Margaret McNeil

Measuring service quality in a tertiary institution

Measures service quality from the point of view of the customer using the SERVQUAL model. The “customers” in this instance were a group of business students at an Australian university. Obtains service quality evaluations in relation to academic and administrative aspects of the educational service. Makes significant negative evaluations in relation to the quality of administrative services. Finds that satisfaction with the academic service was closely related to dependability whereas satisfaction with administrative services was associated with good communication.

The impact of the work environment on ethical decision making: Some Australian evidence

Business ethics has emerged in recent years as a field of significant scholarly endeavour. Particularly well documented is the existence of ethical conflict at work and the reported inseparability of business decisions and moral consequences. However, to date, the majority of studies have been conducted in the American business context.This paper examines the concept of ethical conflict as experienced by employees in the Australian context. According to a sample of Western Australian managers, ethical conflicts at work do occur — with relative frequency. Of considerable concern is the high incidence of cases where the demands of superiors are deemed to be the cause of this conflict. This finding is particularly disturbing as superiors are also the primary influence on employee ethical decision making. It would see that the ethics role models are also the instigators of unethical behaviour.This research has confirmed in the Western Australian context that the values of top management do have significant impact on the ethical choices made by employees. The management of organisational culture, therefore, is a key to raising ethical standards in business. The institutionalisation of ethics by such formal means as codes of ethics is a necessary, but insufficient, condition of ensuring ethical behaviour in organisations. Management of the informal climate is pivotal to the achievement of ethical organisational behaviour.

A management perspective on business ethics

In recent years the institutionalisation of ethics as a means of enhancing the ethical nature of business operations has received widespread empirical coverage. To date, however, few studies have been conducted in the Australian business context. This paper examines the institutionalisation of ethics by a sample of companies based in Perth, Western Australia. In particular, company representatives were asked if their company was institutionalising ethics, why this initiative was undertaken, how this was taking place and what specific issues were being addressed in the institutionalisation process. The results suggest that perceptions of external parties were the primary motivation for ethics institutionalisation efforts although there was also considerable focus on trying to internalise ethical values. In terms of how ethics were being institutionalised the responding companies were more likely to have conducted ethics training programs than to have written Codes of Conduct and in general it appears that few companies were developing comprehensive formal ethics programs. The primary issue covered by these institutionalisation efforts was the observance of laws.

A Benefit Segmentation of the Financial Planning Market

The financial planning industry has demonstrated significant growth in Australia through the 1980s. A benefit segmentation study of the financial planning market in Perth, Western Australia, is examined. A telephone survey was conducted on a random sample of 400 respondents drawn from the metropolitan telephone book. Four underlying benefit dimensions which are sought when making investment decisions are identified. Respondents are then segmented based on their pattern of responses over these dimensions. Three segments are identified – disinterested investors, demanding investors and security seekers. While the Perth marketplace could be segmented using investment benefits, attempts to profile these segments in terms of demographic characteristics and investment activity are inconclusive.

Means or ends? Ethical decision frameworks in the western australian public service

The paper analyses results from a questionnaire-based survey of “ethical behavior” of members of the Western Australian Senior Executive Service. Relating to definitions of deontology (duty) and teleology (ends over means) the study examines the validity of three hypotheses on ethical behaviour/decision making frameworks. Longitudinal data is related to the 1983–90WA Inc period. The study establishes that SES managers apply ethical frameworks in order to understand the meaning of: “ethical behaviour” and that there are groups of managers with distinct understandings of what constitutes ethical behavior which is reflective of particular ethics theories. Three groups of managers are identified: (1) emphasises teleology (2) focuses on external influences (rules, standards and codes) and (3) encompasses both teleology and external influences and, to a lesser extent deontology. Only this latter group is regarded as having an appropriate repertoire of potential responses to any given ethical dilemma. There is no support for the view that those beginning employment in the public service post 1984 adversely affected the ethical decision making frameworks of other senior managers.

CORPORATE INNOVATION: SOME AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCES

Corporate innovation has not been well studied in Australia. The present study examined the extent and type of innovation in companies listed on the Western Australian Stock Exchange and it identified the high and low innovators by calculating an Innovation Score for each of the 184 companies in the sample. Factors which influence the level of corporate innovation were also determined. Companies with high levels of innovation were found to involve company employees in the innovative process. As in America, venture teams, product champions and creative geniuses impacted on innovative capacity. The input of customers is also a valuable source of ideas for innovation. Management of high innovating companies were committed to innovation, tolerant of risk taking and encouraged autonomous behaviour in their employees. However, successful corporate innovators did not give up formal control. Rules and procedures were also important.