and the United Kingdom. It will classify and evaluate a range of impacts of NPM on public sector workplace organisation, labour processes and employment/industrial relations. It will explain significant differences in the form taken by NPM in various workplaces and explore their implications for workplace practice.Read moreRead less
Work and Social Cohesion under Globalisation. The project will explore how innovation and improvement in productivity can be accommodated with notions of fairness at workplace and industry level. The impact of increasingly competitive markets on the nature of work and society and the relationships between employers and employees in five industries: finance, tourism, health, ICT and automotive components, will be examined. The views of a wide cross-section of employees and managers in five key i ....Work and Social Cohesion under Globalisation. The project will explore how innovation and improvement in productivity can be accommodated with notions of fairness at workplace and industry level. The impact of increasingly competitive markets on the nature of work and society and the relationships between employers and employees in five industries: finance, tourism, health, ICT and automotive components, will be examined. The views of a wide cross-section of employees and managers in five key industries, complemented by existing survey data, will be analysed. A major outcome will be five industry workshops promoting productivity, partnership and social cohesion in a competitive global environment. Policy implications for the wider economy will be developed in the final report.Read moreRead less
The contribution of project leader behaviours to processes and outcomes in large scale projects. In Australia and worldwide, large-scale projects often fail to meet quality, time or budget goals resulting in outcome dissatisfaction, and large time and cost project overruns. This project focuses on achieving better project processes and leadership practice, especially in large-scale, complicated projects, in order to improve project success (as viewed by multiple stakeholders) and the performance ....The contribution of project leader behaviours to processes and outcomes in large scale projects. In Australia and worldwide, large-scale projects often fail to meet quality, time or budget goals resulting in outcome dissatisfaction, and large time and cost project overruns. This project focuses on achieving better project processes and leadership practice, especially in large-scale, complicated projects, in order to improve project success (as viewed by multiple stakeholders) and the performance, health and wellbeing of staff. We focus on Australian defence acquisition projects in order to test our theoretical model. This project will provide a major contribution to Australian defence capability by identifying how project leaders can improve project operations and deliver successful innovative acquisition products on time and budget.Read moreRead less