Yvonne Brunetto

Women entrepreneurs, opportunity recognition and government‐sponsored business networks: A social capital perspective

Purpose – This paper uses a social capital theoretical framework to examine how the relational dimension of business networks affects the networking activities of female entrepreneurs. In particular, the study examines the role of trust on womens networking behaviour and the part played by government business development officers in supporting women entrepreneurs opportunity recognition behaviour.Design/methodology/approach – The research used mixed methods to gather and analyse data. A survey instrument was used to gather quantitative data and qualitative data was gathered from interviews and written responses to open‐ended questions included in the survey.Findings – The quantitative findings suggest firstly that approximately 20 per cent of the reason why women entrepreneurs belong to formal business networks is to search for business opportunities; however, their experience of trusting significantly affects their perception of the potential benefits of networking activities. Moreover, government deve...

Using social identity theory to explain the job satisfaction of public sector employees

This study first reports findings about what factors affect the job satisfaction of one group of public sector employees and second, uses social identity theory to explain the results. The results indicated that working with fellow employees enhances job satisfaction. In contrast, dealing with the clientele (possibly without appropriate training) and organisational management polices compromise the job satisfaction of early career Australian police officers. These findings challenge existing managerialist beliefs that suggest that significant attempts to reform organisational processes within the public sector organisations of a number of Western democracies have improved the effectiveness of employees. These reforms have changed the organisational context within which policing takes place and consequently, the work practices of police officers have changed. Some of these changes have reduced the satisfaction of employees. The implications of the findings are that when employees are dissatisfied with a number of the working conditions, it is likely that their workplace effectiveness may be jeopardised and in turn, the efficiency and effectiveness of scarce public resources may also be compromised.

The different variables that affect older males' and females' intentions to continue working

This paper examined the impact of certain work-related variables on older workers intentions to continue paid work and whether the impact of these work-related variables varies between men and women. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of a sample of 379 employees, aged 50 years and older, working in a large public sector organisation in Australia. Results identified the work-related variables that influence older workers intentions to continue paid work as importance of work, flexibility and interests outside of work, irrespective of gender. Results also indicated that a greater understanding can result if differences between males and females intentions are examined. The findings suggest a significant level of differentiation, based on gender, in relation to autonomy, work environment and interests outside work. Management will need to consider these important work-related variables in addressing attrition and turnover challenges and formulating human resource forecasts and specific strategies for increasing the retention of older workers.

The commitment and satisfaction of lower‐ranked police officers: Lessons for management

This study reports findings about what factors affect the job commitment and satisfaction of lower‐ranked police officers. Over the past decade, there have been significant attempts to reform organisational processes within police services of a number of Western democracies. These reforms have changed the organisational context within which policing takes place and, consequently, the work practices of police officers have changed and, in turn, their commitment and satisfaction may also have been affected. The study used Metcalfe and Dick’s instrument for measuring police commitment and Johlke and Duhan’s instrument for measuring the employees’ satisfaction with communication processes between supervisors and service employees. The findings first suggest a relatively high level of pride in the police service, with reasonable levels of identification with the police service’s goals and increased involvement with rank (from constable to sergeant). On the other hand, there is increasing dissatisfaction with appraisal/promotional procedures and information communication modes as rank increases (from constables to sergeants) and an inverse relationship between rank and organisational commitment overall.

Does the talk affect your decision to walk: A comparative pilot study examining the effect of communication practices on employee commitment post‐managerialism

There is an assumption that the implementation of managerialism within public sector organisations has improved the efficiency and effectiveness of their management of processes and the outcome achieved. The aim of this pilot study was to compare the impact of changes post managerialism to organisational processes on outcomes for different types of employees. The findings suggest that the implementation of managerialism within the Australian public sector organisation has been significantly different depending on the type of employee examined. The implications for management in general are that most of the outcomes were counterintuitive and further research is required to examine the impact of the implementation of managerialism within different types of public sector organisations.

The impact of NPM on the job satisfaction of a range of Australian public sector employees

Most western democracies have undertaken significant public sector reform with the aim of getting their public sector organisations to adopt new public management (NPM) reforms. NPM refers to the adoption of private sector management tools by public sector organisations and its implementation has led to change in the work environment of most public sector employees - both professional and other employees. This paper compares the level of satisfaction with the work experiences of three groups of public sector employees: nurses (N = 91), police (N = 178) and administrative employees (N = 115). The findings suggest that professional employees have a significantly different work experience compared with other public sector employees. Moreover, the research findings suggest that recent reforms have led to breaches in the professional dimension of professional employees delivering essential social services. These breaches are likely to impact negatively on their productivity, thereby negating the stated official goals associated with implementing public sector reforms.

Organisational effectiveness of Australian fast growing small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Purpose – Small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) continue to make a major contribution to the Australian economy. However, research into organisational processes within SMEs has been limited to date. This study aims to examine the links between communication processes and organisational effectiveness in SMEs.Design/methodology/approach – This quantitative study uses social capital theory as a framework to investigate whether employees level of satisfaction with organisational communication processes affects organisational outcomes within three high growth manufacturing SMEs in one area of Australia.Findings – Results indicate that organisational communication processes does affect employees levels of ambiguity regarding customers, job satisfaction and commitment to their firms.Research limitations/implications – While generalisability is limited because of the small number of SMEs participating in the study, the research indicates great potential for developing theoretical and practical insights into ...

The importance of effective organisational relationships for nurses: a social capital perspective

This study used a social capital theoretical framework to explain how the quality of relationships (that develop between nurses and their supervisors) affect individual and organisational outcomes. The findings make a contribution to the field of public sector organisational behaviour by identifying how the quality of relationships between employees and management not only affects the employees themselves, but also affects longer term organisational effectiveness by affecting productivity and turnover rates. Whilst previous research has identified the importance of building social capital within private sector organisations; these findings suggest that it is as important for public sector organisations to invest in developing effective relationships so as to improve organisational effectiveness. Many of the changes resulting from the implementation of NPM improved the efficiency of processes; however, the same measures appear to have negatively impacted on the quality of organisational relationships for nurses. The implication of the findings for senior hospital management interested in ensuring longer term organisational effectiveness is that nurses satisfaction with supervisor communication is a powerful ingredient within the social capital equation. This is because it moderates part of nurses perception of other organisational factors, which in turn, affect approximately a third of their job satisfaction (and therefore productivity) and job commitment (and therefore absenteeism and turnover).

MEDIATING CHANGE FOR PUBLIC-SECTOR PROFESSIONALS

Examines the impact of organisational culture on the responses of one group of professionals to change processes. Draws upon literature relating to policy implementation and organisational behaviour, in order to gain abetter understanding of the power and processes associated with the impact of culture on professional employees. The context of the study is an analysis of the responses of academics within Australian universities to changes resulting from the implementation of policies affecting teaching decision making and practices. Recent policy changes affecting the accessibility to resourcing and operations of academics’ three functions – teaching, research and community service – has provided the impetus for organisational change. To assure the quality of teaching to a growing and increasingly diverse student population, a quality initiative was implemented. This study examined the impact of organisational culture on academics’ responses to its implementation. The findings suggest that despite significant reform aimed at changing the work practices of all professional employees, senior academics undertaking management tasks still have some power to mediate the way organisational changes are implemented within the faculties. One contributory factor may be the existence of a well‐established organisational and professional culture.

The role of management post‐NPM in the implementation of new policies affecting police officers' practices

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the impact of resources, accountability, management practices and organisational culture on the implementation of a policy (in this case, a domestic violence policy/program) within an Australian state police department. The paper argues that successful implementation requires a synergy between the established goals and beliefs, the level of resources and accountability provided to support the implementation process, and a performance‐based rather than process‐oriented type of management practice.Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methods approach was used.Findings – The findings suggest that successful implementation of policies requires that senior and lower managers must be in congruence in relation to the stated goals and objectives of a new policy. This is because the role of senior managers is to determine the goals and resources that accompany a new policy. On the other hand, if first‐level managers perceive a lack of synergy between a written policy and the s...