Alma Whiteley

Retail bank marketing in Western Australia

Reports the findings and implications of a retail bank marketing study which was conducted in the City of Perth in Western Australia in 1995. More specifically, the study was designed to determine and evaluate the importance of selected patronage motives used by Australian retail bank customers in choosing commercial banks. Also it sets out to determine the perceived usefulness of the variety of services offered by commercial banks to their customers and what these banks can do in order to improve their services to their clients to remain competitive. Using the case of one of the commercial banks cited in the study, a set of core activities (front stage as well as back stage) for banking staff are described and evaluated. Discusses the need for commercial banks to consider more and different marketing strategies, one of which would be internal marketing in addition to consumer‐oriented external marketing activities.

Emerging and capturing tacit knowledge: a methodology for a bounded environment

Purpose – This paper aims to report on an empirical case study, (single case multi‐site) employing both a “hard” and “soft” method. The tangible, visible component of the study was the production of a database whose fields were to be the source of tacit knowledge emergence.Design/methodology/approach – The proposition was that the possibility for the capture of tacit knowledge was subject to four conditions. The first was the need for a teleological motive and purpose. The second was a bounded environment expressed in this case in terms of the published corporate goals and key business drivers. The third was the production of a controlled vocabulary that made sense to both the respondents in the context of the true nature of the business activity. The fourth and most important condition was the interactive and iterative process that allowed those involved to own the tacit knowledge emerging process.Findings – Results supported the idea that under bounded conditions, a shared sense of purpose and an iterat...

Trust and communication development needs: An Australian waterfront study

This paper examines how the findings of a wider research effort, designed to examine the effect of change processes on the waterfront in Fremantle, Western Australia, gave rise to another research project. This second research project is described in full as an action research. The paper presents the objectives, content method and outcomes as well as the processes followed throughout the project. The Enterprise Communication Committee was not created for the action research program yet it was able to define both trust and communication. A home produced mechanism for developing trust and communication was constructed together with a commitment to carry on action learning within the organization. This is the waterfront ‐ with no history of development and no exposure to theory, the group members identified a need, produced a set of working definitions a methodology and an enthusiastic commitment to action.

The cross model of guanxi usage in Chinese leadership

In the past 20 years, there has been a growing interest in the workings of Chinese management and organisation. Recent research has also focused on Chinese leadership. This paper examines an emerging issue uniquely important to the Chinese leadership setting – guanxi. A research process was initiated that included a ten‐case preliminary field study followed by a more extensive investigation of guanxi with 40 Chinese business leaders. Results revealed complex differences in the way guanxi is utilised in state‐owned and foreign‐invested enterprises. The differences are conceptualised using Falcione et al.’s notion of structuration, and developed into a “cross model” of guanxi usage.

The familiarization study in qualitative research: from theory to practice

This paper seeks to bridge a perceived gap in the literature on the methodology of qualitative research. The audience in mind is business and management students who are required to carry out field research as a part of their masters or doctoral degrees. After submitting a research proposal or candidacy, which sets out the research strategy in broad terms, students are characteristically faced with field work involving the collection of data from participants or respondents. Whatever thought and planning has been given to interviewing and questionnaires in theory, it is a necessity in qualitative research to adapt to the situation on the ground which is unique for every research.

Supervisory conversations on rigour and interpretive research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive narrative account of supervisory conversations with doctoral students. They include providing knowledge and experience about the nature of qualitative and quantitative approaches and their respective histories and rigour requirements.Design/methodological/approach – An introduction reveals the complexity, debates and dialectics that are engaged with during the doctoral supervisory process. Two design issues are discussed. One is research design; the other is supervisor method.Findings – Rigour in interpretive research is distinctive, linked to its characteristics and the unique role of the researcher as an instrument of data collection, conscious of the need to give voice to respondents and preserve their authentic responses. The audit trail is a centrepiece for both rigour and the reflection, reflexivity necessary to address ongoing biases, decisions and dilemmas.Research limitations/implications – Supervisory conversations are dynamic but...

HRM practices in information technology management

This paper concerns the specific problem of the critical levels of staff turnover in the information technology (IT) area in Hong Kong. The aim is to give advice to improve the management of IT personnel. IT management practices are compared with theories from human resource management. As the theories are mostly developed in a Western context, a grounded approach has been taken. An in-depth study of programmers and analyst programmers in Hong Kong was carried out at the time of a crisis in labour turnover. The level of crisis enabled this study to find underlying factors that may normally be more hidden. A low level of attachment to the organisation was found, with stronger ties towards the profession and professional development. There was also an apparent difference in the attitudes and practices of group work.

Rules as received practice: historical perspective and implications for managers

Purpose – To report on an exploratory study on unwritten rules carried out in Australia, place this study in the context of the historical development of thought on rules and discuss implications for management learning.Design/methodology/approach – This paper has three parts. The first part reviews the theoretical scholarly writings on rules as social structures from the early sociology of the nineteenth century to the organizational theory of the present day. Theories of structural functionalism and institutionalism are acknowledged as historical influences on rules and the assumptions likely to be made by managers about compliance and implementation. In the second part, the research is described in which staff members from five organizations were invited to technology‐supported focus groups. The data collection was supported by group support systems technology, which allowed anonymous inputs. Staff were asked, in various ways, about both official rules and unwritten rules. These included the use of sce...

The facilitator and the chauffeur in GSS: Explorations in the forging of a relationship

This study investigates two roles in Group Support Systems (GSS) meetings, those of the facilitator and the technical support person or “chauffeur.” GSS technology originated as a support for cooperative work in groups. The work of facilitators, who have traditionally supported group work both in terms of structure and process is changing. GSS involve a “mechanistic” approach, and, typically, in such GSS systems as MeetingWorks, a technical operator or chauffeur within the software environment will take over some of the facilitator functions. The facilitator can accommodate this in various ways. One approach is to develop a role relationship with the chauffeur, if possible, given the two seemingly distinct areas of expertise. This study attempts to address what form this relationship might take and how it might develop. We use an interpretivist framework and grounded theory methodology, together with focused interviews to investigate these questions from two selected case studies of a facilitator and chauffeur team who conducted GSS meetings with nine client groups. The study outcomes were the development of a descriptive model (EDASA) of the relationship development process between the team members and a description of alternative role relationships for facilitator and chauffeur.

Cooperative goals in the Chinese work environment: a Hong Kong case study

This research seeks to develop an understanding of how cooperative teamwork among Chinese employees impacts upon the customer perception of service in the Hong Kong ship-repair industry. The research model was based on the ‘Theory of Cooperation and Competition’, a western-derived theory. The model used included the Chinese values of power distance, collectivism and conformity. The results suggested the need to explore alternative processes that Chinese people may engage in in managing their conflict. We question whether the ‘goals’ or ‘ends’ based approach to the operation of teams inherent in the Theory of Cooperation and Competition, is valid in the Chinese context where ‘process’ and ‘relationship’ are pivotal.