Business Intelligence Maturity in Australia.

Effective Business Intelligence (BI) is essential for companies in today’s business environment. The benefits from theadoption and use of BI vary from company to company. It has been suggested that the level of BI success is associated witha company’s level of BI experience or maturity. Researchers have attempted to map the various BI practices to BI MaturityModels. This paper investigates the applicability of a BI maturity model to capture the BI practices of Australian companies.The research indicates that BI is well established in large Australian companies

A Single Case Pilot Study Exploring the Maturity of Business Intelligence Systems in the Not-For-Profit Sector

This paper describes a research-in-progress which is a qualitative single case pilot study of the Royal Flying Doctor Service Queensland section exploring the integration of business intelligence and sustainability in the not-for-profit sector in Australia. Preliminary findings suggest a low level of business intelligence maturity but a growing recognition of the value IT governance and a high awareness of sustainability principles

Cyber maturity in the Asia-Pacific Region 2014

Summary: To make considered, evidence-based cyber policy judgements in the Asia-Pacific there’s a need for better tools to assess the existing ‘cyber maturity’ of nations in the region. Over the past twelve months the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre has developed a Maturity Metric which provides an assessment of the regional cyber landscape. This measurement encompasses an evaluation of whole-of-government policy and legislative structures, military organisation, business and digital economic strength and levels of cyber social awareness. This information is distilled into an accessible format, using metrics to provide a snapshot by which government, business, and the public alike can garner an understanding of the cyber profile of regional actors

Insights from Industry Leaders: A Maturity Model for Strengthening Communication Measurement and Evaluation

Much scholarship has been devoted to identifying barriers that prevent the advancement of communication measurement and evaluation. This research focuses on the characteristics, objectives, and practices of chief communication officers (CCOs) with successful measurement and evaluation programs. Three key dimensions of practice emerged from in-depth interviews: communication executives’ measurement practices and evaluation programs were used to adjust communication strategies; were aligned with other business units; and were integrated with business priority plans. Interviewees also focused on the ability of communication measurement practices and evaluation programs to provide insights for executives, to align communication with the work of other business units, and to connect the organization with the outside environment and stakeholders. This study extends strategic communication scholarship by discussing how overcoming barriers and advancing measurement and evaluation work relates to roles adopted by organizational leaders. This article also offers a preliminary, scalable maturity model that aids in the development, formalization, and optimization of strategic communication measurement and evaluation. This study demonstrates the capacity for communication evaluation to overcome perceived barriers, realize appropriate stature with organizations, and grow communication functions accordingly

Sustainable Growth and Ethics: a Study of Business Ethics in Vietnam Between Business Students and Working Adults

Sustainable growth is not only the ultimate goal of business corporations but also the primary target of local governments as well as regional and global economies. One of the cornerstones of sustainable growth is ethics. An ethical organizational culture provides support to achieve sustainable growth. Ethical leaders and employees have great potential for positive influence on decisions and behaviors that lead to sustainability. Ethical behavior, therefore, is expected of everyone in the modern workplace. As a result, companies devote many resources and training programs to make sure their employees live according to the high ethical standards. This study provides an analysis of Vietnamese business students’ level of ethical maturity based on gender, education, work experience, and ethics training. The results of data from 260 business students compared with 704 working adults in Vietnam demonstrate that students have a significantly higher level of ethical maturity. Furthermore, gender and work experience are significant factors in ethical maturity. While more educated respondents and those who had completed an ethics course did have a higher level of ethical maturity, the results were not statistically significant. Analysis of the results along with suggestions and implications are provided

Designing educational tasks for success in industry: a reflection on the evolution of business communication studies in tertiary education

This paper is the result of a &quot;Rip Van Winkle&quot; experience I had concerning the teaching of Business Communication. The paper focuses on the remarkable expansion in the curriculum of the traditional &quot;Business Communication&quot; or &quot;Business Writing&quot; course offered by many tertiary institutions around the world. Based on 25 years of personal observation and experience in a number of educational settings, the paper will trace the increasing sophistication and complexity of the study of business communication from one that covered little more than lessons in the design of hardcopy memos, letters, and reports to one that now covers a broad spectrum of topics such as &quot;emotional intelligence,&quot; &quot;intercultural communication,&quot; &quot;effective public speaking,&quot; as well as the effects of purpose and audience on the design of a wide variety of business communications.An example of an effective task that involves a number of on the job activities is provided in the form of a ready to use assignment that is applicable in a number of contexts.<br /

National security: A propositional study to develop resilience indicators as an aid to personnel vetting

Within the National Security domain there is a convergence of security responsibility across the national security agencies, law enforcement and private security sectors. The sensitivity of this environment requires individuals operating in the domain to be honest, trustworthy and loyal. Personnel vetting is a formal process used to determine an individual’s suitability for access to this domain. Notwithstanding this process, significant breaches of trust, security, and corruption still occur. In psychology, resilience is a well researched phenomenon that is considered a multidimensional construct where individual attributes, family aspects and social environment interact in aiding individuals to deal with vulnerability. There are many understandings and definitions of resilience based on theorists’ different perspectives; however, most agree that resilience is represented by a minimum of two aspects. The first is adversity and second, how the individual deals with adversity that demonstrates situational adaptation in a positive manner. The study is a work in progress and proposes the use of a recently developed Lifespan Resilience Scale. This scale will use resilience markers as an aid to National Security by providing vetting agencies with an additional tool for proactive intervention. The Lifespan Resilience Scale is currently undergoing reliability and validity testing within a student population. Once validated within this population, the scale will be adjusted and tested within the vetting environment using cross validated cohorts and expert opinion. Such a tool will assist National Security through better personnel risk management

A return on investment: the future of police cooperation between Australia and Indonesia

This Special Report presents a strategy for the future relationship between Indonesia’s National Police—known as POLRI—and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). It draws on 60 interviews with current and retired police officers, officials from other Australian and Indonesian agencies, and academic experts in related fields. The report presents a strategy for the future POLRI–AFP relationship in two parts. The first paperexamines the near term to early 2015. POLRI and the AFP should first aim to restore full trust and cooperation in all relevant policing areas, especially in cybercrime. Early initiatives could include a 10‑year celebration for the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation, workshops for future AFP and POLRI leaders, and a request for POLRI officers to support the AFP during the G20 meeting in November 2014. It would also be worth sponsoring an international ‘needs analysis’ for POLRI. Reinstating funding for the Law Enforcement Cooperation Program is needed to promote the AFP’s flexibility and responsiveness during this time. The second paper provides background, tracing the remarkable relationship between the Australian Federal Police and the Indonesian National Police from its early days, where the focus was on information sharing, through a journey into joint operations. The paper describes the numerous capability cooperation initiatives that the forces have undertaken, especially since 2002, and charts both successes and times where cooperation didn’t necessarily deliver as intended

Gauging the investment potential of international real estate markets

Investing in real estate markets overseas means venturing into the unknown, where you meet unfamiliar political and economic environments, unstable currencies, strange cultures and languages, and so although the advantages of international diversification might appear attractive, the risks of international investment must not be overlooked. However, capital markets are becoming global markets, and commercial real estate markets are no exception, accordingly despite the difficulties posed by venturing overseas no investor can overlook the potential international investment holds out. Thus, what strategies are appropriate for capitalising on this potential? Three issues must be considered: (1) the potential of the countries real estate market in general; (2) the potential of the individual market sectors; and (3) the investment process itself. Although each step in foreign real estate investment is critical, the initial assessment of opportunities is especially important. Various methods can be used to achieve this but a formal and systematic analysis of aggregate market potential should prove particularly fruitful. The work reported here, therefore, develops and illustrates such a methodology for the over 50 international real estate markets

The risks of investing in the real estate markets of the asian region

The Asian region has become a focus of attention for investors in recent years. Due to the strong economic performance of the region, the higher expected returns in the area compared with Europe and the USA and the additional diversification benefits investment in the region would offer. Nonetheless many investors have doubts about the prudence of investing in such areas. In particular it may be felt that the expected returns offered in the countries of the Asian region are not sufficient to compensate investors for the increased risks of investing in such markets. These risks can be categorised into under four headings: investment risk, currency risk, political risk, and institutional risk. This paper analyses each of these risks in turn to see if they are sufficiently large to deter real estate investment in the region in general or in a particular country