Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'New Zealand organisations'
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1
Roberts, C. M., and n/a. "Modelling cybercrime and risk for New Zealand organisations." University of Otago. Department of Information Science, 2009. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20091009.162528.
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The Internet is now fundamental to the global economy. Growing from an experimental and research network in the late 1960's, it is now the foundation of a wide range of economic, infrastructure support, communication and information sharing activities. In doing so it has also provided a vehicle for cybercrime. Organised cybercrime and state-sponsored malicious cyber activity are predicted to become the predominant cyber threats over the next five to ten years.
Corporate governance is playing an increasingly important role in ensuring compliance with the growing body of legislation and regulation, protecting the interests of stakeholders. At the same time there is a divergence in organisational awareness, understanding, strategy and application between business objectives, risk management and good security practices. Organisations are finding increasing difficulty in managing the scope and extent of the cyber-threat environment, exacerbated by confusion over risk tools, approaches and requirements.
This study provides a pragmatic and practical framework for organisational risk assessment, already proved over several years of use. This is supported by three national surveys which provide important data for sound risk identification and assessments. This survey data is organised through a Data Schema which is simple, rational and flexible enough to accommodate new technologies and types of cyber-attacks, as well as allowing for the decommissioning of technologies and the abandonment of attack methods.
For many organisations this risk framework will be sufficient to meet their corporate governance and risk management requirements. For organisations wishing to refine their approach, a Bayesian model has also been developed, building on previous work, incorporating data from the surveys and, through the Data Schema, allowing the incorporation of probabilities and other evidence to enhance the risk assessment framework. Again this model is flexible, accommodating changes, growth and new technologies.
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Del, Rio Victor. "High-profile crisis management in Australian and New Zealand Organisations /." Connect to thesis, 2007. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/2272.
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Doody, Sarah-Jane Patricia. "High-involvement work systems : their effect on employee turnover and organisational performance in New Zealand organisations." Master's thesis, Lincoln University. Commerce Division, 2007. http://theses.lincoln.ac.nz/public/adt-NZLIU20080125.192821/.
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Organisations can create a competitive advantage through the way they design their human resource systems. High involvement work systems are considered to be a way to increase organisational performance and decrease employee turnover. However, the components involved are difficult and complex to define, and the synergy amongst the different components hard to evaluate. The literature suggests that the research is not uniform in its approach, and most research does not clearly define the variables involved or agree on the expected results of such systems.
This research looks at high involvement work systems in the New Zealand organisational context, and relating these systems to employee turnover and organisational performance. The results of the study suggest that there does not appears to be a relationship between high involvement work systems, and employee turnover and organisational performance; but high involvement systems may contribute to increased labour productivity in New Zealand organisations.
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Doody, Sarah-jane P. "High-involvement work systems : their effect on employee turnover and organisational performance in New Zealand organisations." Diss., Lincoln University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/271.
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Organisations can create a competitive advantage through the way they design their human resource systems. High involvement work systems are considered to be a way to increase organisational performance and decrease employee turnover. However, the components involved are difficult and complex to define, and the synergy amongst the different components hard to evaluate. The literature suggests that the research is not uniform in its approach, and most research does not clearly define the variables involved or agree on the expected results of such systems. This research looks at high involvement work systems in the New Zealand organisational context, and relating these systems to employee turnover and organisational performance. The results of the study suggest that there does not appear to be a relationship between high involvement work systems, and employee turnover and organisational performance; but high involvement systems may contribute to increased labour productivity in New Zealand organisations.
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Phang, Meaw-Fong. "Outputs and Performance Measures: A Case Study of Two New Zealand Public Sector Organisations." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Accountancy, Finance and Information Systems, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/855.
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Measuring performance is a necessary management practice if action is to result in desired outcomes. An important objective of the New Zealand public sector reforms that started in the late 1980s, was to focus the attention of public servants on clear specified results rather than bureaucratic procedures. Based on an implicit assumption that all public sector organisations are of a production nature, the reforms promised greater efficiency within the public sector by holding managers accountable for results while providing them with greater freedom to allocate resources. Consequently, outputs became key performance measures to enhance the accountability structure and to improve efficiency of the public organizations. The development of performance measurements to date appears inadequate in that the most important component of results outcomes is overlooked from the measurement. Currently government departments in New Zealand are implementing the early stage of the Management for Outcomes initiative, with an aim of ensuring all public service departments adopt a more strategic and outcome-focused approach to management and reporting. This thesis studied the latest developments in using outputs as performance measures in two public organisations. The findings demonstrates that outputs do not indicate performance for a procedural or a coping organisation as output information may not be relevant, meaningful or useful. However the most significant risk is that just as in the past, reliance on outputs will continue to lead to the fragmentation of public services and the ineffective delivery of services that the Management for Outcomes initiative aims to overcome.
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Vevaina, Paeterasp Darayas. "Factors affecting the implementation of enterprise systems within government organisations in New Zealand." AUT University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/287.
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The 1990's saw a rapid growth in the use of Enterprise Systems by organisations to undertake quick and strategic decisions. Significant to the use of Enterprise systems, is their implementation in the organisation. The increased use of paper documents in government organisations and the augmented implementation rate of Electronic Document Management Systems within government organisations in New Zealand, is what triggered this research and subsequently the framing of the research objectives and thereby the research question. This research encompasses the factors which affect the implementation process of an Enterprise Document Management System and thereby render it a success or a failure. The study used an ethnographic approach in order to introduce rigour in the research. The data was collected by conducting eight semi-structured interviews at the client organisation. The interviews were transcribed and later coded using an open - coding methodology. A thematic analysis based schema was developed to later analyse the coded data.The research found that, factors such as change management, behaviour management / emotions, communication, implementation process approach and system functionality had profound effects on the implementation success of the Electronic Document Management System in the research organisation. The thesis has been mostly written in the first person to represent the author's interpretation of the implementation process and its related factors.
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Pedroso, Frederico Ferreira Fonseca. "Dynamic Response Recovery Tool for Emergency Response within State Highway Organisations in New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Dept of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/4934.
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This thesis reports the research efforts conducted in order to develop the Dynamic Response Recovery Tool. The DRRT was developed as a decision support tool under a holistic approach considering both emergency management research and transportation studies. The proposed system was assessed by a series of case studies in order to identify its efficiency and suitability for roading organisations.
Knowledge developed from two novel research approaches are comprehensively described throughout the thesis. Initially, we report on the observation of three emergency exercises and two real events in New Zealand. This set of activities indicated the complex and dynamic environment in which emergency management takes place as well as organisational settings and management structures implemented to better respond and recover from disasters events. Additionally, a secondary approach was designed to overcome limitations identified in the observation method. In this context, a game-based scenario simulation was developed and conducted with twelve participants. With a focus in resource deployment decisions during emergencies, the game simulated an earthquake scenario in which participants had to allocate physical resources to fix damage created in a road network. Simulations indicated that Naturalistic Decision-making processes were used to respond to the scenario. Thus, resource allocation followed planning priorities defined previously the simulation, which further considered individual experiences and knowledge.
Taking advantage from the findings achieved and knowledge developed by the observations and game simulations, the DRRT was designed using the conceptual background identified in the literature review. The DRRT was conceptualised as a logistics sub-system as part of the broad field of Disaster Management. In particular, the DRRT was geared towards supporting decision-making by providing procedural recommendations and identifying optimum physical deployment strategies. In order to assess the proposed system, an Information Technology application was built according to the DRRT’s specifications.
A series of eleven individual and three group simulations was performed in order to assess the DRRT. Data collected through the application indicated that the DRRT enhanced decision-making during extreme events. In specific, case study participants using the system at greater levels achieved better decision-making accuracy than those disregarding completely or partially the system. Case studies also indicated that emergency management knowledge was represented by the application and its logistics model provided participants with vital information to optimise resource allocation.
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Zahra, Anne. "Regional Tourism Organisations in New Zealand from 1980 to 2005: Process of Transition and Change." The University of Waikato, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2554.
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This thesis is a historical case study tracing the establishment and evolution of Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) in New Zealand. It describes their role, structure and functions and the political processes that have influenced how they have operated and changed from 1980 to 2005. RTOs are examined in the context of government policies, local and national politics and tourism private and public sector relationships. RTOs were central to many of the key recommendations of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2010 (NZTS 2010) released in 2001. The NZTS 2010 attempted to address a range of tourism policy gaps created by a policy vacuum in the 1990s whereby the public and private tourism sectors focused mainly on international marketing. This strategy shaped government policy during this decade. The research findings show that although public and private sector institutional arrangements impacting on RTOs have changed, there remains, as in the past, no uniformity in their role, structure, functions and their future financial and political viability remains insecure. The NZTS 2010 raised destination management and its alignment with destination marketing as a major policy issue that needed to be addressed in the decade leading up to 2010 with RTOs having a pivotal role. A generic regional destination management model is presented. Structures and processes incorporated into this model include: a national destination management tourism policy; support for tourism by local government at the national level; a well defined destination management team; community collaboration; and tourism being integrated into the wider planning processes of local government. The model identified requisite building blocks to support regional destination management such as: the provision of staff and financial resources for regional tourism; the building of a high tourism profile in the community; the availability of statistics and research data at the regional level; local government planners acknowledging the impacts of tourism; and the existence of a legal mandate for tourism at the regional and/or local government level. When applying this model to the New Zealand context, it was found that a number of the structures and processes required for effective regional destination management were lacking, such as regional statistics and research data, staffing and financial resources for both RTOs and local government, the ability of council planners to understand and integrate tourism into the wider planning processes and a legislative mandate for tourism. The thesis concluded that a vacuum remains in the alignment of destination marketing and management. The historical and political processes of RTO change were also examined in the context of chaos and complexity theory. Chaos and complexity theory provided a complementary and different means to view change. This thesis also presented the opportunity to reflect upon the research process which led to the adoption of a multi-paradigmatic and bricoleur research methodology. Further reflexivity and reflection towards the end of the research process articulated ontological and epistemological philosophical investigations that underlay the multi-paradigmatic approach. A model is presented emphasising that a multi-paradigmatic research approach rests on ultimate reality (metaphysics) which informs the ontology. The model then highlights that ontology precedes and directs epistemology and that both inform the multi-paradigmatic research framework.
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Pérez-y-Pérez, María. "Discipline, autonomy and ambiguity: Organisations, markets and work in the sex industry, Christchuch, New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Sociology, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/4607.
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Research into prostitution has concentrated on the 'visible' forms of street work and massage parlours and has represented the sex worker - client relation through discourses of exploitation, coercion or the 'victimised' prostitute. This thesis argues that the competing but overlapping markets of massage parlours, escort work and telephone sex are assembled and reassembled throughout patterns of conflict and cooperation between diverse actors and groups of actors. These actors include the police, sex workers, prostitutes' collectives, managers, local councils and the media. The thesis focuses upon the diverse ways in which these actors combine in the sex industry in the specific locale of Christchurch. Attention is also paid to the specific ways in which the institutions of the massage parlour, escort services and telephone sex are organised as workplaces. This is made possible by drawing upon detailed empirical evidence collected through participant observation, in which I worked as a receptionist in two Christchurch massage parlours, and via the mobilisation of networks/connections assembled through my own work in the sex industry. The similarities and differences between the sex work institutions are documented and it is argued that the coercive, disciplinary form of management in the legal massage parlour arises out of the peculiar combination of official bureaucratic organisation and self-employed 'illegal' work. By contrast, 'illegal' escort services are characterised by forms of autonomous organisation that include cooperative arrangements between groups of women, small firms that hire support services and single operators. Telephone (simulated) sex is not covered by specific legislation and firms operate by embedding themselves in the service arrangements of telecommunication companies. A more general argument is made concerning the nature of paid work in the sex industry. Sex work is represented as normal by prostitutes' collectives working on behalf of sex workers but is experienced as stigmatised by these workers. This ambiguity regarding the work is emphasised in sex workers' discourses. These stress the normal, professional nature of paid work but their arguments are combined with both a strong desire to remain invisible and anonymous and a preference for informal arrangements with the police and other actors such as local councils. It is suggested that moves towards decriminalising sex work, which are aimed at making the work legal and visible, may introduce much stricter and tighter forms of regulation than currently exist.
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Phillips, Lara. "The Drivers for Divergence: Exploring Variation in New Zealand Organisational Responses to Climate Change." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Geography, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/5006.
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For many years, the development of an Emissions Trading Scheme to mitigate against climate change has been one of the most controversial political issues in New Zealand, particularly since the obligation for emission reduction is placed on some of New Zealand‘s most productive organisations. This thesis explores the variation in corporate responses to climate change and searches for the underlying drivers which motivate and/or inhibit action. A sample of organisations obligated to reduce emissions under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme was selected, and interviews were conducted with senior managers with designated responsibility for the issue. A narrative analysis of interview transcripts was used as the methodology.
The Bansal and Roth (2000) Model of Corporate Ecological Responsiveness was selected as a framework to consider the motivating logics (including competitiveness, legitimacy, and social responsibility) emerging from the narratives, and insights from other theoretical models applied. In some cases, the findings were explained in ways anticipated by the literature. But in other cases, the results diverged from expected outcomes. Competitiveness was the most commonly attributed motivation influencing corporate responses to climate change, followed by legitimation seeking and, least frequently, social responsibility. However, it was clear that most responses, and actions, were informed by mixed motives, rendering the Bansal and Roth model insufficient for capturing the complexity of organisational motivations underlying their responses to environmental issues.
Factors of influence, particularly issue salience of consumers, played an important role in determining similarities and divergence of response to climate change issues. Where there were synergies between the factors, it encouraged proactive organisational actions. The results showed a range in managerial attitudes and organisational responses to climate change, in relation to risks and opportunities. Some results suggested that organisations respond in similar ways to climate change based on a convergence of institutional pressures, whereas in other cases organisations seemed to be driven to seek a competitive advantage in being as different as legitimately possible, leading to a divergence in responses. This research revealed that political and market uncertainties were seen as a barrier to corporate response. Where synergies existed between economic, institutional and market forces, it was attractive for firms to innovate and differentiate. Overall, the insights gained from this study may provide a greater understanding of the concerns of the business community towards climate change and what conditions will be most conductive to encouraging corporate climate change action.
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Hann, Michael. "Working with Faith: Faith-Based Organisations and People who have Drug or Alcohol Issues in Aotearoa New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Social and Political Sciences, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/5517.
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Faith-based organizations contribute significantly to the human services but are relatively neglected in the academic literature. This research aims to address this gap. The field of alcohol and drug use is one in which faith-based organizations have long been involved and in which they claim to have considerable success. Therefore it was chosen as a context within which to research such organizations. The overall purpose is to describe the principal characteristics of faith-based organizations.
A questionnaire was used to gather data from fifteen faith-based organizations in Aotearoa New Zealand - from about twenty that were found to provide services in this field. Despite the small sample, the key characteristics of faith-based organizations can be identified. All respondents were ministers or managers of the faith-based organizations. They provide detailed information about various aspects of the organizations. It would be insightful to gather data from clients also, but such analysis is beyond the scope of this thesis.
The faith-based organizations are divided into three types: congregations, denominations and independents. The data for all three is presented and discussed in the thesis. Research questions concern mission statements, leadership, staff, clients, services, religiosity, funds, facilities and links with other organizations. In answering these, conclusions can be drawn concerning the purpose of the research – describing the main characteristics of faith-based organizations.
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Tortell, Marianna. "Struggling for legitimacy : a study of women's organisations working in the area of sexual violence in New Zealand." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.396868.
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Walker, Peter E., and n/a. "Power relationships and community law centres in Dunedin : power relationships between community organisations, their communities and their funding bodies : specifically focusing on community law centres in Dunedin and the Legal Services Board." University of Otago. Department of Social Work and Community Development, 1997. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20070528.124321.
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This research engages critically with major public sector accountability theories in relation to the development of law centres in Aotearoa/New Zealand (and comparative international examples) focusing on the two centres in Otago, the Ngai Tahu Maori Law Centre and the Dunedin Community Law Centre.
Definitions of accountability are argued to be embedded within theoretical discourses which produce definable models of accountability corresponding to these theoretical statements. Case studies of the discourses of both law centres and their funding bodies are described and contrasted in terms of their views of the role of law centres, interaction with various interest groups and their accountability relationships. The data identifies a desire of both community law centres to engage with a communitarian, �bottom-up�, model of accountability, in contrast to the former social democratic-bureaucratic and current liberal �stakeholder� and �contract� models of the official funding agencies. The current dominance of the liberal �stakeholder� discourse is seen as based on professional power, hierarchical legal structure and control of funding. It is argued that any shift in the dominance of power relationships surrounding community law centres in Aotearoa/New Zealand would entail a strengthening of ties and links with the community, through seeking alternative power supports, a participatory structure and locally controlled funding.
Keywords: accountability; power relationships; community law centres; dominance; community.
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Chueh, Hui-Yin (Trisha). "The buck stops at the top : comparison of safety related leadership antecedents in prosecuted and non-prosecuted organisations in New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/10772.
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The current research emerged in response to recent alerts of increasing organisational safety failures in New Zealand’s high risk industries. It was theorized that safety climate may be largely determined by the quality of safety-centered leadership under which an organisation operates. The study utilized reports of organisational safety prosecutions within New Zealand to develop a quasi-experimental design which compared persecuted and non-prosecuted company’s leaders on measures of ethical values, moral philosophy, social responsibility, corporate psychopathy, and leadership style. Issues of response rate inherent to the study design were encountered during data collection, and no significant between group differences consistent with the study predictions were found. Theoretical and practical interpretations are made in light of the results, suggesting that dynamics within group-decision processes and the top governing structure of companies may be significant factors in affecting leader safety performances within these industries.
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Reynolds, Mary Elizabeth. "The Contribution of Knowledge Management to Learning : an Exploration of its Practice and Potential in Australian and New Zealand Schools." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/25994.
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The purpose of this qualitative research was to investigate the relatively new concept of knowledge management as it applies to schools as learning organisations. Literature on knowledge management abounds and is covered by authors in a wide variety of fields. However, literature relating to knowledge management in schools is limited, particularly literature by in-school practitioners. The study provides a teacher-librarian’s view gleaned largely from interactions with colleagues in the profession. The fieldwork for the study was undertaken in a small cross-section of Australian and New Zealand schools in 2001. Semi-structured interviews yielded answers to questions on how teachers shared their knowledge, on how ICTs enabled knowledge management, the implications of knowledge management for teacher-librarians and the concept of the knowledge-enabled school. The findings relate to the structuring of human resources and decision making processes, information literacy and knowledge construction, the critical learning community that optimises learning, the parallel development of social and ICT infrastructures, information management tools, the role of the teacher-librarian and the incorporation of knowledge management into systemic reforms. The study recommends that the ways in which teachers share knowledge requires further scrutiny, that research should establish the capacity for knowledge management in schools, that tools and systems are integrated as a KM Toolbox and that one particularly successful model of systemic reform based on knowledge management principles be piloted in South African schools. The study provides a singular record of knowledge management practice and potential in schools.Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2006.
Curriculum Studies
MEd
Unrestricted
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Engelbrecht, Judith Merrylyn. "Electronic clinical decision support (eCDS) in primary health care: a multiple case study of three New Zealand PHOs : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Systems at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1107.
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Health care providers internationally are facing challenges surrounding the delivery of high quality, cost effective services. The use of integrated electronic information systems is seen by many people working in the health sector as a way to address some of the associated issues. In New Zealand the primary health care sector has been restructured to follow a population based care model and provides services through not-for-profit Primary Health Organisations (PHOs). PHOs, together with their District Health Boards (DHBs), contributing service providers, and local communities, are responsible for the care of their enrolled populations. The Ministry of Health (MoH) is streamlining information sharing in this environment through improvements to computer based information systems (IS). By providing health professionals with improved access to required information within an appropriate time frame, services can be targeted efficiently and effectively and patient health outcomes potentially improved. However, the adoption of IS in health care has been slower than in other industries. Therefore, a thorough knowledge of health care professionals’ attitudes to, and use of, available IS is currently needed to contribute to the development of appropriate systems. This research employs a multiple case study strategy to establish the usage of IS by three New Zealand PHOs and their member primary health care providers (PHPs), with a focus on the role of IS in clinical decision support (CDS). A mixed method approach including semi-structured interviews and postal surveys was used in the study. Firstly, the research develops and applies a survey tool based on an adaptation of an existing framework, for the study of IT sophistication in the organisations. This provides the foundation for an in-depth study of the use of computerised CDS (eCDS) in the PHO environment. Secondly, a conceptual model of eCDS utilisation is presented, illustrating the variation of eCDS use by member general practitioner (GP) practices within individual organisations. Thirdly, five areas of importance for improving eCDS utilisation within PHO’s are identified, contributing information of use to organisations, practitioners, planners, and systems developers. Lastly, the research provides a structure for the study of the domain of eCDS in PHOs by presenting a research approach and information specific for the area.
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Caie, Linda Jayne Nelson. "When all roads lead to Rome: expatriate adjustment in a United Nations Organisation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Organisational Psychology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1065.
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Studies of expatriate adjustment have traditionally focused on corporate expatriate assignments where foreign employees are often the only expatriate, or one of a handful in a host organisation. Multicultural not-for-profit organisations such as United Nations organisations have largely been ignored. It was hypothesised that classic predictors of expatriate adjustment – Spousal Adjustment, Culture Novelty and Acculturation Style, and novel variables of Economic Adjustment and Stage in Assignment would predict Expatriate Adjustment and subsequent Cognitions to Withdraw prematurely from the assignment. 181 expatriates representing 38 countries from all economic levels completed an online survey investigating their experiences on assignment to a United Nations Organisation in Rome, Italy. Black & Stephens (1989) classic scales of Expatriate Adjustment, Spousal Adjustment, Culture Novelty and Cognitions to Withdraw were employed along with Acculturation Style, Economic Adjustment and Stage in Assignment measures designed for this study. Qualitative data was also collected around expatriates’ cognitions to withdraw from their assignment and reasons to stay in order to gain a richer understanding of the expatriate experience. The best predictors of Expatriate Adjustment and subsequent Cognitions to Withdraw for United Nations expatriate employees in Rome were classic predictor Culture Novelty and novel predictors Economic Adjustment and Stage in Assignment. Structural Equation Modelling indicated the best fitting model of Expatriate Adjustment and subsequent Cognitions to Withdraw demonstrated moderate fit (!2 = 1045.19, df = 486, p =.000, TLI = .80, CFI = .82, RMSEA = .08) with Culture Novelty predicting General and Interaction Adjustment; Economic Adjustment predicting General Adjustment; and Adjustment Stage predicting General, Interaction and Work Adjustment. General Adjustment was the only significant predictor of Cognitions to Withdraw. Qualitative analysis suggested that the classic adjustment measures used did not adequately capture the experiences of these expatriates and that caution should be taken in generalising the literature to not-for-profit populations. Furthermore the outcomes of this study suggest that the inclusion of novel variables of Economic Adjustment and Stage in Assignment as predictors of expatriate adjustment could be warranted for future research. Sample size and adequacy of measures both limited the extent to which analysis could be conducted and results generalised. More research into the expatriate experience in the not-for-profit sector is desperately needed.
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Handtrack, Christian. "Aude sapere - knowledge management and its implications for strategic management in organisations : an analysis of small and medium enterprises in New Zealand and the United Kingdom based on an original knowledge management model." Diss., Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1089.
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This study set out to provide important empirical evidence on the role of knowledge management (KM) within Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand and the United Kingdom and to explore how such companies handle their planning and strategic choices. In today’s knowledge economies the management of knowledge has become vital. In the context of SMEs, this is even more critical because they often operate under difficult conditions and are subject to global pressures from large corporations and demanding customers. In spite of the significance of SMEs as essential for any nation’s growth and success, and even though many scholars and business managers claim that knowledge management is highly relevant for SMEs, there has been little research about this concept in SMEs, in general, and in New Zealand, in particular. The few studies in the literature conclude that this concept is mostly neglected by SMEs even though it is vital and has high potential benefits for them. A quantitative research method approach was adopted. Self-completion questionnaires were sent to the senior management of firms with 100 employees or less, from a cross-section of industries. As part of this process an original knowledge management model was developed. The basic research questions were deduced from this model and the items in the questionnaire were created to answer these research questions. In New Zealand, a total of 417 SMEs were contacted by mail and 180 useable questionnaires were returned. In the United Kingdom, 1268 SMEs were contacted and 241 useable responses were received. The response rates of 43.2% in New Zealand, of 19% for the United Kingdom and of 25% in total, are satisfactory. Therefore, the basis of this study was a large (421 responses) and high quality transnational sample, which allowed for sound quantitative analyses. The claim by previous researchers that knowledge management in the SME sector is not yet fully developed appears to be supported by the results of this research. The large majority of respondents regard themselves as not familiar enough with the concept of knowledge management to actually benefit from it in practice. Even though the respondents in both countries seem to appreciate knowledge management as a relevant and useful concept with potential, many do not seem to be sufficiently informed about this concept. Few have a knowledge management initiative in place or are planning or in the process of setting up one. The responses, which vary little between the two sub-samples, point to a short-term rather than a long-term management perspective being dominant. Major barriers in terms of the deliberate creation and sharing of knowledge are a lack of time and higher importance given to daily operational activities. The respondents - predominantly senior managers - indicate that they primarily consider themselves to be responsible for ensuring that knowledge is captured and shared and relatively little responsibility is given to other employees or specialists. SMEs do apply several aspects of knowledge management, however, this is generally informal and with an operational rather than a strategic focus. From the responses it is apparent that knowledge is shared internally mostly via people-based mechanisms. More advanced measures such as the systematic collection, organisation and storage of knowledge are less common. The results indicate a number of differences between the respondents. In this regard it is most evident that the more familiar respondents are with the concept of knowledge management the more proactive they are in terms of managing knowledge on an operational and strategic level. This transnational research strongly links knowledge management to strategy and it clarifies how this concept can impact the formulation of strategy and the strategic competence of SMEs. Therefore, the results add new knowledge to the areas of SME research and strategic knowledge management.
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Cordery, Carolyn Joy. "Dimensions of accountability : voices from New Zealand primary health organisations : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Accounting /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-Thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/583.
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McManus, Sonia Therese. "Organisational resilience in New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Civil Engineering, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/1574.
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Organisations maintain our economy; they provide jobs, goods, services and a sense of community. The
increasingly globalised nature of the modern world has lead to organisations facing threats that often are not
recognise until the threat becomes a crisis. It is impossible for organisations, regardless of size, location or financial
strength, to identify all possible hazards and their consequences; let alone plan for them. Therefore, the concept of
increasing organisational resilience is gaining momentum.
However, the term resilience has been used with abandon across a wide range of academic disciplines and in a great
many situations. There is little consensus regarding what resilience is, what it means for organisations and, more
importantly, how they may achieve greater resilience in the face of increasing threats.
This study investigates 10 organisations from a range of industry sectors, sizes, localities and types within the New
Zealand context to discover what are the common issues that foster or create barriers to increased resilience.
Organisational resilience is defined in this study as a function of the overall situation awareness, keystone
vulnerabilities and adaptive capacity of an organisation in a complex, dynamic and interrelated environment. A
multiple case-study method has been used, and a facilitated 5-Step process for assessing and increasing resilience
has been developed in conjunction with these organisations. Data was collected in the form of interviews, survey
and participant observations in workshop environments. A set of 15 resilience indicators have been identified, and
the organisations have been ranked according to their overall resilience relative to the other organisations in this
study.
Future work is likely to include further quantification of the methodology and the resilience indicators, resilience
maturity models and work on understanding resilient leadership, communication of resilience concepts and
international case studies to further determine the range of resilience for organisations.
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Vevaina, Paeterasp. "Factors affecting the implementation of enterprise systems within government organisations in New Zealand a thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Computer and Information Sciences (MCIS), 2007." Click here to access this resource online, 2007. http://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/handle/10292/287.
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Thesis (MCIS - Computer and Information Sciences) -- AUT University, 2007.Primary supervisor: Dr. Robert Wellington. Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (112 leaves : col. ill. ; 30 cm.) in City Campus Theses Collection (T 658.4038011 VEV)
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Cleary, Paul. "Determinants of inter-partner learning in an alliance between a national sporting organisation and a professional sport franchise." Click here to access this resource online, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/675.
Full textAbstract:
This research explores the determinants of inter-partner learning in alliances. The potential for organisations to learn from their alliance partner is well recognised in the literature. The Knowledge Based View of the Firm (KBV) posits that an organisation’s knowledge base, especially its tacit knowledge base, is a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Three key determinants of inter-partner learning are: intent to learn, transparency (i.e. willingness to share knowledge) and receptivity (i.e. capacity to learn). These three concepts are used to guide a single case study of an alliance between a National Sport Organisation (NSO) and a Professional Sport Franchise (PSF). Data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with key informants at both organisations. Each individual transcript was colour coded in relation to each of the four research questions. All relevant quotes were then copied into separate files for each organisation and categorised by research question. The results of the study suggest that 1) despite historical conflict, the relationship between alliance partners is becoming increasingly positive; 2) intent to learn was low in both organisations but higher in the NSO; 3) the NSO was more transparent than the PSF; and 4) receptivity was low for both organisations. Key conclusions of the research are that the NSO and PSF are failing to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by their relationship, but intent, transparency and receptivity remain useful concepts to explore inter-partner learning.
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Farnsworth, John. "Two-channel New Zealand television : ambiguites of organisation, profession and culture." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Sociology, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/5637.
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The thesis is a sociological case-study of the two-channel television system in New Zealand from its inception in 1974 to the present day. It focusses in detail on the period 1974-80 when the two public channels were in direct competition with each other. The study examines three sets of issues and ambiguities which this competition threw up. One was the conflict between administrators and programme-makers over the best way to manage the severe ambiguities produced by this unusual mixture of state and market. The second concerned the attempts by programme-makers to pursue the production of programmes as they wished with minimal interference from either the state or other organisational bodies. The third concerned the kinds of programmes and schedules they produced, the types of potential public these constructed and the response of audience groups to these activities. Drawing on recent theoretical debates in the area of organisations, professions and culture, the study argues that it is the shifting relationship between all three areas which explains the development of television through this period.
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Tregidga, Helen, and n/a. "Power and politics of organisational sustainable development : an analysis of organisational reporting discourse." University of Otago. Department of Accountancy and Business Law, 2007. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20071219.160116.
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This research begins and ends with a concern for the environment, in particular with unease about current constitutions of the organisation/environment relationship. This thesis explores the discourse of organisational sustainable development examining organisational representations of sustainable development and 'sustainable organisations'. How a group of New Zealand organisations have come to (re)present sustainable development and how they have come to (re)present themselves in relation to sustainable development within a set of reports is analysed. The analysis aims to problematise the discourse and challenge such constitutions by opening out the debate surrounding the 'meaning' of sustainable development within this organisational context. The research considers the role of organisational reporting in creating and maintaining organisational legitimacy, something which is underplayed in the current literature. The thesis makes a contribution to both theoretical development and analytical method through elucidating sustainable development and sustainable development reporting from a discourse perspective.
Discourse (in particular the influences of Foucault and Laclau and Mouffe) both frames and informs the analysis. The discourse of organisational sustainable development is examined through an analysis of an archive of organisational reports and the context of which they are a part. The archive consists of 220 organisational reports (both annual and standalone) from member organisations of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development from 1992-2003. The texts which make up the archive were selected as they represent 'important texts' in the discursive debate surrounding organisational sustainable development.
Six themes employed in the discourse when representing sustainable development are identified. These themes are: 1) enlightened self-interest and the business case; 2) organisational sustainable development as a balancing act; 3) organisational sustainable development as necessary and important; 4) being sustainable: a responsibility and/or obligation; 5) the challenge and opportunity of organisational sustainable development; and 6) sustainable development: a new or old concept. Overall, 'organisational sustainable development' represents a reweaving of the discourse of organisations and accounting and the discourse of sustainable development. 'Organisational sustainable development' is shown to be organisationally focused, and generally does not challenge the traditional rational economic objectives of these organisations.
Representations of 'sustainable organisations' within the texts are analysed to show how organisational identities are constructed in relation to sustainable development. Five representations are recognised; 1) 'sustainable organisations' as providers; 2) organisations as leaders in sustainable development; 3) 'sustainable organisations' as responsible and committed; 4) 'sustainable organisations' as protectors; and 5) 'sustainable organisations' as accountable and transparent. How the process and practice of 'sustainability' reporting serves in constituting the identity of 'sustainable organisations' is underscored.
Potential effects of such discourse are acknowledged. The hegemonic potential of the discourse is recognised along with an identification of the ideologically-laden assumptions embedded within the texts. In reflecting on the discourse and its effects, the thesis concludes on a pessimistic note regarding the form of sustainable development articulated and the unchallenging nature of this form of sustainable development on the current structures of organisations and organising.
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Kodthuguli, Saritha. "Obtaining business benefits from IT factors that influence the adoption of benefit realisation methodologies in New Zealand organisations : this thesis is presented as part of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Computer and Information Sciences of the Auckland University of Technology, October 2004." Full thesis. Abstract, 2004.
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Edwards, Bryce. "Political parties in New Zealand: A study of ideological and organisational transformation." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Sociology, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/5725.
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Political parties in New Zealand are now affected by elements of ideological erosion - they are characterised by both a policy convergence and a general electoral pragmatism. This thesis attempts to characterise and explain this ideological erosion in New Zealand party politics. It also aims to show that the erosion of ideology is closely related to a host of other aspects of party transformation, such as weakened partisan ties (including the decline in party membership, decline in linkages with interest groups, and class dealignment), as well as an increased reliance on the state for resources, the professionalization of the party organisations, and an increased anti-party sentiment in society. The central argument of this thesis is that these phenomena relate closely to and reflect the shift away from the 'mass membership' type of political party to an 'electoral-professional' model. It is argued that this transition has been in motion since the 1950s, but accelerated in the 1970s and then again in the 1990s.
This debate revolves around a paradox in which, on the one hand, political parties in advanced industrial countries remain central to the conduct of parliamentary democracy and, on the other, they often seem to be less connected to the constituencies they claim to represent and less able to provide
voters with effective choices. This thesis engages with this debate by examining both ideological and organisational transformation in one particular democracy, New Zealand.
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Obel, Camilla. "Unions, Leagues and Franchises: The Social Organisation of Rugby Union in New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Sociology and Anthropology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/914.
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The thesis analyses the amateur game of rugby union by focussing upon the struggles for control between national and local unions and players. Using historical material and interviews with administrators, current players in the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, and Canterbury, a local provincial union, I show how the game of rugby union consolidated as the national game. I follow these actors through the shift to a global professional game sponsored by television networks and show how the local advantages in the New Zealand game come to be reconfigured in this context.
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Lawrence, Hugh David Vincent. "Government Involvement in New Zealand Sport - Sport Policy: a Cautionary Tale." The University of Waikato, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2351.
Full textAbstract:
Government involvement in New Zealand sport spans over 70 years from provisions of the Physical Welfare Act in 1937 to current provisions of the Sport and Recreation Act 2002. Thousands of volunteers in non-profit organisations continue to underpin New Zealand's sport system. It is axiomatic that sport defines part of what it means to be a New Zealander. Governments frequently use the rhetoric of community cohesion, national pride, life skills and public health benefits to justify its involvement. This thesis examines the impact of government intervention on the sport sector, its funding paradigms and the extent of sector engagement in a policy for sport. Through an examination of available government and sport sector records, and the author's own experience as a participant in events, the thesis recounts a sequence of five milestones for the New Zealand sport system and views them through a public management system lens. The passing of the Physical Welfare and Recreation Act in 1937, the establishment of a Ministry and Council for Recreation and Sport in 1973, the ministerial Sports Development Inquiry in 1984, the Prime Minister's Review of High Performance Sport in 1995 and the Sport, Fitness and Leisure Ministerial Taskforce. Government funding of sport now stands at around $100 million annually from small beginnings of $3,295 in 1945/1946, despite the absence of a comprehensive national policy for sport. By examining the chronology through a wider state sector lens, the thesis opens a window to the practical effect of public policy processes on matters of importance to the New Zealand sport sector and its voluntary sector foundations. This thesis also provides a rationale for revitalising the engagement between government and the New Zealand sport sector to meet the expectations of a modern state sector to meaningfully engage citizens and the non-government sector in the formation of policy and planning its implementation.
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Beattie, Olivia Lucy Elizabeth. "Communicating identities: new zealand fashion designers and creative exports." The University of Waikato, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2786.
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This thesis investigates how New Zealand fashion designers construct and communicate a unique and fluid identity. There are two main focuses of the research. The first is how New Zealand fashion designers build and maintain a unique brand identity in the New Zealand market. This includes an in-depth analysis of the public relations and communication strategies both emerging and established fashion designers use. The second focus is how New Zealand designers communicate their brand identity to export markets. This includes an examination of how the New Zealand national identity has an effect on the communication of their identity in international markets. This research is important as there is little scholarly research on the creative industries in New Zealand, and none on the New Zealand designer fashion industry. Therefore, this research study has been developed to advance literature in this area and provide a basis for further research. While this research study will focus on the New Zealand designer fashion industry, it is hoped that the research will be applicable to other creative industries in New Zealand. A key element of this research is to use the in-depth analysis of the designer fashion industry to provide recommendations on identity management for the New Zealand designer fashion industry and creative industries. Ultimately, this research provides these industries with a practical guide to create and communicate a unique identity in both domestic and export markets. A collective case study method is used to collate the data and is analysed through an interpretive framework. The New Zealand fashion designers that comprise the case studies are Annah Stretton, Robyn Brooks, Jo Robertson, and Cyb le Wiren. Key conclusions are that organisations in the creative industries need to put together an in-depth communications plan as early as possible in their business. This should focus on the creation and communication of a unique and fluid identity in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors and allow them to actively respond to their environment. Industry bodies and New Zealand Trade Enterprise play a key role in the development and export of creative organisations. These organisations need to develop better resources and support systems for the creative industries in order for them to reach their maximum potential.
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Branch, Sarah Helen. "The Effects of Organisational Work-Life Balance Initiatives on Accountants in New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/4048.
Full textAbstract:
Employee perception of the provision of work-life balance initiatives within their
firms and their usage/intended usage of these initiatives was obtained for 77 New
Zealand accountants employed in four accounting firms. Statistical analysis indicated
the impact of these employee perceptions on overall job satisfaction, organisational
commitment, job stress, intentions to quit, family-work conflict and work-family
conflict. Employees' perception of the provision of work-life balance initiatives
failed to significantly impact the employee measures. Utilising or intending to utilise
work-life balance initiatives significantly impacted employee measures of
organisational commitment and job stress. These mixed results suggest that simply
installing work-life balance initiatives in accounting firms is not enough. Obtaining
measures of within firm social support for employees utilising work-life balance
initiatives needs further investigation. It is suggested that instead of adopting a 'one
size fits all' approach, that organisations need to install initiatives specifically suited
to the individual demographics of their workforce.
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Yeoman, Kathryn (Kate) Charlotte. "Working the System: Doing Postmodern Therapies in Aotearoa New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Humanities, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/7274.
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This thesis documents a qualitative research study of twenty postmodern therapy practitioners in Aotearoa New Zealand, focusing on their experiences in the wider field of therapy. The participants were aligned in their subscribing to postmodern critiques of therapy as a instrument of power, and in their interest in, and use of, therapy techniques and approaches that have grown out of those critiques – including narrative therapy, critical psychology, “Just Therapy”, and feminist poststructuralist therapy approaches. I argue that these practitioners represent a social movement within the field of therapy. The thesis examines the nature of the wider therapy field in Aotearoa New Zealand, analysing the perspectives of the participants. I demonstrate how this field has become increasingly dominated by the twin forces of neoliberalism and bio-science, making postmodern therapy work difficult, particularly within public sector services. In the final substantive part of the thesis, I critically examine and appraise the strategies used by participants to negotiate and resist these forces. This discussion is divided into two main chapters, dealing first with the participants who have difficulty in engaging in official politics and who consequently attempt to operate “under the radar” of management surveillance: these participants are characterised as “battlers”, “burn-outs” and “blow-outs”. Then, I turn my attention to the second group of participants – “infiltrators”, “outsiders” and “accepters” – who strategically utilise symbolic capital to pose resistance, or simply leave the public system. I also consider the professed abilities of this second group to cultivate a postmodern sensibility and to tolerate contradiction and compromise. I conclude this investigation of the possibilites for resistance to neoliberal and bio-scientific discourses by recommending greater strengthening of this local postmodern therapy movement.
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Scahill, Shane L. "Exploring the nature of the relationship between organisational culture and organisational effectiveness within six New Zealand community-based pharmacies." Thesis, University of Auckland, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/16781.
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This study set out to explore the nature of the relationship between organisational culture (OC) and organisational effectiveness (OE) within six New Zealand community-based pharmacies. Internationally, community pharmacy is under pressure to integrate within the rest of primary care, and to ‘reprofessionalise’ through role extension via the provision of enhanced clinical services. A previous New Zealand organisational climate study identified that pharmacist attitudes and behaviours are barriers to implementing a policy-aligned vision. This climate study provided the impetus for the in-depth cultureeffectiveness study described here. Historically, management literature has adopted linear, causal, and unidirectional approaches to studying the relationship between OC and OE. Within the health sector, there has been movement away from this by informed and intellectually curious academics. They recognise the need for a deeper, richer understanding of the relationship between OC and OE and the notion of linearity is largely being replaced by one of patterns of culture and contingent relationships. This thesis describes conceptual research; a theory building exercise, in which OC is framed as socially constructed, and OE as multi-constituent, value-laden, and politically charged. The ontological assumptions are founded on social constructionism; the epistemological stance is interpretative. Concept mapping exercises were undertaken to inductively generate the OC and OE constructs as anchor points for discussion with all staff in six pharmacies; 47 interviews in total. A construct labelled Valued Outcomes (VO) emerged to supersede OE as the end-point in the discussion about the influence of OC on OE. In this study, OE manifest as technical performance, supported by cultural orientation toward procedure and process. The attainment of VO was contingent upon technical performance, but also upon the internal four-wall culture and co-production of OC with external actors. Both OC and VO reflected the duality of community pharmacy as retailer and as health care provider. OE influences OC in complex, non-linear, and recursive ways. Together, the contingent and recursive relationships support the idea of mutual constitution of OC and OE. In this study OC was dominant, and despite the development of OC and OE as separate constructs they emerged as overlapping and partially conflated. This study’s findings of complex, non-linear, and recursive interplays between OC and organisational outcomes further supports contemporary literature’s gradual movement away from direct causal relationships between OC and OE. The observation in this study, of conflation and mutual constitution, explains the difficulty seen in previous studies with conceptualising and operationalising both OC and OE as completely separate constructs. Emergence of the VO construct and the manifestation of OE as technical performance support the notion of construct identity, and in this thesis the argument is made for sound definition and conceptualisation of organisational constructs within future OC-OE studies. The observation of recursive relationships between OE and OC adds to existing health services research literature, with a call for its consideration in the design of future OC-OE studies. There are implications for future research, policy, and practice within the community pharmacy sector. Community pharmacy provides a rich context for the application of organisational theory, and this research provides a platform for future pharmacy-based health services research.
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Harford, Shelley Kaye. "A trans-Tasman community: organisational links between the ACTU and NZFOL/NZCTU, 1970-1990." Thesis, University of Canterbury. History, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/931.
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This thesis explores the ties between the Australian and New Zealand peak trade union organisations, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the New Zealand Federation of Labour (NZFOL) and its successor, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) from 1970 to 1990. The parameters for this study define a period in which unions faced an increasingly unstable industrial relations climate and an integrating world economy as globalisation shifted priorities for government and business from the worker to the consumer. This set of circumstances challenged the leaders of the union organisations to develop and evolve their links, confirming a 'trans-Tasman union community'. Underpinned by a common labour market and models of state development the organisations sought to understand the globalising world from a joint perspective acknowledging their shared economic and industrial circumstances. This led to the development of united leadership over international issues, civil rights and trans-Tasman relations. The Australasian industrial relations models diverged in the 1980s and the ACTU and NZFOL/NZCTU reacted by transferring policy across the Tasman in an attempt to develop innovative responses to manage the rise of the New Right.
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Allen, Clifford. "The Caring Face of Business? The Discursive Construction of the New Zealand Businesses for Social Responsibility (NZ BSR) Organisation." The University of Waikato, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2614.
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In 2008 the use of the term Business Social Responsibility (BSR) is now seen, in New Zealand at least, as being old fashioned. The field of BSR has been overwhelmed by the terminology of sustainability. In 1998, however, BSR in NZ was a new, exciting, and controversial development. The progression from BSR to sustainability is often presented as natural and inevitable but this thesis argues that BSR and sustainability in New Zealand arose from different roots and most of the key people who became involved in the NZ BSR organisation did so for reasons that were substantially different from the driving rationale of sustainability. Further, not all of those NZ BSR pioneers consider the current focus on sustainability to be a natural outgrowth of what they were trying to achieve through BSR. This thesis applies critical discourse analysis to interview transcripts and archived documents to examine the competing discourses surrounding the formation of the NZ BSR organisation in New Zealand up until the time of its merger to form the Sustainable Business Network. The NZ BSR organisation was seen by some as primarily a reaction to the prevailing hegemony of the ideas of the neo-liberal New Zealand Business Round Table (NZBRT). The NZ BSR philosophy did not necessarily challenge the neo-liberal inspired reforms of the previous fourteen years but did offer an alternative way for businesses to react to the new environment they found themselves in.
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Walley, Matthew John Craig. "The Association between Psychological Attributes and Organisational Performance in New Zealand Small to Medium Sized Enterprises." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Management, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/872.
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This thesis reports on the association between particular psychological attributes of owner/operators and organisational financial performance in New Zealand small to medium sized enterprises (SME's). The specific psychological attributes of interest are ambiguity tolerance, self efficacy, resilience and planning orientation. A direct response mail survey was sent to 4,500 New Zealand organisations fitting the criteria for this study. Ambiguity tolerance, self efficacy and resilience were assessed using established item scales from the literature. Planning orientation was assessed using planning scenario analysis. Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. Results show that the planning orientation of owner/operators has a significant direct association with organisational financial performance. Ambiguity tolerance, self efficacy and resilience were found to have a significant indirect association with financial performance. The findings of this research have implications for both theory and practice. Theoretically there are implications for cognitive and personality psychology, organisational theory and behaviour, entrepreneurship and research related to the psychological attributes of interest in this thesis. Practically, the results provide managers with a meaningful tool to aid in the selection, training and management of individuals responsible for strategic decision making in SME and other organisational settings.
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Favell, Margaret Elizabeth, and n/a. "Power, control and accountability in a voluntary organisation : the implications for professional staff and service delivery." University of Otago. Department of Social Work and Community Development, 2007. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20071003.101609.
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Over the last decade government policy has transformed many aspects of the welfare state and contracted out to private or voluntary non-government organisations many of the services previously provided by the state. Currently there is very little research on the benefits or disadvantages regarding standards of professional practice and delivery of these services when controlled by voluntary organisations and this research is a case study investigating these concerns.
By using the case study method it is possible to understand issues by incorporating concrete examples of practice within the context that it takes place, as it is only when seen in its proper setting that the general and conceptual significance of practice is understood.
This case study explores the relationships of power, control and accountability in one such non-governmental organisation, the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society and the implications these have for professional staff in the delivery of the service. The study uses the archaeology and genealogy methods suggested by Foucault. Archival material was gained from the Minutes of the meetings of the Plunket executive (1917-1984), constitution and rules. These serve to demonstrate the historical power relationships in the organisation, Plunket nurses� working conditions and how some nurses were treated. The dominant discourse in the archaeology contains two major themes, one being volunteers� autonomous 'ownership' of the organisation, and the other, the subordination of professionalism through the discipline and management of the nursing workforce.
Those same themes are also dominant in the contemporary data studied in the genealogy, which highlights the constraints imposed by volunteer 'ownership' in the contemporary period. It is a feature of the "path dependency" of the organisation that the belief that volunteers had a right to discipline and control the nursing workforce has remained largely unchanged in the contemporary period.
The practice and the context are personalised through interviews with some nurses so that their real-life experiences may give an in-depth understanding of the processes going on for them as professionals. This is one of multiple sources of evidence, including reports, reviews and research, used to triangulate the findings. Through the totality of these methods, insight into Plunket�s decision-making is made possible.
These serve to underline the continuing lack of accountability for service delivery of nonprofessional 'owners' of the voluntary organisation and the negative impact it can have on the delivery of professional services although the greater depth in the contemporary data also highlights two new subsidiary themes; the dominance of lay knowledge over both professional and managerial knowledge, and volunteers� motives for volunteering.
The contemporary interview data demonstrated how the historical culture of the organisation enabled this process to continue through poor workplace conditions, high staff attrition and, in some cases, severe personal pressure akin to workplace bullying.
This study exposes the significance of the culture of organisations, and reveals that the substance of apparent altruistic voluntary organisations may be much more complex and problematic than the ideology would lead us to believe. In a field such as this, where an NGO has sole national responsibility for such an important area and where the outcomes are so poor, change must be considered. While a path dependency explanation is pessimistic about change, it is argued that the only option for professional standards of service for this, and other NGOs, lies in much more accountability and democracy in stakeholder relationships. Recommendations are made in that direction.
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Hsu, Patricia. "Development of a New Zealand version of the World Health Organisation of Quality of Life Survey (WHOQOL) instrument." AUT University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/978.
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Research on health related Quality of Life (QoL) is valuable in developing health policy, assessing medical treatment outcomes and social sciences. Different QoL measurement instruments reflect different facets, and some QoL assessment tools are culturally insensitive. This study examines the existing WHOQOL-BREF (World Health Organisation Quality of Life) 26-item instrument for its suitability for use in New Zealand studies. It focuses on seeking facets of QoL of particular importance to New Zealand culture upon which New Zealand national items may be constructed and included when using the WHOQOL-BREF in studies in New Zealand. In order to achieve this goal, the project involved four sub-studies: verifying the existing WHOQOL response scale descriptors; conducting focus groups to elicit new areas or facets of QoL peculiar and particular to New Zealanders; examining the stability of the WHOQOL-BREF importance scale test-retest reliability; and conducting a national survey to assess what facets of QoL are most important to New Zealanders upon which national items may be developed and the national importance survey. The verification of response scale showed good correspondence with the standard English WHOQOL version. A total of 46 candidate importance items were generated from 12 focus groups’ discussions. Test/retest reliability revealed that the existing WHOQOL-Importance questionnaire items were more stable over a three week period, better than several of the new candidate importance items. Two thousand questionnaires asking what is important to New Zealand were sent out to the NZ general population and 585 returned. Results revealed that what is important varies across age, gender and health states. Twenty-four national items were developed from the national importance data. The study confirmed that what is considered as important facets of QoL varies within New Zealand and that there are facets that are important to New Zealanders not in the existing WHOQOL-BREF.
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Rangiaho, Melina. "Senior management's influence on the contextual components of an organisation that affect creativity : a case study of a New Zealand manufacturing company." Diss., Lincoln University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/351.
Full textAbstract:
Organisations are under enormous pressure to become more innovative in all areas of their operations if they are going to continue to compete successfully (Leavy, 2003). The first stage of successful innovation is ensuring that creativity, the generation of novel ideas, is achieved (McFadzean, et al., 2004). With regards to an organisation's creative environment, theory has suggested that the basic orientation of a company's support for creativity comes directly from the behaviours of the highest levels of management (Amabile, 1996). Despite this proposed relationship, little empirical research has been conducted that examines the role that senior management of an organisation play in influencing a work environment that stimulates creativity. A research model has been developed that illustrates the possible relationships between the functions of senior managers and the creative work environment of an organisation. Essentially this model is be utilised as a framework to examine how do the management functions create the stimulants and impediments of an organisation's environment that affect creativity? The method used to investigate this research question is a qualitative investigation of two manufacturing plants that operate in a larger New Zealand food processing company. This entailed gathering information through semi-structured interviews with employees from the senior management to lower level employees. In addition, direct observations at the plants and archival data in the form of company reports, articles and prior studies were used to gather further information. From this research, three key findings were established. (1) Amabile, et al's., (1996) theory that a number of variables stimulate creativity, while others impede it, was supported. (2) Trust was found to be the key intervening variable, the foundation, upon which a creative context can be built. (3) The Senior Manager, in the case of this research the Operations Manager and Production Centre Manager, played a crucial role in providing the contextual variables that facilitate creativity. As this research suggests, organisational creativity is complicated by the fact that it is affected by the social dynamics operating between key parties within an organisation. Consequently, it is characterised by informal relationships, freedom and resource allocation that ultimately requires that a level of trust exists between key parties. It is senior management's responsibility to ensure that such a work environment is created. These managers are only able to build trust within their organisations by acting with benevolence, integrity and demonstrating that they are committed to employee creativity.
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Ross, Peter, and n/a. "Organisational and Workforce Restructuring in a Deregulated Environment: A Comparative Study of The Telecom Corporation of New Zealand (TCNZ) and Telstra." Griffith University. Graduate School of Management, 2003. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20030930.155125.
Full textAbstract:
In the late 1980s, governments in New Zealand and Australia began to deregulate their telecommunications markets. This process included the corporatisation and privatisation of former state owned telecommunications monopolies and the introduction of competition. The Telecom Corporation of New Zealand (TCNZ) was corporatised in 1987 and privatised in 1990. Its Australian counterpart, Telstra, was corporatised in 1989 and partially privatised in 1997. This thesis examines and compares TCNZ and Telstra's changing organisational and workforce restructuring strategies, as they responded to these changes. It further examines how these strategies influenced the firms' employment relations (ER) policies. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) and transaction costs economics (TCE) theories assist in this analyse. TCE links organisational restructuring to the make/buy decisions of firms and the asset-specificity of their employees. It suggests that firms will retain workers that have developed a high degree of firm-specific skills, and outsource more generic and semi-skilled work. Firm strategies are also influenced by national, contextual, factors. From a TCE perspective, these external factors alter relative transaction costs. Hence, different ownership structures, ER legislation and union power help to explain differences in TCNZ and Telstra's organisational restructuring and ER strategies. During the decade from 1990 to 2000, TCNZ and Telstra cut labour costs through large-scale downsizing programs. Job cuts were supported by outsourcing, work intensification and the introduction of new technologies. These initial downsizing programs were carried out through voluntary redundancies, across most sections of the firms. In many instances workers simply self-selected themselves for redundancies. TCNZ and Telstra's downsizing strategies then became more strategic, as they targeted generic and semi-skilled work for outsourcing. These strategies accorded with a TCE analysis. But TCNZ and Telstra engaged in other practices that did not accord with a TCE analysis. For example, both firms outsourced higher skilled technical work. TCNZ and Telstra's continued market domination and the emphasis that modern markets place on short term profits, provided possible reasons for these latter strategies. This thesis suggests, therefore, that while TCE may help to predict broad trends in 'rational organisations', it may be less effective in predicting the behaviour of more politically and ideologically driven organisations aiming for short term profit maximisation. Some TCNZ and Telstra workers were shifted to subsidiaries and strategic alliances, which now assumed responsibility for work that had previously been performed in-house. Many of these external firms re-employed these workers under more 'flexible' employment conditions. TCNZ and Telstra shifted to more unitarist ER strategies with their core workers and reduced union influence in the workplace. Unions at Telstra were relatively more successful in retaining members than their counterparts at TCNZ. By 2002, TCNZ and Telstra had changed from stand-alone public sector organisations, into 'leaner' commercially driven firms, linked to subsidiaries, subcontractors and strategic alliances.
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Simpson, Mary Louisa. "Organisational transformations in the New Zealand retirement village sector: A critical-rhetorical and -discursive analysis of promotion, community, and resident participation." The University of Waikato, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2666.
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This thesis examines quotcustomer-focusedquot communication and resident participation within the retirement village sector which is one part of the increasingly quotmarketisedquot aged-care services in New Zealand. In this respect the sector is no different from other domains of consumer life where marketing-oriented organisations aim to find out what their customers want and give it to them. This research examines communication related to customer-focused organisational activities and residents' enactment of participation within retirement village organisation (RVO) settings with respect to these processes of marketisation. Taking a critical-interpretive perspective, the thesis undertakes a collective case study involving two major New Zealand RVOs. Both organisations were defined as quotretirement villagesquot within the meaning of the Retirement Villages Act 2003, established in the 1990s, and offered quotretirement livingquot independent housing and apartments across a range of locations. A significant part of the study also examined publicly available promotional material from six RVOs operating multiple sites in various New Zealand locations. This thesis explores retirement villages as co-productions between the corporate entities that develop and market villages and the residents who live in them. The thesis also explores RVO rhetoric about quotretirement living for active 55 plusquot, RVO enactment of customer focused communication and activities, and residents responses to and expectations of both. It is argued that this co-production has implications for residents' participation, their roles and relationships with employees, as well as for organisational communication processes and structures. The rhetorical and critical discourse analysis reveals the complexity of what quotparticipationquot means for the residents. Through a close examination of these meanings, the thesis extends current understandings of relationships between quotcustomersquot and quotcustomer-focusedquot organisations and highlights the role of older people in Western Society as co-producers of the very product they purchase: the retirement village. It also raises practical and theoretical issues for organisational communication. At the practical level it highlights how communication messages, structures and processes within RVOs experience tensions in meeting the needs of both internal, current, and long-term customers, and external, potential, and future customers. The thesis offers insights into issues of individual action and freedom within the frame of market-driven and avowedly quotcustomer-focusedquot organisations and consequently suggests a reconsideration of participation in organisations in which customers are also quotinsidersquot.
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Burgering, Wendy Helen Miller. "Reacting to a ‘Discovered’ Social Problem Through Organisational Adaptation: Case Studies of Child Sexual Abuse Investigation of Seven New Zealand Police Districts." Thesis, University of Auckland, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/1963.
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Organisations operate in an environment buffeted by social change. Child sexual abuse became publicly recognised as a social problem from 1986. The first part of this thesis examines public awareness of, and interest in child sexual abuse, how child sexual abuse arose in New Zealand, the influence of international "moral entrepreneurs" in shaping this recognition and the activities of local "moral entrepreneurs"' including some police officers, in assisting the move of child sexual abuse from the private to the public arena. The second part of this thesis examines organisational change and whether the causes for organisational change are environmentally or managerially driven. Or is it, as this thesis suggests a combination of both. This thesis takes these theoretical arguments and applies them to the process of organisational change that occurred in the New Zealand Police Department, from the development and implementation of the National Abuse Policy for the investigation of child sexual abuse and serious physical abuse. The third part of this thesis examines the interlinking between the main theoretical foci, organisational change and the construction of a social problem. The results of an investigation from key staff, Police and other agency personnel, from seven New Zealand Police Department Districts, interviewed in three waves over a two and a half year period, are reported. The total number of key staff from each wave was 93, 80 and 68. The results of the first part of the thesis is that through effective lobbying by the women's movement and child protection groups child sexual abuse has become a recognised social problem. In the second part of the thesis the following were found to be crucial factors in the shaping of organisational responses to child sexual abuse: The role of middle managers in the implementation of organisational change policies in assigning or not assigning appropriate resources. The role of the top management in the ownership of organisational change policies the procedures. Continual staff turnover and the policy of staff rotation limited the successful implementation and continued support for the National Abuse Policy. This factor, staff turn over and/or rotation, will impact on the success of any organisational change policy. The extent of the training provisions for police officers at all levels within the organisation and the maintenance of that training at a national and district level. Acceptance of the multidisciplinary investigative approach which differed from more traditional policing approaches. The internal and external pressure on the Police to implement and maintain a high profile response in the child sexual abuse field. The results of the third part of the thesis is that the Police Department played a role in the public recognition of child sexual abuse as a social problem and as a result had to implement an operational response through the development of a National Abuse Policy.
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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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Peck, Mikaere Michelle S. "Summerhill school is it possible in Aotearoa ??????? New Zealand ???????: Challenging the neo-liberal ideologies in our hegemonic schooling system." The University of Waikato, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10289/2794.
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The original purpose of this thesis is to explore the possibility of setting up a school in Aotearoa (New Zealand) that operates according to the principles and philosophies of Summerhill School in Suffolk, England. An examination of Summerhill School is therefore the purpose of this study, particularly because of its commitment to self-regulation and direct democracy for children. My argument within this study is that Summerhill presents precisely the type of model Māori as Tangata Whenua (Indigenous people of Aotearoa) need in our design of an alternative schooling programme, given that self-regulation and direct democracy are traits conducive to achieving Tino Rangitiratanga (Self-government, autonomy and control). In claiming this however, not only would Tangata Whenua benefit from this model of schooling; indeed it has the potential to serve the purpose of all people regardless of age race or gender. At present, no school in Aotearoa has replicated Summerhill's principles and philosophies in their entirety. Given the constraints of a Master's thesis, this piece of work is therefore only intended as a theoretical background study for a much larger kaupapa (purpose). It is my intention to produce a further and more comprehensive study in the future using Summerhill as a vehicle to initiate a model school in Aotearoa that is completely antithetical to the dominant neo-liberal philosophy of our age. To this end, my study intends to demonstrate how neo-liberal schooling is universally dictated by global money market trends, and how it is an ideology fueled by the indifferent acceptance of the general population. In other words, neo-liberal theory is a theory of capitalist colonisation. In order to address the long term vision, this project will be comprised of two major components. The first will be a study of the principal philosophies that govern Summerhill School. As I will argue, Summerhill creates an environment that is uniquely successful and fulfilling for the children who attend. At the same time, it will also be shown how it is a philosophy that is entirely contrary to a neo-liberal 3 mindset; an antidote, to a certain extent, to the ills of contemporary schooling. The second component will address the historical movement of schooling in Aotearoa since the Labour Party's landslide victory in 1984, and how the New Zealand Curriculum has been affected by these changes. I intend to trace the importation of neo-liberal methodologies into Aotearoa such as the 'Picot Taskforce,' 'Tomorrows Schools' and 'Bulk Funding,' to name but a few. The neo-liberal ideologies that have swept through this country in the last two decades have relentlessly metamorphosised departments into businesses and forced ministries into the marketplace, hence causing the 'ideological reduction of education' and confining it to the parameters of schooling. The purpose of this research project is to act as a catalyst for the ultimate materialization of an original vision; the implementation of a school like Summerhill in Aotearoa. A study of the neo-liberal ideologies that currently dominate this country is imperative in order to understand the current schooling situation in Aotearoa and create an informed comparison between the 'learning for freedom' style of Summerhill and the 'learning to earn' style of our status quo schools. It is my hope to strengthen the argument in favour of Summerhill philosophy by offering an understanding of the difference between the two completely opposing methods of learning.
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Williams, Tania Marie. "Cultural competency in New Zealand industrial and organisational psychology and human resource management professionals and students: is personality or experience a better predictor? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1091.
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This thesis explores the relevance of Bio Data verses Personality for predicting Cultural Competence among Industrial and Organisational Psychology and Human Resource Management professionals and students in New Zealand. It also explores the relevance of the model (D.W. Sue, 2001) of Cultural Competence currently in use by the New Zealand Psychologists board and also the relevance of a four factor model of Cultural Intelligence (Early & Ang, 2003). The sample consisted of 113 participants drawn from a population of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, and Human Resource Management professionals and students. A questionnaire which measures the predictors of the Big Five Personality Factors (Goldberg, 1999), and Bio Data, and the criterion variables of Cultural Intelligence (Earley & Ang, 2003) and questions constructed specifically for this thesis was distributed online. The criterion variables were based on an existing three part (Awareness, Knowledge and Skills) Multidimensional Model for Developing Cultural Competence by D.W. Sue (2001). The results of this research were obtained through exploratory factor analysis and subsequent multiple regression analysis. A new model was constructed to represent the tested predictor and criterion relationship. Results suggest that overall Personality is a better predictor of Cultural Competence, with the Personality Factor of Agreeableness being the highest weighted Personality Factor. D.W Sue’s (2001) Multidimensional Model for Developing Cultural Competence maintained its three part structure in the analysis and consequently seems relevant to the unique socio-cultural, organisational and professional setting of the tested group. Ang and colleagues (Ang, Van Dyne, Koh, Ng, Templer, Tay & Chandraseker, 2007) Cultural Intelligence Scale maintained its four part factor structure and was reliable for this thesis.
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Kachali, Hlekiwe. "Key elements of sectoral recovery and resilience after the Canterbury earthquakes: a system dynamics approach." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/8204.
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The Canterbury region of New Zealand experienced four earthquakes greater than MW 6.0 between September 2010 and December 2011. This study employs system dynamics as well as hazard, recovery and organisational literature and brings together data collected via surveys, case studies and interviews with organisations affected by the earthquakes. This is to show how systemic interactions and interdependencies within and between industry and geographic sectors affect their recovery post-disaster. The industry sectors in the study are: construction for its role in the rebuild, information and communication technology which is a regional high-growth industry, trucking for logistics, critical infrastructure, fast moving consumer goods (e.g. supermarkets) and hospitality to track recovery through non-discretionary and discretionary spend respectively. Also in the study are three urban centres including the region’s largest Central Business District, which has been inaccessible since the earthquake of 22 February 2011 to the time of writing in February 2013.
This work also highlights how earthquake effects propagated between sectors and how sectors collaborated to mitigate difficulties such as product demand instability. Other interacting factors are identified that influence the recovery trajectories of the different industry sectors. These are resource availability, insurance payments, aid from central government, and timely and quality recovery information.
This work demonstrates that in recovering from disaster it is crucial for organisations to identify what interacting factors could affect their operations. Also of importance are efforts to reduce the organisation’s vulnerability and increase their resilience to future crises and in day-to-day operations.
Lastly, the multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the recovery and resilience of organisations and industry sectors after disaster, leads to a better understanding of effects as well as more effective recovery policy.
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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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Cullen, Suzanne. "Language utilisation in an international business organisation a New Zealand case study : thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Arts (Applied Language Studies), 2005." Full thesis. Abstract, 2005.
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Rocha, Alberto Frederico Moraes da. "Case study of a Brazilian community association : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Public Policy at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand." Massey University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/974.
Full textAbstract:
This is a Case Study Research done inside a poor community in Brazil. The main goal of the research is to facilitate this community to understand their problems and to overcome it. Therefore the researcher and the researched developed the following question ‘why NovaMosanta is not achieving its goals? The researcher wanted to work as a facilitator throughout the whole process of dialogue that aims to empower the community. Departing from that question and based on Freire’s ideas of education the research aims to build new knowledge from the interaction of academic and community knowledge. To implement this case study field research the researcher decided to use Participant observation and questionnaires. Surprisingly during the research the NGO called NovaMosanta faced the challenge of remodeling a public school without government help; otherwise the school would be closed. This NGO succeeded with the help of the New Zealand Government that gave NZ$15,000 to build two new classrooms in the school. Community members helped working in the remodeling and local commerce gave discounts to enable the remodeling. As a result the school will not be closed and the students will continue to study there. It also helped to increase community support and participation. Although not designed as a Participant Action Research, this thesis evolved to produce action and to change the community reality. It was an empowering process to the researcher and the researched. The community support increased and it also served s a catalytic event in the process of transformation and inclusion. Finally it clarifies the importance of producing fast results to maintain community support. You can check the research results in the links below that contain two local network reports about it. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz_FItXp3nM) & (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py5emCNXRlo)
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Lees, Nicola Frances. "The ability to bounce back : the relationship between resilience, coping and positive outcomes : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1173.
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Resilience is a term of increasing prevalence in many aspects of society including the workplace. This thesis has sought to examine the relationship resilience has with coping, engagement, and life satisfaction. Data was collected via a survey that included standard measures for the variables of interest and two open-ended questions targeting sources of stress and sources of satisfaction. Findings show a positive relationship between resilience and task-focused coping, engagement, and life satisfaction. No relationship was found between resilience and maladaptive coping or social support. Additionally, it was found that resilience acted as a full mediator in the relationship between task-focused coping and engagement, but had no mediating effect in the relationship between task-focused coping and life satisfaction. The open-ended questions identified that the same demand frequently acted as both a source of stress and a source of satisfaction.
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Rowlands, Lorraine. "The life of freelance film production workers in the New Zealand film industry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University." Massey University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1083.
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Eleven male and 10 female freelance production workers were interviewed about their experiences of life within the New Zealand film industry. Respondents’ accounts contrast sharply with glamorous images of the industry portrayed in the media. Respondents enjoyed the creative challenges, camaraderie, excitement, and intensity of their working lives and identified strongly with their work. However, they also experienced continual financial insecurity, unpredictable and demoralising periods of unemployment, and recurrent problems maintaining a reasonable work-life balance. Many of the older respondents cited these factors as their main reason for attempting to find work outside the industry. Female production workers appeared to pay a particularly high price for their involvement in the industry and often sacrificed other areas of their lives for their careers. Women frequently compensated for this imbalance by becoming even more career focussed, thus compounding the problems in non-work areas of their lives. Respondents’ accounts are interpreted in relation to current structural conditions, working practices, and power imbalances within the New Zealand film industry. It is argued that freelance production workers’ complex psychological relationship with their work is simultaneously a product of their work environment and helps to perpetuate industry conditions which disadvantage the workforce.