An analysis of factors of importance to international postgraduate students from Asia studying in Victorian universities

Student satisfaction is a key strategic variable in maintaining a competitive position in the international education market by Australian universities. The universities are facing the challenge of rising student expectations of quality, service and value for money, and the need to increase the satisfaction level of their students to retain and improve international student numbers. This process requires universities to carefully analyse the key factors contributing to student satisfaction.Using logistic regression analysis with factor scores and aggregated satisfaction scores, this study examines the relative importance of factors and their impact on the satisfaction levels of international postgraduate students from four Asian countries studying at Victorian universities. The study concludes that the dominant factors that impact on student satisfaction include the quality of education, student facilities, reputation of the institutions, the marketability of their degrees for better career prospects, and the overall customer value provided by the universities.<br /

Competitiveness and environmental policies in strategic environmental policy models

This paper discusses the issue of competitiveness and environmental regulation from the viewpoint of strategic environmental policy models. It demonstrates that the incentive for strategic policies is determined only by the reaction of the opponent. Furthermore, it shows that the conditions under which relatively strict environmental policies may lead to an increase in the profits of the domestic industry are rather artificial. The result depends in a rather complex way on the type of competition and several effects of research and development or environmental quality specification, and on the assumption that a unilateral policy is possible.

Traceability in the U.S. Food Supply: An Application of Transaction Cost Analysis

Suboptimal supply of food and agricultural traceability is framed in a transaction cost analysis. We propose a model that considers the variables of opportunism potential, agency costs, uncertainty, asset specificity, frequency, and transaction costs. The model is then applied to the development of a typology of feasible governance modes – market, hybrid, firm, or public bureau, considering levels of transaction costs and competencies of private firms. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed and future research opportunities are suggested.traceability supply, transaction cost economics, agency theory, Agribusiness,

Health Savings Account - Eligible High Deductible Health Plans: Updating the Definition of Prevention

High-deductible health plans (HDHPs) are an important and growing part of the health insurance landscape. By some estimates, as many as 80 percent of large employers may offer an HDHP in 2014. In 2013, more than 15 million Americans received health coverage through an HDHP, a more than a threefold increase since 2007.As outlined by the U.S. Treasury Department, individuals with an HSA-eligible HDHP are required to pay the full cost of most medications and services -- in theory utilizing pre-tax HSA funds -- until deductibles are met. However, the 2003 authorizing legislation and further guidance include a safe harbor allowing plans to cover primary preventive services, those typically deemed to prevent the onset of disease, before the deductible is satisfied.Services or benefits meant to treat "an existing illness, injury or condition," are excluded from first-dollar coverage in HSA-eligible HDHPs, which encompasses most secondary preventive services. For example, plans are prohibited from providing first dollar coverage of disease management services such as insulin, eye and foot exams, and glucose monitoring supplies for patients with diabetes.As chronic disease conditions currently make up 75 percent of total U.S. health spending, appropriate chronic disease management is an important tool to lower long-term health care costs. As the market for HDHPs grow, it is important that they maintain the flexibility to allow for effective health management of all beneficiaries. This report addresses the strict definition of prevention that an HDHP must follow for it to include a pre-tax health savings account (HSA), and how this restriction limits the effectiveness of current plans. A potential solution - allowing HSA-eligible HDHPs to provide first-dollar coverage for targeted, evidence-based, secondary preventive services that prevent chronic disease progression and related complications - can improve patient-centered outcomes, add efficiency to medical spending, and enhance HDHP attractiveness.A multi-disciplinary research team from the University of Michigan's Center for Value-Based Insurance Design, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Minnesota conducted a multi-part project to investigate the impact of updatingthe definition of prevention for HDHPs to include selected secondary preventive services that are frequently used as health plan quality metrics and included as elements of pay-for-performance programs. Specifically, the project aimed to: 1) determine the premium effect, actuarial value, and estimated market uptake of the novel HDHP plan that covers these evidence-based services outside the deductible, and 2) explore through interviews whether insurance industry experts found coverage of secondary preventive services a worthwhile endeavor

New service development in high tech sectors: a decision making perspective

Many service companies active in high tech sectors have implemented largely decentralized decision architectures in their innovation processes. This is done to improve responsiveness under extremely dynamic and uncertain business conditions. As a consequence of the empowerment of decision-makers at the product management level, the success of the New Service Development (NSD) process will increasingly depend on individual product managers’ information processing and decision-making performance. The present study investigates antecedents of decision-making effectiveness in the high tech NSD process, and reports on a case study performed in the mobile telecommunication services industry. NSD project managers’ unique task conditions are articulated, and some antecedents and moderators of effective decision-making are identified in a study of four innovation projects. Findings are integrated in a theoretical framework. The study reveals the crucial role of decision-makers’ flexible use of various cognitive styles, their proactive attitude, and their capability to mentally represent innovation interfaces with the customer, the technology and the firm. Managerial implications and suggestions for further research are provided.management and organization theory ;

A comparative assessment of methodologies used to evaluate competition policy

Research by academics and competition agencies on evaluating competition policy has grown rapidly during the last two decades. This paper surveys the literature in order to (i) assess the fitness for purpose of the main quantitative methodologies employed, and (ii) identify the main undeveloped areas and unanswered questions for future research. It suggests that policy evaluation is necessarily an imprecise science and that all existing methodologies have strengths and limitations. The areas where the need is most pressing for further work include: understanding why Article 102 cases are only infrequently evaluated; the need to bring conscious discussion of the counterfactual firmly into the foreground; a wider definition of policy to include success in deterrence and detection. At the heart of the discussion is the impact of selection bias on most aspects of evaluation. These topics are the focus of ongoing work in the CCP

Administration of Sales Force Tasks under Field Conditions

There are two perspectives on controlling the performance of salespeople - an outcome based perspective and behavior based perspective. The former process focuses on the objective measures of results while the latter perspective on performance control of salespeople incorporates complex and often subjective assessments of the attributes of sales people. A balance of these implications provides strong support for laying controls and evaluating the performance of sales people in varied socio-cultural selling situations. This study has been conducted in Mexico with which discusses the impact of sales territory design and compensation to salespeople as predictors of performance of sales unit effectiveness.Sales force organization, selling behavior, task administration, sales performance evaluation, territory management, outcome performance, sales territory, compensation, sales unit effectiveness, organizational efficiency