Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Degree Discipline: Tourism Management'
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Collier, Eric. "Managing disciplinary application in the hotel industry." Thesis, Cape Technikon, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/1587.
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Thesis (MTech (Tourism and Hospitality Management)--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 2004The problem of managing discipline in the hotel industry ranges from senior managers failing to manage discipline correctly, to junior/middle managers having insufficient practical experience and confidence to discipline effectively and justify the decisions they have made. Senior managers therefore lack confidence in junior/middle management's ability to manage discipline. The objective of this study is to provide senior management with simple, workable solutions to manage discipline correctly. This will enable senior management to delegate the management of discipline to junior/middle management correctly; to improve the confidence of junior/middle management in the management of practical discipline; to improve the confidence level of senior management in the ability of junior/middle management to manage discipline; and to .improve the ability of junior/middle management to correctly and confidently justify disciplinary decisions they have made. The study recommends that: senior management should take the lead and initiative to allocate time with junior/middle management to plan how to manage discipline effectively; the success of senior management's performance should be measured by how well junior/middle management achieve the performance competence to formally and practically manage discipline; senior management should provide structured feedback, coaching and counselling to junior/middle management on their performance; and senior management should coach junior/middle management on how to justify disciplinary decisions. The cost of this change, namely, coaching and influencing people, is not monetary, but one of commitment. It is the choice senior management should make. The choice is to want control or to coach, namely, to use power to change or influence change, to compel or develop people to take responsibility and ownership for what they were employed to do.
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Hendrickse, Nida. "Theoretical analysis of the development of events management as a separate discipline in South Africa." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2118.
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Thesis (MTech (Tourism and Hospitality Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2008.Event Management is a new medium, which has generated much enthusiasm from the events industry, as well as from the South African tourism industry, and is globally accepted as a developmental and marketing strategy from which destinations can benefit (Tassiopoulos, 2005: xiv). Event tourism has demonstrated significant growth and continues to expand as South Africa closes on hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Events are different from permanent tourism attractions as they attract people to a shortlived, organised activity where visitors may participate, watch, view, learn and enjoy (Tassiopoulos, 2005: xiv). Event organisers have a number of goals and objectives that they need to achieve within stressful environments. Events offer unique opportunities to spread the tourism season for a particular destination and to promote destinations or attractions. They can also be used to stimulate demand by attracting extra, new or repeat visitors, while events can also be intended to generate additional revenue for a destination (Light, 1996:183). In order to ensure that events are successful, and to generate income for destinations, event practitioners are constantly under extreme pressure to perform. A combination of knowledge and skills is required to empower event practitioners to contribute to the industry and the community, at large. Therefore, tertiary institutions, such as the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), should encourage active learning, facilitation, research, practical experience and engagement with its surrounding communities. This thesis focuses on a theoretical analysis of the events environment, as well as key factors that make this industry unique and justified as a separate discipline. The industry is hugely diverse and there are challenges, but prospective and current event practitioners who have established qualifications from registered institutions, can contribute to sustainable development and employment creation in South Africa. Carlos (2005: xi) states that for those who seek an exciting career, where their organisation skills and attention to detail along, with their creativity can be fully utilised, this would be their kind of industry; this is an industry that attracts several of the country's most vibrant students. Events Management is an industry, which is justified as a separate industry in South Africa.
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Michael, Muganda. "Community involvement and participation in tourism development in Tanzania : a case study of local communities in Barabarani village, Mto wa Mbu, Arusha-Tanzania : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Tourism Management /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/968.
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Tay, Ink. "Fixed asset revaluation : management incentives and market reactions : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce and Management at Lincoln University /." Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1555.
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There is a lack of relevant research of fixed assets revaluation practices in New Zealand. This study provides some insights as (1) why some New Zealand firms choose to revalue their fixed assets; (2) when will a firm revalue its fixed assets; and (3) whether fixed asset revaluation provides information to investors. This research attempts to explain the motivations of the management’s fixed asset revaluation decision in New Zealand. The empirical analysis includes five common explanatory variables, such as gearing (debt-equity ratio), liquidity, market-to-book ratio, firm size, and fixed asset intensity. In addition, the relationship between asset revaluation and share price movements of the firms are examined to determine the perceived usefulness of fixed asset revaluation information for the capital market in New Zealand. The study results show that fixed asset intensity and firm size significantly contribute to the revaluation decision. In contrast to the findings of previous studies (Whittred and Chan, 1992; Brown, Izan, and Loh, 1992; and Missionier-Piera, 2007), the level of corporate gearing is negatively related to the probability of revaluing assets for the sample of New Zealand firms in this study. However, the effect of the level of gearing on the revaluation decision is insignificant. The empirical results did not show any significant outcomes and relationships for investigated year 1998. This is because 1998 signified the end of recession and the beginning of economic growth in New Zealand. At the end of a recession, the changes in the country’s economic environment might have superseded individual firms’ considerations in management decision making process. The empirical results show that the practice of revaluation increased sharply with the adoption of the IFRS in 2005 in New Zealand. About 28.1% of the revaluation announcements under study were made in 2005 compared to just over 15.8% in 2001. Furthermore, the empirical results show negative returns accrue to firms prior to the publication of financial statements that carry revaluation announcements. These negative returns are reverted as soon as the revaluation information is made public. These gains are again maintained for at least a month after the announcements are made. Comparing frequent revaluers to first time revaluers, the results show that asset revaluation information is relevant to investors. Frequent revaluers gained only 0.8% announcement abnormal returns while First time revaluers gained over 4% in the 2005.
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Probert, Anne. "Competitive bodybuilders and identity: insights from New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Management, College of Business, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1129.
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This research explores competitive bodybuilders in New Zealand and their identities. Bodybuilders have often been construed as being broadly similar – excessively muscular people, who build their physiques for sometimes questionable reasons, such as for a cover for internal insecurities. Bodybuilding is often considered acceptable for men because muscles are symbolic of masculinity – on women they are seen as unnatural and unfeminine. While external critiques have tended to portray bodybuilders in a negative light, phenomenological accounts have often emphasised participants’ positive experiences. Existing research concerning the identity of bodybuilders has only scratched the surface. Identities reflect an understanding of ‘who one is’ – the continuing meanings people associate with themselves and as members of social groups. Furthermore, bodybuilders are not just ‘bodybuilders’, they are also people. Bodybuilding is not their only identity, it is one of their numerous identities. This research explored not only the meanings participants attribute to bodybuilding, but also how it is lived and experienced within the broader self. A phenomenological-inspired, mixed methodological approach was adopted using quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants were male and female competitive bodybuilders of varying ages residing in New Zealand. They were at different stages in their bodybuilding career and represented a range of competitive experience. A postal questionnaire was completed by 382 competitive bodybuilders, and in-depth interviews were conducted with 32 participants. Photo elicitation was also used. A key outcome of this research has been to highlight the changeable, complex, contradictory nature of bodybuilder identities. Fluidity, ambiguity and pluralism existed amongst the everyday practices and identities of participants. Although bodybuilders shared commonalities, their identities were not identical or stable: bodybuilding could be about transforming the body,looking good, being competitive, creative and/or healthy. It could be a lifestyle, involve personal challenge, self-development, social belonging and friendship. Identity experiences could be influenced by personality, background, gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity, work, family and church. The bodybuilder identities were also found to be closely connected to participant perceptions concerning their natural body, genetic advantages and limitations. Furthermore, their identities were not depthless but entailed commitment, passion, mental, social and emotional dimensions. Competitive bodybuilding was a meaningful activity, that often left an indelible mark and continued to shape participant lives even after they had ceased competitive bodybuilding.
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Tiller, Tina Rønhovde. "Exploring the relationship between tourism and concern for the global natural environment : a case study of Wellington residents : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Tourism Management /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-Thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/1299.
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Qasenivalu, Mosese Tavaga. "The role and impact of services sector on economic growth : an econometric investigation of tourism and air services in Fiji (1968-2006) : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Management in Economics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/856.
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Empirical studies have established that tourism is a major determinant of economic growth and that international air services have a beneficial effect on the growth and development of an economy. It has also been argued that trade and public enterprise reforms in the service sectors, undertaken to a greater extent in high income countries, have had a positive impact on the sectors performances. This study analyses several hypotheses relating to Fiji’s tourism and air transport service industries. First the study examines the contribution of tourism exports to economic growth in the case of Fiji. Second, the study analyses whether the tourism reform adopted by Fiji in 1999 under the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) has impacted on total tourism export performance. Third, the aviation-service growth nexus is investigated. Lastly, the effect of the aviation public enterprise reform activities on the export performance of air services is evaluated. Using time series annual data from 1968 to 2006, the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag. methodology has been utilized to estimate the contribution of each service sector to Fiji’s total service output. The results show that the tourism is a major determinant of growth in Fiji and that the aviation service-growth hypothesis is also valid for Fiji. The empirical results show that both the trade reforms in tourism and the pro-competitive measures undertaken in the airline industry, amongst other determinants, have not significantly created an impact on the respective export performance of tourism and air services. These findings provide key policy implications in the light of capitalizing on services exports as a major source of growth, particularly in developing island countries such as Fiji and the need to facilitate the strengthening of the market to boost the export performance of tourism and air services.
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Liu, Yun. "The discourse of being a business executive: an exploration of executive coaching advertisements to illuminate the discourse of being a business executive and the degree to which executive coaching engages in psychotherapy : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Management, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/964.
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There has been growing interest in the field of business management in developing methods to improve management competency. One popular management development method has been executive coaching, but because of the unique needs of business executives, executive coaches are constantly looking for new and more effective methods to work with business executives’ life, career, physical, and psychological problems. There has not been an agreed upon solution discovered to solve this problem. On the one hand, it was proposed that there is a need for executive coaches to employ psychotherapeutic methods in coaching to meet the psychological demands of business executives. But on the other hand, there are numerous issues related to standardizing executive coaching methods, qualifying executive coaches, and resolving ethical dilemmas. The author of this thesis views this issue as an over expectation of society of individuals in positions of power and responsibility. This thesis uses social theories to explore the expectations behind the high demands on the performance of business executives, and to illuminate the degree to which executive coaching engages psychotherapy. The findings of this study show that certain themes such as business skills, leadership, self-development, success, interpersonal skills, and achieve work-life balance dominates the advertisements of executive coaching professionals. These advertisements also use rhetorical devices to make these skills seem attractive and important to possess, which inevitably impacts on the view of self of executives and stimulates their desire to self- improve. It was also found that 21.26% of the advertised executive coaching services could be promoted by psychotherapists instead.
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Samson, Alan Michael. "Plagiarism and fabrication: dishonesty in the newsroom : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Management (Communication) at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1022.
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This first comprehensive study of New Zealand news media plagiarism proceeds from the observation that plagiarism, if not demonstrably increasing, is more common than many practitioners would care to believe. It affirms that, contrary to conventional opinion, plagiarism cannot be understood or dismissed simply or entirely as the product of dishonest or lazy journalists. The study findings support indications of an underlying culture of copying within news media organisations—a professional ideology encouraging, if not overtly justifying, copying, and discouraging clear authorship attribution. The findings emanate from responses to a survey distributed to all New Zealand’s journalists, followed by in-depth interviews with five journalists identified as having personal experience with aspects of the practice identified in the survey, and a sixth with a journalist against whom a complaint of plagiarism was upheld by watchdog body, the NZ Press Council. The research analysed the just four complaints related to plagiarism brought before the Press Council since its 1972 inception, as well as another five much-publicised examples of the practice written about in the news media, to the present day. Of the nine cases examined, three reflected the most serious type of dishonesty associated with Jayson Blair of the New York Times—calculated theft of words as well as outright interview fabrication. The others can be categorised in a perceived less blameworthy variety of plagiarism, bedevilled by confusion of terms and newsroom pressures. But because much run-of-the-mill plagiarism is likely to have gone unrecorded and unnoticed beyond the newsroom involved, the true extent of any sort of plagiarism here could not be judged. What was possible in this research, was to gauge a sense of prevalence by asking working journalists not of their own sins, but of their experience of being plagiarised by others. Suddenly the numbers of plagiarism cases rocketed, not in a usefully quantifiable way, but clearly demonstrative of an extent sufficient to warrant analysis of nature and origin. These experiences were set against an American model that identified four antecedents of plagiarism behaviour, two individual—journalistic rationalising of dishonesty and problematic techniques—and two situational—definitional ambiguity and reporter aversion to attribution. What became clear in these analyses was that, though all news media organisations view plagiarism very seriously, few if any acknowledge their own role in perpetrating the practice, that journalism is an industry that proceeds from an ideology of matching and copying.
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Redman, David F. "Tourism as a poverty alleviation strategy: opportunities and barriers for creating backward economic linkages in Lang Co, Vietnam : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1059.
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This thesis looks at the potential for using tourism as a poverty alleviation strategy in the context of Vietnam and the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). The theoretical basis for this research stems for the growing recognition within development rhetoric of the place of tourism as a key industry in many developing nations, and the formation of a Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) approach. The fieldwork section of this thesis looks at the barriers and opportunities for those in the poorer communities of Lang Co, a small town on the cental east coast of Vietnam, to supply the burgeoning tourism industry with locally produced products that are compatible with their current livelihood strategies. Results show that there are many opportunities for the poor to benefit from the rapidly growing tourism industry in Vietnam and the region. There is a strong recognition of tourism in national and regional development strategies, there is a rich cultural, environmental and social context driving the tourism industry and there are several initiatives taking place, such as the Vietnamese National Tourism Law, which include many elements of pro-poor tourism principles. However, this thesis has found many barriers also prevent poorer people from benefiting from tourism. In the case of Lang Co, the poor were often limited in their ability to participate in the industry by debt and lack of access to credit, lack of education and training opportunities, a declining natural resource base and by a lack of awareness and participation in the planning of the tourism industry. More widely, the tourism industry is centrally driven and focused on high growth and large infrastructure type developments which in some cases conflict with the principles of PPT and the ability of people at the ground level to participate. This research highlights the complexity of attempting to use tourism as a poverty reduction strategy given the wide range of stakeholders involved and various levels involved the planning and implementation of the tourism industry. The potential applicability of a concept of pro-poor tourism in a rapidly changing context such as Vietnam is contingent of the ability of the poor to have influence on an industry which is having an increasing effect on their lives and livelihoods.
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Martin, Frances. "Te mannaakitanga i roto i ngā ahumahi Tāpoi the interpretation of manaakitanga from a Māori tourism supplier perspective : a thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Hospitality Management, October 2008." Click here to access this resource online, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/487.
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Tappin, David Charles. "Investigating musculoskeletal disorders in New Zealand meat processing using an industry-level participative ergonomics approach : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Organisational Studies and Ergonomics at Massey University, New Zealand." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1003.
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In New Zealand, the highest incidence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) is found in meat processing, accounting for over half the injury compensation costs for the sector. This thesis reports on a two-year study of MSD in the New Zealand meat processing industry, with the aims of identifying MSD risk factors and interventions using an industry-level participative ergonomics approach. A review of the literature on occupational musculoskeletal disorders and participatory ergonomics identified gaps in knowledge, notably contextual factors for MSD and a limited scope for participatory ergonomics. The studies described in this thesis contribute to addressing these knowledge gaps. The first stage of the study established a profile of MSD injury data in the industry. Data were collected from four injury data sources for meat processing. A number of priority tasks were identified for beef and sheep processing, based on triangulation of these data, and findings were approved by the industry stakeholders, the Meat Industry Health and Safety Forum (MIHSF). The second stage of the study was the assessment of these tasks in a representative sample of processing plants, with the purpose of identifying risk factors that contribute to the occurrence of MSD, implementation barriers and MSD interventions. The study involved interviews with 237 workers, management, union and safety personnel in 28 meat processing sites. MSD risk factor data were separated into those concerning the high MSD-risk tasks (task-specific), and the wider work system (task-independent). From these data a list of contextual factors was developed which it is proposed may create conditions under which greater exposure to physical and psychosocial factors can occur in meat processing. Some 276 interventions were also identified. The third and final stage of the study involved working with the MIHSF in developing the interventions for use by the industry in reducing MSD risk. MSD intervention ideas were collated, summarised and prioritised. A document containing interventions, implementation barriers and risk factors was developed with the MIHSF and distributed to all levels of the industry. The thesis reflects on the effectiveness of an industry-level participative ergonomics approach to the achievement of the study aims, notably the identification of contextual risk factors and interventions for MSD.
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Lewis, Kate Valda. "A meaningful life : being a young New Zealand entrepreneur : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/916.
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Changing characteristics of work and careers have resulted in a shift in perceptions of the potential value of entrepreneurial activity. In parallel there has emerged an appreciation of the non-economic impact of entrepreneurship on those who enact it. However, there still remains a limited understanding of the consequences of choosing to be an entrepreneur, and what that choice means in terms of that individual’s life and work. The potential for the young as a group to engage with entrepreneurship as a ‘career option’ is high, therefore the central research objective of this study was to learn what meaning young New Zealand entrepreneurs attach to ‘being in business’. The study was grounded in an inductive, interpretive research design, underpinned by the tenets of constructivism. Phenomenologically focussed, in-depth interviews were used to gather data from ten young New Zealand entrepreneurs. These interviews were semi-structured and emphasised language, meaning, and narrative. The resulting data were analysed using elements of a constructivist grounded theory approach. A key finding was that the nature of the relationship between the entrepreneurs and their firms was a strong attachment grounded in emotion. The intertwining of the life of the business with the life of the young entrepreneur was viewed positively, and frequently involved personal transformation. Businesses were more than mechanisms for achieving monetary wealth. The relationship between the young entrepreneurs and their work was also intense. Balance of work and life was not an issue, nor did they seek to differentiate between the two spheres. They were content to have the two blended in a manner of their choosing. Consistent with this was their drive for personal authenticity and adherence to strong ethical imperatives. Being an entrepreneur was less about career (and even less about a job) and more about fulfilling needs of a higher order. Almost all the participants strongly identified as entrepreneurs. They felt it was the identity most consistent with their values, attitudes, and aspirations. They accepted that in some instances the label small-firm owner manager was accurate in terms of the scale of their operations, but rejected its appropriateness on any other grounds.
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Zhang, Yue. "The usage of third party logistics in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Applied Science in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/987.
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The aim of this research is to investigate the use of third party logistics in New Zealand companies from the users’ perspective and to identify the improvement opportunities in the New Zealand environment. The empirical research is used to investigate the reasons for undertaking or not outsourcing logistics activities in New Zealand companies; to investigate the extent of use of third party logistics services in New Zealand and the influence of firm sizes and different industries on different aspects of 3PL (third party logistics) practices; to investigate critical success factors and attributes of selecting and evaluating 3PL service providers by users of 3PL in New Zealand; to establish the impact of usage of 3PL providers on New Zealand companies; to evaluate the satisfaction level of New Zealand 3PL services; to investigate the future plans of current 3PL users in New Zealand. The results showed that 3PL has been accepted by New Zealand organizations; with more than half of the respondents using 3PL. Current users accepted that 3PL allows them to gain a number of benefits and believe that 3PL has more positive impacts than negative. With a high level of satisfaction, a large number of user firms are likely to maintain and moderately increase the use of 3PL in the near future. The results of this study provide useful information for both 3PL providers and users. Providers should be aware of the most frequently used services, the potential trend, and develop their capabilities accordingly in terms of these future requirements. The experience of the firms in this study also provides insights as to the benefits of outsourcing logistics activities and how to plan for implementation for 3PL users.
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Hamidon, Syahira. "The development of Malay entrepreneurship in Malaysia : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1009.
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Since the institution of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1971 and beyond its end in 1990, the Malaysian government has had mixed successes in developing Malay entrepreneurship. Despite on-going of privileges and assistance and the government’s concerted efforts and initiatives, Malay entrepreneurship still continues to lag behind that of the Chinese. This study centres on the challenges faced by the Government of Malaysia in the promotion of Malay entrepreneurial development. Based on interviews with diverse people, both within and outside the government, the study reveals that Malay entrepreneurial development is a complex process confronted by many issues and problems. The study also reveals that government privileges and assistance to Malays to promote entrepreneurship do not help much in boosting an entrepreneurial culture nor do they help them in enhancing entrepreneurial competitiveness and achievement. Instead, such privileges and assistance have conversely made the Chinese more resilient and competitive entrepreneurially but discriminative against the Malays. This conclusion confirms the proposition that “state assistance in the form of an affirmative action to an economically-challenged sector of society does little to create entrepreneurship; rather it challenges rival economic groups to sharpen their own competitiveness”. Finally, the study is able to indicate that Malay entrepreneurship differs slightly from the conventional Western concepts of entrepreneurship. The differences are largely due to the historical background of the Malays as a communitarian society; as Muslims; as a society still divided along class lines and as a status conscious community.
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Jayamaha, Nihal P. "Validity of business excellence models : a conceptual and empirical analysis : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Technology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/827.
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The validity of three key Business Excellence (BE) models used in the Asia Pacific—the Australian Business Excellence Framework (Australia), the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence (New Zealand) and the Singapore Quality Award Criteria (Singapore)—was examined from a conceptual as well as a predictive standpoint. Unlike in many past studies, in this study the validity of the measurement criteria stipulated in BE models have been directly assessed. The conceptual validity of the three BE models was studied through a generic theoretical model using the partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLSBSEM) method. Apart from measurement validity, the strengths of the hypothesised causal relationships between the constructs of the BE models and their practical implementations were also examined under conceptual validity. The predictive validity of the three BE models was examined through linear predictive models involving enablers—being measures in BE models that cover what organisations actually do in order to achieve business outcomes—as predictors and business outcomes as responses. Alongside predictive validity, the reasonableness of the stipulated weights of the enablers was also examined. Other empirical and pragmatic inquiries covered in this study included: (a) a study of the effect of “industry attractiveness” on financial and market performance, and (b) a study of the relationship between BE constructs and “national cultural dimensions”. Results revealed that although the three BE models fulfilled the basic requirements of measurement validity, against more stringent criteria such as those used in psychometrics, they showed low levels of validity. The possible reasons for this were examined and the ways of overcoming the shortcoming were suggested. The generic theoretical model was found to be statistically significant across all three settings: Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. As regards predictive validity, it was observed that enablers appear to be good predictors of business outcomes (thus establishing predictive validity) although there was scope for improvement of the existing weighting scheme of the enablers. This study is important because many organisations in the region use BE models with the expectation of improving their performance in key results areas and hence there is a need to demonstrate that the BE models are based on sound concepts.
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Nikorowitsch, Johannes. "The influence of music sharing at work on social relationships between colleagues : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Communications Management at Massey University, Wellington." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1079.
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This study explores the influence of music sharing at work on social relationships between colleagues. Music sharing has been proven to facilitate friendship and maintenance in various social environments (Brown, Sellen, & Geelhoed, 2001; Voida, Grinter, & Ducheneaut, 2006). However, music sharing at work in its influence on friendships between colleagues has never been explored, even though establishing and strengthening social relationships within the workplace have become increasingly important within organisations (Berman, West, & Richter, 2002). Informal relationships are beneficial for the overall well-being of an organisation as they increase the exchange of resources between colleagues. For the individual workers these relationships satisfy their need for social interaction. The study applied a mixed methods approach involving quantitative as well as qualitative methods. Twenty-nine employees from design agencies throughout New Zealand participated in an online survey and seven in semi-structured interviews. Both online survey and interviews were used in combination in order to achieve complementarily and triangulation between quantitative and qualitative data. The results suggest that music sharing contributes to the development of social bonding that occurs in the workplace. On the basis of the music that was shared through various technologies colleagues appeared to form impressions of each other. This involved determining each others’ music preferences and associating other personality aspects with those music preferences. It appeared that the more similarly colleagues perceived each others’ musical tastes, the more likely they were to become friends and/or to form informal music taste groups at work. The degree of reciprocity of music predicted the degree of intimacy between colleagues. When colleagues who were friends shared music with each other, they were much more concerned about reciprocating the music adequately than when they shared with colleagues they knew only superficially. The findings of this study are relevant for employers who want to promote relationship development between colleagues in a work environment where employees are passionate about music.
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Love, Laurna M. "Impacts of imposed polychronic behaviour upon performance and well being in academic work environments : a 90 point thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Management at Massey University, Turitea, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1157.
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In the contemporary workplace individuals differ considerably in the manner they approach their work and achieve outcomes. This thesis examined the construct of polychronicity (preference for undertaking multiple tasks simultaneously) within two intellectually intensive academic work environments. The impacts of imposed polychronicity on performance, job satisfaction, perceived stress and wellbeing were explored. Data was collected from 116 lecturers, teachers, supervisors and managers working in Northern Queensland, Australia. A quantitative approach was taken to data collection. Existing scales were used to measure a range of variables including preferred polychronicity, experienced work unit polychronicity, organisational commitment, job satisfaction, and perceived stress. To provide a qualitative perspective, respondents were asked for comments which were used to add depth and breadth to the study. The findings indicated that preferred polychronicity and experienced work unit polychronicity did not differ over genders or occupations which suggests that polychronicity is likely to be a personal trait. Responses were divided into polychronic, neutral or monochronic preference categories. The findings indicated that when polychronicity was high organisational commitment was high, but when monochronicity was high organisational commitment was lower. Further the findings indicated that when organisational commitment was high, job satisfaction was high and when organisational commitment was low stress was high, although polychrons relationship with stress was lower than that of monochrons. This may suggest that polychrons work better in an imposed polychronic environment than monochrons which supports previous research. The implication for employers is that through understanding the tasking preferences of employees they may be able to tailor strategies to improve and enhance personal wellbeing which in turn may increase job satisfaction, performance, wellbeing and reduce turnover.
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Zhai, Y. H. "Asset revaluation and future firm operating performance : evidence from New Zealand : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce and Management at Lincoln University /." Diss., Lincoln University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/219.
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The regulatory framework of many countries allows the upward revaluation of assets. Previous studies on the association of asset revaluation and future performance in Australia (Barth and Clinch, 1998), U.K. (Aboody, Barth and Kasznik, 1999) and Hong Kong (Jaggi and Tsui, 2001) have shown that upward asset revaluations are positively associated with the firm’s operating performance, suggesting that asset revaluations are value relevant. This study extends the previous research by focusing on the New Zealand environment with recent data to examine the association of upward asset revaluation and future operating performance. There is no obvious evidence indicating that upward revaluations are associated with operating performance in New Zealand. Our market assessments show that current year asset revaluations are related to share prices and returns, but are not statistically significant.
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Shen, Fujun. "Tourism and the sustainable livelihoods approach : application within the Chinese context : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University /." Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1403.
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Tourism has been increasingly used for, and directly linked with, rural poverty reduction in developing countries. In recent years, it has, however, been criticised by rural developers for its lack of concern for the rural poor and for being too increasingly focused on tourism specifically. Instead, it is argued that these inadequacies can be addressed by the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA), a widely used organising framework for facilitating poverty reduction. But the application, and to an extent the principles, of the SLA may not fully fit the tourism situation, and vice versa. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding about the relationship between the SLA and tourism needs to be explored. This thesis incorporates a review of the literature on rural and tourism development. Gaps between the SLA and tourism are identified. It is suggested that the SLA cannot fully address the issues when tourism is used as a rural livelihood strategy. New knowledge and thinking are needed. Based on the literature review, a Sustainable Livelihoods Framework for Tourism (SLFT) is proposed as a guiding tool in rural development when tourism is a livelihood strategy. For testing the applicability of the SLFT, a mixed methodology and case study research method was adopted. Three mountainous rural villages, respectively at involvement, development and rejuvenation Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) stages, in central China, were examined. Before implementation of the case study, SLFT indicators were firstly developed. Findings show that the SLFT provides an overall organising framework for the consideration of rural development using tourism as a livelihood strategy at all stages of TALC. Revisiting the SLFT, it is argued that an additional attraction capital should be added to the SLFT. Attraction capital includes natural, cultural, and other attractions, and is defined as all resources used to attract tourist arrivals from which local people benefit for better livelihood objectives. Based on the findings, the SLFT and its key elements are revised to offer a more complete insight and understanding of a tourism livelihood system for the purpose of tourism planning and management. Particular attention is drawn to the newly introduced concept of institutional capital, mainly evidenced in community participation practice. Appropriate institutional policies and practices can ensure local people share the benefits from tourism. The implication of a participatory approach is extended to access to tourist markets, benefit sharing, as well as participation in the decision-making. This research indicates that improvement of livelihood assets by tourism enhances local people’s resilience to vulnerability contexts. Institutional arrangements play an important role in mediating this process as well as the impact of vulnerability contexts through the planning portfolio (e.g., planning, policy-making, and legislation). Future research is suggested to evaluate and improve the SLFT’s applicability in multiple development contexts, and to explore ways of further developing SLFT indicators as a means for evaluating the usefulness of the SLFT.
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Khan, Khalid. "The violation of psychological contract : possible causes for the failure of organizational incentive systems to motivate knowledge sharing : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Human Resource Management, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1223.
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Researchers and practitioners have linked the survivability of organization to their ability to manage their knowledge resource. This ability of the organizations depends on providing the technological support for the creation of knowledge, organizational structures (such as the organization reward systems) and the willingness of their employees to share their knowledge. Developments in information and communication technologies have facilitated organizations in developing the infrastructures that are required for the dissemination of knowledge. Organizations are thus left with the challenge of developing organizational structures that will motivate knowledge sharing among its employees. The knowledge sharing problem, which was once seen as an issue of capturing can codifying information, is now seen as a challenge of motivating individuals, the true owner of knowledge, to share their valuable resource. Behavioural scientists have taken interest in knowledge sharing as a form of helping behaviour which is directed at the organizations or member within the organizations. Although organizations have great desire that their managers engage in this behaviour, it is the discretion of their employees whether they want to share or withhold their knowledge. Organizational structural control mechanisms (such as the performance evaluation systems) have limited success in enforcing such behaviour as there are no means of measuring its outputs. Organizations depend on their incentive systems to motivate knowledge sharing. Research into motivation indicates that there is no easy fix to achieve this. Organizations have to balance the use extrinsic and intrinsic motivators, considering the specific motivational requirements of their employees. Motivational interventions, such as the use of incentives, are dependent on the level of trust the employees have in their managers and the organization in whole to deliver on those incentives in a fair and equitable manner. Where trust levels are not sufficient, employees tend to ignore such incentives and tend to further disinvest discretionary efforts. The current study used the psychological contract theory as a frame work for understanding the dynamics of the employee-employer exchange. The central premise of the theory is that employees tend to lose trust in the organization or the agent of the organization, when they perceive that their expectations have not been met. In addition to the lost of trust, psychological contract violation is also negatively associated with desirable organization behaviours and attitudes – such as commitment, in-role and extra-role effort – and is positively associated with undesirable organization behaviours and attitudes such as intention of turnover. The current study used a qualitative research design to investigate how the violation of the psychological contract can add to the ineffectiveness of the organization incentive system to motivate knowledge sharing. Using semistructured interviews the participants were provided with short scenarios (vignettes) which simulated occurrences of psychological contract violation. The participants, acting as informants, responded to question with regards to how the situations depicted in the vignettes would affect the vignette characters’ work behaviours, specifically their desire to share knowledge.
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Tharmaseelan, Nithiyaluxmy. "Careers in cross-cultural context : a study of Sri Lankan immigrants in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand." Massey University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1189.
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This study considered migrants’ career outcomes as the result of their adjustments in terms of culture and career adaptation along with other positive attributes they brought on their arrival as well as developing in their new country. It considered that career is the property of individuals and managing it successfully is the responsibility of individuals themselves. Prior research into migrants’ issues and careers was used as the basis of this study and a model for analysis was developed using such issues. The resultant model included the wider life of migrants. A questionnaire including reliable measures of key variables was developed based on the literature. Two hundred and twenty-one Sri Lankan migrants completed the pilot tested survey. The results were analysed using factor analysis, tests of association and multiple regression analysis at the first stage to formulate a less complex model. Structural equation modelling was then used to confirm the relationships assumed between different variables. Although some of the relationships and/or variables assumed initially were removed from the model, the final model explained strong links between the variables that remained. Qualification gained before migration and career self-efficacy were found to be the most significant variables in explaining job satisfaction before migration. Usefulness of prior knowledge, skills and habits, efforts made towards career, education in New Zealand, information seeking, length of time in New Zealand and overseas experience had the greatest influence on current job level. Current job level, length of time in New Zealand and overseas experience were found to be the most significant variables explaining subjective career success after migration. Adapting to New Zealand culture was found to be significant in explaining only the career satisfaction after migration. It was also found that migrants’ career outcomes (success and satisfaction) after migration were significant variables in explaining overall career satisfaction of this migrant group: however, with the exception of job satisfaction, career outcomes before migration did not play a significant role in determining overall career satisfaction. The implications of the present study were considered, from both migrants’ perspective and that of New Zealand as the host society. A number of possible practical strategies relevant to migrants, community organisations and policy makers and authorities were suggested. Several potential avenues for future researches were identified and discussed. Thus, it is expected that this study will contribute to better career outcomes of migrants in New Zealand.
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King, Colville. "Governance inertia & performance in a micro-sized single desk seller : a 120 point thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Management at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1150.
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Single Desk Seller (SDS) firm structures dominate the agribusiness sector in many developing countries, and were created to resolve export market failure and achieve performance efficiency and effectiveness. Many of these SDSs are also state owned enterprises and have been perceived to be inefficient and a drain on the public purse, as well as no longer having a raison d'être in the face of the World Trade Organization’s anti-competition open markets policies. However, unlike in developed countries, SDSs are likely to remain a significant feature in small developing countries due to their inherent problem of small scale and undeveloped equity markets. It therefore beholds researchers and practitioners to correct inefficiencies of these structures in order to achieve optimal performance. The Arrowroot Industry Association, with a record of disastrous performance makes an ideal case to explore this governance-performance relationship. A holistic case study research methodology was used to carry out this study The main finding was that the governance structure of the Arrowroot Industry Association (AIA) was unresponsive to and did not co-evolve with its environment over the last (20) twenty years. As a result it increasingly became an inefficient mechanism for solving governance according to the normative prescriptions of property rights, transactions cost, agency, resource based view, resource dependency theories, stakeholder, and stewardship theories. Consequently, and despite having a rare and valuable starch product, the AIA was unable to meet demand or secure sufficient rents from the value chain to meet the revenue objectives of itself or of its members. The most significant causes of inertia in the AIA’s strategy and structure were caused by two exogenous variables (a fixed legislation and significant politically influence in the strategic process), and two endogenous variables (poor cognitive ability of management and directors and the limiting effects of its eroded resource base). The combination of poor performance and inertia of the AIA over the years resulted in various forms of escalating commitments, debt accumulation and a shrinking supply base upstream as producers sought alternative means of income. Furthermore, the absence of markets for managerial talents, corporate control and arrowroot production, harvesting and processing technologies restricted alternatives available to the AIA of Government in resolving the perceived problems. Research implications and recommendations for the AIA are subsequently discussed. The major recommendations proposed to reverse the performance problem of the AIA were (1) tighter vertical integration of the AIA to internalise of downstream inefficiencies, (2) efficient allocation of property rights along the entire value chain, (3) clearly defined roles and boundaries for key stakeholders, (4) increasing managerial, technological and financial capacity, and (5) reducing Government control by making influence-cost significantly prohibitive.
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Watts, Tony. "Strategies for New Zealand manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises going global : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies in Management at Massey University, Turitea, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1141.
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The strategies to employ when a small to medium sized enterprise (SME) enters the international market are important issues for a business to consider. This research study addresses the question “What strategies will position New Zealand manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises for international markets?” It is intended to compare various strategies for going global, discovering these through a literature review and personal interviews with New Zealand businesses who have successfully globalised. The research studies globalisation within manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand. It explores strategies available in order to discover their advantages and disadvantages, and suggests key strategic directions for New Zealand manufacturing SME’s to use when entering into international markets. The research is intended to benefit New Zealand SME’s considering entering the international market place, which in turn will contribute towards benefiting New Zealand as a whole as it endeavours to position itself in the international competitive arena. Specific strategies for New Zealand manufacturing SME’s wishing to establish global markets are explored with implications for theory, research, and business practices. A case study approach was adopted, with multiple research methods used to gather information for the study. An experience survey in the form of personal interviews was used to gather a range of views from people with knowledge and experience in exporting to international markets. Documents were analysed, together with information gained through the interviews to compile case histories of the businesses that participated in this research. Strategies relevant to going global were identified in a literature review and these strategies were compared with actions and directions taken by the businesses interviewed. The analysis of the findings reveals congruence with theoretical strategies for globalisation of SMEs identified in previous studies; however it was found that decisions made when going global were highly dependent on the individual circumstances that a business finds itself in, rather than committing to strategies based on assumptions from academic studies. The businesses involved in this study went global through opportunities more so than strategic purpose. They had not set out to be a global enterprise, however when the opportunities arose their globalisation effort needed total commitment. Their experiences are discussed in this study and have relevance for other firms looking to go global.
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Smollan, Roy Kark. "The emotional rollercoaster of organisational change : affective responses to organisational change, their cognitive antecedents and behavioural consequences : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/945.
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Change is a potentially emotional event as people anticipate or experience its outcomes and processes. Managers and researchers often ignore the emotional aspects of organisational change, yet it is precisely these aspects that can promote acceptance of change or resistance to it. The focus of the research is on the many factors that contribute to cognitive, affective and behavioural responses to organisational change. A model of individual responses evolved from the literature review and helped guide the research questions. It indicates that responses to change depend on factors in four categories: those in the change itself (outcomes, scale, temporal issues and justice); those in the employee (their emotional intelligence, disposition, previous experience of change, and change and stress outside the workplace); those in the employee’s perceptions of the leaders/managers/agents (their leadership ability, emotional intelligence and trustworthiness); and those in the employee’s perception of the organisation (its culture and change context). Two main research approaches underpinned the thesis. Firstly, cognitive appraisal theory takes the position that emotion derives from cognition as people contemplate the importance of events (such as organisational change) to their wellbeing and consider how they will cope. Secondly, social constructionism was used as a theoretical platform because it combines the individual experience of emotions during change with the social forces that help shape them. Twenty-four interviews were conducted in Auckland, New Zealand. The participants were from a variety of industries, organisations, hierarchical levels, change roles, functional departments and ethnic, gender and age groups. They reported on many different types of change, small and large, with many focussing on some element of organisational restructuring. The study showed that people played different roles in change events - as leaders, managers, agents and recipients - and at times took on a combination of these roles, which did not always depend on hierarchy. The roles they played to some extent influenced their responses. Findings show that all 13 factors in the model produced some responses, but not in all participants. The most prevalent of these, and those that often provoke emotions of the greatest intensity, were personal outcomes and the fairness of change. Two additional factors surfaced, control over the change and support from colleagues and people outside the organisation, and the model was revised to include them. The study confirmed that organisational change is indeed an emotional event, and that these emotions arise from a host of factors that have individual, social and wider contextual origins.
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Fletcher, Charlotte Jane. "Conservation, livelihoods and the role of tourism : a case study of Sukau village in the Lower Kinabatangan District, Sabah, Malaysia : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Natural Resources Management and Ecological Engineering at Lincoln University /." Diss., Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1339.
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The purpose of this study was to examine conservation, livelihoods, and the role of tourism. The village of Sukau in the Kinabatangan District of Sabah, Malaysia, served as a case study. The vital importance of the Lower Kinabatangan in wildlife conservation, coupled with the tourism potential of the region, underpinned the creation of the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary in 2005. The 26,000 hectare sanctuary is fragmented in nature and surrounded by palm oil plantations. Still, with the protection of these fragmented forested areas, Sukau has evolved into the ‘hub’ of tourism in the Lower Kinabatangan. The majority of visitors come to Sukau for the opportunity to view the flagship species of the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (orang-utan, Bornean pygmy elephant, proboscis monkey, and hornbills) in the wild. Many of the local villagers own land which is still forested and serves as important ecological links between the fragmented protected areas. However many of the villagers plan to use their lands for smallholder palm oil farming in the future. This will further fragment the forested areas of the Wildlife Sanctuary, and will have severe implications for nature conservation and tourism in Sukau. The Sabah Tourism Master Plan (1996) stresses that for the tourism-conservation linkage to be effective in Sukau, the local community must benefit from tourism. If the locals of Sukau are able to depend on tourism as a livelihood option, then perhaps the forested areas of the Wildlife Sanctuary will not be further fragmented in the near future. This study will attempt to answer whether tourism is an effective alternative livelihood source for the locals of Sukau. Predominantly qualitative research methods were used for this study. These included semi-structured interviews with the local villagers of Sukau, and informal interviews with key informants in the area. Structured questionnaires and interviews were also undertaken with lodges in and near the village. The information gathered from these sources was further strengthened by my own personal and participatory observations. In 2006, 10 per cent of the population of Sukau, and 23 per cent of the estimated total workforce were directly employed in tourism. Results indicate that having tourism as a livelihood option has made the villagers more motivated to protect their environment. Yet the locals of Sukau disagree that their community benefits sufficiently from tourism, and smallholder palm oil farming is viewed as the more lucrative livelihood option. The current financial crisis (2008-9) has complicated the likely contribution of tourism to livelihoods and conservation in the future. Nevertheless it is likely that both the palm oil and tourism industries will recover from the economic downturn, and consequently they will both continue to be future livelihood options for the villagers of Sukau. Therefore steps should be made to improve both industries for the benefit of livelihoods and nature conservation in Sukau. There are a number of potential ways in which tourism could be improved in Sukau to bring more benefits to the locals. If these suggested improvements occur, then the effectiveness of tourism as an alternative livelihood source for the locals of Sukau will be enhanced.
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Boyte, Karen-Ann. "Job design and wellness in New Zealand Contact Centres: a paradigm shift or same old management? : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the postgraduate degree of Master of Business Studies, Human Resource Management at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1042.
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The impact of the Contact Centre workplace upon employee satisfaction or wellness is attracting the attention of researchers across the globe. Over 10 years of research has resulted in recommendations about how Contact Centres should be managed and how the jobs of Contact Centre agents should be designed. There is growing concern that the current practices result in significant psychosocial risk factors which are ultimately harming the Contact Agents and less obviously the bottom line of their organisations through emotional exhaustion, stress, employee absenteeism and turnover. The aim of this study was to explore whether Contact Centre managers were aware of these recommendations, in particular those relating to the design of motivating, satisfying and “healthy” jobs. Using an expanded Job Characteristic Model, this descriptive study explored the level of awareness of New Zealand Contact Centre managers (n=20) regarding the recommendations about the design of jobs, and what changes, if any, have occurred as a result. Where changes have not been forthcoming, the study explored the constraints which were preventing or limiting change. The results of this study indicated that there is a low level of awareness of the research recommendations, that approaches to improving the management and design of Contact Centre agents roles are ad hoc, and that there is a level of resistance in providing agents with autonomy to manage their day to day roles. Some efforts to increase task and skill variety have been made but these are also ad hoc rather than built into the job. As a result of this study, it appears that Contact Centres in New Zealand are still adopting a mass production model of management. This study has implications for Contact Centre managers and senior organisational managers, these are discussed. Limitations of the research, implications for Contact Centre Managements are highlighted and areas for further research are highlighted
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Lees, Gavin. "Are radio markets Dirichlet? A study into the NBD/Dirichlet, its empirical generalisations and their extension to radio listening patterns : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marketing at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1149.
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The well recognised and parsimonious Dirichlet model of buyer behaviour (Goodhardt, Ehrenberg and Chatfield 1984) has summarised a number of empirical generalisations about market structures and buyer behaviour. These generalisations have been described by Sharp, Wright and Goodhardt (2002) as: Differences in market share can be attributed largely to differences in market penetration A double jeopardy pattern emerges, with smaller brands having a lower average purchase frequency, share of category requirements, and proportion of sole buyers A brand’s customers buy from other brands more frequently Sole buyers tend to be very rare, and are also very light buyers Heavy buyers buy more brands and are very unlikely to be sole buyers Brands share their customers in proportion to their market share (Duplication of Purchase Law). Of these empirical generalisations, double jeopardy, polygamous loyalty and the duplication of purchase law are amongst the better known. They have been observed across an increasing number of product categories, countries and differing market conditions. This thesis considers whether the Dirichlet and its accompanying empirical generalisations also hold true for radio markets. Whilst Goodhardt, Ehrenberg and Collins (1975) and Barwise and Ehrenberg (1988) have considered television and its audiences there has been very little study into radio audience patterns. Perhaps this is because many researchers consider radio to be more like television than any other media. However, Lees (2003, 2006) has started to address the issues of radio market structures and radio audience patterns. This thesis adopts an empirical generalist approach showing the Dirichlet model of consumer behaviour and its associated empirical generalizations appear to apply to radio markets in that they: Show a high correlation between market share and the brand performance measures of: cumulative audience, average time spent listening, share of category requirements and exclusive audience Reflect the double jeopardy pattern with those stations that have a higher market share also having a higher penetration or cumulative audience and a higher average weekly time spent listening. Conversely those stations with a low market share having a lower cumulative audience and a lower average weekly time spent listening Show audience duplication between radio stations that varies according to each stations’ market cumulative audience, in accordance with the Duplication of Purchase Law Have the percentage of listeners loyal to one radio station reflecting the Dirichlet’s expectation of low exclusive audience. These exclusive listeners also reflect a double jeopardy pattern with the bigger stations having more exclusive listeners than the smaller stations. The most compelling result of this thesis is the apparent ability of the Dirichlet to describe a radio market place. Thus has managerial implications – especially to what extent a manager should take the patterns as ‘normal’ or seek to ‘buck the trend’. The conclusion is that radio station managers need to carefully manage their station working with the market rather than trying to ‘buck the trend’. This is likely to involve station managers actively promoting their stations to ensure that their station remains salient to its current listeners while also trying to increase its awareness amongst non listeners. This thesis has also made several contributions to knowledge about the Dirichlet. First, it has extended knowledge about the model to a new area – that of radio listening. Second, it has shown that while some radio listening seemingly violates some of the assumptions behind the model it is still robust enough to account for variations in multivariate count data in a manner that is parsimonious. Third, it has confirmed the known boundary condition that the Dirichlet does under-predict sole loyal purchase frequency. This thesis also calls for further research into both the Dirichlet model with further extensions to differentiated product categories; and into the question of radio audience measurement. It calls for the New Zealand Radio Broadcasters Association to commission a report into the effect of introducing portable people meters as a form of audience measurement.
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Macdonald, Julie Susan. "Who talks, what they talk about, and how much they say : a study of bulletin structure and source use in New Zealand free-to-air television news programmes : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Communication Management, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/922.
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Free-to-air television news is an accessible and popular means through which audiences can gain knowledge and understanding about the world. Therefore, the nature of the news provided has important implications for the opportunities audiences have to become informed about events and issues, and to use this knowledge to participate in social decision-making. The structure and content of news bulletins reflect the decisions made by broadcasters about the topics that are considered to be important, and which sources should have the opportunity to be represented. Thus, the goal of this research was to compare the structure and content of the news provided by New Zealand’s national free-to-air news programmes; ONE News (TVNZ), 3 News (TV3), Prime News (Prime Television), and Te K ea (M ori Television). A content analysis of one constructed week of the four news programmes was undertaken, focusing on four general areas of interest. First, the profile of the news bulletins was examined (i.e., the proportion of the bulletin allocated to different segments of the news, the duration of main news stories, the origin of production of main news stories, the proportion of New Zealand and international news, and the topics included in the news). Second, the research investigated the identity of the types of sources selected by the broadcasters for inclusion in locally produced main news stories. Third, the frequency and duration of élite and non-élite source speech was examined. Finally, the extent to which journalists speak on camera in news stories was also investigated. The study showed that the four programmes generally conformed to the ‘standard profile’ of modern television news bulletins; the programmes included considerable amounts of non-news content and the news topics often reflected entertainment values, rather than focusing on serious issues. A further significant characteristic of the bulletins was that élite sources were more likely to be included in news stories on all programmes and generally had greater opportunities to speak. However, in many respects it appears that Te K ea provides an alternative news bulletin compared to the other three channels, by focusing on a wider range of news topics, including more non-élite sources in stories, and giving all sources considerably more time to share their views. Te K ea seems to broadcast a news programme that makes a compromise between the entertainment values which are entrenched in contemporary television news, and the broader M ori Television mandate to inform and educate the public. This contrasts with the more homogenous (in terms of the characteristics examined in this research) news programmes offered by the ONE News, 3 News, and Prime News. This study concludes that the nationally available free-to-air news programmes currently broadcast on New Zealand television fulfil the traditional news functions of informing and educating the public in only a very narrow sense. The deregulated news environment is poised to undergo further transformation with an anticipated increase in convergence among news media and the emergence of more television news providers. The challenge within this commercial environment is for ONE News, 3 News, Prime News, and Te K ea to deliver on their stated commitments to provide information and promote debate on the important issues of the day.
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Wilson, William Robert. "New Zealand's experiment with prudential regulation : can disclosure discipline moderate excessive risk taking in New Zealand deposit taking institutions? : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Albany." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1222.
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The New Zealand economy in the period up to 2006 provides an opportunity to assess an alternative disclosure based approach to the prudential regulation of deposittakers, in a market free of many of the distortions which arise from traditional regulatory schemes. The overall objective of this research has been to assess the effectiveness of the prudential regulation of New Zealand financial institutions and judge if the country is well served by it. Analysis of New Zealand’s registered bank sector suggests public disclosure adds value to New Zealand’s financial system. However, the significant relationship found between disclosure risk indicators and bank risk premiums was not as a result of market discipline, rather it is argued self-discipline was the mechanism, demonstrating bank management and directors are discharging their duties in a prudent manner. A feature of the New Zealand disclosure regime for banks is the significant responsibilities placed on bank directors; directors are then held accountable for their actions. Findings in the management of banks were in contrast to non-bank deposittakers, where disclosure was judged to be ineffective, and of no practical use due to its poor quality. The management of non-bank deposit-takers appeared to receive very little oversight from depositors, their trustees or official agencies. As a result, many appear to have managed their institution in their own interests, with little consideration given to other stakeholders. Failures which occurred in NBDTs from 2006 resulted from deficiencies in the prudential regulation of these deposit-takers, demonstrating the severity of asymmetric information and moral hazard problems which can arise if prudential regulation is not correctly designed and management interests are not aligned with other stakeholders. The New Zealand disclosure regime will never guarantee a bank will not fail, nor should it try to do so, but it should assist the functioning of a sound and efficient financial system. To this end, it is recommended that the Reserve Bank, in re-designing the regulatory framework for NBDTs, hold the management and directors of NBDTs similarly accountable, while also incorporating regular disclosure and minimum prudential standards. Governments have an important role to play in ensuring the financial system is efficient.
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Damm, Sven. "Best practices in event management. [A dissertation ... submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the Unitec degree of Master of Business] /." Diss., 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10652/1416.
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Chen, Ming-te, and 陳明德. "A THESIS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM MANAGEMENT NAN HUA UNIVERSITY." Thesis, 2005. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/52346883009551167290.
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碩士南華大學
旅遊事業管理學研究所
94
This study attempted to explore the relationships among farmers'' marketing management behavior to leisure farm services based on the perspective of resource-based theory. And, these relationships are examined between two sample types of seventy-six farmers and thirty-seven non-farmers owned leisure farms through the way of mail and interviewing survey. The results indicate that non-farmer owned leisure farm services are more likely to have better tangible assets, human-resource capability, organization capability, and external marketing management than farmer-owned leisure farm services. In sum, with respect to the relationships between leisure farms'' core resources performance and service marketing constructs, human-resource capability is positively related to internal marketing management, tangible assets is positively related to external marketing management, and organization capability positively affects inter-marketing management.
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Shu, Yi-mei, and 蘇儀湄. "A THESIS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM MANAGEMENT NAN HUA UNIVERSITY." Thesis, 2009. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/17113706443484195628.
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碩士南華大學
旅遊事業管理學系碩士班
97
This research is aimed at understanding the interplay among demographic variables of Golf players, leisure constraints and satisfaction on Golf grounds. It compares the impact that individual demographic variables has on participation motivation, leisure constraints and satisfaction, probing into the correlation among participation motivation of Golf players , leisure constraints and satisfaction. By applying questionnaires to Golf players of Yong-An Golf Ground in Tai-nan County, the data of this research are built up by 323 valid returned questionnaires, further processed by descriptive analysis, factors analysis, one way ANOVA, independent samples t-test, Scheffe’s multiple comparisons and Pearson’s product-moment correlation analysis. The following points are therefore concluded: 1.Demographic variables(such as profession, monthly average income, monthly expenditure on sports and monthly frequency of Golf participation)have significant influence on motivation participation, leisure constraints and satisfaction of Golf players. 2.The highest average score among all participation motivation factors is “leisure, entertainment and health”, which represents Golf players emphasize on leisure activities, physical and mental health. The highest average score among all leisure constraints is “individual internal constraints, which shows the main obstacle for Golf players is related to self conditions of each individual. And the highest average score among all satisfaction factors is “service attitudes and moving line planning”, which depicts the players are more satisfied with the quality of service and moving line. 3. Participation motivation of Golf players are highly related to leisure constraints, showing the degree of participation motivation is influenced by leisure constraints. Also, participation motivation of Golf players are closely related to satisfaction, showing the degree of participation motivation has prominent influence on satisfaction of participation.
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LEE, II-JIN, and 李沂靜. "A Thesis Submitted to Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management Nationl Kaohsiung University of Applied Siciences in Paetial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Management in Tourism." Thesis, 2018. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/y97a28.
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碩士國立高雄應用科技大學
觀光與餐旅管理研究所
106
With the booming tourism industry today, Kaohsiung Cijin Coast Park planned to construct various facilities which have become hot sightseeing spots for tourists to choose. This study aims to investigate topics on tourists who visited Cijin Coast Park. The questionnaire is designed by doing a literature review of the relationships among tourist "service scenes”, “experiences”, and “behavioral intentions.” 350 questionnaires were issued through convenience sampling method and 335 effective responses were collected. IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0 is applied to statistically analyze the factors of tourists that came to the Coast Park. The eight selected factors all meet the reliability and validity measurement. The study result shows that factor “service scenes” positively influences factor “experiences”, factor “service scenes” positively influences factor “behavioral intentions”, and factor “experiences” positively influences factor “behavioral intentions.” This study also examines the “experience” dimension with mediating effect which partly affects “service scenes” and “behavioral intentions.” The analysis of the visitors also shows that "service scenes”, “experiences”, and “behavioral intentions” dimensions are significantly different in the variables such as gender, marriage, age, educational level, and monthly income. This study reveals that the design of the Coast Park hardware facilities can provide economic production, and the action experience and sensory experience will make tourist activities more convenient. Leisure and recreation will increase tourists’ willingness to revisit the park, and the park is worth recommending to relatives and friends for leisure experience. The results above provide the reference basis for the management of the coastal tourism in Cijin.
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Legget, Jane Anne. "Mapping what matters in New Zealand museums : stakeholder perspectives on museum performance and accountability : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management and Museum Studies, Massey University Albany, Auckland, New Zealand." 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1546.
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Accountability for museum performance was investigated in the context of New Zealand's public museums. Governing bodies account for museum performance through published annual reports, while performance assessment assists museum managers to achieve museums' objectives. Museum professionals also have expectations of museums. This research questioned whether museums were reporting on the aspects of their performance that mattered to a wider range of stakeholders. The research is both descriptive and exploratory. A nationwide survey of museum directors gathered data about performance assessment at publicly-funded museums where one or more paid staff made management decisions. The Survey's descriptive findings, covering experiences and views of museum assessment practice, set the wider context for an exploratory Case Study of a large museum, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Various groups of stakeholders identified aspects of the case museum's performance that matter to them and the ways in which they might assess them. Maori perspectives were contributed by several participants, a recognition of the importance of taonga Maori collections in New Zealand museums. Diverse museum stakeholders co-created statements as potential performance assessment criteria. A concept mapping process, involving these statements, revealed distinct conceptual elements of the construct, an 'effectively performing museum', reflecting the respondent groups' differing realities, yet much common ground. Three analytical approaches, functional, structural and cultural, compared and contrasted the concepts and their relative importance. The research identified dimensions of museum performance that could contribute to an integrated framework for museum performance assessment meaningful to a wider range of stakeholders. A conceptual model for museum accountability was developed. Findings suggest that museum performance indicators in New Zealand should extend beyond a focus on visitor numbers and satisfaction to include collection health, staffing quality, Maori concerns and community relationships. Assessment of these factors would enable museums to better account for their performance as community assets.
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Barnett, Shirley Jean. "Understanding guest retention : an examination of New Zealand accommodation establishments : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management, Massey University." 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/791.
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Abstract The importance of customer retention has become a major theme in the literature since the 1990s when empirical studies showed that retaining 5% of customers could lead to an increase in profits ranging from 25% to 85%. However, customer retention does not appear to have moved from the theoretical into the practical world. Specifically, there were few empirical studies which focused on customer retention and none were identified in the New Zealand accommodation sector. The travel and tourism industry contributes approximately 9% to New Zealand’s GDP, and 10% of all spending by travellers and tourists is in the accommodation sector. Impacts, such as seasonality, characterise the accommodation sector and many establishments have occupancy rates which can fluctuate from 90% to 30% in the off-season. With average annual occupancy rates for New Zealand hotels and motels hovering around 55%, retention is a strategy that owners and managers could implement in order to increase occupancy and profits. In this study the research question was based on a review of the literature and the a priori knowledge and experience of the researcher. To ensure the research question framing this study was answered in the most exhaustive and comprehensive manner a seven step research process based on work by Bourgeois (1979) was followed. Data was gathered using both deductive and inductive methods in order to nullify the two main research problems raised by Bourgeois (1979). First, that theories are cast at a high level which is removed from reality and second that empirical studies often result in just a description of the data. In the deductive phase of this study a survey was mailed to New Zealand accommodation establishments that provided accommodation and meals, and had a liquor licence. The main focus of this survey was to learn what owners and managers understood about guest retention and to answer the first research objective. It was discovered that New Zealand accommodation managers: actively work to retain their guests; know the value of guest retention; understand the links between guest satisfaction, loyalty and retention; understand the specific reasons behind guest defections; understand the importance service recovery; and understand how loyalty schemes lead to guest retention. The second phase was a case study involving three accommodation establishments. These findings added depth to the study and allowed for new knowledge to be extrapolated from the findings. It was discovered that in two establishments the focus was guest satisfaction and building relationships with customers. Whilst the resort hotel did have a strategy to encourage lapsed business to return this wasn’t measured or monitored. Thus the second research objective was answered. In the penultimate chapter an amended profit chain has been proposed which included ‘Building Customer Relationships’ as the link between satisfaction and profitability. This is based on the finding that the case establishments saw retention as a proxy for satisfaction and, therefore, focused on satisfying guests and building personal relationships as methods of guest retention. The research question framing this study can be answered by saying that the strategies used by owners and managers in New Zealand accommodation establishments to manage guest retention tend to be related to guest satisfaction and building personal relationships. However, this is not because they do not understand guest retention but see it as part of the bigger picture involving the building of relationships with guests.
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Holdershaw, Judith Louise. "Comparison of two approaches to predicting blood donation behaviour : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marketing at Massey University, Palmerston North." 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1726.
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Understanding and predicting human behaviour has been of particular interest to marketers for many years. The predominant approach to predicting behaviour has relied on attitude-based models; in particular, Ajzen's (1985) theory of planned behaviour is considered the most sophisticated methodology available to researchers for behavioural prediction. However, despite much study and refinement, the predictive ability of such models remains relatively poor. Rather than continuing to rely on cognitive models, it is time to consider alternative approaches to predicting behaviour. Labaw (1980) offers one such alternative approach based on information about respondents' environment, knowledge and past behaviour. However, unlike Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour, Labaw's approach to predicting behaviour has not been widely operationalised or tested. Therefore, it is not known whether her approach, using questions that, at least theoretically, have verifiable answers, has greater predictive ability than Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour, based on attitudinal questions. This study compared the predictive ability of Ajzen's attitudinal-based theory of planned behaviour with Labaw's behavioural approach, in the context of blood donation behaviour. In absolute terms, the predictive ability of the two approaches was equivalent; however, Labaw's approach was superior to the theory of planned behaviour from a survey research perspective. Thus, Labaw's approach presents a feasible alternative to attitudinal-based approaches to predicting behaviour. This study also found that behavioural intention to donate blood was a poor predictor of actual (self-reported) donation behaviour. This finding is important given the widely-accepted assumption that the best prediction of behaviour is provided by measures of behavioural intention. In addition, the study suggests that researchers need to carefully consider the time interval selected to test the predictive ability of a model if the results are to have any practical relevance. Variables that help explain the decision to donate blood were also identified. These findings offer blood collection agencies guidance with formulating specific strategies to address blood donor shortages. However, accurately predicting who is most likely to donate blood remains problematic, and further research is needed to extend the results reported in this study.
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Whitefield, Despina. "Personal and interpersonal skills development in an accounting degree: a case study of accounting education." Thesis, 2003. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/1665/.
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Parker, Richard John. "Technological advances in the analysis of work in dangerous environments : tree felling and rural fire fighting : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management and Ergonomics at Massey University, New Zealand." 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1709.
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Ergonomists have always been interested in studying work and especially the safety aspects of work. Studying work in dangerous situations is an area that presents particular challenges to the researcher and potentially to the worker. The objective of this study was to explore the use of new technologies in facilitating the field study of people engaged in dangerous work situations without disrupting the work or adding to the danger. This was achieved through the investigation of work activity in dangerous environments: tree felling and rural fire fighting. The two case studies formed the basis for an investigation into three aspects of work: first, to record, measure and understand the work (including physiological workload) of people engaged in dangerous occupations; second, to understand how hazards were identified and dealt with by individuals working in extreme conditions and third, to gain insight into hazardous work environments for the purpose of enhancing training for personnel working in dangerous conditions. An innovative suite of equipment was developed for the study, enabling data collection that did not disturb or inhibit the individual working in dangerous, and sometimes extreme, conditions. The results of the study have shown that, through triangulation of novel combinations of recording instrumentation and video-cued reflective interview, we can gain rich interpretative insights into the working world of the tree faller and rural fire fighter and understand how they manage the hazards they confront in their work. This in turn enables us to develop practices designed to minimise or avoid physical risk to the worker, Furthermore, the annotated video collected in the forests and at fires can be utilised as an authentic resource for training of both workers and trainers. My study has highlighted the value of, and need for, research that is situated in real work environments, and that captures the multidimensionality of workers’ activities without impeding or altering their behaviour.
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Wu, Minyu. "The search for sustainable competitive advantage : a stakeholder management perspective : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand." 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1543.
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Competitive advantage and stakeholder management are two important research streams that have attracted much attention during the past two decades. Although competitive advantage is the core issue of strategic management in which stakeholder management is rooted, the two topics have developed seemingly independently in the literature. The main purpose of this thesis is to explore how stakeholder management influences competitive advantage. The research is guided by a theoretical framework that employs a stakeholder perspective, linking three perspectives of competitive advantage—the resource-based view, the relational view, and the activity-position view. The general research approach chosen is a qualitative, multiple-case study. Ten cases were selected, from leading firms of several industries in Taiwan, and in-depth interviews were conducted. Results showed that a firm’s competitive advantage comes from its resource capacity (superior resources, unique capabilities, and solid relationships) and a mix of activities that respond to the competitive context. Competitive advantage, too, can be analysed in terms of two components: resource advantage and positional advantage. Stakeholder management can have significant influences on resource advantages as stakeholders play important roles in the process of value creation. They are the providers who supply valued resources to the firm and, as such, can act as catalysts or hindrances that either facilitate or impede the generation of valued resources. Successful stakeholder management strengthens a firm’s resource profile and thus enhances its resource advantages. Stakeholder management also has considerable influences on positional advantages, as stakeholders are relevant to activities and drivers that determine cost and differentiation. Moreover, stakeholders are key players in the competitive context, who help to shape the competitiveness of the firm. The study reported that stakeholder management helps to sustain competitive advantage through advancing a firm’s resource capacity—resource commitment, developing capabilities, and building relationships. Stakeholder management also generates several isolating mechanisms that preserve competitive advantage, including time compression diseconomies, causal ambiguity, social complexity, and transaction costs. However, in the face of ever-changing situations, managers need to adopt different strategies for managing stakeholder relations. To achieve sustained competitive advantage in a dynamic context, firms not only have to strengthen the capacity of resource advantage to fit the competitive strategy, but also need to use innovative and entrepreneurial approaches for managing their stakeholder relations.
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Busby, Eric. "The response to and recovery from the 2004 Eastern Bay of Plenty flood event : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Emergency Management at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1524.
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Incident Management Systems used in New Zealand have their origins in the fire-fighting organisations of the United States of America in the 1970’s. They began in an atmosphere of disciplined quasi-military emergency response organizations. Emergency management research, theory and practice have since evolved to incorporate comprehensive facets acknowledging disasters are about people, individually and collectively and their environment. Emergency Management now includes addressing psycho-social aspects. New Zealand emergency services adopted the Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) as a result of a requirement following the Cave Creek disaster of 1995, where a multi- agency response to the event was found to be unsatisfactorily managed. Emergency management in the modern era now requires the orchestration of many and varied agencies and organisations including government and non-government organisations. These organisations are not necessarily suited to command type management styles and during a recovery phase of an incident, an approach involving a coordination style is more appropriate than a command style. An examination of the 2004 eastern Bay of Plenty flood event highlights that improved coordination by using a suitable incident management system benefits the response and recovery process. The Eastern Bay of Plenty community has social and cultural characteristics that impact on the effectiveness of emergency management outcomes. An incident management system that improves communication within the multi-agency organisation and between an emergency management organisation and the disaster-affected communities contributes to overall trauma reduction by stress reduction and facilitating early support and interventions. This allows where necessary, for modern emergency management to use systems that can utilise the unique community cultures, structures and networks that form the dynamic communities that they serve. If disasters magnify pre-existing social and community problems then the incident management system model used in a disaster can determine the degree of magnification.
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Teo-Dixon, Grace Poh Lyn. "Rotten with perfection? : an exploration of the rhetoric of knowledge in knowledge management : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management, Massey University, Albany." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1339.
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Content removed from thesis due to copyright restrictions: Teo-Dixon, G. & Monin, N. (2007). Guru of gurus: Peter Drucker, logology, and the ultimate leader. Journal of Management Inquiry, 16(1), 6-17. doi:10.11777/1056492606294637Knowledge management (KM) is a topic of interest to local and national organisations on the potential of ‘knowledge’. In over a decade of theorising, the concept of knowledge as projected by theory seems to remain largely positive. My research probes these concepts of knowledge and asks if it was rhetoric that sustained these images of knowledge and, if so, what were the processes that enabled it to do so. In this thesis, I critically examine several academic texts in KM theory and find out that the concept of knowledge in KM as portrayed by these texts is rhetorically perfect but potentially corrupted. Concepts of knowledge which have been ignored or omitted in KM become apparent in a unique method of rhetorical analysis which I have developed and called ‘embedded cluster-agon’ analysis. Based on this analysis, I propose that in the ‘perfecting’ of knowledge a ‘dark side’ has developed. In the KM theory analysed, this emerges as a pattern of assumptions that regards individuals as: resources to be exploited, pawns in organisational strategies, victims of unbalanced power relationships and anonymous nodes on networks. This hints at a possible lack of moral or ethical consideration in managing knowledge. Therefore, KM needs to be theorised with care.
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Jiang, Jingjing. "Evaluation of the potential of ecotourism to contribute to local sustainable development : a case study of Tengtou Village, China : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, New Zealand." 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/703.
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In the last few decades, “ecotourism” has emerged as a much talked about topic that is frequently linked to the term “sustainable development”. Despite the fact that the definition of ecotourism has been expanded from primarily pristine nature-based areas to modified areas, relatively few studies have been devoted to evaluating the relationship between “ecotourism” and “sustainable development” in those destinations. To address this research need, this thesis attempts to analyse the potential of ecotourism as a strategy for sustainable development, where it does not depend only on nature-based opportunities. Relevant literature on the topics of ecotourism and sustainable development was examined to develop a framework to assess ecotourism in a case study area. The case study employed was Tengtou village, China, which is one of the earliest national eco-villages. Tengtou hosted 76,200 tourists in 2006. Data was collected using qualitative methods, which included semi-structured interviews, informal discussions, focus groups, participant observation and questionnaire surveys. The research revealed that ecotourism has brought a variety of favourable impacts, and the local people hold optimistic attitudes about ecotourism, which indicate the feasibility of the ecotourism industry and the comparative success it has achieved. On the other hand, the research also found several potentially adverse effects, which suggest that ecotourism does not yet make a full contribution to local sustainable development. This thesis concludes that effective regulation and sound planning play a significant role in enabling the sustainability of ecotourism. Meanwhile, the importance of local people’s active involvement at different levels of ecotourism development in ensuring ecotourism’s success, in the long term, was also revealed. This issue of local participation, strongly pushed in the international ecotourism literature, is not something which has characterised most ecotourism initiatives in China to date. Further, considering the increasing number of tourists, the management of tourists and the expansion of physical infrastructure need to be strengthened in the research area.
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Flint-Hartle, Susan. "Franchising in the real estate agency sector : multiple perspectives and converging angles of inquiry : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Massey University." 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1437.
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This thesis investigates the widespread phenomenon of franchising in the real estate agency sector. To date, franchising research has been largely multi disciplinary, explanatory theory relatively undeveloped and there has been heavy reliance on the point of view of the franchisor. This thesis broadens investigation to include multiple perspectives of both the franchisor and franchisee. It examines the important contribution made to the relationship by both parties and the nature of their parallel business venturing. Drawing on data collected from the main real estate franchisors operating in New Zealand and from samples of franchisee business owners in the Asia-Pacific region, the study uses a pragmatic mixed methodological approach. It is believed by breaking the quantitative tradition the complex nature and sector specific characteristics of franchising can be better understood. Two interlinked studies are undertaken. First, the franchisor's perspective of franchising is examined and a window study is used to illustrate the notion of resource competency. Second, franchising as an entrepreneurial activity mainly from the franchisee point of view expands existing debate linking franchising with the entrepreneurship domain. It is argued that the strategic decision to franchise taken by real estate agency franchisors requires a wider explanation than offered by current agency and resource scarcity theory. The success of franchising in this sector is based on the development of a sophisticated resource competency that ensures a highly evolved, sustaining relationship with the franchisee and perpetuation into the mature growth phase. Franchising systems are defined as entrepreneurial organisations in which cooperation between two different types of entrepreneur takes place. The franchisor initiates the system and builds the brand while the franchisee develops the local market. Thus value is created as entrepreneurial ventures are established and flourish. Franchisors and franchisees amalgamate innovations and franchisees develop their own resource competencies complimentary to the parent organisation. Together with the people involved, wealth creation and innovative processes and activities undertaken by both parties in the relationship, franchising in real estate agency is shown to be fully compatible with entrepreneurship constructs.
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Saunders, Alfred Maxwell. "Performance excellence and strategy deployment : a framework for implementing strategic initiatives : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Production Technology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1597.
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Content removed due to copyright restrictions: Saunders, M & Mann, R. (2002) Organisational performance measurement and improvement: Recent developments and the New Zealand context. Official Newsletter of the New Zealand Organisation for Quality, 19 (9), 5-11This qualitative research addressed the question of how managers in organizations implement strategy in a performance excellence (quality management) environment. The work included identification of several strategy deployment constructs, and verification of the constructs from case studies of seven diverse organizations via in-depth, semi-structured interviews, observations and documentation analysis. The unit of analysis for each case study was a strategic initiative the organization was implementing. The constructs are titled: communicating the initiative: achieving buy-in; aligning implementation; learning; creating the infrastructure for deployment; understanding the business drivers; and identifying deployment options. By working with participants from a network of benchmarking organizations, leading practices in deployment were identified from the case studies, literature and Quality Award winners' applications. The constructs were corroborated by a review of the strategy deployment literature and from functional management disciplines that relate to the constructs. Linkages were found between the constructs, and a strategy deployment framework was developed that incorporates the constructs and the linkages between them. The proposed framework has a greater range of applications than previous strategy deployment models. It is relevant to organizations independent of their structure or ownership (public or private sector), their industry sector or the type of technology employed. It reflects the complex and dynamic processes that occur during the implementation of a strategic initiative. While many previous models of strategy deployment were linear (sequential) in nature, the research has developed a non-linear framework approach by which these complexities may he better understood by both researchers and practitioners, as well as presenting practical implications for managers.
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Obren, Mark. "Linking increased returns to industry-level change : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Business and Administration in Strategy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1556.
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While the change literature is currently dominated by the punctuated equilibrium paradigm, anomalies have appeared to the paradigm in the form of high velocity change and hypercompetition. D'Aveni (1999) reconciles these anomalies with the punctuated equilibrium paradigm by suggesting that the frequency of change experienced affects the change experienced. This research considered whether the presence of increasing returns in an industry is correlated with the frequency of change experienced by the industry and the types of change that appear, thus providing an explanation for the differing forms of change. A second observation in the literature is that an industry experiences a period of instability after a discontinuity. This research considered whether the temporal proximity or type of a preceding discontinuity influenced the likelihood or type of later discontinuities. A longitudinal study identified discontinuities in nine industries throughout the industries' histories. The industries were categorised as: increasing returns, derived from external network effects (Airlines, Data Communications, Electricity and Shipping Lines), complementarity (Information Storage) or information content (Software), respectively; or as constant returns (Aircraft Manufacturing, Telecommunications Manufacturing and Shipbuilding). A comparison of discontinuities has been made between pairs of industries with a common end-user of the industry outputs, where one industry exhibits increasing returns and the companion industry has constant returns, using Binomial Distribution, Fisher's Exact Test and Generalised Linear Modelling techniques. Further Generalised Linear Models tested the interactions of discontinuities. Industries with increasing returns were found to have greater frequency of change. The types of change experienced were found to affect subsequent change, with both types of discontinuities being correlated with increased proportions of competency-enhancing change for ten years, while competency-destroying and competency-enhancing discontinuities were associated with increased frequency of change for twenty and ten years, respectively. The evidence associating increasing returns with competency type was unreliable. Consequently, increasing returns industries may experience a greater variation of frequency of change, with industries entering and leaving periods of enhanced frequencies of change. Thus, industries with increasing returns are more likely to experience change consistent with hypercompetition and high velocity conditions, compared with the punctuated equilibrium style change experienced by constant returns industries.
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Ramsey, Philip L. "The learning cultures of organisations : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Human Resource Management at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1387.
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While there is significant interest in the area of learning organisations, research in this field has been fragmented. There is a need for an holistic model of learning organisations and a measurement system that can be used by both researchers and practitioners. This thesis applies Dilemma Theory as a means of meeting this need. An holistic model was developed based on a definition of learning organisations as ones that consciously seek to balance capacities with demands. In seeking this balance, an organisation will undertake a learning journey in which it encounters a variety of learning dilemmas: points where it must choose between alternative approaches to learning, each of which is attractive. In making these choices, learning-related values are established in the organisation. These values are the basis for a "learning culture" which shapes the way learning is understood and approached by the organisational community. Presenting people within an organisation with learning-related dilemmas allows learning cultures to be charted, thus providing the basis for a measurement system. Fifteen learning-related dilemmas were identified using three processes. Firstly, literature on learning organisations was reviewed to identify conflicts between metaphors used to explain the learning organisation. Secondly, a group of New Zealand consultants took part in a Delphi Technique process, in which they established criteria for identifying learning organisations and surfaced dilemmas embedded in the criteria. Finally, 'Culture Exploration Workshops' were conducted in three organisations to surface dilemmas experienced by business practitioners engaged in learning journeys. The 15 dilemmas identified were used to chart differences between 5 organisations. The measurement system was successful in identifying differences between organisations. Results were also consistent with values that might be expected from sub-cultures represented in the sample. The study concluded by outlining a programme of research aimed at refining the measurement system and applying it to the study of learning organisations.
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Artemiev, Rosalie. "Literacy in Corrections Inmate Employment : a thesis presented in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Communication Management at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand." 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/888.
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This thesis investigates literacy in prison-based employment training provided by Corrections Inmate Employment (CIE), a Government Training Establishment, in New Zealand. The descriptive case study aims to provide an understanding of literacy in CIE. It does this by combining existing research with information gained from participant observation and staff and prisoner interviews at the Central Kitchen and the Print Shop at men’s prisons in Wellington. The thesis suggests that engagement with literacy in these CIE workplaces depends on whether it is safe or suitable to participate in workplace literacy activities; whether there is an opportunity to participate (including access to specialised support services like literacy programmes); and whether prisoners are interested in or see benefits from participating. For CIE to be more effective – both in providing a base for meaningful employment and lifelong learning – employment training needs to be offered in areas in which prisoners are interested, in tandem with embedded support services like literacy and numeracy training programmes.
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Norina, Lidia V. "Measuring performance of agri-food supply chains : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Supply Chain Management at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1733.
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During the past two decades Supply Chain Management (SCM) has become a popular topic of business discussions. SCM presents a business philosophy of improving the long-term performance of individual companies and the supply chain (SC) as a whole and, as a result, attains or sustains a company's competitive position. The practical implementation of SCM has a number of constraints. The basic problems facing SCM are difficulties in adopting a SCM philosophy, the lack of general theory, difficulties of system thinking, and the unique characteristics of agribusiness SCs. Contemporary SCM theory is mainly descriptive and modern SCM research is predominately deductive. Research on SC performance measurement systems (PMSs) has not provided co-ordinated measurement of the bi-directional system flows (material, financial and informational). Available systems do not provide quantifiable measures for the network optimisation decision-making process. In this study an alternative approach to SCM problem resolution was developed. The three SC flows were integrated through the evaluation of their normalised performance measurements (NPMs). The NPM system was developed based on the primary concept that the performance of each SC flow within a SC may be uniformly measured using comparable sets of characteristics. This primary concept was then used as a basis to evaluate higher levels of system performance such as two-party contractual performance and then the performance of the total SC. Special attention was paid to the strategic level of SC analysis and optimisation. The suggested methodology was used to demonstrate how performance improvement of the SC as a whole is interrelated to the performance improvement of individual companies. Case evaluation of the proposed methodology allowed identification of the supply chain wave effect. This effect quantifies how the performance of one chain member affects the performance levels of other system participants. The application of game theory to the methodology indicated that a stable optimum SC strategy might be reached when business performances are balanced along the chain. The case study suggested that chain participants tend to move toward a stable optimum strategy over time. This research may be used as a prescriptive tool for a range of agri-food chain studies. Extended case evaluation is required to test the robustness of the suggested methods.
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Donaghey, Sara. "Valuing our place : a critical exploration of frameworks for assessing the significance of New Zealand's historic heritage : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand." 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1539.
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Content removed due to copyright restriction; Donaghey, S. (2000). A fading landscape: strategies for managing the cultural heritage resource. Archaeology in New Zealand, 43(4), 270-282. Donaghey, S. (2001). What is aught,but as 'tis valued? An analysis of strategies for the assessment of cultural heritage significance in New Zealand. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 7(4), 365-380.This thesis argues that considerations of value and significance are fundamental to sustainable heritage management practice. It explores critical issues relating to the valorisation of historic heritage in New Zealand and considers whether existing frameworks for evaluation and assessment are effective and appropriate. The rationale for the research proposes that achievable and effective outcomes for historic heritage only occur in the context of rigorous evaluation and assessment frameworks. Theoretical and pragmatic frames of reference drive key lines of reasoning. The two frames of reference comprise: firstly, theoretical principles relating to the nature and qualities of heritage value and secondly, operational strategies relating to the process of assessment. The thesis integrates current policy and practice within existing epistemology with primary research data using a mixed methodology. A review of international policy and practice contrasts the various approaches used in Australia, Canada, England and the United States of America, and identifies effective system characteristics. Existing understandings and practice within New Zealand are considered and analogies made between particular elements of the primary research drawn from surveys of professional and non-professional opinion of the heritage assessment process. The New Zealand findings are then set against the review of international evidence and the literature to identify significant strengths and shortcomings. It is argued that New Zealand currently lacks suitable frameworks within which appropriate concepts of value and effective strategies for significance assessment are meaningfully integrated. Expressions of the nature and qualities of historic heritage must be reformulated in ways that afford greater recognition to principles of social value and the holistic, multivalent properties of the resource. Moreover, identified deficiencies in matters of community engagement, consistency, resourcing, local authority process and the recognition of indigenous rights, undermine the effectiveness of operational strategies for assessment and require attention.