Work process change in hospital services. This project will compare how process re-engineering methods, such as Lean Management and Six Sigma, are implemented in hospitals in Australia and Canada and how they impact on staff and patient care.
Human Resource Management (HRM) outsourcing and shared services: analysing changing approaches to HRM. Many public sector organisations have established centralised shared services centres or outsourced their Human Resource Management (HRM) to try to cut costs and improve performance. This project will investigate the many implications of such developments for Australian public-sector organisations, their managers and their employees.
Facilitating workplace change: Redefining the role of industrial tribunals in Australia. Amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 passed in 2013 have the potential to re-define the role of Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal, the Fair Work Commission, by requiring it to promote cooperative and productive workplace relations. This project aims to identify an innovative model of tribunal intervention that meets these new imperatives through case studies from the Hunter region of NSW, whe ....Facilitating workplace change: Redefining the role of industrial tribunals in Australia. Amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 passed in 2013 have the potential to re-define the role of Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal, the Fair Work Commission, by requiring it to promote cooperative and productive workplace relations. This project aims to identify an innovative model of tribunal intervention that meets these new imperatives through case studies from the Hunter region of NSW, where tribunal members have for two decades been working proactively with managers, employees and their representatives in major construction projects and large public sector organisations to achieve cooperative and effective workplace change. Read moreRead less
Trade union training: reshaping the Australian industrial landscape . This project aims to investigate the effectiveness of trade union training in developing the capacity of the Australian workforce. Building on earlier forms of union training, the government-funded Trade Union Training Authority (TUTA) provided courses (from 1975 to 1996) to enhance the skills of union officials and lay foundations for further education. This project will draw on extensive archival and oral history sources to ....Trade union training: reshaping the Australian industrial landscape . This project aims to investigate the effectiveness of trade union training in developing the capacity of the Australian workforce. Building on earlier forms of union training, the government-funded Trade Union Training Authority (TUTA) provided courses (from 1975 to 1996) to enhance the skills of union officials and lay foundations for further education. This project will draw on extensive archival and oral history sources to investigate TUTA’s origins, development, training practices and impact on individuals and workplaces. The benefits include better understanding of industrial, education and training systems. Insights from the project can inform the challenge of workforce development in a more uncertain and deregulated labour market.Read moreRead less