Gayle C. Avery

The Power of vision : statements that resonate

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to identify characteristics of visions that are associated with desirable performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines findings from various vision studies in American, Australian and Thai businesses to derive characteristics of effective vision statements.Findings – Effective visions are characterized by conciseness, clarity, abstractness, stability, future orientation, challenge and desirability or ability to inspire in Australian, Thai and US businesses. Such visions are associated with higher performance outcomes.Originality/valueWhile vision is emphasized by authors and consultants as critical to superior performance, little is known about what characterizes effective vision. This study uncovers this unknown.

Vision effects in customer and staff satisfaction: an empirical investigation

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the relationships between vision attributes (of brevity, clarity, challenge, stability, abstractness, future orientation, and desirability or ability to inspire) and content (relating to customer and staff satisfaction imageries), and customer and staff satisfaction in Australian retail stores, taking into account vision realisation factors of vision communication, organisational alignment, motivation, empowerment and a staff personal factor comprised of staff emotional commitment to and use of the vision. Design/methodology/approach – Variables of vision attributes and content, vision communication, organisational alignment, motivation, empowerment and staff personal factor were derived from the literature. Data were from store managers, staff and customers of 101 apparel stores in Sydney. These variables were tested for significant relationships through chi‐square and regression analyses. Findings – Findings endorse the importance of espousing a vision containing reference to customer and staff satisfaction, although the seven attributes variable was not significant in this study. Empowerment of staff and staff personal factor were directly predictive of enhanced customer satisfaction, while motivation and empowerment of staff, and staff personal factor were directly predictive of enhanced staff satisfaction. Practical implications – Retail store managers should develop a store vision containing reference to customer and staff satisfaction. They should communicate their vision, align organisational components with the vision, empower and motivate staff. Staff should also use the vision to guide their work and emotionally commit to the vision. Original/value – While vision is core to vision‐based leadership theories, little is known about what characterises an effective vision. This study attempts to uncover this unknown.

Applying situational leadership in Australia

Situational leadership (SL) remains highly popular among practitioners, despite considerable academic criticism, lack of theoretical debate, and relatively little published research into SL. We interviewed practicing managers trained in SL about their experiences in applying the model. SL appealed to the managers because of its intuitive simplicity, ease of use, and perceived relevance to managerial roles. SL can be applied consciously (with deliberation) or automatically. Contrary to expectations, practitioners did not report difficulty in assessing follower developmental levels. While respondents were aware that they needed to use all four SL styles in managing their people, consistent with previous research, these Australian managers preferred using supportive styles, and some went to considerable lengths to avoid being directive. The intercultural applicability of SL is questioned, and directions for further research into some of the hypotheses generated by this study are proposed.

Organizational climate and performance in retail pharmacies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address an important gap in the literature by investigating the relationship between organizational climate and performance in small businesses.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 100 retail pharmacies in Sydney, Australia where a manager and up to three staff members and three buying customers were interviewed in each pharmacy.Findings – Supportive climates tend to be associated with higher organizational performance (i.e. financial performance, staff satisfaction, customer satisfaction) in small retail pharmacies, and may reduce staff turnover.Practical implications – The results suggest that managers should consider creating warm and supportive organizational climates to enhance business performance, employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and increase employee tenure.Originality/value – This paper is among the first to empirically establish a direct link between organizational climate and the performance of small businesses,...

Situational leadership preferences in Australia: congruity, flexibility and effectiveness

Australian managers’ preferences for situational leadership styles and perceived effectiveness were compared, using both “self” and “other” ratings on Blanchard’s latest model. Overall, supervisors and senior/middle managers preferred supportive styles, and avoided delegating and directing. However, they rated themselves as significantly more supportive and less directive than “other” raters indicated. Approximately 50 percent of the sample was able to use more than one style, suggesting that preferences for supportive styles were not simply due to ignorance of alternatives. Subordinates did not consider their managers’ focus on supportive preferences effective (using Blanchard’s definition of effectiveness). Comparison of subordinates’ effectiveness scores awarded to the 50 most effective and 50 least effective managers, found agreement between managers and subordinates only in the effective group. In the low‐effectiveness group, managers and subordinates displayed little agreement on the managers’ effectiveness. Implications of the findings, limitations of the study and suggestions for further research are discussed.

The environment is free: The quality analogy

Abstract This paper argues that quality improvement approaches can be applied in the environmental context. Although environmental issues can occasionally negatively impact an organizations core business, most environmental programs, if properly channeled, can lead to both improved profitability and increased social responsibility. It is argued that time-proven techniques that have helped reduce quality costs and improve market share can provide similar results when applied to many environmental problems. Techniques based on the Total Quality Environmental Management (TQEM) philosophy (which is based on integrating Total Quality Management (TQM) methods and environmental management methods) are already being used by many organizations. This paper builds upon the TQEM concept (which emphasizes four basic elements: customer identification, continuous improvement, do the job right the first time and a systems approach to work) by showing how other principles used in quality management can also be applied to environmental management. The issues are then illustrated through a case study of a leading German manufacturer, Bosch-Siemens Hausgerate GmbH.

Sustainable leadership at Siam Cement Group

Purpose – This study examines the question of whether sustainable leadership principles, also known as Rhineland leadership, can apply to a listed business in an emerging economy.Design/methodology/approach – Averys sustainable leadership grid provided the framework for analysis of a major publicly‐listed Thai enterprise, the Siam Cement Group (SCG). A multi‐method case study used semi‐structured interviews with various stakeholders, observations, and internal and external documentation. The Rhineland principles were grouped into six categories for analysis: long‐term perspective, investing in people, organizational culture, innovation, social and environmental responsibility, and behaving ethically.Findings – Overall, data showed moderate to strong evidence for 18 of the 19 grid practices at SCG, the exception being the CEO serving as speaker of the top team rather than being a heroic leader. Moderate evidence was found for consensual and devolved decision making and self‐governing teams. All 16 other e...

The Myth of the "Green Student": Student Involvement in Australian University Sustainability Programmes.

The paper questions the prevalence of ‘green students’ and their impact on decision-making in sustainability programmes in Australian universities. While the universities studied provide numerous opportunities for student involvement in sustainability programmes, comparatively few students actually become involved, making student impact on decision-making in these programmes low. University employees are the primary drivers of university sustainability programmes, with the ‘green student’ not highly visible in these universities. The paper concludes by suggesting that all four universities in the sample could enhance their sustainability programmes by adopting a more evidence-based understanding of student attitudes towards sustainability.

Sustainable leadership : honeybee and locust approaches

1. Sustainable Enterprises 2. Elements of Sustainable Leadership 3. Foundation Practices 4. Higher-level Practices and Key Performance Drivers 5. Performance Outcomes as Leadership Practices Interact 6. Epilogue: After the Global Financial Crisis

A theoretical responsibility and accountability framework for CSR and global responsibility

Purpose – Responsibility and accountability are central to much of what managers do, but in the literature these complex social science concepts are confused. The paper aims to bring theoretical rigour, structure, consistency and parsimony to this field, using as an example the subcategories of responsibility referred to as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and global responsibility.Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper analyses and identifies overlaps, redundancies, gaps, limitations and flaws in current constructs of responsibility and accountability. Using this as a base, we propose a responsibility and accountability matrix comprised of eight constructs, which in turn underpin a process model in which responsibility precedes accountability.Findings – The eight constructs are shown to be sufficient and necessary to explain: the nature of the obligation that one party has to another (role, legal, ethical and moral responsibility); the responsibilities and accountabilities that arise fr...